On Episode 27 of Barley & Me, host Ben Rice turns it up to 11 with JJ Anderson of Black Vinyl Ale Project (Rocklin, CA) and Paul Burke, owner of Blacktop Comedy (Rocklin, CA). Prepare for the three of them to wax philosophical about music, beer, comedy, business, and life, as they take trips down Memory Lane, only to find out everything has changed. Plus Paul teachs us about the different formats of improv comedy while JJ gives insight into obtaining hops when there's a hop crisis. Ben annou...
Jul 25, 2016•1 hr 11 min
Host Ben Rice sits down with Ed Mason of River Rock Brewing (formerly the controversial Special Ed's Brewing), as well as Tricia and Tim Bowden, the parties who brought the name to media attention, to discuss the thought process behind the previous brewery name as well as its beer names and catchphrases (which include "Take the short bus to great beer" and "Back of the Bus Brown"). It gets a bit heated, but we eventually find common ground in discussing the importance of family, as well as who i...
Jul 03, 2016•1 hr 2 min
Host Ben Rice sits down with 21st Amendment's co-founder/head brewer Shaun O'Sullivan and comedian/pot activitist Ngaio Bealum, in episode 25 of Barley & Me. Recorded at 21st Amendment's new(ish) San Leandro location, we discuss the new location's previous history as a Kellogg's Pop Tart production facility, judging beer and weed, the slow and steady growth and expansion of 21st Amendment, plus first beer experiences and much, much more! Look for this episode on YouTube in the coming weeks, ...
Jun 20, 2016•40 min
Host Ben Rice sits down with Sacramento comedian Johnny Taylor (Stand Up! Records) over a Bucket O' Hamm's at Sacramento's Tank House BBQ. We sit down to discuss Johnny's upcoming second live album recording (taking place at Harlow's on June 18). We discuss the art and business of stand-up, Ben poorly masks his disappointment in his own shortcomings, and we talk about family, moving, early drinking experiences, and much, much more. Plus we encounter the post-Happy Hour crowd and argue over wheth...
Jun 06, 2016•58 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Sacramento's Bike Dog Brewing to chat with co-founder/brewer AJ Tendick and entrepreneur/restauranteur/revitalizer Clay Nutting. It's not an understatement to say that Clay has played a major role in the re-branding and revitalization of midtown Sacramento, helping push change with the advent of live street music, the beloved German bier haus LowBrau, upscale Block Butcher Bar, and the yearly music festival TBD! And he'll sit down to talk (vaguely) about projects in the ...
May 30, 2016•1 hr 26 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Turlock, California, with esteemed Modesto/Stockton area comedian Anthony K (short for Krayenhagen) to meet with Scott Chaffee of Turlock's Dust Bowl Brewing. In this rapid-fire, 200 WPM episode, we discuss the difference between beer snobs and beer nerds, beer festival etiquette, what a craft beer drinker is versus what a craft beer drinker is assumed to be, the history behind Dust Bowl's names and beer (it goes back through time and region), the present and future of b...
May 16, 2016•1 hr 20 min
Host Ben Rice visits Stacy Collins, proprietor Elk Grove pilot nanobrewery The Shop, with guest Kyle Kaylor, manager at the hot new Sacramento vinyl bar B Side. We talk at length about music, homebrewing guilds, and what exactly a nanobrewery is. Plus what words people can't say once they're drunk, how to get a bartender's attention, and how to try new drinks properly. Enjoy a verbal walking tour of The Shop and find out how not to organize your vinyl collection. I think you'll love it. Indubita...
May 02, 2016•1 hr 28 min
Host Ben Rice sits down with Rubicon Brewing's owner Glynn Phillips and Sacramento podcasting legend Johnny Flores of Serious Talk Seriously about starting your dreams from scratch. We also discuss how Rubicon went from trend-setter to has-been and back again, the variety of ways beers can get their names or even their recipes, brewers' superstitions, the Sacramento art scene, re-building your brand, conversational craft, and so much more. If you ever wondered what the most killed-off dogs in ci...
Apr 18, 2016•1 hr 26 min
During the recording our our Ruhstaller episode, a wonderful old scamp named Tom popped in to see what we were up to. We gave him a mic and he regaled us with tales of hops and marijuana and world travelers and old wisdom. Meanwhile Anthony Van Hook can't get a word in edgewise. Then we discuss the importance of "laying [y]our balls on the table" when it comes to brewing. As always, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram @barleyandmepod
Apr 05, 2016•18 min
Host Ben Rice sits down with Tap-It Brewing's head brewer Ryan Aikens and their sales rep Paige Howery, along with Mussetter Distributor's Therese Olsen, at Dad's Kitchen on Freeport, during Sacramento Beer Week. We discussed pretty much the entirety of Tap-It's beer lineup, the sudden upswing in fruit-additive IPA's, pranks Ryan plays on drinks looking for ABV instead of taste, an ode to prior Barley & Me guest Eric Nordby, getting into beer as a youth, Ryan's obsession with Formica, pig ro...
Mar 22, 2016•1 hr
Host Ben Rice winds up in Eugene, Oregon as part of a comedy tour with his friend Daniel Humbarger (who also co-hosts the ESPN TrueHoop Network podcast Cowbell Kingdom), so they decide, when in Rome, why not do an episode of Barley & Me? So we sat down with Oakshire Brewing's general counsel and director of human resources, Tom Moseman, to discuss the brewery's near decade in existence, as well as this coming weekend's Hellshire VI (May 12, 2016), the largest bourbon barrel aged beer festiva...
Mar 08, 2016•49 min
Host Ben Rice chats with Auburn Alehouse's lead brewer Jennifer Talley and also local business owner/publican Eric Nordby, co-owner of World Pub and Little Belgium Deli, in Auburn, CA. We'll talk about Jennifer's extensive brewing career, starting in the prohibitive state of Utah, then moving to large-scale brewing with Red Hook, then to Russian River, and finally to Auburn Alehouse. Brewing royalty right here, right now, and she is a joy to listen to. We talk about balancing worklife with famil...
Feb 22, 2016•1 hr 1 min
Host Ben Rice travels to the Art of Beer Invitational Craft Beer Festival in Sacramento and sits down with, in exact order: Greg Coll of Ales for Autism; Michael Barker of Sactown Union Brewing & Shaun O'Sullivan of 21st Amendment Brewing; Art of Beer event director Jen Irwin; Dan & Steven Murphy of 12 Rounds Brewing; and Art of Beer founding director Rawi Nanakul and Odell Brewing's Tony Rau. Conversations run the gamut from brewing basics to regulations in and out of California, to sta...
Feb 09, 2016•1 hr 29 min
Host Ben Rice visits Sacramento's Ruhstaller Brewing Taproom to chat with owner/brewer JE Paino. This is the INCEPTION episode, as Ben sits down with fellow beer podcasters Anthony Van Hook and Melody Stone of Hooks & Stone. Also featuring guest appearances by patrons, both heard and unheard (thanks, editing!). Doing an episode in a taproom late Thursday night gets pretty crazy, as conversations ebb and flow, regarding Sacramento beer history, Sacramento shame, origin stories, music, comedy,...
Feb 01, 2016•1 hr 28 min
Host Ben Rice sits down with Tom Karvonen, owner/brewer at Oak Park Brewing, to discuss their first year+ in business, along with plans for expansion and their wonderful layout and kitchen. They are joined by Sacramento go-getters The Bruce Twins, Laura & Kaitlin Bruce, who discuss bartending, pub quizzes, and Kaitlin's love of taxidermied animals. We also discuss the fine brews at Oak Park, as well as their history, and also what true love is. Plus much, much more, as always!Find us on Inst...
Jan 14, 2016•1 hr 34 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Applegate, CA, to chat with longtime friends Jackie Zuker (environmental biologist), Andy Zuker (owner of The Moving Crew, sole member of one-man band ThunderVision) and Nik Jacinto (jack of all trades, Renaissance man) to discuss what makes a family (spoiler: it ain't blood) over non-regional beers (Deschutes Abyss 2015, Victory Storm King, Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald). Hear our origin stories, feats of strength, Andy's first encounter with craft beer snobs, Nik's stu...
Dec 31, 2015•1 hr 28 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Woodland, CA to meet with David Towne, sole owner and head brewer of Blue Note Brewing. Also in tow is John Schmidt, manager at Roseville's best beer bar, Final Gravity. We discuss David and John's history with beer, including David's initial hiring at Anderson Valley and John's work as both a beer buyer and a beer seller. As always, we discuss archaic regulations and oversight, as well as what goes into a small, upstart DIY brewery. David gives his top 5 jazz musicians ...
Dec 16, 2015•1 hr 2 min
Host Ben Rice sits down with Vicent Sterne (owner/cidermaker) and Nick Vellanoweth (cidermaker) of Two Rivers Cider, along with comedian and host of Dinner and a Podcast, Jaime Fernandez, outside the Two Rivers Cidery on a chilly Sunday afternoon. This is Barley & Me's longest, most informative, most bizarre, most fun episode to date. We discuss the difference between beer and cider in both the alcohol-making process and ingredients, but also regulations for making, distributing, and marketi...
