Secondary Fermentation

We're discussing Nick and Jen's recent trip to Europe and all the cool things they experienced, while Joe reminisces on his trip to Europe a couple of years ago. Since this is a beer podcast, it's no surprise that we spend most of the time discussing the beer culture in Amsterdam, Belgium, and Germany - namely, the emphasis that bars and pubs place on using the correct glassware. What glasses do they use and how does the beer culture (specifically glassware for beer) differ from that of the US? You'll have to tune in to hear the answers!

With the recent news of Anderson Valley Brewing Company up for sale, Joe and Nick learned about the brewery using solar panels to source half of their energy, and this opened the door for more research! We discuss the organization (USGBC) that certifies businesses who demonstrate environmentally friendly and sustainable practices and how those businesses can achieve a LEED certification - our focus is on craft breweries but there are plenty of other businesses (many in North Carolina) who have achieved LEED Certified status. From solar panels and wind turbines to efficiency in equipment and infrastructure to reduce energy waste, there are solutions and opportunities for breweries to reduce their energy consumption and also reduce their energy costs by using alternative sources.

Joe and Nick are back and eager to drink as many Oktoberfest brews as possible this fall! What better way to do that than to line up five commercial examples of the style and do a blind ranking? Last year, we did a North Carolina lineup and this year went with options that can be procured from all over the US so that hopefully you can find them in your local grocery store or bottle shop and taste along. We also had the pleasure of trying a homebrew from our friend and listener, Matt, who created a Märzen homebrew this year.

With Oktoberfest and all things pumpkin just around the corner, what better time than now for us to discuss...fresh hops? While we're getting into the Oktoberfest and pumpkin beer season, it's also the time of year when many hops are harvested and breweries start releasing their fresh hop beers. What are "fresh hops" and why should we as consumers care? Is it all for show or is there some merit to it? And why are these hops so wet? All this and more unfolds in this episode!

We are saying goodbye to CO2 (at least for this episode) and drinking only nitro beers on this episode! On the podcast, we try a few different beers from Left Hand Brewing Co., who is well known for canning and bottling many different nitrogenated beers. We discuss some of the history of nitrogen being introduced to beer as an alternative to carbon dioxide, the technology behind nitrogenated beer, and why nitro doesn't work for everything.

We're back after taking a couple weeks off to catch up on life, and we thought that it would be fun to showcase some of the delicious cervezas that North Carolina has to offer! No, we're not just boning up on our Spanish - Joe and Nick have a lineup of Mexican lagers, all brewed in North Carolina, to compare with a Corona. Featured are brews from The Mason Jar Lager Company, Heist Brewery, Casita Brewing Company, and DSSOLVR. At the end, they each provide their ranking of the four options, before taking a stab at LC's Pick of the Week. Cheers!

Joe, Nick, and Lauren (LC's back!) follow up on the last episode related to grocery store beers, giving some of their favorite craft beers that can widely be found in the grocery store. They also run through some of the top rated options according to global Untappd ratings, to hopefully give you some inspiration for your next supermarket trip. While bottle shops and breweries may be able to deliver great niche selections, your grocery store can hold its own with some tasty offerings from larger craft breweries. What beers/breweries did we leave out of the list? Let us know your favorites!

Joe and Nick have been loving the addition of the new Lowes Foods store in town, and the famous Beer Den that lies within. The Lowes Foods Beer Den is a small taproom within the store, where you can get a pint to sit and sip or take around the store as you shop. They also have a vast to-go section for both local and national craft beers, including Beer Den branded brews! This spurned today's topic of "which grocery store chain is best for finding a good craft beer selection?" We review two of the Beer Den beers (contract brews with Foothills Brewing), "Juno" and "Robin Hood", while going through a blog post from TastingTable.com. Let us know if there is a store that should've been on the list!

Joe and Nick both pulled an aged bottle of beer from their respective collection for this episode, which is all about how to properly cellar/age your beer. The guys both learned what they should've done differently with their own cellaring process, and discuss the consensus recommendations for maturing a beer. To round things out, LC's Pick of the Week tries to stump the guys.

Joe and Nick are talking about the "magic" of yeast - what it is, what it does, how different yeast strains are used for different styles of beer, and more! As we now know, yeast is responsible for converting sugars to alcohol during the process of fermentation, but what might not be concerned as often is the role yeast plays in other facets of brewing and the final product. Flavor, aroma, mouthfeel, and other aspects are influenced by the strain of yeast used, and science has really come a long way in a relatively short amount of time since yeast was discovered. After getting nerdy about yeast, the guys finish with LC's Pick of the Week (sans LC). Cheers!

