Considering collaboration beers are one of the fastest growing trends in the craft beer industry, it is only natural for bloggers to follow suit and work together as well. Beer bloggers Angelo De Ieso of BREWPUBLIC and Ashley V Routson of Drink With The Wench have banded together for a series of collaborative blogs posts, endearingly called “I’ll Show You Mine if You Show Me Yours” — aka a his and hers series. In our first collaborative article, we take a look back at some of our favorite moments, beers, and highlights of 2011. We hope you enjoy our banter… Cheers!

Several craft breweries made waves this year – whether it be announcing new projects, collaborations, major expansions, or other extraordinary achievements. In your opinion, what brewery was the most impressive in 2011?

Angelo: I think the whole idea of New Belgium and Sierra Nevada opening up on the East Coast or Stone opening in Europe is big news. When that actually comes to fruition, maybe in the next year or so, those will be huge. But as far as what I’ve been impressed with in 2011 is the exponential growth of craft breweries, especially village and neighborhood breweries. This gives each region within a region its own personality and flavor.

Expansions by Ninkasi, Deschutes, and 10 Barrel Brewing are quite impressive. Speaking of Deschutes and 10 Barrel, the growth of the Bend, Oregon beer scene is mind boggling. GoodLife Brewing is totally kicked ass in their first year in existence. I see many more great things coming from them. Also, Logsdon Farmhouse has been impressing a lot of palates around here. This is understandable since founder Dave Logsdon is no rookie when it comes to beer. He was an original brewmaster for Full Sail and helped start Wy’east Labs. I’m also continually impressed by Breakside Brewery and what they are turning out.

Brewer Ben Edmunds landed a GABF silver for his stout in his first year brewing pro. I am also stoked about a potential expansion from that brewery. Other noteworthy tidbits include Hopworks new Bike Bar opening, Alameda’s new expansion production facility, many new bottle shops and taprooms coming to life, and the soon to be all-star tandem that is Gigantic Brewing. Oh, yeah, and the fact that there are new breweries popping up in Vancouver,WA like that tasty Mt Tabor Brewing and soon Loowit Brewing over there. Too much to mention all around the PNW.Almost even forgot to mention the phenomenal flavors coming out of The Commons Brewery in SE Portland, too

Ashley: I agree with you that Sierra Nevada, New Belgium and Stone’s announcing the development of satellite breweries is monumental, but since they have yet to happen I cannot say they were the most impressive moves in 2011. The brewery that stands out most to me this year was Ninkasi, which experienced the greatest growth in the craft beer industry this year. Ninkasi passed New Belgium as the ‘fastest growing craft brewery’ – which is pretty damn impressive. They very successfully executed three key elements of growth: increased product production, increased sales in existing markets, expanded into new markets and states, and also expanded the product line.

What beer trend excited you the most in 2011?

Angelo: Overall growth of the craft beer industry. So many new and innovative breweries. And the small breweries aren’t the only ones getting inventive. Deschutes and Widmer are investing a lot into their geek niche audience. It’s so pleasant to see this. As far as style trends I think the wild ales are still a big one this year, as is barrel-aged brews, Belgian-style brews, and there has even been a push to highlight more lower abv styles which is great in my book.

Ashley: No time like the present to plug my latest hobby, beer mixology. A relatively new and evolving trend, beer cocktails are popping up on bar menus in most of the big cities and have been quite the buzz amongst the food & beverage writers. As both a beer expert and spirits enthusiast, this trend excites me greatly — so much so that I am launching a site dedicated to it.

I’m right there with you on the lower abv push. As someone who typically does not gravitate towards higher gravity, high alcohol beers, I was also excited to see a swing towards producing more balanced, low alcohol, session beers.

Speaking of session beers, what are 5 of your favorite sessionable beers that you enjoyed in 2011?

Ashley: Moonlight Brewing’s Death and Taxes is quite possibly my favorite “session” beer in the world. Other notable session beers I imbibed this year include Ninkasi’s Helles Belles, Linden Street’s Burning Oak Black Lager, Uncle Billy’s Helen Keller, and The Bruery’s Hottenroth Berliner Weiss.

Angelo: Burnside Gratzer, Russian River It Takes A Lot of Great Beer to Make Great Wine, Upright Todo Modo, Widmer Himbeer, Bend Ching Ching Berliner Weiss.

Of all the new beers released this year that you have tasted, what three stand out the most?

Angelo: Block 15 Golden Canary crushed it big time for me. I was over to Saraveza everyday when that beer was pouring. The perfect wild ale in my opinion. It had soft tart and creamy notes to it up front and finished with a beautiful breadiness that I look for. Similar to this was Elysian’s Mr Yuck, a wild pumpkin ale that poured at the KillerPumpkinFest I organized with the Green Dragon. I really loved Widmers Himbeer Gose when I first tried it at the Fruit Beer Fest in June. A light, tart, fruity, sessionable dandy. I had it again the other night at Roscoe’s Pub and the color and flavor from the raspberries in it are divine. My third pick would have to be Ninkasi Sleigh’r or Fort George 1811, possibly even Upright 5 — these are beers I’ve quaffed tough on, especially the last two, since they are year rounders.

Ashley: Well, naturally I have to plug myself and Bison Brewing on this question. We released some really interesting draft-only beers this year. My three favorite were probably Saison de Wench (a recipe that I helped develop and brew start to finish), Tangerine Trees and Marmalade Skies (a Belgian Tripel brewed with orange marmalade and aged in Bourbon barrels) and the Zeal Island Pale Ale (collaboration beer brewed with New Brew Thursday using only New Zealand hops). Outside of Bison, notable releases this year included Firestone Walker XV, Goose Island’s King Henry Bourbon-Barrel Barleywine, Breakside’s Gin Barrel-aged Double Wit, Cascade’s Sang Noir, Rise of the Fifth Horsemen Saison collaboration beer, and Crooked Stave’s Pure Guava Petite Sour.

What do you think was the most well-organized beer festival this year?

Angelo: I would have to say that overall the GABF is the most well-organized beer fest of them all based on sheer magnitude. Locally, I would have to tip my hat to the Oregon Brewers Festival, the largest Northwest beer fest.

Ashley: I could not agree more. The Oregon Brewers Fest marked my very first trip to Portland, which in itself made the event a stand out experience. As a brewery rep, this was by far one of the most fun events because the organizers really took care of us. For those unfamiliar with OBF, the brewers had a dinner the night before and a brewers breakfast the day of the kickoff, from which they marched us, in a parade fashion, down to the fest. Outside of this event, I have not heard of any other brewer parades. The event itself was extremely well executed. IDs were checked at the gates and there were several token stations setup around the entrance. Beer pours were paid in tokens, so over-consumption was really well controlled. The weather was also amazing, which definitely helped for the outdoor venue. Major props to Chris Crabb and her possy for awesome event execution!

Photo Source: BREWPUBLIC

Speaking of GABF, what were some of your highlights from this year’s Great American Beer Festival?

Ashley: This was my first GABF as a brewer, which is an all together different experience than attending as media (or as a volunteer or normal citizen, I’m certain). Bison Brewing entered Saison de Wench in the competition as well as poured it on the floor. I don’t think I have ever been prouder to pour beer.

Outside of the fest, though, there were some pretty kick-ass events. The best event I was invited to was a beer dinner co-presented by Top Chef winner and owner of Girl and The Goat, Stephanie Izard, and Jared Rouben, CIA graduate and brewmaster at Goose Island’s brewpub in Clyborn. The two collaborated on a beer recipe, which was also released at the event. We were greeted with cocktails and appetizers at the door, followed by, what felt like, a zillion courses of amazing food paired with equally amazing beers.

Lastly, I finally got the chance to meet the Alstrom Brothers, whom up until that point I had no relationship with, unless you count my rather harsh rants against them and Beer Advocate’s forum. Meeting the brothers in person completely changed my perception of the men, and I very humbly retract all unfounded statements I had made against them a few years back.

Angelo: GABF highlights were the following: Catching up with friends from Oregon and afar. It was nice to see our great state so well represented. The satellite events at Colorado breweries and pubs were spectacular. Seeing Oregon and Washington brewers win awards was another big highlight for me. It made me proud to  be from this region.

What was the most memorable beer event that you organized in 2011?

Angelo: KillerBeerWeek was a lot of work to organize and quite rewarding. 8 days of great events at 8 great craft beer spots around town. Others included Division Street BrewPubliCrawl, My Beery Valentine and IIPA Fest at Saraveza, as well as Van Havig Night at the Grain & Gristle.

Ashley: Virtually? Or in real life? Virtually, I had a lot of success and support for International #IPADay — a 24 hour virtual celebration of the India Pale Ale, one of craft beer’s most iconic styles. Locally, I hosted a very successful IPA Day fest, featuring over 10 local IPA’s. We were able to raise nearly 2k for a local LGBTQ charity, which was amazing.

As for exciting and buzz worthy beer events that I organized for Bison Brewing, I think that our most recent Holiday Beer Cocktail event was probably the most fun to organize and execute this year.

What are the top three beer blogs that you regularly read in 2011?

Ashley: You mean, besides BREWPUBLIC?? *wink* Honestly, this is a tough one because I am friends with so many beer bloggers and I would hate to narrow down my list of friends to a mere three. I’m a big fan of Denver Off The Wagon, a collaboration blog focused on the Colorado booze scene. As for my backyard, the Bay Area Beer Bloggers website has an aggregated feed of all the local blogs, which makes it the best comprehensive resource for the SF Bay Area. When it comes to video blogs, New Brew Thursday is my poison of choice. And of course, The Brewing Network is the best audio blog resource for all things craft beer and homebrewing.

Angelo: 2 Beer Guys from North Shore, MA. Those guys keep me updated on all the beer goings on in New England, where I am from. Beervana from Portland, OR. Jeff Alworth is an amazing wordsmith who is a pleasure to read. And number three is the Oakshire Beer Blog. Brewmaster Matt Van Wyk is a talented writer who offers the public insight into the world inside his amazing brewery. Of all brewer bloggers, he’s tops.

And last but not least, what are the three most memorable things that happened to you this year?

Angelo: 1. Connecting with Ashley Routson aka The Beer Wench. 2. The Month of May. Two of my favorite beer events happened in May: Eugene Beer Week and the Boonville Beer Fest. 3. Working at By The Bottle and Upright Brewing, two of my favorite beer places run by people I love.

Ashley: It might sound extremely cheesy to our readers, but since you already went there, I would have to say that meeting you [Angelo] tops the list. A very important second was finally landing a great job in the craft beer industry after years of struggle and kicking and fighting to get in. Lastly, the launch of International #IPADay, quite possibly the largest social media based craft beer movement, was a major personal success and a big feat for the industry in general.

