Tales From the Cask Craft Beer Podcast

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. And after 344 episodes, it’s time to draw the curtain on our little show. Our parent Mims Distributing is going out of business after 56 years, and so we are winding down Tales too.

We SO appreciate all of the wonderful guests who have shared their time, stories, beers and ciders (and even meads!) with us.

We are most grateful to all y’all who have listened, sent in news items, gave us great feedback, and been our friends since 2013 when we started this, huddled around the mic on a laptop.

We hope you keep finding amazing brews to enjoy and share with others. Beer brings people together!

All the best,

Chip & Jenn

We are still getting over the massive Holiday Extravaganza party! So to ring out the old and ring in the new, we are just relaxing at the bar sharing yuletide stories! And of course we have some old and new treats: Foothills Craft Happiness Dream IPA, Sierra Nevada 40th Hoppy Anniversary Ale, and the always lovely Rodenbach Caractere Rouge!

Even though it’s the end/beginning of the year, there is still news. We start with Forbes wrapping up 2019 with the top seven shockers from the year’s beer news. Next up Food & Wine finds that mixing beer and wine is about to get easier in California, while The LA Times reports that Insurgente Brewing tried to reopen its brewery in Tijuana, while the city promptly shut it down again! Then Vinepair (thanks Steve!) reveals a Viking tradition and one-time Norwegian law that required brewing beer for Christmas, and we wind up with WPVI (Philly!) on the art of aging aka a beer club for seniors that’s brewing up fun!

Our carryover #caskquiz asked “what beers did you get in your stocking this year?” This week we want to hear “what’s your beer prediction for 2020?”

We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

Time just keeps flying by doesn’t it? It’s our lucky 7th time with the kitties as we have everyone up to the bar to celebrate our Holiday Extravaganza! We have whales galore, and stories to share, and of course a song at the end!

To keep the holiday spirit alive, we have a couple of heartwarming stories to share. First Vice UK visits the insanely competitive world of craft beer resales (just in time for Santa’s stocking stuffers!). Then in a great Grinchy trick, Food & Wine finds that craft beer, wine and spirits producers are facing a major tax hike if Congress doesn't get its act together! At the last minute though, the Grinch found the strength of ten Grinches, plus two as reported by KIII (South Texas) in that the U.S. Congress is extending the tax cut on craft beer brewers!

This week we want to hear “what beers did you get in your stocking this year?”

We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

Our old buddy Kris Harper with DuClaw is closing in on his 5-timer jacket! He joins us at the bar this week to help kickstart our celebrations for the end of 2019! And he has some awesome beers to try: Sour Me Wild Cherry Ale, Sour Me Double Blueberry Ale, and Apple Brandy Retribution. Plus we sneak in a little Upland Paw Paw just for fun!

The MegaMergerMania just won’t stop! Following up with the Ballast Point shocker from last week, The Motley Fool asks is Constellation Brands is throwing in the towel on craft beer? Then the New Belgium story heats up in Nikkei Asian Review revealing that Kirin's New Belgium deal is being threatened by Kirin’s Myanmar links! We pivot to happier news from Forbes who is proposing a toast to National Lager Day, followed by a fun editorial in Good Beer Hunting opining that White Claw might be the only thing that can save craft beer from itself! And as we love to do, we close out the week with real science via The Daily Mail demonstrating that tapping the side of a beer can will NOT stop it fizzing out!

Last week’s #caskquiz asked “what’s your reaction to the Ballast Point saga?” This week we want to hear “what beers do you want in your stocking this year?”

We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

There are big doings down in Charlotte for Sycamore Brewing, and Archie Gleason and Kimmie Krohn are here to share all the news! We learn about the explosive growth that the brewery has continued to enjoy this year, plus their plans for expansion and a new brewpub! Then we have four taste treats to try: Christmas Cookie WInter Ale, Tropical Kush IPA, Special Brownies Stout, and Numb Numb Juice DIPA!

The MegaMergerMania kicked into overdrive after the holiday, and in reverse too! It’s anti-MegaMergerMania with the shocking news via MarketWatch (thanks Alex and Mark!) reporting that Constellation is unloading its $1 billion craft beer acquisition Ballast Point to a small Chicago-area brewery! Whoa! Then kicking it back into drive Colorado Daily reveals the agreement that will keep the Boulder Beer brand alive outside of its local taproom! Next The BBC finds that Japanese beer exports to South Korea have hit zero amid a trade spat while Iflscience (thanks Frank!) shows how strong beers may be full of the same gut-friendly bacteria as yogurt! Finally Forbes asks (and answers) what makes this beer gay? and The Dallas Morning News wants you to tell a ‘Harry Potter’ fan that The Wizard’s Beer Festival is coming to Dallas!

Last week we carried over our #caskquiz question asking “what was your go to food and beer pairing for Thanksgiving this year?” This week we want to hear “what’s your reaction to the Ballast Point saga?”

We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

After all the people we have had in the bar lately, we just want to kick back and relax before the Thanksgiving mayhem heading our way this week! So we leisurely review the news and chat, and then we try some great brews! They are AleSmith Coastal Connect New Zealand Style Pilsner, Hardywood Christmas Morning Imperial Milk Stout, and DuClaw Caramel Cookie Retribution Imperial Stout!

