Libations for Everyone

It's been a min since LFE has hosted a coffee industry guest! Sam Kjellberg insures that 2023 won't pass without one, and like a proper pour over, it's worth the wait. Sam had a truly fascinating "past life" as a musician and academic, but decided to slide over from his drum set to a drum roaster seven years ago, and the spectacular, bleeding edge SK Coffee is the result.

Charles & Ben served up a spicy, chocolatey, exclusive barrel-pick bourbon for this conversation about Sam's musical background, the past, present & future of the coffee industry, and these Qs of the week:

☯️ Who is your OTHER other half?

🎅 If "Santa" was real-- name one selfish thing that you would wish for.

📖 Coffee started as a passion, that became a business. What else do you love that you feel could become a professional pursuit?

🥶 When it gets cold AF, what food that you like to prepare are you craving most?

🎧 What are you listening to right now when you're knee-deep in work?

☕️ What's happening in coffee culture right now that really excites you?

Coffee, tea, bourbon or otherwise-- pour yourself a lil something special, and let's do this thang.

Beverages of Choice

The hosts and their guest drank (courtesy of Beam Suntory):

• Maker's Mark Private Select - Minnesota Timberwolves Barrel Selection

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It's the RETURN OF THE BEAK. The orchestrator of LFE's soundtrack, Mr. Lazerbeak, dropped in to the Semple Mansion to experience the upgrade from the "polish basketball court" he recorded in the first go-around. Libations for Everyone is all grown up!

The boys put back six (plus) shots of tequila, and discussed Beak's newest drops from Lady Midnight (new track at the end of the ep!) and Dessa, Tiger Woods for some reason, and the following shot-complimenting topics of the week:

🎫 As an attendee, or as a performer-- how do you feel about encores?

🆓 Name something that should be free, but isn't.

🌹 It's ROM COM SZN. What's your fav rom com to watch during the holidays?

🍳 What's your fav order at a diner or anywhere where you can't just eat whatever you want?

🕢 People are dining out earlier and earlier in the US-- what about you?

🧆 Name the last food (or anything) that you tried for the very first time, and whether you loved or hated it.

Click play for Lazerbeak's soundtrack. Let's go!

Beverages of Choice

The hosts and their guest drank (courtesy of Beam Suntory):

• Tres Generaciones Tequila Plata

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Chef Ed Porter is a storyteller of many mediums. A man of myriad arts, Chef moved to Minneapolis from NY in 98 to open Marcus Samuelsson's second location of the legendary Aquavit. His love of food is equalled only by his love of music, as heard on his brand-new album "de zéro", for which he has been scheming up a multi-course meal to pair with each track. Wild, right??

Chef gives Quam and Charles the scoop on that ambitious creative pursuit, and gets in the weeds about spicy food, New York food culture, embracing life in the Twin Cities all these years after moving from NY, and a bundle more, in addition to these topics of the week:

❄️ It's the little things-- what seemingly innocuous activity makes you very happy?

🪩 As you age, what's a non-starter for attending or enjoying events and parties that didn't used to irk you?

🎶 Pair a favorite dish that you prepare with a song or album that you love.

☕️ As a frequent traveler, what do you always seem to seek out in a new city to familiarize yourself with its frequency?

💭 What is a particularly fond memory or accomplishment from dining somewhere special?

💞 What struck up your love of music and food commingling as dual arts?

Take a seat, grab your headphones, and let chef serve you up right!

Beverages of Choice

The hosts and their guest drank (courtesy of Beam Suntory):

• Hibiki Master Select

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Stephanie Meyer and the boys have been shuffling schedules for some time hoping to connect on an episode of your favorite podcast, and it happened exactly as it was meant to. This wonderful human, coach, personal chef, instructor, author, caterer and actual beam of light (scientifically confirmed), brought Ben and Charles SNACKS!!!-- including the titular tunabutter-- to share alongside a whole lotta beverages, and a truly wide ranging talk about life, in the library at Semple Mansion.

LFE is still learning some new tricks, as one of the topics of the week comes courtesy of Friend of the Podcast™ Stephanie March (the shorter Steph in this tall/short crime fighting duo). Without further ado:

🩰 What intoxicating scent makes you go **ballerina toes** toward the source of it?

🍗 If you could insert any new or unorthodox dish into a family holiday, what would it be, and on what holiday?

📚 What's a book that changed your life, or has moved you lately?

👯‍♂️ How do you feel about making new friends in this day and age, and how has it changed over the years?

🧊 Why are anisettes (ya know, "licorice" flavored booze) so polarizing with Americans, and what do you love about them so much?

🕵️‍♀️ Who would you be happy to be mistaken for in public, and what dastardly deeds would you utilize these dark powers for?

Treat yourself to this snack for your ears. You deserve it!

