Taking advantage of a rare Tuesday off, I trekked over to Bombs Away Beer Company for their annual Look Back/Look Ahead Series interview. I was so focused on the people ahead of me that I went right past two game-changing additions to the brewery, and I don’t mean the epic Hawaiian shirts that the brewers were sporting.

“Since last time we talked, I don’t know if we got our horizontal lagering tanks (yet),” said head brewer Ryan Benefield. “Production has increased pretty good since last year.”

Yeah, there they were, full of delicious future beers, part of Bombs Away’s ongoing commitment to crafting some of the best lagers in town.

“I think we mentioned last year that our top three sellers are all lagers, and that hasn’t changed,” said co-owner John Degnaro. “All it’s done is kind of steer us to do more specialty lagers. As we play around with it more, the customers like it, so we keep brewing it.”

Benefield said they have made about four batches in the two horizontal tanks, which are dedicated for the two primary house lagers, Proximity Pilsner and Ten Seconds to Helles. That in turn has freed up other tanks to keep churning out seasonal and specialty lagers, as well as various ales.

“We’ve played around with some of the lighter, simpler American styles,” Degnaro said of the other lagers. “We’ve got the first in that series on tap right now. That’s our Low Resistance Lager.”

Those seasonal lagers are even more local than before, what with the new grain that they are using to make them.

“We started using for a lot of our specialities Schwebach grain,” Benefield said. “We’ve been doing a lot more SMASH lagers, highlighting hops, which has been really nice. Clean beers with a kind of a simple but nice profile.”

The horizontal tanks have another benefit when it comes to the quality of the two lagers that they house.

“With the horizontal tanks, the idea behind it is it’s less pressure on the beer as it’s resting,” Benefield said. “You don’t have as much pressure on the yeast and the fallout. You get a cleaner product. It’s just a much wider surface area.”

The newish face in the back of house is assistant brewer Kristen Mathieson, who has eagerly jumped into the production side of the business.

“I’ve been back here almost a year,” she said. “But, I’ve been with Bombs Away for over three years. I actually started in front of house serving beers. And then, John and Ryan and Hilary (Degnaro) all gave me the opportunity to spread my wings making beer. I’ve been back here about a year now, learning so much. Learning how much of a science and how much work goes into making beer.”

Both Mathieson and Benefield are among the Bombs Away staff members who have past military experience, just like Degnaro.

“I’d like to hit on that Hilary and I are grateful for our staff,” he said. “They do a great job. They have a team that’s been with us, most of them for years. We’re almost at more than 50 percent military vets. We’re really proud of that. Ryan and Kristen are both military vets. It’s something that’s always on our minds.”

Mathieson said a place like Bombs Away can be great for veterans looking for a new path.

“Me and Ryan were just having this conversation the other day,” she said. “Between getting out (of the military) and finding a place to call home, we both tried office jobs. We both decided that was not for us. We’re very grateful to be here and being able to do something we both like.”

That includes sporting those Hawaiian shirts, a carryover from their time working the bar out front, when they would often have the entire staff go with a particular theme depending on the day.

“You gotta keep it fun, no matter what you’re doing,” Mathieson said.

Bombs Away is not a big events brewery, but Degnaro said they do still enjoy working with the Nuclear Museum down the street and providing beer for their events.

“I think we do up to 16 events with them now,” he said. “Sometimes it’s as simple as their Science on Tap.”

One event that the brewery will host is this Saturday, as they will show the annual national memorial for EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) service members, streamed from its main site in Florida. It will give all of those veterans who served, and their families, a chance to come together and remember those that they have lost.

“I was in for 14 years and this is something that we decided, I think this is year four or five, we put on the memorial this Saturday,” Degnaro said. “It’s just something that we do. We open up a little early (at 8 a.m.), have a little coffee and socialization. At 10 we’ll show it.

“We’re also starting our charity auction. They’re all handmade, unique items. We’ll put them out Saturday and I think we’re going to let it go two weeks, just a silent auction type of thing.”

Beyond that, it is comfortably business as usual at Bombs Away. Considering the rapid changes happening elsewhere in the world (and the brewing world), that can be comforting to know that everything remains steady at 9801 Acoma Rd SE.

“We’re just trucking along,” Degnaro said.

That is something we are all too happy to hear. A big thanks to John, Ryan, and Kristen for taking time out of their day for a quick interview. I made sure to snag a pint of Proximity Pilsner on the way out, and yeah, it is tasting mighty good right now after passing through those horizontal tanks. Make sure to visit Bombs Away and try all of their lagers (and ales), you’re sure to find one or two that hit your palate just right.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister