Beer Sessions Radio (tm)

This week on Beer Sessions Radio, Jimmy is diving into the world of flavor intelligence. On the show are Jean van Damme from ESTER in Belgium and New York; Suzanne Schalow from Craft Beer Cellars and Trinktisch in Belmont, MA; and Emily Hutto from RadCraft. Jean kicks off the show by introducing us to ESTER, which uses flavor intelligence to help inform producers, retailers, and consumers. Understanding flavor is an individual experience, and ESTER helps retailers navigate consumer’s preferences to find the exact beer for them. From a retailer’s perspective, Suzanne explains how ESTER also helps build loyalty and trust with her customers, which has accelerated Craft Beer Cellars to launch multiple stores, and most recently, Trinktisch. Finally, Emily wraps up the show with one final shout out to ESTER, which has helped retailers and producers boost profit and trust while also helping people find their perfect beer.Photo Courtesy of Jean Van Damme.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcas

This week on Beer Sessions Radio, Jimmy is spotlighting New York City Hospitality. On the show is Mitch Banchik from Eat, Drink, & Be Merry Hospitality in New York; Rachel McGown from Boston Beer Company and Coney Island Brewery in Brooklyn, New York; and Andrew Rigie from the NYC Hospitality Alliance in New York. Rachel introduces Jimmy to Hops for Hospitality, an initiative through Coney Island Brewing that is running through May, aiming to give back to the NYC Hospitality Alliance and help revive the city. According to Andrew, restaurants and bars are at the core of recovery, and while he sees a light at the end of the tunnel, there is plenty more work to be done. Recapping this past year, Mitch highlights how essential the NYC Hospitality Alliance was in helping bills and laws get passed. The Alliance built credibility for the city, offering crucial information to hospitality workers while also enacting direct support from the government. Looking towards the future, the gang discusses how temporary su

With beautiful weather hitting the east coast this week, Beer Sessions Radio is gearing up for spring and summer with Lawson’s Finest. This week, Jimmy catches up with Sean Lawson from Lawson’s Finest Liquids in Waitsfield, VT, and Katherine Kyle, formerly the longtime general manager of Blind Tiger Ale House in New York City.The conversation kicks off around Sip of Sunshine, which has grown tremendously popular since it launched a few years ago. Sean explains the process of scaling up, and where the magic comes into play during small, artisanal production. Sean and Katherine then get into a lively conversation about hops, and Sean gives us a great preview of the Super Sessions series. With the warm weather getting everyone excited for spring, Katherine and Sean both give us an update on how their breweries fared in the cold, and what exciting plans they have for customers looking to enjoy beer all summer long. Sean also introduces us to the “little cousin” of Sip of Sunshine, the Little Sip IPA! Finally, the

This week on Beer Sessions Radio, Jimmy is following the grains trail from before the beer to way after. On the show is Tyler Fitzpatrick from Lamplighter Brewing Co. in Cambridge, MA; David Brand from Blue Ox Malthouse in Lisbon Falls, ME; and Kyle Fiasconaro from Brewer's Crackers in Somerville, MA. Kyle takes us back to his first memory noticing a dumpster full of spent grain left outside a brewery, coincidentally right across from a bakery. As a brewer, Tyler explains just how difficult it can be to handle spent grain, especially when you are in a city with limited space. According to Tyler, it’s every brewer's fantasy to have somebody easily take all the spent grain off your hands, and one day, Kyle made that a reality. Jimmy then takes it back to the beginning, having David walk us through a day in the life at the malthouse. David falls at the intersection between brewing and agriculture and is able to connect local brewers with regional farmers. David, Tyler, and Kyle explain just how much effort goes

This week on Beer Sessions Radio, Jimmy is taking us to Toronto, Ontario. On the show is Stephen Beaumont, an international beer writer from Toronto, Ontario; Jordan St. John, a beer writer and co-author of The Ontario Craft Beer Guide; and Mary Beth Keefe from The Granite Brewery in Toronto, Ontario. An avid traveler, Stephen has found that staying put this past year has helped him rediscover his home beer market. In Toronto, there have been tons of new experiments and innovations, but Stephen also praises brewers' loyalty to classics, including Belgian style beers, brown ales, and saisons. Mary Beth is also a fan of the classics, which may be why she prefers to steer clear of “hype” beers. However, Granite Brewery does a fantastic cask ale called “Cask in a Box,” and Jordan chimes in with the historical context surrounding cask ales and the Cask Beer Festival.While Ontario has tons of different beer styles to offer, Jordan also praises the locally grown hops, which can add unique flavors to beer. Finally, t

