Cayuga County Craft: Better Know Your Brewers, featuring Prison City's Ben Maeso

Thursday will mark five years since Prison City Pub & Brewery opened its doors in downtown Auburn.

So this week felt like a pretty good time to feature the man behind聽Mass Riot聽and other Prison City beers, head brewer Ben Maeso, in my聽Better Know Your Brewers interview series.

I caught up with Maeso Tuesday at the brewpub. He and his team, which also includes assistant brewer Rob Bowen and cellarman Joe Rusch, were hard at work preparing for Thursday's anniversary party. There, patrons will be able to choose from 21 Prison City beers, including decorated flagships Mass Riot hazy IPA and聽Wham Whams聽coconut imperial stout. There will also be special releases like a double dry-hopped version of Mass Riot with Galaxy hops; coffee, nitro and Wild Turkey barrel-aged versions of Wham Whams; and sours Run Like an Apricot and Cherry Poppins.

Here's what Maeso had to say on the eve of Prison City's fifth anniversary:

Q. What was your gateway craft beer, the beer that turned you on to it?

A. It's hard to say. I drank a lot of Saranac before. But if I were to say one, it would probably be Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. That kind of got me introduced to hoppy beers. And then after that, the original (Ithaca Beer Co.) Flower Power was the first beer that made me kind of stop and say, "Wow, this is insane. This is wonderful." I'd never tasted that kind of hop flavor in a beer before. But if I were to say one, it would be Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It was the first one that kind of (opened the door) to my beer geek qualities.聽

Q. When did you know you wanted to brew beer for a living?

A. Maybe after my third or fourth batch. I sort of fell into it pretty hard. I had an extract batch; it was not very good. And I'm the type of personality where I get kind of hyperfocused on one thing and forget about everything else, which is a double-edged sword. But brewing became that for me, and after a matter of a few months, I pretty much had a professional half-barrel brewing system in my basement. When it was all said and done, four or five years later, before I went pro, I had 14 beers on tap. Of course, a lot of home brewers will have their friends say, "This is great, you should sell it." And I think, honestly, almost every home brewer wants to be a professional brewer in some form or another. But I don't trust my friends, because they tend to (flatter you). I had been kicking around the idea of going pro because it's something that I certainly loved to do, and I got my beer judge certification. I entered as many competitions as I could, not for the prizes and the medals and all that, but for the objective feedback I'd get from the judges. So I made sure what I was making was stylistically accurate, and I did well in competitions. It got to the point where I was brewing twice a week at home. Like I said, I had a whole bunch of beers on tap, so I would have cellar-clearing parties where I would have friends come over just so I could clear the kegs so I could brew again. So I kind of started kicking around the idea and looked into doing my own thing. Of course, opening a brewery is very expensive. And then this opportunity came up through a mutual friend. It's an environment where I can brew basically whatever I want in small batches, and serve it to people on the other side of the wall. That's my quality control lab, the guys who frequent the place. And I wouldn't have to worry about the restaurant or anything. The only thing I take care of is the brewery. And that's how I ended up here. Yeah, I don't think there was really one moment. I guess I almost knew that I was going to do it professionally. It seemed it was going in that direction, because I was just obsessed with it at the time.聽

Q. What brewers, breweries or beers have been your biggest inspirations?

A. I really got into Firestone Walker early. I still believe, truthfully, that when it comes to all-around breweries, I don't think anybody does it as well as Firestone Walker does. They have everything, from amazing pilsners to a crazy sour program. And they're still, if not my favorite brewery, certainly in my top three. I love everything they do. Of course, nowadays, it's all about smaller breweries. As far as beer 鈥� my first lambic. I believe it was Cantillon (Classic) Gueuze. That one sort of opened my mind to what beer can be. If you have a real funky Belgian-style lambic, it's unlike any other beer. A lot of people think it's offensive, but I was just amazed by it, and the process.

Q. If you were stuck on a desert island and could only have one beer, which would it be? (Editor's note: For the sake of the question, the beer would always be in peak condition and not subject to temperature, age or other concerns)

A. I'm trying to think of beers that have recently blown my mind. Fine Line K枚lsch by Suarez (Family Brewery). It was honestly one of the best beers I had all year. I just thought it was really well-done. It's a beer that I don't think I could ever get sick of.

Q. What do you think is the next big thing in craft beer?

A.聽It's so hard to predict because of the current zeitgeist and everything that's happening in craft beer. You don't know where it's going. In 2018, they said lagers and pilsners were going to be the thing. When we started brewing Mass Riot after , I honestly thought hazy IPA was sort of peaking, and in 2018, it was going to drop off. But it just keeps gaining steam. I do think that lagers are going to continue to be more popular, but there's really no end in sight for hazy IPAs. I firmly believe that these New England-style IPAs, these big beers, double IPAs that are very popular, fruited sours with a ton of fruit 鈥� those kinds of beers overwhelm your palate. And I think the pendulum is gonna eventually swing the other way because I think a lot of new craft beer drinkers are getting into craft beer via these styles that almost don't taste like beer. So the real question is: Are those drinkers going to be able to go back and enjoy a Belgian-style session ale, or a nice pilsner, or are they just going to start drinking alcoholic seltzer? If I were to say where craft beer is going, I think the fruity styles are going to continue to be strong and I think, slowly but surely, we're probably going to start shifting back to more balanced styles, more nuanced styles, styles that are about just the four ingredients that are in beer according to the . Or at least I hope so. I'm waiting for it. Because that's what I like to drink.

