Beer Guys Radio | Craft Beer Podcast

Another GABF is in the books...Reports from the field say this year's Great American Beer Festival was a shell of what it once was. That's not surprising considering the overall craft landscape, but still a bummer.Seeing the beers and breweries that win, and what categories are popular is always fun. I learn about new breweries every year. Also, the West Coast IPA continues to make a comeback. There were 300 entries in the category with Hazy/Juicy edging it out for the top spot but just 1 more entry. Impressive.More news on Iron Hill that somewhat unexpectedly shuttered all their locations. Their financial are pretty shocking. It's a bit surprising they stayed open this long.On the international front, India is facing a major can shortage that could impact beer supplies and more news on pre-Incan psychedelic brews. Groovy.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

How much beer would it take for you to change your name?What kind of beer? For how long? How about 19 years worth of Busch Light? That's the dream for someone, I'm sure. And Busch Light is ready to deliver.Oktoberfest is officially over in Germany but in keeping with American traditions it will be going strong here for about another month. We're OK with it. More festbiers and schnitzels are fine with us. A little scare at Oktoberfest last week, it had to be shut down briefly due to a potential bomb threat.We got an update on Asahi. Seems like they're back online after the cyberattack last week. We're getting mixed signals on whether or not data was leaked. We'll update if we find out more.Gen X is now the king of packaged goods, including beer. That honor has gone to Baby Boomers for a while now, but Gen X took the lead. We're very proud of our accomplishment.In other news... Winston Churchill's work around for American Prohibition, Dubai chocolate (stouts?), a real bee

Another week and more Oktoberfest fun. We got out for some barrel aged goodness and hot pretzels as the Fest season rolls on.Big news on a couple fronts this week as Iron Hill announces the closure of all locations. They'd previously stated few were slated to close so this was a surprise. Asahi also announced all (or several, it's unclear) of their breweries were shut down due to a cyberattack.Michelob Ultra takes the top spot as the best selling beer in America, dethroning Modelo which took a bit quicker rise to the top after Bud Light alienated a large portion of their fanbase. Let's see how long they stay there.Rumor is that Gen Z may be saving cask ale. Brian actually called that one. Good for them, they've been taken the blame for too much lately.In other news there's some cool new science for using spent grains, Charlie Sheen's got an NA beer coming, and chimpanzees are total lushes. Cheers!Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt

It is time once again to drink a bunch of Oktoberfest beers, for science.Is it Oktoberfest again already? Almost. But we're ahead of the curve. Not enough to be seasonal creepy, mind you, just enough to get you prepped for the festivities.Our annual Oktoberfest blind tasting is one of our (and your) favorite episodes. We sit down and sample a dozen Oktoberfest beers and pick our favorites. This year was a fun one.Shout out to the Nates for hosting and catering the event. We had brats, charcuterie, beer cheese dip, hot German potato salad, and soft baked pretzels. Quite the smorgasbord. The ContendersAyinger Privatbrauerei Oktober Fest-MärzenBrooklyn Brewery Brooklyn OktoberfestFat Orange Cat Brew Co. Bavarian KittensHacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest MärzenHofbräuhaus München OktoberfestbierSpoetzl Brewery Shiner OktoberfestTucher Bräu FestbierSamuel Adams OctoberfestSierra Nevada Brewing Co. / Störtebeker OktoberfestSix Bridges Brewing FeierabendWarsteiner OktoberfestWeihenstephaner OktoberfestbierHave you trie

How much would you pay for brewery swag???Brian and I checked out Atlanta’s new soju distillery this week and learned a lot—everything from smooth 17% pours to a fiery 40% bottle, plus makgeolli, the cloudy, tangy rice wine that surprised us in the best way. Back at Halfway Crooks, I nearly bought a tote bag until I saw the $20 price tag, which sparked a whole chat about brewery swag sticker shock.We also dug into the sad news that 21st Amendment is closing after 25 years, shared our beers of the week (including Focal Banger, Cold-Hearted IPA, and a big port-and-bourbon-barrel stout), and laughed about Gen Z putting ice in beer. Add in some global stories—Africa’s beer boom, mosquitoes loving beer drinkers, and even trace MRI chemicals in European lagers—and it was a packed episode.Next week’s our Oktoberfest tasting show, so no livestream, but plenty of Märzens on deck!Cheers!TimThanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate"

Big booze gets a beating from boycottsBeer adjacent news here. It seems Canadian boycotts are hurting American whiskey wine report sales down massively across Canada. I imagine these aren't the only international pains we'll be feeling.Some beer growth is happening, even if it's for Big Beer. Guinness announced they're undertaking a massive expansion to relieve pressure on their main brewery. The new location will also brew other brands under parent company Diageo's umbrella.RIP to an OG. Gordon Bowker, co-founder of Redhook (and Strabucks!) has died. He was 82.In other news more BrewDog drama as co-founder leaves suddenly, Maine Beer Co. founder Dan Kleban is making a run for US Senate, and the science of beer foam and why it matters.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

With so many ups and downs it's no wonder we need a beer.Mo Mic Nate will be on the road next week on a great New England beer adventure. Hopefully he drinks a lot of great beers we can't get here, and brings plenty back to share.Survey says that beer consumption is at an 86 year low. We're not sure we trust the math, but we know it's a struggle out there. Aluminum costs on the other hand, they're up, and may get even more upper. I'm sure higher costs will help breweries to do well and get people drinking more. It's foolproof.In other news... More drama from BrewDog, as is tradition. Ballast Point is alive and kicking, and just got a big investment. Best of luck to them. In the world of SCIENCE! Apparently sound makes beer brew faster. Neat.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:

What would be the first beers you put in the Craft Beer Hall of Fame?We've talked a good bit about the Craft Beer Hall of Fame since their early planning stages. They added their inaugural group of brewers not long ago and new they've welcome their first beers. Those had to be some tough decisions.The Great American Beer Fest is just around the corner and they've got some new things planned for 2025. There were some interesting changes last year as well. As we all know our beloved beverage is having tough times. The BA is doing amazing things to make GABF interesting to beer lovers and others. It's sure to be a good time.We learned of some crazy laws in Wisconsin that is seriously hurting the brewfest scene. Apparently, out of state brewers will now have to pay a huge fee to come in for festivals. Reports are anywhere from $1,000 - $1,300, which is a massive amount for a small brewery. At one event over 60 breweries have already canceled their participation.In other news... Fat Tire wants

It's a daggum good time to drink a beer, I tell you hwhat...Have you watched the reboot of King of the Hill yet? It's pretty good. Push on through to Episode 2 and see Hank Hill take up a hobby that merges two of his true loves.It's hold and cold here in Georgia. Hot, and cool. Either way, it's important to stay hydrated. We got tips.Whether we like it or not, the Oktoberfest beers are out in full force. I know these breweries have to be first to market to get the early birds. But Brian found some Oktoberfest beers on the shelf from a brewery that's been closed for quite a while. Sad.There's big shake ups for big beer companies at the executive level. Jim Koch is returning as CEO of Boston Beer Co. and Pabst has a couple c-level swaps happening.Some good news for Europe. Beer production is up. I'm sure we'll here news next week of it being down, flat, whatever. But for now, it's up.We also learn what draws people to buy a beer that they're not familiar. Packag

It's been a hot one here in Georgia. We had a few days where it "felt like" it was over 100 degrees. Terrible temps make for good drinking weather, though.In this week's show...Hulk Hogan passes away but that seemed to boost his beer salesBrewdog announces closure of several brewpubsA new record is set in the Beer MileKing of the Hill beer release is delayedBearded Iris is sold (And we didn't even know they broke up with Scofflaw)Buffalo Brewery vandalized and then shafted by insuranceAnd Coors Light drops a cold-activated... deodorant?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 | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSSFollow Beer Guys Radio: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks lik

We finally got our hands on some Bapple, for better or worse. We'll find out if it's worth the hype.We've also come to one of our favorite times of the year for complaining, Oktoberfest beer releases in July. I even saw an local business pitching their Christmas party events. Pure madness.New Zealand was hit with heavy rain and widespread flooding. The hop growing region was hit pretty hard. What does this mean for the NZ hop harvest this year, and next?As tourists avoid the US a Vermont beer fest has a plan to try and woo them back stateside. I hope it works.In other news... winners and some trends from the 2025 US Open Beer Championship, how to efficiently load a cooler, and some unfortunate news on Anchor Brewing. 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 | Google Podcasts | Spotify

Sad news this week with the passing of Jack McAuliffe of New Albion beer. When you talk OGs in craft beer his name should definitely be in the conversation. Jacks was an innaugural inductee into the American Craft Beer Hall of Fame along with co-founder Suzy Stern and Jane Zimmerman.How many of you have seen a bar on a plane? I feel like I flew on a couple when I was a youngin. I remember thinking how interesting it was to have a bar on a plane - then I took my seat in coach and carried on. Virgin Atlantic says people have moved on from the novelty of bars on planes and they're phasing them out. Sad.More drama with Hulk Hogan's beer brand. Their facing a lawsuit that says the idea for Real American Beer was stolen. The Hulkster always seems to be in hot water.Much to Brian and Nate's delight, we found out Spaghettsicles are a thing. But they're an expensive thing. Nate's going to try crafting his own. Maybe.Rounding out the week we've got better beer taxes in Missouri, conveyor b

Welcome back for another amazing episode of Beer Guys Radio.We can't seem to get a full house lately. Nate's out this week but Tim and Brian roll on. Lots to recap from the holiday, some good and not so good brewery news. Always an adventure.Brian's Colorado Cold Brew4th of July ExcitementBeers of the WeekHow About Some Guinness Waffles?Alamo Beer: Broke to Breaking OutBraille Beer Label Printer InventedShoutout: Truck & TapRice Could Improve N/A Beer FlavorTRVE Brewing ClosingZillacoah's 1st Beer Since HeleneThanks 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 | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSSFollow Beer Guys Radio: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free epi

