BeoirFest: Let's Talk Beer

In this episode, we sit down with Shane Long, a legend in Irish brewing and the founder of both Franciscan Well Brewery, one of Ireland’s first microbreweries, and the brand-new Changing Times Brewery in Dublin. Shane shares his incredible journey from entering the industry in the 1990s when “craft beer” wasn’t even a term, to building and selling Franciscan Well to Molson Coors, and now launching...

This is a special episode containing and episode of a 2nd podcast I released. I'm lucky enough that, in addition to all the brewers, I've also managed to talk to beer historians, archaeologists, and those with insights into beers place in culture and history. But there are plenty of people who have published interesting documents but who I will never talk to. At the same time I started playing wit...

In this episode, I chat with Jiří Sládek, founder of Métaphore Beer, one of the most unique and thoughtful breweries in the Czech Republic. Jiří, who describes himself as an “esoteric beer artist,” shares his philosophy-driven approach to brewing, emphasizing authenticity, subtlety, and elegance. He discusses how Métaphore, though a small brewery without its own physical brewhouse, focuses on crea...

In this episode, I'm joined by Jonathan Spielberg, founder of Postcard Brewing Company in Dublin, Ireland. Jonathan, originally from New York, takes us through his journey from IT project management to becoming a key player in Ireland's craft beer scene. We delve into the challenges of transitioning from a hobbyist brewer to establishing a fully-fledged brewery, the complexities of contrac...

Beer was a fundamental part of life in Ancient Egypt. But what did it taste like? That's the sort of question most of would briefly ponder and then move on. Not Dylan McDonnell. He set about plans to recreate an ancient beer as accurately as possible. It turned out to be a 3 year project of deciphering ancient documents, finding ingredients that were as authentic as possible - and even finding...

Lambic is synonymous with Brussels. The usual story is that the spontaneously fermented beer has been brewed unchanged since medieval times, a remnant of how all beers were once brewed. The story is more interesting though. Beer Historian Roel Mulder from LostBeers.com joins me to explain how Lambic beers originated in the 18th century and how they went on to be the Brussels 'peoples beer,&#39...

Thornbridge Brewing in the UK are an award winning brewery that have a strong emphasis on tradition but like to take chances. They have recently linked with Brooklyn Brewery founder Garrett Oliver to brew a beer with Fonio. This is a staple grain crop in West Africa but it's not widely know outside of the area. It's hardy and grows in dry conditions, but it is hard to harvest and process....

Wild East was founded in 2019 by Brett Taylor, Tyler March and Lindsay Steen. Based in Brooklyn they have a focus (though by no means exclusive) on mixed fermentation and Brett-based beers. They started with 40 barrels and have since grown that by a further 100. As they say they themselves, they aim to push boundaries and open new doors for anyone who’s remotely interested in beer. We do this by p...

Looking at the history of the world through it's 6 favourite drinks might seem a bit unusual. But this lens throws light on changes in culture as well as power throughout the ages. Tom Standage, editor of The Economist, took this approach in his book "A History Of The World In 6 Glasses," in which he traces trends through the history of Beer, Wine, Spirits, Tea, Coffee, and Coke. Tom...

It's a big claim to say any one brewery is the best in its country. But Elias Wicked Ales won the award as The Philippines best two years running at the Asian Beer Championship. Founded by Raoul Masangcay in 2019 Elias Wicked Ales gained prominence quickly. Raoul is the first beer sommelier in The Philippines and built his interest in, and knowledge of, craft beer through his years working in...

Vietnamese are among the top ten beer drinkers in the world. The country also has one of the most vibrant beer scenes in Asia. East West is one of the leading craft breweries in Vietnam. Based in Ho Chi Minh City they were founded by a multi-national team (hence the name) with the intention of building a world-class brewery. Their brewery and taproom in the heart of the city ensures that the beer...

Huston Lett and Tom Ross founded Bastet Brewing in Tampa Bay, Florida back in 2014 but didn't actually launch until 2019. Inspired by the ancient Egyptian brewing culture they chose the name Bastet after the god who was prevented from destroying mankind when she was fooled into getting drunk. With such a long view of brewing history both Tom and Huston have taken care to brew beers that repres...

