Drink Beer, Think Beer With John Holl

This episode is kicking off a trio of shows that was recorded at the just concluded Little Beer IV festival hosted by Good Word Brewing and the city of Duluth, Georgia.  This panel, which was presented live during the fest, features a trio of brewers all talking about the process, culture, and general greatness of low abv ales and lagers. Guests include: Zach Adams of Fox Farm Brewery, John Branding of Wheatland Spring + Brewery, and Todd Boera of Fonta Flora. This Episode is Sponsored by:Visit the Wonkas of tea beer at booth 2390. Firsd Tea has teas and botanicals to create new colors, flavors, and textures to craft beer and hard teas. Firsd Tea even has beer and cocktail recipes with popping boba. Step into pure imagination at booth 2390 at the Vegas CBC or email info@firsdtea.com.  Malteurop Malting Company is North American proud with premium grains from field to flavor. Their selections include Base, Specialty and Distillers malt varieties. Stop by their Booth #2143 at the Craft Brewers Conference in Vegas!Host: John HollGuests: Zach Adams, John Branding, Todd BoeraSponsors: All About BeerTags: Travel, Little Beers, Ales, Brewing, CulturePhoto by John Holl 

Las Vegas will be the focal point for many brewers in the coming weeks as the Brewers Association hosts its annual Craft Brewers Conference, World Beer Cup, and Brewers Expo. For those traveling to sin city – either as brewing professionals or curious drinkers – this episode will offer up all the tips to make the most out of your drinking time on and off the strip. For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.This Episode is Sponsored by: Visit the Wonkas of tea beer at booth 2390. Firsd Tea has teas and botanicals to create new colors, flavors, and textures to craft beer and hard teas. Firsd Tea even has beer and cocktail recipes with popping boba. Step into pure imagination at booth 2390 at the Vegas CBC or email info@firsdtea.com.  Malteurop Malting Company is North American proud with premium grains from field to flavor. Their selections include Base, Specialty and Distillers malt varieties. Stop by their Booth #2143 at the Craft Brewers Conference in Vegas!Host: John HollGuests: Wyndee Forrest, David Pascual, and Dan PixleySponsors: All About BeerTags: Travel, Casinos, Beer, Las Vegas, DiningPhoto art by Canva

Jack Hendler and Joe Connolly discuss their new book Modern Lager Beer: Techniques, Processes, and Recipes. For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.Host: John HollGuests: Jack Hendler and Joe ConnollySponsors: All About BeerTags: Lager, Tradition, Fermentation, Germany, LandbierPhoto by Brewers Publications

Welcome to This Week in Rauchbier for April 1, 2024. Our Rauchbier spotlight is trained on Caleb Michalke of Sugar Creek Malt in Indiana. He's working to bring rauchmalt of distinction of discerning brewers and distillers. Then Rick Lyke, our rauchbier sherpa and the founder of the Pints for Prostates Campaign, shares his inspirational journey into smoked beer and offers his unparalleled insight and advice to breweries regarding smoked beer. Then Bart Watson of the Brewers Association joins us to share the latest growth and success of Rauchbier in the marketplace. Enjoy these audio smoky delights. Thanks to Hagen and Bill for the inspiration to do this show. Hear the genesis of This Week in Rauchbier on episode 5 of Drink Beer, Think Beer.For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.Host: John HollGuests: Caleb Michalke, Rick Lyke, and Bart Watson.Tags: beer, craft beer, rauchbier, smoke, April Fool's DayMusic for this episode:NewsSting by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4124-newsstingLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

On this episode it's a deep dive on what goes in to making a great IPA. Steve Parker of New York’s Fiden’s Brewery joins the show. For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.Host: John HollGuest: Steve ParkerSponsors: All About BeerTags: New York, West Coast IPA, Mosaic Hops, Mouthfeel Photo by John Holl

How do beers evolve over time? And how does patience, curiosity, trust, and creativity work to the benefit of bother brewery and brewer? Wayne Wambles, the (now former) long-time brewmaster of Cigar City, is here to talk about his career, a return to homebrewing, and how specialty ingredients work best when added to a solid beer base.Wambles has started a brewery consulting service and can be reached at WayneWambles@yahoo.com .   For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.Host: John HollGuest: Wayne WamblesSponsors: All About BeerTags: Florida, Stout, IPA, Homebrewing, Consulting, Creativity Photo courtesy of Wayne Wambles via Facebook.