Tim's back after a battle with Covid that took him out had for two days and took his sense of smell for a week. Rough.We re-hash the NA story from last week about it being not-so-healthy. We didn't think it was, but maybe some folks thought the absence of alcohol made it a health drink. I think it's just more bad press from the haters.In our Style Profile series Nate breaks down the Italian Pilsner for us and we turn to ChatGPT to get the exact scoop in the difference between German, Czech, and Italian Pilsners.We discuss our drinking habits across the seasons and whether not they change. Although we all said not really I think it changes up a bit just due to the availability of beers. Like the big and beautiful stouts of Winter.In other news the Incans may have been powered by beer and even tossed in some hallucinogenics for the fun of it, big retailers share their predictions for Summer beverage trends, beer in bed, and the Giants are giving fans FREE BEER. What a time to be alive.Thanks for

Tim was out sick again this week, Covid really hanging on. Brian likes to call it "being on assignment" for some reason. Covid is a terrible assignment.But Brian and Nate held down the fort, here's what they talked about...Snow Beer and BappleNew "Publicly Developed" Hop VeraIs N/A Beer Really Healthier?US Alcohol Guidelines Being DroppedConstellation and Diageo Getting SuedIs Rice The Next Big Thing In Beer?Pairing Beer With Spicy FoodThanks 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 | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSSFollow Beer Guys Radio: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

This week Brian and Nate recap their casual bottle share which they didn't invite Tim to or even tell him about. What the hell? Anyhow... they kept it chill and shared a few brews just like the old days. Good times were had by all those that knew it was happeningA company claims to have been the first to formulate a beer meant for drinking on a flight and brewed for the higher altitude. We feel like we've heard this before though.More online conversations from a few places about kids in taprooms but it seems opinions may be changing. Our views vary, but what is usually a hot topic seemed to keep mostly level heads.More brewery closures as Tilray closes the Redhook brewlab, a Voodoo Ranger and Malort collab with a twist is out, and knocking back boilermakers around the world.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 favo

As we get things going this week we find out Nate has been flexing his culinary muscles on some ice cream adventures. Naturally, we ask if he's made any with booze. He has not. He continues to be a source of disappointment.Seems like every week there's something new to blame on Gen Z. We've decided to embrace it. It's all Gen Z's fault - and they'll pay for this, one beer at a time.GABF announced some new beer styles for this year's competition and in interesting one-time category for a new hop. On the competition front there's also a new #1 in Africa, a unique and traditional style called umqombothi. Neat. We also found out Hulk Hogan's beer company is making a push to buy Hooter's, and they're apparently bidding against - Hooter's? Whatever happens it will have to get creative because, thanks to the 3-tier system, you can't own a brewery and a retailer. Let's see how this pans out.To wrap things up we chat about the worst beers we've

Before diving into the terrible news of increasing tariffs on the aluminum needed to make our beer cans we "review" the Miller & Pringles collaboration chips we talked about a while back. Are they good? Do they taste like beer can chicken and beer brats? Find out!Nate gives us a style profile on American Cream Ale. We're fans, and there's more out there than you might realize. Coffee versions are especially tasty.In some surprising news, or maybe note, Non-Alcoholic beer is poised to surpass Ale as the 2nd largest beer category. As beer nerds we get into a lot of ales but, around the globe, Lager still dominates - by a lot.Another loss for the beer community this week with the passing of esteemed writer Martyn Cornell. Through blogs, articles, and books Cornell educated many on beer and debunked some popular myths on the origins of certain beers.We've got a very small update on Anchor Brewing. Spoiler: Things are happening, but not much.If you're a homebrewer, we've got

Kentucky roads, Drop Bears, and weird drinking traditionsFresh off a tiring vacation Brian shares his drinking adventures in Louisville, KY and educates on the proper pronunciation of it's name. A bit of beer, a lot of whiskey, and a disappointing chicken fried steak.Two beer legends pass awayOscar Wong, founder of Asheville's Highland Brewing Co. passed away this week. Highland was the first brewery in Asheville and Mr. Wong contribute immeasurably to the beer scene there and across the country. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.George Wendt, know to many as Norm from the 90s sitcom Cheers, also passed away this week. For those of a certain age bracket Norm's dry humor was an important part of their weekly entertainment. RIP, Norm.Some good news out of AshevilleHi Wire Brewing recently re-opened in Asheville after the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. We also round up updates on a few others breweries in the area. Great to see some of them bouncing back.Also on the show...Wei

What beer pairs with caviar and Doritos?I should be able to answer this question as I have had caviar on Doritos. It's not bad, but I forget what beer I had with it. I'll have to revisit.Outside of crazy caviar parties we learn there's a new world's strongest "beer." The method for making it means it doesn't technically qualify as beer some places, but that's how it's being billed.We learn about distro laws for Thailand. I had no idea some of the limitations craft brewers had there. Guess there are struggles everywhere.More news on Gen Z's drinking habits. That's such a hot topic these days. Gotta keep them coming to keep the industry alive.In other news... We get falsely imprisoned, DoorDashing your booze is on the rise, and a six-way collaboration is coming.Cheers!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.Subs