Fuhmentaboudit! This week Chris and Mary welcome back Chris O’Leary of Brew York, New York for another show on the Great American Beer Festival taking place in Denver, CO. Sharing some beertastic stories and previewing GABF highlights to come, tune in for Chris, Chris, and Mary waxing poetic on one of the best brew events of the year!

Fuhmentaboudit is back for a new season of hoptastic radio! On the line with Melody Meyer of Yakima Chief Hop Union, hosts Chris Cuzme and Mary Izett reveal that they recently participated in the hop and brew school with the organization and loved it! YCH Hops was originally founded by hop growing families, some of them growing hops in the Yakima Valley for more than 130 years. These family farms joined together to build an organization which would market their hop products direct to brewers worldwide. Melody goes on to share how the US hop industry works, what makes the Yakima Valley special, and how homebrewers specifically fit in to their equation. Conversation also touches upon HBC-438, a new experimental hop issued for use by homebrewers. Notably, profits from HBC-438 sales go to Ales for ALS. Tune in for all things hops! This program was brought to you by Union Beer Distributors.

This week on Fuhmentaboudit! hosts Chris Cuzme and Mary Izett are ending the summer season with a BCTC 2015 Round Up plus Ethan Long, head brewer of Rockaway Brewing Co. in studio. Talking about what’s on tap, highlights from the Rockaway tasting room, upcoming brewery events, and thoughts on the brews they took to the ‘Belgium Comes to Cooperstown’ festival, the group rehashes tasty memories from the event. Tune in for some impromptu recipes from Mary and more! This program was brought to you by Union Beer Distributors.

This week on Fuhmentaboudit!, hosts Chris Cuzme and Mary Izett share a ton of brewtastic events and goings-on before welcoming Brian Kulbacki to the show. Brian shares how he and his late best friend Chris Ward initially thought up Departed Soles Brewing Company by conducting “mad science experiments” to brew gluten-free beer for Ward, who suffered from celiac disease. Notably, Brian became the first brewer specializing in gluten-free beer to graduate from the American Brewers Guild in December of 2012. Brian goes on to explain that the brewery produces all sorts of craft beer and is proud to be New Jersey’s first Craft Brewery offering craft beer with 100% gluten-free ingredients that can compete on the palate with traditional ales! This program was brought to you by Union Beer Distributors.

This week on Fuhmentaboudit, hosts Mary Izett and Chris Cuzme welcome Brett Taylor to the studio, recalling his experiences in homebrewing and his recent completion of courses at the American Brewers Guild. Brett shares what about homebrewing initally appealed to him as well as the details surrounding his first successful brews. Talking why he loves working with the brettanomyces yeast strain, Brett dishes helpful hints for those looking to use the strain plus talks his hopping technique and an overview of his many brews. Tune in and geek out over brettanomyces with the crew! This program was brought to you by Union Beer Distributors.

“I have a wit beer that I like to do with the Brussels blend from the Yeast Bay, that’s what I really like now and I feel like the fruit character from that yeast blend along with the coriander and fruit peel just works so well.” [12:50]

—Brett Taylor on Fuhmentaboudit

This week on Fuhmentaboudit, solo host Chris Cuzme welcomes Jeff Lord and Dave Scharfstein to the studio catching up on recent beertastic events as well as Jeff’s experiences at the National Homebrewers Conference. Talking up the good times had by all, Jeff relays cool things he took away and tasted from the conference as well as the hard work that goes into the successful event. In the second half of the show, Chris introduces a pre-recorded interview he and Mary did with Michael Ferguson of Beer Geeks TV, spanning many topics including thoughts on America’s history of brewing. This program was brought to you by Union Beer Distributors.

“They also had some ghost pepper meads which you’d think would be terrible – delicious – unbelievably good!” [13:00]

—Jeff Lord on Fuhmentaboudit!

“You ask a German, what does it take to make beer, they say a scientist. You ask a Belgian what does it take to make beer, they say an artist. What we do in the United States, craft brewing, is a combination of art, craft, and science.” [23:00]

—Michael Ferguson on Fuhmentaboudit!

When did the fermentation bug bite you? Tune in to this week’s episode of Fuhmentaboudit! as Chris Cuzme and Mary Izett reflect on their brewing journeys with guest Ben Granger. Ben talks about how he started brewing, what it was like opening the now-closed but still legendary Bierkraft, and what he’s up to these days. This program was brought to you by Union Beer Distributors.

“Carbonation is often times the most forgotten about ingredient in beer. It really determines your perception of dryness and can alter the texture and flavor of your beer greatly.” [26:00]

–Ben Granger on Fuhmentaboudit!

What are Chris and Mary up to lately? Talking their latest brews, homebrewing cask beer, mobile canning, and more frothy tidbits, tune in as this dynamic duo catch up listeners on their own ventures and projects as of late on this episode of Fuhmentaboudit. This program was brought to you by Union Beer Distributors.

—Chris Cuzme on Fuhmentaboudit

“If you’re looking to brew something different and has just been added to the BJCP, a Kentucky Common would be a good one!” [29:40]

—Mary Izett on Fuhmentaboudit

This week on Fuhmentaboudit!, hosts Mary Izett and Chris Cuzme welcome Ben Middlemiss to the studio in from Ben Middlemiss Brewing located in New Zealand! Talking about the homebrewing scene in New Zealand back when he started in the late 1960’s, he shares the disarray of the hobby before quality ingredients and widespread techniques were readily available. Ben goes on to share how he went from homebrewer to running a brewery to eventually distributing his own brew. After the break, Mary shares her love for New Zealand hops as Ben gives his thoughts on the brews he’s tried while in the states and some of the unique ingredients that find themselves in his drinks. Notably, Ben shares some of his beer collaborations which includes working with the pop group Hanson on their budding brews! This program was brought to you by Union Beer Distributors.

—Ben Middlemiss on Fuhmentaboudit!

With summer temperatures on the rise, hosts Chris Cuzme and Mary Izett are talking the NYC Brewers Pro-Am and hot-weather fermentations and with friend and owner of Bitter & Esters, John La Polla. The NYC Brewers Pro-Am is a friendly collaboration/competition pairing local homebrewers with some of the five boroughs’ best professional breweries and John shares highlights from last year’s event as well as things to come this year, including details of the fabulous grand prize. With no shortage of good beers to enjoy, John stresses that these particular brews won’t be seen anywhere else due to the collaborative nature of the event. After the break, the group talks about the contraption known as the PicoBrew that can brew at the touch of a button and the varying techniques to be used along with it. Tune in for tips and tricks for summer brewing and more! This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

—John La Polla on Fuhmentaboudit!