Great Notion Brewing

July 06, 2016 by Marco Leyte-Vidal

1. Where is your brewery?

In the cool Alberta Arts District of Portland, Oregon - at the corner of NE 22nd and Alberta St.

2. What was the first beer you had that made you realize craft beer was going to be a bigger part of your life?

James: Stone Brewing "Arrogant Bastard" and Andy "Pliny the Elder".

3. What is your favorite style to brew and why?

NE-style hazy, juicy IPAs.

4. If you were stranded on an island (with a working refrigerator that automatically replenished itself) and you could only have one beer for the rest of your life in that fridge, which would it be?

Cantillon Fou Foune or maybe our very own Juice Jr.!

5. What is your favorite music to listen to in the brewery?

Depends who you ask! James leans towards the Grateful Dead and Andy mid-90's indie rock.

6. Which other brewery has inspired you the most? Why?

Russian River for the reasons most would say. Locally, we loved watching Breakside grow from a little 3 bbl brewery to a regional powerhouse.

7. Single hop beer - which hops are you using?

We are loving Mosaic right now.

8. Where is your favorite place to get a beer after work and why?

We tend to like Hop and Vine, as we live nearby and they always have a great selection of beer and creative cocktails.

9. What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone who thinks they want to get into the craft beer industry?

There's a lot more to it than brewing! Make sure you have some partners that will balance out your own weaknesses.

10. Dogs or cats?

We have both in the GNB family, so how about we just say giraffes.

From left to right: Andy, Paul, and James

Jess Reiser - Owner Burial Beer Co.

July 27, 2015 by Marco Leyte-Vidal

1. Where is your brewery?

Asheville, North Carolina

2. What was the first beer you had that made you realize craft beer was going to be a bigger part of your life?

Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus was one of the first beers that caused me to reflect on the process and begin to truly appreciate beer as a craft.

3. What is your favorite style to brew and why?

Burial Beer Co., finds infinite inspiration from brewing Saisons.

4. If you were stranded on an island (with a working refrigerator that automatically replenished itself) and you could only have one beer for the rest of your life in that fridge, which would it be?

I would say a saison - from there I would crack coconuts, find mangos, pick hibiscus flowers, and other edible to do infusions to keep it interesting. I believe saisons to be one of the best styles for adjunct infusions.

5. What is your favorite music to listen to in the brewery?

Well, I am just one of many people who plays the music at Burial - it ranges from death metal to David Bowie.

6. Which other brewery has inspired you the most? Why?

Truly, most Belgian breweries - De Dolle, Cantillon, Rochefort, Rodenbach - although we also brew American styles, our inspiration and passion lies in Belgian ales and Saisons. The process and the history behind beer in Belgium is fascinating and a constant discovery for us.

7. Single hop beer - which hops are you using?

We love Huell Melon, El dorado, and Mosaic hops.

8. Where is your favorite place to get a beer after work and why?

Burial. For me, its a combination of a place for my kids to feel welcome, a way for me to try the new beers we have on, plus I am just the most comfortable there. It's my home away from home - truly.

9. What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone who thinks they want to get into the craft beer industry?

Owning a brewery or any small business, I imagine, is like having a child. It is a full time, around the clock commitment for a life time - you make a ton of sacrifices, it is stressful and challenging, but at the end of the day, for those willing to rise to the occasion, it makes you a better person and is worth every bit and then some.

10. Dogs or cats?

Kids and beer.

3 Daughters Brewing

June 15, 2015 by Marco Leyte-Vidal

1. Where is your brewery?

3 Daughters is located in St. Petersburg, FL, about five blocks away from Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays. Our tasting room is at 222 22nd Street South, but our beers are sold on draught and in cans throughout the state of Florida.

2. What was the first beer you had that made you realize craft beer was going to be a bigger part of your life?

Our owners actually come from the retail side of hospitality with Mike having a long history at Outback Steakhouse and then owning his own Italian restaurant on Beach Drive. With a focus on farm to table recipes, our introduction to craft beer came in the form of a beer battered fish. At that time, our Head Chef, Ty Weaver, was an avid home brewer. When he made the blonde ale that went in our fish recipe, we decided to put the rest on tap under the name "To Be", as in whatever Ty wanted the beer to be. That beer and subsequent others began to outsell our domestic beers on tap. That is when we decided to sell our interest in the restaurant and move full time into the craft industry.

