Host Ben Rice grabs a pint on his patio with Melissa McCann, the executive director of the Women's International Beer Summit, part of the newly-minted Women's Craft Fermentation Alliance. Over a glass of Crowns & Hops's Black Is Beautiful pecan pie stout, we discuss the creation of this endeavor, the challenges and successes of starting it during COVID, winning Athletic Brewing's Trailblazer award, Melissa's path from casual drinker to executive director, and becoming a 501(c)3. Plus! Incred...
Mar 14, 2022•35 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Federation Brewing in Oakland, CA, to talk with Hella Coastal's Mario Benjamin & Chaz Hubbard and comedian Karinda Dobbins. We discuss Hella Coastal's alternating proprietorship arrangement with Federation and how that differs from contract brewing, aiming to become the first Black-owned brewery in Oakland and why loudly and proudly stating that is important, as well as the importance of visual storytelling. Plus! Karinda's debut album Black and Blue (available now o...
Mar 09, 2022•1 hr 28 min
Host Ben Rice sits down with Art Moye, the owner of Full Circle Brewing in Fresno, CA and Ta'Vi, comedian and co-host of the podcast It's Crazy You're In My Business, at SacYard Community Taphouse in Sacramento to discuss Full Circle's eight Black History Month collaborations with black brewers and tastemakers across the United States. (Hint: they're doing a full event, including the collaborators, at Full Circle on February 19, so stop in!) Plus! Comedy! Accounting! Surprise cider side projects...
Feb 16, 2022•40 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Campus Brewing in West Sacramento to complete his 2021 recap/2022 preview episode with his Barley & Me Presents: Leonard Malting co-hosts Corky McDonnell (Dare Daniel Podcast) and Paulina Olivares (Pink Boots Society/Drake's). Alas, by the time you hear this, Campus will be no more, as the cards were stacked against it. And that's kinda the vibe here, as we all brought a beer that was at least one year old, starting strong with Corky's pick of Great Divide Barrel Age...
Jan 17, 2022•1 hr 46 min
Host Ben Rice recaps what is going on in his life, including a new child and too many comedy shows. But most importantly, he is seeking feedback about the ramifications of Brienne Allen's Instagram Story from 6 months ago that went viral and led to an increased awareness in the (mis)treatment of minorities, women, and LGBTQIA+ members of the craft beer/wine/spirits industry. Instead of featuring a roundtable of locals, Ben is calling for stories near and far, so if you have stories/feedback abou...
Nov 29, 2021•7 min
Host Ben Rice travels (digitally) to Walla Walla, Washington, simply for an excuse to say Walla Walla, Washington over and over again. While there, he also manages to interview Troy Robinson of Quirk Brewing and Phil Neumann of Mainstem Malt about locally-sourced, salmon-safe ingredients in Quirk-y craft beers (and more streamlined ones as well, stream/salmon pun intentional), as well as the challenges of being deemed "organic", and getting local farmers to buy in on craft beer. Plus! Mainstem's...
Nov 15, 2021•1 hr 18 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Rancho Cordova, CA, to talk to owners Jim Noss & Matt Risse about opening a brewery during a global pandemic, celebrating an anniversary and even expanding during said pandemic, and fighting for space in the craft beer market as things start to return to normal. We also discuss the need for more alcohol in professional sports, their upcoming collabs with Slugfest Games and Thick Vatos, perfect pop punk albums, and their new comedy nights starring Joey "Joseph" Stults...
Oct 21, 2021•1 hr 8 min
Host Ben Rice travels to the Oak Park area of Sacramento to talk to Oak Park Brewing/People's Beer Co. brewers Rodg Little and Geoff Scott about the first annual People's Harvest Time Jubilee, taking place at 30 black-owned breweries across the world, with the kickoff at OPB on Saturday, October 2. Plus! Brew Your Story, an event inside the event, and the beers they're brewing for this, including a collaboration with past guest D Neal of Beer Talk Now. We also tell our own stories, about finding...
Oct 01, 2021•1 hr 22 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Urban Roots Brewing in Sacramento, CA, to speak with beer journalist and author Tara Nurin about her new book (out now on Chicago Review Press - use promo code BarleyAndMe25 to receive 25% off) A Woman's Place Is In the Brewhouse: A Forgotten History of Alewives, Brewsters, Witches and CEOs, as well as co-host of KRSO's Brew HaHa drive time radio show, Herlinda Heras, and the founder of the Women's International Beer Summit, Melissa McCann. We talk Tara's exhaustive rese...
Sep 21, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Folsom, CA, to sit down with Red Bus Brewing owner/brewer/minibus enthusiast Erik Schmidt and comedian/activist/Moving Van Show host/co-creator Shahera Hyatt to discuss the intricacies of beer and wine, Oktoberfest, and the 5th anniversary of Shahera's roaming outdoor Moving Van Show. Plus! Running a home brew supply shop and a brewery at the same time, the art of macro lager vs the excitement of craft beer, a letter from a beloved smoothie company, and Erik's favorite l...
