Dan Carey has worked in the brewing industry since the age of 20. He earned his bachelor's degree in food science with an emphasis in malting and brewing science from the University of California at Davis in 1983. He served his apprenticeship at a small brewery near Munich, Germany and has operated and constructed numerous breweries throughout the United States. Before starting New Glarus Brewing Company with Deb Carey, he was a production supervisor for Anheuser-Busch. In 2006, he won the Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing.