Beers and Beards

This week Gary drinks a bourbon from Uncle Mike's private stash, and let's just say that the 131 proof Stagg Jr. Batch 18 almost breaks him. David also drinks a higher ABV beer as he cracks open Land-Grant's We Should Start a Podcast. Stagg Jr. might be the son of George T. Stagg bourbon, but it packs a punch. It's unfiltered and uncut, and it ages for nearly a decade. And it's not for the faint o...

We’re back and it’s recharge week as Gary drinks Basil Hayden Red Wine Cask Finish bourbon while David has a collaboration from Streetside and Thin Man Brewery called Na Zdravi. Basil Hayden Red Wine Cask  finish is a special release bourbon partially aged in California red wine casks. It’s light at 80 proof and has the taste of sweet ambrosia with a warm, crisp finish. Na Zdravi  is a C...

This week David is back to drinking as he cracks open a schwarzbier and tries Grainworks Luke I Am Your Lager for the first time. Gary has Penelope Bourbon which is out of New Jersey The winter is the perfect time for schwarzbiers, and the Grainworks option is black as space, but surprisingly smooth on the palate. It's clean and smooth, with a touch of chocolate. We asked ChatGPT to provide a desc...

Dry January is coming to a close, but David has one more NA beer to drink, and he goes with Deschutes Black Butte Non-Alcoholic. Gary tries something other than bourbon this week, as a listener was kind enough to provide him with some TX Blended Whiskey after he blind tasted TX Bourbon on Episode 118 . Deschutes Black Butte Non-Alcoholic is one of the highest rated NA beers on Untappd, and David s...

Episode 121 is hot off the presses, and we keep things rolling on Dry January with Athletic Cerveza Atletica while Gary revisits Elijah Craig Small Batch that he originally had on Episode 10. In legal news,  a bunch of bourbon was seized  from Justin's House of Bourbon in Kentucky by the ABC. Is craft beer going through a mid-life crisis? It seems that way as major brands like New Belgiu...

Beer prices are up and the stock market is down or whatever the song says right. This week we discuss a failed promo that copied from the great Willy Wonka (or Michael Scott depending on how old you are). David has successfully made it through half of dry January and has only drank his mouthwash twice. A fun light non-alcoholic beer was on tap this week as David went with Untitled Art's Non-Alcoho...

Happy New Year to you and just know we appreciate all the support. David has once again committed to dry January but that doesn't mean he can't drink beer. Just beer with no alcohol, you know like going to McDonald's for a salad. This week he tries a selection from our new sponsor Athletic Brewing and the Dave’s American Dark looks like a beer and tastes like one too. In the finale of the blind te...

Christmas is upon us but before we dive into the season we prepare with some new beer and bourbon. David gets a Imperial Coffee Porter with toasted coconut in Esoteric's Peeble's Advent. It was a dark beer that hit the right notes in this winter season. Gary tries his second blind tasting provided by Mr. McKinney and doesn't hate TX Bourbon and found some good things to say about it. This week we...

We're back in the studio this week and Gary tries a blinded bourbon from David, which ends up being Northside Distilling Bust a Crust bourbon. David also tastes The Undertaker from The Phoenix Brewing Company. Gary says he really likes the nose and the long Kentucky hug offered up by Northside Distilling's Single Barrel Bust a Crust special edition bourbon. David talks about his trip to Phoenix Br...

This week we recorded a live episode at Fretboard Brewing in Blue Ash, Ohio. If you couldn't make it out we have the replay available for you here. David helped pick out a beer for Gary, and he ended up with a 12% bourbon-barrel aged Cool Meditation. David drinks not one, but two beers - first he has Campfire and Rain smoked amber lager and then Dunkel No. 9 dark lager. We chat about our drinking...

Hey hey. A fun week as always but never a bad time when you start with laughter. It's a bourbon news heavy episode but we still sneak in that craft beer flair. David made a beer trade to get himself some Michigan brew from the UP. This week he tries Mykiss IPA from Marquette Michigan's Blackrocks Brewery. So far it's safe to say David has not tried something in the beer category on this show that...

David has graced the podcast with his presence after what seems like a month vacation following his birthday. He hit his 500th brewery milestone while travelling to Wisconsin. While he was there he picked up a bottle of New Glarus Staghorn and gives it a try this week on the podcast. Prior to the big road trip Mr. McKinney hit up Lexington, KY for a trio of breweries and a distillery tour. High no...

