It’s a dark and stormy night this week on Beer Sessions Radio™, as host Jimmy Carbone welcomes a dynamic but small group into the studio. We’ve got beer writer Niko Krommydas along with first-time guests Matt Monahan and Sam Richardson from Other Half Brewing Co., the first new brewery to open in Brooklyn in nine years. Sam discusses his time brewing with Kelly Taylor at Greenpoint Beerworks and getting his Fermentation Science creds from Oregon State University before launching Other Half.
Niko offers a Long Island beer update shares his opinions on the new breweries opening in the area (he jokes to Jimmy, “Every time a brewery opens in NYC, an angel gets its wings!”).
And we’re getting a beer week preview with events as varied as NYC Brewer’s Choice (on February 26th), which will be focusing on locally grown grains (Kelly Taylor is making a brew with 75% of its grains sourced from NY State: Edible Ale from Kelso will be available seasonally), and a lager cave tour with beer writer Joshua Bernstein (sadly, it sold out in minutes – see the photo courtesy of Niko at left). Plus Brady Lowe calls in about his heritage “porc” event, Cochon555 happening this weekend (tickets available here).
Finally, Beer Sessions Radio™ Justin Kennedy joins the group to discuss emerging beer styles and what they represent (e.g. there’s a movement to have a “Cascadian Ale” designation for brews coming from the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia). What’s the difference between a Black IPA and a Dark Ale? Is local beer preferable to national craft brands? Everyone has a story to share on this week’s episode (listen here).
This week on Beer Sessions Radio™, host Jimmy Carbone welcomes Ben Keene, author of The Great Northeast Brewery Tour, who is discussing his new book and the very cool breweries he visited while writing it. Among those: Weyerbacher, also in the studio (Bob Fateaux and Yixi Villar) pouring “small” beers like Merry Monks (at 9.3% ABV); and Kelso of Brooklyn (represented by brewmaster Kelly Taylor).
And the Happy Hour Guys (Jimmy Ludwig and Mark Adrich) living things up with colorful readings from Ben’s book, while John Lapolla of Bitter and Esters regales both Jimmys with tales of homebrew cleaning techniques (note to self: buy Star San).
Learn all about how Ben went from Oxford University Press editor to writer of this very cool new book. And if you want to know Ben better, join him for a Prix Fixe dinner featuring beers from the book on January 27th at Jimmy’s No. 43.
There’s beer at the end of the (double) rainbow! At Ommegang in August, for BCTC.
Another year, another 50 episodes (no Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve broadcasts)! We welcomed brewers from both near and far, craft beer drinkers (of the year, in the case of Warren Monteiro), restaurateurs and publicans. We had a few episodes that generated extended dialogue (contract brewing, minority brewers), and we drank a lot of great beer.
Additionally, we got out a good bit this year, heading to the Craft Brewers Conference in D.C. and the Beer Bloggers Conference in Boston this year, plus undertaking trips to investigate the craft beer scene outside the northeast (including checking out what’s happening in Asheville, NC). Our July Good Beer month expanded to include a new series of Craft Beer Jam episodes at WNYC’s The Greene Space (a series that we hope to repeat, details soon). Plus we reached podcast #150!
And while it’s always hard to pick your favorite amongst the kiddies, we do have a few episodes from last year that we’d be happy to relive. Thus, here are our top 10 favorite episodes of what we believe were the best of Beer Sessions Radio™ 2013 (in chronological order):
Call me an ignorant American (please, don’t), but this episode of Beer Sessions Radio™ when Jimmy welcomed Mazen Hajjar, the brewer behind Lebanon’s 961 Beer, is one of the most memorable episodes—not just of 2013, but—we’ve aired. Who knew that Lebanon had a rich history in great wine and Heineken? How does one man change a nation’s taste from skunked lagers to great craft ales? This was also the episode where we checked in with Long Island brewers on their recovery almost three months after Hurricane Sandy devastated the region (and Barrier Brewing, in particular). From building to rebuilding, this was a fascinating episode to start off 2013! Listen to the full episode here.
