GUEST VOICES: KYB #5 was conducted and written by Liz Biro, a super-talented Wilmington-based freelancer.  See Liz’s bio at the end of today’s profile. Thank you so much, Liz!

Kevin Kozak was headed to law school when he was offered his first brewery job.

“That’s when the light bulb went off in my head: I can make a living doing this,” the 28-year-old brewmaster at downtown Wilmington’s Front Street Brewery said.

An award-winning brewer, Kozak respects tradition while trying new ideas at the 14-year-old downtown brewpub. When the Shenandoah, Pa., native is not brewing for Front Street and 15 other locations that sell FSB beers, sitting in on homebrew club meetings or guiding brewery tours, Kozak plays guitar, body surfs and writes fiction.

“No beer mysteries, yet.”

KYB: How did you get interested in brewing?

Kevin: My brother-in-law. He was a homebrewer, and I was living with my sister in D.C. at one point for a summer during college, and he turned me onto good beers… I took to it pretty quick. It wasn’t a rough transition for me…When I was younger I was always into trying new things.

KYB: Did you homebrew?

Kevin: No. I jumped right into professional brewing. I was waiting tables at Capitol City Brewing Company in D.C. just because I liked a good beer…a (assistant brewer) job opened up in the brewery. I took it, and I feel in love with it…And it was weird because I never in my mind said, ‘Well, I want to be a brewer,’ but I was always the waiter drinking the beer, talking to the brewer, hanging out with the brewer, asking him what he was doing.

KYB: From there?

Kevin: I left Capitol City to become a head brewer at Thoroughbreds Grill and Brewing in Leesburg, Va. They closed down, and I did a little bit of work at Old Dominion brewing, a big production facility, before finding this job at Front Street.

KYB: What drew you to Wilmington?

Kevin: I just found the job online, literally. I’ve always been the kind of guy, I’ll go anywhere, and I can adapt to any situation…and this job came up, and I didn’t know much about Wilmington other than they filmed (the CW Network television show) ‘Dawson’s Creek’ here. Came down and fell in love with it.

KYB: What was the beer scene in Wilmington like when you arrived in 2006?

Kevin: There wasn’t much happening. I like to think me bringing new styles of beer down here to Wilmington got people interested in it and got them in. The Scottish (ale) wasn’t a great seller when we opened up but within four months, it just took off, and it’s been one of our greatest sellers since. It’s a dark beer and you think in the South people don’t want to drink dark beers but I don’t find that to be the case whatsoever.

KYB: Although remodeling closed Front Street Brewery for five months in 2006, but the then 11-year-old brew pub had a loyal following. You became the new brewmaster following the remodel, and you had to start from scratch without recipes to follow. How did you balance Front Street’s reputation with trying to put your own stamp on its taps?

Kevin: I like to think I brought some more character to the beer. I didn’t know what I was getting into. I didn’t know the drinking crowd. It definitely was intimidating. I tried to put my own spin on the beer but still keep them very acceptable to the public. You know, tread lightly and see what’s out there and how things would be accepted. And it worked out pretty well. I can make all kinds of crazy beers now and people drink them.

KYB: What is your brewing system, how much beer do you brew each year at FSB, and what beers are you brewing now?

Kevin: Ten-barrel Bohemian system. We’re on pace this year to do about 1,350 barrels, which is quite a lot for a small, 10-barrel brewpub. I’m spread out everywhere. Some storage upstairs, my brewery here (behind glass in the pub’s dining room), there’s more equipment downstairs. I have another back room all the way out back with more fermenters. That’s why it’s so hard to find me when people come looking.

Our four flagship beers we always have are our Lumina lager, Port City IPA, River City raspberry wheat and Dram Tree Scottish ale. The organic hefeweizen will be around all summer, and the kolsch will be around all summer, as well. I’m brewing an 80 Schilling (ale). I’ve brewed it twice since I’ve been here and it sold like crazy. It’s a lower alcohol version of my Scottish ale, but what I do is I don’t use a caramel malt, which I use in my Scottish ale. Instead of using caramel malt, I take a portion of the first runnings and reduce it down in the kettle and boil it in there — reduce it down and caramelize it — and that’s where I pick up my caramel flavor, which is a very different caramel flavor than caramel malt. When you smell it it’s like one of those Storck Chocolate Riesens.

KYB: You consider yourself a traditional brewer, but you don’t mind experimenting.

