Consuming the Craft

Beau Evers is the Account Manager at Crosby Hops Farms. Founded in 1900 by Albert and Mary Crosby, Crosby Hops is the leading grower, manufacturer, and processor of top-quality hops. The family farm consists of 160 acres of rich soil in Willamette Valley, Oregon. They are certified Salmon-Safe growers and Certified B Corp suppliers with an unwavering commitment to quality, sustainability, innovation, and community.

Beau joins me today to discuss the magical spice of beer hops and the trends he has noticed among consumers. We discuss the exciting new flavors and varieties that are expected to hit the market in the near future, such as marijuana-inspired beer varieties, beer schnapps, and beer whiskey. We also discuss how the marijuana industry is causing an interesting and positive disruption across many industries as well as our predictions on how it will affect the share market and the future of the hops industry.

This week on Consuming the Craft:

●     New flavors and varieties of beer hops expected to hit the market.

●     Predicted trends for the average pound per barrel of hops produced.

●     Upcoming New Zealand experimental beer hop varieties.

●     Older beer hop varieties making a comeback at breweries.

●     Challenges farmers face regarding naturally occurring cross-pollination of hops in the field.

●     The amount of money currently being invested in the New Zealand hop industry.

●     New beverages breweries are currently experimenting with such as beer schnapps and beer whiskey.

●     The various beverages people are exploring and experimenting with hops.

●     Beau’s prediction for the future of the hops industry.

●     Marijuana-inspired beer varieties.

●     The impact that marijuana has made on the hops industry and share market.

●     The current trend of consumers drinking wine, spirits, and beer.

Max Fann is the Co-Owner and Chairman of Inbox Beverage and a Brewing and Fermentation Program alumni of A-B Tech’s Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast. After completing the program, Max when on to become a brewer and Wood Cellarman at Wicked Weed Brewery, where he eventually became the Lead Pub Brewer and Research & Brand Development Brewer. With his knowledge from the Craft Beverage Institute and his pursuit of an MBA from LSU, Max wanted to create a faster and easier way to build a beverage production space, and the Inbox Beverage company was born.

Today, Max joins me to share how the program at AB Tech helped him in his career and the many networking opportunities it offers. He reveals the innovative idea behind his new business and how the Inbox Beverage company will help customers set up and produce from their new brewing spaces. He also shares the options available and how the Inbox Beverage container will help small brewers and craft beverage businesses throughout the industry.

This week on Consuming the Craft:

●     How the program at A-B Technical Institute helped Max achieve success in the industry

●     The many networking opportunities students have access to through the program

●     Booze Clues: Buffalo Trace - Kentucky Bourbon Straight Whiskey

●     The idea behind Inbox Beverage

●     How will the company help customers of Inbox Beverage to produce a quality product

●     The flexibility of the Inbox Beverage product

●     How the Inbox Beverage container will help small brewers

Connect with Max Fann:

●     Inbox Beverage

●     Email: [email protected]

●     Max Fann on LinkedIn

This episode is brought to you by…

McConnell Farms - Taste the Way You Remember. Enjoy homemade ciders and ice cream made from only the best products on the market. Visit the McConnell Farms website to learn more about our seasonal inventory and the delicious creations you can make with our homegrown produce.

Consuming the Craft

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the Consuming the Craft Podcast, brought to you by AB Tech’s Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | GooglePlay

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more craft beverage enthusiasts.

Visit our website to learn more about AB Tech and the Craft Beer Institute of the Southeast.

After graduating with a degree in Environmental Design in Architecture from North Carolina State University, Palmer Fox found himself in an early-life crisis. He always had a knack for entrepreneurship when he was young, and spending his life in front of a drafting board didn’t sound so appealing. So, after some soul-searching in Asheville—and falling in love with the mountains—Palmer found himself in craft beverages learning how to do prohibition-era cocktails. He soon became the Bar Program Director for The Bull and Beggar. Later, in the wake of COVID-19, Palmer found an opportunity to combine environmental action, entrepreneurship, and expertise in the F&B industry to found ClimateHound, the first science-backed global certification for carbon-neutral food and beverage businesses.

