About Royal Bliss Brewing Co.
This is your brewery, not ours.
Our vision has been to create a space that takes everything we love about breweries and pair it with our passion for impeccable service that shaped both of our careers.
When you first walk into the space we hope you’ll sense an attention to detail that feels refined, yet very approachable. Built on the philosophy that “In life & beer, balance is bliss”, Royal Bliss Brewing Co. uses these ideas to guide everything from our brand to our beer, from the food to the overall experience and everything in between.
As a married couple we’ve learned a few things about balance. We are far from perfect but feel like everything gets better with a healthy portion of humor and love, so that’s what we’re putting out into the world.
That’s enough about us.
We look forward to sharing pints with new friends and old, and are so excited to be a part of this town, this industry, and most importantly our community.
Cheers!
To bring our vision to life, we’ve brought together a carefully selected team of all-stars.
Chris Wertman
Eternal Hoptimist
Brewmaster
The heartbeat of our brewery, Chris has an unparalleled excitement for not just beer, but the chemistry and food science that goes into brewing it.
He’s a Navy veteran who served as an Arabic linguist and airborne mission supervisor. While in the Navy he developed a keen interest in brewing which developed into a hobby, and then into a passion. Chris decided to pursue a chemistry degree to take it to the next level.
He’s been at Royal Bliss since the very beginning. He helped to coordinate construction, assembled the brewhouse and cellar, and developed the entire beer, cider, and seltzer programs from scratch.
He’ll gladly give you his full attention if you ask a question, but you’ll walk away with way more information than you ever wanted. He’s a mad scientist, with a persistent curiosity to do and try new things, and he pours his heart into every beer.
His Bliss: “Reading, hiking, kayaking, and long walks on the beach (jk the beach sucks)”
His Favorite Beer: “That’s like picking a favorite pet.. Probably Cali King though.”
Bobby Lamby
Captain of the Kitchen
Executive Chef
Bobby likes to say he was “born in Buffalo with the attitude to match” but he’s so kind, we’re not convinced.
If you’ve tried our pizza, you’d be able to tell he lived and worked in Ravello, Italy for a little while; or if you’ve had our Korean wings, that was the executive chef of Eez Fusion & Sushi. From there, he started the infamous Carolina Smash Food Truck. While his kitchen outgrew the wheels, it’s still just as squished, but he makes it work, and his enthusiasm is evident in every plate that comes out.
He appreciates food, but he’s passionate about so much more than that. He believes great food brings people together. To be a part of that, he’s not only developed an ever-evolving menu of delicious food, but he plans our most anticipated seasonal event; the Beer Pairing Dinner.
He also wants you to know he really hates Tom Brady.
His Bliss: “Buffalo Bills, Death Metal, and Overbearing Efficiency”
His Favorite Beer: [without hesitation] “Denver’s First Pilsner”
Haley Griffin
Keeper of the Chaos
Director of Operations
Being a Griffin, Haley’s been involved with Royal Bliss since it was just a crazy idea. Running the family business was absolutely not in her life-plan, but now she wouldn’t have it any other way. And neither would we.
She focuses on private events, accounting, staffing & HR, commercial sales, and taproom policy & procedures, but she has a hand in almost everything else, too! When we’re especially busy, she may even be pouring your beer, or bringing your food.
She’s poised under pressure, isn’t afraid to do what needs to be done, and has the answer to almost anything you could ask.
She’s just as sunshiney as the beer named after her, Haley’s Hefeweizen, and has a deep-seated sense of pride for our team, the taproom staff, the community, the brewery, and the family that started it all.
Her Bliss: “Horseback riding (call me a crazy horse girl, I don’t care), bbq, baking, traveling, online shopping, and hanging with my dog, Izzy.”
Her Favorite Beer: “Heart of Berries, by far.”
Madison Gordon
Keeper of the Content
Director of Brand + Marketing
She never would’ve guessed she would find a professional home & family at a brewery; now it feels like it was all meant to be.
She & Haley joke that everything you can see is her, and everything you can’t is Haley. While it started as a joke, there’s really no better description.
