Beer Guys Radio | Craft Beer Podcast

Sam Calagione talks 26 years of of Dogfish Head Many people consider Dogfish Head's Sam Calagione to be one of the pioneers of modern American craft beer.  Sam is quick to clarify he's part of the 2nd wave of craft and others, like Sierra Nevada's Ken Grossman, paved the way for his off-centered ales. Calagione's method of continuously hopping his beers throughout the boil allowed him to pack in immense hop flavor without making the brews overly bitter.  The contraption he used to add the hops in his early batches of 60 Minute and 90 Minute IPA was fashioned from a vibrating football game and now sits in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Museum.  The brewery also offers 120 Minute version of their IPA at a whopping 15-20% ABV and revivals of beers from the past in their Ancient Ales series as well as big stouts, pilsners, light sours like Sea Quench and soon, Crush-inspired canned cocktails.  Although his beer may have been 2nd wave, Dogfish Head was one of the first brewery&apos

Why are Shiner bottles twist-off? So you can get the beer out! We had a blast talking with Brewmaster Jimmy Mauric and Brand Manager Nick Weiland about the long history of Shiner Beer.  We don't talk with many 100+ year old breweries, so we had plenty to talk about. Jimmy's been with the brewery for 44 years so he knows a thing or two about the history. He tells us how the brewery survived Prohibition by selling ice and non-alcoholic (wink wink) Near Beer, and how their Bock dates all the way back to 1913. Jimmy admits that the shift into these crazier brews was a bit tough for him at first, but he's all on board now. Berries and Cream beers, trail mix ales (that absolutely nails the flavor) and even cocktail-inspired seltzers. The Beer List Shiner 1909 Heritage Lager Shiner Holiday Cheer Shiner S'more Shiner Trail Ale Shiner Toasted Amber Shiner Tall 'Tails Mexican Martini (Hard Seltzer) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Yo

Harpoon Brewery is an East Coast IPA OG In 1986 Harpoon Brewery received brewery permit #001 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  The first brewery in the state since Prohibition, only 35 years ago. IPAs were more of a West Coast thing at the time and the launch of Harpoon IPA in 1993 was a bold move for an East Coast brewery.  Fans to took these crazy, hoppy beers and the rest is history. Chief Brewing Office Al Marzi, Senior Brewery Mike Kelly, and Director of Digital Strategy Megan Baker cracked a few cold ones with us as they shared their knowledge with us.  We chat about the evolution of the IPA, emerging ingredients in craft beer, what it means to be an employed-owned company, and smattering of other topics. It's hard to believe the craft beer scene in the Northeast is a mere 35 years old.  Harpoon was there to see (and make) it happen, and there's more to come. Oh yeah, how could I forget... this is EPISODE 300 of Beer Guys Radio.  Woot!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Th

Best Christmas Beers of 2021 Christmas, the most wonderful time to drink beer Ahhh, who am I kidding?  It's ALWAYS the most wonderful time to drink beer.  But, Christmas is a great time for beer.  Beautiful Belgian ales, spiced Winter Warmers, maybe some glühkriek? Christmas beers are some of our favorites and we look forward to this show each year.  With a sampling of Christmas brews from around the world we blind taste them with our friends and pick our favorites.  This year, Ron and Michael from Rainy Day Brewery joined us on the show.  We didn't even think about the fact they are Jewish when we invited them over for Christmas, but they were happy to join us and the show became a nice, interfaith celebration. L'chaim! There are no set rules for our "competition."  We simply taste the beers and decide if we like them.  Make some notes, share our favorites, and then tally the scores for a top three. To keep things festive we share some fun trivia and facts about Christmas and drinkin

When Dokkaebier founder Youngwon Lee attended craft beer festivals he noticed he was one of the few (or only) Asian people at the events.  He said everyone was friendly and welcoming, he just wanted to find a way to attract more diversity to craft.  Bring on the Dokkaebier.  Many of their beers are both familiar and unique.  A Pilsner with bamboo tea, a Kimchi kettle sour made with lactobacillus cultured from actual kimchi. What started as a pop-up served with Korean tapas blossomed into a full brewing venture.  Working with local brewers to gypsy brew his offerings, Dokkaebier is now available in stores and shipping across California, with more expansion planned in the future. THE BEER LIST Dokkaebier - Bamboo Pilsner - Classic Pilsner with bamboo tea - DIPA - Lemon Ginger Kettle Sour - Milk Stout - With green peppercorns and cardamom - Yuza BlondeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "M

If you brew it, will they drink? Textile Brewing is just a few miles from the Field of Dreams.  My clever mind thought of the "if you brew it" line as soon as I heard this fact.  Of course, it's the same line that everyone thinks of.  Great minds, right? I managed to hold off for most of the show on making the "joke," but it is a fun fact about the brewery.  Another fun fact, founder Tom Olberding had no brewing experience when he decided he was going to open a brewery.  To compliment his skills he hired Nick Ashton as his assistant brewer, who also had no brewing experience. Lack of experience aside, Textile is offering up some really tasty beers.  We sampled a Blonde Ale, Vienna Lager, IPA, and a coffee-pumpkin ale and all were damn good.  Cheers to the new guys. If you find yourself in Dyersville, IA stop in and find out for yourself.  We hear their beer pairs great with a Canadian bacon and sauerkraut pizza.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Thanks for listening t

There's a lot more to lager than just Pilsner We all have a friend that has made a statement like, "I don't like lagers," or, "I don't like dark beer." It's likely the lager-hater is thinking of something like a Pilsner when they think lager, and the dark beer-averse has a thick and boozy stout on their mind.  Dark Lagers are here to change those opinions. There's a huge variety of flavor in the dark lager world.  On the lighter end, something like a Czech Dark Lager will deliver a touch of toffee, dates, and chocolate.  On the bolder end an Eisbock can be sweet and boozy, with big malt presence of toasty caramel.  If you like Imperial Stouts and Quads, give an Eisbock a try. German Beer Terms The Germans make it pretty easy to know what you're getting in your beer.  Learn these terms and you'll be ready to do some shopping.   Doppel = Double Dunkel = Dark Hefe = Yeast Schwarz = black Weiss = White Weizen = Wheat Bock = Male goat / Buck (Listen to the sh

This week we have RockSolid Brewing head brewer Bryan Crass joining us in the studio! Plenty of places offer up craft beer pairing suggestions for your favorite Halloween candy,  Reese's Cups, Skittles, Snickers.  We've got some pairings as well, but our suggestions are for that bottom-of-the-bag candy as we pick the Top 5 most hated candies to pair up.  Necco Wafers?  Got it.  Circus Peanuts?  Check.  You know you'll be eating the leftovers your kids don't want so you might as well have a nice beer to go with it. Bryan shares some info about his time brewing in California and making his way to Georgia,  collabs with other breweries and even one with a haunted house.  We make some recipe plans to go full circle with his blueberry cheesecake beer, and sample his BBA Barleywine as he tells us about their 1st anniversary plans. Happy Halloween, Y'all!  Go Braves!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Bria

About a month ago Jason Murphy from porchdrinking.com hit me up on Instagram and said, "You gotta check out Covert Artisan Ales."  So I did.  Covert founders Dan and Stacey Berry joined us this week to talk about their Sioux Falls, South Dakota brewery.  SD was a holdout on jumping on the BGR train.  Back in 2018 we even did a Sucking up to South Dakota segment in one of our episodes with Stan Hieronymus.  I'm happy to say that SD is now one our Top 50 states for listeners. As we talk about controversial beer opinions and pleated pants we sampled some of Covert's brews.  Gin and Rye barrel-aged BANG! BANG! mixed fermentation ales, Dana wild ale dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin, and my favorite, Basis sour quad fermented on blueberries then aged in bourbon barrels.  Dan shares some of the meaning behind the shapes and colors of Covert, and everyone gets an invite to visit South Dakota to enjoy the beer, the parks, and the food.  Let's do it. The Beer List Covert Artisan Ales DANA | Amer

Partake Brewing takes their non-alcoholic brews from the Dragon's Den to distribution Partake Brewing founder Ted Fleming was (is) a huge craft beer fan.  He loves hanging out with friends and sharing a brew.  Unfortunately, after a visit to the doctor diagnosed him with Crohn's Disease he had to ease off the alcohol, and eventually give it up all together. But Fleming wasn't ready to give up sharing a drink with friends.  He did some research on the non-alcoholic beer market and discovered there weren't a lot of great offerings to be had at home in Canada, or in North America in general.  This led him to building a website to offer what he did find, many from Europe.  His website turned into a passionate community and when he finally decided to launch Partake he had a lot of support, even though it meant he would have to give up his website. Partake even visited the Dragon's Den, Canada's version of America's Shark Tank. Fleming got a deal on the show but says they were ult

Big Draft Brewing is helping to bring small town West Virginia back to life Big Draft Brewing is located in the tiny town of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.  Population 3,000, give or take. The town, and the larger Greenbrier Valley community, has faced some hard times in recent years.  The opioid epidemic chipped away at the community and the "1,000 year flood" of 2016 caused widespread destruction and loss of life. Our show this week is as much about the tenacity of the residents of White Sulphur Springs as it is about beer.  You'll have to humor me, this one is kind of personal.  My family is from White Sulphur Springs and I spent some of my childhood Summers there.  It's a close community with strong family ties.  Turns out, by complete chance, my family ties run right to Big Draft Brewing.  It's quite a story so make sure to listen in to hear the full scoop. Founders David Bostic, Clay Elkins, and JW Groseclose join us on the show this week to talk about their brewery and t

Dead Low Brewing co-founder Kyle Havens and investor and member of the board Yvan Demosthenes join us this week to talk shop! We discuss the many faces of dark lager and how a lot of people have misconceptions about lager beers PLUS the wonders of a Country Lager.  We learn what Dead Low means and how that ties in with the brewery, rocking concerts near by, and give some love to Ohio for their support of the show. For our Beers of the Week, we go with a Tiki theme, including: Left Hand Getting Tiki With It  (Pina Colada wheat) Creature Comforts Athena Paradiso (Pineapple, Lemon, Coriander) Great Divide Margarita Gose Destihl Hawaii Five Ale (Blond ale with pineapple, coconut, mango, peach, & guava) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Goo

It's Oktoberfest, time for some blind beer tasting For the second year in a row, the famed Oktoberfest in Munich has been cancelled.  Sad.  But, the beers are still flowing and there are pretty of great offerings available across the States.  We gathered up with a couple friends and fellow beer lovers recently for our annual Oktoberfest Blind Beer Tasting.  Anthony Storey of Storey Time Construction joined us along with repeat Oktoberfest taster, Nate Scheiber of Cherry Street Brewing. Our rules are pretty simple.  Taste the beer and make some notes on whether or not you like it.  Easy stuff.  We've got Marzen and Festbier in the mix together, it's just all about the season.  We sampled 10 beers for the competition and sampled Bold Monk's Festbier after the tasting courtesy of owner John "JR" Roberts. Listen to the show now to hear our picks.  We'll post our Top 3 list at beerguysradio.com on Monday, September 20th.  Prost! The Beer List (In alphabetical order, not tasting

A few years ago the Braves made a controversial move to Cobb County, GA... but that's a story for another time. Attached to the ballpark is The Battery.  A live-work-play complex with restaurants and shops and condos, and the Terrapin Atlanta Taproom. Terrapin's Taproom sits just beside the main gate to the Brave's stadium.  You can even get a beer from the taproom from inside the park. (Pro tip, they're cheaper than the ballpark beers.)  Along with the beers they also serve up Fox Bros BBQ, some of the best in Atlanta. Commercial Operations Manager Mark Crouch hosted us at the taproom.  He fed us all kinds of great BBQ and let us sample all the new beers, then we recorded a show.  I think we should have done that the other way around. Mark is one of my favorite people in the beer industry.  Always smiling and friendly, just one of those people that makes feel happy to be seen.  He's a corporate man from Miller, and then their craft division Tenth & Blake, but we don't hold

Cask Ales and camaraderie in Athens, GA A lot has changed in craft beer in the last 25 years, and Classic City Brew Fest has been there through it all.  Organizer Owen Ogletree tells us about the changes over the years and the great cause the fest supports. We've been attending this event for several years now.  We always grab a few of the brewers and chat a bit about what's happening with their brewery.  This year we sat down with Carey Charles from Arches Brewing for some hot lager talk.  Arches is one of the first breweries in Georgia to take the bold step of being lager-focused, and they're doing a damn fine job of it. Nick Tanner and Ramsay Florence from Cherry Street Brewing join to talk about Nick's two brewpubs, crazy beer laws, and why that helped them make the choice to open a production brewery across state lines in Chattanooga, TN.  Note:  Chery Street's Halcyon location has some of the best fish and chips I've tried.  I want some more right now. Speaking of crazy bee

Neutral Ground Brewing Co. lets you have your cake and drink it, too Ft. Worth... Funkytown, a great place for a brewery.  Friends Stan Hudson and Sean Doublet definitely think so.  When they originally met Sean wasn't even into craft beer.  He noted that Stan came around with growlers pouring 4 oz samples for everyone.  We know this to be likely as we've known Stan for many years and have experienced his proclivity to share his brews.  Interestingly, beer isn't what originally introduced us to Stan, we have cigars to thank for that.  However, we quickly find we shared a common love for craft beer as well.  We've enjoyed beers with Stan around the country.  This was well before Neutral Ground was a thing, but he was a passionate homebrewer.  He's visited us here in Atlanta, I've visited him in Texas, and we've met at cigar meetups in Tennessee, where Stan shipped kegs of his beer up from Texas to share. Sean really didn't have much a choice about being a beer fan aroun

Bespoken Spirits says they can make a delicious whiskey in days instead of years, while using a fraction of the wood and water of traditional methods.  Sounds like voodoo to me, but founders Stu Aaron and Martin Janousek claim their spirits are voodoo-free. They've taken the art of distilling and aging spirits and added some science to it.  Instead of using barrels, they use "micro-staves" plus some heat and pressure to produce the desired result.  They offer your traditional bourbon, rye, and rum but they can get a bit more creative from there.  When the pandemic had breweries sitting on stocks of unsold beer, Bespoken worked with brewers to turn that beer into spirits.  They distilled the brew then worked with their customers to craft the exact aroma, color, and taste they were going for.   We sampled a couple of these beer-its while we talked with Martin and Janousek.  They offered pleasant aromas of caramel, tropical fruit, butter, floral notes and delivered these flavors as well.  We did

In beautiful Jackson Hole, WY sits Roadhouse Brewing.  They're one of several breweries in a town of about 10,000.  Although the full-time population may be small, the city welcomes as many as 55,000 visitors every day.  Vacationers enjoying Jackson Hole or on their way to one of the West's amazing National Parks.  And when you're on vacation, you're going to need some beer. Roadhouse Brewing wants you to Live Deep.  We got to running out mouths and forget to find out exactly what that means.  However, we trust Brewmaster Max Shafer gives it to us straight, so we're going to try our best to follow his advice.  We chat with Shafer about the Mountain IPA.  What it is, how it differs from it's NE and West Coast siblings, and what commonalities they share.  We sip on Wilson, their take on the style with a great story on the can, and we're sold. Roadhouse Brewing is a certified B-Corp.  This means they're dedicated to purpose and profit, and they're "legally requ

Exhibit 'A' Brewing with Kelsey Roth Exhibit 'A' Brewing was voted the most underrated brewery in Massachusetts by Thrillist.  When we asked General Manager Kelsey Roth if agreed with the distinction we got a hesitant shrug.  Their Goody Two Shoes Kölsch earned a 96 from Wine Enthusiast and landed in their top spot.  Do these two "awards" go hand-in-hand, or contradict each other?  The world may never know. Roth doesn't seem too wrapped up in either.  He just wants to offer good beer and a great place for people to hang out.  And they want everyone to feel welcomed and comfortable as evidenced by their Autism Welcoming hours that present the brewery in a more sensory-sensitive environment. We chat with Roth about his brewery, crazy-expensive beers, and how to pour a good pint.  If you find yourself in Massachusetts, or you happen to be in one of the states they can deliver beer to your directly, make sure to check them out. The Beer List Ironmonger Naughty Soda Lemon Cucumb

Did you know you can turn your shed into a brewery in Massachusetts?  Wandering Soul Beer Co. founder Matt Smith is a gypsy brewer.  Well, he has his own brewery, a small setup in the shed behind his house.  Local laws allow Matt to sell beer from his shed brewery... brewery shed?  He recently held a bottle release and had folks lining up in his neighborhood to grab some of that sweet nectar.  I hope he has cool neighbors. The shed won't meet the demand for Wandering Soul Beer so large batches are gypsy-brewed at a few local breweries.  The original plan for Wandering Soul was to be a one-and-done brewery.  When Matt and his wife suffered a tragic loss, he found peace in brewing.  Eventually, he came up with a recipe he wanted to brew and share with the public, Melody Maker.  The intent was to brew it one time only, but the popularity of the release took him back for another batch.  Now Wandering Soul brews one batch a month and once it's gone, it's gone. We talk with Matt about what led him t