Tales From The Cask Craft Beer Podcast

It’s almost Halloween so of course we decide to charge ahead to trying some whales from the holidays of yore with our friend and co-worker Daniel Menestres! Daniel shares his Belgian background, relates how he got in the beer business, and then opens his vault to us with three terrific aged brews: 2013 Tröeg’s Mad Elf, 2014 Anchor Christmas, and 2015 Prairie Christmas Bomb! The news begins with another sign of the times courtesy of Vice reporting that a women-only craft beer forum has been shut down by a “men’s rights activist”. Next up Market Exclusive has a story on how BrewDog has launched the first cryptocurrency bar that accepts Bitcoin for drinks! Then we head to Chi-town via The Chicago Tribune (thanks Scott!) revealing that a Planters peanut IPA collaboration with Chicago brewer Noon Whistle tastes better than a gimmick! Then we close the week with The Miami Herald going over to OKC to find that not all Oklahoma brewpubs are offering higher ABV beers! You have great responses to last week’s #caskquiz

The boys from Michigan are back in town! Yes it’s Aaron Lanctot and Kirby Dean from Blake’s Hard Cider Company! They share the latest from the world of cider, and they debut the amazing FIDO (Latin for faithfulness)! It’s the second release in the #KinderCider series, made in support of non-profits that pair veterans and shelter animals. We start with some downer news, then we build back to the fun we love. The downer comes via Indy Week reporting that after four decades, All About Beer Magazine Is shutting down. Next, scary potential news arrives from The New York Times (thanks mhjell!) with the potential that heat and drought could threaten the world beer supply. We then go to a happier place, your local brewpub, with The Washington Post (thanks Frank!) sharing tips on what parents should do, and not do, when taking kids to a brewery. We wind down the week with Motley Fool recommending beer stocks that can defend your portfolio, NPR’s good news that consumers say they'll pay more for sustainable beer,

Jenn revs up the DeLorean this week and travels back to Warren, MI to visit with our friends from Kuhnhenn Brewing! Eric Senior, Eric Junior, and Bret all sit down and discuss what’s been brewing and open a rare 2013 4th Dementia to taste! Then Jenn zips back and brings out a Barrel-Aged Cherry Oud Bruin that she shares with Chip, generating much rejoicing in the bar! The news begins with more MegaMergerMania via The Watauga Democrat revealing that Appalachian Mountain Brewing and two other breweries have sold to Craft Brew Alliance. Next up is a follow up to last week’s Lagunitas layoff news from Munchies asking do the layoffs signal trouble for big craft beer? Then we go overseas with Food & Wine reporting that Europe’s craft beer associations have formed their own union, and The Japan Times profiling Japan’s craft beer scene, 25 years in the making. We close the week with Fortune forecasting that if you like IPAs, you'll love craft beer's upcoming trends! You have some terrific responses to last week’s

It’s Ballast Point time in the bar this week courtesy of our friend Spencer Kilgore! Spencer reveals his beer origins, talks about the latest offerings from the brewery, and shares a couple of treats: White Wine Barrel-Aged Sour Wench and High West Barrel-Aged Victory at Sea! Newstime begins with some sadness from the Petaluma Argus Courier in that Lagunitas Brewing is planning to cut 12 percent of its workforce. Next up Bloomberg is reporting that with the rise of Helles lagers, craft brewers are embracing subtlety. Then we have The Chicago Tribune demonstrating why the intersection of coffee and beer has become a dominant force in craft brewing, followed by The LA Times’ piece revealing that France has (finally) discovered craft beer. We close with the news that we won an honorable mention from the North American Guild of Beer Writers in their podcast award category at the GABF! We love your answers to last week’s #caskquiz “what’s your take on the Gaffigan story? Humorous or no?” Given the time of ye

We love making new friends in the beer world and it’s so easy when you share wonderful frosty malt beverages! This week we do it again with Andrew Goliwas from Lagunitas! Andrew talks about his journey into the beer business and his time with Lagunitas, and then he has some super beers for us to try: Passion Grass, Mozango, and SuperCluster! In the news, we go financial via Alphaville (from The Financial Times) exploring the UK’s craft beer euphoria. Next up VinePair schools us with The Definitive Craft Beer Urban Dictionary. Then we examine the all in fun “controversy” that starts with CBS when Jim Gaffigan makes the case for beer that tastes like beer, and the reaction is wild! We have two examples of the buzz, starting with Paste saying Jim Gaffigan's anti-craft beer op-ed is equal parts pointless and short-sighted, and then Food & Wine asks why does Jim Gaffigan hate craft beer so much? We love your answers to last week’s #caskquiz “what’s your optimal can (or bottle) size for craft beer?” This week w

