Good Beer Hunting

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EP-155 Alex Kidd of Don't Drink Beer Jan 20, 2018

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In craft beer, so many of the conversations we lead are less about the beer we're drinking and more about how we identify with it, or the person who made it, or who owns that company and how that reflects back on our own self-image. Craft beer is a foggy mirror that way. And we get caught up in so many contradictions, hypocrisies and, in some cases, some serious self-hatred as a culture. Basically, we're a consumer base and an industry ripe for satire. Today's guest is one of the most effective in that regard, sometimes holding up that filthy mirror to the populace, other times to himself. Don't Drink Beer is a weird website that started on the fringes and worked its way to the middle using satire and self-reflection as a way to expose some of the more insane things we do as beer makers and drinkers. The trading circuit, the line-waiting, the valuations we put on certain bottles while ignoring others, and the oft-enraging debates that start in Facebook groups and forums. Don't Drink Beer is a persona that often catches its intended audience off guard. And sometimes plays straight into it. And after following it for years, the pattern reveals it for what it is—the evolution of a comedian. Alex Kidd, the guy behind the site, is a professional comedian. He studied and practices law in California, and as you can tell from some of his more elaborate beer reviews, he's also a studied writer, reader, and music history sponge. And describing him this way, so earnestly, just feels so wrong. He was in Chicago this past week on tour with a comedy show about beer called Barley Wine is Live, for which we'll talk about the inspiration in the interview. But we also talk about the long history of Don't Drink Beer and its relationship with Chicago and the Midwest, as an antagonist of sorts from the West Coast. Oh, and where all this is going, if it is, indeed, going anywhere.

EP-154 John Keeling of Fuller Smith & Turner Jan 13, 2018

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Fuller Smith & Turner—or Fuller's as it's more commonly known—is the oldest surviving brewery in London, as well as being one of its largest. Fuller's has been brewing at The Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, West London, for more than 160 years. The face of the British brewing industry has undergone tremendous change many times over during the course of its existence. Now, in 2018, the brewery faces fresh challenges. For instance, finding relevance in a market that constantly craves the rare and the new, while still championing traditional styles in an age of Hazy IPAs and Pastry Stouts. Surprisingly, this hasn't phased Fuller's one bit. Along with some of the UK's other historical breweries, such as Adnams in Suffolk and Harvey's in Sussex, Fuller's is ensuring that styles such as Porter and ESB remain as relevant to the beer market as ever. Behind it all is the ebullient Brewing Director, John Keeling, who has been employed by Fuller's for 37 years. Keeling has worked in the brewing industry since the 1970s, initially for the now-defunct Watney's, then studying brewing science at Heriot Watt University before finally settling at Fuller's. He became Head Brewer in 1999, a role he passed on to Fuller's current Head Brewer Georgina Young in January 2017. Over this time he's witnessed Fuller's shift from being a completely manually operated brewery, to one that is almost entirely automated and state of the art. Keeling has been instrumental in ensuring that Fuller's legacy be preserved. Be it by reviving historical recipes from the archives, by collaborating with the UK's latest crop of brewers such as Fourpure and Cloudwater, or by constantly championing the simple pleasures found within a pint of Fuller's flagship beer, London Pride. In October 2018 Keeling will retire, leaving an illustrious brewing career behind him. The industry won't be getting rid of him that easily, however, as he's just been voted chairman of The London Brewers Alliance, a guild that supports the collective interests of London's independent breweries. Over the next hour we discuss—or perhaps I should say John discusses—subjects ranging from the history of Fuller's, to the importance of cask ale, to the price of beer, all the way up to his favorite subject: the philosophy of brewing.

Salud! — Scott Shor, Edmund's Oast, Charleston Jan 06, 2018

Show notes

This episode is part of a series of interviews recorded in December at Salud Sourfest, an annual beer festival hosted in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event attracts a curated selection of skilled, sour-making breweries from around the country, with a heavy presence from the Mid-Atlantic region. Sourfest represents a kind of festival that's rapidly growing in popularity, where attending breweries often run in the same circles or share a like-minded ethos, making for a special occasion for attendees instead of an event with any and every brewery that would care to send a keg. As drinkers sipped on a variety of wild and sour beers, I was able to pull a collection of brewers and business owners aside for brief conversations about their companies, specialties and what's catching their eye in the industry. This episode and others run about 20 to 25 minutes, so we had time to dig in a little bit, but the interviews are a bit more focused than the free-ranging talks you hear most weeks here on the podcast.

Salud! — Jason Pellett, Orpheus Brewing, Atlanta Jan 06, 2018

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Salud! — Patrick Woodson, Brewery Bhavana, Raleigh, North Carolina Jan 06, 2018

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Salud! — Barry Labendz, Kent Falls Brewing Jan 06, 2018

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Salud! — Jason Glunt, Salud Beer Shop of Charlotte, North Carolina Jan 06, 2018

