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!

INTRODCUING: JACOB MCKEAN

AUTHOR OF: THE STONE BLOG + THE BEERCHOOSER BLOG

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Jacob McKean
Internet nickname: J-Delicious
Twitter handle: @stonebrewingco, @beerchooser
Name of blog: The Stone Blog, The BeerChooser Blog
Current location: San Diego, CA

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

Los Angeles

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

14

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

I split a 12-pack of fizzy yellow beer with the valet parking attendant at my classmate’s bat mitzvah.

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

Columbia University. I studied history and anthropology. I was an anti-globalization activist, rakish troublemaker, and young bon vivant. New York is a great town in which to ply those trades.

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:

Although I drank plenty of Brooklyn lager in college, my epiphany came shortly after I graduated. In the process of courting the lovely girl I now live with, I made regular visits to Chicago. She lived in Andersonville, near The Hopleaf, a Belgian-focused beer bar of legendary repute. A tulip glass of Tripel Karmeliat blew the doors off my life. I fell in love with the beer and the girl at The Hopleaf.

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

That fortuitous glass of Tripel Karmeliat turned me on to Belgian beer, but it was an AleSmith IPA that turned me on to American craft beer. Another AleSmith beer showed me just how epic beer can be: Kopi Luwak Speedway Stout, a beer made with weasel shit that tastes like rainbows. That removed any doubt that beer is, in fact, the most dynamic and delicious beverage on Earth.

Beer Blog Background

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

At Stone, 8 months. At beerchooser.com, intermittently for a couple of years, I think.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

Well, writing for Stone is my job, so fear of starvation is the prime motivation there. BeerChooser.com is a personal project designed to help people explore craft beer, especially those bewildered by the array of options and worried about wasting money on six packs they won’t like, so that’s a labor of love.

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

You’ll have to ask the creative genius who came up with “The Stone Blog.” As for “The BeerChooser Blog”, well, that’s my groundbreaking originality.

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

People love Stone. They really, really love it. So I want to give them a look behind the curtain. As a beer geek, that’s what I want to see. For BeerChooser, it’s mostly site updates, press coverage, etc…I hope BeerChooser helps people explore craft beer with more confidence, as if they have a knowledgeable friend who consistently recommends beers they love. Except that the friend is a computer/phone instead of a human being.

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

I get a paycheck from a legendary craft brewery for which I have oodles and oodles of respect. That is the coolest. Plus, I get to go to some events for my job that I would gladly pay to attend. OK, so the whole thing in general is pretty cool. But don’t think I don’t work my ass off; I do. In fact, I have very little ass remaining at this point.

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

BeerAdvocate, RateBeer, BeerNews. That’s where the tribe congregates.

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

IPA, Russian Imperial Stout, American Wild Ale. Groundbreaking, I know.

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Stone, Russian River, AleSmith. Cigar City should be in there as well; they’re pushing American Strong Ales—the style pioneered by Arrogant Bastard Ale—in new and devastatingly delicious directions.

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

I wish I were chopping wood at Brasserie Caracole in Belgium for their wood-fired kettles. That sounds far better than taking pictures at obscenely decadent beer and food events.

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

Yes, I am. I recently brewed an American Pale Ale that creates wormholes in the space/time continuum every time you crack one open.

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

I have a purple belt in Taekwondo. It helps me hold my own on judging panels.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

Dark Lord paired with fillet of unicorn.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

Social Media Coordinator at Stone Brewing Co. I attend to my adoring fans on Facebook. In the 8 months I’ve worked at Stone, we’ve gone from 18,000 to 52,000 “Likes” on our Facebook page. My personal goal is to surpass a certain (insipid, deceptive, bullshit) lunar-themed brand with around 58,000 fans. If I do that, Greg has promised me a Fabergé egg filled with leprechaun tears from his personal collection. I’ve also been doing a lot of work on the European brewery project.

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 would be an Afghan opium lord. I wrote a short story about the subject in 5th grade, and it’s been a dream ever since.

3. Are you married? Children?

Nope. Yup. Kidding.

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

I rip phone books in half for stress relief.

Off The Beaten Path

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

I would be a maple-wood smoked rye imperial brown ale fermented & lagered with a mix of Belgian, German, and American yeasts and aged in a toasted American oak barrel.

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?

Russian River Temptation. I forget the batch, but my first bottle of that beer had more white wine character than the subsequent bottles I’ve had. The smell and taste of that first bottle were so good they nearly melted my face off.

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?

Sorry, but I don’t believe in contract brewing. I think it undermines the authenticity of craft beer and misleads consumers about beers’ origins. If your name is on a beer, you should be making it yourself, on your own equipment.

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

The ability to conjure up a plate of vegan tamales and a live mariachi band at a moment’s notice.

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

I went to a baile funky (literally, “funk dance”) in a Rio slum. There were a thousand people dancing inside a crater in the middle of the favela. Teenage drug dealers were walking around, hitting on girls and firing their machine guns in the air. They had crews of younger kids with handguns stuffed into their swim trunks who were drinking cocktails, smoking joints, and sniffing glue. There was an enormous wall of speakers blasting music so loud it made your brain vibrate. The dancing was frenetic, endless, and—to put it mildly—suggestive. Compared to that spectacle, the parties you see in hip hop videos look like ice cream socials hosted by the Yale a cappella club.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

I’m a vegan. I could fuel my Hummer with a pureé of rainforest trees and endangered coral reefs, and it wouldn’t equal the environmental impact of eating animal products.

SPECIAL THANKS TO JACOB FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!

