Beer Guys Radio Craft Beer Podcast

What's your favorite brewery?

Just before we recorded this week's show VinePair dropped an article about 30 of the best breweries in America. These "best of" lists always bring out some controversy, but we're pretty happy with the spots from Georgia that made the list. Any of your favorites get mentioned?

As the holidays approach the Costco beer advent calendar is out again. Folks seem to love grabbing this and then complaining about it. I'm always cautious about a dozen or so random beers, they always seem to be about 50% duds in my experience. On the holiday note, Miller Lite continues with some interesting swag. They recently dropped a beer nutcracker, their beernaments are back, and they've even got a neon Christmas tree that smells like a diver bar. Crazy.

In the beer drama lane, as there always seems to be plenty of that to go around, Joyride Brewing sued one of its co-founders saying he diverted over a $1M to other businesses. This comes a few weeks after the brewery announced they were filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Even more drama in Russia. We've talked about Heineken's delayed withdrawal from Russia and Carlsberg was holding out even longer. Bad move for them as Russian authorities seized the brewery and arrested some top management and accusing them of fraud.

Oh yeah, the foam story... Seems that foamy things are all the rage in craft beer these days. I kind of thought this already happened but news stories say it is happening right. now. If you say so.

WARNING! INCOMING CHRISTMAS BEER SHOW! Two weeks from now we'll drop our annual Interfaith Holiday Craft Beer Spectacular. It's gonna be great. If you can't wait then check our what we had to say last year.

Beers of the Week

• Sierra Nevada - Celebration (Yes, again. YOLO.)
• Wrecking Bar - Big Slurp Imperial IPA (Strong Beer Fest 2023 Best IPA Winner)
• Delirium Noel 2022
• Goose Island / RTJ - Golden Ale
• Trillium - Fort Point (Pale Ale)
• Bells - Hopslam (DIPA with Hon

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS
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If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

Lawsuits and taxes and beer laws, oh my!

2023 has been a hell of a year for craft beer. Breweries continue to close their doors or move in together. Like when you had to go back to your parents' house after college to save some money. Shit happens and you gotta do what you gotta do.

Bevana Drama and Trouble at Tree House

Craft beer is no stranger to lawsuits but there are a couple heavy hitters lately. You've heard us talk about Bevana several times. Some of our friends breweries have partnered with them. Well, things are not going well at Bevana. One brewery claims money owed to them by Bevana forced them to close and file bankruptcy and others say monies are owed and promises have not been delivered on. There's a lot to this one and it's just getting started so we'll keep our eyes open for more. Also, a minority shareholder of Tree House brewing claims majority stakeholders paid themselves excessive salaries and amassed real estate holding while no paying proceeds to others. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out.

Taxes and Laws and Big 'ol Stouts

Britian has frozen their beer taxes until next Summer. Seems people were getting pretty upset about recent increases. News from New Jersey, Gov. Murphy vetoed a bill that would have eased restrictions on breweries. However, there's more to it as the governor vetoed the bill as he said it doesn't go far enough. More to come here.

More in the show as we talk about Blackout Wednesday, the return of Bourbon Country Brand Stout, and interesting collaborations in Colorado. Cheers!

Beers of the Week

• Sierra Nevada Celebration
• Halfway Crooks / Three averns - Tiene Pils (10th Anni Belgian pils w/100% Belgian ingredients.)
• Bell’s - HopSlam (DIPA with Honey)
• Parish / Tripping Animals - Animals in the Machine (Double NEIPA)

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Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS
Follow Beer Guys Radio: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

This new hop sounds fishy...

With our recent love of tinned seafood we were pretty stoked to hear about Anchovy hops, and even more stoked to hear they don't taste like anchovies. We'll have to find a beer with these soon.

Y'all remember a couple of years ago when someone stole two truckloads of beer from Sweetwater Brewery? Well, some folks in Memphis beat that by stealing "17 or 18 truckloads" of Twisted Tea. What in the world will you do with that much Tea? I can't wait to hear how this shakes out.

Spice up your boring beer

I'm not sure this is exactly new, but the internet says to upgrade your cheap beer to put a few dashes of hot sauce in it. Some places really go all out with that like a Loaded Tecate or the Dressed Hamm's. I decide to try it with a Three Taverns Beeps and gotta say, pretty good.

On the note of spicy beers... remember when chile pepper beers were cool? Habnero Sculpin, Stone's horrendous Crime and Punishment. We loved No Label's Don Jalapeno. Another one last to the sand of time, mostly.

More brewery closures coming at us and another big one this week with the announcement that Ecliptic Brewing would close their pub and restaurant. However, the brand's beer will still be available.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're talking off this week to stuff our fat faces with turkey. We hope you'll do the same. Have a great holiday and we'll see you in two weeks!

