Several months ago, Google threw me a link about a microbrewery planning a Mudhoney tribute beer. (A tribute is well-deserved; the 23-year-young band is currently touring with Pearl Jam.) I clicked, curious how the brew would compare to Elysian’s crisp, decent Loser Pale (originally with the band’s guitar-goosing Steve Turner and Mark Arm on the label). I landed on the loud, proud site for Burnt Hickory Brewery, a fledgling Atlanta, Georgia-area outfit boasting a band-beer line and the credo “Higher gravities for higher minds.”
Intrigued, I reached out to brewmaster/PR chief Scott Hedeen about the brewery, its music ties, and its “super fuzzy big muffy honey brown” Mudhoney ale. Multiple emails later—traded as Hedeen boiled and bottled brews and battled to “get BHB off the ground”—I can tell you that if the wry guy knows anything better than he knows beer, it’s punk/grunge/rock music. (And sorry, Elysian. Scott’s impassioned underground approach makes your toast to early Sub Pop seem a little flat.) But I’ll let him tell you instead.
Q: Tell me about Burnt Hickory Brewery and that “higher gravities” line.
“Gravity” is a brewing term that refers to the ummph the beer packs. A higher-gravity beer is one with a lot of flavor and much more alcohol. The tagline says that our beers are bigger, but so is our view. BHB is a small brewery, so kinda like the Brave Little Tailor, we are building our hype with huge beers.
Q: How long have you been brewing?
It was 20 years ago today, really!, that a friend of mine and I brewed KNUTSAK. My first attempt at homebrewing was not that successful, but it worked. I see brewing like playing guitar: It’s easy to pick it up and play “Louie Louie” but it takes a longer time and a lot of practice to play “Search and Destroy.”
Q: What’s the story behind the “band beer” series?
Dan Hobson of Killdozer and I were going back and forth via email about beer. He threw out, “Hey, want to make a Killdozer beer?” I thought about it for like two seconds and moved ahead. From there, it kind of exploded. Imagine, I could combine my love of craft beers and bands that I loved!
I don’t make any money on these beers, nor do I ask for any. It’s a way for me to pay tribute to the bands, and—who am I kidding?—build the brewery’s fan base. As of this writing we are over 1500 fans on our Facebook page and are still brewing in my basement. And we do break out punk singles and play them as we brew.
Q: Why a Mudhoney beer?
In 1988, I saw Mudhoney at Maxwell’s in Hoboken. About 30 seconds into the second song, they went into overdrive. It was Blue Cheer meets Black Flag. To top it off, they finished the set with the Dicks’ “Hate The Police.” I was hooked. (I kinda felt bad for Live Skull, the headlining act, having to follow that.) So if I had any band to make a beer for, why not them? I contacted Steve Turner and got his thumbs-up.
As with our “higher gravities” theme, it’s 8.5% ABV. I dropped a bottle off at the local record store and heard back that it was “too sweet.” I told them that it’s a mega honey ale. I knew they really didn’t drink it because they were able to type afterwards.
Q: Why does that label look familiar?
That’s an Ed Fotheringham image from Mudhoney’s “Thorn” single. Steve said Ed would be cool with the use of it. (I hope he is … I’ll send him a bottle if he reads this.)
Q: I assume the Mudhoney guys will get a taste of it.
Yes, [drummer] Dan Peters got a case of the beer last month. Said he loved it. He’s going to hand out bottles to the band.
Q: What about the rest of us?
Distributing beer is a big deal. To get it from the brewery to the bar on draft takes a lot of legal and physical wrangling. So far via Facebook, et al, we are building a fan base. I’m getting a lot of emails looking for the beers all over the country. I feel awful when I have to tell someone, “Sorry.” We are still in the process of going legit and will be soon. The beers I make now are strictly for promo. They are not for sale for legal reasons, but will be soon, I hope.
Q: Bummer! Well, the rarity of the beers should keep demand high.
A grass-roots, punk-rock-type attack plan is what’s making the BHB a success. I think of it like early DIY punk singles. Some of our beers are like the Necros’ “Sex Drive” single. A lot of people talk about it, but only a few have ever seen it. We are opening a legit brewery here outside Atlanta in November of this year. We’ll be up to our ass in alligators but loving the ability to work on getting our ales on shelves.
Q: So if a Seattleite visited at the end of the year, could he drop by the tasting room?
We are getting our local license tonight, actually. Now we’re waiting on Uncle Sam to say yes. We’ve rented a warehouse and bought the gear. So, soon!
Q: Given your interests, you’ve probably visited Seattle at some point.
Yeah, it wasn’t until 2001, but I was able to hit Fallout Records and see Bruce Lee’s grave. Pioneer Square was pretty awesome. The bookstore there was awesome. [Ed. note: Wah wuh.]
Q: Were you into our famous “grunge” scene?
It’s funny to see what was written about it in the “Flesh and Bones” fanzine in the late ’80s. About a rock scene where Soundgarden was playing a huge festival with t-shirt sales and stoners in Halo Of Flies shirts scalping tickets in the parking lot. It seemed so funny back then—and I actually owned thrift store flannel shirts, btw!—but as we know it all came true. Why shouldn’t it have? Right? Think about the rock scene of the late ’60s and the rock scene of the late ’80s/’90s. [The former] needed a Led Zeppelin, a Black Sabbath, a Mountain, etc. And we got ours. I’m glad to be able to say that I remember laughing at Chris Cornell on stage at CBGB in late ’89, because he was THAT singer. The one who started the show with his shirt ALREADY off.
Q: So what would you name a Soundgarden beer?
“Chris Cornell’s Chest.” Or “Nothing to Saison.”
Q: A Pearl Jam beer?
Who are they? Maybe “Mookie Blaybock.”
Q: The Gits?
“Mia,” of course.
Q: Aside from Mudhoney, did you dig other bands from that bunch?
Well, Nirvana was amazing. I’ve always told people that Cobain was able to wrestle together a brilliant fusing of Black Sabbath and Cheap Trick. Then, being able to do it with an SST/Homestead/Touch and Go records ethic. I saw them as the four-piece in ’89 and they were good. Then in 1990, as the three-piece, they were better.
Other than Nirvana, I loved that Swallow 45—the yellow one. The Deep Six comp was a great find for me. The U-men were awesome. As was Green River, Blood Circus, and Love Battery.
By the way, a shirt I bought off [Krist] Novoselic in the street outside the old 930 club in WDC? It was a parody of John and Yoko’s Two Virgins cover, but with [Jonathan] Poneman and [Bruce] Pavitt of Sub Pop’s heads on Lennon and Ono’s naked bodies. I sold it last year on eBay for $800.
Q: And you put that cash into the brewery, of course.
Actually, it paid for a Marshall Super Lead head—a vintage one. I don’t think Cobain would’ve minded.