3. What is your favorite style to brew and why?

Just like a parent is not supposed to have favorite children, so we shouldn't (in theory) have a favorite beer. When asked, our head brewer will talk about a lot of beers but his favorite came down to the Stern Line Stout because of the rich aroma during the boil.

4. If you were stranded on an island (with a working refrigerator that automatically replenished itself) and you could only have one beer for the rest of your life in that fridge, which would it be?

We asked around the brewery to see what everyone would say...

Ty (Head Brewer) - Stern Line Stout; Mike (Owner) - Stern Line Stout; Leigh (Owner) - Belgian Dark Strong; John (COO) - Bimini Twist IPA; Chris (Sales) - Rod Bender Red

There really is something for everyone!

5. What is your favorite music to listen to in the brewery?

Depending on what music you hear when entering the brewery, you can guess who got there first to open. If you hear bluegrass, Susan or Tim may have turned the music on. If you hear Rock, Captain Steve (one of our brewers) is in charge of the tunes. That is definitely playing during the day while they are brewing. However, if you hear any country music, it is a good bet that Mike, Ty or Leigh had control of the playlist that day.

6. Which other brewery has inspired you the most? Why?

Everyone has a different answer to this story. At 3 Daughters Brewing lots of breweries have given us inspiration and assistance. We appreciate all the help given by Cigar City who came by before opening and gave very helpful suggestions. They have led the craft beer revolution in Tampa and it is awesome that they are also great people. As we were designing our tasting room in 2013, we went to Asheville, North Carolina, and toured many breweries including Highlands Brewery, Green Man, Wicked Weed, and a few others. They are all great but we were inspired by Wicked Weed who we consider true innovators and leaders in the market.

7. Single hop beer - which hops are you using?

Using Cascade in several of our beers like the Beach Blonde Ale and it works really well.

8. Where is your favorite place to get a beer after work and why?

We love to go to other craft breweries when we have spare time. It is great to support the craft beer industry and taste what others are doing.

9. What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone who thinks they want to get into the craft beer industry?

Ask others for help and advice! Find the breweries that are leading the industry and ask them for assistance. The craft beer community is closely connected and everyone is willing to other breweries. We have given others our business plan and are glad to let others come in and learn from our experience. Biggest advice: ask others who've done it before you.

10. Dogs or cats?

Dogs!

Maria Cabre-Delfino - Head of Treatments J Wakefield Brewing

May 03, 2015 by Marco Leyte-Vidal

1. Where is your brewery?

In Wynwood, on 24th Street between NW 2nd Ave and North Miami Avenue.

2. What was the first beer you had that made you realize craft beer was going to be a bigger part of your life?

As crazy as this may sound, it wasn't a particular beer, but more about what was happening with beer and food and the way that craft beer has evolved. It's become almost as big as wine.

3. What is your favorite style to brew and why?

My favorite style to brew so far has been our Russian Imperial Stout, La Nada. A lot of work gets put into it.

4. If you were stranded on an island (with a working refrigerator that automatically replenished itself) and you could only have one beer for the rest of your life in that fridge, which would it be?

This really isn't a fair question... But it would have to be Stone's Xocoveza Charred.

5. What is your favorite music to listen to in the brewery?

I have no favorite. We listen to everything from 90's alternative to old school hip hop to oldies. I'll jam to anything really.

6. Which other brewery has inspired you the most? Why?

I really love the way Cigar City has set the bar for treatments. Everything I've had of theirs tastes like what it says it will; and that's the way it should be. Don't call it something and have it taste nothing like it.

7. Single hop beer - which hops are you using?

Citra. I love Citra.

8. Where is your favorite place to get a beer after work and why?

KUSH. Always a fantastic variety of beers and they show local breweries love.

9. What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone who thinks they want to get into the craft beer industry?

The same advice I'd give to someone wanting to get into the food industry; you have NO idea what you're getting in to. It's a test of physical and mental strength on a daily basis. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I love what I do.

10. Dogs or cats?

Dogs. But my Bengal cat is pretty awesome.

Jay Goodwin - Co-Founder and Director of Blending & Brewing The Rare Barrel

April 06, 2015 by Marco Leyte-Vidal

1. Where is your brewery?

Berkeley, California.

2. What was the first beer you had that made you realize craft beer was going to be a bigger part of your life?

Natty Ice. Once I had that I realized something had to change.

