This week we welcomed Caine Lackey and David Ersland from Founders Brewing (Grand Rapids, Michigan). It was a pleasure to sit with the ir North Texas team to chat the current state of Craft Beer in Texas, from one of the nation's top breweries with wide distribution. The guys were fantastic in laying out their approach to the modern Craft Beer landscape, particularly from the perspective of a National Brewery working in the great state of Texas and dealing with the strong local bias. We had a blast chatting the history of the brewery as well and some of the unique features such as the original Barrel Aging "cave." Even in a challenging Craft Beer landscape, it's always great to hear a modern business model from one of the absolute best breweries in the nation. Thanks to the guys for everything this year and for hanging out with us in the taproom for the Spotlight.

Hope you enjoy the stories as much as we did here in the taproom. Thanks for giving this episode a listen and we hope to see you in house for the live taping of the next episode. Cheers!

Recorded live July 18, 2024 at Southside Cellar.
125 S Main St, Fort Worth, Texas 76104
www.southsidebeercellar.com
www.instagram.com/southsidecellar

Shawn Howell, host.
Recorded & Produced by Shaun Fernandez & Jaime Salazar.

Liquid beats are "Brewed Up" by J/O/E - check it out: www.instagram.com/brewedupjoe

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Recorded live and in-person, in front of a real human audience.

This week we welcomed State Manager, JT Bartlett, of legendary Firestone Walker Brewing Company (Paso Robles, California.) As JT is now a Fort Worth, Texas resident, we've been lucky enough to get to know him well and when we get to sit and chat Firestone Walker in a public forum, it's a huge treat for everyone! As one of the sharpest young minds in Craft Beer, JT brings a different perspective than we normally hear on the Spotlight from one of the absolute best breweries in the U.S. that deals with national distribution challenges. We got to hear JT peel back the curtain on their highly vaunted Barrel program, their portfolio of beloved brews, their forward-thinking brand vision, and also layout its execution. JT had a special visual presentation (in the first few mins) which Firestone Walker produced as their vision of the future and it was a treat for all of our patrons in-house. It was a pleasure as always to sit with JT and chat beer, but also get a comprehensive business minded approach to the modern Craft Beer game. 

Hope you enjoy the stories as much as we did here in the taproom. Thanks for giving this episode a listen and we hope to see you in house for the live taping of the next episode. Cheers!

Recorded live June 27, 2024 at Southside Cellar.
125 S Main St, Fort Worth, Texas 76104
www.southsidebeercellar.com
www.instagram.com/southsidecellar

Shawn Howell, host.
Recorded & Produced by Shaun Fernandez & Jaime Salazar.

Liquid beats are "Brewed Up" by J/O/E - check it out: www.instagram.com/brewedupjoe

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Recorded live and in-person, in front of a real human audience.

This week we welcomed Owner Dom Van Ausdall and Head Brewer Will Perry of False Idol Brewing (North Richland Hills, Texas). Ever since coming on the scene with ghost brew collaborations in the late teens, False Idol burst onto the DFW beer scene with sharp branding and a social media presence before opening. Brandon & Dom, both with backgrounds in the Craft Beer Distro game, brought their brewery online in 2020. They added Will to the team and after a long slog (as most breweries do) dealing with permitting and build out issues. Ever since coming online, their brewery in North Richland Hills has been a local favorite of the hardcore beer nerds in the Metroplex. Pumping out solid traditional brews like Viva & Fenris, but also crushing big DDH Double NEIPAs and huge Pastry Stouts has solidified them as one of DFWs best breweries. It was a great night hanging with the guys and chatting beer and the future of the brewery.

Hope you enjoy the stories as much as we did here in the taproom. Thanks for giving this episode a listen and we hope to see you in house for the live taping of the next episode. Cheers!

Recorded live June 20, 2024 at Southside Cellar.
125 S Main St, Fort Worth, Texas 76104
www.southsidebeercellar.com
www.instagram.com/southsidecellar

Shawn Howell, host.
Recorded & Produced by Shaun Fernandez & Jaime Salazar.

Liquid beats are "Brewed Up" by J/O/E - check it out: www.instagram.com/brewedupjoe

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Recorded live and in-person, in front of a real human audience.