Move over Hollywood A-Listers, BEER is the new lead actor in town.

The Monterey Beer Festival on June 5th,2010 and the Great American Beer Festival (Denver) in September 2010 will show the “first-ever” Short Pour Film Festival, entirely based on the subject of BEER.

The Short Pour Film Fest will showcase original short films, clips from Beer TV shows,
Vintage & Modern Beer Commercial, Music Videos about Beer, Movies about Beer and clips from “BEER WEEKS” around the United States.

Included will be lighthearted looks at brew, including personal stories about drinking beer and brewery films from “Brewers” who’ll reveal their secrets in beer making.

Are you a beer geek with some sweet filming skills? Or are you a professional videographer with some sweet beer geeking skills? If you’d like to submit a short film/video, being a bonafide beer connoisseur isn’t necessary for the creative process – just having a “personal connection” to brew will suffice.

All film submissions are free of charge to submit. First Prize (the best film submission) is an all expensive paid trip for two to attend the Beer Fest & Film Fest in Monterey.

Event Contact: jeff moses
jeffmoses@nightthatneverends.com
831-521-7921

ANNOUNCING THE 2010 MONTEREY BEER FESTIVAL & SHORT POUR FILM FESTThe 9th Annual Monterey Beer Festival is scheduled to take place on Saturday June 5th, 2010, from 12:30pm to 5pm at the Monterey California Fairgrounds.

The 2010 MBF theme is, “The Celebrity of Beer.”

“Beer is now the celebrity of the beverage world, due to the quality of beer products available throughout the U.S. We can thank our great American Breweries(both big & small), import beer companies and beer distribution companies for giving us such a vast and diverse amount of incredible beer to enjoy.” — Jeff Mosses, event organizer.

For the 2010 MBF, over 5,000 loyal beer drinkers are expected to be in attendance. Last years’ MBF was a sold out event.

The SHORT POUR FILM FEST – the “First Ever” short film festival on the subject of BEER — is scheduled to debut at the Monterey Beer Festival. The film line-up for Short Pour contains Live Action & Animation shorts, Music Videos and Commercials from around the globe. All entries are on the subject of BEER.

The Short Pour Film Fest will also play in September 2010 at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

TICKETS
Admission is only $35 dollars in advance or $40 dollars at the gate. There’s ample parking. Admission covers beer sampling, entertainment and fun. Food and other merchandise are available for purchase.

Monterey Fairgrounds Location
Thus continues the 6th year of the Monterey Beer Festival at the Monterey Fairgrounds, home to such greats as the Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey Blues Festival, Monterey County Fair and others. So come join the fun. Directions can be found at http://www.montereycountyfair.com.

Only people certifiably over the age of 21 will be admitted to the Beer Fest & Film Fest. However, if you have a small child, under age 12, who you’d like to bring along, feel free, there’s no charge. No animals or pets allowed.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Monterey Culinary Center Foundation for the Culinary Arts.

For Short Pour Film Fest Info
http://www.nightthatneverends.com/short_pour.html

For Short Pour Submission Forms
http://www.nightthatneverends.com/Short_Pour_Entry.pdf

If you’d like to attend the festival (or thinking are about attending), send jeffmoses@nightthatneverends.com a return e mail to reserve your spot.

Cheers!

A year ago, I would never have predicted that I would  be where I am today. If someone was to tell me that I would have met all of the people that I met, traveled to all of the places that I traveled, and experienced all of the things that I did, I would not have believed it.

Let us rewind it back and look at 2009:

Still living in Orlando, in MASSIVE transition, working at Seasons 52 — high-end seasonally inspired fresh grill and wine bar. At this time, The Wench seriously studies for Sommelier and Certified Specialist of Wine certifications. At this point, wine is The Wench’s profession and beer remains her hobby.

The last weekend of January, The Wench travels to California for the ZAP Zinfandel Festival. Met SEVERAL of my twitter followers over the course of a few days. Drank lots of amazing vino, took a day trip to Napa. Trip was way too short.

Drink with the Wench turns ONE on February 7th!

Towards the end of the month, The Wench attends the first dinner in a series of Twitter Taste Live dinner party tweetups at Dolce Debbie‘s house in Tampa, FL. The theme was Italian wines & Italian foods and was co-hosted with Matt Horbund from A Good Time With Wine.

At the beginning of the month, The Wench co-hosts a Twitter Taste Live with Dogfish Head.

The rest of the month is rather uneventful.

The beginning of the month starts out with a BANG. The Wench tri-hosts THE FIRST EVER Twitter Taste Live Beer vs. Wine Dinner at Dolce Debbie’s house in Tampa, FL. Dolce Debbie planned and cooked a beautiful five course menu, Matt Horbund paired four of the dishes with a wine and The Wench paired the same dishes with a beer. The verdict? A tie.

The Wench announces her desire to work in the beer industry by announcing The Wenchternship. No one bites and the project is quickly abandoned.

Things take a turn for the worse when The Wench gets in a bad car accident. Car accident results in several weeks off from work and 2 months of daily physical therapy.

Car accident results in a mini-depressive episode and a significant reduction of blog posts.

Plagued by a series of unfortunate an undesirable events in Orlando (including the car accident), The Wench is “saved” when she gets invited to live with Dolce Debbie and her husband Barry Frangipane in Tampa, FL. Without hesitation, The Wench moves to Tampa.

Things begin to look better for The Wench. She begins to gain momentum.

Happy Birthday to The Wench. Ashley turns 26 on June 13th. Dolce Debbie hosts the party of a lifetime in honor of the birthday twins — The Wench and Aging Backwards.

