Randy Clemens (@RandyClemensEsq) is the Public Relations Coordinator at Stone Brewing Co. and co-author of the soon-to-be-released book The Craft of Stone Brewing Co.: Liquid Lore, Epic Recipes, and Unabashed Arrogance. Catch Randy & Greg tonight on the FM 94/9 Rock & Roll Happy Hour!
You are now an accomplished author, again (having previously published The Sriracha Cookbook [@SrirachaBook]). How does that feel?
It feels good. I’m ready for it to be released already.
Describe the creative process for this book. Did you all just sit in a room and drink beer? Don’t lie.
I’d approached Greg initially late one night. The Sriracha Cookbook was done and I was thinking about what was next. Beer’s been a part of my life for the past couple of years, personally and professionally. I thought, why not do a cook book with beer? So I threw together a pitch and sent it over at 3am. The next morning he had replied back at 6am. I don’t know if he ever sleeps. Once we got the okay I approached our publisher and I put the formal proposal together. It was great interviewing Greg, Steve, Mitch; so cool to be privy to this back story of Stone that nobody really knows.
Can you name one of the great beers you drank during the production of the book?
Stone 05.05.05 Vertical Epic Ale.
Who else was involved?
At Ten Speed Press Melissa Moore was just phenomenal, again. She had a monumental amount of patience because we had so many manuscript delays. She somehow kept her cool and was more than professional. We had John Schultz do all the photography, Mitch Steele gave us homebrew recipes, Chefs Alex Carballo and Andrew Higgins gave us recipes, the Art and Media Department at Stone got any photos necessary, Greg and Steve’s assistants helped get get interview times. It was definitely a team effort; it’s a beautiful book and I’m happy with the story it tells.
What’s next? What projects are you working on?
I’m going to sleep for a little while, so nothing yet. In my free time I’m helping with LA Beer Week, and I’ve been helping organize it since the beginning; it’s in its third year, very much in its infancy. You can feel that it’s a good thing going on up there, so this is what San Diego must have felt like a few years ago. It’s fun to watch it grow each year. One event that I’m really looking forward to is one I’m helping plan — Dionicess IX on October 21st at Steingarten LA. We’ll be serving up craft beer cocktails and vegetarian dishes designed to complement the food.