Meet Tito Simmons-Valenzuela, brewmaster behind Dirtbag Ales
(World News USA)

HOPE MILLS — Working out of his garage, amateur beer brewer Vernardo “Tito” Simmons-Valenzuela mixed together barley, water and yeast for a dark, stout beer. Then he pinched in a little chipotle. It sounded like a good idea at the time. “You had to take a Prilosec to drink it,” he said, chuckling. “But we drank it.” Simmons-Valenzuela, a 32-year-old Army medic turned brewmaster, has come a long way from his days experimenting in his garage. He’s the entrepreneur/brewmaster behind the successful Dirtbag Ales, which grew into a full-blown brewing operation in Hope Mills and will be expanding to include a second location on...