One thing I believe is often overlooked is how diverse our local brewers really are. The mid-Atlantic has a great balance of traditional brewers as well as some that are a bit more experimental. Innovation is great, but striking a balance between different styles of brewers is better. The idea for our next set of interviews was to ask a handful of brewers from unique brewing backgrounds the same set of questions and see how their responses vary and represent their unique experiences and beliefs. For the next six Fridays, we will be presenting a new question with responses from all six of our chosen brewers.
This week’s question: You’ve just been given a free first-class chartered flight to any brewery in the world. Where are you headed?
Favio Garcia of Lost Rhino – Westvleteren
Bill Madden of Mad Fox – Brasserie a Vapeur in Pipaix-Leuze, Belgium to brew a batch with Jean Louis Dits and enjoy some Saison de Pipaix at the source.
Jonathan Reeves of Port City Brewing – I almost did this trip a few years back, but life had other plans. Franconia would be that destination. This northern region of Bavaria has a large number of small breweries and some small maltings. Nearby in Bavaria and Czech are hops. Many different beers brewed from local ingredients.
Ernie Igot of Heavy Seas – Bitburger Brewery in Germany where I trained in 1986.
Matt Brophy of Flying Dog – Westmalle, Belgium
Brian Strumke of Stillwater Artisanal Ales – Orval, of course.
This interview is a part of the six part interview series Six Brewers/Six Questions. Be sure to check out the rest of the series here.
