Good Beer Seal

A few years ago, Good Beer Seal co-founder Jimmy Carbone had a Wisconsin beer and food pairing at Jimmy’s No. 43, so imagine our delight when a good friend Anna Mumford mentioned this good beer find in Milwaukee: Sugar Maple offers up more than 60 American Craft brews (on tap, no less!), including this delicious-looking flight snapped by Anna. If you find yourself in Milwaukee, Anna recommends Sproose Joose Double IPA, as well as a Big Brown Ale from Black Husky Brewery in Pembine, WI.

This week’s guests on Beer Sessions Radio™ will include a special phone-in with John Bexon, Head Brewer at Greene King Brewing and Brands in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England. Possibly best known for their Old Speckled Hen beer, Greene King dates to the 18th Century and is such an important part of the community that when John came on in 2000 he was told, “There are three important people in this town: the Chief of Police, the Undertaker and the Head Brewer.” We look forward to hearing about John’s travels (he frequents many pubs and breweries both in Europe and the US, seeking out and sampling not only his beers but other breweries’ beers, as well, in order to get inspiration in developing ideas for new beers) and the great beers of Greene King.

Coming back stateside, we welcome Tom Peters from Monk’s Cafe in Philadelphia. As co-chair of Philly Beer Week, Tom is one of the pioneers of the beer scene in Philadelphia.  He has been on the show (via phone) before  and was a very good friend of Ray’s. We’re happy to finally get him in the studio.

Bringing things home, we’re thankful for beer friends Jen Schwertman, Ed Berestecki from Mugs Ale House in Brooklyn, and Mike Battaglia from Total Beverage Solution, all of whom will be weighing in on the local beer scene going into the holiday weekend. We’re thankful for everyone who comes on the show and for our listening audience. Wishing everyone a beery happy Thanksgiving!

This past week on Beer Sessions Radio™ the studio was packed with Blind Tiger regulars Dave Brodrick and Jen Schwertman. The gang welcomed the British Invasion of Alex Hall and Chris Post, who hail from England but are owners and brewmasters of the Western Massachusetts brewery, Wandering Star Brewing. Chris Cuzme, also of Wandering Star and the head of the New York City Homebrewers Guild, joined the conversation as well. You can listen here about the beginnings of both institutions as well as leveling up your beer geek cred as the gang comes of up with beer words that you’ve probably never heard of (hint: think zymurgy and Pediococcus). Learn about how one moves from home to the world of craft brewing and how sometimes starting your own outfit is as easy as buying it off eBay! This episode is sponsored by GreatBrewers.com.

This week’s Beer Sessions Radio™ features our great friends from Vanberg & Dewulf, Wendy Littlefield and Don Feinberg. As a part of celebrating Belgium’s Kings Day, November 15th’s broadcast will help ring in the largest Belgian beer celebration that will involve 350 beer establishments across the US. For an all-things-Belgian primer, check out Beer News’ craft beer blog. Then on November 16th, be sure to stop by Jimmy’s No. 43 for “Coast to Coast; Toast to Toast,” for V&D’s 30th anniversary party. Normally when Don and Wendy come to town, you have to buy a ticket, so this is your chance to try some amazing Belgian beer a la carte and congratulate Vanberg & Dewulf for 30 years of great beer.

For those of you who met up with Christian last week, you may be interested in his new book, The Great American Ale Trail, along with his book tour. Details are on his Facebook event page, so show him some love if he’s in your neck of the woods!

Last week on Beer Sessions Radio we had the pleasure of having Christian DeBenedetti on with us.  Christian just released a new book called  “The Great American Ale Trail: The Craft Beer Lovers Guide to the Best Watering Holes in America“.

