Featured Beer Blogger: JYM DOOLAN

DRINK WITH THE WENCH PRESENTS:

The Beer Blogger Interview Series

Curious what goes on in the minds of your favorite beer bloggers? Well, The Beer Wench is and she has embarked upon a mission to interview as many beer bloggers that she can — from all over the world. Are you a beer blogger? Do you want to share your story? Send me an email!

INTRODUCING: JYM DOOLAN

AUTHOR OF: THE BREW-THUSIAST

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Jym Doolan
Twitter handle: Brew_Thusiast
Name of blog: The Brew-Thusiast
Current location: Cranbury, NJ

Background “Snapshot”

1.    Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Flemington, NJ. 100 banks, 200 places to eat, 0 things to do!

2.    What sports if any did you play growing up, through college and beyond?

I played T-ball as a tot and moved up to Baseball, and a few years of Football. I stopped playing sports in High School to listen to Punk and Ska Music!

3.    How old were you when you had your first beer?

I was 19

4.    If you can recall, what is the story of your first beer? Where did you have it? What style and brand was it?

I was a freshman in College that I started to drink beer. There was a Basketball player that lived across the hall from me. He was 6’10″, Dude was mad tall! Anyway, I go over to his room and there are all the normal college drinking games going on and they were all being played with Busch beer.  Unfortunately I did not know any better and thought this is pretty much what beer was supposed to taste like… a bucket of yuck!

5.    Where, if applicable, did you go to college? What did you study? What additional activities, organizations, sports did you partake in during college?

I went to Caldwell College in West Caldwell, NJ. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in English, and Communications.

Craft Beer Epiphany

Every craft beer enthusiast has at least one pinnacle craft beer experience that completely changes ones perspective on beer. I refer to this mind-blowing moment as a “craft beer epiphany.”

1.    What was your first craft beer epiphany? Recall as many details about it as you can:

My first craft beer epiphany… Well, as mentioned earlier in my college years I started out on Busch. I was not a fan, but that is all my friends at the time ever drank because it was cheap and came in packs of 30! I remember going to the liquor store with my room mate on a beer run. The “30 packs” were in the back of the store. However, in order to get to the 30 packs you had to walk down an isle with the colorful, crazy looking expensive beers.

At the time I as unfamiliar with the term “craft beer”. After a while I started to get curious as to what these beers were all about. I had no clue what an IPA was or anything about Barley Wine. So I started out safe and purchased a six pack of Yuengling lager. This was a turning point for me, or my “Beer Epiphany”! I remember thinking, “Wow, this actually tastes Good!”. It was like I was freed, I did not care if there was cheaper beer out there, I enjoyed, enjoying beer!

2.    Have you have additional craft beer epiphanies since the first? Detail as many of them as you wish:

My Senior year of college, the Cricket Hill Brewing Co. from Fairfield, NJ sponsored a beer garden at a festival for my school. They had brought three of their beers with them, “American Ale, Hopnotic IPA, and East Coast Lager” It reconfirmed the fact that there was much more to beer than I had ever imagined! That was the day I discovered the IPA, I liked it but did not know why yet. That would come over time!

Beer Blog Background

1.    How long have you been writing your beer blog?

I am brand new to the beer bogging. I started only two months ago, February 2010.

2.    What inspired you to start writing your blog?

Over the past year or so I have been taking pictures of all the beers I have been enjoying. My awesome Wife suggested that I start a blog about beer.

3.    Why did you choose the name of your blog?

I wrestled for a couple days with coming up for a name with my blog. Honestly, I personally thought it was the least corny name I came up with after two days of brain storming.

4.    What are you personal goals for your blog? What do you hope to achieve with it?

As of right now my blog is more like a beer journal. I like talking about the beers I partake in. I also have a passion to let people know that there is this whole other world to beer. A world that goes much deeper than what is portrayed in thirty second bursts during sporting events on television. Eventually, I would like to offer more than I currently do. I believe that will come in time.

5.    What is one of the coolest things that happened to you as a result of being a beer blogger?

In the two months I have been a beer blogger I have discovered this awesome beer community online. Everyone seems to support and respect each other. I think seeing that there are other people passionate about beer, and interacting with some of those people has been on of the coolest things to me since I started “The Brew-Thusiast”.

6.    What are you top 3 favorite beer blogs/beer websites?

Beer Blogs that I have been following are; Year of Beer, Hoptopia, The Brewtographer.

Beer Talk

1.    What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

I constantly switch between favorite styles of Beer. Always in the top 3 are IPAs and Stouts (More specifically Oatmeal Stouts). I also really enjoy Hefeweizens

2.    What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Southern Tier, Lagunitas, and River Horse

3.    If you could work with or for any one brewery, which one would it be and why?

I think I would love to work for River Horse Brewery. It is my closest brewery, so I would not have to leave NJ!

4.    Are you a homebrewer?

If yes, what is the most unique and interesting beer recipes you’ve brewed as a homebrewer?

5.    What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

Lager and Hot Wings, I enjoy pairing beer with food, but Lager and Hot wings have a special place in my heart!

The Personal Side

1.    What is your current day job?

Currently I am looking for a new career. In the mean time I work at a Youth Shelter, for troubled teens.

2.    If you could change your career at this very moment, without any restrictions on what you could do, what would you want to do and why?

I love Technology; I am studying to get an A+ certification so I can get into IT. Plus, not gonna lie, computers don’t talk back like teenagers!

3.    Are you married? Children?

I have been married for three years last march.

4.    Outside of beer and writing, what are some of your other hobbies?

Other Hobbies, Messing with computers, listening to 3rd Wave Ska music like it is still 1997! Mini Golf, I am up for anything mostly, I will try anything once!

Off The Beaten Path

1.    If you were a style of beer, what style would be an why?

For the most part I am a big kid, I love to just chill and have fun. Although I can be abrasive at the same time! Sooo a nicely balanced IPA.

2.    You were caught smuggling beer illegally, which has now been made punishable by death. Right before you are sent to the executioner, you are offered one last beer. What beer would you chose and why?

Southern Tier “Pumking” It is the best pumpkin beer I have ever had! It is amazing!

3.    If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?

Hands down, I would want to be able to walk through walls! Imagine how much time could be saved in a day if one was able to just morph through walls. Plus the added bonus of being able to freak people out! Is that messed up?

4.    What is one of the craziest things you have ever done and lived to tell the story?

There is a publication pretty well known in my state. A magazine called “Weird, NJ”. It features a lot of places that have been abandoned or are just plain weird. There is always some gruesome ghost story that goes along with the place. One place we tried to visit is called “Midgetville”. A supposed community of … well… people that are not tall at all! It was very late at night when we arrived. We wanted to be able to say we had walked through “Midgetville”.

We did not make it very far when a man (a man of average height) emerged from behind a parked car in a driveway. He ran full speed at us. Everything happened so fast that I could not tell if he had an empty wine bottle or a small baseball bat in his hand. Either way, I did not want to be hit with whatever he was wielding! Luckily there were some people on this venture that were too scared to walk into “Midgetville” and kept the car running.

It was like something out of a movie, kids being chased by a crazed looking man. There was even that one slow kid who had to be pulled into the car as it was driving away! That was one of many crazy Weird NJ nights.

5.    What are your thoughts on bacon?

Bacon is nature’s perfect snack. Meat Candy for sure!

SPECIAL THANKS TO JYM FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!