Beers with Nigel

After six years and nearly 140 episodes, Nigel's final in-studio recording is here. He's off to New Orleans, but the show goes on — and Beers with Nigel will evolve right along with it. Nick and Nigel toast to the ride, reflect on why most of podcasts fail in the first three episodes, and look toward the next chapter of a silly little show about beer... and other stuff.

Nigel and Nick roll into a bar built by Schlitz in 1894, still pouring beer in downtown Excelsior Springs. Brewer Keith Hudson and Main Street director Lindsay pull up a chair to talk homebrew clubs, Missouri's oddly generous liquor laws, and how craft beer turned a sketchy downtown bar into a destination. Grab a beer, this one runs long and it's worth it.

Two rival Lee's Summit homebrew teams walk into a studio for the first-ever "homebrewers' beef" episode. Flip the Record and Witness Brewworks join Nick and Nigel to talk origin stories, a blockbuster brewer trade, and Oktoberfest bragging rights. Crack a beer, this one's a long one.

Mac Lamken co-founded Diametric Brewing and built something bigger than a taproom — he built a community. On Episode 135, recorded live at Diametric in Lee's Summit, Blake McCarter and Courtney and Dave Lamken join Nigel and Nick to preview "Worth the Climb," a 20-brewery collaborative lager series honoring Mac's life and raising money for veterans and first responders through the Battle Within. It's a beer release, a tribute, and a testament to how much one person can matter.

Nick and Nigel take the show on the road to the "ghetto burbs" for Episode 134, recording live at the home of Dan and Ashley Maloney — the couple behind Street Katz Brewing. The still was running when they arrived. It was still running when they left.

Dan's beer journey started with hot Budweisers at an Albuquerque frat house and bottomed out somewhere around a coolers original in 1983. These days he's running 30–50 gallon homebrew batches out of the garage with a nitro pull on the fridge. Ashley fills in the details Dan leaves out — including how they met at a brewery soft opening over a beat-up '77 Chevy, and how the Street Katz name came from a crew of mischievous brewery regulars with raccoon, skunk, and possum nicknames who made it their mission to terrorize local taprooms.

This episode includes a mystery beer pulled from a golf course cooler, a Martin House wine barrel-aged sour that nobody quite knew what to do with, a birthday toast to Nigel's 60th, Ron's legendary laugh apnea, and serious (well, semi-serious) talk about the long road to opening a brick-and-mortar Street Katz brewery.

The train was never on the tracks. That's kind of the point.

Steve Holle spent decades in real estate investment before walking away at 55, moving back to his Kansas City hometown and opening KC Bier Co. — one of the region's most distinctive breweries. Now 12 years in, Steve sits down with Nigel and Nick to talk about the brewery's German roots, the Reinheitsgebot purity law it follows, and why imported Bavarian malt changes everything in the glass. He also breaks down the realities of running a craft brewery today: tariffs on German ingredients, a softening wholesale market, and why the tasting room model is quietly winning. Plus — a second KC Bier Co. location is coming to Lenexa, Kansas, complete with a beer garden, live music stage, full scratch kitchen, and yes, an off-leash dog area. Three mystery beers round out the episode, including a Krampus winter warmer and a West Coast IPA that earns some genuine praise from a certified beer judge.

Nigel and Nick head to J. Rieger & Co. in Kansas City's east bottoms to sit down with co-founder Ryan Maybee for one of the most remarkable in Kansas City history. Ryan traces how he stumbled onto the forgotten legacy of Jacob Rieger, a 19th-century immigrant who built the largest mail-order whiskey house in the United States, only to be shut down by Prohibition in 1919. A century later, Ryan — then a bartender and bar owner who'd helped spark KC's craft cocktail scene with his underground bar Manifesto — decided to bring it all back. He shares a chance encounter with the last living Rieger descendant and the years developing an authentic pre-Prohibition blend before launching the brand during the Royals' 2014 World Series run with zero employees. Since then, the company has transformed a crumbling east bottoms warehouse into a 10,000-square-foot distillery destination drawing nearly 200,000 guests a year. It's a conversation about history, hospitality, civic pride, and what it actually takes to build something that lasts.

It's the 5th annual Beer Karma release at Transparent Brewing! Nigel and Nick celebrate this year's experimental stout featuring spruce tips and figs (yeah, we went there) while catching up on a year of massive changes at one of Kansas City's best breweries.

Brewery owner Nolan Brown joins to discuss stepping away from brewing after five years, the transition to head brewer Chris Ham, expanding into canned distribution across Kansas and Missouri, and the addition of their Series Beers lineup. Plus, Nolan reveals his new role focusing on sales and distribution growth during a challenging time in the craft beer industry.

New head brewer Chris Ham shares his fascinating journey from Air Force aircraft mechanic to pharmaceutical scientist to professional brewer, including his time at Flying Fish Brewing in New Jersey and brewing school. Chris discusses his brewing philosophy, the story behind Transparent's unique Grisette, and the infamous "Bollocks Up" brown ale that started as a recipe mistake.

Special segments include Mystery Beer with Boulevard's Vanilla Imperial Stout, Chad's homebrewed "Flying Blind" Caramel Stout from Last Flight Brewing in Jefferson City, and the crew's honest reactions to this year's polarizing Beer Karma recipe.

🍺 Beers Featured: Beer Karma #5, Boulevard Vanilla Imperial Stout, Flying Blind Caramel Stout, Transparent Grisette

📍 Recorded live at Transparent Brewing Company, Kansas City

Day Bracey returns to Beers with Nigel to discuss his international adventures, from representing Black-owned breweries in Barcelona to expanding Barrel and Flow to New Orleans in 2026. Day shares stories from Spain, reveals this year's festival innovations including the debut "Barrel and Float" boat party, and explains why "Day Bracey is my war name." We taste mystery beers, discuss the challenges of global beer representation, and get an inside look at what makes Barrel and Flow the most unique festival experience in America. Plus: exclusive vinyl collaborations, Pittsburgh's hidden beer scene, and why getting reading glasses is a whole thing.

Barrel and Flow Festival - August 9th, Pittsburgh

Visit: barrelandflow.com

In this episode of Beers with Nigel, hosts Nigel Woodberry and Nick Parker clink their glasses to the scene in Platte City and Barley & Vine brewery and wine store. Recording from the Barley and Vine taproom, they dive into the expansion of the Ales West beer festival and have a hoppy chat with local brewer and festival maestro, Billy Campbell, about self-distribution, community collaboration, and the transformation of Platte City’s downtown. From sipping on standout brews to sharing yarns of how local businesses are giving the area a fresh brew, this episode is a toast to craft beer lovers and the lively spirit of local brewing.