Drink With The Wench

Featured Beer Blogger: BILLY BROAS

Wenchie — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:33:34 +0000

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: BILLY BROAS

AUTHOR OF: BILLY BREW

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Billy Broas
Twitter handle: @BillyBroas
Name of blog: BillyBrew.com
Current location: Denver, CO

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

I spent my first 10 years in Northern NJ. After that I moved to Williamsburg, VA, the town where someone can walk into the 7-11 in 18th Century attire and you don’t even blink. The colonial stuff got old after a few dozen school field trips, but it really is a beautiful town and a great place to grow up.

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

I dabbled in cross country and wrestling, but my main sport was baseball. I played it all throughout high school but didn’t quite have the skills to go beyond that. Our college softball team was pretty nasty though.

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

I must have been about 15.

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

My Dad kept Natty Ice (that’s right, ICE) in the fridge and would hook me up on occasion. If you want to call that being hooked up…

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 James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia for undergrad and grad school. It’s known for its work hard, party hard philosophy, and I like to think I was a good example of that. Intramural sports were big so I did softball, football, soccer, and volleyball. I was also a big nerd and was the president of my honor society. For academics I studied biotechnology and renewable energy.

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:

That one is vivid. It was my Junior year in college when my neighbor came over bragging about his “10 dollar six packs”. At first I thought it was stupid to pay that much for beer, but being open minded I went to the store and got put down my own 10-spot. After 1 Hobgoblin, I was hooked.

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

Sour beers were a real epiphany for me. My first lambic totally blew me away. I have less of what you would call epiphanies nowadays, being immersed in the beer world 24/7. I wish I could go back in time to those moments of discovery.

Beer Blog Background

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

I started in January 2010, so 7 months.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

It’s fun! Plus I wanted to provide a place where people could get into beer and geek out about it if they wish. One key thing for me is to keep the blog laid back and not snobby. There’s too much beer snobbery out there. I like to think I’m scratching an itch for people. They want to know about beer, and I provide that.

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

I was originally thinking BillyBeer but someone told me that it had history with Jimmy Carter’s brother or something. I don’t know, I’m too young to get it, but BillyBrew was close enough.

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

I want to convert as many people as possible to craft beer. My blog has a simple philosophy – it’s about the reader, not me. Their questions, their problems, their entertainment. If I’m keeping them engaged and teaching them about craft beer, then I’m doing my job. I also want to teach people about homebrewing. While I’m no expert, I think my experience and method of teaching via video can really help people improve their beer.

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

No private jet rides or fur coats yet, but the recent beer bloggers meeting we had at Oskar Blues was phenomenal. The gang there really treated us well.

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

There’s no way I could narrow it down to 3 beer blogs. If I frequently comment on your blog, you’re one of my favorites. For 3 non-blogs I’ll say Beer Advocate, CraftBeer.com, and Homebrewtalk.

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

Old ale, Double IPA, and Berliner Weiss.

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Dogfish Head, Bell’s, and Great Divide.

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

Dogfish Head, but I’d have to telecommute. Sorry Sam but Delaware is not my thing.

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

Yes! My 400 IBU Double IPA was pretty nuts.

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

No, but BJCP some day.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

A raspberry lambic with brie and crackers smothered in raspberry preserves.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

I work for a consulting company that focuses on renewable energy development. We help large organizations get started in wind, solar, and biomass technologies. It’s meaningful work and it’s fun being in a small company where I can wear a lot of hats.

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?

With the future looking bright for renewable energy, I’m happy where I’m at.

3. Are you married? Children?

Nope. I live with my girlfriend and if she gets her way we’ll have a dog soon. So, we’re getting a dog.

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

Snowboarding, trail running, traveling, reading, cooking, and anything outside.

Off The Beaten Path

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

A barleywine. I don’t know why, I’m just hoping I get better with age.

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?

Any of my homebrews. They have the most emotional attachment for what would be a very emotional moment. What a sad question!

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?

It’d be some soft of coffee beer. Your energy is like caffeine.

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

Cliche’, but flying. I just want to know if you finally achieve it, do you stop dreaming about it?

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

I think making it through college alive and in 4 years was quite the accomplishment.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

Canadian bacon is seriously underrated. Can’t it get some love?

SPECIAL THANKS TO BILLY FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!

Featured Beer Blogger: MIKE KOPERA

Wenchie — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:55:28 +0000

DRINK WITH THE WENCH PRESENTS:

The Beer Blogger Interview Series

INTRODUCING: MIKE KOPERA

AUTHOR OF: PODCASK CONDITIONED

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Mike Kopera
Twitter handle: @thatcaskguy or @podcaskco
Name of blog: Podcask Conditioned
Current location: Chicago, IL

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

Southwest Suburb of Chicago. Worth, IL

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

I was and still am a huge hockey fan. It was a good year for us here in Chicago!

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

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

Oooh, I believe it was Red Dog. Not good at all. Our friend’s mom was working late so we drank that nasty stuff and let’s just say it didn’t end well at all.

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 Columbia College here in Chicago. I commuted from the burbs. I studied radio. Which is why I thought the idea of adding the podcast to the website/blog might be a fun idea. I never liked my voice back then (nor do I think it’s anything special today) but it’s a lot of fun when you can get excited and talk about something you love!

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.”

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

I remember it pretty well, in fact. I remember I was always a Miller Lite drinker just out of college. But after I moved into the city with one of my best friends, we got curious and decided to hit our local liquor store, Pellys around the corner to try something different. First beer I saw that I had never had was a Bell’s Amber. Brought home a six pack of that and REALLY liked it. Decided to try another from that brewery. Bell’s Two Hearted….BAM….hooked on trying all sorts of different beers. For my next birthday, my roommate bought me a Goose Island Pub Pack. I said goodbye to the tasteless, clear, yellow water for life shortly after that.

Beer Blog Background

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

Only about 3 months now

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

I’ve always wanted a way to be a part of the beer world. Since I don’t have the start up money or the necessary skills as just a novice home brewer to open my own brewery, I figured this is a good way to get out there. I’ve been loving it so far! Then I thought the podcast along with it was a good idea. But I’ve heard a lot of podcasts out there about reviewing different beers. So I wanted to do something different. Travel around to different breweries and encourage people to go out and visit them as well. So I asked my friend Brad Ferguson to co-host with me. We want people to go out there and spend your money with the smaller local breweries that don’t have the endless budgets for advertising. Go and try something you’ve never had before. Explore, experience, meet great people!

