HeavySeas Beer's Hugh Sisson [5 Questions]
One of the best things about craft beer is that the beer is made and the companies are run by people who care about what they do. Also, many breweries are local or regional companies which means it's made in your area. All of this lends itself to one on my favorite things about the industry: you can actually know the people that brew your beer and run the companies that produce the brew that you love!
With that in mind, we're launching a series of articles where we'll talk with people from throughout the craft brewing industry and ask them a series of five (or sometimes more) questions so that you can get to know these fine people a bit better.
We're happy to introduce our first guest for this series, Hugh Sisson, the founder of HeavySeas Beers. We've long been fans of the brews that Hugh's brewery puts out and have had the pleasure of meeting him at various beer events around Boston. So, with that said, we'll jump right into the interview.
Drink Craft Beer: How did you get into craft beer?
Hugh Sisson: Sort of accidentally. I was in the pub business in 1980 and to differentiate our bar I decided to make it a "beer bar". At that time there were mostly only imports available that were even remotely interesting, but obviously as craft became available we put those beers in the mix as well. We were successful enough with the concept that we decided in 1984 to look into making our own beer - a radical concept at the time as it was illegal in Maryland and there were maybe 4 brewpubs in the country! Did some research and in 1987 put a bill in the Maryland legislature to legalize brew pubs (fulling expecting it to fail!). The bill passed and in 1989 our pub became Maryland's first brew pub and I was the brewer.
I stayed there until 1994 when I left to start Clipper City Brewing Co/Heavy Seas Beer.
DCB: What was the turning point (a beer or moment) that made you love craft beer?
HS: I was always a fan of better beer ever since I had been an undergraduate student studying in London - with English ales being my first benchmark for quality. As craft began to come on the scene obviously my attention began to swing in that direction. My brother lived in San Francisco for a while and brought back some early Anchor Xmas beer - back before it was always the spiced ale. (I am pretty sure that over the years Xmas Ale eventually became the Anchor Liberty Ale.) Anyway, that was something of an eye opener and it was sort of down hill from there.
DCB: You walk into a magical beer shop with every beer currently available. You can put together one six-pack. What do you walk out with? Only one beer can be from your brewery.
HS: From my brewery it would definitely be our Loose Cannon. Other selections - Victory Yakima Gold and Sierra [Nevada] Celebration for starters. Also I'm a big Allagash and Ommegang fan so something from each of those guys. There are so many really good brewers it is REALLY hard to pick just six.
DCB: What would you be doing for a career if you weren't in beer?
HS: I always wanted to be an actor so if the beer thing hadn't worked out I may have given that a shot. However, I am just as happy that I took the path I did. As an actor the romance of poverty can wear pretty thin.
Truthfully I have always felt pretty blessed - I like what I do and have really enjoyed being in small business. I love the creativity and the day to day challenge.
DCB: What do you drink when you're not drinking craft beer (or beer at all)?
HS: I am a pretty big wine buff – have been doing a radio show on wine for years – so that is usually my second beverage choice. Am also a big Bourbon fan.
DCB: Where do you see the craft beer industry going in the next year? And, in that vein, can we get a sneak peak at what new to expect from you in the coming year?
HS: The industry is going to get more crowded and competitive. I also think there will be a lot of changes in ownership (over the next ten years) as folks like me get to the end of their careers and need to develop some sort of exit/succession plan. Craft as a segment – better beer in general – is certainly here to stay. I just hope that as an industry we maintain the edge we enjoy now and don’t become too main stream.
For Heavy Seas we will be focusing on trying to do a better job of everything we do now. We are actually going to reduce a few items so we can make more of others. Also we will be giving even greater focus to our cask ale program.
DCB: Thanks so much for your time, Hugh! Best of luck with Heavy Seas in 2012!
Add a commentJack's Abby Kiwi Rising Double India Pale Lager [Beer Review]
In the flurry of breweries and beer companies that have opened in Massachusetts lately, I feel like I’ve almost overlooked a few. Jack’s Abby out in Framingham, MA is one of those. They haven’t had a high profile launch event in the city and they’ve only recently started putting bottles out onto the market despite have draft lines for what seems like quite a while. With that in mind, when I saw a bottle of their Kiwi Rising, I had to grab it. I had a chance to try another of their hoppy offerings at Bukowski’s Boston recently and it was great, so let’s see if this one lives up to what I’m hoping for!
Jack and crew sure nailed at least the color of this beer; they call it a Double India Pale Lager and it’s definitely pale! Surprisingly, it’s a bit hazy which you don’t see much in lagers. Normally the cold aging period (aka lagering) makes the beer quite clear, but in this case there must be enough hops in it to stay a bit hazy...not a bad thing! And this brew is aesthetically complete with a nice, dense white head on top that falls to a craggy, white cap.
As I was pouring this one I could smell sweet, citrusy hops and that’s still what I smell now. You’ve got to love a beer that smacks you in the face with aroma as soon as the first drop comes out of the bottle! Beyond on the hops you can get a bit of light, bready malt but, despite the 8.5% abv, you don’t get any alcohol. Yep, this smells like a lovingly lagered clean, hoppy beer...I can’t wait to taste it, so I won’t wait!
You might think a beer with this much hop aroma is going to be tongue-numbingly bitter but instead what I find on the first sip is hop flavor that goes right along with that wonderful aroma. Rather than leading, as many big, hoppy beers do, with bitterness this one leads with an almost-sweet, orange citrusy hop burst and a creamy mouthfeel. The bitterness? It’s there...it just hits you at the end on the back of the tongue in the finish.
This is a pretty impressive beer, and Jack’s Abby is definitely doing something different! Like I mentioned, I had a chance to try a sip of another of their hoppy offerings at Bukowski’s Boston a couple weeks ago with a new friend of Drink Craft Beer and it was equally delicious. Now that I’ve found out that a brewery from almost-my-hometown is making delicious beers (and some lagers at that!) I’m really looking forward to more from them. Hey Jack, you guys ever want some visitors? Happy to see another local brewer putting out quality beer. Boston (and I’m counting the Greater Boston area) has always been a great beer city but, in the past year or so, we’ve added a whole bunch of great local brewers too. Look out beer world!
Has The Tradition of Buying Drinks In "Rounds" Been Lost? [Poll]
Earlier this week the owner and brewer of Notch Brewing and craft beer industry veteran, Chris Lohring, asked a question on Twitter that we thought was really interesting and actually retweeted: "Has the tradition of buying drinks in "rounds" been lost?" The ensuing feedback, though, was enough that we wanted to see what more people though, get some official numbers on this and see what comes out of it.
When you go out with a group, there has long been a tradition where each person will buy a "round" for the group and it will continue like this throughout the evening. Or, even less formally than that, often a member of the group will just offer to grab beers for the group, often if he or she is heading up to the bar, which prompts someone else to do so on the next round, etc...This is convenient for everyone as only one person has to make their way through any crowd to the bar, it's only one transaction for each person throughout the night, rather than paying for each beer individually, and the bar loves the ease of it too.
Lately, though, we feel like we've seen a move away from this where a group will each open a different tab or each buy every one of their beers individually. Is this because of the diversity of flavors and cost of beer with the growth of the craft beer market? Is it people not wanting to get stuck with paying more than their fair share? We know when we go out with friends, often we'll alternate rounds. But what do you think? We want to know!
Vote below then let us know which way you went and why on Twitter, on Facebook or in the comments below the poll. Cheers!
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