Beers of the Week

• Featured! Parish's Holy Ghost 3X NE IPA - Deep dive on the show.
• Parish Ghost in the Machine
• Parish Reve Coffee Stout
• Sierra Nevada Celebration
• Allagash Gatherwell

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS
Follow Beer Guys Radio: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

If it's gonna be dark at 5:00 I'm gonna need more stouts.

Oh. My. God. I hate this time of year. Set the clocks back an hour and I'm off schedule for two weeks. I don't sleep right, day is night, up is down. What is even happening here?

Fortunately last weekend was nice so we hit some patios, drank some good beers, ate some oysters, and visited our local barcade. Good times that we'll take advantage of while we can.

The brewery closures keep coming. The Brewers Association says craft beer is now a "mature market," listen in for more on that. We saw Hippin' Hops close a location here in Atlanta, big news out of Austin as Oskar Blue's shutters, and after we went to press news came out that Ecliptic Brewing has been sold and while the brand will live on, the pub and restaurant will close. We'll see more of that, no doubt.

As it is the season and we are all for playing along, we discuss pumpkin beers this week. I even drink one. Madness. Pumpkin beers aren't my thing but NoDa was nice enough to share some of their medal-winning Gordgeous so I gave it a shot. It's pretty good, opens up at cellar temps IMO. I may not go for pumpkin beer often but we've all got opinions on what we want IF we do happen to have one.

While beer fests are down in popularity the Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer (FoBAB) in Chicago is still a hot one. We talk about the winners this year and get excited to see a Brett beer get some love again.

In other stories can sales are down, could this mean the end of the shortage? Brian, for some reason, shares a story about alcohol and sexual assault in Antarctica. Seriously, I don't even know why this was included. But here we are.

The Beer List

• Trillium - Deciduous (Hoppy Pale Rice Lager)
• Fast Fashion / HW Crooks - Catch of the Day (Fresh Hop NE IPA)
• Iron Hill - Spruce Moose IPA
• Homebrew - Tiny Trout (Pilsner)
• Green Man - ESB
• Wild Leap - Alpha Abstraction vol. 25 (DIPA)
• NoDa Gordgeous (Pumpkin Ale)
• Anchor Steam

Sources

• https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/beer-cans-maker-ball-misses-quarterly-sales-estimates-slowing-demand-2023-11-02/
• https://www.wxyz.com/news/michigan-laundromat-expands-business-t

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS
Follow Beer Guys Radio: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

Would you pay $250 for 25 ounces of beer?

It's once again time for the semi-annual release of Sam Adams Utopias and with that, the slew of websites touting that it is illegal in 15 states. Technically a beer, but drinks more like a spirit, and hits a hefty 28%. Have you tried it? What did you think?

Along with Utopias we recently saw the annual release of Bruery's Black Tuesday and Founders teased the return of their CBS (that's Canadian Breakfast Stout). We talked with Founders Brewmaster Jeremy Kosmicki about these big beers back in 2019.

What's the deal with beer fests?

Beer fests are a hot topic these days, too. People are divided on whether they're still cool, if they ever were, or if it's just a huge group of nerds getting drunk. We like beer fests. Well, some beer fests.

NA beer and bacterial growth, a bit of pee in your TsingTao, Alcohol and Loose Morals

A recent report says NA beer is a "breeding ground" for bacteria. We get the point they're making, but the headlines make it sounds a bit more scarier than we think it actually is.

An employee was caught on camera urinating into some malt at a TsingTao brewery in China. The brewery said they have secured the malt. They didn't say they tossed it, just that they secured it.

A study shows "one drink" of just 7 oz of spirits can impact your moral compass and have you dancing nude on stage at concerts BUT your loyalty won't waiver. Alrighty then.

Beers of the Week

• Sierra Nevada - Celebration IPA
• Four Fathers Brewing - The Gadget Milkshake
• Voodoo Brewing - Grindin’ (Imperial Coffee Stout, 9%!)
• Halfway Crooks - Exporrrt (Belgian - Style Export Lager)
• Blackstack Brewing - 100 Year Jubilee - TDH DIPA
• Highland Cold Mountain Winter Warmer

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS
Follow Beer Guys Radio: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

Oh, Spyglass has hazies alright, but there's so much more

John Wagner and Isaac Boucher from Spyglass Brewing Co. join us on this week's show. They brewery made their name with their hazy IPAs. Thanks to a recent expansion there's now a lot more on tap Isaac tells us he's been enjoying brewing some lagers and playing with all the new hops. We joke about people wanting more variety in their IPAs... as long as they're still hazy/juicy/tropical. Good times.

