Interview: Brewthers-In-Law Podcast Team Crafts Zelda Themed Beer to Celebrate the 35th Anniversary
Posted on May 30 2021 by David Lasby
As Zelda fans know well, 2021 marks the 35th anniversary of the storied franchise. Podcastors, artists, writers, and fans alike have marked the occasion by reflecting on the impact of the series and celebrating in meaningful ways. Well, it’s time to add brewmasters to that list. Hosts of the podcast Brewthers-In-Law, a show focused on home brewed beer, Mike and Ryan are longtime Zelda fans and have dedicated an upcoming episode to special beers honoring the legendary franchise from Nintendo. The episode is set to air June 1 and can be found here.
In preparation for this celebration of Zelda 35, I had a chance to interview Mike and Ryan about their passion for brewing and all things Zelda. The following is an excerpt from that interview:
What got you interested in brewing? What’s your favorite beer?
Ryan (R): It was a college hobby that I started when I started dating my now wife when I found out her family owned a brewery. Of course, I now wanted to start my own at age 24 thinking it was simple, but my Uncle-in-law talked me of that ledge, explaining all the other work in there, and I was nowhere near ready. As for favorite beer, I love me a Guinness, but the top beer is Negra Modelo, which is a darker Mexican lager.
Mike (M): I began brewing with a college roommate that had already been doing it for awhile. At that point, I had already started to become interested in craft beer and loved the idea of making our own, but he did most of the recipe development (and, if I’m being honest, most of the actual work). I didn’t start actually writing my own recipes and really take ownership of the brewing process until my wife and I started brewing together about a year ago. As for my favorite beer, I’d probably have to go with Bell’s Oberon. I look forward to its release every year as a sign that winter is finally over and spring has come; and once it’s out, it’s usually all my wife and I drink for the next couple months.
What inspired you to start a podcast?
R: Well I started helping out with Another Zelda Podcast along with my wife. And after doing a couple of episodes, I had a lot of fun and wanted to do one. The one thing that I love to do is brewing beer and mead, and I remembered that Mike started brewing beer again too. So I reach out to David with Another Zelda Podcast and asked what he thought, and he seemed game to get it together. After some planning and prep, we did episode zero and then started getting together and recording when we can.
M: Building off of Ryan’s point, I never really considered starting a podcast until Ryan approached me about this one. To be honest, at first I was very hesitant–I’m not someone with a big social media footprint, so I was not sure how I felt about “plugging in” in such a big way. However, after we threw some ideas around for what the podcast could be, ideas for the types of episodes we wanted to do, etc., I realized I was really excited about the idea. Now I’m glad he pushed me into it–I’ve had a lot of fun making the podcast. It has been a cool thing for Ryan and I to build together, and it has proven to be a cool creative outlet and a good excuse to spend more time thinking about brewing beer.
How long have you been fans of The Legend of Zelda? Where did it all start for you?
R: I have been as far back as I can remember. My first game was A Link to the Past on the SNES. Though I didn’t beat it then (finally did in 2015), I didn’t fully fall in love with it until Ocarina of Time. Since then, every console game that has come out, I have played.
M: Ocarina of Time was my first Zelda game. I can still remember seeing it at my friends’ house shortly after it released and knowing I needed to get it for myself. It has remained one of my favorite games from then on, and I’ve been a dedicated fan of the series ever since. I have played all of the main releases since (excluding some handhelds) and have also delved into the back-catalog and beaten most of the older games.
What is your favorite Zelda game?
R: Favorite is still Ocarina of Time, but Breath of the Wild gave it a run for its money.
M: Definitely Breath of the Wild. Even with all the nostalgia I hold for some of the others, it was just so so good. It was also one of the few games my wife really got into–it’s one of only a handful of games she has played and one of only 2-3 ever that she liked enough to play when I wasn’t around. That aspect gave me a whole other vector for me to enjoy the game.
For the Zelda beer episode, what is your favorite label, variety of beer?