The Wari Empire ruled in Peru from around 600 to 1100. During that time they ruled over much of coastal and highland Peru. Recent excavations have revealed that one of the tools they used to forge alliances was with the local beer, chicha. This was brewed in large state-owned breweries and used both as a way of creating links with neighbouring tribes and also as a way of ensuring stability within...

Black owned breweries are just 1% of breweries in the US. Recently opened Vine Street in Kansas City is the only one in Missouri. Join founders Kemet Coleman and Woodie Bonds for a chat about the brewery and the challenges and expectations of being minority owned. As the first black-owned brewery in Missouri, Vine Street not only crafts exceptional beers but also actively contributes to the cultiv...

Alcohol has been used by humans since the beginning of time. Why do we still injest what is a poison? Edward Slingerland addressed this question in his book "Drunk. How we sipped, danced, and stumbled our way to civilization." Edward is the Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia and his book looks at the alcohol from an evolutionary and religious viewpoint. His con...

We've been following the birth of Checkerhead Brewery on Vancouver Island for a while. Street Juggles David Aiken is creating a lifestyle micro-brewery that will allow him to meet his financial needs and also have a great quality of life. It's been almost a year since we last spoke. How is the project getting on?

The caricature of the Irish involves a lot of alcohol and drunkenness. It often comes as a surprise when people discover just how widespread and culturally ingrained temperance and teetotalism is in the country. Father Theobald Mathew's temperance crusade was the single most extraordinary social movement in pre-famine Ireland, enlisting millions of Irish men and women to give up drink for life...

Lambic brewing around Brussels has a long tradition. After many years of decline it has in recent times gone through a revival. Existign breweries have grown and a handful of new breweries have opened. Brewery Kestemont is a family-owned brewery located in another Lambic brewery that closed in 1968. Run by brothers-in-law Lias Kestemont and Wim Krieckemans the brewery produced its first beers in 2...

Austin has a big and exciting craft beer scene. But surpringly there is only one female-owned brewery where the owners do all the brewing. That is Lass Haüs Ales. Founded by Amber McCullough and Kris Carpenter the brewery specialises in Belgian-style ales. They've experienced their share of ups and downs in trying to bring a brewery to life and they'll be sharing their experiences during o...

Not everyone iopens a brewery by mistake. Or gets national publicity before they do. But Dave Henderson from Northern Ireland did just that when he bought a brewing system off Gumtree in Australia. When that happened himself and his wife felt that had to go ahead. Join Dave for a chat about his experiences and be amazed at the accuracy of his Australian accent!

Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela is one the the driving forces behind craft beer across Africa. She's the founder of Tolokazi Beer in South Africa, the first brewery to be owned by a black woman in the continent. She's holds Master Brewer qualification from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling in the UK and was the first black woman to be accredited as a trainer with them. Apiwe is not only a force...

Sonja Mitchell had the same experience many of us have, we want a beer but have to be up early the next morning. And like us she was not happy with the non-alcoholic beers available to her. Unlike the rest of us she decided that she should brew her own. And so she started Jump ShipBrewing, Scotland's only exclusively non-alcoholic brewery.

There is much we still don’t know about beer in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Historians of food and drink have produced a huge amount of research that explores its deep and complex importance to everyday life. But what did that beer look and taste like? How much alcohol did it contain? How nutritious was it? Though some researchers have tried to answer these questions using the written...

Commercial Craft Beer is relatively new to Uganda. One of the pioneers in the scene is Banange Brewing in Kampala. Founded by friends Adam and Pall, who met through their mutual passion for freestyle kayaking on the Nile the brewery has established a strong place for itself in the Ugandan Craft Beer Scene. Co-founder Adam Cameron joined me to tell me the story of how a Canadian and Icelander built...

The National Centre For Brewing and Distilling is based in Carlow, as part of Teagasc. It's a new initiative that aims among other things to focus on the testing of raw materials for malting and the production of small batches of specialised malts for the craft beer sector, and of test batches for the malting and distilling companies. As the Irish drinks industries continue to thrive, the coun...