Featured Beer Blogger: MICHAEL BROWN
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: WOODY
AUTHOR OF: ONE BEER BET
Beer Blogger Interview
Full name: Michael Richard Brown
Internet nickname: Woody
Twitter handle: @Onebeerbet
Name of blog: One Beer Bet
Current location: Changwon, South Korea
Background “Snapshot”
1. Where did you grow up?
I found myself growing up in several locations over the years. California, Michigan (both the U.P and below the bridge) and Arkansas. California , unfortunately before I could remember it, but fortunately was stationed in Alameda for a year. Marquette, Ishpeming and Detroit in Michigan and NW and NE Arkansas for high school and College.
2. What sports if any did you play growing up, through college and beyond?
An active youngster, basketball and baseball were my sports. I did a small stint with track and field, and an even smaller stint with pole vaulting. As the tall skinny guy on the track team, the coach figured I would be a pole vaulting prodigy and put the pole in my hands for the first time at the county meet. He was proven wrong.
3 How old were you when you had your first beer?
The first legal beer I had was when I was 19 and in the navy stationed in San Diego on Base. Guess it makes sense to let under aged military drink on base where they could monitor our antics vs letting us wonder 2 miles south for Tijuana (t’witch we also did regularly) where who knows what would happen to us.
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 can’t remember my actual first beer on base, but have many good memories at Senor Frog’s and such in Tijuana. At this point in my Beer exploration I was FAR from a connoisseur enjoying, or at least tolerating, what was placed in front of 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?
I graduated from the University of Arkansas (Go Razorbacks) with my degree in Marketing with an emphasis in Management. Tailgating and Football/Basketball season was a huge series of events for us in the SEC.
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 during college when a friend brought some Honey Brown down from the Northeast. Previous to that I was the typical American at the time, and possibly still the majority, that prescribed to the marketing giant brand lagers. While Honey Brown is still a lager, that addition of honey threw something at me that I had never been exposed to previously. It shook me to look outside of the big brand lagers.
2 Have you have additional craft beer epiphanies since the first? Detail as many of them as you wish:
Through chance a friend introduced me to my first Hefeweizen. A Weihenstephaner Hefeweiz to be exact. Upon first taste it was the proverbial cloud parting, trumpet playing moment of absolute clarity of what a beer SHOULD be. I was instantly ,and to this day, unconditionally in love with this style in general and this beer specifically. From this point a simple lager was a blasphemy of sensibilities.
Beer Blog Background
1. How long have you been writing your beer blog?
I am still very new. As I have been in South Korea for the past years I will be, in a sense, re-examining all the beers I have forgotten about, the beers that have been introduced in the states since I left, and exploring beers who I never had the privilege of intimately examining.
2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?
I will shortly , May 1, begin my 4,000 mile hike from San Francisco to Delaware based on a bet my friend made me that I would not start nor finish this hike. Coming home from Korea after 3 years I look forward to reconnecting with the country, and her people, that I love.
3. Why did you chose the name of your blog?
The wager for this monumental hike from my friend was ONE beer. So it was a natural…..www.onebeerbet.com
4. What are you personal goals for your blog? What do you hope to achieve with it?
To entertain people with my follies along the way, drinking a different beer I can with locals I have never met. To re-learn Americana. To really meet as many people as I can. Three of my biggest passions in life are Travel/Adventure, Good Food, and a Quality beer with friends and friends not met. Beer was the catalyst for this hike, it really shifted my thinking. I hope to inspire others who maybe are looking for a catalyst of their own for a more self fulfilling journey. If Anthony Bourdain catches wind of me and needs a travel sidekick for his show , all the better lol.
5. What is one of the coolest things that happened to you as a result of being a beer blogger?
Nothing big yet but I am meeting some really cool like minded people. Lets hope that never ends.
