Show notes from host John Holl:

"I’ve known Tom Troncone since before I was writing about beer. We were competing reporters at newspapers in the New York Metro area. The nature of our jobs, covering crime and breaking news, often meant that we would be hanging out at crime scenes in the middle of the night. We were always friendly, but we’d work to beat each other’s brains out in the paper the following day. 

When I started writing about beer I discovered that Tom was a homebrewer as well as a big beer fan. He knew all the whales and where to find them, and was at all of the important releases, and bottle shares. 

All along he was harboring the idea of opening his own brewery, and finally decided that it was time to leave journalism behind and open his own brewery, Muckraker, based in the northern part of New Jersey where he can focus on spontaneous beers from his coolship, local ingredients, and barrel aging. 

It occurred to me that this kind of brewing was just right for an old ink stained wretch like Tom. As reporters we don’t dictate the news, but simply follow the story where it goes. It makes sense to understand the beat you’re covering so you can have context, but you just have to let events unfold. 

Spontaneous ales are like that.  Nature, not a recipe dictates the way."

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• Host: John Holl
• Guest: Tom Troncone of Muckraker Beermaker
• Sponsor: Cigar City Brewing 
• Tags: beer, craft beer, spontaneous ales, Belgium, New Jersey, hard seltzer

This episode is sponsored by:

Cigar City Brewing
Native to the Basque region of Spain, the game of Jai Alai involves players launching a ball from a curved mitt called a cesta in an attempt to outsmart and outmaneuver their opponents on a court called a fronton. Native to Tampa, Florida, Jai Alai IPA is a bold, citrusy and balanced India Pale Ale that involves six different hop varietals used generously in a 7.5% ABV beer. While the number of frontons in our home state of Florida has dropped since the sport’s peak in the mid-1980’s, Cigar City Brewing pays homage to the sport and the dedicated players and patrons who keep this Florida tradition alive with its flagship ale. Look for notes of orange peel, clementine and light caramel to share the story and sunshine of Florida with beer lovers across the globe.