Founder and Creative Director: Mike Finley

After a decade of selling and marketing software, Mike Finley turned his attention from start-ups to starters.

In 2002, he decided to follow his passion for bread baking, which began in the early 1990’s, after he baked his way through “The Village Baker,’’ the bread book by Joe Ortiz, who with his wife Gayle owns the iconic Gayle’s Bakery in Capitola. He baked the breakthrough recipes from “Tartine Bread.’’ He tackled others from “Nancy Silverton’s Breads from the La Brea Bakery.’’ Along the way, he also worked with Pascal Rigo to build a farmers’ market channel for Bay Bread’s pastries and breads.

Two and a half years ago, he decided to meld his flair for starters and start-ups by opening his first restaurant, Steak Out, a burger joint in downtown Mountain View. Like any start-up, even one with house potato brioche burger buns, it involved many early mornings and many long nights. But for Finley, it was a labor of love.

In fall 2013, wanting to evolve his establishment in a more distinctive direction, he transformed Steak Out into Bierhaus to showcase traditional European and American craft beers with American classics and traditional German fare built with the best Northern California ingredients around.

A native of Orange County, where so many landmark fast-casual restaurants got their start, Finley knows when it comes to food that simple can be sublime – and done well at a reasonable price.

That’s what his philosophy is all about at Bierhaus. Oh, and a great bun, of course.

Beer Meister and Partner: Scott Snyder

As a young volunteer firefighter short on money but not ingenuity, Scott Snyder and a friend decided to try brewing their own beer since they couldn’t afford to buy their own stash regularly.

How successful were they? The owners of Gordon-Biersch tried the beer and promptly offered them $5,000 on the spot in 1998 for the recipe. Snyder declined. That primo recipe remains locked up. But Bierhaus patrons just might get a chance to try it when Snyder begins brewing a house beer for the restaurant in the near future.

Snyder oversees a selection at Bierhaus that includes 18 beers on tap and – what else – 99 bottles of beer.

“The beer program here is every man’s dream and every woman’s fantasy,’’ he says. “Anything you desire in a wine, I can introduce to you in a beer.’’

The Nebraska native has traveled through Romania, Hungary and Germany to hone his beer knowledge and palate. He’s already planning special events for the restaurant such as “Belgium Night’’ and “Tap Takeovers,’’ where patrons can meet noted brew masters.

To him, “Beer is a food group.’’ And rightly so.