MankerBeer.com

Photo: DrinkEatTravel.com

I remember my first three beers from California based brewery The Bruery. This was at the beginning of my evolution as a beer writer and beer lover and I remember how they opened a whole new world of beers for me. They were uncommon in the way that they used “unusual” spices and had flavors my rookie palate hadn’t experienced before. As time passed and I had my first taste of the 19.2% ABV imperial stout Black Tuesday, by then the most expensive beer I had ever tried I got to learn that as a Swede The Bruery’s beers were not to be found easily, neither to be taken lightly. This was back in 2009/2010, only 1-2 years after Patrick Rue opened the brewery in Placentia, California. Since then a lot has happened, both for myself and my journey into the land of craft beer but also for The Bruery. In 5 years time they have managed to open up and close a specialty store in Orange County which provided customers with beer, cheese, wine etc, they have earned several awards for their beers and have now grown and reached the peak of where it might be time with further expansion.

Over the last year I have been lucky enough to get to try a representative variety of The Bruery beers as several have been available in Copenhagen while some have been aquired through beer trades or as gifts. The often high ABV beers follow the US craft beer “trend” where the breweries go their own way and thanks to a loyal fan base they dare to experiment with flavors, styles and additions of unsual ingredients. For our MankerBeer Meets-series leading up to Great American Beer Festival we have tried to focus on the most prominent breweries among these and we are now happy to present you with Patrick Rue of The Bruery.

MankerBeer (MB): After attending law school you chose a different path and went all in for another passion, brewing beer. When did you begin brewing at home and when did you realize that brewing was the passion to follow in life?
Patrick Rue (PR): I began homebrewing at the beginning of my first year in law school in 2003. Rachel, my wife, told me I needed a hobby because all I was doing was studying and going to classes, and I had become a boring person. Once I started homebrewing, I immediately became hooked– it dominated most of my time (and I became boring in a different way)! When it came time to choosing what I’d be doing for a career, I didn’t have a mortgage, or kids, or anything to lose, so Rachel and I took a chance and started a brewery. Luckily my family supported the idea and provided the funding.

MB: Was it set from the start that you would focus on Belgian(-‘ish) beers? What had inspired you?
PR: Belgian-style beers have always been among my favorite styles to brew and drink. The wide range of styles, characteristic strong yeast character (high attenuation, fruit driven esters), ability use of spices, fruit, oak barrels, souring bacteria– these are the beers I love to make and they are a lot of fun to drink. Spending some time in Belgium with my wife before starting up The Bruery helped solidify my excitement of Belgian beer and its culture.

MB: In retrospect, have The Bruery become the brewery of your dreams? Would you have done anything differently or are there things you wish to adjust or add in the future?
PR: The Bruery has grown beyond my wildest dreams, about double the size of my initial very optimistic business plan at this point.  At this point, we’ve grown about as large as we can in our brewery, but we don’t have any immediate plans to start a new brewery. With the crazy growth of other craft breweries and the amount of new brewery entrants, I think this is a perfect time to take a breather before taking on any major expansions.

MB: Beer conservatives and non-understanders tend to criticize breweries that brew strong or oddly spiced beers. Compared to drinking heavy, high ABV wine they have a hard time drinking beers above 7-8% ABV. Several of your beers are on the higher %-scale, are people sometimes too narrow in their perception of what a beer can be?
PR: I accept that not everyone is going to enjoy our beers, we’re a niche brewery and by design we know we aren’t going to be everyone’s favorite brewery. We create pretty unique beers that certainly aren’t for everyone. I do think our beers are pretty balanced, even our very high ABV beers. I feel that we’re successful as long as we have a small but loyal following of customers.

MB: The demand for, and interest in US craft beer has seen a crazy increase over the last few years resulting in a demand which seems difficult for many breweries to satisfy. For The Bruery a beer such as Black Tuesday could sell out before even being brewed. How do you handle the demand, trying to satisfy as many as possible but not letting go of the year round or “regular” special beers?
PR: We’ve attempted to deal with our demand with our more time / labor / cost intensive beers by creating several clubs (Preservation Society / Reserve Society / Hoarders Society) where our biggest supporters can have guaranteed access to these beers. We realized a few years ago there is no point in meeting demand with beers like this would consume too much of our efforts. We like brewing new things, not just the same old beers, and our capacity is only what it is.

MB: Is it possible for the US craft beer scene to keep growing? Will it be possible for breweries such as yours to satisfy more than only a few core markets? Do you want to go inter/-national?
PR: It is certainly possible for the US craft beer scene to keep growing– craft beer’s market share by volume in the U.S. is well below 10% (much lower in other parts of the world), and most breweries are in a growth spurt right now. It’s not my priority to satisfy demand– at this point we aren’t looking for permanent tap placements, we like our beers to be at the right places (specialty markets, great restaurants and craft beer bars), and we’re already fairly wide spread, distributing to 22 states and a few countries. Niche breweries tend to need a shallow, wide distribution model, or severely limit production and sell most production on-site and locally. I think we have room for growth, but I don’t see us trying to become a large player in the overall craft beer industry, though certainly we want to be a big player our niche of craft beer. I like being the niche brewery, being able to create what we’d like and be able to find a home for it.

MB: I am constantly amazed with how great friends most brewers seems to be, it’s like one huge family sharing a common dream. What brewers do you admire and/or have inspired you the most?
PR: That’s a tough question, I admire a lot of folks in this industry. Getting started, local brewers Rick Smets (formerly of Left Coast, starting up Stereo Brewing) and Dave Moody (formerly of Back Street, now at Alcatraz Brewing) let me hang out with them and helped me understand how professional brewing is different from homebrewing. Matt Brynildson is someone I admired as a homebrewer and still greatly admire, and had the opportunity to taste through most of the barrels of the Firestone 10th anniversary blend with him (I won it as a Best of Show prize– cool, huh?). This was a great opportunity to understand how their barrel program works, and the amazing things that can happen when the right beers are blended together. Guys like Tomme Arthur and Vinnie Cilurzo were quite helpful in advice on barrel aging and packaging. Steve Wagner and Greg Koch at Stone were amazingly helpful with bouncing off ideas for my business plan, and became our first distributor when other smaller distributors weren’t willing to take a chance on a crazy homebrewer.

MB: Beer blogs, ratebeerians and “beer experts” are growing in numbers, do people tend to be too serious and nerdy about beer nowadays or is it fun too see people sharing the interest in great craftmanship?
PR: I think it’s great that there is such a large following for craft beer, and that people are willing to share their beer experiences with others.  These are educated beer drinkers and some of our biggest supporters. The increase in communication that the web has provided is certainly one of the big factors in craft beers growth, and we follow BeerAdvocate, RateBeer, beer blogs, etc. very closely and try to be a part of these communities as well.

MB: So, GABF. What are you looking forward to with GABF and how important is the festival for breweries and the American beer scene?
PR: I’m looking forward to seeing old friends, and making new ones. GABF is a very large festival, so it’s difficult to stand out or be remembered when the week is over.  Winning medals certainly help with this. The GABF experience for the attendee shows how diverse and alive craft beer is right now, and the love brewers put into their beers. Just reading articles and seeing pictures from the event shows the world how important craft beer has become.

MB: For all GABF-debutants, what should one think about and/or not miss at GABF?
PR: I love trying beers from breweries that I don’t get to try on a regular basis. I try to spend a good amount of time visiting breweries that have just started in the last year and try their lineup, followed by some favorite breweries of mine that don’t have distribution in Southern California (Cigar City, Perennial (who I was introduced to last year), Founders, Bells, the list goes on…). Sam Adams Utopias is always a priority as well, great stuff!

MB: What cool The Bruery brews will be poured at the festival?
PR: We’ll be pouring some pretty fun beers– Chocolate Rain, Oude Tart with Cherries, and Sour in the Rye with Peaches, along with a few others.

We are greatful for stealing some time from Patrick who have been busy travelling Belgium (read all about it on The Bruery blog) and we hope to be able to offer all you MankerBeer readers out there a follow up article on the brewery as we will try to make it there during our post-GABF trip to California. Until then, cheers and keep on rockin’.

If you’re 555, i’m 666
[what’s it like to be a heretic?]

