If you asked me back then, where I thought I would be in five years, I would never have thought I’d be where I am today. But, that is a good thing – a very good thing.

The embarrassing truth is that I really, really wanted to start a wine blog called Confessions of a Vinophile. And even though I knew a lot about wine for my age, intimidation got the best of me and crushed my dream of becoming the next Jancis Robinson.

Dying to express my love of something, heck anything, through writing, I decided to start a blog about my second favorite subject: craft beer.

Having had a short, yet insightful, experience in advertising, I understood the value of creating a brand and a brand voice. Thus began the path of self-branding. It took several hours of googling and brainstorming, but ultimately, I found the perfect name: The Beer Wench.

Many people ask me why I chose the Beer Wench moniker, but, to this day, I don’t have a better argument other than I just like the name.

Wait no, I love the name.

As a slave, errrrr employee of the restaurant industry for nearly 6 years, being a beer wench seemed pretty fitting. And now that I’ve been using the name for five years, I’d like to think that I’ve helped redefine the term. In my mind, the term beer wench no longer stands for a busty, scantly clad woman that serves beer. In today’s modern world, a beer wench is an educated and skilled craft beer evangelist on a mission to revolutionize the beer industry through education, innovation & advocacy.

Over the past five years, every job I’ve had and every person I’ve met and worked with have all had an integral role in developing me into the person I am today. Today, I sit before this computer as a craft beer professional, gainfully and gratefully employed for two years by Bison Organic Beer. Today, Drink With The Wench is one of the highest ranked, most read beer blogs on the Internet. Today, I am honored to be a freelance writer for both CraftBeer.com (run by the Brewers Association) and the Whole Foods blog. This March, I will be presenting at the Craft Brewers Conference for the first time – quite possibly the most important and pinnacle event of my, albeit young, career in craft beer.

I’m extremely grateful for all the people who have inspired and helped me along the way. Without even so much as one of these people, I might never have gotten to where I am today. I hope you all know who you are when I say this: Thank You.

Thank YOU for supporting me. Thank YOU for believing in me. And thank YOU for being my inspiration, my mentor, and my friend.

Xoxo,

The Wench

This year, that all changed. Thanks to the kind people at HashTracking. com, I was able to get my hands on a pro-report for a 24 hour period spanning from 2am (PST) on Thursday, August 2nd to 2am (PST) on Friday, August 3rd. As a result, this report is biased to the U.S. West Coast, and doesn’t completely represent the global picture of International IPA Day.

It is important to note that, outside of the U.S., reports of IPA Day were recorded from Europe (mostly the UK), China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia & Brazil — as well as other countries that I haven’t been able to officially capture data from. Although, many of these countries were very active on IPA Day, due to the major timezone differences, the data I’m sharing with you today mostly reflects the Western Hemisphere and U.S. participation in IPA Day.

Nonetheless, the data is pretty exciting and I am pretty stoked to pass it along. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about any of these numbers or findings, feel free to comment below and I will do my best to address them.

First, let’s talk about general stats. In the course of 24 hours, the #IPAday hashtag was tweeted 11.8 thousand times by 8 thousand people with a total followership of 5.1 million. This yielded over 10.2 million impressions.

The majority of tweets (in the thousands) were sent between the hours of 7pm PST and 9pm PST — roughly 10pm-12pm EST.

Of the total 11.8k tweets, 9.7k (83%) were original tweets, 922 (8%) were @message or reply tweets, and 1.1k (9%) were retweets.

Now, let’s talk about the big hitters on #IPAday — aka the influencers. First we have the categories for Most Popular and Most Tweets. The most popular #IPAday tweets were determined based on number of mentioned and number of retweets. Most Tweets speaks for itself.

And then we have the categories for most reach and most impressions. Most reach was determined based on number of followers. And most impressions was a combination of number of tweets and the number of followers (how many potential followers did those tweets reach?).