In this final installment of beer history, we approach the years of Prohibition, and the effects it had on the beer industry, even after it was repealed. We discuss the innovations and changes to the beer industry and how the growing popularity of homebrewing led to the rise of craft beer in the U.S, before wrapping up with some modern craft beer facts.

We're picking up Part II of our Beer History miniseries with the rise of hops in the middle ages and how this led to beer having a longer shelf life, thus increasing export opportunities and commercialization of the product. This trends upwards through the 16th and 17th centuries, and eventually times call for improvements to the efficiency of brewing. Cue the Industrial Revolution!

In this first installment of our attempt to summarize some monumental moments in the history of beer, we go back as far as the Neolithic period, Ancient Egypt, and when beer was first introduced to the Romans and Greeks. One could say that beer was essential to early civilizations that shifted away from a nomadic way of life, and it helped build the pyramids. Tune in for some other fascinating information, and be on the lookout for the next part of this series!

Joe and Nick are back and this episode is sort of a "Part II" to the previous episode. The guys discuss trappist monasteries and the rules and observances they oblige in order for their beer (or other goods) to be recognized as authentic trappist products by the International Trappist Association. There is a deep history to the trappist abbeys and there is a reason why many consider trappist ales to be some of the best beer in the world. Tune in to find out why!

Joe and Nick catch up after Joe and LC's recent trip to Wilmington, NC where they enjoyed some tasty beers. The meat and potatoes of today's episode is all about the oldest breweries in the world today (or at least based on what information can be verified). From surviving four fires to relinquishing a brewery for livestock, some of these breweries have very cool backstories to get to where they are today!

It's just Joe and Nick this episode and the topic at hand: what separates a craft beer enthusiast from a craft beer jerk. We've all walked this line on occasion, but we want to keep the craft beer world as inclusive and welcoming as possible for those that maybe are just beginning their journey into craft beer or have different tastes than us. Craft beer drinkers get a bad reputation from time to time - and it's occasionally warranted - but can we dispel those misconceptions? Are craft beer memes from the likes of Pilsnerish, Hazebois, and Don't Drink Beer (DDB) the secret to humility? Tune in to hear the guys' banter on the subject!

Have you ever thought, "Wow, an airport beer just tastes better." You're not alone! Now that Dry January is over, the Secondary Fermentation crew (featuring the return of Jen!) discusses all of their favorite situations for enjoying a cold one. A beer tower at a bowling alley? A session IPA in the shower before a full slate of college football Saturday? There are moments and settings where beer is simply better! Tune in and enjoy a "I'm listening to a sweet podcast" beer!

Continuing with the theme of Dry January (as Joe and Lauren persevere through the final couple of weeks), we're chatting all about hop water on today's episode. Joe made his own hop water for the first time, and the crew does a tasting and compares to some popular commercial examples of hop water. Of course, we also dive into the nitty gritty of making hop water.

Just in time for Dry January, the Secondary Fermentation group is discussing NA (non-alcoholic) beers. We'll dive first into just how NA beers are made, why they aren't "alcohol-free", and then we'll do a tasting showdown between five largely available NA beer contenders to share our thoughts and recommendations. The beers in question: Dos Equis "Lime & Salt Zero," Blue Moon "Non-Alcoholic Belgian White," Samual Adams "Just the Haze," Athletic Brewing Co. "Run Wild IPA," and Flying Dog "Deep Fake."

As 2023 comes to a close, the Secondary Fermentation crew cracks a barrel-aged "Edison Ale" from Casita Brewing Company and reviews the global stats for Untappd check-ins this past year. Joe, Lauren, and Nick also reveal their own Untappd stats and how they changed from 2022, while sharing some of their favorite beers and breweries from 2023. Cheers to a new year in beer!

We're back after a little break and feeling a little ill. We've got a fun lineup of beers today: we are doing a vertical tasting of the 2021, 2022, and 2023 editions of Goose Island's "Bourbon County Brand Stout" and highlighting our tasting notes every step of the way. Should probably throw an ASMR tag in here, cause we spend most of the episode sniffing and lip-smacking (kidding....kind of). Hope you got to enjoy the 2023 stout and some variants!

Its Thanksgiving!... almost. Check this episode out for what we think are some tasty beer pairings for your favorite turkey day foods. Better yet, grab them yourselves and taste along on the big day. Gobble Gobble!

Once again, it is Stout Season, so we've got some stouts to crack on today's episode! Today we break down the various BJCP stout styles, providing style guidelines and our own perspectives and preferences. Also featured, of course, is LC's Pick of the Week, and another guest spot for Baby Owen (who is getting more and more excited to talk on the podcast). Cheers!

