Beer with Strangers

Tony Russo’s newest audio project is now available wherever you’re listening now. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beerwithstrangers.substack.com

Boulder is home to the Brewers Association as well as to the American Homebrewers Association. It’s a region that takes its cultural responsibilities pretty seriously. This week, I spoke with journalist Michael J. Case who wrote the history of Boulder County Beer.Michael told me some great stories about early homebrewing classes the association put on as well as about how the Boulder County brewing community has negotiated the kind of expansion that it has.Purchase Michael J. Casey’s book Boulder County Beer.Follow is writing for the Boulder Weekly here. Follow his beer adventures on Instagram, and read his film writing at michaeljcinema.com and follow him @MichaelJCinema. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beerwithstrangers.substack.com

Jenny Barnwell from JetSetHers.com talks about the transition from Florida to Colorado and some of her favorite spots around the state.

Jacks Mullins, host of Beer and Business talks, well, beer and business and drinking your way around Atlanta.

Doug Hoverson is the author of The Drink that Made Wisconsin Famous: Beer and Brewing in the Badger State and Land of Amber Waters, the History of Brewing in Minnesota. Amber Waters won the 2008 Minnesota Book Award for Minnesota non-fiction. He has also written about beer for publications ranging from All About Beer and Good Beer Hunting to The Onion. Doug is an award-winning homebrewer and a National rank beer judge. Aside from his beer-related pursuits, Doug teaches history and political science at Saint Thomas Academy High School in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, where he also coaches track & field and debate. He and his family live in Minneapolis.

Executive & Career Coach and CEO Terry McDougall Coaching. Terry spent some of her formative years in Milton, Delaware when it was an impossibly-sleepy town and not yet home to the Dogfish Head brewery and distillery. Terry talks about pre-dogfish Milton as well as Ravinia Brewing in her current hometown.

John Russo from 902 Brewing is back to talk about hauling beer in Jersey City, Anchor's label change, and the 5,000-gallon ancient Egyptian brewery.

Sam Phanor wears a lot of hats, from police officer to entrepreneur, but recently he's been interested in helping homebrewers and pro-brewers better get their brand. He takes us on a tour of Fort Lauderdale's emerging craft beer culture.

Lee Graves, a graduate of the College of William & Mary and former career journalist, has been writing about beer since 1996, when he started a weekly beer column in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He has written for numerous publications and has authored three books: “Richmond Beer: A History of Brewing in the River City,” “Charlottesville Beer: Brewing in Jefferson’s Shadow,” and, most recently, “Virginia Beer: A Guide from Colonial Days to Craft’s Golden Age.” In addition to writing, Graves is involved in beer history efforts and serves as president of the non-profit group Richmond Beeristoric. Graves has two daughters and lives in Richmond with his wife, Margaret.

For decades, Louisville was up there with St. Louis and Milwaukee as a beer city. This micro-history episode traces the rise, fall and return of craft beer in Louisville. Guest bio: Kevin Gibson is a Louisville, Kentucky-based author and freelance writer who writes about everything from food to beer to the great city he calls home. In his three-plus decades as a writer, he has won numerous awards but doesn’t know where most of them are now. He is author of Louisville Beer: Derby City History on Draft, Secret Louisville and several other books. He currently lives in Louisville's historic Clifton neighborhood with his dog, Atticus.

Host Tony Russo announces a minor format change and an exciting new feature slated for an August release.

Beer writer Kimberly Bowker interviews the host of Beer With Strangers, Tony Russo, about his entry into podcasting and the show's new arc.

Kimberly Bowker talks up the Bend beer scene from quarantine and how to treat yourself to new beers even when you can't try them out. About the guest: Kimberly Bowker loves writing about craft beer - and how it brings us all together. She lives in Bend, Oregon, and previously served at Deschutes Brewery and Sunriver Brewing Co. Her pieces about beer have appeared in Craftbeer.com, Oregon Beer Growler, Beer West Magazine, Cascade Journal, and The Bulletin. Please visit www.kimberlybowker.com for more information. Cheers to you all!  

Matt Osgood is a New England-based journalist whose byline has appeared in The Atlantic, Smithsonian, Vice, Slate, and many more. He firmly believes in the Jimmy Buffett line, "Give me oysters and beer for dinner every day of the year." Follow him on Twitter @matthewmosgood or Instagram @mattosgoodwrites.

