Six Pack Questionnaire Series: Aeronaut Brewing Co.

Meet Mark Bowers - Brewmaster at Aeronaut Brewing Co.

Full Name?

Mark Bowers

Your title? 

Brewmaster

Brewery Name? 

Aeronaut Brewing Company

Brewery Location? 

14 Tyler St, Somerville, MA 02143

#1) What made you decide to get into the craft brewing industry?

Since an early age (16 or so!) I've been fascinated by beer and brewing it. Although I did not start my career in professional brewing, after a long stint in R&D in chemistry & medical devices, I changed careers and went into craft brewing, a great love of mine.

#2) Which of your beers do your customers enjoy the most and why?

Hop Hop & Away. Labeled as a session IPA, this beer that has a wonderful hoppy flavor but lower bitterness. It also fits nicely between a traditional American pale ale and the newer NEIPAs (New England IPAs). It's very approachable by beer neophytes but also appeals to typical beer consumers.

#3) What's your favorite thing about your brewery?

I really like the way our brewery (in Somerville) is almost part of the taproom. Most breweries rarely, if ever, have the actual brewery area where beer is made in the same room as the taproom. 

Having the brewhouse and fermenters right up front and close appeals to the beer nerd and gear head in me. I also like to think that this fosters the feeling that we at Aeronaut want to be up front in showing, explaining, and telling people about our beers.

#4) Besides your own, what Massachusetts craft beers or breweries impress you the most and why? 

Jack's Abby make wonderful lagers and show the US that craft brewers can specialize in lagers and make a go of it. Also, Notch Brewing; not only do they also make wonderful lagers but most of their beers are lower in alcohol and still full of flavor.

#5) What’s a little known fact about you or your brewery that you think customers would get a kick out of? Something unique, funny or unusual? 

Although we've occasionally explained the origin of the name of one of our flagship or core beers, A Year with Dr. Nandu, it likely remains unknown to the majority of our customers. Here is what one of our founders, Ronn Friedlander has to say about it:

“Dr. Hari Nandu, is a radiologist that makes vulgar jokes. [Our first beer] was named after we sat around with Dr. Nandu for a few hours trying to come up with a name for the brewery. He kept coming up with really funny, but inappropriate names. So we came up with the name A Session with Dr. Nandu to commemorate those naming sessions with a session IPA. On our first year anniversary we brewed A Year with Dr. Nandu, a retrospective on our first year as a brewery to reflect the things we’ve learned over the past year as a re-imagining of the Session.” 

#6) If you could only drink one beer for the rest of your life what would it be? (Doesn’t have to be your own!)

That would be Schönramer Pils. The first beer I fell in love with was a German pale lager beer, Lowenbrau Export, that my great uncle introduced me to. And although I've enjoyed and still enjoy a lot of different kinds of beers, I always greatly prefer a well-made lager, and the pilsner from Private Landbrauerei Schönram is simply superb. This beer is being brewed by a transplanted American brewer, Eric Toft, who is considered by many well-known, accomplished brewers to be on the short list of best brewers in the world. His pils is not only great tasting, but it's so easy to keep drinking it...and ordering another and another!

Bring some local pride to the table this Thanksgiving #MABeer

Anything wine can do, beer can do better - so clear the wine glasses and make room for Mass. made craft beer as you set the table this Thanksgiving.

From the buttery stuffing and mashed potatoes, tangy cranberry sauce, flavorful turkey and creamy pies, there’s a local offering that can hold up to any side or dessert you can dish up. 

We unfortunately can’t help you navigate political conversations around the dinner table, or make your in-laws more bearable, but we can help you navigate the craft beer aisle with a list of beers brewed right here in Massachusetts. 

And when all else fails, just change the subject and talk about how great the beer is …

First Thanksgiving on a Sour Planet!, Aeronaut 
A tart wheat ale, brewed with 180 lbs. of Massachusetts grown apples and exotic cinnamon. A pleasantly refreshing sour with prominent apple pie notes along with warming autumnal spices.

