Beering Ain't Easy

Do you hate a beer that everyone loves?  Love a brewery that everyone hates?  Are you the type of person who holds back your opinions for fear of how stupid you sound, or do you just put it out there in the open for all to dissect?   Well, Ryan and Drew choose the latter path, letting rip their beer industry Hot Takes and Unpopular Opinions.

Beer:

Cloud Punch.  Bad Astronaut Brewing, Houston, TX.  German Style Pils.

Neon Sunshine.  Sun Cloud Brewing, Oklahoma, OK.  Belgian Wit.

Other Shout-Outs:

Martin House Brewing

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Untappd

Brash Brewing.  Houston, TX.

Karbach / AB InBev (Love Street)
 

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!
 

NEW WEBSITE and MERCH PAGE!  Check out all the great podcasts that are a part of Cross the Streams media!

https://www.crossthestreamsmedia.com/show/beering-aint-easy/

Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, email us at [email protected], or follow our beer quest on Untappd, usernames BeeringAintEasyAdam and BeeringAintEasyDrew.

We’re back with the third annual Oktoberfest Episode!  This time we ramp things up by not only tasting our beers blind, but also taking our reigning champ, Paulaner, and putting it head to head with three Houston beers.  And if that isn’t enough for you, Ryan and Drew test the myth of “Das Boot” with a good ole’ fashioned beer boot chug!

Oktoberfest Beers:

Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier.  Paulaner Brauerei, Munich, Bayern Germany. 6% ABV.

Oktoberfest.  New Magnolia Brewing Company, Houston, TX. 6% ABV.

Oktoberfest.  11 Below Brewing, Houston, TX. 5.3% ABV.

Oktoberfest.  Galveston Island Brewing, Galveston, TX. 5.4% ABV.

Disclaimer:  We grabbed the wrong Paulaner Oktoberfest beer (Festbier vs. Marzen) this year so it made for a few curveballs!

Das Boot Challenge:

Weihenstephaner Helles. Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan. Bayern Germany. 4.8% ABV.

Other Shout-Outs:

Devil and the Deep

Von Wolfhausen.  Eureka Heights Brewing Co.

Texas Leaguer Brewing

Pints and Panels

Music to My Beers - Pearland, TX

Vallensons

Beerfest

Total Wine

Article Drew references on switch to light beers (although Paulaner’s website gives credit to Augustiner!)

https://vinepair.com/articles/american-oktoberfest-beer-doesnt-taste-like-german-brew-heres/
 

Four Beers Polka by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!
 

NEW WEBSITE and MERCH PAGE!  Check out all the great podcasts that are a part of Cross the Streams media!

https://www.crossthestreamsmedia.com/show/beering-aint-easy/

Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, email us at [email protected], or follow our beer quest on Untappd, usernames BeeringAintEasyAdam and BeeringAintEasyDrew.

This week we take our beer Adjunct Series into the wild world of blueberries!  That’s right, we’re trying four different styles of beers from four different breweries to tell you the best way to enjoy fruit in your beer.   While we’re at it, we’ll tell you the many different ways of how to brew with blueberries!

Blueberry Beers:

Blueberry Blonde Ale.  Galveston Bay Brewing, Dickinson, TX.  6.2% ABV.

Fullbrook Blueberry Cream Ale. Fullbrook Ale Works, Richmond, TX. 5.2% ABV.

Blue Money. Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, MO. 7.5% ABV.

Blueberry Boyfriend. Prairie Artisan Ales, Krebs, OK. 5.4% ABV.
 

Other Shout-Outs

Brewsology Beerfest (Houston Museum of Natural Science)

Martin House Brewing.  Mystic Mountain Blueberry.

Nook Brewing Company (Official Brewer’s corner)

Pints and Panels

Cascade Brewing

Bern Appetit podcast

Sonic Drive-In
 

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!
 

