This final episode of 2024 is our chance to look back at the conversations that resonated most with you, the listeners. Here, we count down the ten most-dowloaded episodes of the past year, with excerpts from each. The countdown includes: Thomas Vandelanotte of Timmermans (https://brtimmermans.be/en/), Waterloo (https://waterloo-beer.com/en/), and Bourgogne des Flandres (https://www.bourgognedesflandres.be/en) on the science of lambic Matt Cole of Fat Heads (https://fatheads.com) on American-sty...
Dec 27, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 393
It’s easy for New World brewers to lump Czech beer into the “historical” category, but—while many prominent brewers there focus intently on the lagers we all love—a growing contingent are also tackling evolving styles such as hazy IPA, fruited sour, pastry stout, and more—and they’re often doing it in their own ways. In Louny, a historic town about 40 miles northwest of Prague, Pivovar Zichovec (https://pivovarzichovec.cz) is just such a brewery. Lager is their biggest category, but they’re not ...
Dec 20, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 392
Kevin Ely spent many years running the brewhouse at Uinta’s production brewery in Salt Lake City, but family brought him to a farm in rural eastern Ohio. Built next to the farm where his wife grew up, Wooly Pig (https://www.woolypigfarmbrewery.com) Farm Brewery is the result of applying big-brewery-systems thinking to the smallest, most self-sufficient farm scale. From embracing the imperfect but interesting well water on the farm to side-streaming brewhouse waste via their drove of Mangalica pi...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 391
Dogfish Head has a reputation for pushing the envelope with culinary ingredients in their beer, and that penchant for experimentation was incorporated into the program at this year’s Brewer’s Retreat through this panel discussion on spices (and brewing with them), moderated by Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione and featuring Ethan Frisch of single-origin spice purveyor Burlap & Barrel along with the dynamic duo of Dogfish Head R&D—Mark Safarik and Bryan Selders. In this episode, they dis...
Dec 06, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 390
Barrel-aging is nothing new for Firestone Walker’s (https://www.firestonewalker.com) Matt Brynildson. He got his first exposure to the process while working for barrel-aging pioneer Goose Island in Chicago, and for the better part of two decades has been exploring the impact of wood, aging, and blending in the development of beer flavor at Firestone Walker. A post-pandemic initiative at the Paso Robles brewery, the Brewmaster’s Collective (https://www.firestonewalker.com/brewmasters-collective/)...
Nov 29, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 389
The Best in Beer theme continues this week, as contributing editor Kate Bernot and hops insider Stan Hieronymus sit down with executive editor Joe Stange and cofounder and editorial director Jamie Bogner. Together, they discuss their personal favorites from the past year in beer, round-robin style, recorded live at Craft Beer & Brewing office in Fort Collins, Colorado. They each discuss their own top 10 beers as well as most their compelling beer experiences, meanwhile offering thoughts on t...
Nov 22, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 388
Our annual issue on the very Best in Beer today hits subscribers (https://beerandbrewing.com/profile/subscription/) alongside this special, once-per-year episode of the Craft Beer & Brewing podcast. Hosts Jamie Bogner and Joe Stange reveal results from our annual Readers’ Choice survey—including your favorite breweries, beers, bars, and destination cities—as well as our Best 20 Beers in 2024, decided through a year of blind judging, and finally culminating in careful consideration by our edi...
Nov 14, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 387
At the recent Brewer’s Retreat at Dogfish Head (https://www.dogfish.com) in Milton, Delaware, Steve Parker of Fidens (https://www.fidensbrewing.com) (Albany, New York), Scott Janish of Sapwood Cellars (https://sapwoodcellars.com) (Columbia, Maryland), and Kelsey McNair of North Park (https://www.northparkbeerco.com) (San Diego) answer questions about brewing hazy or New England–style IPA. In this episode, they discuss: points of difference in West and East Coast hazy iterations balancing high fi...
Nov 08, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 386
In this special episode recorded at the recent Craft Beer & Brewing Brewer’s Retreat (https://www.brewersretreat.com/) at Dogfish Head in Milton, Delaware, Khris Johnson of Green Bench (St. Petersburg, Florida), Doug Reiser of Burial (Asheville, North Carolina), and Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River (Windsor, California) share their answers to attendees’ questions about brewing IPA—focusing on the American and West Coast styles. Along the way, they discuss: using flowable hop products from Yak...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 385
As a trained food scientist with 20 years of experience in the field, Eric Tennant entered the brewing world with a bit more background than most. And that background has served him well, as he considers both ingredients and processes required to achieve the beer flavors he envisions. Over the past few years, he’s focused Benchtop (https://benchtopbrewing.com) around foeder-aged lagers, but the constraints of the small brewery have led to a number of innovative process solutions. The techniques ...
