David Geary

David L. Geary (April 19, 1945 – July 26, 2023) was an American brewer who established Geary Brewing Company, New England's first craft brewery. Because of this, he was known as the "godfather of Maine craft beer."

Early life Geary was born in Brighton, Massachusetts, in 1945 to Jack Geary and Joyce Goldman. He grew up in West Quincy. His family relocated to Portland, Maine, in 1961. He graduated Deering High School, before attending Purdue University, where he graduated with a degree in English literature. He later moved to South Portland, where he began working for Ross Laboratories. He moved again, to Westbrook.

Career Since 1986, Geary's brewing has taken place at the original brewhouse in Portland, Maine. After becoming a regular at Three Dollar Dewey's, in Portland's Old Port, he was introduced to lesser-known European small-batch beers by Dewey's owner Alan Eames in 1981.

Geary founded the D. L. Geary Brewing Company in 1983, when there were only thirteen microbreweries in the country. The following year, he trained and studied the art of brewing in England and Scotland, including learning from brewer Peter Maxwell Stewart.

Death Geary died in 2023, aged 78. He had been a widower for a decade, following his wife's death in 2013.