—————————————————

So many awesome memories and experiences from 2011!! Looking forward to having more in 2012!!! 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: BILL NIGHT

AUTHOR OF: IT’S PUB NIGHT

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Bill Night
Twitter handle: @itspubnight
Name of blog: It’s Pub Night
Current location: Portland, OR

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma (fun fact: I went to the same elementary school in Tulsa as the Beer Goddess Lisa Morrison, though I didn’t know her until we were both writing about beer in Portland).

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

I played some baseball, basketball, and soccer growing up but I was never very good and eventually quit. As an adult I took up swimming for exercise, and I’ve always used a bicycle as my main source of transportation.

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

My early experiences with beer aren’t noteworthy. It was 3.2 beer as a teenager in Oklahoma, then cheap swill when I first got to college in Texas.

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

I went to the University of Texas at Austin, and got out after four years with a math degree. I belonged to an official student group at UT called the Royal Order of Pythons. We were Monty Python fans for the most part, but really the club was just an excuse to get together, drink beer, and pull various stunts to make fun of the more serious campus organizations. Every member held the title of Vice President. Even though we’ve dispersed around the country, many of us are still great friends more than 25 years later.

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:

In the fall of 1984 I went with the Pythons to the student union at UT to drink beer. One friend went to buy some pitchers and asked, “Is Shiner Bock all right?” I had never heard of it, so it was fine with me. Shiner Bock turned out to be a dark, creamy beer, with much more body and flavor than the bland, fizzy beer I’d had before. Wow, in addition to giving you a buzz, beer can taste good! Even better, it was one of the cheapest beers in town at the time, especially on tap. I still have a warm spot in my heart for Shiner, and their seasonal and anniversary beers the last few years have been impressive.

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

I can pretty clearly remember my first Guinness, first hefeweizen in Munich, first Old Foghorn, first American-style IPA (at Waterloo Brewing in Austin, R.I.P.), first Jubelale, and many other firsts. But my next real life-changing beer was at the Lucky Labrador in Portland in the fall of 2004 (or maybe it was 2003): my first fresh hop beer. A flyer on the bar announced that they had a golden ale on tap that they brewed with fresh hops, not dried but loaded into a pickup right after harvest and thrown into the beer within a couple hours of being picked. It wasn’t a strongly flavored beer, but I was instantly fascinated by the green, polleny, fresh hop flavor. That was the first one I noticed, and every year there seem to be more fresh hop beers. They’re not for everyone, but I love them.

Beer Blog Background

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

Since 2007. Exactly four years on December 3!

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

My good friend Lee Nichols in Austin has a blog called I Love Beer. During the fresh hop season of 2007 I sent him an email about a few fresh hop beers I’d tried, and he published it on his blog. It made me realize that my friends, neighbors, and I were constantly obsessing about beer, and we lived right at ground zero of a rapidly expanding beer scene in Portland. It seemed worth documenting, so I started my own blog.

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

When my daughters were little and it was hard to find time to get out of the house, I tried to get into a weekly routine of rounding up a few buddies to go out for a mid-week beer. So I would call or email them to invite them out to the pub, and eventually the shorthand for our outings was just “Hey, it’s pub night”. It’s a tradition I kept up when we moved from Austin to Portland, and it was the obvious choice for the blog’s name. Ironically, I’ve fallen out of the habit in the last couple years. Maybe it’s time to start a regular pub night again.

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

Mainly I hope to document this exciting period of time in the Portland beer scene. I don’t take it too seriously – one of my favorite things on the blog is the Beer Review Generator, which takes the piss out of the Beer Advocate/Ratebeer crowd, all in fun, of course. A somewhat drier feature is the Portland Beer Price Index, which documents the price changes of our favorite beverage.

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

It’s fun to get the occasional freebie and talk beer with the people making it. But for me the best part is meeting all the beer people who aren’t necessarily insiders or writers, but just friendly folks who care deeply about good beer. I love the beer people.

6. What are your top 6 favorite beer blogs/beer websites?

Whew! I’m glad you allowed me 6 choices and not just the usual 3, because I truly geek out over beer blogs and follow scores of them pretty closely. For information about our local scene in Portland, I can’t live without Beervana, The New School, or Brewpublic. But I also get excited by blogs that stand out with a unique voice or an innovative way of writing about beer. Three that I really like for their fresh take are: Bottle Battle, which doesn’t just review beers but does blind tasting comparisons; Urban Beer Hikes, which maps out epic West Coast pub crawls; and A Pint for Dionysus, which instead of dwelling on aroma and mouthfeel puts more focus on the writer’s mood, the atmosphere at the bar, and the characters he meets there.

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

IPA, Hoppy Northwest Red, Porter. But really I like it all.

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Deschutes, Lagunitas, Widmer. But really I like them all.

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

I don’t see myself working in the industry, but I’d be happy to be a quality-control taster at Deschutes.

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

Nope. Other people are already brewing too much good beer, I’ll just drink theirs.

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

No. But give me enough time and I’ll think of a sarcastic alternative to them.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

Any kind of nice strong ale with some Belgian-style mussels in broth.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

I’m a software engineer.

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’m pretty happy with what I’m doing right now, but maybe I’d try my hand at travel writing. I’ve always loved traveling and learning about different cultures and their food and drink.

3. Are you married? Children?

Married 16 years. Two teenage daughters.

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

I love to travel, though family life cuts back on that quite a bit. I like to ride my bike.

Off The Beaten Path

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

Let’s go with Cascadian Dark Ale. A little gloomy and dark, some would call me bitter but there’s a floral quality there 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?

Fresh Hop Mirror Pond from Deschutes. My favorite beer ever.

3. If I contracted you to brew a beer (or design a beer recipe) called “The Beer Wench” — what style would you chose and what, if any, extra ingredients would you add?

The Beer Wench will be consumed in great quantities, so it can’t be too strong. It has to be lively and effervescent, so I think a good dunkelweizen would do the trick. The Reinheitsgebot will constrain us from adding any extra ingredients.

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

Teleportation.

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

In January of 1993 I hiked seven miles to the top of Blue Mountain Peak, the highest point in Jamaica at 7400 feet, carrying only a few spice cakes for food. There was supposed to be a cabin up there for shelter, but when I got there just as the clouds were rolling in for the night, I found that the wooden doors and shutters of the cabin had been burnt for firewood by earlier unprepared hikers. When it got dark I zipped up into my light sleeping bag. It was pitch dark, windy and cold, and every time I dropped off to sleep, some rats holed up in the cabin would start nosing around me startling me awake. It was the longest thirteen hours of my life; at the first glimmer of light I headed back down the trail as fast as I could.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

Stick with the top-shelf bacon and you can’t go wrong.

THANKS BILL FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW! 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: ANGELO M. DE IESO II

AUTHOR OF: BREWPUBLIC

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Angelo M. De Ieso II
Twitter handle: @BREWPUBLIC
Name of blog: Brewpublic
Current location: Portland, Oregon, Cascadia, Beervana

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

Central Maine, in and around Dover-Foxcroft

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

Played a bit of intramural basketball for our radio station, but that’s about it. Was mostly a bench warmer in high school

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

Beside sipping the head off my dad’s beer as a child, my first full beer was probably when I was a sophomore in high school.

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

It was a warm Busch Light my older friend Don had. It was more of a rebellion thing than a taste thing.

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

I went to school at Emerson in Boston and U-Maine Orono for a brief stint. I wasn’t really serious about my education fresh out of high school. So I took about six years off before getting a BS in Speech Communication at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. I was heavily involved in the college radio station KPSU where I served mostly as the music director but also as program director and promotions director for a bit. I was also really involved in a few writing groups throughout college where, like at KPSU, I met friends that I still keep in touch with today.

Craft Beer Epiphany

Every craft beer enthusiast has at least one pinnacle craft beer experience that completely changes ones perspective on beer. I refer to this mind-blowing moment as a “craft beer epiphany.”

1. What was your first craft beer epiphany? Recall as many details about it as you can:

I remember first enjoying beer for the ABV levels, but I did have a Samuel Adams doppelbock that an older homebrewing friend gave me and remember how malty it tasted. After too many years of Mickey’s, I finally fell in love with the now defunct Lagunita’s Dogtown Brown when I lived in San Francisco. I soonafter moved to Portland, Oregon where my knew no one. I was working on graveyard shift and met my friend Shane who was a grocery clerk on the night shift across from my apartment building. He was gungho about beer off the bat and got me drinking Deschutes, Full Sail, BridgePort, Nor’Wester, Saxer, Widmer, and imported stuff like Spaten Optimator. He would make fun of me for drinking swill beer and I finally came around to really loving the complexities that craft beer had to offer.

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

Well, I think that I went through a similar progression of craft drinking that many people go through. I started cutting my first tooth on affordable quasi-craft brands like Henry Weinhards and Blitz. Then I soon moved on to hoppy beers. I’d seek out the biggest hoppiest and often booziest beer I could find, and would often times only concern myself with IPAs and IIPAs. Then, I became burned out on palate wrecking bitter bombs and opted toward ambers, brown ales, stouts, porters, etc. That is until I realized the wonderful world of Belgian beer and wild ales. Even at a point recently I got burned out on sour, sour, sour, and now, I think my palate is at its most eclectic phase. I feel I am much more attuned to recognizing off-flavors and other components of beer through experimentation and education. In many ways I am still quite a novice, so I am excited to continue to realize new “ephipanies” with beer and flavor.

Beer Blog Background

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

I started Brewpublic around September 2008.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

I have always had an affinity for writing about art, music, and culture. My first passion for writing came with music. I did music reviews for a few local papers and zines. I was a music geek. Then, after being a beer enthusiast for a few years and tinkering with homebrewing, I took on a job at Belmont Station in 2006. Here I was writing for their beer blog as well as one called Guest on Tap which was tied to a column of the same name that ran in the Portland Tribune. That was when I know I wanted to be a beer blogger. I made a few half-ass attempts at writing beer and brewery reviews traveling around Oregon. Those, in retrospect, seem pretty novice, but it opened my eyes to the possibilities.

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

I wanted a name that was easy to remember and resonated with people. My college friend Aaron Miles, who is Brewpublic’s graphic and web person sat with me for a few days brainstorming names. “Yeast Meets West”, “Portland Pint”, and many that we discovered were already taken. We almost settled on Brewpublican, but since we are far left leaning liberals, his wife suggested that it sounded to GOP-esque. So, we settled on Brewpublic. We want to be a community and an inclusive site that even novices can appreciate, yet without dumbing ourselves down to appeal to a broader audience. I am happy with Brewpublic as the name today, though I often hear people throwing out misnomers like BrewRepublic or BeerPublic. But, hey, whatever…

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

My ultimate goal is to advocate for the proliferation of craft beer. Moreover, I think it is important for Brewpublic to showcase what we have regionally here. I don’t want the site to be narcissistic or too editorialized, but sometimes that can be the nature of any blog. I want it to be a resource that people use to find out what is going on in our community. Further, it is an expression, on some level, of how much I love beer. I think the popularity of our site is a testament to how superior the Pacific Northwest’s beer culture compared to the rest of the world. I will always at heart be a New Englander, but I honestly believe that no other place can hold a candle to this region, and particularly Portland, Oregon when it comes to craft beer.

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

I think the first time I got a media pass to an event was a milestone event for me. Now I get invited to more beer events than I could possibly attend, but I will never forget when Jamie Floyd of Ninkasi first put me on the media list for Sasquatch Fest in Eugene. It made me feel like, “yeah, this is what I want to do.” Probably the coolest thing of all has been becoming friends with my mentor John Foyston of the Oregonian/The Beer Here. John is a true Renaissance man who I deeply respect and admire. He is an example of what enjoying beer is all about to me.

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

Tough question. I regularly check in with Adam Nason’s BeerNews.org site. He puts forth an amazing amount of content on a national scale that I have to salute. Before him, the late William Brand’s What’s on Tap was probably the first I read and thought “Holy crap, this guy is insanely driven. How does he do it?” He set the mark for the rest of us in the beer blog word, whether people know him or not. The ultimate regional respect goes out to John Foyston of the Oregonian’s The Beer Here. Don’t mean to shine him too hard, but he was the original. He was blogging about beer and getting you all the Hop Tips before anyone else. Now there are several noteworthy voices like Jeff Alworth of Beervana and Ezra Johnson-Greenough of The New School, but all of us in this area owe a little to John.

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

Impossible question, but I will entertain it. I’ll say Berliner Weiss, Bavarian Pilsner, and American Pale Ale. It’s nice to have more than a few in a session, so why not go with these three…

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Again, that’s like asking me what my three favorite bands or films are. I will offer the following three with a brief explanation as to why they were chosen (I am sure once I send this to you, it will change).

• Avery Brewing, Boulder, Colorado – Not in Oregon?! I know, right. Avery gets the nod for doing an array of styles from hoppy IIPAs and barleywines to barrel-aged stouts and wild ale. I find this to be the benchmark of a great brewery. Their repertoire is simply mindblowing. I even named my cat Avery after their fine beer.

• Upright Brewing, Portland, Oregon— Upright gets the nod from me in a many ways because of my connection to the brewery. Founder/brewer Alex Ganum is one of my dearest friends. I think the personal connection is a big thing for me. I think when beer, especially world class beer, is being produced by someone you care about and are close to, it makes it that much better. Beer, after all, is a sort of social glue that binds us. It’s not just that I love Alex, Gerritt, and the rest of the people at Upright, but I think they make the best barrel-aged beers in the region, save for maybe Block 15, Cascade, or Oakshire.

• New Glarus, New Glarus, Wisconsin—Unfortunately, I don’t have easy access to the beers of this fine brewery, but I have had a lot of different brands from them, all exceptional. When I visited the brewery in 2009, it was an incredibly mindblowing experience getting a tour from brewmaster Dan Carey and getting to sample all of his beers in his QA lab. Everything from their Totally Naked lager up to their Black Top CDA and Ice Barleywine are all phenomenal. Plus his Thumbprint Series and the tart fruit ales are some of the most spectacular brews I have ever witnessed New Glarus’ IIPA is the best I’ve ever tasted. Mad respect for these folks!

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

If it were just for the beer, I’d say that I am pretty contented in having worked for Cascade and Upright, but I would have to say I’d probably work for Nogne O, simply so that I could live and work in Norway. Perhaps it would be nice to work at an Italian brewery like Nuovo Birrifico. I’d even consider working at Hallartau or Epic Brewing so I could live near Auckland in New Zealand.

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

I am a homebrewer. Not as prolific as many people I know when it comes to the art, but I do enjoy making beer from time to time. Probably the most interesting beer I made was a Rooibos Red Ale with black tea, oatmeal, and orange peel. I love Rooibos and I think more people should brew with it.

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

None. I have taken the BJCP course but never tested out. I would love to go to Siebel someday. In fact, I plan on it.

7. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

I guess I would have to say pizza and IPA. Full Sail Wreck the Halls or Double Mountain Fa La La La La with a nice oregano, basil, and garlic heavy pie is top notch.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

Besides running Brewpublic, I work as a beertender at By The Bottle in Vancouver, Washington. I also work part time at Upright Brewing.

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?

Not sure. I think I am happy right now. I wouldn’t mind involving myself more in helping those less fortunate than myself or in working with animals.

3. Are you married? Children?

No. no.

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

Music, film, exercise, vegetarian cuisine. I don’t know, beer takes up a lot of my time and energy.

Off The Beaten Path

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

Another tough question. I honestly don’t know how to answer this. I guess I would want to be something tasty with a good nose, not too dank or funky.

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 choose and why?

Man, these are hard questions to answer. Maybe a Drie Fonteinen Geueze, Deschutes The Abyss or The Dissident, Sierra Nevada Celebration. I guess I would choose these because they leave a nice lingering taste in my mouth.

3. If I contracted you to brew a beer (or design a beer recipe) called “The Beer Wench” – what style would you choose and what, if any, extra ingredients would you add?

I guess I would need to know you better to design a beer around you. I suppose I would find out what kind of beer you’d like to drink and perhaps make use of some ingredients from your area or where you grew up, or perhaps something symbolic of who you are and what caters to your palate. Probably not a Fresh Hop CDA.

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

I would want my super powers to be able to make myself and everyone around me happy. Not ignorant bliss, but just peacefulness and joy. Does that sound lame? How about the ability to read minds when I choose.

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

Hmmm. I did a lot of stupid shit when I was younger. Nothing super crazy. I’ll have to think on that one…

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

I used to be obsessed with bacon when I was in high school. I played drums in a punk band when I was 19 that had a song called “Bloody Bacon Meet” attesting to our love for bacon. However, for the past 14 years or so, I have been living on a mostly vegan diet. I am a lover of animals and chose no longer to eat them. Therefor I do not eat bacon. I know, right.

Was an honor to interview one of Portland’s most beloved beer bloggers and beer geeks. Thanks Angelo! Hope to grab a beer with you soon. 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!

This interview was definitely fun and interesting for me. Some of you might remember my interview with ex-blogger and now industry man (brewery owner), Luke Livingston, who is also the original founder of Blog About Beer. In 2010, Luke turned over his site to Logan Thompson, who has been successfully running it ever since. So now, it is time to give Logan a bit of the spotlight with his own featured interview! Cheers!

INTRODUCING: LOGAN THOMPSON

AUTHOR OF: BLOG ABOUT BEER

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Logan Thompson
Internet nickname: drumminlogan
Twitter handle: @blogaboutbeer
Name of blog: Blog About Beer
Current location: Vancouver, WA

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?


Vancouver, WA (a suburb of the greatest beer city in the US, Portland, Oregon)

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



I am a huge fan of basketball and football, but the only team I was on in high school was the golf team, and I sucked big time.

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



I think I might have taken a sip of my dads Miller as a kid, but the first I remember was on my 21st birthday (yeah, I’m a huge rule follower)

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



On my birthday I went with my parents and my wife (who was my girlfriend at the time) to BJs and I ordered the sampler. I remember thinking, aww gross, how could anyone drink dark beer (which I love with a dirty passion now). I loved the Jeremiah Red though and their Hefeweizen.

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



I went to college at Western Washington University where I got a bachelors in Business with a focus in Marketing. Thinking back I was pretty lame in college and didn’t get that involved much. I spent a lot of time hanging out with my now wife and volunteering a lot of my time working with middle school kids. The only sports I really took part in was the occasional game of ultimate Frisbee and I ran a ton.

Craft Beer Epiphany

Every craft beer enthusiast has at least one pinnacle craft beer experience that completely changes ones perspective on beer. I refer to this mind-blowing moment as a “craft beer epiphany.”

1. What was your first craft beer epiphany? Recall as many details about it as you can:



I really wish my craft beer epiphany happened earlier. After college I got married and we moved to Denver for 2 years. There I was in a great beer city and had no clue. I lived real close to Coors and so that was about the extent of my beer drinking. Luckily I was saved. I remember moving back to Washington and drinking a Widmer Hefeweizen. Wow, beer didn’t have to taste like water? That got me hooked into exploring the world of beer and I haven’t looked back since.

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



I’ve had multiple epiphany’s related to beer. For example my wife’s family is from Belgium and I remember the first time they brought me some Orval and I fell in love with those Belgian monks instantly. It opened my eyes up to the fact that there is good beer all over the world. I figured the yellow colored imported water from the grocery store was all the world had to offer. 

Another huge epiphany I had was when I first started home brewing.  Up until that time I didn’t pay all the much attention to what hops or malts where in the beers I was drinking. Yeah I read the labels but it didn’t make all the much sense to me. Once I started brewing on my own, my appreciation for the craft great so much larger and I appreciate what I drink so much more.

Beer Blog Background

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



Since June 2010

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?



I had been wanting to start writing about beer for awhile and never got around to it. I wanted to share the good news of craft beer beer with the masses while utilizing my marketing skills to get the word out. I’ve ran a few other blogs and none of them were on topics that I am truly excited about. I can talk about beer all day long.

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



I actually bought the site from Luke Livingston, who was selling the blog to start up Baxter Brewing. There was some great posts already, so instead of starting from scratch I decided to buy the site from him and kept the name.

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



Goal #1 is to make enough money with it to pay my beer and home brewing expenses every month.

Goal #2 is to expand my knowledge of the industry and to make great connections.

Goal #3 is to make beer my full time career. I’m not sure what that will look like yet, but if I could work full time in this industry I would be pretty happy about that. (so if any breweries need a marketing/social media guy, hit me up).

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



Honestly the opportunity to be able to try so many beers that I wouldn’t be able to get around here. Some weeks the UPS and FedEX guys are at my house almost every day bringing me beer from states on the other side of the country. It is definitely a great perk of blogging about beer.

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



There are so many great beer blogs and sites out there that it’s hard to choose.  Besides the obvious Drink With The Wench, I like Brewpublic to keep up to date with the local Portland beer scene, Washington Beer Blog for Washington beer info and The Mad Fermentationist for homebrewing info.

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?


Porters, Stouts (any kind of stout I love), and Belgian Strong Ales (or pretty much anything that contains hops)

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

I don’t think I have a top 3 but I’ll choose 3 that never let me down. Hair of the Dog, Deschuttes, and although I’ve only had a few of their beers and they aren’t sold around here, I’ve really been impressed with Cigar City.

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



Probably Deschuttes. They are local and pretty innovative. I love when I see brewers constantly trying new things.

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



Yes. I haven’t brewed anything to unique although I’ve been bouncing an idea for a crazy dessert beer that might flop, but might just be the best beer I’ve ever created. It’s a Chocolate Peanut Butter Bacon Porter. I’ll blog about it if I ever get around to it.

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

Nope.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?    