Oct 25, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 384
This second of two episodes recorded live at 3 Sons Lumberjack Day in September includes two separate interviews. First up is Alex Lawes, cofounder of Dublin, Ireland’s Whiplash (https://www.whiplashbeer.com)—a modern brewery known for progressive styles, but also one that focuses on making those styles in low-ABV form for repeat drinkability. Next up is Grzegorz Ziemian, cofounder of Stu Mostów (https://100mostow.pl/en/), a decade-old brewery in Wrocław, Poland, and one of several in that count...
Oct 18, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 383
In Oakland Park, Florida, Brewlihan (https://www.brewlihan.com) meadery sits in rarified air atop Untappd's list of top breweries in the world. Their rabid fan base has propelled them to No. 5—as of this recording—a ranking that founder John Hoolihan doesn't take for granted, as he continually applies science and chemistry to balance flavor, acidity, gravity, and tannin. In this episode, recorded live during the 3 Sons (https://www.3sonsbrewingco.com) Lumberjack Day festival, Hoolihan discusses:...
Oct 11, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 382
As Andrew Foss of Human Robot (https://www.humanrobotbeer.com) says in this episode, “Perfection is pretty easy. To make something interesting is hard.” Those are easy words to say and harder words to brew by, but the Philadelphia brewer strives for character over lager “cleanliness,” eschewing the “crispy” moniker while searching for something more substantial. To accomplish that goal, he uses every tool at their disposal—mash and decoction regimens, a direct-fire brewhouse, a number of differe...
Oct 04, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 381
While Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery (https://brooklynbrewery.com) and Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River (https://www.russianriverbrewing.com) need little introduction, the grain they’ve grown fond of brewing with—an African millet known as fonio—may be unfamiliar to many brewers. In this episode, these two brewing legends discuss the grain’s background, as well as how and why they’ve used it in a series of new beers produced for the Brewing for Impact (https://brooklynbrewery.com/news/brewing...
Sep 27, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 380
Paul Schneider of Cinderlands (https://www.cinderlands.com) is an optimist and a realist—but first and foremost he’s an analyst, studying the evolution of consumer trends and working tirelessly in the brewhouse to find creative and process solutions. He’s not afraid to use all the tools at his disposal—pulling solutions from food science, where necessary—while testing, honestly evaluating, and ensuring that everything they produce at Cinderlands meets the expectations of their drinkers. The Pitt...
Sep 20, 2024•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 379
Great Lakes (https://www.greatlakesbrewing.com) in Cleveland is an American craft beer institution—a brewery that got its start in the late ’80s, when the concept of smaller breweries still seemed foreign to most drinkers. Now, 36 years later, the scale is much larger than it was in those early days on the seven-barrel pub system—yet some of those early brands persevere. While those beers inevitably evolve amid shifts in scale and tastes, the core ideas that inform them haven’t changed. In this ...
Sep 13, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 378
After an early stint at Cleveland staple Fat Head’s, and a brief foray into brewery operation with the now-defunct Platform, Shaun Yasaki set out in 2016 to create a brewpub that reflected his interests as a brewer—well-made beers that don’t chase trends but earn repeat business for both flavor and drinkability. To achieve that goal, he designed a 10-barrel brewhouse that could brew any style of beer without compromise, thanks to its dedicated cereal cooker and decoction vessel. Now, with Noble ...
Sep 06, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 377
Over the past 15 years of Fat Head’s (https://fatheads.com) existence, they’ve won 27 GABF medals (14 gold) and a dozen World Beer Cup medals (seven gold), but brewmaster Matt Cole takes it all in stride with typically Midwestern humility. They love to win, but they do it for the sake of making great beer. There’s a modern sensibility to their flagship American IPA, Head Hunter—one of our Best 20 Beers in 2023 (https://beerandbrewing.com/the-best-20-beers-in-2023/)—which feels West Coast–driven ...
Aug 30, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 376
Murphy Johnson of BlackStack (https://www.blackstackbrewing.com) in St. Paul, Minnesota, is an enthusiastic brewer with a big personality. Despite many brewers’ strong opinions on hazy IPA, he’s not afraid to go against the grain and embrace the murky style in all its fruit-forward hop glory. In this almost entirely haze-focused episode, Johnson discusses how they continue to learn while developing beers—often via collabs with other brewers—as they deploy unusual techniques and focus on ingredie...
Aug 23, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 375
Fair State Brewing Collective (https://fairstate.coop) head brewer Joe Wells has a deep love of tradition but no fear of the future, and the brewer’s multiple focuses on everything from pale lager and modern IPA to sparking hemp-derived THC beverages is evidence of such. The point is matching flavor and experience to occasion, and Wells thinks about the entirety of that engagement when designing beers and beverages. In this episode, recorded on the eve of the World Brewing Congress in Minneapoli...