We are so excited about the success we have had with our friends from Hardywood Park Craft Brewery! And we celebrate this week with our Hardywood friend (and Mims alum) Scott Apicella! Scott reveals all the latest from Virginia and opens a cooler filled with treats: Cuvee Gold, Farmhouse Pumpkin, Crasseux Grisette, and Prim Looking Stargazer! There is much fun news for us in the beer world this week beginning in The Houston Chronicle’s profile of a a San Antonio company that is taking its bakery-to-brewery model nationwide! We follow that with VinePair showing us that ‘stovepipe’ cans are here because craft beer wants to party, and then The Advocate (Baton Rouge) praises thirty-three breweries that are releasing one collaborative brew for Louisiana Craft Beer Week! Next up is The Marin Independent Journal on craft beer culture lagging in Europe, followed by Eureka Alert having a prehistoric thirst for craft beer. We wind down the week with The Dayton Daily News demonstrating why Warped Wing's beers went glob

Are we gadget people? You know we are! And we get to scratch our gear itch with cool tech from our friend Chris Lorkowski, who is CEO of BruVue! He tells us about the company’s origins, and then he shows us how the BruVue system tracks draft beer sales and inventory. Then we kick back and sample delicious treats including Blake’s Rosé Cider, Bear Republic Brut Squad IPA, and Roak French Toast Devil Dog Oatmeal Stout! We begin the news with a reply to last week’s story about low craft beer pricing from Vinepair,  with their belief that craft beer is getting cheaper, and that’s a good thing. Next is Eater Chicago’s historical review of how the Cicerone Certification Program has changed craft beer service across America, followed by The LA Times’ (and our friend John Holl!) opinion that when it comes to beer, 'craft' isn't always synonym for 'good'. Then (appropriate to this week’s guest) we move to Digital Trends asking can a tabletop Krups keg really deliver a perfect pour? We wind up the week with The Da

Four years has been the blink of an eye to us since we talked with Ted Dwyer and Bill Gerds from Lynnwood Brewing Concern! Amazing! So this week we fire up the T-Bird and head over to their production brewery near downtown Raleigh to find out all the latest, plus we hear about all the awards they have won! And we get to sample both the Holus Bolus Sour and Australian Pale Ale! What a challenge culling the news - seems like everyone is back to work! We start with two from Forbes: in the first we learn that some craft breweries are defying convention by beginning to drop prices, and in the second we take a trip in the Delorean to try a beer from the Middle Ages! Next we go sporty via ESPN’s score that the Atlanta Falcons are going to sell $5 craft pale ale at home games this season! Then it’s Fortune’s visit to the last Blockbuster Video in America, which is getting its own craft beer, followed by The ABA Journal (thanks sfringer!) affirming that In-N-Out Burger has sent a pun-filled letter to a beer maker to a

We are delighted to welcome back our old friend and colleague Ryan Trask from one of our favorite NC brewers, Olde Hickory! Ryan reveals all the news from western NC and has a cooler full of terrific beers for us: Summer Sonker, Oktoberfest, Auxo, and Imperial Stout! The news begins with a pair of stories from who else, VinePair! First up is a terrific thought piece that proposes craft beer was built on an us-versus-them ethos and now it’s tearing us apart. The second reveals five things no one wants to say about Italian craft beer. Then we pivot to Science Daily (thanks Bill D!) reporting on scientists who have debuted a super-insulating gel made from beer waste! Next Food & Wine shows us the most popular category at this year’s GABF, and we close with The Cincinnati Enquirer’s visit to an Ohio craft beer hotel! We have your answers to last week’s #caskquiz “does it matter if A-B InBev is the biggest craft beer producer?” This week we ask “what’s your take on ownership with all the different structures?

It’s Texas time again in Mayberry and our friend Ryan Mcaulay has ridden up from Austin EastCiders to share some delicious cider with us! We learn all about the explosive growth of the cidery and we taste the amazing Spiced Cider! MegaMergerMania™ The Chicago Tribune: Anheuser-Busch on its way to becoming king of craft beer too St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Want to open a craft brewery? Having great beer isn't enough to get a loan NBC 7 San Diego: 9 Beers Inspired By San Diego's Music Scene Travel + Leisure: This Icelandic Craft Beer Is Made From a Giant Whale Testicle The News & Observer: This app will pay you to go out for a beer We have your answers to last week’s #caskquiz “what’s the lowest price you have paid for a craft beer?” This week we want you to tell us “what’s the lowest price you have paid for a craft beer?” We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and lik

