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 [email protected].

Zeroday Brewing is a brewery and tap room just a few blocks from The capitol building in Harrisburg. Brewing since 2015, Zeroday operated a 7bbl brew system and is know for a variety of beer styles!

Hannah Ison is the head brewer at Zeroday. Read below to learn more about how she got started in the industry, where she sees the industry heading, and her favorite beer to drink right now.

What was your introduction to craft beer?

The first craft beer I ever drank was a Stone IPA.  I immediately fell in love with the taste and smell of piney hops.  Of course, I had no clue what I was actually tasting at the time.  I just knew it was way better than all those Miller Lites I drank in college.  Shortly after that, I decided to check out my local breweries— Country Boy Brewing and West 6th Brewing in Lexington, KY. The original taprooms were small and felt very warm and welcoming even to a craft newbie like me.  Super friendly staff helped me navigate through a diverse menu those early days of beer exploration, and it wasn’t long before I figured out what I really wanted to taste in a beer and started exploring different breweries locally and throughout my travels. 

How did you get started as a brewer?

Ha! This one always makes me laugh.  Honestly, it all started because I was a regular customer at Zeroday.  Eventually, I got a part-time job as a beertender working one night a week.  I started asking questions and volunteering to do anything I could so I could learn more about the process of making beer.  Eventually, our owners decided to bring on another person to brew and asked if I was interested. I was hesitant because I had never even homebrewed before, but I decided to take a chance on myself and learn something new.  After a 6-month training program, I was brewing on my own and have been brewing full time for about a year and a half now. 

What style allows you to be the most creative, and why?

I think the most creative I’ve gotten with a recipe was with a Black IPA.  I have always loved the style, but it kind of died off a couple of years ago.  I decided to take a new-age approach on an old-school style and designed a “New England” style Black IPA.  I found a malt that would add color with minimal astringency and manipulated my water profile the same way I would for a New England IPA to give it a soft mouthfeel.  I chose bright, fruity hops and utilized them late in the process to avoid bitterness and really bring out the aromas and flavors of the hops.  I think it’s fun to brew the styles that got me into craft beer in the first place but like to keep it interesting with modern spins that appeal to the present-day craft beer drinker.    

What was the first beer you ever brewed, and what did you learn from it?

The first recipe I designed and brewed was a hefeweizen.  I think the most important lesson I learned from this first beer was how to focus on and really highlight one component of a recipe.  In the hefe, I wanted the yeast to stand out and be a balance of banana/clove, so I kept the grain bill simple and didn’t go crazy with hops.  That way, the beer got most of its character from the yeast I chose.  I also learned that even a well-executed beer won’t appeal to every drinker and you need to know how to differentiate between helpful, constructive criticism and negative feedback that won’t help your brewing.

Where do you see the craft beer industry heading in the next few years?

With the ever-increasing number of higher education brewing programs popping up all over the country, I think we will see breweries looking to hire workers with some sort of brewing education—whether it be a certificate program, or a 2- or 4-year degree.  I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to jump into this career, but I think those opportunities will be rarer as more people with credentials are trying to break into the industry.    

As far as what people want to drink, I predict a resurgence of classic styles becoming the popular beers to drink.  That being said, I think the craft consumer will continue to seek out variety and we will see several different takes on these older styles.  I think we’ll see more brewers playing with different components of classic styles to add variety to their menu. 

Describe what it’s like to be a brewer in Pennsylvania.

This is a very exciting time to be brewing in Pennsylvania.  We produce more barrels of beer than any other state in the country, and new breweries are popping up all the time.  We are a very collaborative industry, and I get to learn from brewers from all different levels of experience, which has been invaluable for my growth.  Collaborations have helped me learn tricks of the trade from people brewing at the same scale I’m brewing at as well as from those who brew at a much larger scale.  We have so many great brewers in this state, and they are all so responsive and helpful when I have questions.  

What is the inspiration behind your beer names?

Naming beer is HARD–really, really hard.

We try to draw inspiration for our beer names from real-life experiences that we think people can relate to.  I’d say one of our best names is our hefeweizen, “When Did We Get a Dog?”  That name comes from one night when I came home and thought a dog had moved in, but people laugh about it and gravitate towards that beer because of the name even if they don’t know the story because it’s relatable regardless.  

What is your favorite beer to drink right now?

I’m a sucker for good lagers.  When I go to a brewery that is new (to me), I always try their pilsner first. It’s tough to make a good pilsner and I feel like I can tell a lot about a brewery by drinking their pilsner.  Right now, my favorite beer that we have on tap is a Munich-style Dunkel, but I am looking forward to drinking all the helles lagers this spring!

What is the most important lesson you learned in the beer industry so far?

The most important thing I’ve learned in the beer industry so far is to stay humble and to always keep learning (and that’s a win for me because I love learning!) The best brewers aren’t set on doing things one way.  They are open to new ideas and are always discussing techniques and sharing ideas with other people in the industry.  We all just want to make and drink great beer, so the more we can help each other, the better it is for all of us.

Thank you to Hannah Ison for talking with us! Make sure to follow her on Instagram for a behind the scenes look and visit Zeroday Brewing for all the latest beer releases!

Make sure to follow Zeroday Brewing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.