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

It just kind of fit. I knew I wanted to add a podcast to my blog so I needed a catchy way to incorporate it with beer. I love cask conditioned beers so it just came to me.

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

Honestly, for now, it’s just a fun little hobby I have. I love beer so I want to speak to the world about it. But I love writing and would love if a dream came true and it turned into an actual paid job. Some sort of marketing position for a craft brewery would be amazing to me.

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

So far, it’s just the amazing people you meet. The brewers out there. The people on the internet that have this great community together. The chance to go to this year’s 1st Beer Bloggers Conference…looking forward to meeting so many of you in November!!

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

Obviously, I am always checking the Wench’s site. But I’m a big audio/visual guy too, so I really enjoy seeing and hearing about beers/breweries as well as reading:

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

American IPA – I’m a huge hop head. Give me bitter hops. I want to taste it on the enamel of my teeth. Couple of my favorites in this category: Bell’s Two Hearted and the Goose Island IPA
Belgians – So many variations…the yeasts give you so many different flavors. Couple of my favorites: Goose Island Sofie (Saison/Farmhouse) & Delirium Tremens (Belgian Strong Pale Ale)
Rye Beers – the bitterness on these is a bit more mild, but that lets in some spices and sour characters of the Rye to come through. A couple of my favorite examples of this style are the Founders Red’s Rye and the Two Brothers Cane & Ebel

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Hmmm….this is hard. I could answer this based on breweries that I’ve only had some of their beers. But since my blog/podcast is about personal experience, I’ll go with the favorite breweries I’ve visited. Basing on beers I’ve had plus experience at the brewery.

The Livery – Benton Harbor, MI
Half Acre – Chicago, IL
Three Floyds – Munston, IN

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

It would have to be Dogfish Head. I love their style, their attitude, hard work ethic, desire to grow at their own pace. And Sam Caligione is one of my personal heroes. I’d love to one day sit down and have a beer with that dude.

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

Yes. Not very great though. I mean, I love all the beers I’ve made. What’s better than making beer, kegging it, and serving it on tap in your own kitchen?? But I haven’t even stepped up to all grain yet. So I’m still learning.

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

Not yet. If I had the money and time, I’d be at Siebel without a doubt. Plus, I should really start looking into Cicerone as well.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

Oh, that’s kind of easy. Come to Chicago. Go to the Hopleaf. Order the mussels for two: Belgian-Style: Steamed in Wittekerke white ale w/ sliced shallots, celery, thyme & bayleaf. To drink, have the Kwak brewed by Bosteels.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

I’m in sales.

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?

As I mentioned before, I’d love to work for a brewery in marketing. I’d love to promote what they have going on. Write about it. Tweet about it. Facebook. I’m kind of an internet dork who wants to work where beer constantly flows. It’s nice to have dreams, right?

3. Are you married? Children?

Nope, and nope.

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

I’m a big music buff. Any style/genre. I’m a huge concert goer. Living in Chicago, it’s pretty easy to find a great live show to catch. And while doing that, you get to drink beer too so I get to combine two of my favorite things!

Off The Beaten Path

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

Russian Imperial Stout. Strong and bold, yet with some hidden characteristics you need to sample a few times before really getting to know all that it has to offer. (Although I’m a pale white boy)

I would go with the Founders Red’s Rye. It’s one of my favorite, hoppy beers. And the label has sort of a personal side for me. The old man pictured on the bottle looks WAY too much like one of my grandparents. It always makes me remember my Grandfather every time I see it. It’s kind of uncanny.

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?

Well, I’d maybe go with a Berliner Weisse. A pale, golden wheat style. Tart, sour, and very refreshing with very little bitterness. Perhaps add a bit of fruit characteristics in there. Maybe some peaches.

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

Invisibility, perhaps. Think of all the free beer!

5. What are your thoughts on bacon?

Bacon comes from a magical animal. In fact, I believe most everything should have a hint of bacon in it. Mmmm….now I think I have to go have a smoked beer.

SPECIAL THANKS TO MIKE FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!

UPDATED 2010 Beer Bloggers Conference Confirmed Attendee List

Wenchie — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:16:46 +0000

Everyone keeps asking me if there is a list of attendees for the Inaugural Beer Bloggers Conference. The event organizers have given me the go-ahead to post the list of current registries. Note: this list is continuously updating. For ease of use, the updated bloggers will be highlighted in RED!

Allan Wright – Zephyr Adventures www.ZephyrAdventures.com
Reno Walsh — Zephyr Adventures    www.ZephyrAdventures.com
Ashley Routson — Drink With the Wench    www.drinkwiththewench.com
Gerard Walen — Road Trips for Beer    www.roadtripsforbeer.com
E.T. Crowe — Wolverine State Brewing Co.    www.wolverinebeer.com
Ryan Conklin — Denver Bartender Examiner    www.examiner.com/x-28228-Denver-Bartender-Examiner
Lucy Saunders — Best of American Beer and Food    www.bestofamericanbeerandfood.com
Peter Kennedy — Simply Beer    www.simplybeer.com
John Holl — The Beer Briefing    www.beernexus.com
Mike Kopera — Podcask Conditioned    www.podcaskconditioned.com
Tamre Mullins — Girls’ Pint Out    www.girlspintout.com
Jennifer Litz — Girls’ Pint Out    www.girlspintout.com
Kerry Finsand — Taplister    www.taplister.com
Bob Mack — World Class Beverages    http://worldclassbeverages.wordpress.com/
Anne Fitten Glenn — Brewgasm    www.brewgasm.com
Angelo de Ieso – Brewpublic    www.brewpublic.com
Margaret Lut — Brewpublic    www.brewpublic.com
Sean Inman — Beer Search Party    www.beersearchparty.com
Sanjiv Gajiwala — Blue Ribbon Blog    www.blog.pabstblueribbon.com
Dan Fisher (Dan on Tap) — Life on Tap    www.lifeontap.net
Dale Miskimins — sodakbeer    http://sodakbeer.com
Billy Broas — BillyBrew    http://billybrew.com
Lee Williams — Hoptopia    www.hoptopia.com
PJ Hoberman — Starting a Brewery    www.startingabrewery.wordpress.com
Stevie Caldarola — BasicallyRed – To Be Read, Basically    http://basicallyread.wordpress.com/
James Marks — Columbus Beer Guys    http://columbusbeerguys.wordpress.com/
Ronnie Crocker — Beer, TX    www.blogs.chron.com/beertx
Carla Gesell-Streeter — Hoperatives    www.hoperatives.com
Tom Streeter — Hoperatives    www.hoperatives.com
Alexis Fritzsche – Ale Babe    www.alebabe.com
Rick Hagerbaumer — Big Foamy Head    www.bigfoamyhead.com
Carlos Swinney — Mendocino Brewing Co.    www.mendobrew.com
Jason Fellon — Beer Cruiser    www.beercruiser.net
Sara Wade – Monarch Beverage    www.monarch-beverage.com
Julia Herz — Craft Beer Muses    www.craftbeer.com
Alison McGee — From This Pint On www.fromthispinton.com
Andy Dunfee – Hippo Lane www.hippolane.org
David Jensen — Beer 47 www.beer47.com
Jennie Chen — MisoHungry http://misohungrynow.blogspot.com
John Knox — MisoHungry http://misohungrynow.blogspot.com
J.R. Woolsey — Consultant
Mark Jackson – Simply Beer www.simplybeer.com
Zach Rosen — Santa Barbara Craft Beer http://www.examiner.com/x-32901-Santa-Barbara-Craft-Beer-Examiner
Dustin & Libby — Beer 2 Buds http://www.beer2buds.com
Harry Schuhmacher — Beer Business Daily    www.beernet.com @beerbizdaily
Jenn Prosser – Jenn and Beer    www.jennandbeer.com @jennandbeer
Jonathan Shikes — Beer Man at Westword Mag    http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/beer_man/ @ColoBeerMan
Greg Koch – Stone Brewing    www.stonebrewing.com
Jacob McKean – Stone Brewing    www.stonebrewing.com
Lauren Polinsky – Durham Craft Beer Examiner    http://www.examiner.com/x-53634-Durham-Craft-Beer-Examiner @laurenpolinsky
Cathy Clark — Brewtiful www.brewtiful.com
Jim Pavlik — Central State Asylum www.csasylum.wordpress.com
Jessica Daynor — Draft Magazine www.draftmag.com
Ryan Ross — Karl Strauss Brewing Company www.karlstrauss.com
Jay Brooks — Brookston Beer Bulletin www.brookstonbeerbulletin.com
Ian Cowpar — 2 Beer Guys http://www.2beerguys.com
Sean Jansen – 2 Beer Guys http://www.2beerguys.com
Ryan Jansen – Beer Guys http://www.2beerguys.com

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And then there is my ongoing Twitter list. I will do my best to update this list as much as possible. If you are registered and would like to have your name added to the list, leave a comment on this post and I will get you on it ASAP.

Twitter list to follow: TWITTER LIST

CONFIRMED BBC 2010 ATTENDEES

Allan Wright of Zephyr Adventure –> @zephyradventure
Ashley V Routson –> @TheBeerWench @mutineermag @beerbloggers
PJ Hoberman of “Starting A Brewery” & “The HopPress” –> @hookedonwinter
Lee Williams of “Hoptopia” –> @hoptopia
James Marks of “Columbus Beer Guys” –> @CbusBeerGuys
Gerard Walen of “Road Trips For Beer” –> @roadtrips4beer
Erik Boles of “BeerTapTV” –> @BeerTapTV @ErikBoles
Eli Shayotovich of “BeerTapTV” –> @BeerTapTV @EliShayotovich
Dale Miskimins of “Sodak Beer” –> @sodakbeer
Stevie Caldarola of “Basically Read” –> @BasicallyRed
Draft Magazine –> @draftmag
Kerry Finsand of “Taplister” –> @taplister
Tamre Mullins of “Girls Pint Out” –> @girlspintout
Jennifer Litz of “Girls Pint Out” –> @girlspintout
Ryan Conklin of “Denver Bartender Examiner” & ” 52 Beers 52 Weeks” –>@DenverBartender
Billy Broas of “Billy Brew” –> @billybroas
Lucy Saunders of “Cooking With Beer” –> @lucybeercook
Carla Gesell-Streeter of “The Hoperatives” –> @hoperatives
Tom Streeter of “The Hoperatives” –> @hoperatives
Mike Kopera of “Podcask Conditioned” –> @podcaskco
David Moyer of “Beer Commissioner”
Chris Spradley of “Breweries, Bars and Beer Food” & “Los Angeles Beer Examiner” –> @beachbumchris
Larry McIntosh of “USA Beer Trends” –> @usabeertrends & @madhouselarry
Carlos Swinney of Mendocino Brewing Co. –> @MendoncinoBrew
Alexis Fritzsche of Ale Babe –> @alebabeIPA
Rick Hagerbaumer of Big Foamy Head –> @bigfoamyhead
Jennie Chen of “MisoHungry: Make it With Moonshine” –> @misohungry
Alison McGee of From This Pint On –> @FromThisPintOn
Andy Dunfee of Hippo Lane –> @adunfee
David Jensen of Beer 47 –> @beer47
John Knox of MisoHungry –> @WindAddict
J.R. Woolsey –> @TravelingPint
Mark Jackson of Simply Beer –> @markomundo
Zach Rosen of Santa Barbara Craft Beer –> @zenki40
Anne Fitten Glenn of Brewgasm –> @brewgasm
Libby & Dustin of Beer2Buds –> @beer2buds
Harry Schuhmacher of Beer Business Daily –> @beerbizdaily
Jenn Prosser of Jenn and Beer –> @jennandbeer
Jonathan Shikes of Beer Man at Westword Mag –> @ColoBeerMan
Greg Koch of Stone Brewing –> @StoneGreg
Jacob McKean of Stone Brewing –> @StoneBrewingCo
Lauren Polinsky of Durham Craft Beer Examiner –> @laurenpolinsky
Cathy Clark of Brewtiful –> @cathywonderful
Jim Pavlik of Central State Asylum –> @csasylum
Jessica Daynor of Draft Magazine –> @draftmag
Ryan Ross of Karl Strauss Brewing Company –> @KarlStrauss
Jay Brooks of Brookston Beer Bulletin –> @brookston
Ian Cowpar of 2 Beer Guys –> @craftbeered
Sean Jansen of 2 Beer Guys –> @2beerguys

Featured Beer Blogger: RYAN “My Thousand Beer Year”

Wenchie — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:24:02 +0000

DRINK WITH THE WENCH PRESENTS:

The Beer Blogger Interview Series

INTRODUCING: RYAN

AUTHOR OF: MY THOUSAND BEER YEAR

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Ryan (sorry no last name here, anonymity is the name of the game)
Twitter handle: @1000BeerYear
Name of blog: My Thousand Beer Year
Current location: Brooklyn, NY

Background “Snapshot”

1.Where did you grow up?

Sunny (and boring) Mesa, Arizona. Home of citrus, Mormons, and no beer or bars to speak of!

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

Like most beer guzzling doods, I did speech and debate throughout high school and college. Although I used to play baseball in elementary school and I maintain to this day that I could bat .200 in the majors.

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

I remember my first sips of beer taking place when I was around 6 or 7 at a pizza place with my parents. My dad (or mom?) let me taste his (or her) beer. I remember thinking it was awful. Even at six years old I hated macro-beers.

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 my first full beer was when I was a freshman in college. It was a Busch Light poured from a keg into a red plastic cup. It’s been all uphill since then.

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 undergrad in Pennsylvania, grad school in Virginia, and law school in New York. The main constant between the three has been craft beer drinking. I got my grad degree in philosophy and in undergrad I had the distinct privilege to compile the index for the book Beer and Philosophy. In terms of activities, in undergrad I played guitar and sang in a folk-rock Ace of Base tribute band.

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 epiphany took place in the Queen Elizabeth hotel in Montreal in 2003. I was there for, of all things, a speech and debate tournament. Before I left, a professor recommended that I try a La Fin du Monde. Well, on the way back to the hotel one evening, I stopped to pick up a four pack at a grocery store (my first craft beer purchase). I took it back to the hotel and drank it out of the bottle. It blew my mind. I had no idea beer could taste interesting. Every sip was a different flavor (on account of me drinking straight from the bottle). I never knew that beer could taste like anything but piss-water. Up until that point I only regarded drinking beer as a means for getting drunk. That’s when I started considering beer drinking an end in itself. I am not being hyperbolic (ok maybe I am) when I say that that night changed my life forever.

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

One that comes to mind is drinking a Westvleteren 12 that I had aged for a year after getting back from Belgium with my wife and my best friend (two separate people, for those keeping track) right after graduating from grad school. It wasn’t an epiphany, per se, but the perhaps the most perfect combination of beer, people, and circumstance. Also, perhaps my most profound drinking experience was drinking a beer brewed in Southern Sudan, White Bull Lager. I think if I start typing out my experience drinking that again, I’ll start weeping uncontrollably so I’ll just link to my post about it here.

Beer Blog Background

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

Since the end of January 2010 when I realized that I could actually do the 1000 beers in a year.
What inspired you to start writing your blog? A joke to my inlaws that my New Years resolution was to drink 1000 beers in 2010. Also, I had a million blogs that started and stopped due to lack of direction. Finally having a concrete topic really helped me stick to this thing.

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

Because 1) it rhymed, and B) I’m not that clever.

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

Honestly, my sole personal goal for the blog (outside of the number of beers) is to keep writing for fun. All I’ve known for the past 8 or so years is writing in an academic/professional setting. It’s nice to have an outlet to write about things I actually enjoy. I’m unsure what I’m going to do when this year ends and I hit my 1000 beers. Ultimately I’d like to keep writing about beer/drinking but I’m not sure in what form that will be.

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

Uh, one time Bethlehem Brew Works gave me a shout out on their facebook site? The whole trying to remain anonymous sort kills any perks I’d get from blogging. Actually this is kind of cool, after seeing how much burn my parents got on my blog during my trip to Arizona, my inlaws took me to the Lancaster Brewery just to get a mention on the blog. That was pretty cool.

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

I mean I could go with obvious and say beeradvocate.com for its wealth of information, but honestly my favorite websites for beer information are local message boards talking about new bars. Any blog that focuses on beer drinking as a culture or event as opposed to a heavy concentration on things such as the mythical flavor wheel is good by me. And I know this has been mentioned a million times, but Twitter is where all the beer action happens.

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

I would say this is like choosing your three favorite children, but I think once I have a million kids and someone asks me to pick my three favorite, I’ll say it’s like trying to choose my three favorite beer styles. That would be a more appropriate analogy for me. With that said, probably Double Anything, Imperial Whateverelse, and Belgian Whathaveyous

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

This isn’t fair. If I had to pick, which clearly I do, I’d say Ommegang, Unibroue, and Brooklyn Brewery.

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

Six Point. It’s in Brooklyn. They have a roof top brewery. They repurpose everything. AND they brewed a beer exclusively for the Museum of Modern Arts using hot stones! That’s pretty crazy!

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

No. I know my talents and making beer wouldn’t be one of them. I’ll stick to the drinking end.

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

No. I wanted to try to become an official beer judge, but all the science you have to know scared me off. While I like to think about my beer, I don’t like to over-think my beer.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

21st Amendment Monk’s Blood and anything chocolate but that seems too obvious. Or I guess Ommegang’s Three Philosopher’s and a Filberto’s bean and cheese burrito, because those are, respectively, my favorite beer and food item, and why wouldn’t you pair a cherry belgian triple with a bean burrito? Probably because it would be disgusting.

But here’s where I’d like to go on a mini-rant. New York is an awesome place to live if you love gourmet craft beer and food pairing events…if you eat me. What’s a vegetarian craft beer lover to do? Garrett Oliver, a legend among mortals, often hosts a series of dinners where he hooks up with a fancy-pants chef and does a beer and food event. I can’t go to any of these! If there are any big name brewers or big name chefs out there, hook a vegetarian up!

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

Law student/law job seeker (hence my quest for anonymity)

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?

A power forward in the NBA, because that would mean I could dunk and that would be awesome.

3. Are you married? Children?

One wife. Zero children (that I know of). Also, I hate to cop Fuggly Brew’s answer here, but on our honeymoon (which was also last summer), we also toured San Francisco’s microbreweries.

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

Like most a-holes, I play the guitar. That, obsessively following the Phoenix Suns, and listening to punk rock have taken up most of my non-drinking/writing/law school/working time these past couple of months.

Off The Beaten Path

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

Here’s a string of puns my wife made to me when I asked her this question: Ale because I like to be on top. Lager because I like to be on bottom. Barley wine because I’m strong and alcoholic. Oatmeal stout because I’m what’s for breakfast. A beer that’s high in gravity because I’m taxing to be around. Flemish ale because I’m not really Flem, I’m only Flemish. Feel free to cut out any or all of those.

I would choose a Westvleteren 12, obtained according to the brewery’s strict standards because it would both be delicious and take the executioner a really long time to get, which would give me more time alive, which would be pretty great.

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 think chili pepper ales are a vastly under-brewed style. Can you name more than two that are worth drinking? I’d make a solid ale brewed with chili peppers, I’m thinking like Rogue’s Chipotle Ale but maybe brewed with habeneros. Heat-spice and beer can be an amazing combination when done correctly, and I have to imagine that a Beer Wench Ale would be spicy.

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

I’ve been spit-balling these answers off my wife here and I suggested x-ray vision, to which she responded, “Have fun looking at all of those skeletons.” So I’m going to go with a practical superpower that has zero chance of backfiring on me: the ability to grow my hair to any length at will. I’ve never had a haircut I’ve been satisfied with, and it would be nice to be able to rectify that situation immediately.

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

I walked through Crown Heights, Brooklyn (home of the last American race riot!) in a full Dumbledore costume on my to a midnight release of the 7th Harry Potter novel. If you’ve been to the neighborhood, you’d understand that walking around at night in a full wizard costume is no laughing matter.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

I think it’s delicious but as a vegetarian, I tend to avoid it.

SPECIAL THANKS TO RYAN FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!

Featured Beer Blogger: RUSS PHILLIPS

Wenchie — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:45:41 +0000

DRINK WITH THE WENCH PRESENTS:

The Beer Blogger Interview Series

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?

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.

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!

Featured Beer Blogger: EUGENE KOLANKOWSKY

Wenchie — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:01:17 +0000

DRINK WITH THE WENCH PRESENTS:

The Beer Blogger Interview Series

INTRODUCING: EUGENE KOLANKOWSKY

AUTHOR OF: A TALE OF TWO BREWERS

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Eugene Kolankowsky
Twitter handle: @Splobucket
Name of blog: A Tale of Two Brewers

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in upstate New York just outside the town of Poughkeepsie.

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

I was mainly into track and field. I began to Pole Vault in High School and did it all the way through college. I continue to coach two Pole Vaulting teams at local Florida schools.

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

I’m a coach for a team so I have to set a good example. I’m going
to lie and say 21.

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

As I recall, it was at a crew party. I said I wasn’t going to drink, but someone offered me his Tequiza. I don’t remember what it tasted like and I haven’t had one since, but I do remember it was a Tequiza.

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

Ha, I went to nerd school. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. I got my degree in Mechanical Engineering. I didn’t do any other official activities other than Track, but I did frequently play on my (now wife’s) sorority intramural soccer team. They were the only people who didn’t about my ineptitude at soccer. I also did a lot of snowboarding and mountain biking.

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:

That’s an amazing question. I never thought of it like that but it’s totally true. My current brewing aspirations do stem back to my first real craft beer. It started around Christmas in 2005. I went and visited Nick at Lehigh and we exchanged gifts. I got him some little disco ball, and he got me a bottle of St. Bernardus ABT 12. I was surprised, thinking “he got me beer as a gift???” But then I tasted it, and here’s where I am today. I’m totally obsessed with the world of craft beers. I suppose Nick can take all the credit for this obsession.

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

I suppose the other one I had was when I realized I could brew my own beer, and thought a kit would be a totally awesome birthday gift. And it was!

Beer Blog Background

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

The blog has been going for almost exactly a year strong, but Nick just joined up about 2 or 3 weeks ago.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

I started brewing beer, and I just kinda felt like writing about it. Nothing really more interesting than that.

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

Well when I started brewing I was brewing with this guy Dave. Hence two brewers. Well he fell off the face of the earth, so I invited Nick along for the ride. He’s been a great friend for so long, and he is relatively new to the brewing process as well. It just sorta felt right.

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

My dream is to open my own brewery. I would absolutely love that. I tell people that I’ll be the next Sam Adams, except better. And when I’m famous for making beer, I can use the blog to outline the story of my book about how I came to be.

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

Well the site has really just started catching on. But recently I wrote an article about the draughtkeg, and I ended up getting some inside info and a free sample out of it. It really made it feel like it’s starting to get some traction.

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

I do a lot of research on the forums over at Homebrewtalk.com. The boys over at mondaynightbrewing.com are entertaining, and they’re about to hit the big time. I also order a good amount of stuff off NorthernBrewer.com.

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

Pilsner, Stout, HefeWeizen

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Stone, Ommegang, Mississippi Brewing Co. (have you ever had
Mississippi Mud? Awesome bottle, more awesome beer)

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

Hmmm… I guess I’ll say Stone. They seem like they’ve got their
stuff together, and they have a good variety of beers.

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

I am a homebrewer. But so far I haven’t gone that crazy on my recipes. I did try a nut brown ale with pistachios. Didn’t turn out great.

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

Well, I’m part of the American Homebrewers Association, does that count?

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

Smoked Porter & Burgers

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

I’m a forensic mechanical engineer. I find out why stuff breaks.

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’d be running my own brewery. I love making beer, and I love the satisfaction in seeing people enjoy it.

4. Are you married? Children?

Married, yes. No children, but three Golden Retrievers (nice furry four-legged kids). Their names are Sandi, Savannah, and Samson.

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

Well, I coach two local high schools in the pole vault. I also just took up Skeet Shooting. I’m also a gamer at heart. I’d say those are still my main hobbies at this point.

Off The Beaten Path

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

I’d say a hoppy pale ale. Smooth, refreshing, GREAT body. But will also come back and bite you in the ass if you look at me wrong.

I’d get a two liter boot of the strongest and most potent stuff I could get. Get as drunk as possible, as quickly as possible, so I don’t realize what the hell is going on.

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?

Shooting from the hip here, but I’d say a porter. It’s gotta be something bitter and aged (in reference to a stereotypical wench of course, not you). So maybe a belgian ale. Maybe add some different
fruits. But not heavy, just a hint.

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

Flying would be soooo badass.

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

Cliff jumping off an 80 foot cliff. I realize this isn’t totally
crazy, but it was enough for me.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

I LOVE BACON.

SPECIAL THANKS TO EUGENE FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!

Featured Beer Blogger: GREG HELLER-LaBELLE

Wenchie — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:59:52 +0000

DRINK WITH THE WENCH PRESENTS:

The Beer Blogger Interview Series

INTRODUCING: GREG HELLER-LaBELLE

AUTHOR OF: POUR CURATOR

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Greg Heller-LaBelle
Twitter handle: @pourcurator
Name of blog: Pour Curator
Current location: Bethlehem, PA

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

I started out in Pittsburgh and moved to the Lehigh Valley around middle school. Then I moved back to Pittsburgh, then back to the Lehigh Valley.

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

I was really big on lacrosse, and had a ton of fun playing that until college, when the student newspaper ate al l of my free time. There is no proof that I played intramural basketball in college.

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

It was the summer after ninth grade, so… 15?

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 at a performing arts summer camp. I had no musical talent; I was just there to screw around. I made a couple of friends – one a counselor – who decided to get my drunk, so he smuggled in a bunch of booze, including a few Yuengling Black & Tans. Appropriate, in retrospect, given my PA roots.

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 the University of Pittsburgh, where I studied a bunch of interesting but largely useless stuff like Art History and Religious Studies. Most of my time was spent at the daily student paper, The Pitt News, where I was the editor for a couple years.

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:

At Pitt, we had a class inventively called “The Pitt News” that was basically an excuse for us to get credit for working at the newspaper. We were somehow able to hold this class in a bar (!) called Fuel and Fuddle. Fuel is right near campus, and has a 100 beers club list, where you get your name on the wall for trying all 100 beers. Since we were there once a week anyway, I decided to join this club.

And, somewhere in the midst of Yuenglings and Guinesses (Guinni?), I had to order a Victory Hop Devil. I had never tasted anything like it, ever. It was spicy and different, and I was completely blown away. My life was never the same. I finished the 100 beers club 13 times by the time I moved away from Pittsburgh.

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

I consider just about every day I try something new a craft beer epiphany, but I’m a total nerd. There are some moments that stand out, like having a Geuze in Rene Magritte’s pub in Brussels, and the first time I noticed the art on a beer label (Troegs Troegenator). Most recently, at GABF 2009, I had five interesting and remarkable beers by Cambridge Brewing Company, and it really reinforced how much room there is left to experiment and find new flavors in beer.

Beer Blog Background

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

I’ve been writing this blog for just a few weeks, but I’ve been working with brewery art for three years.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

I’ve been curating this exhibition, “Design, Drink and Be Merry” since 2008, so I’ve been interested in the idea of art and design of beer labels for a long time. It just took me a while to decide to write about it consistently.

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

It’s a pun, since art is a good field to be in if you hate money. My girlfriend came up with it and I loved it instantly (also, the domain was available).

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

Well, for one, I think the artists and designers deserve more credit than they get, as do the breweries who are willing to pay for art. And it’s fun for me. But more selfishly, I do hope it will build a bit of a platform for the exhibition and pave the way for a book that I’d like to write about the art of the craft brew industry.

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

In poking around other beer bloggers, I’ve really been thrilled with the depth and intelligence of the beer blogging community, and how cool and open they are.

“Design, Drink and Be Merry” has given me a bunch of awesome experiences, like getting to meet and drink some good beer with some awesome artists and brewery people. The whole Stoudt family, Matt and Jeremy at Shmaltz, Dave and Dorn at Ska, and Ed at Troegs have all been great supporters of the show. And of course, getting to meet other great artists like Nathan Arnone at Southern Tier and all the artists at River Horse has been awesome.

Wow, that looks like I was name dropping. When you run a fundraiser for a nonprofit, you get really scared of leaving people out. Again, I’m such a geek about this. I still get star struck talking to Lew Bryson or Don Russell or Randy Mosher. I mean, the Wench is interviewing me! How cool is that? Okay, I’ll stop.

6. What are you top 3 favorite beer blogs/beer websites?
I’ll do three other than the Wench, just to level the playing field.
1) Joe Sixpack – Don Russell’s blog at the Philly Daily News
2) I really love what Hop Press is doing by bringing beer writers together; it’s become a must-read for me every day
3) Without BeerNews.Org, I flatly could not do my blog

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

Sour, IPA, Kolsch

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Oh man, that is hard. Favorite in terms of beer, art or community involvement? Can I be a homer?

Wow.

Okay.

1) Shmaltz – They have so much fun, Matt is an unbelievable artist, they make great beer, and they’re really invested in their community with the Coney Island efforts. Plus, I’m a member of the Tribe and appreciate the Brooklyn/Jew humor.
2) Stoudts – An awesome huge family, and they all love beer and art. And not enough of a deal is made about Carol Stoudt, who has been a titan in the industry and has to be an inspiration for young women trying to break into the dude-filled craft beer industry
3) East End – I love Pittsburgh, and these guys are the new face of the green, sustainable city that Pittsburgh has become. They support great causes. They bring kegs out on bikes. Wayno, their artist, is awesome. And their beer is great.

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

Ska – Dave Thibodeau is totally, completely insane. In a good way. I think.

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

I have homebrewed twice, and neither recipe was particularly interesting, but the porter I made was a lot bigger than I intended.

