Fear Of A Craft Beer Planet Podcast

First ep of 2021, the stars aligned and we managed to carve out a couple hours to shoot the breeze about beer. We discuss smoked beer and its polarity, JR talks about his first Covid Shot experience, construction on the new Tonewood Brewery is moving right along, and we run through the ramifications of legal weed in NJ. Speaking of legal weed in NJ, Richard pontificates about how his charge "poof, vanished!"

Been a minute since we got together virtually to record an actual podcast, but the planets and stars aligned this week and we made it happen. We try to wrap up a strange year, Richard gives us a glimpse into what it's like being a 47 year old savage, there's a Hendrix vs Eddie Van Halen Discussion and we drink a few pops. Hopefully this episode finds you safe and well, we'll see you in 2021.

If you're listening to this podcast there's a good chance you're a craft beer devotee and as such, you are acutely aware that we SHOULD be waist-deep in what is usually Beer Fest Season. Unfortunately that's not a thing right now, but the folks at the Brewers Association have not let a pandemic discourage them. The Brewers Association is responsible for putting on some of the biggest and best events on the craft beer calendar every year. Events such as SAVOR, and the crown jewel of all beer fests, The Great American Beer Fest (GABF) are two of their higher profile yearly events that draw beer fans from every corner of the country. Ann Obenchain is the Director of Marketing for the Brewers Association, and was nice enough to carve some time out of her very busy schedule to walk us through the planning process of what will be a VERY different 2020 GABF. You have to hear this episode to believe all of the work, planning, and thoughtfulness the Association poured into turning the seemingly impossible task of holding the GABF, into a living, breathing reality. It's a fascinating conversation proving that with enough determination, creativity, and beer, anything is possible.

You've heard of the show about nothing, this is the podcast about nothing. Just 4 of us chewing the fat and drinking beers. Rob admits he's finally at his breaking point with our current social situation. And from there, we touch on a few different themes that are relavant to the times we find ourselves in. Sometimes its nice to tune everything out and just laugh along with 4 fellas about nothing.

As hard seltzers continue to gain in popularity because of the low carb, no sugar bit, a new category has emerged in their wake. The "Better For You" category. (notice it's not the GOOD for you category, because it's BETTER for you than saaaaaay beer and spirits) This category has slowly and quietly been building in popularity over the last few months. One of the break out brands in the category is a Hard Kombucha from the West Coast called Flying Embers. Brendan McLane, Director Of Sales for the East for Flying Embers, sits in and explains what Hard Kombucha is, how it's made, and why it's better for you. It's a pretty cool story, be on the look out for Flying Embers at your local spot. Show starts 32 minutes in after Richard's Green Room segment.

So we've been caught in sort of a tough spot recently. In light of the current events, we've been concerned that our name and logo would cause some problems online with people that don't know who we are or what we do, so we have not released anything in a little while. We spent a few weeks contemplating a name change (The Pilsnerds was a suggestion that didn't really have legs), asking people all over the place what we should do, and processing the situation as a whole. The general consensus from the people we reached out to was to keep the name. We laid low for a few weeks as we figured everything out and decided to have a zoom meeting to discuss exactly what we were going to do. The zoom meeting was NOT meant to be recorded, but we thought having audio proof that we indeed spent time and energy figuring out what needed to be done was important, so at the last second we hit the record button. This episode is that. We explain the name, why the podcast exists, why it's called what it's called and why we're rolling forward with the name. There were also a couple ideas tossed around that utilize our youtube page and IGTV that we thought would be pretty cool too. We're still building those out, but you can hear the basic framework for what we're thinking in the episode. Oh, and the episode starts with a life announcement from Richard! Definitely not our usual brand of beer soaked silliness, but worth a listen just to see where we're coming from. Thanks for sticking by us through all the ups and downs, we will be doing our best to better as we move forward. #verybusy

We're not really sure what to say about any of it, but that didn't stop us from trying to make some sort of sense of the current state of affairs. We cracked a couple beers and just hung out. We felt like we needed a hang to talk through things a little bit. There are a couple inconsequential ha-ha's, but the overall tone of this one reflects what we're feeling right now. We did the best we could to unpack the situation, hope it helps a little.

We start with a great guest in the Green Room, Dan Jost. Dan is a smokin' guitar player from the South Jerz/Philly area. Dan is doing a fundraiser on Facebook Live that will help provide PPE for the Inspira Hospital Group in South Jersey. Jump on Dan's FB page to see how to donate. We're still doing the podcast from home, seems to be working. Our Friend Stephen Brahm stops in to talk about the airline biz and where it's all headed. We open a few beers, talk about little Richard, and celebrate our music heroes that are still here, while discussing how everyone is coping with the current situation. No Corona was was consumed during the recording of this podcast.

Ryan Egan cracked a new beer from Tonewood on this one called "String Theory." It reminded us of how whenever we ask Richard a question about the production end of the podcast, he gives a long detailed answer, pauses, and finishes with a very confidence-inducing "Innnnn theory...." Jay Rose opens a gang of beers that have never been available in NJ before, Rob spikes a new Stone beer with Tequila, and Richard lounges carelessly on couch as we attempt another addition of the FOACBP Quarantine Chronicles.

Tony Allen, who has been dubbed the father of Afro-Beat, died at the age 80 last week on the day we recorded this. If you listen to us at all, you know that 3 of us are drummers and Tony Allen was a huge influence on us. His style and ferocity as a player were as unique as the music he was associated with. We pay tribute to Tony and Afro-Beat with a few beers, Jay Rose actually cracked (and finished by himself) a bottle of wine, and we continue to try make some sort of sense of our current situation.

Our title comes from a Prince song that is so horrible that it's absolutely brilliant. It's tough to find online but it's out there. Phatt is also one of the many nicknames Richard has had over the years, with that spelling (technically he added a "Q" at the end later but that's another tale for another time). Richard has been working around the clock at a radio station during the shutdown and still finds time to get this podcast produced and ready for us to release. Phatty-Q this one's for you. We discuss all things Prince for the first half, then our good friend Greg Lehman from Forest and Main drops in to demystify the world of single source honey. It's a question that came up on a previous episode. Greg is an avid beekeeper and breaks it all down brilliantly for us. Thanks Greg!

We continue the Quarantine Chronicles series by digging a little deeper into the effects of the shut down on bars and restaurants. We talk about the ridiculous show on Netflix about a craft brewery, spoiler alert: it's god awful. Beers were consumed, Richard chimes in from the road, Rob drops some Stone 4/20 brewing science, JR found a Public Enemy sample, and Ryan Egan keeps everyone on task.

In these uncertain times, we at Fear of a Craft Beer Planet want you to know that we're here for you. We're tirelessly drinking beer and creating content in our pajamas to provide you with the finest quality of drunken audio silliness. Here is a fine example of that in a couple quick segments. The first segment is with us, we get into the New Pearl Jam album, discuss the Waldo's, and their connection to the Dead and the 420 myth. Second segment features our pal Cully Naramore from Tree House Brewing. He gives us a behind the scenes look at how Tree House is handling the new norm and he explains a new project he's involved with called Liquid Bread. Don't spend your day sober and not laughing, that's un-American. Fire this up, grab a beer, and let us deliver you a healthy dose of drunken haha's.

In segment one we explore what was basically the last live show anyone attended. Life long friend and listener to the podcast Keith Oltman celebrated his 45th birthday at MSG for the Brother's Show. It turned out to be an incredible show and Keith gives us his rundown of the show and what the vibes were like inside MSG that night. On Segment two we welcome our West Coast brothers Aaron and Apple from the No Simple Road Podcast! We break down the current state of national affairs we now find ourselves dealing with, the new Phish album, and believe it or not, there were many beers consumed. We hope you have as much fun listening to this as we did recording it. Everyone could use a laugh or two right now and this delivers that for sure!

So it took a global pandemic and some crafty manipulation of online meeting apps that we've all been using for work, but WE DID IT! We recorded an episode virtually! It's been 4 long months since we released anything and all that gets explained through the episode. The world is a FAR different place now than it was the last time we recorded an episode, both globally and personally for all of us. We discuss how the current world situation is impacting the beer world, Ryan Egan's home brewing buddy Kyle McHerron sits in, and we get a much needed Richard update that we still can't believe happened, but it did. Grab a beer, and burn some quarantine time with us. Now that we have this figured out, you can expect many more episodes out of us! LET'S GOOOOO!

With the official announcement of the "New Black Crowes" tour dates, we had some things to say about it that weren't exactly.... glowing. We drank an English Barleywine from 2014, a new Tonewood beer, and the world's most perfect beer, Sierra Nevada Celebration.

This one was recorded in an underground bunker studio in an undisclosed location for no real reason. Richard introduces us to Black Stag Brewing, we crack a couple Victory beers, and a sour from Edmund's Oast. We discuss the new book by Steve Gorman called Hard To Handle: The Life And Death Of The Black Crowes and the eerie similarities between the Black Crowes and the band Rob and Jay Rose were in together. Other than the being famous and successful part, the similarities run deep. Also, Rob tells a story that he's never told on the podcast before and things get kinda heavy, but it was a necessary conversation. It'll make sense when you hear it.

Some of you may have noticed we took a break! We did, and it was longer than we had intended. We go through what caused the break, what made it a really long break, we get reacquainted with each other and with beer in general (for one of us). Sometimes you need a break and we definitely needed a break. It'll all make sense when you listen. Thanks for sticking around and giving a hoot about us and this beer-soaked circus we call a podcast.

Hilary Barile and Blair Bakker are 5th generation farmers at Rabbit Hill Farms in Shiloh NJ. For 4 generations Rabbit Hill was known for their Jersey Fresh potatoes. As American diets started shifting away from carbs, potatoes started feeling the pinch and Rabbit Hill had some decisions to make. At the same time, Hilary and Blair started noticing craft breweries and distilleries sprouting up in every direction in NJ. They had a brainstorm to grow barley, malt it themselves, and sell it to NJ breweries and distilleries. It was just crazy enough to work! On this episode Hilary and Blair break down the whole story, explain what barley malt is, how it's malted, and why the beer you're holding would just be hop water without it!

After we hung out with Dave Engbers and and Bob Kaiser on the phone in the last episode, we wrapped up the calls live with Natalie Crystal, New Jersey and Delaware Area Sales Manager for Founders. You’ll notice Natalie took the place of our host Jay Rose for this episode, he was VERY BUSY and had to hurry out the door after the phone calls. Nat does an awesome job mixing it up with Rob and Richard while opening a few heavy hitters from Founders including Mas' Agave, Blushing Monk, and Barrel Runner. She was also nice enough to open a Kane Brewing Mexican Brunch for good measure. Thank you Founders Brewing and thank you Natalie for 2 great episodes!