This week on Beer Sessions Radio™ on the Heritage Radio Network, host Jimmy Carbone welcomes back some of our favorite beer writers, as Josh Bernstein and Niko Krommydas join new authors Giancarlo and Sarah Annese (Beer Lover’s New York: The Empire State’s Best Breweries, Brewpubs & Beer Bars). Together they do a recap of one of Jimmy’s favorite NYC Beer Week events, Josh’s tour of the old Nassau Brewing lagering caves. Josh discusses the rich history of beer in Brooklyn, noting that he likes to conduct tours where “you drink and think at the same time.”
Among the brewers that were serving up—what else?—lagers during the event was Chresten Sorensen from Bunker Brewing Co. in Portland, ME. Chresten discusses the challenges of opening a new brewery plus breaks down the beer scene in Portland. By phone, Luke and Walt Dickson of Wicked Weed Brewing discuss how large established breweries are helping small up-and-coming brewers via collaboration (Wicked Weed, based in Asheville, brewed their Brett IPA with now-neighbor New Belgium).
Giancarlo and Sarah discuss their travels through NY State and the many small breweries that surprised them with quality beers. Jimmy segues into a wrap-up of Brewer’s Choice, where more than 6,000 pounds of local grains were incorporated into this year’s brews. A major concern for small brewers is getting local ingredients, and NY has a long way to go to keep up with demand. The panel agrees that “grains are the new hops” and that anyone opening a malthouse in the northeast will be inundated with orders.
Both looking back and ahead on this week’s episode (listen here).