I’m not saying that former homebrewer celebrity Jamil Zainasheff is a fan of Slipknot or even know The Heretic Anthem but he sure as hell has the same carefully careless attitute to things. Jamil, with a background as host of The Brewing Network internet radio show “The Jamil Show” and co-writer and writer of books about beer decided that after homebrewing since 1999 ut was now time to open his own place. Said and done, Heretic Brewing Company opened 2011 in San Fransisco and the well respected site Serious Eats listed the brewery as one of the three up-and-coming Cali’ breweries that you should keep your eyes on. In the same article they give a quote from Jamil which perfectly explains his credo “So what’s their secret? “Do it right or don’t do it,” said Zainasheff, “Dump it if it is wrong.” If that’s heresy, tie me to a stake.” To be honest I had never heard of Heretic Brewing Co. before I read the article in Serious Eats, but while reading up on more about Jamil and the brewery I felt that the aura of caring more about beer appreciating those with a shared passion than to please everybody spoke to me. On their webpage you can follow Jamil and his thought on geekyness, how passionate beer drinkers are shaping the craft beer scene by demanding more of their local breweries (Swedes, time to take action?) and how it really is to work at a brewery – great reads which I recommend you to read through.

Well, that was Jamil in my words, time to let Jamil give you his own.

MankerBeer (MB): The first time I heard about you and Heretic Brewing was in an article highlighting the three most interesting new breweries in California. Jamil, who are you and what did you do before deciding to start up your brewery?
Jamil Zainasheff (JZ): I’m just another person that has made craft beer my life. It all started when my wife gave me a Mr Beer kit for Christmas of 1999. From that start I turned brewing into a full time passion. Now it is a full time career. Before this I was managing software development for some well know software companies.

MB: You must feel liberated to be able to do whatever you feel like, pushing the perception of what a beer can taste and be. How will this translate into the beers that will be brewed and for the future of the brewery?
JZ: It is nice to be the one that writes the checks. Even if everyone thinks you’re about to do something stupid, you are still free to do it. I’m not sure what will happen going forward. When it comes to technology, the theory goes that amazing new inventions in the future are always unpredictable. If it is something we could predict, then it wouldn’t be so amazing. I think the same holds true for beer. We see what might happen in the next six months or maybe a year, but five years from now is a true mystery. For now I am content to play around with barrel aged sours while the rest of the crew keeps our mainstream products bubbling along.

MB: Are there any lessons learned that you would like to share with all the young home brewers who dream of one day opening up their own brewery? What obstacles have you yourself experienced so far?
JZ: People ask all the time if they should go to school before opening a brewery. Yes, business school. It wouldn’t hurt to get some sales and marketing experience as well. Getting enough money can be tough. Brewing beer, that is the easy part.

MB: Looking at the list of beers on your homepage I find all kinds of beer styles, rather than going for a west coast, Belgian or any other style of beers. Are there any beer styles or breweries that you prefer or admire and which have inspired Heretic?
JZ: Russian River is probably my north star, the one that inspires me the most. But there are so many great breweries and great beers out there that I get inspired every time I stop by some place new. I think in the end, I just want to make great beer. Sometimes people try to be too interesting and unusual, at the cost of having a nice drinkable pint. I don’t really care about brewing specific styles, but rather different beers that are creative and highly drinkable.

MB: The Craft Beer segment gains new market shares every month, but it is still a long way up to the fizzy yellow water drinking segment – what is required for craft beer to take that next big step and establish itself as the normal instead of something “premium and fancy”.
JZ: I think many of the new breweries are starting out with quality beer. And when new consumers come across them they have a great experience. That is going to keep building momentum for the industry, as new people come to craft beer and find it exceptional. Exceptional will become the standard, the expected.

MB: Who is the contemporary average craft beer drinker? Do beer drinkers appreciate great craftsmanship or are trends and nerdiness affecting what people drink and think?
JZ: It is the Millennial generation that is driving the rapid expansion of craft beer. Some certainly will jump on and off seeing it as trendy, but I believe that generation of people is honestly about quality of life and experience. Making the most of the time we have. Drinking craft beer is just such a rich experience. It is a rich experience not just of flavor, but a rich social experience. It is a great way to enjoy life and those around you. Seems like a great way to live life, not just a trendy one.

MB: In a February article in Beer Pulse you said that the distribution plan was to start filling up Cali, then possibly to open Washington and Oregon, maybe later on Colorado. Now half a year later, how well does it fit reality, have the local thirst for Heretic brews been higher than expected?
JZ: That plan is still on track, although expanding to other states is taking a little longer than anticipated as we keep expanding production to handle our local markets first.

MB: What are you looking forward to with GABF and how important is the festival for breweries and the American beer scene?
JZ: There is really only one thing I look forward to at any beer festival and that is people. Meeting up with old friends and making new friends that are as passionate about craft beer as I am. For me, that is the greatest part and the one that I keep returning for each year. I think as an event, GABF has taken on a status that has become legend in the beer world.

MB: Are there anything all GABF-debutants reallly shouldn’t miss and/or think about at GABF?
JZ: Try to mix with other people. If you find yourself standing around on your own, or even with a group of friends, make a point of talking to a stranger. I can guarantee you, they are a beer lover too. Smile, say hello and comment on some beer you liked or didn’t like. If you do that a few times, you’ll find yourself with a group of new friends pretty quickly. Some people come back to GABF every year to meet up with dear friends that they made there at GABF.

MB: For my second to last question I’ll bring back an old favorite – what would you rather do, happily down a sixer of Coors or listen to Justin Bieber for a full hour?
JZ: I think Coors and others, like Budweiser for example, are well made beers. Nothing wrong with them, but they are more of an alcohol delivery system than they are a full flavored experience of life. Regardless, I probably wouldn’t drink a sixer of anything in one sitting, unless it is a good session beer. So give me the Biebs. I am really good about being able to ignore what is going on around me when I need to.

MB: What cool Heretic brews will be poured at the festival?
JZ: We will have our core brands. Evil Twin, Evil Cousin, Gramarye, and Shallow Grave. We will be introducing some new beer as well, such as an Imperial Stout. Possibly some new barrel aged beers. And maybe, just maybe, we will have one keg of Miscreant, our barrel aged sour. Two years in the making, 16 months of that in Cabernet barrels, it is a thing of beauty right now. We’ve been releasing it a little here and there over the last 6 months. I tasted it yesterday, and now I consider it a perfect, flawless beer. I am extremely proud of that effort. Too bad it will take another 2 years to make more.

Thank you Jamil. I hope all you readers appreciated this as much as we did, and we hope to give you a special from the brewery later this year!

Damian and Jesse

In this, the second interview from our pre-Great American Beer Festival we move from Ryan Sentz, Funky Buddha and the east coast to the west coast and San Fransisco.

The conflicting opinions and the discussion of what is a brewery and who really is a brewer circulated frequently in Sweden and the Nordic countries some years ago when the term gypsy/ghost/phantom brewer popped up. While several of the Nordic and European brewers who lacked their own brewery went to the states to brew beer it has been more infrequent to see US craft gypsy breweries. Fittingly for us and for our pre-GABF interview series we contacted Jesse Friedman who partnered up with Damian Fagan to found Almanac Beer Company. The attentive eye probably spot that they use the word Beer and not Brewery. Since 2010 the San Fransisco based team collaborate with local farmers to find the best ingredients and then brew most of their beers at Hermitage Brewing Company a few miles south in San Jose. Thus they are gypsy breweries, and happy to be. Their artisan ales with a local touch and seasonal flavors have received great feedback from the beer community and they quickly made themself a name on the beer scene. For us at MankerBeer they were among the first we were eager to talk beer, GABF and US craft beer with, so I am very happy to present Jesse Friedman.

MankerBeer (MB): Almanac Beer Company premiered in 2010, before that both you and Damian were home brewers. What led the two of you to decide it was time to start this project, and what is Almanac Beer Co.?
Jesse Friedman (JF): We met through a local homebrew club. We were both brewing beers using local farmer’s market produce in homebrew experiments. Looking at the local beer scene, it seemed like there was a unmet demand for beers brewed with the same inspiration as the local food culture: using the local farms as inspiration to create beers infused with a sense of Northern California. And Almanac was born!

MB: From where came the inspiration to go all in with the artisanal farmhouse style? Any specific brewery or brewer?
JF: We’ve both beer nerds at heart, so we take inspiration from all sorts of beers. The classic sours and lambics of Belgium are both a huge passion for us. But we also love the local hop drenched beers from Sierra Nevada and Russian River.

MB: It is not as common with gypsy brewers in the US as it seems to be here in Europe, what considerations have been made in the choice of breweries to work with?
JF: It’s all about finding the right partnership. Your host brewery has to want to be in the business. We brew most of our beer at Hermitage in San Jose, that has become and integral partner for us. They’ve grown with us, and let us really stretch as a brewery.

MB: Do you have any intention to open up your own brewery? If not, how will that affect the possibility to expand and increase the production?
JF: We’re open to lots of different growth paths, but also think if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. We’re very happy brewing where we are now. But we’ve also got some more plans up our sleeves for next year.

