Below, Rick talks with us about beer and pizza. What more could you ask for?!

Q. Legend has it that the consumption of a few (or several) beers led to the formation of the Indiana Pizza Club. How did you get started reviewing beers and creating the Indy Beer Sleuth website?

I applaud the formation of your club that includes two of the greatest things in the world that bring people together. I don't know if you can do better than beer and pizza!

In the early 90's I must have read something in the paper about how you could brew your own beer, and I was floored! I had never heard of such a thing so I went to Easley's Winery and met Mrs. Joan Easley. She set me up to brew my first extract beer - I recently found my first brewing notes from 1992 - and it actually turned out ok. She was such a wonderful lady and she really enjoyed giving me too many samples!

So I have three brothers and we always thought we would get involved in starting a brewery but with kids and careers, it never materialized. I got away from homebrewing when my kids came along and then I began brewing again about 10 years ago. Right after that, and a few years before I retired, I started Indy Beer Sleuth (I was a police detective) with the idea to write positive stories about Indiana's brewers and breweries. I love hearing and sharing the stories of what these men and women have gone through to make their dreams come true. It was all about highlighting and bringing attention to them.

A favorite beer of mine to brew is a porter, Darkness On The Edge Of Brown (Springsteen fans will get it). But as far as reviewing beer, it's just too subjective for me to have an interest in, so I've never actually done that. I'm not a social media expert but I'm on twitter. Negative or snarky posts are not my thing.

Q. Most folks are familiar now with the big/popular Indiana breweries like Sun King and Three Floyds, but what are some lesser known Indiana breweries you think folks should check out?

Without a doubt those two breweries have brought a lot of attention to Indiana, and you can attribute a lot of their success to an emphasis on quality. There are many others but you can also add Upland and Mad Anthony to that list, and then most recently, Daredevil, who does everything well. I also think that Northwest Indiana has been killing it for several years.

This list wouldn't be complete without a special shout out to Broad Ripple Brewpub who started it all in Indiana but the one new brewery I'm most impressed with is Guggman Haus. I wrote something on them a couple years before they opened and were still homebrewing, and I thought then they had something very special.

Q. Of course ANY beer goes well with pizza, but what are some specific Indiana beers that pair REALLY well with pizza?

I'm more of a veggie pizza person and wherever I am I'll look for whatever local beer is on tap. I'm reluctant to single out certain Indiana beers since there are so many good ones but I will typically look for a nice lager, pale ale, or a well-balanced IPA. I believe in drinking (and eating) what you like so I look at the pairing "rules" as suggestions.

Q. One reason we love beer so much is because it goes so well with so many activities. Besides eating pizza, what are the best activities to partake in while drinking beer?

I'm a huge sports fan so going to a game and grabbing a beer is a must, preferably a Cincinnati Reds game with LaRosa's Pizza. Listening/watching live music is one of my favorite things to do, and then anything you can do with friends - playing cards, games, cornhole, etc. I don't recommend it for long runs or bike rides!

But the best activity though, isn't really one at all. It's sitting around with loved ones and sharing laughs.

Q. If you could have pizza and beers with any three people from history (dead or alive) who would you choose and why?

I don't think we would be solving huge problems so I'm going with people that were involved in things I love: baseball, history, gangsters.

Number one is the greatest baseball player that ever lived, Babe Ruth. A big kid who lived life to the fullest but who also was a rather fragile person. He was an incredible athlete who changed the game, and was an outstanding pitcher before he became the homerun king.

Next is one of our founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin. Writer, statesman, scientist, inventor, he is probably the world's greatest overachiever. Is there anyone more interesting? And so what if he never really said the "Beer is proof that God loves us..." thing, and he may have preferred wine but I'm betting he might put back a few beers. And it would be a great opportunity to introduce him to pizza!

Good or bad, the last person is Al Capone. Not to glorify him or the things he did but he is an extremely fascinating Prohibition-era character, with the bootlegging, St. Valentine's Day Massacre and everything else. With the promise that I would begin the next day alive, asking about his escapades while drinking legal beer with him would be more than interesting.

These three men are huge personalities who not only are large physically, but bigger-than-life figures. A slam-dunk guarantee for a long, mesmerizing beer and pizza night. I can only imagine sitting there listening to the stories, the history, the names, the ball games, and yes, the crimes. This would be one helluva night.