Meet the team

ERIK SCHMID

OWNER

Erik was destined for Beer. "My father was a novice home brewer and beer lover. I went to school at Chico State, and Sierra Nevada kind of sucked me in."

Home brewing since 1990, while earning a degree in Finance, coupled with being a graduate of the American Brewers Guild ('02), it was inevitable that Erik would combine his passion for craft beer with his business finesse, to take over The Brewmeister (a home brew shop, now with 3 locations) in 2005. 

Growing up in Cameron Park, and calling Folsom home with his wife, Lisa, and son, Ollie, for over a decade, Erik saw the need for Folsom to have it's own brewery.  Through the years of seeing Brewmeister customers become successful brewery owners, Erik thought, "Why Not Me?", and began to formulate a plan to open a brewery in Folsom in 2016.  After months of exhausting locations and branding options, Erik stumbled across a red, 68 VW Bus and it all fell into place. 

What you may not know about Erik is that he is an avid sports car racing fan. He is a Sports Car Club of America volunteer and soon to be vintage racer in his 1970 Porsche 914-6 ....most likely fueled by owning over 50 cars in his lifetime, and having worked almost as many jobs. He is also an past board member of the Sacramento Area Brewer’s Guild.

Favorite Beer: Auburn Alehouse's Gold Country Pilsner.

OWEN BANKSON

Head Brewer

Owen is a multi-talented, high energy individual. You won’t find a nicer, more approachable person in the brewing industry. Owen joined the team at The Brewmeister (our sister company/home brewing stores) in 2016, and after a few years of managing the home brew shops and building our e-Commerce platform, he enrolled and successfully graduated from the American Brewer’s Guild in 2018. Owen then took a position as a shift brewer at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico. We lured him back in the summer of 2022 to become Red Bus’ Head Brewer. If you see him, say hello and don’t be afraid to ask him questions. He is extremely approachable, friendly and very knowledgeable.