Good Beer Seal

On another amazing Cider Sessions pre-record of Beer Sessions Radio™, host Jimmy Carbone welcomes the United States of Cider Team of Gay Howard and Kay Michael and the brothers (Anthony and John Belliveau-Flores) behind Rowan Imports. During a gathering that was recorded back in March, the group is discussing the nuances of Irish ciders alongside cider makers Simon Tyrell of Craigies Ciders and Olan McNeece of Dan Kelly’s Irish Cider.

Simon talks about his wine making background and admits that upon returning home to Ireland, grapes were in short supply. He discusses the rich history of Irish cidermaking. Olan – who has a very specific set of skills… cider making! – discusses the varieties of apples available for Irish ciders. And the entire panel is enamoured of the book, Sláinte: The Complete Guide to Irish Craft Beer and Cider, which they all recommend as a primer for understanding the Irish craft beverage scene.

What are the best cider apple growing regions of the world? What’s the difference between the terroir of northern and southern Ireland? What are the differences between Irish and English ciders?

Hear about all the happenings in the UK about our favorite apple beverage on this special episode here.

This week on (a not quite “live” episode of) Beer Sessions Radio™, host Jimmy Carbone is hanging out with Blind Tiger founder – and Vermont resident – Dave Brodrick (Worthy Burger). Also from Vermont: Prohibition Pig owner Chad Rich and Ian Campbell of Beanery Brewing. Also at the table is Blind Tiger’s chef, Tommy Harder.

Dave talks about how he was sold on opening a brewery in the Smuttynose facility when he decided that coffee beer would be a cool addition to the craft beer market. Ian became a partner after being a coffee guy dating back almost a decade at Blind Tiger. They are moving their beers into the NYC area.

Chad and Dave discuss the challenges and merits of making sessionable (i.e. low in alcohol) beers and the dynamic beer culture in Vermont (hops, hops and more hops, of course!). They admit there’s still room for a great Pilsner – very popular – in Vermont.

Chef Tommy (also a four-year vet of Blind Tiger) talks food with beer as an ingredient. The panel also discusses the challenges of managing a glut of great beer options.

This episode was actually the very first remote show we have produced, and we’re happy to air it for you here.

It’s an international panel on this week’s episode (listen here) of Beer Sessions Radio™! Host Jimmy Carbone is celebrating Cinco de Mayo with Mead, saison and a room full of great beer people, including Garth Cambray of Makana Meadery (South Africa), Jerome Rebetez of Switzerland’s Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes (BFM), Chresten Sorensen and Joe Watt of Bunker Brewing (Maine), Michael Opalenski and George Flickinger from B. United (CT), and Tony Fodor of Ale Street News (who originally hails from Britain and just returned from a beer tour in Belgium).

How does one go from having a stolen bike to making mead? Well, Garth talks about how he started his meadery from misadventure and finished it as his college thesis project! He talks about keeping organic “happy bees” in a green environment (long before it was fashionable).

The panel discusses the challenge of mixed fermentation and how to make mead “dryer.” Garth and Michael discuss the relationship between Makana Meader and B. United, which finishes his mead. (Garth notes, “Friends in mead are friends indeed!”)

Chresten and Joe are in town brewing “Boogie Board Stunts” kolsch with The Other Half. They’re putting a unique spin on this traditional beer with creative hopping.

Jerome is making more sessionable beers, including a saison that he calls his “house bitch,” because it can be paired with any food. The panel tastes the farmhouse ale that is a bit more “wild” than a typical saison (it’s more traditional, harkening back to the 18th century).

And Jimmy is raising his glass to a former colleague, Josh Ozersky, who passed suddenly in Chicago this week. Raise a glass with us and hear about the rich history of  beer and mead.

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.

Do you know the four ingredients that you need to make beer? Walter, malt, yeast and (usually) hops! Without the grains that go into your brew, you cannot have beer. Traditionally, getting malt locally has been a challenge. Even on those NY State farms that are growing their own barley, the malting is done off-site, sometimes in far flung places. This week on Beer Sessions Radio™, host Jimmy Carbone is celebrating the rise of malting in New York! Joining him is an all-star panel of guests including Adamo Fillipetti from Rochester’s Pioneer Malting, Andrea Stanley of Valley Malt, Chris Balla, Beverage Director of Mile End Deli, and Chris Sheena of Gun Hill Brewing Co.

Pioneer is making its niche in the malting market by doing small batch processing, which enables smaller craft brewers to take advantage of making beer with local grains (as was evident during last month’s NYC Brewer’s Choice). Listen in for a lively discussion about how this building block of beer factors in to brewing processes and the grown of malting in NY State.

Listen to this week’s full episode here.

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a great show about beer and cheese! This week on Beer Sessions Radio™, host Jimmy Carbone is joined by some great cheesemongers and beer makers, along with purveyors of both! From Shelton Brothers Imports, Joel Shelton teams with Alex Foschi of Im Fuchschen (an Altbier from Germany getting its NYC launch this week). They are joined by Lauren McDowell “Editor in Cheese” of Cheese Rank, a specialty cheese information website; Chris George of Cheese Journeys (a cheese tourism company); and Phoebe Connell of Lois (also manager at ABC Beer Co.).

Lauren offers up a three-cheese primer (noting, of course, that you want to pick your beer first!):

• Cabot Clothbound (aged at Jasper Hill) – she calls this the ‘perfect beer cheese”
• A fatty, sheep’s milk cheese from the Pyrenees region of France
• A freshly made goat cheese to pair with a lighter beer

Listen in on this week’s episode for a full discussion of the various ways to pair beer and cheese and why beer is superior to other beverages when joining forces with cheese!