Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

The Delaware craft stalwart’s “Brewing Ambassador” and former head brewer talks through everything from the process of innovation to brewhouse key performance indicators, building beers from the simplest Pilsner to giant high-gravity beers, evaluating ingredients, reducing diacetyl, his career foray into graphic design and back to brewing, overlooked considerations while brewing, and more. This ep...

Just because Bob Kunz has moved his Highland Park Brewery into a larger space doesn't mean he plans to max it out capacity wise. The Los Angeles brewer talks about his plan for modest growth, how he looks for international inspiration beyond just Germany and the Czech Republic when it comes to pilsner, and shares his advice for creating a wild yeast culture that will develop overtime ensuring your...

Dave Coyne of Fort George Brewery holds the title of “Barrel Baron,” and manages everything from R&D brewing to the barrel program of the powerhouse Pacific Northwest brewery. In this conversation, he talks about recipes and considerations for their annual collaborative 3-Way IPA, building barrel-aged beers and adjunction them, barleywines, the constantly evolving nature of their recipes, and...

Alexandra Nowell, the brewmaster at Three Weavers in Los Angeles talks about what she learned as she worked her way up the brewing career ladder, especially an appreciation for ingredients. Part of the fun of being a brewer, she says, is the chance to experiment with not only new styles and recipes, but existing ones. From how to cultivate a relationship with farmers for the best ingredients, to g...

Falling Rock Taphouse cofounder Chris Black is known for his strong opinions and bombastic style—befitting for one of America’s most influential publicans. In this conversation, Black expounds upon his recent fiery blog post taking to task breweries who expand taprooms and retail locations in ways that blur the lines of the three-tier systems. Host Jamie Bogner plays devil’s advocate in a spirited...

It’s been three weeks since an internet post where issues of wages, beer service, and recipes were leveled against Trillium Brewing Co. Co-owner and founder JC Tetreault sits down to discuss his reaction, response, and what the brewery is doing to preserve and evolve its culture. This podcast is brought to you by CraftBeer.com

There’s more to running a successful beer bar than just having a killer tap list. This week on the podcast is Greg Engert, the beer director and managing partner for Neighborhood Restaurant Group in Washington D.C. which includes The Sovereign, Churchkey, and Birch and Barley, among others. From proper care and respect for cask ale, to what bars need to do to adapt to a brewery taproom dominated m...

When he and his two brothers founded Jack’s Abby Brewing in Framingham, Massachusetts in 2011, Jack Hendler thought their craft brewery making only lagers might grow to brew 3000 bbl of beer per year in the first decade. Fast forward to 2018, where they’ll finish the year around the 50,000 bbl mark, and lagers are a bona fide trend with Jack’s Abby as one of the leaders of the charge. In this epis...

There's a lot to like about brewing in Portland, Oregon but for Justin Miller the Head Brewer of Hopworks Urban Brewery having access to terrific hop growers just a short drive away tops the list. On this episode he discusses the important relationship between farm and brewery, why all brewers and drinkers need to be more focused on environmental concerns, and why the Cascadian dark ale is a style...

Jeremy Wirtes, cofounder and head brewer for Triple Crossing Beer in Richmond, Virginia, may never be completely happy with the beer he makes. “We can always be better, and it’s a constant pursuit of that,” he says. But for this two-location brewery in the burgeoning craft beer city of Richmond, things are going right thanks to a philosophy of constant improvement and experimentation, and smart st...

Dave Engbers, the cofounder at Founders Brewing Company has learned a lot about brewing from both the beers he likes to drink, and how it's evolved to the way to keep the lights on. In this podcast he talks about walking back from the brink of bankruptcy to the runaway success of All Day IPA and how at heart, even with foreign investment, the brewery remains craft at heart. Is Founders the last of...

From his pioneering masters thesis on fermenting with Brettanomyces to his current role running a 10,000 BBL per year brewery and artisan-focused craft distributorship in Denver, Colorado, Chad Yakobson has made his mark on the world of brewing. In this conversation with Jamie Bogner, he discusses his early days of Brett research, myths about mixed culture fermentations, the brewhouse feedback loo...

There's a lot of beer that comes through the Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine office each year, and even more tasted at festivals, breweries, and with friends. Our staff, columnists, reviewers, and readers all got together and selected our picks for the top beers of 2018. In this special edition of the podcast be among the first to hear the breweries who made the list and why, and get a peek behind...

What fruits work best when it comes to brewing a Florida-weisse? J. Wakefield has the answer in this week's podcast. The celebrated homebrewer turned pro also talks about his love of stouts, the art of collaboration and the connection between geek and beer culture.

Northern Virginia’s Aslin Brewing are brash and outspoken with a no-holds-barred approach that’s reflected in their progressive take on brewing. They’ve been tinkerers and experimenters from their earliest days brewing on a 2 bbl system, and this year they’re on track to brew over 5,000 barrels of beer on a small 8.5 bbl system, almost all of which is canned and sold from their dock because the br...

From the best kinds of salts to use to how it can mess up some brewing equipment, there's no one better to talk about gose than Fal Allen. This week he talks about his new book that focuses on the style, what he's learned brewing them at Anderson Valley Brewing Co. and how gose almost disappeared. This episode brought to you by CraftBeer.com, home of the most powerful brewery locator in the univer...

Pinthouse Pizza Director of Brewing Joe Mohrfeld joins Jamie for a hop-centric conversation that touches on everything from hop trends in the 2018 crop year, hot and cold-side hopping methods, their small-scale approach to production brewery-style blending, building relationships with hops growers, using cryo-hops to achieve different flavors, yeast harvesting despite dry-hopping during active fer...

Greg Koch, Executive Chairman and co-founder of Stone Brewing, joins Jamie Bogner for a conversation about their challenge in launching a brewery in a difficult market, their experience launching a distribution business to connect their beer with retailers, the importance of lean business practices in helping brewing businesses weather the cyclical storms of the beer business, the challenge of kee...

Equilibrium Brewing's co-owners Ricardo Petroni and Peter Oates talk about using mathematics to get the most out of hopping, the benefits and worries of "Line Life" and what they've learned from homebrewing and measured growth to help strengthen their business today. This episode is brought to you by American Homebrewers Association ( https://www.homebrewersassociation.org ).

When you put quality first in your beer, your employees will follow suit with all the other aspects of the business, says Michael Kane, founder and brewer at Kane Brewing Co. In this week's podcast he talks about a brewers love for lager, why attending festivals around the country helps his New Jersey-only distribution brewery, and adventures in barrel-aging.

Bull puns, flavored IPA, and the challenges of contract brewing at three separate locations are just a few of the ways Bob Olson of Bolero Snort Brewery spends his day. From talking about when the moment was right to go pro and then eventually break ground on his own brewery, to using odd ingredients to achieve dessert flavors in his beers, Olson shares the struggles and joy of small brewery owner...

Keeping the homebrewing spirit and inspiration alive and top of mind is paramount for Chris Cuzme of Fifth Hammer in New York. This week he discusses brewing seasonally and with special ingredients, how music can impact beer, and the benefits and limitations of brewing in a major city.

Ashleigh Carter and Bill Eye of Denver’s Bierstadt Lagerhaus are quintessential brewers’ brewers, and their singular focus on lagers along with their exacting and methodical approach to traditional techniques has earned them deep respect from their peers. In this episode of the podcast, they discuss everything from the Weyermann base malt they use in their pale lagers, to the importance of decocti...

A brewery's story in four beers. CJ Penzone, the head brewer at Wallenpaupack Brewery in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains talks about making beers for locals, responding to seasonal spikes, and how one classic style has captured a new generation of drinkers.