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It is time once again to share some of our favorite holiday beers with the help of our Jewish friends Ron and Michael from Rainy Day Brewing.

We keep it simple. Blind tasting a bevvy of holiday brews and picking our favorites. No specific styles, just holiday themed and rated on how much we enjoy them.

This year's beers...

• Bell's Brewery Christmas Ale
• Brasserie d'Achouffe N'Ice Chouffe
• Brasserie Dubuisson Scaldis Noel
• Brouwerij Corsendonk Corsendonk Christmas Ale
• Brouwerij St.Bernardus Christmas Ale
• Deschutes Brewery Kirkland Signature Vintage Ale
• Highland Brewing Cold Mountain
• Huyghe Brewery Delirium Noel
• Rogue Ales Santa's Private Reserve
• Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Classic
• Spoetzl Brewery Shiner Holiday Cheer
• Sweetwater Festive Ale
• Sycamore Brewing Christmas Cookie Ale

We won't give any spoilers here but will say we had a solid showing this year and you have plenty of great beers to choose from.

Let us know what you think of the rankings and any favorites that we didn't try.

Happy Holidays, Y'all!

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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Are you a connoisseur of cask ale?

Cask ales aren't wildly popular in the US, but they have their fans. For folks in the Atlanta area we do have a couple of places known for the quality of their casks, and they put up some unique offerings.

In a huge announcement the Siebel Institute announced they'll be leaving Chicago, a city they've called home for 157 years. The prestigious brewing school cited immigration policies as part of the reason for the move. Users on Facebook debated the validity of that claim. Either way, they'll be heading to Canada very soon.

Tilray is all over the news lately. A reverse stock split, closing Revolver, and rumors they may be interested in buying Rogue. They're really all over the place.

Boston Beer Co. is facing a class action lawsuit on the way they enforce non-competes. Apparently they're bending rules some in the way they compensate exiting employees that are under a non-compete. I generally think favorably of Boston Beer Co., but this sure doesn't sound good.

NO LIVE STREAM NEXT WEEK! We're recording our annual Interfaith Holiday Craft Beer Spectacular this weekend which will drop next Saturday, so no stream on Wednesday, but don't miss the show.

Cheers!

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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Pioneering brewery Rogue Ales announces closure.

Reading the news of Rogue Ales' closing I saw several people react with surprise. These don't surprise me anymore, every brewery is at risk. Rogue isn't the biggest we've seen fall and I'm sure there will be more. It does still sting. Craft beer is really taking a beating.

Rogue Ales is credited with introducing the "bomber" to the beer world. The 22 oz. bottles were extremely popular for a while. My cellar is still full of them. I recall drinking macros in 22s back in the day, but we called the Double Deuces. I thought it was before Rogue, but Rogue was launched in 1988, even before my drinking days began, so maybe they did introduce them. Props to Rogue for that one.

Surprising news from the ashes of Iron Hill. Some of the recently closed locations have been purchased and may reopen, as Iron Hill. No real details on this one right now but we'll keep an eye out.

Not beer news here but the hemp ban passed. We don't love the competition with craft but we also don't think an entire industry should be banned. We're adults here and should be able to make these choices on our own. The industry does have a year to prepare and efforts are definitely in motion to loosen the restrictions.

In other news... GenZ invents coffee stout, Wilding Brands expands their portfolio with the purchase of Upslope Brewing, and a sweet new pinball machine is coming.

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

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The giants keep falling...

New came out this week that Monster will shutter the original Cigar City Brewing in Tampa. It's been nothing but a downward trend for Cigar City since Monster took over, even before the overall industry started to slide. Corporate and craft just don't mix. A sad day. (After the show taping we also learned that Rogue Brewing will be closing.)

More lighthearted fun news in the beer world - Carlsberg is making the world's smallest beer. This lil' guy isn't much bigger than a grain of rice but it is a real bottle, with a real cap, that hold real (non-alcoholic) beer.

We've also got a new Winter seasonal coming for Sam Adams. It's the first new Winter seasonal in over 30 years. BOLO for Sam Adams Winter White Ale and let us know what you think.

In other news Sierra Nevada's Celly Drippins gets a "national" release, a sour beer pioneer retires, and the beer institute is gunning for THC bevs... but I think our government just made that fight pointless.

Have a great week, Y'all. Cheers!

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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In this week's episode...

I normally like to do a nice write up here but I was off this week and haven't had a chance to listen through. I hope you'll forgive me for the lazy list this week. Cheers, y'all!

