Graining In

Latest Episodes:

#79: Anthony Finley | Other Half Dec 21, 2020

Show notes

The guys got an early Christmas present in the form of a virtual visit from Other Half's Anthony Finley!
Anthony is currently the brewery's brand manager (or something like it - no fleece vests, please), but he was involved with the brewery before it even opened its doors and subsequently has had his hands in just about every single facet of the company. We run through the history of the man (who wore a bucket hat JUST FOR US) within the brewery - from the taproom, to the centrifuge, to traveling across the globe. We also dig into the subject of authenticity, figuring out what relationships are worth keeping, and how Anthony's upbringing in Long Island and relationship to Brooklyn have helped make him such a keen judge of character. While this entire conversation with the Smoothest Man in Suds was an absolute pleasure, the best is most certainly saved for last, as Matty drops what's undeniably the best Three Bay the podcast has been blessed with: Pumpkin beers and Brooklyn rappers. C'mooooooonnnnnn.... ......................... .......................................... .................................................................Music: "Mountain Climb" by Jake Hill

#78: Lisa Kellndorfer | Austin Street Brewery Dec 14, 2020

Show notes

The stars have aligned for a conversation that has been been in text tag purgatory since the podcast's inception, and Austin Street Brewery's Lisa Kellndorfer finally joins the show! Despite being BBB's Industrial Way neighbor for a few weeks, Noah and Matt know very little about her background. So, Lisa gets them up to speed in real time about the path to her current role as Head of Production at ASB, from getting hired as Assistant Brewer with a solid background in scientific research but absolutely zero experience working in a brewery (and little more knowledge about brewing itself), to her rapid ascendancy as director of day-to-day operations only four years later. Lisa and the guys also dig into her role alongside her bosses (founders Jake Austin and Will Fisher) in laying the foundation for a remarkably inclusive culture within ASB and the plethora of positive downstream effects the culture continues to have on itself. This pearl of a conversation also touches on the many shapes of creativity, bootstrapping the scientific method, and missed investment opportunities with the term "Latte" on, of all spaces, the ski slope. Bombs away like Bode Miller. .......... ...................... ............................... ............................................... ............ Music: "Mountain Climb" by Jake Hill

#77: Repetition is a Brown Ale Dec 06, 2020

Show notes

The guys catch up with each other and ask an extremely important question: WHAT IS HAPPENING IN LAKE STEVENS, WA?!?
With that riddle has been freed into the ether, Matty discusses being on the precipice of homeownership, a place he never thought he'd find himself considering his past (see EPISODE #67 and congratulate the damn guy). He also recounts an absolutely harrowing recent home delivery saga from Thanksgiving Eve (you gotta hear it to believe it) before getting deep on, as the title suggestions, repetition and brown ale. There's a surprising amount of overlap here from the guys perspective as they're both odes to the proverbial long game. Amidst the philosophical babble, Noah also manages to breakdown the recipe (and future tweaks) for BBB's new brown ale, Bravura. In arguably the most shocking revelation of the podcast's seventy seven episodes, he also notes that HE HAS BEEN DRINKING THIS BEER AT HOME AND ENJOYING IT.
Yeah, this one's a lot. Take some blood pressure meds, get comfortable, and soak it all in NOW, wherever you soak in finer audio content. ........................................ ................................................. ..........................................Music: "Mountain Climb" by Jake Hill

#76: Nico LeBarge | Bissell Brothers Nov 30, 2020

Show notes

We enjoy the fortune of talking to one of our very own this week with Nico LeBarge!
In addition to her role in the BBB Portland taproom (or drive-thru at time of recording), Nico - an accomplished artist in her own time with a BFA and multiple residencies to her name - is responsible for a sizable (and rapidly growing) chunk of BBB3R bottle artwork. We get into Nico's earliest memories of being grabbed by art, the long road toward finding your own voice as a creator, how being a D-1 swimmer during undergrad at UMass continues to drive her as artist, and what her artistic process looks like in at the seed of any project. Nico also tells us about when she realized that beer will always beat the hell out of fancy cocktails, what her experience working at the perpetually-mysterious Ebeneezer's Pub was like, and why she believes the impact of reps trumps all else in both art and life. It was an amazing change of pace to hear about a world almost entirely unknown to the guys, particularly with such a hugely talented lightning bolt of a lady. Prett-ty, prett-tyy, pr-et-tttttty good, in fact. ........... ........................... ..................................... ..............................Music: "Mountain Climb" by Jake Hill

#75: Vince Tursi | DSSOLVR Nov 23, 2020

Show notes

This week, we had the absolute pleasure of catching up with one of the most intrepid minds in fermentation, Vince Tursi!
Alongside buddy-turned-business partner Mike Semenac, Vince is a co-founder/owner of DSSOLVR Beverage Co., located within the esteemed utopia of Asheville, NC. Their brewery - which fired up its system for the first time almost exactly 12 months ago - has experienced quite the rookie year, as most of it has unfolded inside a pandemic. We dive into that whirlwind of an experience and learn of the patently inspiring ways DSSOLVR has made the most out of an objectively shitty situation and the positive, long-term paradigm shifts COVID-induced reflection has kickstarted within the business. We also trace through Vince's impressive industry resume, and he delineates how his respective stints at Night Shift, Lord Hobo Brewing, Burial Beer, and The Whale Bar have helped mold his approach to brewing and business ownership.
The conversation takes an unexpected turn a little over halfway through, when decides to take the interviewer reigns, which leads to a discussion about management that was equal measures surprising as it was enjoyable. Last, not least, and certainly not all; we talk about brewing with crickets, make a case for pizza beer, and celebrate the surreal with a proper amount reverie surrounding the infamous Tim and Eric's Awesome Show Great Job.
We haven't laughed as much in an episode since a profession comedian graced the show back in April, and yet we may also have never participated in this level of real-time reflection with a guest. If you're reading this, you known you can listen in now, so go ahead and do what you know this weird, weird universe wants you to do. .................................. .....................................................
Music: "Mountain Climb" by Jake Hill

