"Show time!"

Tuan left Vietnam for the first time to Washington D.C. where his father, Dan Nguyen, was a diplomat from 1969-1972. He learned English in Fairfax, Virginia and later went back to Vietnam, continuing his education at La Salle Taberd, a Jesuit school where he was raised by the Jesuit priests and nuns from kindergarten on. In 1975, the war ended and Tuan went through some traumatic times. He left his old country by himself as a teen immigrant, leaving his parents and sisters behind. Because he was 14 and already old enough to be drafted by the Vietnamese government, he was imprisoned for attempting to leave the country via a cargo plane. While in prison and that miserable cell, Tuan prayed to God, "Get me out of here and I promise to be somebody in America." His plea bargain with God worked. Later, he was released when it became official that South Vietnam lost the war. He lived through several refugee camps in the US territories (Philippine, Guam, and Camp Pendleton) and later was taken in by a Marine Captain who lived in Laguna Beach.

This beer guy is single; never married, has no kids, and living the American beer dream. He likes to brew, drink beer, and entertain friends. His advise to dreamers: "never give up...the dream doesn't die, just the dreamer."

He graduated with honor at Mililani High School in Hawaii and reunited with his family when they finally made it to the US shore. He attended City College of San Francisco and had a stint at Stanford University. After he told his mother, "I'm dropping out of college to make beer with Sierra Nevada," she reacted in complete silence and threw her shoes at him. The rest is history.

Tuan also wants to build a children's hospital in Vietnam, modeled after a medical ship like the USS Mercy, as his way of giving back to his country of birth when his time is up.