When it came down to where all the action took place, I relied on Trendsmap.com for real-time local Twitter trends. Sadly, these graphs are impossible to capture after the fact, so sadly all I have are two screen shots of the map — one of the world and one of the U.S. Luckily, they were taken during the “high traffic” time of #IPAday posts, so I do think the screen shots are on spot when it comes to tracking activity.

According to Trendsmap.com, throughout the day, the hashtag #IPAday trended, at one point or another, in the following North American cities: Vancouver (Canada), Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Boise, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Denver, Austin, Houston, Jacksonville, Orland, Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Washington D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, Manchester, Boston, Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Des Moines, St. Louis and Winnipeg (Canada). And there were probably other cities that I didn’t see or write down because the map changed so frequently. But, you have to admit that this is a pretty damn good snapshot.

The U.S. at 6:18 PM (PST)

As for the most active cities, noted by the size of the #IPADay box floating over them, Atlanta, Philly, Chicago, Austin, San Diego, San Francisco and Vancouver take home the cake as the most popular IPA Day locations. The most amount of tweets during the day seem to have been coming from those cities. If I had to pick just one, I would say that Chicago was consistently one of the most popular, if not the most popular, #IPADay cities all day long.

The most impressive statistic, in my eyes, was Brazil, who consistently appeared on the Trendsmap all day long. U.S. and U.K. was expected to trend — but Brazil? Now, that is impressive!

The World at 6:13PM (PST)

As for the other social media platforms, little data is known. Unfortunately, Facebook’s privacy features do not allow us to get an accurate snapshot of IPA Day related posts. All we can do is estimate that Facebook had a similar overall participation number to Twitter (which was 8k, if you remember). Add fan pages into the mix and this number is amplified. As for Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, Flickr and all the other social media sites — that data is not also available at this time. However, the ever popular beer-themed social media platform Untappd should be releasing its data within a few hours or so — which will give us a little more insight.

When it comes to blog posts and articles from noteworthy media sources, hundreds if not thousands of sites made IPA Day reports. Other than doing a Google search on the terms #IPAday and IPA Day, there is little data that I have outside of my guesstimate.

Moral of the story is that the 2nd Annual #IPADay was a tremendous worldwide success. And I can say this with complete confidence, with or without statistics. Most people can probably agree that 8k+ people talking about craft beer on the Internet is a good thing for the industry, regardless of whether or not they personally “agreed” with the celebration concept. I also think it is safe to say that this has been the biggest virtual craft beer party to date — something you (my fellow par-tay people) should all be proud of.

And on my last note, I want to send a tremendously grateful toast to each and every single one of you that participated in #IPADay for your support and advocacy of craft beer! It is because of all of you that craft beer continues to grow and thrive in today’s crazy world and backwards economy!

Cheers!

For those unfamiliar, Avery Brewing Co. is a family owned and operated microbrewery, located in Boulder, CO known for producing awesome and eccentric ales and lagers that defy styles or categories. I must admit that Avery’s beers were a big part of my early introduction to craft beer. Right around the time I became a hophead, I was constantly searching for bigger, bolder and hoppier beers. I immediately fell in love with Avery’s Maharaja and then, when I stumbled upon HogHeaven, it was love at first sight. HogHeaven was my first Barleywine experience, true story. And it was the very beer that made Avery take off.

“HogHeaven was born in 1998. That beer more completely turned our mindset around. It got attention from distributors and other brewers. I remember this ‘snot-nosed Solano Beach kid’ kept calling (Tomme Arthur). He wanted HogHeaven for his Strong Ale Fest. He kept saying “I need to get it.” But we had no distribution there. So someone picked up a keg and brought it out. Another guy, at the Strong Ale Fest the next year, drank it (Greg Koch). He had his own distribution network and wanted to distribute it. When I told Greg HogHeaven is a 100% Columbus hopped beer, Greg said it couldn’t be it because he didn’t like 100% Columbus-hopped beers. I told him that it was and I knew it because I brewed it start to finish and dry-hopped it myself.” — Adam Avery, Interview with the Beer Wench

Since then, Avery has turned out some amazing barrel-aged beers, sours and collaborations — many of which are aging in my cellar at this very moment. They were one of the first craft breweries that I fell in love with, and I still love them today!

