Talking Beer With Kyle Hollingsworth of SCI

I am not a big fan of The String Cheese Incident, but one thing that Kyle Hollingsworth and I share in common is an affinity for beer. Jambands.com sat down with Kyle and talked about beer, his new solo record, and the future of SCI.

Let’s start things out with a topic of mutual interest…beer. You worked with Mountain Sun Brewery to create Hoppingsworth IPA. How did that come about and what role did you play?

Right now I’m on the West Coast continuing the Rock and Brew tour. It was a vision I had for the entire tour. When we started, I wanted to get my local brewery involved and figure out a way we could create a special event for my CD release. I’ve been working a lot with Mountain Sun in the past through different shows in Denver and Boulder and I love their beer.

So I went to them and at first they said the fans could come out and do a brewery tour. Then they said, “Why don’t we just make a beer?” I was so down with that and it was pretty much my dream, I just didn’t know how to ask.

So I got together with the head brewer Hutch. He and I made recipes together and talked about what we wanted out of it and talked about our favorite beers. Then after I put my input in I thought, “Why don’t I let him do what he does best and let him make the final choices.”

I went in, we brewed it together and got it ready for the release of the CD. Then they sold out of like 15 kegs in 5 days. I didn’t get enough and when I went it again it was gone.

In terms of your home brewing, has there been a particular style or batch you’ve been most proud of?

Mine are all very okay, not the best beers ever. That’s why I’m glad I had Mountain Sun help me. There’s a Sosa Spice I do which is coming up really soon. I am going to start doing that when I get home. It’s more of a holiday cheer type beer, pretty hoppy with nutmeg.

I’ve been thinking about this lately but I do feel there’s a connection between the way I home brew and the way I play music. I feel like you kind of have your basics under your fingers whether its keyboards or home brewing and then there’s that moment when you take that leap of faith. When you’re brewing, it’s, “Okay I know how to make beer but what’s the x factor? How can I jump off the ledge like I do when I play music in a live performance situation?” So you just kind of go for it and that when you try sassafras or that random citrus. There’s a baseline and then you take a leap of faith.

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