If you graduate with a degree in Fermentation Science, there’s a very good chance you are going to brew beer. For Russ Heissner, a 1985 graduate of U.C. Davis, beer making was always the plan. The year he graduated, Harpoon convinced him to come East and put his skills to work there. Fast forward 30+ years, and he’s at Barrel House Z.
Now 5 Minutes With … Russ Heissner.
What’s your position at Barrel House Z? Founder, brewer & jack-of-all-trades. Everyone here does their job and about fifty other things.
How long have you worked at Barrel House Z? Since 2015. That’s when I started working with a talented group of people to make BHZ a reality.
What makes BHZ a great place to work? The people who work here as well as those who come by to enjoy a taproom pour or pick up fresh beer or hard seltzer to enjoy at home.
Why should beer enthusiasts visit BHZ? Because we really, really love craft beer. We know craft beer costs a little more than lots of other beer. That’s why we work hard every day to make sure our beer has the creativity and quality to make it worth an extra dollar or two.
What’s your favorite thing about working in craft beer? Constant innovation—it makes every day exciting. When I started out as Harpoon’s first brewer back in the ‘80s, craft beer was a small, unknown player among all the big domestic and imported beers. Now, craft beer has a foothold in the market, and we’re still trying new things.
Over the past year, we’ve also had lots of fun creating craft hard seltzer. I love building a new process and tinkering with flavor ideas. It’s really exciting to be taking a craft approach to hard seltzer and coming up with a fresh, creative, high-quality product. Feels like 1986 all over again!
What’s your favorite beer, at Barrel House Z and beyond? Tough one. That’s like asking me to pick my favorite child. Love ‘em all, though right now, I keep going back to Campfire King, our Imperial S’More Porter. Perfect beer with autumn rolling in. I also have to add that I’m crazy about our Blackberry Mule Hard Seltzer too. Good upfront blackberry and kick of ginger. Beyond BHZ, Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot Barleywine is definitely my beyond-BHZ beer. I first tried Bigfoot in 1984 and it’s the reason I went into brewing.
Favorite non-alcoholic beverage? Coffee, black. Every day. Probably too much.
If you had a time machine would you go back in time or into the future—and why? I’d go back to 1984 and stop David Lynch’s production of Dune. Pretty much an unforgivable desecration of a masterpiece. If you ask my kids, they’ll tell you this still bugs me.
Are you an ocean or lake person? Pool. I’m from San Jose, CA. We’re pool people in San Jose. The Pacific isn’t that close.