Beer Sessions Radio (TM)

When Emily Hutto of RadCraft beer heard Jimmy was out in Denver to celebrate the Bowl of ‘Zole mezcal and pozole festival, she knew she had to link him up with Sara and Greg Fetzer of Emporium Brewing . The couple paint a picture of the business and beer climate in Denver, and recount the story of their brewery. Later on in the show Jimmy sits down with some of the folks featured at Bowl of ‘Zole...

We have made it to the third and final live show from the 2023 Craft Malt Conference ! Jimmy wrapped up his first trip to the special conference in Portland, Maine, by chatting with two proprietors of the most important ingredient in beer and whisky: Malt! This week the focus is on Maine and how the state’s agriculture stewards great malt. Jimmy catches up with Joshua Buck of Maine Malthouse and J...

This week we have Jimmy’s second road-show from The Craft Malt Conference in Portland, Maine, which was held from March 16 to March 18, 2023. Joining Jimmy this time around are three new friends who are making a splash in the malt world. Jeff Bloem is the Founder and Maltster at Murphy & Rude Malting Co. in Charlottesville, Virginia; Jordan Ullrich is with Epiphany Craft Malt , in Durham, Nort...

Booyah! Jimmy made it to Portland, Maine for the long awaited Craft Malt Conference, which met for the first time in person in over 3 years! Of course, Jimmy got the people that make it all happen to dish on all things Craft Malt. This week’s episode is the first in a series of recordings from the event. First up we have Branch Rothschild, the brewhouse manager of Allagash Brewing Company , board...

BSR always strives to shine a light on people moving the Beer World forward. Writers and editors are often the most thoughtful, impactful people in the worlds of beer, spirits, and hospitality, and we have two great ones on the show this week. Joining Jimmy is Jeff Cioletti , author of Imbibing for Introverts , and editor in chief of Craft Spirits Magazine ; and Kate Bernot , Missoula, Montana-bas...

Stop everything you’re doing, it’s a BSR cider episode! Jimmy is in Portsmouth, New Hampshire at The Press Room for the Stone’s Throw Cider Supper - a  hyper-local regional cider dinner with Giff Burnap of Butternut Farm ; Chef Zac Cardona of The Press Room; Pete Endres of Bird Dog Cider ; and Eleanor Leger of Eden Cider Vermont . This event was inspired by a cider dinner Jimmy attended at CiderDa...

NYC Beer Week 2023 rocks and rolls on with this week’s beer and music themed episode of BSR, inspired by Brooklyn's favorite Japanese-style beer bar, who have been spinning all week for the festivities!  Jimmy is joined by friends Chris Maestro, founder and principal owner of Bierwax BK and Queens; legendary brewer and founder of Dogfish Head Brewery Sam Calagione (and one half of the hip-hop duo...

We are back in the studio at Roberta’s Pizza in Bushwick on the eve of NYC Beer Week 2023! Jimmy is joined by Zack Kinney , co-founder of KCBC brewery in Bushwick, and Louie Catizone , co-owner of St Agrestis distillery in Greenpoint. The gang reminisce on Bushwick’s development into an oasis of food and drink, and what it was like to watch that process blossom from the homey vantage point of Robe...

We’re drawing closer to the Craft Malt Conference 2023 ! The event is being held in Portland, Maine, from March 16 to March 18, 2023, and Jesse Bussard , Executive Director of the Craft Maltsters Guild , is back with a couple of friends for another Pre-Show!  Meet Rob Arnold , President of Advanced Spirits , and author of “ The Terroir of Whiskey ”; and Mark Sorrells, Professor of Plant Breeding a...

This week, we’re taking a virtual journey to the East End of Long Island! There we’ll meet Amy Zavatto , the Content Director for Southforker Publication; Rory McEvoy , co-owner of Kidd Squid Brewing Company ; and Rob Raffa, owner and operator of übergeek Brewing Company . Amy starts the episode by highlighting what’s special about the Sag Harbor community, and how the only thing missing was a gre...

Celebrate Black History Month with Montclair Brewery ! Meet Denise Ford Sawadogo , co-owner, general manager, MBA, and marketing extraordinaire, and Leo Sawadogo , head-brewer and master distiller, as Jimmy sits down with this power couple to discuss the state of craft beer in the Black community. Jimmy starts the episode by recounting how he was connected with Leo and Denise by Manny Calderon, wh...

Season 14 rolls on with a spirited episode on Bowl of ‘Zole fest! Jimmy is one-on-one with Arik Greenleaf Torren , AKA the Cater Waiter-turned-Hospitality Maestro, for a chat about mezcal, bartending, and having a good cocktail. Listen in to this deep dive on Arik’s journey through the hospitality industry as he recalls the experiences that brought him to Jimmy, and how they helped get Bowl of ‘Zo...

It looks like 2023 is going to be another big year for Craft Malt! The Craft Malt Conference is back in Portland, Maine, from March 16 to March 18, 2023. Preview the great lineup of speakers and other participants right here.  Joining Jimmy today is Jesse Bussard , Executive Director of the Craft Maltsters Guild ; Hillary Barile of Rabbit Hill Farms and Malthouse , and member of the Board of Direc...

Welcome back to BSR! Jimmy is hitting the ground running with season 14, on location at the ‘drinks capital of Brooklyn’ - Industry City . Jimmy hangs out with a group of drinks producers, including Josh Morton of Barrow’s Intense Ginger liqueur ; James Tai , advanced cicerone; Dave Lopez of Gun Hill Brewing Co and Gun Hill Publick House ; and Alex Clark and Amy Grindeland of Fort Hamilton Distill...

Rejoice and be merry! It’s the 2022 BSR Holiday Show!  Join Jimmy to celebrate with some of his favorite beer people: Joel Shelton, former Shelton Brother and current big honcho at Inner Circle Beer Tours ; BR Rolya , consulting pro at Beer Bier Biere; Kevin Brooks, owner, producer, and more at Oasthouse Creative ; and Chris DeCicco, head of the beer program at DeCicco & Sons . Catch up with t...

This week Em Hutto , founder of RadCraft Beer , is back, and she brought company! She joins Jimmy with Mark Youngquist, founder and owner of Dolores River Brewery , all the way from the Western Slope of Colorado. Today our merry gang comes together to talk about something a little bit different: the RadCraft Industry Relief Coloring Book! This rad and crafty book features logos from RadCraft’s par...

This week, Jimmy welcomes Kyle Larkin , head brewer at Resolute Brewing Company in Centennial, Co, and Jerry Siote, co-owner and director of brewing operations at Lone Tree Brewing Company in Lone Tree, CO, to discuss their recent collaboration. The gang get cozy as the weather cools to talk about everything from the tradition and function of rice in lagers to malted sunflower seeds.  First and fo...

Happy Thanksgiving from Jimmy, BSR, and HRN! Today we’re joined by culinary writer and historian John Taylor who calls in from the future , based 12 hours ahead in Cambodia. He’s here to talk about his new anthology book, Charleston to Phnom Penh: A Cook’s Journal , as well as to dish out some Thanksgiving food for thought. To start, John takes Jimmy way back to the ‘80s, when John first moved to...

Recap this year’s Franklin County CiderDays from western Massachusetts with Steve Garwood, who runs Ragged Hill Cider Company with his daughter in West Brookfield, MA just east of Amherst. Jimmy and Steve reminisce on drinking farm ciders fermented in whiskey barrels, which is an old New England tradition. Steve gives us a little history lesson, explaining how after whiskey distillers were done wi...

On this special episode of BSR, Jimmy is joined by the current USBG Presents World Class Sponsored by Diageo Bartender of the Year for the USA, Jessi Pollak ! Jessi and Jimmy chat about everything from her seven-year bartending journey, to the arc of the USBG Presents World Class competition, as well as her award-winning cocktail creations. Jessi also gives Jimmy the lowdown on Diageo Bar Academy...

To celebrate Cider Season, this week we're talking with the Founder & President of Original Sin Cider , Gidon Coll, as well as Damin Sawyer, the creator of Bone N' Bottle Reviews . Together they discuss how the sweetness of early cider imports led Gidon to start Original Sin back in 1996, and reminisce about the early iterations of Cider Week.  Gidon also shares some of the secrets for making...

Inspired by the Bowl of Zole Brooklyn festival, this episode is all about corn and Mexican alcoholic beverages. This week Jimmy is joined by Gabriel Velazquez Zazueta, Agave Educator at   TUYO; Tom Pavlich, Division Manager at B. United Importers ; and Patrick Dacy, owner of Dukes Liquor Box . Together they go over the foundations of Mexico's craft beverages, including how corn gets processed, whi...

Join Jimmy on his inaugural visit to Buffalo, NY with our guide Ethan Cox, co-founder and co-owner of Community Beer Works . Returning guest Ethan is an esteemed brewer, beer judge, beer history writer, and overall authority on beer in the state of NY. Ethan details the journey from homebrewer to Community Beer Works, which started after he got immersed in Irish pub culture while studying abroad....

This special episode was taped live on location at Flounder Brewing - one of the busiest brewery taprooms in New Jersey. Situated on a 250-year old farm in Somerset County , they share the property with their neighbors Bellemara Distilling and have become an incredible craft beverage destination.  Jimmy was joined by “Flounder” himself, Jeremy Lees; Cam Winkelstein, Head Distiller of Bellemara; an...

This week on BSR, a Brooklyn rendezvous in Massachusetts! Jimmy is joined by former Brooklynites Sarah Real and Mike Dell'Aquila of Hot Plate Brewing Company in Pittsfield, MA. After listening in to the NYC Beer Bar Buds episode , the pair had to get in on the BSR action! They reached out to Jimmy, and now they’re here to talk about building a brewery from a dream. After some quick shout outs to t...