THE INFLUENCERS
CRAFT BEER SUPERFANS
AN INFLUENCER MEETUP Pacific Beer Chat recording live on location
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n our Fall 2017 issue, What's Brewing shone a spotlight on a few newcomers to the world of 'craft beer media.' Three years later, getting the word out about supporting independent BC craft beer seems more important than ever. So, once again we celebrate the contributions of of BC's volunteer beer advocates. We've selected a sextet who became craft beer influencers during the 2010s, and asked them what they think of their personal craft beer fandom in 2020. Here are some of their abridged takes in virtual meetup format. Keep your eyes on our website for individual spotlights!
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A CRAFT BEER BOOSTER? Mike G: Mike’s Craft Beer was founded June, 2012. Pacific Beer Chat's first podcast was March 2015. Mike A: Telling the good word since February 2014. Carnell: I've been going since late 2014! Matt: I started around mid-2016, mostly on the education side. Alana: First D + A Instagram post: May 2017. Malcolm: I also became an official beer booster in May 2017. But I've been boostin' bottles of craft since the early aughts, amigo.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO CRAFT BEER? WAS THERE A 'GATEWAY BEER'?
I had a hollow leg that I filled most nights with Kootenay & Bud. Malnourished and neglected, the leg began to atrophy. Thankfully a good doctor prescribed me modest doses of BC's finest beers, and now the damned thing's bionic. Growing up in Campbell River, BC, I may have been surrounded by Lucky, Canadian, and Blue drinkers, but I would always look for smaller, more independent beer options, like Vancouver Island Brewing and occasionally Shaftebury. The original Granville Island Winter Ale was a big eye opener for me. My brothers and I would eagerly await its arrival every year.
WHAT STYLES ARE YOU INTO TODAY? These days, I find myself seeking out a good ESB or Gose. I love a good bock, especially a doppelbock or an Eisbock. There's something about the rich, malty nature of the style that just draws me in.
HOW DID YOU COME TO BLOG ABOUT BEER? My friend Steve Hoffmann was my catalyst into craft beer, basically. When I told him I was starting to share and blog about beer he was jacked to join in. Full story online As for podcasting, I started to search for beer-related podcasts and found Four Brewers Podcast from California. Four guys with a wealth of knowledge of beer but also a funny side. I branched out from there.
Initially, I was much more into wine. In early 2015, the staff at my local West End liquor store urged me to try a new ale they were carrying: Nectarous by Four Winds. It was in a champagne bottle with cork & cage, so this lured the bubbly fanatic in me like a moth to a flame.
I began my foray into reporting on beer in December 2013 with an International Beer Advent Calendar. Most of the beer being sub-par, I posted about it on my personal Facebook page, and people thought it was funny. My wife-to-be, tired of hearing me spout off, said "Why don't you write a blog about it." So I did.
On a trip to Australia I was offered a beer described as "Australia's best". I wondered if it really was the best and spent the rest of the trip seeking out comparisons. When I arrived home I had a similar goal for Canadian beer.
In 2016, I took time off work and immersed myself, passing the first level of the Cicerone Certification Program. I knew I wanted to take the base knowledge and passion I had and expand it, so I dove in with both feet and haven't looked back.
16 WHAT'S BREWING FA L L 2020
