An Interview with Stone Brewing Co. CEO Greg Koch

A couple of my recent posts discussing opinion polls from BeerAdvocate and RateBeer opened a lively discussion on this website, including a comment from CEO of the Stone Brewing Company, Greg Koch.

Far be it from me to let the thoughts of the co-founder of one of America's most recognizable and renowned craft breweries languish in the comments section of one of my lowly posts, Greg was gracious enough to accept an interview offer to discuss these polls, as well as the Stone Brewery and craft beer in general.

I'd consider this suggested reading for both beer aficionados and casual Slashfood readers alike. As Greg puts it: "I appreciate the discussion of great craft beer in food-oriented circles like Slashfood. That is a huge win for both foodies and for craft brewers."

Mike Pomranz: In a recent "consumer opinion" list, BeerAdvocate named Stone Brewery the "All-Time Top Brewery on Planet Earth" -- a title I believe is reasonably within your grasp. More amazingly, Stone placed five beers in the Top 25 "All-Time Top Beers on Planet Earth." Putting aside for a moment the ancient brews of Mesopotamia, how do you feel about these honors? Do you believe Stone has five of the best beers of all time on planet Earth?

Greg Koch: For one brewery on Planet Earth to take five out of 25 spots is not probable. However, it IS possible (as evidence would suggest).

MP: The idea of "picking your favorite child" is so clichéd. So let's force you into it. The five that placed: Stone Imperial Russian Stout, Stone Ruination IPA, Stone IPA, Double Bastard Ale, Arrogant Bastard Ale. Who you got? (Styles be damned!)

Continue reading my interview with Greg Koch, CEO of the Stone Brewing Co. after the jump...

GK: The amount that I personally enjoy corresponds directly to abv. That's not a 100% conscious decision, but ends up being the case nonetheless. Thus, in order, I tend to drink the most Stone IPA, then Arrogant Bastard Ale with Stone Ruination IPA close behind, then a near tie between Double Bastard Ale and Stone Imperial Russian Stout.

MP: On BeerAdvocate competitor RateBeer.com's Best 2009 list, Stone didn't score a single beer in the top 25. (The Stone Imperial Russian Stout finished just outside at #28.) Is Stone slipping?? (Please hear my chuckle as I ask that.) Is competition more fierce in recent years? Do polls like this run in cycles?

GK: "Competition" is not a word I use when referring to other great craft beers. No, that's not a silly "we're so good there's no possible competition" bravado...it's simply not the way we think. Instead, we have always viewed other great craft breweries as "Compatriots." Think about it, we are fighting the same battle as our compatriots...together. Collectively, we fight the battle to earn craft beers the respect that they deserve in the popular consciousness. The better the beers created by our Compatriots, the more we are able to accomplish in turning that tide. Together.

You can see how we have long put that philosophy into action. If you come to our restaurant, which is part of our brewery, you will find 32 beers on tap, 70% of which are Guest beers. 100% of those guest beers are phenomenal craft beers. 0% are industrial fizzy yellow beers. We also have a fantastic bottle list of about another 80 great craft beers (again, with zero fizzy yellow beers). Additionally, in Southern California, our distribution division represents more than a dozen amazing craft beers. Great breweries such as AleSmith, Bear Republic, Lost Abbey, Russian River, Victory, Ommegang, Mad River, Eel River, Oskar Blues, Maui Brewing, Jolly Pumpkin and The Bruery (and others) are sold and delivered to markets, grocery stores, pubs and restaurants in SoCal by the Stone Distributing team. Proudly. We don't just talk the philosophy that great craft breweries are our compatriots, we live it. Daily.

Yes, other craft breweries have continued to get better and better. And new ones open up that are doing fantastic things. It's a more beautiful world as a result in my opinion.

Regarding the position of our beers on the RateBeer list, let's take a closer look. Upon examination, you can see that beers that rank on the list with over 1000 ratings are quite few. [Greg provided me with a spreadsheet to back up this claim.]

You can see that if you have a barrel aged release at a beer event or two...bam, you can be in the Top 100! It's kinda like the old saying "If a tree falls in the forest..." but can be updated with "If a brewer releases an amazing barrel aged beer and there's less than 12 RateBeerians to rate it, does it make a sound?" It would seem not. However, under that reality, a brewer better not let a rare beer be served to non-raters, or they may miss out on a coveted spot on the Top 100!

I've seen discussion threads that suggest that perhaps there should be two lists: one with over X # of ratings (I don't know the number, but one high enough to suggest that one could reasonably procure the beer without paying crazy money on eBay...or even having to go to eBay at all), and one that ranks beers with ratings numbering that go down to, say, no less than 12. Essentially, as a consumer guide, it would help answer two different questions. Namely, "What are the best beers that are generally regularly available?" and "What brewery produces the highest rated limited release beers that I should look out for / trade for / travel for / eBay for?" Those are two very different questions. And according to the current RateBeer list, Stone would have beers on both of those lists (I'm pointing that out, just in case anyone might be thinking I'd make this suggestion with the eye towards improving our rankings...I'm not).

MP: BeerAdvocate says Stone is the top brewery of all-time. But you guys tapped your first beer in 1996. Who did you look up to during those formative years? And if a young brewery such as yourself can make its way to the top so quickly, do you see any younger start-ups out there that a decade from now might take your place?

GK: There were a great number of breweries we looked up to in our early years. The number of breweries that we looked up to then, and still look up to today has, sadly, changed quite a bit. There are still quite a number that make both my list of 15 years ago, and the list of today. However, due to not wanting to disparage any brewery by omission, I will decline to actually offer up either of those personal lists. You'll have to get that out of me over a beer or two. However, I am very happy to volunteer the fact that my list of personal favorites grows each year. Sure, some fall off the list due to my changing tastes (not that many fall due to this) and some due to changes in a given brewery's direction (that's always a bummer), but more and more great beers are added (and that is very, very cool).

MP: Greg, thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions! Anything else you'd like to tell the Slashfood readers before I let you go?

GK: Ultimately, of course, each person is their own arbiter of taste. Lists such as the types that BeerAdvocate and RateBeer have are terrific guides and lay out a "must taste" framework to assist both those who are starting out, and those that are very experienced.

Personally, I appreciate the discussion of great craft beer in food-oriented circles like Slashfood. That is a huge win for both foodies and for craft brewers.

For too long, many food and drink enthusiasts have been mostly unaware of the depth and diversity of the amazing world of craft beer that's been unfolding for the past couple of decades. Foodies follow TV chefs, read up on wines, and ignore craft beer (or worse, say things like "I love beer...it's great on a hot day or at a ballgame!" that demonstrate just how much they don't know the true world that's out there).

Similarly, craft beer enthusiasts can be found going through the drive through, seeking out crappy pub food, etc.

Fortunately, both of the above are changing, and at an increasing rate. There've always been those that have been enjoying the full culinary picture of artful and quality food, amazing craft beer, and yes, great wines (while I don't personally drink wine all that often, when I do it's either a great one, or none at all...if only wine drinkers used the same criteria for their beer choices!)

For more on the Stone Brewing Company, go to www.stonebrew.com.

Source