Good Beer Seal

This past Sunday, the Good Beer Seal traveled to B. United International in Oxford, CT, for their Nepenthia open house, which offered the opportunity for 400+ industry insiders to meet a dozen of the world’s most interesting artisanal brewers, three of whom join Beer Sessions Radio™ host Jimmy Carbone for this week’s episode (listen here). In the studio are Jon Lundbom from B. United, Paolo Fontana of Birra Baladin,  Michael Brogaard of Dansk Mjod in Denmark, and Rob Lovatt of Thornbridge Brewery in the United Kingdom. Hear about the very cool things B. United has planned (a dedicated Viking Blod tanker? yes!) in a myriad of even cooler accents.

Among the many offerings and workshops at Nepenthia was a Beer Spirits workshop and tours around B. United’s bucolic country setting. The world scope of the breweries stretches from Japan to Europe to Kenya (Dansk Mjod is working to harvest honey from Africa). Interest in international artisanal craft brews has propelled B. United, which is more interested in delivering “quality liquid” than carrying as many brands as possible.

Next, Jimmy looks to his back yard and the craft beer scene that is growing in Bed-Stuy when Michael Brooks and Bryan Lindner from Bed-Vyne Brews talk about starting a beer retail outlet in June. Their list includes affordable offerings to the newly gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood, which doesn’t really have a proper retail craft beer shop.

Plus, Greg Engert and Megan Parisi of Bluejacket Brewery in Washington, D.C., which has its own laws and unique challenges of being able to import directly from around the world.

Listen in and learn what these amazing brewers are offering and what they’ll have coming up in the next few months.

They’re a match made in heaven: Cheese and beer! And with so many cheeses and beers to choose from, this week’s episode of Beer Sessions Radio™ tries to come up with the best mating of all time (garnering the most votes? truffle cheese with a Saison Dupont). Host Jimmy Carbone is joined by Kevin Heald of Malt & Mold, which will be celebrating its first anniversary in the LES with a party this Saturday, May 4th, plus Anne Likes Beer and Wandering Star’s Alex Hall.

What’s the best way to serve and preserve cask ales? How do you pour the perfect growler? What’s the history of the cask? And how can you score seats to the Glastonwick Cask Ale and Music Festival? Our guests have the answers.

In addition, Steve Wildy, beverage director for Vetri Family Restaurants, calls in to talk about Philly Beer Week and his Italian beer bar, Alla Spina. There are multiple festivals and beer outings for May, plus Beer Sessions Radio™ is gearing up for Savor in June. Catch the entire episode (#161) here.

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.

It’s the last day of the CBC and we’re still meeting some really cool people. Beer Sessions Radio™ host Jimmy Carbone caught up with Nate Fochtman, VP Craft & Specialty at Ace Distributing, based out of York, Pennsylvania. He

How many years have you attended the CBC, and what are the highlights thus far for CBC13?

This is my third CBC, and I’ve been learning about the industry trends and data analysis on targeting the sales of craft beer, especially towards women. This seems to be an underdeveloped part of the market that could send the growth patterns exponentially faster upon further research to find out what needs to be done to bring in more females to experience craft. 

What other new trends would you like to comment on?

The focus towards local. The future of sustainability with the craft industry is great experiencing the coast to coast breweries and distance transport, but also maintaining the current trend. The majority of Americans have a brewery within 10 miles of their residence.

Also, the increase in experimentation and creation of new beer styles is currently very exciting, and interested in seeing what “sticks” and becomes a new widely used style of beer. Innovation and creativity are so crucial to the advancement and increased growth of the industry.

What are your favorite beer hang-outs when in DC?
I still need to experience them all, but there are some really awesome spots in areas, and locations that I wouldn’t expect, which is always great to see. It increases the opportunity for someone to be exposed to craft beer that may not have in the past. Honestly, I have had no bad experiences at any of the regional breweries. It’s amazing how much great beer is being produced in the nation’s capitol!

What are your favorite new beers you’ve had at CBC13?

Virginia and DC area breweries, we do not have most of them in our market currently. It’s always fun to experience new beers and breweries.

Beer Sessions Radio™ host Jimmy Carbone is tearing it up at CBC this week, making new friends and connecting with neighbors who are also down in DC for the conference. He managed to catch half the team of New Jersey’s Carton Brewing, Augie Carton (who founded the brewery with his cousin Chris), who told us about his brewery and visits to the CBC.

How many years have you attended the CBC, and what are the highlights thus far for CBC13?

This is my third year here. I really thought the highlight of the conference was the keynote speech by Kim Jordan (New Belgium Brewing).

Have you noted any trends at this year’s Conference?

There definitely seems to be a heavy focus on sustainability in brewing.

What are your favorite beer hang-outs when in DC?

I really like Churchkey and Meridian Pint.

DC is quickly becoming a craft beer destination. What are your favorite breweries in the greater DC area?

I’m very interested to see what happens as Bluejacket expands, and DC  Brau has transitioned well from a more generic beer manufacturer to a leader in the DC craft beer scene.

What are your favorite new beers you’ve had at CBC13?

I just checked my Untapp’d account. As of this (Thursday) morning, I’ve tried 72 new beers since Tuesday. It seems unfair to single any dozen or so out from that many.

Everybody who’s anybody in beer has descended on the nation’s capital, and it’s not for the cherry blossoms! This week is the Craft Brewers Conference, the country’s leading trade fare for beer industry insiders. The Good Beer Seal decided to head south and check out all the happenings, as Beer Sessions Radio™ host Jimmy Carbone met up with old friends and met a few new ones while taking in the D.C. craft beer scene.

Jimmy bumped into 2013 Beer Drinker of the Year, Warren Monteiro (Ale Street News) of at “RFD” in Chinatown,  where they were pouring DC Brau Local Pale Ale. The official 2013 CBC beer this year is a collaboration between DC Brau, the Brewer’s Art (Maryland) and Devil’s Backbone (Virginia): Beggars & Thieves is an “anti-imperial” rye lager (4.8% ABV) that came with an official CBC souvenir tasting glass.

Jimmy also caught up with Yankee Brew News and Mystic Brewing (Chelsea, MA)  at Churchkey to share a delicious Hill Farmstead Vera Mae, a 6% ABV brewed with spelt and dandelion flowers. The group also enjoyed the Freestyle #10 Rye Saison from Oxbow Brewing (Maine), which they paired with rabbit pot pie at Bluejacket.

All in all, a great start to what is sure to be the best CBC ever!