On August 5th 2012, Avery is celebrating its 19th Anniversary. The tickets for the Avery Brewing Co. 19th Anniversary Party will go on sale at 9am mountain people time (whatever that means) on Friday, July 13th.For those of your lucky enough to live in aor around Boulder, I highly recommend attending, since it is guaranteed to be a good time. Details below!

Date: Sunday, August 5th
Time: 12pm – 5pm
Where: Avery Brewing Company
Cost: General Admission = $30 ($35 at door) Includes:

• Five 12oz Avery Brews
• All-You-Can-Eat Big Ol’ BBQ Spread
• Live Music

VIP ticket = $50 ($55 at door) includes all of the above + 5 Rare Pours from the cellar

100% of profits will be donated to Colorado Wildfire Relief. Tickets can be purchased HERE.

The organic beer-themed tasting takes place on Twitter from 8-9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Apr. 10. The tasting, featuring four organic beers from some of the world’s most respected and innovative brewers, includes:

• 8 p.m. ET: Dupont — Avril (led by @belgianexpert): The brewer’s favorite beer. Light in alcohol, full in flavor. 3.5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV).
• 8:15 p.m. ET: Samuel Smith — Strawberry Ale (led by @merchantduvin): Smooth malt and aromatic strawberry flavors merge together in an elegant fashion with fresh, ripe strawberries. 5.1 percent ABV.
• 8:30 p.m. ET: Bison Brewing — Honey Basil Ale (led by @bisonbrew): Creatively infused with fresh, organic whole leaf basil and organic clover honey. Crisp and herbaceous with a hint of sweetness. 6 percent ABV.
• 8:45 p.m. ET: Hopworks – Rise Up Red (led by @HopworksBeer): Mahogany smooth with mild caramel sweetness, balanced by local Cascade and Centennial hops for a crisp finish. 5.8 percent ABV.
• 9 p.m. ET: After party (free for all!)

Every fifteen minutes, the focus will shift to a different featured beer as brew masters take questions from Twitter fans and share stories about the beers and the breweries. To follow the conversation, use the hashtag #WFMBeer. At least one, if not all, of the beers listed above should be available at most Whole Foods Market stores that sell beer.

Participation is limited to those 21 years or older (duh!).

Twitter Beer Tasting FAQs

What is a Twitter beer tasting?

A Twitter beer tasting is a virtual event where people simultaneously taste beers together, and share their tasting notes in 140 character or less messages on Twitter.

What do I need to do to participate?

At the bare minimum, all you need to participate is a Twitter account and a beer in hand! For each #WFMBeer Twitter tasting, a particular theme is selected by Whole Foods and The Beer Wench. Participation in the Twitter tasting is enhanced when you follow the theme.

How do I follow the conversation?

All people participating in the Twitter beer tasting are encouraged to use the hashtag #WFMBeer in all of their tweets. If you have Tweetdeck or Hootsuite, we recommend that you create and dedicate an entire column to the hashtag, so you can follow the conversation as it happens!

What if I can’t find any of the beers on the “official” list?

You can still participate! Just find a beer or two that fits into the theme and join in. The theme this time around is organic beer — if you can’t find one of the delicious organic beers listed above, just look for the USDA organic logo on the beer shelf in a Whole Foods Market near you!

What if I have questions about the beers that I’m tasting?

You are in luck! Representatives from each of the breweries selected will be on Twitter during the entire event to lead the tasting and answer your questions. All of the representatives are listed next to the beers in the schedule above.

Is it okay to join the conversation late?

Of course! Better late than never!!!

Have more questions? Send me a tweet @TheBeerWench, or leave a message in the comment section below!!!

As a daughter of an environmentalist and health food nut, I grew up supporting local agriculture and companies dedicated to producing ethical and healthy products. I was taught how to read labels and to always question the source and quality of everything that I put into my body. Luckily, I don’t have to do this at Whole Foods Market, since they have a strict non-GMO policy and are dedicated to selling high quality, ethical & artisan products.

