The Session is the brain child of beer blogging veterans Stan Hieronymus of Appellation Beer and Jay Brooks of Brookston Bulletin. On the first Friday of each month, all participating bloggers write about a predetermined topic. Each month a different blogger is selected to host The Session. The blogger gets to choose the topic (provided it has not already been covered). The day after The Session is over, the blogger is then “required” (I say this loosely) to post a roundup of all the responses received. For more info on The Session, check out the archive page.

Yours truly has been assigned the honor of conceptualizing Session #44 — the first Friday in October of 2010.

October is one of my favorite months for several reasons — college football season, fall foliage, apple picking, and … Halloween.

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday, if not my favorite day of the year. All-Hallows-Eve is the only night of the year when hosting a séance and playing with tarot cards, voodoo dolls and Ouija boards are socially acceptable. It is the only day that people can parade around in costumes, without being carted off to the insane asylum.

For me, Halloween is a magical and mystical day where I can transcend the boundary between reality and fantasy. It is a day where I can be anyone and anything I want.

In honor of Halloween, I have decided to give Session #44 the theme of “Frankenstein Beers.” For those of you not familiar with the story, Frankenstein was actually the name of the scientist, not the monster.

Frankenstein was obsessed with natural philosophy and chemistry. He set on a mission to defy the laws of nature. His scientific creation was unlike anything the world had ever seen before. It was not a man, but a monster, constructed of human parts and various other inanimate objects.

“Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world.” — Frankenstein.

Many craft brewers are like Frankenstein. They have become mad scientists obsessed with defying the laws of brewing and creating beers that transcend style guidelines. These “Frankenstein Beers” challenge the way people perceive beer. They are freaks of nature — big, bold and intense. The ingredients resemble those of a beer and the brewing process might appear to be normal, but some aspects of the entire experience are experimental, unorthodox and insane.

An altercation with these beers produces confusion in the eye of the taster … is it a beer, or a monster?

“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.” -The Monster.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write a blog post on “Frankenstein Beers.” There are no rules about how to write about this topic — feel free to highlight a Frankenstien brewer, brewery, beer tasting notes … or just your opinions on the concept.

In order to partake in “The Session”, either link back to this blog post in your article, or post a link to it on my blog. The following Monday, I will collect and present a summary of all the Session #44 blogs! I look forward to reading everyone’s blog!

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: THE BEER WENCH

AUTHOR OF: DRINK WITH THE WENCH

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Ashley Virginia Routson
Internet nicknames: The Beer Wench & Wenchie. (Do not even ask me how, why and when people started calling me Wenchie. The Beer Wench was meant to be a BADASS name … but somewhere along the road people decided to give me a cutsie little nickname. Crazy kids.)
Twitter handle: @TheBeerWench
Name of blog: Drink With The Wench
Current location: I am a gypsy. (But currently reside in Berkeley, CA)

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

I was born in Denver, but grew up in the town of Montgomery — just 60 miles north of Manhattan in the very beautiful and historical Hudson Valley, NY. And despite what all the the city folks love to say, I am not from UPSTATE New York. I am from DOWNSTATE.

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

I swam competitively from age 6 till I was nearly 21. My swimming career ended with a debilitating bicep injury while in college and I was forced to quit just 6 weeks before the Big Ten Swimming & Diving Championships. (I tore my bicep in the weight room and trained on it until I could not lift my arm. I couldn’t even write. It was bad.)

In middle school and high school, I was on the track team. Although sprinting was my forte, I dabbled in almost every single field event — hurdles, long jump, high jump, shot put, decathalon and I’m proud to say that I was the VERY FIRST female polevaulter in my school.

After quitting swimming, I played intramural ice hockey for a quarter at Ohio State. Then my senior year at Ohio State I joined the novice rowing team. After a month on the novice squad, the varsity coach moved me up. An ankle injury was my ultimate downfall and I got surgery just one month before the season started. Instead of quitting, I ended up holding my place on the varsity squad as a coxswain. And no, I did not just yell “stroke stroke stroke” the entire time.

What else? I grew up on a river and have sweet canoeing skills.

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

Technically, I had my first taste of beer while in the womb. Apparently, my mother’s doctor told her it was safe for her to have a half of beer a day during pregnancy. And naturally, my mother indulged. My father wasn’t too thrilled about coming home to a half of a warm beer sitting on the counter, though.