By now, we're dealing with the realization that beercations and craft beer excursions are off for a while, but that doesn't mean we can't plan.

About the Guest: Joe Wiebe, the “Thirsty Writer,” is the author of Craft Beer Revolution: The Insider’s Guide to B.C. Breweries, the definitive guidebook to British Columbia’s burgeoning craft beer industry, currently in its second edition. The first edition of Craft Beer Revolution was a B.C. bestseller for 2013 and won the Gourmand Award for Best Beer Book in Canada. The completely revised and updated second edition released in March 2015 includes profiles of 90 breweries compared to 50 in the version that came out just two years earlier. Joe has been a freelance writer for 20 years, writing hundreds of articles on a wide range of subjects including arts and culture, sports, business and travel, but since 2008 he has mainly written about craft beer in publications including British Columbia magazine, Sip Northwest, BeerAdvocate, BCBusiness, The Growler, WestWorld, Beer West, Taps, Publican, NUVO, Taste, Alive, Westjet magazine and Boulevard. Joe is a co-founder and Beer Director of Victoria Beer Week, which takes place annually in early March, and the BC Ale Trail project, for which he is the Content Manager. He produced the Victoria Beer Map and is the beer columnist for CBC Radio’s All Points West program and often appears on other radio and TV shows as a craft beer expert. He emceed the Canadian Brewing Awards in 2016 and the Business of Craft Beer conference several times, and regularly hosts panel discussions on craft beer. Joe presents beer seminars in venues throughout British Columbia and leads a monthly beer tasting session in Victoria. He acts as a beer judge for the Okanagan Fest of Ale and the BC Beer Awards, and hosts visiting media on tours of the craft beer scene in British Columbia.  Follow him on Twitter, and on Facebook.  

Ben Kline on the breweries, festivals and other non-chocolate experiences in Hershey, Pa. About the Guest: Benjamin Kline is the head writer, operator, and creator of The Beer Thrillers. A blog he started in May 2019. A life long beer fan (well, since he was 21), Ben loves craft beer. A former writer for his high school newspaper, as well as having gone to school (for a little bit) for Philosophy and Journalism, Ben has spent his adult years, productively writing for various things (on top of maintaining a real job). He writes for his blog - The Beer Thrillers - with new posts nearly daily, as well as for Let Us Drink Beer Blog, Breweries in PA, and various other outlets (for philosophy as well). He also does pop culture podcasts with his friends at So A Mexican and a Scot Walk Into a Bar. He has also volunteered when he was able to (and when they needed him) at Tattered Flag for their canning run. Sometime home brewer as well, as hops grower (Nugget, Chinook, Cascade, and Saaz). He lives in Central PA among great breweries like Boneshire Brew Works, Troegs Independent Craft Brewing, Tattered Flag, Newfangled Brew Works, and the soon to be reopened Rubber Soul Brewing in his hometown. The Beer Thrillers Twitter The Beer Thrillers Facebook

Getting to talk to the brewer gives this nightlife reporter a better insight into the beers that make the Atlanta craft beer scene thrive. About the Guest: Kelsey Podo is the education and features reporter for The Gainesville Times in Gainesville, Georgia. She makes a weekly sacrifice for the newspaper by drinking tasty beer from around Georgia and writing about it in her column, Kelsey Drinks Beer. She enjoys interviewing brewmasters and divulging the magic behind each beer.

LI Beer Guide editor and publisher Bernie Kilkelly talks about how craft beer has changed the face of small Long Island towns. About the guest: Bernie Kilkelly is the editor and publisher of LIBeerGuide.com, the authoritative online guide to Long Island's beer scene.  LIBeerGuide.com includes listings of craft breweries, beer bars, gastropubs, Irish and German pubs, and bottle shops, as well as information on beer festivals, beer destinations and homebrew clubs and shops.  Bernie also publishes the free monthly email LIBeerGuide Brewsletter, with the latest Long Island beer news and event information.  He has been a beer journalist for over 25 years, contributing to publications including Long Island Press, Ale Street News and Beer & Tavern Chronicle, and has won awards for Food & Beverage Writing from the Press Club of Long Island and the North American Guild of Beer Writers.

The Arizona Republic's nightlife reporter Tirion Morris talks about craft beer's transformative presence in Phoenix and what makes it such a great beer destination.