We can’t believe we are saying goodbye this week to one of the triumvirate of our show, and yet here we are waving sayonara to Tony! He is moving over to the dark side (aka brewery side) with our friends from Sierra Nevada, and so of course we decided to have a party with friends who have been with us from the start!  We welcome old-timers Aubrey Herbert & Joe Zonin - plus newcomer Connor Desmonds! To help make it extra special, Jenn and Aubrey raided their secret stashes for some epic whales: Rodenbach Vintage 2012, Sierra Nevada Barrel-Aged Narwhal 2015, Beer Geek Speedway Stout Mikkeller/Alesmith Collab 2014, and a Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2008! The news was easy with the help from our intrepid staff (that would be you guys!) culling the beer world for stories! We start with one from Chip via The Washington Post asking that if craft beer is booming, is that bad news for the U.S. economy? Next Bill D finds from Gallup that Americans still favor beer over other alcoholic beverages! Then we get a companion s

We are all about local when it comes to beers we love, and this week we are celebrating NC brews with our friend Jasmine Bamlet with the NC Brewers Guild! Jasmine talks about all the incredible growth in NC brewing, and she has some NC goodness to try with us: New Sarum Lemon Shandy; Resident Culture  Kids on Holiday, Whatever You Feel Just Dance It, & Secret Feelings; plus Sierra Nevada Alpha Hop Barrel-Aged Brett Saison! Opening the news this week is VinePair (thanks Michael R!) revealing 10 telltale signs you’re in a legit brewery. Next we have Food & Wine reporting that Stone Brewing has opened another taproom, and it’s in China! Then we go to Westword’s list of seven trendy beer styles that are catching on and one that isn’t, and we wind up with The Takeout on Anheuser-Busch's new initiative: improving diversity in beer stock photos! We have your first answers to last week’s #caskquiz which we are carrying over this week: “what beer have you found this summer that has dazzled you?” We so love hea

Now that Chip has made another triumphant return from San Diego Comic-Con, it’s time to kick back and relax with great brews from Roak, Fatheads, and Raleigh’s Brewery Bhavana! The treats are Roak Ice Cream Man,  Fatheads Headhunter IPA, and Brewery Bhavana Burrow! We start the news on the lighter side, of beer that is! The Chicago Tribune asks can craft brewers make good light beer? Next up we learn that Forbes believes that the craft beer marketing is maturing, while Foodbev Media is reporting that soft drinks and craft beer are fueling canned drinks growth in the UK. We close up in the Great White North with Food in Canada showing that barley research could benefit craft brewers, while Now Toronto reveals how Canadian indie bands are cashing in on craft beer fests! We have your answers to last week’s #caskquiz which we carried over from the previous week: “have you ever traded beer with a stranger? What was swapped?” This week we want to know “what beer have you found this summer that has dazzled you?” We

There’s a pleasant cool breeze coming in from the Finger Lakes as Dan and Chad from Ithaca Beer Company join us at the bar.  We learn how Dan Mitchell started the brewery in Ithaca, NY in 1998 and grew it to cover 14 states.  They also fill us in on the latest happenings and releases and we sample Happy Pils and Cranbretty!  We travel up north for the news this week as well, learning about a study from Cornell on why some people don’t have a taste for beer.  We also check out 8 hotels that are brewing their own beer and get some pointers on creating a great beer list.   It’s been 10 years since InBev bought AB and we see how they have been faring since. Finally we report on a Czech non-alcoholic beer that helps women with breast cancer.    We are extending our #caskquiz from last week which was “Have you ever traded beer with a stranger?  What was swapped?”  We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friend

He’s the owner of the coveted 10 timers jacket and he’s in the bar! Yes our good friend Joe Zonin returns to celebrate Carolina Brewing’s 23rd anniversary with us! Plus he shares some outstanding beers with us: Be Like Mike New England IPA, Irish Dry Stout, and a special treat, the Belgian-Style Quad Beer Army Collaboration! At long last MegaMergerMania returns, in two stories! First up in The Drinks Business we learn that Australia’s Lion is acquiring London’s Fourpure Brewing, and we follow with Food & Wine reporting that six foreign craft beers owned by AB-InBev are about to make their US debut. Next up Craftbeer.com (thanks Michael Radziwon!) shows that Denver’s Brewability Lab is giving special needs adults a job and purpose, then The New York Post profiles a female beer sommelier, and The New York Times uncovers America’s craft beer diplomacy. We close over at Call to the Pen where we see the San Francisco Giants are charging nearly $20 for craft beer! We have your answers to last week’s #cask

