Josh Smith said he wasn’t always a beer guy, but his tastes have changed.
After starting behind a bar in North Carolina, venturing into the back room and learning how craft brew was created, to his relocation to Fulton County, Smith -- whose parents grew up in the Mohawk Valley -- knows his beer.
The Daily Gazette met with Smith, 30, as he was creating a batch of craft beer and talking about his journey from the south to Great Sacandaga Brewing in Broadalbin as the business’s brewmaster.
Answers have been lightly edited for clarity and space.
Q: How do become a brewmaster?
A: I left the [Navy] and worked as a correctional officer. We had a lot of days off. I took up a gig bartending at a brewery in my hometown in North Carolina. They were starting to get big, were short-staffed and let the bartenders come in on their days off to help put labels on cans, grind the fruit, and stuff. I started doing that and discovered this is more than just sitting here drinking it.
There were a lot of fun things happening, and I started an apprenticeship with those guys. They showed me how to brew, letting me throw in the grain or, occasionally, the hops. Another brewery opened up, and it was just one guy brewing. I would go there and help him brew, too. When I wasn’t doing my other two jobs, I’d go there.
He hired me as his assistant brewer, and it just kind of happened.
Q: What brought you to the Northeast and Great Sacandage Brewing Co.?
A: My dad is from St. Johnsville, my mom is from Ilion, and they have a camp on Caroga Lake. My wife, Leilani, would come up here every summer for a week and hang out. She mentioned that we need to move. She was tired of North Carolina and had lived there her whole life. We decided to pick up and move. I applied to places up here. I came up here for a weekend by myself to do the interview. I eventually had a job before I was officially moving here.
I was reaching out to breweries, and [Great Sacandaga Brewing owner] Erik [Stevens] said he had a position. We had a good conversation. We talked about beer, and it just worked out. My wife really wanted me to take the job. I was here two weeks later.
Q: Have you always been a beer drinker?
A: I did not get into beer until I started bartending. I drank Miller or Coors every once in a while. In the Navy, we drank a lot of liquor. I didn’t drink a lot of beer until I started bartending. Now, it’s all I drink. I don’t drink liquor.
Q: What was your path to discovering craft beers?
A: It took a while because there are a lot of different flavors from Miller and Bud. They are watered down and use cheap ingredients. With these beers, you can taste the malt in a craft beer. It takes a little while to get used to, and you’ve got to figure out what you like. You’re not going to like every beer there is.
Q: What is one of your favorite styles of craft beer?
A: IPAs. One day, I woke up and said, ‘I really like IPAs."
Q: What IPAs do you prefer?
A: The big ones right now are hazy IPAs. A lot of people are doing the New England hazy. They are fruity, hop-forward -- really good beer. West Coast IPAs are more bitter; really hoppy without that real fruitiness going on in there. The East Coast IPAs are more like a mixture of the two IPAs.
I’m really into the West Coast. I like the bitterness, the hoppiness. They always use a little bit of pine in there, so it gives it a little Earthy feel to it. That’s my go-to IPA.
Q: What is your opinion on the darker, stout beers?
A: The stouts are a bigger, heavy, dark beer -- a man’s beer. That’s what everyone says, "This is a man’s beer.” That’s what all the old guys say. “This is what I always have.”
Q: What goes into the craft beer you are brewing today?
A: Today, I’m making one of the spring lagers, the Maibock. I like it. It’s mainly for the spring, so it will get a lot of body from the grain. You’re going to get a little bit of floral hops in there, and it just bounces out into the springtime, bringing in the spring and summer. You can drink it all day. It’s got a little bit of a kick to it, around 7% alcohol content. This one is going to take two months before it’s ready.
Q: Is it hard to wait 60 days before a beer is ready? Do you get anxious?
A: I’ll wait about 30 days, pour a little out, and see where it’s coming along. You want to make sure it didn’t get infected somewhere along the way. I know it won’t be ready, but I’m just trying to make sure it’s still on the right path. Then I say, “Well, I’ll see you in another four weeks.”
Q: Is there a beer you do not like brewing here at Great Sacandaga Brewing Co.?
A: It would be our Colonial, our spruce beer. We use fresh spruce tips. It’s just annoying because it clogs up [the drain]. The spruce needles are in there, and they just make a mess.
I had heard of it, but hadn’t seen anybody try to make one that way. That was new. It’s unique. If you like sprucy flavors, you’ll like them. It’s a hit or miss. It’s one of those beers that it can’t grow on you — you either like it or you don’t.
Q: You said you have brewed more than 100 batches of craft beer. What else does the job entail?
A: Maintenance is all the time. It’s the whole job. You are always cleaning. You’re always making sure things are running right, make sure everything’s sanitary. We’re just glorified cleaners — hopefully with a good palette.
Q: What is the brewing process?
A: You heat up your kettle and then add your base grain. Then you throw in your specialty grains. It’ll give you the colors and the flavors. Then, it’s time.
Q: Where do you get your products from?
A: Everything we use comes from New York. It’s good stuff. It tastes great.
Q: When you look out and you see someone enjoying one of your craft beers, what is that feeling like?
A: It's a small community for breweries, even though it seems like a lot. If you start getting negative reviews, it's not good. Word travels fast. I do appreciate it when people tell me like "Hey, this is really good."
I get nervous. They're the judges.