A perfect beer isn’t a singularity. Instead, it’s a sequence of events. Most people interact with the ends of that sequence—the people who pour a pint, drink, and enjoy. But there’s all the stuff in the middle that makes that sequence not just possible, but ensures that the vision of the brewer is preserved for the person drinking it.

Ellsworth Turner is part of that sequence. As the head of special accounts for City Beer Store in San Francisco, California, Turner is charged with finding the beers you want, and getting them to you correctly, and on time. Sometimes that involves schmoozing. Sometimes that involves brute force—lifting dozens of kegs off and on a delivery truck—and sometimes that involves days of solitude, driving around the Bay Area and thinking about which beer will work best for his next client.

If Turner does his job right, you’ll barely notice him. Instead, you’ll notice that your bar patrons are loving your current tap list, or that you have the exact amount of beer you need for that event you threw together last minute. That’s a sea change for Turner, who came from the restaurant world, and was used to the instant gratification of seeing a diner eat his food or enjoy their meal. But Turner has been able to shift his perspective, and find his seat not just in the sequence, but in the large, overarching history of beer. And he’s humbled and honored to occupy a place in that history.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Ashley Rodriguez: “Tell me about how you got into the beer world.”

Ellsworth Turner: “I actually started on the culinary side of things. I was a host for a while, and a server for a while, but I actually really got my passion, or my love for the whole game, in the back of house. I was a dishwasher, then moved into prep, then moved onto the line, and then moved into other positions like bartending. And then from bartending, I shifted to a fascination with fermentation as a whole, and the science and majesty behind it.

A lot of what I learned came from Harold McGee’s book, On Food and Cooking. Just learning about fermentation, how crazy wild it is, led to me working as a cheesemonger and getting into charcuterie and then getting into Lacto-fermentation with pickles. All the while I've been a fan of beer, and eventually all signs pointed towards beer as where I needed to be. From bartending to my position now, I was driven by just needing to know all the things.”

Ashley: “What does your job look like from day to day? How do you describe what you do to other people?”

Ellsworth: “The title itself is fun to say: ‘I'm the head of special accounts.’ But in all honesty, I am a one-person operation. Between curating actual selections, procuring beverages from companies, making sure they are going to the right places I care for … all the way down to the fact that I load the truck myself. I load kegs into fridges myself, I make sure the lines are up and get things rolling and make sure things are where they're supposed to be. And make sure that I'm doing as much as I can with a mind towards locality and seasonality and getting the best possible product to people in the most efficient way possible.”

Ashley: “I’m interested in what you said at the end, about seasonality and ensuring that you’re getting people the best possible product. Can you talk more about that?”

Ellsworth: “One of the coolest things about being in the Bay Area is that there are just so many amazing things going on. Craft beer is in this renaissance right now, where there are just so many people trying so many different things—a great aspect of being in a climate that encourages culinary exploration. We don't have to stick to the laws of our ancestors and our forefathers, or the beverages they enjoyed. Everyone's trying new and exciting things.

“For me it’s just all about looking at the trends. If one of my clients has a clientele that’s younger and hip and fit, I know that I’m not going to get away with big, bold, heavy flavors.”

And my favorite part of my job is that if people trust me—if they say, ‘Hey, we want this kind of variety, but it's also summertime, but what are you drinking…’—it's my job to find something that’ll work for them in that situation. I get to look into new beverages and feature smaller purveyors that may not get a shot at a lot of restaurants. I get to give them a shot in a larger format.

One of the hard things about beer is that, unless someone specifically is giving you shoutouts, it's hard to get your name out there. So if you're doing something right, I'd love to help sing your song.”

Ashley: “There's a lot of trust involved in your job. How do you establish trust and understanding between the people who you're working with?”

Ellsworth: “A lot of the trust comes from working at City Beer Store. It’s got a name and it’s been going strong for 13 years. And that in itself gives a lot of clout and freedom. But for me personally, it’s about having a background, working almost every position possible in a restaurant, in different cuisines and different styles and different flavors.