To this day, my mom attests that beer sent her in labor. Whether or not this is true, is debatable. Regardless, I was born to be The Beer Wench.

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

The first beer I actually remember drinking was Samuel Adams Boston Lager. My mother went to Boston College and my parents eloped in Boston. Despite the fact that my mother was born and raised in NYC, she has a weird loyalty to Boston (picks the Red Sox over both the Yankees and the Mets).

Samuel Adams was my mother’s beer of choice. Spaten was my father’s beer of choice. Those were the only two beers that I saw in my house growing up.

Speaking of Spaten and my Dad, that is a great story as well. My Dad rarely ever drinks anything other than Spaten. I’ve never known anyone so loyal to one brand of beer than my father. Our garage refrigerator is always stocked with it. Like always. My Dad brings his own beers to parties because he does not trust anyone else’s tastes. On my 21st birthday, instead of getting kegs of cheap beer for my college-aged cheap friends, he got Spaten. My Dad even brought Spaten to my cousin’s wedding.

Needless to say, I grew up being exposed to “good” beer and craft beer growing 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 love this question. Why? Because I love to live in the “glory days.” I am extremely proud of my achievements at The Ohio State University. I graduated with two B.A. degrees, varsity letters in 2 different sports and I was also involved in several school organizations. I guess you can call me an overachiever.

For this question, I will copy and paste from my resume:

The Ohio State University, 2001 – 2005, Columbus, OH
B.A., Psychology/B.A., Criminology, GPA: 3.6, Cum Laude

*Big Ten Scholar Athlete Award 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
*Ohio State Scholar Athlete Award 2002, 2003, 2004 ,2005
*Ohio State Varsity Swimming & Diving 2001-2004
*Ohio State Varsity Rowing 2004-2005
*Most Improved OSU Female Swimmer 2002
*Buckeye Power Club Award 2003
*Student-Athlete Advisory Board, Marketing Chair
*Romophos Sophmore Honorary (social chair)
*Bucket & Dipper Junior Honorary
*Mortar Board National Senior Honorary
*National Society of Collegiate Scholars
*Golden Key International Honor Society

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 first craft beer epiphany was with DogFish Head’s Midas Touch. At the time I discovered it, I was managing a restaurant in Columbus, OH. I was also studying for sommelier certification and extremely into wine. This was back in the day when DogFish Head did not have a wide distribution and its specialty beers were extremely limited and hard to find. My restaurant was able to secure two cases of Midas Touch (which back then was a lot to get).

Being the “beverage manager,” I made sure to do my research about the beer before it came in. The concept of the beer completely blew my mind. I learned that it was brewed based on an ancient recipe from a DNA analysis of scrapings from barrels in King Midas’ tomb. The ingredients themselves were so weird for beer: honey, saffron, white muscat grapes and barley.

Now you must remember, I was an uber wine geek at that time. So they idea of a “winey beer” really excited me. The flavor delivered as well. This beer completely changed the way I thought about beer and encouraged e to push my beer palate to the extreme.

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

The next beer epiphany was Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale. It was my first taste of an American IPA. It was this beer that turned me into a total hophead. Over the course of two years, while still in Ohio, I probably consumed at least one pint of it a day. No joke. My two favorite beer bars (in my early Drink With The Wench days) always had it on tap. And I used to drink it like water.

My greatest craft beer epiphany BY FAR has to be the first time I ever tasted THE GUEUZE. It was at The Map Room in Chicago in May of 2008. I was in town for the National Restaurant Association Show. Somehow my coworker stumbled upon Brian VanZandbergen of Merchant Du Vin and raved to him about me being a beer blogger.

At this time, I was a total hophead and extreme beer fan. The closest I got to drinking Belgian beers was Unibroue’s La Fin Du Monde and Trois Pistols — which are Belgian styles, not Belgian beers. And I most certainly never touched English of German beers. I wanted my crazy hoppy, big alcohol, over the top flavored beers.

You see, I consider myself to be of the “DogFish Head Generation.” I started drinking extreme beers and completely skipped over the “classic styles.”

Once Brian realized how amateur my palate actually was, he made it his mission to school me on beer. And so my coworker and I piled into his car for a memorable night of beer bar crawling and beer tasting throughout Chicago.

As fate would have it, we ran into Stephen Beaumont — renowned beer writer — at Goose Island brewery. Since then, Stephen has served as an inspiration, tremendous resource and mentor to me. Stephen was also there for my gueuze epiphany.