MB: I love the way you collaborate with local farms and how it gives an extra sense of understanding and history to the ingredients that goes into the beer, how do you find these farms?
JF: At the farmer’s market of course. Turns out that farmer’s love beer as much as local chefs do, and are usually thrilled to work with us. Especially since we always bring back beer for them to share at the farm.

MB: When not drinking your own brews, what other breweries or beers do you prefer?
JF: There is so much great beer to be had in the SF bay area right now. Current favorites include: Sante Adarius, Ale Industries, Headlands Brewing, Heretic, Hen House and of course, Russian River.

MB: When coming up with the idea for a new beer, what steps are taking in considering the style, selecting a partner farm, possible barrelling etc?
JF: Delicious is the only yardstick that matters. We subscribe (especially with our barrel program) to the belief that if you but great ingredients in, you’ll get great beer back. We look for inspiration in food, beer, farms and farmer’s market. No idea is too out there to at least try as a homebrew batch (though lots of ideas get rejected there.)

MB: It is more common to see US breweries focus on farmhouse beers today than a couple of years ago, is it due to a more mature market and beer scene or the brewers, maybe something completely different?
JF: Perhaps. As craft beer grows it makes more and more room for new styles to find an audience. IPA is still king around these parts, but everyone is always willing to try something new. It’s part of what we love so much about craft beer culture is an openness to new (and old!) flavors.

MB: Where in San Fransisco should one go to enjoy some Almanac brews together with some great food?
JF: We’re extremely proud of our restaurant list. Try us at Bar Tartine, Locanda, Contigo, Flour & Water, State Bird Provisions, Foreign Cinema or bring in some takeout to Toronado.

MB: What are you looking forward to with GABF and how important is the festival for breweries and the American beer scene?
JF: We are STOKED to be pouring. It was only a few years ago we were attending as beer fans, and now we get the chance to step around to the other side of the table and share our brews with likeminded beer lovers. Its exciting, overwhelming and humbling to be served alongside such amazing breweries. Plus, I can’t wait to try new beers from breweries i’ve never heard of from across the country.

MB: Are there anything all GABF-debutants reallly shouldn’t miss and/or think about at GABF?
JF: Try something new! Talk to the brewers, drink LOTS of water, and don’t engage in the yelling at dropped glasses shenanigans.

MB: What cool Almanac brews will be poured at the festival?
JF: We’re very excited to pour a 100% barrel aged lineup. On Tap:

Farmer’s Reserve No 3 – Wine Barrel aged Sour with Strawberries and Nectarines
Farmer’s Reserve No 4 – Wine barrel aged Sour with Buddha’s Hand, Meyer Lemons, Cara Cara Oranges
Barrel Noir – 50% Bourbon Barrel aged Dark Ale, 50% American Stout
Heirloom Pumpkin Barleywine – Aged in Brandy Barrels
Dogpatch Sour – Flanders Red ale brewed with cherries

We give our gratitude to Jesse for answering our questions, the Almanac stand will without doubt be one of the first for MankerBeer to visit. If you want to know more about what they are up to you should follow their brewery blog or Jesse’s own blog Beer & Nosh.

The time has come, the time is now. Right here and right now we present our first MankerBeer Meets-interview for Great American Beer Festival 2013. The MankerBeer Meets-series has been around for a while with portraits of brewers attending Stockholm Beer and Whisky Festival 2011 and 2012, Copenhagen Beer Celebration and much more. All you long-time MankerBeer’ians  will recognize the format, a short introduction to the brewer and brewery followed by a Q&A.

First out in our Pre-GABF series is Ryan Sentz. Ryan started Funky Buddha Lounge in Boca Raton, Florida which along with his passion for beer some years later got the addition of & Brewery. The popular brewpub had its grand opening in September 2011 and has since then received lots of attention in a state otherwise rather scarcely populated with craft beer breweries and their high rated beers have been sought after on most online beer trading forums. At the end of 2012 the first showels touched the ground for the new brewery in Oakland Park which now let Funky Buddha distribute outside of Boca Raton. So far I have only tried two Funky Buddha brews, a special pineapple version of their famouse Hop Gun IPA and their signature sweet stout Maple Bacon Coffee Porter, both evidence that Ryan and his team of brewers have a bright future. All beer lovers at GABF will be able to sample the porter as well as some other great beers which Ryan presents at the end of the interview.

Time to stop talking and start the interview. Here’s Ryan.

MankerBeer (MB): The instant success of Funky Buddha have presented the brewery for many American beer lovers, for those who haven’t – what is Funky Buddha Brewery?
Ryan Sentz (RS): We are a 30bbl production brewery located in Oakland Park, Florida. We are heavily culinary influenced and love experimenting with new flavors and styles. However as proud and excited as we are to do something like No Crusts PB&J Brown Ale, we are equally proud to make tradional styles like our Floridian Heffe or Hop Gun IPA. That is my canned answer. The real one is that we are a couple of beer geeks that got really lucky to “work” every day in something we are so passionate about.

MB: It didn’t take that many years until the demand outgrew the production capacity of the old Lounge location and the new brewery opened in May. Will it be easier now to handle the demand for FB beers or do you think you need to expand again
RS: We had such a tiny system when we first started, that it was really impossible to meet any demand. The fact that we got any attention blew our minds. It will definitely be easier with the new system but we hope to continue to grow. I think you see it with most breweries now that they can’t seem to brew enough beer. We’ve built in some growing room at the new facility, so we should be constantly adding new tanks for the near future.

MB: What are the production goals of 2013/2014, will it be possible to go national or international or is the focus on the regional market?
RS: I think our main goal is to produce good beer. I don’t like the idea of getting tied to numbers because that could lead to cutting corners or making sacrifices on quality. It is humbling and incredibly exciting to even to be asked about the possibility of going national, let alone international. I’m having a hard time getting my head wrapped around that! Our first goal will be to satisfy the local market, then hopefully grow outside.

MB: Will it be possible to buy bottled Funky Buddha beers?
RS: We are currently looking into a bottling line that again we can grow into. We have a small 4 head filler that will allow us to do small releases, but I’d like to be working the larger line early next year.

MB: The Florida beer scene has given bloom to several of the most sought after breweries right now (Cigar City, Johnathan Wakefield, Peg’s Cantina/Cycle Brewing etc) – why is it all happening now?
RS: Good question. Easiest answer would be breweries like CCB and St. Somewhere helped to put Florida on the map for beer lovers. I think people started paying more attention to us. You probably have 4 or 5 hot breweries in just about every state, but we have been so starved for so long that the locals are really supporting us strongly.

MB: Funky Buddha experiment a lot with flavors and beer styles and are not afraid to use spices or fruits with all kinds of beer styles – how do you come up with all these sometimes crazy ideas?
RS: I grew up with parents that liked to cook and did it well. I treated brewing the same way. We are so lucky in brewing to be able to incorporate so many cool ingredients. Most of my ideas are just quick thoughts that I end up trying to work out. Some do and some don’t. Our bonita applebum was created when I had a piece of apple pie chewing gum. I thought, hmmmm, I could make this into a beer.

MB: Berliner weisses seems to be an appreciated beer style, brewed by more and more breweries – why do you think it is gaining popularity?
RS: I think sour beers in general have gained a ton of popularity in recent years. Berliners are kind of like that gateway style into sour beers without being too over the top. I love them, especially in sweltering South Florida.

MB: What other beer styles or trends do you think we will see over the next year?
RS: I see sessionable beers making a huge resurgence. My favorite style is probably an Imperial Stout, but sometimes you just want one type of beer you can drink 4 or 12 of.

MB: So, GABF. What are you looking forward to with GABF and how important is the festival for breweries and the American beer scene?
RS: Last year was my first time at GABF so I was just taking it all in. It really is a well run festival, especially considering how many thousands of people attend. I enjoy catching up with a lot of brewery friends that I don’t see very often. Denver and the surrounding areas has such an amazing beer scene. The festival gives us a chance to gain exposure to thousands who might have never heard of us.

MB: For all GABF-debutants, what should one think about and/or not miss at GABF?
RS: Make a plan but don’t expect to stick to it. Unless you are going to every session, I think it be impossible to hit every brewery. That and I think you would get liquor poisoning first. Also, I would check out what events the local breweries are hosting. They know all of us beer geeks are flying from around the world to be there, so they are breaking out their big guns!

MB: Could we get an idea of what cool Funky Buddha brews will be poured at GABF?
RS: As for us, we will be pouring (hopefully!) Maple Bacon Coffee Porter, No Crusts, Floridian, Last Snow & Passionfruit Berlier.

Thanks Ryan for answering our questions. Beer lovers, if you miss out on Funky Buddha beers at GABF it’s your loss and not something we can recommend. Seek them out ant sample some Florida goodness! Meanwhile follow Funky Buddha on Facebook or check out their website!

