When U.S. marines in Iraq round up a group of suspicious characters, lately they've been introducing them to a bomb-sniffing handheld device called Fido.
Players choose one of five characters representing the five year-round Big Boss brews: Hell's Belle, Bad Penny, Angry Angel, Blanco Diablo and High Roller.
In the end Mr Erard is happy simply to meet interesting characters, tell fascinating tales and round up the research without trying to judge which is the best work.