Dec 02, 2015•1 hr 37 min
On this episode of Barley & Me, host Ben Rice stops in to Sacramento homebrew store Brew Ferment Distill (BFD) with an arm-load of 40s. It's malt liquor madness, as he, owner Tim, and comedians Emma Haney, Stephen Furey, and Dorian Foster do more than keep it 100, they keep it 800. Olde English 800, that is. While choking down some Steel Reserve, Haney ruminates her love of Budweiser. Furey enjoys a Mickey's but hates everyone else's choices, culminating in an unfavorable comparison to a nat...
Nov 22, 2015•1 hr 11 min
Host Ben Rice ventures to New Glory Brewing in Sacramento, CA, to speak with owner Julien Lux and Annie Johnson, who was 2013's American Homebrewing Association's Homebrewer of the Year. We discuss Annie's newest project, PicoBrew, and its effects on both the homebrewing and industrial brewing scene. We also discuss trademarking issues and how they affect brewery opening and beer releases, as well as Sacramento's beer and agricultural history. It's an absolute smorgasbord of information on beer,...
Nov 15, 2015•1 hr 8 min
Host Ben Rice sits down with Roseville's premier Belgian-style brewery Monk's Cellar's brewmaster Andy Klein and head brewer Peter York, along with hilarious comedian D Tyler, to discuss setting up a Euro-style beer pub in a California suburban setting, as well as what a difference a degree makes. We'll also talk about beer tours, beer festivals, the difference in bittering hops, how to salvage a potentially-ruined brew, and Peter being painted rust while visiting Germany. Prepare for some tales...
Nov 04, 2015•1 hr 14 min
On this episode, host Ben Rice speaks with Sacramento Beer Week creator Dan Scott and Device Brewing's owner/brewmaster Ken Anthony. We touch on tough, sobering current events topics before we begin our discussions on beer and the beer industry. We cover what goes into brewing a lager style using ale equipment, lessons learned at GABF, how the name and style of a beer can affect sales, how the sale of a brewery to larger corporation can affect beer, collaborations past & future, and so much ...
Oct 05, 2015•1 hr 14 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Sudwerk Brewing in Davis, CA, to speak with their new head brewer Tom Stull and film maker Tyler Kinney to discuss Sudwerk's wonderful year-round Marzen and its relationship to the worldwide Oktoberfest, as well as the brewery's roots as a lager-centric beer maker and its recent adaptations to increase market share and variety. We also talk about Tyler's upcoming documentary and get in-depth about Ben's competitive eating history and hilarious mix-ups involving band name...
Sep 21, 2015•1 hr 15 min
On Episode 5 of Barley and Me, host Ben Rice sits down with comedian Aaron Weaver, as well as Eric & Ethan from Chicago's Half Acre Brewing. On this episode, we answer such timeless questions as, "what is caramel?", "what is a saison?", "do all AC/DC songs sound the same?" and "what does host Ben Rice do for a living?" We also talk about Illinois's bottling and canning regulations, collaborations with out of state brewing (shout out to 3 Floyds and Ballast Point!), how our musical taste as c...
Sep 01, 2015•1 hr 26 min
On Episode 4 of Barley & Me, host Ben Rice speaks with Sacramento writer and cartoon creator Eben Burgoon (B Squad, Eben07) about his comics, his efforts in teaching children about art and writing through charity program 916INK, and more, while sipping on and reviewing beers in the face of New Helvetia Brewing's owner, Dave Gull. Dave also chimes in with stories about his beer's history, the history of Sacramento, and the wonders of winning gold at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival. Plus...
Aug 24, 2015•1 hr 16 min
On Episode 3 of Barley and Me, host Ben Rice sits down with Adrian, Teresa, Paul, and Kirt of Auburn's Crooked Lane Brewing, to discuss their upcoming opening and the work they've put in to ensure their success in business and in their transition from home brewing to macro brewing. With us is Nu Boonkham, owner and chef at the award-winning Auburn Thai Garden.Nu is a renowned beer connoisseur and his knowledge and insight helps to make this a truly wonderful episode. We'll talk about locally-sou...
Aug 15, 2015•1 hr 5 min
On Episode 2 of Barley & Me, host Ben Rice chats with comedian Kim Martel (also of the bad beer blog HEY MARTEL!), as well as American River Brewing's owner Dave Mathis and head brewer Andy Armstrong. We talk about ARBC's recent 3rd place finish at the California State Fair Commercial Beer Festival, utilizing their flagship Coloma Brown, as well as their thoughts on the future of their brewery and specialty releases coming soon. We get a bit silly as we discuss Boner Beer and American River'...
Jul 28, 2015•1 hr 7 min
On the first episode of Barley & Me, host Ben Rice speaks with Rick Sellers, owner of The Owl Club, a bar in historic Old Roseville. Rick talks about owning a craft beer bar, his work with the award-winning brewery Odonata, statuesque thieves, and more! But mostly, we talk beer and the beer business. Give it a listen.
Jul 13, 2015•1 hr 4 min
