Beer Sessions Radio (TM)

This week on Beer Sessions Jimmy, Ray and company focus entirely on Belgian Beer. They are joined, as always, by an esteemed panel of guests including Wendy Littlefield of Vanberg and Dewulf and Tony Forder of Ale Street News. The gang discusses everything about beer made in Belgium, including brewing techniques, the tradition of bottling and how Americans found inspiration in the old methods of t...

Happy New Beers! Jimmy & Ray are back and stronger than ever on a vibrant and fun episode of Beer Sessions Radio (TM). The guys are joined by Dan McLaughin of The Pony Bar and Jen Schwertman & Dave Brodrick of Blind Tiger. Official Beer Sessions Radio Beer Sommelier Sam Merrit also joins the show. The gang discusses how draft lines affect the quality of beer, Dave’s near death experience,...

Tune into this week’s edition of Beer Sessions as Jimmy & Ray close 2010 with a bang. They are joined by a great group of guests in studio including Kim Reimann of Grapehops Tours, BR Royla of Shelton Brothers Imports, Will Cass of Tuatara and Hagan Blount of I Taste Your Beer. The group discusses their take on glassware for craft beers, beer aging properties, New Zealand beer culture and how...

It’s a Winter Holiday Beer special on Beer Sessions Radio(tm) this week! Jimmy & Ray are joined by Sam Merritt, the official Beer Sessions Radio Sommelier, Tommy Ortega, Paul Kermizian & Ben Wood. The guys enjoy a great selection of winter beers and have a lively conversation on everything from craft beer in New Jersey to alleged make-out sessions with Carol Stoudt! Tune in and learn what...

This week on Beer Sessions tune in as Jimmy & Ray are joined by three very lively personalities in the studio. Warren Monteiro, known to some as the beer sensai, discusses some of the trends he’s seeing in craft beer and John Holl explains what made him write a book about beer in Indiana! Later on the show, Jeremy Cowan of Shmaltz Brewing Company joins the conversation as everybody in studio c...

This week on Beer Sessions, Jimmy & Ray are joined by the guys from Dieu du Ciel! They discuss beer culture in Canada, traditional pairings and the growing trend of microbreweries and craft beer. The guys also share stories of poutine, Expo 67 Montreal & harsh laws that forces some bars to close at 2:00AM. This episode, as always, was graciously sponsored by GreatBrewers.com, the best and...

This week on Beer Sessions Jimmy and Ray sit down with some new players in the wide world of Beer Media. First Will Stephens, creator of the blog Wandering Foodie and writer at Huffington Post, discusses his new ideas for a beer website and how he got in the blogosphere. Next Hagan Blount, creator of Beer Menu.com (an interactive list of beer menus and draught lists that has taken off in popularit...

This week on Beer Sessions an unprecedented combination of Jimmy, Sam, and Ray had a fascinating discussion with Matthias Trum and Matthias Neidhart of Aecht Schlenkerla about German beer. Don’t miss this chance to learn about how beer fits into German culture (perhaps a bit better than in America), how the German Purity Law limits or inspires German brewers, and the 6 generation, 500+ year tradit...

This week on Beer Sessions Jimmy and Ray hosted two very talented beer makers with very different backgrounds. New Jersey’s Dave Hoffman of Climax Brewing Company came by to describe how he literally hand forged his brewery from steel and old English brewing tubs. Next learn from Dougal Gunn Sharp how he and Neil Innis Sharp perfected the process of barrel aging Scottish beer, used hops grown with...

This week on Beer Sessions Jimmy and Ray sit down with veteran NYC bartender and beer geek Jen Schwertman, plus her fellow Blind Tiger associate Dave Brodrick, to talk about beer and American beer trends. The gang discuss the very healthy beer movement in Vermont and what it means to live there, plus what makes a good bartender good and why it helps to love where you bartend. All this plus tips on...

This week on Beer Sessions Jimmy and Ray sat down with Seth Wright and Mike Winn of BeerNation.com, a weekly video-based beer blog packed with interviews and a general visual chronicling of the craft beer movement. They were joined by David Urbanos of the iconic “The Ginger Man” beer bar where, from the birth of the American craft beer movement through present day, many a Beer Sessions host or gue...

This week on Beer Sessions Jimmy and Ray strapped on their llederhosen for a special episode about Germany, Oktoberfest, and fall beers. The guys discuss the pumpkin beer gamut including the pie-like and the spice-less, the history of Oktoberfest, why Oktoberfest beer isn’t REALLY Oktoberfest beer, and why American beer drinkers often abandon their Oktoberfest beers after one bottle. They also spe...

On this week’s Beer Sessions, Jimmy and Ray pack the studio to celebrate women in beer, traditional English brewing, and the burgeoning craft beer movement. Join Kelso Brewery co-founder Sonja Giacobbe, french beer distributor Audrey Saint-Leger, Shelton Brother’s BR Royla, Joe Lipa of Merchand du Vin, and Samuel Smith VII, heir to the Samuel Smith Brewery, and listen as Ray works his hardest to g...

This week on Beer Sessions, Jimmy and Ray explore the oft-overlooked item that is absolutely necessary for yeast to create alcohol: malt. Jay Steinhauer of American Beer Distributing and Benjamin Stutz of Brooklyn Homebrew talk about base yeast, specialty yeast, and making beer, plus Sam Barbieri of Waterfront Ale House talks about his career in the bar (and ice cream) biz. Christan and Andrea of...

This week on Beer Sessions Ray and Jimmy (plus the multi-talented Dave Broderick of Blind Tiger) sit down with an all-star cast of beer aficionados and creators. David Geary, the “dean of American craft beer”, comes through the studio to talk about brewing in Scottish castles and accessing the most secretive spots of the craft beer universe. Dann Paquette and Martha Paquette talk about being “noma...

This week on Beer Sessions Jimmy, Ray, and Sam sat down with Scott Vacarro of Captain Lawrence to talk about some of his new creations, including his Golden Delicious, which spends 7-8 months aging in apple brandy barrels. Home brewer Chuck Dufney describes a potential entry in a homebrewing contest, and blogger Cesa Kobe-Smith laments the lack of NYC brew pubs. Plus Andy Crouch of Whole Foods Mar...

This week on Beer Sessions Jimmy hosts a special on traditional cask ale. First he goes on the road to speak to Rob Hodson of Union Beer Distributors, who showed an early interest in cask ale and gave it a big boost in NYC. Next “cask ale guy” Alex Hall (of Gotham Imbiber et al.) discussed the finicky specifics of serving and storing cask ale along with Joel Shelton of Shelton Brothers Imports. Fi...

This week on Beer Sessions Jimmy and Ray sat down with Paul Kermizian, owner of the incredible field of flashing lights and frothy pints known as Barcade and now director of the documentary American Beer, plus “roving reporter” Dave Brodrick. The guys talked about the “flyover states”, aka Middle America, and the breweries and beer varieties nestled between our coasts. Omar Ansari of Surly Brewing...

This week on Beer Sessions Jimmy and Ray continue their on-sight broadcast from the Ommegang Brewery’s “Belgium Comes to Cooperstown” beer event. Hear from Ommegang brewmaster Phil Leinhart, Duvel president Simon Thorpe, and Larry Bennett of Ommegang on the past and future of the only small, private, family owned Belgian brewery in the United States. This episode was sponsored by GreatBrewers.com:...

This week on Beer Sessions Jimmy and Ray broadcast live from Cooperstown at the Omegang brewery! Learn about Omegang, Hennepin, and the other Belgian-style, bottle conditioned pieces of art the guys create on a daily basis. Tune in for a discussion on gypsy beers and their impact on the craft brewing scene as well. This episode was sponsored by Great Brewers.com: a favorite source for beer informa...

This week on Beer Sessions the gang celebrates Jimmy’s birthday! Ray and Jimmy sit down with Brian Strumke of Stillwater Ales, ponder America’s place on the world beer stage, plus Manuela Totah, Mike Henderson & The Shelton Brothers all wish Jimmy a happy birthday with a toast and a brew. This episode was sponsored by GreatBrewers.com: a favorite source for beer information and education and o...

This week on a very special episode of Beer Sessions Jimmy and Ray sat down with Garret Oliver (brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery and general beer pairing genius) and Christian Pappanicholas & Bobby Hellen (of Resto restaurant) for an hour long, beer pairing special. Tune in for beer pairing tips and to hear the guys try food in-studio and pair them in real time with some of the best craft beers...

This week, Jimmy and Ray are joined by Bierkraft’s Ben Granger and HRN’s own Carmen Devito & Alice Kreig (We Dig Plants). The topic: HOPS! Learn about hops’ role in the American Revolution, their many non-beer uses, what they actually do for beer flavor, and how they once made New York State the beer capital of the world. Also, witness the beginnings of Jimmy’s New York fresh hop revolution. B...

This week on Beer Sessions, Jimmy welcomes Sam back into the fold with sordid tales of being a beer-hawker at Bonnaroo. John Liegey & DJ Swanson from Greenport Harbor Brewing Company talk about why they’re sticking to their “nano” roots, an infamous prohibition era booze-running boat, and what makes their Anniversary #1 Belgian style beer so special. Plus BR Royla from Shelton Brothers returns...

This week on Beer Sessions Jimmy and Ray sat down with Juan Cruz from Sunswick, the ONLY Good Beer Seal approved beer bar in Queens, and Chris O’Leary, a beer nerd who started his own beer blog (Beer York) after lamenting the lack of straightforward beer and brewery news (sans reviews and opinions) in the brew blogosphere. The guys discussed the potentially taboo subject of beer cocktails, includi...