#74: Turbid Days, Coolship Nights Nov 16, 2020

Show notes

The nights are cool and the knockouts are steamy - another coolship filling season in Milo is underway! Recorded as the season's first batch of wort was literally sitting in the coolship, vibes are high and the musings are many as the guys circle back to a favorite topic: spontaneous beer. Noah provides updates on how the current structural evolution of the brewery's coolship *room*, current interpretation of turbid mashing, and how BBB's past spontaneous batches are currently progressing; Brimming with new curiosities, Matty inquires about the link between turbid brew days and powdered wigs, the importance of achieving the right level of chill, and asks the age-old (and still unanswered) question: "Is it the air or the wood?" They also breakdown the brewery's primary challenges in the quest to make their Belgian idols proud...and then destroy the chance those very idols could ever have even a modicum of respect for Bissell Brothers by linking Jean Van Roy, Pierre Tilquin, and Armand Debelder to various B-movies (Yikes).
Turns out, talking about the unknown is a lot more fun than facing it.

#73: Matt Walters | Foeder Crafters Nov 10, 2020

Show notes

The podcast is joined by a certified saint in the church of oak, founder and co-owner of St. Louis' Foeder Crafters. Foeder Crafters came out of nowhere to become THE foeder fabricator in the US. We trace back to when Matt, "a maker of things", was in the early stages of opening a brewery with a Cy Young Award winner when a brewer casually asked if Matt thought he could make a giant oak vessel for him. Instead of being a brewer, Matt was catapulted down a meteoric path of both trailblazing and perfecting the craft of domestic foeder production. He talks about how the industry was simply starved for innovation, the tight-lipped and stale culture in more seasoned foeders, and laments the huge challenge of sourcing *just* the right type of oak for his tanks. Matt also explains how the endlessly challenging process of foeder building has allowed his company to effectively hold a monopoly on the industry in America, sings of the value in sucking on every piece of oak he receives, and points out the subtle but critical differences between CRAFTsmen and CRAPsmen. It was a blast to have this conversation with one of the nicest people on Earth (unless you're competition), which is laden with a glut of knowledge regardless of your familiarity with the Almighty powers of Missouri White Oak.

#72: Gene Beck | Nocturnem Draft Haus Nov 02, 2020

Show notes

The guys are once again treated to an in-studio guest as they welcome Gene Beck, owner of Nocturnem Draft Haus in Bangor, ME. Gene holds an undeniable place in the Mount Rushmore of Bangor beer, having played a pivotal development in its ongoing maturation since Y2K. The episode starts where he started; At, of all places, Swett's Tire and Auto, an exit ramp gas station and small convenience store. Over the course a decade, Gene inexplicably turned Swett's into one of the best, and certainly earliest, destinations for retail craft beer in the northern half of Maine. The conversation eventually moves toward the second half of Gene's beer career, as he opened Nocturnem, a decidedly high-end beer bar in the center of a city that was decidedly struggling. We talk about the difficulties and rewards of being an early adopter, the terrors and exhilarations of entrepreneurship, the responsibilities of leadership within a community, and the amazing things that can come from imperfect circumstances. Being one of the funnest and rounded conversations the podcast has seen, it's only fitting that it concludes with quite possibly the best Three Bay in its storied seventy-two episode....Please enjoy this little slice of honesty half as much as we did. ....... ........................ ............................... Music: "Mountain Climb: by Jake Hill

#71: Mike Sardina | Hill Farmstead Oct 26, 2020

Show notes

We're ruefully without Matty this week. HOWEVER -- Noah made it to the Northern Kingdom of Vermont, visiting with old friend, former coworker, current Hill Farmstead employee, and general beer savant, Mike Sardina. If you don't know Mike (you're in the minority), he's lived in cities across the country, making home within some of craft beer's strongest factions. Yet, he's moved to Greensboro, VT on not one, but two separate occasions, and we accordingly start off by prodding at what exactly it is that makes Vermont and its beer scene so special. We also get into Mike's current role at Hill Farmstead, the effect COVID-19 has had on the brewery, and how it's come out on the other side very different for all the right reasons. Naturally, the conversation regularly goes back to Edward, and through it we touch on the need for "radical candor" in the brewing, the omnipresent importance of conscientious consumption, and of course... B-B-friggin'-Q. ........................................
................................................ ........................................................................... .................................................................
Music: "Mountain Climb" by Jake Hill

#70: So This is Swishmas Oct 19, 2020

Show notes

"So this is Swishmas.
And how is this podcast still on?"
Miracles never cease... Regardless, this week is dedicated to Black Beauty, the Official Craft Beer of Darth Vader, the Steph Curry Special -- SWISH.
Noah and Matty attempt to break down the formula that culminate in one of BBB's most well-known beers. Noah discusses the beer landscape that Swish was born from, shares its origin story, and talks about early releases sold in a white can via a tiny taproom; Matt talks about his trial-by-fire first day at BBB, the final Swish release of the season a few years ago.
The guys also get into the importance of every "link in the chain" in Swish's production and the energy required from every part of the crew in striving to continue to make the beer - and just as importantly the experience the beer comes with - better every time, fending off public apathy and inevitable destruction one week at a time. Noah also breaks down the beer's recipe in its current form, the infinite tweaks that got it there, and waxes poetic on the holy hop trinity of Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe that makes Swish Swish. ....................
.................................... ................................................................. Music: "Mountain Climb" by Jake Hill

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected