The LAB Team - Who We Are

A veteran of specialty beverages dating back to when there were only 2 to 3 craft breweries in every state, Jason Burton went out on his own launching The LAB in 2009. Currently Jason's taste buds geek out on 8 oz lattes, terrific beers with low ABV, and a juicy-plump red wine. When it comes down to really appreciating a drinking experience and recommending it to others, hospitality rules for Jason. Check your ego at the door. As a graphic designer by trade who designed for the likes of G. Love and Victoria's Secret before he got the libation bug, he still mumbles and curses his way through exciting creative projects. After he changes out of his LAB rat ensemble he's chilling with his family over sports or Netflix marathons. He's a sucker for baseball with his son, football with his wife, and zombie movies by himself.

Brimming with ambition, sarcasm and caffeinated zeal, Sadie Colwell is fascinated by all things beverage and the extraordinary humans behind them. You can find her at a local coffee shop or bar, libation in hand; befriending the barista and ardently planning the next Caffeine Crawl. She appreciates Netflix, chocolate, vegetarian sushi, and the plethora of verbiage available to those willing to fetch it.  When she isn't traveling with The LAB, using big words, making coffee on her home brew bar in Fort Collins, CO and instagramming it all, she drinks beer and bourbon with her husband and lets her dog take her for long, vivacious walks through City Park. 

Equally romanced by a velvet shot of espresso and the glowing depths of a classic cocktail, Emily McIntyre is an itinerant drinker of craft beverages who is based in Portland, Oregon. West Coast Caffeine Crawls are her playground, and she gets an unholy charge from nailing line after line of copy. She and her husband Michael own a relationship-driven coffee services company called Catalyst Coffee Consulting and when not pestering her LAB teammates about passive tense, she writes for a wide variety of publications on travel & beverages, inhales Wonder Woman comics, and does "ballet-circus" with her 3-year-old daughter. 

Michael Levine is food/beverage nut who loves sharing his adventures via social media, teaching classes and planning unique events. His angle on integrated communications and marketing has made him a leader in the nonprofit sector (his day job) while allowing him to enjoy & promote his love for eating and drinking his way through life (at night)! Michael's specialty is all things wine and social media (although he maintains that one should never drink and tweet as you might spill your wine!). Even though his passion for wine is clearly evident in everything he does he still claims he hates grapes (it's a texture thing)!

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