The HOP: A Craft Beer Podcast

The boys are staying sober this week which means a return to our THROWBACK THURSDAY series! Enjoy this trip down memory lane and we’ll be back with a brand new episode next week. Originally posted 9/3/2020 This week, Stephen & Gabe take a trip down the CT shoreline for a visit to 30 Mile Brewing Co. A lesser-known “hidden gem” of the CT beer scene, the microbrewery was founded by a pair of fri...

Tree House Brewing needs no introduction. Since its founding in 2011, the MA company has become known by many as one of the very best breweries in the United States. Tree House beer is the stuff of legends, and for good reason, with a lineup of knockout stouts and IPAs that achieve an unmatched level of complexity, balance, flavor and deliciousness. Beer fans travel from all over to visit one of t...

Along with our new 2022 show schedule comes the debut of our THROWBACK THURSDAY series! Every other week, we’ll dive into the archive of more than 100 episodes of The HOP to revisit our favorites.  Enjoy this trip down memory lane and we’ll be back with a brand new episode next week. Originally Posted 5/14/2020 Brewing quality beer in a semi-dry state can’t be easy, but Uinta Brewing has been...

In our first episode of 2022, The HOP heads south for the winter as Stephen & Gabe pay a visit to Green Bench Brewing! Green Bench was founded in 2013, making it the very first microbrewery in St. Petersburg, FL. Co-founders Steven Duffy, Nathan Stonecipher and Khris Johnson set out to create unique, standout beers using fresh, local ingredients – even diving into ciders & mead – and in 20...

Well, 2021 was better than 2020, but let’s be honest… They both kind of sucked. As we (happily) bid farewell to 2021, Stephen & Gabe reflect on another year of weekly beer podcasting! This year, we’ve sampled 137 beers from 66 Breweries across 20 states (plus DC.) Not to mention 2 brewery tours and 4 taproom specials over the course of the year! As is tradition, we’ll revisit two standout brew...

Ho! Ho! Ho! It’s that wonderful time of the year when breweries everywhere pull out all the stops to deliver festive, holiday brews. As Santa loads his sleigh, Stephen & Gabe set out on a mission to break down a variety of Christmas ales from around the country. A holiday beer can be many things, proven once again this year as we sample everything from IPA to Belgian Ale, from milk stout to ch...

This week, Stephen & Gabe return to the West Coast for a stop at Knee Deep Brewing! Knee Deep is a family-owned microbrewery founded in 2010 and currently operating in Auburn, CA. In just over a decade, the company has earned a reputation for standout IPAs, always accompanied by fun, inventive and eye-catching branding. They gained widespread recognition in 2015 with the release of their Break...

This week, it’s a love letter to Broadway as Stephen & Gabe take a deep dive into the Curtain Up beer initiative! The “Happy Hour Guys,” Mark Aldrich and James Ludwig, started their Broadway Brews project as a way to bridge the gap between two great loves, musical theatre and beer. In March 2020, when the pandemic forced a shutdown of the theatre industry, the guys started Curtain Up as a way...

For the first time ever, The HOP makes its way to Arizona on Round 101! Stephen & Gabe are in the Southwest to pay a visit to Tempe’s Huss Brewing. Owners Jeff and Leah Huss are a husband & wife team with nearly 30 years of brewing experience between them. In 2013, they made the decision to join forces and establish their own operation. In less than 10 years, Huss Brewing has grown to beco...

Our 100th episode is here and Stephen & Gabe are pulling out all the stops!! Just by coincidence, our big 100 also happens to arrive on Thanksgiving Day, which couldn’t be more fitting. The boys take a moment to celebrate, reflecting on nearly two years of craft beer exploration. We’ll start the party with a shot of whiskey before diving into two of the fanciest, most festive, most anniversary...

On Round 99, Stephen & Gabe head back up North to one of the best beer states in America for a visit to Four Quarters Brewing! This small, 10-barrel brewery is well known to Vermonters for creative, quality craft ales and lagers. Specializing in hoppy beers, sours and stouts, the company has earned a passionate following in their hometown of Winooski. Just recently they were able to complete a...

This week, Stephen & Gabe head back to the West Coast for a stop at Ballast Point Brewing! Founded by a group of home-brewers in 1996, Ballast Point is truly a stalwart of the American brewing landscape and an innovative force behind the craft beer boom. After a stint under the umbrella of Constellation Brands, the company is back on the craft scene after a blockbuster sale to Kings & Conv...

When Richard and Mengistu Koilor founded Two Locals Brewing in 2018, they chose a name making it clear that they are Philadelphia through and through. This is beer brewed by Philly, in Philly, for Philly, and with no brick & mortar facility or widespread distribution channel, it’s truly only available to the locals. This week, Stephen & Gabe are back in the City of Brotherly Love to sample...

Halloween comes but once a year, and there’s no better way to kick off the weekend than to drink and be scary with a very special, spooky episode of The HOP! Every Halloween enthusiast has finished carving a jack-o-lantern and found themselves asking the question, “What do I do with all this leftover pumpkin meat?” We say make beer out of it! True to tradition, Stephen & Gabe celebrate All Hal...

Aloha! This week, The HOP travels across the Pacific to the great state of Hawaii. Maui Brewing Company was founded in 2005 and has since grown to become the largest brewery in the state. Despite massive success that now includes four taprooms across two islands and expansive distribution to much of the mainland United States, Maui Brewing remains independently owned and committed to its core valu...

DuClaw Brewing might be one of the most creative breweries in the United States. From their Sour Me Series to a hazy IPA brewed with oat milk, DuClaw continues to push the boundaries of what beer can be. Several of their beers have gained widespread popularity, perhaps none more so than Sweet Baby Jesus, one of the original peanut butter stouts… (Stephen disapproves.) This week, the boys return to...

This week, Stephen & Gabe head down to the nation’s capital for a visit to Soul Mega, DC’s “stylistically unstyled” craft beer brand. Founded by Howard University graduates Elliott Johnson and Jahi Wartts, the company released their flagship brew less than two years ago. To this day they do not have a taproom or production facility, choosing to work in close collaboration with area breweries l...

O'zapft is! Bust out the lederhosen and dirndls, The Hop’s annual Oktoberfest celebration is finally here! With the massive Munich festival suspended for a second straight year, Stephen & Gabe explore some of the most authentic German beers available on this side of the Atlantic. There are currently only six breweries permitted to serve beer at Munich’s Oktoberfest. Having featured Paulaner an...

This week, Stephen & Gabe are heading back down to the Jersey Shore. We’re going all the way down to exit zero for a stop at Cape May Brewing! Ryan & Bob Krill founded CMBC in 2011, a mere 10 years ago when the New Jersey beer scene was coming up short. The Krills asked themselves,“Where’s all the beer down here?” Harnessing a passion for craft beer and noticing a gap in the market, the pa...

The HOP returns to the land of the crab! Stephen & Gabe are heading back to Baltimore for a visit to UNION Craft Brewery. In less than 10 years, UCB’s beer lineup has grown from a single Pale Ale to an archive of more than 100 brews. Having quickly outgrown the original 20 bbl system, the company purchased a massive, 140,000 sq ft warehouse in 2018 and founded the Union Collective, a group of...

This week, Stephen & Gabe head down to San Diego for a stop at a veteran-owned, black-owned, independent brewhouse with great beer and great vibes. Chicago native Timothy Parker & his wife Dali founded Chula Vista Brewery in 2017, when Tim was still an active-duty serviceman with the US Navy. Dali’s years of management & customer service experience helped drive the company’s success, c...

When Stephen & Gabe passed through Philadelphia this summer, they were given one piece of advice: “You guys have to go to Love City!” We went, we drank, we felt the love and we’re excited to return to Love City Brewing for Round 88. The company was founded by husband & wife power couple Kevin & Melissa Walter, who met and fell in love chatting over a keg at a New Year’s Eve party. Over...

It’s hard to overstate the meteoric success of Other Half Brewing. The Brooklyn-based company was founded by Sam Richardson, Matt Monahan & Andrew Burman, friends united in their mission to create good beer from “a company they wanted to be a part of.” Several years later, they had customers waiting more than 11 hours for a taste of their IPA, earning titles such as “Hottest Brewery in New Yor...

This week, the boys are getting back to Normal . . . Normal, IL that is! The large-ish town 100 miles south of Chicago is home to Destihl Brewery’s state-of-the-art production facility. Founder Matt Potts opened Destihl’s first “gastrobrewpub” in 2007, combining tradition with ingenuity to produce artisanal beer and food. Having opened their $15 million-dollar brewery complex in 2017, the company...

This week, we’re back on the beer scene for Stephen & Gabe to hit up the Jersey Shore! Hidden Sands Brewing is a young microbrewery operating out of Egg-Harbor Township, just inland of Atlantic City. Since opening the taproom doors in 2018, the company has won several awards at the GABF and was recently named one of the best breweries on the shoreline by the Philadelphia Inquirer. The boys ret...