Early in the month, The Wench attempts to enter what she calls “No Man’s Land” by writing a series of posts featuring linear pairings between beer and wine. Although widely popular, the series is short lived — with potential to be revived in the new year.

The end of the month brings an invite by Samuel Adams to attend an expense paid trip to Charleston, SC in July to attend a beer dinner at The Culinary Institute.

Things get REALLY exciting this month.

The Wench flies to Charleston, SC to attend a Samuel Adams beer dinner at The Culinary Institute of Charleston. She has the honor of sitting next to Samuel Adam’s head brewer, Bob Cannon, for the duration of the dinner. Following the dinner, The Wench lands her very first brewer interview with Bob Cannon. She also interviews the head Chef of the beer dinner.

At the end of the month, Ashley find herself back in Wine Country, CA for the 2009 Wine Bloggers Conference.

While in California, Ashley takes her first trip to Twisted Oak Winery in Murphy’s. It is here where she develops an obsession for the River of Skulls and meets the love of her life, her rubber chicken aptly named “Don Quixote.” After a day full of wine tasting in the town of Murphy’s, drinking gueze, feasting on tri-tip, swimming in the creek and wine blending, The Wench spends a wonderful night sleeping underneath the Twisted Oak Winery Twisted Oak Tree.

It is in this moment that The Wench has an epiphany and starts thinking about moving to CA.

Day one of the Wine Bloggers Conference reunites Ashley with many of her Twitter friends from across the country as well as gives her the opportunity to meet new followers. She also gets to meet the boys from Mutineer Magazine.

Day two of the Wine Bloggers Conference is EPIC. The day starts with Bloody Marys and ends with Absinthe. Bus Number Four becomes legendary.

Day three of the Wine Bloggers Conference gives Ashley the confidence she needs to make her declaration to move to CA. The gears start turning and she starts plotting a cross country trip with instant BFF Shana Ray.

This month is one of complete chaos and absolute insanity.

The Wench officially decides on a whim to pick up everything and move across country — with no job, prospect of a job or place to live.

Burnt out and needing an adventure, Shana Ray makes the spontaneous decision to book a flight to Florida and make the drive across country with Ashley. After hours of brainstorming, the ambitous pair create PROJECT Y-INE — the first social media expose focused on researching the beer & wine consumption behaviors of Generation Y.

After analyzing all possible routes across country, The Wench decides that the southern route would be the most ideal. She reaches out to her Twitter & beer blogger contacts in each city, setting up as many events allow the way as possible.

Even before the trip details are complete solidified, Ashley makes the spontaneous decision to plan a trip to the Midwest just days after her assumed arrival in California.

Shana flies in to Tampa on the 14th. Dolce Debbie hosts a bon-voyage dinner for The Wench at her favorite Tampa restaurant, Pellagia.

With tears in her eyes and a Starbucks gift card in hand, The Wench packs up her car, hugs her “parents” Debbie and Barry goodbye and embarks upon the cross country adventure of a lifetime.

First stop: New Orleans. The Wench meets up with fellow beer blogger, The Beer Buddha at The Avenue Pub. There she also meets Matt Austin and the entire team of NOLA Brewing Co. The first night took a turn for the more awesome (and worst in Shana’s case) when the ladies found themselves visiting the “exclusive” favorite watering hole of the NOLA locals — Snake and Jakes Christmas Club Lounge.

Day two in NOLA started out slow. The girls did not find themselves leaving the house until late afternoon. Matt Austin plays tour guide through the French Quarter. The Wench gets her palm read and buys the most kickass pirate hat. Dylan Lintern of NOLA Brewing Co. invites The Wench and posse to join him and his brother for a potluck beer tasting at their house — complete with a full L shaped bar, 6 taps and a digital karaoke machine. The tasting is epic. Events from that night inspire Matt to start writing his own beer blog: I’m Pouring.

Second stop: Houston, TX. The girls spend the night eating pizza and drinking local beer with Amy and Joe Power from Another Wine Blog. The night is capped off with chess, chocolate and vino. The next morning, the ladies find themselves visiting NASA.

Third stop: Austin. The girls almost never leave. Here they meet the most infamous @baconator from Twitter. He foolishly allows the girls to take over his house for 3 days. The trio of trouble makers then proceed to take Austin by storm. Local beer blogger, Chris Troutman of Beer Town Austin, organizes two beer events for The Wench: The Draught House Over A Pint Episode and Uncle Billy’s Brew & Que tour and tasting. Local food blogger, Jennie Chen of MisoHungry Makes it With Moonshine concocts some amazing beer desserts for the events.

The girls decide to stay in Austin and extra night and, as a result, spend 16 hours on the road driving to the Fourth stop: Phoenix. The Wench’s Uncle Terry Simpson hosts the girls for two nights.

Fifth stop: Los Angeles. Here The Wench meets up with fellow beer blogger, Chris Spradley of Breweries, Bars and Beer Food. Chris organizes a beer dinner at The Library Ale House which is followed by amazing beers at the Daily Pint. The next day, Chris hooks The Wench up with a video interview with Brian Lenzo at Blue Palms Brewhouse in Hollywood. The ladies cap the L.A. experience with a wenchmade (Whole Foods style) dinner party with Twisted Oak wines for Chris and the lovely bloggers from Hipster Enology.

After a scenic drive up Highway 1, the girls finally end the trip with beers at the Russian River Brewpub in Santa Rosa. They are joined by several wine country celebrities, including Rick Bakas of St Supery, Hardy Wallace of Dirty South Wine and Josh Hershberger of Pinot Blogger.

