Geary, David (1949–) founded, along with his wife Karen Geary, one of the earliest modern microbreweries in the United States and the first in the state of Maine. The D. L. Geary Brewing Co, colloquially known as Geary’s, was incorporated in October 1983, making it approximately the 14th microbrewery in America at that time.
In Portland, Maine, in the 1980s, Geary had a chance meeting with the Laird of Traquair House in Scotland, Peter Maxwell Stuart. This led to an internship as a brewer at the Traquair House Brewery.
After learning to brew in Scotland, Geary worked for several small breweries in England, including the Ringwood Brewery in Hampshire, England, owned by British brewing legend Peter Austin. There he met Alan Pugsley, a protégé of Austin. Pugsley accompanied Geary back to Maine and spent 2 years at Geary’s new brewery, designing and building the brewhouse, which finally opened in 1986.
Born in Massachusetts in 1949, Geary grew up in Portland, Maine, where his family was relocated for his father’s job at a trucking company when he was young. He later attended Purdue University in the 1960s, where he met his wife Karen.
In 1989, after 20 years of marriage, D. L. and Karen divorced, but continue to work together at the brewery. Their daughter, Kelly Geary Lucas, also now works for the brewery, possibly ensuring future family ownership of one of the pioneering breweries of the American craft brewing movement.