Drink Beer, Think Beer With John Holl

Out to Washington this week for an update on the 2023 Hop Crop and to hear how the timing of the harvest impacts flavor and aroma. Eric Desmarais and Alexandra Nowell of CLS Farm in Yakima is here to share their insight.  Mid-September means the hop harvest is in full swing in the Pacific Northewest, and to get insight on what is happening with the harvest I’m so pleased to be joined by Eric Desma...

India pale ale is the style that built craft beer.  With bold, hoppy flavors, it was distinctive and different and tantalized tastebuds of craft beer drinkers. IPA is a historic style, but historic doesn’t mean static.  Yes, there are many modern interpretations of IPA, but even historic IPA evolved over time, in response to tastes, wars, taxation and many other factors that drive beer makers and...

During the Florida Brewers Guild Conference a few weeks ago I had the chance to meet a lot of dedicated professionals and folks working to bring deeper meaning to beer.    One such person is Ami Parrino the Laboratory Manager at Florida Avenue Brewing Company. At the brewery she combines her expertise as a microbiologist and Advanced Cicerone to ensure the production of top-quality beers and eleva...

A special live audience episode of the podcast co-hosted by John Holl and Andy Crouch. Recorded on location at Jack's Abby Craft Lagers in Framingham, Massachusetts.   With special guests: Jennifer Glanville Love of Boston Beer, Sam Hendler of Jack's Abby Brewing, and Adam Romanow of Castle Island Brewing. This Episode is Sponsored By: Denver Rare Beer Tasting If you plan to be in Colorado in a fe...

Strap in, because we’re going on a ride, deep into flavor, our senses and what Randy Mosher calls “Your Tasting Brain.” No matter how long you have been around beer, thinking about beer, drinking beer, listening about or talking about beer, there is always something new to learn.    This is especially true when around Randy Mosher. He’s the celebrated writer behind classic books like Tasting Beer,...

A lot of breweries talk about sustainability and environmental practices, but few are as committed as Florida’s First Magnitude. This week on the show it’s a conversation with Christine and John Denny, the founders of the brewery. Located in Gainesville, Florida they are the Southeast’s first carbon-neutral brewery through a partnership with We Are Neutral, and they have donated a lot of money to...

Last Week Jack’s Abby, the Massachusetts-based lager brewery announced that it would soon be releasing a collaboration with Weihenstephan, the venerable German brewery.    It’s called Fest Of Both Worlds and it’s brewed with Pilsner and Munich malts along with Sterling and Adeena hops, and fermented with TUM 34/70, which Weihenstephan shared for this beer.   At nearly 1,000 years old Weihenstephan...

We’re tasting all the time when it comes to beer and our drinking experiences. But there is always a chance to become better, to go deeper and layer in more thought. Mandy Naglich, is the author of the new book “How To Taste” and she is here to guide us. There are several books that exist that help us understand our brains and senses when it comes to tasting. Now, there is a new one to add to your...

Perspective is important when it comes to enjoying beer and understanding the industry. This episode features a panel comprised of directors of three state brewing guilds. It’s amazing how much has changed in the beer industry in 10 years. We’ve seen the rise of the Hazy IPA all while the the number of operating breweries exploded. Trends have come and gone and mergers and closures dot the landsca...

What’s it like being an organic brewery in 2023? Harder than you might think, but getting a little better. My guest is Sandy Boss Febbo of Minnesota’s Bang Brewery and she’ll explain.    I love hearing about breweries that are not trying to be everything to every one. The ones that were founded with a sense of purpose and continue to stick with it. Headed into the craft brewers conference in 2022...

The recent news about Anchor Brewing pulling back it’s distribution to just California and discontinuing Our Special Ale, it’s Christmas offering, had me thinking about the brewery’s place in history and its impact. Scott Ungermann, the former brewmaster of Anchor is here to talk about all that and more. A few weeks ago Dave Infante, of the excellent Fingers Newsletter broke the news that broke he...

We’re talking about food science, quality control, and the relationship to beer with Eric Tennant, the founder and master brewer of Virginia’s Benchtop Brewing.  Occasionally beer gets sent to the home office here and on the afternoons when the schedule is clear and I’m in the mood for some refreshment, I open a few and let my mind wonder.    A recent box from Benchtop brewing in Virginia got my t...