This week on Beer Sessions Radio, Jimmy is covering one of the best weeks of the year, NYC Beer Week! For the first part of the show, Jimmy welcomes Ann Reilly from the NYC Brewers Guild; Jim Betz from Coney Island Brewery in Brooklyn, NY; and Jeff Lyons from Endless Life Brewing in Brooklyn, NY. Then in the second half, Jimmy catches up with Kat Telesca and Vic Pitula from Coney Island Brewery; Meg Rickerson from Someday Bar NYC in Brooklyn, NY; and Fee Doyle from Beer Witch in Brooklyn, NY. Ann starts the conversation by highlighting the beer boxes created by the NYC Brewers Guild, both as a way to celebrate beer week and also share NYC beer with customers outside of the city. Jim gets everyone excited about the special beer Coney Island Brewing is featuring in a beer box, and also explains how they are supporting the NYC Hospitality Alliance. Ann then offers us an update on the state of NYC craft beer, and Jeff highlights a couple of special moments from the past year. The second part of the show is all ab

This week on Beer Sessions Radio, Jimmy bridges the gap between wine and beer. Back on the show is Jake Endres from Crooked Run Brewing in Sterling, VA; Patrick Rue from Erosion Wine in Napa Valley, CA; and long-time Beer Sessions Radio favorite, BR Rolya.Patrick kicks off the show with an introduction to Erosion Wine. With prior training as a Master Cicerone, Patrick brings craft beer methods to winemaking and explains the differences he witnessed between the beer and wine worlds. Back East in Virginia, Jake walks us through his mixed fermentation beers that are a part of Crooked Run’s Native Culture series, which aims to challenge people’s ideas of what beer can taste like. BR agrees that mixed fermentation opens the range of flavors you can get, and explains how the language to describe beer and wine flavors has evolved through time. Then, Jimmy poses a hot take about wine drinkers versus craft beer drinkers, and the gang walks us through their favorite food pairings. Even after diligent training, Patrick

This week on Beer Sessions Radio, Jimmy is taking center stage to highlight the "Curtain Up" initiative with the Happy Hour guys and a couple of special brewmasters. On the show is Dave Lopez from Gun Hill Brewing Company in the Bronx, NY; Jon Zerivitz from Union Craft Brewing in Baltimore, Maryland; Kris March from Slickfin Brewing in Fort Edward, NY; and Jimmy Ludwig and Mark Aldrich from The Happy Hour Guys. For the first half of the show, Jimmy, The Happy Hour Guys, and Dave catch up with Jon down in Baltimore. Jon highlights Baltimore’s rich art scene and all the support his Curtain Up beer has received from the Baltimore community. He also credits Covid-19 for helping him refocus and slow down a bit, reworking his brewing process and recipes so that everything is in great shape for an early March reopening. Jimmy and Mark speak candidly about how hard the past year has been for anyone in the live performance industry, and how the Curtain Up Initiative is adding any sort of stimulus they can to people’s

This week on Beer Sessions Radio, Jimmy is hearing from three experts in barrel aging. He welcomes previous co-host Ben Keene, a beer, cider, and travel writer from Seattle, WA; Matt Lincoln from Fremont Brewing in Seattle, WA; and Jake Endres from Crooked Run Brewing in Sterling, VA. Ben kicks off the conversation by explaining the differences barrel aging can make, highlighting the complexity and bold intensity the process brings to beers. Matt emphasizes the layering of flavors that barrel aging offers, as well as the unique characteristics of each individual spirit barrel. Then, Jake lets us in on a couple of brewing secrets, including why Black Friday is such a big day for new beer releases, and how aged hops should be your best friend. Plus, the group walks Jimmy through the aging process from brew to bottle, or more recently, cans, which they all agree have accelerated in popularity during Covid-19. Finally, Ben, Jake, and Matt offer up a couple of barrel-aged inspirations for anyone looking to try out

