Beer Busters

Just in time for Philly Beer Week 2021, we catch up with Executive Director of Philly Loves Beer (the organization behind beer week), Christina Dowd. At the start of the show, we address the ongoing wave of reports of sexism and harassment in the beer industry. The outpouring of stories was sparked by an Instagram post by Brienne Allan, production manager at Notch Brewing in Salem, Massachusetts –...

This episode is a Beer Busters first, dedicated entirely to non-alcoholic beer. Joining us is the Co-Founder and CEO of Hairless Dog Brewing , Jeff Hollander. The Minneapolis based production brewery produces exclusively alcohol-free beer. And it's for real. Most "NA" beers are brewed traditionally – alcohol and all – and then have the booze removed, leaving a product that can legally be up to 0.5...

Joining us this episode are Tom Baker, longtime owner of Earth Bread + Brewery , and now founder of Bar Hygge   in Philadelphia, along with Duffy Lonergan, brewer for Bar Hygge's on-site Brewery Techne. We talk about Tom's long and storied history in the world of beer, Duffy's (less long and storied) background and what brought him to Brewery Techne, and a whole lot of other various and occasional...

This episode we share some brews with our longtime friend, Dain Shirey, from St. Boniface Craft Brewing in Ephrata, PA. This year the brewery celebrated its 10th anniversary, so we took a trip down memory lane and discussed the history of St. Boniface as well as our long association with the brewery (including the birth of "no squids were harmed"). Starting with the founding of the business in 201...

Joining us this episode is Laura Lacy, Co-Owner (along with her husband Todd) of Attic Brewing in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. Open just over a year, Attic proudly serves a wide array of beer styles, offering limited delivery service within the city. We talk about opening a brewery just before the pandemic hit, how Laura and Todd ended up in Philadelphia and why they wanted to open a br...

This episode features audio from our recent live virtual happy hour segment as part of the 2021  Philadelphia Grain and Malt Symposium . We were joined by our friend Nate Kresge, Founder of Harrisburg-based media production company,  GK Visual  in a panel discussion along with a lineup of people from the brewing industry including, Dan Hershberg from  Workhorse Brewing , Dain Shirey from  St. Boni...

Moo-Duck Brewery in Elizabethtown and Pour Man's Brewing in Ephrata are longtime friends of the podcast and longtime friends of each other, regularly collaborating and brewing at each others' facilities. Mike Brubaker from Moo-Duck and Ryan Foltz, Sam Son, and Mike King from Pour Man's join us this episode to chat about their collaborations, new developments at each brewery, continuing to navigate...

Welcome to a slapdash, socially distant installment of our annual Valentine's Day-ish tradition of a beer and food pairing session with Greg Orth, founder of  Craft Tastings, LLC . Since we were unable to proceed in our normal fashion – gathered around the pool table in the Beer Busters basement with  whiskey ,  popcorn ,  surprises ,  bacon ,  grilled cheese , or  lots  of  chocolate  – this time...

For the first time since the before times, we catch up with our good friends from  Mad Chef  in Lancaster, PA. Joining us this episode are Co-Owners Francisco "The Real Slim Cheffy" Ramirez, Greg "Just Greg" Kendig, and Brewer Pim "Dutch" Harmsen. We talk new beers and old favorites, the effects of COVID on the business, and a very exciting update on the future at Mad Chef. There is also a not uns...

This episode we are joined by Kaitlin McCall, Co-Owner of  McCall Collective Brewing , and her brother-in-law and Brewer, Matt McCall. Allentown's first fully female owned brewery, McCall Collective opened in August of 2020. We discuss what lead the McCall's (along with Co-Owner, and Kaitlin's husband, Chris) to open a brewery, Matt's brewing history, the pressures and changes necessitated by open...

Joining us for our first podcast in the New Year, is Todd Reinhardt, Brewer at  Brü Daddy's Brewing Company .  We chat about the history of Brü Daddy's, some medal-winning beer, their new entry into canning, and more. Todd also talks about his brewing history, from working his way into Two Rivers Brewing, then onto Free Will, before landing at Brü Daddy's. In Happy Fun Time Games, we play a round...

It's the most wonderful time of the worst year ever! What better way to celebrate the holiday season and the merciful end of 2020 than to drink and chat with some old friends. Joining us, in succession, for our Christmas episode this year are: Kevin Keller, who we first met through  Hop Hedz Gear  and has gone on to work for  Evil Genius  and found  Prototype Brewing and Meadery . Next up is Mark...