Beverages of Choice

The hosts and their guest drank (courtesy of Beam Suntory):

• Tres Generaciones Reposado Tequila

And also

• Pernod Pastis

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PIIIIIIIP! LFE's second set of hundreds kicks off at our new recording location in a literal mansion. Pip Hanson is perhaps the Twin Cities' best know bar person. He's been thrice nominated by James Beard, launched the legendary Marvel Bar (RIP 🙏🏽), led the team at London's Artesian (four time Best Bar in the World), spent time honing his skills in Japan, and now leads the beverage program at O'Shaughnessy Distilling-- bending Keeper's Heart Whiskey to his will in ways that delight and astound.

This episode is perfectly timed for your holiday commute /slash/ engineered for ignoring your family with your buds in. If they ask why you're chuckling, tell 'em "you wouldn't get it", Your topics o' the week:

🍸 What's a shunned beverage that you wish you didn't have to justify to people?

🧥 What's your fav clothing shift for the cooler seasons?

🏙️ After traveling the world-- are you a Twin Citizen for life?

🎵 Do you feel your subversive music tastes apply to your tastes in other things?

🧪 What's your current favorite "je ne sai quoi" beverage ingredient?

🐕 Teaching old dogs new tricks: what's a new skill you're learning?

MA!! Pass the mashed potatoes!

Beverages of Choice

The hosts and their guest drank (courtesy of Beam Suntory):

• Old Grand Dad 101
• ...and some Keeper's Heart Irish + American Whiskey, c/o Pip and O'Shaughnessy Distilling

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It's the LFE centennial! Get ready for the shiggles (TM 2023 LFE Enterprisez) in historic edition ONE HUNDO, with the immensely talented Jesse Valenciana of Nashville's Secret Bodega. Jesse has been styling on the US food and bev scene for over a decade, as a marketing G at Goose Island and Against the Grain, co-author of cookbooks like Eat Street and ManBQue, frequent TV and radio guest in the Chicagoland area, and current Nashvillian foodzilla. This man has even cooked in the James Beard house. Holy heck.

After spending the weekend running amok on Nashville with the boys, Jesse sat down for this sprawling episode, including six shots and six topics:

🥑 Name a favorite food texture, and a hated food texture.

🎫 Concerts, movies, events, festivals-- name a time you walked out of something you paid to be at.

🔪 What's a food preparation technique everyone seems to get wrong, but is somehow ubiquitous?

🗣️ Recount a piece of advice you were given long ago that still sticks with you today.

📖 What cookbook or recipe author do you love and swear by?

💩 Tell us a "kind of gross" story.

Thank you thank you thank you for 100 episodes of support! We love you all!! It's showtime.

Beverages of Choice

The hosts and their guest drank (courtesy of Beam Suntory):

• El Tesoro Extra Añejo Tequila

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• Roku Japanese Gin

• Jim Beam Double Oak

As you may know, the boys of Libations for Everyone just returned from a wild work trip to NYC, where they pounded out a bunch of audio and video magic (...and food and beverages), in the name of HIGH QUALITY CONTENT for your discerning ears and eyes. The maestro of the video crew for LFE's forthcoming video adventures was fast rising director Conor Champley, writer of myriad ads that you have seen thousands of times, and writer, director and/or producer of multiple films, including the award winning Sick Boy and A Day Out.

Conor and the fellas kick back six shots of spectacular spirits, provided by LFE sponsor Beam Suntory, for each of the six topics, plus some bonus shots and bonus talking points, like Conor talking about how he thought the all-day video shoot went with the boys at a variety of spots in NYC, with various personalities including Dessa. Your topics:

🌉 What's the food that you crave most while cruising the city after a night of heavy drinking?

🎥 What under appreciated or little known movie do you love that people should dig into?

🌭 What's a food that you dislike that you wish you loved more?

🔊 Name a total random favorite sound.

🍴 What was your family's "celebration restaurant" that you realized, as an adult, was not actually a fancy establishment

🗽 Give us one of your craziest New York stories

Put yourself in a New York state of mind, and a little something in your cup, and let's get it!

Beverages of Choice

The hosts and their guest drank:

• El Tesoro Añejo Tequila
• Suntory Whisky Toki

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Kyle Hopkins endeared himself to a worldwide audience from his very first appearance on this season of Masterchef on FOX (Srsly, you should watch his audition, it is truly wonderful). His love of the Minnesota State Fair and having family that lives in the Twin Cities brought him to LFE's doorstep for Maker's Mark horsefeathers, Patisserie 46 pastries paired with lambic, and a tremendous conversation about his experiences on Masterchef, making Gordon Ramsay laugh so hard he chortled, his career as a Cicerone and beer professional for Surly Brewing, and all of these topics:

🍅 What's a food you can't stop eating at peak ripeness AND a food you hate eating when it's out of season?

🍗 What's your "last grill out" meal when the seasons are about to turn, and what's the soundtrack for it?

🥃 How are you taking your whiskey after a long day manning the grill for a gathering?

🎟️ What makes the Minnesota State Fair so special?

🥙 Name a regional food and a regional beverage that you would make a special trip just to try from the source, ...and then some. Order up!

Beverages of Choice

The hosts and their guest drank:

• Maker's Mark Horsefeathers (and straight!)
• Liefmans Kriek Brut

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