It's beer and weather together on this episode of the podcast as Boston CBS Meterologist Eric Fisher joins the show. For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.Host: John HollGuest: Eric Fisher Sponsors: All About BeerTags: Weather, Treehouse, Blizzard, Travel, Boston, Eclipse 

It’s a bit of a departure on the show this week as we’re talking about spirits with long-time beverage writer Aaron Goldfarb. He has a new book out: Dusty Booze: In Search of Vintage Spirits. Goldfarb has been a journalist for over a decade, frequently writing on the subjects of cocktails and drinking culture for such publications as the New York Times, Esquire, Playboy, PUNCH, and VinePair, and has had features written about his career in the New York Times, Forbes, and the Boston Globe. His previous books include Hacking Whiskey, named a finalist for Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards Best New Book, and Gather Around Cocktails. In 2020, Tales of the Cocktail named Goldfarb the Best Cocktail & Spirit Writer for the year. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, daughter, son, cat, and a lot of bottles of booze.For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.Host: John HollGuest: Aaron GoldfarbSponsors: All About BeerTags: Booze, Books, California, Tequila, Bourbon, Cocktails 

It’s a trip to the Ocean State and a conversation with Morgan Snyder, the head brewer and co-founder of Buttonwoods Brewery. From world-class small-batch lagers, to an expansion, and the wonder of saison, this episode covers it all and more. For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.Host: John HollGuest: Morgan SnyderSponsors: All About BeerTags: Beer, Lager, Saison, Rhode Island, Growth, Cocktails 

Homebrewing has been a source of passionate online chatter over the last week after the American Homebrewers Association announced it would put its annual Homebrew Con on “hiatus” in favor of smaller events and demonstrations located within the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.Julia Herz, the executive director of the AHA is here, to explain the change.  For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.Host: John HollGuest: Julia HerzSponsors: All About BeerTags: Beer, Homebrewing, Conference, Festival, Denver

There’s a lot to love about beer. And that can be tough to remember at times. So in honor of Valentine’s Day, we've asked three enthusiastic folks - Aaron MJ Gore, Annette May, and Tom M. - to come on and share what makes their heart flutter when it comes to lager and ale. For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.Host: John HollGuests: Aaron MJ Gore, Annette, May, Tom M.Sponsors: All About BeerTags: Beer, Cask, Love, EducationCover art: AI image created by Canva. 

There are some trends worth paying attention to these days around the beer space. One of them is THC seltzers. They are popping up on menus in certain states alongside IPA and lager.THC Seltzers are taking off. On this show last year Scott Selix of Lua and Climbing Kites talked about his brewery's entry into the space. Their beverage is being contracted out of Minnesota’s Fair State Cooperative Brewery, which also has its own line of seltzers. The brewer putting in the work to make and develop these is Joe Wells.  Wells has been in the craft beer industry for over a decade, from California to Canada and the last five years at Fair State where he serves as Head Brewer.  On this episode he talks about how these THC seltzers are made, how they came about in the first place, and what the market is doing in response to their availability.   For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.This Episode is Sponsored By:The Best of Craft Beer AwardsAttention brewers: registration is now open for the 2024 Best of Craft Beer Awards. Now in its 10th year, this is a BJCP sanctioned event judged by fellow brewers, professional judges, and industry leaders. Judged in Oregon, it’s the third largest professional brewing competition in North America and is a chance to have your hard work evaluated and rewarded. In addition to traditional styles, new this year is the smoothie sour style category, and the collaboration competition. Learn more and register your beers through January 31, 2024 by visiting www.BestofCraftBeerAwards.com/registerHost: John HollGuest: Joe WellsSponsors: Best of Craft Beer Awards, All About BeerTags: Beer, Seltzer, THC, CBD, Hemp, Business, Growth

