Summer Craig is starting off strong this year by bringing back five fantastic beers from California’s Bay Area (and beyond) for us to fawn over and attempt to recreate those vacation vibes. We learn the backstories of these breweries and their unique approaches and cover other beer-ish topics like the follies of berry beers, aggressive bread, trad saisons, and the royal need for hop names. Also, Craig has discovered a new traveling superpower and parlor trick; Ryan has picked a winner in an East Coast vs. West Coast IPA battle; and we flip through the Sam Goody poster stand for a while. It’s better than Semi-OK. Beers Reviewed Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing [Santa Cruz] - Hello Pretty (Organic blonde ale w/ strawberries) Wondrous Brewing Company [Emeryville] - Rote Augen (Franconian-style Rotbier) HenHouse Brewing Company [Santa Rosa] - Saison (Saison w/ black pepper and coriander) Fox Tale Fermentation Project [San Jose] - No Más (Gose w/ Persian lime, pink pepper leaf, and lacto-fermented honey) Ghost Town Brewing [Oakland] - Hammer Smashed EXP 586 (IPA)  

Episode 491 - Bay Area Brews

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Our fourth installment of drinking more barrel-aged beers (MoBAB) at about the halfway point to FoBAB lifts off into orbit with four different styles aged in bourbon and whiskey barrels. Sipping these leads to talk about length of barrel stays, some cocktail inspirations, and the hopeful regular return of a once-mighty barrel program. Also, Ryan’s got an unexpected “kids in taprooms” take; we sort out some John Cusack 80s movie details; and Craig gets knocked off of his socks - which he was apparently standing on.  Beers Reviewed BuckleDown Brewing - Barrel-Aged Wee Heavy (Wee Heavy aged 10 months in Four Roses barrels) Third Space Brewing - Bourbon Barrel-Aged Ice Bear (Baltic Porter aged 2 months in Central Standard Cabin Strength barrels) Pipeworks Brewing - The Murderous [2024] (Barleywine aged 4 years in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels) Old Irving Brewing/Forbidden Root [Columbus] - Barrel-Aged Peace Treaty (Imperial Stout aged in Old Elk & Wild Turkey barrels w/ vanilla bean, cocoa nibs, and peanut butter)  

Episode 538 - MoBAB 4: Barrels in Space

Science beckons us to drink these side-by-side versions of similar IPA recipes: one hazy and one clear. We want to know how much difference the yeast makes in the flavor, whether bitterness levels will be noticeably changed, and how the mouthfeel transforms the experience. We also want to know why we got so drunk by the end of this one. Plus, Craig’s curious about condiment-based Monopoly, Ryan reveals the true worth of blue Jolly Ranchers, and we assert that we are indeed a grown-up podcast for serious grown-ups. Beers Reviewed Hop Butcher for the World - Unwind Your Mind (Hazy Double IPA) Hop Butcher for the World - Clear Your Mind (Clear IPA) Alarmist Brewing - Le Jus (Hazy IPA) Alarmist Brewing - Le Jus Clear (Clear Hazy IPA)  

Episode 537 - Clearly Hazy

Austin, Texas’ Live Oak Brewing has been making world-class lagers and traditional styles through step-mashing and decoction mashing going back to 1997, and their regionally-available beers have inspired brewers worldwide to embrace not taking any short cuts. Thanks to Craig’s Austin trip, we have five stellar beers here, a lineup bookended by their other speciality: smoke. Also, Ryan explains how some food is homework and shares his story of the worst example of that; Craig withholds important beer storage information; and we are having it made in the shade. Beers Reviewed Grodziskie Gold (German-style Pilsner) Hefeweizen Kalt IPA (Cold IPA) Fumigator (Smoked Doppelbock)  

Episode 536 - Live Oak

CHICAGO (ABV) - The folks at Hop Butcher have released some beers of note over the last few months, and we are on the scene (at home) to sample four of these newsworthy beers. A hazy IPA tribute to a beloved Chicago weatherman? That’s here. A collaboration with one of our favorite flavor masters working? You bet. A porter with a history lesson that also happens to be fantastic? You know it. A golden ale with healing powers??? Quite possibly! Also, we consider how to send beers as various secret distress signals, we shout out other notable Chicago news legends, and we might just risk it all for some late night Mexican food. Beers Reviewed Regeneration Station (Golden Ale) Monadnock (American Porter) Tom Freaking Skilling (Hazy IPA) Royal Palm [collaboration w/ Cruz Blanca] (Hazy Double IPA)  

Episode 535 - The Hop Butcher Report

In somewhat sporadic drops over the last few months, Half Acre has released some highly-desired cans of barrel-aged beer that push the ABV further than ever before. We sample four of these special beers while turning half of this into a tribute to the writer of Half Acre’s Instagram beer release posts. It’s not often we have chowder of this sort, so we get a bit shaky aboard the raft of final gravity while trying to avoid the Reinheitsgebot funnel cloud. Also, Ryan’s auditioning to be a pitchman for a new product, we throw back a handful of gravy beans, and Craig is taken aback by all the Suits love. It’s kind of a cosmic gumbo.  Beers Reviewed Twin Chariot (Imperial stout aged in bourbon & peach brandy barrels w/ vanilla) Wilderness of History (Double barrel barleywine) On & On Pt. 4 [Collaboration with Revolution Brewing] (Double barrel-aged imperial stout) Triple Barrel Catch Hell (Triple barrel-aged imperial stout w/ vanilla & cinnamon)  

Episode 491 - Bay Area Brews

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