Whereas August was legendary, September is monumental.

With barely two weeks of California sunshine under her belt, The Wench whisks off to the Midwest for a 10 day beer extravaganza. The trip begins in Chicago and then works it way up to Wisconsin for Milwaukee beer week, a few beer dinners and The Great Lakes Brew Fest — where The Wench serves as a “mini mascot” and gets to lead the Pirate Parade.

The trip ends in Chicago where The Wench has the opportunity of a lifetime to have dinner at The Hop Leaf with Ray Daniels of the Cicerone Certification Program. Right before she jets back to California, Ashley grabs a few beers and a pizza with a small group of dudes (who would ultimately come good friends) that call themselves the #gents. One #gent in presence was the one and only Mr. Ken Hunnemeder from HopCast.

After less than 3 days back in California, the jet-setting Wench finds herself on yet another plane — this time to Denver for the Great American Beer Festival. Over a 5 day span, The Wench drinks her body weight (and then some) in amazing American beer from all over the country. She is reunited with old friends as well as has the opportunity to meet many of her Twitter friends in real life.

It is in Denver where Ashley first meets for the first time in person one of her best friends and fellow beer bloggers, PJ Hoberman from Starting a Brewery. She also meets Tim Cigeleske of Draft Magazine’s blog The Beer Runner, Chipper Dave of Fermentedly Challenged, Larry McIntosh of Madhouse Larry, Stef Ferrari of Girls For The Advancement of Craft Beer, Sarah Huska and many many others.

In addition to meeting several bloggers and tweeters, Ashley is honored when she gets to meet industry celebrities such as Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head, Rob Tod from Allagash, Vinnie & Natalie Chilurzo from Russian River, Greg Koch from Stone, Steve Parkes from the American Brewers Guild, Dan Del Grande from Bison Brewing, Joey Redner from Cigar City, Patrick Rue from The Bruery and so on and so forth.

October is the month of wine. Thanks to her amazing friends Thea Dwelle of Luscious Lushes and Shana Ray of Breathe Media, Ashley attends several wine blogger events all over Sonoma & Napa Counties. The wineries include, but are not limited to: KAZ Winery, Micheal Schlumberger, Benziger, BV Vineyards (where Ashley partakes in a grape stomping competition), Arista, Rubissow (where Ashley helps harvest grapes), Conn Creek, Bella, Rodney Strong, Papa Pietro Perry, ZD, Titus and several more.

Ashley even gets the honor of sitting in on an episode of Wine Biz Radio — where she is deemed “The Being of Pure Id” by its host Randy Hall.

Mid month, Hardy Wallace of Dirty South Wine hosts his annual Taco-Toberfest. Ashley also takes a trip into San Francisco where she attends a Tequila tasting for the U.S. launch of Don Roberto Tequilas.

Later in the month, Sondra Bernstein from the girl and the fig rolls out the red carpet for The Wench and posse at her restaurant. The group follows up an epic lunch by attending a book signing with Gary Vee from Wine Library TV. Ashley proceeds to drink lots of wine and molest Gary Vee with her rubber chicken — Don Quixote. Oddly enough, Gary Vee doesn’t seem to mind and, in fact, seems to like it.

After a few weeks choked full of wine and food events, The Wench finds herself back on a plane to the Midwest — this time for the Great Lakes Craft Brewers and Water Conservation Conference organized by Lucy Saunders of BeerCook.Com. There she gets to rub elbows with many brewers and beer industry movers and shakers.

October ends with a St Supery tweetup on The Napa Valley Wine Train. Costumes optional.

There is only one word for November — EPIC.

Hardy Wallace kicks off the month by hosting two of the finalists from Top Chef Season 6 — Eli Kershtien and Kevin Gillespie — for a few nights of food & wine debauchery in Sonoma County.

Early month, Ashley finally gets to meet her “big sister” from Twitter, Taylor Shaw aka The Art of Beer. This fateful meeting ultimately triggers Ashley to book a flight to San Diego for beer week.

On November 8th, Ashley experiences a major climax in her life as a beer writer while attending the Life & Limb Release Beer Dinner in San Francisco. At the dinner, Ashley gets the once in a lifetime opportunity to interview one of her greatest and most respected beer mentors, Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head. She also gets to spend some quality time with one of the most respected and successful craft brewers in the industry, Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada.

Mid month, The Wench finds herself jet setting yet again in the name of beer. She heads down to San Diego for some of the most epic beer events of her “young” life. In San Diego, she meets up with her big sister Taylor Shaw and new best friend PJ Hoberman as well as many of her other great Twitter friends such as Alex P Davis, Jordan & Renee Rounds, Kristen & Martin Emde and the super sexy team of boys from New Brew Thursday: Stephen Johnson, John Holzer, Brad Kohlenburg.

The event highlights of San Diego Beer Week include: Meeting Dr. Bill Sysak, the 10 year vertical tasting of Double Bastard at Stone World Bistro, Lost Abbey Art Show & Beer Tasting, Firestone Walker 13th Anniversary tapping at Stone World Bistro, special VIP Twitter dinner with Greg Koch at Suite and Tender, Green Flash 7th Anniversary Festival, a VIP tasting of rare beers from Dr. Bill’s collection at Stone World Bistro, Belgian Beer & Cheese Pairing at Stone World Bistro and the Lost Abbey Rare Beer Tasting & Dinner.

At the end of the month, Ashley is invited to spend Thanksgiving with two of her amazing wine maker friends: Alan Baker and Serena Lourie of Cartograph Wines. Thanksgiving is a tremendous gourmet feast complimented by a stellar lineup of wine and beer.

