EP-409 Rachael Hudson of Pilot Brewing Company

Some people know early on they’re destined to be their own boss. Rachael
Hudson is one of these people. She’s the co-owner and head brewer at Pilot
Brewing Company in Charlotte, North Carolina, a small brewery that’s made
big waves in her local scene and beyond since opening in 2018. Since then,
the business has racked up accolades at the Great American Beer Festival,
the US Open Beer Championship, and the North Carolina Brewers Cup
Competition, including being named North Carolina Brewery of the Year for
2023.

But for as nice as the awards are, Rachael says opening a brewery isn’t
about fame (and it’s definitely not about money). It’s more about being an
outlet for her ability and desire to teach curious consumers about what it
is they’re consuming. She’s an Advanced Cicerone who plans to take the
Master exam again later this year, as well as a national and international
beer judge and co-host of the False Bottomed Girls podcast with Master
Cicerone Jen Blair. Needless to say, she knows what she’s talking about,
and she’s passionate about sharing her knowledge with absolutely anyone who
will listen.

In this episode, Rachael shares when and how she knew she had to go into
business for herself and why education is such a critical part of what
Pilot offers to the community. She also talks about her “less is more”
mentality when it comes to recipe development, and how their ESB tends to
outshine even their IPAs. Pilot probably isn’t going to get much bigger,
but that’s not what Rachael wants anyway. She’d rather focus on perfecting
what they put out and keep figuring out ways to show other people that they
too can turn their passion into a profession.