James Howat - Founder & Brewer at Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales

Fueled by the need to explore, Black Project is pushing boundaries at every turn.  James questions everything.  He sees things in a way most adults have forgotten how to.  Guided by the questions "why?" and "what if?" - it's this characteristic that has propelled Black Project into the elite of wild and sour beer breweries.  As the name suggests, Black Project ferments its beers on spontaneous and wild caught microbes - always.  Even their IPA is fermented on a foraged Saccharomyces strain from an apple tree in James' neighborhood. The beers are wonderfully beautiful and display terroir in a playful way.  The complex and thought provoking beers coming out of the brewery are a beer geek's dream; yet, they are approachable enough for a novice to enjoy.  Honestly, go find some now.  

As craft beer continues to evolve, it will breweries like Black Project and people like James and his wife Sarah who will force evolution and encourage exploration.  They'll lead by example, never take no for an answer, and always ask "why?"  We hope you enjoy our chat.

Cheers,

Craft Commander

Chad Yakobsen - Founder Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project

When art and science collide, you get Crooked Stave.  It's a delicate balance between creativity, exploration, precision, and hyper technical attention to detail that sets Chad Yakobsen's beautiful project apart from the pack.  Chad, if you didn't know, is an expert on all things brettanomyces.  He's written a dissertation on it, he's brewed countless beers with it, and he's quite frankly, one of the most proficient users of wild yeast and bacteria in the country.  If you couldn't tell - I am in love with his brewery and have the utmost respect for what he's able to produce there on a consistent basis.  On a personal level, the brewery is inspirational and thought provoking - but on a global scale, Crooked Stave is incredibly important to the wild and sour beer industry, as they put their phenomenal beers on shelves across the country and pushing the styles forward into the mainstream for all to enjoy.  Sit back, relax, and enjoy our chat.  You even get a small tour of Chad's house in the process! 

Cheers,

Craft Commander

Alex Wallash - Founder The Rare Barrel

The Rare Barrel has become one of the country's foremost producers of sour beer.  That's no surprise if you've had the opportunity to try their beer - it's clean but just funky enough, it's purposeful, and the fruited offerings beautifully display all of the best in the fruits they use.  Batch after batch, The Rare Barrel is consistently impressing thanks to their willingness to dump bad beer and only use the best their massive barrel collection has to offer.  Just last year, the brewery dumped 25% of its stock because of a fluke off flavor that just wouldn't go away.  Rather than attempt to blend away this imperfection, the guys decided that to live up to their standard the only viable option was to dump.  And dump they did.  Hundreds of gallons of beer were poured down the drain.  Doing things like this ensures that when anyone walks in to the brewery they are going to love what is poured in to their glass or is in the bottle they are taking home.  Even more importantly, it protects and furthers the cause which is sour beer by providing quality and consistency with a style that is only now in its infancy here in the states.  Please enjoy our chat (even the "interlude") and grab some Rare Barrel to drink while you do!

Cheers,

Craft Commander

Jeff Mello - Bootleg Biology

Homebrewing and small scale experimentation is pushing the envelope in brewing.  The lack of a production schedule and a required consistent core line-up allows small scale non-professional brewers and some pro brewers to explore technique, develop styles, and go out and find yeast cultures that most pro brewers don't have the time or ability to play with.  Jeff is one of those homebrewers turned "yeast wizard" that is pushing beer forward.  Culturing wild yeast, working to catalog yeast in every zip code and internationally, and most importantly, reminding brewers to constantly evolve and learn.  He's a steward of the craft and for all the right reasons.  This chat was fun and insightful but most of all, inspirational.  Jeff was a reminder of why craft beer has become such a large part of our lives and why we're excited to see what breweries that make the time and space for exploration in yeast and fermentation are going to come up with next.  If you brew, check out Jeff's site.  Buy the yeast wrangling kit. Buy one his proprietary cultures.  Brew a beer completely unique to yourself.  Contribute to his project and be a part of brewing history.  Most of all, explore the craft - the sky's the limit.

Cheers,

Craft Commander

Jim Crooks - Master Blender Firestone Walker Barrelworks

Barrelworks wasn't a goal of Firestone's ownership and it wasn't necessarily a welcome guest at the brewery either.  The beautiful beers coming out of Buellton today come to us as a result of lots of hard work and a little bit of sneaking around on the part of Jim Crooks, now the master blender of what was almost a scrapped project.  Thankfully his perseverance with the project and constant curiosity about the processes at work inside of his small collection of barrels led to a full time and recognized piece of the Firestone Walker brand.  A piece of the brand that is only getting bigger and better.

Off on their island one hour and one half south of the Paso Robles facility, Barrelworks is exploring the realm of wild beer.  No concerns about infecting any clean beers, no limits or boundaries, and full control over the production of the wildly complex (pun intended) ales leaving the facility on liberation days. With Jim at the helm, the crew is producing some of the most beautifully nuanced and complex beers around.  Beer that give the most curious drinker something to think about while giving the novice craft beer and wild ale drinker a wonderfully balanced introduction to what wild ales should and can smell, taste, and feel like.  Honestly. The beers are beautiful.  The people are awesome.  Jim is no exception.  Listen in on our chat about all things Barrelworks, wild beer, and attempting to produce beers like these at home.