6. What are you top 3 favorite beer blogs/beer websites?
I guess I could claim reading The Beer Wench’s website was a “beer related” Epiphany. I was never aware that so many high quality writers were blogging about beer. I truly am fascinated at reading anything I can from people I would call “my own”. Please understand, while Korea is a HUGE drinking culture, beer is not the big thing here. Soju is, think watered down vodka sprinkled in with an almost guaranteed hangover and sold for about a buck a bottle. Needless to say, the beer here sucks. Really bad. So I look forward to catching up. An experienced tongue with a new clean slate of experimenting.
Beer Talk
1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?
Hefeweizen, Pale and Amber ales. I really am salivating to get home and get a Weihenstephaner.
2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?
Weihenstephaner for taste and history, New Belgium for taste and well taste across all of their product line. Hog Haus Brewery, Fayetteville, AR. Nothing better that winning a SEC clincher and going there with hundreds of others wearing red. And for taste 
3. If you could work with or for any one brewery, which one would it be and why?
I would love to work with an undiscovered passionate brewer. Someone still free enough to fully follow their creative brewing pursuits. As a business trained intellect I am passionate about the pursuit, the process and watching your efforts bloom to whatever level one wants to take it.
4. Are you a homebrewer? If yes, what is the most unique and interesting beer recipes you’ve brewed as a homebrewer?
Unfortunately I currently (and with an eight month hike coming up) am not settled enough to have this luxury. But one day I will, and I will go at it with full attention.
5. Do you have any beer certifications (BJCP, Cicerone, Siebel, American Brewers Guild)?? If so, what are they?
I do not………Yet.
6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?
Fat Tire with Chicken breast and/or Steak grilled on a hot summer day with your friends would be a perfect day.
The Personal Side
1. What is your current day job?
Currently and for the past 3 years in Korea I have been a child wrangler i.e an English Teacher. The easiest tough or toughest easy job I’ve ever had. Easy way to make money but damn these kids have never ending energy. That or they are sucking all the energy out of me lol.
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?
In the short term I can imagine doing absolutely nothing other than the adventure I am about to partake. 6 years in a corporate cubicle before I came to Korea, after I left I made a solid promise to myself I would never again work for Money independent of Happiness ever again. I have saved for over a year for this hike and I’m about to test the mantra, “Don’t work for money, work for happiness, do what you love and the money will follow”. For me, adventure is my life, my passion and to that end, I am being true to myself. In the long term I really would like to meet a spirited individual to start a brewpub with an eclectic menu of some of my favorite dishes from the 29 countries I’ve been blessed to visit.
3. Are you married? Children?
Not married or children as of yet. Still waiting to find her that loves the adventure.
4. Outside of beer and writing, what are some of your other hobbies?
I really enjoy reading nonfiction, business and philosophical books, exploring new and exotic food, beer, experiences. I really look forward to this hike for 8 months of fresh horizons every day, new people and not seeing the same things I seen the day before.
Off The Beaten Path
1. If you were a style of beer, what style would be an why?
Possibly an unfiltered bottle conditioned wheat. While its not easy to see through there is substance at the bottom for those who are willing to find it.
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?
The strongest IPA legally brewed so I would be relieved to be executed lol
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 don’t know why and I’m sure it wouldn’t taste good but it came to me like a shot….. IPA with black licorice.
4. If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
Ability to read minds would be wicked entertaining, but super human ability of flight or time travel. Yeah, definitely time travel.
5. What is one of the craziest things you have ever done and lived to tell the story?
Snake wine with the snake in the bottle and getting to shoot an AK-47 in Vietnam. So yes, I will be telling my kids one day “Kids, when I was in Vietnam shooting AK-47′s and drinking freshly killed vietnamese cobra liquor, that didn’t kill me so quitcha bitchin and do your homework”
6. What are your thoughts on bacon?
No thoughts just “nom nom nom”
SPECIAL THANKS TO WOODY FOR HIS AWESOME INTERIEW!
GOOD LUCK ON YOU ADVENTURE AND I LOOK FORWARD TO PARTAKING IN SOME OF THE HIKE!
CHEERS!
