I must admit that, as much as I truly do love craft beer, the best part of the craft beer industry (hands down) is the people. Case and point: my good friend Jason Oliver.

Jason and I first crossed paths at the inaugural Great Lakes Craft Brewers Water Conservation Conference in Milwaukee just under two years ago, where I tried to convince him that 1. he should be my mentor in brewing and 2. that Twitter was the best thing since the discovery of yeast by Louis Pasteur (the jury is still out on both).

Although I was thoroughly impressed by his experience in the industry and knowledge of beer, my punk “too cool for school” ass didn’t actually realize how big of a deal this guy really was until the 2010 World Beer Cup award ceremony, where he walked away with 4 medals and was awarded “Champion Brewery and Brewer” in the Small Brewpub category. He was also highly decorated at the 2010 GABF and I can guarantee that the medals will only keep rolling in… for years to come.

Naturally, I’m smitten. (He is adorable, intelligent and brews amazing craft beer — can you blame me?) After this interview, I guarantee you will be too…

THE JASON OLIVER INTERVIEW

Full name: Jason Matthew Oliver
Title: Head Brewer
Brewery: Devils Backbone Brewing Company
Where are you located? Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, 35 minutes SW of Charlottesville.

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

In Maryland smack dab in between Baltimore and Washington DC.

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

I ran cross country in high school but that was more out of coercion from my folks. I was a skate rat (skateboards not fruit boots, aka rollerblades) from age 14 to present. I still skate ramps and bowls when I can.

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

I went to a small liberal arts college in West Virginia called Davis & Elkins. I studied history and philosophy. I was in Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity (Sig-Ep). We drank lots of cheap beer together then, and sometimes still do.

4. How old were you when you had your first beer? What was it? Do you remember any details of your first encounter?

I probably had sips at family gatherings when I was real young. My father used to drink National Premium from Baltimore so it may have been that beer. It was a step up from National Bohemian, the official beer of Maryland.

Craft Beer Epiphany

Every brewer has at least one pinnacle craft beer experience that completely changed his 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:

It was semi gradual with a sudden crescendo of “eureka”! My college friend Scot took me to the newly opened Legend Brewery in Richmond during a school break in 1994. I thought it was the coolest thing to drink beer where it was made but I never would have thought about making a career out of it.

When I graduated in 1995, I drove out to Washington State and took a ferry up to Alaska to work in a salmon plant for the summer. I made it a point to drink as many local beers as I could in my travels from old mid-western regional breweries to the new craft breweries. When I got to Washington State I was amazed by the selection in supermarkets. It blew me away, but once again I never would have thought about doing it for a living.

On the ferry up to Alaska there was a bar and pitchers of Alaskan Amber were the same price as Bud, so we drank the Alaskan Amber. When I got back east after the summer I was looking for what I was going to do and I was reading a career book called “Unique Careers” and at the end of the “B’s” was “Brewmaster” and it was then I connected the dots and figured out that someone actually has to make beer and I could as well. It was definitely an epiphany.

I’m the only person I know who became a brewer from reading a career book. I guess the color of my parachute is amber.

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

One epiphany I figured out years ago is that intensity of flavor does not equal quality of flavor.  That is of upmost importance in my mind.  You can have a very well made beer that is subtle.  Take a Helles for example, some ignorant beer snobs would say a given helles may suck because it doesn’t taste like much.  But if it’s well made I think it has as much value as a Double IPA.  As for craftsmanship it says a lot in my book to have an excellent gold lager.

I’m sick of beginner beer geeks saying Bud, Miller, or Coors suck, or they taste like shit.  Once again it’s the mistaking of intensity of flavor for quality of flavor. I personally do not agree with the marketing and some of the business practices of the large domestic brewers, but I have the utmost respect for their brewers.  Many in fact homebrew and are big fans of craft beer.

Currently there is this renaissance of craft beer.  Some of the newer and more militant fans haven’t figured the difference between quality of flavor and intensity. Interestingly, some of these people are starting breweries of their own.  This is an exciting time to be a brewer but I see some of the same mistakes being made when I first got started in this during a time of similar meteoric growth in the mid 90′s.  You can have both an intense and quality beer as you can have a subtle and well made beer. I hope others figure that out as well.

The Professional Side

1. What did you do professionally before you got into the beer industry?

I worked at UPS loading trucks while I was going to night school taking chemistry and microbiology to fulfill the prerequisites for the UC Davis Master Brewers Program which I wanted to attend.

2. How long have you been working in the beer industry?

This May will be 15 years.

