Good Beer Hunting

There's no getting around the fact that making beer is a science. But it can truly become special when it mixes with creativity and art. In today's episode, we're in Raleigh, North Carolina, where GBH was part of a discussion to determine where those things can overlap. In February, I hosted a panel discussion at Brewery Bhavana's production facility organized by Triangle Wine Company, a local wine and beer retail chain. Along with two brewers from Bhavana, I was also joined by Walt and Sean of Bond Brothers Beer Company, and, if you're a regular listener, Ancillary Fermentation, a side project recently featured here on the podcast. [Disclosure: Brewery Bhavana is a client of GBH's studio team.] Our goal was to talk about the marriage of this science and art when it comes to working with wood. In front of an audience of local beer fans, we touched on processes, themes, and inspirations for creating the kind of wild, funky, delicate, and often beautiful beers so many of us revere. This conversation isn't just about what it takes to create and maintain a barrel program, but to try and explore what that day-to-day can be for brewers. What does it mean to be patient with these beers? How do you know what and when to blend? Why do it in the first place? We'll do our best to tackle these and other questions around this niche, but growing, section of the beer industry. This is Our Neck of the Woods, a panel discussion on all things barrel. Listen in.

[Photo by Matthew Curtis] Few breweries can represent the past, present, and future of American craft beer the way Stone Brewing can. And it's co-founder, today's guest, Greg Koch, has been known to speak authoritatively about the entire timeline of craft beer at times. And with good reason—he's seen and participated in most of it himself. For some, though, his voice can sometimes seem anachronistic. It hearkens back to old, perhaps out-of-date realities of the business that can be jarring against new challenges and priorities for small, independent American brewers—and increasingly those inspired by American brewers overseas. How Stone has navigated the shifting priorities of craft beer has been varied over the years. Sometimes they seem to double down on their initial ethos. Other times, they seem to abandon it altogether. But looks can be deceiving. So this conversation—my first interview with Koch—was an opportunity to hear what some of those decisions have meant to him and Stone over the years. And why they may or may not be in conflict as he and the brand trek back and forth across the ocean in what might hopefully turn out to be a straight line toward some long-term goal. But as can so often happen in this business, it might eventually reveal itself to be a lost-at sea scenario just as easily. It's almost impossible to tell when the waves are constantly crashing and the winds are constantly shifting and so many people want a hand on that wheel. In this interview, we talk about Stone's place in the world then and now—growth and layoffs and private equity, breaking off brands like Arrogant Bastard, social media, sabbaticals, and finding the yin and yang with a co-founder. There's a lot to cover. And I greatly appreciate Greg's willingness to riff on so many different topics that are important to him, or me, and often both. This is Greg Koch of Stone Brewing. Listen in.

As many of you know, we're in the midst of Uppers & Downers week here in Chicago, celebrating more than five years of our coffee and beer culture collaboration between myself, Michael Kiser, and world barista champion Stephen Morrissey. This year's festival promises to be our best yet, with about 25 different coffee beer collaborations, a dozen different roasters pulling their best espresso shots from all over the country, some delicious things to eat from Green City Market, cocktails from Powers Whiskey and others, a pairing bar with Guinness—it's really a room to explore with your palate. And this year, we're posting some explosive content to Vero, a new ad-free social network that protects your data and your privacy. To access all areas of the festival, discover exclusive recipes, tips, and recommendations, and to connect with fellow Uppers & Downers enthusiasts, visit Vero here. To give you an idea of what's in store this weekend, I got together with Jacob Sembrano of Cruz Blanca, a brewery in Chicago, and Robert Bersano of Sparrow Coffee to chat about the incredible case study of beers and coffee drinks they're going to be collaborating on for our biggest sensory experience ever.

I'm not sure how to introduce CAMRA. On the one hand, it's the biggest single-issue consumer interest group in the UK, the savior of British brewing that's as responsible for our amazing beer scene as any American influence. On the other hand, it's portrayed as an irrelevant lumbering beast that seems to stagger from controversy to controversy. The Campaign for Real Ale was founded in 1971 in response to a surge in pasteurized, force-carbonated keg beer that was pushing traditional British cask ale of the bars around the country. Alarmed by the lack of diversity, four men in a pub decided that someone needed to champion the traditional method of delivering unconditioned beer to pubs and serving them at the exact moment they peaked, without any extra gas. Since then, the organization has grown to nearly 200,000 members, lobbying the government, running festivals, producing magazines, and promoting their self-defined "real ale" above all other formats. Its success in protecting an inefficient product against capitalist pressures is unprecedented. But since the UK craft beer revolution, CAMRA has struggled to find its place in a fast moving and often image-led scene. Suddenly, most of the brewing and talking was being done by young, American-inspired breweries who loved keg beer, big hops, and high ABVs. The keg lines that had been loaded with crap Euro Lagers were suddenly pouring exciting, experimental beers that appealed more to young drinkers than the more historic real ale did. Caught looking the other way and trying to catch up, CAMRA has come under pressure to realign its objectives in support good keg beer, to update older breweries' outdated marketing, and pick a side on issues that simply wasn't there when its charter was drawn up—all the while coping with the fact that after decades of growth, cask beer had gone into decline again. I sat down with the new chief executive, Tom Stainer, who might be seen as a reformer but has had to keep a level head in his vital new role. We talk through the challenges of running an organization controlled by some 200,000 members, propped up by volunteers and considered out of touch—when they were the people who made it all possible. This is Tom Stainer, chief executive of the Campaign for Real Ale. Listen in.

Whether you read the words or hear the voices of the Good Beer Hunting editorial staff, there's one guy working behind the scenes who doesn't often get the byline, but offers plenty of insight and guidance to get those things from draft to publish-ready. In today's episode of the GBH Collective, we're chatting with the man behind the curtain, Austin L. Ray, editorial director for Good Beer Hunting. We're welcoming him to this special series of interviews where we can dive deeper with GBH contributors and friends on topics of writing, beer, and the stories we share. If you follow Austin on Twitter, you may know about his eclectic sense of humor and insight into all things agricultural. So while we talk a little about how chard might save the world, you'll also hear his unique insight on a couple recent stories he pulled together for GBH that benefit greatly from explaining his behind-the-scenes reporting. Curious about what it's like to chat with a brutally honest owner from Wicked Weed? Or why one Atlanta brewery has created trouble and difficult decisions for local bar owners? Austin's your guy. If you've enjoyed listening to these Collective episodes to better learn what goes into telling a story, these two from Austin were among the more odd ones we've been able to share on Good Beer Hunting. You'll likely get a kick out of how they came to be. This is Austin L. Ray: editor, writer, and leafy green enthusiast. Listen in.

When it comes to running a business, partnerships are key. In the beer industry, that often shows up in leadership where one person may handle the books or operational responsibilities, and another focuses on the liquid itself. In all cases, finding the balance between people and personalities is importance of yin and yang that can make breweries succeed. Lucky for me, I recently had the chance to sit down with some perfect examples of left and right brain come to life. In this pairing, Whit Baker is the former and Sean McKinney the latter. Whit's scientific "left" focuses on recipes, while Sean's creative "right" brings aspects of artistry to the act of drinking beer. Together, they're part of a set of owners and brewers behind Ancillary Fermentation, a sort of brewery/event company in the Triangle region of North Carolina. With thousands of breweries scattered across the country, including nearly 300 in the Tar Heel State, it's not uncommon to hear conversations that mention how quality beer alone isn't enough to exist in a competitive industry. This is where Ancillary flips the script. Both Whit and Sean have "day jobs" at Cary, North Carolina's Bond Brothers Beer Company, and once a month, create pop-up events for this side project. These are situations you do not find in beer, with one-off releases held at what are essentially theme parties. There was the holiday office party in an actual office. And a motivation-themed gathering at a CrossFit gym, complete with Hazy IPA served in clear, plastic water bottles. Their latest was held in a church. Each example an opportunity to push drinkers into new and weird spaces to share this incredibly common experience of drinking beer with friends in a new way. We'll delve into all of this in our conversation, including how Whit thinks about recipes and setting Ancillary's beer apart, but it's clear this effort is about way more than what goes into a glass. If anything, this chat feels like an important glimpse into the way today's breweries need to think when a taproom experience—no matter how wonderful—can sometimes get a little repetitive. This is Whit Baker and Sean McKinney of Ancillary Fermentation. Listen in.

What the hell is going in Maryland and Texas? You may have caught a bunch of coverage of these two states on GBH over the past year. Their state politicians are creating—depending on who you ask—all sorts of good, bad, and ugly situations for their respective craft beer industries. In Maryland, infighting about how beer is sold and regulated has led to the legislature's attempts to strip oversight from comptroller Peter Franchot, who has led efforts to boost the state's craft-beer economy and earned enemies along the way. In Texas, it's a similar story, where wholesalers and lobbyists have long thumbed their noses at small beer producers. Despite a recent breakthrough that could finally allow breweries to sell beer to-go from their taprooms, there are still shenanigans to work through as some wholesalers clap back. For this episode of the Good Beer Hunting Sightlines podcast, we're checking in on the latest from these two states. First, with Liz Murphy, a reporter and columnist who writes about Maryland beer for the Annapolis Capital Gazette, then with Josh Hare, founder and president of Austin's Hops & Grain Brewing, as well as board chairman of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild. Both will offer some insight into the quirky bitterness and political games at play. What the hell is going on? Listen in. [Editor's note: the Maryland portion of this podcast begins at 1:28, and the Texas portion begins at 30:50.]

In the past year, there's been plenty of talk in the industry about how cannabis is going to impact drinking trends. There's been close attention paid to states in the U.S. where marijuana has become legalized and its potential connection to declining alcohol consumption, which was on the downward slide anyway. But that's not why we're here today. In this episode of the GBH Collective, we are talking THC and CBD, but plenty of beer and food, too. As part of our special series of interviews to dive deeper with Good Beer Hunting contributors and friends on topics of writing, beer and the stories you read and hear from GBH, we're chatting with Jesse Friedman. As something of a serial entrepreneur, he's started a number of personal and professional enterprises, although you may know him best as a co-founder of Almanac Beer Company, and more recently Fava, a Los Angeles-based creative consulting and events company that focuses on the food and beverage space. If you're an avid Good Beer Hunting reader, you may also know him for an award-winning piece he wrote about food and beer in 2017, and his newest story, in which he explores food, beer, and cannabis in Alaska. All these interests and areas of expertise come together in this interview, where we talk about how he approaches his writing, especially when covering a nascent and somewhat taboo topic in marijuana. This is Jesse Friedman, entrepreneur, brewer, and foodie. Listen in.

Pressure Drop may have been founded during the early days of London's brewing renaissance, but its trajectory has been very different to many of its compatriots. While other UK breweries of the same age—the likes of Beavertown, Five Points, and Fourpure—expanded rapidly, putting together sales teams, attending trade shows and contract brewing overseas to hit demand, Pressure Drop's founders have chosen to grow slowly and organically even when the opportunity to explode seemed in reach. Back in 2013 their flagship beer, Pale Fire, was probably the most sought-after Pale Ale in London and way ahead of its time. Even though the recipe changed frequently, its reliably soft wheat body, haze, and juicy aroma was unlike anything else on the bar, a precursor of what would become the New England craze. It was so talked about that some people thought Pale Fire was the the name of a brewery, not a beer. It still amazes me that some of the seminal Pale Fire I drank back then was made on a 50L homebrew kit in a shed in Hackney. Even in 2016 they were still brewing on a five-barrel brewhouse down a dingy side road in East London. At this site they were only able to dedicate around 30% of their volume to the more idiosyncratic beers that had got them excited about brewing in the first place—beers like their Wugang Chops the Tree, their foraged-herb Hefeweiss and Nanban Kampai, a yuzu wheat IPA. I met Ben Freeman and Graham O'Brien at the Experiment, a taproom they opened in that archway after moving the brewery out. A much bigger expansion in 2016 has given them more tank space to play around, leading to a belated move into true New England brewing and canning, as well as putting them next door to Beavertown, where the brewery stands proud as a symbol of their different way of doing things.

What moves you? What is it that motivates your actions, beliefs, hopes, and dreams? There are all sorts of personal and professional ways to answer these questions, and sometimes we're lucky enough to have them intertwined. More than two decades ago, Eric Salazar helped to establish one of the most influential barrel programs in the world at New Belgium in Colorado. Its impact continues to resonate today, but with hope to push himself in new and exciting ways, Eric is starting all over again. This time, in Upstate New York. Since the start of the New Year, Eric moved from Colorado to Rochester, where he's in early stages of planning to create and curate a barrel program for Other Half Brewing. Going from one renowned brewery to another makes sense for a person of his tenure and expertise, but like other industry peers, he's taking this opportunity to start anew to refocus on the details that build something special from the start, this time around with a world of knowledge and experience. What that will be isn't entirely clear, but Eric's interest in local agriculture and new relationships promises to offer something exciting. And probably tasty, too. If you're a beer enthusiast, you've likely heard—and maybe even enjoyed—the hazy IPAs that have made Other Half so beloved around the world. Now it's time to meet the guy who's going to change your perception of what that business is capable of. This is Eric Salazar of Other Half Brewing. Listen in.