A conversation with Chris Shields, the Director of Education at Rhinegeist Brewery.For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.This Episode is Sponsored By:The Best of Craft Beer AwardsAttention brewers: registration is now open for the 2024 Best of Craft Beer Awards. Now in its 10th year, this is a BJCP sanctioned event judged by fellow brewers, professional judges, and industry leaders. Judged in Oregon, it’s the third largest professional brewing competition in North America and is a chance to have your hard work evaluated and rewarded. In addition to traditional styles, new this year is the smoothie sour style category, and the collaboration competition. Learn more and register your beers through January 31, 2024 by visiting www.BestofCraftBeerAwards.com/registerHost: John HollGuest: Chris ShieldsSponsors: Best of Craft Beer Awards, All About BeerTags: Beer, Education, Food, Ohio, Hospitality, Business, Growth

There’s a lot happening inside the walls of Cleveland, Ohio’s Noble Beast Brewing. All of it is good. On this episode it’s a conversation with owners Shaun Yasaki and James Redford about food, hospitality, creativity, and tradition. For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.This Episode is Sponsored By:The Best of Craft Beer AwardsAttention brewers: registration is now open for the 2024 Best of Craft Beer Awards. Now in its 10th year, this is a BJCP sanctioned event judged by fellow brewers, professional judges, and industry leaders. Judged in Oregon, it’s the third largest professional brewing competition in North America and is a chance to have your hard work evaluated and rewarded. In addition to traditional styles, new this year is the smoothie sour style category, and the collaboration competition. Learn more and register your beers through January 31, 2024 by visiting www.BestofCraftBeerAwards.com/registerHost: John HollGuests: Shaun Yasaki and James RedfordSponsors: Best of Craft Beer Awards, All About BeerTags: Beer, Bars, Food, Ohio, Hospitality, Lager, Rauchbier, Flanders Red

There are some iconic beer bars in America, and on the Mt. Rushmore is Hopleaf, the venerable Chicago institution. Michael Roper, its long-time publican, who recently announced his retirement is on this episode. Late last year  Roper, who founded the Hopleaf in Chicago in 1992 announced that he’d be retiring from the bar. He’ll stay involved in various ways, as you’ll hear shortly, but the day to day is now the responsibility of others. His retirement came on the occasion of his 70th birthday, we recorded this a week after. It’s hard to overstate the importance of the Hopleaf in terms of beer bars in America.  Located in the city’s Andersonville neighborhood it has been the place for a well curated and uncompromising beer list and an equally thoughtful food menu. Roper will walk us through the history of the bar and thoughts for the future of hospitality, and along the way gives us a reason to strive for better bar experiences. For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.This Episode is Sponsored By:The Best of Craft Beer AwardsAttention brewers: registration is now open for the 2024 Best of Craft Beer Awards. Now in its 10th year, this is a BJCP sanctioned event judged by fellow brewers, professional judges, and industry leaders. Judged in Oregon, it’s the third largest professional brewing competition in North America and is a chance to have your hard work evaluated and rewarded. In addition to traditional styles, new this year is the smoothie sour style category, and the collaboration competition. Learn more and register your beers through January 31, 2024 by visiting www.BestofCraftBeerAwards.com/registerHost: John HollGuest: Michael RoperSponsors: Best of Craft Beer Awards, All About BeerTags: Beer, Bars, History, Chicago, Hospitality

This episode features a conversation with the legendary Teri Fahrendorf, the long-time brewmaster and founder of Pink Boots Society. She’s here for a wide ranging conversation about her career, brewery safety, recipe development, creativity, and forging a path in the beer industry.After a storied career in beer, Fahrendorf recently entered a working retirement. She’s helmed breweries, judged competitions around the world, and founded the Pink Boots Society, which she later ran for nearly a decade. She’s been a safety advocate, outspoken critic, historian, and sounding board in her more than 30 year career. After countless brew days and then a turn selling raw ingredients, she’s focused today on her art, crafting pottery from her studio in the pacific northwest. It’s another creative outlet for this one-time computer programmer who forged a career through determination and will when the craft brewing industry was still in its infancy.  She joined the show in early January 2024 to share some stories and insights, more of which can be found on her her blog and website terifahrendorf.com  Fahrendorf isn’t leaving beer completely – she says she still plans to judge competitions and stay involved in various other ways, but for the first time since the 1980s bee is not her primary job focus. This seems like a good time for an introspective.  For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.This Episode is Sponsored By:The Best of Craft Beer AwardsAttention brewers: registration is now open for the 2024 Best of Craft Beer Awards. Now in its 10th year, this is a BJCP sanctioned event judged by fellow brewers, professional judges, and industry leaders. Judged in Oregon, it’s the third largest professional brewing competition in North America and is a chance to have your hard work evaluated and rewarded. In addition to traditional styles, new this year is the smoothie sour style category, and the collaboration competition. Learn more and register your beers through January 31, 2024 by visiting www.BestofCraftBeerAwards.com/registerHost: John HollGuest: Teri FahrendorfSponsors: Best of Craft Beer Awards, All About BeerTags: Beer, Bars, History, Education, Pink Boots