Right now it’s a double IPA and Pad See Ew (thai food) that is a made ridicously hot. I usually ask the restaurant to make it the hottest that they’ve ever made it. That paired with Ninkasi Tricerahops double IPA is heaven.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?



I own an Internet marketing company and work from home.

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’d become a brewer. I love brewing beer and would do that in a heart beat.

3. Are you married? Children?



Yes and yes. I’m married to an absolutely wonderful woman and we have a year and a half old daughter.

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



I enjoy running, volunteering with teenagers, occasionally playing the drums, and eating really hot foods.

Off The Beaten Path

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



Probably a chile beer. Only because I eat so much spicy food that it’s fitting.

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?



Probably a Pliny the Younger, only because I still have yet to try it.

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?



It would be the Porter I talked about earlier. Chocolate peanut butter bacon porter. Mmmmm… Bacon.

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



I’d fly like Superman. How cool would it be to fly anywhere I wanted.

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



The Royal Gorge Skycoaster. Launched 1200 feet above the Arkansas River. I hate rides and was coaxed into going.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?



Second greatest meat ever behind steak.

Loved this interview… well, right up until the part about the wife and kid. Wah wah… Haha, jk Logan, you are a very lucky man! Best of wishes landing a gig in the best industry in the world. You are truly talented and we’d be lucky to have you!

“For art to exist, for any sort of aesthetic activity or perception to exist, a certain physiological precondition is indispensable: intoxication” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Most craft brewers consider beer to be both a science and a form of art. Most consumers and writers focus on the art inside the bottle, yet rarely ever consider the art on the outside of the bottle. A small number of craft breweries have recognized the psychological and emotional impact that label artwork has on people’s perception of the beer inside, and have employed the help of very talented artists for the development logos, labels and packaging of beer. The most well-known examples are Flying Dog and Ralph Steadman, and Lost Abbey and Sean Dominguez.

Slightly less well-known, although definitely not for lack of talent, is the creative and artistically skilled Ezra Johnson-Greenough.

Artist, beer label designer, writer, mixologist, event planner, festival organizer, brewery tour guide, marketing lacky, brewer and keg slinger — Ezra is truly a jack-of-all trades in the craft beer industry. It is virtually impossible to find a beer person in Portland, Ezra’s home town, that has not heard of him or does not call him a friend.

Known for his disputatious personality and headstrong opinions, Ezra is not immune to conflict and adversity. His blunt honesty and passion for craft beer, however, has done more good than harm, and Ezra can most certainly be called a revolutionary of craft beer.

So without any further ado, allow me to introduce you to the man many know best as the Samurai Artist, Ezra Johnson-Greenough:

THE SAMURAI ARTIST INTERVIEW

Full name: Ezra Johnson-Greenough
Twitter handle: @SamuraiArtist
Current location: Portland, OR

The Background Check

1. Where did you grow up?
Portland, OR

2. Where did you go to college? What did you study? What additional activities, organizations, sports did you partake in during college?
I spent some time in a lot of local schools like Oregon State and the Pacific Northwest College of Art before moving to San Francisco for The Academy of Art. I studied some film as well as Fine Arts and settled on illustration. I used to be heavily into working out and training and my younger years I played a lot of basketball and soccer and did some wrestling. I worked out pretty consistently and was really into that before I moved back to Portland and got really into beer and that along with a lot more work obligations pulled me out of the gym but I recently started trying to go back.

Professionally, you are mostly self-employed, yet balance a variety of unique and interesting positions in the craft beer industry.

3. What did you do professionally before you got into the beer industry?
I bartended at some dive bars and then at beer bars like Belmont Station, APEX, Laurelwood Brewing and Upright Brewing. Before that I worked in higher end private security and as a bouncer and at gyms, I got a lot of stories about those.

4. How long have you been working in the beer industry?
Well I am not sure if you can count bartending at beer bars working in the industry but lets say the first time I got work outside of that was doing some artwork for Roots Organic Brewing‘s Epic Ale line of beers that were quite the collectors items and that was in 2005 I believe, so going on 6 years.

5. What was your first “real” job in the beer industry?
Again if we count the service industry It was in probably 2004 actually at Laurelwood Brewing where I trained and was awaiting the opening of their new production brewery for more in depth work in the industry but it was not what I expected. Soon after I went to Belmont Station and collaborated with Roots, Double Mountain, Ninkasi and Pelican Brewery as well as being on the staff for the North American Organic Brewers Festival.

6. How many different breweries do you currently work with?
God that’s hard to qualify again. I receive regular pay from Upright and Burnside Brewing but I am doing all sorts of projects with breweries like Ninkasi, Hopworks, Coalition, Double Mountain and my own projects with various beer bars and breweries like with Portland Beer Week.

7. Describe your role with Upright Brewing:
It is undefined really and I have resorted calling myself a Jack-of-all-trades. Originally my friend Alex Ganum who I worked with at Upright Brewing asked me to design the logo, then help with the design of the brewery and then to run the tasting room. Now I also do some of the event planning, marketing, all the art and design, represent the brewery at tastings and events and like to throw my two cents into the beers themselves whenever I get a chance.

8. Describe your role with Burnside Brewing:
I am in charge of Marketing and Event planning and I also curate the art for the pub and am looking forward to soon doing some special release beer labels and collaboration beers soon. Burnside Brewing is really into events and lets me have pretty free reign setting up brewers dinners which I try to make unique as well as festivals and events that I also try to make unique. Our first foray before I was an official employee was the Portland Fruit Beer Festival that was a huge success and then recently I transitioned my Halloween pub crawl – Night of the Living Ales into a full on fest at the brewery and that was also a huge hit. Right now I am working on some new event and beer ideas and getting ready for the roll out of regular 22oz bottles.

The New School Beer Blog

1. When did you start the New School beer blog?
I officially posted my first blog on new years day 2010. It seemed like a good time for a new chapter.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?
Well probably two things, I needed something to do with myself after exiting Belmont Station, I was doing work for Upright but there was no money for a full time employee at first and also I missed talking to people about beer and sharing information both to fans and industry folks alike.

3. What are you personal goals for your blog? What do you hope to achieve with it?
My goals are still the same as when I started it, and that was to create an insider’s blog with a strong readership. I wanted to write about things that interested me and give a more inside look behind the scenes that a lot of bloggers don’t have the time or connections to cover.

4. What is one of the coolest things that happened to you as a result of being a beer blogger?
So many things really. A small one was when Rob Widmer recognized me at a festival and asked my advice on what beer to try next, certainly people all of a sudden seeing me as an authority. I also got a platform to launch some of my own events from like Brewing up Cocktails and Night of the Living Ales though I have now separated my events mostly from The New School. The ultimate though, was when I helped expose improprieties and shady business dealings of the North American Organic Brewers Festival and saw that my article actually changed things. It was a risky post to publish but in the end people got paid that were owed money like main festival organizer Abe Goldman-Armstrong got paid days later and many non-profits finally got checks and a lot of industry folks even called me up and said thank god someone said it.

5. Outside of your site, what are you top 3 favorite beer blogs/beer websites?
I don’t really find myself having a regular site I read but more scan for stories but if I had to pick it would be Beervana, It’s Pub Night and Beer News.

Brewing Up Cocktails

1. When did you first launch the “Brewing Up Cocktails” concept?
I launched it in July of 2010 as an Oregon Craft Beer Month event.

2. What was the inspiration for developing “Brewing Up Cocktails”??
A confluence of events that included my predisposed interest in dabbling, mixing and creating with attending SF Beer Week and seeing a local bar featuring a beer cocktail of the day and then returning to PDX and meeting a respected writer and spirits mixologist named Jacob Grier who happened to be a blossoming beer geek. Between the two of us we knew a hell of a lot about beer, spirits and mixology and when we needed a host we found we both knew Yetta Vorobik and her bar The Hop & Vine and her skills were the perfect addition.

3. Tell me a little bit about your partner in “Brewing Up Cocktails”?
I don’t want to shoot Yetta Vorobik short but my main partner that I originally conceived the events with is Jacob Grier. He has bartended at a number of respected cocktail bars, he represents Bols Genever and has done an amazing job showing off the versatility of that Dutch spirit and has written a lot of articles on both cocktails and in politics and I saw in him sort of the opposite of myself in the best way possible. I know a lot about beer and I didn’t know a ton about spirits but I loved them and wanted to master them and Jacob Grier is a master of spirits and mixology and is becoming a huge beer geek with a thirst for knowledge there. He is as active in the cocktail community as I am in the beer community and so his connections combined with mine make an excellent team.

Then there is Yetta Vorobik who owns what I think is the best combination of all booze bars in Oregon and perhaps further. The Hop & Vine has an outstanding wine list, cocktail list and beer list plus incredible food and a beer and wine bottle shop next door to boot. Yetta came with a history as a wine geek so she brings in another sensibility to cocktail design and she is great behind the bar and as a bonus she has boobs, which we all appreciate. (classy, Ez)

4. To date, what was one of your most successful events?
We have had a lot of amazing events but I think it really blew up on our second Brewing up Cocktails event last winter was the most amazing. In it we debuted two hot beer cocktails, our take on a Wassail and the Hot Scotchy which has become a drink we are really known for. We received an incredible amount of positive press including some people even calling the Hot Scotchy the best cocktail you have never had and the greatest drink ever concocted. The bar was absolutely packed which caused a pretty big backup on cocktails but it was a lot of fun. Other than that the Ninkasi one we did for SF Beer Week was a big hit and traveling to Vancouver, BC for one was an honor too.

5. Personally, what is your favorite beer cocktail?
I really don’t know, it certainly depends on my mood and the season. I can narrow it down to three I think:

1. Wassail
This was our take on the original wassails that used ales and ours had a variety of spices, wine, whiskey, lemon and a base of Deschutes Jubelale and is served hot in a mug with a sliced orange star. This one I had little to do with but just may be my favorite alcoholic drink for a winter night.

2. Caipbeerinha
This is one I can claim credit for and has been hugely popular. It achieved three things and that is it successfully updated a classic Brazilian drink the Caipirinha with beer as a legitimate new version of the cocktail that has inspired a whole category, it successfully fused the American IPA into a cocktail seamlessly which is a tricky feat, and it appeals to both beer and cocktail drinkers somehow. Oh also it’s good for any season.

3. Hot Scotchy
This is maybe the most unique as it is a brewers cocktail that some practice in breweries all over the country but as far as I can tell has only been passed on by word of mouth and there was previously nothing written about it. So I cant claim to have created it but we did update it for the bar and brought it to regular audiences which is no easy thing considering it requires brewing beer to make. Basically it’s base is hot unfermented beer or wort as it comes out of the mash tun and separates from the grain bed, it is hot, sticky, sweet and has a killer fresh bread, grain, cereal quality then you simply add a whiskey or in our update a peaty Scotch and top with an unsweetened hand whipped cream and a pinch of nutmeg. It truly is a drink like nothing else.

