It’s April already – so that can mean only one thing… Our quarter 1 review!

Jo can’t remember any of her bear goals, so sets herself some new ones.  Tori is making good progress and we are both filling up the super spreadsheet of (beer) wonder!

We share our highlights from the first quarter of the year, our plans for Q2 and how we are doing with the A Woman’s Brew challenge and the Drink Harder challenge.

Are you joining us on our beer challenge?  Check our links to download the challenge list!

Get in Touch:

Website: https://awomansbrewpod.beer/

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awomansbrew/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AWomansBrew

Tori: @adventures_in_hoptimism

Joanne: @lovebeerlearning

Jo’s website: http://www.lovebeerlearning.co.uk

Support us: https://ko-fi.com/awomansbrew

Join our 2025 drinking challenge here

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Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

We are starting a new series – Bucket List Beers!  And if this beer isn’t on your bucket list, you should probably add it.  We’re starting with Westvleteren 12!

We go deep, giving you the history of the beer, the BJCP guidelines, tasting notes specific to the beer and Jo’s live reaction to her first ever taste!

Find out more about this beer here:

https://www.trappistwestvleteren.be/en/our-beers/trappist-westvleteren-12

Check out the BJCP guidelines here:

https://www.bjcp.org/style/2015/26/26D/belgian-dark-strong-ale/

What bucket list beers do you want us to try in this series?  Let us know!

Get in Touch:

Website: https://awomansbrewpod.beer/

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awomansbrew/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AWomansBrew

Tori: @adventures_in_hoptimism

Joanne: @lovebeerlearning

Jo’s website: http://www.lovebeerlearning.co.uk

Support us: https://ko-fi.com/awomansbrew

Join our 2025 drinking challenge here

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Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

This week we are joined by Nia and James from Ideal Day Family Brewery. Based in Cornwall, Nia and James tell us about their vision of success for the brewery and how the whole family gets involved.

We sample some of the delicious beers from Ideal Day and discuss the beer styles on offer – what is a field beer and why is it so refreshing?  We talk regenerative agriculture and how brewers can learn more about the grains they use in their brews.

We also go deep into how and why makers are gonna make and how the hands on approach is an important part of the ethos at Ideal Day Family Brewery.

Beers we drank:

Path to the Sun – Field Beer

Scenic Route – Lagered Beer

Campfire – Hoppy Stout

Check out Ideal Day’s website to find out where you can try these beers:

https://idealdaybrewery.com/

And make sure you give them a follow on their socials!

https://www.instagram.com/idealdaybrewery/?hl=en-gb

Get in Touch:

Website: https://awomansbrewpod.beer/

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awomansbrew/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AWomansBrew

Tori: @adventures_in_hoptimism

Joanne: @lovebeerlearning

Jo’s website: http://www.lovebeerlearning.co.uk

Support us: https://ko-fi.com/awomansbrew

Join our 2025 drinking challenge here

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Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

This week we are being chatty Cathys and bringing you some random, news, topics, updates and answers to questions you didn’t even know you needed to hear!

Our topics range from sustainability, brewery closures, haunted restaurants, beer & food pairing and KFC mac & cheese! We also introduce you to our ‘new’ logo… we’ve had it for a year, but we never told you about it! Oh!  And we’ve got a new website, so go check that out too!

We ask – should we go bi-weekly?  Let us know what you think!

Get in Touch:

Website: https://awomansbrewpod.beer/

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awomansbrew/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AWomansBrew

Tori: @adventures_in_hoptimism

Joanne: @lovebeerlearning

Jo’s website: http://www.lovebeerlearning.co.uk

Support us: https://ko-fi.com/awomansbrew

Join our 2025 drinking challenge here

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Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

We are revisiting tasting mystery beers this week, but we let our husbands pick the beers….. do we know our stash as well as we think we do?

Join us as we try to guess the beers with literally no context.  We put our tasting skills and knowledge of the beers in our fridge to the test.  Will we guess them correctly, or will we fail miserably?!

We also top off the episode with some questions from the Question Jar.  If you would like to add a question for us to answer, add it to the comments!

Get in Touch:

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.lovebeerlearning.co.uk

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awomansbrew/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AWomansBrew

Tori: @adventures_in_hoptimism

Joanne: @lovebeerlearning

Support us: https://ko-fi.com/awomansbrew

Join our 2025 drinking challenge here

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Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

We bring you rest and relaxation this week when we take the podcast on the road and visit the UK’s first beer spa!

The Norfolk Mead, near Norwich, opened it’s beer spa in July 2024.  We visited in January 2025 and share our experience.  This is a 45 minute experience with unlimited beer – we see how much you can really drink in this time and still have a relaxing experience.  We share out tips for staying in the area and what we might change about our trip if we visited again.

Find out if we recommend the beer spa experience in the UK, and let us know if you think you will be visiting soon!

Read Tori's blog post about the experience here: 

https://adventuresinhoptimism.com/beer-spa/

Get in Touch:

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.lovebeerlearning.co.uk

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awomansbrew/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AWomansBrew

Tori: @adventures_in_hoptimism

Joanne: @lovebeerlearning

Support us: https://ko-fi.com/awomansbrew

Join our 2025 drinking challenge here

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Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

We are very excited to welcome Dr Christina Wade to talk about her new book Filthy Queens: A History of Beer in Ireland, which is being published this week!