“Gose Well With Cranberries” and “Gose Well With Pumpkin Pie,” Second Wind Brewing Co.
Second Wind Brewing Co., released two beers just in time for Thanksgiving. A split a batch of “Gose Well...” with the first made with pureed pumpkin and holiday spices and the second made with pureed cranberries. Both 4.7 ABV and mildly tart. Available for sale in the taproom only.  

Kill Your Idles: Crantastic, Idle Hands 
A sour ale brewed with cranberry and blood orange puree then back sweetened with Lactose to balance the acidity. Full of cranberry flavor with just the right amount of citrus notes to keep the beer interesting. The addition of lactose allows for the flavors of the fruit to stand out among the acidic character of the base beer.

Cranberry Wheat Ale, Stone Cow
An American wheat ale bursting with fresh cranberry flavor and aroma. This trusty Thanksgiving sidekick can hang throughout the entire meal, from first bite to last sip. Especially great for cranberry sauce lovers. 

Goody Two Shoes Kölsch-Style Ale, Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing Co. 
This well-carbonated traditional Kölsch is a great partner to Thanksgiving dinner. Higher carbonation helps cut the richness of the turkey, gravy and stuffing and the light body and low ABV won't fill you up, leaving more room for pie. 

Rising Wind, Moby Dick Brewing Co.
A medium bodied, well balanced German-style, Dortmund/Export lager. What’s a Dortmund/Export lager you ask? As far as German golden lagers go, it breaks down like this: Pilsners are hoppy, Munich lagers are malty, and Dortmund/Export lagers are well balanced. This beer goes well with chicken, turkey and pasta as well as fatty flavorful fish like salmon, swordfish or tuna. 

Sweet Brown, Castle Island
Castle Island’s limited fall release, Sweet Brown, is a brown ale brewed with sweet potatoes. By including this ingredient, the sweet potatoes are able to provide a rich complexity to the mouthfeel that helps distinctly characterize the beer. Toasted malts also provide deep roasted chocolate and caramel notes that round out the beer and allows it to stand up to any Thanksgiving feast.

Slumpkin Pumpkin, Somerville Brewing Co.
It’s still Pumpkin beer season. Somerville Brewing recommends Slumkin Pumpkin to pair with dinner and pie. Awarded a Top 10 in the US by Rate My Pumpkins, this beer delights with fresh sugar pumpkin and a tiny hint of spice.

Storm Door Porter, RiverWalk
When the days get shorter and the shadows longer, the storm door goes on signaling the end of summer. So we meet the season head on with a beer sturdy enough for the harsher weather. Vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks enhance our rich dark malt to create a warming finish to sustain us all until the warmer weather returns.  

With the weather set to bring us the coldest Thanksgiving on record, Storm Door Porter pairs well with roaring fires, full bellies and hearts filled with thanks. Rated the #10 Porter in the country in 2018 by Paste magazine, this beer is the perfect choice for hiding from the weather and relatives alike.

Skwäshbuckle Imperial Porter, Turtle Swamp Brewing Co. 
This beer is named after the linguistic and phonetic spelling of squash, because umlauts are fun. It also shares a surname with Jim Buckle, the New England farmer who grew the 100 pounds of various baking squash that went into this beer. This rich and hearty limited offering is brewed with squash and spices, and pours dark brown with ruby red highlights, foaming up with a frothy, mocha colored head. Brewed with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and clove, the initial sip of this porter is surprisingly light with notes of brown sugar and only a hint of the heat from its 10.7% ABV. The finish releases more complex notes of dried fruit, banana, clove, and hints of pine from the Cascade hops. 

Trappist Holiday Ale, Spencer Brewing Co.
Mahogany in color, wholesome in body, lightly spiced, a heart-warming feast day ale from our table to yours.

Brew Like a Lady

Boston Pink Boots Society & Collaboration Brew Day Takes Place March 8.

Each year across the U.S., chapters and members of the Pink Boots Society -- a national nonprofit organization that supports women in the craft beer industry -- partner with breweries and individuals, adorn pink boots, and brew a unique selected beer style during, “Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day.” This country-wide event takes place annually on March 8, in celebration of International Women's Day. 

