Cabin Fever

HOLD ON A SECOND, you’re probably wondering, why is there a new Cabin Fever episode in my podcast feed?

Didn’t Eoghan say the podcast was done when lockdown ended in the summer? Well, yes, I did, because I expected - or at least hoped - that there wouldn’t be a second lockdown.

But here we are.

And while Lockdown 1.0 gave us the Cabin Fever Podcast.

Lockdown 2.0 is going one better and giving us the Cabin Fever Belgian Christmas Bonanza - a livestreamed evening on Thursday December 3rd, where we can celebrate the holidays  together while enjoying a drink-along of a selection of Belgian Christmas beers!

In the company of some of the world's beer beer writers (and drinkers), we'll drink 4 beers, play Christmas-themed quizzes, sing carols, maybe some prize giveaways, and whatever else happens on an evening spent drinking 10%+ beers.

I’m delighted to have teamed up with London’s Hop Burns and Black, and Belgium’s Etre Gourmet on tasting packs for the event. In each of these we’ve put some superb Belgian Christmas beers, including these classics: 

St.Bernardus Christmas Ale

De Dolle Brouwers Stille Nacht

Brouwerij De Ranke Pere Noel

If you order with Etre Gourmet your 4th beer will be Brasserie de la Senne's Winter Mess

And if you order from Hop Burns and Black your 4th beer will be Anspach & Hobday's The Pfeffernüsse Stout

And if you can't get hold of them, get something local and independently-brewed wherever you find yourself!

We’ll be live on YouTube on December 3, so be sure to join. You can find the link to the youtube stream in the show notes, and more details will be coming across Brussels Beer City’s twitter, facebook and instagram.

So, stay tuned and see you on December 3rd!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LddGvzbexLg 

Hi everyone, Eoghan here.

Wait, Wait Wait

If you’re a regular Cabin Fever listener, you’re probably wondering thinking, Didn’t I say that the previous episode would be his last?

Well, that’s true, to a point. But eagle-eared listeners may have also picked up in the last episode on my not so subtle hint about the possibility of a new, post-Cabin Fever project.

And here it is the Brussels Beer City Podcast.

The concept slightly different to Cabin Fever - and indeed predates it - for reasons that will be become clear.

Instead of me locked away in my room talking to people in distant countries, each week I’ll sit down with someone from Brussels in their favourite bar for a chat.

Have a listen to this sneak preview, and you can subscribe now to the podcast now on all the major podcast platforms, so if you’ve enjoyed Cabin Fever these past few months, be sure to give it a listen!

My name is Eoghan Walsh from Brussels Beer City, and you’re listening to episode 20 of Cabin Fever - less a podcast than a group therapy session for writers, brewers, and friends who like to enjoy a beer together but, well, can’t.

I was delighted to be joined remotely in Brussels by:

Matthew Curtis (@totalcurtis), co-founder of Pellicle magazine, where he is also the beer and cider editor, and is an award-winning writer and photographer in his own right,

Jeff Alworth (@beervana), co-host of the Beervana podcast and author of several beer books including The Secrets of the Master Brewers and The Beer Bible,

And Melissa Cole (@MelissaCole), award-winning writer and author of, among other books, including The Beer Kitchen.

Over beers from Galway Bay Brewery, Wayfinder, Deya, and Big Drop, we talked about how much the world has changed in the past three months, bewilderment at the speed of that change, and optimism about the future - even if it seems grim right now.

I hope you listen in, for one last time.

My name is Eoghan Walsh from Brussels Beer City, and you’re listening to episode 19 of Cabin Fever - less a podcast than a group therapy session for writers, brewers, and friends who like to enjoy a beer together but, well, can’t.

I was delighted to be joined remotely in Brussels by:

Stephen Beaumont (@BeaumontDrinks), editor of Original Gravity Magazine’s Canadian edition and writer of numerous books, including Canadian Spirits, Will Travel For Beer, and The Beer & Food Companion

Ben Keene (@WhereandBack), beer and travel writer based in Washington state, former editorial director of Beer Advocate, and currently working on The Reporter’s Notebook for the North American Guild of Beer Writers (@nagbw)

And Hélène Spitaels, guide and beer sommelier based in Brussels, and author of Brussels Beer City’s most-read article of 2020

Over beers from Deschutes, Brasserie de la Senne, La Source and Unfiltered Brewing, we talked about the impact of the anti-racism protests sweeping North America and the rest of the world, the heady anticipation of being able to drink in bars again, and we rhapsodise about the restorative effects of nature.

I hope you listen in.

My name is Eoghan Walsh from Brussels Beer City, and you’re listening to episode 18 of Cabin Fever - less a podcast than a group therapy session for writers, brewers, and friends who like to enjoy a beer together but, well, can’t.

I was delighted to be joined remotely in Brussels by:

Emily Sauter (@PintsandPanels), based in New England, creator of the Pints and Panel comic strip, beer educator and Advanced Cicerone.