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This episode is part of a series of interviews recorded in December at Salud Sourfest, an annual beer festival hosted in Charlotte, North Carolina. The entire series of interviews is here! These episodes feature: Jason Glunt, founder of the festival host, Salud Beer Shop of Charlotte ,North Carolina Barry Labendz, co-founder of Connecticut's Kent Falls Brewing Jason Pellett, founder and brewmaster of Atlanta's Orpheus Brewing Patrick Woodson, head brewer and co-founder of Raleigh, North Carolina's Brewery Bhavana Scott Shor, owner of Charleston, South Carolina's Edmund's Oast The event attracts a curated selection of skilled, sour-making breweries from around the country, with a heavy presence from the Mid-Atlantic region. Sourfest represents a kind of festival that's rapidly growing in popularity, where attending breweries often run in the same circles or share a like-minded ethos, making for a special occasion for attendees instead of an event with any and every brewery that would care to send a keg. As drinkers sipped on a variety of wild and sour beers, I was able to pull a collection of brewers and business owners aside for brief conversations about their companies, specialties and what's catching their eye in the industry. This episode and others run about 20 to 25 minutes, so we had time to dig in a little bit, but the interviews are a bit more focused than the free-ranging talks you hear most weeks here on the podcast.

EP-153 Jennifer Myers and Tom Thompson of Bottomless Brewing Dec 30, 2017

Show notes

When I tell people I'm originally from Upstate New York, it typically comes with a qualifier: an extra "up" tacked on as an awkward prefix to create Up-Upstate New York. If I just stick to regular, old "Upstate," there's a good chance people will assume I'm talking about some place in Westchester County. It's a never-ending discussion, trying to figure out non-specific geographic boundaries, but the real reason it has importance is because it paints the picture that there is so much more to New York than its namesake city. The area where I grew up offers plenty, and for generations, its drinking culture was based around wine produced in the Finger Lakes. Craft beer was Genny Cream Ale or Saranac Black Forest, a beloved Schwarzbier. But in recent years, the idea of what beer is and can be has rapidly changed as local production has come to be defined by small businesses. As I visited my hometown of Geneva, New York this summer, I was excited to see how the beer scene has changed. One of the more recent additions was Bottomless Brewing, barely outside Geneva's limits, built inside an old dairy barn and located amongst rolling farmland so ubiquitous for the area. Its name connects to the "bottomless" depth of nearby Seneca Lake, one of the bodies of water connected to the region's Finger Lakes name. I sat down with Jennifer Myers, head brewer, and one of the founders, Tom Thompson. Jennifer is something of a veteran of the very young Finger Lakes beer scene, having worked in beer for seven years and acting as brewer for six of them. Over the course of our interview, you'll hear Tom pop in and out - a natural part of being the one running a business - as he takes care of opening the space, welcoming customers and tending bar. It was actually a good example of what it takes to run a small business: you've got to be a jack of all trades at all times. Throughout our conversation, the three of us talk about what it takes to open a brewery and, most important, change minds and succeed in a region where some people are still figuring out what "craft" beer means to them.

FF-10 Jim Plachy's Top 50 beer list gets ruined and a member says the word of the day Dec 26, 2017

Show notes

Welcome to another episode of The Fervent Few podcast. Every few weeks we present you with this bonus episode of the GBH podcast where we chat with members of our subscriber community. The Fervent Few subscribe to GBH like a magazine making a monthly contribution via Patreon. Members join us in a forum to talk about a wide range of topics that doesn't just stop at beer. And every week we pick one of these topics and present the community's answers to readers in the form of an article posted to Good Beer Hunting. You can find out more information by visiting patreon.com/goodbeerhunting On this episode we talk to Tyler Jackson of Chicago's Present Tense Fine Ales a brewery that wants to serve beer exclusively on cask. Then we talk to Carla Jean Lauter, a prolific beer writer and tweeter, about a successful battle against a brewery that opened with a very terribly named beer. But first Michael and I will talk about Founder's Harvest Ale and the way a very minor question can become very meaningful content for GBH. Finally, we start to think about the best beers we had in 2017.

EP-152 Adam + Grace Robbings of Reuben's Brews Dec 23, 2017

Show notes

There's a lot beer lovers may miss when they travel to the Pacific Northwest, a region overwhelmed not just with breweries, but really good ones. And while there are plenty of businesses that captivate beer geeks, one in particular has long caught my eye. Seattle's Reuben's Brews is something of rocket ship in an area pleasantly saturated with some of the best beer in the country. The name might not sound familiar to those outside Washington, but Reuben's is one of the fastest growing breweries in the state. Not long before I sat down with owners Adam and Grace Robbings in September, their business was growing at just over 100 percent in IRI-tracked dollar sales in their home state compared to 2016. Since opening about five years ago, Reuben's has expanded into a pseudo compound spread across a few different buildings in as many blocks in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, where they run a brewery and taproom, packaging facility, barrel-aging space and more. I came to know their beer years ago when my brother sent me a bottle of their award-winning Porter, but their lineup and my expectations have expanded rapidly since then. Amongst the phenomenal growth of Reuben's Brews, Adam and Grace have faced typical challenges not entirely unique to their company, ranging from the kinds of brands they make to how they're sold. However, Adam's methodical processes and logical focus continue to push together aspects of art and science that drives the brewery's core ethos. You'll find the way he talks about making beer - and the level of detail he requires to do so - is rather inspiring. Above all else, however, this is a family business. The beer is important, but not as much as the people that surround it. The namesake of the brewery - Adam and Grace's son, Reuben - is seen as a future. There's been plenty of success so far, but this is still the start of a much longer journey.

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