His first beer arrived not as revelation but as cautionary tale: a room-temperature MGD, smuggled into a backyard while the parents were gone, fizzing softly in the heat like a bad idea clearing its throat.
“I hated it,” Jason Stoltz admits. “Dumped it. Hid the can.”
Thus began a beer journey founded on rejection, secrecy, and a strong instinct for self-preservation.
And yet — because beer loves irony — that unloved can would eventually lead Stoltz straight into firehouses, brewhouses, classrooms, competitions, and medals. Somewhere between that backyard betrayal and the stainless-steel reality of Top Rung Brewing Company in Lacey, Stoltz picked up an Associate of Applied Science from South Puget Sound Community College, a full-time gig as a firefighter with McLane/Black Lake Fire Department, and a brewing partner for life in fellow firefighter Capt. Casey Sobol. Twenty-one years on the job for Sobol, eight for Stoltz — career firefighters who learned to chase heat professionally and flavor obsessively.
Their hobby went from garage curiosity to full-blown destiny when their Hosechaser Blonde took top honors at Dick’s Brewing’s Beer for a Cure homebrew contest in 2012. Suddenly they were shadowing Dick’s brewer Parker Penley, peeking behind the curtain, realizing the thing they loved could also be the thing they built.
Fast forward to June 20, when Stoltz and Sobol hauled home a gold medal at the Washington Beer Awards for My Dog Scout Stout — American Stout category, no less — brewed in honor of Stoltz’s black lab, Scout. The beer was one of Top Rung’s original trio when the brewery opened in April 2014, and the medal marked both the brewery’s first win and its first year in the competition. A good dog. A good beer. A very good day.
We caught Stoltz briefly between brews and schedules.
What got you into homebrewing?
Curiosity, mostly. I liked beer but didn’t understand how it became beer — how color, flavor, and personality showed up in a glass. Casey and I talked about brewing a batch, bought a kit, started reading, researching. Before long, the hobby turned into a passion.
If you could only brew one style?
IPA. It’s endlessly flexible — ISA, CDA, IRA, doubles, triples, rye. Whatever mood you’re in, there’s an IPA for it. Hops make it a blank canvas.
Why did My Dog Scout Stout take gold?
Malt choices. Layers of flavor that finish on the base malt. And our water is especially good for darker beers.
The Initiative ISA sold out fast. More coming?
Absolutely. We love Mosaic hops and secured enough to keep it going for years.
Thoughts on Falconer’s Flight 7C’s Hop Pale?
I’m happy with it — citrus, pineapple, a little earthiness. Balanced, expressive.
What’s next?
Probably a pumpkin beer for fall, with some pilot batches showing up in August.
From dumping warm lager in a backyard to polishing medals in a brewhouse, Stoltz’s story is proof that taste evolves, curiosity wins, and sometimes the beer you hide is just the beginning of the beer you build.
