Good Beer Hunting

On this week’s episode of the Fervent Few podcast, we’ll talk with a couple of members of the community about taprooms, social media, what they find exciting about the Fervent Few and whatever else comes up. The Fervent Few is our subscriber community who 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. 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 Chris Koentz a brewer at Pollyanna brewing in the suburbs of Chicago and Kate Nolan a freelance social media manager also from the suburbs of Chicago. Before we talk to them let’s have a chat with Michael Kiser and see what he’s been up to since the last Fervent Few podcast.

The county of Yorkshire has more breweries per capita than anywhere else in the UK. And though it's home to buzzing city hubs such as Leeds and Sheffield, much of the brewing landscape is to be found within the county's rural environment and smaller towns. It's home to traditional breweries such as Theakston's, Timothy Taylor, and Black Sheep as well breweries with a more modern outlook, such as Summer Wine and Rooster's. Richard Burhouse, along with his brother Johnny and head brewer Stuart Ross, founded Magic Rock Brewing Company in the town of Huddersfield in 2010. Before the arrival of Magic Rock, Huddersfield already had a reputation for being a great beer town, as it was home to renowned pubs such as The Grove and The Sportsman. However, it was perhaps the arrival of Magic Rock, and subsequently its taproom in 2015, which really put the town on the national beer map. As well as being inspired by Yorkshire's real-ale heritage, Burhouse was also fascinated by what was happening in the U.S., and has spent plenty of time researching beer in the States. The influence of West Coast breweries such as Stone, Green Flash, and Russian River is immediately apparent in his beers, such as High Wire Pale Ale and Cannonball IPA. Not content to rest on its laurels, however, Magic Rock is constantly adapting its brewing processes to keep pace with trends. The past 12 months has seen them release several New England-inspired limited release IPAs, some of which have been collaborations with the likes of Cloudwater and Other Half. At the same time, Burhouse is trying to balance his brewery in the local market by simultaneously offering a high quality, nicely priced range of cask ales. In this episode, we skip from topics such as pricing and quality issues, to the takeover of RateBeer, which has often showered plaudits on Magic Rock's beers. We also speak briefly about the sold out Uppers & Downers London, where we're super excited to have Magic Rock pouring a collab with Dark Woods Coffee this September. This episode was recorded in a working pub near my home in North London home, and as a result, there's a couple occasions where there's a little background noise. Thanks for your patience.

The county of Yorkshire has more breweries per capita than anywhere else in the UK. Although it’s home to buzzing city hubs such as Leeds and Sheffield, much of the brewing landscape is to be found within the county’s rural environment and smaller towns. It’s home to traditional breweries such as Theakston’s, Timothy Taylor and Black Sheep as well breweries with a more modern outlook, such as Summer Wine and Rooster’s.  

Richard Burhouse, along with his brother Johnny and head brewer Stuart Ross, founded Magic Rock Brewing Company in the town of Huddersfield in 2010. Before the arrival of Magic Rock, Huddersfield already had a reputation for being a great beer town, being home to renowned pubs such as The Grove and The Sportsman. However, it was perhaps the arrival of Magic Rock, and subsequently its taproom in 2015, which really put the town on the national beer map.  

As well as being inspired by Yorkshire’s real-ale heritage, Burhouse was also fascinated by what was happening in the US and has spent plenty of time researching beer in the States. The in fluence of West Coast breweries such as Stone, Green Flash and Russian River is immediately apparent in his beers, such as High Wire Pale Ale and Cannonball IPA.  

Not content to rest on its laurels, however, Magic Rock is constantly adapting its brewing processes to keep pace with trends. The past twelve months has seen them release several New England inspired limited release IPA’s, some of which have been collaborations with the likes of Cloudwater and Other Half. At the same time, Burhouse is trying to balance his brewery in the local market, by simultaneously offering a high quality, yet good value range of cask ales.  

