Great Beer. Fun Food. Cool Vibe.
BREWERY OPERATIONS MANAGER
Hayley Shine
Hayley Shine joins the RJBC brewing team from Chicago. Most recently, she launched a unique and successful liquids program for an ambitious startup brewery and cidery called ERIS. Learning the art of cider making and falling in love with apples has partly inspired her great move from the Windy City to the Hudson River Valley.
Hayley’s love for beer dates back to stolen sips of Corona during her early childhood in Florida. She discovered craft beer during her college days at University of California at Berkeley, drinking Sierra Nevada Pale Ale while struggling through physics problem sets. Hayley put her bioengineering degree to use exploring the art and science of home brewing, easily becoming the most popular hippie on frat row.
After a brief stint brewing and distilling at Rogue Ales in the Pacific Northwest, Hayley worked for Rock Bottom Restaurants and Breweries for a dozen years. In 2012, she landed at the helm of Rock Bottom Chicago, an institution with a reputation for churning out exceptional brewers. Hayley has won an impressive list of brewing awards, most recently a bronze medal in Juicy Hazy IPA at the Great American Beer Festival.
BREWER
Jeff Egan
Jeff is a native of Lenox, MA, just over the border in the Berkshires. He’s been a passionate home brewer for over a decade, and worked at Big Elm Brewing in Sheffield, MA for two years before joining the team at RJBC.
Jeff attended Binghamton University and went on to receive an MBA from the College of St. Rose in Albany. He got his start in the beverage industry working for a Long Island winery, where he put his business skills to use in branding, website development, e-commerce, and social media.
When he’s not making beer, Jeff enjoys playing and coaching soccer, working on cars, and spending time with his Plott hound, Pluto.
OWNER
Kathy Bluestone
Kathy has over 30 years’ experience developing consumer marketing strategy for small businesses, Fortune 500 companies, and not-for-profit organizations. She has a lifelong passion for food and craft beverages, developed through classes at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, the Institute of Culinary Education and the International Wine Center in New York City, King Arthur Flour in Vermont, the Cordon Bleu in Florence, and anywhere else she could find opportunities to learn, from Oregon to South Africa.
Midway through her career in marketing, Kathy left her day job to attend the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center) in New York City. After earning a certificate in artisanal bread baking, she began work as a professional baker, but a persistent case of tendonitis forced her to leave the bakery and return to the world of spreadsheets.
Kathy has a BA in piano performance from The College of William & Mary, an MBA from Duke University, and a master’s in teaching English as a Second Language from Columbia University. When she’s not at the computer she loves to garden and play Beatles tunes on the piano for her best canine pals, Zoe and Ava.
OWNER
Steve Bluestone
Steve has worked as a developer, general contractor, property manager, and building systems manufacturer. With his former partners he produced thousands of units of housing and tens of thousands of square feet of retail space, most in new structures that are among the top 1% in energy efficiency in the New York City metropolitan area. He has been an industry leader in energy efficiency for decades, and continues to pursue his passion of researching new products and systems while also introducing innovative building methods. He has spoken at dozens of building and energy conferences throughout the country and continues to share his knowledge to help inspire the industry to reduce overall energy and water consumption.
After moving to Hillsdale in 2017 to live in the net-zero, Passive House-certified home he and Kathy built, he embarked on the Roe Jan project, incorporating his prior experience to make the renovated building one of the most efficient micro-breweries built to date.
Steve’s passions include hiking, riding his touring bicycle, performing for 30+ years with The Bouwerie Boys (a NYC-based Morris dancing group), and drinking one of his favorite beverages, beer.