How many times have you heard some version of the phrase "beer brings people together?" We get it: eating and drinking with others is an ancient and deeply human way to connect with our communities, and beer plays a huge role in that. It's such a foundational idea that gets thrown around so much that honestly, I've sort of forgotten it means anything. But after talking with Trevor Nearburg, owner and brewer at Beerburg Brewing in Austin, Texas, it's the first time in a long time that the concept...
Dec 16, 2023•59 min
By definition, the realization that you've experienced a close brush with death can't come until after you've survived, but sometimes you might realize you're already standing on thin ice, left to wonder how you're going to stay alive. We hope these moments in life are few, if at all, but when they do occur, reliving them with the safety and clarity of hindsight can teach us lessons about ourselves that we may otherwise never know. In his piece " Melting Away — Ice Fishing on LSD While Your Worl...
Dec 13, 2023•31 min
Last year, while attending the Georgia Brewers Conference, I heard a DEI presentation from Isaiah Smith, the CEO of Our Culture Brewing Co, Fenwick Broyard, vice president of culture at Creature Comforts Brewing Co., and Tracy Bardugon, then a taproom manager at Fire Maker Brewing who now works at Elsewhere Brewing. You might think once you've heard one DEI talk, you've heard them all, but I found this one to stand out because it detailed the importance of creating an inclusive environment befor...
Dec 09, 2023•52 min
It's a new week and that means new drama, news, and more on this episode of The Gist, with Kate Bernot and me, Beth Demmon. We bring you the latest beer world news with all the context—and the tea—you need to know on what's happening right now. This is the Gist.
Dec 07, 2023•29 min
Look around beer today and it's easy to find lots … beyond it. Breweries are making hard seltzer, canned cocktails, wine, or opening up restaurant extensions. Whether it's over the counter at a taproom or in a store, the challenges to sell beer have never been more unique and plentiful as people can now choose to drink just about whatever they want in a variety of formats, flavors, and experiences. Which is part of the reason why the growth of New York City's Grimm Artisanal Ales shouldn't come ...
Dec 01, 2023•40 min
When we talk about what they appreciate about beer, it's not uncommon to hear them mention the people; the "community." And in a very tangible way, there are few examples for how this appears than at a beer festival. All over the country, almost all year-round, you can find examples of packed event halls, convention centers, and even parking lots where enthusiasts and novices alike mill about, sampling different beers. But more recently - and certainly partially because of the COVID pandemic - t...
Nov 29, 2023•42 min
If you follow me on Instagram, you know my love for beer is only rivaled by my love for cooking. Cooking is not only a therapeutic experience but a creative outlet . When I'm not in the kitchen, I'm probably watching cooking shows. Without a doubt, MasterChef is my favorite, and I've been hooked since its first season. I was delighted this year when two people from the beer industry impressed the judges enough to earn white aprons and compete for the title of MasterChef. I was beyond ecstatic wh...
Nov 25, 2023•50 min
Communities can be built through mutual joy just as easily as through shared struggle, and in the rugged landscape of the American frontier, it can also be built through necessity of survival. Along the banks of the Salmon River, the small town of Stanley, Idaho, embodies these ideals of wonder and respect for nature, but residents' way of life is changing, in sometimes unexpected and unwelcome ways. In her piece titled " Dancing In The Dust — Idaho's River Runners Navigate a Changing American W...
Nov 22, 2023•33 min
There are many movements throughout the craft beer industry shining a light on the importance of diversity and seeking ways to create more inclusive environments. One of these movements is Tha CommUNITY, a multi-brew initiative led by April Dove. Since its launch in 2021, April has brewed 11 beers with breweries in and around Charleston, South Carolina, while providing breweries with a blueprint on how to attract Black drinkers to their taprooms. In this episode, April shares the unlikely story ...
Nov 18, 2023•45 min
From a declaration of maturity to mergers and acquisitions, cannabis, craft share, and beyond, it's been a big week in beer. Let's get the heart of what's going on right now on The Gist, with Kate Bernot and me, Beth Demmon.
Nov 16, 2023•25 min
For a while now, it has been my mission to cover the stories of Black women in the craft beer industry doing incredible things. Many of us started as casual drinkers and transitioned into the craft beer scene with the aim of bringing more diversity into it. So, when Vivian Ward came to my attention, I knew I had to talk to her about The ExBeerience, her initiative focused on creating opportunities for beer lovers of all experience levels to learn about and enjoy beer through tastings, guided bre...
Nov 11, 2023•42 min
There's a masochistic element to drinking Malört, the bitter liqueur beloved by Chicagoans and reviled by others. But beneath its herbaceous and citrusy intensity, it represents much more than a challenge to your palate. To drink Malört is a rite of passage—entrance to a secret club you have to earn your way into through a tongue buckling finish and nearly a century of history. In his piece for Good Beer Hunting, Chicago-based freelance writer and culture journalist Josh Terry unpacks the storie...
Nov 08, 2023•32 min
My guest needs little introduction. Averie Swanson is well-known in the craft beer industry for her work at Jester King Brewery—a brewery in Austin, Texas renowned for their farmhouse ales. She's also one of 19 Master Cicerones in the world, and the founder and beer maker behind Keeping Together . Averie is here to talk about one of the most romantic beer styles in craft beer—Saisons. Though IPAs have long reigned in the American craft beer scene, many of us share a deep love for this rustic far...
Nov 04, 2023•50 min
Ready to hear about why the Federal Trade Commission is not happy with Total Wine, what's selling and what's stalling at convenience stores right now, and whether we're headed for an NA beer bubble? Keep listening—it's time for The Gist with Kate Bernot and me, Beth Demmon.
Nov 02, 2023•21 min
It doesn't matter if you're an avid drinker or someone who's never had a drop—there's a good chance you've seen or heard about the growth of non-alcoholic beer, wine, or spirits in the last year or two. Businesses like Athletic Brewing Company have reached pop culture status, appearing in TV shows and movies, showing up in magazines like GQ, and probably debuting at social events near you, at parties or weekend cookouts with friends. In this episode, we've got another player entering the game: n...
Nov 01, 2023•24 min
In this conversation, we're talking about hospitality. It's a bit of an audio-based extension from what Sightlines reporter Kate Bernot has covered on GoodBeerHunting.com, telling the story of a widening gap that breweries are navigating between those who go wide—trying to find success by flinging beer as far as they want and need to for sales—and those who stay narrow by focusing on their neighborhood, city, and what can sell locally. A theme that runs through it all—whether a company decides t...
Oct 28, 2023•57 min
The practices of writing and editing, while similar, each require very specific skill sets that nudge against one another, but remain deeply individual in practice. The greatest writers rely on talented editors to shape their voice, and the best editors are those who can spy potential within a story and help tease it out as part of a collaborative effort. The results are mostly enjoyed by readers and listeners, but the creators themselves have to enjoy the process of putting something into the w...
Oct 25, 2023•37 min
Before it became a worldwide beer campaign, the phrase 'Black Is Beautiful' was a positive affirmation in my childhood. I had previously written about it on GoodBeerHunting.com in the essay, Colorism, Black Pride, and the Black Is Beautiful Initiative . Then, in June 2020, the saying also became the name of an international collab beer as an initiative created by Weathered Souls Brewing' Marcus Baskerville, raising more than $5 million across 1,601 partner breweries that sent proceeds to organiz...
Oct 21, 2023•50 min
The latest beer news, product developments, and what constitutes a "five-alarm fire" for distributors—at least, according to distributors. It's all here in The Gist, a new Good Beer Hunting podcast with Kate Bernot and Beth Demmon, where you'll get a breakdown of why the latest happenings in beer matter and the context around it all. This bite-sized show gives listeners quick, quippy, and expert insight into the big stories happening in the U.S. beer scene and beyond. Join Beth and Kate every ot...
Oct 19, 2023•25 min
Becoming a journalist today seems more treacherous than in any other time in history. With notions like "alternative facts" on the rise, media companies slashing budgets and jobs, and more divisiveness among readers than ever before, who on earth would sign up to work in media? Ren LaForme would, for one, and he has no regrets about it. In fact, he's added a new position to his CV as the new North American beer editor for Good Beer Hunting. He's been on this podcast before to talk about his role...
