Darryl Richman was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley suburbs of Los Angeles, California. He is 36 years old and lives with his wife Heather and their miniature zoo in Bellevue, Washington. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from California State University at Northridge, and is employed as a computer programmer.
Long a fan of exotic beers from all over the world, his interest in brewing began with an extract-and-grain adjunct batch of beer he helped to brew with his brother- and sister-in-law in 1985. After joining the Maltose Falcons and brewing with extracts, he progressed to yeast cultures and then on to all-grain.
His second batch took a first-place award at a local competition, and he has gone on to win ribbons in many competitions in the West. He has won first-place awards at both the AHA and the HWBTA national competitions and at the Dixie Cup super regional.
Since passing the BJCP exam in 1988, he has attained the National Judge level. Active in helping others learn to judge, he proctors exams and gives preparatory classes.
He wrote for, and eventually became editor of, Brews & News, the Maltose Falcons’ monthly newsletter. His articles have also been published in the pages of zymurgy, Beer and Brewing series books, Brewing Techniques, and The Celebrator.
He has developed a number of computer-based brewing aids, and is currently president of The Crafty Fox, which develops and sells The Brewer’s Planner, a recipe formulation and batch logging tool.
Besides beer and companionship, Darryl enjoys riding his motorcycle, playing racquetball, hiking, and computer hacking.