Beering Ain't Easy

Welcome to the first ever Beering Ain’t Easy Podcast “Meet the Brewer” series featuring the Nook Brewing Company out of Broken Arrow, OK!   You'll meet co-owner and head brewer Alex Foster, hear about their fantastic Terminal Velocity Dopplebock, and learn all about what it’s like to start up a small business brewery during the pandemic.  We may even get some insight on how brewers feel about Unta...

In this episode, Adam comes back from his Gulf Shores, Alabama vacation with a beer run from - hold up - the Carolinas?  We’ll try and figure out why and also talk about our favorite beer-related vacations of all time, our bucket list brewery trips, and strategize how to take an official Beering Ain’t Easy business flight.  Come join us as we escape the norm and get into vacay mode!   Featured Bee...

The Beering Ain’t Easy blind tastings are back, and who better to celebrate it with than friend of the show Ryan!  This time we stack up five Pilsners from the greater Houston area to see who wins the Crisby Boi crown!  And if that’s not enough, we coach Ryan through the process of successfully transitioning from the city to his newfound dad life in the suburbs. The Beering Ain’t Easy blind tastin...

Father’s Day, Hurricanes, and CBD Beer, oh my!  In this episode, we tackle all the tough topics:  surviving Houston during Hurricane season, legalization of marijuana in Texas, cats on leashes, and which holiday is less appreciated between Mother’s and Father’s Day.  And we get funky with our beer selection by bringing on our first CBD infused beer - Hempwing IPA by Ingenious Brewing Company! Feat...

In this episode, we catalogue Adam’s whirlwind beer tour of San Antonio breweries and drink some fantastic atypical beer styles!  And if that isn’t enough, we discuss lawn maintenance, trying to be cool after kids, Pee Wee Herman, and more! Featured Beers: Dignity Common.  Black Laboratory Brewing, San Antonio, TX. California Common. 5.6% ABV Craven Cottage.  Roadmap Brewing Co., San Antonio, TX....

In this episode, we combine two topics that probably should never be combined again:  Kids sports and one of our favorite breweries in the Houston area, the Brash Brewing Company.   We’re going to talk at length about Brash, feature its aptly named “Biggest Motherf******” stout, and then catalogue our hilarious observations and experiences as our kids join the competitive youth sports world for th...

Adam and Drew depart from their IPA lovefest and venture into the wild and wacky world of food-inspired beer, and Martin House Brewing in Fort Worth, Texas is definitely where you go when you want to scratch that itch.  Come join us while we taste an array of Martin House food-inspired beers and discuss beer trends for 2021 - things are going to get weird!   Featured Beers (All from Martin House B...

Now that Drew’s back from the birth of his third daughter, Adam and Drew take the opportunity to reflect on the hilarious differences between being a first time parent and a third time parent.  And let us tell you, the difference could not be greater…  Plus Adam recaps his month long sabbatical from alcohol and we discuss some fantastic IPA’s from the Great Heights Brewing Company in Houston, Texa...

What is up with non-alcoholic beers? What’s the point? Does an NA IPA satisfy your IPA cravings?  Did runners create this fad just to have one more thing to gloat about?  Adam decided to take a month off drinking to train for a marathon, so we brought on an assortment of NA beers from the Athletic Brewing Company and Lagunitas to answer those questions and more!   Featured Beers: Upside Dawn. Athl...

Come celebrate Saint Paddy’s day with Beering Ain’t Easy!  We’ll pour green beers, blind taste test Irish Red Ales, showcase some bad Irish accents, crown a winner for the best beer bomb, and debate the tough economic decisions behind determining the right amount of Tooth Fairy money!   Featured Beers: Smithwick’s. Guinness, Saint James’ Gate, Leinster Ireland. 4.5% ABV. Dublin Me Luck. 11 Below B...

We’ve spent a lot of time on IPA’s and stouts on this show - now it’s time to switch it up a bit and bring on the Belgian beers!  In this episode, we bring back friend of the show Michael to taste four different types of Belgians including a bizarre Eucalyptus tripel, crown the official beer of Neurology, and go on a rant about shower beers. Featured Beers: Orval. Pale Ale. Brasserie d’Orval, Vill...

Adam and Drew take a stab at home brewing for the first time ever!  Knowing our history, this should go off without a hitch right?  Right???  In this episode we bring you two 1 Gallon Pale Ale Home Brew Kits -  Northern Brewer vs. Brooklyn Brew Shop - in a showdown to determine which kit is best for you.  And that’s not all - you’ll get to witness one of the most epic home brewing fails of all tim...

