Drink Beer, Think Beer With John Holl

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 191 - Sandy Boss Febbo of Bang Brewing Jul 12, 2023

Show notes

What’s it like being an organic brewery in 2023? Harder than you might think, but getting a little better. My guest is Sandy Boss Febbo of Minnesota’s Bang Brewery and she’ll explain.

I love hearing about breweries that are not trying to be everything to every one. The ones that were founded with a sense of purpose and continue to stick with it. Headed into the craft brewers conference in 2022 in Minneapolis, I heard about Bang Brewing, just over the river in St. Paul. It's an all organic brewery, with a low profile, robust local following, and a strong sense of identity.

Sandy Boss Febbo is the co-owner and co-brewer of Bang Brewing, with her husband Jay. The brewery opened in 2013 after the pair spent a fair amount of time homebrewing and honing recipes. A decade later the brewery is still committed to the original plan: to produce lagers and ale with only sustainably farmed, all-organic ingredients.

The brewery is located in a custom built pre-fabricated grain bin that also houses the taproom. The grounds feature rain gardens, a prairie beer garden, and is dotted with the unwavering focus on environmental responsibility and sustainability. Sandy and Jay are founders of the Organic Brewers Alliance, members of the NRDC’s Brewers For Clean Water Campaign, Partner Member of the Artisan Grain Collaborative, and Patagonia Provisions Partner Brewer.

For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.

This Episode is Sponsored By:

Yakima Valley Hops
Looking for an easy hop sourcing experience? Yakima Valley Hops offers the finest quality hops from right here in our Valley and premium growing regions around the world. Get the hops you need when you need them, with ultra-fast shipping and awesome customer service. With a full line of liquid hop products and all your favorite varieties, no contracts are needed to brew with the best. Shop now at YakimaValleyHops.com.

Host: John Holl
Guest: Sandy Boss Febbo
Sponsors: All About Beer, Yakima Valley Hops
Tags: Beer, Minnesota, Grain, Sustainability, Kernza, Process, Farming, History

Ep. 190 - Scott Ungermann and Reflections on Anchor Brewing Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

The recent news about Anchor Brewing pulling back it’s distribution to just California and discontinuing Our Special Ale, it’s Christmas offering, had me thinking about the brewery’s place in history and its impact.

Scott Ungermann, the former brewmaster of Anchor is here to talk about all that and more.

A few weeks ago Dave Infante, of the excellent Fingers Newsletter broke the news that broke hearts: Anchor Brewing, the venerable San Francisco Brewery, the makers of Steam Beer, and now owned by Sapporo, were pulling back its distribution to focus solely on California – already its biggest market – and would be discontinuing it’s annual Christmas tradition beer: Our Special Ale.

“Our Special Ale has always been a bizarre beer,” wrote my colleague Andy Crouch on All About Beer. “It was never particularly popular but it had tradition, pedigree, history and therefore loomed large in American craft beer.”

It’s a loss and in an eulogy of sorts, Scott Ungermann, who was the brewmaster and VP of Production of Anchor from 2014 until 2020 is here to talk about his relationship with the brewery and that particular beer.

Anchor has always been part of his beer DNA. A tour of the brewery when he was in college inspired a homebrewing hobby, which led to a degree from University of California Davis, and then a long career with Anheuser-Busch, including a stretch at it’s Newark NJ facility, before a chance conversation and a long simmering desire brought him to the top beer job at Anchor.

For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.

Host: John Holl
Guest: Scott Ungermann
Sponsors: All About Beer
Tags: Beer, California, Anchor, Lager, Christmas, Process, IPA, History

Ep. 189 - Eric Tennant of Benchtop Brewery Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

We’re talking about food science, quality control, and the relationship to beer with Eric Tennant, the founder and master brewer of Virginia’s Benchtop Brewing.

Occasionally beer gets sent to the home office here and on the afternoons when the schedule is clear and I’m in the mood for some refreshment, I open a few and let my mind wonder.

A recent box from Benchtop brewing in Virginia got my taste buds and mind working over time in the best possible way, so I asked Eric Tennant the founder of the brewery to come on the show.

He’s Native of North Carolina and NC State Alumni with a Bachelors Degree in Food Science.

After 15 years experience in the food and beverage industry as an R&D Scientist where he created a US Patented process for a major food manufacturer.

During those years working as a food scientist he was also focusing on quality control, process improvements, and consumer insights fields.

When he left the food industry he was able to apply his technical skill and knowledge to producing delicious, innovative, and many times, culinary inspired beers.

For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.

Host: John Holl
Guest: Eric Tennant
Sponsors: All About Beer
Tags: Beer, Virginia, Science, Lager, Creativity, Process

Ep. 188 - Ryan Sentz of Funky Buddha Brewery Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

Ryan Sentz is here this week to talk about how he and his brother bought back Funky Buddha, the Florida Brewery they sold to Constellation Brands six years ago.

There’s an interesting trend happening in beer these days. Small breweries that had sold to larger brewing companies are regaining their independence. The founders of Three Weavers in California re-purchased the brewery from Fireman Capital. 21st Amendment Brewery ended it’s agreement with Brooklyn Brewery. And in the last month we’ve seen Appalachian Mountain Breweryfounders purchase the brewery back from Anheuser-Busch InBev and Florida’s Funky Buddha going independent after a purchase from Constellation Brands.

Ryan Sentz, a co-founder of the brewery is my guest this week and he talks me through the early days of the brewery, the decision to sell in the first place and what life and business was like under Constellation.

Constellation made a push into the craft space a few years ago with the splashy and billion dollar purchase of Ballast Point followed by Funky Buddha. The acquisition did not go as planned and after some devaluations Constellation sold Ballast Point to Kings and Convicts.