Kevin: I’ve always stuck to some guiding principles, whether it’s the scientific or artistic side. Where, if I’m making an ESB, I don’t want to make it with American hops. If it’s an English beer, I want to use English ingredients. If it’s a German beer, I like to use German ingredients. That kind of has always been my mindset. Trying to make the beer just like where it comes from, to make it taste just like where it comes from…If I’m experimenting its usually on the scientific side, trying to figure something out to make the beer better.

Kevin Kozak, Front Street Brewery’s head brewer, poses for a breast cancer awareness charity poster.

KYB: The organic hefeweizen is one of a two special Front Street beer projects.

Kevin: Every pint that gets poured here, we’re going to donate 25 cents to Cape Fear River Watch to help their cause (protecting and improving the Lower Cape Fear River Basin’s water quality)…Basically the malt and the hops are organic. It’s very low alcohol, 4½ percent…The yeast I use has a lot of banana flavors, cloves, a little bit of bubble gum, some citrus. It’s a very refreshing beer for the summer months.

We got four freshly emptied Jim Beam barrels from the distillery to do whatever we wanted with. I got Scottish ale, IPA, spring brew with 30 pounds of red raspberries, and chocolate stout with 30 pounds of tart cherries, and they’re sitting in the barrels until about October. Then, we’re going to have a big beer dinner with Fred Noe, the head distiller from Jim Beam. Any of the beer left over we’re going to bottle and release it around Christmastime.

KYB: Past and future experiments?

Kevin: When I first got here, I made a smoked lager, which is not a beer you see too often in brewpubs… It’s a beer you either love or hate. It’s really heavy on the smoky flavors, smoky aromas…I made one on a whim, and I don’t think Wilmington was ready for it quite yet, but I did win a gold medal for it at the Carolina Championships of Beer, which was kind of nice.

I was thinking about trying to get some wine barrels, maybe some brandy barrels. I really just would like to experiment more with some kind of barrel, what used to be in it and how that would match up with putting one of my beers in it, whether it be a rum barrel or any kind of liquor or wine.

KYB: Who are FSB’s customers?

Kevin: The young college crowd comes down on the weekends. The older crowd comes during the week. It’s a mix on Friday night. The one thing I’ve always found is if they’re young or old, they always love the Scottish. It’s kind of neat when you see a 21-year-old college girl sitting next to a 65-year-old guy that’s been drinking beer for 35 years, and they’re both drinking a Scottish. I think that’s really awesome. The Scottish is a traditional Scottish ale, dark red, very malty, not much hops, got a good caramel malt flavor, chocolate malt to back it up, as well. It’s slightly on the sweeter side but very easy to drink, very smooth. The alcohol’s very well hidden.

KYB: Any celebrities from Wilmington’s film production industry?

Kevin: I’m always the unlucky guy that’s never here when somebody famous comes in…Will Forte apparently really liked the kolsch, so that’s kind of nice.

I’m just worried about making the beer. If I run into somebody famous that’s all well and good, and I guess because the homebrewers look up to me like I’m a celebrity, like, ‘Oh, we don’t care if Johnny Depp’s in here. We have to talk to the brewer,’ which is something after six years of brewing I haven’t gotten used to.

KYB: FSB’s food is as popular as its beer. What are some of your favorite pairings?

Kevin: The Buffalo shrimp here with the IPA are just phenomenal compliments to each other. The Buffalo shrimp is nice and spicy. The IPA has that nice citrusy bitterness aroma to it, and it just cuts through the spiciness. Our pulled pork and Scottish ale, too. And our nachos and kolsch.

KYB: What beers do you love?

Kevin: I’m usually taking growlers of Scottish and kolsch home. My ultimate favorite that I don’t get enough of: Jolly Pumpkin from Michigan. Ommegang is a great brewery. I love all their beers. I love Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. And then French Broad out of Asheville. I haven’t had a bad beer from that brewery.

KYB: You enjoy reading and writing. Who is your favorite author?

Kevin: Hemingway.

KYB: And what would he drink if he came to Front Street Brewery?

Kevin: I would say he’d be a Scottish guy. Something big and hearty.

Contributing writer Liz Brio and her family came to North Carolina for the expansive beaches, friendly atmosphere, and fresh seafood. Since arriving as a child, she’s never looked back at her native New Jersey.

A journalist for 25 years, she’s covered everything from local fisheries to politics. Liz left it all behind for a while to become a chef, and today writes about food and dining for various publications including the Star-News in Wilmington, N.C. Her pantry is well stocked with homebrews, black lager being the current favorite.

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