Persistence definitely pays off, especially with my awesome boss Dan Del Grande, brewmaster and owner of Bison Brewing. After a few months of incessant begging, followed by several weeks of research and development, I am excited to announce the release of “Saison de Wench” — the first beer, of hopefully many, that I helped design and brew at Bison Brewing. So without any further ado… allow me to present the official press release:

BISON BREWING RELEASES “SAISON DE WENCH”

Some people get birthday cakes, others get birthday beers.

– For Immediate Release –

July, 13 2011 –Berkeley, CA – Bison Brewing is excited to announce the newest release in its draft only “Beer of the Month” series, Saison de Wench.

Brewed in honor of her birthday, Saison de Wench is the first recipe that Bison Brewing’s Ashley Routson (also known as The Beer Wench) had a hand in developing, from start to finish. Starting with Dan Del Grande’s gold-medal winning Farmhouse Ale recipe as a base, the Saison de Wench recipe was inspired by spring flowers, rainbows and unicorns – But more importantly, using botanicals in the brewing process.

Brewed with a classic blend of specialty malts and wheat, Saison de Wench is an unfiltered, slight hazy, medium-bodied ale with a notably floral aroma and herbaceous flavor from the addition of herbs, flowers and spices.

Rose, the flower of June, served as the main focus of the recipe, with over 10 pounds of dried organic roses used in several stages of the brewing process. Floral aromatics were enhanced with the addition of hibiscus, which also gave the beer its pinkish hue and slightly tart flavor. To further increase tartness with a zesty lemon flavor, lemongrass was incorporated into the recipe. Last but not least, in order to enhance the spicy phenols from the yeast, Saison de Wench was spiced with pink peppercorns, a spice made from dried berries that yield pepper-like characteristics.

“ Whimsical notes of rose petals, hibiscus and peppery spice dominate the aroma. Balanced by a soft malt sweetness and moderate hop bitterness, Saison de Wench is refreshingly tart with a dry, spicy finish. Although delicious on its own, Saison de Wench pairs beautifully with delicate seafood dishes, ceviche, sushi, shellfish, fresh cheese, charcuterie, summer salads and chilled soups.” – Ashley Routson, Director of Awesomeness at Bison Brewing.

As with all of Bison Brewing’s “Beer of the Month” release, Saison de Wench is extremely limited and only available on draft. It is recommended that orders be placed as soon as possible. For all press inqueries and orders, please contact Ashley@bisonbrew.com.

Cheers,

The Bison Brewing Team

“Artie, I think I want to start a blog.”

“Ashley, stop thinking.”

And on that fateful day in October 2007, I stopped thinking and started writing.

My first blog (hazy stars) was inspired by Artie Isaac, my employer and my most influential mentor at the time. My sincere desire to work for Young Isaac was a direct result of Artie and his blog, Net Cotton Content. Even before I first met Artie, and way before I started working with him, I followed his blog very closely. I read many of his suggested books. Having so much admiration and respect for the man, it was the natural progression to work with him.

I have the theory, that if you want to become more intelligent, talented and successful, you need to surround yourself with people who are more intelligent, talented and successful than yourself. Artie was such a person, and in my regretfully brief year working with him, I learned several valuable lessons that have helped mold me into the personal brand that I am today.

Three important lessons I learned from Artie were:

1. Self-branding: The man is a master of self-branding. When people “buy” services from him, they aren’t buying a product, they are buying the person.

Oddly enough, my first blog post ever was about myself-branding mission.

Although my original blog was a hodge-podge of political, environmental, marketing, and Ohio related material… I ultimately made the decision to start a themed blog.

And as the story goes, I originally wanted to write a wine blog. Intimidation (from the wine industry) played a huge part in my decision to forgo “Confessions of a Vinophile” and launch “The Columbus Beer Wench.” Now, I’m sure if I told Artie that I was intimidated he probably would have said something like: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

Either way, as fate would have it, on February 7th 2008, The Beer Wench was born. And I’ve been branding myself ever since.

2. Creativity: Artie says it best on his site: “Every child is a prodigy until told otherwise.”

“I think Picasso said that. You were once a child, so this goes for you, too… You can return to the prodigy you once were, simply by changing the way you talk to yourself. Once we stop hindering our creativity, we become more creative. So, I’m not only teaching people how to become more creative. I’m also teaching people how to teach creativity. I’m especially teaching people how to teach themselves to be more creative.” — Artie Isaac

3. Goal-setting: In his Teaching Creativity class at The Ohio State University, Artie challenges his students to set consider: “For what am I investing all this time, money and effort? What is my goal?” During what is now a decade of teaching creativity, Artie has guided the goal development by challenging students with a special assignment. Which brings us to where we are today…

The Assignment: Write hypothetical newspaper headlines describing your achievement of four goals  — one each for four aspects of your life: personal, family, community, and business. Today I encourage all my friends to read about this assignment and complete it for yourself: click here.

Naturally, I have taken it upon myself to complete this assignment as well. And I’m not going to lie, it is an extremely hard challenge… even for the “most” creative.

The Wench’s Headlines

Personal: This one was hard to narrow down to just one goal. I have a plethora of personal goals, but the assignment requires something newsworthy. This goal might shock some of you, but go big or go home, right?

“Routson becomes 1st Certified Cicerone and Certified Sommelier in beverage History”

Family: This one is pretty hard for me (actually, the hardest of the four). Jokingly, I would love to say “Anthony Bourdain Weds the Beer Wench” — but, let’s not kid ourselves. Anyways, this one is pretty selfish. Essentially, I’m asking my parents to develop an alliance with me in my career path….

“Parents forgo Retirement and Join forces with Craft Beer Industry Daughter”

Community: Another though category. What community do I focus on? My craft beer culture? My local community? My peers? My Twitter community? All of the above?

“Through Education and Advocacy, Social Media Maven Ashley Routson is Changing the Landscape of the Artisan Beverage Culture”

Business: This I had to think about really hard. In my world, business and personal goals overlap. Most of business goals are also personal goals. Here are two goals that I’ve thought seriously about in recent days (both are very lofty, so beware):

“Craft Brewers Conference Announces Routson as Key Note Speaker”

“Routson Named New President of The Brewers Association”

—————————————————————

Well, what are you waiting for? Get your creative juices going! Complete the assignment and either post your answers on your website/blog/facebook and link back to me… or simply leave your responses in my comment section! Good luck!!!

This morning, Jay Brooks of Brookston Beer Bulletin tagged me in what I will call a pseudo chain mail style post circa 1990. Unless you were born in the 90′s (and if so, why on earth are you reading my blog?), you are probably familiar with these types of emails. Your friend send you a list of questions, you have to fill them out with your own answers and then pass it on to a certain number of friends otherwise you will face 10 years bad luck…

Not one to pass up an opportunity to talk about myself (who are we kidding here), it was only natural that I accept Jay’s challenge to fill out the questions and then tag some of my favorite fellow bloggers to carry the torch…

The theme of the challenge is “7 Things You Don’t Know About Me” — which, for me, is an extremely tough challenge considering I am pretty loud on the Internet and don’t hide anything. But after a lot of contemplating and a pint of beer, I was able to scratch up a few answers.

7 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT THE WENCH

1. My natural hair color. But no worries, I don’t know it either. I do know for certain that I am a natural blond. Or at least I was once…

2. I ran the Olympic Torch in 2002. My parents actually bought the torch, which means I own a legit Olympic torch that still has char from the original flame. Pretty rad once in a lifetime experience, if you ask me. But then, nothing compares to actually competing in the Olympics. And I’m proud to “boast” that several of my past teammates and fellow athletic colleagues from Ohio State have competed and medaled in the Olympics.

3. My wing span is 6 foot 1. My arms and fingers are abnormally long (my arm is literally the SAME length as my leg). And I have a theory behind why this is, which brings us to answer number 4…

4. I didn’t it puberty until I was 16. I know this is an awkward statement, but we are all adults here. I have a theory that, like many athletes, I stunted my growth as a child. My metabolism was super fast. Much to my teacher’s dismay, I was also hyperactive and could not sit still for the life of me. Combine this with hours of  training and hours of hardcore competition a week (mostly swimming, some track and field). It didn’t matter how much or how often I ate, my body did not produce enough energy to grow. My doctors always predicted that I would be taller than my parents, who are both 5’11. According to the “Golden Number” theory, height has a direct correlation to arm span. In conclusion, I am supposed to be somewhere between 5’11 and 6’1, but I am only 5’8. And I really do wish I was taller.

5. I have lived in 10 different places in 4 different states in the past 2 years. The gypsy lifestyle can be both exciting and depressing. My transient path, although rich with friends, is actually very lonely. My lifestyle is a pretty solid representation of my personality. It takes a lot to hold my interest. I hate hitting success ceilings and barriers to growth. I get really antsy when I am not being intellectually stimulated or challenged, which usually results in an immediate change of my situation (i.e.: job change, relocation). Thankfully, I am in love with my current job and am blissfully happy with living in the SF Bay Area… so maybe this gypsy wench will get a bit more grounded.

6. I don’t date. Oddly enough, I have never been in a serious relationship with another person. One could probably deduct from my inability to sit still or live in one place too long, that I have a fear of commitment. This would be a half correct consumption. I was an awkward ugly kid, driven by athletic and academic success. Boys were not interested in me, and I was not interested in them. I saw them as a deterrence to my success. And being in a relationship never became a priority in my life. My parents actually thought I was a lesbian for some time because of my disinterest in dating. But now my mom just tells people I’m asexual — and I’m not even kidding.

7. I am a dancing queen. Those that know me in person are already aware of this fact. Dancing music of preference changes just about as frequently as my lifestlye does. I have ballroom training, with a heavy emphasis on swing. I have taken over 10 weeks of country line dancing lessons. Right now, I’m really into salsa (and for a white chick, I’ve got skills). In the past, I was really into electronic. And naturally, I love dancing to 80′s, disco, reggae, and pop music. I think I love dancing almost more than anything else in this world… it probably falls 3rd in line. 1. Ohio State 2. Food & Beverage and 3. Dancing.

Well, that is the best I could come up with at this time. Now for the fun part, what other bloggers should I  loop into this self-promotion scheme?

The first nomination goes to my mentor:

• Stephen Beaumont, Blogging at The World of Beer

The next few go to some of my dearest (beer blogger) friends:

• Tatiana Peavy, A Strong Fuggly Brew
• Chad Yakobson, The Brettanomyces Project
• P.J. Hoberman, Starting A Brewery
• Alex P Davis, Bike. Bus. Beer.
• Stephen Johnson, New Brew Thursday
• Carla Companion, The Beer Babe

And now for some wine bloggers:

• Amy Corron-Powers, Another Wine Blog
• Thea Dwelle, Luscious Lushes
• Joe Roberts, 1 Wine Dude
• Gabriella Opaz, Catavino

And last but not least, brewery blogs:

• Greg Koch, Stone Brewing Co.
• Ryan A Ross, Karl Strauss
• Daniel Del Grande, Bison Brewing Company
• Mariah Calagione, Dogfish Head Brewing Company

And even though I already named 15, I’m going to go out on a limb and challenge:

• Gary Vaynerchuk, Wine Library TV

As with the chain emails of the past, this chain blogging post carries with it SEVERE circumstances for those who ignore its tag. No folks, not 7 years bad luck or 10 years bad sex. My threat is public humiliation and tauntings from The Wench. Cheers!

Okay, so technically I missed my blog’s birthday by two days. This is because I was stuck in the midst of travel and any sense of time completely evaded me. I really wanted to write a well thought post about how far I’ve come in the past three years (insert sob story here) and how many of my goals I’ve already reached and what I am excited about reaching in the future…. but, I am sick as a dog. So much so, that I missed my contributing opportunity for Stephen Beautmont’s Blog because all I want to do is sleep or work (and drive to work), nothing in between.

The goods news is that, after three years of relocating and traveling all over the country… three years of maintaining my blog for a negative income… three years of blood, sweat,  and many many many tears, three years of meeting amazing people, making awesome friends and acquiring some of the most knowledgeable and talented mentors… three years of understanding employers and parents… three  years of volunteer brewing, working the bottling line, washing kegs and tanks…

Three years of having a direction, but not really having a final destination….

And now, I have achieved one of the greatest feats yet.

I landed a job with a brewery.