I just found that I missed this pre-Copenhagen Beer Celebration interview with Mike Stevens, co-founders of Founders Brewing Company. The great brewery behind personal favorites such as Breakfast Stout, Imperial Stout and Nemesis (among many others). Since I got into the luring world of craft beer Founders have been of my favorite breweries and among all the breweries I have gotten to know they have been among the top when it comes to deliver high quality beer – beer after beer.

Their Breakfast Stout, with its scary (at least according to Swedish liquor monopoly Systembolaget) label with a child eating his oatmeal for breakfast was released at Systembolaget but quickly removed. Apart from that and the Pale Ale we have not been to spoiled with their beers, at least not at Systembolaget. Quite sad as several of them would be given in any beer drinker’s beer cabinet. Together with Left Hands old Imperial Stout I rank Founders Imperial Stout as one of the better among the “clean” imperial stouts which have no need for vanilla, oak aging or 17% ABV strenghts. It’s simple and clean and a great beer. The same goes for their moderately hoppy Harvest Ale which M2 and I enjoyed in the New York streets, brown paper bag style – living the thug life..

Anyway, the interview.. I edited our interview and removed some of the parts focused on CBC which might not be that much of interest at the moment..

MankerBeer (MB): Founders,  founded in 1997 has grown to one of the more prominent and respected breweries on the US beer scene – how did you decide it was the right thing to do to start your own brewery?
Mike Stevens (MS): We were home brewers, we cared more about making beer and less about running a business. It was this approach that helped us stay focused on our dream, and to not give in.

MB: Both you and co-founder Dave Engbers were home brewers before starting the brewery, but did you have any practical experience of brewing in larger volumes? What was even the production capacity the first couple of years?
MS: Neither one of us had experience brewing on a commercial system, but knowing how to brew is a lot easier to overcome than knowing what to brew. This is what Dave and I did best.

MB: How have the brewery’s trip been so far, what have been most difficult?
MS: It’s been a long hard road, but very rewarding. 18 years ago we wrote a business plan, we hoped to make beer for a living and keep our brewery alive. By no means were we an overnight success, in fact quite the opposite. We lost money for 10 years straight. Cash was perhaps one of our largest obstacles to overcome. We simply never had enough. We managed to stay focused to our commitment of making great beer even through these difficult years. Ultimately we beat our cash flow blues, after a decade of battles. This history gives our brand legitimacy. Founds is a brand truly created on the foundation of a non compromising approach to quality & exploration.

MB: What suggestion do you have for all the passionate home brewers out there who dream of one day being able to open their own brewery?
MS: Dont just make an IPA. Create something new. You have to turn left, when others are turning right.

MB: Among all the beers Founders have brewed, which one is your favorite and do you have one you have not really been satisfied with and wanted to adjust?
MS: Dave and I have always said picking one favorite is like picking your favorite child. You love them all equally for different reasons. I can fo for over hopped IPA’s to super heavy malt bombs simply depends on the situation. Right now on the hoppy side I’m really hooked on our All Day IPA, on the malt side Backwoods Bastard.

MB: This year you broke into the top 30 largest craft breweries in the US, how have your perception on what you have created and wish to lead changed along the growth of the brewery?
MS: As strange as it might seem, things remain the same. The place is a bit larger, and the staff continues to grow. But what we do, day in and day out, has not changed. Our recipes, processes and brewing methods remain unchanged. We focus on beer, and making some of the best in the United States… Its all we care about.

MB: There has been a lot of debate in the US about the topic of craft vs crafty – what is your view on the whole thing? Does it even matter?
MS: Beer should be authentic, and brewers should be passionate. Motivations such as profits should not drive your brewery. So long as the ownership truly lives by this, I don’t have a problem. Now that being said, I don’t believe the “crafty” crowd you are referring to is developing theirs beers for any other reason than profit. From the “authentic” side, I believe breweries should be honest about who is making their beers – it shows authenticity and pride.

MB: Some of the world’s top brewers are at the celebration, how important are events like this which offer a chance to network? Any specific brewer/-ies you are extra keen on trying or meeting?
MS: We respect our fellow American craft brewers and have been for years. Most of this adventure for us will be having the opportunity to sample what Denmark and other international brewers are doing.

Thank you Mike, and for all those who attended CBC 2013, I hope you did not miss Founders booth! Beers such as Bolt Cutter, Backwoods Bastard and All Day IPA were fantastic! I really hope that Swedish importer Brill & Co will push more and more Founders onto the market as they deliver pure class.