While Christian was in the studio he gave us a brief taste of what to expect:

“What we have in the Great American Ale Trail and what I sought to do with the book was to talk about beer culture everywhere.  It’s blooming, blossoming across the United States.  It’s more than just beer in your glass – it’s about the places you go and the people you are with… My approach was to bring the American beer culture to life…give people a road map to really get out there and find (beer) no matter where they are in the United States“

Christian’s book has a forward by regular Beer Sessions Radio Guest and all around Beer staple Garrett Oliver and has received great reviews  from Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head) to Jim Koch (Samuel Adams) to Charlie Papazian (author of The Complete Joy of Homebrewing).

Be sure to keep an eye out at your local watering hole for upcoming book signings.  And if you are planning on being at GABF make sure you check out the events Christian will be hosting.

In anticipation of the September 22nd, Brewer’s Choice, we spoke with co-host (and Blind Tiger champion), Dave Brodrick, about his relationship with beer and how the second annual event will be even better than the first!

How did Blind Tiger become involved in this year’s Brewer’s Choice?

Jimmy invited me to Brewer’s Choice last year as part of the Beer Sessions Radio team, and I thought it was the best event of NYC Beer Week. It was the combination of having the brewers and owners pouring their own beers, all paired up with great foods, and in a really nice venue. And it wasn’t too crowded, so we could meet a lot of brewers.

Have you had any experience in previous Craft Beer Weeks?

Yes, the Blind Tiger has been part of every NYC Craft Beer Week since it began, and I’ve been down to Philly Beer Week as well.

Blind Tiger is one of the early adopters of craft beer in NYC. How has the Craft Beer scene changed in the past 15 years?

When we first started back in ‘96, everyone was doing the same thing: pale ales, ambers, and an IPA—maybe a wheat beer. In truth, that was about all our customers could handle. Whenever we brought in something esoteric, my staff and I would wind up drinking a lot of it! However, it was a fun time, too. Sam Calagione and Rob Tod were just starting out, and we would try to come up with crazy ideas for events, like serving Dogfish Punkin’ Ale in gourds, which turned into the world’s biggest food fight. By 2000, people’s palates really began to change, and their knowledge increased, so we could sell more obscure stuff. Now, it’s the exact opposite: Ambers and pale ales are a tougher sell. All people want are the small one-offs: barrel-aged beers, sours, exotic hops, etc.

What qualities do you bring to this year’s Brewers Choice?

Lots of enthusiasm! Brewer’s Choice has the ingredients to be one of the great beer events in the country; a lot of the brewers have already said it’s one of their favorites, and we’re still working out the kinks. I think the marriage of artisanal beer with artisanal food is the biggest thing since micro-beers first came on the scene, which is why we’re so psyched to have Garrett Oliver as our keynote speaker this year. He’s the dean of putting great beer with great food.

What is one of your favorite beer events hosted by Blind Tiger?

I spend a lot of time on my farm in Vermont, so I have a serious soft spot for our Vermont Beer & Cheese Festival every spring. Right now, the Green Mountain State has some of the best young brewers in the world (hopefully we’ll get them for next year’s Brewer’s Choice—I’m already working on them). And Vermont has always had the best cheese. You put the two together and you get something special. I love celebrating the passion of artisanal producers.

How did you meet Jimmy and what was the first beer you remember drinking either with him or at Jimmy’s No. 43?

I’m probably not the first person to say this, but I feel like I’ve known Jimmy forever. I don’t even remember when we met, and I’ve had quite a few beers with him. Whatever the first one was, Jimmy has kept me pretty busy ever since. Not as busy as Jimmy, though. Nobody’s as busy as Jimmy.

Anything else you want to say about 2011’s Craft Beer Week?

Like everything else about craft beer, NYC Beer Week keeps getting better and better. It’s our chance to show people how far New York has come as a craft beer town.

Look at the picture below:

Is it a refuge camp from Hurricane Irene?  No, it’s a picture of the camp ground at Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown the weekend that they hosted Belgium Comes to Cooperstown.  Listen in this week for Part II of our pre-recorded BCTC Special Podcasts (if you missed last week go here).  Listen in as Jimmy sits down with roving reporter Dave Brodrick to discuss some great beer topics – including Captain Lawrence!

Tuesday at 5pm on Heritage Radio Network