Beer Me!

In honor of Mother's Day today we tackle the mother of dragons, sorry no, the mother of beer...yeast! Dr. Matt Humbard, a microbiologist, yeast wrangler, and soon-to-be brewery owner comes by to do a deep dive into the wonderful world of yeast.

Every year the Brewers Association hosts the Craft Brewers Conference. The conference is filled with educational seminars, events, keynote speakers, demonstrations, and countless networking opportunities. On top of all that, there is BrewExpo America, where hundreds of vendors come, from all over the world, to sell and educate the consumer about their products. This ranges from new canning lines to beer slushie technology. Here are a few interviews from the expo floor.

As we close out the circle of our beer judge episodes, today we talk about a recent homebrew competition - how it was organized and who is champion! The winner gets to scale up their recipe at DC Brau and have their beer sold at every Pizza Paradiso location. Every homebrewer’s dream come true.

Recorded at the Craft Brewers Conference in Denver, Colorado, we get to chat with Ethan Cox, president and the main instigator at Community Beer Works in Buffalo, New York. We discuss the flourishing beer scene in western New York, how to get more people drinking craft beer, beer travel, and staying true to your beer brand.

Join us for a special show with Dr. Brian Alberts and Liz Garibay from the Chicago Beer + Culture Project and The Brewseum. They are in DC to talk beer history, and how beer shapes community and culture. Returning to the show we also have Mike Stein, local beer historian to taste the East Indian Porter he brewed with Bluejacket Brewery and historian, Ron Pattinson.

The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) was founded in 1985 to "to promote beer literacy and the appreciation of real beer, and to recognize beer tasting and evaluation skills." The approach to gain this certification is very hands on. Ben Hunter, Sales Manager for Denizens Brewing Co. and Certifed Beer Judge explains the process of studying for the certification. We dive into what it's like to judge a beer competition, and how to start judging beer.

How do brewers select hops for their brews? What qualities do they look for in the hops and the production/processing? Listen in for the answers. Alex Barth, CEO of John I. Haaz and a seventh-generation hop producer is our guest. We also get into new flavor research, hazy IPAs, and hop extracts.

As craft beer continues to grow, the question is, will the bubble burst? Short answer, no, there are so many people that don't drink beer. Sam Nellis, Beverage Director for All-Purpose and Red Hen in DC comes by to chat about what goes into building his list, and how education is the key to growing craft beer enthusiasts. Of course, we get off topic with beer throwdowns, spritzes, orval day, and eggs.

Adrienne Ballou headed up the barrel and fruit refermination program at Jester King in Austin, TX. Though a classicly trained winemaker, she crossed the bridge into beer making. She has since returned to the wine world in Texas hill country. We get nerdy with her experiences in barrel management. We also stressed the importance of people from both wine and beers worlds to share their knowledge.

For this week Beer Me is recorded in Portland, Maine - specifically at Maine Beer Co. We chat with their marketing & events manager, Anne Marisic. She discusses what it means to work for a company whose motto is "do what's right" and how that translates to the beer, expansions, and employee care. Part of the new renovation is a space for a sensory evaluation, which sparked a dive into tasting and evaluating beer.