Cheers,

Craft Commander

Bob Sylvester - Founder/Brewer Saint Somewhere Brewing

Before the term "farmhouse ale" became a cool buzz word that people used as a symbol of their arrival in the craft beer scene, Bob Sylvester was delivering some of the best and most complex "Belgian-ish" farmhouse ales in the world.  Small batches, everything done by hand, and everything done with a purpose - Authenticity.  Authentic.  It's the best word to describe Saint Somewhere and Bob alike.  Unapologetic for who he is and what he stands for, the brewery an extension of this sadly, dying character trait. 

Saint Somewhere is a shining star in Florida and a source of inspiration for other breweries around the country.  A great representation of Florida's past, future, and present.

Cheers,

Craft Commander

Jeffers Richardson - Director of Firestone Walker Barrelworks

When you think about breweries who exemplify quality, consistency, complexity, and balance, few meet the standard set by Firestone Walker. From Brewmaster Matt Brynaldson on down, the team is committed to achieving the perfect beer every single time.  While Firestone Walker certainly made a name for itself in Paso Robles and around the world for its clean, straightforward approach to saccharomyces fermented ales (and maybe some of you have heard of Pivo Pils), Barrelworks, about 90 miles South in Buellton is bringing Firestone back to its original location to brew old world wild ales.  That project, which in a few short years has already become a major success, is led by Jeffers Richardson, its Director, who was hand-picked to come back and lead the charge on this new venture.  Along with his team, including master blender Jim Crooks "Sour Jim", Barrelworks is producing some of the most complex and balanced wild ales in the country, if not the world.  

Jeffers was Firestone Walker's first brewmaster, Barrelworks is located in Firestone's original location, and the emphasis for the project is on going back in time to recreate and expand upon old world wild beers - everything is coming full circle.  As the program continues to grow, a coolship and more foeders are in the works.  And guess what?  That merger with Duvel isn't changing things for the brewery, at least not in a bad way.  Duvel brings a like-minded approach to beer and affords the team the ability to continue to grow and serve you more of this incredibly high-quality beer.  So quit the trolling.  Things are looking up.  Barrelworks is leading Firestone in to a new era.  Sit back and enjoy it.

Cheers, 

Craft Commander

Daniel Heisler - Head Brewer Blackberry Farm Brewery

Fresh off the silver medal at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival, Blackberry is only looking forward. Paying respect to the past while pushing the boundaries into the future.  Up to now, a beautiful Belgian inspired saison has been king at Blackberry, with variations available for each season.  The Summer variant being the recent GABF winner.  Inspired by Belgium but ultimately inspired by the brewery's home in the mountains of Tennessee. 

To call the farm beautiful is an understatement.  One look at the green fields tucked in below wooded mountain sides and you're taken away to another time.  A simpler time.  Only, at Blackberry, the farmhouses are home to James Beard award winning restaurants, and now a brewery that produces beers rooted in that simplicity and beauty that make Blackberry such a wonderful place.  Daniel became the head brewer at Blackberry after spending time brewing in Utah and Michigan and brought a wealth of knowledge with him to Tennessee to brew Belgian inspired beers in a brewery custom made to mimic the Belgian breweries the team at Blackberry admires.

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Beer is an experience.  Your surroundings often times influencing your impression of the liquid in the glass.  At Blackberry, the surroundings are a great start to that initial impression.  Fortunately, the beers follow through from start to finish.  Beautiful in the glass - complex yet approachable on your palate - wonderful with food.  We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.  

Cheers,

Craft Commander

Casey Hughes - Brewmaster Coppertail Brewing Co.

Coppertail Brewing is one of the most exciting new breweries in Florida.  With Casey Hughes, the awarded and highly regarded brewer at the helm, they're producing some of the highest quality beers around.  The brewery is a beautiful venue to enjoy your drink and pays homage to the rich industrial history of the Tampa Bay area.  Formerly, part Helman's mayonnaise factory part seville olive factory, the building represents the past and the now future of Tampa Bay.  The industry rich area has now become Florida's premiere location for craft beer.  

Casey has accomplished many things in the industry like winning gold medals at GABF and having his trippel named "best Belgian beer in America" by Men's Journal, but his humility keeps him focused on one thing - the beer.  No egos, just beer.  He's one of the nicest guys you could meet and one of the best brewers in our State.  He's  been in the industry since he was 18 years old and became the head brewer at Flying Fish at the age of 21.  It's in his blood and it shows in the beer hes been producing since Coppertail opened in 2014.  

Watch our conversation to learn more about Casey, Coppertail, and the growing craft beer scene in the Tampa Bay area.  It's even better with a Free Dive IPA in your hand!

Cheers,

Craft Commander