3. What was your first “real” job in the beer industry?

After I got done my prerequisites I took my parents advice and tried to get some experience before going to brewing school. I sent resumes to all the Baltimore / DC area breweries asking for either a job or internship and luckily a brewery in Baltimore called The Wharf Rat / Oliver Breweries LTD (no relation) needed a full time brewer so they hired and trained me. I was one of two assistant brewers working under a head brewer. We brewed authentic English-style ales. It was an English brewing system with open fermenters and four beers on handpump. It was a great first brewing gig.

4. How many different breweries have you worked for before you started?

5-6 depending on how you count, no less than 5 and no more than 6.

5. What are those breweries?

Oliver Breweries, Virginia Beverage Company / Native Brewing, Ellicott Mills Brewing Co, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants, and Devils Backbone.

6. What beer certifications and credentials do you have?

Small Brewpub Brewmaster and Brewery at the 2010 World Beer Cup. I went to the 1998 UC Davis Master Brewers Program and passed the 1998 Institute of Brewing (and Distilling) Associate Members Examination (now called Diploma Examination). I passed the 2008 Institute of Brewing & Distilling Certificate in Distillation Exam. I’ve won 10 Great American Beer Festival medals, 5 World Beer Cup medals, and 4 Real Ale Festival medals. I was just awarded by the readers of “Edible Blue Ridge Magazine” as a “Hero” in the Artisan Beverage category.

7. Who are some of your greatest mentors in the industry?

I’ve learned lot’s of German brewing techniques from Allen Young, Chris Buckley, and Jim Sobczak. Dave and Diane Alexander from the Brickskeller / RFD always gave me a free seat at their beer tastings. When I was brewing at Gordon Biersch, I was going to their Belgian beer tastings and picking brains of Belgian brewers. I was going to the wet hop tastings and the Luplin Slam (east verse west) tastings and was talking to the west coast brewers. The Brickseller / RFD was sort of a library and lecture hall for my continued education on beer styles. It prepared me to do what I am doing now at Devils Backbone.

The Devil’s Backbone Story

1. When was Devil’s Backbone founded?

We opened in November of 2008.

2. Why did you choose your location in Roseland, VA?

I didn’t but my boss Steve did.

3. What is the significance behind the name, Devil’s Backbone?

It refers to part of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

4. Why did you make the decision to open a brewpub, in lieu of a production brewery?

I responded to a job ad asking for a brewer knowledgeable about German brewing techniques for a brewpub. It was my boss Steve’s vision to create a brewpub out here in the country. We have more breweries than stoplights in our county. 3 breweries and 1 stoplight!

5. What kind of system do you brew on, how big is it, and where did it come from?

The system is one reason why I came to DBBC. It is a German designed 10 hectoliter (8.5 BBL) brewhouse built in Japan. It is a very sophisticated system for a brewpub. I knew I could do some great and special things with it.

6. What kind of styles of beer does Devil’s Backbone focus on brewing?

Good ones I hope, lol. I can do lagers here which can be a challenge for some brewpubs but I do an overall selection. I always have ten beers on tap. I designed the beer line-up so I could brew a huge variety of different types. I only have four year round beers that are always on tap and six seasonals. More seasonals that core beers. The four core are a Gold Lager, a Vienna Lager, a Hefeweizen, and an American IPA. I’ll always have a Belgian inspired beer, a dark beer, a session beer and three others. It’s been a blast brewing so many different beers. I think I’ve brewed over sixty different beers in the two plus years we’ve been open.

7. What kind of food does Devil’s Backbone serve at the brewpub? Do you have a hand in menu development? What is your favorite item on the food menu?

It is American food with a Southwestern twist. Our chef lived in Santa Fe for a while. We’ve just added a huge smoker out back so we smoke pork butt and chicken. It’s great.

8. Tell me more about Devil’s Backbone’s dedication to sustainable brewing and the various steps you have taken to lower carbon footprint in the brewery.

We have a wind turbine and the building is made from a lot of recycled material.

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles to drink?

Pils, Pale Belgian Ales (be it wits, blondes, golds, or triples), and well made session beers.

2. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles to brew?

Kolsch, Pils, Pale Belgian styles.

3. Outside of Devil’s Backbone, what are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Victory, New Glarus, Ommegang.

4. What are your top 3 destination “beer” cities?

Portland OR, Ashville NC, and Denver at GABF time.

5. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

Hefeweizen with Carrot Ginger Soup.