Times, they are a changing. REALLY REALLY fast.

First of the month, Ashley gets the opportunity to meet the one and only Shaun O’ Sullivan of 21st Amendment. He brings samples of his newly released Monk’s Blood.

On a whim, Ashley throws caution to the wind and takes the first level of the Cicerone Certification Program. Without studying or any preparation, The Wench passes the test and becomes an Certified Beer Server.

Early in the month, good friend Baconator visits Ashley & Shana for a week. Lots of wine, beer & food debauchery go down. Ashley gets the rare opportunity of a lifetime to have dinner at The French Laundry. Here she has the most intense food and beverage experience of her life. The Master Sommeler, Christopher Hoel, pairs 7 our of the 9 courses with both beer and wine. He chooses wine from her two most favorite regions in the world — Chateauneuf Du Pape and Piedmont — as well as two of her favorite beers of ALL time — Russian River’s Pliny the Elder and Consecration. That night will go down in history.

Drink With The Wench begins to heat up and gain momentum when Ashley decides to do a series of articles featuring interviews with fellow beer bloggers. The series is tremendously successful and will continue into the new year!

Things get really exciting around mid-month when Ashley’s “little brother” Brian Kropf of Mutineer Magazine visits from the East Coast on an Army leave. Taylor Shaw and Stephen Johnson travel up from Southern California to attend a series of beer events hosted in Brian’s honor. The group starts by reeking havoc on 21st Amendment on the 21st. They then take the North Bay by storm: Lunch at Russian River Brewing Company followed by a tour and tasting of Lagunitas Brewpub. Many “celebrity” beer writers come out for the Lagunitas event. They include: Shawn Paxton of The Home Brew Chef, Mario Rubio of Brewed For Thought and Jay Brooks of Brookston Bulletin.

After almost three months of “dating” a Berkeley Brewpub – Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse – Ashley finally gets an official offer on December 30th to become the new Assistant General Manager.

On New Years Eve, The Wench is officially moving to Berkeley. And on New Year’s Day, The Wench will officially kickoff her career as Assistant General Manager of Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse. As fate would have it, Ohio State is also playing in the Rose Bowl that day. January first is shaping up to be the most monumental launch to a new year in the life of The Beer Wench.

Special THANKS to my girl, Shana Ray. Without here, I might not be where I am at today. Our cross country trip was legendary. I’ve enjoyed every moment with her since then and look forward to more in the future! Cheers!

Also, big thanks to everyone who has made an impact in my life in 2009. I would not be the person I am today without meeting all of you — whether our friendship be in the virtual realm, the real world — or both. I love each and every person that has touched my life in some way shape or form. Thank you!

CHEERS!

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: CHIPPER DAVE

AUTHOR OF: FERMENTEDLY CHALLENGED

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: David L. Butler
Internet nickname: Chipper Dave
Twitter handle: @ChipperDave
Name of blog: Fermentedly Challenged
Current location: Greeley, CO -near the heart of beer country!

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

I grew up along the shores of Lake Michigan in a tiny town called St. Joseph, MI. I lived there from 1959 until 1977 when I went off to college.

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

I played local league softball for several years, also 3 years on my high school tennis team. I also was in bowling leagues for many years, both as a kid and an adult. Later on, I played USTA team tennis for a while. I also enjoy downhill skiing for fun. My most extreme sport was Paintball.

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

My first full beer was probably at the age of 16 in high school (1976). Drinking age was 18 back then but you could always find a friend to buy it for you much earlier.

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 first beer was a Miller High Life I believe. It was cheap swill and I didn’t know any better. On occasion I’d get some Heineken because we thought foreign beer was a treat. We thought that the skunky beer was supposed to be good.

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

My undergraduate degree was in Business Administration from Valparaiso University in Indiana. I originally studied Electrical Engineering but it just wasn’t me. Switched to Business Admin with a minor in Information Systems. Graduated in 1982. I was heavily involved in a Music Fraternity on campus (Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia). Our specialty was men’s chorus and Barbershop Quartet singing. I also played in a rock band during college days. I was a keyboard player.

Later, I went to graduate school at Colorado State University. My major was Computer Information Systems. Within 18 months I had studied and interviewed with Hewlett Packard, who had several plants in the area, and landed a job with them doing Information Systems work. I started working for them in 1984 and have worked for them to this very day (26 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:

I was satisfied drinking macro lagers for the longest time. It wasn’t until the mid-1990′s when a buddy at work invited me over and offered a beer to me. It tasted great. I asked him what beer it was and he said that he had made it himself. I never knew people still made their own beer up until then. He told me about how he made it and how he had patterned it after a local microbrew – an Odell 90 Shilling. I later bought some 90 Shilling for myself and loved it. Since then I have been trying as many different craft beers as I can find. I also later started brewing my own beer from time to time.

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

This isn’t exactly about craft beer but a lesson in drinking local. I was on a 2-week camping trip excursion in Banff, Alberta, CA one summer back in 1979. My dad, brother and I had just gotten back off the trail and wanted to find a place to eat and have a beer. We found this old run down bar that served burgers and had a sign on the door that said “Check your knives at the bar”.

The place was full of locals who look like they lived in the woods most of the time. We ordered burgers and a beer each. They had a whole selection of local Canadian beers and one American beer. I had only had the American beer before and ordered that. Soon after, a local with a gruff look came over with a beer and slammed it down on our table and said – “Here – try this!”. He seemed pretty serious.