This week, Beer Sessions Radio is heading out west! Jimmy sits down with Joanne Marino from the Bay Area Brewers Guild in San Francisco, California, and Kim Sturdavant from Pacifica Brewery in Pacifica, California, to hear about California Craft Beer Week, running from February 12-21. Having to pivot due to COVID-19, Joanne explains why the guild expanded SF Beer Week into a collective, calling it California Craft Beer Week. This February, leading stars from all over the California region have joined together to share their passion for craft brewing and regional ingredients with their communities. For Kim at Pacifica, customers can enjoy a variety 4-pack paired with spectacular food to celebrate Beer Week. In addition to Beer Week, Kim gives us a sneak preview of an IPA he’s working on with a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reference, as well as some beer-wine hybrids he’s excited about. The brewing scene in the Bay Area is definitely eclectic, and each neighborhood has its own unique identity. Joanne says the Bay Ar

This week, to celebrate Dry Cider January, Beer Sessions Radio is diving into the cider scene in the Finger Lakes, NY. Jimmy welcomes Autumn Stoschek from Eve’s Cidery in Van Etten, NY; Melissa Madden from Open Spaces Cider in Trumansburg, NY; and Deva Maas from Redbyrd Orchard Cider in Trumansburg, NY. Autumn, Melissa, and Deva each work on cideries and orchards that practice regenerative agriculture. To start the show off, they each offer Jimmy a run-through of exactly what this buzzy term means. In fact, despite its recent popularity, regenerative agriculture is actually working to revert back to a more traditional method of farming - one that creates an abundance of product, but also repairs and improves the land. Autumn explains how the legacy of problems existing on land and within society are all interconnected, and committing to reparations is crucial in order to make agriculture more inclusive. The cideries have become starting points to help members of the community engage and take steps towards mak

This week, Beer Sessions Radio is heading up to Western Canada to explore BC’s craft beer scene. Jimmy talks to Brad McQuhae from König Brewing Systems in Abbotsford, BC; Rob Liedl from Applied Brewing and Malting Solutions in Vernon, BC; and Joe Wiebe, author of Craft Beer Revolution: The Insider’s Guide to BC Breweries, co-founder of Victoria Beer Week, and director of content for BC Ale Trail. The group starts off with a brief history of Canada’s craft beer scene during the 80s and 90s. Rob takes us down memory lane with the crazy story of how he was introduced to Brad, who helped land Rob an interview and eventually a job running a malthouse in BC. In the early 90s, there was hardly any demand for malt, but Rob explains that malt eventually grew into a push-pull relationship as more brewers entered the scene. Brad and Joe agreed that everything began to accelerate in the late 90s. In the manufacturing world, Brad has witnessed first-hand the innovations and trends overtaking the craft brewing scene, such

This week on Beer Sessions Radio, Jimmy is highlighting a new variety of New York state barley, following it from development at Cornell University to utilization in breweries across NY. On the show this week, Jimmy welcomes Paul Leone from the NY State Brewers Association in Rochester NY; Jason Havens and Dave Johnson from Rusty Nickel Brewing Company in West Seneca, NY; and Daniel Sweeney, a PhD student at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Paul introduces the New York State Farm Brewery License passed in 2012, which encourages breweries to create beers made with locally sourced hops and ingredients. The initiative plans to increase demand for locally grown products, stimulate the economy, and create new business opportunities for breweries. Right now, breweries with the license are producing beers made with no less than 60% of ingredients grown in NY state. To understand the development process of creating barley that can withstand tough NY conditions, Jimmy brings in Dan, who is studying plant breeding and

This week on Beer Sessions Radio, Jimmy welcomes in Michael Opalenski from B United Imports; Justin Philips from Beer Table in Grand Central Terminal, NYC; and William Lees-Jones from J.W. Lees Brewery in Manchester, UK. The group welcomes the holiday season with a winter beer tasting, starting with JW Lee’s 2002 and 2015 Harvest Ales, and finishing with De Dolle’s Stille Nacht. Before tasting the aged beers, Michael explains the rising trend of “vintaging” beers. Later on, Justin explains that vintage ales actually launched his interest in craft beer. For William on the other hand, his family has been brewing beer since 1828, and it was his father who took on the challenge of brewing a strong beer with natural fermentation. The group takes a stab at food pairings, starting with the 2015 Harvest Ale. Michael suggests a creamy caramel with a hint of orange and Justin recommends a butterscotch pudding with sea salt. Switching to the De Dolle Stille Nacht, which translates to “silent night,” Justin described thi

