Tales From The Cask Craft Beer Podcast

Tony and Jenn make a triumphant return to the soggy lands bearing gifts from von Trapp, Wicked Weed and Ballast Point! If only they could sing like the Von Trapp kids! We share a delectable treat from that family, namely the Von Trapp Double IPL! Plus we have both Wicked Weed Astronomical IPA and Ballast Point Moscow Mule! In the news we begin with Reuters reporting that beer is not beneficial according to a German court. Next we have The Chicago Tribune revealing that Indiana convenience stores have found a new way around a cold beer ban. Then it’s The Daily Beast (thanks to @choverstad!) asking why does the price of a craft beer vary so widely? And we close with The Independent showing why farmers are trying to turn 'craft beef' into the next craft beer! We have you answers to last week’s #caskquiz which asked “if you knew a beer had locally sourced ingredients would that make you more likely to purchase it?” and this week we want to know “does the term ‘craft’ mean anything to you applied to a product othe

We love heading west to Winston-Salem to see our friends from Foothills Brewing, and this week our friend Shawn Densmore brings Foothills to our little bar! Shawn discusses all the latest from the brewery, and he brings us two delectable treats to sample: Thousand Smiles and Tangled Vine Rose! But first it’s news time courtesy of VinePair’s piece on a malt pioneer revolutionizing how New England craft brewers think about their grains. Next is The USA Today unveiling PicoBrew’s new craft beer appliance that can brew it all — even kombucha! Then we have New York Magazine mapping out craft beer in Beijing and where to drink it and we wind down with The Daily Telegraph reporting that women in the UK are increasingly drinking beer at home. We are carrying over the #caskquiz from last week which asked “do you agree with Pete Coors that the hard-line stance of the BA ultimately hurts all beer?” We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting u

It’s a nice relaxy week in the bar as we open up the vaults with beers from the road including some from Hinterland and Stevens Point (thanks to Dan for both of these!) plus Two Roads! We get to taste Hinterland Door County Cherry Wheat, Hinterland Luna Coffee Stout, Stevens Point Milkshake Malt Porter, Two Roads Lil Heaven Session IPA, and Two Roads Road 2 Ruin DIPA! It’s newstime this week beginning with Food and Wine revealing why small-batch beer releases are such a big deal for brewers. Next we have Space.com blasting off with the out-of-this-world Vostok space beer bottle, then The BBC reports that Tetley's beer is being brewed in Leeds after a six-year hiatus. We close with The Sacramento Bee’s report that local  craft brewers are bristling at a BUD-owned beer garden. Then we have your responses to last week’s #caskquiz which asked “do you know a brewery that combines brewing with another activity/business like Division Brewing does? What brewery and what else do they do?” and this week we are askin

We finally take a breather from the road this week with our buddy Kirby Dean from Blake’s Hard Cider Company! Kirby tells us about his background on the dark side (distribution) and ho he moved toward the light of the supplier world. Then he shares the latest from Armada, and we get to try this delicious trio: Rainbow Seeker, Santa Rosa, and Wild Nova! We lead with what we hope is the last word on the sad tale of Green Flash with The San Diego Union-Tribune reporting  what Green Flash's woes mean to craft beer. Next we have The Wisconsin State Journal’s  interview with Josh Noel on his new book, Goose Island, and 'selling out' in the craft beer world. Then it’s The Denver Post and Pete Coors’ letter calling out “cheap shots” from Colorado craft brewers, and we wind up with The Examiner spotlighting the world’s oldest surviving beer revived from a 220-year-old shipwreck! Then we have your responses to last week’s #caskquiz which asked “do you know a brewery that combines brewing with another activity/busines

Once again Tony and Jenn hit the road to bring you another whale interview: Eric Wallace and Heath Perkins from Left Hand Brewing! Eric and Heath talk about the founding of the brewery, the latest happenings and brews, and try three amazing beers with us: Juicy Goodness, Death before Disco, and a rare cellar find, the 2009 Barrel Aged Imperial Stout!  Eric also discusses his recent projects as chairperson of the Brewers Association and gives us a sneak peek of topics for his speech at the Craft Brewers Conference in Nashville.    The world climate leads beer news via KTAR asking could climate change be ruining the taste of your favorite craft beer? We follow with Paste reporting that Atlanta's New Realm Brewing is expanding ... to Green Flash's Virginia Beach facility. Then we have SFGate taking us on the first cannabis, craft beer and wine tour from San Francisco to Sonoma County and we wind up with The Dallas Star-Telegram showing that craft beer, bands, comic books and 'Brenda' help set Division Brewing