Over the next hour we skip from topics such as pricing and quality issues, to thetakeover of Ratebeer, which has often showered plaudits on Magic Rock’s beers. We also speak briefly about the sold out Uppers & Downers London, where we’re super excited to have Magic Rock pouring a collab with Dark Woods coffee this September. This episode was recorded in a working pub near my home in North London andas a result there’s a couple of occasions where there’s a little background noise. Apologies for this, I hope it doesn’t upset your listening experience too much.

The county of Yorkshire has more breweries per capita than anywhere else in the UK. Although it’s home to buzzing city hubs such as Leeds and Sheffield, much of the brewing landscape is to be found within the county’s rural environment and smaller towns. It’s home to traditional breweries such as Theakston’s, Timothy Taylor and Black Sheep as well breweries with a more modern outlook, such as Summer Wine and Rooster’s.  

Richard Burhouse, along with his brother Johnny and head brewer Stuart Ross, founded Magic Rock Brewing Company in the town of Huddersfield in 2010. Before the arrival of Magic Rock, Huddersfield already had a reputation for being a great beer town, being home to renowned pubs such as The Grove and The Sportsman. However, it was perhaps the arrival of Magic Rock, and subsequently its taproom in 2015, which really put the town on the national beer map.  

As well as being inspired by Yorkshire’s real-ale heritage, Burhouse was also fascinated by what was happening in the US and has spent plenty of time researching beer in the States. The in fluence of West Coast breweries such as Stone, Green Flash and Russian River is immediately apparent in his beers, such as High Wire Pale Ale and Cannonball IPA.  

Not content to rest on its laurels, however, Magic Rock is constantly adapting its brewing processes to keep pace with trends. The past twelve months has seen them release several New England inspired limited release IPA’s, some of which have been collaborations with the likes of Cloudwater and Other Half. At the same time, Burhouse is trying to balance his brewery in the local market, by simultaneously offering a high quality, yet good value range of cask ales.  

Over the next hour we skip from topics such as pricing and quality issues, to thetakeover of Ratebeer, which has often showered plaudits on Magic Rock’s beers. We also speak briefly about the sold out Uppers & Downers London, where we’re super excited to have Magic Rock pouring a collab with Dark Woods coffee this September. This episode was recorded in a working pub near my home in North London andas a result there’s a couple of occasions where there’s a little background noise. Apologies for this, I hope it doesn’t upset your listening experience too much.

On a recent trip to Boston and the surrounding area I was keen to hit up some of the more sought-after breweries like Trillium and Lamplighter, but also a few places that were fundamental to the still-underdeveloped scene in the area, like Cambridge Brewing and the business of today's guest, Suzanne Schalow of Craft Beer Cellar. Suzanne was the voice in the desert for awhile in Belmont, a short drive from the city, in a commuter town that has a lot of questions about craft beer when she and her partner Kate first opened their doors 16 years ago. Fundamental questions that we're all still trying to answer in different ways, like, "What is craft beer?" And earlier this year, as Suzanne lead the business into a national franchise model, she encountered a few unknowns, like how to talk about and manage quality with her franchisees—and who makes a decision about quality. It seems simple in many ways that a retailer would have a strong point of view in their curation process, but like defining craft, defining quality presented a host of issues as well. So speaking with Suzanne and her new brand manager John Thompson, it was clear that while we were at the end of one long phase of the Craft Beer Cellar's story, a whole new chapter was about to begin.

On a recent trip to Boston and the surrounding area I was keen to hit up some of the more sought after breweries like Trillium and Lamplighter but also a few places that were fundamental to the still-underdeveloped scene in the area, like Cambridge Brewing and today's guest, Suzanne Schalow of Craft Beer Cellar.

Susan was the voice in the desert for awhile in Belmont, a short drive from the city, in a commuter town that has a lot of questions about craft beer when Susan and her partner Kate first opened their doors 16 years ago. Fundamental questions that we're all still trying to answer in different ways, like "what is craft beer?"

