Over the past few weeks, we’ve been putting together profiles of Arryved team members to introduce our family.  But, as all of us have experienced in the last few months, life has a way of throwing the unexpected in your path. This has recently hit home for us at Arryved.  Last week, a member of the Arryved family passed unexpectedly and far too soon.  We did not intend to start this series this way, but we realized there is no better way to give insight to our team than with this one-of-a-kind human.  Without further ado, meet Walter Becker.

As anyone who met him can attest, Walt is unforgettable.  He embodied generosity and hospitality; he was a friend to anyone who crossed his path.  Walt had a long history in the world of craft beer, forging a career at Avery Brewing and Call to Arms Brewing before joining the Arryved family.  His encyclopedic knowledge of beer eventually earned him the Colorado Governor’s award for the best brewery tour guide.  We know Walt touched lives far and wide in his time in the beer industry, as so many have already reached out to share. His overseeing of the special tappings at Avery Brewing Company’s Great American Beer Festival booth reached near legendary status: many a friend of Walter’s was serenaded with “Happy Birthday” by thousands, even if it wasn’t their birthday.  No beer festival or special event in the Colorado beer community felt quite right without Walt in attendance. 

”He reminded me of a Disney Tour Guide; slightly goofy in the best way, just brimming with an inexorably infectious personality, and seemed to know a lot of odd and random things.“

Walt was renowned for his optimism and unfailingly jovial nature.  He came into every day armed with a dad joke, a groan-inducing pun, or the determination to convince potential Arryved employees that he was the CEO at their interviews—always with a smile on his face and laughter in his eyes. Walt shared his lighthearted nature with everyone around him. Upon any farewell, especially to guests and friends at Avery, he would always say “We’ll see you tomorrow!” — his guarantee that once he was in someone’s life, he would always be there.

We’ve read so many stories of Walt’s impact on the lives of others in the past few days. From our own family here at Arryved to his friends throughout the beer industry and beyond, everyone has a story to share if they were lucky enough to know Walter and, therefore, call him a friend. The common theme of every story is clear: he went into every day with the singular goal of making other people’s lives better.  His joy lay in bringing joy to others, in the form of silly jokes and pranks, in sharing his favorite music or his latest historical podcast obsession, or in a bear hug at the exact moment it was needed.  Walt was the first person to welcome you into a room and the one to give you a round of applause on the way out. 

”Walter told me that his goal was to do one nice thing for someone each day because the most fulfilling thing he could do was to make someone else’s day brighter.”

It is heartbreaking for us to lose a member of the Arryved family and we know Walt meant so much to so many.  We hope you’ll join us in honoring Walt’s memory, sharing your stories if you have them, and raising a glass of an imperial Oktoberfest lager with your loved ones. In lieu of flowers, Walter’s family suggests donating, on his behalf, to one of the causes that meant the most to him: the Alzheimer’s Foundation and the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless. If donations represent any undue burden, his family requests that instead to pay kindness forward often, as Walter always did. 

Walter, you made our lives better and brighter by your presence.  You will be missed.  Rest in peace.