Hello Everyone,
I haven't posted here in quite some time - but thought this was a good time to weigh in with a few statements.
I was in Plzen, Czech Republic to speak as the Keynote at the annual conference for the IBD (Institute of Brewing and Distilling). The chair/organizer of the conference had asked that I meet with a UK journalist that wanted to do an interview. We met the day before the conference and spoke for over an hour in a small conference room at Pilsner Urquell. James asked about how I came to brewing - about my travels- about Hill Farmstead and my thoughts on New England IPA. This was perhaps 95% of the interview. Maybe even a higher percentage. He asked a question about a comment that I made in a Good Beer Hunting podcast concerning consumption and alcohol in the beer industry - and I answered with some of what is quoted. I was not really speaking about any of these items - I was simply answering the (guided) questions that the journalist had asked.
When I started receiving text messages this morning about this interview - I was incredibly curious why people were sending me notes... until I saw the original headline: "Beer Industry 'failing to address' mental health and alcohol link." My heart sank. How was this the lead of the interview? This person had asked me my thoughts about dozens of topics - and somehow had crafted a lead that made it seem as if I had intentionally sought a soapbox from which to speak. This material was less than 5% of the entire conversation but had been purported to be much more than I could have ever imagined.
I certainly take issue with the light in which this article portrays my thoughts - as if I am some sort of of new wave prohibitionist with a puritanical self-righteousness. I was drinking half liters of Pilsner during this very casual interview.
I am made to appear that I took an interview in order to talk **** about all of my peers for being drunks and mentally ill. The quotes/lead are out of context and, frankly, quite frustrating. I was asked to conduct this interview as it coordinated with my keynote speech on innovation in the brewing industry. This was a casual interview that, sadly, ended up with some sort of sensational headline that was a modified version of our conversation. No soapbox. Just an honest look at my life with an interviewer who seemed, at the time, very genuinely interested in learning more about how Hill Farmstead came into existence. Little did I know...
Thank you all for allowing me to share my thoughts here. Please go back to enjoying beer. I will never conduct another interview with the same innocent naivety again. My understanding is that both Garrett Oliver and Paul Jones (from Cloudwater) had similar experiences with this same journalist. Taking fragmented thoughts and portraying things out of context.
Shaun Hill
Hill Farmstead Brewery
#48
