Dan Perkey Jeopardy Profile: Age, Job, Family, Stats
Find out all the Jeopardy! results for Dan Perkey, including games played, scores and competitors.
Dan Perkey Jeopardy Contestant Profile
Dan Perkey is a brewer originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a background that combines brewing, history, museum work, international living and competitive swimming. He appears on Jeopardy! professionally identified as a brewer, and his public record shows a longstanding interest in beer that extends beyond casual enthusiasm into hands-on brewing and competition.
Perkey has been active in the Chicago brewing and homebrewing community. He has entered beers in judged brewing competitions, including a Schwarzbier named “Ausschank,” which earned third place in the Dark and Amber Lager category at a Winterbrew competition. His interest in German beer styles is particularly notable given that he also spent several years living in Düsseldorf, Germany, one of Germany’s most distinctive brewing cities and especially famous for its Altbier tradition.
Perkey lived in Düsseldorf for approximately three years while his partner completed a global professional rotation. The experience appears to have deepened an already substantial interest in beer and German culture. He developed limited working proficiency in German, and his beer interests encompass traditional German styles as well as American craft brewing.
Before his brewing-focused career, Perkey pursued an extensive academic interest in history, particularly ancient Greek history. He attended the University of Chicago from 2009 to 2012, completing graduate-level study and writing a master’s thesis titled “Destined to Fail: Re-Examining the Downfall of the Spartan Hegemony Before and After 404 BCE.” The thesis centered on Sparta and the political and military circumstances surrounding Spartan dominance in the ancient Greek world.
His expertise in history also led to professional museum work. Perkey worked as a Museum Experience Associate at the National Hellenic Museum in Chicago, an institution devoted to Greek history, culture and the Greek-American experience. His educational background in ancient history made that role a particularly natural fit.
Perkey is also an accomplished competitive swimmer. His involvement in swimming goes back to his youth in the Pittsburgh area. While attending Carlynton High School, he competed in both swimming and baseball. As a sophomore, he reached the finals of the WPIAL Class AA 100-yard breaststroke, finishing sixth with a time of 1:06.01. By his senior year in 2005, he had progressed to the PIAA state swimming championships, again competing in the breaststroke. He also played outfield for Carlynton’s baseball team.
Swimming remained important to Perkey as an adult. After moving to Chicago, he became involved with U.S. Masters Swimming and the Chicago Smelts, a longstanding LGBTQ+-focused Masters swim organization. In 2016, at age 29, he completed the Big Shoulders 5K open-water swim in Chicago, finishing in 1:22:21. He has accumulated well over 100 recorded Masters swimming races and multiple national or regional Top Ten performances in individual and relay events.
Perkey also became a certified U.S. Masters Swimming coach, earning both Level 1 and Level 2 certification in April 2016. His continued involvement with the Chicago Smelts and Illinois Masters Swimming indicates that swimming is a major long-term interest alongside brewing.
His athletic records also help establish his approximate age. Perkey was listed as 29 years old in September 2016, placing his birth around 1986 or 1987 and making him approximately 39 or 40 years old in 2026.
By 2026, Perkey’s life had included extended periods in Pittsburgh, Chicago and Düsseldorf, connecting several of his primary interests: Pittsburgh was his childhood home and the setting for his early competitive swimming; Chicago became the center of his graduate education, museum work and Masters swimming; and Düsseldorf gave him prolonged exposure to one of Europe’s major traditional beer cultures.
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Dan Perkey, also appearing in competition records as Daniel Perkey. |
| Location & Residence | Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Subsequently established himself in Chicago, Illinois, and also lived in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany for approximately three years while his partner undertook a global work rotation. |
| Profession & Jobs | Brewer, as identified on Jeopardy!. Has hands-on experience brewing beer and entering judged brewing competitions. His Schwarzbier “Ausschank” earned third place in the Dark and Amber Lager category at a Winterbrew brewing competition. Previously worked in the museum field, including as a Museum Experience Associate at the National Hellenic Museum in Chicago. He is also a U.S. Masters Swimming-certified coach, earning Level 1 and Level 2 certifications in April 2016. |
| Gender & Sex | Male / man. |
| Age & Date of Birth | Approximately 39–40 years old in 2026. He was recorded as 29 years old in September 2016, placing his birth around 1986–1987. |
| Nationality & Ethnicity | American; likely White/European American as an educated inference. |
| Education & School | Attended Carlynton High School in the Pittsburgh area, where he competed in varsity swimming and baseball. Later attended the University of Chicago from 2009 to 2012, completing graduate study in history. His master’s thesis was titled “Destined to Fail: Re-Examining the Downfall of the Spartan Hegemony Before and After 404 BCE,” focusing on ancient Greek and Spartan history. |
| Relationships (Married/Dating/Sexuality) & Family | Has publicly referred to having a partner. The couple lived in Düsseldorf, Germany for approximately three years while his partner completed a global professional rotation. |
| Biography & More Details | 2026 Jeopardy! contestant originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, introduced as a brewer. Perkey combines interests in brewing, history and competitive swimming. He grew up competing in swimming and baseball at Carlynton High School and became a high-level breaststroke swimmer, reaching the WPIAL finals and competing at the PIAA state level. He remained involved in swimming after moving to Chicago, joining the Chicago Smelts/Illinois Masters swimming community, completing open-water events such as the Big Shoulders 5K, accumulating more than 150 recorded Masters swims, earning multiple Top Ten achievements and qualifying as a Level 1 and Level 2 Masters coach. Academically, he pursued ancient history at the University of Chicago, writing a graduate thesis on the Spartan hegemony. He later worked at Chicago’s National Hellenic Museum. Perkey subsequently spent about three years living in Düsseldorf, Germany, and speaks German at limited working proficiency. His connection with Germany complements his brewing interests, particularly his experience making traditional German-style beers such as Schwarzbier. By 2026, his public background reflects an unusual combination of professional brewing, ancient-history scholarship, museum work, international living and competitive swimming. |
Contestant Image Credit: Jeopardy Official Website
Dan Perkey Jeopardy Results
| Friday, 9 October 2026 | Greg Monson Portland, Oregon Videographer 1 Day Winnings of $8,700 Winning Score: $22,600 Round 2 Score: $20,600 Round 1 Score: $1,800 | Kendra Kendell Originally Aurora, Colorado Payroll Analyst Final Score: $20,800 Round 2 Score: $10,400 Round 1 Score: -$1,200 | Dan Perkey Originally Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Brewer Final Score: $18,000 Round 2 Score: $9,000 Round 1 Score: $5,400 |