We spoke with Mother Earth Brew Co. Head Brewer Chris Baker about Power of Love IPA.

BC: Who came up with this beer’s recipe? 
Like many of our beers, the owners built these recipes when they were doing the brewing back in the day, but as time went on, I worked to make adjustments based on various changes in hop availability, brewing equipment and trends in what craft beer fans want to drink. So it’s kind of an amalgamation and fusion of ideas.

BC: What’s your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, etc.)? 
Wow, it’s hard to say. They play off each other so nicely, but when an IPA is fresh, it’s gotta be the aroma, right?

BC: Where does this beer’s name come from? 
Well, the owner’s last name is Love, so we were trying to come up with a play on words. Being big music fans, it was the most logical choice.

BC: Is this your “desert island beer?” 
Oh no. Don’t get me wrong, this is an outstanding beer, but if on a desert island, it would have to be something lighter, like our Vanilla Cream Ale – Cali Creamin’.

We spoke with Speciation Artisan Ales Owner Mitch Ermatinger about The Laurentian Series, Lake Superior.

BC: Who came up with this beer’s recipe?
This is essentially the same as all our other beers, minus the oats! It contains only pilsner malt and wheat!

BC: What’s your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, etc.)?
My favorite aspect of this beer is the extreme amount of funky peach & apricot aroma and flavor.

BC: Where does this beer’s name come from?
The Great Lakes Water system is also known as the Laurentian Great Lakes. We decided it was the perfect name for our series of spontaneously fermented beer. 

BC: Is this your “desert island beer?”
Absolutely not. My desert island beer is Pilsner Urquell!

BC: Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
Hay, Peaches, Apricots, Oak, Malt.

We spoke with Speciation Artisan Ales owner Mitch Ermatinger about Wine Barrel-Aged Magic Trait.

BC: Who came up with this beer’s recipe?
This recipe base is the same as 90% of our beer: local pilsner malt, local wheat and local oats! We like to keep it simple!

BC: What’s your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, etc.)?
We really just wanted to make a beer that was all about intense fruit flavor, so the intense "jamminess" is my favorite part.

BC: Where does this beer’s name come from?
I read a lot of biology and evolution-related Wikipedia articles, scientific journals, books... This term popped up a few times when reading about Gene Flow. "Speciation with gene flow is greatly facilitated when traits subject to divergent selection also contribute to non-random mating. Such traits have been called ‘magic traits’, which could be interpreted to imply that they are rare, special, or unrealistic."

BC: Is this your “desert island beer?”
Absolutely not. My desert island beer is Pilsner Urquell!

BC: Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
"We're jamming, and I hope you like jamming too!"