Long story short (okay I guess it’s a bit late for that), we found ourselves at The Map Room. Brian set us up with a line up of 8 different Merchant Du Vin imported Belgian beers. One of them was Cuvee Renee, Lindeman’s gueuze. From the first sip, I became consumed and obsessed by the gueuze.

And the rest is history.

Beer Blog Background

1. How long have you been writing Drink With The Wench?

I started the website in February of 2007. It was originally titled “The Columbus Beer Wench.”

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

I am a writer. I love writing. And I happen to think that I have an affinity for it. I used to write a random stream of thoughts blog but, after a few months of doing that I decided to really focus my writing skills on one subject.

So I chose beer. Why? Well once I started studying beer, I became obsessed. After I left the restaurant for the marketing and advertising world, I still wanted to be involved in beer. I started hosting tastings and events around town. And then I started my website to help promote my events, recap my events as well as record my tasting notes and experiences.

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

Around the time I started writing her blog, I was working for a marketing and advertising agency. As a result of my job, I understood the importance of establishing a brand (as well as the proper steps of doing it).And so, I sat down one night and forced myself to come up with an Internet beer identity. I wanted something that was relevant to beer, yet playful and ‘rough around the edges’ — just like me. To me, the name Beer Wench is unpretentious and rowdy. However, don’t let the word Wench fool you. The Wench knows her beer.

As for the name Drink With The Wench, that used to be the name of the events I would host around Columbus. When I realized that The Beer Wench URL was taken, I opted for Drink With The Wench.

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

The original goal of the blog was to force me to learn more about beer. When I started it, I was an amateur. I learn best when I take notes and, more importantly, when I teach others. The blog was originally a “virtual notebook” of my beer studies as well as a resource for me to organize beer tastings and beer events where I would teach others what I had learned.

I’m proud to say that I’m no longer a novice and, at the moment, I consider myself to be a beer connoisseur. The goal of my blog now is to spread the good word of craft beer — whether it be through beer tasting notes, beer news, beer event coverage, beer industry interviews, beer & food pairings, recipes with beer.

I love writing. I hope that my blog will help me turn my hobby into a career. Ideally, I would love to write about beer for a living (aka get paid for it). Michael Jackson is a huge mentor and inspiration of mine. I have said this many times before — my ultimate goal is to become Michael Jackson meets Ray Daniels with a little bit of Anthony Bourdain thrown in. I would love to get paid to travel the world, touring breweries, attending beer events, judging beers, hosting beer dinners & beer pairings etc… and then write all about my experiences. Eventually, I want to be published as well.

So if anyone knows how to make this dream a reality, please PLEASE help a Wench out!

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

I would say it definitely has to be all the people I’ve met. I have traveled all over the country and have met a tremendous amount of important beer industry folks — brewers, writers, bloggers etc. I love the beer industry. The people in it are truly amazing. It takes a special kind of person to dedicate their life to craft beer!

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

This is a really hard question. Especially since I started this beer bloggers series. I have been finding all sorts of exciting & interesting beer websites as a result.

For news, my favorite beer resource is: BeerNews.Org

For podcasts, my favorite beer resource is: The Brewing Network

As for blogs, my “favorite” beer resource is: Brookston Beer Bulletin (Jay Brooks has been blogging about beer longer than I’ve been legal to drink. He has a HUGE archive)

I know I said 3, but I must throw in a fourth beer resource. My favorite (alive) beer writer is Stephen Beaumont from The World of Beer. He is “new” to blogging, but has been writing about beer professionally for decades. And he is damn good at it!

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

1. Gueuze — I grew up in a “dairy country” New York. The smell of barnyard funk is relatively nostalgic for me. My neighbor across the street had horses as well. I’m oddly attracted to “manure” and grassy hay smells. My favorite wine regions — Rhone, Burgundy and Piedment — are known for producing “Bretty” wines. What can I say? I heart Brett.
2. American IPA — Specifically, the American IPAs hopped with Pacific Northwest varietals. I’m a huge fan of super high alpha acid hops. Love pine, resin and grapefruit flavors and aromas.
3. Saison — Back to the “barnyard” funk obsession. I love this style because of the Belgian yeast fruity esters aroma as well.

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

This is a really tough question. American or European?