Palmer joins me today to discuss how ClimateHound is helping food and beverage businesses reduce their climate impact and become carbon neutral. He explains why the food and beverage industry can’t be carbonless and how carbon offsetting helps restaurants and beverage companies become carbon neutral. Palmer also outlines ClimateHound’s process for working with F&B businesses and underscores the best environmental action anyone can take for the planet.

This week on Consuming the Craft:

●      What ClimateHound is and how they’re helping food and beverage businesses reduce their carbon impact

●      Palmer’s journey in entrepreneurship and his passion for environmental action

●      How Palmer came up with the idea of building a carbon certification firm for food and beverage businesses

●      How restaurants can become carbon neutral

●      How the ClimateHound carbon certification works for restaurants and beverage companies

●      How staying carbon neutral benefits food and beverage companies

●      How a distillery is reducing its carbon impact by using solar energy

●      Booze Clues: It’s what happens if whiskey and rum had a baby

●      Why the food and beverage industry needs to have a dedicated carbon certification firm

Connect with Palmer Fox:

●      ClimateHound

●      ClimateHound on Instagram

●      Palmer Fox on LinkedIn

This episode is brought to you by… 

McConnell Farms - Taste the Way You Remember. Enjoy homemade ciders and ice cream made from only the best produce on the market. Visit the McConnell Farms website to learn more about our seasonal inventory and delicious creations you can make with our homegrown produce.

Consuming the Craft

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the Consuming the Craft Podcast, brought to you by AB Tech’s Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | GooglePlay

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more craft beverage enthusiasts.

To learn more about AB Tech and the Craft Beer Institute of the Southeast, visit our website.

As a young man, Kevin Sondey followed The Grateful Dead's rock band to learn about music and himself. The Grateful Dead not only provided him with great music—but also introduced him to craft brews. Kevin is a stalwart of the craft beverage industry, having worked in several market niches, from distilling and brewing to kombucha and ginger beer; as the Production Manager of Ginger's Revenge, Kevin focused on supporting his team in efficiently creating quality products.

Kevin joins me today to share how The Grateful Dead introduced him to the world of craft brewing and the journey that followed. He shares his professional background and experience in brewing. We also discussed his break from the brewing industry and how working as a credentialed therapist in behavioral health served him in leadership roles. He also describes his experience working with a kombucha company and discusses his current work at Ginger's Revenge.

This week on Consuming the Craft:

●      The micro-brewery boom of the 90s and how following The Grateful Dead introduced Kevin to craft beer and the craft beverage industry

●      Kevin’s brewing and distillation stint at Dogfish Head

●      The difference between a distillery and a production-style brewing company

●      Behavioral health, the burn-out period, and why Kevin returned to the craft beverage industry

●      Kevin’s work at Highland and Catawba and his foray into kombucha brewing

●      The learning curve involved in transitioning from beer to kombucha scouby

●      Scaling the kombucha process

●      Booze Clues: Sarilla’s carbonated tea

●      Kevin’s work at Ginger’s Revenge

●      Mocktails, non-alcoholic drinks, and the sober movement

Connect with Kevin Sondey :

●      Ginger’s Revenge

●      Ginger’s Revenge on Instagram

●      Ginger’s Revenge on Facebook

This episode is brought to you by…

McConnell Farms - Taste the Way You Remember. Enjoy homemade ciders and ice cream made from only the best produce on the market. Visit the McConnell Farms website to learn more about our seasonal inventory and delicious creations you can make with our homegrown produce.

Consuming the Craft 

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the Consuming the Craft Podcast, brought to you by AB Tech’s Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | GooglePlay  

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more craft beverage enthusiasts.

Visit our website to learn more about AB Tech and the Craft Beer Institute of the Southeast.

Sara Stender Delaney came to the Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast at A-B Tech with a vision—an idea she wanted to morph and mold into something new: draft tea. A working mother in Asheville, Sara wanted more fun, healthy, nonalcoholic options in the Beer City. Since then, she has put her skills, passion, and determination into creating Sarilla, an award-winning nonalcoholic beverage in cans and kegs made with organic, fair-trade Rwandan tea. Sara is also the founder of Africa Healing Exchange, a nonprofit organization that helps survivors of the Rwandan Genocide heal from trauma.

Sara joins me today to share her ‘purpose first, products second’ vision and her mission to positively impact the world through Sarilla. She describes how the Sarilla brand and team have grown. She explains why she checks for an area’s water pH before moving into a new facility. She discusses her hopes to show other entrepreneurs how to make a positive change in people's lives while growing a brand. She details the challenges involved in getting your products in a grocery chain. Sara also ruminates on the future of Sarilla and highlights the company’s efforts to go beyond the product by using its brand as a platform to inspire young women and girls.

This week on Consuming the Craft:

●      Sarilla’s mission and how it’s making a positive impact on the world

●      How the Sarilla team has grown

●      The new Sarilla tea packaging and Sara’s favorite Sarilla drink

●      Learning the nuances of consumer behavior and how products represent values

●      Booze Clues: a drink with a creamy-clean mouth feel versus my local grocery store’s brand

●      The difference between distilled water and spring water

●      The dangers of growing a company too fast

●      The future of Sarilla and how they’re growing their business model

Connect with Sara Stender Delaney:

●      Sarilla

●      Africa Healing Exchange

●      Sarilla on LinkedIn

●      Sarilla on Instagram

●      Sarilla on Facebook

●      Sarilla on YouTube

●      Sara Stender Delaney on LinkedIn

Consuming the Craft 

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the Consuming the Craft Podcast, brought to you by AB Tech’s Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | GooglePlay  

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more craft beverage enthusiasts.

Visit our website to learn more about AB Tech and the Craft Beer Institute of the Southeast.

John Lyda is a full-time faculty member at AB Tech and is the thumb that grasps the educational hammer in our Brewing, Distillation, and Fermentation program. It’s the first two-year accredited degree in the country that gives students an Associate’s of Applied Science in Distillation and Fermentation. After working at The Highland Brewing Co. for over 20 years, John took his passion and applied it to teaching at the Craft Beverage Institute.

Today, John and I discuss the evolution of the Craft Beverage Institute and how he has been an essential part of directing the curriculum. We explore how interest from international students has added more products to the program and the exciting capstone projects our students have created. We share why a two-year degree is an advantage compared to going straight into the industry and give examples of how our students' careers have benefited. We also explain how the degree covers the business aspects of brewing and the networking opportunities people gain when completing the program.

This week on Consuming the Craft:

● How John has been instrumental in directing the program

● The surprising emergence of Hard Seltzer and its inclusion in the program

● How the CBI degree program is structured

● Why international interest has encouraged diversification of the program curriculum

● The capstone projects students complete

● Booze Clues: Negroni

● Why the CBI two-year degree is an advantage in the beverage industry

● How the training has benefited the careers of past students

● How the program helps put people on the entrepreneurial track

● The networking opportunities students gain when completing the program

This episode is brought to you by…

McConnell Farms - Taste the Way You Remember. Enjoy homemade ciders and ice cream made from only the best produce on the market. Visit the McConnell Farms website to learn more about our seasonal inventory and delicious creations you can make with our homegrown produce.

Consuming the Craft

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the Consuming the Craft Podcast, brought to you by AB Tech’s Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | GooglePlay

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more craft beverage enthusiasts.

To learn more about AB Tech and the Craft Beer Institute of the Southeast, visit our website.

How much beer do you need to entertain a room full of friends and family? How many kegs would you need to throw your next get-together or party? While the answer to these questions relies on many different factors, the short answer is…it depends.

How big is the keg?

This week, I discuss how to determine the number of beer kegs you will need to throw your next party or get-together. I explain why kegs come in various shapes and sizes and discuss some of the key factors you need to consider when determining how many kegs to purchase to entertain your guests. I discuss the difference between a pin-lock keg versus a ball-lock keg and how a Cornelius Keg is significantly larger than a Mini Keg. I also break down the math to help you determine how many glasses or cans of beer you can expect from each keg size and share some of the best practices for storing your kegs leading up to your big event.

This week on Consuming the Craft:

●     Breaking down the various keg shapes and sizes

●     Factors to consider when determining how many kegs you need

●     Pin-lock kegs vs Ball-lock kegs

●     Cornelius kegs vs Mini kegs vs half barrels

●     Doing the math: determining how many glasses or cans of beer you’ll get from each keg size

●     Which is cheaper: buying bottles of beer vs buying kegs

●     Comparing US keg sizes vs foreign import keg sizes

●     Best practices for proper keg storage before your event

Consuming the Craft

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the Consuming the Craft Podcast, brought to you by AB Tech’s Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | GooglePlay

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more craft beverage enthusiasts.

Visit our website to learn more about AB Tech and the Craft Beer Institute of the Southeast.

I often take on the task of trying exotic spirits, weird and wonderful flavors of craft beer, and new products in the beverage industry. You may be familiar with wheat bourbon, but perhaps less so with wheat whiskey. Today, I try a Kentucky straight wheat whiskey, which is underserved in our industry.

In today’s Booze Bits, I sample Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey and see how wheat changes the flavor profile. I explore the sensory analysis of the product and how the whiskey would work in mixed drinks. I also share how the whiskey performed in our taste tests against other products and the best way to serve Berheim’s Original Wheat Whiskey.

This week on Consuming the Craft:

●      The ingredients used in Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey

●      How wheat changes the flavor of whiskey

●      The experience of wheat whiskey on the palate

●      How to use this whiskey in mixed drinks

●      How this wheat whiskey performed in our taste tests against other samples

●      The best ways to serve this whiskey

Resources Mentioned:

●      Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey

Consuming the Craft 

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the Consuming the Craft Podcast, brought to you by AB Tech’s Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | GooglePlay  

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more craft beverage enthusiasts.

Visit our website to learn more about AB Tech and the Craft Beer Institute of the Southeast.

What does it take to become a great mazer? Or brewmaster? Or winemaker? John Lyda—full-time instructor at A-B Tech’s Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast and meadmaker extraordinaire—says that the key is playing around with the different flavors your raw materials can give you. He’s brought a bottle of mead he found all the way from Denmark to demonstrate what he means.

In this Booze Bits episode, John and I have a bottle of mead from the Danish company Dansk Mjød, and discuss mead making. We discuss how Game of Thrones and Vikings revived interest in mead. We also highlight why we need to support bees and beekeepers and outline the key ingredients of quality mead.

This week on Consuming the Craft:

●     Tasting the Dansk Mjød mead from Denmark

●     The revival of mead

●     Honey conspiracy, hive collapse, and the inflated price of honey

●     What gives mead different flavors

●     The study of growing grapes and the key to being a great mazer

●     The bottle of mead that should be named Michael

●     Giving mead to newlyweds

Connect with John Lyda:

●     John Lyda on LinkedIn

Consuming the Craft

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the Consuming the Craft Podcast, brought to you by AB Tech’s Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | GooglePlay

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more craft beverage enthusiasts.

Visit our website to learn more about AB Tech and the Craft Beer Institute of the Southeast.

When Lauren Turpin was in high school, she always thought about opening a sports bar or beer place, though she wasn’t sure where the interest came from. She later graduated from Babson College and worked in corporate America. But, while completing a Master’s in Information Science at UNC Chapel Hill, Lauren became interested in wine. She was inspired to write a business plan for an urban winery and, when the opportunity to turn that plan into a reality presented itself, Lauren jumped at the chance and co-founded Pleb Urban Winery in Asheville, North Carolina.

Lauren joins me today to share her journey to launching Pleb Urban Winery. She recounts how she became passionate about wine and why she chose to establish Pleb Urban Winery in Asheville. She discusses the challenges of finding a business partner. She also explains why an urban winery can be confusing for some drinkers and, for Booze Clues, drinks a pillar of the beer community to prepare her for harvest time.

This week on Consuming the Craft:

• Lauren’s professional and educational background
• How Lauren became interested in wine while working in corporate America
• Why Lauren chose to build Pleb Urban Winery in Asheville, North Carolina
• How Lauren met her business partner
• Pleb Urban Winery’s expansion
• Booze Clues: A pillar of the beer community
• How people discover wine and the evolution of the wine drinker
• Serving draft wine and why an urban winery can be confusing for some drinkers
• How Pleb Urban Winery adapted through COVID-19

Connect with Lauren Turpin:

• Pleb Urban Winery
• Pleb Urban Winery on Instagram

Consuming the Craft

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the Consuming the Craft Podcast, brought to you by AB Tech’s Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | GooglePlay 

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more craft beverage enthusiasts.

To learn more about AB Tech and the Craft Beer Institute of the Southeast, visit our website.