Oct 18, 2023•33 min
Every successful small business owner has to raise the bar if they're going to compete. And for many, that means raising money, too. In this special episode, we're talking about a series of articles that has appeared on Good Beer Hunting called " Compound Interest ." The stories written by Jerard Fagerberg are profiles devoted to founders who aligned their growth, fundraising, and community—and who keep their numbers up as they keep craft beer flowing. The stories are told in collaboration with ...
Oct 14, 2023•52 min
For years now, practically any industry has dealt with the threat of burnout. It was a problem before the COVID pandemic, became a bigger issue during 2020 and 2021, and has lingered since, as people try to find work-life balance that helps them find time to feel relaxed, recharged, or just happy. The challenges related to burnout are particularly harsh in hospitality, where staff at your favorite bar, restaurant, or brewery have to deal with high-pressure situations, unruly guests, long hours, ...
Oct 11, 2023•40 min
What does it take to throw a party for ten thousand of your closest friends? A party that brings famous music acts from all over the country to your stage? A party with unlimited beer. And more than that, a party that brings in serious cash for a good cause. With enough planning, funding, and support from your community, you might pull it off. But to throw a party like that eight times in a row, you need more. You need the right historical moment. From 1972-1979, students at the University of Mo...
Oct 07, 2023•55 min
This is a special edition of the podcast where we let you peer behind the curtain. Our guest, baseball writer and beer enthusiast Eno Sarris, is the subject of a profile you can read on Good Beer Hunting. As part of the reporting for that story, I recorded one of our interviews to share with you—it's a way for you to hear from Eno more of what makes him the person he is today, as well as gain a better understanding for some of the ideas and themes you read about in the piece itself. Eno is one o...
Sep 30, 2023•55 min
There's a certain magic to baseball, filled with myths, heroes, and the power to make people feel that anything is possible. It's no wonder it's called America's greatest pastime, or why players like Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, and Mickey Mantle are household names, familiar even to those who don't closely follow the sport. But sometimes it's those off the field who are the myth makers, the legend builders, and the magicians keeping our hearts aligned to the game, which is, of course, much more ...
Sep 29, 2023•37 min
Flavor is much more than what something tastes like. It's aroma, mouthfeel, and flavors all mixed together to create a sensory experience that has the power to transport us through time and space. It's unique to each person, yet universal in scope; shared on some level by every human who ever existed. In this episode, my guest is Mandy Naglich, a previous Good Beer Hunting contributor and author of "How To Taste: A Guide to Discovering Flavor and Savoring Life." She's an Advanced Cicerone, a Cer...
Sep 24, 2023•51 min
If you're an avid watcher of Netflix, you may have caught this episode's guest on the hit series, Drink Masters , a reality-style competition based in the world of cocktails. LP O'Brien was the inaugural winner of the show, which she joined after years of a successful career in bartending, cocktail creation, and a host of hospitality roles. Her career was objectively already impressive before Netflix came calling, and being named as the "Master" of the show's title simply added more excitement a...
Sep 16, 2023•48 min
Beer is a treasure trove for anyone who wants to be a lifelong learner. From a historical perspective alone, there are thousands of years of brewing to discover and explore. If you ever get bored of that, you can switch to incredible discoveries around yeast and hop varieties. There's a wealth of knowledge to be had for anyone, and it can be particularly useful by breweries as a way to educate customers and strengthen those relationships in the process. But how can breweries pass on that informa...
Sep 02, 2023•48 min
The American South means a lot of things, to a lot of people. But one thing is for certain—there's no place like it in the world. For his first feature in Good Beer Hunting, freelance journalist Owen Racer wrote about this place, its people, and how beer fits into it all. During a year as a resident of New Orleans, Owen tapped into the food and drink scene, researching its illustrious history, shared traumas, and steps towards the future, often through the unexpected lens of beer. In our convers...
Aug 31, 2023•35 min
This episode is a special one for us. It brings together voices of people who were in Nashville for the 2023 Craft Brewers Conference as a spiritual sequel to a 2018 episode we called " Strong Feelings ." Our goal then and now is simple: To capture the feelings of a particular moment in the beer industry and encourage people to share ideas, inspiration, and what they think matters—or maybe needs to change. To help with creating this episode, I was joined by Kate Bernot at a bottle share party ho...
Aug 26, 2023•29 min