• Saying goodbye to Independent Distilling
• Innis & Gunn's 1875 Arctic Ale
• Beer From 45 Million Year Old Yeast
• Untappd For All Beverages?
• Big New Glarus Expansion Update
• The BA's “Brews to Barns” Tax Credit
• Faster Lambic Production With... Peas?
• Red IPAs The Next Big Thing?

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

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Do you remember the Randall?

Maybe 10 years ago you couldn't go into a craft beer bar or many breweries without seeing a Randall. If you missed this fad the Randall was/is a device that attached to beer lines and allowed you to serve the beer through ingredients to add flavor. Like berries, cinnamon sticks, coffee beans, etc. They were neat, but the fad was short lived. But they may be making a return, or at least a variation, the Renee. Now you can Randall at home. It's pretty fun and a neat way to experiment. Give it a shot.

We've heard about beer going to space a few times. Sometimes just yeast or hops, but I Japanese company is brewing a beer in space to see what kind of impacts it has on the beer, if any?

In other news... Brewery failure (may) present opportunities for trademark acquisition, craft beer makes its way to Jeopardy, meet the Vienna Lager, and what not to drink with your hot wings.

Cheers!

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS
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If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

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Can AI make our beer better?

AI is everywhere these days, and now it's coming for our beer. Is that a good thing? AI research was used to optimize beer fermentation and reduce the time to get to a finished beer, supposedly with the same quality. I don't trust it, but I'm open to tasting the results.

In keeping with tradition when Sam Adams Utopias releases every news outlet mentioning it has to include the fact that it's "illegal in 15 states." We know, we know. This year's version hit a milestone, clocking in at 30%. Are you going to try it?

More beer science suggest that both regular beer and NA beer improve our guy biome. I'm all for gut health and bringing beer to a health routine sounds good to me.

A Canadian airline is offering free beer on flights. Air Canada is making the "generous" offer to it's passengers. The catch, they're also implementing a $35 carry-on baggage fee. You'll pay for your beer one way or another.

In other news Main Beer Co's Dan Kleban is ending his running for Senate, Molson Coors is cutting jobs, and Godzilla-themed PBR cans are coming. Rawr.

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

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Another GABF is in the books...

Reports from the field say this year's Great American Beer Festival was a shell of what it once was. That's not surprising considering the overall craft landscape, but still a bummer.

Seeing the beers and breweries that win, and what categories are popular is always fun. I learn about new breweries every year. Also, the West Coast IPA continues to make a comeback. There were 300 entries in the category with Hazy/Juicy edging it out for the top spot but just 1 more entry. Impressive.

More news on Iron Hill that somewhat unexpectedly shuttered all their locations. Their financial are pretty shocking. It's a bit surprising they stayed open this long.

On the international front, India is facing a major can shortage that could impact beer supplies and more news on pre-Incan psychedelic brews. Groovy.

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

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How much beer would it take for you to change your name?

What kind of beer? For how long? How about 19 years worth of Busch Light? That's the dream for someone, I'm sure. And Busch Light is ready to deliver.

Oktoberfest is officially over in Germany but in keeping with American traditions it will be going strong here for about another month. We're OK with it. More festbiers and schnitzels are fine with us. A little scare at Oktoberfest last week, it had to be shut down briefly due to a potential bomb threat.

We got an update on Asahi. Seems like they're back online after the cyberattack last week. We're getting mixed signals on whether or not data was leaked. We'll update if we find out more.

Gen X is now the king of packaged goods, including beer. That honor has gone to Baby Boomers for a while now, but Gen X took the lead. We're very proud of our accomplishment.

In other news... Winston Churchill's work around for American Prohibition, Dubai chocolate (stouts?), a real beer whale, and the longest of long beers.

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS
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If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

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Another week and more Oktoberfest fun. We got out for some barrel aged goodness and hot pretzels as the Fest season rolls on.

Big news on a couple fronts this week as Iron Hill announces the closure of all locations. They'd previously stated few were slated to close so this was a surprise. Asahi also announced all (or several, it's unclear) of their breweries were shut down due to a cyberattack.

Michelob Ultra takes the top spot as the best selling beer in America, dethroning Modelo which took a bit quicker rise to the top after Bud Light alienated a large portion of their fanbase. Let's see how long they stay there.

Rumor is that Gen Z may be saving cask ale. Brian actually called that one. Good for them, they've been taken the blame for too much lately.

In other news there's some cool new science for using spent grains, Charlie Sheen's got an NA beer coming, and chimpanzees are total lushes. Cheers!

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS
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If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!