Barrel To Bottle, The Binny's Podcast

It's hard to believe Half Acre Brewing Co. is now considered a veteran of the Chicago craft beer scene. But 14 years will change a lot of things. Co-founder Gabriel Magliaro sits down with the Barrel to Bottle crew to discuss the history of the brewery and the challenges they've faced over the last decade plus.  Drink along at home with these beers: Half Acre Bodem Half Acre Tome Half Acre Fully Saturated Double Daisy Cutter Half Acre Lagertown Half Acre Logue

We couldn't fit all our time with Geoff and Marcy Larson into our weekly episode, so we're sliding into your feed with a bonus ep. Hear about some of the other creative ways Alaskan Brewing has survived and thrived in the Last Frontier. 

Geoff and Marcy Larson have faced many unique challenges brewing beer in landlocked Juneau, Alaska. In addition to a stable of core beers, they've branched out and kept up with the latest trends in craft beer.  Drink along at home with these beers: Alaskan Amber Alaskan Smoked Porter 

The Barrel to Bottle Crew is looooooooong overdue for this episode. Luckily, we've got someone to guide us through this unexplored category; Binny's Buyer Jack Spethman. Jack takes us through the basics, including some tips for cutting and smoking. Then Pat and Roger run through a few sticks that Jack gave them to sample. Also, a listener Q&A about how to pair with spirits.   

It's You Don't Know Jackfruit, the Barrel to Bottle game show. Your contestants this week are Pat, Chris and Greg, who go head to head taking on the hardest fruit questions presented by your host, Roger. Fruit notes are frequent descriptors in the world of wine, spirits and beer. But why do your favorite beverages have these tasting notes? Play along and see how you stack up against the Barrel to Bottle team.   

 Is this the Summer of Rosé pt. Deux or should it be Rosé All Year? Alicia and Chris take us on a journey around the world of Rosé. From California to France and back again, these refreshing wines (porch pounders, really) are great in the warm weather, but they're excellent to drink year-round as well.  Drink along at home with the following rosés, all day or all year.   Tables Creek Patelin de Tables Rosé 2019 Blackbird Vineyards Arriveste Rosé 2019 Belle de Provence Rosé Coteaux Varois en Provence 2019 Chateau de Manissy Tavel Rosé Cuvee Les Lys 2019 Domaine Henri Bourgeois Sancerre Rosé Les Jeunes Vignes 2019 Hermann Wiemer Rosé 2019  

The Highball is the ultimate lazy cocktail. By definition, it should only be two ingredients. Pat's not even sure it deserves its own episode. But-not ones to leave well enough alone-Roger and Chris are here to prove that you can get a little fancy with a Highball, elevating it from a two-ingredient cocktail to something a little more complex.  Mix along at home with the following cocktail ingredients: Akashi Ume Plum Flavored Whisky Fever Tree Club Soda Glenmorangie Extremely Rare 18 Year Old Ransom Old Tom Gin Tanqueray London Dry Gin Luxardo Sangue Morlacco  Hendrick's Gin Fever Tree Tonic Water Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic Water Top Note Classic Tonic Water El Doado Single Barrel Binny's Handpicked   

The beer scene is dominated by flavor-blasted IPAs and stouts, but the German Helles style has been making a quiet comeback. Roger and Chris, the masters of nuance, are here to show you that subtle does not equal boring. The Barrel to Bottle crew has 5 refreshing beers that are perfect for the hottest summer days. In the listener Q&A, the Barrel to Bottle crew tackles the loaded question of beer expiriation/born-on dates.  Drink along at home with the following light and crispy boys that aren't Hamm's: Spaten Premium Lager Krombacher Hell Krombacher Pils  Dovetail Helles Lager Metropolitan Stromhaus Helles Lager

OK, so maybe you aren't going to brunch very often right now. But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy these cocktails on your own, whatever time of day, wherever you are. Greg, Roger, Alicia and Chris take you from the basics to the more advanced. As always, the Barrel to Bottle crew is more than willing to offer up a few variations to suit your ingredient list.   Drink along at home with the following brunch cocktail ingredients Maplewood Spruce Gin Baron Fuente Grande Reserve Brut Segura Viudas Brut  Lucid Absinthe

It doesn't get any cheddar than this. It's unbrielievable that it took this long, really. The Barrel to Bottle Crew is finally doing cheese pairings. Chris has some bonafides in this department, so he'll be leading us through a selection of wine and cheese pairings. Roger isn't forgetting about the beer-loving curd nerds either, he's got some great IPA, Belgian, sour and cider pairings. We promise you'll have a gouda time listening to this episode.   