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

No.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

Any sour and a good cheese. I understand it can affect food flavor, but cheese is awesome.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

I’m finishing up my MBA in a month. In my spare time, I work with a small business buying group in Reading, PA.

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 honestly love curating the show and writing about brewery art. If that could ever be a full-time job, I’d be one happy, drunk camper.

3. Are you married? Children?

No.

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

I love cooking. I tend to work my way through cuisine styles at a clip of one per year. Most recently I tried to get good at Spanish food. I make a decent tortilla classica and a passable paella.

Off The Beaten Path

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

Wow. Tough question. I think I’d be one of those big, East Coast IPAs (like a Dogfish 90 minute). I try to stay balanced, and I think I achieve that, but I’m definitely intense and not for everybody.

Victory Hop Devil. It got me into craft beer, it cost me lots of money over the course of my life, and it has now apparently gotten me killed. It may as well see me off the mortal coil.

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?

All right, I’m going with a saison, which is easy to enjoy and pleasant, because of the writing style. I’m adding some pepper (for some kick, obviously), and I feel like some heather would add a depth of flavor to reflect your many interests.

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

Teleportation. I love travel, and I only enjoy walking as recreation, not transportation. Plus, can you imagine how awesome seeing breweries would be? You could have an interstate brewery crawl!

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

I was once partying with some guys who had this 400-acre plot of hunting land somewhere in Ohio, and I guess they really liked to get tanked and drive these dilapidated Jeeps around deer paths at night with no lights or brakes. I am still not sure why that wasn’t fatal.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

I don’t eat pork, so mostly I’m mystified as to why this country seems to think bacon is appropriate anywhere and everywhere. It’s like a meat, but also a condiment? Why is a default position on food to just add bacon to it? I get that it’s delicious, but so is, say, cheese, or beer, or butter, and we don’t add those to everything. Or should we? Maybe we should treat bacon’s ubiquity as inspiration for other items of scrumptiousness.

SPECIAL THANKS TO GREG FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!

Featured Beer Blogger: SIMON JOHNSON

Wenchie — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:17:12 +0000

DRINK WITH THE WENCH PRESENTS:

The Beer Blogger Interview Series

INTRODUCING: SIMON JOHNSON

AUTHOR OF: RELUCTANT SCOOPER

Full name: Simon Haddon Johnson
Internet nickname: Reluctant Scooper or haddonsman
Twitter handle: @reluctantscoop
Name of blog: Reluctant Scooper
Current location: In front of a PC having a beer. Duh

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, England. Birthplace of writer D H Lawrence. We both left to seek our artistic muse – he went to Mexico, I moved ten miles down the road to Derby.

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

Rugby, volleyball, cricket, badminton. Then I discovered beer.

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

Probably my late teens – my first love was cider. I used to spend summer holidays by the sea in Devon drinking suicidally strong, cloudy cider.

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

It was Guinness – in my village pub (The Vaults). I ordered it because they ran out of cider and I recognised the name.

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 studied Geography and International Politics at Staffordshire University, mainly for the field trips. I held the ‘most rollmops you can eat before puking’ award, Rotterdam 1989 . A few years later I picked up a Masters degree in Human Resource Management. I was clearly very bored in the nineties.

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:

The bar of the Grande Hotel Oude Burg in Brugge, Easter 2004. I’d written onto a card the names of ten beers that the guide books recommended to try when in Belgium. On the first night, I ventured into ‘happy hour’ at the hotel bar, saw a tap with a beer name I recognised and ordered a pint of it. The barman told me that I’d pronounced it like I was French and the beer was only served in a tulip glass, not a pint. After that, we got on like a house on fire. I drank Duvel for most of the evening. And then the barman said; ‘What else is on that list….” The rest, as they say, is history.

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

The first time I drank hot, sweet wort at Thornbridge brewery. Stood amongst the steam and the sounds, fingers sticky from weighing hops, I began truly to appreciate the art and science of brewing.

Beer Blog Background

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

July 2007, on and off.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

Mark Edwards (Maeib on ratebeer) was writing one and I knew I could be funnier

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

A scooper in the UK beer scene is someone who chases after new beers. I used to, but more often preferred to drink what I know and love. Given the choice, I’d take a beer I love over a new one, hence, Reluctant Scooper.

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

“Have a good time, all the time”

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

Be invited to brew with commercial brewers. When I say ‘brew’, I do of course mean ‘clean the mash tun out and make the tea’.

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

Zythophile (for the history), Scoopgen (for the attitude), ratebeer (for the banter)

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

Cold ones, large ones, free ones I’m not hooked up on style.

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Today? Thornbridge, Hopshackle, De Molen.

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

Thornbridge – I love their attitude and ambition.

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

Almost – the problem with being invited to brew commercially is that I can’t be arsed to homebrew. I really ought to as homebrew gives you the opportunity to experiment madly.

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

No. Beer understanding isn’t about a syllabus.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

IPA and pizza. Anything else can border upon pretention (unless you’re Sean Paxton. His menus rock).

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

Marketing analyst for a business consultancy company. Yes, I do own a pair of red braces.

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?

Absolutely nothing. I like to see how things work out.

3. Are you married? Children?

Yes. No

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

Juggling. Pickling eggs. Knitting mittens out of navel lint.

Off The Beaten Path

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

Barley wine; feisty and headstrong when young, nuttier with age, best kept in a dark cupboard.

Bud. I’m going to hell so I may as well start practising…

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?

Something young and sassy – perhaps a madly over-hopped pale ale

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

I’d be Duff Man, only barrel-aged. Able to turn watery stouts into imperial gods with a single thrust of the hips. Oh Yeah!!

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

Walking into a MacDonalds dressed as a clown, shouting ‘Ronald says all the burgers are FREE!!!’ and then nearly getting crushed in the stampede to the counter.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

A week without beer is excusable; a week without bacon is unforgivable

SPECIAL THANKS TO SIMON FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!