At that point, Sentz, who stayed on with Funky Buddha, knew that the brewery he founded could be next. He and his brother KC decided to make the move to re-acquire their brewery.

For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.

Host: John Holl
Guest: Ryan Sentz
Sponsors: All About Beer
Tags: Beer, History, Business, Homebrewing, Creativity, Florida

Brewer to Brewer: Shaun O'Sullivan and Mitch Steele Jun 14, 2023

Show notes

A note from John Holl:
"This week I’m pleased to share with you a recent episode of the Brewer to Brewer Podcast, which runs on the All About Beer channel. Shaun O’Sullivan of 21st Amendment interviews Mitch Steele of New Realm Brewing. The duo discuss Steele’s career and he shares insight into his time working for Anheuser-Busch at the dawn of craft beer and the movements made to address and combat the upstarts. It’s a fascinating look into business and history and I hope you enjoy listening to this conversation as much as I did."

Ep. 187 - Averie Swanson at Funk Fest Jun 07, 2023

Show notes

Averie Swanson of Keeping Together is on the show this week in a conversation recorded last month at Funk Fest in Nashville, TN. We’re talking about saison, building a new brewery, and the creative process.

Swanson is one of the most talented and thoughtful brewers in the U.S. today and her career path is well known. Going from a volunteer at Jester King in Austin to its head brewer in just four years before leaving several years ago to start a new venture called Keeping Together. Originally operating out of Chicago it was focused on mixed culture, rustic, Belgian-inspired beers.

Now, she and her partner Pat Fahey have purchased a property in New Mexico and plans to open a brewery and tasting room. Over the last year she has been thinking about new iterations of her beer, specialty ingredients, becoming part of a new community, and the experiences that come with new beginnings and space.

For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.

Host: John Holl
Guest: Averie Swanson
Sponsors: All About Beer
Tags: Beer, History, Ingredients, Travel, Saison, Creativity

Ep. 186 - Garrett Oliver at Funk Fest 2023 May 31, 2023

Show notes

This week the show is back in Nashville for the second of three conversations recorded before a crowd at Funk Fest, the amazing event hosted by Yzoo Brewing and Embrace the Funk. Mr. Garrett Oliver the Brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery is the guest.

As any good beer fan knows, he is the brewmaster of The Brooklyn Brewery, the author of The Brewmaster’s Table, and the Editor-in-Chief of The Oxford Companion to Beer. He has been brewing craft beer since 1989 and is a veteran of over 1000 beer dinners and tastings in 16 countries. An original board member of Slow Food USA, he later went on to become a Councilor of Slow Food International.

In 2014 Garrett was the recipient of the James Beard Award as the country's top drinks professional. In 2020 he founded the Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling (MJF), a 501(c)(3) grant-making non-profit organization that funds scholarships for technical education in the brewing and distilling fields for people of color. In 2022, Garrett was "enthroned" by the Knights of The Brewer's Fork of Belgium, descendants of the ancient brewer's guild.

For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.

Host: John Holl
Guest: Garrett Oliver
Sponsors: All About Beer
Tags: Beer, History, Ingredients, Travel, Michael Jackson

Ep. 185 - Camp Rauchbier 2023 May 24, 2023

Show notes

This is a special edition of This Week in Rauchbier as we celebrate Memorial Day Weekend 2023 with a visit to Camp Rauchbier.

Recorded at Barrique Brewing and Blending in Nashville, Tennessee before a live and enthusiastic audience John Holl is joined by Spencer Longhurst in the co-host chair. Guests include Jack Hendler of Jack's Abby Craft Lagers and Khristopher Johnson of Green Bench Brewery.

For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.

Hosts: John Holl and Spencer Longhurst
Guests: Jack Hendler, Khristopher Johnson
Tags: beer, craft beer, rauchbier, smoke, Memorial Day, Nashville

Music for this episode:
NewsSting by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4124-newssting

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Ep. 184 - Vinnie Cilurzo at Funk Fest 2023 May 17, 2023

Show notes

A lively conversation over two beers with Vinnie Cilurzo recorded before a crowd at the 2023 Funk Fest in Nashville.

Cilurzo talks about the relationship between wine and beer, dialing in acidity, and surprises and delights with pours of four-day-old Pliny the Elder.

As one of the leading voices in hop-forward beers and proper barrel-aging he offers unparreled insights into what goes into making world class beer.

For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.

Host: John Holl
Guest: Vinnie Cilurzo
Sponsors: All About Beer
Tags: Beer, Wine, IPA, California, Acidity, Styles

Ep. 183 - Mary and Brian Rooney of BKS Artisan Ales May 10, 2023

Show notes

This week on the show I’m glad to have Mary and Brian Rooney of BKS Artisan Ales in Brookside, Missouri. They are here to talk about consumer preferences, tinkering with styles, near endless choice, and the regionality of brewing.

A few weeks ago I had the chance to meet and chat with them. They were pouring as part of the Little Beer Festival and we had a lot of fun batting around ideas while I learned about their brewing philosophy and approach to hospitality.

They opened BKS in 2017 and the name comes from the commonly used abbreviation of the brookside neighborhood of Kansas City where the brewery is located.

Mary runs the front of the house and Brian works in the brewery. And despite what brewery’s full name, he’s also creating a multitude of lagers through the Pivo Project. We’ll get into that… and more.

For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.

Host: John Holl
Guest: Brian and Mary Rooney
Sponsors: All About Beer
Tags: Beer, Missouri, IPA, Customers, Lagers, Styles

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Drink Beer, Think Beer With John Holl

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected