By Gina Horan
Army Vet Turned Brewmaster Takes Command of the Local Craft Beer Scene
If you spot Jose Villafana behind the bar at any of Wolf Branch Brewing’s three locations, you may not think he is the owner.
Usually wearing jeans, a t-shirt and well-worn baseball cap, his laid-back humble demeanor can be deceiving. In fact, his talents and life experiences run deep and wide.
“My dad worked for Citigroup International,” says Jose, 44. “So, we lived abroad a lot and I ended up graduating from the American School in Santiago, Chile.”
The Villafana family settled in Eustis and Jose attended the University of Florida to study parks, recreation and tourism before enlisting in the army in June 2001.
Jose went to officer candidate school, ultimately achieved the rank of major and completed three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
During his time stationed in Bavaria, Jose developed an appreciation for the respect Germans have for beer.
“After I was honorably discharged from active duty in 2013, I tried corporate America and was miserable,” he says.
So, with the help and support of the G.I. Bill, his retired investor dad, wife, Whitney, and extended family, he opened Wolf Branch Brewing in Eustis in 2017.
Jose says that many homebrewers go on to start successful brew pubs but he wanted to immerse himself in the science and technology side of brewing.
“I went to the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago and the Doemens Academy in Gräfelfing, Germany and become a World Academy Master Brewer,” he says.
Now we get to sip the fruits, grains and yeasts of his labor.
Jose brews three “must-haves”: dark (stout or porter), blonde ale (light lager) and IPA.
He also gets inspiration from patrons and friends. For example, the popular “Beastwood Peanut Butter Brown Ale” was created for an employee named Matt Eastwood, who tragically passed away a few years ago.
“That beer will always be on the menu in honor of Matt,” Jose says.
Above all, Jose wants his patrons to know that everyone is welcome at Wolf Branch.
“We aren’t beer snobs,” he says. “We are proud to share our passion and the hard work we put into our product so that everyone from a light beer drinker to a sour connoisseur can enjoy a good conversation, family atmosphere and quality craft brew every time they visit.”
Wolf Branch is in Eustis, Mount Dora and Leesburg.
www.wolfbranchbrewing.com
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Gina moved to Central Florida in August 2021 from the San Francisco Bay Area. She has a degree in linguistics and worked as a fashion editor, photo stylist lifestyle columnist and food writer for the Knight Ridder Newspaper Group. She also covered and photographed music festivals, fashion shows and sports throughout Northern California. In 2000, she joined KSAN radio as a morning show co-host and produced the news and sports content there for four years. She later covered travel, events and the restaurant scene for KRON-Bay TV. A veteran bartender, Gina has worked in hospitality on and off since high school. She has been with Akers Media since 2022 and hosts the Healthy Living Central Florida podcast. Her passions include travel, road trips, baseball, history books and podcasts, tasting menus and arriving in a new city without a map or guidebook.