Owner of the Utah Beer Blog, Mike Riedel talks about how the craft beer scene has exploded in Salt Lake and beyond in the last few years. About the Guest: A Salt Lake City native that blames his wife for his craft beer spiral. He began writing about the Utah Craft Beer scene in 2005 as a therapeutic way of spreading the word of the good and bad in Utah’s burgeoning beer culture. Since then Mike has enjoyed writing for multiple local publications; including his current gig as the Beer Nerd for the Salt Lake City Weekly, a weekly craft beer radio segment and of course the Utah Beer Blog. It’s good work... if you can get it.

There's too much going on in the Upstate N.Y. beer scene to fit into one show. Instead, beer writer Don Cazentre focuses on the Finger Lakes as a destination and talks about how the Empire State re-invigorated its craft beer boom. About the Guest: Don Cazentre is a veteran journalist who has been writing about beer and the alcoholic beverage industry since the mid-1990s. He is the craft beer, wine and spirits writer for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The (Syracuse) Post-Standard. He is the co-author of New York Breweries, 2nd ed. (Stackpole; 2014) and Spirits & Cocktails of Upstate New York (The History Press/American Palate; 2017). He lives in Syracuse, N.Y.

When you're a travel writer and a beer drinker, there's always an opportunity for a story. When Karen Asp travels for fun or on assignment, she makes it a point to add the brewing scene to enhance her experience. In this episode, she talks about navigating the Alaskan beer scene.    About the guest: Karen Asp is an Indiana-based journalist who writes for numerous leading publications, including All About Beer, Craftbeer.com, Delta Sky, Better Homes and Gardens, VegNews, Real Simple  Woman’s Day, O, Martha Stewart Living, USA Today, Women’s Health and Prevention. She’s also an author whose most recent book is Anti-Aging Hacks. Along with her fitness endeavors, volunteer work with animal shelters and sanctuaries, and vegan coaching she does, craft beer is one of her biggest passions (beer makes her smile!). She’s fortunate that her career allows her to travel the world, and she not only seeks out breweries wherever she is but also counts beer as her favorite travel souvenir. Her favorite style? IPAs, especially hazy IPAs that are citrus-forward. 

Plugging into a beer scene also tends to mean having a handle on food and other attractions, and SA Beer Magazine founder, Harrison Civick has been doing both for years. In this episode, he talks about the best ways to approach the San Antonio craft beer scene.  About the guest: Harrison Civick is the Founder & Creative Director of SA Beer Magazine, a print and digital news source based out of San Antonio, Texas. With a focus on cultivating, illuminating, and educating the community, his projects usually find him meandering the city and collaborating with anyone and everyone around. You can find more of Harrison's work here: sabeermag.com fantomkitchen.com sabeerweek.org

Beer writer Craig Larimer on the top beer experiences in the Lehigh Valley, starting with the festivals. About the Guest  Craig is a 26-year Morning Call journalism vet and pop culture junkie. He is the Arts & Entertainment Editor at the newspaper, where he directs and manages coverage of Lehigh Valley music, nightlife, museums, movies, exhibits, food, dining, festivals, beer, theatre and other assorted amazing stuff.  He is also the craft beer writer at the newspaper. Therefore, he has the very best job in the newsroom.  He lives happily in Bethlehem, Penn. with his lovely/hospitable wife Pamela and has two amazing boys Ian (24) and Evan (20).  Craig enjoys sunshine, green things, all sports (especially soccer, running and cycling) and relaxing with good friends, music and quality brews at assorted and fantastic Lehigh Valley pubs.  To get on his good side, ask a few things about Liverpool FC. Follow him (@cklarimer) on Twitter

Founder and president of Starfish Junction, which owns and runs the Great Beer Expo among other beverage events, talks about getting into the beer festival business and how much it has changed since the early days of the craft beer revolution. 

Patti Smith, author of Vanishing Ann Arbor and talks about Ann Arbor both as a beer destination and a tourist destination.  You can find Patti's book, Vanishing Ann Arbor here and Head over Feet, her fiction work here. Follow her socially: Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Blog! 

Beer writer and educator David Nilsen talks about some of the best craft beer spots in the Dayton area with the caveat that, just like at the Oscars, some are bound to slip his mind. You can find David's social accounts as well as his work here.    About the Guest: David Nilsen is a beer writer and educator living near Dayton, Ohio. He is a Certified Cicerone and a member of the North American Guild of Beer Writers and the National Book Critics Circle. His beer writing appears in Craftbeer.com, Beer Advocate, Craft Beer & Brewing, Pellicle, and numerous other publications, and he leads educational tastings, pairings, and classes at breweries, restaurants, and other institutions. He lives with his wife, daughter, and very irritable cat.

