In “Meet a Member,” we highlight the people who make up the North American Guild of Beer Writers. It’s a chance to learn more about the wide collection of journalists, podcasters, bloggers, and vloggers who cover the industry. See and archive of these Q&A profiles.
Where can people find you on social media?
- @heavy_hops on Twitter and Instagram
- Facebook: HeavyHopsPodcast
Where can people find your work?
I host Heavy Hops, a weekly interview format podcast. It is self-published and syndicated to a number of podcast platforms such as Apple Podcasts. New episodes are released every Thursday.
The content of the podcast, guest order, and accompanying visuals are driven by the same curiosity that informs the curation of Scorched Tundra, a heavy music festival and showcase series I’ve booked and hosted for ten years in Chicago and Gothenburg, Sweden.
What topics do you regularly cover?
At the core of the podcast is how makers, innovators, and insiders in the music and beverage industries use their talents and creativity to express themselves, solve problems and contribute to their field(s). Toward this end, topics such as social history, brand ideation, recipe construction, songwriting, lyricism, event curation and agriculture become lenses. Often the conversations highlight that the roles of creator, innovator and insider are not mutually exclusive.
I always enjoy speaking with writers who cover beverage and music; NAGBW members Lucy Corne, Kate Bernot, Matthew Curtis, Jeff Alworth and Breandán Kearney have shared their work and insights on the show.
What topics would you like to cover more in the future?
I look forward to more conversations about non-industrial agriculture, the beverage industry outside of the “west”, supply chain sustainability and cultural exchange.
People should consider me an expert on ____ … and why:
Prior to this podcast I spent a decade as a purchaser and operator for on-premise retailers of a variety of sizes; ranging from a small very focused craft beer bar to a multi-state restaurant group. In addition to the retailer’s perspective, I have spent just as much time organizing live music events on two continents.
What’s a favorite thing you’ve created in the last year?
An Interview with Dr. Garth Cambray, a Makhanda, South Africa-based expert on mead, touched on a number of fascinating topics:spontaneous fermentation, cultural empowerment, biotech, folklore and navigating trust in a highly divisive political environment. The conversation itself was not only enlightening but has led to further exploration of beer and beverage in South Africa.
What’s the last great thing you read or heard? (beer or not)
Louis Menand’s The Free World: Art & Thought In The Cold War. Though I can’t use the past tense as I am halfway through this monster.
What’s a fun fact, hidden talent, or something you enjoy that has nothing to do with beer?
I learned how to ride a bike at age 35.
