Month: April 2015

Beer Sessions Radio™ host Jimmy Carbone is taking the show on the road for this Friday’s bonus episode from February 2015. Joining Jimmy is Phil Markowski, owner and brewmaster, owner of the largest brewery in Connecticut, Two Roads Brewing Co., along with team members Emily Sauter and John Kleinchester. Co-founded with Brad Hittle and Clem Pellani in 2011, Phil took over a vacant 100-year-old factory in Stratford, launching a full-scale brewery with a huge tasting room.

Phil discusses the making of some of his beers and how his book Farmhouse Ales impacted his beer making and the larger saison-making resurgence among brewers. There are probably 10 times more saisons being made in the U.S. than in the beer’s native Belgium. (Two Roads’ saison is Workers Comp)

Rep John Kleinchester breaks down his day and how he gets Two Roads to the NYC masses; Emily talks about the tasting room and operations at the brewery. And Jimmy does his best to encourage everyone to head on up (via MetroNorth or I95) and enjoy these beers fresh off the tap!

Listen to the full episode here.

 

 

Things are heating up on this week’s episode of Beer Sessions Radio™ (listen here) as host Jimmy Carbone welcomes Anne Becerra of Anne Likes Beer. Chief on their minds is how a beer component works into a larger festival scene. Jimmy is a co-producer of the 3rd Annual NYC Hot Sauce Expo (coming to Brooklyn this weekend Saturday-Sunday, April 25-26). Also in the studio are Graham and Lindsay Connolly of World Famous Hot Sauce, who talks about their origins in making hot sauce.

Anne is back from Portland (OR) where she was attending the annual Craft Brewers Conference, talking about the very different scene in the Pacific Northwest. She’s a fan of the Lagunitas Pils, which will be served at the Expo.

Hops intensify hot sauce, so Graham is recommending using beer as a palate cleanser (rather than to cool down). Anne also recommends a wit or a saison to balance fiery foods. And later in the show, Karen Magee of Lagunitas phones in to talk about the brewery’s sponsorship of the Expo.

Be sure to listen in as the panel chats about food and beer festival culture, the interesting ways hot sauce and beer can pair and what’s in store for the NYC Hot Sauce Expo!

It’s a very special (and rare) live Friday broadcast as NY Times food and wine critic Eric Asimov is in the studio with host Jimmy Carbone discussing two of their favorite spring things: lager beers and baseball! They are joined by Patrick Morse, head brewer of Flagship Brewing on Staten Island, Travis Kauffman from Folksbier Brauerei and Justin Philips from Beer Table.

Eric reminisces on his early days at the Times writing about beer in the 1980s, back when “no one was writing about beer.” He recently wrote a piece reviewing lagers at baseball stadiums, which prompted Jimmy to invite him in for this special bonus episode of Beer Sessions Radio™. He admits that there are plenty of great ales that also go great at the ballgame, including low alcohol sour beers.

Patrick talks about his beers being served at the minor league Yankees on Staten Island (as opposed to the generic mass-produced beer offerings at Yankee Stadium). The panel is on a quest to get the Bronx bombers to step up and get with a better beer program!

How is tasting wine different from tasting beer? How do flavors factor into a better beer experience? What brews do our beer pros bring to tempt Eric’s palate?

Find out here on this week’s episode.

Tune in for a conversation on what happens when fine dining and beer combine on this week’s episode of Beer Sessions Radio™! Host Jimmy Carbone discusses Beer Education and Fine Dining in NYC and welcomes Alex Pfaffenbach, Dining Room Manager of the NoMad Restaurant; Augie Carton, owner of Carton Brewing; and John La Polla, owner of Bitter & Esters.

Alex and the NoMad crew wanted to teach about beer through the actual process of making beer; they made a holiday beer (a brown ale with cranberries and kaffir lime leaf) with John. The NoMad won a James Beard Award for best bar program, and Alex realizes that, “You can’t have world class cocktails and world class wine without world class beer,” which is why the staff takes beer education so seriously.

Augie talks about some of his secret ingredients in his beers (including smoked pineapple!) and why he cares about how his beers are served in bars around the city. He talks about how he focuses on flavor, making him an atypical brewer (he’s created a cornbeef and pickle beer). And hear the history of the “Duck & Decoy” at Eleven Madison Park.

Listen in on this “brain trust of beer” with the Trinity of service, educator and brewer and find out what makes beer a great fit for high end dining! Full episode here.