Nevada businessman and Whittier graduate Doug Booth was named the Reno Gazette-Journal's 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year. Booth is the co-owner of Buckbean Brewing Co. based in Reno.
Buckbean, established in 2008, is a microbrewery that distributes its goods to stores, restaurants and bars, with a distribution presence in three states and more than 300 retail outlets.
Booth told the Gazette-Journal that the idea for opening a brewery's came to him two decades before the business launched, when he attended the Oregon Beer Festival.
"I thought to myself, 'That would be the coolest thing in the world, to make a really good quality beer,'" he said. "People are happy when they choose to buy a good beer, as opposed to having to buy insurance or get a root canal. I wanted to be part of making people happy."
Booth has distinguished himself as a business development "guru." In 2009 he launched the successful CANFEST, a first-of-its-kind beer festival featuring 33 canned beer brewers.