3. What is your favorite style to brew and why?

IPA. No, but seriously folks. Sour beer of course! Brewing this style means working without a net. By that I mean not a lot of research and best practices are published in this area. That's tough, but it also means we're on the forefront of learning a lot more about what may be the most complex alcoholic beverage fermentation out there.

4. If you were stranded on an island (with a working refrigerator that automatically replenished itself) and you could only have one beer for the rest of your life in that fridge, which would it be?

I guess in this scenario it pretty much has to be a Pilsner. A great island beer! How about an outstanding local option: Faction Pils from Alameda's Faction Brewing? Come to think of it... they're already on an island, so if I get my choice of island, I'd pick that one!

5. What is your favorite music to listen to in the brewery?

Whoever's doing the most monotonous job gets to pick the music, but if it's me, I'll choose The Black Keys... Or 90's boy bands on Fridays.

6. Which other brewery has inspired you the most? Why?

Hard not to pick The Bruery here since I worked there for 4 years. I don't think we'd be making sour beer today without that experience. They continue to make world class beers! I also love my fellow California brewers: Cellarmaker, Societe, Russian River, and Firestone Walker, along with the Belgian Geuze blenders.

7. Single hop beer - which hops are you using?

We do a dry-hopped sour beer called Egregious that has 5 lbs. of Amarillo per 59 gallon oak barrel. The idea of hops in a sour sounds egregious, but dry-hopping doesn't impact much bitterness so the fruit can shine through on top of the acidic beer.

8. Where is your favorite place to get a beer after work and why?

The promotion of one CA ABC permanent license (favorite place to drink beer) by another permanent licensee (Jay of The Rare Barrel), on social media or otherwise, is the giving of "something of value" (i.e., advertising). That is a violation of tied-house restrictions and a technical licensing violation ... according to the law in California. That being said, Berkeley is home to many great food/beer spots people should check out after they visit The Rare Barrel.

9. What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone who thinks they want to get into the craft beer industry?

Getting into the craft beer industry is a great idea if you love beer and hate money. Do it for the love of the game, but just be sure you're really in love. Being an accountant an a homebrewer sounds nice most days, too.

10. Dogs or cats?

I'm reading this question and I don't get it. "Dogs or"? What does that mean? Usually there are two viable options in an either/or question and I'm not seeing that here. Sorry.

Megan O'Boyle - Brewer Cigar City Brewing

March 02, 2015 by Marco Leyte-Vidal

1. Where is your brewery?

Tampa, Florida

2. What was the first beer you had that made you realize craft beer was going to be a bigger part of your life?

Someone once handed me a Deschutes Black Butte Porter and I never looked back.

3. What is your favorite style to brew and why?

Saison: it's such a diverse style category. You can do just about anything with a saison! Dry it out for a light and refreshing beer, use seasonal ingredients such as herbs, fruits, and vegetables, make it hoppy... Get creative and have fun.

4. If you were stranded on an island (with a working refrigerator that automatically replenished itself) and you could only have one beer for the rest of your life in that fridge, which would it be?

I could drink Zombie Dust from Three Floyds all day, every day, and that's a no brainer.

5. What is your favorite music to listen to in the brewery?

I'm guilty of listening to a LOT of My Morning Jacket.

6. Which other brewery has inspired you the most? Why?

Definitely 7venth Sun. The owners Justin and Devon taught me so pretty much everything I know about brewing and I will forever be grateful to them for that.

7. Single hop beer - which hops are you using?

Galaxy, hands down. I love the intense passion fruit aroma.

8. Where is your favorite place to get a beer after work and why?

If I'm not sticking around the Cigar City tasting room, you can probably find me at Pour House. It's close to home and they always have a great selection of craft beer on draft and in cans.

9. What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone who thinks they want to get into the craft beer industry?

Do your research. Know what you want to get out of it before you take a job and be willing to do plenty of grunt work. Make sure you love to clean!

10. Dogs or cats?

I love my cat, but she's a jerk (see: cat). I'll go with dogs on this one.

Doug Dozark - Founder/Brewer at Cycle Brewing

December 22, 2014 by Marco Leyte-Vidal

1. Where is your brewery?

We have 3 locations, the first was our original spot at Peg's Cantina in Gulfport, we still brew half of our beer out of there for now. The brewery at Peg's will be transitioning into our version of a side project called Orange Belt Brewing, headed by our lead brewer Eric Trinosky, in early 2015. The main tap room is the other half of current production called Cycle Brewing located in downtown St. Pete. The 3rd spot is our small warehouse currently under construction, we are expecting to increase production slightly but mostly focused on spirit barrel-aging, we do have a different warehouse for wine and brett barrel-aging as well but it is truly storage. Both warehouses are in or near the Dome industrial park in central St. Pete. By March 2015 we should be running 3 complete breweries.

2. What was the first beer you had that made you realize craft beer was going to be a bigger part of your life?

I would have to say that craft beer didn't draw me in so much as macro beer pushed me out. There was no epiphany and in fact I was very reluctant to try brewing. My interest in craft grew out of college parties with something that I liked to drink rather than choking down whatever cheap beer we could find, 30 'stones for 8 bucks anybody? I drank a lot of Guinness (a favorite of shotgunning) and Saranac, going to school in Potsdam, NY, that was what was available. I grew up in Iowa, lived in extreme Northern NY and then moved to Florida all at times when those were craft beer wastelands. When I traveled I would always look for something new to try and from there I would say I started really exploring craft beer without realizing that it was part of a trend or the movement it has become. The reason we turned Peg's into a brewpub was because I had a part time job at Starbucks working the drive thru and needed the extra money, it didn't become all about the beer for me until I was working full time at Cigar City bottling barrel-aged beers and drinking fresh IPA. After that it became a personal challenge to make my favorite beers and it was a bitter struggle for years, double IPA is still destroying my ego on a regular basis.

3. What is your favorite style to brew and why?

Favorite to brew is probably Fixie, simple, easy to hit consistent numbers and all that Simcoe smells pretty good. As far as favorite to create, that really varies, its not really a particular style that I like to work on as much as I find satisfaction in making what I set out to make. I find making great hoppy beer, IPA, Pale Ale, and recently double IPA to be some of the most maddening, there is so much to making hops really shine and as much success as we have had it still hasn't erased from my memory all of the failures and mediocrity I created of the dread of continuing to stumble in this vein that I desperately want to be great at.

4. If you were stranded on an island (with a working refrigerator that automatically replenished itself) and you could only have one beer for the rest of your life in that fridge, which would it be?

I would probably take something like Fixie, drink it all day, stay a little hydrated but able to get drunk enough to forget my plight by the end of the day.

5. What is your favorite music to listen to in the brewery?

Unfortunately, I am not a music listener when I work. I am generally happy with silence. I don't think it's a zen thing, I just think I get focused on my work and like it that way. If I can tune it out, classic rock or stuff that I have heard a lot, it doesn't bother me but Screamo and music I detest will actually drive me bonkers and distract me so the sound of pumps running or the burner howling is all I really want. A smooth running operation is music to my ears.

6. Which other brewery has inspired you the most? Why?

Lots of breweries have inspired me, it really depends what part of my career you look at. Oskar Blues was my first job, it was a laughably brief job, but I can't express how much I learned from and still respect my old boss there, Jeremy Rudolf, for teaching me all that he did. After that, Wayne Wambles at Cigar City, I worked with Wayne for several years and while I think we differ a lot in how we approach a brewery and even recipe creation he taught me a lot about creativity in brewing and pushing boundaries, not to mention I really learned all aspects of brewery operations there. I would say Hill Farmstead is the most recent, Shaun has had a great influence on my approach to certain styles and I really value his knowledge. Other breweries that I don't know well but I do get some inspiration from are Perennial and Side Project, wonderful beers and I like their business model; Westbrook, delicious boundary pushing beers and a Gose in cans, fuck yeah. I also get some inspiration from New Belgium, their QA/QC program is truly excellent, the sour blending - fantastic, and top of it all they're environmentally conscious growth and development on site is even more impressive than the brewery in my opinion - who builds a waste water treatment plant and methane recapture system? I would say the combination of all those breweries and more has helped me understand what kind of brewery I want to be in terms of size, beers, and ethic.

