Featured Beer Blogger: KEVIN SMITH

DRINK WITH THE WENCH PRESENTS:

The Beer Blogger Interview Series

Curious what goes on in the minds of your favorite beer bloggers? Well, The Beer Wench is and she has embarked upon a mission to interview as many beer bloggers that she can — from all over the world. Are you a beer blogger? Do you want to share your story? Send me an email!

INTRODUCING: KEVIN SMITH

AUTHOR OF: THE AMBER AGE

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Kevin Smith
Twitter handle: @kmjsmith
Name of blog: The Amber Age
Current location: Brunswick, MD – a small town on the western border of the state, approximately an hour from Baltimore and DC.

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

Pretty much just outside of Boston and NYC.

2. What sports if any did you play growing up, through college and beyond? Wow…How much space do you have?

I played little league baseball and soccer as a kid and again in college, ran track, played football (HS, flag, semi-pro), street hockey, martial arts (Kung-Fu and Karate), and more recently – Australian football.

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

14, maybe 15.

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

My dad came from an Irish household (my grandmother was off the boat) and sat me down around then (14ish), told me he was fine with me drinking at the table at that age as he did it, just not to do abuse the privilege. I don’t remember particulars beyond that it was at the dinner table and it was whatever my dad had on hand at the time. It might actually have been Bass.

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

I attended Emerson College in Boston where I graduated with a degree in writing with a film minor. I was a sportscaster for the AM radio station, president of the Oral Interpretation Society, a member of Hands-On (sign language society), was a contestant in the Baked Bean Pot at Nick’s Comedy Stop (stand-up comedy competition pitting students from the local colleges against each other), was a teacher at the Boston Kung-Fu Tai-Chi Club, and played for the school’s baseball and soccer teams.

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:

So…I think my craft beer epiphany worked in reverse. As I mentioned, when I was in HS, I was drinking Bass, and very likely Sam Adams and Catamount beers at the dinner table. I would go to parties and I ended up drinking a lot of hard alcohol because I felt that the beer I was getting at the parties was undrinkable. I realized at a very early age that the Macros were not for me.

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

Well, when I went away to college, I became a bigger beer drinker – primarily Guinness and Newcastle Brown, but quickly found Harpoon’s IPA. It was a thing of beauty. I would buy a six pack and a pack of Double-stuffs, sit down at the typewriter, and crank out my school assignments. The bitterness of the hops balanced nicely with the sweetness of the Oreos. I might not think that if I did it now, but it was something I liked to do then.

I think it was also around then that I first discovered both beer bars (the sorts that would have over 100 selections from around the world), and brew pubs. I used to go to the Sunset Grille in the Allston neighborhood of Boston. A ton of taps, almost all crafts or imports, or I would hit The Boston Beer Works – one of the city’s brew pubs.

One of my goals now is to try a craft beer from every state. I haven’t yet put together the definitive list, but I know that I have had beers from HI, CA, OR, WA, ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, MA, NY, PA, NJ, DE, MD, VA, WV, NC, LA, TX, CO, OH, IL, GA, UT, NV. I have to go back through notes and make sure, but those are the ones I’m pretty certain are already on the list.

Beer Blog Background

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

I had an aborted attempt at group blog a little while ago. The Amber Age was launched a little less than a month ago.

What inspired you to start writing your blog? For the last three years I have covered the Maryland brewing industry for the Mid-Atlantic Brewing News – you might be familiar with the Southwest Brewing News. We’re under the same publisher. Anyway, the paper comes out once every two months. As such, there are things that just don’t fit the editorial calendar and get nixed. Sometimes those things can be pretty important. I wanted to make sure that those things got covered.

At the same time, I wanted to address other areas of the country, and really reach out to the beer lover everywhere. In spite of being a two-and-a-half person operation (my wife is the Web master and primary photographer, and my sister-in-law will be an occasional contributor), I am working very hard to present what I have as more of an on-line magazine than blog, but I recognize that it’s still a blog. The site is not yet complete, but it is getting there.

2. Why did you chose the name of your blog?

It’s a play on The Golden Age. As a matter of fact, my current article there discusses this very question. Boiled down, I feel as though we are in a Golden (or Amber) Age of brewing. When I first started drinking beer, it was less than a decade after Albion brewed their first batch of craft beer in Sonoma.

Selection was still pretty limited. Now I can walk into my local liquor store and have a selection of quality beers from just about any state, and I wanted a name that reflected that.

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

Honestly? I’d like it to be a destination for people looking for intelligent commentary on the brewing industry, and at the same time, I do hope it turns into a money maker.

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

Well – just being a beer writer, there have been several things that have been happy benefits – I haven’t paid to attend a beer festival in over three years, I get to be the “celebrity” judge at homebrew competitions, I have developed some remarkable relationships with the Maryland brewing community – some really great people, but I really love the free beer.

