Centralight

of the Konrad Connor, '84 '90, says there is good beer out there. You just need to break out of the Bud Light mold – or make your own. During the past decade, he says Americans have begun to change their beer- drinking habits. As people have seen the benefits of buying local produce, craft- style beers have emerged. When enjoying a brew at his favorite establishment, Connor says he'd notice the people in the brewing room working with the grains and hops. And Connor thought, "I'd like to do that." To learn how, the computer programmer read books and volunteered at the Redwood Brewing Co. in Flint to learn the details on beer making. After a career setback – his job as a computer programmer was outsourced – he stopped in at the Redwood Brewing Co. on his way home. It was around lunchtime and head brewer Bill Wamby was surprised to see Connor. "He asked me why I was there so early, and I told him," Connor says. "He asked me if I wanted to work there. For a minute, I was in disbelief. It was pure luck." Head Glass Connor, who started at the Redwood Brewing Co. in 2006, now is the head brewer after Wamby's retirement. Since he began at the Redwood Brewing Co., the brewery has won several medals in competitions for their craft brews. For Connor's Sweet Stout, he took home a silver medal at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival competition, the largest in the nation. "We are lucky to have so many good award-winning breweries in this state," Connor says. "You can easily go out and get a good local product. So try something new. And, if you want to get creative, learn how to make your own beer." One way to learn is for CMU alumnus Barry Johnson, '79, to teach you how. Johnson is the president and brewmaster of the Saugatuck Brewing Co. He regularly teaches a "Make Your Own Brew" class. "I was a beer guy way before craft beer," says Johnson, who formerly owned the business Motorless Motion in Mount Pleasant and worked as an international sales representative for a cleaning supply company. "I'd get a map Konrad Connor, '84 '90 BY SARAH CHUBY, '03 M.A. '11 of the microbreweries when they were really starting to take off in the 1990s and drive around Michigan to visit them." Johnson, who has an entrepreneurial spirit, says international business trips to Europe opened his eyes to beer flavors. And, at age 52, he decided to retire from his corporate job and change his career direction. He enrolled in the Siebel Institute of Technology's World Brewing Academy in Chicago. "My wife, Kathy (Szymula, '76), and I wrote a business plan to open a brewery with creating and teaching brewing as the premises. That was six years ago. We've doubled business every year since." Not only is business good – their beer being recognized nationally. The Saugatuck Brewing Co. earned a first place award at the United States Beer Tasting Championship in 2011 for the ESB/Amber. "It's a great time to be a craft beer drinker. There are so many flavors, so many options," Johnson says. "And it's a great time to be brewing in Michigan. Everyone's growing." • Brew's clues Brewer Konrad Connor gives tips on how to make good beer. 1. Clean, clean, clean. You can never be too clean with handling equipment, ingredients or beer. You can put together the best beer in the world, and if you don't clean … well, you just made bad beer. 2. Have an idea. Figure out what beer you want to make and why. This will help narrow down your research. For example, I wanted to make a Golden Barley Wine. I did research and found only one example – Fuller's Golden Pride from England. I started there. 3. Do your homework. Ask questions. Read books. Get online. There are many resources available for determining what beer you want to make and how. Books by author Michael Jackson are a favorite. 4. Get creative. You don't have to stick to traditional beer styles or ingredients. Brewing today is about making beers you think sound good and hopefully other people will like them, too. I make a Cinnamon IPA and a Hazelnut Coffee Cream Stout. • centralight winter '11 9

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