The man behind the beer! Saison lover, cheap lager drinker, and general all-around tinkerer, Colin has a knack for telling long stories and never really getting to the point. The answers you'll read below were collated from 17 hours of stream-of-consciousness rambling. He's been building out the brewery for the past few months, so if you ever pop by during the day, he's probably the one you'll run into.
What was the first craft beer you ever had?
I couldn't tell you the exact first one, but the first that really sticks out in my mind is Victory Hopdevil. We had a close family friend who had been a big craft beer guy for years and he poured me a pint at his house one night. I remember it being so aggressive and different from anything I had before that point. I won't say it's a beer I've had a ton since then, but it definitely opened the door to the wide world of hoppy beers.
Your craft beer style of choice?
It's a tight race between saison and Czech pilsner. Saison is really the reason we opened this place. Despite drawing initial attention for my hazy IPAs, I was always drawn to the nebulous framework around saison, along with its farm-based roots. Pale to dark, barely hopped to super bitter, any amount of funk and acidity, it makes for a fun style to brew and a lovely thing to drink. My preference leans toward moderate funk and a good bit of hop presence, so expect to see things along those lines.
How did you get into brewing?
Growing up, I was always curious how things worked and spent a lot of time taking things apart and trying to put them back together. That just continued into adulthood, whether it was building a table, working through a trick with my skateboard buddies, or deconstructing a recipe to figure out what could make a dish better.
When I started getting heavily into the craft beer world, that same mindset just worked it's way in and I had to give beer making a shot. It all clicked for me - it combines the creativity I always loved from skateboarding with the more rigorous, iterative approach that my mind generally follows. Brewing just ticks all the right boxes for me.
What was the first beer you brewed?
I still remember coming into my parents kitchen about a decade ago and finding my brother mixing something strange up on the stove. He explained that it was a pale ale from some extract kit, and I ended up helping him with that beer and I was so intrigued by the process. Once I sunk my teeth in, I really went down the rabbit hole and brewing became this all encompassing new world of information for me.
What's your favorite part of making beer?
As great as it is to get good feedback on a new beer, the best part is after the initial conscious tasting is over, and folks just roll back to the tap for refills, letting the beer hang as this background element while they get to spend time with friends and get into a good conversation. I obsess over every nuance of recipe development and brewing process, but the ideal beer for me doesn't blow your hair back as much as it just quietly helps you along while you enjoy other aspects of your life.