We chat about all the cool innovations in ingredients available to brewers now. Modified yeasts (yay GMOs!), new hops, craft malts. We're living in the future, people. So much great beer out there. Make sure to drink it all and keep these breweries open.

To take things to a whole. 'nother. level. Spyglass has a Quad IPA. We chat about the difference between a QIPA and a Barleywine, and sipping on those big boys. We chat more on raw ales, maybe we'll see one of those from Spyglass soon.

If you're near Nashua, NH make sure to stop and have a beer or two with the crew. If not, follow them on the socials to see what they're up to,

Atlanta has a Michelin guide!

Y'all, we had to talk about this. The Foodie... Oscars? finally hit Atlanta. This week we got our first Michelin guide. We haven't visited any of the spots that got a star, but several of the Michelin Recommended and Bib Gourmand spots we've raved about and, if you follow us on the socials, you've likely seen pics. Cheers to Deer and the Dove, Little Bear, and Fishmonger on their awards.

More from Georgia. Creature Comforts Brewing's union vote failed to pass with a vote of 32-21. We think that says a lot these days. More info and opinions in the show.

25th Annual Learn to Homebrew Day is 11/03

Check out the website for more info or look for an event in your area. If you've never homebrewed now is a perfect time to ask someone that does if you can join them for a brew day.

The Beer List

• Smith & Lentz - German Pils (Nashville pickup!)
• Barrique Brewing & Blending - Wet Hop Reserve (Wild Ale w/ Wet Hops)
• Other Half - 11 Pounders (DDH IPA)
• Two Tides / Halfway Crooks - Waterfall (Pilsner)
• Green Man - Porter
• Timber Ales - Pancakes by C

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS
Follow Beer Guys Radio: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

We don't recommend this beer drinking challenge...

Seems a guy in the UK has "challenged" himself to drink 2,000 pints of beer in 200 days. I'm fully opposed to this challenge, but it's hard to look away. Last I saw he was running behind as he didn't start off with the goal of 2,000. So, to make his goal, he'll have to drink more than 10 pints of beer a day. Ridiculous and dangerous. I hope he gives up.

Still controversial but less dangerous, VinePair shared an article discussing some of Reddit's polarizing beer takes. Nitro beers, six packs, saisons, and candy beers are in the mix. What are your thoughts on these hot takes?

Much to Brian's joy, Ukraine has a tomato beer they've submitted for approval as a BJCP beer style. As you may know, we dabbled with some sun dried tomatoes back in our homebrewing days with Johnny Saisoni. We nailed what we were going for, and most agreed, but not everyone thought that was a good thing.

Support better beer laws for Georgia's breweries

Georgia's beer laws aren't great, but we've got some folks trying to change that. The Georgia Craft Brewers Guild is presenting Senate Bill 163 - The FOAM Act to help improve laws for small breweries. Check out the bill and we'd really appreciate if you'd sign this petition.

We also share another Anchor update, info on New Zealand's Raw Ale movement, and the most expensive airport beers. Whew!

Beers of the Week

• Anchor Steam
• Round Trip Instant Krüsch | Kölsch
• Hi-Wire Brewing - Rye Whiskey Barrel-Aged Manhattan Ale | Barleywine
• Line Creek The Real Dill | Dill Pickle Sour
• Creature Comforts / Heater Allen - Heater Action | Dortmunder Lager
• Birds Fly South - Nights Like These | Dry Irish Stout
• Three Taverns Pilsen Liberation | Czech Pils

Sources

• https://vinepair.com/booze-news/reddit-polarizing-beer-takes/
• https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/s-f-anchor-brewing-on-the-market-18422512.php
• https://www.vice.com/en/article/93kzj3/jon-may-2000-pints-200-days-livestream

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS
Follow Beer Guys Radio: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

We have no idea what's going on anymore.

Some of the beer (or at least alcohol) news we see is just insane. Maybe we shouldn't judge too hard, we've all had our moments, remember Brian's BORG phase?

Seems another ridiculous TikTok trend has people de-carbing their White Claws. If you're gonna do that, why not just get some crazy flavored vodka and mix with some water. I think that would actually be cheaper. Madness.

And from the "I shouldn't be surprised that I'm surprised" file, Ultra Right beer is a hit. A special edition with Trump's mug shot on it apparently sold 20,000 six packs in record time.

A little less insane, the popularity of hop water is increasing. We've dabbled. Hop Lark was on the show a few years ago and we've even made some hop water ourselves. It's not really my thing, but Brian digs it.