6. Do you ever cook with beer? If so, what are some of your favorite recipes that use beer?

There’s a great Belgian chicken and beer recipe in the back of a Michael Jackson book that I love. It’s called “Bier a la Coq” or something similar.

7. In your opinion, what are some of the best resources (books, websites, programs, institutions etc…) for people learning about beer and brewing?

I think the UC Davis Master Brewers Program is great. I recommend having experience first though. The international edition of Kunze’s book is my favorite. The relatively new “Brewing with Wheat” by Stan Hieronymus is a great book. The Probrewer website is ok.

The Personal Side

1. Are you married? Children? Planning on marrying The Wench?

Saving myself for the Wench. (good answer)

2. Outside of beer, what are some of your other hobbies?

Skateboarding, hiking, history.

3. If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Maybe Julius Caesar because I just got done watching the series “Rome” from HBO, which is awesome btw. He must have been an amazing person in real life.

Off The Beaten Path

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

An English Bitter. Currently under appreciated, flavorful, and immensely enjoyable. Like me.

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?

Orval. I love it, it’s one of my favorites, plus it’s made in a monastery so maybe I would go to heaven if it was fresh in me.

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 a potato rosemary bacon smoked brown ale.

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

I would like to be like Plastic Man. He was a trip and he had those cool glasses.

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

Survive college.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

I can’t eat it anymore and it is my greatest regret in my life up to now.

Well there you have it folks, everything you could possibly want to know (and then some) about one of the world’s best brewers! Special thanks to Jason for giving me the opportunity to interview him — and I look forward to the day when I can finally brew with him!

(PS: Jason… you + me + date = its on)

With a name like MITCH STEELE (I feel compelled to put his full name in caps), this man was destined for a life of badassery (hey, if it is considered a word on Twitter, it should be legit). And what could be more bad-ass than being the brewmaster of one of the most bad-ass breweries in the country — Stone Brewing Co.?

The answer, my friends, is nothing.

I have the honor and privilege of being able to call Mitch a friend (well, technically he has never confirmed or denied this claim … BUT, he did friend me on Facebook, so I am totally legit). And like any good friend, I put the pressure on Mitch to subject himself to my extremely lengthy brewer interview. Surprisingly enough, Mitch not only complied, he went all out and provided me with my most in-depth interview to date! ROCK ON!

Drum roll please…

THE MITCH STEELE INTERVIEW

Full name: Mitch Steele
Current location: Stone Brewing Co. , Escondido, CA
Twitter account (if applicable): I don’t tweet. I am on Facebook though.

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

I was born in Ohio, but grew up in Walnut Creek, Ca. I still consider the Diablo Valley “home”.

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

I was a swimmer. I haven’t swam competitively since high school, but I still enjoy jumping in the pool and swimming a mile or so. Played a little baseball too, intramural in college, nothing too serious. And I bowled.

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

I think I was seven or eight when I first tasted 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 Olympia in a can. Gawd I thought it was awful. I was with a Father/Son organization called “Indian Guides” (kind of like Cub Scouts) and we were on a camping trip. The Dads drank beer and played poker while we hiked, ran around and created mischief. So I tasted my Dad’s beer there for the first time (all of us were tasting our fathers’ beers, it wasn’t a big deal, we thought we were being cool, and I think the dads were amused by it). I never did acquire a taste for Oly, we always had it around the house, but my father wasn’t a big beer drinker. My first “good” beer was when I was 16 and went to Europe, and we were drinking English ale on a tour boat on the Thames. That was a very different experience.

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 UC Davis, and studied Fermentation Science, with an emphasis on winemaking and brewing. I was pretty focused on studying, partying, and listening to a lot of Pink Floyd. I did do a lot of beer research in my spare time!

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’m dating myself here, but when I started drinking beer, most of the “good” beers available were imports, and I sought them out. The first real craft beer experience I had was at UC Davis. Brewing Professor Michael Lewis would often meet his students at a pub on Friday afternoons, and one of the first times I went, we went to a place called “The Pub” in downtown Davis, and they were selling Anchor Steam on draft. I still remember how malty and bitter I thought that beer was. It was sublime, I could have sat there drinking fresh Anchor Steam all day and into the evening and been very happy.

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

-Chewing on a kernel of crystal malt in the pilot brewery at UC Davis, and realizing that crystal malt was the flavor I was trying to identify in Bass Ale and other amber beers. Plus it tasted like GrapeNuts!

-Realizing that the “odd, spicy taste” in Henry Weinhards Private Reserve was Cascade hops.

