Tap That AZ - The Arizona Craft Beer Podcast

Rob Fullmer, the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild, and the craft brewer guilds all across the country are the ones who fight for our right to party. Or just drink great craft beer. Either way its a pretty important job. In this conversation with Rob we talk about the upcoming ACBG events including the Real, Wild & Woody Beer Festival that occurs July 28th as well as all the other fun and exciting stuff he does. Enjoy the show!

In this episode Scott Keys from Beers N Buddies joins me as my co-host. Not only is Scott a craft beer enthusiast but he is also a real life historian. Like, for real. And what a perfect co-host for this episode because we sit down to talk with Ed Sipos the author of "Brewing Arizona: A Century of Beer in the Grand Canyon State" to learn about....well, I think the title says it all. Enjoy the show!

In this episode I sit down with guest hosts Tamara Stanger and Erik Merkow to chat with Brett Vibber, owner and chef at Cartwrights Modern Cuisine. Brett is redefining what we think of as Arizona cuisine. Arizona is home to one of the most vibrant ecosystems on Earth and the amount of amazing food that this land provides will blow you away. Brett is teaching us all what Arizona cuisine actually is. Enjoy the show!

For over half of the 20th century Youngstown, Ohio was the place to be. The "Steel Valley" was one of the strongest cities in the "Industrial Heartland of North America". The removal of the steel industry in the 1960's and 1970's brought this city to its knees and its hasn't been able to stand up ever since. Since 1990 the city has lost nearly 30% of its population.

Over the years it has been in the national news but not for the right reasons. At different points over the past few decades it has been know to have the highest murder rate per capita in the US was well as the highest arson rate per capita. It was one of the last mafia strongholds in the US. One of the most highly regarded college football players of our era was a Youngstown boy. Maurice Clarett set the freshman rushing record at Ohio State and was the key piece to Ohio State winning a national championship in 2002. Debacle after debacle led to a high speed police chase in 2006 which resulted in Clarett being maced because the taser couldn't penetrate his Kevlar body armor. Oh, and police found two samurai swords, an AK-47 and 2 handguns in his car. Ummmm, what the hell were you gonna do Maurice?!?! TWO samurai swords?!?! Kevlar?!?! AK-47?!?!

And who can forget Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlick, the lanky but powerful middle weight content who KO'd the seemingly unbeatable Jermaine Taylor to gain the middle weight title in what was dubbed as the "Fight of the Year" in 2007. However, years of substance abuse and legal troubles caused this once prominent fighter to fall back into the shadow. Yep, Youngstown boy.

As much struggle as Youngstown has had over the years I believe there is something that can help this city regain some of its prominence: craft beer. Craft beer distills down into 2 core elements: artistry and hard ass work. Youngstown Ohio has both.

In the episode I sit down with my pal Brian Ford (my co-host in the now-defunct-but-hopefully-soon-reanimated Mixtape Podcast) to chat with Ira and Marcy Gerheart, founders of Noble Creature Cask House. Noble Creature was built from the bones of an old church right in the heart of Youngstown. These two LOVE Youngstown and are happy to do their part to bring some good vibes to this city that has dealt with enough heartbreak for a lifetime. If their creativity, determination, and blue-collar attitude is a sign of what craft beer will bring to Youngstown then I think we will see this great city rise to prominence once again.

Enjoy the show!

This episode was recorded live at the AZ Food & Beer/AZ Food & Wine Pour Event at Scottsdale Beer Company. Jose Acevedo from the Finding Arizona Podcast and his lovely fiance Britt were the special guest hosts for this episode. We were very proud to help raise funds for Cortney's Place at this event. Thank you to all of the participants of this event including OHSO Distillery, Cider Corps, Page Springs Cellars, Oddity Wine Collective, artist Katie Kral, and musician Michael Maleckar. Enjoy the show!

On May 18th I was invited to a craft cocktail event at Adventurous Stills in Tempe. Joining Adventurous Stills was Iconic Cocktail Co. and AZ Bitters Labs to create one-of-a-kind cocktails. Joining me as co-host for this episode was Page, the host of Neatly on the Rocks podcast. If you haven't checked out her show do it now. This episode is a collection of the conversations we had with the people at this awesome event. Enjoy!

On May 19th I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Rhiba Farms Spring Fling Farmraiser Dinner to record a podcast. I mean, some of the best chefs in Arizona collaboraitng with one of the best breweries in the state with The Shop Beer Co.....you can't go wrong.

It started off with a bang by getting to talk with Chris Bianco but the cast of chefs was amazing and they were such great people. Enjoy the episode filled with conversations with some of the top food people in Arizona.

Since opening 5 years ago Tap & Bottle in Tucson has had a major impact on the craft beer scene. Aside from just being a badass craft beer bar/bottle shop Tap & Bottle has also collaborated with some prominent Arizona breweries including Arizona Wilderness and The Shop Beer Co. In this episode we talk with T& B owner Rebecca to discuss the journey of T & B as well as their 5 year anniversary party June 23rd and the collaboration beer they did to celebrate. Enjoy the show!

In this episode I sit down with Alexander Benjamin Phillips IV and Dan Choiniere, founders of Stonecutters Industries. Stonecutters is responsible for the lovely annual BeerDior calendar and countless other amazing things. These guys have been the best of friends for years and are wealths of knowledge about beer. Enjoy the show!

In this episode I sit down with Alex Phillips from Grand Canyon Brewing Company. Its always great talking to Alex and having him on the show was a no brainer. And he didn't disappoint. Enjoy the show!