And we've got one last round of stats from this year's Oktoberfest. They hit record attendance in 2023, but sold less beer than previous years. Oh well, at least people were showing up.

Beers of the Week

• Reuben’s Brews / Monday Night - Surround Sound
• Xul Beer Co - Rhymes Like Dimes
• Halfway Crooks - Whole Cone Fest Marzen
• Untitled Art/ Collective Arts Brewing - Cotton Candy
• Good Word - Any Day Now
• Burnt Hickory Brewing - Big Shanty (Graham Cracker Stout)
• Hi Wire 10 Years of Hi Wire | Blend of BBA 10W-40 Imperial Stout, BBA Barleywine, and BBA Belgian-style Quad

Sources

• https://allaboutbeer.com/why-hop-water-is-great-for-breweries-and-consumers
• https://vinepair.com/articles/urine-in-corona-hoax/
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/dontse/2023/10/07/2023-oktoberfest-was-the-biggest-beer-party-ever/
• https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/04/molson-coors-ceo-on-non-alcoholic-drinks-were-moving-beyond-beer.html
• https://vinepair.com/booze-news/iwsr-data-at-home-drinking-trend/

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson.

Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS
Follow Beer Guys Radio: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

Y'all, the Wagner Group owns a brewery in Africa...

Yes, that Wagner Group. The story is crazy. You'll have to stick with us til the end but we give you the rundown on this craziness.

For some reason, we start the show talking about crazy sandwiches and stupid pizza with stupid toppings that are stupid. The we get into a new take on Tank 7 that we can't wait to try, and other odd beer flavors that just work

Tilray finally complete their purchase of breweries and other things from AB InBev. The breweries seem pretty excited about it. For us here in Atlanta, home of SweetWater, that should mean a lot more brands on tap at the brewery. We'll check it out and report back.

Draft beer struggles but Voodoo Ranger is riding strong

Brian's not been shy about his love for the 19.2 oz can, and he shares them each week for #LongBeerFriday on Twitter or, X, I guess. But is the 19.2 part of the problem with draft beers decline? We may never know, but that won't stop us from talking about it. Personally, I want to see smaller cans, gimme everything in an 8 oz. and I'd be happy.

Voodoo Ranger is killing it in grocery and convenience stores. Between the standard Voodoo Ranger and Juice Force they've got the #1 and #2 spots. We're still disappointed the water park never happened.

Run the Jewels turns 10 and celebrates with some collaboration brews

We got our hands on the Run the Jewels / Monday Night Brewing collaboration RTJX Southern IPA. Full disclosure, Monday Night hooked us up with a 4-pk. We featured the brew on the show this week and tell about the brew and the cause it's supporting.

Anchor Brewing update

We're not sure what to make of this, but it sounds.... interesting. Anchor Brewing's assets have been donated to the San Francisco Historical Society and the Smithsonian Institution. What's this mean for the Union trying to buy the brewery? Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson.

Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS
Follow Beer Guys Radio: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

We remember falling in love with Hop Drop N Roll...

Back before we started BGR, NoDa Brewing's Hop Drop N Roll was one of the beers we would mule back when we went to the Carolinas. Pickings were still a bit slim here in Georgia and it was a banger of a West Coast IPA. It still is, but there's so much more beer out there now.

You'll notice (hopefully) that I'm (Tim) absent from this episode (show). Brian noted it as "on assignment," that assignment was a health scare with my dear old (83) dad. He's stable now, but not great. Y'all keep send him some good vibes or send up prayers if you do that sort of thing, please. Thanks.

Fortunately, Nate and Brian kept the party going as they chatted with NoDa's co-founder and head brewer Chad Henderson. They start the show off with some discussion on which generation drinks the most, with Gen Z really lagging on doing their part for the alcohol beverage industry.

You look Gordgeous!

Chad shares about their lovely beers, like Hop Drop N Roll, SLURP, their medal-winning Gordgeous pumpkin ale, and some upcoming Holiday goodies.

We learn about NoDa's support for Pints for Prostates, talk all about they Cheerwine collaboration ale, and some chatter on raw ales and their Nordic Raw Stout.

The Great American Beer Festival just wrapped up and announced their winners list. We talk some about NoDa's success at the fest and some overall GABF medal stats.

NoDa Brewing keeps their distro tight, you'll only find them in the Carolinas, so grab some when you or a friend visit.

Beers of the Week

• NoDa Lil Slurp | Juicy IPA
• NoDa Gordgeous | Pumpkin beer
• NoDa Cheerwine Ale | Cheerwine inspired What Ale
• NoDa Hop Drop N Roll | West Coast IPA

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson.

Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS
Follow Beer Guys Radio: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!