-First visit to Sierra Nevada in 1984. I think that’s when I really decided that brewing was what I wanted to do. I was amazed by their beers and how they made them.

-Research for my first brews at San Andreas included a trip to Triple Rock, and I was totally blown away by Red Rock Ale and a Wheat ale they had.

-Lyons Brewery in Dublin CA. Judy Ashworth was the first person to ever put a beer of mine on tap. Plus she also served the beer I made with Bill Millar at San Andreas for my wedding.

-A field trip with the San Andreas crew to the Anchor Brewery. How beautiful is that brewery! And they poured lots of great beers for us. A wonderful, inspiring visit.

-My first visit to Portland in the late 1980’s. Went for the Oregon Brewers festival and was amazed at Portland’s craft beer culture with Bridgeport, Widmer, McMenamins, and Portland Brewing Co. We found craft beer everywhere, I had never seen anything like it. And everyone was drinking this different looking, milky, cloudy beer with a lemon in it-Widmer Hefeweizen. I felt like I had been transported to this new wonderful world, full of amazing craft brewed beer and nothing else.

-Tasting a Blind Pig IPA at Pizza Port Solana Beach in the mid 1990’s. The hoppiest beer I had ever had.

-Pouring a pilot brewed 70 IBU American IPA at the Anheuser-Busch booth at the GABF. People loved the beer and the AB marketing folks still wouldn’t go for it!

-Tasting Allagash Curieux-the most balanced barrel aged beer ever!

-Tasting the first batch of our Stone 11th Anniversary Ale. I like to refer to nailing a beer recipe as a “homerun”, but this one was, to me, a “grand slam”.

-My first taste of Russian River Consecration. That beer knocked my socks off.

The Professional Side

1. What did you do professionally before you got into the beer industry?

Right out of college I worked in the wine industry, I worked for Almaden Vineyards at their red wine winery just south of Hollister, CA. Our claim to fame was that every drop of Almaden red wine was aged in an oak barrel. Our barrel warehouse was 4 acres-the largest barrel room in the world. I enjoyed making wine, but grew tired of the lack of focus on high quality wines after Almaden was bought by Heublein in 1987.

2. How long have you been working in the beer industry?

Since 1988……..wow, that’s really a long time. Good thing I enjoy it!

3. What was your first “real” job in the beer industry?

I helped Bill Millar start up the San Andreas Brewing Co. in Hollister, CA. We had a 14 bbl system and only brewed between 500 and 1000 bbls per year, so I could brew on weekends and evenings after my day job at Almaden.

4. If applicable, what beer certifications, credentials and/or education do you have?

A BS in Fermentation Science from UC Davis. Anheuser Busch had some great classes that I went to, including a 3 week Technical Brewing Course, and a 2 week Brewing Engineering Course.

5. Who are some of your greatest mentors in the industry?

Dr. Michael Lewis from UC Davis, Mike Meyers, Doug Muhleman, Paul Anderson and John Serbia from Anheuser-Busch, and Steve Wagner from Stone are the people that have taught me personally, and whom I admire greatly. Fritz Maytag and Ken Grossman are definite inspirations. In fact, I’m inspired by creative craft brewers everywhere. There are really too many to name them all.

The Stone Brewing Co. Story

1. How long have you been brewing at Stone?

I celebrate my 4 year anniversary this May.

2. How many different breweries have you worked for before you started brewing at Stone? What are those breweries?

Let’s see, there was San Andreas in Hollister, CA, at Anheuser-Busch I worked in the Ft Collins, CO, St. Louis and Merrimack, NH breweries. So 4 other breweries I guess. I’ve made beer in several other breweries as a guest brewer or on assignment with Anheuser-Busch.

3. What are some of your “signature” beer recipes — recipes that you created while working at Stone that have become staples in the company lineup?

Well the core brands were already formulated by Steve Wagner, but I’ve worked on every Anniversary Ale, Vertical Epic ale, and Collaboration Beer since I’ve been here. They aren’t all 100% my recipes, some are, but we try to make recipe formulation a team effort. We have a good team and have lots of good ideas.

Steve asked me to reformulate Stone Levitation Ale shortly after I arrived, and I think we did some good things to that beer. The only beer that I’ve worked on so far that’s become a regular is the Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, which originally was our 11th Anniversary ale.