You might see a peanut butter cup imperial stout on a draft list and think, Wow, that sounds like a unique and special beer, and proceed to order a session IPA. Did you know your session IPA can be considered a specialty beer? Today we talk about the BJCP's style guidelines for specialty beers and experimental beers, and the recommendations for entering them into judging categories if you enter a competition. Tune in to find out why a triple IPA's suggested entry category is the American Barleywine!

It's (almost) fall, y'all - we've all seen the pumpkin beers back on the shelves of our local bottle shops and on tap at breweries partaking in the seasonal style. How did pumpkin beers come to be? Was it just to appeal to the PSL faithful? Is there really pumpkin in pumpkin beers? Were our founding fathers homebrew enthusiasts? All these questions and more, on this episode of Secondary Fermentation!

As we're in the middle of Oktoberfest, we found it appropriate to do a tasting and ranking of some North Carolina-brewed Oktoberfest beers, including Marzens, Festbiers, and a Harvest Ale! For the lineup, we have The Mason Jar Lager Company, Funguys Brewing, Brewery Bhavana, Hi-Wire Brewing, and a collab featuring Dirtbag Ales and Proximity Brewing Company.

Today, Joe, Lauren, and Nick discuss a couple beers and some craft brew news about the latest with Anchor Brewing, and then dive into a discussion about red flags when going to a brewery (inspired by Reddit and Vinepair). Does a dirty glass mean it's time to find a new brewery? Do you get annoyed when all they serve are IPAs? Tune in to see if we agree with some of your red flags!

Nick and Jen are back on the mic, doing another special episode! Today opens with some upcoming Oktoberfest events in North Carolina and moves into a lengthy discussion about the history of beer flights, when and why you should order a flight, and recommendations for enjoying your flight. Jen graciously fills in for LC's Pick of the Week and gives Nick a solo shot at guessing the mystery beer's style.

The gang is back together, including LC herself! Baby Owen makes his podcast debut and really loved all of our jokes and banter. First up, we discussed the latest news with AB InBev's deal to sell craft brands to Tilray, before sliding into some details on various sour beer styles and how they're defined by BJCP. If you want to hear about sours, this is the episode for you!

While summer is dwindling, there's still time to enjoy the sunshine at the pool or the beach, which of course requires some cold beverages and snacks! On this episode, Nick and returning special guest, Jen, pair four popular poolside/beach snacks with beer styles in the hopes of making good matches. Joe and LC are enjoying time with their little guy and staying plenty busy, but will be back soon - thanks, Jen, for being an awesome co-host in their absence!

Joe and Nick are joined by a special guest host, Jen, to do a blind tasting of four unknown hazy IPAs. The guys taste a sample of each brew, describing them as they go, and ultimately rank them without knowing what the beers are and which breweries made them. Along the way, they discuss...retro video games? LC still set us up with an "LC Pick of the Week" despite being on maternity leave, so there's lots of tasting notes on the episode today!

Joe and Nick are on the mics for this episode, as Lauren begins her maternity leave after having Baby Davis! The guys discuss the recent news of the upcoming closures for Double Barley Brewing (Smithfield, NC) and Eurisko Beer Company (Asheville, NC), which leads into a review of some historical data provided by the Brewers Association. Has the craft beer industry plateaued or become too saturated for small breweries to be sustainable? Or are there other trends or factors that contribute to the seemingly rising number of micro breweries closing in recent years? Stay tuned until the end to listen to Joe and Nick's attempt at "LC's Pick of the Week"!

Joe and Nick are back (LC is taking a hiatus until after the baby arrives) and talking about some recent news in the craft beer industry: Anchor Brewing Company and their decision to stop distributing outside of California. After recapping this big announcement, we dive into the world of North Carolina hops. The NC State Extension has a North Carolina hops project that has been underway for more than 10 years, and there has been a lot of promise in the science of selective breeding for hop varieties that can thrive in this climate. LC pulls through by leaving the guys her "LC Pick of the Week" to close things out.

Today we discuss the traditional Czech beer pouring methods. Tapsters in the Czech Republic have different techniques they employ, using side-pull taps, to produce different pours of the same beer. Joe and Nick recall their recent experience with a Mlíko pour (or milk pour), and relate that to other popular Czech pours such as Šnyt, Hladinka, and Čochtan. No LC today, but she did leave the guys with an LC Pick of the Week to try in her absence. Cheers!

