"ALL ABOUT BEER MAGAZINE" recently has started doing a "Brewer's
Spotlight" where they highlight some of the more innovative Brewer's
from around the Country. Not surprisingly, a fair amount of them are
from right here in the great Pacific Northwest. On this Blog, we at MJTB
have decided to share the best from the West Coast. Below, is a
transcript of the original which can be found at www.allaboutbeer.com.
Travis Guterson, 29
Co-owner and Brewmaster
7 Seas Brewing
Gig Harbor, Wash.
All About Beer: Tell us about your brewery.
Travis Guterson: 7 Seas Brewing Co. has been in
business since 2008. We just celebrated our third anniversary this past
July. Myself, and my business partner, Mike Runion, started the company.
He [is 28] by the way. We purchased an 8.5 BBL brew house from a
brewery in Seattle that closed down and began producing 7 Seas Beer in
Gig Harbor, WA, about an hour’s drive South of Seattle. We were the
first microbrewery in Washington State to package our beer in cans. We
brew six year-round beers and usually have one or two seasonal offerings
as well. We have a tap room that we sell pints, growlers and
merchandise from. The local community of Gig Harbor has completely
embraced us and we are super fortunate that way. We topped out at about
1,200 BBLS per year on the 8.5 BBL system and have just moved our
brewery to a new building downtown. We now operate on a 25 BBL,
three-vessel system at our new location and initially anticipate a
production of about 3,500 BBLs per year, but have room to grow and add
more tanks so we see our production increasing in the years to come. We
have a staff of nine people, including Mike and I, and all of us are
under the age of 30, except for one guy, Bryan (our sales and delivery
dude, formerly of Red Hook). We are a small, local brewery, producing a
premium product, and the South Puget Sound area has really supported us.
We are grateful for that. We would like to continue to grow 7 Seas, but
that is very incremental for us. Slow and sustainable, yet also
ambitious is paramount for how we do things.
How did you first get into brewing?
I made my first batch of beer when I was 16. My dad had dabbled in
homebrewing so there was some random equipment in the basement and I
thought it sounded fun and interesting. My parents are cool like that.
They didn’t like me getting drunk off cheap, shitty beer with my friends
in high school, but never seemed to mind me making 5 gallons of extract
brew on my mom’s kitchen stove. I fell in love with the transformation
of basic, fundamental, rudimentary ingredients and turning them into
something magical. Brewing beer just grabbed my attention from an early
age and it never let go. I didn’t choose for my life to revolve around
brewing beer. Somehow it chose me.
What was the first beer you ever brewed and where did you do it?
My first batch was an oatmeal pale ale. Sounds ambitious, but is was 5
gallons of extract brew and the recipe looked intriguing and somehow
sophisticated, if not whimsical to me at the time. I brewed it on my
parent’s stovetop. Typical 5-gallon carboys, corn sugar for bottle
priming, and I even made my own labels by drawing some odd little
skeleton creature dancing around a cauldron. I had a lot of fun and was
so excited to see it bubbling away. I remember thinking that it was
great, but realistically I’m sure it was kinda’ shitty at best.
What’s your favorite beer style?
My favorite beer style? I don’t have an answer for you on that one. I
look for perfection. I like many styles, but I like great beer more.
Strive for quality and consistency and everything will be okay. I do
enjoy challenging myself in the brew house. Any beer that requires
tweaking over and over again eventually becomes something I’m super
proud of. It doesn’t matter if I’m brewing it, or drinking it, I love
variety, both in beer and in life. Life is too short though to settle
for the docile, passive, and banal. The same is true for beer.
Do you have a mentor in the brewing world?
I was very lucky in my brewing career to work for some incredible
head brewers. Before starting 7 Seas, I worked at the Pelican Pub and
Brewery (under Brewmaster Darron Welch) and the Lompoc Brewing Co., and
then at Silver City Brewery (under Brewmaster Don Spencer). Having no
formal education in brewing, such as a fermentation science program, or a
UC Davis, or an American Brewers guild certification most of my
knowledge has been empiric. I had a different experience everywhere I
worked, but to this day the guy that I respect the most as a brewer and
who I will always call when I have questions is Darron Welch at the
Pelican Pub and Brewery. Even though I only worked there for maybe a
year (cleaning kegs and capping bottles) he really set an example for
me. His attention to detail and how meticulous he is, showed me that
there is indeed a right way and wrong way to do things in a brewery. He
instilled that in me from an early age and I strive to run my brew house
they way he runs his. It’s all about the details.
What inspires you when you’re brewing?
What inspires me most when I’m brewing is that I feel like I’m doing
something good, pure, righteous, and carrying on a meaningful tradition.
I’m doing work, but there is something divine and much reverence
attached to it. I feel like I’m contributing something in one way or
another. Brewing beer has given my life meaning, direction, and purpose …
just like the best kind of relationship can do. Brewing beer makes me
feel like I am somebody contributing to a better community. Sounds
weird, but that’s how I feel. I dropped out of the University of
Washington at the age of 20 to pursue my dreams. There is nothing else
that I know how to do anymore, other than brew great beer, and continue
to get better at my craft.
What do you think drives the popularity of craft beer?
I think the popularity of craft beer can be explained quite easily.
That is to say, that it tastes great, it’s real, genuine, and often
times when it’s super local, customers can attach a face and person to
it all. The market might eventually get saturated, but good beer will
always resonate with people even if it costs a little more. People love
seeing the big stainless steel vats (even if they’re just 20 & 40
BBL tanks) and somebody back there connecting hoses, clamps and gaskets,
making beer. This American culture has gotten so cookie cutter and full
of bullshit products, craft beer grabs people’s attention on a variety
of levels.
In general, how do you think the next generation of brewers will shake up the craft beer world?
I don’t know if my generation of craft brewers will really shake
things up. Our 7 Seas model is to be doing this for a long time. Again,
that takes planning, good business sense, and quality, consistent beer
with an eye towards marketing. I think that if you go to work every day,
put in good long hours, know what you’re doing, give a shit about what
you’re doing, be proud of your brand … well then good things can happen.
I figure, do that and let the chips fall where they may. The rest we
simply can’t control, we can only do and will do our best and continue
to improve on that notion. We will just have to wait and see how 7 Seas
contributes to that ‘shake-up’.
Last one: Cascadian dark ale or black IPA?
Cascadian dark ale without a doubt. I have the letters NW tattooed on
my thumb. I was born and raised here, and have always lived in the
Northwest. This style was conceived here so I like to see a little
recognition to this area, especially with all the hops our Yakima Valley
grows next door, just east of the Cascades.
SAVOR: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience, the premier beer
and food event in the U.S. recently announced the beers that will be
served by the 76 participating breweries.
