Tröegs Craft Brewery General Manager Ed Yashinsky is our guest to talk about the release of their vaunted Nugget Nectar Imperial Amber Ale, the challenges and joys of moving into their state-of-the-art new T2 brewing facility in Hershey, updates on favorite upcoming Tröegs seasonals like Perpetual IPA and Mad Elf, some info on their Scratch and Splinter programs, and a whole lot more. In true Tröegs fashion, Ed is an open book as to their plans and reveals a bunch of information for fans of the brewery in this episode of the podcast.
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Acclaimed beer writer Jay Brooks is on the line to breakdown another epic SF Beer Week. Featuring 300-some events and 67 breweries in attendance, this celebration of beer will make your Alehead spin…
Jay takes us through some of the highlights of the week, from haute dogs at the circus with the Homebrew Chef Sean Paxton to the Double (and Triple!) IPA Festival. He also dispenses some advice for other cities across the country planning their own beer weeks.
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Former Goose Island brewmaster and craft beer pioneer Greg Hall stops by to discuss Virtue Cider- his latest venture to produce heirloom apple ciders with modern craft fermentation and aging techniques. We talk about similarities with the craft cider movement to craft beer in the early 90′s, the development of Virtue’s first offering dubbed “RedStreak”, the way cider is viewed in the US and Europe, Big Beer dollars getting into craft cider, and much more. A great conversation with one of the most important and knowledgeable beer and cider makers in the world…
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We welcome Ken Linch and Nathan Herrold to the show, founders of and brewers at Bridge Brew Works in Fayettville, WV. Topics include: opening and operating a production brewery in a state with extremely restrictive alcohol laws, capitalizing on visitors that come seeking whitewater rafting and other outdoor activities with fresh, local craft beer, and plans to expand without losing their hands-on approach.
Alehead Pat Strader sent me the following email describing the impact Bridge Brew Works has made on the West Virginian beer scene and the dedication these guys have for their craft; I couldn’t have said it better myself:
“They are trying to introduce new styles to an area otherwise devoid of craft beer, or understanding craft. The little town where we are, is an anomaly. There are several world-class restaurants here, and Bridge Brew is helping by providing them with fresh, local beers that range the spectrum. A simple cross-over lager? They have that… to very high gravity, and legit Belgian-style beers (Triple, Dubbel, Trubell).
It’s also interesting to me, that they are just two guys….doing 99.9% of the work with some sporadic volunteer help. After the call I actually had a talk with Nathan, and he was telling me about cleaning kegs all day..and the extra care he put into them and he didn’t want to pass the job off because of the impact it would have on the end product. Bottom line, these guys take great care with their stuff…”
We welcome Edinburgh-based blogger and podcaster Beercast Rich to the show and talk about the latest craft beer news on the other side of the pond, including: CAMRA, the cask vs. keg debate, Brewdog’s role in UK beer culture, some exciting Scottish brewers you’ve never heard of, and more.
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Today’s guest is Prague-based beer writer Evan Rail- we discuss his new essay Why Beer Matters available for Amazon Kindle, beer and homebrewing culture in the Czech Republic (including the unlikely rise of the Czech IPA), where to go as a beer geek with three days in Prague, and his pratfall in front of Anthony Bourdain during the filming of No Reservations.
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Scott Metzger is an interesting dude: founder of San Antonion’s Freetail Brewing Co in a state with decidedly unfriendly laws towards brewpubs, professor of economics, sender of hilarious cease-and-desist response letters, purveyor of seven-or-so (and counting) different IPA’s, presenter of TEDx talks, and prolific beer blogger, among other things. We discuss… well, beer. And other stuff. But mostly beer.
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Slouch sits down for a chat about sour and wild beers with Brandon Jones from the excellent blog Embrace the Funk. The guys tackle a number of subjects from a homebrewer and commercial beer fan perspective, including: how to get started brewing beers with wild yeast, common fears and misconceptions regarding contamination and process, some exciting upcoming offerings that look to push sour beers further into the mainstream, and Brandon’s excellent interviews with legends Jean Van Roy (Cantillon) and Vinnie Cilurzo (Russian River) and pioneering newcomers like Crooked Stave’s Chad Yakobson.
If you have already “embraced the funk” or just want to learn more about this exciting branch of the craft beer movement, check out a great conversation with a brewer and writer that is passionate and knowledgeable about these beers.
Gov. Bev Perdue with the spoils of war, via Mountain XPress on Flickr
Unofficial (for now) North Carolina Craft Beer Goodwill AmbassadorWin Bassett of ncbrewing.org stops by to discuss the monumental announcement that Sierra Nevada Brewing will be building an east coast production facility just south of Asheville, NC. We discuss the incentive package, the practical and philosophical implications the development might have on local brewing culture, the impending New Belgium announcement, the economic benefits to the region, and more.
