ALL HOPPED UP
Beer-based travel show seeks out best home brewers
Name a TV show Beerland and you’re pretty much guaranteed an audience. For a certain segment of the population it’s automatically more appealing than something called Tofu Town or Brussels Sprouts City.
But Meg Gill, who hosts Viceland’s beer-based travel competition Beerland, isn’t relying on first impressions to get viewers all hopped up. Over six episodes, the co-founder of Golden Road Brewing searches for the best home brewers in the U.S. and explores beer’s role in their communities.
After hitting up sites in New Mexico, New York, Colorado, Hawaii, Los Angeles and Northern California, Gill decides who’ll win a brewing and distribution deal with her company. The series, which premièred in April, is available to stream on viceland.com.
Gill, now 32, was named by Forbes as the youngest female brewery owner in the U.S. in
2015, spoke with Postmedia
News about Beerland:
Q Before focusing on beer, you were a professional swimmer. Why switch careers?
A You can’t make a lot of money as a professional swimmer. I was Olympic trial qualifying, but I wasn’t going to make the Olympic team. So I took an unpaid internship working for Oskar Blues Brewery in Colorado just to get my foot in the door. I felt like beer was the Everyman’s drink, the Everywoman’s drink. I fell in love with the industry, was passionate about the first craft beer in a can, wanted to do what I loved and didn’t want to take the traditional path of “get up and go to an office each day.”
Q Do you remember first beer you ever drank?
A I was basically a toddler going down to get my mom’s beer when she’d cook dinner, and she’d let me have the first sip if I went down to the basement to get it for her. Those were some of my first memories and best memories early in life, spending time with my mom. But she moved on from Coors Light pretty early on. Then she was drinking Corona and now she would die if she heard that, because now she only drinks double IPA.
Q What do you look for as a judge on the show?
A I look at whether they executed their vision. It doesn’t have to be a certain style or follow any kind of technical brewing process. But if they’re making a Session IPA, then I expect that the dry hops and aroma are going to be really spectacular. Also, are they passionate about this? Do they want to start a brewery someday?
Q What were some regional differences that stood out for you?
A A lot of these brewers like to use somewhat local ingredients. One guy in New York was brewing with all wild yeast and found his yeast on a log in Brooklyn.
And he’s an anarchist who doesn’t want to pay government tax on beer, and that’s why he’s brewing.
In New Mexico, the winner brewed with a wild hop that he found that is unique to New Mexico — it’s called Neomexicanus.
In Hawaii, one of the groups wanted to do a coconut beer, but a light, refreshing take on a coconut beer instead of a porter or stout, because they were inspired by the tropical Hawaiian lifestyle and environment.
They’re definitely impacted by their surroundings and ingredients, and that definitely gives these guys a competitive edge.
Q Is home brewing growing as a trend?
A I think it’s still pretty underdeveloped as a known thing that people do.
Most people know someone who has tried to brew beer at home before, but it’s definitely an underserved market.
And the folks who do it are extremely passionate about it and have great stories.
Q What are some of the misconceptions about home brewing?
A I think home brewers are typically thought of as older dudes, a loner type at home in their garages or basements brewing beer — and there is a lot of that. But there are also younger people, women, of all backgrounds who have fallen in love with the process of brewing beer and the creative activity that it offers.
Q What’s your advice for someone looking to get into it?
A First, either go to a local homebrew club, a homebrew shop or read a couple great books about starting. Know what equipment you have at home, what you can jury-rig and what you need to buy. The ingredients are pretty simple, but they need to be fresh — especially the hops. Start with more traditional styles, and if you’re looking to do something with additives — whether it’s fruits or chocolates or whatever — that can come down the road a little bit. You’re going to learn from your mistakes — it happens to professional brewers all the time.