It was a Labatt’s Blue (I believe) and I tried it and was pleasantly surprised that it tasted better than my American lager. I thanked him for the lesson in drinking local and from then on I vowed to drink as the locals do.

Beer Blog Background

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

To be honest, I’ve only been writing Fermentedly Challenged since October 2007 but I had been blogging since 2004. I was previously known as a poker blogger. I covered the online poker scene soon after Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker. Online poker was a big craze until the Feds shut down the flow of money into those sites. I had been drinking plenty of craft beer during those days and decided one day to keep a blog about the beers I tried. One thing led to another and Fermentedly Challenged was born.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

I’ve always enjoyed writing. In high school, I used to write my own short stories for fun. Later on, when I got into Paintball, I submitted an article for a nationwide Paintball magazine and they published it. When I discovered Google’s Blogger, I began writing about my poker experiences. I loved to blog and I wanted a way to track all the beers I was trying. So I started Fermentedly Challenged. At the time, I didn’t realize that there were so many beer blogs out there. I started getting to know some of them and it quickly became a great hobby and outlet for me.

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

I suppose I was looking for a unique and funny kind of name for a beer blog. With so many blogs out there I wanted to find one that nobody else had taken. I finally came up with Fermentedly Challenged primarily because I felt that I had a lot to learn about craft beer and was a bit “challenged” to find a favorite. The name stuck and I’ve used it for the last couple of years. The pen name “Chipper Dave” is a left over from my poker days. I used to collect casino poker chips as a hobby. Chip collectors are known as “chippers”. I was Chipper Dave in the poker circles longer than I’ve been Chipper Dave in the beer circles.

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

My goals for Fermentedly Challenged have changed a lot during the last 2 years. At first, I was content in using the blog as a diary and logbook for my beer adventures. Then one day I found that I found interest from people in my stories about the local breweries and other regional beer news and added that to my regular writings. I still had my poker blog and was making a little money here and there and thought I could apply some of that experience to my beer blog and make a bit of money on the side. I’ve started adding articles about homebrewing to my blog and am finding that there is a great interest from readers in that. I’d like to eventually use my blog as a secondary income source and perhaps a few years down the road transform it into something I can do full time. Writing, reporting, traveling, taking videos and trying all the different beers I can is a lot of fun.

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

I think the coolest thing (and there are many of them) have been meeting a lot of new people that I had previously only had known from their blogs and web sites. I’ve met several commercial brewers, beer bloggers and beer podcast people. The annual GABF in Denver is probably the best place to meet people in the industry. The other cool things is that I’ve gotten to know many of my local brewers. They’ve given me personal tours and let me try some of their experimental beers before they go to market. It’s fun being given access to their insights and of course their beers too.

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

That’s a hard question. I literally subscribe to over 100 beer blogs that I read regularly. There are so many interesting writers out there. I maintain a favorite’s list out on my blog. There are probably around 50 or so blogs out there, and those are just the tip of the iceburg. I’ve always enjoyed following “Drink with the Wench” and hope you continue to grow in popularity.

But if I’d have to pick a few out I’d mention these: Dr. Fermento aka James Roberts – a writer from Alaska who does a regular newspaper column as well as maintain a beer blog. I recently traveled to Alaska and found his blog while searching for local beer and have read him ever since.

Another beer blogger I’ve followed for a while is The Beer Philosopher aka Shawn Connelly. He’s the founder of the Aleuminati – a social community on the Ning network. Shawn is now branching out as a writer for the new Beer Connoisseur Magazine. I’d admired his dedication to craft beer. One other blogger I’ll mention is Eli Shayotovich, the mad man of beer. He is a writer for the Examiner and is the Colorado Springs Beer Examiner. Eli is also part of the BeerTapTV.com team. He and Erik Boles and Dusty Frazier put out weekly videos about craft beer. I’ve gotten to know Eli and enjoy what he does.

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

I most enjoy Imperial Stouts, Sour Ales and Barrel Aged beers (of all kinds). I find myself writing about these kinds of beers the most.

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Favorite local breweries: Odell Brewing, New Belgium of Fort Collins, CO and Crabtree Brewing of Greeley, CO

Favorite craft breweries: Bells Brewing (MI), Stone Brewing (CA), Dogfish Head (DE), Avery Brewing (CO)

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

If I had to choose, I’d work for New Belgium Brewing. Why? I admire their efforts at being environmentally conscious and also because they make some of the tastiest beers I’ve ever had! I love their work ethic and always feel welcomed when I visit their brewery.

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

Yes, I do homebrew on occasion. I’ve only made about 4 batches of beer in my life and hope to continue to experiment more often in the past. I don’t home that often, but when I do I like to make dark beers (my favorite). I recently made a porter that I modified the recipe significantly (some of it by accident) and created a lighter, creamier almost Marzen-like beer.

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

I have none of these (yet) but hope to eventually earn the BJCP and the Cicerone.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

My absolute all-time favorite beer and food pairing is to make Imperial Stout Ice Cream floats! I use either ice cream with chocolate bits in it or on occasion with Raspberry Chocolate chip ice cream. Simply heaven! On occasion I like to pair IPA’s with spicy tacos too.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

I am a Web Hosting Engineer for Hewlett Packard. I’m part of the HP Enterprise Services team. I help support web sites for one of our biggest IT customers.

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 would definitely want to write for a living and perhaps travel around the world to visit breweries. I’d also like to pursue creating more videos involving craft beer. My Flip Mino HD mini-cam and I are best friends.