Featured Beer Blogger: MARK BUCKLEY

Wenchie — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:55:23 +0000

DRINK WITH THE WENCH PRESENTS:

The Beer Blogger Interview Series

INTRODUCING: MARK BUCKLEY

AUTHOR OF: RIVER ROAD BREWERY

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Mark Buckley
Internet nickname: Halite
Name of blog: River Road Brewery
Current location: Dublin, Ireland

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in a town on the outskirts of Dublin called Leixlip. Leixlip is the original home of Guinness and Arthur Guinness Brewed there from 1755 until they moved to the famous St James Gate Brewery in Dublin in 1759.

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

My first proper beer (i.e. in a pub) was probably when I was 15 and I went to Germany on a student exchange programme with school. It was very liberating as a 15 year old to be able to walk into a bar and order a beer (the drinking age for beer in Germany is 16, I must have passed for 16 when I went)

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

Unfortunately it is probably not worth talking about. It no doubt involved a warn can of Budweiser and what we like to refer to in Ireland as ditch drinking!

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.”

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

My craft beer epiphany comes in two parts. Firstly when I was 15 I went to Germany on a student exchange programme. One night when I was at a party in another student’s house we went to the local beer hall. My German not being very good I pointed at a beer tap and asked for one of those, I was served a stein of a Dunkel beer (I think it was called Dunkel Spass).

The revelation for me came from the fact that it looked dark like Guinness but tasted like a beer, from that moment on I have loved German beers. Unfortunately for whatever reason this experience did not launch me into a quest for great beer. When I started going to pubs in Ireland (aged 18) I spent the first 14 years of my drinking life enjoying Guinness. It was only last year when I went to a craft beer festival in Dublin that my love of beer was re-awakened (it only took 17 years!).

At the beer festival I was able to discover a number of Irish craft breweries that I had never heard of. Since that day I have made it my quest to try as many different beers as I can and to understand beer on a deeper level. I used to be a wine drinker, but for the last year I have focussed on beer and I have not been disappointed. I think that beer offers a more complex and enjoyable experience than wine ever could.

Beer Blog Background

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

I only just started my blog in March of this year.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

The idea behind my blog was to act as a repository of information about the beers I’ve tried and also my homebrew exploits.

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

The name of my blog comes from a road that I currently live on. I thought that River Road Brewery had a certain ring to it.

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

My goal for my blog is to be able to offer people information that they want, simple eh? I would like to think that as the Blog develops that people will use it as a way of getting information on a particular beer that they are going to try and also for people who are starting out homebrewing and want to get information on processes, equipment and recipes. I hope that providing people with a view of my homebrewing exploits, failures as well as successes, that it will inspire them to jump in and give it a try.

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

In no particular order:

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

American Pale Ale
American IPA
Weissbier

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Sierra Nevada
Brooklyn Brewery
Dogfish Brewery

Pretty obvious that I am a big fan of American beers

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

I began homebrewing about ten months ago and so to date the beers I have brewed have been pretty run of the mill. I love big American C hops and so I have brewed a lot of pale ales with Amarillo and Cascade. My latest brew, ISO Standard Stout, is the best beer I have brewed to date, it is a dry Irish stout.

4. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

I love German Weissbiers with Sausage and Sauerkraut.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

I work as a Business Development Manager for a market research and consultancy firm.

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?

Without any doubt it would have to be something to do with beer, my dream would be to open a microbrewery and brew American style craft beer for the Irish market.

3. Are you married? Children?

Married to Helen for four years, we have three little boys, a two year old and one month old twins.

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

I have a keen interest in history, particularly military history. I have spent the last number of years completing a BA in History and Sociology and I am due to graduate this year.

Off The Beaten Path

1. 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?

It would have to be Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen Weisse. It is a mash up of my two favourite beer styles, American pale ale and German weissbier. It is a truly magnificent beer and very complex. Also the bottle is 75 cl which would be a bonus.

SPECIAL THANKS TO MARK FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!

The Beer Wench Featured on NEW BREW THURSDAY

Wenchie — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:55:53 +0000

I hate to play favorites in the blogosphere. I would love to use the analogy of “Mama Wench” and say that picking a favorite blogger is like picking a favorite child — I love each and every one of them in their own special ways. But that just sounds creepy. Especially since 1. I am younger than the majority of other bloggers and 2. I have an aversion to children and 3. I have been known to try to trade my uterus for a spare liver.

But I digress. The point is this: every beer blogger has his or her own craft beer personality and style of advocating craft beer. Each has their own goals and aspirations for their site. And whereas I respect and appreciate all my fellow bloggers, the human side of me cannot help but pick favorites, here and there, despite my wish to remain as neutral as possible.

Case and point: New Brew Thursday. These guys are more than just hilarious and entertaining video beer bloggers. They are some of the biggest craft beer evangelists that I know and, more importantly, they are some of the best friends I have ever had. And we are talking about true friends, not the kind that you party a lot with and then know nothing about — the kind that open their homes and hearts to you when you need it the most, even if it is the most inopportune moment for them.

Photo credit: John Holzer

A few weeks ago, New Brew Thursday hosted me at their studio, where we enjoyed lots of really amazing craft beers, amazing chicken curry, lots of laughs and talked about the awesomeness of Kern River Brewing and the Just Outstanding IPA. If you haven’t seen the video, it is definitely worth checking out. If you have seen the video, it is definitely worth watching again. And again. And again.

Special thanks to New Brew Thursday for being amazing friends, amazing craft beer advocates and amazing video professionals. I love you all You are soooooooo GOOGLE!

June 17 : Just Outstanding IPA : Kern River Brewing with Special Guest The Beer Wench from New Brew Thursday on Vimeo.

This week everyone’s favorite Mutineer, The Beer Wench ( a.k.a Ashley Routson ), pays the studio a visit and it gets GOOGLE! We crack open a couple of bottles Kern River Brewing Companies Just Outstanding IPA and it lives up to the name. We also enjoy some mighty fine spicy Indian food made by our lovely producer Yvonne.

We crack wise about craft beer, tell a few inside jokes, and have a round about good time. You also get to see Stephen with a partial beard, no beard, and a full beard. Ahh the magic of video.

This weeks master pairing find Stephen back in Dr. Bill’s Kitchen for a lesson on lemons, and a delicious breakfast pairing.

Also this week, our craft beer advocate offers to buy you a beer!