As a beer professional, lover and geek, Whole Foods Market is, hands down, my go to store for craft beer. Regardless of what city I’m visiting, I can depend on the local WFM store to have a more than decent, if not amazing, craft beer selection. Not too mention, more and more WFM stores are popping up with tasting rooms inside. And if you are anything like me, addicted to the prepared foods section, visiting a Whole Foods taproom can easily turn into a few hour extravaganza!

Speaking of beer, food and my love of Whole Foods, I recently teamed up with John Schmidt, the beer specialist at WFM Folsom, and my videographer friend Chris Eldridge, to film a short video promoting a few Valentine’s Day beer pairing suggestions featuring products available in most WFM Norcal locations.

The video features two segments: a more classic, and romantic approach to Valentine’s Day — and then a more cynical, and snarky take on the holiday invented by greeting card companies. Regardless of whether or not you are spending today sharing a beer with a special loved one, or spending it lamenting loved ones past — hopefully one these pairing suggestions will work their way into your day!

Valentine’s Day Beer Pairings from Dridge on Vimeo.

Featured beers:
Bison Brewing Chocolate Stout
Russian River Temptation
Stone Brewing Co. Arrogant Bastard
Flying Dog Raging Bitch

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!!!

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: CHRIS FLEISHER

AUTHOR OF: BREWS REPORTER

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Chris Fleisher
Twitter handle: @brewsreporter
Name of blog: BrewsReporter.com
Current location: Canaan, NH

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?
Radford, Va.

2. What sports if any did you play growing up, through college and beyond?
As a kid, pretty much every rec league sport. In high school, it was football, track and soccer. I’m now a proud member of team “Blue Steel” in an adult soccer league.

3. How old were you when you had your first beer?
12.

4. If you can recall, what is the story of your first beer? Where did you have it? What style and brand was it?
A can of Coors Light my friend, Adam, and I stole from my step-father’s stash. We went into my neighbor’s backyard and drank it while hiding in the bushes.

5. Where, if applicable, did you go to college? What did you study? What additional activities, organizations, sports did you partake in during college?
Undergrad — James Madison University where I studied English and Anthropology. Grad School at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. At JMU, I did a lot of stuff outside of class — coached youth soccer, played pickup soccer, president of Sigma Tau Delta (English honors society) and worked with a non-profit that helped Mexican immigrants transition to the community. At Columbia, I didn’t do a lot outside of school except smoke a lot of Bali Shag and drink beer.

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:
It was an oatmeal stout at Two Rows, a now closed brewpub in Houston, TX., in August 1999. I’d just graduated college and was three days away from teaching my first class as part of the Teach For America program. It’d been a rough summer and I was scared to face a room full of middle schoolers. I’d been developing a taste for craft beer, but hadn’t had anything truly revelatory until that beer. Probably more about the moment than anything — context matters so much when tasting food — but there are few beers I’ve enjoyed more.

2. Have you had additional craft beer epiphanies since the first? Detail as many of them as you wish:
Attending the Saturday tours at St. Arnold were pretty great. The brewer, Brock, would conduct them and he had such a passion for what he was doing. Many more epiphanies have come while homebrewing — getting to know the ingredients that cause flavors like caramel, toffee, melon, grapefruit, pine, etc.

Beer Blog Background

1. How long have you been writing your beer blog?
Since November 2007.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?
I’d been homebrewing for several years and finally felt competent enough to write about it. Plus, I’m a journalist, which means when I’m not reporting and writing something, I’m thinking about reporting and writing something.

3. Why did you choose the name of your blog?
It was a nice play on words and hinted at my background.

4. What are you personal goals for your blog? What do you hope to achieve with it?
I’m actually setting benchmarks for traffic now, and would eventually like to monetize it, but am treating it now as a creative outlet. I love doing journalism. I learn so much about things I’d ordinarily never consider. Doing this blog has given me a deeper appreciation of the craft. I’m also using the reviews to prepare for the BJCP exam.