American (in no particular order) =

• Russian River Brewing Company
• DogFish Head Brewery
• 21st Amendment

European (in no particular order) =

• Drie Fontien
• Westmalle
• Orval

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

Where would my skills and talents best be used and appreciated? Probably with DogFish Head. My writing in fairly witty and they “get” social media. I think it would be really fun to work in the Marketing “department” of DogFish Head. I love their creativity and passion. And I would love to work along side Mariah Calagione!

However, I have fallen in love with living on the West Coast. (Although, I would leave it for a job in the industry — hint hint). So if I was to stay on the West Coast, I would probably enjoy working for Stone Brewing Co. Same idea as with DFH. They are creative and “get” social media. And I love Dr. Bill and Greg Koch.

Can I do one more? New Belgium in Fort Collins would be an awesome place to work. I really admire their dedication to sustainability. I ride my bike every chance I get and would love to work somewhere that not only appreciates that, but encourages it. And I would love to help them take their social media presence to the next level.

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

Not yet. Being a gypsy has made it hard to aquire the proper equiptment and I have no yet had the proper room for it or storage space. Soon, though. Soon.

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

Cicerone Certified Beer Server!!!

I’m in the process of pursuing Cicerone Certification. Follow my adventures at In Pursuit of Cicerone Certification.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

My favorite pairing, by far, is beer mussels & gueuze (or saison).

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

Aye, therein lies the rub. I have no day job. No income source. Sigh.

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 said earlier, my ideal job would be Michael Jackson meets Anthony Bourdain. I would love to travel the world writing about beer (possibly doing videos as well).

I would also love to do social media marketing, copy writing and traditional marketing for a craft brewery. I am super bummed that I missed the opportunity to do so with Stone, but hopefully another craft brewery will create a similar position (hint hint).

3. Are you married? Children?

Oh hell no. And hell no. I want to trade my uterus for an extra liver.

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

I am still a wine connoisseur, although it has been quite some time since I’ve truly wine geeked out. I’m an avid cook and and even more avid eater. I love developing recipes with beer. I like taking beer adventures on my bike (not a good combination, I know. Hence all my scars). I also love hockey skating, but rarely get the chance.

During college football season, I spend a good deal of time watching football. I am obsessed with Ohio State Football — to a fault. I can throw a better spiral than most boys I know (but I just can’t throw the ball as far).

I am also getting into both scotch and cigars.

Off The Beaten Path

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

If I were a beer style, I would be Orval — the only beer that is its own style. My creation story is stuff of childhood fantasies (the Countess, the wedding band, the trout). I am the only Trappist beer to be dry-hopped, which makes me earthy & spicy. The Belgian candy sugar gives me an underlying sweetness.

But the real kicker, is the Brett. Since I was inoculated with Brett at bottling, I am constantly changing in the bottle. Today I taste like an English IPA, but tomorrow I might be sour and reek of horse blanket. The wild yeast makes me funky and unpredictable, Yet, since I was purposefully inoculated by the Monks, it means that there is method in my madness.

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?

Definitely a gueuze. Although Drie Fontenien is my favorite, I might go for Lindeman’s Cuvee Renee because it was my first gueuze and it holds a special place in my heart. I would die after a moment of nostalgia and great memories.

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?

Ah yes, I finally get to answer this question. I’ve been really impressed by a few people’s answers on this question. The best answer by far was by Alex P. Davis. I was going to steal his idea, but instead I’m going to make my own recipe.

The base beer would be a Saison. I would brew the beer in Colorado because that is where I was born and I want to use Rocky Mountain water. Primary fermentation would be with traditional Saison yeast. The beer would then be put into Chateauneuf-Du-Pape wine barrels (my all time favorite wine region) with Brettonomyces and Hudson Valley unpasteurized apple cider (for extra fermentable sugars … not sure if it would work because I don’t know the technical details of Brett and re-fermentation in barrels). The final product would be dry hopped with rose petals (my birth flower).

Yeah, that sounds pretty cool to me.

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

Flight of teleportation. That way I can travel the world and do all the things I dream about doing.

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

Jumped off an 80 foot cliff. I was one of those kids growing up (okay maybe I’m still that way) that tried to out-do everyone. “Anything you can do, I can do better.” Cliff jumping was a hobby of mine in my later high school days. Naturally, it was illegal and very dangerous.

