The 16oz. Canvas - The Art of Craft Beer

This week’s featured guest is Paul Endres Jr. , not to be confused with Sr. We came to learn of Paul and his work with Beer on Earth during a random and awesome encounter at the brewery while in town with friends for Phish back in November. Remember live music?!

We sat down at the bar for some pre-show drinks and I noticed the unique labels and asked the bartender who did their labels, which is a question that I commonly ask when the art or designs interest me. She pointed up to the wall and said he does. It was @Paulendresjr working on a mural live and in person. We would exchange pleasantries and later connected to get him on the podcast.

A great story of his work. his journey and the upcoming virtual art show @childsgallery (opening is on 7/16) that he is doing. Paul tells stories with his characters and captures their essence and story in his paintings. It is an interview that I think is human, relatable and shows his love and appreciation of his art and ability to tell stories doing something that he loves.

There are wonderful and unique people all around us. I like to think that each week we introduce you to someone you may have never known about or whose work was something you appreciated from a distance. Taking time to talk about themselves and their path is one of the joys of the project and is what keeps us pushing forward to bring more content and introduce you to more of our friends.

This week’s featured artist is Will Thresher of Tribus Beer Co. We came to learn of Will and his work for a few reasons, one is that we are member of ‘The Tribe’ and getting him as a guest was also recommended by podcast alum John Tarka who was featured on Episode 138.

This week’s featured artists are Kristen Ganci & Sonny Gamboa who are the dynamic duo that make up Mount Hook. We came to learn of them for their unique labels for our friends Hog River Brewing. Hog River supports creativity and local artists as we have featured before with the amazingly talented Trasloff.

Learn how this pair challenges each other while complimenting and evolving together. It’s a great fit and story of how these two worked together in a previous life and built a respect and trust for each other that made going into business and creating their own studio, Mount Hook. Find out about the name, their process and how they teamed up with Hog River to bring their cans and walls to life.

It is rare to have an opportunity to not only celebrate your own passion and hard work but to find someone who has that same respect and appreciation for your work and that is what we have here with both of these talented artists. Each has their own area of passion but that continues to evolve do to the teamwork and collaboration of the two. It was great to hear and experience and I am sure it will make sure another awesome episode for #CTBeer.

This week’s featured artist is Tina McCurdy. We came to learn of her work through her involvement with some of the great up and coming breweries here in CT like The Hull Brewing Co and Phantom Brewing Company as well as the work that she has done over the years at Eli Cannon’s.

A unique career journey from med school to big Pharma to becoming her own boss is inspiring. Great stories and appreciation for nature, art and beer make this another positive #CTBeer story to share with you. We learn about her history, story and the power of repurposed wood to make unique canvases for her pieces. Also how she landed her first project with Eli’s and the many hours spent creating works there. Through her love of cows, beer and being creative we get a glimpse into her process and purpose. An analogue artist who has made her mark quite literally over all the place, Tina opens up and is such a positive person with a great appreciation for life and being able to do what she loves, which is art.

This week’s featured artist is David McKie, who has been a long time supporter of the project and we have been a fan of his work for some time. His detailed and intricate work has been used to help build and grow the brand of Speciation Artisan Ales. A perfect blend of sorts.

Learn about his story, his process and how he finds his subject matter as well as his process when working with the brewery to create his art. Black and white is a powerful medium and it is his ability to make such a simple palette seem so rich and textured. And on top of it all we can’t let it pass without noting that all of these drawings, designs and creatives are created by hand without the use of computers or design programs. It’s amazing and extremely impressive.

When he’s not creating these dark and unique images, he’s also an essential worker and his job is no joke (despite my best restraint) and helps him to appreciate his time and use his art as an outlet and an escape. A story of talent and humility that we are excited to share with you all. Each story is meant to share, relate and inspire. This is a great example of why we do this each week.

This week’s featured guest is the renowned and knowledgeable Em Sauter who we all know as Pints and Panels.

This episode is a great resource and opportunity to learn about beer, the industry and an all around good person. Em has created a unique place for herself in the beer industry by using her cartoons and creativity to inspire, inform and share one of her favorite things in the world, beer. I think it would be a close tie with the Boston Red Sox, but this is a happy story.

I can say with confidence this is a one of a kind episode and perspective on beer and I learned so much and also realized there is so much to learn about beer, which is amazing. Her appreciation and excitement to learn and share her knowledge with people and the beer community at large is inspiring and makes it feel less intimidating too.

Come join us down the rabbit hole for a dive back in time where we sound like two old folks on the front porch reminiscing ‘When I was a kid…’ as we talk about Saturday morning cartoons, how the Gremlins is not a kids movie and a shared appreciation for the Ghostbusters. It’s a good one folks.

We met up last weekend at Fox Farm for a social distancing curbside pickup. Those beers will be enjoyed tonight as we celebrate this episode, the wonderful people in our lives and people like Em who are good-natured, kind and willing to share their passions and knowledge with the world at large and truly make it a better place.

Be safe my friends. This one goes live on Friday. Also Happy 10th Anniversary to Pints and Panels. What a great achievement.

This week’s featured artist is Justin Maturo of Erector Brewing.

We came to connect with Justin years ago as part of the great #CTBeer Beer Share crew. He and his brother are avid beer fans and collectors who have been great resources to me personally for years. From this shared cellar diving friendship I came to learn of his story and launching of his own brewery, Erector Brewing. And prior to that he started his own print shop, Lefthand Print Shop.

We used this episode to connect on his new adventure which has him splitting time between CT and Vermont while he works with Snow Republic Brewery. Justin shares his story and passion for art, creating clothes and his current love of patterns in his designs.

Episodes like this are great and also tough because they are natural discussion that would have definitely happened in person, but I am glad that it has allowed us to pause and take things into perspective like family and friendship. We dedicate this episode to those who we have lost and have impacted our lives infinitely and specifically to his late father. This idea of those who we have loved and been in our lives impact who we are as people is the theme for the collaboration beer we want to do together ‘Souls of the Trees’. I can’t wait to work together and bring it to life.

Enjoy each day and use this time to look at the positives in life and that includes all of you, all of us. Be safe.

This week’s featured artist is Alex Ponce. We came to learn of Alex through his designs for one of the more iconic brands in beer, The Bruery.

Working a dream gig at his favorite bruery (sorry Dads love puns) is a great story from being a Preservation Society member to their Lead Designer. Also the way that we came to learn of Alex is an awesome story which you will have to enjoy and appreciate the purity and genuine nature of it.

Andy is a passionate designer, gym rat and beer lover. He believes that good beer should be shared amongst friends and enhance the experience which I agree with 100. Learn about his side hustle @hopfeed and what inspired him to create his own beer inspired clothing line.