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].

Recon Brewing opened in February 2016, by 3 friends (Toby Wehr, Dave Bestwick, and Nate Bacher) who were all born and raised in Butler PA, and met through the fire service in Butler Township. They have dedicated their lives to volunteering and working for the Butler community. Nathan is the head brewer at Recon Brewing, read more to find out how he was introduced to craft beer, where he sees the craft beer industry heading, and more!

What was your introduction to craft beer?

Well, a friend and I “happened” upon a variety pack of Saranac in the late ’90s and went through it one by one attempting to choke each one down until our taste buds were destroyed. I should mention the beer was perfectly fine, but until that point, the most flavorful beer I’d had was an Ice House or Red Dog. A few short years later, and able to procure my own libations, I fell in love with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, every brewer’s gateway beer.

How did you get started as a brewer?

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my Mr. Beer debacle. I was able to successfully create the most sour apple cider vinegar you’d ever want. Heartbroken at the lack of homebrew in my fridge, I kindly placed my Mr. Beer in the recycle bin and went out and purchased a copy of Charlie Papazian’s “Joy of Homebrewing” 3rd Edition and read it cover to cover. From there I upgraded my brewing to a 5-gallon partial mash system then finally up to a 1 BBL all-grain system. That’s when it clicked for me, nothing could beat the building of a grain bill and the incredible smell of mashing those grains in to create something from scratch. After nearly 3 years of brewing at Recon, my favorite thing is to finish up a mash just before we open, and watch patrons walk through the door to be engulfed in the aromas of a hearty oat or roasted barley addition. When their face lights up, you know you’re dealing with a craft beer lover.

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

While not exactly a style of beer, my favorite Recon beer to brew is our rotating “Karma Tap”. It’s a beer that we brew each quarter for a local charitable organization and 15% of the sales of that beer go directly to the non-profit. It allows us to be the most creative because we meet with each group, discuss beer styles, likes/dislikes, what their organization is about, and we build a custom brew for them that represents them. We have done hazy pales, Red IPAs, Milkshake IPAs, Alt beers, Wits, each with their own tweak or special ingredient. It’s a really fun program, it helps us connect with people about what they like in a beer, and it helps to support and advocate for these important organizations.

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

We won’t rehash my vinegar production story, so I’ll go with the first brew that turned out to be actual beer in the end. A friend and I brewed a wheat beer (Blue Moon was popular at the time) and I knew I could taste hints of clove in the commercial version. So I added several tablespoons of ground clove at flameout and was convinced this was going to be a perfect clone. 3 weeks later we found our brew to be reminiscent of chewing on a handful of clove cigarettes. I learned two important brewing lessons on that beer. One, there is a huge difference between a measurement of whole vs. ground spices, and two, the clove you taste in a hefeweizen is a subtle note that is produced from the yeast strain during fermentation. No one adds clove…..Good to know.

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

I feel the industry is going to continue to support the current number of local breweries with a focus on the hyper-local. A good share of consumers have their favorite “local” brewery, and taprooms have become places to come and meet friends and spend the whole evening. But it’s also still driven by the beer travelers that explore around and stop in on a self-guided brew tour through Butler County. For those two reasons, our industry is in a unique position to operate as both a local community hangout and a destination. Additionally, the hyper-local brewhouses are crafting at an artisanal level with ingredients that are local, unique, fresh, whole. It’s a great time to be a small brewhouse.

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

Being a brewer in Pennsylvania and more specifically Butler County is a great thing these days. We have excellent support at the State and local level, a recently established Butler County Brewers’ Co-Op that represents our craft, and access to local ingredients and locally malted grains from CNC Malt. But we also have a great group of brewers that are constantly helping each other out, sharing ideas and techniques and collaborating on beers. Good people.

What is the inspiration behind your beer names?

We all agree this is one of the few frustrating parts of brewing. Coming up with beer names that are not already taken is becoming challenging. That said, we normally gravitate toward something Jeep related after our namesake for the Bantam Reconnaissance Car (BRC), second, we go to pop culture (music, movie quotes, etc).

What is your favorite beer to drink right now?

Right now I am full steam ahead into a sour kick. Puckering, salt/no salt, fruited or not, I’ll take them all. And I sprinkle in the occasional hazy to cleanse the pallet. It’s a great rotation.

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

I was schooled in what local support meant. Since the moment we opened our doors we’ve had the best group of local craft-loving patrons you could ask for. We’ve had regulars let us know they’re going out of town so we don’t worry about them! Another part of that is having craft beer stewards serving your beer. Our staff treats our patrons like family and represent “us” with each pint they pour.

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