Aug 17, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 374
Lager yeast and the evolution of expression is the subject of this spotlight podcast, brought to you interruption-free by Fermentis, (https://fermentis.com) the experts in fermentation for more than 160 years. Brewers everywhere depend on Fermentis for yeast that’s consistent, controllable, and high quality—whether you’re brewing an ester-forward Belgian-style beer, your favorite IPA, or a clean lager. This episode focuses on an evolving subject—using lager yeast for character beyond “cleanlines...
Aug 13, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 373
With his new brewery, Ism (https://www.ism.beer), Ian McCall is back in the brewery and taproom that once housed Beachwood in Long Beach, California—a brewery where he was once lead brewer—although he’s in a different position now as founder and owner. Despite the very young age of this new brewery, McCall and team have already made a big splash, landing three World Beer Cup medals earlier this year, two of them gold, and one in the prized West Coast IPA category for their IPA Western Standard T...
Aug 09, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 372
Victor Novak has been racking up medals at major competitions for decades now. Through stints at significant Philadelphia and southern California breweries, he’s made his mark on the development of contemporary beer styles while also working with a number of younger brewers who’ve done significant work themselves. Now, as director of innovation for Figueroa Mountain (https://www.figmtnbrew.com) in Westlake Village, California, he’s blending the many beer avenues he loves—lager, fruit, and more—t...
Aug 02, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 371
The Williams family has been farming apples and stone fruit on Colorado’s Western slope for over 100 years, and today their Snow Capped Cider (https://snowcappedcider.com) is one of the winningest American cideries, notching big honors at GLINTCAP, the world’s premier cider competition, while cleaning up again at the annual Cidercraft awards. The secret, says owner, creative force, and cider maker Kari Williams, is the quality of their fruit. Growing apples for cider on their own estate isn’t no...
Jul 26, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 370
Both Yvan De Baets, cofounder of Brasserie de la Senne (https://www.brasseriedelasenne.be) in Brussels, and Eric Toft, brewmaster at Private Landbrauerei Schönram (https://www.schoenramer.de) in Schönram, Germany, have appeared on the podcast in the past (episodes 162 (https://beerandbrewing.com/podcast-episode-162-yvan-de-baets-of-brasserie-de-la-senne/) and 244 (https://beerandbrewing.com/podcast-episode-244-eric-toft-of-schoenramer-is-fixated-on-consistency/)). However, for this special panel...
Jul 19, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 369
Beers such as Oerbier, Arabier, and Stille Nacht may not be as familiar to today’s avid beer consumer, but for decades these unusual strong ales have been staples on the menus and cellars of more adventurous beer bars around the world. De Dolle Brouwers (https://www.oerbier.be) got its start in 1980, among the vanguard in a new wave of Belgian brewers who rejected the consolidation and cynical corner-cutting that had come to define the industry there. Cofounder Kris Herteleer was committed to a ...
Jul 12, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 368
The Humble Sea (https://humblesea.com) origin story told by cofounder and brewmaster Nick Pavlina is a common one: Avid homebrewer turns pro at the urging of family and friends. Yet that early experience with brewing, brewing, and brewing some more—on a one-barrel system—instilled a discipline for testing, evaluating, and adapting that stays with Humble Sea to this day. A 2022 World Beer Cup silver medal for Munich-style helles gave them the validation they sought for the nascent lager program—b...
Jul 05, 2024•56 min•Ep. 367
Carrying the weight of history and expectation poses a particular challenge for some European brewers, but nowhere is that more apparent than in the world of Belgian brewing. How, in the face of changing technology and consistently variable ingredients, does a brewer stay true to the ideas behind the classic recipes that underpin the core beers that their brewery produces? Over the past two decades, these are exactly the questions that St. Bernardus (https://www.sintbernardus.be) brewmaster Wout...
Jun 28, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 366
In Anzegem, Belgium, about 20 miles southwest of Ghent, Brouwerij ’t Verzet (https://brouwerijtverzet.be) is no cover band. Sure, they could make some local waves by brewing up Citra-Mosaic hazy IPAs, but what would that mean to the strong brewing traditions in their corner of Flanders? Rather than play someone else’s tunes, could they instead take the familiar, culturally significant notes that everyone around them knows, and play them with a swagger and attitude that helps people see them in a...
Jun 21, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 365
Mythmaking and superstition may play a role in others brewers’ approaches to making lambic, but for Thomas Vandelanotte—brewmaster for Belgian breweries Timmermans (https://brtimmermans.be), Bourgogne de Flandres (https://www.bourgognedesflandres.be), and Waterloo (https://waterloo-beer.com)—science is a far better tool for achieving great-tasting beer that people want to drink over and over again. “I think it’s important, first of all, to not talk about lambic as a wonder of nature, but it’s so...
Jun 14, 2024•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 364