5. What is one of the coolest things that happened to you as a result of being a beer blogger?
Nothing really. The owner of my local beer store recognizes me. But then, I’m a good customer.

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

• Craftbeer.com (So much great information on this site)
• PintsandPanels.com (a fun blog, and Emily Sauter is cool to drink with)
• vthomebrewguru.com (Another friend’s site. He runs a homebrew store and knew Greg Noonan. He also lectures on beer and homebrewing.)

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?
Changes week to week, but right now, I’d say Czech pilsner, Doppelbock and Belgian dubbel.

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?
Impossible, so I’ll just give you the top three that I’ve actually visited — The Alchemist (Waterbury, Vt.), Brooklyn Brewery and Saint Arnold. All three make outstanding beer, but that’s not why they’re my favorite. I fully believe that context matters. Where you are tasting a beer, your mood and the company you keep affects your perception of a beer. Saint Arnold was my first “favorite” brewery, my local go-to-happytown place when I was living in Houston. Brooklyn is where my wife and I went on some of our first dates and really got to know each other. The Alchemist has a great laid-back vibe and is my favorite place to visit since we moved to New England.

3. If you could work with or for any one brewery, which one would it be and why?
Full Sail. It’s employee-owned, environmentally and socially conscious and located in a beautiful part of the country. Plus, they brew great beer.

4. Are you a homebrewer? If yes, what is the most unique and interesting beer recipes you’ve brewed as a homebrewer?
Yes. Most unique recipe would probably be a 9.5% Saison that had been spiced with white pepper, seeds of paradise and cardamom. Not all that radical, but the cardamom was interesting. (I wouldn’t advise it, though.)

5. Do you have any beer certifications (BJCP, Cicerone, Siebel, American Brewers Guild)?? If so, what are they?
Nope, though I’m scheduled to take the BJCP test in November.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?
I just had a Belgian Dubbel with Flemish Style Carbonade, based on a recipe I found in Zymurgy. Incredible.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?
I cover the business beat for a daily newspaper in New Hampshire.

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?
If pay and benefits also were no obstacle, I’d like to be an assistant brewer at a nano. Never the head brewer — there’s always somebody smarter to learn from.

3. Are you married? Children?
Yes on both. I have a lovely beer-geek wife and 11 month old son.

4. Outside of beer and writing, what are some of your other hobbies?
I play soccer in an indoor league, run the occasional 5K, make embarrassing movies of my kid using iMovie.

Off The Beaten Path

1. If you were a style of beer, what style would be an why?
Definitely a lager, and more specifically, a doppelbock. I’m pretty slow and deliberate with things. Understated and usually try to keep a level head, but I don’t mess around when it’s game time.

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?
My own “Lights Out Barleywine.” It’s been aging a year now and tastes damn good, probably even more so because I know how hard I worked to brew 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?
A double IPA, dry-hopped with West Coast hops and tarted up with Brett.

4. If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
Being able to heal fast, like Wolverine. I’ve been hurt a lot playing sports. It’s no fun.

5. What is one of the craziest things you have ever done and lived to tell the story?
Taught 6th grade.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?
I don’t think on bacon. I consume.

SPECIAL THANKS TO CHRIS FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!

“Ashley, stop thinking.”

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

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

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

Three important lessons I learned from Artie were:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Wench’s Headlines

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Craft Brewers Conference Announces Routson as Key Note Speaker”

“Routson Named New President of The Brewers Association”

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

Since the men were all judged on three separate measures (please read the rules and criteria on my previous post), we decided it was appropriate to award the winner of each measure a special title. Something special for the man who scored the most on the personality scale, the most on the talent scale, and the most on the appearance scale, and so on.

But that’s not all folks. Why not ride this wave out as long as we can, right? Miss Jess Hunter, Assistant Editor and Staff Writer at Denver Off The Wagon, and I decided to add a fun twist to the competition by adding a few superlatives… super high school style (oh come on, you know, the things you vote on for the senior year book).

Enough with the words… on with the show!

THE “SPECIAL” AWARDS

Mr. Craft Beer: NOAH REGNERY

Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? According to the results, this guy is the complete package. He walks the walk, he talks the talk. He has the look, the swagger, and now the bragging rights of “The Most Eligible Bachelor of Craft Beer.”

Runner-up: Matt Bryndilson

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Mr. Congeniality: MATT BRYNDILSON

Brewers are not exactly known for having the best social skills, that is why they work all day in a brewery, after all! This award goes to the most congenial, charismatic and inspirational “contestant”. This person scored the highest on the “personality” measure.

Runner Up: Jamie Floyd

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Mr. Photogenic: KELLY RYAN

Let’s face it, brewers are not the most glamorous men in the world. And the pretty ones definitely stand out. This award goes to the winner of the beauty pageant. This person scored the highest on the “appearance” measure.

Runner Up: Matt Dauffenbach

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The Rockstar: GREG KOCH

There are all sorts of levels of talents in the craft beer industry. Brewing skills, marketing, public relations, sales… all are very important to the success of a company. This award goes to the one who rocks the Casbah. This person scored the highest on the “talent” measure.

Runner Up: Garrett Oliver

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THE SUPERLATIVES

Best Dressed: GARRETT OLIVER

Don’t get us wrong, brewers boots, dickies workshirts, tie-dye and plaid are all adorable in their own respects. But there are only a select few men in the beer industry worthy of the adjective: dapper. And we think Garrett Oliver is the swankiest of the swank.

Runner-up: Matt Bryndilson (the man makes lederhosen look sexy…)

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Sexiest Brewers Beard: JASON YESTER

Ladies don’t deny it, beards are sexy. Being badass enough to sport an epic beard in addition legendary dreadlocks = pure WIN. When it comes to facial hair, Jason Yester is the cat’s meow.

Runner-up: Eric Salazar

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Best Pearly Whites: DYLAN LINTERN

Never trust the men with killer smiles (you know the kind: glimmering white teeth, adorable dimples), because they can con you into about anything… including drinking Schlitz out of a can in a dive bar at 4 am… but I digress.

Runner-up: Matt Dauffenbach

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Best Twinkle Eyes: ADAM AVERY

Pictures do not do this man justice (Come on Adam, when you gonna get better press photos?). One look into his eyes, and you will be captivated for… well, hours. And probably days. Maybe even months. But not like I would know…

Runner-up: Tyler King

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Class Clown: JAMES WATT

There is a saying that goes: Don’t take life too seriously, you’ll never get out alive. The dynamic duo over at Brewdog definitely live by this motto, as evidenced by their rather brilliantly insane marketing gimmicks and feats in brewing. Oh and penguin costumes? ‘Nough said.

Runner-up: Matt Dauffenbach

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Biggest Jock: CHAD MELIS

Working in the beer industry can be a slippery slope. Consumption of beer everyday, typically with copious amounts of food, can be quite detrimental to one’s girlish figure. But, there are some men out there dedicated to fitness and keeping their body beach-ready.

Runner-up: Adam Avery

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Biggest Flirt: COLIN FERGUSON

Don Juan, Casanova, Dracula, George Clooney — they all have it. The word is CHARISMA. We are talking about the snake charmers who can talk the pants… errr boots off just about anyone. And Colin is one heck of a Ladies Man.

Runner-up: Dr. Bill Sysak

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Most Plaid-Tastic Flannel-i-cious: JASON OLIVER

Plaid is the new black. And it takes a real man to pull off the plaid-flannel combination. In fact, it takes a really burly manly mountain man. That or a brewer. Either way, it is one heck of a fashion statement.

Runner-up: Joe Mohrfeld

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Biggest (Internet) Geek: Shaun O’ Sullivan

They may be worshiped by many, but let’s not kid ourselves here. Brewers are geeks. And their fans are geeks. And the winner of the biggest geek award goes to Sully, the man rarely ever seen NOT on some sort of technological device doing something on the Internet.

Runner-up: Greg Koch

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Well folks, thanks for playing. And thanks for getting excited about brewers that get some of us ladies in the beer industry excited. Now… who wants to help make the calendar?

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)