I feel that while I may not be as knowledgeable—I can’t go toe to toe with some of the Master Cicerones out there—I do know, as a beer drinker and a regular person, that there are things that are just delicious that match certain times and temperatures and contexts. For me it's just all about looking at the trends. If one of my clients has a clientele that's younger and hip and fit, I know that I'm not going to get away with big, bold, heavy flavors. You want something light and airy and low in calories, but at the same time, I'm not going to sacrifice flavor. 100% about this market is understanding flavors and trends, but also making choices because this is delicious.”

Ashley: “What were some of the biggest hurdles you faced when you first started this job?”

Ellsworth: “Every single day it's up to you to make sure things get where they're supposed to go. You have to be organized and fully functional. I'm fairly autonomous as far as what I'm doing every day. Every day I'm in the truck solo—it's just me and the kegs, making sure they get to where they're supposed to in a timely fashion.

I don't want to say there’s pressure, because I'm not a doctor or a rocket scientist, but it is really inspirational to know that I’m part of a person’s first sip of beer. And I have to give big shoutouts to the brewers who made these beers, and the people who wash the kegs, and the people who clean the lines wherever I’m going, to the people who invented fridges—big shoutout to everybody who did everything on every step. It's my job to preserve what they've done and keep that quality going and make sure it gets where it's supposed to. It's beer, but it's also, it's just beer, you know? It’s a wonderful duality.

“I love the idea that, with food and beverage, you can tell somebody exactly where you’re from, what you’re about, and what you care about most within a dish or a glass.”

So that’s a challenge, as opposed to the culinary world, where you get an immediate response. Although I know people are drinking, I’m never going to see them pour or drink it. But I know it got there. That's kind of a change-up.”

Ashley: “It’s interesting to think about those moments of gratification, especially in the context of your role. It seems like your job is both incredibly social and at times, I would imagine, very isolating.”

Ellsworth: “You’re absolutely dead on. I have to be affable, even when there are hiccups. The driver might have missed the pickup or they forgot the address or they just didn't grab your keg. Timing can be crucial, especially when you have bigger clients that all of a sudden now have an event with 300 people tomorrow night and need something. And then from that point I have to turn on a little bit of the schmooze and charm.

But then, I can go three or four days out of my week without talking to anyone else. There are days I just don't talk to anybody. It is kind of nice, especially when you come from a background of seeing people all the time or being a bartender where you're pouring drinks and are surrounded by others. It reminds me of like, really good roadies or really good cinematographers. They're doing a job that’s so crucial, but if they are accomplishing what they're supposed to be doing, you’d never even notice they were there.”

Ashley: “It’s cool to talk to someone who’s clearly passionate about what they do. Even the moment we got on the phone you were like, ‘These are the breweries that I’m going to on this vacation!’ Where do you look to for inspiration?”

Ellsworth: “You look to any time in history where a group of nomads became stationary and agriculture began, and one of the first things that pops up everywhere is beer. It has built civilizations and torn down empires and it's still going strong, and there are new revelations that people are coming up with.

“You look to any time in history where a group of nomads became stationary and agriculture began, and one of the first things that pops up everywhere is beer.”

There are all of these histories surrounding beer and technically speaking, I'm part of that history. And that in itself is … dizzying. It's wild to think about the fact that I'm a very small part of a very large universe. I come from a very mixed background. Most of it being African American and from both sides of my family, like the European side, the black side and the other smatterings of other ethnic groups, it is all the story of diaspora.

I love the idea that, with food and beverage, you can tell somebody exactly where you're from, what you're about, and what you care about most within a dish or a glass. That is awesome. Being a part of this company is a great way to gain respect for what happens and what it takes for it to get there. It's about stories and it's about history and I want to be a part of that history.”

Ashley: “I think a common theme in some of the answers that you've given is the idea of history, and being part of a sequence of events—this person makes the beer and then it goes to this person and it goes to this person. It seems like you take a lot of pride in knowing that you get to be part of this process.”

Ellsworth: “Teamwork makes the dream work, you know? This is going to sound heavy-handed, but I think a lot of things that are happening in the world right now, it's like division seems to be the name of the game. But everyone roasts things over fires and tell stories and everyone enjoys a tasty beverage, alcoholic or not. At the end of the day we just want to be around people, and I just think there's so much that makes us the same and very little that divides us.”