It’s been forever since we heard that Bal’mer accent, so we juice up the DeLorean to visit with our friend Dave Benfield from DuClaw Brewing! Dave tells us all about the latest from Maryland and tries some delectable brews with us: Gose O’s, Dad Bod Double IPA, and All Along the Hop Tower Double IPA! We are replete with beer news this week, beginning with Food & Wine’s somewhat misleading title people aren't super excited about beer right now. Next we have a follow up to last week’s story on the European CO2 shortage, this time via Yahoo News UK reporting that beer rationing is beginning in the UK as a result of the carbon dioxide crisis. Then we learn from The BBC that Birmingham beer glasses have been seized for being too small, followed by Madison.com with tips for building a beer cellar, and we wind up with Mass Live’s parade of craft beer names that are getting crazier every year! We have your answers to last week’s #caskquiz which asked “who is your World Cup team and what beer are you drinking to c

It took years of cajoling, and it has paid off! Eric McKay and Patrick Murtaugh, the co-founders of Hardywood Park Craft Brewery are here at the bar and in our market at last! The guys discuss their history together, the founding of the brewery, and the mythical story of their trip to Australia. And we get to try an incredible flight of their beers including Pils, VIPA, None of This Makes Sense, Virginia Blackberry Belgian White Ale, Peach Tripel, and Tropic Like It’s Hot Sour Ale! The World Cup dominates the beer news this week! But first we begin with The Takeout (thanks @sfringer!) believing that craft lager is an oxymoron no more. Next up The Daily Beast asks are craft beer bottles an endangered species? Then we go to Europe during the World Cup competition with U.S. News and World Report revealing that beer is running dry in Moscow, followed by The Independent reporting that the UK is facing a beer shortage during World Cup and barbecue season, and we close with The Drum’s surprising news that Carlsberg

This week Tony and Jenn invite fellow Mims employee and beer adventurer Dave Burrows back to the show to fill in the cohost spot while Chip is on vacation.  Dave regales us with stories of his latest beer trips and brings us some amazing brews to try.  We head to Massachusetts favorite Treehouse and try their Very Green DIPA then cross the country to sample two Colorado brews, Paradox Arno Palmer and Trinity President’s Club.  Rounding out the lineup is  Central Waters BA Barleywine from Wisconsin.  It’s a diverse news week as well!  We learn about Canadian beer standards from Food Safety News, find out that PBR could possibly be without a brewer and get a list of the best beer cocktails.  We also cover a great story about Dairy farms finding new opportunities as breweries.  Last week our #caskquiz was “have you ever invested in a brewery or bought stock? Which ones?” This week we want to know: “Have you ever visited a farm brewery?  Which one?”  We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer s

We have always wanted to be...ACTING! And this week we get the chance when we go live from the Raleigh Little Theatre! Starring brews form Sycamore, Starpoint, and Anchor! Featuring theatre mogul Charles Phaneuf plus two good friends from the charity event Groove in the Garden: Adam Lindstaedt and Nick LaRock! And we have props on stage including Sycamore Strawberry Lemonade Gose, Starpoint 12 Parsecs Session IPA, and Anchor SanFranPsycho IPA!   In the beer news, we go financial with The Motley Fool and learn how to invest in craft beer! Next up Paste (thanks sfringer!) reveals that craft breweries are teaming up to raise funds for the ACLU with "People Power" beers, and then Forbes pictures beer being more popular than wine in 48 states on Instagram! We close in the world of baseball, first via The Mercury News with the excitement that beer lovers will enjoy A’s turning back the clock on seat alcohol sales, and finally MLB.com introduces Gabby DiMarco, the fan who caught a foul ball in her beer and fin

With the arrival or meteorological summer on June 1, what better time to taste the latest from cool Asheville, NC! Our good friend Peter Bassett from Wicked Weed joins us and his cooler is packed with some terrific beers: Imperial Coolcumber, Artistry II, Persistence, Fraise Morte,  and Sandiaca! We have beer news! To start with, Food and Wine reveals the most popular beer trends of 2018 (so far). Next up is The Denver Post reporting that the price of canned beer will rise — and so could cost of public projects in Colorado as new tariffs on steel and aluminum take effect. Then The USA Today shows us Milwaukee breweries from classic to craft, and we close the week with Forbes on Lagunitas Brewing’s successful formula of craft beer and music! We have you answers to last week’s #caskquiz which asked “does the term ‘craft’ mean anything to you applied to a product other than beer? If so what?” This week we want to know “what’s your 2018 summer band tour/beer pairing?” We so love hearing from you! Please send in f