“Once you get the technique, it’s pretty easy,” says Greg Doroski of brewing beer. “But like anything,” he adds, “that knowledge can get kind of stale; if you just get stuck where you are, there’s not much that separates us from the manufacturing of widgets.”
It’s an attitude that’s informed the thoughtful and often playful approach that Doroski takes at Brooklyn’s Threes Brewing, where he’s worked as head brewer since the brewery opened in late 2014, making unorthodox lagers and experimenting with fruit and yeasts, barrel aging and bottle conditioning. But while the idea of challenging conventional brewing techniques is a common narrative in today’s craft beer movement, Doroski’s attitude is uniquely modest—albeit exacting; though the brewery’s been known to produce plenty of geek-coveted IPAs, one of Doroski’s favorite current offerings is the decidedly more understated Vliet, a crushable pilsner that’d appeal to just about anybody. And that’s exactly why he likes it.
“I feel like beer is heading in this direction where it’s easy to be super snobby about it,” says Doroski, who’s been brewing professionally for nearly eight years. “It doesn’t need to be fixated upon or fetishized into this thing that it’s not.”
So what does Doroski do when he’s not brewing, and what’s the weirdest drink request he’s ever gotten? Here, he tackles our Lookbook Questionnaire to share his go-to drink in a dive bar, the one thing he wishes would disappear from drink lists forever and his take on New York’s best place for beer.
What do want to be when you grow up?
A chef.
Best thing you ever drank:
It’s difficult to single out one drink in particular. In my experience, any drink can be special—the context is equally, if not more important, especially in hindsight. A cold High Life after a long day can be just as magical as a Cantillon Fou’ Foune.
Worst thing you ever drank:
I’ve had lots of bad home brew in my day. In my experience, many people who bring you their home brew don’t want your honest opinion. Its like, dude, your sour smells like puke and tastes like tire fire, why can’t you taste it and MORE IMPORTANTLY why are you having me taste it? That or Mad Dog 20/20.
First time you ever got drunk:
My best friend Tim and I borrowed a bottle of vodka from my parents and drank it with orange juice in their basement. We were like 14 and both got wasted. It was fun, then it wasn’t.
If you had to listen to one album on loop, for the rest of your life, what would it be?
One3 = 4′33″ (0′00″)
What’s the weirdest hobby you currently have or have had?
Taking pictures of beer.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known five years ago?
It never gets any easier.
What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not eating or drinking?
Sitting on the beach.
Weirdest drink request you’ve ever gotten:
“Can you make gluten free beer?”
Your favorite bar:
Proletariat. Because they take beer seriously, but not themselves.
Best meal you’ve ever had:
Currywurst near the train station in Berlin.
What’s your go-to drink in a cocktail bar?
An Old-Fashioned with rye and extra bitters.
Dive bar?
Miller High Life
Your preferred hangover recovery regime:
Going for a run. It’s pure hell for like 15 minutes, then you’re all good.
The one thing you wish would disappear from drink lists forever:
Pumpkin spice beer.
The last text message you sent:
“Cool yo”