Are you allowed to bring beer home that you brought over to your friend’s house? What about if you stored it temporarily in their fridge?  Well, look no further, because Adam and Drew have answered all your questions and more by laying down the official rules of Beer Etiquette…and its loopholes.   Featured Beer:  Gulf Coast IIPA.  Collaboration between Parish Brewing Company in Broussard, LA and U...

Our second Origins episode has finally arrived!  This time Adam takes us to his home state of Iowa to talk about the cold, the drinking traditions, and even a shout out to his high school prom date.  And if that’s not enough, we’re doing another patented Beering Ain’t Easy beer experiment - tasting 2 different Midwest stouts at 3 different temperatures to let you, the listener, know which beer tem...

Has your New Year’s resolution come into direct conflict with your obsession with craft beer?  Well, do we have a solution for you!  Come join Adam and Drew for an epic 8 beer tournament battle to crown the winner for the best low cal IPA’s on the market, plus we’ll “weigh in” on Dry January and New Year’s Resolutions!   Featured Beers:  Light Hearted Ale.  Bell’s Brewery, Comstock, MI.  3.7% ABV....

Have you ever tried to order a special release beer from a brewery website and find it sold out in a matter of minutes?  Well, that my friends, is due to the secondary beer market, a mysterious shadow organization thwarting local beer drinkers at every turn.  Your favorite investigators Adam and Drew stumble over themselves trying to figure out the inner workings of the secondary beer market, and...

It’s the most wonderful time in the year for drinking beer!  In this episode, Adam and Drew highlight the ungracefulness of keeping the magic alive for their kids during Christmas, touch on out-of-hand Christmas parties, and discuss their favorite holiday beers of all time.  We have a double-header Christmas Ale comparison too!  Anchor 2019 vs. Anchor 2020 and a vertical tasting of Saint Arnold Ch...

We’re back at it again with another epic blind tasting with a new guest, friend of the show Michael!  This time we’re going to see if we can differentiate between craft and mass produced Ambers, Pilsners, Brown Ales and Bocks, in other words “Craft or Crap.”  Check out the episode notes and try this at home!   Blind Tasting Beers ( *All beers were found at Total Wine & More in Houston, TX) Feature...

On this episode, we present to you the ultimate Beer Commercial Tournament Bracket!  Come join us to hear eight of the best beer commercials of all time compete for bragging rights for top honors, and see if Adam’s desire to thwart Drew’s picks is enough to bust the bracket apart.   Featured Beer:   (512) Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter.  (512) Brewing Company, Austin, TX.  9.5% ABV   Feat...

Adam and Drew thoroughly discuss their man crush on SpindleTap Brewery and their world-class hazy IPA’s, and even broadcast live for the first time at the SpindleTap 5th Anniversary party!  Featured beer:  Haymaker Triple IPA. Featured Beers:  Haymaker.  SpindleTap Brewery, Houston, TX.  Triple IPA.  10% ABV. Other Favorite SpindleTap Beers Mentioned: Houston Haze Heavy Hands Candy Green Stratosph...

Ever wondered what the best beer is for pairing with your Thanksgiving Dinner?  Adam and Drew have done the homework for you by putting beers to the test for both the main course and dessert.  Come join us for another delicious beer centric episode, with a few turkey frying mishap stories sprinkled in!   Featured Beers:  Main Course: Trappistes Rochefort 10.  Brasserie de Rochefort.  Rochefort, Be...

How do ‘hot chick’ beer influencers stay fit while knocking down so many high ABV beers?  Do exotic beer photographers ice their beer on hikes, or do they shed the extra weight?   In this episode we ask the tough questions,  guide you through the world of beer Instagram, and make a pitch for a woefully unrepresented Instagram influencer type, “The Beer Dads of Instagram.”  And be sure to stick aro...

In this episode, Adam and Drew ‘keep it professional’ by unprofessionally discussing at-work personas, epic virtual meeting fails, out-of-hand office parties, and most embarrassing professional moments.  If that doesn’t draw you in, then this sugar bomb of a beer will - Black is Beautiful Imperial Double Pastry Stout by Parish Brewing Co! Featured Beer:  Black is Beautiful. Imperial Double Pastry...

In the first of our podcast’s Origin series, we explore Drew’s home state of Arkansas in a most excellent fashion - a side by side tasting of Arkansas Bourbon Barrel Aged stouts with a “point of reference” using Founder’s Kentucky Breakfast Stout.  In addition to a great beer lineup, we’ll break down Arkansas beer politics, touch on the growing craft beer scene in the state, and share a few memori...

Our spooky number 13 episode just happens to fall on Halloween this year, and the least we can do is celebrate with our favorite Halloween stories and debate one of the most polarizing types of beers out there - the pumpkin ale.  Come listen as Drew and Adam recount their ridiculous past Halloween costumes, give you a taste of what it is like to take children to pumpkin patches, and reflect on Dre...