Just in time for summer, we decided to highlight two popular beer beverages: the shandy and the radler. Both drinks are beer-based and contain various mix-in options, and both have an interesting origin story (if the tales are true). If you ever wondered what was in a shandy or a radler, or what the difference is between the two popular summer drinks, this is the episode for you! As usual, the guys wrap up by trying to guess the mystery "LC Pick of the Week" and it's a tough one!

The gang finally made it to Brewgaloo, the largest craft beer festival in North Carolina. Joe attended the Friday night block party while Nick attended on Saturday. We recap our individual experiences (spoiler alert: we had a great time) and talk about what goes into making Brewgaloo a success after getting a firsthand look volunteering. Finally, we share some information about a festival checklist we found from Brewers Association, for some insight on what running a beer festival entails. Hope to see you all at Brewgaloo 2024!

The story of New Belgium Brewing Company is crucial when telling the story of the craft beer industry and its growth over the past few decades. Joe, Nick, and Lauren share some information about the brewery's early days, growth, and their four core values that have nurtured a healthy culture since they started in 1991. While they are known for making great beer, some people may not be aware of their strides in being environmentally and socially conscious, so we wanted to spread the word. Grab a "Fat Tire" or the latest "Voodoo Ranger" and tune in!

"In this episode, we'll be talking about how to use artificial intelligence to generate your own beer recipes. We'll discuss the different AI tools that are available, and we'll even share a few of our own recipes that were generated by AI. We'll also talk about the challenges and opportunities of using AI to generate beer recipes." - Sticking with the theme of this episode, the episode title and description were written by AI (Google Bard). Check it out for a great discussion on an interesting topic and application of technology in brewing. Oh, and we also talk about the recent expansion news from New Belgium Brewing Company.

This week the crew discusses inflation as it relates to the beer world. They discuss the dynamics of consumer trends and rising costs. They try a couple great beers and LC attempts to stump Nick and Joe with her pick of the week. Tune in to see if she succeeds!

This week the crew discusses the recent closure of Platform Beer Co. and the age of big beer acquisitions. Stick around as we dive into some of the hierarchy of big beer brands and as LC tries to stump us with a pick of the week. Cheers!

We've finally made it to episode 50! To celebrate we are doing a power hour and answering your questions! Thanks for listening and here's to 50 more!

This week the crew discusses the 3 tier distribution system for beer. They talk about the history of the system as well as the pros and cons. They even get into the first beer legally sold after prohibition was repealed. Then LC's pick of the week returns and she attempts to stump Nick and Joe. Check it out to see if she is successful or not!

This week the crew dives into the culinary realm with some discussion on beer and food. They talk basic principles and some common flavor profile pairings. They even design a menu and beer pairing (which was quite a challenge as well as fun). Cheers!

This week the crew dives into a bit of an ambiguous style, Oenobeer. This brew made using wine ingredients and techniques blends the lines of the two beverages. Check out the episode for more information on this somewhat forgotten style that may just be making a come back.

Happy holidays from the Secondary Fermentation crew! This week we try a festive beer by Delirium and discuss the Untappd year in review. Check it out to hear some stats (including ours).

This week its all about the barrel as the crew discusses the basics of barrel aged beers. They also try a bourbon barrel aged variant of Ommegang's Three Philosophers series and a spontaneously fermented blueberry aged sour from Barrel Culture. Sadly, they also discuss the recent closing announcement from Barrel Culture Brewing and Blending in Raleigh/Durham.

This week we're taking a break from podcasting and getting our fill on turkey (and beer). Don't worry, we'll see you for our next regularly schedule programming! Cheers!

This week we're trying a selection of NA beers and giving our thoughts on the category. We answer the question of "where do NA beers fit in our fridge?" and even go (very superficially) into some of the techniques used to produce them. Check it out for a great discussion on this growing segment of brews.

This week the gang gets Belgian and discusses an under appreciated style... the Flanders Red Ale. They geek out over the tart, fruity, and slightly sweet style and while on a sour kick break out a mixed fermentation brew by Barrel Culture in Durham. Check it out!

This week Joe and Lauren discuss their recent trip to Munich, Germany to visit Oktoberfest...that's right the Oktoberfest. They had a great time and came back with some stories, advice, and fun anecdotes about the trip. Listen in for a peek into the world's largest folk festival. P.s. please excuse the congested voices. Prost!

This week the Nick, Lauren, and Joe dive back in for another style studies session. For this episode they tackle the malty styles of munich dunkel, english barleywine, and imperial stout. We enjoyed learning more about these classic styles and we hope you do too. Cheers!