Beer City Hopcast

In the first of a new the series, So You Want To Own a Brewery, hosts Taylor Darling and Jon VanderPloeg invite Ed Collazo, Co-Founder of City Built Brewing Company, and Terry Rostic, owner of the soon to be opened Boston Square Brewing company, to tell their stories. Ed and Terry talk about the good, the bad, and the unknowns they faced when pursuing their dream. The show covers the business and social aspects of opening a new brewery.

In this episode hosts Taylor Darling and Jon VanderPloeg of Mitten Brewing Co are talking hops with two of West Michigan's premier growers. Joining them on the podcast are Bryan Posthumus, Managing Parter at West Michigan Hops and Justin Dieleman, Owner and Operator of Pure Mitten Hops. The conversation covers the pitfalls and rewards of planting, growing and harvesting local hops as well as Michigan's place in the hops growing industry.

In this episode host Taylor Darling and his guests delve into the art of home brewing. Joining Taylor are local home brewing expert Nick Roddamer, Doug Dorda of Founders Brewing Co and Ben O'Connor of O'Connor's Brew Shop. The group shares their thoughts on the best way to begin as a home brewer and where to go once you're comfortable with the process. They also cover the good and the bad side of turning a hobby into a profession.

In Episode 3 Taylor Darling and his guests talk beer and food. Joining him on the podcast are President and co-founder of City Built Brewing Company, Edwin Collazo, City Built's menu coordinator Karen "Sweet K" Collazo and Brewery Vivant Executive Chef Chris Vander Meer. The group discusses how each establishment developed and honed their current menus and the sometimes unusual process they go through when creating new items. It's a lively hour that gives you an inside look into two of Grand Rapids up and coming brewery's.

In episode 2, host Taylor Darling is joined by Lab Technician Scott Vant Hul of Founders Brewing Company, Quality Control Manager Brian (Boomer) Bastow of Perrin Brewing Company and Professor Aaron Ross of Sustainable Brewing at KVCC. The discussion covers the processes that make great beer and the importance of Quality Control for breweries and home brewers alike. Learn the keys to making great beer with insights into the large-scale tests in the laboratories at Founders to simple to understand small-scale tests in the garage.

We explore the world of funk and its impacts on the craft beer renaissance. Jon Vanderploeg, Mitch Ermatinger, and Josh Rake discuss owning and running funky and sour beer businesses and programs in Beer City USA.