Good Beer Seal

This week on Beer Sessions Radio™, host Jimmy Carbone is talking food and beer pairings and the inspiration behind Michelin Award winning restaurant Luksus, the “hidden” restaurant in the back of one of the world’s best beer bars, Tørst. The Evil Twin himself, Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø, returns to the studio with his amazing chef, Daniel Burns, whose 15-course pairing menu is the basis of their new book,  Food & Beer, which aims to elevate beer to the level of wine in fine dining. With a dialogue running throughout the book, Food & Beer examines the vision and philosophy of this duo at the forefront of a new gastronomic movement, and highlights the dual visions of the authors and the spaces — Tørst, which is more rustic and relaxed, and Luksus, which is more sleek and refined.

Also in the studio is Cat Wolinski of Ale Street News, who weighs in on some of her favorite beer and food pairings, including cooking with beer (IPA hummus? Yum!). So pull up a plate and a pint and listen in to this week’s delicious episode here.

We’re getting a little “off-centered” on this week’s episode of Beer Sessions Radio™, as we track down the Head of the Dogfish… in other words, we’re hanging out with Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head Brewery, at the 2016 Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia!

It’s a pre-record that ties in nicely to last week’s episode as we witness the continued overlap of beer and culture. Instead of a famed musical, Sam has launched a new lifestyle magazine, Pallet, that brings together culture and craft beer. Pallet editors Nadia Saccardo and Rick Bannister also join in on the fun, along with guest co-host Anne Becera and Certified Cicerone James Tai, both in town for the Conference.

You can catch the full episode here.

On this week’s episode of Beer Sessions Radio™, host Jimmy Carbone welcomes beer back in Bushwick. At one time the center of the beer making universe (in the 1800s) and current home to Roberta’s where we tape our weekly podcast, Bushwick has been without a brick and mortar brewery for some time. Welcome to Kings County Brewers Collective opening later this summer on Troutman Street. Tony Bellis, Zach Kinney and Pete Lengyel are graduating from award-winning homebrewers to a collaborative brewery. They all studied at the American Brewer’s Guild…

Also in the studio? Sam Hendler and Tim from Jack’s Abby in Massachusetts, which is launching next week in NYC. According to guest co-host Anne Becera, their line-up of lager brews is outstanding. They’re trying to “have some fun with lagers.” With new breweries opening every day, they have found their niche as one of the few craft breweries focused exclusively on cooler-fermenting lager beers. Sam’s brother, Jack, spent time studying brewing techniques in Munich and brought them back stateside. They already have a couple dozen lagers in their portfolio.

Interestingly, all their lagers are naturally carbonated in the tanks. Hear about the process and the challenges of both making lager beers and opening a brewery in NYC on this week’s show (full episode here).

On this week’s episode of Beer Sessions Radio™, host Jimmy Carbone welcomes back Brian Strumke of Stillwater Artisanal Ales, who is launching a new bar space here in NYC along with Cory Bonfiglio (who also co-owns Beer Street) and wine expert Tanner Walle. Their new space Classique hopefully will be opening later this year in Bushwick.

Brian may be the busiest man in beer right now, shuttling between two home bases of Brooklyn and Baltimore. He’s multitasking on the show and sharing many of his beers, showing a rich history and a lot of creativity in coming up with new beer concepts – including some of the iconic bottle artwork created by Brian’s life-long friend Lee Verzosa – that winter co-host Anne Becera comments on. Stillwater is even launching a collaboration wine (called Sound Wine) with Spain’s Dirk Niepoort.

Classique won’t be Brian’s first bar. He also owns a Baltimore bar, Of Love and Regret. He’s currently working his gypsy brewing at several locations, including Two Roads in Connecticut and in Virginia at Vanish Beer, a new brewery/hop farm that is doing its own malting. Able to experiment with new ingredients.

Also in the studio is Donald Brewer, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at PicoBrew. Their flagship device is the Zymatic, a small all-green brewing appliance that is fully automated.

The panel talks about the origins of craft beer found in Europe, upcoming festivals in Copenhagen, and the Craft Brewers Conference coming to Philadelphia in May.

Join in for this week’s “controlled chaos” with your favorite Stillwater beer (friend us on Untappd: Beer_Sessions_Radio to know what we’re drinking every week). Try the Gose Gone Wild (Anne says to pair it with pizza!). Listen to the full episode here.

On this week’s episode of Beer Sessions Radio™, host Jimmy Carbone and winter co-host Anne Becera are welcoming a full house (or studio) of special beer guests, including  Mike Amidei who is Beverage Manager at Tørst / Luksus and his very cool team of bartenders (Graham Saylor, . They are joined by oft-guest B.R. Royla of Shelton Brothers Imports and Erwin Klijn from Jopenbier in the Netherlands.

Mike (along with Graham “Head Beer Boy” Sailor, Anthony Sorice, Fernelly “Morale Manager” Saria and Ryan Mauban) have all been with Tørst since the bar opened in 2013. Mike came by his passion for the world of beverages honestly. Mike’s father (a life long lover of all things food & beverage) bought a bottle of each of the Bordeaux First Growth wines for the year Mike was born and on his 21st birthday the family opened, and shared, a bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild. From there, he was hooked. Mike received his BS from Florida International University in Hotel & Restaurant Management and has held nearly every position on offer in that field from busboy to line cook to hotel management.

Although far from here, Jopenbier shares a connection to NYC, as it is located in Harlaam. Jopenbier is a result of the work of Stichting Haarlems Biergenootschap, which was founded in 1992. The mission of the Biergenootschap is to re-create traditional Haarlem beers and bring them to the commercial market. The name Jopen refers to the 112 litre beer barrels that were used in early times to transport the Haarlem beer.

From starting up a Michelin Award-winning bar to debuting unusual beers in the USA, this panel has a unique take on the challenges and rewards of being in the beer business. And they’re drinking some of the best beers we’ve had on the show in awhile. So pull up a chair, pour yourself a pint, and tune in the full episode here.

It’s Mardi Gras and the start of #LiquidLent, our annual challenge among several East Village Good Beer Seal bars to #DrinkLikeAMonth. We’re celebrating the season with host Jimmy Carbone and winter co-host Anne Becerra. We’re also looking forward to NYC Beer Week, as we welcome  Damon Oscarson and Daniel Acosta from LIC Beer Project.

Dan started out as a homebrewer who moved into the commercial realm when he discovered that he and Damon had very common interests in beer. Their vision was to put a new twist on old-world-inspired beers. He traveled around Europe and studied at the Siebel Institute in Chicago. They’re talking about how they hope to scale their brewery to get a hold on the market (and they’re the latest to add a cool ship – the first in NYC – mechanism to a brewery).

The panel also includes Alicia Mekelburg, owner of Mekelburg’s Fine Food and Craft Beers (Clinton Hill, Brooklyn), and her beer director, Eric Hall. Their tap room boasts 16 taps and playground for Eric (formerly of Bierkraft) in bringing some awesome beers to the bar. They’re talking food and beer pairings featuring Finback Brewing on March 2nd.

Find out what everyone is drinking (and friend us on Untappd to drink along with us!). Listen to the full episode here.