My friends and I went to a new spot that we heard about. We all started on the small cliff — about 30 feet. Then me and a few others decided to bump up our game and try the 50 foot. No biggy.

I decided it would be awesome to swim across the river, climb up the steep hill and attempt to jump off the 80 foot cliff. Why? Because I had to show off. I though I was such a badass.

I slipped when I jumped and ended up hitting the water at an angle. You have to understand, water becomes as hard as concrete from that height. When I hit the water, my contacts blew off of my eyes, my wind was completely knocked out and I was completely paralyzed. I thought I was going to drown. And as a competitive swimmer, drowning is your greatest nightmare.

Some boys across the river (on the small cliff side) jumped in the water and pulled me out. I could not walk for almost a week. And the whole left side of my body was a giant black and blue bruise. My ribs were bruised. I was a mess.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

I am utterly obsessed with it.

Thanks to everyone for reading “my story”! Sorry my interview was so long winded. But what can I say, I am a writer after all. And the one subject I can write a lot about is myself

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: TRAVIS SMITH

AUTHOR OF: 510 BREWING

*Beer Blogger Interview*

Full name: Travis Smith
Twitter handle: MrTrav
Name of blog: 510 Brewing
Current location: Fremont, CA

*Background “Snapshot”*

1. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Fairfield, CA. Not a particularly exciting place to grow up, but it gave me the small town feel while still being close enough to the city. I got to experience the best of both worlds growing up.

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

I grew up playing mostly baseball. After about 10 years I realized I wasn’t a great hitter, so I switched to a sport where the ball doesn’t move, gold. I was the captain of my high school golf team my senior year and have maybe played 3 or 4 rounds since then.

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

I think I had a sip of Coors Light as a young kid. It was so horrible I didn’t drink again until after college. My first beer I remember was Heineken. I only know that because I was hungover for a week after drinking too many of them. I stuck around the macro beers for a year or so until falling upon Pyramid Hefe as my first craft beer. Pyramid’s Curveball and Lost Coast’s Great White were what got me stuck on craft beer, I have never looked back since.

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

(see above answer)

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 attended DeVry University in Fremont studying Network and Data Communication Management. DeVry isn’t a huge “let’s get together and do stuff” type of school. The only school sponsored event I attended was a Halo tournament which me and my roommates absolutely dominated at.

*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 major one I can recall is my first trip to Pyramid Alehouse in Berkley. For a long time we would always get Kegs of Curveball in the summer. Being able to see the place where it’s made and try it directly from the source was a novel concept. From there I started looking at other local breweries and trying their beers, it just sort of spiraled out of control from there.

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

The first would be starting up a video beer blog a few years back. I was a huge follower of social media guru Gary Vaynerchuck and his Wine Library TV video blog. One day sitting around drinking beer we though, well why the hell couldn’t we do that? After a couple of episodes, I wanted to know more about what I was drinking. What ingredients made a good beer, or a bad beer? Homebrewing was the logical choice. I started out with 5 gallon extract kits on a turkey frier in the back yard and have since expanded to a two tier all grain setup doing 10 gallons at a time.

*Beer Blog Background*

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

I have been doing 510 Brewing only for a couple months. It is a facility to interface with craft beer enthusiasts while we document our trek to become a production brewery. However if you include the video beer blog I used to do, I have been beer blogging for a couple years now.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

The love of craft beer and wanting to make a living out of my passion.

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

510 Brewing is going to be the name of our brewery when we open up, hopefully next year.

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

The goal is to use it as a facility to talk to potential future customers. I want to let them know the trials and tribulations that we are going through to open a brewery. Hopefully when we actually open up it will help other aspiring homebrewers make the leap to go pro as well.

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

Honestly it has to be all of the cool people I have been able to meet. I have been able to meet rock stars like Sam Calagione and Vinnie Cilurzo. I have also made great friends through beer events, probably friends I will now have for life.

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

Peter from Better Beer Blog is probably one of my most respected opinions in regards to the authority of beer. Jay Brooks from Brookston Beer Bulletin is also another one of my favorites. When I need a good laugh though, I turn to my buddies over at Two Beer Queers. Wait, did I mention Drink with the Wench is my all time favorite?

*Beer Talk*

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

IPA/IIPA is by far my favorite. Hops are so good for your soul, it just makes sense to have as many as possible.

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Mendocino County simply for their Double IPA seasonal. Hangar 24 for what they have been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. Finally I would go with Dogfish Head for the creativity they bring to the table with each brew.

