Villain Blog: Issue 000
So let’s get something straight– I am not declaring war on hazy IPAs, the beer industry, or anyone else for that matter. This blog and this villain persona are a medium and storytelling tool that I am using to have a bit of fun and catch your eye. For any of my fellow D&D fans out there, consider this issue my "session zero" where I will set my current expectations. I'll include some of my inspirations, my concerns, and my ambitions for this blog.
Hey Look at Me, I'm a Writer!
At the time of publishing this, I am not a prominent writer nor a well known figure within the beer industry. What I am though, is an enthusiast who has dedicated a decent bit of time to studying beer and volunteering in my local community. Where is that community? It is San Diego, California. Yes, I do consider myself lucky. What do I mean by "studying beer?" I mean, pursuing a Cicerone Certification. If you are familiar with the program, I am aspiring for the level 2 certification: Certified Cicerone– and for those less familiar, a Cicerone is someone who has "extensive knowledge of beer and beer service and competence in sensory evaluation." It is my hope that I will earn this level of certification in the near future.
The Cicerone Certification Program has been the carrot on the stick that I keep chasing while I get mixed up in more and more tangential interests and projects. I remember during the Covid Pandemic that I watched a long YouTube video called, "Every Style of Beer Explained." It was a fun and very accessible crash course on beer that was hosted by Master Cicerone Pat Fahey.
About a year later– I remembered the Cicerone Program and took the level 1: Certified Beer Server exam. I wanted to learn ALL about beer– How to brew, how to serve beer, how to talk about beer, and even learn how to taste beer. It seemed like I should start by doing some reading? But there is an awful lot of media out there these days, so I figured maybe I should start looking at what other professionals were doing too. They ought to have some good advice yeah? Once again, in San Diego. That's not a bad place to find yourself when looking for professionals and enthusiasts in the beer industry.
Looking at what other professionals in the industry were doing was the best choice I could have made. Whether they were brewers, tap room managers, Cicerones, content creators– it didn't matter, they were all experienced in their own right. Over time I learned more on my own and met a few folks who gave me their own advice and guidance. I was still aiming for my Certified Cicerone, but I soon found myself spending time volunteering in the local San Diego Brewers Guild (SDBG), working on the guild's podcast, and beginning to find an interest in writing. I'll mention more of the content and individuals that inspired me in a later section as well.
So then I became a writer. It just happened, right? Like, I woke up one day and just was? Well, no. I thought about wanting to write after hearing so many stories and meeting so many people in the beer industry. While I was working on the guild's podcast, The Capital of Craft, I was in a brainstorming mindset fairly often. I would consider what stories were out there and relevant to the San Diego beer industry, but often had to rule out certain ideas that might be too niche or biased. Around the same time I had also been listening to other podcasts and doing some creative writing in the context of D&D (Dungeons & Dragons). After talking to other writers, I had a decent amount of support and encouragement.
I eventually pitched a story to a growing beer zine that I am a big supporter of, Final Gravity Zine. The story was about a librarian, Judith Downie, who runs an incredible beer history archive known as The Brewchive® at California State University San Marcos. If you want to read this story, (and I really think you should!) you can find it in Issue 08 of Final Gravity Zine. I think this story being published is what empowered me to really say I am a writer now, but really anyone who writes is a writer. The trick, I suppose, is to write things that other people think is good or interesting.
Why be a Villain?
From a storytelling standpoint, being a villain is much more interesting. The way it will allow me to engage with the industry seems fun. I plan to write apologetic essays on sensory off-flavors, challenge industry trends, and declare other individuals in beer as rivals or even archnemeses! The potential is all here for a villain willing to take the plunge.
Many people are familiar with the power of "the algorithm" these days. We cater to these machines out of hopes that our art will gain favor and be funneled to the homepages of the masses! I think it feels bad to have this occupy any extra space in my mind as I write, but it's just another aspect of marketing to consider at the end of the day. Much to my dismay, negativity, and confrontation are often synonymous with engagement on our current social platforms. Engagement typically makes the algorithms happy and as a result will lead to trending visibility. I said earlier that I am not declaring war on anyone. It is not my goal to come in with hot-takes or malicious intentions, but that potential I mentioned just before might just benefit from these engagement obsessed machines.
I like having a persona I can adopt for this blog. The villain concept also opens up opportunites to put a bit of sensationalism and hyperbole in my stories. This blog is not intended to be a work of fiction, but in a world of villains and heroes, I can escape the mundane. I think it makes writing about all of these things feel more like an adventure. This feels true even if the fantastic flowery language starts and ends with the titles of some of my blog posts.