And earlier this year, as Susan lead the business into a national franchise model, she encountered a few unknowns, like how to talk about and manage quality with her franchisees - and who makes a decision about quality. it seems simple in many ways that a retailer would have a strong point of view in their curation process, but like defining craft, defining quality presented a host of issues as well.

So speaking with Susan and her new brand manager John Thompson, it was clear that while we were at the end of one long phase of the Craft Beer Cellar's story, a whole new chapter was about to begin.

On a recent trip to Boston and the surrounding area I was keen to hit up some of the more sought after breweries like Trillium and Lamplighter but also a few places that were fundamental to the still-underdeveloped scene in the area, like Cambridge Brewing and today's guest, Suzanne Schalow of Craft Beer Cellar.

Susan was the voice in the desert for awhile in Belmont, a short drive from the city, in a commuter town that has a lot of questions about craft beer when Susan and her partner Kate first opened their doors 16 years ago. Fundamental questions that we're all still trying to answer in different ways, like "what is craft beer?"

And earlier this year, as Susan lead the business into a national franchise model, she encountered a few unknowns, like how to talk about and manage quality with her franchisees - and who makes a decision about quality. it seems simple in many ways that a retailer would have a strong point of view in their curation process, but like defining craft, defining quality presented a host of issues as well.

So speaking with Susan and her new brand manager John Thompson, it was clear that while we were at the end of one long phase of the Craft Beer Cellar's story, a whole new chapter was about to begin.

On this week's Fervent Few bonus episode, we're going to get to know some more of our subscribers, a community we started called Fervent Few. These folks subscribe to GBH like a magazine, supporting us financially each month, and as part of there subscriber benefits, they join the GBH team in a community forum where we discuss a wide range of topics, often including professional retailers, brewers, distributors and sales people with expert perspectives. But in the Fervent Few community, everyone has an equal voice, and a respect for others opinions. I've been thrilled to see so many genuine and intellectually honest conversations transpire. Our Fervent Few community is managed by Jim Plachy, and each week he hosts a weekly topic with our members and captures their opinions in a regular column on the site. We'll ring up a couple Fervent Few members, Kristen Foster a blogger and GBH fan from Boston and Michael Boyer a lawyer from North Carolina who works with a host of craft breweries.

On this week’s Fervent Few bonus episode, we’re going to get to know some more of our subscribers, a community we started called Fervent Few. These folks subscribe to GBH like a magazine, supporting us financially each month, and as part of there subscriber benefits, they join the GBH team in a community forum where we discuss a wide range of topics, often including professional retailers, brewers, distributors and sales people with expert perspectives. But in the Fervent Few community, everyone has an equal voice, and a respect for others opinions. I’ve been thrilled to see so many genuine and intellectually honest conversations transpire.

Our Fervent Few community is managed by Jim Plachy, and each week he hosts a weekly topic with our members and captures their opinions in a regular column on the site.

We'll ring up a couple Fervent Few members, Kristen Foster a blogger and GBH fan from Boston and Michael Boyer a lawyer from North Carolina who works with a host of craft breweries.

On this week’s Fervent Few bonus episode, we’re going to get to know some more of our subscribers, a community we started called Fervent Few. These folks subscribe to GBH like a magazine, supporting us financially each month, and as part of there subscriber benefits, they join the GBH team in a community forum where we discuss a wide range of topics, often including professional retailers, brewers, distributors and sales people with expert perspectives. But in the Fervent Few community, everyone has an equal voice, and a respect for others opinions. I’ve been thrilled to see so many genuine and intellectually honest conversations transpire.

Our Fervent Few community is managed by Jim Plachy, and each week he hosts a weekly topic with our members and captures their opinions in a regular column on the site.

We'll ring up a couple Fervent Few members, Kristen Foster a blogger and GBH fan from Boston and Michael Boyer a lawyer from North Carolina who works with a host of craft breweries.