4. If you were only allowed to brew one style for the rest of your life, what style would you brew and why?

I think I’m a frustrated IPA brewer from way back. Bill at San Andreas would never let me brew one, he didn’t think Hollister was ready for a really hoppy beer. And of course at Anheuser-Busch we never did IPA, although I brewed several nice pilot versions when I was New Products Brewmaster. I was always brewing IPA’s when I home brewed in New Hampshire. So although I’m here at Stone and we brew a lot of IPAs, I think it’s the one style I never get tired of brewing and drinking.

5. What is your all-time favorite beer that you brewed at Stone?

Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale/11th Anniversary Ale. I think Stone IPA is my favorite all time beer, but the 11th Anniversary was really the very first beer where I felt I was able to show my chops as a professional brewer, with no restrictions whatsoever. Plus, I went out on a limb to convince Greg that this concept (Black IPA) was something worth doing.

6. Stone is known for doing a lot of collaborations, what has been your most memorable or favorite collaboration beer, to date?

Well, we’ve done five (six including the just released Dogfish Head/Victory/ Stone Saison du BUFF), and they are all special in some way.

Alesmith/Mikkeller/Stone Belgian Style Triple

This was our first in the current collaboration series, and Mikkel wanted to brew a traditional triple to honor the late Michael Jackson. We did that, up until the hopping anyway-this was during the hop shortage so we ended up using American hops in the beer, and it turned out wonderful. Peter Zien of Alesmith is such an accomplished brewer and taster, and Mikkel was great fun, he really has a unique way of approaching the brewing business.

Jolly Pumpkin/Nøgne-ø/Stone Special Holiday Ale

Working with Ron Jefferies and Kjetil was fantastic. What stands out about this project, not surprisingly, was taking the same recipe to all 3 of our breweries. Going to Michigan and Norway to brew this beer with Ron and Kjetil definitely didn’t suck. But brewing with rye malt here at Stone was pretty rough.

BrewDog/Cambridge/Stone Juxtaposition Black Pilsner

Will Meyers has been a friend for several years, so it was really special to brew with him. And James Watt from BrewDog, what a creative mind. We actually worked also with Martin Dickie at BrewDog to formulate the beer, but James was the one who came over and brewed with us. We’ve since become great friends with both James and Martin. Plus, this was the first lager ever brewed at Stone. This was a fun brew day because the 3 of us changed the hopping recipe several times on the fly while we were brewing. True collaborative brewing!

Ken Schmidt/Maui/Stone Coconut/Macadamia Nut/Kona Coffee Porter

This was our first entry into the GABF Pro-Am festival. It was probably the most challenging of the collaboration beers to brew, because we had a specific beer of Ken’s that we were trying to replicate, and we had to make some ingredient changes to make it work in our brewery. Despite the challenges of steeping hundreds of pounds of fresh toasted coconut, coffee and macadamia nuts in the wort and beer, we did it, and I’m very proud of the beer we turned out. Plus, maybe I get I now get to go to Hawaii and brew with Garrett (?)

21st Amendment/Firestone Walker/Stone El Camino (Un)Real Black Ale

Matt and Shaun are long time friends. Trying to get the three of us together to formulate this beer was like herding cats, but it really came together and turned into a wonderful beer full of really unique ingredients. Has anyone else ever brewed with chia?

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And then the collaborations I worked on that weren’t brewed at Stone. Those would include:

The California Double IPA

Brewed with Shepherd-Neame in Kent, England. They are a great group of really talented, experienced brewers, and this was a fun beer to brew- the brewers at Shepherd Neame were both enthusiastic and incredulous at our recipe and the sheer volume of hops we proposed using.  We brewed this for the Wetherspoons Pub Chain Real Ale Festival, so all the beer was put into casks. I remember we originally wanted to make it 8.5% and Steve wanted to call the beer a “California Mild” which I thought was hilarious. Wetherspoons balked at the high abv, but we eventually compromised at about 7%. We really got to experience a lot of great English breweries and pubs in the three trips we made to England for this project.

Transcontinental IPA

Someone in England dropped the ball on saving a cask of the California Double IPA for us at Stone-so we did the next best thing. I took the recipe up to 21^st Amendment in San Francisco, and we brewed the beer again. Shaun O’Sullivan is one of the great people in this business, and I had a great time brewing with him.

BASHAH

We spent 3 days with the BrewDog team in Scotland this past summer, and brewed this Black Belgian Double IPA. Martin and I came up with the recipe via email, and the beer came out really nice. We’re waiting to try some of the beer that was aged in Scotch Whiskey barrels that we hand selected while we were there. This trip was detailed out in our Stone Skips Across The Pond video. That team at BrewDog is a great group, they are a lot of fun, and they really like to play practical jokes. So it was a fun time, even if I was the butt of most of their jokes!

