Welcome to our “Meet The Brewer” series! Where we interview brewers in Pennsylvania, from breweries small to large. Let us know if you know anyone who should be featured, email us at info@breweriesinpa.com.
Since Free Will Brewing started in 2012, Co-owner John Stemler has been passionately dedicated to brewing and has built a solid reputation within the craft community across the country. Growing slow and steady, Free Will is known for a variety of beer styles, and is one of the few breweries that can truly please a beer fan of every taste.
You know them from their sours, saisons and stouts from the beginning, but you’ll now find fresh IPAs, and new style mashups on their menu. We have seen them grow from the basement taproom to a full sized taproom and production facility, to a second location in Peddlers Village.
Stemler grew up in Perkasie and still lives near the brewery. He’s very active in the community and frequently gets FW involved in many local events. John was nice enough to answer some questions for us!
What was your introduction to craft beer?
Probably not considered actual craft, but it was definitely not corn lager anyway. Honey Brown was my first beer that didn’t taste like bubbly corn water. After that it was Sam Adams. Both were in college at Ursinus.
How did you get started as a brewer?
I always wanted to brew beer for a hobby. Didn’t actually take the leap until one day I was driving by Keystone in Montgomeryville and something just told me to pull into the parking lot. To be honest I was still mostly drinking macro beer, if I was drinking at all. I just wanted to start a hobby that I could really use my brain to master. Less than a year later, I was working there and 3 years later Dom and I started Free Will. I never set out to make a career of it. I was just trying to relax and do something at home that wasn’t work.
What style allows you to be the most creative, and why?
All styles as every one requires your full attention to detail. Even the most simple flavor profiles can be magical. They just have great resolution in a narrow bandwidth.
What was the first beer you ever brewed, and what did you learn from it?
It was a winter warmer. Wait longer for the bottles to condition. We drank most of the batch one night with friends. It was sweet and only partially carbed up.
Where do you see the craft beer industry heading in the next few years?
Hopefully, toward more popular diversity. Currently, the most popular beers are IPA’s and by a huge margin. People are still drinking all the other styles, but media noise is almost exclusively IPA or some version of it.
Describe what it’s like to be a brewer in Pennsylvania.
Pretty awesome now that we can sell for onsite consumption. When we opened, it wasn’t allowed. Lot’s of free beer given away in the early years. The water is awesome, we have some very favorable laws, and pretty much all the brewers I know here are super friendly.
What’s the inspiration behind your beer names?
Anywhere from a random word generator to writing something dumb on a the tank board and it becomes the actual name of the beer. We have, more recently, taken to associating the name with the art and let the beer in the glass speak for itself. So far, I really like that direction.
What’s your favorite beer to drink right now?
Whichever one I’m going to have first after work today? Actually, I have been really enjoying the Cloud Fly we made a few weeks ago. Super dry and also hoppy, but not bitter and with a softer body. I think I’m going to make that again in the spring. That and Yuengling Golden Pilsner.
What is the most important lesson you learned in the beer industry so far?
The words I live by as a professional brewer: “Learn how to make great beer and don’t be a shithead” also, ask for help if you can’t solve a problem on your own.
Thank you to John Stemler for talking with us! Make sure you visit Free Will Brewery’s locations for all the latest can and bottle releases, as well as special events!
