Drink Beer, Think Beer With John Holl

Alan Sprints wanted to be a chef,  but the hours were going to be terrible and he wanted to raise a family, so he went into brewing instead. That was to the great benefit to all of us because his dedication to styles that were not mainstream, or even sessionable meant the creation of building blocks that the entire US craft industry stands on today.    From the early days of Oregon craft beer, to...

Show notes from Host John Holl: I met Jeff Alworth in the comments section of his blog, Beervana . A decade ago I had written an article for a newspaper and Alworth had thoughts and took the piece to task. He was wrong, of course, so like any keyboard warrior, I logged on and defended my digital honor. We became friends shortly after.    If you are interested in beer, you likely know Alworth. He’s...

Show notes from host John Holl: "If you’re a regular listener of this show you might recall that a few weeks back I was in Nashville for Funk Fest, an event put on by Yazoo Brewing and Embrace the Funk. I participated in a few live discussions with brewers and spent a delightful 45 minutes with Pete Halupka the co-founder and head brewer of Harvest Roots Ferments in Alabama. I wish we had recorded...

Bess Dougherty has one of the best social media accounts in the beer space these days, mostly because it doesn’t largely focus on beer. With her Carhartt overalls, she’s been using the front pocket to hold snacks. From cookies and chips, to ice cream bars and tater tots, the snack pocket is a quirky escape from reality that celebrates between meal noshes.    Bess has been brewing for a decade now,...

In this episode recorded in Nashville, Tennessee during the Yazoo Brewing Funk Fest Brady Duncan, a co-founder and Ryan Blevins, the head brewer, of MadTree Brewing share thoughts on IPA and lager, and the fun and hard work that comes with day-to-day operations.   The brewery has come a long way since Duncan and his other homebrew-minded founders went pro.  Fueled by the growth of their IPA, but w...

Private Press is the newest chapter in Brad Clark’s brewing career. In 2005, fresh out of Siebel he co-founded Jackie O’s a Pub and Brewery in Athens, Ohio, working as the brewer and rising in the job titles as the company grew from a few hundred barrels a year to more than 10,000 annually. Along the way his recipes were lauded, racked up awards, and inspired a new generation of brewers who came u...

New Holland Brewing Co. was founded in 1996 and over the years it has evolved from a small brewpub to one of the country’s largest craft brewers, all on the back of a bourbon barrel imperial stout – a pretty amazing feat.    Brett VanderKamp was a co-founder of the brewery and now sits in the CEO role. He's learned a lot along the way, some good and some bad, and has tried to use the brewery as a...

Show notes from host John Holl : Back in my traveling days, I was always happy to run into Phil Wymore. I’ve always found the co-founder of Perennial Artisan Ales to be affable, interesting, and tuned into flavor.    Since Perrenial was founded its grown in size and prestige, turning out a variety of beers, notably imperial stouts, but also crisp pilsners. For Wymore, the desire to own a business...

Corn gets beat up in beer circles.  That’s thanks to years of it being maligned by craft brewers who saw it as an adjunct ingredient that didn’t bring a lot to the conversation or messed with “purity.”  Corn is dynamic. Flavorful. Impactful in a beer recipe and should be celebrated.    That’s why in Indiana, a state known for corn production, there are rows and rows being grown annually by Caleb M...

Day Bracey wants to empower the Black community through the beer industry. This is a year-round goal and the podcaster , comedian, and festival organizer does that every day all day. But next week in Pittsburgh he is hosting the Barrel and Flow Festival and will be able to put the goal front and center.    It’s the continuation of the Fresh Fest, which he founded with business partner and podcast...

If you were scrolling through beer-tinted social media this week, you likely saw the color purple. Martin House Brewing in Texas announced its latest beer: Grape Punch Pickle Beer. It's a riff off of their extremely popular Best Maid Pickle ale.    Cody Martin co-founded the brewery with two friends nearly a decade ago, and as he explains on the show, had plans for a saison to be the company's fla...

Show notes from host John Holl: "Four years ago I was working on the Drink Beer, Think Beer book and needed some quiet time away. I decamped to my wife’s family house in the Pocono mountains in Pennsylvania. As I was pulling out of the grocery store, stocked with supplies, I saw a newly constructed building where an Arby’s had once stood, and through the windows it was clear fermenters were standi...