Q. What's a style of beer you wish there was more appreciation for, more of a demand for?

A. Probably dark lagers. I love schwarzbier, Munich dunkel. Altbier is another great one. Generally, when people think about lagers, they're thinking about pale-colored, pilsner malt-based beers. I think people really should appreciate different styles of lagers. Honestly, never mind: My No. 1 would be Belgian beers. Belgian beers have really fallen off with all these new fruit-forward styles, whether it's New England-style IPA or fruited sour beers. Belgian beers are very yeast-driven, so when people drink them they're kind of surprised and they immediately don't like it, because it doesn't taste like anything they're familiar with. It's interesting, because Belgian beers, 10 years ago, that was the beer geek's beer. Everybody loved Belgian beer, and then it just really fell off. I can't really think of a style that fell off faster than Belgian styles. I would really love to see people appreciate that more. Because I love Belgian beers, and we can't brew a lot of them because they don't move as well as they should. A lot of people will say, "I don't like Belgian beers." And to me, it's a crazy thing because Belgian beers are all over the map. Light to dark, all these different flavors, whether they're spicy, phenolic beers or fruit-forward like Duvel, which has a nice pear quality. They're all over the gamut. I think people should be a little more open-minded when it comes to trying all different styles.聽

Q. Are there any trends or styles of beer that you kind of wish would go away?

A. Beer that doesn't taste like beer. Beer that's heavily outside of the four main ingredients 鈥� too many additives. Beers that drift away from balance, that are too much of one thing and too much of another. Beer really needs to be balanced.聽

Q. What's the most frequently asked question you get at your brewery?

A. "How long does it take to make beer?" Easily. People are very fascinated by it. You'd be surprised how many people don't know it takes time to make beer. It takes at least a couple weeks, depending on what kind of setup you have. There are ways to speed it up. But a lot of people will come in and ask, and they're surprised: "Wow, does it take that long?" Particularly when we can't have a certain beer on, a certain IPA on, or when we make it and it's gone in a few days. And then they wonder why we don't make more of it. Sometimes you take it for granted that it's common knowledge, but it really isn't.聽

Q. What kind of music do you like to listen to when you're brewing?

A. Music-wise, we listen to a lot of '80s, classics. We're all over the map, though. A lot of old-school hip-hop. Depending on the day, if we're just trying to get through, we'll put on some kind of heavy metal or fast-paced music. But generally, a lot of '80s and old-school hip-hop. Of course, we've got other guys in there who want to hear different things. Rob plays Phish all the time. We tend to be pretty diverse. We've tried to listen to podcasts, but you can't concentrate. I just need background music going.聽

Q. If you could collaborate with any brewer or brewery in the world, which would you pick?

A. Cantillon or 3 Fonteinen. The reason being, I am most fascinated by what they do: spontaneous fermentation. I was lucky enough to go there a couple times, and it kind of goes against everything you're taught as a brewer. We're talking about barrels with cobwebs, I even saw maggots on a barrel 鈥� outside, of course, not inside. But they just kind of let beer do its thing. After all, it is yeast that makes beer, not people. So they embrace that, and they've been doing the same thing for generations. Without pontificating too much, I think a lot of collaborations are strictly for marketing. And whenever I do a collaboration, one of my requirements is that we should learn something from each other. And I feel I probably wouldn't be able to bring anything to Cantillon, but I would love to be able to see, more than any other brewery, how they do things. Maybe that's a little greedy. Actually no, maybe I could show them how to make hazy IPA. I do hear that (Cantillon owner and brewer) Jean van Roy is a little bit of a hop head. Of course, 3 Fonteinen is great, but Cantillon's kind of the classic, and I love lambic style.

(Editor's note: This interview has been condensed.)

What's on tap

Aurora Brewing Co.

Mark Grimaldi and Joe Shelton's Ledyard brewery will release a collaboration IPA with Beer Tree Brew Co., of Port Crane, this week. Aurora will also release a new mixed fermentation beer at the end of the month: a red wine barrel-aged saison that spent a year in oak with its house culture. Its last mixed fermentation beer, a red wine barrel-aged sour Belgian aged on red currants, is still available at the brewery. Aurora also plans to release a series of barrel-aged and pastry stouts in bottles in 2020, starting as soon as early January.

Next Chapter Brewpub

The Genesee Center brewpub will send out 2019 with a Year End Jazz Fest from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 29. Performing will be Way Off Bass with a special guest on guitar (noon-2 p.m.), Bob Piorun and The Kats featuring Joe Whiting (2:30-4:30 p.m.), Diana Jacobs Jazz Trio (5-7 p.m.) and Jim E. Leggs Jazz Trio (8-10 p.m.). New on tap from brewer Scott DeLap is Chapter Cranberry Saison, with more to follow soon: Chapter Cranberry Orange Saison, Chapter Holy Peanut Butter Mole Stout, Chapter Hoppy Orange Pils (Chapter Pils with Amarillo hops and blood orange), and in late December or early 2020, Chapter Crow City Stout (stout with coffee beans from Crow City Roasters in Auburn).聽

Prison City Pub & Brewery

In advance of the Auburn brewpub's fifth anniversary party Thursday, it has released two holiday season favorites: Straight Outta No'Po' (a 10% ABV barrel-aged porter conditioned on roasted hazelnuts, coffee beans and ginger) and Welcome to the Party, Pal! (a 7.1% ABV New England-style hazy IPA with a juicy fruit nose and notes of watermelon candy, stone fruit and bubble gum).

Summerhill Brewing

New at the southern Cayuga County brewery is a bourbon porter, with notes of toasty vanilla, and a cherry red ale that tastes like an adult cherry cola. Coming soon are a holiday ale (an amber ale with sage and cranberry) and a smoky brown ale. Summerhill will also host several holiday events beginning Thursday, Dec. 19, including its second annual Ugly Sweater Party from 1 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21. The party will include music by Madd Daddy (2-4:30 p.m.) and Rachel Beverly (5-7 p.m.), as well as food by 10-10 BBQ (2-7 p.m.)