Our Team
Jason
Jason, a Punxsutawney native, graduated from Penn State Erie with a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering Technology. He worked as a Field Service Engineer for government and commercial nuclear power generation companies from 2008 to 2016 near Pittsburgh, PA. He moved back to his hometown of Punxsutawney to raise a family while working locally as a QA Engineer, and currently as a Field Engineer servicing hospital equipment.
Jason has pursued these jobs due to the challenging technical work where he can still work with his hands. He has been brewing beers and ciders for over seven years. He enjoys making and tweaking challenging recipes such as German/Czech lagers, farmhouse saisons, and kettle sours.
Ashley and Jo
Ashley and Jo, head bartender extraordinaires, are the driving force behind much of the Sandfly experience.
Ashley began as a customer and quickly joined the team as a bartender. Her secret menu was exposed when a customer asked one of the owners, “Can you make me what Ashley makes me?” and thus our draft cocktail menu was born. Her creativeness and craft beer knowledge are a welcome addition to the tap room.
Jo, Jason’s sister, was always involved with Sandfly, but took on a much larger role and more bartending duties after returning to the Punxsutawney area with her family. She has helped organize many of our special events and continues to look for new ways to bring exciting opportunities to the tap room.
Matt
Matt grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Bucknell University with a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering. While working for a large energy company, he traveled around the US, Europe, and Singapore. Matt and his wife also enjoyed touring breweries throughout the US and Europe. Marriage and children eventually brought him to Punxsutawney where he is currently employed as a Software Architect.
Starting out with boiling over a home brew kit on an apartment stove and making terrible beer for his own wedding, he has worked at mastering his recipes over 15 years of experience. Matt’s specialties are stouts and IPAs, although he does enjoy a nostalgic Natty Light from time to time.