Craft Beer Epiphany

Every craft beer enthusiast has at least one pinnacle craft beer experience that completely changes ones perspective on beer. I refer to this mind-blowing moment as a “craft beer epiphany.”

1. What was your first craft beer epiphany? Recall as many details about it as you can:
I am not sure I believe that everyone has had this craft beer epiphany, I don’t think I did exactly. The closest thing I can recall to this though is attending a party in San Francisco where I had brought something like Newcastle nut brown which I loved though I hadn’t discovered much else and after I ran out of that beer I had to turn to Budweiser and I think I was on my second can when I just realized that I was not enjoying it, in fact was quite disliking the taste of it and then I thought ‘why am I drinking this?’ was it just because I had it in my hand? From that moment on I drank craft beer though it took me moving back to Portland to really become a beer geek and move beyond amber ales.

2. Have you have additional craft beer epiphanies since the first? Detail as many of them as you wish:
Well when I moved back to Portland I discovered Amber Ales like Fat Tire and Bridgeport’s now defunct Ropewalk Amber. I was not adventurous and would not call that an epiphany. Somehow my uncle took me to Laurelwood and I really discovered craft beer and fell in love with their Tree Hugger Porter and with that I started going to the store and buying as many different beers as I could wanting to try everything and shortly thereafter started homebrewing and reading all sorts of books. I really went from average beer drinker to hardcore beer geek in one year, maybe less.

Ezra with Jamie Floyd of Ninkasi on The New School tour of Eugene

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles to drink?
I definitely fluctuate on this but overall I like to have a house beer that I buy six packs of and it’s usually something hoppy like an IPA or Pale, right now it is cans of Fort George 1811 lager and Bridgeport Hop Czar.

Probably my favorite overall right now are sour beers of pretty much all kinds. I love intensely sour beer but also a tart berliner-weisse I would drink 24/7 and do when Dogfish Head Festina Peche is in season.

Third would probably be a tie between a farmhouse style ale or a big barrel-aged beer.

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?
Wow, I hate questions like this but at the same time it makes me think. Right now I would say Cantillon, Firestone Walker and probably Upright Brewing.

3. What are your top 3 destination “beer” cities?
Do you mean places that I have been or places I want to go? For places I hope to go #1 is definitely Belgium anywhere really and I have been to San Diego but it was many years ago so I am dying to go back. #3? well I would love to experience some true British pub culture at some point so London seems like a good idea because I can travel around from there. Now if I was going to give someone else advice on where to go I would probably say Portland [OR] Brussels and San Francisco.

4. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?
Beer and cheese for sure. I am a huge fan of both and they can go so well together. One of the best I have had was Humboldt Fog with Yazoo Sue a cherry wood smoked beer. Sharp and tart cheeses pair so well with lambics too. I represented beer in a Wine vs. Beer cheese pairing competition earlier this year and actually found some unusual but amazing pairings with beers like a coffee stout, a kriek and a barrel-aged olde ale.

5. Do you ever cook with beer? If so, what are some of your favorite recipes that use beer?
My favorite semi-cooking with beer thing is a smoky hot sauce I do occasionally with Habaneros and smoked peppers but instead of using vinegar or any sweeteners I use an intense whiskey barrel-aged Imperial Stout, the best was Founders Kentucky Breakfast or Full Sail’s Black Gold. I also like to make some bbq burgers marinated in a Scotch Ale or perhaps Alaskan Smoked Porter.

6. In your opinion, what are some of the best resources (books, websites, programs, institutions etc…) for people learning about beer and brewing?
I learned a lot from Papazian’s the Joy of Homebrewing which a lot of people say is out of date now and it is but I still think its possibly the best most approachable resource for the beginning homebrewer. My longtime favorite book though is Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher, it is an incredible guide to obscure and extinct styles of beer as well as lots of insight on how they were made and how to brew them in modern day. It is kind of a homebrewing book but you really dont have to homebrew to learn a lot. Farmhouse Ales is another great one though it is very advanced. I also learned a lot from listening to podcasts, I dont keep up on them anymore but I still have a tremendous love for Basic Brewing Radio. And lastly I found Rate Beer and Beer Advocate the best place to stay up with what breweries were doing all over the country and world.

Ezra with Larry Sidor is at the Craft Brewers Conference// Photo Credit: Brian Stechshulte

The Personal Side

1. You are known on Twitter and other various social media platforms as “Samurai Artist” — what is the significance behind this name?
I just needed a handle when I first got online and I was/am a huge fan of Samurai’s and that period of Japanese culture. I was very influenced by Akira Kurosowa’s films like Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, Rashomon, Throne of Blood and books that outline wisdom and a code that is incredibly still relevant today like Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. Then of course I am actually an artist and some of the most famous Samurai’s were too.

2. Outside of beer, what are some of your other hobbies?
Art obviously, illustration and design. I don’t read them anymore but I still do love comic books and I learned a lot about writing and art from them. I am a huge film geek, I was obsessed with film for a long time and that has been replaced by beer but I still try to catch as many as possible and they have greatly influenced the way I see and hear things as well as talk and write. Perhaps too much so. I also love music and focus on more local music, it is another art form I always wanted to do but who had the t to do that with all of my other interests so I try to listen and promote and get paid as many local musicians as possible.

3. If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, you would it be and why?
Again I think that’s an impossible question because there are so many.

4. Who are some of your greatest mentors in the industry?
I am not sure I would go so far as to call someone my mentor just because I like to do my own thing and find my own way but I have learned a lot from people like: Don Younger (Publican/Horse Brass pub), Lisa Morrison (the Beer Goddess), Alex Ganum (Upright Brewing), John Harris (Full Sail), Teri Fahrendorf (Ex-Brewmaster and founder of the Pink Boots Society) and Jason Mcadam (Ex-Brewmaster at Roots and now of Burnside Brewing).

Night of the Living Ales, Halloween 2011

Off The Beaten Path

1. If you were a style of beer, what style would be and why?
*sigh* no comment

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 Cantillon or maybe a Firestone Walker 10 or 11.

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?
Obviously a saison but it would be a black saison aged in Pinot barrels with wild yeasts and perhaps a bit of pink peppercorns. I would call it a Cascadian Saison du Wench or CSW.

4. If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
To make whatever I wish come true.

5. What is one of the craziest things you have ever done and lived to tell the story?
I drove off a cliff in a snowmobile in the middle of the night, hit a tree that almost broke my back and was buried past my waste in snow and couldn’t walk or be seen. Luckily someone spotted the tracks going off the road.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?
It’s a tasty meat that I love best in a BLT, I am a fan but it’s popularity is overblown.

Ezra at John Harris' Smoker Party during OBF

——————————————–

And although at times I find his opinions and words to be unnecessarily offensive and unfounded, I consider Ez a trusted friend and respected colleague that I care for dearly. Ezra is one of the most talented and passionate individuals that I have had the honor of knowing. And, regardless of the past and present, he will always hold a special place in my heart.

Cheers!

“Whereof what’s past is prologue; what to com,
In yours and my discharge”~ William Shakespeare

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: WIN BASSETT

AUTHOR OF: NC BREWING

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Win Bassett
Twitter handle: @winbassett
Name of blog: NC Brewing
Current location: Raleigh, North Carolina

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Martinsville, Virginia, a small town in the southwestern part of the state, right over the North Carolina border.

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

I played soccer in high school but kept the bench pretty warm. I started running during my last year of law school and never stopped. I now run for Team Raleigh Running Outfitters/FASTcoaching, a local competitive running team. I also founded the Big Boss Run Club, which runs out of Big Boss Brewing Co. in Raleigh, North Carolina, every Tuesday night, followed by delicious North Carolina beer, of course.

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

Twenty-one—can you believe it?

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 had never had a sip of alcohol before I turned twenty-one, due to oldest brother syndrome, not disappointing my parents, and rebelling against the notion that it was cool to drink in high school. I was the rebel because I didn’t beer bong Natty Light after football games on Friday nights! What do you think of that?

On my twenty-first birthday, I went to Angus Barn in Raleigh for dinner, where I had my first glass of wine.  Afterward, I went to Mitch’s Tavern, which is the bar from the movie Bull Durham. A friend bought me a bottle of Bud heavy. I drank one sip and thought it was gross. I could not figure out how people actually enjoyed drinking beer. I took a few more sips to assure myself that I did not like it. For the rest of school, I stuck to wine and bourbon and ginger.

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

I went to North Carolina State University in Raleigh and studied electrical engineering and computer engineering. I was involved in student government, serving on the Student Senate and the Student Judicial Board, and I was the design editor for the Technician, N.C. State’s daily student newspaper. I then went to law school at the University of North Carolina School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I was an editor on the North Carolina Law Review and on the executive board of the Carolina Intellectual Property Law Association.

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:

As I said before, I wrote off beer after my Bud heavy birthday experience. During my first year of law school, I went with some friends to Tyler’s Taproom in Carrboro, North Carolina, to play trivia.  Someone bought me a Rogue Dead Guy, and I took a sip to avoid being rude. My life changed forever. It tasted nothing like the stuff that came from that bottle on my twenty-first birthday. We regularly played trivia at Tyler’s for several months that year, and I always ordered a Dead Guy.

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

My next epiphany was having a Fullsteam Southern Lager after running with the Fullsteam Ahead! Run Club one Wednesday night this summer at Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, North Carolina. I was sitting at a picnic table inside the R&D Taproom with some of my best friends. That moment made me realize that there is nothing better on earth than sharing a good beer with good friends over good conversation. It brought together everything that makes the craft beer community amazing.

My most recent epiphany was drinking Uli’s Geuze at Tasty Beverage Co. in Raleigh. If you’re unfamiliar with Uli, he crafts his own geuzes by blending lambics from an assortment of producers. He blended this particular geuze with ten different lambics—3 Fonteinen, Boon, Cantillon, De Troch, De Cam, Girardin, Hanssens, Lindemans, Mort Subite, and Oud Beersel. A friend that works at Tasty Beverage had befriended Uli on a recent trip to Belgium and graciously opened up a bottle for a few friends one night. The combination of raw, horse blanket funk with the story of Uli blending this geuze himself in what was essentially a plastic bucket made this a beer to remember. As for the friend at Tasty, I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to repay him for these opportunities or his wonderful stories from Belgium.

Beer Blog Background

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

It went live in August 2011.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

My blog partner, Richard Mitchell, tweeted one day that he wanted to start a podcast about North Carolina beer. I had never met Richard in person before but replied that I wanted to help. I drove to his house a few weeks later, and after meeting him for the first time in person, we did our first podcast about twenty minutes later.

The podcast was well received in the North Carolina beer community. Richard had already developed the website and had posted a few news blurbs about North Carolina beer. I offered to write longer, feature pieces for the blog, and the rest is history!

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

Richard chose it, so I had nothing to do with it, but it works!

