Beer Guys Radio | Craft Beer Podcast

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

NA beer is here to stay, and Athletic Brewing Co. is leading the way We last talked with Athletic Brewing Co. in 2019.  They were just getting their roots set and spreading the word of their non-alcoholic craft beer.  The last two years of seen explosive growth for them, and the NA beer sector, so we decided to catch up with them for an update. Bill Shufelt and John Walker are the co-founders of Athletic.  Bill man's the fort at their production brewery in San Diego while John watches over their original Connecticut Brewery and taproom.  Both breweries are in the process of expansion. Even though the segment has grown there's still a stigma with many people about non-alcoholic beers.  Some recall the weird taste of previous NA offerings, and some just don't get the point of a beer with alcohol.  Athletic wants to see NA become a choice just because you like it, rather than a "penalty box" decision for designated drivers, pregnant women, and recovering alcoholics. Bill and John share i

Cannabis in a can with CERIA Brewing's Dr. Keith Villa As state's legalize the casual consumption of marijuana I think we knew a time would come when it found it's way into a beer.  No doubt that homebrewers have tried this combination out a time or two, but for CERIA Brewing THC and CBD is the focus of their brews. Dr. Keith Villa is best known as the inventor of the iconic Blue Moon Belgian White.  Whether you're a fan or not, it's hard to argue the impact this beer has had on craft beer, and the beer world in general.  We promised Villa we wouldn't dominate the show with Blue Moon questions.  We lied.  We get a good segment in on the history of the brew and the small change that launched it to stardom.  It's a pretty great story. But cannabis beers are the them of the day and we talk plenty about them.  They're are multiple levels of illegality in putting cannabis and alcohol together, so all of CERIA's brews are non-alcoholic, and 0.0% at that.  The brewery did

Collaboration makes the (craft beer) world go 'round The pandemic may have made beer collaborations more difficult, but it didn't stop great brewers from coming together to make tasty beers.  Like most things in our lives these days, collaborations have gone virtual with Zoom meetings and emails and text messages getting the job done.  We're thankful for these virtual collabs because it brings us amazing things like Alesmith Brewing and Alvarado Street Brewing's Oso Under.  A West Coast IPA loaded up with Australia and New Zealand hops. Alesmith's Ryan Crisp and (with the last minute tag in) Alvarado Street's Dave Ilderton, aka Party Wave Dave, join us this week to talk collaboration, brewing mishaps, love for those West Coast IPAs, and the trends that have come and gone.  Crack open something packing a few IBUs and join us.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 &qu

July 4, 1776.  America is born.  There are high fives all around.  Samuel Adams breaks out his homebrew to celebrate.  Life is good. This week we take a look at some classic American craft beers.  American craft is fairly young in the grand scheme of things.  Where many European countries have hundreds of years of tradition, we've got 40ish years - with maybe a couple of exceptions.  A little thing called Prohibition threw us off for a while but when we got back in the game, we went all out.  Anchor Steam hit the scene in 1971, Sierra Nevada in 1980, Sam Adams in 1984.  The 90s gave us bold beers from Dogfish Head and saw the brewpub boom where you could always find a Blonde Ale, a Pale Ale a Porter, and in Irish Red.  There were 90 craft breweries in American in 1978 and today there are over 8,800. Our crafty pioneers brought hoppy beers that not everyone took a shine to.  Many people that were used to their American lagers thought the beers were flawed.  But the brewers pushed on and the people develop

How many Peets does it take to run a brewery? Kettlerock Brewing in Peachtree Corners, GA is a family affair.  When patriarch Stephen Peet retired in 2019 he figured the easiest way to relax was to build a brewery, and bring the whole crew with him.  Stephen and Sterling Peet joined us on the show this week with Diana, Christa, Taylor, and Devon Peet holding down the fort.  That's a lotta Peets. Stephen tells us the focus of the brewery is community, nature, and the environment.  He recalls a slow time and the brewery a a handful of guests sat apart in pairs but soon started chatting with each other, and that's exactly what he hopes Kettlerock fosters. When Sterling isn't brewing, he's a rocket scientist at Georgia Tech's Space Systems Design Laboratory.  He shares some of the projects they've worked on and tells us about CubeSats.  We asked if he's launched any yeast or grain into space and we're disappointed that he hasn't. The Peets were also founding members of

Beers don't have to be big to be beautiful Last weekend we headed over to Duluth, GA to party with our friends from Good Word Brewing as they celebrated the beauty of small beers. The festival had brewers from all over the country offering up beers under 5% ABV.  There were plenty of lagers as well as some saisons and grisettes, sours, and even some porters and stouts.  In the day of TIPAs and double-digit pastry stouts it's nice to celebrate the drinkin' beers.  We've been preaching Pilsners for year; we knew others would eventually come around. Fighting our best against the DJ that I swear aimed a speaker right at us, we sat down to chat with a few of the brewers at the event.  We talk with Ryan and Todd from Good Word about how the fest came to be and why they wanted a festival of all low ABV beers.  Joran and Shawn from Halfway Crooks Beer chat about their love for lagers and the cult following their LAGER LAGER LAGER LAGER merchandise has. We ran into Crooked Run's Jake Endress w

How much beer do you need to brew to serve 200 restaurants? Alex Puchner has been with BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse since they started brewing 25 years ago.  It's a unique setup they have there at BJ's, with a group of breweries across the country supplying beer to the 200+ restaurants in their chain.  A lot of beer. Alex joined us this week to talk about his early days of brewing with the legendary Maltose Falcons homebrew club and his adventure with BJ's.  We learned about their core beers, their new brew club, and some of the brews coming out of their R&D brewery. We sampled a few of their beers including a fantastic Coffee Blonde and their Cookies and Cream Pizookie Porter.  A mild take on a pastry brew, which Alex says is about as wild as he's going to get. The Beer List BJ's Brewhouse 25th Silver Bock Brewhouse Blonde (Kolsch) Coffee Cult Blonde Committed DIPA Cookies and Cream Pizookie Porter Jeremiah Red See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Thanks