Zack Teperman: Crafty Celebrity Stories

PR Guru Zack Teperman joins The Beer Connoisseur for the next installment of Crafty Celebrity Stories, which features the best tales of ale (and more) from leading actors, celebrities and persons of interest.

Zack Teperman is a former radio disc jockey/television host and the current President of ZTPR, a celebrity, music, technology and lifestyle public relations firm out of Hollywood, CA.

Beer drinkers like to laugh. What’s a funny or 'random' drinking story you can share with us?
Random story eh?! Well, over the years I’ve definitely found myself a part of many humorous and random situations, some of which I cannot repeat given the industry I’m in. However, one memory that stands out was in Las Vegas 5 or 6 years ago. Isn’t that how ever great story starts, “In Las Vegas…”?!

So, I was in Vegas for a client event at the Hard Rock Hotel. The hotel gave myself and friends one of those cool VIP two-floor suites with an elevator in it. Anyways, after drinking the night away with everyone, I retreated to my room in the suite upstairs, only to get woken up with loud bangs on my door at 5 a.m. by one of my friends. Still buzzed, I asked him what the heck was going on and he calmly replied, “Come downstairs man!” I had no idea what was going on, but did as I was told and walked out of my room (with some cool Frosty The Snowman pajamas on), into the suite’s private elevator, and when the elevator door opened on the bottom floor of our suite, there stood Ron Jeremy with a glass of rum in one hand and a beer in the other. He just looked me up and down and said, “Cheers man,” and handed me a drink. Now, what makes this random as ever is that nobody in our group even knew Ron Jeremy and he had just mistakenly walked into our suite. He played it off cool and stayed in the suite just drinking with all of us and telling us some hilarious stories.

Who's the coolest person you've had a beer with?
While I’ve been fortunate enough over the course of my career to be able to have drinks with some pretty awesome people, however, the “coolest” would have to be Mr. Neil Patrick Harris, just because he’s “Legen-Wait For It... DARY!”

What are a few of your favorite beers?
I’m a big fan of lighter blonde ales during these hot Californian summer months, so I’ve started to really enjoy 805 Beer out of the Firestone Walker Brewing Co. in Paso Robles. I also enjoy House Beer, which is brewed in Venice Beach that a friend of mine introduced me to and is great for some lighter drinking days by the pool. Also recently, I was able to travel to Alaska and fell in love with the Twister Creek IPA out of the Denali Brewing Company; Just had the perfect hop to it. Lastly, being a Canadian, whenever I have a chance to down some Alexander Keith’s or Moosehead, it’s going to be a good day!

Do you have a favorite (craft) brewery?
I used to live by the lake in the Lake Elsinore/Canyon Lake area in California for a few years and they had a great microbrewery called The Craft Brewing Company. Was an awesome local spot with different beers each week to try out. Plus, they sometimes let customers do keg stands!

Have you attended any beer events or festivals that you particularly enjoyed? What made them stand out?
Recently I attended the DRIFTWOOD Beer, Wine & Music Festival at Doheny State Beach here in California. Was an awesome time with some great country music and a lot of local beer/wine vendors doing tastings. Nothing beats having some drinks by the beach while listening to live music. I definitely recommend this festival to anyone in Southern California.

And another event that will always stand out to me - even though they shut it down for the past couple years - would be the California Grilled Cheese Festival. Yes, you read that right! It was a one-day festival with thousands of types of grilled cheese sandwiches, and to help the food go down, the event had all types of beer vendors present. Was the perfect mix of everything. I wish they’d bring it back!

What projects do you have brewing?
Right now I am working on investing into start-ups and expanding my firm further across North America (into my home country of Canada), and into parts of Europe and Australia. I love working with all types of people and unique brands/start-ups, so there really is no limit on the type of client I work alongside. I also really enjoy working with adult beverage companies!

Follow Zack:

Instagram: @zackteperman
​Twitter: @zackteperman
Website: http://www.ZTPR.net