3. Are you married? Children?

Yes! I have been happily married since 1982 to my one and only wife Julie. We met in college and fell in love. We moved out here to Colorado in 1982 and raised a family. I have 3 kids: Boy (23), girl (20), boy (16). Only 1 kid left in the house. I also have a black male cocker spaniel dog.

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

I’ve been an adult leader in the Boy Scouts of America for the last 14+ years. We enjoy camping, hiking, photography and stargazing. I still play poker on occasion too. I am also a big Rockies baseball fan and Broncos football fan.

Off The Beaten Path

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

I would love to be a tart, sour, barrel-aged beer made using Brettanomyces yeast. I’m a big fan of the sour funk these days. I think this type of beer has a lot of potential and seems to be growing in popularity right now.

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?

If I knew I was going to die, I’d probably ask for a Tactical Nuclear Penguin from Brewdog (Scotland). It’s 32% ABV and I’d want to be totally liquored up before being executed – primarily because I wouldn’t care after finishing a bottle of that.

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?

The image of a beer wench makes me think about someone who is smart, sassy and a bit of a tart. So perhaps the Beer Wench would be a highly tart, funky and of course a wild ale! I’d throw in some Grains of Paradise into it for just a good bit of spice too.

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

I’d like the power of teleportation, kinda like that big blue guy in the Watchmen movie. That way, I could blink myself to any brewery I’d like to visit anytime I wanted and try all of the world’s beers. I wouldn’t have to drive afterwards either.

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

Once when I was 19 and visiting Yellowstone National Park, I crawled out onto a rock in the middle of a raging river just within a stone’s throw of the big waterfall there. If I had fallen in I would have been swept over the edge and killed for sure. Don’t think I’ll do that again anytime soon.

What are your thoughts on bacon?

It goes with everything! I’d like to see it brewed in a smoked beer.

Special Thanks to “Chipper” Dave Butler for an awesome interview!

CHEERS!

DRINK WITH THE WENCH PRESENTS:

The Beer Tweeter Interview Series

Beer bloggers are not the only people using social media to share their passion for and knowledge of craft beer. Twitter is one of the most important tools in today’s craft beer industry. Beer tweeters all over the world are influencing and impacting the way people interact with and experience craft beer. The Beer Wench has embarked upon a mission to interview as many beer tweeters that she can — from all over the world.

Are you a beer tweeter? Do you want to share your story? Send me an email!

INTRODUCING BEER TWEETER: DERRICK MORSE

Twitter handle: @socialremorse

Current location: Denver, CO

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

Boulder, CO, but my stomping grounds wind up and down the front-range.

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

Oy! Do we have 3 posts to cover this?

Growing up: Skiing, Sailing, Canoeing, and Backpacking.

High school: Mountain Biking, Snowboarding, Football, and Wrestling.

College: Cycling, Running, and chasing tail (considered a sport in Boulder).

Currently: Triathlete, Cyclist, Skiing Snowboarder, Sailor, Outdoor enthusiast.

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

8

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 grew up spending my summers in Germany (Mother is German), and requisitely had my first beer quite early in my developmental years. I still remember the day clearly; it was my father’s favorite pilsner. Jever Pilsner. It was, up to that point in my life, the most fowl thing I had ever tasted.

Currently, it’s one of my favorite beers.

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 Colorado University. The best school in the world! It’s where I learned about craft beer, and how much I could drink before I puked. My college life was a cross between the movies “Animal House” “Van Wilder” and “Go”. I spent most of my time trying to get out of trouble, and in the meantime earned a BS with an emphasis in nutrition and kinesiology.

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 was sitting in a buddy’s basement, lamenting how ugly his 1970’s couch was. We were debating if we should get a black light and see how much DNA was deposited within the cushions.

Right at that moment, a friend of a friend came in carrying a bunch of Left hand Sawtooth. He exclaimed that a friend of his worked there and these were the ones that they couldn’t sell. From that moment on, I loved Amber ales.

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

After college, I made the blunder in following my (now) x-wife out to Phoenix. Colorado has more breweries per capita than any other place in the US. Phoenix sucked for craft beer. After what felt like an eternity in hell, I moved back to my beloved Colorado.

Within my first month back, my best friend of 15 years took me to volunteer at the great American beer fest.

If epiphanies feel like hoppy orgasims, this was it. Since then I’ve spent way, way to much money hunting down those rare, limited released, hide in your closet for a year beers.

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

American Amber
American IPA
Dopplebock

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Left hand brewing
Twisted Pine
Guinness (I named my dog Guinness)

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

Boulder Beer Company. It was originally started by two hippie smoking CU professors that loved beer. My father used to drink their beer, and one of my favorite beers of all time “Hazed and Infused” lives there. It’s Colorado’s oldest craft beer brewery, and since I grew up on the mean streets of boulder…. This would be my brewery of choice.

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

I tried my hand at it in college, but not since. Maybe soon after I move into my new house.

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

Nobody in their right mind is going to give me a certificate for beer.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

Beer Geek answer: Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA with cracked pepper steak, and roasted garlic butter over grilled portabella. My mouth is watering right now

Joe six-pack answer: I love a Coors light with a pepperoni and bacon Pizza Hut pizza.

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

I’m not sure I can truly answer this. I’ve only discovered this “beer underground” network of bloggers recently. I’ll have to get back to this question in a year.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job? Marketing for Advantage Group.

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 like to be the glitter applicator for Victoria’s secret models

2. Are you married? Children?

I used to be married, currently trying to avoid dating. I have no children (that I know of). Though, I’d like to have children sometime.