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

Not only do I want to keep the North Carolina beer community informed with the latest news, beer releases, and events, but I want to cultivate this relatively new, yet thriving community by bringing its members together to share in the amazing beer that is being crafted in this state.

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

The coolest thing that has happened to me, without a doubt, is meeting the wonderful people of the North Carolina beer community. Oh, and sharing a beer with Josh Brewer of Mother Earth Brewing Co. in Kinston, North Carolina. Who doesn’t have a #mancrush on him?

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

- The Beer Wench (because you said if I didn’t include it, you would force-feed me bacon)
- Beernews.org (does Adam Nason sleep?)
- Aleheads (I’m scared of Kid Carboy but want to share a beer with Slouch Sixpack and Barley McHops)

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

- Geuze
- DIPA
- Tripel

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

- Fullsteam Brewery (Durham, NC)
- Wedge Brewing Co. (Asheville, NC)
- Brasserie-Brouwerij Cantillon (Brussels, Belgium)

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

Fullsteam in Durham, North Carolina. Not only does Chris Davis (Zymologist) brew amazing beers with local ingredients, but Sean Wilson (Chief Executive Optimist) has continued to tirelessly cultivate an incredible craft beer community in North Carolina ever since he successfully lead the Pop the Cap campaign to change the state’s ABV cap from 6% to 15% in 2005. Further, Fullsteam’s pint-to-plow philosophy of using local ingredients has produced some creative and solid offerings while supporting the agriculture of North Carolina.

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

I’ve made one attempt at homebrewing—a single-hopped IPA because the kit I used was missing all of the other varieties of hops that were included in the recipe. Let’s just say that I’m happy drinking the other beer that is coming from North Carolina.

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

No, but I have thought about pursuing some in the future.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?    

A crisp, hop-forward IPA and a gigantic, “kitchen-sink” salad with everything thrown in there, enjoyed outside on a hot, summer day.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

I’m a state prosecutor.

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 want your job–“Director of Awesomeness,” or evangelist—but with a North Carolina brewery. I do it now in my free time for all North Carolina beer and love every minute of it.

3. Are you married? Children?

Is this a standard question or a personal one from you?

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

If I’m not writing about beer, I’m running. If I’m not doing either, I’m probably at my day job.

Off The Beaten Path

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

A lambic. I’ll just hang out in a pool, or what the cool kids call a “coolship,” and get funky. Want to join me? I’m a few years your junior, so we’d make a pretty good geuze.

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?

A Rogue Dead Guy for the simple reason to bring things full circle. This beer introduced me to the beer community, both nationwide and in North Carolina, and it brought this passion to life. I once read a quote that said, “Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go and do that because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” This first craft beer brought me to life, so let it bring me to death.

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 brew a Flanders Red because (1) it would match your current hair color; (2) it is known for its sharp, sour, and tart flavors (like you); and (3) it typically has a low ABV, which is needed around The Beer Wench. Who knows what happens when the imperial stouts start flying open…

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

I would love to be able to teleport to share North Carolina’s amazing beer with anyone in the world. I’m incredibly grateful to be a part of this community.

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

My best friend from college (and now roommate), @GregMulholland, and I backpacked across Europe after our freshman year. He had just finished a study abroad program in Segovia, Spain, and I was going to start my program at Oxford in a few weeks. After a sleepless night on a train from France to Switzerland (because we thought our cabin mate, who was a “pharmaceutical salesman,” was going to poison us in our sleep), the train came to a halt in the middle-of-nowhere Switzerland around 5:00 a.m. We had to get off at this stop to catch another train to Lucerne, and we thought we had plenty of time to grab our packs and get off of the train.

It started moving again after just a few minutes, however, and we made the decision to jump from the moving train (much to the dismay of the attendant yelling at us) because who knows where we would have ended up had we not. Fortunately, I landed on my feet. @GregMulholland was not as lucky.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

They are often non-existent. The closest that I’ve come to eating bacon in well over a year was a few sips of Bull City Burger and Brewery’s (Durham, North Carolina) Pigmeat Markham Smoked Rye. Seth Gross smoked the malt over applewood to achieve the flavor, and it tasted exactly like bacon, or at least how I remember it tasting.

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: NIK CAMERON

AUTHOR OF: THE 13 BLOG

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Nik Cameron
Twitter handle: @13blog
Name of blog: The 13 Blog
Current location: South St. Louis City

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

I was born and raised in the St. Louis Metro Area. I’ve lived on both sides of the river and all over in the City and County of St. Louis.

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

I played hockey, baseball, soccer, and I wrestled.

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

I recall my first taste of beer when I was about 3 years old…same as my first toke on a cigarette. Parents were different in the late 70’s. My first full beer was probably when I was about 16 years old.

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

My best friend and I bought a 12 pack of the nasty beer my dad drank, Red White & Blue Lager. It was a PBR knock off and we drank it warm so our parents wouldn’t find it. We drank this disgusting beer in his backyard while smoking Camel Special Lights on a Friday night. We were totally hardcore and so proud of ourselves. We were only 16 but we had gotten our own beer and smokes.

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’ve taken classes at St. Louis Community College and I’m finishing up my degree at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. I’ll be a senior after this year. I’m getting a Liberal Arts degree focusing on English and Criminology. My wife and I are fighting about what I’m going to do after school. I want to go to Law School, but she wants me to become a freelance writer and novelist.

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:

Once I realized I could find beer that I enjoyed, I suppose it was Schalfly Pale Ale. What I didn’t realize was that it was nothing like Rolling Rock’s Pale Ale. This was a true pale ale of the English variety. It was bitter and brown and even though I only drank lagers up to that point, and didn’t even know that lager and ale didn’t mean the same thing…something really changed when I had that beer. I began attending the St. Louis Lift For Life Microfest each year after that and the rest is history.

Beer Blog Background

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

My father in law and I, he writes on the beer posts as well, have been doing beer blogging since the beginning of this year. I had been doing St. Louis foods up till that point and we added another column.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

I have been blogging since about 2000 when I started a blog on my favorite minor league hockey team, The Missouri River Otters (RIP). Over the years I’ve moved and changed my topics and now I’d say 75% of my blog is dedicated to beer, at least until I start writing the new beer column we have planned. Then it will be about 90%.

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

For as long as I can remember, 13 has been my favorite number. It’s also something that’s a bit esoteric and it could be about anything, which is great because The 13 Blog has undergone some pretty big changes in the time it has existed.

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

I would like to have people care about it half as much as I do and just enjoy what I have to say. From blogging, of all sorts, I’ve had some pretty interesting experiences, not the least of which is becoming a front office member of a minor league professional sports team. I really want to be a great source of information for the middling beer drinkers. The people that know there are better beers out there than just the macro lagers, but don’t know where to start and what they like.

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

I read Hip Hops on stltoday.com and as silly as this is going to sound, Twitter. I do my best to find beer bloggers and craft beer nerds there and I get all sorts of links to articles and that’s how I find most of the sites and articles I read now.

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

Scotch Ale, Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout, Double IPA

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Bells Brewing, Schlafly, & Stone

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

Square One Brewery in Lafayette Square, St. Louis, MO. They are a very small outfit that is located in a very historic pub in my favorite neighborhood of St. Louis, MO. I’m never going to move out of St. Louis. It’s my home and I love it and I’d love to help them move from just a brew pub into more bottling and distributing like the other new micro breweries in St. Louis are doing.

4. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

It’s a bit sad, but a pale lager and a St. Louis Style Pizza. I guess because that just tastes like home. If I’m drinking a beer, for me, it’s about the beer and not putting it together with something else. Normally when I have a beer with dinner, it’s something like a pilsner or a simple pale ale.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

I am in an inside sales rep.

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 suppose if I could make that change, I’d have a very hard choice to make. I want to either be a prosecuting attorney or a novelist. So this is kind of why my wife and I are fighting over my graduate schooling.

3. Are you married? Children?

My wife and I are about to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary and we have a little daughter named Ella-Jane who is the absolute light of my life. There’s nothing better in my life than coming home to my girls. E-J has just learned how to high five and down low, so I’ve been enjoying that quite a bit lately.

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

I love to read about St. Louis’s local history. I’m an avid Otaku. I love manga, anime, and Japanese video games. I’m a complete and total nerd. Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory is my personal hero. I’m a very big hockey and soccer fan. I’m also trying to learn to speak five languages fluently. So far, I’m up to two and a half. My Spanish is very good and I’ve been using that professionally for 7 years. My Japanese is still no better than conversational, but I can read it better than I speak it. Again, I’m a total nerd. Thankfully so is my wife. We routinely have Star Wars, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, and Lord of the Rings marathons on blu-ray.

Off The Beaten Path

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

I would be an India Pale Ale. It’s a style that can be very offputting the first time, but it’s so totally worth it once you understand what makes it great.

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?

For me, it would have to be Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout. Not only is it the best beer I’ve ever had, but it’s very strong, and comes in 22oz bombers. So, when I was done, I’d be good and happy and it’s just that good.

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?

Hmmm. I think I’d have to go with special malts just to make it a bit more awesome. Yes, I’m sucking up.

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

I’m going to avoid quoting Brody from Mallrats now. Though first I’d want to banter well with super villains, though I think I’m pretty good at banter now. You know, I’m going to opt out of superpowers if they are offered to me. I’d make too much of an ass of myself and the American Way…yeah…this is for the best.

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

I don’t know if it’s the craziest thing I’ve done, but it’s one of my favorite stories. I went to visit a close friend a few months after he moved out of town. He asked me to bring up some Schalfly beer for him, which I did, but it was warm. So we went to get some cold beer, as he didn’t have anything cold either. Eventually we learned that there was nowhere we could buy packaged liquor after 10pm. We ended up driving to another municipality to get beer. We nearly ran out of gas on roads that looked like the moors in “An American Werewolf In London,” we got caught behind a tugboat pulled barge on a drawbridge, and by the time we got to his house, it took about two hours…or as long as it would’ve taken to chill the beer we had.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

Bacon is nature’s pepper.

SPECIAL THANKS TO NIK FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!

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: PETE DUNLOP

AUTHOR OF: BEERVANA BUZZ

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Pete Dunlop
Twitter handle: beervanabuzz
Name of blog: beervanabuzz
Current location: Portland, OR

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?
Clarkston, Washington. It’s a small town on the Snake River in the southeastern corner of Washington state.

2. What sports if any did you play growing up, through college and beyond?
Growing up, I enjoyed water skiing, snow skiing. I played high school football, which was maybe not the smartest thing in retrospect. I wasn’t very big. Luckily, most of our opponents weren’t either. After high school, I focused heavily on tennis and got pretty good. I started playing racquetball while I was in grad school and still play today. I also enjoy golf, cycling and skiing.

3. How old were you when you had your first beer?
Oh, definitely not very old. My dad didn’t have a strict policy about kids and beer. I was probably 5 or younger when I tasted my first beer.

