Brian Hunt

[brew_Bastard]

I just finished listening to the Brian Hunt show, man he is a creepy, interesting and wonderful character. If someone told me he spent the last 30 years of his life in solitary confinement I wouldn't be surprised. To me he is the Anton Newcombe of brewing, a genius but a few beers short of a six pack and i wouldn't let him in my home or near my wife and daughter. This is probably why Beevo left early as i am sure she was creeped out and scared for her life.

However his idea's are not that out there, if you actually remove the outrageous craziness and combative nature from his statements most people would agree with him. Sure you should brew beer that best reflects your water, sure you should use local ingredients if you can, sure you should try to brew outside of style (dogfish head is made from this) sure it's disappointing when you buy a Saison that tastes like a poor a souless example of something great like Saison Dupont. However he seems to want to feel misunderstood or to distance himself from the mainstream, or maybe he is just plain crazy which i would lean too. However he is a tremendous guest especially as he started to melt down as it got later in the show and i found myself saying "what!" and "you crazy fuck", it was just like a Sacha Baron Cohen movie. I look forward to his next appearance which i hope is in at least few years and not sooner as you can only take that crazy every leap year.

[calpete]

Also one of my least favorite episodes. Not having the live interaction with the chat room and the DOTW callers didn't help, but Hunt's whole schtick is just off-putting. At least to me.

I find his counterfactual history to be deeply flawed and not at all helpful in thinking about the story of beer. Or civilization. Nonetheless, I can accept it as a provocative hook that sets up what I think is his main point: brewers, professionals as well as amateurs, need to be creative. We need to not be slaves to official style guidelines and carefully calculated recipes and instead be willing to experiment and worry more about making beer that tastes good than about making something that is "correct". Even though I think he takes it too far--and kudos to Justin for being the only one in the room sincerely trying to challenge some of his more outrageous rants--I generally agree with him. We should be creative and experimental. We should be willing, indeed eager, to use what our local environment gives us and not feel the need to slavishly copy what someone else is doing half-way around the world.

But here's the biggest problem I have with his whole argument. Brewers have been creative. By his own acknowledgment, there's a deep tradition of making beer with stuff other than the standard Reinheitsgebot ingredients. And this isn't just in Europe, but all around the world ancient cultures fermented whatever they could; the lack of barely certainly didn't stop pre-Columbian Americans from making countless varieties of chicha from pretty much anything containing starch and/or sugar. We ultimately settled on barley and hops and saccharomyces, though, because guess what: they just taste better. Or to put it in terms Hunt might understand, they fucking taste better. That doesn't mean the occasional use of wheat or other fermentables, brett or other microbes, redwood tips or other spices, don't have a place. They obviously do. But as brewers today we inherit thousands of years of experience that emphatically tell us, more often than not, barley + hops + saccharomyces makes the stuff we crave, what we want to drink every day. Hops didn't replace gruit because of taxes or restrictive laws. Hops won out simply because they're brilliant. Fucking brilliant.

[andy77]

As I recall, he was pretty controversial around here a few years ago too. Check out the other show he was on.

He's wasn't controversial. You have to articulate a clear position to be controversial.

He was all over the place and nonsensical most of the time. Most of his historical, medical and anthropological data was half-fact, assumption, conjecture and sometimes seemed made up. He would start a sentence taking a strong stand against, then finish the sentence in favor of the issue. He would spend fifteen minutes on "what is _____?" then never answer his own question. He would change subject several times per paragraph and rarely make his way back to the original topic....sometimes in weird, uncomfortably frantic voices. And that was when I understood what he was saying.

Did anyone walk away from this interview with a better understanding of beer or brewing?

But who cares? This is the Session, not Face the Nation. If a half-cocked brewer wants to have a case of verbal diarrhea for our entertainment, we'll love it and show up for more next Sunday.

[Chupa LaHomebrew]

Calpete said,

But here's the biggest problem I have with his whole argument. Brewers have been creative. By his own acknowledgment, there's a deep tradition of making beer with stuff other than the standard Reinheitsgebot ingredients

I absolutely agree with this. Brewers have been creative, and at the same time, I think many could do more to push themselves to brew outside of their comfort zone. Still, I can speak for myself at least and say that any criticism I have for him is not for trying to get people to think outside the box.
Bottom line, when I pay for a pint, I want to drink a good beer every time (hey, I can dream, right?). I don't care if it's a to-style hefeweizen or a beer made with no hops at all. I was really impressed with Brian's Working for Tips, the redwood beer, and before listening to the show, I was actually talking to a friend and brewer who likes spruce beers about how good it was, and how it actually tasted like a beer, not something that you would immediately go "O.K., something's missing here".

Whatever, anyway, back to brewing!

[Steelers&Beer]

ever show up to a party late and everyone is hammered and you're not? you start thinking,"Am I this fuckin annoying when I drink?" that's what it was like listening to him while at work.

[TheMadHopper]

While I didn't start this thread to bash Brian, it's good to see that other people noticed some of the same things I did. Lots of you hold harsher views of him than I do, but to each their own.

I enjoyed the interview, and without eccentric characters like him, our world would be a boring place. But, he was very difficult to actually get information out of. And when you did get information, how could you be sure that it was real info and not just some made up hypothetical situation (take for instance, my earlier example of the cold pint with the extra calories)?

I would love to talk to some of the Brewcasters one-on-one and see what they really thought of him. Not the diplomatic responses that I'm sure they would spew if posted to this forum, but what they REALLY think.

All-in-all, I didn't think it was a bad show, except for the lack of a meltdown. They guy is just wierd.

[TheTodd]

I would love to talk to some of the Brewcasters one-on-one and see what they really thought of him. Not the diplomatic responses that I'm sure they would spew if posted to this forum, but what they REALLY think.

All-in-all, I didn't think it was a bad show, except for the lack of a meltdown. They guy is just wierd.

I haven't had a chance to hear the show yet, so I cannot speak to it. I heard his first show and have had a chance to talk to him a little bit about it. I think the assessment that a lot is lost by not seeing his physical cues is accurate. In person, he definitely comes across as a little different, but very charming and hospitable.

As far as the Brewcasters go, give them some credit. The trend I've seen for any "controversial" thread is for J to sit back and let it be our forum. Only if someone starts posting something inaccurate or purely vitreolic does he jump in. Most of the time he will let us work it out for ourselves. His forum for his opinions is the Session. If you want to know what the Brewcasters really think, send them a Feedback e-mail. I bet they'd be more than happy to discuss it. It's not like they're going to hurt Brian's feelings or risk alienating him. He may be odd, but he's also smart and well aware of how most people take his opinions.

That being said, I can't wait to hear last week's show to see if I can make it through or not.

[lucybear999]

I really looked forward to the second Brian Hunt show, and wasn't disappointed.

He always gives a fresh if not off the wall perspective, that I enjoy. Frankly, there are a lot of linear thinkers in brewing (disciplines of science, IT, lab rats, etc) and I think it makes it difficult for some. I also believe that linear thinkers make some of the best beer available, because they can apply science, process, and style in a way that makes sense for them.

I believe the Brian Hunt first show bears that out, as there were some that just couldn't get past the 'style debate' and ended up stuck on that point. But that's OK, if it works for you.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess, but I am glad BN brings all sorts of perspectives to the game.