Pink Boots Collaboration Day works like this: A hop blend is chosen during harvest season by Pink Boots members, and made available nationwide to commercial brewers to feature in its recipe. Generously provided by YCH Hops, this year’s blend includes Palisade®, Simcoe®, Mosaic®, Citra® and Loral® hops. This exclusive hop blend is the only suggestion to this year’s recipe. Each team must be led by a woman and/or a majority of the participants on the team must be women.

The beer is then sold at participating breweries with proceeds benefiting the Pink Boots Society’s local chapter. Funds provide educational scholarships, and help to sponsor events and meetings for members to meet mentors and have the opportunity to network with other women in the profession.

More than 25 local breweries are set to participate in the brew day and including Aeronaut Brewing, Big Elm, Bone Up Brewing, Craft Roots Brewing, Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing, Greater Good, Harpoon Brewery, Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers, Lamplighter, Mayflower Brewing, Notch Brewing, River Styx Brewing, Riverwalk Brewing, Trillium Brewing and Wormtown Brewery. BSG CraftBrewing will donate yeast and specialty malts to any New England brewery that registers to join the effort.

Those interested in learning more about the Boston Pink Boots Society, or to learn how they can be involved are welcome to attend a chapter meeting on Feb. 19 at Notch Brewing in Salem, Mass. Open to all women in the brewing industry, members or allies.

Please register via this Facebook Event Page.

For questions or more information about the Boston Pink Boots Society, contact pbsboston@pinkbootssociety.org

What's on Tap for St. Paddy's Day?

Here are six ways to get your shamrock on this weekend that do not involve green beer:

ONE:
Poured on nitro and released for a special St. Patrick's Day event, "For The Love of Ireland", is a partnership between Aeronaut Brewing and the Irish International Immigrant center. These incredible friends are playing a tremendous role in assisting families from all over the world, fighting hard for Muslim immigrants affected by US policy changes. Available on Friday, March 17 at Aeronaut Brewing.

TWO:
Join Dorchester Brewing Company for a full day of St. Patrick's Day fun on Saturday, March 18 from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. The day kicks-off with a “Savin Stout” beer release -- an Irish dry stout served on Nitro, bittered with Chinook hops, and fermented in a British yeast strain. This stout contains roasted barley, creating its deep brown color, and smoky, cocoa notes. Live Irish music will play from 2 to 5 p.m. alongside a food truck serving up bites from 4 to 9 p.m. For more details, click here.

THREE: 
Wormtown is celebrating its 7th anniversary on Friday, March 17 from noon to 10 p.m. The full day celebration will open up “Fermentation Alley,” and include live music, sweet treats, giveaways and a special birthday release, "Brew #7." Cellared beers including Tennessee Tats, an Imperial Oatmeal Stout aged in Jack Daniel barrels, will be in the line-up along with many others. For more information, click here.

FOUR:
Navigation Brewing Co’s St. Paddy’s Day celebration will kick-off Friday, March 17 from 5 to 9 p.m., with Phoenix Rising Pizza paired with three Irish offerings – an Irish Stout, Irish Porter, and an Old Irish Ale. Other suds on tap include a Milk Stout, Double Porter, Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, Lowell Common and Citra dry hopped Pale Ale. The party keeps ShamRocking on Saturday, March 18 from 2 to 8 p.m. with HomeKitchen serving up bites.

FIVE:
On Friday, March 17, Element Brewing Co. will host Dan and the Dirty Catechism from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The Western Mass group sings and shouts songs about life, love, and sin. They weave their way through a variety of musical styles while performing the musical sermon about the virtues of sin and dirty living. Step right up and be saved...but it’s more fun if you get involved. For more information, For more details, click here.

SIX: 
Cape Cod Beer will launch their "Top Notch Stout" and raise a pint or two in honor of Saint Patrick’s Day. They've taken their velvety smooth Oatmeal Stout to the next level and aged it in Notch whiskey barrels (from Triple Eight Distillery). This dark brew with a hint of whiskey will be available only at the brewery in 750 ml. champagne bottles. 
OG: 16.7°P   ABV: 5.5%   IBUs: 42