But, I didn’t do it alone. I would never have gotten to this point without all of you — all my friends, fans, followers, family, “internet family” and all the brewers and beer industry professionals who took me under their wing and taught me everything I know. And most of all, I would not have done it without Daniel Del Grande — the man that finally took a chance on the rowdy, fire-spitting Beer Wench. A gesture that he will never regret.

I am now currently gainfully employed by Bison Organic Beer. As for what I will be doing, stay tuned… can’t let all my secrets out of the bag yet!

And so on this joyous 3rd anniversary of Drink With The Wench, I raise a toast to all of you who helped to mold the person that I am today. And most of all, I raise my pint glass to Dan.

And for good ole’ times sake, let’s remember why I chose to drink craft beer…. CHEERS!

I am a Craft Beer Drinker from New Brew Thursday on Vimeo.

CHEERS!

Last time I mentioned Black Star’s Beer Barter, I had offered up my unborn child. Unfortunately, Black Star was a little smarter than I thought they would be and declined my “IOU” offer of Lil’ Wench Numero Uno. Considering my current anti-reproduction stance and the fact and my awkward fear of babies and small children, the chances of my paying up on the barter are very slim. But lucky for me, Black Star beer was interested in making a different barter. They are going to send yours truly to the lovely state of Montana (woot, I get to check another one of the 50 states off my list) for the Whitefish Winter Carnival, where the official beer barter competition will go down.

The more I read about and learn about the Whitefish Winter Carnival, the more excited and the more nervous I get. The event is the furthest from normal that one can imagine. Based on descriptions and pictures, I picture the Whitefish Winter Carnival being a cross between Alice in Wonderland and the Renaissance Fair — a one-of-a-kind congregation of crazy characters in creative costumes attempting bizarre feats and causing mad chaos. Wait, why did I say I was nervous? I was made with this event! Now all I need is a crazy costume…

And although I will not be partaking in the Black Star Barter as a competitor, I am excited to announce my involvement in it. Check out the following press release for the official details! (Oh and if there was any question about it, you can guarantee I will be partaking in the Penguin Plunge.)

BLACK STAR BARTER TEAMS UP WITH THE BEER WENCH

Every beer event needs a beer wench, right? However, the insanely creative, distinctly quirky and uniquely exciting events require something more than just your average scantily-clad women serving beer to patrons. These require a personality just as unique and eccentric as the event, one that will not only take part in the festivities, but help to contribute to the overall chaos and debauchery. This is why Black Star Beer is thrilled to announce its partnership with beer writer and internet personality Ashley Routson, also known as The Beer Wench, for the Black Star Barterduring the Whitefish Winter Carnival.

Coming into its 52nd year, the Whitefish Winter Carnival slightly resembles The Renaissance Fair, but instead of having characters such as Robin Hood and his merry men, The Whitefish Winter Carnival consists of Viking divas, yetis, penguins, mountain goats in lederhosen, and a Nordic Royal Court loaded with esoteric characters. Words cannot do justice to this otherworldly event, you have to be there to understand it.

For this year’s carnival, Black Star Beer decided to take its participation to the next level by introducing its Black Star Beer Barter. The concept is rather simple. Black Star Beer has challenged its fans to show up in front of the Great Northern Brewery at 1pm on February 5th and present to the judges something that they would give up, trade or do for a year’s supply of beer.

Although her exact role is undefined, Black Star has enlisted Routson to assume the responsibilities of field reporter/crowd motivator/competition judge/social media siren and chief rock star of beer consumption. Routson will be traveling around the carnival, followed by a camera, engaging with the crowd and the participants, judges, and organizers of the Black Star Beer Barter. Over the course of the weekend, Black Star will release a series of viral videos capturing the excitement and insanity of the carnival.

“When we told Ashley, excuse me, Wenchie about The Black Star Barter, she went bananas and promised her first born child for a chance at a year’s supply of beer,” said Minott Wessinger, founder of Black Star. “Sadly we won’t be accepting I.O.Us at the barter, but Wenchie’s enthusiasm locked her in as the supreme beer wench of the weekend. We’re excited to have her on board,” said Minott.

