Month: December 2013

As we head into the holidays, our last Beer Sessions Radio™ podcast of 2014 is a gathering of some of the country’s craft beer legends. Recorded on November 13 just before the tri-annual (sort of, the last one was 2009) Union Beer portfolio tasting. This year’s event was open to the public for the first time, and host Jimmy Carbone got the inside scoop from Tim Stendahl. And because this industry tasting brings the best beer makers and marketers to the city, we embrace the return of Dave Brodrick of Blind Tiger fame, who talks about the challenges of opening a craft beer bar in 2013 as opposed to the early years. Bobby Gagnon (The Gate) also represents the Good Beer Seal.

Brewers in the studio include Dick Cantwell of Elysian Brewing Co. in Seattle discussing his beer writing career, along side fellow northwestern brewers Irene Firmat and Jamie Emmerson of Full Sail in Hood River, OR, who can boast of some of the best water efficiency in the world of brewing. Hear about Full Sail’s twenty years in the craft beer game, and how the industry has evolved since their start. And coming back to Brooklyn, Ray Darmstadt shares his experiences from opening his beer store, St. Gambrinus Beer Shoppe. Hear about the shift in the craft beer world (especially the evolution of American-born craft beers) from these craft beer legends here.

This week on Beer Sessions Radio™, host Jimmy Carbone is joined by one of Britain’s stalwarts in craft beer, Sam Smith V, to talk about how British (which includes Scottish and Welsh, as well as English) beers go beyond the “warm and flat” stereotype. Sam reminds us that his brewery entered the US market in 1978 and helped give rise to the great homebrew and craft brewing movement in the states.

Wandering Star Brewing (an American company founded by Brits) is also in the house, with frequent guest Alex Hall bringing his cask expertise (find out what a Sparkler is!) alongside brewer Chris Post, who admits that he was really impressed by American craft when he moved from Britain.

On the American side, we go hyper-local as head brewer Pete Dickson of Sixpoint Craft Ales discusses how UK beers have influenced American breweries (despite the hoppiness of Sixpoint beers).

How does “sessionability” affect drinkability and how do the Brits drink session beers v. the American idea of “session” beers (Alex Hall: “Six percent? You’re kidding me!). The traditional styles of Britain are embraced, so no need to defend them!

You can catch the full episode here.

This week’s episode of Beer Sessions Radio™ could be called “Getting by with a Little Help from my Friends, Westchester Edition,” as host Jimmy Carbone welcomes three beer aficionados with ties to our northerly neighbor: James Tai, a Certified Cicerone® and BJCP Beer Judge, who is the Beer Program Manager for Pinch American Grill at the Empire City Casino in Yonkers; brewmaster Kelly Taylor of Kelso Brooklyn and Heartland Brewery, who calls Westchester County home; and beer writer Michael J. Malone, who both lives and works in the WC, his latest book being Notes from the Captain Lawrence Tasting Room.

James discusses the challenge of curating more than 100 draught lines all dedicated to New York State craft beers, and previews net week’s (12/11) two-hour “tap attack” with five different breweries, including Kelly’s. Kelly talks about helping out new Brooklyn brewery The Other Half and how the Kelso operation works now with an added canning line.

And ’tis the season for Christmas beers, so everyone weighs in on their favorite libation for celebration, whether its the typical spiced brews or “last bottles,” as Jimmy likes to call them: those cellar beers you’ve been saving for a special occasion. So crack open one of your favorites, and listen to the entire episode here (or download on iTunes).

This week on Beer Sessions Radio™, we’re giving thanks for great craft beer and deciding what to pair with a Thanksgiving meal as host Jimmy Carbone welcomes Evil Twin Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø of Brooklyn bar Tørst and Sarah Monroe, Beer Director at Eleven Madison Park. When it comes to pairing alcohol with high-end food offerings, it’s long been an oenophile’s world. However, more and more servers and restaurants are going the high-end beer route these days, offering some amazing beers at a fraction of wine’s cost.

So what are our esteemed guests’ favorite beer and food pairings. Sarah mentions EMP’s foie gras paired with Gale’s Old Ale (’97 or ’98) or an impromptu pairing of smoked fish with a Captain Lawrence Smoked Porter Black Velvet. Jeppe discusses some of the wrongly conceived ideas about beer and food (“You don’t put wine in food, but everyone things you cook with beer.”) and his food-centric offerings at Luksus, where Chef Dan Burns creates a Scandinavian-influenced menu with (optional) beer pairings.

Jeppe talks about his gypsy brewing experience, ranging from South Carolina (Westbrook) to Connecticut (Two Roads) to Scotland (BrewDog), while Sarah talks about the deep cellar and unique beers available at EMP.

Finally, we attempt a phone-in with the Dickinson brothers, Luke and Walt, from Wicked Weed Brewing in Asheville, NC. Fortunately, our own Justin Kennedy is there to help tell their story about the year-old brewery and their ambitious craft beer offerings. You can listen to the entire episode here.