Brewery owners will often say that running their business is like being on a roller coaster. Strap in as Kyle Kohlmorgen of Wellspent Brewing shares his experience. “It’s been short, and expensive, but fun at least. I made a TON of mistakes, and my business sense continues to be poor, so I'm glad Wellspent is in better hands, ownership-wise," he says. "When I was the "Brewer/Owner", I wasn't doing...

Show notes from John Holl: "By the time you’re hearing this, I’ll be at the Jersey Shore, unplugged and drinking cream ale. It’s a long-planned vacation but as I got ready for some days away I had a sense of senioritis kick in.    I knew I needed to get a show done, but my brain was also mushy from deadlines and life. When an email from Ben Love popped up in my email, I knew I had found a solution...

Over the last few weeks a few IPAs have popped up here at the home broadcast studio that all had the same label reading “Things We Don’t Say." It was soon revealed to be a collaboration beer   between Eagle Park Brewing and the Hope for the Day Foundation that was offered to breweries around the world. It’s designed to talk about mental health in and around the beer space – and that includes the d...

Show notes from John Holl:  "If you’ve been listening for long enough, now and again I’ll ask for guest suggestions. Sometimes I get letters and usually those are good suggestions that lead to lively conversations.    This is one of those shows. My friend Don Tse , the writer and pun aficionado, who has also been a guest on this show reached out recently to introduce Kolin Krokis. I’m glad he did....

Show notes from John Holl:   As we’ve talked about on the show in the past, there are serious conversations and allegations happening in the beer industry, specifically, these days, around the treatment of women. Sadly, many of these stories are not new, but a lot of them have not been publicly talked about, until a few weeks ago when women started sharing their stories on social media.    There’s...

Zack Adams was invited onto the podcast this week to talk about his Grodziskie, a 3.2% smoked ale that he brewed with help and guidance from Live Oak Brewing, and a beer that utilizes specialty smoked malt from a local farm. Before all that, however, we spend time talking about how his taproom has evolved and adapted since COVID-19 began. Adams, the owner and brewer of Fox Farm Brewery in Salem, C...

Ryan Kilpatrick's Fiction Beer Company was part of the third wave of craft breweries that opened in the U.S coming up on a decade ago. He’ll tell the story of the brewery in a minute, but in my visits to his place in the past I’ve been struck with the comfortable feeling, the diverse tap list, and the general engagement of the staff.    That usually comes from ownership, so in this podcast, record...

Show notes from John Holl: "I’m really excited to have Latisha Cook on the show this week. I’ve had the occasion to talk with her in the past and her passion for beer, for sparking conversation, collaborations, and a drive for a more inclusive beer industry and community is infectious. We’ve talked about the need for diversity and diverse perspectives on the show before and Cook has been at the fo...

There is a lot happening with Joel Stickrod of Barrique Brewing & Blending these days. He's moved from a modest barrel-storage space into his own taproom in the heart of Nashville and is bringing his beer vision to the people. Originally the brewery was focused on wild ales, usually blended, often fruited, and those remain on offer. The new space has allowed him to branch out in to lagers and...

Narragansett is a brewery that has been around since the late 1800s. It was a revered New England lager brand that, after prohibition went on the wain, and eventually closed down. It was revived about 15 years ago by a group of passionate investors, and has seen such tremendous growth since its rebirth that it is now in the top 30 of craft breweries in the United States.   The growth was largely b...

Any beer lover that has been to Seattle over the last three decades has likely stopped into The Pike Brewing Company . Near the iconic market of the same name, the brewery was founded by Charles and Rose Ann Finkel in 1989.    Part brewery, part pub, part museum, this welcoming spot has worked tirelessly to deliver on quality and flavorful pints and pushing forward a local experience.    Charles a...

As mentioned briefly last week, Brienne Allen of Notch Brewing has been sharing stories of women in the beer industry. So far hundreds of women have come forward with stories of abuse, harassment, and worse by men in and around the brewing industry.    Among the news and the announcement was a statement from Laura Dierks the founder of Interboro Spirits & Ales in Brooklyn, New York. In a signe...

Mike Patterson and Emily Vides are the couple behind of Small Change brewing in Massachusetts. The contract brewery turned three earlier this month and in the time it has been distributing beer it has gained a strong reputation for reliable and flavorful ales, including styles that are often overlooked, like milds.  It's a story of a homebrewer who went pro, but also of collaboration, artistic exp...