It is fun being a villain. Being the bad guy has benefits and I like the idea of being an antagonist, but personally I'm not a very confrontational person. Truly, I feel naively optimistic at times. I would rather celebrate all the people and products in these industries that I am so enthusiastic about. So even though I would probably prefer to be a hero of craft beer and sensory science, I chose to become a villain– or maybe I've just accepted that I am one.
I'm Inspired by Artists and Authors
My writing is inspired by artists, authors, scientists and storytellers. I couldn't point to just one individual or even one industry and say that it is my sole inspiration. There is a myriad of individual writers, industries, and forms of media that I've drawn inspiration from. I'll try to mention some of the major and more recent inspirations below, but it's highly likely that I'll leave out something or someone significant. Some of these sources of inspiration are beer writers, some are sensory profesionals, and some are gamers, but almost all of them are folks that I would consider to be storytellers.
Anyone who has found this blog through my Instagram is likely to have noticed my affinity for a particular music artist. I will not shy away from paying tribute to one of my favorite musicians, MF DOOM. He was a man behind a mask, a self proclaimed villain. Daniel Dumile had many aliases, but often collaborations he was involved with had adopted some form of villainy in its moniker. He wasn't the first artist to adopt an alias like this but he is well known for it. His storytelling is celebrated by many of his fans and I really identified with the concept of declaring myself to be a villain. I spoke about this in an earlier section but ultimately the concept is meant to whole-heartedly pay homage to him in that sense. Daniel Dumile passed away in late 2020. His artistry is what makes him, "your favorite rapper's favorite rapper," but his impact extends far beyond the music industry.
When I started diving deeper into the world of beer education, I looked to Instagram to find and follow individuals who were posting content there. Over time some accounts really stood out to me. I learned about Chris Cohen's Beer Scholar program. His program is designed to help people study for and pass the first 3 levels of Cicerone Certification. Then there were plenty of folks doing beer education on the platform like Pints and Panels, The Beery Godmother, and a duo called the beer enthusiasts. Scott Fielder and Chris Crowe are the Vintage Beer Enthusiast and Fresh Beer Enthusiast, respectively. I really enjoyed The Beer Enthusiast's live Instagram content and since then they have moved to YouTube.
I found inspiration within my community too. I'll give a special shout to Jeremy Hinkley, the Head DM (Dungeon Master) where I play D&D, self-published some of his fictional writing. It is truly villainous work. Chris Leguizamon, an Advanced Cicerone who welcomed me into the San Diego Brewers Guild's (SDBG) Education Committee. Erik Fowler, Executive Director of the SDBG and Founder of Good Pressure Brewing, encouraged me to get involved in guild events. Erik also welcomed me to get involved with the guild podcast alongside Jeff Fox, the owner of Beer Media Co. and Starfox Media. Local food writer and author of The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, Beth Demmon, was the first person I heard use the term "Beer Writer." She also gave me some very helpful direction when starting out as a writer. Lastly, A couple of my family members with backgrounds in beer made a huge impact on me: Josh Torres of Pizza Port Brewing Co. helped me land my first job in the beer industry, and Karen Barnett of [way too many things to list] is always supporting my ambitions in beer and as a writer.
Possibly the most significant inspiration came from Advanced Cicerone and Drinks Writer, David Nilsen. I initially discovered his video reviews of non-alcoholic beers, but soon after I would begin listening to his podcast Bean to Barstool. Of course, I cannot leave out the zine that was mentioned earlier– Final Gravity Zine is owned and edited by David and his partner Melinda Guerra. The writing in their zine is a curated selection of stories by various beer writers from all over the world. While reading the stories in this zine, I started to imagine myself as someone who could also be a writer and tell real stories.
My Vision for the Blog
I would love to see this blog grow over time. I want to write "small bites," longer form articles, and possibly even research paper style work here. I mentioned that I am still aspiring to become a Certified Cicerone, but I definitely intend to cover topics outside of beer (and hopefully fairly soon). Some of those areas of interest at the time of writing are tea, coffee, and chocolate!
I don't plan to paywall any of my writing for now and possibly not ever. However, I may put some of my more exciting stories behind a free tier just so folks know they can sign up to get updates on my new posts. There is a paid support tier currently, but that is just there for anyone eager to support me and the blog in addition to receiving updates on new posts. I could imagine creating other tiers or adding benefits to the paid tier in the distant future, but only if the blog really takes off and/or I have time to dedicate to it.
Congratulations on getting through my villainous monologue, even if you just happened to scroll to the bottom! I am excited to share my writing with all of you here. This is the part where a hero would escape, but if you are interested in getting updates on new blog posts, consider subscribing for free via email or following the account on Instagram.
Thanks for supporting a villain.
