The Brewing Network Presents - The Session

In this COVID special edition of The Session, we are joined by Arizona Wilderness Brewing Company from Gilbert, Arizona. The brewery was hit pretty hard by the shutdown, but share their story of resilience and compassion in this candid interview. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special, and weird episode of The Session, we change formats to meet the demands of the current global pandemic crisis. Host Justin Crossley is back in the studio, but this time all by himself to try and make a little sense of what's happening, and how The Brewing Network intends to proceed as we all attempt to get through this. As part of the process, J interviews Nico Freccia, Co-Founder of 21st Amendment Brewery, to discuss lender forgiveness for breweries during the crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In light of the current shelter-in-place situation we find ourselves in here in the Bay Area, we decided to postpone this weeks Session with True Symmetry Brewing, and instead have cut together a few clips from past shows. We even have a current interview from Justin and our pals down at Hop Revolution in New Zealand! It's a great mix of old BN and current topics, and we hope you enjoy it. Sully and Teresa joined JP as he introduces these clips, recorded in his tiki room (hence the photo). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aram Cretan and Matt Hunter, two of the guys behind Federation Brewing Company, traveled from the Port of Oakland to be on The Session and to tell their story. They not only brought several beers for us to talk about, but they brought some laughs and some good stories about coming up in an industry that ebbs and flows like most others. especially with the coronavirus rapidly spreading around the world. Sully and Tasty join JP as host for this fun and exciting chat about local beer! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Session continues as we welcome David Lin of Comrade Brewing Company out of Denver, Colorado. David won two medals at the 2019 Great American Beer Festival, as well as being named "Small brewery of the Year"! We talk about moving from homebrewer to brewery owner, making killer IPAs, and how a brewery can be responsible and take care of its employees while still being successful. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Del Cielo Brewing, out of Martinez, CA, joins us in the studio for this episode of "The Session"! Owners Luis and Cielomar take us through the evolution of this almost two-year-old brewery. From Luis' homebrewing days to his current position as head brewer - and everything in between! Plus, it's the triumphant return of Kim Schimke to the studio, so join us as she goes into too much detail about her stint in the hospital and her road to recovery! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special bonus episode of The Session, we take the show on the road to Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's Torpedo Room, in Berkeley, California. As part of Sierra Nevada's 40th Anniversary celebrations, they have fixed the original brewhouse that Founder, Ken Grossman, built by hand to a trailer to take it on the road. We catch up with Ken at the Torpedo Room, along with Charlie "The Pope of Foam" Bamforth, for an exclusive interview about innovation in brewing. Along the way, we get some really cool stories from both brewing legends, share a few laughs, and find out what they really think about craft beer and innovation in the industry... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Livermore is the edge of the East Bay beer scene, but there's no shortage of great breweries out there. Today we talk with one of those - Shadow Puppet Brewing! Craig Danielson and Will Hutchison hung out in the studio and shared six of their tasty beers with JP and Sully. These guys have a knack for producing not only nice lagers, but drinkable high gravity beers. We talk all about that and more on this episode of The Session! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Session, we are joined in the studio by Revision Brewing Company from Sparks, Nevada. We are joined by Co-Founders and Brewers, Jeremy Warren and Jeb Taylor, as well as Co-Founder and VP of Sales and Marketing, Darla Robert. Revision comes in to a studio rattled by Justin's sudden fall from sobriety, but counters with a stellar list of award winning beers that excite us all. This one is a show for the books folks, so just tune in and listen to the mayhem! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Session, we welcome Crucible Brewing from Washington State. We are joined by President and Head Brewer, Dick Mergens, who brought us a healthy sampling of beers to try. Dick doesn't believe in having a house yeast, having brewed with over 30 different strains, and his creativity shines in the sample he brought. His sour beer, Rest In Peaches, almost makes Justin ditch is sober experiment! Tune in and get all the info from one of Washington's finest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ocean View Brew Works from Albany, California, joins us in-studio on this episode of The Session. A small, community-based brewery, the OVBW team make some great beers and aren't afraid to buck the current climate and brew classic styles that they love. We get to try a stellar American Lager, a Bitter that's not bitter, a French Ale that we love (and they argue about), and a Black Lager that takes the cake. Tune in and learn about their process, techniques, and one of the coolest little communities in the Bay Area. Plus an update on Justin's sobriety...WTF is the world coming to?!? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Session is back this week after the long holiday break with Downtown Sacramento's Alaro Craft Brewery. Owner, Ray Ballestero, and Head Brewer, Chris Keeton, join us in the studio and tell us about the unique history of Alaro, which opened in an iconic craft beer location in Midtown Sacramento. With big shoes to fill, the Alaro team set themselves apart, while also paying homage to a California craft beer pioneer, Rubicon Brewing Company. Tune in and learn about the beer, the food, and why Alaro values elegance over gimmicks in their entire concept. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charlie Bamforth, A.K.A Dr. Bubbles, joins us once again on this episode of The Session. Last we spoke to Charlie, he was just about to go into retirement from the UC Davis Brewing Science Program. However, that hasn't slowed Charlie down one bit! The doctor has two books on the way, including In Praise Of Beer, which is available for pre-order now. He's also been consulting for the legendary Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, writing about football (the real kind, he says), and keeping a close eye on the beer industry he's been working in for over 30 years. Later in the show, we get a visit from some Brewcasters that we haven't heard from in quite some time. Tune in and end 2019 Brewing Network style in this episode of The Session! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Block Three Brewing Company from Ontario, Canada, joins us on this episode of The Session to talk about Canadian Craft Beer. Tune in as Co-Founder, Graham Spence, and Head Brewer, Kevin Freer, teach us about Canadian Craft Beer and the beers of Block Three Brewing. With a heavy focus on barrel-aged and mixed fermentation beers, we learn about their techniques, including the use of a koelship to produce unique fermentation profiles. To wrap things up, we spend a good amount of time discussing the state of the Craft Beer industry in the U.S. and argue about what it means to be "craft". It's a good ol' classic long show where we let our colors fly... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Session, we welcome Mike Marr, Owner and Brewmaster at Buffalo Creek Brewing, from Long Grove, IL. to the show. Mike specializes in traditional German and Belgian style ales and lagers, with a few other styles sprinkled in to appease his homebrew roots and add variety. There might be a little meltdown in there too... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flatland Brewing Company from Elk Grove, CA. joins us in studio on this episode of The Session. Co-Owner/Brewer, Andrew Mohsenzadegan, and Brewer/Cellar Dweller, Mack Sant talk to us about how they got started brewing, and how sour beer is their passion. We also hear about J's private parts, and a new plan to bring the BN in the road in 2020! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason and Ryan from Ogopogo Brewing came all the way up from San Gabriel, CA to hang out with The Session crew, and the result was a great bit of radio. Both guys are former homebrewers and have large amounts of brewing knowledge, in addition to having an extensive background brewing at large facilities. Brewing a wide range of beers - from hazy to lager - Ryan and Jason work hard to bring quality beer to market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Session, 2019 National Homebrew Competition Ninkasi winners, Nicholas McCoy and Jeff Poriot, discuss homebrewing for competition. This duo of champion homebrewers go through every detail of how they approach brewing for competitions and share their knowledge with us. From choosing what competitions and categories to enter, to deciding on specific ingredients to use, Nick and Jeff cover it all. We also learn about how Justin narrowly avoided spending 72 hours in jail while in Mexico for Cerveza Mexico... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Session, we welcome the crew from Alvarado Street Brewing Company, out of Monterey and Salinas, California. We are joined by Co Owner and Director of Brewing, JC Hill and Lead Brewer and Haze Master General, Biggie. Alvarado Street has made some serious waves in the Craft Beer world with their stellar beers and focus on hop forward hazies and IPA's. Tune in and learn how to get the most out of your hops with tips and tricks from one of the best in the west! We also check in with our friends from Hop Revolution in New Zealand to find out how their first ever crop of New Zealand hops are progressing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Session, we speak to John Corbin and Kerry McGinnis from Red Clay Brewing Company in Opelika, AL. Red Clay focuses on getting classic styles right and they prove it to us with a great Heffeweizen, Scotch Ale, Biere DeGuarde, and more. We also get a follow up from everyone's new favorite feedback listener, Ron, and we sadly, say goodbye to Beardy... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices