Featured Beer Blogger: SEAN INMAN
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: SEAN INMAN
AUTHOR OF: BEER SEARCH PARTY
Beer Blogger Interview
Full name: Sean Inman
Twitter handle: I am anti-twitter
Name of blog: Beer Search Party
Background “Snapshot”
1. Where did you grow up?
Milwaukie, Oregon (just south of Portland)
2. What sports if any did you play growing up, through college and beyond?
Soccer
3. How old were you when you had your first beer?
21
4. If you can recall, what is the story of your first beer? Where did you have it? What style and brand was it?
If I remember correctly, it was a Weinhards beer. I do recall that I initially forgot my drivers license and had to go back home to get it because the waitress would not serve me.
5. Where, if applicable, did you go to college? What did you study? What additional activities, organizations, sports did you partake in during college?
Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. Current home of Golden Valley Brewing and Heater-Allen. I majored in business administration. Participated in the theatre department. Was a disc jockey for KSLC.
Craft Beer Epiphany
Every craft beer enthusiast has at least one pinnacle craft beer experience that completely changes ones perspective on beer. I refer to this mind-blowing moment as a “craft beer epiphany.”
What was your first craft beer epiphany? Recall as many details about it as you can. Have you have additional craft beer epiphanies since the first? Detail as many of them as you wish?
1st – Weizen Berry from Thomas Kemper. My gateway beer. It led me to Ruby Ale from McMenamin’s which led me to Christmas beer and so on…
2nd – Learning about the business side of beer life during college. I realized that some companies “create” while others “manufacture” and others just “market”.
3rd – Full Sail. My first west coast IPA. Because of it I keep looking for just the right mix of hops and bitterness.
Beer Blog Background
1. How long have you been writing your beer blog?
Since January 2009.
2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?
I was laid off and wanted to do something that I enjoyed with my newly acquired “free time”.
Why did you chose the name of your blog? It is ½ a play on Michael Jackson’s Beer Hunter trademark and ½ internet “Search” engine motif.
3. What are you personal goals for your blog? What do you hope to achieve with it?
I want to help people who know that there is better beer out there to make that first step into this wild world of craft beer. Personally, I want to improve my descriptive writing and maybe land a beer job.
4. What is one of the coolest things that happened to you as a result of being a beer blogger?
Getting to meet new people like Tomm Carroll from the Celebrator, Art Larrance from Cascade and re-connecting with people like Preston Weesner who I went to high school with and who now runs beer festivals in Portland.
5. What are you top 3 favorite beer blogs/beer websites?
Thank Heaven for Beer, Beer News.Org and Appellation Beer.
Beer Talk
1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?
1st is IPA 2nd is Winter Seasonal (not a style per se but my favorite time of the beer year) 3rd Saison
2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?
Eagle Rock Brewery, New Glarus, Mikkeller
3. If you could work with or for any one brewery, which one would it be and why?
I can’t name one but I know that I want to work at a small start-up where I could learn all aspects of the business as opposed to a big place where I would learn or do just one thing.
4. Are you a homebrewer? If yes, what is the most unique and interesting beer recipes you’ve brewed as a homebrewer?
I am not a homebrewer and I am not a good cook either.
5. Do you have any beer certifications (BJCP, Cicerone, Siebel, American Brewers Guild)?? If so, what are they?
I am hoping to go for the BJCP this year. Then try for the first level of Cicerone.
6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?
Porter and BBQ Burger.
The Personal Side
1. What is your current day job?
I am a proud nomadic temp.
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 love to travel across the US promoting a beer or craft beer culture. There are quite a few cities at the craft beer tipping point that just need a push.
3. Are you married? Children?
Married and no children.
4. Outside of beer and writing, what are some of your other hobbies?
I do a lot of reading. I follow the Portland Trailblazer basketball team and the Chelsea Football club. And a little bit of gardening.
Off The Beaten Path
1. If you were a style of beer, what style would be an why?
I would be a cask of Nelson hopped IPA. A little bitter with a touch of floral notes and grape flavor. Because I can be a bit caustic and snarky but when you get to know me and I am pretty easy going.
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?
Landskron Hefeweizen. Maybe I was delusional from a long train ride and the dark, cloudy scene in Eastern Germany but this was the perfect beer at the right time. The exemplar of what a hefeweizen should be.
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?
Probably a Belgian table beer akin to Avril and maybe add some extra citrus notes to it.
If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be? Invisibility. Then I could sneak behind the bar and sample to my hearts content.
5. What is one of the craziest things you have ever done and lived to tell the story?
Driven across LA at rush hour to get a pint of Life and Limb.
6. What are your thoughts on bacon?
Love it. Had it on a club sandwich yesterday. I have even had it covered in chocolate.
CHEERS TO SEAN FOR AN AMAZING INTERVIEW!
CHEERS!
