Q. Tell me a little about yourself and how you got started with the brewery.

A. Well, I started as a temp. I came in to help at the brewery, and when I left at the end of the day, one of the brewers gave me a six pack of Boston Lager, and I’ve been back every day since. And that was about 15 years ago.  I grew up in the Boston area. I’m Irish through and through. I love Irish literature, Irish music, and the person I’d most like to have a beer with is Brendan Behan. Now, that I have a family, when I’m not at Sam Adams, you can find me with my wife and kids gardening or fishing.

I think I have the greatest job in the world because I get to travel the globe, literally, in pursuit of fine beer.

Q. Sam Adams has a large number of different styles of beer, how do you come up with these styles and ensure the quality with such a large operation.

A. One of every brewer’s favorite activities is developing new recipes and figuring out how to improve on classic styles.  We’re a small player in the beer business, but we’re just big enough to be able to source the very best ingredients from all over the world. Having the best ingredients is, of course, essential to brewing great beer. When our breweries take one of our new recipes into production they treat it with the care and respect it deserves. It’s a beautiful thing.

Q. Do you stay in contact with winners of the Sam Adams Longshot Home Brew Contest and tell us a little more about it.

A. We do stay in touch with many of the winners. After all, they all come to Boston to do a test batch of their beer, so we work side by side with them. It’s very exciting. Here you have people who’ve basically been brewing alone in their kitchens, and they show up in at our Boston Brewery, and they have a team of people who want to help them succeed.

We first did Longshot back in the mid- 1990s, and then we revived it a few years ago. We ask homebrewers to submit two (CK #) bottles of their best homebrew. We have regional judging by Certified Beer Judges, and then the finals are held in Boston with Jim Koch and other highly trained palates.

Q. For a long time wine was seen as the food pairing beverage, how do you see beer evolving into this role.

A. Well, beer and food pairings started back in the late 1980s, but they’ve really caught fire in recent years as more and more different craft beers come on the market. It’s an important way that we have to demonstrate that beer is the new wine, and that it’s just as deserving as wine to be paired with food. Also, as more new cuisines arrive in our country, we find a lot of them come from countries near the equator, and they tend to be spicier foods. Beer is a great complement to spicy food.

Q. Are any of your beers organic and if not any plans for this in the future.

A.  We have looked at every possible variation on beer, including organic beer, but so far we haven’t developed a recipe that we like that would have all organic ingredients. We never say never, so who knows what will happen next year.  That’s one of the great things about being a brewer at Sam Adams; if we’re patient we often get to do the impossible.

Q. What is your extreme beer program, and how do people get a chance to try these beers

A. Well, speaking of doing the impossible, our extreme beers are it. Imagine brewing a beer that isn’t carbonated but is rich and smooth like a Port. That’s Utopias, which is 27% ABV, the strongest beer in the history of the world. It is the nectar of the Beer Gods. We’re going to be bringing it out again this year, and we’re going to make a little more than in previous years, so it won’t be so difficult to find. If I wanted to buy a bottle, I’d go to a good beer store and see if you can pre-order.

Q. Where do you see craft beer and Sam Adams evolving?

A. There are no crystal balls in the world of brewing, but I think it’s safe to say that this is the greatest time in history to be a beer lover. Never before have we had so many wonderful American craft beers on the market, and many are available nationally. Beer drinkers in the United States are now among the world’s best educated. It’s wonderful to be a brewer at Samuel Adams because you brew a beer knowing that it’s going to be appreciated by beer lovers all over the country.

Q. What is your favorite style of beer, and what is your favorite to make

A. Well, the standard answer is that my favorite beer is my next beer, but I’m Irish, and I have to say that I love our Irish Red.  I think it’s my own beer that I brewed just for me. I’m happy to share it with others. But I never turn down a Boston Lager either!

Q. For people just getting into home brewing what suggestions or advice do you have for them?

A. It’s pretty easy to learn the basics of brewing, but if you find you really love brewing, then spend as much time as you can with other brewers. Join a home brew club. Go to Beer Festivals and talk to other brewers. Enter Homebrew contests. Arrange vertical or other tastings. Read books of beer recipes. Learn about ingredients. The fact is, learning to brew is like learning to cook; all of the same training applies.

Q. What is your favorite or funniest brewery memory?

A. Passion in the mash in. Once after a party at the brewery we were locking up the place. We heard some funny noises and while investigating, found a couple in flagrante delicto. By the mash tun. We asked them to leave!