Big time of year as Buffalo Trace is doubling down as the 20th anniversary of there partnership with the Van Winkle Family and they have released the 2022 Van Winkle Collection as well as a collaboration with Sierra Nevada to have Bigfoot Beer featuring E.H. Taylor. David was out of beer and instead of cracking open the Truly in the fridge he ventured out to get a Chicago based offering in Revolut...

This week we start off chatting about Oktoberfest while David drinks Heaven Hill White Label as well as Warped Wing 10 TON S'Mores . It's Gary's birthday week and David has a present for him. Also listen in to how you can get a present for our special birthday month from one of our sponsors. We talk about how McDonald's is going to start offering adult happy meals , and our history with the toys f...

On this week's episode, we discuss Gary's surgery and announce our next live show. David also drinks some TX Bourbon as well as a special Blue Heron Octoberfest that he got in his box from Rivalry Brews. David starts off this week drinking TX Bourbon from Firestone & Robinson Distillery in Ft. Worth. The distiller wrote a book called The Terroir of Whiskey, which David read. TX Bourbon is defi...

After a holiday weekend and some hectic days we are back with another combination of beer and bourbon. Did you know that breweries are all on the bandwagon now that the AFC champion Bengals are back at it. So many beers in their honor and this week David tries Brink's Jackpot Joey. It wasn't even gameday but he opened it up. If you wanna see a bunch more Bengal themed beer click here . Gary is abo...

This is the 109 limited edition podcast. Well that seems to be the thing that's hot right now. This week was a fun back and forth as always with some good spirits as we head into football season and some tailgating hopes. David went to the lake. He didn't fish but he did go to Sixth Sense Brewing for some Sportsball which was on theme with the conversation tonight. He also brought up Dogfish Head'...

It's the moment that no one was waiting for but we were still excited about. Uncle Mike's score of Russell's Reserve 13 year old bourbon was delivered and sampled Birdfish Brewing's Boats 'n Gose was on deck for a palate party as well. Old Forester is as good a bourbon that was ever created with a very diverse selection of bottles that will almost always impress. Each year the coveted Birthday Bou...

Hey, welcome back. We have to get back to the basics so no funny business with seltzers this week although we reserve the right to become a seltzercast. That time has come again as we announce the Goose Island Bourbon Stouts of the year. This is our third time doing this and the selection returns with a coffee offering, the first since 2017. Some good stuff in this lineup that drops on Black Frida...

Thanks Uncle Mike for checking on us, we are still kicking. Gary went on vacation while David has been training for some kind of physical challenge so we took a a small break but we are back. David breaks down his love of boy bands with a review of a Backstreet Boys concert he went to. There may even be some singing at some point so listen for that. While at New Holland Brewing he picked up a Bour...

This week we return to some hard seltzer and craft beer. David has a movie review and accomplishes something he rarely does. Bang Energy drinks are a staple for some but the Bang MIXX hard seltzers come without the caffeine but plenty of taste. Gary samples Frose Rose, Purple Kiddles, Pina Colada and Strawberry Blast. David made the trek to Yellow Springs, OH where he visited the Yellow Springs Br...

It's Independence Day so why not celebrate with a brand new episode from us! This week David has a collaboration effort with Three Tigers and Seventh Son called Boardies. Gary brings back some 1776 that he first tried on Episode 21 . David was out on assignment when he stumbled into Three Tigers Brewing and risked it all with a questionable parking job to get this weeks selection. It was a fr...

We're back after a week off where David took vacation and Gary was on a work trip. This week's bourbon is Basil Hayden Toast and the beer is Rhinegiest Nines Are Wild. In this episode, we start out talking about 4th of July and Gary of course has a funny fireworks story. We discuss the new Jack and Coke ready-to-drink cocktail , and Gary tells us about his new favorite energy drink. Gary...

We're back at it and this week we're talking summer and vacations and more. With David set to take yet another vacation next week, we discuss his plans to visit Grand Rapids and the "beach" at Lake Michigan in Michigan City, Indiana. We also discuss the Top 10 Booze Infused Getaways , and each of us have visited exactly one of them. We also discuss how Gary thought that Coldsto...

We're still coming down from our great milestone Episode 100, but we're back in the saddle this week. This episode was very trying at times with David having all kinds of internet technical issues. But we fought through and bring you a shortened episode this week. David drinks some Belleflower The Awakening Place to make everything all right. Our main topic this week is David's rece...