Jonny Garrett (@JonnyGarrett), one half of the team behind the Craft Beer Channel, staff writer at Good Beer Hunting and beer writer of the year 2019

And Jan Kemker, founder of German brewery Brauerei Kemker

Over beers from Tempest, Lost and Grounded, Glazen Toren, and Unser Dorfbräu we talked about how it’s okay to not be okay right now, the rollback of lockdown where we are and the positives and negatives that come with it, and why Cabin Fever is a cat-free zone.

We had wanted to talk about the Black Lives Matter protests and the brutal police reaction, but unfortunately technical difficulties cut short our conversation.

I hope you listen in.

My name is Eoghan Walsh from Brussels Beer City, and you’re listening to episode 17 of Cabin Fever - less a podcast than a group therapy session for writers, brewers, and friends who like to enjoy a beer together but, well, can’t.

I was delighted to be joined remotely in Brussels by:

Karel Boon, of Belgium’s Boon brewery

Adam Harbaugh, co-founder of Lambic.info

And Geuze enthusiast and good friend Rich Soriano

Over beers from Boon, Cantillon, Jester King and Burning Sky we talked the particular challenges faced by a lambic brewery during lockdown, hurtling through your cellar stash, and the promises of greater freedom as lockdowns relax.

Listen in.

My name is Eoghan Walsh from Brussels Beer City, and you’re listening to episode 16 of Cabin Fever - less a podcast than a group therapy session for writers, brewers, and friends who like to enjoy a beer together but, well, can’t.

I was delighted to be joined remotely in Brussels by:

Susan Boyle (@miss_susanboyle), drinks consultant, international beer judge, and award-winning member of Guild of Beer Writers

Miranda Hudson (@479hudson), co-founder of Norfolk brewery Duration Brewing

And Jordan St. John (@saints_gambit), Toronto-based beer writer, educator and podcaster

In this week’s episode, we talked about pining for local pubs, the growing importance of where we buy as much as what we buy brought on by the pandemic, and the benefits of drinking well and and drinking judiciously. Featuring beers from L’Ermitage (Temple du Ciel and Lanterne), Dan Kelly’s Cider, Duration Brewing table beer, and Amsterdam Brewery’s pure pilsner.

Listen in.

My name is Eoghan Walsh from Brussels Beer City, and you’re listening to episode 15 of Cabin Fever - less a podcast than a group therapy session for writers, brewers, and friends who like to enjoy a beer together but, well, can’t.

I was delighted to be joined remotely in Brussels by:

Breandán Kearney (@BelgianSmaak), award-winning editor-in-chief of Belgian Smaak and contributor to Good Beer Hunting, and co-founder of award-winning Belgian brewery Siphon

Cliff Lucas (@clifflucaphoto), photographer and contributor to Belgian Beer and Food Magazine

and John Rega (@john_rega), financial services editor at Politico Europe and regular contributor to Belgian Beer and Food Magazine.

Over beers from Orval, Brasserie Atrium, De Dolle Brouwers, and cider from Ramborn in Luxembourg, we talked about Breandán’s annus horribilis (even before the coronavirus pandemic), parenting while on lockdown, and missing being around family.

Listen in.

My name is Eoghan Walsh from Brussels Beer City, and you’re listening to episode 14 of Cabin Fever - less a podcast than a group therapy session for writers, brewers, and friends who like to enjoy a beer together but, well, can’t.

I was delighted to be joined remotely in Brussels by:

Pete Brown (@petebrownbeer), award-winning author of Hops and Glory, Miracle Brew, and most recently Pie Fidelity - in defence of British food.

Joe Stange (@thirstypilgrim), Managing Editor of US beer magazine Craft Beer and Brewing, and co-author of the Good Beer Guide Belgium

And Zach Johnston (@ZTPJohnston), deputy editor of Uproxx Life, and co-host - with Joe - of the One More Road for the Beer podcast.

Over the course of a couple of beers from Lost and Grounded, Brasserie Minne, and Augustiner Helles, we talk about the impact that the virus is having on the beer industry in the US, missing travel and the uncertainty of whether it will return, and the warming embrace of a north London enclave. We also talked Pete’s new book - details of which you can find here - but due to catastrophic technical failure, we lost the recording of that part of the show. Sorry, Pete!

Listen in.

My name is Eoghan Walsh from Brussels Beer City, and you’re listening to episode 13 of Cabin Fever - less a podcast than a group therapy session for writers, brewers, and friends who like to enjoy a beer together but, well, can’t.

I was delighted to be joined remotely in Brussels by:

Melissa Cole (@MelissaCole), award-winning writer and author of, among other books, including The Beer Kitchen

Steve Bentall (@BeerOClockShow), returning guest and co-host of the Uk’s longest-running beer podcast Hopinions

And Emma Inch (@fermentradio), award-winning broadcaster and writer

Over the course of a couple of beers from En Stoemelings, Adnams, and Harvey’s, we talked creative outlets under quarantine, the benefits of dry weeks, and local breweries starting to hit their straps.

Listen in!