Beer Guys Radio | Craft Beer Podcast

Ironmonger Brewing and Viking Alchemist Meadery team up for destination location in Marietta, GA March was supposed to be a big month for celebrations in Cobb County, GA.  The local tourism bureau dubbed the county-wide event Bubbles & Brews to celebrate all their great craft beverage makers.  They did not plan for a global pandemic to take over mid-month. Ironmonger Brewing and Viking Alchemist Meadery had big plans as well.  Ironmonger landed the coveted St. Patrick's Day party for the Bubbles & Brews event and Viking Alchemist planned to debut their new Ironmonger-adjacent taproom in early April.  The doors are still open at Ironmonger and the plan to keep it that way as long as they can, they have taken steps to be extra clean and to encourage social distancing.  Viking Alchemist continues the work on their taproom and will debut as soon as they can. If you do make the trip up to Ironmonger you can enjoy a cold beer while throwing some axes with your friends at the Ironmonger Axe Throwing Ran

Beer and math and ancient yeast mix it up at Fractal Brewing Project Fractal Brewing Project is one of the new kids on the Huntsville beer scene but their Head Brewer Bradley "Robo" Robison isn't new to the game.  Robo previously brewed at Huntsville's Below the Radar and Rocket Republic, and he also served the good 'ol US of A in the United States Marine Corps. Robo and brewery owner Larry Lowe joined us in the studio this week to open some beers and chat.  We talk about their awesome Grisette that uses a revived 18th Century yeast and the origins of this style, originally brewed for miners.  We press them on their stance on hard seltzer and why craft breweries are jumping on that bandwagon, and if there's much difference in a seltzer or a beer with cereal or candy in it. Fractal is in Straight To Ale's original building (Straight to Ale has moved to the Campus 805 development in Huntsville) and how they want to preserve everyone's good memories of the place while offe

Wild Leap Brew Co. keeps jumping with new beers and distilled spirits Wild Leap Brew Co. has been making waves with a huge showing in our Best of Georgia Beer awards and being named Best New Brewery by USA Today.  They've earned their honors with a constant stream of tasty beers like the Truck Chaser series of ice cream truck-inspired brews and their DIPA Alpha Abstraction series feature the same base beer but with new hops in each release, currently on Volume 11. We sat down this week at the BGR Studios with the Wild Leap crew to talk beer.  Chris Elliott, Chief Brewing Officer; Rob Goldstein, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Office; and Doug Sayler, Lead Brewer all made the trip to hang out and chat over a few brews.  We talk about having fun with experimental ingredients and the challenge of planning around those ingredients, their cool Three Harvest collaboration with Extreme Hops AL, an IPA utilizing hydroponically grown hops, and what that could mean for hop farming in the future.  We press Goldstein

FiftyFifty Brewing's Alicia Barr talks craft beer and cannibalism FiftyFifty Brewing's co-founders Alicia and Andrew Barr were both working as engineers when they decided they'd had enough of the rate race and wanted a change of pace.  After some planning, they loaded up the truck and the moved to Truckee... California that is. The Barrs homebrewed prior to starting their brewery but chose not to bring any of their recipes over to production.  They hired a pro to take care of the brewing and recipe development.  That seemed to work out pretty well as it didn't take long before the brewery's Eclipse variants became highly sought after.  I recall (mostly) my first time trying Eclipse, a couple of variants at a bottle share.  Deep, rich, and luxurious stouts in bourbon or rye barrels or treated with coffee.  2019 even saw a Jägermeister variant.  Although Eclipse is what most people know them for FiftyFifty brews a variant of beers, including the tasty West Coast Haze. Alicia Barr joins

The Taps @ Ph'East offers a variety of beer, whiskey, and of course... sake When we originally scheduled to meet up with the crew at the Taps @ Ph'East (the awesome bar inside the new Asian food hall at The Battery Atlanta) the plan was to talk about their new concept, a bit about Asian beers, a bit about sake, and a bit about pairing.  That was the plan, anyhow. Zach Yurchuck and Cliff Crider have supported Beer Guys Radio from the beginning.  They were our very first sponsor, back before we every aired our first episode.  They'd just opened their first Truck & Tap location and chose to get the word out via our show.  They are some of our favorite people.  Over the next four years they've opened two additional Truck & Tap locations and now the Taps & Ph'East.  Those guys have been busy. [caption id="attachment_46865" align="aligncenter" width="800"] (L-R) Zach Yurchuck and Cliff Crider share info on their new location and the wonders of sake.

