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!

Every once in awhile, The Wench interviews a team of contributors for one blog. I call these a mini-interview series. This mini-interview series is featuring the two authors of The Art of Brew – yesterday you got to meet Don, and without further ado, I present his partner in crime, Thomas!

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Thomas Gaboury
Twitter handle: theartofbrew
Name of blog: The Art of Brew
Current location: Somewhere, but uncharted as of yet

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

What is this “grow up” you speak of?

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

Soccer, tennis, surfing, snowboarding, scuba diving.

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

About 5

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

The parents had a party and I was leaning against my Dad’s ’68 split-window, fast-back Corvette. If I know my Dad, it was a M!ll3r.

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

Ah, college. I actually won a lifetime achievement award; it took me a lifetime to achieve… Business degree. Finish: 12/2010.

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:

Portland, Oregon (OR-e-gun), that little beer thingy they have at that water front park every year. Circa 1995. a little local brewery, Widmer. Oh yeah, then there was Portland Brewing’s MacTarnahan’s! Here is one for all of your readers, name the beer style of Three Finger Jack.

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

Too many to list.

Beer Blog Background

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

A year in October

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

School, work and family life were not enough things for me to do.

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

It was Sun Tzu – make beer not war

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

To spread the passion of craft beer to the world.

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

This girl came up to me and said “You write for ‘The Art of Brew’? I want to sleep with you!” That was my wife’s sweet way of saying, “turn off the light and the laptop so I can get some sleep.”

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

Probrewer, Beer Advocate, The Art of Brew

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

It really depends on the environment. I could not imagine drinking an imperial lawnmower beer at the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Niguel.

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Local, good beer, with good friends.

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

Umm, mine.

4. Are you a home brewer? If yes, what are the most unique and interesting beer recipes you’ve brewed as a home brewer?

There was this brew, a couple of years ago. We were trying to do a clone of a granny smith apple meets band-aid and damned if it didn’t turn out exactly as planned.

5. Do you have any beer certifications (BJCP, Cicerone, Siebel, American Brewers Guild)?? If so, what are they?

After graduation, then…

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

It is sad that the FDA hasn’t made beer its own food category by now.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

Brewer

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?

That’s a big one. Anyone have land in Maui?

3. Are you married? Children?

Yes. Child.

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

Girls! (Wife and daughter!!)

Off The Beaten Path

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

To predict consumer trends and hop shortages.

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

HA, good try!

3. What are your thoughts on bacon?

You are referring to turkey bacon, right?

SPECIAL THANKS TO THOMAS FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!