We have a week off from MegaMergerMania finally, beginning with Vice offering some bad news if you invested money in a craft beer company in the UK. Next up Stacker has a terrific timeline showing the cost of a beer the year you turned 21, followed by Delish visiting BrewDog’s newest venture - kennels and beer! Then Ozy reveals why Black Friday is best for limited-edition beer, and we close up with WRAL (thanks Scott!) heading down to a Surf City brewery that has created eco-friendly packaging that is edible for wildlife!

Since we recorded early this week we are carrying over our #caskquiz question asking “what was your go to food and beer pairing for Thanksgiving this year?”

We love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in Apple Podcasts,  Stitcher, Overcast, or your favorite podcast app if you haven’t done so!

We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

You know we loves us some tech, and Untappd remains one of our fave apps! And of course our Thanksgiving ep is one of our faves of the year! So we are stoked to combine tech and turkey (or chicken) with the return of Brandon Walker and welcome newbie Chandler Hatch from Untappd to the bar! The guys tell us about their exciting new venture with retailers and distributors, and they join us for one of Jenn’s incredible food pairing dinners! This year we feature Olde Hickory On Cloud 9, Rodenbach Classic,  Alesmith RKS, Anchor Christmas 2019, Hardywood Cuvee Peach, and Blake’s Triple Jam!

It’s a double whammy with MegaMergerMania this week, beginning with the shocker from The Denver Post (thanks Michael and Steve!) revealing that New Belgium Brewing, Colorado’s largest craft brewery, has announced a sale to an international beer conglomerate! Then Brewbound reports that Artisanal Brewing Ventures is going to acquire Bold Rock Hard Cider! We pivot away to The Hill reporting that a beer industry poll finds a majority back a tax break for alcohol producers, while Forbes is a fly on the wall when ‘Brewing A Revolution’ brings craft beer history to the Smithsonian and The News & Observer shows how craft beer changed America. We close up the week with Food & Wine (thanks Steve!) announcing 'Small Brewery Sunday' as the perfect celebration to wrap up Thanksgiving weekend!

Last week we ask you “what are your top 5 best breweries of the past decade?” This week as is custom each Thanksgiving we want to know we are wanting to know “what is your go to food and beer pairing for Thanksgiving?”

We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

Cider is the beverage that really makes us feel like fall is here, and our friend Kirby Dean from  Blake’s Hard Cider reminds us why! Kirby shares all the news from the Michigan orchards and the cidery, and then he’s got three delectable treats for us: Classic Apple Lite Cider, Mixed Berry Lite Cider,  and Mojito Lime Lite Cider!

MegaMergerMania news returns via The Charleston Post & Courier (thanks Michael and Steve!) reporting that a new-to-South Carolina craft brewer (among others!) was just bought by the world’s biggest beer company! Next The Motley Fool shows that apart from that big acquisition, AB InBev is now looking to corner the hard seltzer market. Then it’s the Santa Rosa Press Democrat (thanks Mike!) profiling Bear Republic as it looks toward a bullish 2020, and Forbes demonstrates how small, independent distributors are changing the face of craft beer. We close out the week with Paste (thanks Alex!) sharing their ranking of the 50 best American breweries of the 2010s!

We are sad that so few people could answer last week’s #caskquiz which asked “what’s your workout reward brew? And what’s the workout?” This week we are wanting to know “what are your top 5 best breweries of the past decade?”

We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

The better for you category in craft beer is exploding right now, and we are so lucky to be working with Sufferfest Beer Company and our buddy Margaret Link, their Director of Marketing! Margaret relates the story of the brewery’s origin and tells us how she got into the beer biz (yes, it’s related to being an athlete!). And then she drops three taste treats for us: Repeat Kolsch, FKT Pale Ale, and Head Start Stout!

Climate change leads the news this week via Forbes visiting evacuated Sonoma County breweries who are reopening with electricity but without gas. Next up The New York Times reveals that the merchandising of college sports is leading to team-branded ales, and Forbes asks are you ready for craft malt to change craft beer? Then it’s The Associated Press making a last call as Utah is set to tap out on low-alcohol beer sales, and we wind up with People (thanks Frank!) profiling a North Dakota brewing company that has put pictures of adoptable dogs on its beer cans!

Last week’s #caskquiz question was our annual Series pick question: “Astros or Nats? Or I have no dog in this fight and want a great Series! Or I just want football!” This week’s #caskquiz asks “what’s your workout reward brew? And what’s that Sufferfest-worthy workout?

We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

We are really fortunate to have so many great people from NC breweries working with us, and Birdsong Brewing’s Ryan McLoughlin and Casey Browning with are two of the best! The guys bring the latest news from the C-Town brew scene (that’s Charlotte y’all!) and they have super beers to share! They are Friends in Low Places IPA, Movin’ on Up Hazy Pale Ale, Rich Girl Imperial Oatmeal Raisin Porter, and Wake Up Porter!

A couple of terrific interviews lead the news this week, beginning with The Arizona Republic talking with a Phoenix woman who started her own brewery because craft beer bars were a boy's club! Then The Takeout chats with Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman about craft beer’s past and its future relevance. Next up CNN visits cannabis firms who are hopping on the non-alcoholic beer wagon, followed by The Wilmington Star-News finding that barley is now only for beer, and that’s about it. We close the news with VinePair asking if we got milk stout and craft beer’s hazy respect for iconic intellectual property!

Last week’s carryover #caskquiz question was “what’s the first brewery you remember visiting?” This week in honor of the World Series, we pose the annual Series pick question: “Astros or Nats? Or I have no dog in this fight and want a great Series! Or I just want football!”

We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and liking ourFacebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!