Lets ease into the new year with a panel discussion from some of my other All About Beer podcast hosts and colleagues. We’ll discuss thoughts and trends for 2024, and have some fun reminiscing on 2023 along the way. Today on the show I’m joined by some of the voices and bylines you’ve come to expect from All About Beer. It’s not quite our holiday office party, but it’s a chance for us to get together for a good time and to talk about what we’ve experienced on the job and what might be on the horizon.  For this episode I’m joined by Andy Crouch, the publisher of All About Beer, Don Tse better known as the Don of Beer, and Em Sauter, better known as Pints and Panels. Together they co-host the bi-weekly All About Beer Podcast. Plus, Sarah Jane Curran, the host of Beer Me! Radio, who joined our podcast group in 2023.  For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.This Episode is Sponsored By:The Best of Craft Beer AwardsAttention brewers: registration is now open for the 2024 Best of Craft Beer Awards. Now in its 10th year, this is a BJCP sanctioned event judged by fellow brewers, professional judges, and industry leaders. Judged in Oregon, it’s the third largest professional brewing competition in North America and is a chance to have your hard work evaluated and rewarded. In addition to traditional styles, new this year is the smoothie sour style category, and the collaboration competition. Learn more and register your beers through January 31, 2024 by visiting www.BestofCraftBeerAwards.com/registerHost: John HollGuests: Andy Crouch, Em Sauter, Don Tse, Sarah Jane CurranSponsors: Best of Craft Beer Awards, All About BeerTags: Beer, Bars, Draft Beer, Conversations, Hospitality, Resolutions

Beer bars play an important role in delivering a world class experience while offering a curated list that can surprise, delight, or just be a comfort. This is our annual episode where we check in on the state of beer bars with thoughtful publicans. So, What is the state of beer bars in America in 2023? Two bar owners, Jeff Bruning and Devin Cox, share their experiences and insights.  For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.Host: John HollGuests: Jeff Bruning and Devin CoxSponsors: ProBrewer, All About BeerTags: Restaurants, Beer, Bars, Draft Beer, Conversations, Hospitality

It’s our annual end of the year wrap up with writers from around the globe who cover the beer industry. You’ll hear from Matt Kirkegaard, Christopher Shepard, Brandon Hernandez, and Melissa Cole. Listen in as these venerable journalists discuss the trends of 2023, give analysis on the news, and offer insight that impacts all beer drinkers.  For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.Host: John HollGuests: Matt Kirkegaard, Christopher Shepard, Brandon Hernandez, and Melissa ColeSponsors: ProBrewer, All About BeerTags: Festivals, Beer, Hops, History, Conversations, Non-alcoholic beer 

This is our second annual show dedicated to homebrewing. Drew Beechum and Denny Conn are here to talk about what’s happening with the hobby, to answer a listener question, and to spread some holiday cheer. Conn and Beechum are longtime homebrewers and noted personalities in the space. They are the co-authors of Simple Home Brewing and Experimental Homebrewing, which is also the name of the podcast they co-host. This Episode is Sponsored By:ShopifyShopify’s already taken the cash register online, helping millions sell billions around the world. But did you know that Shopify can do the same thing at your retail store? Give your point-of-sale system a serious upgrade, with Shopify. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at shopify.com/drinkbeer and take your retail business to the next level today.For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.Host: John HollGuests: Drew Beechum and Denny ConnSponsors: Shopify, All About BeerTags: Homebrewing, Cans, Hops, History, Festivals, Conventions