One day earlier this year a package showed up for me from Oregon. Couldn’t figure out what it could possibly be. Opened it up and it was four bottles of Long Board Lager. Now, admittedly, it’s not a beer I am thrilled by, but it was nice, as a member of the brewing press, that Kona Brewing’s new marketing company would send that out ahead of their East Coast roll out.

More recently, I was at Flying Dog’s facility to discuss with their queen of marketing an article I’m working on for Maryland Life Magazine regarding the brewery. We discussed the article over some Raging Bitch – the as yet unreleased 20th Anniversary Ale – a Belgian IPA. It’s always cool to be out ahead of some of these things. I’m in talks right now with a brewer who’s projecting an early 2011 opening.

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

Not including yours – I like Flying Dog’s whole family of Web sites. They’re fun, informative, and as the single biggest brewery in my Brewing News territory, a must read for me. I try to keep up with the news at AHA’s site (for the neophytes reading your site – NOT the 1980′s pop artists), and I often visit the Brewers Association of Maryland’s site – although I feel like they need to do a better job of keeping that last one updated.

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

Love me a good IPA. A proper Irish Stout. I’m talking like Guinness, or Murphy’s or Beamish. Few Americans get stout right. A really good Marzen can be genius, but few approach that level with that style.

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Without thinking about it too much, and in no particular order – Flying Dog, Stone, Harpoon. If I thought about it, I would be banging my head on the keyboard as one brewery knocked the next out of my list, and so on and so forth.

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

There are two that come to mind immediately – Harpoon and Flying Dog. Harpoon mostly because for close to half my life I called Boston home, would love to move back, and it would be a product with which I know I would be proud to have my name associated. As for Flying Dog, I’ve actually been trying to get my foot in the door there for a little over two years. I know many of the people, the brewery is nearby, and not only do they make a damn fine product, but they throw one hell of a bash every September – GonzoFest. How can you not like that.

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

I do homebrew, but I am not what one would call prolific with it. I brew approximately once per year. The last beer that I did was an Australian sparkling ale. I was unable to land about a third of the ingredients so I had to substitute a lot and hope the beer came out. It was okay after the initial bottle aging, but the one bottle that I aged for eight months was really nice. That’s probably the most unusual one that I have done.

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

Nope.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

I’m not sure that I have a specific one, but these are some of the better ones that I have found-Raging Bitch with turkey chili. The flavors of the beer balanced nicely with the heat from the jalapenos. Sam Adams Holiday Porter with espresso fudge. Not even a fan of the beer, but the pairing was absolutely genius. Ellicott Mills (a brew pub just outside of Baltimore) does a Dunkel that’s wonderful with their alligator etouffee.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

Freelance writer/Maryland beer guy for the Mid-Atlantic Brewing News.

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?

Cartoonist. Would utilize one of my other talents – which will be on display soon in the Brew-ha-ha section of The Amber Age. I love drawing. Very influenced by people like Gary Larson and Charles Addams.

3. Are you married? Children?

Yes, and only when hungry. Sorry. Two daughters – 2 and 7 years old.

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

The above noted art (I’m currently illustrating a children’s book largely written by my seven year old). I just completed my eleventh season of playing Australian football, have been involved in martial arts for almost 30 years, and am an avid reader.

Off The Beaten Path

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

Stout. I’m 5’6″ and 185 pounds – and I can still run a mile in about 6:30. Do the math – it’s as much a physical description of me as anything else. And please, no jokes about my creamy head.

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?

Flying Dog’s Gonzo Imperial Porter from a nitrous tap. There have been roughly four, maybe five porters that I have truly loved – for the most part it’s a style I feel breeds a lot of mediocrity. But I think there’s a beautiful balance between the malt and the hops in that beer. It’s one of the handful of beers that I would refer to as a perfect beer. And I would die happily with that as the last taste in my mouth.

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

Hmm…maybe a Belgian..something smooth, maybe a little fruity…a dry lambic? No…I think I would go with a nice barley wine. Nothing fancy, nothing extra – just something smooth, and tasty, that just keeps getting better as it ages. The Beer Wench Barley Wine…it even as some nice alliteration to it.

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

Definitely not one of the lame ones. Maybe something cool, like being able to find quality craft brew nearby no matter what the odds. Instead of spider senses, I’ll have craft brew senses…I sense a Longtrail Ale in that fridge, or we are a quarter of a mile from where we can pick up some Stone IPA.

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

I don’t remember how I got there, but I woke up naked at the base of the statue of Horace Greeley in Chappaqua NY back in college. Had to walk five miles home like that.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

Ah bacon-the perfect food. Ambrosia of the Gods. How is it pig has bestowed upon us such a gift? What other food is just as good on a sandwich as it is a salad, and can be served at any meal of the day? Wonderful for breakfast, but maybe even better, nay, sublime, wrapped around a sea scallop with a maple glaze. ‘Tis a most marvelous thing.

SPECIAL THANKS TO KEVIN FOR HIS AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!