Stovts anmeldelse af "Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out" kan læses her.
What is your favorite beer?
I'm sure many people quibble over this question and say they just can't give you an answer because there are so many wonderful beers in this world or else they offer an answer clever and non-committal such as "The one in my hand!" But I will do no such thing. I will not equivocate. I will pick a beer — a single beer from all the thousands or millions or perhaps billions of brilliant beers out there in the world. Hmmmmm. Thinking. Hmmmmm. OK! I've got it! Here's my answer ... after some more thinking ... hmmmmmmm ... you know, this is difficult to answer. Hmmmmmmm. Well ... OK ...
What is your favorite beer type?
The broadest possible answer — which is true — is "fresh beer." I've enjoyed every style with the possible exception of American-style barleywine (the sweet and the bitter just don't match up according to my tastebuds). So anything that's well made and fresh can be an eye-opener so far as I'm concerned. But if I'm drilling down into styles, I'll call it a four-way tie between West Coast IPA that's balanced just right between fruity and bitter, oatmeal stout, bourbon barrel-aged English-style barleywine and altbier, which is difficult to find in a nation of more than 7,000 breweries, but when done right it's just so damn satisfying. Let's make it a five-way tie and toss in lambic. I'm a fan of the funk.
Where do you buy your beer?
I'm in a fortunate position of not buying a lot of beer right now; I get a lot of samples, which is necessary for my job as beer writer at the Chicago Tribune. When I do buy beer, though, it's almost always at a store with some degree of specialization in beer and I always always always check dates to ensure freshness.
What has been your greatest beer experience?
One thing I enjoy so much about beer is that it provides endless memorable experience. I can routinely remember what I drank, or my wife drank, from a moment years earlier. It can be far from home or close to home, as grand as sitting along a river on the other side of the globe and getting a great recommendation from a bartender or as mundane as walking into a taproom down the block from my house on a wintry day and delving into a wonderful oatmeal stout.
What makes beer so great?
The previous question answers this question: because it is experience. Most things we consume are afterthoughts. Beer is rarely an afterthought. It bonds us. It sears memories. It warms and relaxes us. It tastes damn good.