MadTree Brewing looks to give back as they celebrate 7 years This week we head to Ohio to chat with MadTree Brewing's Trevor Self.  Trevor has worn a lot of hats during his time with the brewery.  He started out like many others, volunteering his time to help can delicious beers.  This eventually let to a real, paid position and finally into a QA role where he helped transition MadTree to their fancy new (and much larger) brewhouse. Today, Trevor is Assistant Brand Manager, spreading the word about MadTree mission and beers.  We find out about the plans for their 7th anniversary, their recent commitment to 1% for the Planet, the brew scene in Ohio, and lots of hot coffee beer talk. In the news Brian shares another story about how Big Beer just can't catch a break, and the fact that there are laws when you're drinking Claws.  We also dive into Pontoon Brewing's Rainbow Smiggles again, and I continue my exploration of NA Beers with a trio from Bravus. Photos: MadTree Brewing Co. The Beer L

Rainy Day Brewery wants you to brew your own beer and explore some classic styles Amid the craze of massively-hopped IPAs and boozy, barrel-aged stouts there's a bit of a resurgence in the love of classic beer styles.  Here in Georgia, and I'm sure some other places as well, we're seeing breweries focus on these drinkin' beers.  Pale Ale, Pilsner, Blonde Ale, and even a simple Porter or Stout can be a great beer to relax and enjoy.  No hype, no lines, no madness, just great beer. Michael Syrop and Ron Mitchell of Rainy Day Brewery share how these simple beer styles can really test a brewer's skill.  There's nowhere to hide with these beers.  No huge fruit additions or bourbon-barrel to mask flaws.  What you brew is what you get.  Rainy Day Brewery won the top Homebrewers spot in our Best of Georgia Beer 2019 survey so we invited them to join us on a show and share their tips for homebrewing. The best part of creating your own homebrew recipes is the research Ron and Michael share

The Superb Owl is coming and you're going to need some beer... It's time for the biggest football matchup of the year, which is also a great excuse for some killer parties.  The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers throw down in Miami this Sunday and we're ready for the party.  To prep for the festivities we sampled a few beers from the team's cities and talk about Super Bowl stats, food and beer stats, and pairing pork rinds with your beers. We kickoff with San Francisco's 21st Amendment's El Sully Mexican Lager, then move into Q2 with some Kansas City brew and Boulevard's Tank 7 American Saison.  San Fran comes back strong in the 3rd with Anchor Brewing's Old Foghorn English Barleywine and we finish out the game with a wildcard from Michigan, Bell's Hopslam. Fun fact... Super Bowl Sunday is also National Pork Rind Appreciation Day.  Seriously.  To celebrate this glorious holiday we're joined by Chef Reuben Wood who offers up pairing suggestions with a

Despite Mother Nature's best efforts, the 16th Annual Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting was a huge success It was an unusually warm day for the 16th Annual Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting and this brought with it some crazy weather.  As attendees filled Bold Monk Brewing to sample the cask ales the rain started coming down strong and with about an hour left the hammer dropped.  The parking lot flooded and the very well-covered patio was drenched, and finally, the power went out.  Fortunately, we had completed our show taping but it did cause some chaos for the Bold Monk and cut a few festival-goers off from their cask ales a bit early.  Even with the craziness, I think everyone had a great time. This is our 4th year partnering with Brewtopia Events for ACAT and we kept our tradition going by speaking with festival organizer Owen Ogletree about the event and the ever-changing world of cask ales.  We also spoke to a few of the breweries currently under construction in Georgia that we hope to see debut in 2020. The team f

Bottleshare founder Christopher Glenn lives to help those in need Last week we sat down at Bottleshare Benefit Bash Vol. 1 to talk with Bottleshare founder Christopher Glenn as well as his collaboration partners Trey Sinclair of Dry County Brewing and Sean O'Keefe of Pontoon Brewing. Chris' story is pretty amazing, after a serious accident left him unable to return to his previous career his former boss (Sinclair) shared an idea he had for "The Bottleshare."  Chris was excited, ran with it, and has grown it into something much bigger than the original idea.  Bottleshare's motto is Raising Glasses, Raising Hopes and their mission is to help those in the craft beverage industry that face hardships that pose a financial burden.  At the Benefit Bash, Chris presented a check for $15,000 to Jennifer Barnes, widow of Modern Hops co-founder Philip Barnes. [caption id="attachment_46754" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Bottleshare founder Christopher Glenn present

