All Will Meyers Told Me About Brewing My Own Beer is to be Clean

By Katie Kenny

Check out my next entry to hear about my first brewing experience

A couple months ago, I wrote an article titled “Tapping into Boston’s Craft Beer” and was lucky enough to interview the Cambridge Brewing Company’s brewmaster, Will Meyers. This article was the reason Boston Brew started and Meyers helped me out a little when I made my own brew at home.

The beginning of this interview is in the previous post so if you haven’t read it you best get on it.

Alright, so I hope you know that you have an awesome job title. What exactly does a Cambridge Brewing Company “brewmaster” do? Where do you get your inspiration and what is your process for crafting your brews?

Well, I direct an amazing brewing staff of four, and together we make incredible, award-winning beers! We focus both on traditional interpretations of well-known beer styles and on obscure beer styles, and on experimental brews never before seen on earth. My inspiration comes from all around me – from my friends and their respective crafts, the worlds of winemaking and distillation, ancient history, contemporary art, music theory, composition, and performance, and the occasional need to abuse my position and fuck up the mainstream.

How does the history of Boston affect its drinking culture today?

It’s a pretty well-known fact that our founding fathers, in the 1760’s, met in local, private taverns to discuss plans and foment revolution. I think there’s an unstated pride in the fact that a long-stretching corridor of pubs from Boston to Philadelphia to Richmond, many of which made their own beer, were responsible for protecting these people and serving as a community gathering place. Those community gathering places still exist for the community to gather and discuss the issues of the day, and we still do it over a glass of beer.

Which beer spots do you frequent?

I can often be found at Deep Ellum, the Cambridge Common, Lord Hobo, and Atwood’s. All have a great selection of craft beer (and not just my own!)

I’m going to take the big leap and brew my own brew. Any advice?

Relax. Don’t worry. But remember that sanitation is the most important aspect of any beer. Have fun.

In other words, all I need to do to make beer like his is: wash my hands. I was going to do that anyway after I licked all the cheesy powder from my Trader Joe’s Cheese Poofs (I’m trying to make that sound like the official name but it’s so not) off my fingers because I am ruining my keyboard. So thanks for nothing, Will.

Jokes. He’s awesome.

If you live in the Boston area, take a trip to Cambridge Brewing Company and meet this awesome brewmaster and his team.

Tags: Beer, Boston Brew, Craft Beer, Interviews, Will Meyers