Beer Me!

The practice of homebrewing was federally legalized in 1978 and from there, the world of independent craft beer was born. In an effort to spread the joy of homebrewing and in turn craft beer, John Moorhead (American Homebrewers Association National Homebrew Competition Director) and Katie Marisic (Federal Affairs Manager for the Brewers Association) come by to explain the exciting competition they have just completed on Capitol Hill. That's right, for the third year now there is a Capitol Hill Staff Homebrew Competition, where anyone who is employed on the Hill can enter. Check out this week's episode to hear why they do it, how it went, and other beer ramblings.

Opening anything is like giving birth: painful, surprising, and messy. Brett Robison and Christian Layke come by to chat about their final push in opening their brewery in Silver Spring Maryland: Silver Branch Brewing Co. We also talk about some winter homebrew tips, dreamy beer experiences, and how to get involved in their brewery opening.

Chef Kyle Bailey (Chef Owner of The Salt Line) and Mike McGarvey (Co-Founder & Head Brewer of 3 Stars Brewing Company) come by to chat beer and food pairings, specifically Thanksgiving. We go through the whole meal, giving you suggestions throughout. We start with what to drink while everyone stands around awkwardly, making small talk, and carry you right on through to when people dip into politics and you need something to balance the fattiness of the sides and the rampant racism of your uncle. We get into some food as well! Eels (veal eels), Caul fat (fat cape), and apple pie sandos (with cheese). Happy Thanksgiving folks!

Sustainability, producing local beer, yeast wrangling, and wild ponies all get tackled in today's episode. Josh Chapman, co-founder and head brewer of Black Narrows Brewing Co. comes by to chat about opening a brewery in Chincoteague, Virginia; among other beer musings.

Today we talk about a new study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. Li Liu, a professor of Chinese archaeology at Stanford University, and her team analyzed traces from stone mortars dating back some 13,000 years from a cave in Israel. They certainly made some interesting discoveries.

If you take away anything from this episode: there is so much about beer history that is being updated, generalizations are being specified, and myths are getting separated from facts. Stay current with your beer history knowledge!

Full house today on Beer Me! Chef Mikey Friedman, the man behind The Red Hen & both All-Purpose locations, Co-Founder & CEO of DC Brau Brandon Skall, and Mari Rodela Chief Community & Culture Officer of DC Brau all come in to chat about what it takes to do a beer and restaurant collaboration. Chef Mikey dives into his joys of pairing beer with food and we get to try DC Brau's latest releases. Special appearance made by Full Service Radio Industry Night Co-host Nycci Nellis (also creator of "The List Are You On It?" and co-host of "Foodie & the Beast").

Kevin Blodger, Co-Founder & Director of Brewing Operations and Lynn Pronobis Operations Manager & Cask Ninja from Union Craft Brewing in Baltimore come down to DC to chat. We get really nerdy on cask flavor development, pine for the days of "regular IPAs", and discuss some exciting developments for Union.

Why are beer festivals important? What makes for a good one? How is it executed? Managing Partner & Beer Director, Greg Engert of DC's Neighborhood Restaurant Group breaks down the answers to these questions. He also shares exciting updates about the Snallygaster Beer Festival this Saturday in DC. There will be over 400 different beers, live music, food, and all ticket sales benefit the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture. Tickets are still available!

Allagash, a wonderful brewery in Portland, Maine founded in 1995 by Rob Tod. Matt Pollard is responsible for Allagash Field Sales for DC and Maryland and comes by to chat all things Allagash: new beer releases, Allagash White in a can (!), visiting the brewery, and the culture of the brewery. We do an accidental advertisement for visiting Portland, Maine and go off topic with DC beer events, but that's to be expected.

To celebrate their 3rd year anniversary Aslin threw an epic beer festival with over 60 brewers coming from all over the US, Canada, and Denmark. Beer Me got the chance to chat with a few of the brewers and hear some great stories.