Greg Koch is the “it” advocate for better beer.
As the frontman for his own Escondido, CA-based big beer brewery, Stone Brewing Co., as well as a leader of the country’s “craft beer revolution,” it’s a thrill to encounter the energized brewer in the flesh, especially now that he flaunts his artfully unkempt facial fuzz.
But before we get knee deep into why brewers with beards are higher up on the nerd-cool, beer geekery scale, it’s time to rewind.
We recently caught up with Greg when he was kicking it on the East Coast, during his appearance at the Third Annual Forum of the Gods – one of the signature events of 2012’s Philly Beer Week. Perched in front of the mass crowd, it was as if he was doing stand-up, successfully stirring up chuckles while all eyes were on him.
This was expected though from Koch, since his big beer brewery lives by a comical, one-word philosophy: arrogance. But, his haunty habits aside, the Third Annual Forum of the Gods was not all about Greg, he was just an attractive perk. The forum touted an impressive lineup of notable brewers from throughout the nation’s brewing industry – including two that are incredibly active in the Greater Philadelphia region.
The mid-week round-table featured a role call of Colby Chandler of San Diego’s Ballast Point; Mark Edelson of Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant; Rosemarie Certo of Philadelphia’s Dock Street; Paul Kavulak of Nebraska Brewing Company; and of course, Greg Koch of Stone Brewing Company.
As the “gods” were lined up, side-by-side, in front of a packed house at Old City’s Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant, it was a clear indication of how much Americans have come to crave artisanal alternatives to Miller and Budweiser, and most importantly, how the craft beer industry is alive and well – and constantly expanding!
As moderated by Don Russell, better known as Joe Sixpack, the forum began with each brewer addressing their first encounter with craft beer and also sharing juicy details of where the idea of creating their own brewery sprouted. While Greg suggested that he is “fighting for the American right for good beer” and is “pissed off that the yellow nonsense is known as ‘beer,’” he credited his aggressive, confident philosophy to a Metallica quote, which stated that “they didn’t go to number one, number one came to them.”
For Dock Street’s Certo, her mission was to elevate the status of beer in the U.S. Back when she started, in 1985, she, a philosophy major and her former partner, an artist, had no clue how to run a beer business. But with an honest passion for small-batch, independent beer, she successfully waded her way through it. In fact, her featured comrades, including Mr. Stone Brewing & Iron Hill’s Mark, had even made it a point to “tip their hats to Dock Street” during the forum, with Greg praising her for the Johnny Berliner, which he says is much better than any Berliner you can snag in Berlin (oh, and I agree!).
Being unacquainted with Nebraska Brewing Company, it was thoroughly entertaining to hear Paul chit-chat about the stereotypical landscape of his suburban Omaha-based brewing ground – a location where it is in fact true that everyone (well, a majority of locals) drives a pick up truck. He went on to reveal that it has been an exciting venture for him to welcome a craft beer destination to his local landscape – one known for being a sea of macro beer bars.
“People are consuming my hoppy beers and liking it – damn it,” he said with a laugh.
Paul’s Black Betty, an Imperial Stout that comes in at 9.3 % ABV, was the hottest pour of the forum, a beer that was granted to attendees at only one per person. The full bodied and creamy Black Betty is part of NBC’s barrel-aged Reserve Series, which received gold medal status at the World Beer Championships back in 2010.
Another memorable beer of the forum came courtesy of Ballast Point’s Colby Chandler, who arrived slinging his interesting Indra Kunindra for all the adventurous stout lovers in the house. The complex, spicy India-style Export Stout was concocted with Madras Curry and lime leaf – and, it didn’t just stop there. It was then finished with additives of coconut, cayenne and cumin.
Mark Elderson, Director of Brewing at Iron Hill and co-founder, boasted about one of Philly Beer Week’s signature beers during the event – and, appropriately so, since it was one of the most highly-regarded beers of 2012’s beer week.The beer, Dupont Speciale Belge, was a collaborative effort with Iron Hill Maple Shade’s head brewer Chris LaPierre and Belgium’s Brasserie DuPont. As the first collaboration with Dupont in their 166 years of existence, it was a huge honor for LaPierre and Iron Hill, with Chris journeying over to Belgium late Feb. 2012 to take part in the brewing processes. LaPierre, also in attendance at the forum, was chosen back in fall 2011 to be the local pro to participate in the collaborative brewing session. The resulting product? A refreshing amber laced with slight smoke, one that received a hearty “bravo” by many.
Of course, in any round-talk discussion, there’s always a question or two that gets the audience buzzing – and that wasn’t just because we were scoring multiple pours per participating breweries. But when the question dropped about what the brewers thought about brewing beer with marijuana – that is, if it was legal, the room couldn’t sit still.
As expected, Greg squealed, begging the question doesn’t “having a beer and smoking a blunt” go hand-in-hand. Mark, on the other hand, light-heartedly opted out of the question with a quick, “no comment.”
Rosemarie, who will forever be my favorite female in the beer industry, profoundly shared that those in the craft brewing industry are “non-mainstream thinkers,” which, with such a question could be translated to mean that many brewers will try brewing anything once.
With the forum concluding at a fresh 5 pm, and the night still young, attendees scurried off to their next brew-infused session, not skipping a beer-drinking beat through Philly Beer Week. Before we bid farewell though, we finished off our sampling session with a few more well-balanced pours, which you should snag if you spy them on tap, or in bottle, in the near future:
- Dock Street’s Justin Mustache: a Helles that pours white gold and packs a bready bite with hints of smoke.
- Iron Hill’s Sweet Leaf IPA: Plenty of citrus character cruises through this American-style IPA, which packs a hefty hopped punch.
- Stone Brewing’s Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers: The smoke and spice are subtle in this American Porter, making it an ideal candidate for a food pairing pour. Up for grabs at only a 5.9% ABV.
- Ballast Point’s Abandon Ship: Smoked beers were on the brain at this forum, and this smoked lager is a nice variation to the hearty smoked porters. Light smoke lingers to the finish, would act as an ultimate BBQ’ing beer.
- Nebraska’s Hop God: An addictive, golden crossbreed of a Belgian Tripel and a West Coast IPA, with a firm tropical fruit notes and sweet bitters. Comes in at a steep 9% ABV.
