Featured Beer Blogger: RUSS PHILLIPS

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: RUSS PHILLIPS

AUTHOR OF: CRAFT CANS

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Russ Phillips
Internet nickname: indiapaleale on BeerAdvocate
Twitter handle: craftcans
Name of blog: CraftCans.Com
Current location: Western Massachusetts

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Northern California. (spent time living in Davis and in Santa Cruz)

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

I played soccer and baseball growing up. I always loved hockey and as soon as I am moved somewhere cold (the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for college) I started playing a lot. I still play soccer (indoor and outdoor) and play hockey when I can. You have to combat all those beer calories somehow.

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

Besides sips of my Dad’s Michelob when I was real young, my first beer was when I was probably 13 or 14.

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

After a season of Babe Ruth league baseball my team’s coaches (who were both college students) had a party at their place for the team (how no parents found out about this terrible judgement call I will never know). They bought us a case of Busch or Bud or something and I forced myself to drink the can I was given so I would look cool. It was another two or three years before I tried beer again and by the time I graduated high school I had found Guinness and thought that was the greatest thing on earth.

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 college at Northern Michigan University (which is in the Upper Peninsula for any of you none Michiganders). I was an International Studies major. I played intramural ice hockey and indoor soccer and when I wasn’t in class I was doing things outdoors or drinking beer with my friends.

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:

It had to be when I turned 21 in college. Once I could go in the bars and beer stores and look at all the stuff on the shelves and choose my own beer, and not just drink whatever was put in my hands or happened to be in the keg, I started trying new things. I quickly found that there were lots of styles and flavors that were all new to me so the adventure began.

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

One that I still find funny is when I first realized what hops did for beer. I was 22 years old (so 11 years ago) and I knew I loved Sierra Nevada Pale Ale a lot as well as other Pale Ales and India Pale Ale but I didn’t quite know why. I liked bitter but it wasn’t until someone told me that I sure like hops and explained all the qualities that they add to these types of beers that I became a full-fledged hophead and was on a mission to find the hoppiest beer known to man.

Beer Blog Background

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

CraftCans.Com is relatively new. Only a few months. I also run TwinBeer.Com with my twin brother Kelly who lives in Sweden. We’ve had that for about a year. Before that I was living up in Maine and writing my first beer blog called Beer, Maine and Me.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

I needed another outlet for my love for beer. I also wanted to document what I had drank and hopefully connect with other beer lovers.

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

CraftCans.Com was short, simple, descript and most of all it was available.

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

I think the biggest goal is to help promote craft beer in general and to hopefully help diminish the assumption that craft beer needs to be in a bottle to be good.

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

I was at the Great Lost Bear in Portland (Maine) and was sitting at a table with my wife on their Allagash night when the owner, Dave Evans, came up to me and said he recognized me from a picture on my blog and told me he enjoyed reading what I was writing. That meant a lot to me. He took our picture and put it up on their site which was really nice.

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

• BeerAdvocate.Com
• AppelationBeer.Com
• BeerNews.Org

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

That is sort of dependent on the weather. Overall I’d say IPAs, Imperial Stouts and anything smoked.

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

• Russian River
• Founders
• Duck-Rabbit

I probably have around 100 favorites though…

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

There are so many. Really any one that believes in hard work and having fun, being creative and enjoying life. If I had to come up with one I’d go with Double Mountain in Hood River, Oregon.

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

I brewed a coconut coffee porter with some coconut coffee beans a few years back. It came out okay. I’ve got a bunch of bottles leftover if anyone is interested…

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

Nope. I just really like beer.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

I love a beer while watching things on the grill (who doesn’t)! I also really enjoy something chocolatey with a stout/porter for dessert.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

I’m the Assistant Regional Manager of Institutional Relations for a large non-profit company that promotes International Education (study abroad, exchanges, internships etc.)

2. Are you married? Children?

I am married (four years this year) and my wife and I have a 7-month old daughter named Elyse.

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

Running and playing sports, reading, grilling, hanging out with my two dogs as well as my daughter and learning to play the tenor banjo.

Off The Beaten Path

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

Hoppy Red Ale. My hair, and skin when I am sunburned, has always been sort of reddish and I tend to be a bit hopped up.

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?

Sink the Bismark from BrewDog. This way I’d be instantly numbed from the ridiculous alcohol content. However, if you want to know what beer I’d really want if I only could have one more I’d go with Pliny the Younger as I’ve never had it and it would be nice to try it before I died.

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?

I’d go with a barrel-aged Scotch Ale brewed with a really peaty smoky malt.

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

That would have to be the whole invisibility thing. Although I probably wouldn’t be doing much crime fighting if I could be invisible, probably a lot of the opposite.

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

I used to do a lot of stupid shit when I was younger. A lot of jumping out of or off of things. I’ve been sky diving which was actually less thrilling then the “quarry jumping” I did in college or the time when my buddy and I jumped off the chair lift about 40 feet above an unknown amount of powder while snowboarding in Tahoe. Recently the craziest thing I’ve done is get married, buy a house and become a Dad.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

I love bacon. My wife is a vegetarian so we actually have fake bacon in the house. Its not so bad I guess, sort of like a big bacon bit.

SPECIAL THANKS TO RUSS FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!