Ryan Sentz is here this week to talk about how he and his brother bought back Funky Buddha, the Florida Brewery they sold to Constellation Brands six years ago.  There’s an interesting trend happening in beer these days. Small breweries that had sold to larger brewing companies are regaining their independence. The founders of Three Weavers in California re-purchased the brewery from Fireman Capit...

A note from John Holl:  "This week I’m pleased to share with you a recent episode of the Brewer to Brewer Podcast, which runs on the All About Beer channel.  Shaun O’Sullivan of 21st Amendment interviews Mitch Steele of New Realm Brewing. The duo discuss Steele’s career and he shares insight into his time working for Anheuser-Busch at the dawn of craft beer and the movements made to address and co...

Averie Swanson of Keeping Together is on the show this week in a conversation recorded last month at Funk Fest in Nashville, TN. We’re talking about saison, building a new brewery, and the creative process. Swanson is one of the most talented and thoughtful brewers in the U.S. today and her career path is well known. Going from a volunteer at Jester King in Austin to its head brewer in just four y...

This week the show is  back in Nashville for the second of three conversations recorded before a crowd at Funk Fest, the amazing event hosted by Yzoo Brewing and Embrace the Funk. Mr. Garrett Oliver the Brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery is the guest. As any good beer fan knows, he is the brewmaster of The Brooklyn Brewery, the author of The Brewmaster’s Table , and the Editor-in-Chief of The Oxfo...

This is a special edition of This Week in Rauchbier as we celebrate Memorial Day Weekend 2023 with a visit to Camp Rauchbier. Recorded at Barrique Brewing and Blending in Nashville, Tennessee before a live and enthusiastic audience John Holl is joined by Spencer Longhurst in the co-host chair. Guests include Jack Hendler of Jack's Abby Craft Lagers and Khristopher Johnson of Green Bench Brewery ....

A lively conversation over two beers with Vinnie Cilurzo recorded before a crowd at the 2023 Funk Fest in Nashville. Cilurzo talks about the relationship between wine and beer, dialing in acidity, and surprises and delights with pours of four-day-old Pliny the Elder. As one of the leading voices in hop-forward beers and proper barrel-aging he offers unparreled insights into what goes into making w...

This week on the show I’m glad to have Mary and Brian Rooney of BKS Artisan Ales in Brookside, Missouri. They are here to talk about consumer preferences, tinkering with styles, near endless choice, and the regionality of brewing. A few weeks ago I had the chance to meet and chat with them. They were pouring as part of the Little Beer Festival and we had a lot of fun batting around ideas while I l...

A lot of the focus in beer today focuses on the now. There is a wealth of history that exists and on the show today I’m talking with Clint Lanier, the author of “Ted Mack and America's First Black Owned Brewery: The Rise and Fall of Peoples Beer.” There are some excellent history books about beer that exist in the world. Most will focus on broad categories, but there are some that do a deep dive i...

The Craft Brewers Conference is an annual event that brings brewers from around the world into a selected city for a few days of education, equipment buying, and camaraderie.    Brewers have also been using the occasion to get together in advance to create and then release collaboration beers. One of the most ambitious – at least from what I’ve experienced in recent years – will be released on May...

It’s a love of lagers episode from four brewers that have fully embraced the traditions to the style and are working to have modern conversations in the space. You’ll hear from Bierstadt Lagerhaus, Bagby Beer, Heater Allen, and Cohesion Brewing. It was a beautiful weather day in Duluth, Georgia last weekend as Good Word Brewing put on its third Little Beer Festival. Todd DiMatteo, who you’ve heard...

Is craft lager having a moment? It’s certainly gained popularity on taproom menus around the country and is showing us the diversity of styles and flavors that can be enjoyed in this category. But where does craft malt fit into these styles that are so driven by the flavors and functionality of malt?  This a special episode, recorded on location at the Craft Malt Conference that was recently held...

2023 is looking to be an interesting year for legacy brewers in the U.S. We’re seeing closures and contractions, and changes to beloved brands.    Of course, the most noted right now is that New Belgium announced that it completely reformulated Fat Tire, turning it something that bears no resemblance to the amber ale that raised and delighted a generation.      The changes, or “remastered” version...

Welcome to This Week in Rauchbier for April 1, 2023.   Our Brewers Roundtable goes deep into the smoke with Spencer Longhurst of Barrique Brewing & Blending , Logan Ackerley of Wallenpaupack Brewing , and Will Gomez of The Brew Bridge.   Then Bart Watson of the Brewers Association joins us to share the latest growth and success of Rauchbier in the marketplace.  Enjoy these audio smoky delights...