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

Eric Drew - Casa Agria Specialty Ales

A sense of place - terroir.  A phrase brewers around the country are keeping at the forefront of their minds.  Striving to embrace, represent, and showcase that sense of place is driving wild and sour beer producers in their pursuit of being something truly unique.  As Casa Agria became closer to being a reality, the phrase became a mantra.  For Casa Agria, being regional and showcasing terroir doesn't necessarily mean only using local fruit, grain or hops, it's the presentation of who and what has shaped the culture Ventura County. Not limiting themselves to strict style guidelines allows them to continue to shape their beers into just that - a sense of place.

Sit back, relax, grab a beer, and enjoy.  Casa Agria is creating some exciting beer already and it's only the beginning.

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