Beer Talk

1. What is your all time favorite style of beer to drink?

That’s a tough question. I guess I’d have to pick one it would be American IPA, although I have great fondness for British Pale Ales, Bohemian Pilsners and Belgian Triples.

2. What is your all time favorite style of beer to brew?

IPA, definitely. Although I really enjoy brewing any style I’ve never done before.

3. Outside of Stone, what are some of your other favorite breweries?

I could go on forever with this, but off the top of my head, Sierra Nevada, Russian River, Allagash, Fullers, Thornbridge, BrewDog, Firestone Walker, Orval, Boon, New Glarus, Ballast Point, Alesmith, Port, etc etc etc

4. What are your top 3 destination “beer” cities?

Portland OR, San Diego, and London, England.

5. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

I love tasting beer with artisanal Cheese. Cheese pairs amazingly well with beer.

6. Do you ever cook with beer? If so, what are some of your favorite recipes that use beer?

I do, I love barbecuing and I often marinate meat with a blend of beer and other things. Stone Smoked Porter is a great marinade for pork. Also, in an effort to eat a bit healthier, I’ve been cooking lots of beans. Malty beers and Belgian Beers make a great base to cook beans in.

7. In your opinion, what are some of the best resources (books, websites, programs, institutions etc…) for people learning about beer and brewing?

I’m partial to UC Davis of course, but I think all the brewing schools in the US have something valuable and unique to offer. I think websites like Beer Advocate and Rate Beer are great places to see what’s going on the industry and to compare tasting notes on beers you may have tried. There are so many good books and websites now that it really depends on where one’s focus is.

The Personal Side

1. Are you married? Children?

Very happily married with two great kids, a son and daughter.

2. Outside of beer, what are some of your other hobbies?

I started playing guitar after college and it’s become a real passion. I’ve always loved music, and now playing gives me an additional creative release. I play blues and classic rock in a garage band with a very talented group of guys, and we play out 1-2 times per month. I enjoy buying guitars too, but I pretty much gave that up once we had kids. I enjoy spending time with my family, and traveling.

Off The Beaten Path

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

I think I’d be something like a Belgian Golden or Triple. On the outside, looks kind of innocent and quiet, but surprisingly complex and fairly strong on the inside. Dangerously drinkable!

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 3L Bottle Of Double Bastard Ale. Delay the inevitable, and be in the right frame of mind (if there is such a thing) for an execution.

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?

What a loaded question! I think it would have to be a truly unique beer, not a traditional style.

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

X-Ray eyes….no just kidding. Probably the ability to fly.

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

100mph in the back of a pickup after drinking a bunch of beers. I’m not much of a risk taker, but that was really stupid.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

Bacon is the one reason I could never be a vegetarian.

SPECIAL THANKS TO MITCH FOR NOT ONLY PROVIDING A VERY INTERESTING AND ENTERTAINING INTERIVEW, BUT FOR ALSO SUBJECTING HIMSELF TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY QUESTIONS! YOU ROCK, STEVE! XOXO!

I am 99.9% certain that I was in rare form when I met Adam Avery during the 2010 Craft Brewers Conference. And by rare form, I mean that I had been drinking (moderately but consistently) for about 10 hours straight. Which essentially means, The Wench was happy. After taking the Goose Island party by storm and galavanting around some other events, we found ourselves at The Publican — where I ran into Rob Tod of Allagash and Dave Buhler of Elysian.

And poor Adam Avery just happened to be sitting with “my boy” Moose (aka Buhler) that evening. You see, there are these rare circumstances, usually during a full moon, when I have just the right amount of beer and this weird “girly girl” side of me comes out. (Those of you that know me well, know that I tend to be a little “rough” around the edges).

Needless to say, I was instantly enamored by Adam (can you blame me?) and I am pretty sure that I told him and everyone in the city of Chicago that I was. Whether my candid personality flattered or frightened Adam, this I do not know. But he did agree to be interviewed by me, so either way whatever I did or said worked to my advantage.

Last week I had the opportunity to call up Adam Avery and talk for a substantial amount of time (much to his dismay … somebody should have warned the kid that The Wench is a talker. Alas, Adam learned the hard way). I was quite surprised to learn that Adam grew up in the Midwest — Decatur, Illinois to be exact. Being that I spent 6 years in Ohio, I have a soft spot in my heart for the Midwest.

But, having been born in Denver, I have a softer spot in my heart for Colorado.

Adam’s story is oddly familiar: Boy moves to Colorado. Boy falls in love with craft beer. Boy becomes brewer. Boy starts brewery. Boy dedicates whole life to craft beer.

If Colorado was a person, it would be the “Pied-Piper of Craft Beer.” Nowadays, craft beer is almost everywhere. But back in the late 80’s and early 90’s, the industry was small and a significant portion of it was centralized in Colorado. The craft beer industry in Colorado has been growing rapidly ever since, and it has served as a source of inspiration to hundreds of craft brewers worldwide.

Enter Adam Avery, a young 26 year old fresh out of college, working as the Assistant Manager at Eastern Mountain Sports. Just around the time Adam hit age 27, he experienced a mini quarter-life crisis. The result? Adam took the LSATs and started submitting applications to law school. Naturally, being the brilliant man he is, Adam got accepted to Denver University Law School. And if all things went according to plan, Adam Avery would grow up to be a big bad attorney.

But Adam’s friends would not let that happen. A couple of his buddies that had gone through the long and tedious law school process advised Adam that if he could do anything else for a living, that he should do it. And it was these same friends who told Adam to brew for a living.

And the rest, is history.

BW: How old were you when you had your first beer?
AA: 8 months old. There is photographic evidence.

BW: What is the first beer you remember drinking?
AA: Probably Stag. I have a soft spot in my heart for Stag. It was my grandfather’s beer.

BW: What about your first craft beer?
AA: First craft beer was probably Boulder Beer when I was a sophomore in college — 1985 — “The Ugly” beer from “the goat shed”. Just remember lots of sediment in the bottom. Homebrewish looking. Maybe a Porter? I think that would be the first one that I had. The one that I really remember.

BW: How did you get into homebrewing?
AA: My old boss at Eastern Mountain Sports was a homebrewer. He brought me his homebrew brown ale and it blew me away. I could not believe how good it was. So I went straight out and bought my own kit.

BW: Before creating Avery, did you attend any formal brewing schools?
AA: Nope. My friend Jim Hall, at the time he was Assistant Brewer at Boulder Brewing, helped me learn how pumps work etc… He came in for a couple of weeks and helped me learn how to operate a brewery. Wish I had some more background. But then, I would not have started Avery when I did.

BW: Why did you chose Boulder?
AA: Went to school in Denver and I was a rock climber. I was in Boulder just about every day. After college, I moved to Boulder and got sucked.

BW: What was your first “commercially produced beer?”
AA: There were three, actually. Red Point, Ellie’s Brown Ale, Out of Bounds Stout all came out at the same time.

BW: Avery is known for producing eccentric ales that defy style categories and guidelines, why did you decide to go down this road instead of playing it safe?
AA: Because playing it safe, isn’t playing it safe. Other industries (food, wine, cocktails, etc…) were creating better flavor profiles, and I noticed the trend. I thought, why wouldn’t people want it in beer?

Dad and I didn’t make money for 5 years. We were trying to make “regular” beers (yet, still big for their time). So I said, “If we are going to go down, I’m going to go down making the beers I want to make.” At the time, I was drinking a lot of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot and decided I wanted to make a big beer.

Reverend in 2000 sparked us again.

I must admit that Avery’s HogHeaven was my first Barleywine experience. It was right around the time I became a hophead. I was constantly searching for bigger, bolder and hoppier beers. I had already fallen in love with Avery’s Maharaja and when I stumbled upon HogHeaven, it was love at first sight. It is pretty apparent why that particular beer launched Avery to the next level.

“If anybody answers with a beer other than their own, they need to start brewing other beers. That’s what happened with HogHeaven. I stopped worrying if people liked my beer and started making beer that I wanted to make. That’s when we started taking off.”

-Adam Avery on his favorite beer

BW: What is or has been your favorite style of beer to brew?
AA: The easiest one to brew [insert laugh]. Brewing is a lot of hard work. I liked brewing the IPA and Hog Heaven cause they made the brewhouse smelled great.

BW: What is your favorite Avery beer to drink?
AA: It’s like asking you to pick your favorite kid. Depends on my mood. If you were to ask me if I was marooned on an Island, what beer would I take? I would say HogHeaven. Ice cold its like a Double IPA and as it warms up it becomes a Barleywine. Big fan of Columbus hops, the dank resin without the tropical aromas. The beer I drink the most, though, is the IPA. Lately my favorite beer is the new Pilsner … a hoppy 4.7% Pilsner. Satisfies hop desires but with low alcohol.

BW: What hops do you use for the Pilsner?
AA: Heresbrucker. Doesn’t have a fruity essence. And not really earthy. Just smells like hops. Can’t really explain it any other way. It just smells like hops. I like the purity of its aromas.

Avery’s new Pilsner is slated to hit store shelves this summer. Stay tuned….

BW: How long have you guys been dabbling in wild yeast beers? Why did you decide to venture down that path?
AA: We have been playing with brett and bugs for at least five years. I love lambics and gueuzes. I have friends that are good with barrels — Tomme and Vinnie. They were inspirations. We just wanted to learn as much as we could.

BW: Every craft beer enthusiast has at least one pinnacle craft beer experience that completely changes ones perspective on beer. I refer to this mind-blowing moment as a “craft beer epiphany.” What was your first craft beer epiphany?
AA: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale — it was the hoppiest beer I had ever tasted. It was heads and shoulders above anything else at the time. So extreme.

BW: Who are some of your greatest mentors in the industry?
AA: I don’t think I have mentors. More like heroes — that I aspire to be like and inspire how I run my company. Ken Grossman, for the styles of beer he produces and that he had the “kahonies” to produce an extremely hoppy beer for its time [Pale Ale] His beer was head and shoulders above all others. It is remarkable that he could sell over 500,000 barrels of that beer.

Kim Jordan runs a really cool company. Employee owned. She is so worried about her employees and how she takes care of them. New Belgium is not just about making money and great beer, but the corporate culture. Kim has done a good job.

And another guy would be Jim Koch. He has been doing it from day one — with a suitcase full of beer, hitting the Boston streets. He is the “Big Daddy”. It is really cool to see someone as down to earth as he is — he still has the homebrewer mentality.

“Beer is a profession of passion and not just a profession of dollars and cents.” –Adam Avery

For those of you who have not had the honor of meeting Adam Avery in person, take my word for it when I say that he is a very good looking man (for an OLD man, that is — JK Adam, you aren’t THAT old). Adam is a member of the small group of “fit” brewers that you look at and say “WTF!!! How the heck can someone who drinks beer for a living being in that kind of shape?!!!” It’s just not fair …

Adam’s svelte figure comes from being an avid rock climber for over 25 years as well as from surfing as much as he can (can you say frequent “business trips” to SoCal?). Almost all of his vacations have been based around rock climbing or surfing. Up until 3 years ago, Adam was a hardcore basketball player. But then, as with all athletes, his body broke and, as a result, he took up road biking. Needless to say, Adam does a very good job of balancing out his beer drinking with physical activity!

Although Adam doesn’t really cook (he prefers the grill), he does have a sincere appreciation for great food & beer pairings.

BW: What is your favorite beer and food pairing?
AA: One of the most amazing ones I have had was beach short ribs, super smoked, with Kaiser (Imperial Oktoberfest Lager). Another was duck confit, super fatty with Sui Generis (or any sour) Really enjoy something really fatty with something really acidic. Or really good ice cream with a sour. Once, someone made duck fat ice cream. Sounds gnarly, but it was so good. The good thing about food and beer but its really hard to fuck a pairing up. There is much room for beer with food pairings because beer has a larger flavor profile. At least something in the beer will match up with something in the dish.

As with many founding brewmasters, Adam rarely brews anymore. Instead his time is consumed by being the face of the brand and doing lots of traveling.

BW: What are your top beer destinations?
AA: Obviously Belgium is a badass place to go drink. I’ve only been there once, but I went to do just one thing “drink as much sour beer as possible” — mission accomplished. San Diego, Philly and Boston as great beer places. Philly is the best beer town as far as number of gastropubs and beer bars. Same thing with Boston. And I love the brewers in San Diego.

No Beer Wench interview would be complete without my random “off-the-beaten-path” questions …

BW: If you were a style of beer, what style would be an why?
AA: I guess I’m super bitter so I would be a Double IPA.

BW: 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?
AA: It would have to be HogHeaven.

BW: If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
AA: OMG REALLY? Drink as much as I want with no ramifications.

BW: What are your thoughts on bacon?
AA: If somebody asks me if you want bacon on that on that, I never say no.

A man after my own heart … And for all of you ladies out there, take heart in knowing that Adam has never been married and, as of yet, he has not spawned (such a waste of a great gene pool!)

Special thanks to Adam for subjecting himself to my (very lengthy and long winded) interview! Hopefully, I will get another opportunity to visit Avery in the very near future! Cheers!