Labs to lagers: How one Aggie redefined beer

For Grant Wood ’84, beer is more than a beverage — it’s a pathway for connection, creativity and community.

A native Texan and proud Aggie, Wood has spent decades shaping the American beer landscape, brewing everything from some of the strongest beers on the market to one of the most buzzed-about non-alcoholic options today.

But at the heart of his journey, he credits a foundational experience that started in the labs of the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Wood has never been willing to settle for “good enough.” To him, the challenge of crafting a non-alcoholic beer that doesn’t compromise quality was the “final frontier.” Now the brewmaster behind BERO — a new non-alcoholic beer brand co-founded by actor Tom Holland — Wood’s career reflects the power of pairing science with bold vision.

“I’d never created a non-alcoholic beer before,” Wood said. “I wanted to do it right — to make something that people would choose not just because it’s non-alcoholic, but because it’s great.”

A fascination with food science

Wood took a few detours before his beginning in brewing. During his sophomore year, he discovered food science via an academic program now homed within the Department of Food Science and Technology.

“I discovered the satisfaction of solving concrete problems in a lab,” Wood said. “I was fascinated by the way food science brought together chemistry, microbiology and process engineering to solve real-world problems.”

The fascination turned into passion, sharpened by hands-on experiences during his time as an undergraduate. One of those was under the guidance of food science professor Ed Burns, Ph.D., where Wood was introduced to food processing and flavor science.

In the Burns’ human milk lab, led by dairy chemist Charles Dill, Ph.D., Wood and the rest of the team processed and concentrated proteins in donated breast milk to support premature babies. Wood also worked under small grains breeder Lloyd Rooney, Ph.D., on basic grain analysis on sorghum from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service stations all over Texas.  

By the time Wood graduated in 1984, he had built a foundation in food science and was ready to get a start in the beer industry.

Breaking into brewing

When he joined Pearl Brewing Company as a lab technician after graduation, it did not take long for Wood to see the impact of his degree.

“The plant manager told me, ‘We like Aggies. We like their work ethic,’” Wood said. “Coming from Texas A&M helped me get my foot in the door.”

Pearl Brewing sent him to the prestigious Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago, where he received professional brewing training and became a certified “brewmaster” — further opening the door to what would become a groundbreaking career in brewing.

From there, he joined Lone Star Brewing Company, then eventually the Boston Beer Company, the makers of Samuel Adams. Understanding that an average beer has an alcohol by volume, or ABV, of around 5%, Wood embraced the challenge of redefining the limits of brewing.

Wood and his team created Millennium, a 20% ABV beer released to mark the turn of the century, and Utopias, a rich, barrel-aged brew that reaches a staggering 28% ABV — edging close to the alcohol content of some liquors.

“I got to be pretty creative during my time at Boston Beer,” Wood said. “But I reached a point where I knew and was ready to chart my own path.”

After 16 years of good times and many successes with Boston Beer, Wood made his way back to Texas when an intriguing offer to lead and partially own a brand-new startup came across his desk.

A Texas brewing icon

In 2012, Wood took a leap of faith, leaving behind the security of a major brewing company to help launch Revolver Brewing Company in Granbury. There, he crafted what would become one of his proudest accomplishments: Blood and Honey, a citrusy, spiced wheat ale that quickly captured the hearts and tastebuds of beer lovers across the state.

“Blood and Honey is one of my greatest professional accomplishments,” Wood said. “Largely because of that beer, Revolver became a household name in Texas and succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.”

Revolver’s astronomical success would lead another giant in the beer landscape, MillerCoors, to acquire the company, signifying a major win for Wood and his partners.

Wood decided to retire at the end of 2020 after the sale, though it would turn out to be only a short-lived break. In 2023, a new opportunity reignited his passion — one that would call on every bit of his experience and expertise.

Innovation within non-alcoholic beer

That opportunity was BERO, a new craft brewery startup backed by Holland and focused on non-alcoholic beer. For Wood, it was a challenge unlike any other he’d taken on before. Following years of creating high ABV beers, the prospect of making beer with almost no alcohol was a stark contrast.

After a few conversations with CEO John Herman, Wood felt the familiar rush of possibility, the kind that had driven him to take that first leap with Revolver. Non-alcoholic beer was uncharted territory for him, but that only made it more enticing.

“I’d made some of the strongest beers in the world, but this was something completely new,” he said. “I saw it as the final frontier for me, a way to take everything I’d learned over the years and apply it to something that had the potential to change the industry. I was all in — challenge accepted.”

Developing a non-alcoholic beer requires additional care. Unlike traditional beer, which relies on alcohol for body and mouthfeel, non-alcoholic beer needs extra attention to ensure that it delivers on flavor, texture and experience even after removing the alcohol.

With help from the Siebel Institute and a team of collaborators, Wood and his team spent months fine-tuning three distinct BERO offerings, including Noon Wheat — a citrus-forward brew that calls back to his success with Blood and Honey. Holland was hands-on and deeply involved in the process, offering feedback and helping refine the final products.

In October 2024, BERO officially launched online. By early 2025, BERO was nationwide with retail partnerships including Target, Total Wine and Amazon and soon Texas-based H-E-B.

“It’s been an amazing experience,” Wood said. “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve created together.”

Raising a glass to the next generation

Much like a great beer, success is all about balance. To Wood, that means the right mix of knowledge, hard work and a willingness to take risks.

Looking back, he credits Texas A&M for setting the stage for everything that followed — not just through coursework, but through a mindset of possibility and purpose.

He also gives credit to his wife, Susan Hudson-Wood ’84, Company W-1, a fellow Aggie and one of the first women in the Corps of Cadets, who showed him firsthand what it meant to push through challenges and build your own future.

For students pursuing careers in food science or any scientific field, Wood offers simple but impactful advice: “Find something tangible that helps you understand how things work. Once you have that foundational knowledge, you can take it anywhere.”

And that’s exactly what he did. Wood’s journey shows that the best results come from curiosity, craftsmanship and a willingness to pour yourself into whatever it is you love.