Mares, William "Bill"
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Brewers Association
label: Collection Interviewer
content: Harry, John
label: Collection Interviewer
content: Johnson, Paula, Curator
label: Collection Interviewer
content: McCulla, Theresa
label: Collection Creator
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.)
setName: label: See more items in
content: American Beer Brewing Oral History Collection
label: See more items in
content: American Beer Brewing Oral History Collection / Series 1: Born-Digital Interviews
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 702.39 Megabytes (Total Running Time: 01:09:35, audio/wav)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 2018-11-28
container: label: Container
content: Item NMAH-AC1595-BDA0049
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Audio
label: Type
content: Megabytes
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Oral history interview with William "Bill" Mares, author, journalist, and co-owner of the House of Fermentology blendery in Burlington, Vermont. Topics covered include Mares's childhood in Texas; his early experiences trying beers such as Lone Star and Pearl during high school; hearing stories about his father homebrewing beer during Prohibition; his studies of Middle Eastern history at Harvard College; learning to homebrew; and writing the book Making Beer, which chronicled the growth of the homebrewing and microbrewing movements in the United States. Mares also discusses visits to early microbrewers, such as Fritz Maytag and Jack McAuliffe; his involvement in the Vermont beer industry, which included helping to change the law to allow brewpubs in the state; his passion for beekeeping and its connection to his love for nature and history; and his decision to open a beer blendery, House of Fermentology, that specializes in unique sour beers. Mares also discusses evolving taste preferences in the beer industry; the role of homebrewing in a market flooded with diverse commercial options; and the impact of the internet on disseminating information about beer and brewing.