It wasn’t long before John Bexon’s passion for beer led from a play tent to the local brewery, Bass, where he worked for 24 years. Bexon currently serves at brewmaster of Greene King, a 210-year-old family of pubs and breweries that’s based in Suffolk and produces beer like Greene King IPA, Abbot Ale, Old Speckled Hen and Ruddles County. He also serves as President of the Independent Brewers Production Group, a consortium of 15 British breweries that meets twice per year to discuss what’s new in the industry, material, prices, engineering issues and suppliers. Bexon was recently in the U.S. for a promotional tour and during his brief L.A. stay, we met at 1739 Public House in Los Feliz, where he discussed Greene King’s traditional English ales, his background and approach.

Josh Lurie: How did you become so interested in beer?

John Bexon: I was born in a brewing town some years ago and I ended up working for one of the breweries in that town. 32 years later, I find myself still brewing.

JL: Do you have a first beer memory?

JB: Yeah, I was drinking a brown ale in my play tent in the local field, and I was probably underage at the time by about five years.

JL: What was your first beer related job?

JB: Working for Bass in Burton-On-Trent, cleaning Burton Union systems.

JL: Then what was the progression from there?

JB: I started in the laboratory, back in 1977, a long time ago. During that time I got a degree in microbiology, biochemistry and biotechnology. Thereafter, I started to train as a brewer. Five years later I became a master brewer, in the year 2000, took an MBA, and then moved to Greene King as head brewer.

JL: You moved from Bass to Greene King?

JB: Yes, 10 years ago, nearly.

JL: Would you say that you have any brewing mentors?

JB: The brewing industry, years ago, trained its brewers very well. Some notable, eminent brewers worked at the company that I used to work with. There were four particular brewers, and I always used to call them the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They were black belts in brewing.

JL: What were their names?

JB: Stu Noble, David Ruddleston, Peter Reeve and John Macdonold.

JL: What distinguishes Greene King beers from other English beers?

JB: They’re very high quality. Most of the materials are locally sourced. The brewery’s quite traditional and still uses infusion mash technology, which is the technology you’d use to brew traditional English ale.

JL: What was the first beer that you brewed ever?

JB: The first beer I brewed was a beer called Sam Brown, a milk stout that doesn’t exist anymore.

JL: That was when you were at Bass?

JB: Yes. Years and years ago, in the 1970s.

JL: What was the most recent beer that you brewed?

JB: I just did a traditional IPA, 7.5%, based on a historic recipe. I changed the recipe slightly, from 100 bitterness units to 50.

JL: What styles of beers do you typically enjoy drinking?

JB: On a personal level, I like premium beers. Obviously in the U.K., I prefer cask ale. You can only get it in a pub.

JL: How do you feel about collaborating with other breweries?

JB: The brewing industry has always been very incestuous, so we share information. Collaborating on particular brands or recipes, we don’t do that.

JL: What are some other breweries that you really respect?

JB: Probably Staropramen, in the Czech Republic. I guess in this neck of the woods, Sam Adams and maybe Sierra Nevada. Obviously the top one for me is Greene King.

JL: What about brewers? Any other brewers you think are particularly impressive?

JB: I think it’s six of one, half dozen of the other. I think we’re all fairly well trained master brewers in our own right, and over the years, we come up with our own innovations, and our own thoughts and ideas. I would say there’s no one brewer better than another.

JL: Are there any other beers you’re currently developing?

JB: The answer’s yes, I am, but I can’t tell you.

JL: If you could only drink one more beer, what would it be?

JB: If it was in cask beer, it would be Abbot Ale. If it was bottled, it would be Old Speckled Hen.

JL: Why those two?

JB: Because I’ve breathed on them, so to speak, for the last 10 years, and for me they’re both mother’s milk.