Routson may play an integral part of the judging process should any of the judges on the panel get caught up at the Penguin Plunge, where the entire town jumps through a hole in a frozen over lake…for fun, held immediately before the beer barter. Routson notes, “To those who question my morals and ethics, allow me to ease your minds by saying that, yes, my vote can be bought. I will gladly accept bribes in the form of flattery and beer.”

For anyone that lives remotely close to Whitefish, this is a -must-not-miss-or-you-will-regret-it-for-the-rest-of-your-life event. For those unfortunate folk who cannot witness the events in person, no worries, the video footage captured at the event should make you feel as if you were there in person. Find some delicious Black Star beer near you, using the handy-dandy Beer Locator on the official website, and feel like you are part of the action!

Black Star Beer Barter – Event Details

• When: Saturday, February 5, 2011 1:00-3:00 pm MST
• Schedule:
  • 11:00 am-1:00 pm MST- Contestants register their submission in front of the brewery
  • 1:00 pm-3:00 pm MST-Black Star Barter; spectators and contestants may enjoy the beer garden & brewery
  • 3:00 pm- Winner of Black Star Barter announced
• Where: Great Northern Brewery — 2 Central Ave. Whitefish, MT 59937
• Websites:
  • Event — http://www.blackstarbeer.com/barter
  • Company — http://www.blackstarbeer.com

About Black Star Beer
15 years ago, Minott Wessinger, 5th generation brewer, chose to build a brewery in Whitefish, MT. He saw it as a fantastic place to create exceptional beer. Black Star is a double hopped golden lager. By hopping our beer in the kettle, and then again before finishing, Black Star opens up with a distinctive hoppy aroma and a rich, full bodied flavor. All this while remaining remarkably crisp, light and refreshing.

I am super stoked to have had the opportunity to get interviewed by Barley Pop, an original web series about beer, at this year’s CanFest in Reno. The event was super rad, the people I met were super rad, and Buckbean Brewing Company set me up with a super rad room in the casino. I had an amazing time and will definitely go back next year.

And yeah, I know I have a lot of lesson to learn in the way of doing formal interviews and I know I talk too much and say like too much. Trust me, I will get there. But until then, check out my interview. And yes, modesty is not my strength. But then… the wench by any other name wold still be as wenchy…

Oh and the cool part about this vid, is that is captured my crazy hair w/ bright purple, black and white (the hot pink faded)…

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

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

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

Photo credit: John Holzer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I recently had the honor of being the first beer blogger to be featured in DRAFTMag.com’s newest series: On The Beer Blogger Beat. In his newest section, Noah Davis catches up with some of the best beer bloggers in the country. I was honored and humbled that DRAFTMag.com chose to launch the section with yours truly,The Beer Wench.

Check out the full feature HERE.

Special thanks to Noah and the DRAFT Magazine team! 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!

Today I was extremely excited, humbled and honored to learn that one of my favorite craft brewers in the country, Todd Parker, released a new beer inspired by … well, The Beer Wench (aka me!).

The beer was inspired by a Featured Beer Tweeter interview that Todd did with me back in December. One of my questions in the interview was:

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?

Todd responded:

It would be a Belgian IPA with Brett to dry it out, it would be spicy, yet fruity, with tons of flavor. It would ring in at 7.5%, and everyone would wonder what else is in there (because I will have accented the beer with other spices like black, white and red pepper, cardamom, and coriander).

The actual beer brewed was slightly different from the original idea.

The Beer Wench

(brewed by: Todd Parker of Copper Canyon Brewing Co.)

This beer came about from an interview I did with a Beer Blogger who writes under the name The Beer Wench (and tweets under it too). Like her, this beer is blonde, spicy, and a little bitter (actually this beer is a lot bitter). This is a newer style of beer called a Belgian IPA. This style came about when a Belgian brewer decided to try to replicate American IPA’s. These beers are very one dimensional- Hoppy! There are hints from the Belgian yeast as a spicy component. This beer although lighter bodied, rings in at 8% abv.

The interview can be found HERE.

Food Pairings: this beer goes well with spicy dishes.

Similar Beers: La Chouffe’s Houblon, Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch

I really enjoy the fact that a beer similar to The Beer Wench is Raging Bitch. What does that say about me? Well, I’ll let you be the judge of that!

Big thanks to Todd for making my day … and quite possibly my year!

CHEERS!