Welcome to our “Meet The Brewer” series! Where we interview brewers in Pennsylvania, from breweries small to large. Let us know if you know anyone who should be featured, email us at [email protected].

Mellow Mink Brewery opened in August of 2018 in Mechanicsburg, PA, and you can check out our review of the brewery here. They opened with a 5 BBL system, with 12 taps available. Matt Miller, the head brewer and co-owner, is a long time home brewer and well known as “Dr. Lambic”. He is the author of the educational brewing website “Sour Beer Blog”. The brewery is known now for a variety of sours, farmhouse ales, saisons as well as more traditional beers such as pale ale’s, IPA’s and stouts.

Keep reading to find out more about Matt, how he got introduced to craft beer, the first beer he ever brewed, the most important lesson he has learned so far, and more!

What was your introduction to craft beer?

My first craft beer was a “Fat Angel” by Magic Hat Brewing in 2003. At the time, I was intrigued by the styles and flavors that Magic Hat was offering. These were radically different than the Bud/Miller/Coors/Natty that other folks in college were drinking at the time. Over the following years I began exploring my way through American Craft Beer and European imports. Eventually, I took this interest to the next logical level with my first homebrew.

How did you get started as a brewer?

I’ve always been a Do-It-Yourselfer. I believe this mentality was the impetus for channeling my interest in exploring beer styles into homebrewing. I brewed by first (Brewer’s Best malt extract) Kölsch in 2009 and was hooked. Over the next two years I logged over 50 extract brews before building an all-grain system. From there I logged over another 50 all-grain brews before joining a local homebrewing club, the “Sons of Alchemy”. Through the club, I met both high-level homebrewers and beginning pro-brewers who could continue to drive my brewing education.

What style allows you to be the most creative, and why?

I think that mixed-culture barrel aged golden sour beers offer me the outlet for maximum creativity. While already complex when mature, this style allows for virtually unlimited blending options with fruit, vegetables, spices, hops, and other styles of beer. While it seems almost everyone in the industry is trying to use IPA as a base for food/cocktail/dessert style beers. Most of the dishes that inspire these beers do not have a bitter component. Whereas nearly all of these dishes have some level of acidity. In my opinion, this is the reason why most fruits/spices/etc taste more complete and natural in a sour beer.

What was the first beer you ever brewed, and what did you learn from it?

My first beer was a home brewed Kölsch. I learned that brewing can be fun and that even a beginner can make something that they will enjoy drinking.

Where do you see the craft beer industry heading in the next few years?

I think that the craft beer industry is undergoing a process of localization. Tasting rooms can often be more family-friendly and inclusive than the classic bar or club. The natural desire for craft beer enthusiasts to know where, by whom, and how their beers are made fits perfectly with smaller, more personal experiences at local breweries.

Describe what it’s like to be a brewer in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania has a rich beer and brewing history and legislative updates over the past 3 years have made PA one of the most craft-friendly states around. In central PA, our area has a rich rural agriculture and farming community which provide a lot of opportunities to use local ingredients in my recipes.

What is the inspiration behind your beer names?

Our beer names are inspired by our personal interests and experiences. We also appreciate names that tie into a beer style’s history or ingredients. I tend to avoid puns or pop-culture names, they just aren’t my style.

What is your favorite beer to drink right now?

My favorite beers to drink this time of the year are dry, complex, oak aged saisons. They tend to be highly refreshing in the warm weather without skimping on nuance and flavor.

What is the most important lesson you learned in the beer industry so far?

The most important lesson I’ve learned thus far is that, for myself, it’s incredibly important to remain true to the interests and passions that motivated me to become a professional brewer in the first place. There will always be real-world business pressures to brew more of certain styles or save money by using certain ingredients. Personally, as both a brewer and business owner, I feel those pressures daily. In the face of such pressures, I find that I gain both comfort and pride in creating products that are an authentic extension of my tastes and preferences. For myself, if I’m not brewing or blending beers that I love to drink myself, then I would be in this business for the wrong reasons. At Mellow Mink I see myself as an artist first, and a businessman second, and I think that learning how to maintain that balance has been my most important lesson.

Thank you to Matt for talking with us! Make sure you visit Mellow Mink Brewing for all the latest beers, news, information and special events. And also follow Mellow Mink on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!