Sep 06, 2021•1 hr 54 min
Host Ben Rice travels (digitally) to New Braunfels, Texas, and Sacramento, CA to interview Kelly Meyer of New Braunfels Brewing and music journalist Aaron Carnes. We talk about their approaches to their new books (Kelly is the author of "How NOT To Start a Damn Brewery," which just released an updated version, while Aaron recently released his first book "In Defense of Ska"). We also talk about their podcasts, which share the name of their books, respectively. Plus! Ska history! The challenges o...
Aug 24, 2021•1 hr 27 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Denver, CO, to sit down with David Lin, co-founder of Comrade Brewing, and Jake Weber, co-owner of Denver's Seafood Landing. We talk about Comrade's creation, being named the 2019 Small Brewer of the Year at GABF, and stumbling into new opportunities. Plus! Growlers and crowlers galore! Food service and safety! Meeting and adapting to the demands of COVID! And tales of intrigue on the high seas and desert plains! All this and more, on the latest episode of Barley & M...
Aug 09, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Host Ben Rice meets up with podcaster KinkySudz of Sudz Under the Sun and the Black Nerd Friday podcasts (plus two upcoming projects) at Sacramento's Oak Park Brewing to discuss their freshly-brewed limoncello beer collab, which is set to release on August 6. Oak Park's Rodg Little was set to join until an impromptu meeting pulled him away. So KinkySudz and Ben discuss the realities of science and brewing in a capitalistic society, as well as racism, sexism, and homophobia in the world (and beer...
Jul 26, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Denver, CO, to talk to owner/brewer Ashleigh Carter of esteemed Bierstadt Lagerhaus. Besides "why lager" and "a WOMAN in BEER?!?," we also discuss soccer coaching, astrophysics, common core vs regular mathematics, finding a good partner, seasonal releases, collaborations, and the bad-ass Bierstadt-branded glassware. Plus! Pretty much the entire recipe for their beloved slow pour pils, a profound correlation between carnitas and lagers, buying a canning line at pandemic p...
Jul 12, 2021•1 hr 7 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Littleton, CO, to chat with owner/operator Jason Bell of Living the Dream Brewing about the challenges of COVID-19, plus the joys of living the dream. From his humble homebrewer beginnings to the challenges of being a commercial head brewer, to realizing his energies were better spent focused on operations, plus all the positives and pitfalls of starting your own brewery. And Ben? Well, he gets to taste everything from a flagship cream ale to a bourbon-barrel-aged barley...
Jun 28, 2021•1 hr 20 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Ft. Collins, Colorado, to talk to brewer/owner Charlie Hoxmeier of Gilded Goat Brewing and the associate director of the Colorado State University Fermentation Sciences program, Jeff Calloway. We talk coffee beers, COVID canning, the Colorado craft beer community, and more science than you can shake a stick at! Plus! Yeast culture! Sustainability! Malt testing! And watersheds! And so, so much more. Enjoy! Follow Gilded Goat on IG @gildedgoatbrewco Learn more about the Co...
Jun 14, 2021•1 hr 22 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Alameda, CA, to conduct Barley & Me's long-postponed 125th episode, a video episode with Almanac Beer Co's brewmaster Phillip Emerson and Admiral Maltings's co-founder Ron Silberstein. We talk maltster and brewer's pasts, presents, and futures, in three segments, recorded at The Rake at Admiral Maltings, the Almanac brewhouse, and Almanac's taproom. Running themes include education, that beer is agriculture, sustainability is key, ingredients matter, and inclusivity ...
May 31, 2021•51 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Fort Collins, CO, to continue Maltster May(hem) with Chris Schooley and Steve Clark of Troubadour Maltings and Carol & Tim Cochran of Horse & Dragon Brewing. We talk craft malt's humbling beginnings, coffee paparazzi, and hemorrhaging money in pursuit of your passion! Plus! Malt extraction processes and efficiencies, what "consistency" means in beer now, disgusting old roasts, the challenges of brewery ownership, and a surprising fact about the next generation of...
May 17, 2021•1 hr 22 min
Host Ben Rice kicks off Maltster May(hem) with Fort Collins's Root Shoot Malting founders Todd & Emily Olander and Natalie Yoder, co-owner of the brand-new Fort Collins brewery Stodgy Brewing. We talk opening a brewery in COVID and how canning could have been catastrophic for her, moving the family farming business whole-hog into the craft malt world, and the odd challenges of making truly local beer. Plus! Maltsters educating brewers, the strange mismatch of market research versus sales rea...
May 12, 2021•1 hr 13 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Fort Collins, CO, to talk to Purpose Brewing & Cellars's owners/brewers Peter & Frezi Bouckaert about their distinguished history in beer and world travel. We delve into beer history, personal history, and their star-making roles in the 2020 beer documentary Beer: A Love Story. They are instantly captivating, lovely, knowledgeable, and adventurous as individuals, as a couple, and as brewers. Sit back and listen to them regale you with tales of success and failure...