Results from our Best of Georgia Beer Readers' Choice Awards for 2019.  Highlighting the best Georgia beer, breweries, brewpubs, homebrewers, beer bars, bottle shops, and more. BEST OF GEORGIA BEER CATEGORIES Best New Georgia Beer and Breweries For beers and breweries released or opened between December 1, 2018 and December 1, 2019. Best New Georgia IPA Best New Georgia Imperial or Double IPA Best New Georgia Wild or Sour Beer Best New Georgia Stout Best New Georgia Lager Best New Georgia "Something Different" Beer For beers that didn't fit into one of the other categories. Best New Georgia Brewery or Brewpub Overall Best of Georgia Beer No release or opening date requirements, all Georgia beer and breweries were eligible. Best Georgia IPA Best Georgia Imperial or Double IPA Best Georgia Wild or Sour Beer Best Georgia Stout Best Georgia Lager Best Georgia "Something Different" Beer For beers that didn't fit into one of the other categories. Best Georgia Brewery or Brewpub B

A lot happened in craft beer this year... This week we take a look back at some of the biggest stories in craft beer in 2019.  Breweries continued to open in record numbers, finishing the year with over 8,000 craft brewers operating across the US.  However, brewery closures climbed as well, with over 300 shuttering this year.  Big brewers struggled to maintain market share, closing locations or cancelling planned expansions.  Breweries sold to Big Beer, and merged to form larger craft breweries.  Consumers continue to have more variety than ever and that presents it's own challenges for retailers and brewers.  Shelf space and tap handles are beyond crowded, and with a brewery close to most neighborhoods more people are drinking their beers at the source.  Both racial and gender diversity continue to be a focus for the industry with Founders very public mishandling of a discrimination suit this year making it clear we still have some work to do.  Craft beer saw a surprising competitor with hard seltzer b

SingleSpeed Brewing When SingleSpeed Brewing founder Dave Morgan decided to open a brewery he'd never brewed a single batch of beer.  Morgan saw a need for a brewery in his area and decided he would be the one to do it.  He headed to the Siebel Institute to figure out this brewing thing.  Everything seemed to have worked out pretty well. Morgan gives us the rundown on his journey to opening his brewery and the challenges of expanding into an old Wonder Bread plant.  As we sip SingleSpeed's Gable Helles Lager we get some info on Iowa wrestling legend Dan Gable, and find out Tim and Dave have an unusual connection through some wrestling friends.  We also learn what a single speed bike is and how it differs from a "fixie."  And we get the scoop on Tip the Cow Day and all the variants of their delicious cocoa espresso stout they'll serve up. The Beer List SingleSpeed Gable | Helles Lager SingleSpeed Tip the Cow | Cocoa Espresso Milk Stout SingleSpeed Zach's Mexican Donuts | Mexican

Sampling a dozen Christmas beers as we talk holiday beer history and traditions Christmas is a wonderful time for beers.  As the temperatures dip brewers release a variety of spiced stouts, piney IPAs, and Belgium sends out some amazing offerings.  This is definitely one of our favorite episodes we do each year.  The premise is pretty simple, we sample a dozen Christmas beers and pick our favorites.  Along the way we discuss some of the history and traditions of holiday brews, share what we like to see in a Christmas beer, and learn about a 12th century law that required households to brew a beer for Christmas. (Credit to larsblog for the story on 12th century Norwegian brewing laws.) Sampling through all these brews in an hour is a bit of a task for two people so we invited our friend Brij Patel from Sprayberry Bottle Shop to help us out.  Sprayberry offers an awesome selection of craft beer, whiskeys, and wine and has placed in our Best of Georgia Beer competition every year.  If you're near Marietta,

The spirit of Portland beer is alive at Chelawasi Beer Co. Chelawasi Beer Co. is tucked among the colonial-era architecture of Arequipa, Peru, decorated with many mementos from American craft brewers and a bold KEEP AREQUIPA BEERED sign as nod to owner Casey Workman's Portland roots.  When asked how he moved from being an electrician in Portland to opening a beer company in Peru he says, "Because nobody was paying attention."  With a variety of popular beers and a recent medal win at the Copa Latinoamericana de Cerveza, they're paying attention now. We talk with Workman about the young craft beer scene in much of Latin America and the challenges brewers face getting ingredients like malt, hops, and yeast.  He shares info on the styles that are popular, the crazy politics of brewing in Peru, and some of the collaborations he's done with American brewers traveling in his area.  Workman is also planning a Portland tour for Latin America brewers to visit breweries, hop farms, and "b

