Welcome back Funk Zonerz!
This episode we sit down with beer and brewery columnist Sean Lewis, who not only writes a weekly column for the Santa Barbara News-Press, but has just released a book on microbreweries in America and the people behind the craft, called "We Make Beer" from St. Martin's Press.
I know that I like beer, but apart from that little else, so the book informed me a lot, as did this hour long chat about the writing of his book and Lewis' many thoughts on the craft, the industry, and his cross-country drive that led to his first book agent and deal. It's a chat that's guaranteed to make you thirsty! Santa Barbara has a lot of exciting breweries, and we talk about them too.
Topics discussed include:
* The end of Pabst Blue Ribbon's trendiness * Sean's move to Boston and its beer history * His evolution from Keystone Lite to better beers * His first attempts at home brewing * Writing for Beer Advocate * The learning curve for writers and for brewers * Firestone Walker using wine barrels to ferment wine * Jeffers Richardson * New Albion Brewery, Jack McAuliffe as the birthplace of microbrewing * Sam Adams, Pete's Wicked Ale, and Anchor Steam * How Sean Lewis pitched his book to publishers * Sean's cross-country trip and remote breweries: Brew Kettle in Cleveland, OH and Nebraska Brewing Co. * Brewmaster Paul Kavulak * Levels of competition in the beer business * Tom Acitelli's "The Audacity of Hops" * Maureen Ogle "Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer" * How Budweiser is actually good in terms of consistency * Why it's impossible to recreate century-old beer * How Sean made his book more marketable * State by state tax laws, and how that affects brewing * Santa Barbara's brewing scene and its growth since 2006 * Kevin Pratt, A.J. Stoll, Paul Rey, James, David, Bucky and Diana Burge * Why Firestone Walker Pale 31 is Sean's favorite * Whether brewers are good business people * Why there aren't tech bros in microbrewery * Why cool labels are a bad sign * Sean's least favorite beer trends * German, British, and Belgian beers * Five breweries across the country you have to try
Sean Lewis' book can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C8X0AR0?btkr=1
His website is here and his Twitter is here