Words and photos by Ashley Joanna
Edited by Breandán Kearney
Humans of Belgian Beer is a series of photographic portraits which celebrate a people and their culture.
Casey Wellman comes from a small, countryside town in Minnesota, USA where it was normal for children to participate in several different sports to find out which activity fit best. Casey tried it all—tennis, basketball, soccer, and track and field—but nothing seemed to click. As a teenager, he could think of few things worse than running. Casey quit track and field after just 2 weeks because of shin splints and his “two left feet”.
In 2012, Casey studied abroad, in Brussels, while working towards his degree in Communications, and as many do, became infatuated with Belgian beer. He visited breweries a few times a week and constantly asked questions about flavours and ingredients. The Belgian beer industry felt like a place in which he could thrive.
In 2014, when Casey was 23 years old, he moved with no job and little money to another great beer nation—the Czech Republic—to try to turn his growing passion for beer into a career. He began working as a guide leading evening tours to different pubs around the city and giving tasting classes on the side. But the hospitality scene began to get the best of him. Late nights turned into even later nights, and mornings became non-existent. His goal of making it back to Belgium to work in beer seemed to be moving further away. He decided he needed a morning activity to establish a more healthy lifestyle, so Casey gave running another try.
Casey began running everyday. He started signing up for races. A 10 kilometre run turned into a 21 kilometre run, and eventually he was registering for 42.195 kilometre marathon races. He began hosting “field trips” with his beer tasting classes in Prague where they would travel to Belgium, rent a bus, and go around to different breweries tasting beers, asking questions, and soaking in as much knowledge as they could. Casey ended up applying for a job at Brouwerij De Ranke, and was hired after his (now) boss remembered him from the Prague Field Trip.
Casey now runs the De Ranke taproom 2 days a week alongside his colleague Emiel Decuypere and helps the production team to prepare hops, fulfill orders, work the bottling line, and wash and fill kegs.
Both the beer industry and running continue to be a constant in Casey’s life. He’s now got three marathons under his belt, as well as finishing a 55 kilometre ultra-marathon in Iceland. In 2021, he completed the Beer Lovers Marathon in Liège where he ran 42.195 kilometres, drinking 16 beers along the way. It was a fun way to combine his love for beer and running and was the first of many beer marathons.
“Running is something I have to do now,” says Casey. “If I don’t do it, I don’t feel good. It is a way for me to check on my health without quitting my career because I really love beer and working in this industry.”
Running is something I have to do now. If I don’t do it, I don’t feel good. It is a way for me to check on my health without quitting my career because I really love beer and working in this industry.
Casey Wellman
