Brewing with Jon Lee of Wasatch and Squatters

BC: What life lessons have you learned from brewing?

Lee: I think perhaps the biggest life lesson would be patience. Prior to developing my career in the industry, I don’t want to say I had none – but it wasn’t very much. Since we have to wait so long to taste and enjoy our hard work it’s something that has become integral to my success as well as the breweries’. I think my family might back me up on this one as well!

BC: Aside from quality and consistency, what are the keys to a successful brewery?

Lee: The number one key has to be the people. First and foremost we need to find the right person for the position and they have to be in a rewarding position. They can then go home and be proud of a full day of hard work. That means good compensation, benefits, and a good work environment that treats them with respect. Also, making great beer that we want to drink. If we don’t like it, why should we expect someone to want to give us his or her hard-earned money? The beer has to be good!

“The number one key to a successful brewery is the people. They should be able to go home and be proud of a full day of hard work, making great beer that we want to drink.”

(Photo above: Courtesy of Heather Lee)

BC: On paper, Utah is around 60 percent Mormon, and Mormons are supposed to abstain from alcohol. How does this dynamic play out?

Lee: It definitely limits the customer base since the majority of the population doesn’t drink. But if you look at the possible numbers that are non-Mormon you’re looking at around 1.2 million people. That means that the competition for beer drinkers in the state is fierce. Over the years we’ve had a lot of fun and success by playing on this dichotomy between those that are part of the club and those that aren’t (Polygamy Porter, also the image on Devastator Double Bock). We have numerous fans that have grown up in the religion only to realize in their adulthood that beer is awesome and they should totally drink it!

BC: What’s a common misconception people have about your state?

Lee: A common misconception might be that we don’t have bears in the state. We totally do. Also that it’s hard to find a good bear. Also false – we have some of the best bears in the nation. Bears? Sorry, I meant beers.

Utah brewers have historically done very well in competitions all over the nation as well as internationally. This includes the bigger national competitions of GABF and World Beer Cup. In fact we won the GABF Mid-Size Brewery of the year in 2010, which is something I’m very proud of.

Lee stares up at the towering fermentation tanks at the Wasatch/Squatters brewing facilities.

(Photo Courtesy of Sam Oliver)

BC: What are some advantages of brewery cooperatives? Do Wasatch and Squatters brew differently?

Lee: The sharing of knowledge in making better beer was absolutely a huge benefit in the early days. It was also quite helpful in boosting our purchasing power, which helped us survive the last turndown in the industry. Back at the end of the 90s and early 2000s it was difficult to survive if you weren’t over about 10,000 barrels in production. With the co-op forming it was able to put us as a whole around 14,000 and made it so we could be here today cranking out phenomenal beer! When it comes to the beer itself, there isn’t really any different approach to a given brand’s production. We focus on a daily basis to make quality, consistent beer that we want to drink. The early slogan for Wasatch Beers was “We drink our share and sell the rest.” That’s a philosophy that we still live by 30 years later (Wasatch was founded October 24, 1986). Again, if we don’t like it why should we expect a customer to enjoy it as well?

“The early slogan for Wasatch Beers was ‘We drink our share and sell the rest.’ That’s a philosophy that we still live by 30 years later.”

BC: What’s the beer palate like in Utah?

Lee: It’s quite advanced. People here are fans of everything that is thrown at them. American Lagers to big hoppy ales, Belgians and the sours are all welcome. One advantage we do have here is that we have four distinct seasons. It’s not always winter and not always summer. Because of that we see changes in beer preferences throughout the year. We see people enjoying fruity beers in the warmer months and darker beers in the cooler months. However the most popular beers mirror what is happening all over the rest of the country… HOPS and lots of ‘em!

Lee after completing the Crusher in the Tushar, a 70-mile bike race in Central Utah. 

(Photo Courtesy of Heather Lee)

BC: What’s the worst beer you’ve ever had and why?

Lee: Newcastle’s Brown Ale is horrible. Beer in a clear bottle with light-struck skunked flavor and a ridiculous amount of diacetyl is just bad beer. There is just so much wrong with that combination of flavors, it really needs to stop.

BC: What’s your beer-drinking philosophy? 

Lee: During the week I try to keep it to one or two a night. If I’m at a party or one is at my house, different story! I do like one while I’m cooking dinner for the family and then usually another after dinner while relaxing before bedtime. As a general rule though, I try not to get drunk during the work week. Another thing that might seem a bit off coming from the craft background is that if I’m drinking a beer from a can, I don’t normally pour it into a glass. I will if I’ve got a bottle but there’s something about a canned beer that I really enjoy drinking straight from the can.

BC: As someone who enjoys beer and is constantly surrounded by it, how do you find a healthy drinking balance?

Lee: For me getting older really reduced my consumption, I didn’t really plan on drinking less, I just got old! Kidding aside, I’ve always been quite active. Biking, skiing, snowboarding, hiking, camping, car racing; you name it, I’ve likely tried it. Because of these activities, my competitive nature and the desire to be as good as I can be, in whatever I do, if I drink too much I’m just not going to be performing my best. That doesn’t mean that I’m not pounding beers at the finish line (because I am). It just means that I might only have one or two. In fact, during some bike races I’ve ridden in I’ve been handed beers while approaching the finish line, so I’m actually starting to relax while I cross the line (please don’t tell my mom).

“The early slogan for Wasatch Beers was ‘We drink our share and sell the rest.’ That’s a philosophy that we still live by 30 years later.”

(Photo Courtesy Heather Lee)