Cain is Able

As a follow-up to Brewpublic’s news about Lakewood, New York’s Southern Tier Brewing Company making it’s way into the Northwest market, here is an interview with head brewer Paul Cain.

What’s your experience at Southern Tier been like?

Paul Cain: I have been with southern tier brewing for over four years now, my experience here has been very positive for me personally, I started working part time on the packaging line, taping cases closed and stacking finished cases on a pallet. From there I moved on to processing kegs, and then about one year in, I was a shift brewer, turning brews

at night and cleaning up, and prepping the brew house for the next day. I soon had the opportunity to fill the asst. brewer position, and soon after was given the head brewer position, as we normally hire personnel from the inside, and I had the most experience in the brew house. Along the way I was trained on all brewery ops, I operated and maintained the bottling line; I took on all of the cellar/ fermentation duties, filtration, and management of raw materials. In a nutshell, I gained all of my experience “on the job”, as I had no formal education in brewing or fermentation or management for that matter. So the last four years have been one long learning experience.

What size system do you brew with?  Any challenges with that?

PC: Our brew house is a standard two vessel, single temp mash that includes a combo mash lauter tun followed by a 30 bbl combo kettle / whirlpool. We have over 800 bbl of fermentation space, the majority of our tanks are 100 bbl capacities, and we work in three shifts to turn four brews in a 20hr period. It is surely a challenging format; however brewing multiple turns to make one batch ensures a greater level of consistency.
What’s beer culture like in Lakewood area?  Do the locals drink a lot of extreme beers?

PC: The locals here in Lakewood have not been exposed to a lot of “beer culture”, prior to 2002. We have a pub that we open on the weekends and it is a very popular spot. Local pubs and restaurants are proud to carry our products and patrons are proud to drink local beer. Although very few, on either side of the bar, have any idea just how positively the southern tier brews are regarded in the craft brew scene.

Where did your interest in craft beer come from?

PC: My personal interest in beer has to be attributed to my older brother, who made sure that I understood right from wrong, and among other things, “tasty” beer from macro not-so-special beer.

For more information on Southern Tier, visit their website http://www.southerntierbrewing.com/