by

By Joe Alton

Name: Jace Marti

Hometown: New Ulm, MN

Works At: August Schell Brewing Co., New Ulm, MN

Turn-Ons: Sour beers

Turn-Offs: Beer snobbery

Growler: What’s in your fridge right now?

Jace Marti: Some Chimney Sweep, a few Bocks, half a Lagunitas Sucks 6 pack, and a Cuvée des Jacobins Rouge. And some left over hotdish.

G: What’s your favorite music to brew to?

JM: We listen to the radio a lot, and the local station has a segment called “The Dinner Bell Hour,” where they only play polka. As weird as it sounds, there’s something that is extremely fitting about listening to polka music in a brewery that I kind of enjoy. Unless it’s Friday, because there’s nothing like a James Brown Friday to put you in a good mood for the weekend.

G: What keeps you inspired?

JM: Traveling. For me, getting out of my comfort zone, experiencing new things, and seeing things from a different perspective is very inspirational. And the time I spend in the car or on a plane gives me time for my mind to wander and come up with new ideas.

G: If you didn’t create beer for a living, is there another craft that you would like to try?

JM: I went to school for Graphic Design, so I would probably be a designer somewhere.

G: Who has been your biggest individual influence in brewing?

JM: Sig Plagens. He is the retired brewmaster from Minnesota Brewing, and he is someone who I’ve always looked up to. He also was the one who gave me the idea to go to brewing school in Berlin, which was an incredible experience for me.

G: Where is your favorite place to put one back?

JM: The guild house at the VLB.

G: What is the biggest misconception about your line of work?

JM: That all we produce at Schell’s are adjunct beers.

G: When did you discover craft beer?

JM: The first beer I ever had was a Firebrick, so I guess you could say that was my start. That, and I remember working at the Gitchee Gumee Brewfest in Superior right after I turned 21, and having the chance to go try beers from all these other breweries and that was what really opened my eyes to the craft beer world.

G: When did you decide you wanted to brew professionally?

JM: I pretty much grew up in the brewery, so it was something that I always knew I wanted to do eventually. My dad was adamant about me starting at the bottom and working my way up from there, and that was good experience. Then I started homebrewing, and it was all over after that.

G: What style/styles of beer do you se trending in 2013?

JM: Hmmm…good question. I think wild beers are sort of the last frontier in the craft beer world. You’re starting to see it a little bit in Minnesota, and I could definitely see that trend continuing to grow here.

G: What’s your favorite beer and food pairing?

JM: A Flanders Red with cocktail shrimp or a nice rauchbier with some smokey bbq on the grill.

G: What does “craft beer” mean to you?

JM: Ha… The Brewer’s Association definition is beer that comes from a brewery that is small, independent, and traditional. I think that is a pretty good definition. Just don’t try and tell me that Schell’s is not a traditional brewery. I’ll argue that ’till I’m blue in the face.