Photo: flickr.com/photos/chrys/

Tomorrow we head for Copenhagen to stroll around until Friday and the start of Copenhagen Beer Celebration. Before we properly can start celebrating we have to complete our interview series, so here is one of the two last interviews – this time with Edward Westbrook, the young and ambitious home brewer how decided he wanted to start his own brewery and who then made sure it was built from scratch. Last year they celebrated their 1 year anniversary and this second year in the business have started off well. For being such a young brewery it’s amazing to be able to find beers such as their White Thai (love it with food) and IPA all the way across the water pool and over here in Sweden. So, fellows, time to get your CBC groove on, meanwhile – here is Edward!

MankerBeer (MB): Being relatively young and with little experience of commercial brewing you decided to build and open your own brewery, Westbrook Brewing Company – tell us about yourself and how you ended up building your own brewery.
Edward Westbrook (EW): I started homebrewing in college back in 2006, continued all through graduate school. After that I decided that I wanted to open my own commercial brewery, so I somehow (still not really sure how!) convinced my family that I wouldn’t lose all their money if they invested in me. That was in 2009, then we started planning the construction and everything and finally opened in late 2010.

MB: You attended last year’s Copenhagen Beer Celebration and quickly became one of the breweries on everyone’s lips with a mixture of rather uncommon classic beer styles and high class hoppy beers as well as one of my favorites Mexican Cake. What is the process when coming up with the idea of a new beer; is it driven by your own preferences at the time or any personal brewing philosophy?
EW: Mostly it’s what we want to drink! Our favorite beers are really fresh hoppy pale ales, sours, saisons, and of course weird barrel-aged stuff, so that’s pretty much what we brew! Some beers like the White Thai and Mexican Cake are based on flavor combinations found in our favorite foods.

MB: The brewery opened just a few years ago – how has the experience been so far and what are the goals for the future?
EW: It’s been awesome! Our goals are to expand a little bit (but not get too big) and keep brewing really cool stuff.

MB: Back in November I read that ‘Westbrook’ were to be distributed in Georgia and in Denmark we can find the IPA and White Thai (both available in Sweden) as well as some of the rotating beers such as Vanilla Tree Dubbel and Dark Helmet. In relation to the brewing capacity, how much is exported and what room is there for new markets?
EW: Last year I think about only 3% of our production was exported. Last summer we doubled our cellar capacity which really gave us a lot of room, and right now we are distributed in SC, Alabama, Georgia, and NYC, in addition to Europe

MB: CBC is not only for the beer drinkers but also a meeting platform for the brewers – what were the peaks of being here last year?
EW: Meeting and talking with the other brewers, and of course getting to experience the Danish craft beer culture! It was surprising to me how many of the beer fans at the festival already knew about us.

MB: You have already made collaborations with Danish/American Evil Twin, Brian Stillwater and Charleston Beer Exchange but if you could choose any collaborator and beer to brew – what would they be?
EW: Tough one, I don’t really seek out breweries/people to collaborate with purposely, but if somebody has a good idea and they want to do something I’m all for it!

MB: South Carolina is neither that big, nor populated with tons of breweries – what is the beer scene like in South Carolina?
EW: It’s growing really fast, but still a long way to go! Until 2007 there were only around 3 breweries in the whole state, now we have somewhere around 12, with 4 or 5 also planning to open soon. Unfortunately the laws in SC are really bad for breweries, for example we can’t even serve pints to our customers that come here – it has to be in tiny little 4 oz glasses!

MB: What advice would you offer everyone who are dreaming of opening up their own brewery?
EW: Make sure you have a lot of money to spend and that your beer is really really good. If it can’t stand up against the best beers already out there, you’re going to have trouble!

MB: What should beer fans at Copenhagen Beer Celebration really not miss?
EW: Besides the beers, they should definitely try and talk to the brewers as much as possible. A lot of us are traveling a long way to be there and we want to hear from the fans!

Thank you Edward, now lets check out what he is bringing to Copenhagen!

Westbrook CBC Beer List:

• 2nd Anniversary Cap’n Skoon’s Ballistic Stout
• Brandy Old Time
• Grumpy Old Time
• Funky Old Time
• Bearded Farmer: Thomas
• Comrade Appleseed Apple Brandy BA Imperia l Stout
• Shane’s Big DIPA
• Bourbon BA Quad
• Mexican Cake 1st Anniversary Imperial Stout