Featured Beer Blogger: BRIAN MILLER

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: BRIAN MILLER

AUTHOR OF: THE BEER STUDENT

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Brian Miller
Twitter handle: Blog: @thebeerstudent Personal: @brian_miller
Name of blog: The Beer Student
Current location: Chicago, IL

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?
   I grew up in South Bend, IN. I lived in Indianapolis during and after college, and then San Diego for a few years up until September 2009.
2. What sports if any did you play growing up, through college and beyond?
   I was an anomaly in high school. I was the kicker on the football team and threw discus on the track team.
3. How old were you when you had your first beer?
   Probably about 16.
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 think this was my first beer, but I can’t say for sure. We were little sophomores, and my buddy got his older sister to drag us along to a small senior party where we proceeded to think we were awesome for drinking ice cold Red Dog out of cans.
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 Butler University in Indianapolis, where I was a basketball superfan before they went to the Final Four. I studied Telecommunication Arts, which is a fancy name for a communications major. And yes, believe it or not, I was a fraternity boy. This still surprises people.

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:
   I occasionally drank craft beer while in Indy, but never really pursued it until I moved to San Diego in 2005. I ordered a Stone Arrogant Bastard at a bar because I liked the name. I’d tried IPA’s, and wasn’t totally into hops, and the concept of a strong ale was new to me. I couldn’t believe how much intense flavor they could pack into a single beer – let alone one where I could visit the brewery whenever I wanted. That was my gateway beer.
2. Have you have additional craft beer epiphanies since the first? Detail as many of them as you wish:
   I’ve kind of migrated to the opposite spectrum from Arrogant Bastard. While bold, ultra-hopped beers initially got me excited about drinking craft beer, I really started pursuing subtleties and different styles only a couple years ago. We’ve probably all heard the phrase “the more you learn, the more you realize how much you don’t know.” (or something) While I do enjoy occasionally blasting my palate with hops and strong malts, I still feel I have a lot of development to go to really refine my palate. It’s much better than it used to be, but I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied.

Beer Blog Background

1. How long have you been writing your beer blog?
   Not long – I kicked it off around New Year’s 2010.
2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?
   The more serious I got about drinking beer, the more I figured I should document it and share it with my friends. I like being the de facto resource when it comes to “Dude, what beer should I get today?” I would really like to get a job in the brewing industry and wanted to increase my professional profile. Lastly, believe it or not, my ex-girlfriend. She’s a food, beverage and restaurant writer in San Diego and always encouraged me to write more. I know I’m decent, but have always been so critical of my own writing that I rarely put anything on public display. She helped me get over a lot of that.
3. Why did you choose the name of your blog?
   It’s twofold. First, this is a study and discovery of lovingly brewed beers. Though it’s fun, it requires dedication and homework, just like school. Secondly, we all know that grad students like myself don’t have a lot of money. That’s why I include price in my posts, because value is important to me. That’s not to say it’s the most important thing, and I will always review based on taste, but a $5 beer that clocks in at a similar taste level will get more praise from me than a $15 whopper.
4. What are you personal goals for your blog? What do you hope to achieve with it?
   My dream job is working for a brewing company running media and marketing. I’d like to have a bit of a profile within the brewing industry. We’ve all heard “Do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” I’m trying to do that.
5. What is one of the coolest things that happened to you as a result of being a beer blogger?
   You mean besides this interview? One of my grad school buddies cited me in his Chicago Sun-Times blog, which gave me a little street cred. And just this weekend, another friend did some beer running and donated two beers for me to review. So yeah. Press and free beer are awesome.
6. What are you top 3 favorite beer blogs/beer websites?
   
   

• http://www.beeradvocate.com Beer Advocate is a great resource – I generally use that if I’m unsure of a style definition or glassware type or something of that nature.
• http://www.billybrew.com Billy Brew (Billy Broas) does a great job and is really engaging outside of his own domain on Twitter, etc. I’ve learned a lot about beer blogging from his site.
• http://www.hop-cast.com The Hop Cast guys do a phenomenal job. Having two guys plus special guests in the videos is awesome – something we solo bloggers probably couldn’t pull off.

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?
   This changes often, but right now I’m into Imperial Stouts, Imperial IPA’s, and Black Lagers.
2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?
   Alesmith, Rogue, and New Belgium. Top to bottom, I don’t think any of these three brew a beer that I don’t like. Plus, all of them operate their businesses in a way I admire.
3. If you could work with or for any one brewery, which one would it be and why?
   Half Acre Beer Company, for sure. They’re a rising star on the beer scene, and I think they’re innovating and taking risks that others will follow. (i.e. switching to environmentally friendly aluminum cans over bottles, choosing an urban location for their brewery.) I absolutely love their location. If I could live in Chicago and work for a brewery, I’d be a happy guy.
4. Are you a homebrewer? If yes, what is the most unique and interesting beer recipes you’ve brewed as a homebrewer?
   I don’t homebrew, but that’s mostly a money thing. I would love to experiment with a batch or two though.
5. Do you have any beer certifications (BJCP, Cicerone, Siebel, American Brewers Guild)?? If so, what are they?
   n/a
6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?
   Nothing beats nibbling on dark Belgian chocolate while sipping an imperial stout.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?
   I’m a graduate student at DePaul University, and I’m currently looking for full-time work in the advertising industry.
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?
   Luckily, my class schedule would allow me to work full-time during the day, so I wouldn’t have to quit school. My dream job, like I mentioned above, is to run media and marketing for a brewery.
3. Are you married? Children?
   Never married, no children.
4. Outside of beer and writing, what are some of your other hobbies?
   I’m a bass guitarist. While I was in San Diego, I recorded and did some regional touring with a pretty successful band, but decided the music industry was not for me. Outdoors I enjoy cycling and snowboarding.

Off The Beaten Path

1. If you were a style of beer, what style would be and why?
   Witbier. I don’t scream and beg for attention like an IPA or have the niche audience like a sour or barleywine, and pretty much anyone can hang out with me. Plus, the more you hang out with me, the more you like me.
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?
   BrewDog Paradox Isle of Arran. It’s the best beer I’ve ever had, and it’s nearly impossible to find now, so hopefully they wouldn’t kill me. And if they did find it, I’d let the executioner have some, which would blow his mind so much that he’d let me go. Booya.
3. If I contracted you to brew a beer (or design a beer recipe) called “The Beer Wench” — what style would you chose and what, if any, extra ingredients would you add?
   Definitely a Märzen – brewed true to form and served in a stein.
4. If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be? I would alter how alcohol affects my body. Sometimes I want a little buzz, like when I need the courage to introduce myself to a woman. But I’d like the ability to remain stone sober at beer festivals so I can try every single beer there and take coherent notes on all of them. Well, either that or I’d have the power to end global hunger. That would be sweet.
5. What is one of the craziest things you have ever done and lived to tell the story? My life is not nearly that exciting – these other beer bloggers are crazy!
6. What are your thoughts on bacon? No thanks. I’m a vegetarian.

SPECIAL THANKS BRIAN FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!