When Jamie Floyd and Nikos Ridge debuted Ninkasi Brewing Company in 2006, they weren’t about to announce their presence to the world quietly. They called their first beer Total Domination, and though it’s only been six years since their launch, they now operate a 50-barrel brewhouse in Eugene, Oregon, and distribute from Alaska to San Francisco. At this rate, maybe the two words will turn out to be prescient. We spoke by phone on May 30, and Floyd shared several insights that hint at why he’s found hop-fueled success.

Was it a given that you’d work with beer for a living, or did you consider other careers?

That’s kind of an interesting way to look at it. I didn’t go to college to brew, but I started homebrewing in college, when I was 18. Graduating, I thought I would either be an educator or start my own business. I got offered a job as an assistant brewer at Steelhead and realized it was something I liked and realized it was supposed I was supposed to do. Since college, I haven’t had another career.

Is there anybody who mentored you along the way?

Sean Donnelly is the name of the guy who hired me at first.

What did he teach you that was so valuable?

He gave me my first professional brewing job and taught me the basics of how to brew on professional equipment instead of homebrew equipment.

What was the first beer you ever brewed, and how did it turn out?

I think the first beer we brewed was a stout and it was pretty mediocre. Back in the ’90s there weren’t many beer geeks around and there were only a few books that weren’t German texts, and there weren’t many people trying to clone beers. It was pretty rudimentary days back in the ’90s.

What’s the criteria for a beer that you brew at Ninkasi? Any common threads?

As far as beer goes, for me the most important aspect to beer is balance and drinkability. All beers should be drinkable and have an ability to want to be consumed. That would be the common thread to all our beers, delicious drinkability.

What was the most recent beer that you brewed, and what was your inspiration?

We haven’t brewed this beer since the very beginning, batch nine. Lady of Avalon is a Munchner Dunkel or dark Bavarian lager. Helles is the national beverage of Bavaria, but the Munchner Dunkel is brewed by every other brewery in Germany. We’re known for big hoppy beers, but we love lagers too

What’s your top selling beer at Ninkasi, and why do you think that’s the case?

Total Domination IPA, and when we started Ninkasi there was a real opportunity for somebody to put an IPA into the public sphere. There are a lot of good IPAs in Oregon, but mostly in brewpubs. I’ve been brewing IPAs the full 22 years I’ve been brewing beer, so it’s definitely part of who I am and what I am.

Does it make your job easier or harder to have so many other craft breweries opening?

I don’t know about harder or easier. I kind of work all the time, so I don’t think it would make a big difference. There are more competitors, but also more opportunities. We certainly have a lot more options than we did even five years ago, so it’s pretty awesome for the world.

How do you go about naming your beers?

That kind of depends. We have puns and like to have fun with words. We do a lot of tributes to music, homages to old bands. It comes a little bit from everybody, the core group of people anyway, we’ve all had names. Typically they have to do with music or fun.

What music do you like to listen to while brewing?

I’m an audiophile, so I listen to everything from metal, techno, funk and blues. Just about everything gets played in the brewery.

How do you feel about collaborating with other breweries?

We’ve done some collaboration. Last we did quite a few. I did a beer with 21st Amendment, Allies Win the War, last years. I did a beer with Stone and with Alchemist to raise money for hurricane victims. I did a beer with Speakeasy and Shmaltz. And I made a beer with Pelican in memory of Danny Williams, who was the cellar master for GABF. I made a beer in Seattle for the 10th anniversary of the Tap House. We made an Imperial Alt-Bier, which we’re calling Notorious A.L.T. Patrice, who’s the manager of Tap House, came and brewed the beer with Mike and Don. They’re fun ways for me to get out and hang out with brewing friends and make wacky beers. I do it for relationships, not for cross marketing, though the 21st Amendment one was a home run.

If you could travel to any city in the world right now, primarily to drink beer, what city would it be and why?

Even though I’ve been to Munich before, I’d still have to say Munich. Brussels would be a close second, but Munich, because it’s awesome and people drink beer by the liter in the park.

If you could only drink one more beer, and you couldn’t brew it, what would it be and why?

I usually don’t like to answer this question, but since it’s a beer that isn’t around anymore, I will. Alexander Rodenbach, the original, because it hasn’t been around for 12 years. Rodenbach Grand Cru is close, but I like the original.