We also get into some of the state’s other beer destinations in the Triangle , Charlotte, and Coastal regions, as well as Slouch’s impending hero’s welcome* to visit the state’s myriad breweries and bottleshops.
Also of note: Win has been a leading advocate for getting his local legislators to sign on as sponsors to HR 1236 Small BREW Act. Where do your representative stand on this bill that reduces the tax excise rate for craft breweries that produce less the 60,000 barrels annually? Maybe you should call and ask them!
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Co-founder, CTO, and Lead Developer Greg Avola of the social beer sharing service Untappd stops by to discuss their newest feature- Brewery Pages, where drinkers will be able to follow breweries of their choosing and interact with them directly after checking into a brew. Over 300 breweries have already claimed their pages, including: Dogfish Head, Stone, Bell’s, Boston Beer Co. and many more. Greg explains the mechanics and benefits from both the consumer and brewery perspective, and talks about other changes and improvements they are working on for the popular service.
Ryan from the Chicago-based blog Guys Drinking Beer checks in to talk about the difficult circumstances Anheuser-Busch InBev now finds itself with the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, when it was recently revealed their wholly-owned subsidiary WEDCO (owners of large ABI distributor City Beverage) has never been registered to do business in the state. We speculate on possible repercussions the upcoming decision could have on AB-InBev and the beer distribution landscape in Illinois, talk about the recent influx of exciting new breweries in the state, and get an update from a local on how Goose Island is perceived since they were acquired by ABI.
Slouch welcomes Jenn Coyle and Lindsey Herrema, founders of The Can Van to the show. What started as a business school project is turning into a mobile craft beer canning operation in Northern California that will go live this month. Join us as we talk about sustainability, the challenges of starting a small business, and of course canning delicious craft beer.
Slouch likes to talk about beer. Lew Bryson REALLY likes to talk about beer. They discuss his new “American Beer Blogger” Kickstarter project, the future of craft beer, the proposed changes to the Pennsylvania liquor laws and more.
Want more Lew? For our western Pennsylvania listeners, Bocktown Beer and Grill is hosting a meet and greet on January 3rd in their new location in Monaca to help Lew Bryson raise awareness and funding for ”American Beer Blogger”. Join him for an ‘edutasting’ where he shows us his new project, a television series that will highlight our favorite industry! Details will post soon on Bocktown’s website, Facebook page and Twitter.
Slouch sits down with Jamie Rice, Justin Waters, and Kyle Branigan, the guys behind Milkman Brewing. Milkman made a name for themselves at last month’s Pittsburgh Brewfest, taking home top honors with a Peppercorn Rye that had everyone in the local beer community talking. They discuss the trials and tribulations of starting a boutique brewery on a shoestring budget, their philosophy about creating recipes that push the boundaries of beer, the upcoming first Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week, and a lot more.
Slouch sits down with Erik Lars Myers of Mystery Brewing Company to talk about the invasive tactics of some larger craft breweries, transitioning from homebrewer to pro, successfully funding a brewery on Kickstarter, equal representation at the Brewers Association for small breweries, his upcoming book North Carolina Craft Beer and Breweries, and a heck of a lot more. Listen in and share a pint with us.
Barley and Slouch welcome Lucas, Chip, and Angela from Lucky Town Brewing of Gluckstadt, Mississippi to the show. We talk about the incredibly restrictive beer laws in the Magnolia State, their selection of (as-required-by law) session beers, how they got started, and much more…
Find out what it takes to found a brewery in a craft beer wasteland, how to avoid lighting your yard on fire after a long brew day, getting funded on Kickstarter, the real deal behind Biggs Blacklidge, supporting Raise Your Pints, engaging the homebrew community, and getting the ladies hooked on Oatmeal Stouts.
Tröegs Craft Brewery General Manager Ed Yashinsky is our guest to talk about the release of their vaunted Nugget Nectar Imperial Amber Ale, the challenges and joys of moving into their state-of-the-art new T2 brewing facility in Hershey, updates on favorite upcoming Tröegs seasonals like Perpetual IPA and Mad Elf, some info on their Scratch and Splinter programs, and a whole lot more. In true Tröegs fashion, Ed is an open book as to their plans and reveals a bunch of information for fans of the brewery in this episode of the podcast.
Posted by Slouch Sixpack 
Slouch likes to talk about beer. Lew Bryson REALLY likes to talk about beer. They discuss his new “American Beer Blogger” Kickstarter project, the future of craft beer, the proposed changes to the Pennsylvania liquor laws and more.
