Barley & Me

Host Ben Rice travels to Sacramento, CA, to sit down with the Sacramento Area Brewer's Guild's executive administrator Mai-Sam Baumann, to discuss Sacramento Beer Week 2023, kicking off April 22 and ending April 30. We discuss the transition to local focus, how the pandemic affected the craft industry, and adapting to changes in the general craft beer culture. Plus! Logistics! Communication pitfal...

Host Ben Rice travels to Sacramento, CA to talk to Touchstone Brewing owner/brewery & Sacramento Area Brewers Guild president Ryan Campagna and WEAVE Inc. community educator Jess Lemos about WEAVE's Safe Night Out campaign, Touchstone's mission statement and growth plan, and fashion. Make it make sense? We'll try! Ryan got his start with San Jose's Strike Brewing and has carried their passion...

Host Ben Rice travels to Sacramento, CA, to visit KC Kombucha in Oak Park to talk with owner Courtney Edwards and filmmaker/director Preston Allen about kombucha's place in the fermentation world, as well as Preston's upcoming documentary Unhoused Neighbors. We explore kombucha as az preferred nightcap beverage, how to de-funk the typically odorous beverage, and the US's combative relationship wit...

Host Ben Rice travels to Sacramento to discuss the world of NA craft beverages (not just beer!) with the owners of the hottest new Alcohol-Free bar in town, Amanda Brincat and Kathryn Altman of The Teetotalist! Joining the conversation is artist, performer, activist, and all around badass Grace Loescher. Over cans of Best Days beverages, we discuss the current movement to a less alcohol-centric so...

Host Ben Rice invites his favorite comedy friends (and lover oh my) Stephen Furey (@scubastevefurey), Emma Haney (@ehaneycomedy), and Becky Lynn (@ohthatsbecky) into his (their) home for his/their yearly winter recap. This year, we're tackling saisons for our year-end Saison's Greetings episode! We go from THE definitive saison, to clones of that saison, to slight variations to wild experimentatio...

Host Ben Rice travels to Rocklin, CA to talk with the mind(scapes) behind Mindscape Fermentations, Lauren Houston (data director), Lauren Price (microbe manager), and Charlotte Crott (enzyme executive) in the long-awaited(?) episode 167. Not solely a microbrewery, Mindscape instead, as the name implies, focuses on fermentation in all its wonder, as they tackle cider, wine, seltzer, hard kombucha,...

Host Ben Rice travels to Sunnyvale, CA, to sit down with Japanese-Brazilian Japas Cervejaria's co-founders Maira Kimura (brewer), Yumi Shimada (creative director), and Fernanda Ueno (brewer), plus Beerternational co-founder and CEO Pooah Alon, after a day of complete madness as a part of the Japas & Friends Celebration, which celebrated their collaboration with Tetra Hotel in Sunnyvale. We talked...

In this episode of Barley & Me Presents: Leonard Malting, host Ben Rice and half he crew (Paulina Olivares of Drake's Brewing and president of the Sacramento Pink Boots Society and NOT Corky McDonnell of the Dare Daniel Podcast) discuss and review the new beer documentary, Girl Beer, with surprise guest, directorMarena Domingo. This episode was recorded at Drake's The Barn in Sacramento immediatel...

Host Ben Rice travels to Sacramento, CA to meet with Clarksburg, CA's finest, Nick Vellanoweth, owner of Nitty's Cider, and Josh Kress, owner of Husick's Taphouse and all-around too-busy guy. We talk about business ownership pre-, during, and post-pandemic, the insane costs of keeping cool customers (or customers cool, whatever), instant cider varieties, and local musicians we love. Plus! Failure...

Host Ben Rice travels to Folsom, CA to talk to local artist and children's book author (and more, just listen) Brian Wallace over some Out of Bounds beers at Out of Bounds Craft Kitchen & Biergarten. It turns out that everyone is dealing with some form of burnout, so no OOB reps were able to appear for the ep, which is totally fine. We talk about Brian's slow but steady transition to full time art...

Host Ben Rice travels to West Sacramento to discuss Sacramento Beer Week 2022 (April 22 through May 1) with the president of the Sacramento Area Brewer's Guild/co-owner of Jackrabbit Brewing Erle Mankin. We discuss the kickoff Sac Mac & Beer Festival taking place on April 23 (go to www.sacramentobeerweek.com for tickets - also, I might have access to some free tickets - follow me @barleyandmepod f...

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...

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 th...

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...

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 b...

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...

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 chall...

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...

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...

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...

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 la...

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 th...

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 int...

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...

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 slo...