NEW WEBSITE and MERCH PAGE!  Check out all the great podcasts that are a part of Cross the Streams media!
 

https://www.crossthestreamsmedia.com/show/beering-aint-easy/
 

Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, email us at [email protected], or follow our beer quest on Untappd, usernames BeeringAintEasyAdam and BeeringAintEasyDrew.

The Beering Ain’t Easy Podcast is celebrating it’s two year anniversary!  We bring back original co-founder Adam onto the show to talk about his move to Austin, Drew turning forty, and Ryan’s bathroom etiquette conundrum.  Plus we do micro-recaps of the HTown Brewery challenge and cover Turkey Forrest, Elder Son, and Klaus Brewing!

Beers We’re Drinking:

Hops Drop.  Spindletap Brewery, Houston, TX. 6.5% ABV.

Space Train.  Eureka Heights Brewing, Houston, TX. 5.5% ABV.

Black Quad. Real Ale Brewing, Blanco, TX.  10.5% ABV.
 

Come visit the Houston Block Party Hosted by the Houston Beer Guide 8/27!

https://houstonbeerguide.com/houstonbeerblockparty/

Other Shout-Outs

Favorite Podcast Beers:  Pliny for President (Russian River), Plaid Habit (Boulevard), Candy Green (Spindletap)

Past Blind Tasting Winners:  Hipster Sauce and Lil’ Snack (11 Below)

Favorite Podcast Moments to go back and Listen:  EP 9 The Chase,  S2 EP6 Sticky Situation (Adam after bourbon)

Bad Astronaut Brewing

Twisted X

Blue Owl

Ghost Note Brewing

Dripping Springs

Jester King

Brash

Equal Parts

Live Oak Pre-War Pils

Saint Arnold

Key & Peele

Treehouse

Pedialyte
 

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!
 

NEW WEBSITE and MERCH PAGE!  Check out all the great podcasts that are a part of Cross the Streams media!

https://www.crossthestreamsmedia.com/show/beering-aint-easy/

Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, email us at [email protected], or follow our beer quest on Untappd, usernames BeeringAintEasyAdam and BeeringAintEasyDrew.

It’s been a wild month for the Beering Ain’t Easy podcast, and we’re glad to be back on the air bringing you another one of our patented beer experiments, this time testing whether specialty beer glassware makes a difference on the taste of your beer!  Plus, we bring back friend-of-the-show Sylvia, aka @houstonbeermother, to promote the upcoming and awesome #Houstonbeer event coming to the Houston area August 27th.  You don’t want to miss out on the Houston Block Party!

Beers We’re Drinking:

Kemah Suprema.  Saloon Door Brewing, Webster, TX.  Lager. 4.7% ABV.

Flying Duck. Flyway Brewing, Little Rock, AR. Amber. 4.9% ABV.

Amber.  Altstadt Brewery, Fredericksburg, TX. 4.8% ABV.

11th Hour.  Equal Parts Brewing, Houston, TX. IPA. 6.9% ABV.

Zeno’s Pale Ale. Lone Pint Brewery, Magnolia, TX.  5.5% ABV.
 

Glassware We Tested:

Spiegelau

Teku

Tulip

Craft Master Grand

Solo Cup

Pint Glass

Frosty Mug

The Main Event:  Houston Block Party Hosted by the Houston Beer Guide

https://houstonbeerguide.com/houstonbeerblockparty/
 

Other Shout-Outs

@pourcharacter glasses (Wu Tang)

Yellow Rose (Lone Pint)

Saint Arnold Summer Pils

Ghost in the Machine

Port Aransas

Vallenson’s

New Magnolia

Elder Son Brewing

Houston Beer Fest

Star Sailor

Mordor
 

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!

NEW WEBSITE and MERCH PAGE!  Check out all the great podcasts that are a part of Cross the Streams media!

https://www.crossthestreamsmedia.com/show/beering-aint-easy/
 

Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, email us at [email protected], or follow our beer quest on Untappd, usernames BeeringAintEasyAdam and BeeringAintEasyDrew.

