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

Ashley Smith - Brewer Cigar City Brewing

Cigar City Brewing has led the charge for craft brewers in Florida.  Not only leading by example in the brewing process, ensuring quality and consistency from beer to beer, but also in their advocacy of the issues that face the industry in our state.  It's not luck that has allowed their rapid growth and place of importance in the country's brewing culture.  With that, Cigar City has continued to build on their facility, improve their process, and make additions to their team that will bring new perspectives and enhance the quality of the product leaving the brewery.  Ashley is the latest addition to the brewing team.  She brings a west coast perspective to an east coast juggernaut.  She brings an attention to detail and love for brewing to enhance an already meticulous and passionate team. Most of all, she's just awesome. We chatted with Ashley about all things beer, the future at Cigar City, the importance of women in the industry, and "brewpies".  We hope you enjoy.

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

Matt Weintraub & Moh Saade - The Tank Brewing Co.

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I've known these guys for years.  I've had an opportunity to taste through their beers since before The Tank was even a thought.  I've watched them meticulously work through technique and recipe composition, test glassware's effect on their recipes, experiment with pH levels, test temperature's effect on hops, and other things nobody cares to hear about.  My point is, these guys have worked hard on every aspect of their brewing for years - they're ready for this.  After chatting about what's in store, the future looks good for Florida beer.  After tasting what's in store, the future looks even better. 

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I love a brewery that leads with a saison.  "La Finca Miami", which translates to "The Farm Miami" saison is the flagship for the brewery and sets the standard for what you can expect from the rest of their offerings.  Dry, slightly tart, yeast forward, citrus, and a nice foamy head, a beautiful beer from start to finish.  It's also a great representation of what you can expect to find in most, if not all of The Tank's offerings, a clean, dry, crisp finish - achieving complexity and drinkability.  That dryness is their calling card and it allows their flavors to shine.  Flavors achieved through quality ingredients treated with care.  Like other great breweries, a no nonsense and straight forward approach leads to fantastic beers, no matter what the name of the hop used in their IPA is.  Flavor is flavor.  Quality is quality.  That's exactly what they're after. 

We hope you enjoy the chat. 

Cheers,

Craft Commander