R: I do love both of them and, though it wasn’t shown, the label for a mead I made called the Great Deku Mead. Mike makes these labels, and he has done amazing things with them.
M: Of the three options (the two beers and Ryan’s Great Deku mead), I think my favorite is the Goron Spice Ale logo. It was the one I put the most work into, and I just really love the colors. Plus the view of Death Mountain in the backdrop just really takes me back to Breath of the Wild. To be honest, I’m actually proudest of the back labels for the beers – I think I got them to look like they came straight out of the Breath of the Wild pause menu, and I’m pretty proud of that.
How did you decide what designs to use for the labels?
R: I will let Mike answer this as he was the genius behind that.
M: Making labels for all of my own beers has been a sort of side-hobby that I have done since my wife and I started brewing together. Ryan likes them too, so as a Christmas present I made him a set of labels for all of his beers as well. So there was never any doubt that we were going to do labels for these.
The short answer is that first we both came up with our concept, name, recipe, etc., and I made the designs for the labels based off of that. The longer answer is that I did a little searching online for existing art for inspiration and to use as base art assets for the labels, with Ryan providing some feedback about his. My whole concept for Koko’s Specialty was based around the cooking mechanic in Breath of the Wild and the little girl (Koko) who teaches you the mechanics in a set of tutorial quests (one of which is called Koko’s Specialty), so I knew I wanted an image of Koko and Link cooking together. Since the concept for the recipe was to incorporate brewing ingredients that were analogous to the cooking ingredients in Breath of the Wild (Courses Bee Honey, Tabantha Wheat, etc.), I got the idea to structure the back labels as if they were part of the in-game pause menu. I used the actual art assets for all of the ingredients I used and got fonts that were based off the ones in the Breath of the Wild menu. I got all the fonts for free off of a few different websites–fans have recreated a huge number of fonts from all the different Zelda games and made them freely available in most cases, which is really cool.
For the Goron Spice Ale, I chose a nice scenic screenshot with a nice view of Death Mountain that reminded me of those moments inBreath of the Wild where you climb to a high up place and the view is so spectacular that you just stop playing for a second and drink it in. Then I added the Goron, the bottle of Goron Spice, and the cliff in front. Then I made the back label using the same format I used for mine. Finally, since Ryan has a nifty brewery name (Wise Old Owl) and a logo, I added that at the bottom.
Anything else you want readers to know?
R: If you have any interest in homebrewing, it is fun and easy, but you can challenge yourself too with it. It is so much fun to come up with ideas. It can be pricey to start it up, depending on your set-up, but it can give plenty of adventures and misadventures to share.
M: I think Ryan said it well. I’d add that, for me, brewing is one of those hobbies that allows you to incorporate your other hobbies and interests into it. That’s what we did here–combining our love of brewing with our love of Zelda.
How can people listen to the episode?
R. You can find the podcast at brewthersinlaw.com or on Twitter @brewthersinlaw. You can also listen to wherever you listen to podcasts including Apple, Google, YouTube, and many others.
M. What he said. We try our best to make the podcast accessible to both brewers and non-brewers, so give it a shot if it sounds like something you might be interested in!
Tell us what you think? Did you enjoy this interview with the hosts of Brewthers-In-Law? Which Zelda-themed beer are you most interested in trying? Share your reactions in the comments below.
Image Source: Brewthers-In-Law
David Lasby is a staff writer at Zelda Dungeon. His favorite Zelda games are Breath of the Wild and A Link to the Past. You can find him on Twitter to talk all things Nintendo, sci-fi / fantasy, and creative writing.
I’m a life-long fan of video games and have been playing since I got my NES in the 1980s. The Legend of Zelda, Super Smash Bros., Aliens, and Halo are some of my favorite game franchises. I write for several sites, including Zelda Dungeon, Boss Rush Network, and The Mighty. Find me on Twitter to check out my other content!
Sorted Under: A Link to the Past, Breath of the Wild, Editorials, Ocarina of Time, Slider, The Legend of Zelda
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