Beer adventurer Rob "Beers" hits the Delaware beaches and reports back on the embarrassment of riches there, while Tony shouts out the new 902 beer "Ham and Cheese" named for his newest nephew. 

Rob Beers joins us this month to talk about his beercation to Frederick, Maryland which has so much more than Flying Dog (as if having flying Dog wasn't enough).

Brewmaster Scott Ungermann discusses Anchor's storied history and the part he's been playing in it, including getting the brewery back into the IPA game. He also has some great tips for using Anchor Steam when preparing salmon and has an awesome recipe for a beer-based basting come Thanksgiving. Three guesses which beer he suggests for that meal.

State of the Beer contributor Rob "Beers" calls in to talk about his trip to the southern coastal breweries of N.J. With the exception of two recently-opened brewpubs, Rob has visited every brewery in the state. 

Beer expert Holly Regan and Cheese expert Brian Gilbert talk about their joint venture, "Gilbert's Cheese Experience." The two discuss their event at Stoup Brewing, their beer and cheese philosophy, and the merits of letting people find their own way.    Social links: Holly Regan Instagram, Twitter, website Brian Gilbert Instagram, Facebook 

BJ Wheatley of RAR in Cambridge, Md. talks about designing beer labels that are equal to the beer the brewery makes.

John Russo interviews Emma Taylor of Milk Sugar Love about the process for adding beer to ice cream with delicious results. 

Rob "Beers" is a beer writer and contributor to State of the Beer who spends his spare time finding new breweries to go to and making the trip. He talks about the virtues of visiting breweries just to visit them. 

Home brewing and craft beer culture news this week includes a Revelation Beer tasting, the best way to go from extract to all-grain brewing and whether we really need a 30-pack of craft beer.

On this week's Homebrew and craft beer culture podcast Doug and Tony talk SMASH beers, rapid expansion, $11 six-packs and what makes American craft American.

Last week's show failed to post (sorry guys!), but we have some great stories this week including how "craft' beer is saving big beer, Maryland's commitment to killing local beer and buying beer in the grocery store. Show notes here.

Shawn joins Tony Russo this week to share his beer thoughts ahead of Super Bowl 52.

Winter warmers, the upsides and downsides of brewery growth and why it matters when you add hops. 

This week Tony is all on his own, talking beer and new year's news. 

This week, Doug and tony talk beer trends, what to do with the beer kit you get for Christmas as well as the news roundup for the week.

This week's stories and show notes: Beer could be the next big thing at UMES The University of Maryland Eastern Shore has one of the premier hospitality management programs in the region, but being the best means staying on top of trends. When it comes to food and beverage the rising trend is the brewpub, a return to a time when taverns made their own house beers. Hops could fall out of favour in craft beer industry as brewers look to barley "The beer industry has been too hop-centric for several years," Hughes told the drinks business. "What we're starting to see now is more brewers experimenting with traditional flavourings like malted barley." Hops have dominated the craft brewing for nearly a decade, but a combination of high demand and new agricultural advances could mean that the crop's reign is coming to an end. More bars are booting corporate beer from their taps and doubling down on craft At some point over the next few weeks, kegs of Founders will kick at Pizzeria Paradiso, and bottles of Wicked Weed will run out of stock. And when they do, Paradiso's four Washington-area locations - Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Alexandria and Hyattsville - will never sell another drop. Budweiser vows to be first beer on Mars, and will send barley into space next month as a start Like it or not, humanity won't be able to live on Earth forever. If we don't wipe out our own species by the time we figure out where to go, we'll eventually have to shove off of the planet and head elsewhere. Craft Beer in 2017: New Report Offers Fresh Numbers 2017 was a strong year for the American craft beer movement according to a new year-end report from the Brewers Association. The Brewers Association (BA), the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent brewers - and publishers of CraftBeer.com - released its annual year-end report recapping the segment's growth along with highlights of the beer industry in 2017.

Nate and Mat from Backshore Brewing join Doug and Tony to talk small batch brewing, flocculation and brewing at the beach in the winter.

Gary Cannon and Holly Ski, owners of 38°-75° Brewing in Dewey Beach join us to talk about Delaware's newest smallest brewery. 