7. Single hop beer - which hops are you using?

Whatever I can get. Hops are the most infuriating raw material to source. A lot of our IPA's are almost single hop beers, to my palate, single hopping with the right hops can really give a bright hop character that almost always get muddled with blending. I worked at a brewery that was all about layering in different hos to create complexity but it turns out I have simple taste and generally prefer single hops or very limited blending. Fixie is mostly Simcoe, Freewheel is mostly Nelson Sauvin, Crank is mostly Citra, Hammer is mostly Mosaic, we also have a Unicycle series where we have showcased a few different hop varieties.

8. Where is your favorite place to get a beer after work and why?

Lately my favorite place has been at Cycle. Depending on the day, we weren't working down there so it's a change of pace and on top of that we have a lot of regular customers that are nice to see, sitting on the sidewalk on Central you never know who you will run in to.

9. What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone who thinks they want to get into the craft beer industry?

Depends what that person's goals are really. I hear from a lot of people looking to open a brewery and to them I usually say make sure you have a good product and can stay within yourself financially, opening a business is expensive and a brewery can be even more so, stainless isn't cheap. For folks just looking to work in the craft beer industry I say: work hard and be flexible, the brewery runs on the beer's schedule, not a persons. I got my job at Cigar City by volunteering for nearly 3 months, 20-30 hours per week just to be a part of it, it was luck that I had the kind of flexibility to do that, but I don't think I could have walked into any job there any other way. Brewing is work, it takes some physical strength but I think the mental fortitude to stay focused and mind the details in all aspects, especially cleaning is harder. In looking at staff, dedication is the most important factor for me, a trained chimp can run brewing process but a dedicated individual is hard to find.

Brewing to me is the best job in the world; there isn't much I would give it up for, there are so many wonderful aspects to this industry and if you aren't enthusiastic about that to the point where it seems perfectly reasonable of spend hours scrubbing the tops of tanks and the floors then maybe this isn't the right industry. For folks looking to be a head brewer someday, that most important thing I have learned so far was how to be honest with myself about what I create. It sounds so simple but I found it really challenging to criticize myself honestly (not the same as harshly), it is open depressing but I don't know how you improve and make a truly great product without that ability. Sadly, more often than not, at this time new brewers will share a beer they are convinced is fantastic and it is loaded with technical flaws. I am still not sure what the appropriate response is because I know I hate it when I get criticism I'm not prepared for, but it is clear to me that they are lacking any objective view of their beer and I worry about that trend.

10. Dogs or cats?

Falcons

T.L. Adkisson - Head Brewer at Foothills Brewing Co.

November 03, 2014 by Marco Leyte-Vidal

1. Where is your brewery?

Winston-Salem, NC

2. What was the first beer you tried that made you realize craft beer was going to be a bigger part of your life?

I always had an inclination toward English-style pale ales, was a big fan of Bass Ale and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale back in the day. I've always love spicy foods, so when I home-brewed my first batch beer I decided to dial up on the hops a little bit - that was a honey IPA, back in 1998. Turned out pretty good and I was on my way from home.

3. What is your favorite style to brew and why?

IPA, no question. My love of spices has inspired to love of hops. It's a fascinating beer style with regards to how you can take a basic malt body and tweak it with hop and make so many different flavors and layers with minor adjustments. It's fun.

4. If you were on a stranded island (with a working refrigerator that automatically replenished itself) and you could only have one beer for the rest of your life in that fridge, which would it be?

I'd have to say our May IPA of the Month from earlier this year. The azacca and simcoe hops partnered extremely well with the unfiltered medium malt body. It had enough flavor for cold weather but was also very refreshing in warm weather. Which is what we'd have on an island right? The pineapple and tropical fruit notes of that beer would also fit in well on a desert island.

5. What is your favorite music to listen to in the brewery?

I like listening to WNCW, its this eclectic little NPR station in Spindale, NC. They play everything from blues to jazz to the Dead, plus a lot of local artists.

6. Which other brewery has inspired you the most and why?

Odell Brewing in Ft. Collins, Colorado. I really like their business model - distribution in a limited number of states, limited but very solid portfolio of beers, great tap room. They're also very open with knowledge and willing to share things they've learned.

7. Single hop beer - which hops are you using?

I don't think that way. Besides I don't want the other hops to get jealous.

8. Where is your favorite place to get a beer after work and why?

Our pub, because the beer quality is good, customer feedback, you know everybody.

9. What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone who thinks they want to get into the craft beer industry?

Don't. Just kidding. Make sure you're well-funded and have a good plan.

10. Dogs or cats?

Dogs. Definitely dogs.