This week on Beer Sessions Radio, enjoy a conversation recently recorded during Cider Week with Autumn Stoscheck and Ezra Sherman, who are partners in life and at Eve’s Cidery. When Autumn started out in cider, there weren’t many people doing it. She shares memories from the past 21 years since she started her orchard. Plus, Ezra and her talk about some of Eve’s Cidery’s big breaks - from getting their cider on the menu at Savoy to receiving a farm winery license. Hear about their take on a classic bitter sweet cider, the cider pet nat they have in the works, and the geological diversity that draws so many cider makers and cider lovers to the Finger Lakes. Cider List:Eves Cidery, Autumn’s GoldEves Cidery, Northern SpyHeritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Beer Sessions Radio by becoming a member!Beer Sessions Radio is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Beer Sessions is heading down the Hudson River. Jimmy welcomes Sam Merrett and his carbon-neutral sail freighter Schooner Apollonia; Dennis Nesel from Hudson Valley Malt in Germantown, NY; Matt Curtin from Sing Sing Kill Brewery in Ossining, NY; and Jamie Bishop from Mill House Brewing Company in Poughkeepsie, NY. Sam and Dennis lament on how things used to be, citing the “Flintstones” method of making malt and the old trade routes up and down the waterways. Now up against the climate crisis, Sam is hoping the Schooner Apollonia will become the future of transporting malt and other products around New York. Jamie, who already uses Hudson River water to make his beers, emphasizes just how cool it is to see his malt supply unloaded from the river. He also declares maltsters the “heroes of brewing,” since every malt has a unique signature that creates all different craft beer styles. Matt says he always aims to formulate his beers with close to 100% New York State ingredients, and the Schooner Apolloni

This week on Beer Sessions Radio, Jimmy talks all things Cider Days with Anne and Steve Garwood of Ragged Hill Cider, Peter Mitchell of Headwater Cider, and Ben Watson of Chelsea Green Publishing. They discuss seasonal blends and suggest holidays pairings, while also diving into cider apples. Steve highlights some of his favorite apple varieties and Peter shares how he has grown 40 varieties at his orchard after starting out with only two. Plus they talk about terroir, ice cider, and the reasons why they believe cider should be included in the wine category, as opposed to beer. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Beer Sessions Radio by becoming a member!Beer Sessions Radio is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Beer Sessions is all about the Czech side pour. Jimmy welcomes Chris Lohring of Notch Brewing in Salem, MA; Todd DiMatteo of Good Word Brewing in Duluth, GA; and Ben Middlemiss of Ben Middlemiss Brewing in New Zealand. Chris and Todd talk about when they got their side-pull faucets installed as well as the learning curve that comes with using one. Chris has his staff do quarterly competitions to see how well (and how fast) they can pour a lager and both brewers give a big shout out to Pilsner Urquell’s training videos. The group talks about the benefits of a side-pull for carbonation, mouthfeel and more, plus they dive deep into techniques like spunding and triple decoction. Image courtesy of John Andrews.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Beer Sessions Radio by becoming a member!Beer Sessions Radio is Powered by Simplecast.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Beer Sessions Radio, Jimmy welcomes participants from Sauce King NYC, a virtual sauce competition he founded to determine the best barbecue sauces, hot sauces, marinades and more. Together they hone in on the intersection of beer and barbecue, sharing ideas for cooking with beer and pairing it with meals. Hear from Sauce King NYC Champion, Ray Sheehan of BBQ Buddha, Fubz of Just Add Beer Sauce and Marinade Mix, Brad Jungles of Rufus Teague, and Sauce King judge Alyssa Levine of Totally Forked. Brad shares the hurdles and rewards of creating a canned barbecue sauce in partnership with Kansas City’s Boulevard Brewing, while Fubz talks about why the complexity of flavor found in craft beer can lead to endless culinary combinations. The group also discusses beer can chicken, the differences between Memphis and Kansas City sauces, marketing strategies and more. Beer ListGood Word Brewing, Drink Time Lone Pine Brewing, Brightside IPA Lone Pine Brewing, Oh-JImage courtesy of Rufus Teague.Heritage Radio

This week on Beer Sessions Radio, Jimmy catches up with NYC Breweries, 18th Ward and Bridge and Tunnel. Jordan Beldner talks about how he transitioned from being a bar owner to opening 18th Ward, while his new brewer Will Arnaiz shares his vision for future styles and flavors. They also discuss their transition to delivery during Covid-19 and Rich Castagna of Bridge and Tunnel shares how he used the space in his taproom to build a canning system. Together they talk about what equipment they wish they had, how much they subscribe to seasonal beer trends, and they swap stories including one from Rich about how Putin ended up next to a shark on a recent Bridge and Tunnel can.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Beer Sessions Radio by becoming a member!Beer Sessions Radio is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.