ABOUT
JUDY NEFF
OWNER & BREWER
As owner and brewer, Judy is a longtime homebrewer living the dream. She is a Certified Cicerone and helped found Baltimore Beer Babes, a craft beer appreciation group bringing more women into the fold and is a proud member of the Pink Boots Society. She has a PhD in microbiology from The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, so she isn’t afraid of scientific side of brewing, but firmly believes that the creative side and understanding of the ingredients are just as important. She loves all of the beers, but Juniperus IPA is definitely the #1!
ROB NEFF
OWNER & HEAD OF SALES & DISTRIBUTION
Rob has been a longtime craft beer lover and may even love great beer a little more every day. Born and raised in Mt. Airy, MD, Rob planted himself in Baltimore 22 years ago. Careers in civil engineering and Baltimore rowhome rehabbing have prepared him to fix any and all bleeps, sweeps and creeps that need fixing! As head of sales and distro he makes sure our beer gets to the masses, you may even see him sitting at the barstool next to you.
Rob is the one to contact to buy our beer, find our beer or to ask how many square feet are in an acre! His favorite beer we make is Zicke Zacke Octoberfest and second favorite is. . .Zicke Zacke Octoberfest!
DENIS NASH
EVENTS COORDINATOR & TAPROOM MANAGER
Denis has had some crazy jobs, but between casinos, bars and breweries, the brewery years have been the most fun! He comes from Charm City and lives in Fed Hill.
His spirit animal is a monkey – he was born the year of the monkey and it fits. If he had a beer named after him, it would be SoBo cobra because it’s a secret Checkerspot operation that no one knows about….Hillbilly Gold Pilsner is definitely his beer!
Denis handles all of our private events, so let him pamper you!
ADAM MILLER
ARTIST EXTRAORDINAIRE
I know you’ve seen the beer artwork and our super sweet logo – that’s all Adam.
He comes from the 21014 (Bel Air). He has a lot of experience consuming craft beer.
His spirit animal is a shark, so watch out! There’s not much that no one knows about Adam, but… he actually thinks of himself as being quite shy at his nougat-y center. Figure that one out.
When not designing and illustrating amazing artwork here, he works at Mojo Art designing t-shirts and also has designed artwork for many bands and music festivals. Check out his band, The Racket – they play all around town!
MEGAN BYRD
SOCIAL MEDIA & MARKETING GENIUS
Megan grew up in Harford County, near cow pastures and corn fields, but moved to SoBo about 7 years ago and has loved the city ever since.
Her spirit animal is a Corgi. For the most part, she’s pretty upbeat and smiley… and being 5’2″, she has short legs and tends to walk fairly fast to keep up with everyone else. Something you might not know about her is that she can’t roll her “r’s”.
If Megan was a Checkerspot beer, she would be Daydream Baltimore Lager. They may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one… (Now that song’s in your head. You’re welcome.)
IAN NORONHA
ASSISTANT BREWER
Ian grew up in the UAE and spent almost 30 years there. It’s a very diverse country, lots of different cultures live in close proximity to each other and he got to experience a lot of it through the variety of cuisines available there. It was also the place that hooked him on craft beer after sampling his way through the entire beer list at the Belgian Beer Cafe in Dubai.
His spirit animal is a dolphin because of their cooperative and communicative nature. He’s a dog whisperer by the way.
If Ian was a Checkerspot beer, he would be First Whisper (ESB), a very balanced beer where malt, hops and yeast all work in unison without anyone overpowering the other.
Ian does a little bit of everything and is the glue that holds Checkerspot together!
RYAN CREEL
ASSISTANT BREWER
Ryan is Glenwood, MD, born and raised and lives in Pigtown. He has more than a decade of bar experience and even led craft beer tours, focusing the past few years on craft beer.
His spirit animal is a jackal and he can sprout a formidable beard.
If he was a Checkerspot beer, he’d be Locally Delicious. Sour on the surface but complex, all-local and generally awesome.
Come on one of Ryan’s legendary tours Saturdays at 3pm!
KELLI KULNICH
BARTENDER
Kelli comes from the beautiful city of Annapolis. She has 25+ years serving, bartending and managing bars and restaurants and live music venues. She also was in beer sales for a couple of years for Frederick Brewing Co. way back when.
Her spirit animal is a horse.
If she was a Checkerspot Beer, she’d definitely be Psycho Haze! It showed her she could love an IPA…juicy and delicious with no palate destroying bitterness.
She’s a realtor on the side, so if you’re looking to buy or sell a house, come have a beer on Thursday to see her!
NEALE OSENBURG
BARTENDER
The Real Neale-o was born and raised in Towson, MD. He grew up in the craft beer industry at Racers (THE craft beer spot to be in MD even back in the 90’s).
He hates scuba diving, but loves all other water sports though. His spirit animal is Nick Offerman:)
Neale would be Daydream Baltimore Lager. Pretty light and carefree, and always thinking about something else.
You can find Neale slinging suds all day Friday and Saturday day, as well as Mondays and Wednesdays. He practically lives at Checkerspot!
How did we end up starting a brewery?
Judy and Rob first met through mutual friends at a party over some beers. While they both drank Natty Boh at first, as their relationship grew, so did their taste for more flavorful beers. After they visited Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco, Judy became inspired to start brewing at home. Brewing in the kitchen then moved to the basement and both of them started drinking new and different beers. Beer is a unifier that brings people together.
Do you remember how you met that person you’re with?
What beer were you drinking?
Cheers and here’s to many more!
IT DOESN'T GET ANY
FRESHER THAN THIS!
Enjoy a beer looking out over the brewery where it was made
OUR LOCATION
Checkerspot Brewing Company
1399 S. Sharp St.
Baltimore, MD
Brewery: (443) 388-8912