4. If you can recall, what is the story of your first beer? Where did you have it? What style and brand was it?
It was some kind of macro brew…probably Pabst or another Midwestern beer. My parents came from the Chicago area. I was in the backyard in Pleasant Hill, Calif. It was a hot summer day. I’m sure my dad was having a beer and I got part of a glass. I remember thinking, “Hey, this isn’t too bad.”

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 Washington State University in Pullman, which is about 30 miles from Clarkson. My undergrad program was mostly unfocused. I took a lot English and history, and earned a BA in Liberal Arts. I worked in record stores during school and for a few years after I graduated. I decided there wasn’t much of a future in it, so quit and I entered graduate school. I eventually earned a Masters in history. I didn’t realize there wasn’t much of a future in that, either. Probably the best experience I ever got was working on the student paper, The Daily Evergreen, for several years. For two years, I wrote and edited opinion stuff and later edited sports. That was great experience.

Craft Beer Epiphany

Every craft beer enthusiast has at least one pinnacle craft beer experience that completely changes ones perspective on beer. I refer to this mind-blowing moment as a “craft beer epiphany.”

1. What was your first craft beer epiphany? Recall as many details about it as you can:
I knew about craft beer before I moved to Portland in 1989, having been introduced by a farmer friend in Pullman. I wasn’t instantly converted. I drank a lot of Henry’s Blue Boar while in grad school. After I got to Portland, my tastes gradually evolved. Craft beer was everywhere in Portland and you couldn’t miss it. One of my favorite places back then was Bridgeport Brewing. This was back in the days when what we now call the Pearl District was comprised of industrial warehouses. The streets were virtually impassable for much of the year, with gigantic potholes big enough to swallow a Volkswagen. Bridgeport was a rustic, quaint place that served good craft beer and wonderful pizza. I loved going there and we went there often.

2. Have you have additional craft beer epiphanies since the first? Detail as many of them as you wish:
The most significant epiphany occurred in July 1991, when a friend invited me to the Oregon Brewers Festival. That was an eye opener. They were serving all these terrific beers in the park. You could get a beer and enjoy the sights, whether it was the young ladies or the Willamette River. I missed the 1992 OBF because I was out of town. But I haven’t missed one since. To me, the OBF is the quintessential beer event of the year in Portland…probably in the Northwest, maybe on the West Coast. I can say with complete confidence that the OBF changed my view of craft beer.

Beer Blog Background

1. How long have you been writing your beer blog?
I started writing the blog over the summer, June or July. It’s not very old.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?
I’ve been doing a bit of freelance writing, which included stories about Portland beer events and breweries. I noticed that these stories got a lot of hits. I decided to write a book about the craft beer culture here. Once I made that decision, the blog was a logical step. The book, Beervana Rising, was published as an eBook in September. The book and the blog complement each other.

3. Why did you choose the name of your blog?
I wanted Beervana in the title from the start. I messed around with some possible modifiers and eventually landed on Beervana Buzz. I’m not sure it works, but it’s okay.

4. What are you personal goals for your blog? What do you hope to achieve with it?
It’s a good place to showcase my writing. I’ve got a website with work samples and I write another blog dealing with football. But the beer blog is top dog. It’s fun and, like I said, it goes with the book. It gets me noticed. Maybe it will help me get a job in the beer industry at some point. Maybe it just furthers my writing.

5. What is one of the coolest things that happened to you as a result of being a beer blogger?
Meeting other people who care about good beer has been the coolest thing. The Bloggers Conference was an eye-opener. We get a little beer-centric here in Portland because we have so much going. It was so refreshing to meet people from all over the place who are just as passionate about beer as people here. That was a big WOW for me.

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

• Beervana (Jeff Alworth) is probably my go-to site. I read Jeff’s stuff long ago when he wrote for the Willamette Week. He covers are wide range of beer topics.
• Beeradvocate: Most complete beer site around. Ratings, reviews, etc.
• Brewpublic Maybe the most complete blog around.

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

• IPA: Firestone Walker, Pliny the Elder, Hop Stoopid, Laurelwood Workhorse, Boneyard RPM, many more
• Red or Amber Ale: Red Nectar, Red Rocket Ale,
• Barleywine: Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws, Full Sail Old Boardhead
• Barrel-aged blends: Hair of the Dog and Cascade Brewing Barrel House make a lot of these

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

• Hair of the Dog (exquisite beers, classy tasting room and restaurant)
• Russian River (I’m visiting Thanksgiving weekend!)
• Deschutes (always thinking about quality)

3. If you could work with or for any one brewery, which one would it be and why?
I’d want to work for a brewery that cares about quality and uniqueness. Hair of the Dog is at the top of my list because Alan Sprints, to my way of thinking, is the Steve Jobs of craft beer in Portland. He started by brewing old world ales and eventually got into barrel-aging. Others are following now, but Alan has been doing this seemingly forever. I have a ton of respect for this guy and what he does. There are a lot of great breweries producing great beers in Portland and elsewhere. What he does is unique.

4. Are you a homebrewer? If yes, what is the most unique and interesting beer recipes you’ve brewed as a homebrewer?
I brewed consistently for 15 years, then quit several years ago due to issues with bad batches. I sold all my stuff. I just recently started again…brewed a red ale at one of our local on-premise brewing supply places. I’ve got a notebook full of recipes. Lots of tweaked IPAs, as well as reds and others. I once made a dopplebock that was pretty good, though it took forever to finish fermentation. The most interesting may have been a red lager fermented in the garage during the winter back in 1998. The weather cooperated exactly once. I tried to make this beer again, unsuccessfully…too much temperature variation.

5. Do you have any beer certifications (BJCP, Cicerone, Siebel, American Brewers Guild)?? If so, what are they?
What’s that? Maybe someday.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?
I like a crisp IPA with fish and chips or fish tacos. Yummy.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?
I’ve worked in marketing communications for many years, but I’m currently in between day jobs doing freelance writing.

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?
No question, I would be working in craft beer marketing. That could mean working for a single brewery or doing the kind of thing Chris Crabb does…providing media support to multiple breweries and beer events. Why? I would never get tired of that work.

3. Are you married? Children?
Married, yes. Children: Labradors Blitz (black) and Biscuit (yellow). Yeah, that’s Blitz on my Facebook profile.

4. Outside of beer and writing, what are some of your other hobbies?
I enjoy all kinds of music, playing around with techie gadgets, fast cars, NFL football, Washington State football (sad, I know), golf, trips to Kauai, cycling.

Off The Beaten Path

1. If you were a style of beer, what style would be and why?
Probably a Double IPA. Why? The good ones have lots of body, complex character and are fairly bitter. That’s a good representation of me right there.

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?
Something with a lot of alcohol…Doggie Claws, Pliny the Elder. Why? To help forget about being executed!

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?
Some kind of big red ale, for sure. Lots of different hops…Simcoe, Citra, Amarillo. Dry-hopped, definitely. For extra pizzazz, I might use some cinnamon and peppers in the boil. At the end fermentation, I’d add some lemon zest to give the beer the appropriate tartness. This recipe might need some tweaking.

4. If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
I like to have the ability to transport myself from place to place without assistance from a car or plane or train. I could visit a lot of breweries then.

5. What is one of the craziest things you have ever done and lived to tell the story?
Having grown up in a rural setting, I have a zillion crazy stories. I have no idea how I lived through some of the crap I/we did. In high school, we would have keggers out boonies. This was a long time ago and the beer was usually Lucky Lager or Heidelberg…Coors or Bud would have been considered delicacies. A lot of times these parties were in the winter, so it was damn cold out there. To stay warm, we would pull up fence posts and start a bonfire. That would eventually attract the attention of the rancher who owned the burning posts. I have no idea how none of us were ever shot over this. I suppose someone probably used beer to talk the rancher down. Sometimes the cops showed up. Not good.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?
I’m actually not a huge fan…although it has grown on me lately.

SPECIAL THANKS TO PETE FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

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: EMILY ENGDAHL

AUTHOR OF: PDX BEER GEEKS

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Emily Engdahl
Twitter handle: @emilyengdahl
Name of blog: #pdxbeergeeks
Current location: Portland, Oregon

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

I’ve lived in Oregon my entire life. With the exception of one year in Ashland for school, and a brief stint into the way SE of Portland, I’ve lived within less than 5 miles of where I grew up, and where my Grandmother has lived for the last 65+ years. My kids are 5th generation/native NE PDX residents.

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

Sports and I aren’t really great friends. I have double vision all the time – my brain doesn’t process 3D images. So the sports I wanted to play, like tennis & golf, were impossible! I danced instead, including ballet until I was about 19.

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

Probably about 16. It was terrible. The boys in high school would always drink Mad Dog, Old English, and Coors Light. I wasn’t a big fan of beer.

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 craft beer I ever had might have been at a party in Southern Oregon – I think it was the Pyramid Apricot Ale. Someone got a keg of that and it was big time. (That was back in 1995.)

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 bounced around a lot – I went to Southern Oregon University for a year, then I came home and went to Oregon College of Art & Craft for a year. I ended up finishing my degree at Marylhurst University (just outside of Portland) and I have a communications degree with a certificate in Conflict Resolution & Mediation. I took a lot of psychology & counseling courses, transition management, communication & world studies, theology, art classes… I have a wide range of interests, so it would seem.

Craft Beer Epiphany

Every craft beer enthusiast has at least one pinnacle craft beer experience that completely changes ones perspective on beer. I refer to this mind-blowing moment as a “craft beer epiphany.”

1. What was your first craft beer epiphany? Recall as many details about it as you can:

I told this to Jamie (Floyd, of Ninkasi) this summer – My craft beer epiphany was when Tricerahops first came out. I remember drinking it and thinking, “Holy sh*t. WHAT IS THIS!?!” I was hooked. I couldn’t believe that there was beer that wasn’t Henry Weinhard’s (what my parents always drank when I was growing up) or that awful, tasteless “beer” from the big three. From my first Tricerahops, I was absolutely enthralled with the new craft beers. I became friends with the specialist (Justin) at my local market, and started trying as many new and different beers as I could, whenever I had the opportunity. I’ve never looked back.

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

I was on a hop kick there for a while – and it was during a glass of Firestone Walker Double Jack on tap that I decided I needed to branch out and drink things completely opposite of IPAs. I’d attended the OMSI Science of Beer Camp, learned how to brew from my brother (a nano-brewery called Lantern Brewing in Seattle) and I started homebrewing on my own. I started reading everything I could find, learning everything I could about craft beer and homebrewing. I try to brew outside the box – I don’t brew things that I can buy. I try to think about the beers I brew as an opportunity to push myself further – so the second craft beer epiphany was a combination of all of these things – when I began seeing craft beer and homebrewing as a creative expression.