Brülosophy’s Marshall Schott talks exBEERimentation We all know the saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."  However, Marshall Schott of Brülosophy reminds us that just because something isn't broken doesn't mean it can't be improved.  Schott and a team of other hardcore homebrewers at Brülosophy examine some of the long-held traditions of brewing to see if there's a better way to do things.  Sometimes they do find a better way, and occasionally that upsets a few people.  It can be tough to let go of traditions. Through their "exBEERiments" the Brülosophy team has tested the idea that a lager needs months of lagering to be great, the importance/necessity of long mash times and boils for your beers, fermentation temperatures, and a host of other brewing methods.  They've helped a lot of homebrewers in making better beer, and even a few professional brewers.  One of the best things about these exBEERiments is it gets people talking about the way we brew.

Talking homebrewing, hazy IPAs, and brewing to style with StillFire Brewing Phil Farrell and Walt Wooden StillFire Brewing didn't mess around when selecting a brewmaster.  Phil Farrell is well-known in homebrewing circles around the world as well as the beer community in general.  He's been homebrewing for over 30 years, is a Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Grand Master Level 5 beer judge (one of the top 10 ranked judges in the world), previously served as Vice President of the BJCP, and has even been named Beer Drinker of the Year. We asked Farrell why he's going pro after all these years.  He explains that it's all about timing.  He lived a rockstar beer life as an "amateur", brewing with some of the biggest names in the industry - Sierra Nevada, Rogue, Wynkoop, Fill Sail, and many more.  He'd thought of starting a brewery a couple of times but it just wasn't right at the time.  Things fell into place at StillFire when he was approached by one of the founders

Revolution Brewing's Jumpy Palos talks FoBAB, experimental brewing, pairing Revolution beers with iconic Chicago foods Revolution Brewing's John "Jumpy" Palos got his start about the same time we launched Beer Guys Radio in early 2016.  He worked his way up from the packaging department and is now the Lead Pub Brewer at their Chicago brewpub. In addition to keeping the taps flowing at the brewpub Palos also takes on R&D, brewing with a variety of experimental malts and hops.  We talk about some of the fun brews he's done, including his most recent creation - a hazy Black IPA.  We discuss beer and band collaborations on the heels of their recent La Gargola beer, brewed with rockers Chevelle.  We talk FoBAB, the Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer, where Revolution just brought home two medals, and we get the take on the current craft beer scene in Chicago.     After discussing the similarities to creating music and creating beer we put Palos on the spot to tell us which songs wou

Lagers, brewery expansion, and Thanksgiving pairing with pFriem Family Brewers We talk with Josh Pfriem about the brewery and barrel program expansion, his love of lagers, and get some tips on craft beer pairing for your Thanksgiving dinner. pFriem Family Brewers co-founder Josh Pfriem is proud of the beer he makes and proud of his family, that's why the brewery bears his family's name.  We talk with Josh about his love of lagers and the resurgence in popularity in lager styles, as well as his concern with breweries chasing the trend and cutting corners.  We also discuss their upcoming brewery expansion and growth of their barrel program, the changing beer scene and how it's impacting brewers in his home state of Oregon, and we get some tips on pairing craft beer with your Thanksgiving dinner. For more info check out pFriem's website or follow them on the socials: pfriembeer.com pFriem on Instagram pFriem on Twitter Craft Beer News Founders Has Issued a Final Statement on Lawsuit and t

Tombstone Brewing joins us for our 200th episode Tombstone Brewing's Matt Brown joins us on Beer Guys Radio this week for our 200th episode.  We learn about the craft beer and homebrewing scene in Arizona, working with unique yeasts, and the anatomy of a tumbleweed. Matt Brown was a lawyer before founding his brewery.  We've mentioned before how strange it is that so many attorneys go on to open breweries.  We should take a head count... maybe start a club. Brown opened Tombstone in 2016, bringing in Weedy Weidenthal (formerly of Huntsville, AL's Blue Pants Brewery) to be his head brewer.  The pair brews up a variety of hoppy and barrel-aged beers, and has a pretty extensive wild ale program.  On its best day, Tombstone has a population of about 1,300.  However, the town is the 2nd most popular tourist destination in the state, just behind the Grand Canyon. Craft Beer News Molson Coors to close office, cut 500 jobs in massive restructuring Scientists Have Discovered that Some Belgian Beers ar