Oregon native Ron Gansberg started brewing beer back when he was 12 years old. Root beer. Later, as a teenage in Klamath Falls, he graduated to hard ciders and fruit wines before turning to wine, but he couldn’t leave brewing behind. In 1986, he began an eight-year run as brewer for BridgePort Brewing Company. He left to help Art Larrance design and install the brewing system at Raccoon Lodge & Brew Pub / Cascade Brewing Company. Since Cascade launched in 1998, Gansberg has worked as brewmaster. He’s also developed a passion and reputation for barrel-aged sours. We recently spoke over the phone, where Gansberg discussed his background and approach.

What’s your first beer memory?

I would have to say, smelling the boil the first time I made beer in the kitchen.

What was the first beer that you brewed?

It was a stout.

Did it have a name?

No. I’m pretty medieval with naming beers. If they survive a year, maybe we’ll give them a name.

What was your first beer related job?

Working as a brewer at BridgePort Brewing Company in 1986.

Where did you go to school, and what was your degree in?

Oregon State University, Max Plank University in Tuebingen, Germany, the University of Aix-Marseilles in Aix-en-Provence, France, and the University of Oregon. I studied language and international politics.

Do you think that helps you in your position as a brewer?

Initially it drove me to drinking. I knew it would put me near everybody else. I thought it was a good industry to be in.

Would you say that you have any brewing mentors?

I learned two things about brewing from Carl Ockert. This is not a democracy. This is a dictatorship. And there is only one rulemaster and all the rest are slaves.

How did working with Cascade come about?

Owned by Art Larrance who is co-founder of Portland Brewing. He got out of the business for awhile and decided he wanted his own place. We starteed palnnning this in 1995 and started construction in 1997.

What distinguishes Cascade beers from other breweries?

We barrel age beers and do a lactic fermentation in them. We’re known for our sour beers and sour fruit beers.

How’d you become interested in that style?

18 years in brewing, I started getting tired of the same thing and thought this was interesting, because it also uses bacteria. I was interested in making cheese, which also uses bacteria, so six years ago I started experimenting.

How do you feel about collaborating with other breweries?

I think It’s interesting. I’m not sure exactly collaborating with other breweries. We’ve never done it.

What are some other breweries that you really respect?

It would be a long list. To put in them all, you would be slighting those that you didn’t. I’ve got probably 10 or 12 I’d put in there. All the guys that are doing the sour beers.

What’s the newest recipe that you brewed, and what was your approach?

We are brewing a new beer nearly every week, something we’ve never done before. We have a program where we do these one-of-a-kinds. We make 10 or 20 barrels, sell it, then have another one.

Let’s go with Spring Gose. A gose is a little known style of beer from Germany, which is resurgent. It’s very pale, has some salt and coriander, which is great for the summer. We liked the process so well we make a gose for each season. We change and vary the recipe, but hold to the process. We wanted to produce a beer that said spring. We used lemon peel, chamomile and two types of culinary lavender, and salt of course. Sea salt.

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

Probably our Bourbonic Plague from the bottle. It’s such a full tasty beer that even I haven’t had my fill of, even thought I brew it.

Could you e-mail me a photo to run with your Q&A?

Just imagine a Dick Cheney look alike contest. The runner up would be me.