Beer Blog Background

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

I’ve been writing about beer since 2008 on my own blog (pdxhomelife.com) but #pdxbeergeeks is a recent iteration of the blogging I was doing personally – we’ve created a community blog about beer for people to come and celebrate the geeky aspects of beery friendship.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

It was literally a conversation with a brand new friend the same night we met. Michael (@mmcooljam) and I were at a brew pub, and we were talking about how we needed a place where all the random, geeky people in Portland could get together and talk about beer and hang out.

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

It came up in that same conversation. Everyone calls Portland “PDX,” so it was a natural fit – pdxbeergeeks.

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

I like the fact that we’re really one of the only truly community based blogs on beer. We truly like each other – I feel really fortunate to have such a fantastic group of people to hang out with. My personal goals for the blog are what I’ve listed in our mission statement – “#pdxbeergeeks exist as ambassadors of the craft beer world. Living in Portland affords us rich opportunities to interact with other citizen beer fans, and our local brewers. Focusing on supporting our local craft beer economy, we encourage consumer education, good geeksmanship, community craft beer connections, resource building, informed craft beer choices, and keeping craft beer fun and accessible.”

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

I’ve been blown away at the immediate family & tribe of the craft beer community. 99% of the people I’ve met are golden hearted, truly wonderful folks. I get a kick out of striking up conversations with complete strangers, finding common ground over a beer, and next thing you know, we’re planning a big group dinner for the next week. It’s like family. I can’t imagine my life without the people I’ve met through blogging about beer.

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

I love BREWPUBLIC for the smart writing & top notch information. Angelo is a genius as far as moving through & navigating the world of craft beer. That’s probably the one I personally reference most often. I also check in on the Oregon Brewer’s Guild site. There are so many great beer blogs it’s impossible to keep up on all the good ones!

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

I love ESB, IPA & Red ales for session beers. Daily/fridge stock for me would be Elysian The Wise ESB, Vortex IPA from Fort George, and Double Mountain’s IRA.

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Fort George, Double Mountain & Lantern Brewing.

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

Two answers. Obviously, I’d love to be able to help & work for my brother. He is one of my favorite people in the entire world – and the way he approaches brewing is fascinating for me. He and I have a shared ability to talk about flavors/colors/thoughts/emotions in terms of beer that makes riffing off of each others ideas inspiring. Barring that, I’d love to work at Fort George. I just feel at home there, and I love the beers, the culture there, and the way they embrace the history of their craft.

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

Yes – I am a homebrewer. My favorite thus far has been the Blackberry Black Currant that I did this summer. It was a constantly morphing process (I brew with a general idea in mind, knowing where I want to end up – but if the process isn’t getting me where I want to go, I have no problem changing horses midstream) – and it turned out beautifully. I got a little flack from some of the other beer people on the Twitters for putting fresh hops into it (allegedly masking the fresh hop purity) but I don’t care about that when I’m brewing 5 gallons at a time. I shot back “Why would I want to do something that I can get anywhere during the season?” That’s not my goal. I want to paint a picture with my beer. I want to do something fun and interesting that amuses me, tastes great, and was a blast to think about and create. When I wake up first thing in the morning thinking about the beer I’m making, after having dreamed about it all night, I know I’m on the right track.

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

Not yet.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

I love a great, clean IPA with spicy fish tacos. I would have that for breakfast, lunch & dinner if I could.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

I’ve worked in the mental health field for the last 13 years.

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 continue to do what I’m doing now, without the day job. I freelance graphic design for beer & spirits labels, I write about beer, I brew, I create community & build connections over and around craft beer. I would just be able to switch tracks faster than my current plan of phasing out of my current job.

3. Are you married? Children?

Married, yes, and I have three delightfully curious children. My youngest recently said “Mom, is that Hop in the Dark?” about one of the beers in my flights. We were at Double Mountain, so I had to let him down gently – “No, but that was a great guess.” (It was a porter instead of a CDA. He’s 6. I guess we discuss beer and he listens.)

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

I’m a paper sculpture artist (I’m currently working on an installation of an all vintage paper and fabric flower wedding – over 200 hand crafted paper blossoms, an altar, all the centerpieces, boutonnieres, bouquets, etc.), I love photography, I bake, I cook, and I’m taking an aerial arts class (trapeze & silks). Anything creative, I’m into it.

Off The Beaten Path

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

A nice IPA. Universal appeal. Goes with lots of different things. I get along with just about everyone, and it seems that most people can identify with a good IPA. Not too hoppy, just balanced… Just a good, solid beer.

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? N

inkasi Tricerahops. It brought me in, it would have to take me out.

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?

Well, with your current hair color, I’d create an IRA with hints of ginger (for sass & spice) in it.

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

Healing. I hate to see people suffer.

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

Oh, now… there are too many stupid things that have been done… I’m lucky to have had the grace I had, because there was a time when I was young, dumb, and hell bent on self destruction.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

Bacon should be left on the pig. I don’t eat meat of the warm and fuzzy variety. I’m kind of waiting for everyone to be bacon-ed out and get excited about something like leeks.

SPECIAL THANKS TO EMILY FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!!

(And stay tuned for an interview with the rest of the PDX Beer Geeks!!!)

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: NORA MCGUNNIGLE

AUTHOR OF: NOLA BEER BITCH

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Nora McGunnigle
Twitter handle: @noradeirdre
Name of blog: NOLA Beer Bitch
Current location: New Orleans

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

Hartford, CT

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

Ahahahaha! No.

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

Oh man, I don’t know. High school maybe? Nothing memorable

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 drank cheap wine and vodka-juice drinks for the most part, but in college I studied in the Netherlands where beer drinking was a) legal b) cheap and c) pretty tasty. Café Vink had Brand beer (a pils? They had two beers on draft: Brand or Brand dark), and it was like a dollar a glass. I was 19 and it was awesome.

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

Went to Emerson College in Boston, MA to study acting- got a BFA in Performing Arts. I acted and did a lot of writing.

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:

Probably in college, after I returned from Holland- Harpoon Brewery had just opened and I heard about a party they were having at the brewery (low entrance fee, as much beer as you wanted), and hauled out to South Station and took the shuttle and got my pint glass and OMG. I never knew good beer could be so good. I think back then (in 1994) they had the Harpoon Ale, the Harpoon IPA, along with the seasonal- Oktoberfest and Winter Warmer. I drank many excellent pints that night.

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

1) Finding a good craft beer bar. In the mid- to late 90s, there weren’t many around. My friends and I explored so many excellent beers at Redbones!

2) My second trip to the UK with my husband and discovering the prevalence of cask ale. Oh. My. God. I’d gotten a taste for it at the NERAX festival, but this was just amazing.

Beer Blog Background

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

Since November 2010

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

I had started writing a lifestyle/food/drink blog (norainnola.blogspot.com) when I moved here (in May 2010) from New England, but was spending a lot of time delving in the craft beer community down here (small but awesome, and growing.) I’d been talking to Jeremy “Beer Buddha” Labadie about beer and blogging, and one night after several delicious beers at the Avenue Pub, he was like, “why don’t you write a beer blog?” I said, “Um, OK!” and I did. It’s a little looser and drunker than my other blog, which is more family friendly. (So my family can read it.)

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

I was drunk, and I love alliteration!

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

I’d like to be recognized as a knowledgeable beer drinker with a decent palate. I’d like to be at the forefront of the burgeoning craft beer scene here in New Orleans. I also think that the more women who talk about beer, the more likely this stereotype of ladies not liking beer will go away.

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

Um, people read my stuff and say they like it? My blog is so small at this point that I am easy to please. I did scoop the Buddha on a distribution announcement a couple times though! (See?)

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

(I assume other than The Beer Wench?)

1) I use the Beer Advocate a lot in looking beer and breweries up. Especially when travelling.

2) Beer Buddha, of course.

3) Andy Crouch’s BeerScribe

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

Ooh, I don’t even know how to choose. ESB, IPA, Belgian Pale. I know it’s not a style, but I love pretty much everything with rye and am insane over cask/real ale.

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

NOLA Brewing, Russian River, Cambridge Brewing Company. (do you know how many times I have changed this list while filling out this interview document?)

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

Hm. I’d say Anchor or Bear Republic or Russian River because then I’d be working in the San Francisco/Napa/Sonoma area. Or, ooh! Moylans because the head brewer is a lady. Or NOLA Brewing because it’s right around the corner from my house and everyone there is so awesome. Also, there’s an amazing woman brewer there too. I think it’s cool when women are accomplished brewers.

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

My husband homebrews, and he’s done a lavender saison that I liked, he didn’t, and other folks were divided on. Lavender is tricky business. He’s got a Belgian single fermenting right now.

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

Nope.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

I love beer and cheese, there’s a place here – St. James Cheese Company – that does great recommendations for beer and cheese pairings. I’ve been to several beer dinners in my time, both here and back in Boston (Cambridge Brewing Company, especially. Man, I miss that place.) When we first moved here, we went to a beer dinner sponsored by the local breweries and distributers and we had an amazing pairing of smoked quail stuffed with headcheese, paired with Bayou Teche Bouchanee (a smoked Hefeweizen).

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

I am the operations manager for a small New Orleans nonprofit, Neighborhoods Partnership Network.

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 own and operate a pub/brewpub in New Orleans, with cask ale and my husband’s beer. A British/Irish type pub. In fact, that was one of the reasons we moved down here, because of my dream of pub-running. We’ll see how that shakes out. It’s a long range plan.

3. Are you married?

Yes, to another beer geek. We planned our elopement/honeymoon in Vermont around visiting the local breweries there.

Children?

No human children, but we are the proud cat parents of Taz and Marley.  I suspect that when we are out for the day, they fight crime like any proper duo should. Why else would they be so tired and hungry when we come home?

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

Eating, cooking, fundraising, volunteering, living in New Orleans (which takes up a lot of free time, what with the parties, music, parades, fests, fairs, second lines, football games, and the like.) I was one of the primary organizers for a recent fundraiser (to benefit a local chef with a taste for beer) called “Beers Not Bullets” that gathered all the breweries and distributors in Louisiana for a beer tasting. We also gathered all the local beer aficionados and challenged them to dig deep in their collections to bring hard to find or rare beers- we had about 250 different bottles of beers from all over the world. We raised $13,000 through ticket sales, raffle tickets, and silent auction lots.

Off The Beaten Path

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

A Rye IPA, because I’m spicy, awesome, and kinda bitter.

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?

Whichever beer has a hacksaw, a gun, a fake passport and a cunning disguise in it.

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?

Some British style for sure, since I associate the word wench with olden days in the kingdom.

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

Flying. Or the ability to upgrade to first class flying without paying for it.

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

Tried to talk a cop out of rousting my pothead friends. It didn’t work, but no one got arrested!

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

I have many thoughts on bacon, and they are all very good. I have a very Homer Simpson-esque view on bacon. Not on Spider Pig though.

SPECIAL THANKS TO NORA FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!