Photo: Flickr/Sahxic

Anna Pinkert, one of the fab interns at “Radio Boston,” came to us with this interview, in anticipation of the Extreme Beer Fest kicking off TODAY in Boston.

Anna Pinkert
PRK Guest Contributor

When I told an IPA-loving friend that I’d be tasting a sake/beer hybrid, his first reaction was “ew, gross!”

That’s the kind of reaction Cambridge Brewing Company brewmaster Will Meyers has become accustomed to over the years. Some folks taste his ecclectic beers and want to “leap over the bar” to hug him, others take one sip and toss them into the trash. But at the Extreme Beer Fest this weekend, attendees should expect to enjoy some strange brews.

I met up with Will on a quiet afternoon at the Kendall Square CBC restaurant. He poured me a glass of Banryu Ichi, his beer/sake collaboration with friend and sake home-brewer, Todd Bellomy. Banryu Ichi is a short pour (it’s 15% alcohol) and comes creatively presented in a Japanese cedarwood box. Will told me about the inspiration that goes into his beer, and the rhythms inherent in beer brewing.

The Extreme Beer Fest takes place at the Boston Cyclorama on March 11 and 12. Tickets are sold out, but you can find Banryu Ichi on tap this month at the Cambridge Brewing Company (1 Kendall Square, Cambridge MA).