This week we welcomed Harold Sherrell and Ryan Shramek from Big Country Organic Brewing Company (Pflugerville, TX). Our good friends from the Austin area were in-house to discuss the brand, the brews, and the future of their brewery. This was a real treat as we got into the real "nerd stat" details of the difficulties of operating a certified organic brewery. On top of the everyday hard labor of normal operations in a brewhouse, the ingredient sourcing/procurement, compliance, and processes of Organic Brewing add a whole new layer of challenges. It was a true pleasure to get an inside look at how they've met these challenges with a determined grit to develop crafty innovations.

Hope you enjoy the stories as much as we did here in the taproom. Thanks for giving this episode a listen and we hope to see you in house for the live taping of the next episode. Cheers!

Recorded live June 13, 2024 at Southside Cellar.
125 S Main St, Fort Worth, Texas 76104
www.southsidebeercellar.com
www.instagram.com/southsidecellar

Shawn Howell, host.
Recorded & Produced by Shaun Fernandez & Jaime Salazar.

Liquid beats are "Brewed Up" by J/O/E - check it out: www.instagram.com/brewedupjoe

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Recorded live and in-person, in front of a real human audience.

This week we welcomed Owner Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing, Dallas, TX. This was an absolute treat to have Michael in house, a real OG in the DFW Brew Scene. Peticolas opened for business proper in 2011 and has been a staple of quality brews in our market, all while maintaining his license as a practicing attorney. He was also elected to the Board of Directors of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild and has been instrumental in reforming Texas legislation in favor of independent Craft Brewers. It was a pleasure to have Michael out to Fort Worth for the evening. The man is amazing and a true legend in the game!

Hope you enjoy the stories as much as we did here in the taproom. Thanks for giving this episode a listen and we hope to see you in house for the live taping of the next episode. Cheers!

Recorded live June 6, 2024 at Southside Cellar.
125 S Main St, Fort Worth, Texas 76104
www.southsidebeercellar.com
www.instagram.com/southsidecellar

Shawn Howell, host.
Recorded & Produced by Shaun Fernandez & Jaime Salazar.

Liquid beats are "Brewed Up" by J/O/E - check it out: www.instagram.com/brewedupjoe

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Recorded live and in-person, in front of a real human audience.

This week we welcomed Owner Matt Peterson of Equal Parts Brewing out of Houston TX.  Matt and Martina were in-house to chat all things Equal Parts and give us a clear picture of life at their beautiful facility in a Historic building outside downtown in the 2nd Ward. We absolutely love their brews, clean and refreshing, and cannot wait to have them in house again. Look for their brews as regular rotations on our draft wall. 

Hope you enjoy the stories as much as we did here in the taproom. Thanks for giving this episode a listen and we hope to see you in house for the live taping of the next episode. Cheers!

Recorded live May 30, 2024 at Southside Cellar.
125 S Main St, Fort Worth, Texas 76104
www.southsidebeercellar.com
www.instagram.com/southsidecellar

Shawn Howell, host.
Recorded & Produced by Shaun Fernandez & Jaime Salazar.

Liquid beats are "Brewed Up" by J/O/E - check it out: www.instagram.com/brewedupjoe

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Recorded live and in-person, in front of a real human audience.

We kick off the first recorded podcast version of our weekly live Craft Beer discussions by welcoming in Matt Reynolds of Celestial Beerworks (Dallas, TX). After opening their doors in October 2018, Matt and his team have solidified themselves as one of the best breweries in all of DFW with killer Hazy IPAs, fantastic events at the brewery, and wide array of other brews and collaborations. It was a pleasure to have him out to Southside Cellar and this one was special as we got to sip on their brew, "Charlie", Brewed in honor of our fallen friend, who was the biggest advocate of the DFW and Texas-wide brew scene.

Hope you enjoy the stories as much as we did here in the taproom. Thanks for giving this episode a listen and we hope to see you in house for the live taping of the next episode. Cheers!

Recorded live May 2, 2024 at Southside Cellar.
125 S Main St, Fort Worth, Texas 76104
www.southsidebeercellar.com
www.instagram.com/southsidecellar

Shawn Howell, host.
Recorded & Produced by Shaun Fernandez & Jaime Salazar.

Liquid beats are "Brewed Up" by J/O/E - check it out: www.instagram.com/brewedupjoe

*Note: For this first recorded session, we did not have microphones for the customer Q&A, so the sound quality at the end is "Coors Light" quality at times.

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Recorded live and in-person, in front of a real human audience.