Pull Up A Stool With Ian Burnett

of Brown Truck Brewery

November 9, 2016 By John Holl

Editor’s Note: This story appears in the January 2017 issue of All About Beer Magazine. Click here to subscribe.

The brewery had only been open for nine months when Brown Truck Brewery was named the best very small brewing company and Ian Burnett best very small brewing company brewer of the year at the Great American Beer Festival this past October. Burnett entered five of his beers into the competition and walked away with three medals, including gold for his #10 American Lager in the American-Style Light Lager or German-Style Light Lager Category. That spot has—typically—been held by a beer made by Pabst, Coors or Anheuser-Busch.

All About Beer: The lager win is really like a David toppling Goliath. What was it like for you in the moment and since the festival?

Ian Burnett: When we won the first medal, silver in the American-Belgo category, I heard our name and then went numb. Same was true with lager. I heard a super big cheer and then, well, I’d like to see a video of it. Afterwards, in the hall, brewers kept coming up to us saying how excited everyone was for us in the moment. Since winning, calls have come in from all over the world. It gives us a lot of credibility. We’ve had explosive sales, and now we have a lot of questions to answer around here about our future. It’s great, but I haven’t been able to gauge what’s the new normal.

Light lagers, for all the hits they take from a certain segment of beer enthusiasts, are loved by a large swath of drinkers. Having only been open for a few months, and already focusing on Belgian and European styles, why make a lager, and why enter it?

I guess in my mind, why not? It’s a percentage of the beer drinking in America that is huge. If you can tap into it a bit, it’s a gold mine. I thought about doing a Kölsch or a blond ale, but I said, I have a soft spot for lagers. A low-ABV flavorful beer, if you can pull that off, it shows a whole other side of what your brewery can do. I was talking to my wife. She was doing the dishes one night when I was thinking about the lager, and I said, ‘Am I gonna be laughed at for this?’ She reminded me that sometimes people just want a beer. Beer—the definition is that golden-colored fizzy liquid stuff. So I played around with a few recipes in 10-gallon batches, giving each a number. That’s how this beer got its name, #10. Now the numbers are part of our branding. My goal is to make a better one than what people are given on a daily basis.
I think we did that.

It’s a hard style to get right; what’s your advice for people aspiring to make better lagers?

Having the right standard operating procedure is key. I push the SOP on myself and the brewers to do the same thing every time. Paperwork is important. If you don’t write how you did it, you can’t do it again. It’s the least expensive to make, but it’s the hardest to lager. It’s intense. You just slowly crash it and let the quality shine. This beer will hopefully be around for a while.

Do you have a personal philosophy that you follow when it comes to brewing?

I really like to brew the beers that I enjoy drinking. I’m on one side of the bar and customers are on the other. I love sours, but not everyone is on the sour beer train yet, especially in this market. I also have to take into consideration what customers want to drink. It’s also about knowing what I’m good at and what I’m not good at. I can’t brew a wheat beer to save my life. But Belgian styles and American ales, that’s what I like to make. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel in brewing; I’m just trying to make the ride smoother. We have to remember: Beer is a man-made product. If you’re making crappy beer, it’s because you’re making it.

–This interview was conducted and edited by John Holl, editor of All About Beer Magazine.

Ian Burnett: At A Glance

Co-owner and head brewer, Brown Truck Brewery

Years in the brewing industry: 9

Go-to beer from another brewery: Boulevard Tank 7 or Bell’s Two Hearted

Beer that inspired him earlier in life: Saison Dupont

Couldn’t live without: My wife

Favorite place to have a beer: Wherever my friends are

Wishes he could buy a round for: Jean-Xavier Guinard

Biggest passion besides brewing: My family and homesteading

Keeping him up at night: Honestly, money

Company Profile

Brown Truck Brewery

High Point, North Carolina

facebook.com/browntruckbrewery

Founded: 2015 (opened 2016)

Annual Production: 280 barrels (2015) 450-500 (2016, est.)

Availability: North Carolina

Editor’s Note: This story appears in the January 2017 issue of All About Beer Magazine. Click here to subscribe.