It’s a honey of a show as we celebrate the end of prohibition! That’s right: It’s now legal to homebrew in all 50 states, in large part thanks to the efforts of Craig Hendry of Raise Your Pints, whose five-year mission to legalize homebrewing in Mississippi made this the 49th state in the union to catch up with the Carter administration (Alabama, the 50th, legalized in May). Plus we check in with homebrewers-turned-mead-makers as we examine this delicious but often forgotten fermented beverage (more details here).
There are times when we really miss the presence of Ray Deter on the show, but on this episode (details here) Jimmy Carbone is back in the co-pilot seat as fellow radio personality and Crusin’ for a Brewsin’ beer journalist Ale Sharpton from Atlanta effusively details his visit to Brooklyn (big shout out to the team at Red Hook’s Sixpoint Craft Ales). Plus, it’s the return of Dave Brodrick of Blind Tiger who adds his Vermont brand of beer knowledge. The fellas are talking about bars in Washington, D.C. at the Craft Brewer’s Conference and what’s happening in beer all across the southeast (including Green Flash’s expansion to Virginia Beach). Full update here.
We love how the craft beer scene has allowed the growth of “the other wine”—ciders! It’s all about English cider traditions, as 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!
Sometimes everything old is new again. We saw a resurgence of interest in Michael Jackson, and we were one of the first in the nation to have a viewing of Beer Hunter, the documentary covering his life as a beer writer. Plus it’s traditional American meets new Italian as we go from the western Rockies to the southern Alps (guest list here).
We’re in the throes of July Good Beer Month and checking in with two of the city’s most established bar owners, James Langstine of Bronx Ale House and Chris Genua of The Double Windsor, to talk about the evolution of the NYC craft beer bar and how to address consumer demand for new beers and flavors. And we welcome one of the city’s newest brewers: Grimm Artisanal Ales!
Episodes 177 + 178 (aired 8/20 + 8/27) – Belgium Comes to Cooperstown
We make our annual trek to Ommegang for the “Festival about Nothing.” Nothing but good beer, that is! One of the few episodes we pre-record and our only two-episode arc each year, BCTC is one of the best festivals on the Eastern seaboard and a who’s who of beer connoisseurs. In Part 1, we keep things jovial with Ommegang’s Simon Thorpe and Phil Leinhart as they discuss their popular Game of Thrones beers, plus check-ins with many new and established breweries and brewpubs serving their favorite beers at the festival. In Part 2, we transition to regional issues with the guys from FOAM (aka the Fitchbug Order of Ale Makers) and discuss everything from sustainable hops growing to the watershed and risk to it from fracking. Host Jimmy Carbone talks with Simon Thorpe, Larry Bennett, and the brewers from Peekskill and Ommegang—Jeff O’Neill and Phil Leinhart, respectively—about water quality, hops, grains, and more.
One of the cool things we did this summer was Hudson Rising, a tour of heritage ships up and down the Hudson River, which allowed us to meet lots of cool new brewers along the watershed. On this episode, we welcome two of these brewing teams: Tommy Keegan and brewer Geoff Wenzel of Keegan Ales; plus John Rubbo, Nick Califano, and Sharif Taleb from Yonkers Brewing.
It’s the return of NYC Cider Week, and we’ve got even more cool guests in the studio to discuss the continuing resurgence of cider, including the macro-ciders now coming on the market to challenge the smaller apple farms in the region. Cider’s come a long way, baby, and you can find out more here.
One of our final episodes of the year was originally dubbed, “In Defense of English Beer,” but as Wandering Star’s Chris Post notes, “What needs defending?” The British (to include England, as well as Scotland and Wales) beer tradition is different than the American craft beer scene, but guests Post, Alex Hall and Sam Smith V (yes, that Sam Smith) all agree that the subtler version of beer is not an inferior version of beer. The British scene continues to grow, expand and create new beers. Call it everything old is new again (find out more, here).
It’s a dark and stormy night this week on Beer Sessions Radio™, as host Jimmy Carbone welcomes a dynamic but small group into the studio. We’ve got beer writer Niko Krommydas along with first-time guests Matt Monahan and Sam Richardson from Other Half Brewing Co., the first new brewery to open in Brooklyn in nine years. Sam discusses his time brewing with Kelly Taylor at Greenpoint Beerworks and getting his Fermentation Science creds from Oregon State University before launching Other Half.
