Seen Through A Glass

How about a snort, a shot, a tipple, a wee dram? How's about a whiskey?! It's just me this time, because I looked around to find someone to interview about whiskey, and then remembered I've written two books about it! I'll tell you how whiskey is made, clear up some common misconceptions about whiskey, and of course, I'll taste a few whiskeys. Then I've got some announcements about upcoming centra...

Welcome to the Home of Governors: Bellefonte. Once the most important town in central Pennsylvania, Bellefonte still has a lot to offer, and we won't get to more than half of it! Burgers! Cider! Pizza! Fancy Italian pastries and coffees! Cocktails! And an interview with the folks at Big Spring Spirits. We had fun, and we're going back for more; maybe we'll see you there.  Once again, special thank...

There are six breweries and a satellite taproom in State College, Bellefonte, and Boalsburg: Otto's Pub, Boal City Brewing, Antifragile, Axemann, Happy Valley, Robin Hood, and the Voodoo taproom. We'll talk about all of them, as well as some of the craft brewing history of the area, and what's coming, including, I think, a small scoop about a new outlet in Selinsgrove. Interviews with Mike Smith o...

How do ya like these apples! We're going to York and Adams Counties, the heart of Pennsylvania apple country, to learn about Pennsylvania apple cider! I visited two cideries, and got two interviews, and tasted three ciders. I'll also tell you about my hobby: visiting every one of Pennsylvania's 212 covered bridges. Then it's a sample of what the next six months will be like as Seen Through A Glass...

We're visiting the Railroad City: Altoona! Beer! Altoona Hotel Pizza! More Texas Hots! Sheetz! Mallo Cups! More beer! Sausages! And another OG Beer Bar interview at the fabulous Knickerbocker Tavern. It's a fun tour of Altoona, plus opening night at Boal City Brewing. My special thanks to my daughter, Nora, for the inspiration of our opening sound effect this week, and for the legal services of Th...

Hey, farmer! Are you hip to Community Supported Agriculture? Pennsylvania is one of the biggest states in the nation for this kind of farmer-consumer cooperation. We'll talk with folks from two Central Pennsylvania CSAs, a tiny new one (that I actually belong to), and a huge one that's been going since 1978, so big they also sell organic produce to Wegmans! I'll taste a cider from Ploughman Farm i...

Lock Haven is a classic Susquehanna river town, with a history based in lumber and industry. It's also the largest town in central Pennsylvania that doesn't have a brewery, or any kind of booze producer. What it does have is two pioneering beer bars, the Old Corner Grill and the Broken Axe. I interviewed the owners of both places, and then wandered around town, you know...eating and drinking, and...

Get your hot waffles ready: we're going into the woods to visit a sugar shack and get some Pennsylvania maple syrup! Where maple syrup comes from, a taste test, and maple-infused drinks from Robin Hood Brewing in Bellefonte and Antifragile Brewing in State College. Plus a retro review of Guinness Extra Stout, and your best bets for Saint Patrick's Day drinking all across central Pennsylvania! Next...

Millheim, my hometown, in the smack-dab center of the Keystone State! I had a chance to get an interview with both Tim Bowser and Tim Yarrington, the co-founder and the founding brewer at Elk Creek Cafe, the brewpub that got me to central PA. And since I wasn't leaving town, I took a ten minute walk and hit our winery, butcher shop, coffee shop, art gallery, Elk Creek, and the Millheim Hotel. I al...

Wonderful Williamsport! Beautiful Billtown! With an interview with Chris Kuriga and Quinn Kirk of Therapy Brewing in my pocket, I decided to do a best of Williamsport episode. It took two very full days to get it done: one distillery, five breweries, five bars, two coffee roasters, a restaurant, and a hotel. Whew.  Enjoy! Next up: I'm staying home and doing a Millheim episode! This episode uses th...

You can’t do a central Pennsylvania drinks and food show without taking in the Pennsylvania Farm Show, the nation's largest indoor farm exposition. We'll have a famous Farm Show milkshake and find out where to get them the rest of the year, learn about Pennsylvania's #1 cash crop, and of course, talk to a winemaker and a brewer. It's also a hometown episode for me: we talk to Elk Creek Café chef D...

We made a timpano for Christmas...it was an adventure! I interviewed Jason Ufema, the founder of Shy Bear Brewing in Lewistown, and then decided to make a Lewistown episode out of it by also visiting the Stonefly Cafe in Reedsville and Hungry Run Distillery .  Enjoy! Next up: the Pennsylvania Farm Show episode! This episode uses these sounds under the following license: Creative Commons CC BY 4.0...

For our last episode of 2022, I'll take you along to my anniversary at Pine Grove Hall and to the opening day anniversaries at Selin's Grove Brewing and Elk Creek Café & Aleworks . I'll sample a sparkling wine from Shade Mountain Winery , and a 12 year old beer from Sierra Nevada. And we get started on that promised series of interviews with the pioneer beer bar managers of Central PA: an inte...

It's the extra-special, double-sized, chockful of drinks HOLIDAY EPISODE!! We went to Hershey to talk with John Trogner about Tröegs Mad Elf ("It's goofy shit!" he says), one of the best holiday beers made anywhere. We talked to Lucy Rogers and Phil Jensen at Big Spring Spirits in Bellefonte about their beloved eggnog. Plus we have a whole bunch of stuff from this season's Mifflinburg Christkindlm...

Our first producer interviews! I talk to Barrel 21 distiller Erica Unruh, and Charlie Schnable, co-founder of Barrel 21 and Otto's Pub & Brewery. Tim Bowser of Elk Creek and I take the Cadillac to visit Therapy Brewing, Rosko's Brew House, and Bald Birds Jersey Shore. We get a farm-raised, fresh-killed turkey for Thanksgiving (and all that that entails). And I get some education on gin.  This...

This is Episode 1, the first real content episode. We’ll be talking about what it was like for me and my wife to adjust from drinking in the Philadelphia suburbs to drinking in central Pennsylvania. I’ll tell you about some cooking I did with local ingredients. Then we’ll visit a couple smaller breweries just across the Susquehanna from each other.     This episode uses these sounds under the foll...

This Pilot episode will tell you what Seen Through A Glass (STAG) is about, who I am, why I decided to do a podcast, and what you can expect in following episodes. The first real episode will drop in a few days.    (Wow. I've learned a lot about editing since this episode. I'm going to leave it as is, though. Cheers! 28 May 2025)   This episode uses these sounds under the following license:: Creat...