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

I would have to go with Dogfish Head. In all honesty, I haven’t loved any beer of theirs I have tried. To their credit, everything I have tried was in bottle form and shipped all the way across the country. However, Sam brings much more to his company then just being their leader. He is a visionary and a story teller who I think would be very inspiring to work with/for.

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

Yes, but trying to change home into pro. The beers we have been making during the winter months can get quite whacky. Our pumpkin ale was originally made by cutting off the back off of an already carved jack-o-lantern pumpkin the day after Halloween. However our most interesting beers have come by mistake. For example our Belgian Wit we made when our hop scale was MIA. We “eye-balled” the amount of hops needed and ended up with something like 65 IBU’s for the wit. Interesting, yes…good, no.

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

I have taken tasting classes and studied for the BJCP, but haven’t taken the time to schedule out the test. I am interested in the Cicerone, but I also haven’t had the time to start that process.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

This is an area of the beer world where I am completely oblivious to. The best pairing I have tried though is a nice mellow IPA with a spicy chicken pasta dish.

*The Personal Side*

1. What is your current day job?

Current day job is working as a software engineer for a startup in the Silicone Valley.

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?

Hell Yes! I work part time at a brewpub in Fremont right now trying to learn the ins and outs of running a production brewery. Once financing is in order, 510 Brewing will recruit me from my current day job.

3. Are you married? Children?

Yes, married my high school sweet heart in June of 2008. No children though, way too selfish for children at this point in my life.

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

Softball takes up most of my time in the dry months. I am a hobby collector though, I tend to dabble in a lot of side projects.

*Off The Beaten Path*

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

Kolsch. Light bodied and easy enough to get along with to introduce people to the craft beer world.

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?

I would have to go with a magnum of Stone Brewing Arrogant Bastard. After drinking that much, hopefully I would be passed out or die of alcohol poisoning before making it to the executioner.

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 would go with a blonde ale but kick it up a notch, maybe with some habanero spices or orange zest.

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

I’m a huge fan of Heroes, and my favorite character is Peter Petrelli. But if I was the only one around with powers it would be kind of useless. So I will stick with the ability to fly. How awesome would that be to be able to go anywhere in the world free of charge. I would move to Hawaii and commute to Fremont every morning from there.

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

A lot of memories come up from when I was a young kid and loved racing cars and going fast all the time. I don’t recall anything taking me to the brink of death, but I do remember a lot of idiotic acts. Such as trying to convince all my friends they could do donuts in their cars, including the owners of a 4,000 lb Thunderbird and a front wheel drive civic. I also recall trying to “get air” in my car and shooting sparks from my under carriage. Probably not a good idea since that’s where the gas tank is.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

I don’t know what the huge fad is with bacon. I like to munch on a piece every so often, but I don’t think I will be making bacon beer anytime soon.

SPECIAL THANKS TO TRAVIS FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW. BEST OF LUCK TO HIM IN HIS GOAL TO OPEN A BREWERY!

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: JAY BROOKS

AUTHOR OF: BROOKSTON BEER BULLETIN

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Jay R. Brooks
Internet nickname: Brookston
Twitter handle: Brookston
Name of blog: Brookston Beer Bulletin, also Real Beer’s Beer Therapy and the Bay Area Newsgroup’s Bottoms Up Blog.
Current location: Novato, Marin County, Bay Area, California, Earth

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

Just outside Reading, Pennsylvania (the first railroad in Monopoly) in a sleepy little town called Shillington, famous only as the birthplace of Pulitzer prize-winning novelist John Updike.

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

In high school I played on the tennis and golf teams, but worked my way through college so there was no time for sports. My all-time favorite sport is table tennis, though I’m a big fan of Frisbee Golf and Washoes, too.

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

Somewhere my very early teens, around 10 or 12, my mother bought me “Near Beer,” as mis-named a product as ever existed. It was essentially an N/A beer for kids and boy, was it horrible.

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

Shortly thereafter, I had my first “real” beer, a Yuengling no less, one summer during Junior high at Church Camp. The whole sordid story is part of Chapter 12 of “Under the Table,” my semi-fictional memoir of growing up with beer. It’s on-line in rough draft because I wrote it in 30 days as a part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writer’s Month) in 2006.

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 didn’t go straight to college after high school, primarily because my family couldn’t afford to send me to the schools I’d been accepted to. So when I turned 18, several months before graduation (in 1977), I joined the U.S. Army and the following fall began my three years stationed in New York City playing sax and clarinet with an Army Band.

I took classes at a music school in New York, Mannes College, but after my military time returned home to Reading, PA and finished my degree at Alvernia College with a B.S. in Communications. After I moved to California in 1985, I also took graduate classes at San Jose State but never finished the master’s program. I’ve also done the short course on brewing at UC Davis.

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:

For me, my epiphany wasn’t necessarily craft driven because it happened before there was craft beer. I grew up drinking regional lagers and a few cream ales that were largely interchangeable. Going to jazz clubs in Manhattan while in the service, I discovered newly imported beers like Bass Ale, Guinness and Pilsner Urquell, beers very different from what I was used to back home.

From that experience, I began seeking out different beers wherever I could, including a bar in the East Village — Brewski’s — that carried over 100 imported beers. Michael Jackson’s second book, his “New World Guide To Beer,” was published while I was living in New York and it was revelatory, too.

For a fuller account, see Chapter 23 of Under the table, and I also wrote about it for Session #15

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

There were probably many since moving to California in 1985, just when the microbrewery revolution was getting underway. Drinking Anchor’s Liberty Ale for the first time, doing a vertical of Anchor Christmas Ale back into the 80s, ditto Thomas Hardy and Alaskan Smoked Porter, among others. Visiting Traquair House in Scotland and Cantillon; Barrel tasting at Russian River.

The list goes on and on. In part, that’s what keeps me going.

Beer Blog Background

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

I originally started blogging in late 2004, though at that point it wasn’t primarily about beer. The Brookston beer Bulletin in roughly its present form was set up at the end of 2005 and I started writing it in earnest at the very beginning of 2006.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

In the fall of 2004, I left my job as the GM of the Celebrator Beer News when we learned that my son, Porter, was autistic. He was three and still was barely talking. When we found out what was going on, I quit working full-time to be home with him. When I found myself giving the same answers to the same questions about him from friends and relatives, I started a family blog so people could read about his progress. It included everything the family was up to, which naturally included beer, too. After a year or so, Porter’s progress was remarkable and I felt I could start taking on more work (I’d continued to do the blind panel tastings at the Celebrator) and began looking for more freelance work. I also decided to start a separate beer blog as a part of that decision.

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

I already had the domain name “Brookston.org” which I had been using for the family blog. Though my name is Brooks, I consider my family name to be “Brookston.” My wife’s last name is “Johnston,” and when we got married our original intent had been for us both to change our names to “Brookston,” combining the two. But laziness set in, and we never got around to it. When the kids were born, it seemed natural to make their legal last names Brookston. I’m also a big fan of alliteration, so Beer Bulletin made it complete.

I know you didn’t ask, but I do get a lot of questions about my logo.

The most common misidentifications for it include showerhead and fishing rod. I found it trolling the Internet looking for something appropriate to adapt for a logo. It’s based on the symbol for the Babylonan god Marduk, who was a Sun God, though he eventually became the primary or chief diety in later Babylonian times. He was also associated with brewing and was a Beer-Brewing God who had many symbols and fifty names.

This one, believed to be the earliest symbol for beer and brewing, is a stylized tool used for spreading grain in the anicient brewing process. The rounded part was a handle and you spread the grain out to dry and evened it out using the flat blade at the upper left. And if you look closely you’ll see by initials, “B” and an upside down “J” so it’s seemed ideal for my purposes.

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

I think the original goal was to track what was going on in the beer world as a way to put together stories to pitch, but the blog really began taking on a life of its own. It has to led to paying work as I had hoped, but I’m continually surprised by how many people tell me how much they enjoy and regularly read the Bulletin. That’s been very gratifying and helps keep it fun.

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

Hearing that lobbyists in Washington, D.C. were aware of the Bulletin and had been influenced or informed by it.

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

That’s a hard question. There are a lot of other writers I admire working in the blog format. Picking three forces me to leave out a number of authentic voices, but I’d say Stan Hieronymus, Lew Bryson and Stephen Beaumont’s online stuff are must reads.

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

Another difficult question, as I love virtually all beer and rarely limit myself, preferring to match what I’m drinking to what I’m eating, what the weather is like or what mood I’m in. My favorite broad kinds of beer include hoppy beers, sour beer and anything very complex, particularly barley wines.

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Another impossible question, there are just so many great ones. Anchor certainly, because they were so important to the early days of craft beer. I love Cantillon, too, for their history and for keeping authentic lambic alive. Number three is everybody else.

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

Unless I was desperate for work, I wouldn’t want to work for any brewery. I just wouldn’t want to tie myself down. That’s one of the reasons I love what I do.

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

Not anymore. I did homebrew for about three years back in the late 80s, but don’t anymore. I wasn’t very good and didn’t brew all-malt or anything too adventurous. Plus there were just too many great things the professionals were doing. I’m planning on starting again in a few years, when Porter turns 10. Then we’ll start homebrewing together as a father/son project.

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

I’ve done the short course at UC Davis to help write about the technical brewing details more accurately. I’ve also attended Hop School and done the sensory course at Siebel twice, but that’s it. I started doing this so long ago that it doesn’t seem to make sense to go through the process of any certifications at this pint.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

Cheese and beer.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

This is my day job, writing about beer. I work from home and also take care of the household and my two kids, while my wife works outside the home at a normal job. I write a bi-weekly syndicated column, Brooks on Beer, for the Bay Area Newsgroup, which runs in at least six papers. I also contribute articles to most, if not all, of the beer periodicals along with a few general circulation ones from time to time.

In addition to the Brookston Beer Bulletin, I also constitute to Real Beer’s Beer Therapy and write the beer portion of the Bottoms Up blog, maintained by the newspaper group I write for.

My first book involving beer was published in 1992, “The Bars of Santa Clara County, A Beer Drinker’s Guide to Silicon Valley.” I’ve also contributed to several others, including “1001 Beers You Must Try Before You Die,” which will be published next March. I’m currently working on several additional book projects, some alone and a few as collaborations, and am in development with another project that I can’t yet talk too much about.

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 don’t think I’d change much, perhaps I’d write about more diverse topics, but I love what I’m doing. Writing at this point feels like something I have to do, not just something I want to or enjoy doing. It would be great if it was more valued by society and paid better, but c’est la vie.

3. Are you married? Children?

Yes squared. I’ve been married to my wife Sarah for almost 14 years, and we have two children, Porter (who’s and Alice (who’s 5).

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

I collect View Master reels and take 3D photographs, making my own View Master reels. I read a lot and am interested in most topics. I love to learn about as many things as possible, the more arcane, the better. I listen to a lot of music and watch a lot of films, though with kids I don’t get out to the theater as much as I’d like. I also have too many little obsessions than I could list here. For example, I’m obsessed with clothespins, frites and potato chips, and art, to name but a few.

Off The Beaten Path

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

I’m probably a sour beer, because I’m a maladjusted curmudgeon at heart and almost always seem out of step with my peers. Also, drink too much of me and you’ll start laughing, too.

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?

Either a Bass No. 1 from 1900 or a Thomas Hardy 1977.

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 unique, very well-carbonated and effervescent (or bubbly) with bright gold color and a fluffy white head. A perfumed nose and sweet malty character with a finish that lingers pleasantly long after it’s gone.

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

I wish I had a crazy sensitive nose that could identify where the malt was grown or what the brewer had for breakfast the morning he brewed that batch. That would be fun, if for no other reason than to finally identify the exact spices Anchor’s used in their Christmas Ale over the years.

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

Geez, this is a little sad, but I don’t think I’ve ever done anything particularly crazy, not really crazy anyway. I had a friend who lived in the Marina when the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake hit. Her apartment building was one of those ones that was in Time magazine leaning to one side, after the basement garage had collapsed, putting the second floor on the ground.

Over a dozen residents and their friends, myself included, snuck around the police, jumped over fences in back yards and into the back windows of the apartment with trash bags, grabbing what we could in shifts. Walking on the upper floors felt like we were moving on shifting sands. And the ever-present threat of aftershocks made adrenaline pump through our bodies to combat intense fear. That was a rush, so to speak. I definitely needed a beer after that experience.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

Hmmmm, bacon …. Isn’t that one of the four food groups? Ask me where to get a peanut butter pizza with bacon topping? I have a bacon obsession, too.

SPECIAL THANKS TO JAY — ONE OF THE BEST AND MOST RECOGNIZABLE BEER BLOGGERS — FOR HIS AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!