When the sun goes down in the beer garden and you need a Bliss sweatshirt, that’s Madison. When you find a typo on our social media, that’s Madison. When you’re rolling your eyes at our punny menu, or buying a ticket to Workshop Wednesday, that’s Madison!
She’s almost always in the office, though if she ventures over to the taproom, she’s probably drinking a Pinot Grigio, and will likely ask if she can take your picture.
Charlotte (her fluffy better half) has taken it upon herself to be the unofficial Royal Bliss mascot, and she’s a natural.
Her Bliss: “My Charlotte girl, my husband Dylan, my perfect nephews J & Nico, horrible puns, taking on too many projects at once & cooking. Go Birds!”
Her Favorite Beer: “Summer: Heart of Berries. Winter: Down for Doughnuts.”
Chris Kovac
Keeper of the Castle
Taproom Manager
Chris grew up outside of Philadelphia before moving to New Jersey for high school. He jumped back to Philadelphia for college at Saint Joseph’s University then to NYC to work at a law firm after he graduated.
After a couple years of that he decided on law school.. Just as COVID took over the northeast, pivoting to a move to North Carolina, but he hasn’t looked back!
He now lives in Mooresville (aka the opposite of NYC) and has very quickly climbed the ladder from bartender to taproom manager.
He’s a natural-born leader and a joy to work with.
He feels blessed to have happened across Royal Bliss and asked to share his appreciation for the home he’s found here, and everyone who makes that what it is.
His Bliss: “I like to spend time with friends and family, be active, work out, I do Brazilian jiu jitsu and MMA, read, play guitar and drums, go hiking/swimming, going to new restaurants, and rooting for my Philly sports teams. Go Birds!”
His Favorite Beer: “73 & Hazy”
Andy Jones
Wort Wrangler
Brewer
When we say “no experience necessary” we mean it. Andy came to Bliss with a BS in Business Administration, Operations and Supply Chain Management from UNCC, and a love for craft beer.
He jumped in with an insatiable drive to learn the process and is now Chris’ right-hand-man. He’s worked his way up from packaging, to cellaring, and now brewing (but still does all those other things too).
Even now, three years later, he gets here exactly six minutes late, so excited to learn from and work with Chris, every single day!
His favorite part is getting to take what seems like rudimentary ingredients (water, grain, hops, yeast) to create so many different styles and flavors!
He’ll never get over the feeling of having all the tanks full and everything sparklin’ clean at end of day!
His Bliss: “My lovely girlfriend Grace, who I actually met at Royal Bliss when she worked here at the beginning! I play disc golf with almost all of my free time, and play in tournaments. And both my parents were vets so I’m a big dog/animal lover!”
His Favorite Beer: “Dark Throne”
Blisstribution
You can’t find our beer in 49 states, but everywhere you can, is thanks to the hard work, dedication, and people skills of our small but mighty sales team. They wear our colors, drive around all day, and pour with infectious pride.
Kyle Thompson
Chief Ambassador of Bliss
North Carolina Sales & Events
Kyle was an inaugural member of the Royal Bliss team. Since then, he’s done a little bit of everything, and held every job we have, including some temporary/made up ones, like beer garden table builder. He’s the first one in the office every morning, and out on the town all day, sharing our beer far and wide, with as many North Carolinians as possible.
His Bliss: “I’m famous for 5 star meals (rated by my 3 toddlers, but I’m going with it) and bedtime stories.”
His Favorite Beer: Royal Treatment Update: First in Flight!
Aaron Best
Ambassador of Bliss
Charlotte + Surrounding Sales & Events
You may recognize Aaron managing our taproom, but it’s no understatement to say, he’s found his true calling in selling Bliss on the road! He’s a natural, he’s straight-forward and his smiles are rare, but when you can get one out of him, it’s the Best of Bliss!
His Bliss: “Bring down my bowling league’s average, building & refinishing things (especially the beer garden tables), and beer.
His Favorite Beer: 73 & Hazy
The true essence of our company is the servers that deliver a royal level of service every day. We are nothing without you all!