One of our favorite pandemic activities is getting goofy with our good friend Ethan Buckman, Co-Owner and Brewer at  Stickman Brews . In this episode we chat about Stickman's new experimental series, selling beer to go, supporting small businesses, and (mostly) random conversations that straddle the line between poignant and absurd. In Happy Fun Time, Wayne hosted a round of Bad Beer Reviews, the...

The last on-location podcast episode we recorded before the Coronavirus pandemic shutdown was at Stolen Sun Brewing in Exton, PA. Several months and wildly off-the-mark predictions later, Stolen Sun founder, Jonathan Zangwill returns to the podcast under very different, socially distanced circumstances. We discuss the expansion of the brewery, recent projects, dealing with COVID and more. In Happy...

Joining us this episode is Mike LaRosa, Director of Brewing Operations at New Trail Brewing in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Opened in April of 2018, New Trail has become one of the most talked about breweries in the state in its relatively short lifespan. Part of that success can be attributed to our guest, LaRosa's long and impressive resume in the beer industry. We chat about this and what led hi...

This episode we are joined by Ashleigh Carter, Head Brewer and Co-Owner at Bierstadt Lagerhaus , a traditional, lager-focused brewery in Denver, Colorado. Right up front, we discuss the "slow-pour pils" and why it's worth waiting for your beer (a conversation we also had – with samples – back in Episode 173 at Victory Brewing ). We also talk about the appeal of lagers and the traditions of Europea...

We're joined this episode by Jason Ufema, owner of Shy Bear Brewing in Lewistown, PA. With a focus on hospitality and creating a destination experience, Shy Bear features a full service kitchen, live music and events, and – of course – a long list of diverse and tasty brews. The brewery launched on St. Patty's Day in 2018 and quickly became a favorite spot in the community. Our conversation ranged...

This year, Sly Fox Brewing will be celebrating their 25th anniversary, and it's been too long since we checked in with this staple of Pennsylvania beer. Returning after his appearance way back in episode 114 is Sales Director and member of the founding family, Peter Giannopoulos. Joining him are newcomers to the podcast Keith Maynard, Philadelphia Area Market Manager, and Sarah Jagiela, Marketing...

February 2020 was a time when Corona was just a beer, social distance meant cancelling your Friday plans to watch Netflix, masks were for surgeons, and Human Robot opened their doors in the former Saint Benjamin location in Philadelphia. Despite the subsequent slow-motion train-wreck apocalypse, the new brewery has managed to thrive with a solid offering of top class beers. We are joined this epis...

It's hard to believe we've done 200 episodes of Beer Busters. One fateful day way back in the Spring of 2013, Dan and Steph sat down with a slapped together recording set up in Steph's basement and nervously tried to talk about beer in an insightful and entertaining way. Soon Wayne joined and, before we knew it, we were travelling to breweries far and wide (relatively), recording on site at festiv...

What had been scheduled long in advance as an on-site podcast recording for Pour Man's second anniversary became, in the age of Corona, another socially distant podcast. That didn't stop the fun, though. Sam and Ryan first appeared on Beer Busters when we were at Pour Man's in Ephrata, PA for episode 164 , in which we had a pretty raucous evening. They return along with long-time partner, Mike Kin...

No quarantine would be complete without getting a little Naked. For this socially distant episode we caught up with our old friend, but somehow first-time podcast guest, Hannah Gohde. Hannah recently joined Naked Brewing Company as their head brewer after years of brewing at Free Will . We talked about what brought Hannah to beer and - ultimately - to Naked Brewing, got some details of exciting ne...

We kick off this episode by catching up with Ryan Ludwig, owner of Rebel Hive Meadery in Reading, PA. As we sip some of the fine honey wine, we chat about Rebel Hive's new bottle shop in West Reading, mead slushies, taster packs, new varieties, and much more. Then we head into the meat of the episode with Dan Hershberg, owner of Workhorse Brewing in King of Prussia, PA with a tap room in Philadelp...

This episode we present a series of interviews around the Black is Beautiful Beer Collaboration Project. Over 900 breweries representing every state in the US and over 17 countries around the world have joined the effort to raise awareness for the injustices people of color face daily and raise funds for police brutality reform and legal defenses for those who have been wronged. We start off the e...

We start this episode with a conversation with our old friend Dain Shirey from St. Boniface Craft Brewing about their latest venture, a new restaurant and bar in downtown Lititz, PA, Tied House . Then, it's on to another socially distant episode with the founders of Pilger Ruh Brewing , brothers Tyler and Conlan Budwash. Still under construction, the new brewery is set to open in Pottsville, PA la...