May 03, 2021•1 hr 20 min
Host Ben Rice travels to Denver, Colorado, to record his first on-site episode in over a year! Ben sits down with Great Divide's marketing manager Matt Sandy and multi-instrumentalist Tom Hagerman (DeVotchKa, Tom Hagerman, Post Truth Serum) to discuss the beer and music businesses and their odd overlaps, especially in the time of COVID and the early aughts and releasing new projects/beers at a time where the industries are completely in flux. Plus! Music reviews vs beer reviews, "finding your Ye...
Apr 19, 2021•51 min
Host Ben Rice sits down (virtually) with Sacramento Pink Boots Society members Paulina Olivares and Bia Hoskins (Blaker Brewing/Drake's: The Barn) to talk about the 2021 Pink Boots Society brew days and beer releases (hint: Check out Capital Taproom AKA CapTap April 17 for a tap takeover and some mixed 4 packs). In addition to the history of Pink Boots and the beer releases, we also talk about recent loosening of membership requirements, this year's proprietary hop blend, the various scholarship...
Apr 05, 2021•1 hr 27 min
Barley & Me host Ben Rice is joined by Paulina Olivares (Sacramento Pink Boots Society) and Corky McDonnell (Dare Daniel Podcast) to review this week's beer-centric flick, Furious 7. This film was recommended by the boysz at Drink Something, Say Something Podcast! We break down this film's plot, script, acting, and beer authenticity, over a pint of Fight Me I'm Irish from Campus Brewing and some pickle whiskey (we recorded on St. Patrick's Day). Is this a beer movie? How does it compare to o...
Mar 22, 2021•1 hr 20 min
We always say the best candidates are ones you want to have a beer with. So Barley & Me host Ben Rice decided to start Beer on the Ballot, conversations with candidates for state and local government over a beer brewed in their district (in this episode, we recorded at Oak Park Brewing - thank you to Becca, Geoff, Rodg, and the staff/crew of OPB for the space and time). Recordings are presented without edits for content, only for clearer and more consistent sound. On its inaugural episode, B...
Mar 11, 2021•50 min
Host Ben Rice, along with Beer Talk Now!'s D Neal, travels (virtually) to Springdale, Arkansas, to talk to Core Brewing's two brewers, Rodrigo Medina and Jamie Conway. Two brewers may sound totally normal until you hear the size of Core's operations, then you'll feel sorry for the sheer volume of liquid these two have to power through. But then you realize how deep their bond and friendship are and how in tune they are with what they want to do and what the brewery needs from them and you only f...
Mar 08, 2021•1 hr 19 min
In this episode of Barley & Me Presents: Leonard Malting, host Ben Rice and the crew (Paulina Olivares of the Sacramento Pink Boots Society and Corky McDonnell of the Dare Daniel Podast) discuss and review the new beer documentary, BEER: A LOVE STORY, with surprise guest, director Friedrich "Fritz" Moser. Fritz is known for his more investigative political documentaries, but decides to pursue a shared passion and a story not often told: Beer. From its humble beginnings to its current creativ...
Feb 24, 2021•1 hr 28 min
Host Ben Rice sits down with MaKendree VanHall of Greater Purpose Brewing (Santa Cruz, CA) and Amy Miller, comedian and host of the Who's Your God? Podcast. Greater Purpose started as a church and is now a church/brewery, so I could think of no better pairing to discuss these two seemingly-disparate things. We talk beer communion, conflicts in religious interpretations, diversity and beer and across religious sects, and naming beers after parishioners. Plus! Amy's new Epix special, finding your ...
Feb 22, 2021•1 hr 13 min
Barley & Me host Ben Rice joins up with Paulina Olivares (Sacramento Pinks Boots Society) and Corky McDonnell (Dare Daniel Podcast) to review the 2006 cinematic classic Beerfest! In addition to discussing the veritable who's-who of character/sketch comedy actors, we touch on the quality of real-life brews seen on film, and maybe devolve into some outside discussions. Things like: The Mandela Effect, stealing from Shel Silverstein, peeing your pants (actually, that's related to the movie), an...
Feb 09, 2021•1 hr 27 min
Host Ben Rice travels (virtually) to Los Angeles to talk to Common Space Brewing's first employee, brewer Josie Becker, and Molly Sanchez, comedian, wine writer, and host of The Hold Up Podcast. We talk nucleation points, shower beers, the (triumphant?) return of the black IPA, and childhood obsessions. Plus! Oh, the drama!, magical COVID relief, love in an elevator, and the joys of adults lying to children. All this and more, on episode 138 of Barley & Me. Enjoy! Find out more about Common ...
Jan 25, 2021•1 hr 16 min
Host Ben Rice travels (digitally) to Half Moon Bay, CA and the suburbs of Manchester, England, to chat with musician and brewer/owner Dan Littlefield of Hop Dogma Brewing and musician/musician Mike Vennart of VENNART, Biffy Clyro, British Theatre, and Oceansize. We talk the writing and recording process, Dan's new EP, Mike's new album, quarantine creativity, Brexit, an attempted American coup, nationalized health care, the second epidemic of 2020 that is homelessness, finding your perfect creati...
Jan 11, 2021•1 hr 41 min
