Month: April 2013

Sometimes big things come in small packages. This week’s episode on Beer Sessions Radio™ may sound like just another tale about locavorism, but New York State is on the verge of rediscovering its rich agricultural heritage. And craft beer is a giant player in helping rebuild the agricultural economy, especially in the field of grains (pun intended). This week host Jimmy Carbone welcomes brewer Kelly Taylor, June Russell of GrowNYC, and  Jennifer Grossman of the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is launching a “Clean Water, Great Beer” campaign for brewers.

Beer writer Lucy Saunders, who is familiar with the watershed protection movement in both the Midwest (as the volunteer coordinator of  part of the Great Lakes Water Conservation Workshop) and New York State, wrote in to voice her perspective on the history of Brewers for Clean Water:

“The volunteer conference that I organize in support of the Great Lakes Compact already held a session in New York State in April 2010, in Rochester. Ron Bishop, one of the organizers behind the first fracking protests in Oneonta, presented a review of the frack chemicals found in wastewater and their environmental effects. Brewery Ommegang and the environmental action group Earthjustice both have been involved in the frack fight in NYS. The NRDC then drew a connection with craft brewers, such as New Belgium Brewing Co., through an article published on Huffington Post.

“The NRDC launched its Brewers for Clean Water campaign at the Great Lakes Water Conservation Conference in Chicago, October 2012, and also presented it at a panel at the Craft Brewers Conference in Washington, DC last month. So, the momentum is building for policy support of the Clean Water Act from the craft brewing community. New York State is part of the Great Lakes Compact, but I’m not sure if Gov. Cuomo plans to attend the May meeting of the Council of Great Lakes Governors in Mackinac Island, Michigan. The Great Lakes Compact requires all water-intensive businesses to practice conservation, and regulations to implement the Great Lakes Compact are due at the end of this year. However, I thought the craft brewing community should get involved early, so I have organized five events in four years, thanks to more than 100 volunteers and speakers and 200 participants interested in the water/energy conservation efforts that will ultimately protect the world’s largest supply of surface freshwater, the Great Lakes.”

Back in the studio, Kelly talks about how Kelso Brewing is among craft brewers working to stay local, sourcing grains from Valley Malt. He notes, “When you drink beers that are made with local grains and local hops and you interact with your local farmers, (the beer) is an amazing end product that I’m really happy to be a part of creating.”

And speaking of Ommegang, Kate Stamps calls in to talk about the Hop Chef competition, which involves celebrity chefs cooking with Ommegang beers. Plus you’ll hear from Michael Kinstlick of Coppersea Distilling about his upcoming line of spirits that uses local grain!

Listen to the entire episode here or download at iTunes.

Just in time for this weekend’s NYC Hot Sauce Expo in Williamsburg, Beer Sessions Radio™ episode #159 (listen here) welcomes pretzels and hot sauce, along with special guests Eric Webber from Texas’ Shiner Beer, the nation’s fourth largest craft brewer, which has recently entered the NYC marketplace; and Lina Kulchinsky from Sigmund’s Pretzels, who has brought their latest offering: a sourdough pretzel. Host Jimmy Carbone is munching and talking beer and BBQ with the 104 year old Spoetzl Brewery, and how Shiner has fused traditional German and Eastern European beer with southeast Texas flavor.

In sampling some of the hot sauces that will be at the Expo, Eric comes up with the best hot sauce quote of the show: “A good hot sauce should be like a stalker… by the time it hits you, it’s too late!”

Call-in guests include Marc Stroobrandt of The Belgian Beer Café, who will be opening his 50+ brew restaurant next month in Nomad. He comes up with his favorite beer-food pairings (his recommendation for hot sauce? a Flemish cherry beer), and the company’s expansion around the world and the joys of being a beer sommelier.

Finally, Jared Stutts calls in to talk about his documentary about the history of San Francisco beer, Brewers by the Bay. You can find out how to support Jared’s project at IndieGoGo here. Or watch the video below.

IndieGoGo – Brewers by the Bay* from Jared Stutts on Vimeo.

This week on Beer Sessions Radio™, we travel to Herefordshire, courtesy of Tom Oliver of Oliver’s Perry & Cider House, and B.R. Royla and Joel Shelton of Shelton Brothers Imports. The topic of the day: English cider and perry!

Host Jimmy Carbone talks about the differences between English and American cider traditions, plus Tom’s family history in the cider, perry, and winemaking business. Plus, Tony Forder of Ale Street News pipes in (literally, he plays his flute as Jimmy waxes poetic) and Clint Carter of  Men’s Health Magazine talks about the nutritional benefits of a good brew.

You can catch all the fun of Episode #158 here.

You do it by visiting Beer Sessions Radio™! Or so says this past week’s guest Ale Sharpton, who writes about his beery good adventures visiting NYC last week. You can listen to this week’s show where Ale is one of the in-studio guests (along with Dave Brodrick and host Jimmy Carbone) here.

We’re “getting our sip on” with a very cool guest, when Ale Sharpton of Atlanta and Cruisin’ for a Brewsin’ joins host Jimmy Carbone and Blind Tiger’s Dave Brodrick to relive the highlights of CBC 2013.

Among the highlights: There are now more than 2,500 craft brewers in the US, with 85 percent being nano or brewpubs. The CBC had upwards of 7,000 attendees with thousands of beers being poured. Jimmy networked D.C., talking in the “common currency” of larger craft beers (e.g. Lagunitas). Ale and Dave weigh in on their favorite hangout spots in D.C. from their time at the Conference.

Switching coasts (sort of), Green Flash brewer Chuck Silva talks about the company’s growth in San Diego and their expansion to Virginia Beach, where they’ll be opening a second Green Flash Brewing Company branch, complete with a one-acre beer garden. Chuck also talks about collaborative brewing with the Belgians as the in-studio guests sip Green Flash’s Black Saison.

Then it’s back to Ale and what he knows best: The Atlanta (and Georgia) brew scene. Eric Johnson of Wild Heaven Craft Beers calls in to join the conversation about how Georgia has (slowly) grown to love craft beer with new laws benefiting the industry. Plus info on what Ale calls, “the best beer festival in America”: Classic City Brew Fest, taking place this Sunday (4/7) in Athens, GA.

You can listen to episode #157 of Beer Sessions Radio™ here.