The Quarantini series rolls on with a twofer: The Gold Rush and the Margarita. While Greg and Pat stick with the basics, Roger and Chris get very fancy with several variations. It wouldn't be a cocktail episode without The Fruit King making an appearance to Tiki things up. Then, a listener wants to know the Barrel to Bottle Crew's favorite champage cocktails.   Mix along at home with the following cocktails: Pat's Gold Rush INGREDIENTS: 2 oz bourbon or rye 3/4 oz lemon juice 3/4 oz honey simple syrup SIMPLE STEPS: To make honey simple syrup, combine three parts honey and one part water, heat in sauce pan until combined. Try Chris' version with an egg white. Or with ginger beer and lime juice instead of lemon juice. Roger substituted Laird's Apple Brandy with bourbon and also added a dash of All Spice Dram. The Mrs. Versch Margarita INGREDIENTS: 2 parts Milagro Reposado 1 part Grand Gala Triple Orange Liqueur juice of one lime SIMPLE STEPS: Build in a measuring cup with ice, mix with a knife. Do not r

The Lange Family are pioneers of Oregon and Willamette Valley wines, an aisle that continues to grow in our stores. Jesse is the winemaker and general manager at Lange, taking over from his father, and the founder of Lange Family Vineyards, Don Lange. Stick around for a listener Q&A about the conundrum of White Zinfandel.  Drink along at home with the following wines: Lange Pinot Gris 2019 Lange Chardonnay 2019 Lange Pinot Noir 2017 Lange Pinot Noir 2018

We're all kind of on our own desert islands right now, so it's a great time to run through the Barrel to Bottle crew's desert island beers. These cans and bottles have stood the test of time, be they tall cripsy boys from the land of sky blue waters, or malty and spicy Belgian classics. These are the beers that mean something, the ones that we'd want to be stranded with. During Q&A, a listener wants to know what the Barrel to Bottle crew looks for when cellaring beer. Presented in no particular order, drink along at home with the following beers: Pipeworks Ninja vs. Unicorn Hamm's Metropolitan Krankshaft Kölsch  Duvel Trappistes Rochefort 8 Half Acre Bodem Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout Ayinger Jarhundert Bier Bells Oberon Boon Mariage Parfait

Barrel to Bottle is dropping into your feed with another bonus episode. We had a little extra time with Mr. Black co-founder Tom Baker, so Roger wanted to play "Ask an Australian". 

Mr. Black is the best coffee liqueur the Barrel to Bottle Crew has ever tasted. So it was a no-brainer to have Tom Baker, co-founder of Mr. Black, on the podcast. This is our first international and intercontinental episode of Barrel to Bottle as Tom is dialing in all the way from Australia. The crew will also be making cocktails using Mr. Black. Plus a listener Q&A about what makes whiskey so special.  Mix along at home with the Coffee Negroni 1 part Mr. Black Coffee Liqueur  1 part your favorite/available gin 1 part Campari or Aperol  

Everyone is making quarantinis, which can really be anything (including a can of PBR if you're Pat). The Barrel to Bottle Crew was inspired to go back to the actual old school martini, which itself can be almost anything these days. Roger runs through some of the classic recipes including the original martini with sweet vermouth, the Vesper and more. Plus, a rousing listener Q&A about guilty pleasure drinks.  

We're jumping into your podcast feed with a bonus episode of Barrel to Bottle. We've been hosting a series of virtual tastings on Zoom. In this week's bonus episode Alicia and Barb, along with Lincoln Park wine manager Gabriel, taste through their favorite canned wines and canned wine cocktails.  For more information about our virtual tastings, please visit our website. 

Beaujolais is gonna work for you. They're not in plastic bottles any more and they're not your father's Beaujolais. This week on Barrel to Bottle, Pat is joined by Binny's educator Alicia along with wine manager Ben to help set the record straight on Beaujolais. The Barrel to Bottle Crew will taste through the entire Beaujolais region while discussing its history and sharing Beaujolais food pairings. Drink along at home with the following wines: Domaine de la Prebende Beaujolais 2018 Guy Breton Beaujolais Villages 2018 Chateau de Poncie Fleurie 2016 Anthony Thevenet Chenas  

Make do with what you have, that's the theme of this week's episode. You might not have all the ingredients for your favorite cocktail, but there's almost always a substitute you can make. This week the Barrel to Bottle Crew scours their respective basements for ingredients that will still make an excellent cocktail. At the end, Greg, Roger, Pat and Alicia each put their own quarantini spin on a negroni.  You can find all of our Barrel to Bottle Quarantini recipes on the Confessions of a Mixologist page.     

Alsace, an underappreciated wine region and the Barrel to Bottle Crew would love for our customers to know more about. Alsatian wines are food-friendly and budget friendly. Binny's Wine Educator Alicia tastes through five wines from Alsace, and throws in some trivia along the way. She also has some excellent food pairings. Plus, a customer wants to know what to do with a bottle of wine they don't really like.  Drink along at home with the following wines: Hugel Gentil 2018 Meyer-Fonne Riesling 2018 Trimbach Reserve Pinot Gris Reserve 2013 Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Turkheim 2018 Lucien Albrecht Cremant d'Alsace Brut Rose