Good Beer Hunting

Welcome to another episode of The Fervent Few podcast. Every few weeks we present you with this bonus episode of the GBH podcast where we chat with members of our subscriber community. The Fervent Few subscribe to GBH like a magazine making a monthly contribution via Patreon. Members join us in a forum to talk about a wide range of topics that doesn't just stop at beer. And every week we pick one of these topics and present the community's answers to readers in the form of an article posted to Good Beer Hunting. You can find out more information by visiting patreon.com/goodbeerhunting On this episode we talk to Mark Twig of the hopefully soon to open Canvas Brewery in Ireland. But first Michael Kiser and I chat about our upcoming getaway to the wilds of Wisconsin, the difference between taprooms and bars, and what went down at this year's Great American Beer Festival.

Welcome to another episode of The Fervent Few podcast. Every few weeks we present you with this bonus episode of the GBH podcast where we chat with members of our subscriber community. The Fervent Few subscribe to GBH like a magazine making a monthly contribution via Patreon. Members join us in a forum to talk about a wide range of topics that doesn’t just stop at beer. And every week we pick one of these topics and present the community’s answers to readers in the form of an article posted to Good Beer Hunting. You can find out more information by visiting patreon.com/goodbeerhunting

On this episode we talk to Mark Twig of the hopefully soon to open Canvas Brewery in Ireland. But first Michael Kiser and I chat about our upcoming getaway to the wilds of Wisconsin, the difference between taprooms and bars, and what went down at this year’s Great American Beer Festival.

Welcome to another episode of The Fervent Few podcast. Every few weeks we present you with this bonus episode of the GBH podcast where we chat with members of our subscriber community. The Fervent Few subscribe to GBH like a magazine making a monthly contribution via Patreon. Members join us in a forum to talk about a wide range of topics that doesn’t just stop at beer. And every week we pick one of these topics and present the community’s answers to readers in the form of an article posted to Good Beer Hunting. You can find out more information by visiting patreon.com/goodbeerhunting

On this episode we talk to Mark Twig of the hopefully soon to open Canvas Brewery in Ireland. But first Michael Kiser and I chat about our upcoming getaway to the wilds of Wisconsin, the difference between taprooms and bars, and what went down at this year’s Great American Beer Festival.

This week, I chat with a couple that makes phenomenal cider in New Hampshire at Farnum Hill. It's all orchard-based from their own land at Poverty Lane Orchards. In fact, it's all made right there on-site in a repurposed barn. Steve Wood and Louisa Spencer have made a life with their cider, but in recent years as the sort of pseudo-craft-cider boom has created both momentum and vulnerability in the cider category, things have gotten a bit out of whack. After all, what is craft cider if it's not up to par with orchard-based traditional cider? It's a bit like starting up a craft beer craze when you already have Hill Farmstead and Jester King around. But that's what's happened in cider as these traditional orchardists have had to start competing alongside some fairly mundane cider in canned six packs. It's a blessing and a curse. The size of the pie increases, but the consumer is more confused than ever before. Despite that quandary, Farnum Hill is growing. They're building an entirely new cider house next to the old barn, and hoping the future is as bright as it seems. I stopped by on a whim. I was simply in the area for a wedding this summer and wasn't going to miss my chance to visit one of my favorite cider producers in the world. So this interview starts a bit spontaneously as Steve expected a chat, and I quickly realized that he and his partner Louisa needed to sit down and talk some things out. It starts abruptly and ends abruptly, but that's what oral history sounds like. And I treasure this conversation.

This week’s episode is with a couple that makes phenomenal cider in New Hampshire at Farnhum Hill. It’s all orchard based from their own land at Poverty Lane Orchards, and it’s all made right there on-site in a repurposed barn.

Steve Wood and Louisa Spencer have made a life with their cider, but in recent years as the sort of pseudo craft cider boom has created both momentum and vulnerability in the cider category, things have gotten a bit out of whack. After all, what is craft cider if it’s not up to par with orchard based traditional cider? It’s a bit like starting up a craft beer craze when you already have Hill Farmstead and Jester King around.

But that’s what’s happened in cider as these traditional orchardists have had to start competing alongside some fairly mundane cider in a 6-pack of cans. It’s a blessing and a curse. The size of the pie increases, but the consumer is more confused than ever before.

But despite that quandary, Farnhum Hill is growing. They’re building an entirely new cider house next to the old barn, and hoping the future is as bright as it seems.

I stopped by on a whim. I was simply in the area for a wedding this past summer and wasn’t going to miss my chance to visit one of my favorite cider producers in the world. So this interview starts a bit spontaneously as Steve expected a chat, and I quickly realized that him and his partner Louisa needed to sit down and talk some things out. And thankfully I had my road kit with me so we could record. It’ll start abruptly and end abruptly, but that’s what oral history sounds like. And I treasure this conversation.

This week’s episode is with a couple that makes phenomenal cider in New Hampshire at Farnhum Hill. It’s all orchard based from their own land at Poverty Lane Orchards, and it’s all made right there on-site in a repurposed barn.

Steve Wood and Louisa Spencer have made a life with their cider, but in recent years as the sort of pseudo craft cider boom has created both momentum and vulnerability in the cider category, things have gotten a bit out of whack. After all, what is craft cider if it’s not up to par with orchard based traditional cider? It’s a bit like starting up a craft beer craze when you already have Hill Farmstead and Jester King around.

But that’s what’s happened in cider as these traditional orchardists have had to start competing alongside some fairly mundane cider in a 6-pack of cans. It’s a blessing and a curse. The size of the pie increases, but the consumer is more confused than ever before.

But despite that quandary, Farnhum Hill is growing. They’re building an entirely new cider house next to the old barn, and hoping the future is as bright as it seems.

I stopped by on a whim. I was simply in the area for a wedding this past summer and wasn’t going to miss my chance to visit one of my favorite cider producers in the world. So this interview starts a bit spontaneously as Steve expected a chat, and I quickly realized that him and his partner Louisa needed to sit down and talk some things out. And thankfully I had my road kit with me so we could record. It’ll start abruptly and end abruptly, but that’s what oral history sounds like. And I treasure this conversation.

Welcome to another episode of The Fervent Few podcast. Every few weeks we present you with this bonus episode of the GBH podcast where we chat with members of our subscriber community. The Fervent Few subscribe to GBH like a magazine making a monthly contribution via Patreon. Members join us in a forum to talk about a wide range of topics that doesn't just stop at beer. And every week we pick one of these topics and present the community's answers to readers in the form of an article posted to Good Beer Hunting. You can find out more information by visiting patreon.com/goodbeerhunting Today we're going to call Dave Riddile of Collective Brewing Project in Ft. Worth Texas. They just got back from the beer meets wood festival in Portland Maine and Dave is fired up about their first major festival. But first lets catch up with Michael Kiser and hear about the first ever Good Beer Hunting Symposium that just took place recently in London.

Welcome to another episode of The Fervent Few podcast. Every few weeks we present you with this bonus episode of the GBH podcast where we chat with members of our subscriber community. The Fervent Few subscribe to GBH like a magazine making a monthly contribution via Patreon. Members join us in a forum to talk about a wide range of topics that doesn’t just stop at beer. And every week we pick one of these topics and present the community’s answers to readers in the form of an article posted to Good Beer Hunting. You can find out more information by visiting patreon.com/goodbeerhunting

Today we’re going to call Dave Riddile of Collective Brewing Project in Ft. Worth Texas. They just got back from the beer meets wood festival in Portland Maine and Dave is fired up about their first major festival. But first lets catch up with Michael Kiser and hear about the first ever Good Beer Hunting Symposium that just took place recently in London.

Welcome to another episode of The Fervent Few podcast. Every few weeks we present you with this bonus episode of the GBH podcast where we chat with members of our subscriber community. The Fervent Few subscribe to GBH like a magazine making a monthly contribution via Patreon. Members join us in a forum to talk about a wide range of topics that doesn’t just stop at beer. And every week we pick one of these topics and present the community’s answers to readers in the form of an article posted to Good Beer Hunting. You can find out more information by visiting patreon.com/goodbeerhunting

Today we’re going to call Dave Riddile of Collective Brewing Project in Ft. Worth Texas. They just got back from the beer meets wood festival in Portland Maine and Dave is fired up about their first major festival. But first lets catch up with Michael Kiser and hear about the first ever Good Beer Hunting Symposium that just took place recently in London.

You'll sometimes hear people describe craft beer as a sort of zeitgeist all its own, coming out of nowhere to upend a century-old domination of the big corporate brewers, rising like punk rock to legendary status by following its own rules, and changing people's expectations for what beer can be in the process. And a lot of that's true, though it didn't happen in a vacuum. Way back in episode 18 with Gary Fish of Deschutes, you hear a much more contextual perspective. Which is to say: craft beer, at least in its current form, is part of something much bigger that's changing about the way we eat and drink. The slow food movement that has transformed so many of the world's dining experiences from city to city, bringing things like "farm to table" into our common vernacular. Phrases like "know your farmer," which sounds a lot like "know your brewer." And "locavore," which sounds a lot like "drink local." All these things were setting a stage that craft beer now dances on. It just happens to be a part in the play where beer is stealing the show a bit. And that brings us to today's guest, Rick Muschiana. I first met Rick when he was working at Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids. Back in episode 10, we talked to founders Jason and Kristen Spaulding about their unique community and sustainability-focused brewpub. Rick helped them grow that operation, playing roles in marketing, sales, and operations. He then went on to lead Michigan sales for Virtue Cider in Fenville, Michigan. And then he took the plunge into his own concept, focused on a sort of Nordic style of cuisine alongside great beer, wine, and more in a restaurant and garden concept called Sovengard in Grand Rapids. It's there you'll find the culmination of Rick's former professional experiences, but also something more fundamental—the influence his parents had on his perspective on food, beverage, and hospitality. They remain an influence to this day. The result is a place in Grand Rapids unlike any other.