1. Where is your brewery?

Berkeley, California.

2. What was the first beer you had that made you realize craft beer was going to be a bigger part of your life?

Natty Ice. Once I had that I realized something had to change.

3. What is your favorite style to brew and why?

IPA. No, but seriously folks. Sour beer of course! Brewing this style means working without a net. By that I mean not a lot of research and best practices are published in this area. That's tough, but it also means we're on the forefront of learning a lot more about what may be the most complex alcoholic beverage fermentation out there.

4. If you were stranded on an island (with a working refrigerator that automatically replenished itself) and you could only have one beer for the rest of your life in that fridge, which would it be?

I guess in this scenario it pretty much has to be a Pilsner. A great island beer! How about an outstanding local option: Faction Pils from Alameda's Faction Brewing? Come to think of it... they're already on an island, so if I get my choice of island, I'd pick that one!

5. What is your favorite music to listen to in the brewery?

Whoever's doing the most monotonous job gets to pick the music, but if it's me, I'll choose The Black Keys... Or 90's boy bands on Fridays.

6. Which other brewery has inspired you the most? Why?

Hard not to pick The Bruery here since I worked there for 4 years. I don't think we'd be making sour beer today without that experience. They continue to make world class beers! I also love my fellow California brewers: Cellarmaker, Societe, Russian River, and Firestone Walker, along with the Belgian Geuze blenders.

7. Single hop beer - which hops are you using?

We do a dry-hopped sour beer called Egregious that has 5 lbs. of Amarillo per 59 gallon oak barrel. The idea of hops in a sour sounds egregious, but dry-hopping doesn't impact much bitterness so the fruit can shine through on top of the acidic beer.

8. Where is your favorite place to get a beer after work and why?

The promotion of one CA ABC permanent license (favorite place to drink beer) by another permanent licensee (Jay of The Rare Barrel), on social media or otherwise, is the giving of "something of value" (i.e., advertising). That is a violation of tied-house restrictions and a technical licensing violation ... according to the law in California. That being said, Berkeley is home to many great food/beer spots people should check out after they visit The Rare Barrel.

9. What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone who thinks they want to get into the craft beer industry?

Getting into the craft beer industry is a great idea if you love beer and hate money. Do it for the love of the game, but just be sure you're really in love. Being an accountant an a homebrewer sounds nice most days, too.

10. Dogs or cats?

I'm reading this question and I don't get it. "Dogs or"? What does that mean? Usually there are two viable options in an either/or question and I'm not seeing that here. Sorry.