Greetings from sunny (and hot and humid) St. Petersburg, Florida!
Thanks for letting me participate in this!
Name: Sean
Nordquist
Hometown:
Currently, St. Petersburg Florida. Originally from Los Angeles, California.
Favorite Beer:
The one in front of me. There are soooo many to choose from that I simply
can't pick one. I tend to prefer hoppy IPAs and Imperial Stouts, but I am
all over the map.
Favorite Beer Haunt:
By default I have to pick the Ale and the Witch in Downtown St. Pete because it
has a consistently awesome tap list and is so close to home. But
honorable mentions have to go out to Willard's Tap House in Largo, the Cajun
Cafe on the Bayou in Pinellas Park, the Tampa Bay Brewing Company in Ybor, and
of course, the Cigar City Brewing Tasting Room. All are excellent places
to hang out and drink excellent beer and talk to great people.
What was the first
craft brew you ever tried? What did you think? That was a loooong
time ago. Hard to say which was FIRST. I lived in Sonoma County
in the early 1990s, and had access to a lot of great beers. The ones I
remember the most were Sierra Nevada and
Anchor, Pete's Wicked Ale, and Rogue Ales. I remember falling in love
with Rogue brewing after trying their Shakespeare Stout. Probably the
beer that made the biggest impact on me, though, was Stone Brewing's Arrogant
Bastard in 1997. I think that opened up a while new world to me.
Do You
Homebrew? If yes, favorite homebrew to date: Yes, I have been a
homebrewer (off and on) for over a decade. I would say my best brew was
probably my Imperial Stout called Dark Days of Spring. It came out really
well, and has aged very nicely. One of my early attempts - Wailing
Banshee Porter - was pretty damn good, too. I am very excited to try my latest
batch, Arrogant PandaWolf, an American Strong Ale.
How'd you hear about the pdxbeergeeks? Well, I was
already Twitterfriends with several of you. I love what you guys are
doing out there in Portland,
and then was thrilled to see my old friend (and beer writing inspiration) Brian
Yaeger joining you guys.
What does being a
beer geek mean to you? I think I try to follow the Sam Caligione
philosophy of being an advocate for good beer. An educator. An
enthusiast and evangelist. And at the same time not being a snob or
"that guy" who lords his knowledge and connections and cellar list
over everyone else as though it makes him better. Being a beer geek means
I know a fair amount about beer, and can talk intelligently about it. It
means I represent the craft beer culture in a positive way when I go out,
either by asking for it in restaurants and bars, or by behaving in a respectful
fashion at festivals and tasting events.
If you could change
one thing about beer culture in the US what would it be? I see
this really as a two layered answer. First off, the US public at
large needs to be educated about what beer really is and can be. They
need to know that the idea of "American beer" isn't the giant macros
(which are not even American companies anymore) and cases of fizzy yellow water
and the only goal being to get as drunk as posisble. They need to learn
that beer is not a single style, but has a breadth and depth they never
imagined. The people who say "I am not really a beer drinker"
or "I don't really like beer" simply have not found the right one for
them yet, in my opinion. There is something for everyone.
The second layer of change needs to come within the craft
beer community. We have grown exponentially in the past few years.
Along with tremendous growth in the industry, the proliferation of beer
bloggers, writers, websites, apps, and resources has been astounding. The
expansion is incredible. But, like anything else, more does not always
mean better. I think there will have to be a contraction eventually and
then an equilibrium will set in. Along with that, I think that those of
us who "represent" the craft beer culture need to think about the
image we want to portray. We can't stand and rail against the
"swilling keggers and lowbrow macro drinkers" one day and then be
incoherently intoxicated and sloppy and trashy the next while trying to claim
the moral high ground. An ugly drunk is an ugly drunk, no matter how good
the beer is that got them there. Unfortunately, I see too many "high
profile" people in the craft beer world behaving in ways that - to me,
anyway - reflect badly on the community as a whole. I think we need to
hold ourselves and each other to a higher standard than the pervasive,
macro-dominated beer culture.
What do you love about
Portland's
craft beer scene? Sadly, I can only comment on what I have heard from
friends who live and have visited there. But it sounds amazing. I greatly
look forward to visiting there sometime in the very near future.
Where can we find you
on the web?
Blog: www.beerforthedaddy.com
Magazine: Creative Loafing: Drink - http://cltampa.com/tampa/
Twitter: @beerforthedaddy
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