This week, Doug and Tony talk about what to drink for Thanksgiving, making coffee beers and news from around the region.    Column: Why you should bring craft beer to Thanksgiving dinner CLOSE Beyond the volume of food many of us have for Thanksgiving, there's also an expectation of quality. Lots of people eat traditional foods, sure, but also the best versions of everyday foods. The meal and, really, the entire weekend are about family and friends, leisure and bounty. Want to Host a Bottle Share? Resourceful Redditors Have This Advice A string on the beer subreddit jumped out at me: "What items do you think are essential to a beer share?" Sharing beer with friends is one of the essentially beautiful parts of being a beer lover. A-B InBev picks new North America chief: Michel Doukeris - St. Louis Business Journal Anheuser-Busch InBev has named a new North America chief. Michel Doukeris, chief sales officer for the global brewer since January, will become its zone president for North America and CEO of Anheuser-Busch, on Jan. 1. He'll succeed Joao Castro Neves, who has run the division, based in St.

This week, Shawn Hager and Tony Russo talk homebrew beginners, Maryland beer law, robot beer tastings and the importance of independent beer. Lots of other stuff too

This week, Doug and Tony talk about using wild yeast to homebrew, the pros and cons and the differences in malts. They also cover how canning is helping business big and small and some of Maryland's legal problems with beer legislation. Also, gentle reminder, Saturday is Learn to Brew Day. Maryland craft beer lacks a top-down approach The most interesting news that came out of the recent Reform on Tap meeting was that the failure of the legislature might be an executive failure as well. Earlier this year, the Maryland Legislature passed a bill that would have all-but-killed the craft beer industry in the state. How Much Does Malt Matter in Your Beer? In the last year, we've made impressive leaps in terms of malt in beer. We found a standard method for extracting malt flavor. We designed the Base Malt Flavor Map, which creates a common language everyone along the supply chain, from growers to maltsters to brewers can use. Flying Dog puts expansion plans on hold, cites state's regulatory practices You never really know what the old-timey State of Maryland is going to do next. That seems to be the philosophy of Baltimore's Flying Dog Brewing Co. 's Chief Executive Jim Carus, who is trepidatious at best about the future of Maryland's brewing laws.

This week's show notes include stories about why brew pubs are great bets for big breweries and small ones too, the Independent Label movement to buy Budweiser and why nitro beers are so much fun. Why big breweries want to go local We don't have to travel far back in our beer time machine to revisit the year when Goose Island Beer Co. still had only one brewpub, its venerable but not exactly cutting-edge Clybourn Street location. That was 2014, three years after Goose Island's sale to Anheuser-Busch InBev. Russo: Nitro-infused beer just another toy for craft enthusiasts Setting aside the more obvious things like quality and economic benefit, what really sets craft beer apart is a sense of play. If you have tried a lot of craft beers, or even if you have just read a lot of craft beer descriptions while out to dinner, you have seen some odd combinations. Brewers Association Jokingly Seeks To Buy Anheuser-Busch, With A Serious Goal In Mind Craft brewing's lobbying association announced today that it's launching a crowd-funding campaign to buy Budweiser's Belgian parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev). It needs $213 billion to do it. The Brewers Association (BA), the Colorado-based trade organization that represents craft breweries, calls its campaign "Take Craft Back," and so far it includes a new website, hashtags and videos of brewers and others talking about why craft matters.

This week Doug and Tony talk Porters season, craft beer independence and exporting the brewpub idea for breweries big and small. In the Home Brew FAQ we talk about finding the right balance during fermentation. The stories that inspired our conversation are below. Feel free to reach out to us with questions or suggestions. Russo: Fall is brown beer season; here's why that's a good thing In really broad terms, beer follows the season. Prevailing temperatures notwithstanding, if you think of spring beers as a little more yellow, summer as a little more golden, fall as a little more amber and winter as black, we're pushing through the end of the amber and moving toward black. Bitter rivalry: conflict brews as craft beer makers take on big firms A civil war is brewing in the normally convivial craft beer fraternity, as anxiety grows about the threat posed by multinational companies' insatiable thirst for every last drop of the market. Heineken and Molson Coors are both "associate members" of the Society of Independent Brewers (Siba), a situation that rankles with some of its members. Why big breweries want to go local We don't have to travel far back in our beer time machine to revisit the year when Goose Island Beer Co. still had only one brewpub, its venerable but not exactly cutting-edge Clybourn Street location. That was 2014, three years after Goose Island's sale to Anheuser-Busch InBev.