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

I’ve got a finger in about everything. I’m an armature photographer, outdoor enthusiast, and a lover of Labradors. I’m also retarded for the Denver Broncos.

Off The Beaten Path

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

An oak whiskey red. Strong and Complex

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?

Anything with suds around cellar temperature. I just love beer, and having one right before I died would be heaven.

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?

Bud Light clone. (The Wench just threw up a little in her mouth. Thanks, Derrick. JERK.)

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

Clairvoyance

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

This would get me fired, and/or arrested. Let’s just say that I live a full life.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

Good stuff, I especially like the bacon from whole foods. If I had to pick, it would be a bacon on a pizza from Beau Jo’s pizza. Delicious.

SPECIAL THANKS TO DERRICK FOR HIS AWESOME INTERVIEW AND BEET TWEETS!

CHEERS!

In honor of my up-and-coming involvement in both the Great Lakes Brew Fest and The Great American Beer Festival over the next week, I decided it would be appropriate to post a few tips on how to survive a beer festival. Most of my suggestions go without saying — but the most obvious tips are also the most important!

MINI-BREW FEST SURVIVAL GUIDE
by The Beer Wench

Naturally, a festival that involves copious amounts of beer consumption has the potential of being either really fun or really disastrous. Here are a few tips to ensure that your brew fest experience is really awesome (and not disastrous).

1. HYDRATE. With water, not just beer. You should try to match every ounce of beer you consume with an ounce of water. The more, the better.

2. DRESS COMFORTABLY. And most importantly — wear comfortable and appropriate shoes. High-heels may seem like a cute idea, but not after hours of standing and walking.

3. PROTECT YOURSELF from the elements. Wear sunscreen, bring a hat or sunglasses and bring a poncho if there is a chance of rain.

4. PACK LIGHT. Big bulky purses or bags can be cumbersome and intrusive on others drinking hand in close quarters. Leave valuables at home for they may be easily lost, stolen or broken.

5. BE RESPECTFUL of your servers. At a festival there is often a mix of professionals and volunteers pouring. Feel free to ask them questions about the beers, but do not be offended if they cannot respond. Also keep in mind that the person pouring your beer may also be the brewer — honesty is encouraged but refrain from making any harsh negative comments.

6. MONITOR alcohol intake. Those little sample pours can add up really fast if you are not careful. Pay attention to the ABV% on all the beers you are tasting. Often times, seemingly light bodied and easy to drink beers can be very high in alcohol.

7. SKIP THE PERFUME. Just for one day. Overbearing perfumes or colognes can over power the aromatics of the beer and may negatively impact the experience for serious beer drinkers.

8. EAT. Alcohol on an empty stomach is never a smart idea. Luckily, brew festivals tend to have lots of great local foods available for purchase.

CHEERS!!!

You must forgive me, for I have been terribly rude.

You see, for two weeks now I have been planning an intense 11 day road trip across the southern most states of the United States. And I have not even made one mention of it on my blog — for which I apologize.

The original purpose of the road trip was merely to move to a TBD location in Northern California.

Now, the trip has become so much more.

A good friend of mine, Shana Ray, developed a rather intruging idea for a market research project for the wine industry consisting of traveling across the country interviewing members of Generation Y about their wine consumption. The project was still in development phase when I ran into her at the 2009 Wine Bloggers Conference in Napa & Sonoma.

Attending the Wine Bloggers Conference was the final push I needed to move to California. It was the 4th time, in the course of 11 months, that I had visited the “Bay Area”. Each and every time I visited, I swore to myself (and many of my friends) that I would move there. And now I am finally holding true to my word.

This Monday, August 17th, I disembarked on a cross country voyage that will take me through the cities of Tampa, New Orleans, Houston, Austin, TBD New Mexico, Phoenix, Los Angeles and TBD NorCal.

After a bit of persuasion and a few glasses of wine, Shana Ray made the commitment to join me on the adventure. We decided that there is no time like the present to launch the preliminary phase of her market research project on the drinking habits of Generation Y.

ANNOUNCING PROJECT Y-INE — the first social media exposé on Generation Y and their drinking habits from the minds of Shana Ray and Ashley V Routson.

Project Y-ine will go past the generic survey questions and talk to people in their own backyards, bars or wherever else they hang out and drink with friends. The research and findings will be documented in an interactive, social media based journal of the experience, utilizing several social media platforms to capture their experience –including blogging, video-blogging, tweeting, facebooking, twitpic’ing, etc.

The move could not have come at a more opportune moment in my life as The Beer Wench. I’m about to launch my blog into the next phase. The talented people from Venataur Web Design recently developed a new interface for my blog. In addition to a new “look and feel,” I am in the process of reorganizing the content of my blog.

BUT. La creme de la creme of the entire “makeover” will be the addition of video blogs. The use of video on my blog will begin with my cross country trip. I have beer events set up in 3 of the cities along the trip:

1. New Orleans with Jeremy Labadie of “The Beer Buddha”

2. Austin with Chris Troutman of “Beer Town Austin”

3. Los Angeles with Chris Spradley of “Brewerires Bars and Beer Food”

I will do my best to announce the dates, times and places we will be meeting for each of the events. If you are in the area, you are more than welcome to join us and I am open to additional collaborations along the way (email me at drinkwiththewench@gmail.com)

Last but not least, I am also excited to announce that I will be attending both the Great Lakes Brew Fest as well as the Great American Beer Festival in September. Details of both of those trips are to come.

Keep your eyes peeled in the very near future for a new Drink With The Wench interface as well as the addition of video to the blog!

Cheers!