Bill Wood was born and raised in the Bay Area. From an early age, Bill enjoyed cooking and food. Little did he know it would lay the foundation for a future brewing career. Bill started home brewing with his brother Steve back in the late 80's. Bill loved the idea of making his own beer and started immersing himself in every brew making book that he could find. It wasn't long before Bill knew what he wanted to do for a career and the rest of his life.
Bill started working as a professional brewer back in 1995, at Elk Grove Brewing. Within two years, he won his first Great American Beer Festival (G.A.B.F) award. A bronze medal for his Grainbarrel Stout. In 1999 he won a pair of gold medals, one for the Diamondback Wheat and the other for the Otis Alt. The two Golds earned him the award of Small Brewer of the Year by the G.A.B.F. Bill continued to brew and win awards for 13 years (including 13 G.A.B.F. Medals, 4 World Beer Cup medals and countless State fair ribbons) at the Elk Grove brewery until it sadly closed in 2008.
It didn't take Bill long to find another job as the Head Brewer at the Auburn Alehouse in Auburn, CA. With the support of Brewmaster Brian Ford, the two quickly turned the small brewery upside down. Auburn Alehouse soon became a destination brewpub and a small distributing brewery with its beers available from San Jose to Lake Tahoe. In 2015 after seven short years, Bill made a tough decision to leave the brewery to be closer to his children in Elk Grove.
Bill started working at Lodi Beer Co. later that year. Having known Roger and Sam Rehmke since his early days at Elk Grove Brewery, it seemed like a good fit. Since he began brewing for Lodi Beer, Bill continues building the reputation of brewing award winning beers. With his knowledge, we have added quite a few brews to our stable of beers.
In his spare time, Bill enjoys growing vegetables as well as camping, fishing and hiking with his girlfriend Wendy. He also spends a lot of time supporting his children, with their various activities, as a high school booster at Cosumnes Oaks High School in Elk Grove.