It’s a wild world out there folks - fiercely independent breweries selling to macro-breweries, the Houston beer scene rotating owners and brewers like musical chairs, gasoline costing more than craft beer, and hot dog eating champions having to compete on crutches!  What in the world comes next, and how does craft beer fare in a recession?  Are these signs of the end of times, or is this just some elaborate craft beer soap opera?    Either way, he Beering Ain’t Easy podcast is here for it with a tub of popcorn at the ready.
 

Beers We’re Drinking:

Coastal Love.  Wicked Weed Brewing, Asheville, NC. 6.3% ABV.

Floridian.  Funky Buddha Brewery, Oakland Park, FL.  5.2% ABV.

Vulgar Display of Power.  Brash Brewing Company, Houston, TX.  14% ABV.

Loggerbier.  Equal Parts Brewing Company, Houston, TX.  4.9% ABV.

Soap Opera Music Credit:

Days of our Lives

Houston Brewery Shout Outs:

Closed:  Six Wards

Resuscitated:  City Acre, Bearded Fox

Sold:  Holler, Local Group, Brash

For Sale:  B-52, Copperhead

In trouble:  Buffalo Bayou

Other Houston shout outs:  Equal Parts, Bad Astronaut, Huggy Bear, 8th Wonder, Petrol Station, Eureka Heights, Laser Brewing
 

Other Shout-Outs

Coors

Joey Chestnut / Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

Ballast Point

Sold:  Stone Brewing, Modern Times

New Belgium

Bell’s

Brewery X

@hazeboiz on Instagram

Constellation Brands

Phantasm Powder
 

After recording, we found this great Beer Chronicle article that covers the moves in more detail.

https://www.beerchronicle.com/as-temps-rise-so-does-the-pressure-several-houston-breweries-closing-selling-and-changing-ownership-in-2022/
 

Cost of Beer / Recession Articles :

https://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/news/drizly-examines-how-recessionary-economics-impact-alcohol-purchasing/

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/craft-beer-expensive-cost_n_5670015

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!
 

NEW WEBSITE and MERCH PAGE!  Check out all the great podcasts that are a part of Cross the Streams media!

https://www.crossthestreamsmedia.com/show/beering-aint-easy/

Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, email us at [email protected], or follow our beer quest on Untappd, usernames BeeringAintEasyAdam and BeeringAintEasyDrew.

In honor of Father’s Day upcoming, we discuss the transformation everyone must go through when becoming a dad: solitary hobbies, grilling expertise, awkward friend-making, and most importantly, the dad jokes.  We talk about the weird phrases we grew up with, the new ones we’ve picked up along the way, and quiz each other on the proper dad response for a given scenario.  Plus we talk about our dads’ beer preferences and if they have changed since the podcast began!

Beers We’re Drinking:

Reve Coffee Stout.  Parish Brewing Company, Broussard, LA.

S8 Rice Saison. Transmitter Brewing, Brooklyn, NY.

Ennio Pils.  New Magnolia Brewing Company, Houston, TX.
 

Other Shout-Outs:

23 and Me

Moose Drool Brown Ale. Big Sky Brewing Company, Missoula, MT.

Brewing Projekt

Bourbon Paradise. Prairie Artisan Ales.

Dupont Saison

Top Gun

Budweiser

Captain Morgan

Adam’s Custom Woodworking

Favorite Dad Instagram accounts: @thedad  @middleclassfancy

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!
 

NEW WEBSITE and MERCH PAGE!  Check out all the great podcasts that are a part of Cross the Streams media!

https://www.crossthestreamsmedia.com/show/beering-aint-easy/
 

Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, email us at [email protected], or follow our beer quest on Untappd, usernames BeeringAintEasyAdam and BeeringAintEasyDrew.

Have you ever tried a Gluten Free Beer?  How are they made without barley or wheat?  What’s the difference between Gluten Free and Gluten Reduced?  The Beering Ain’t Easy Podcast will answer these questions and more as Drew’s wife Meredith joins the show for the first time ever to sample 5 different styles of Gluten Free beer and come to terms with our daughter’s Celiac’s disease diagnosis.

Featured Beers:

Favorite Blonde. Holidaily Brewing Co. Golden, CO. 5% ABV.

Citrus Gose. Holidaily Brewing Co., Golden, CO. 3.9% ABV.

Redbridge. Anheuser Busch, St. Louis, MO.  4% ABV.

Glutenberg IPA.  Glutenberg Craft Brewery, Montreal, Canada. 6% ABV.

Beulah Red Ale. Holidaily Brewing Co., Golden, CO. 5.2% ABV.
 

Other Shout-Outs:

Ground Breaker Brewing.  Portland, OR

@thebrewbabe on Instagram

Hye Cider Company. Fredericksburg, TX (Hye Hops)

Gluten-free grains:   Millet, buckwheat, rice, quinoa, white sorghum

Urban South HTX

Total Wine

Meredith’s top 3 beers: Art Car IPA (Saint Arnold Brewing), Jai Alai (Cigar City Brewing),  Blue Tile IPA (Great Heights Brewing)

Link to Gluten Free Breweries!

https://bestglutenfreebeers.com/5-dedicated-gluten-free-breweries-us/

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!
 

NEW WEBSITE and MERCH PAGE!  Check out all the great podcasts that are a part of Cross the Streams media!

https://www.crossthestreamsmedia.com/show/beering-aint-easy/

Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, email us at [email protected], or follow our beer quest on Untappd, usernames BeeringAintEasyAdam and BeeringAintEasyDrew.

Who wants a nice warm beer?  Yeah, we thought so.  But as parents, we’ve found that our kids often distract us mid beer at parties or events and leave us with a lovely can of lukewarm.  Which led us to an experiment to explore - which beer tastes best warm?  The Beering Ain’t Easy podcast has done all the detective work so you don’t have to!

Featured Beers (Saint Arnold Brewing Variety Pack.  Houston, TX):

Fancy Lawnmower

H-Town Pils

Amber Ale

Art Car

Other Shout-Outs:

Yeti

Michelob Ultra

Lil’ Snack.  11 Below Brewing Company, Houston, TX.

Pre-War Pils.  Live Oak Brewing Company, Austin, TX.

H-Town Brewery Challenge Featured Breweries:

Urban South HTX

Platypus Brewing

Texas Leaguer Brewing
 

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!

NEW WEBSITE and MERCH PAGE!  Check out all the great podcasts that are a part of Cross the Streams media!

https://www.crossthestreamsmedia.com/show/beering-aint-easy/

Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, email us at [email protected], or follow our beer quest on Untappd, usernames BeeringAintEasyAdam and BeeringAintEasyDrew.

This week we bring you an exclusive sneak peak of Bad Astronaut Brewing, a major brewpub coming to Houston’s Hardy Yards later this year!  Chris and brewmaster Rocky walk us through their concepts for the space, their extensive experience in brewing startups to scale ups, and tell us what it truly means to be a Bad Astronaut.  And in true Beering Ain’t Easy fashion, we find a way to get in some hot takes about kids at breweries.  You don’t want to miss this one!

Beers We Were Drinking:

Loggerbier.  Equal Parts Brewing, Houston, TX.
 

Other Shout-Outs:

Karbach Brewing / Eric Warner

Cru Brewing Systems

Kroger on 11th

Flying Saucer

Beer Run -  Song by Tom Snyder

NSYNC

Professor X

Netflix

Bad Astronaut Favorite Music to Brew to:

Electric Wizard

Dead South
 

Bad Astronaut Favorite All Time Beers

Augustiner Helles

Schonramer Pils
 

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!

WEBSITE and MERCH PAGE:  Check out all the great podcasts that are a part of Cross the Streams media!

https://www.crossthestreamsmedia.com/show/beering-aint-easy/

Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, email us at [email protected], or follow our beer quest on Untappd, usernames BeeringAintEasyAdam and BeeringAintEasyDrew.