We find out what makes a Filthy Queen (spoiler, it’s the opinion of a man!), discuss historical drink recipes, how varying historical sources and experimental archaeology bring us closer to the truth of our history and share our favourite stories from the book.  Of course, you will just have to order a copy to get the full picture!

Reading the book and catching up with Dr Christina has made us want to visit Ireland and she gives us her top tips for doing just that.  We suggest that you grab yourselves a copy of this wonderful book and get as excited about it as we are.

Preorder a copy of the book here:

https://ninebeanrowsbooks.com/en-gb/products/filthy-queens

Check out Dr Christina’s Substack here:

https://braciatrixnewsletter.substack.com/

Find her on Instagram here:

https://www.instagram.com/braciatrix/

Find the documentary Drunk? On YouTube here:

https://foodcult.eu/2023/09/21/drunk-adventures-in-sixteenth-century-brewing/

The 1641 Despositions Project:

https://www.tcd.ie/history/research/1641.php

And let us know your favourite story from the book once you have read it!

Get in Touch:

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.lovebeerlearning.co.uk

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awomansbrew/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AWomansBrew

Tori: @adventures_in_hoptimism

Joanne: @lovebeerlearning

Support us: https://ko-fi.com/awomansbrew

Join our 2025 drinking challenge here

Subscribe:

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Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Interrupting our usual format, today is all about the latest in beer news as we present our first news episode of 2025. Our conversation dives into a range of compelling topics in the beer world, with an aim to stir both minds and emotions.

First up, we explore a series of polarizing yet crucial news articles. We recap the trending stories and the larger conversations they provoke, from politically charged topics to the dramatic shifts in the beer scene. We discuss the sentiments around work-life balance versus work-life integration, highlighting strong opinions and sparking deeper reflections on how these concepts play out in the beer industry.

We also turn our focus on the future, discussing essential trends to watch out for in 2025. Whether it's the rise of more approachable beer styles, enhanced sustainability efforts, or the push for flagship brews, we cover it all to ensure you're up-to-date on what’s set to shape the craft beer landscape this year.

Check out the articles yourself here:

https://www.independent.co.uk/business/brewdog-james-watt-georgia-toffolo-work-life-balance-b2676653.html

https://daily.sevenfifty.com/6-beer-industry-trends-to-watch-in-2025/

https://about.fb.com/news/2025/01/meta-more-speech-fewer-mistakes/

https://www.hopculture.com/untappd-beers-5-star-check-ins/

https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2024/04/will-monsters-latest-moves-crush-craft-beer/

Got any news we should cover?  Let us know!

Get in Touch:

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.lovebeerlearning.co.uk

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awomansbrew/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AWomansBrew

Tori: @adventures_in_hoptimism

Joanne: @lovebeerlearning

Support us: https://ko-fi.com/awomansbrew

Join our 2025 drinking challenge here

Subscribe:

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Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

This week we go back to the summer when Tori was in the US.  She set herself up a blind beer tasting of American Light Lagers to see if she could tell the difference between craft and macro – how do you think she did?

We recap the tasting notes for American Light Lager and give tips on blind beer tasting.  Tori also shares some tips around her American beer road trip.

Would you like to see us do more blind beer tastings?  Let us know!

Find our previous episode on Light Lager here:

https://lovebeerlearning.co.uk/a-womans-brew-podcast/episode-199-lager-series-light-lager

Get Jo’s blind beer tasting kit here:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1381261666/blind-beer-tasting-kit-printable-beer?click_key=724a765e20b3d1f3249134a3e50f8b825fca567e%3A1381261666&click_sum=92f9b66d&ref=shop_home_recs_5

Get in Touch:

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.lovebeerlearning.co.uk

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awomansbrew/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AWomansBrew

Tori: @adventures_in_hoptimism

Joanne: @lovebeerlearning

Support us: https://ko-fi.com/awomansbrew

Join our 2025 drinking challenge here

Subscribe:

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Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Happy New Year! We’re starting off 2025 by having a clear out and sharing some leftovers and beer pairings we think you should try.  We love a bit of food and beer pairing, and this felt like the perfect way to clean out our fridges! Do you have chocolate, cheese and snacks left over from Christmas?  We try out a variety of beers with these foods so you don’t have to!

We also set our personal beer goals and…. DRUMROLL!!... We put together our own beer challenge for 2025!  It only took us a year to make it happen!

You can download a PDF with all 40 prompts and join us in this challenge – let us know if you are taking part and which prompt you are most excited to complete!

Check out the challenge list here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KMP2T9RRaaM8XA-jbj4XIyu-QCvX56iD/view?usp=drive_link

If you want to give Jo’s Valentines beer & chocolate pairing kit a go, you can find it here:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1386712002/valentines-beer-and-chocolate-pairing?click_key=05112d3afaef6d2e57a58d55775b5dcaec8bb1ec%3A1386712002&click_sum=9b98f4c5&ref=shop_home_active_4

Or the regular beer & chocolate pairing kit here:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1163176689/beer-and-chocolate-pairing-kit-beer-and?click_key=7d51e7be7c0a9693b51e189869577ccc31206ffa%3A1163176689&click_sum=c74d5793&ref=shop_home_active_2

Get in Touch:

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.lovebeerlearning.co.uk

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awomansbrew/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AWomansBrew

Tori: @adventures_in_hoptimism

Joanne: @lovebeerlearning

Support us: https://ko-fi.com/awomansbrew

Join our 2025 drinking challenge here

Subscribe:

Watch:

YouTube

Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com