The Delorean is getting max mileage this year as Tony and Jenn leave Chip at the bar and head down east to visit the NC brewing pioneer Uli Bennewitz and our old buddy Greg Hirsch from Weeping Radish Farm Brewery! Uli tells us about how he got into the brewing business, all the changes he has seen, and then tries some treats with us:  OBX Kolsch, Corolla Gold Munich Style Helles, Yours Truli Wheat Ale, Red Ale, Black Radish Schwarzbier, IPA, and Doppelbock!  We also learn how he is working to promote the farm to table movement and craft food production and of course try some of their delicious charcuterie! Our craft beer news starts with a hint of wine via Fox News reporting that a UK brewery is making craft beer with white wine. Next we have an international-flavored duo, first from The Denver Post revealing that in Denver the trend toward Mexican-inspired craft beer comes with a message, and second from The Billings Gazette introducing beer without borders when Brazilians pick up tips from Helena's craft

It’s old home week for Tony as an emissary from the Finger Lakes region has brought us beer: it’s Chad Gourley from Ithaca Beer Company! Chad joins us to relate the origins of Ithaca, how he moved from the dark side to the light of the beer business, and he presents us delectable delights: Apricot Wheat, Flower Power, and Super Stout! Plus a true ginger! We lead off the news this week with The Roanoke Times reporting that Deschutes is rethinking its plans for a Roanoke brewery. Next up South Florida reveals that the Feds have warned Florida breweries to stop making marijuana-flavored beer, followed by Food and Wine (thanks Carl!) showing us that AB InBev's 'no boil' brewing method could mean greener beer! We close with Thrillist’s (thanks Michael!) list of the 11 people you see on every brewery tour and Nosh on CPGs capitalizing on craft! Then we have your responses to last week’s #caskquiz which asked “do you have a vintage piece of breweriana and if so what is it?” and this week we want to know “do you

This week we drive over to Cary, NC to meet up with our friend Archie Gleason from Charlotte's Sycamore Brewing! Sycamore has hit central NC in a big way this month, and Archie relates the brewery’s origins and how he came to join them. Then we get to sample a delicious 4-pack: Southern Girl Blonde, Rainbow Dust IPA, Countryside IPA, and Mountain Candy IPA! Legal news debuts this week via Trademarkyourbeer.com with all the details on the latest in the Stone vs. Keystone Lawsuit! Next up we have Forbes’s list of 16 fun facts about beer and taxes, followed by The Daily Beast asking (and answering) has American craft beer taken over the world? Then just for Tony we have NY Upstate revealing that bland beer is here to stay in the opinion of a SUNY Oswego professor, plus The BA’s chart of the fastest growing craft breweries of 2017, and we close with The Montgomery Advertiser defining Breweriana: antiquing for beer lovers! Then we have your responses to last week’s #caskquiz which asked “what is the most you

We have another whale for you this week and it’s a big one! Sam Calagione, the founder of Dogfish Head Brewing, has come to town and he sits down with us to share some terrific beers and chat! Sam gives us his views on recent events in the craft beer world, talks about being a hotelier, and fills us in on the latest brews from Delaware! 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 liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

After the Easter mayhem and in celebration of the opening of baseball season, we take a seat at the bar and unwind with our friends Frank and Keith while trying a trio of deliciousness from Olde Hickory, Southern Tier, and Wicked Weed! They are Olde Hickory Thallo, Southern Tier Wrinkle in the Fabric, and Wicked Weed Incandescent! There is more sad news from California to lead us off this week from The San Diego Union-Tribune in that Green Flash has been sold following foreclosure. Next up VinePair asks if a craft brewery can sell out without being bought, while Punch reveals how Other Half became the official beer of Wall Street, and Esquire reports that Budweiser and Jim Beam are making a beer together. We wind down in the sports world with Bunkered disclosing that Augusta National security has handed out a forbidden 'phrase' sheet for The Masters and The WaPo advising that you don’t freak out about the Nationals’ $16 craft draft beer! Then we have your responses to last week’s #caskquiz which asked “d

We fire up the DeLorean again this week and visit redacted with our friends Ethan Boylan and Dan Bond from Lagunitas! The lads share the latest from Petaluma and Chi-Town, and they pony up some awesome whales for us: Plum and Jasmine Gose, Pineapple Yuzu, Sally, WTFarmhouse Sour w/Cherry, Cafe Con Leche Imperial Milk Stout, and a palate cleanse with the amazingly refreshing Sumpin’ Easy! We open with a couple of sad news items this week, beginning with The San Diego Union-Tribune reporting that Green Flash is closing its Virginia Beach brewery and withdrawing from the East Coast. Then The BBC reveals that pubs are in danger, followed by better news in The Chicago Tribune that the US craft beer industry saw record openings — and closings — in 2017.  Next up: hemp news, first from The USA Today showing that craft brewers are tapping into cannabis-infused beers and then Forbes talking with Blue Moon's creator who aims to get customers Mile-High on his new brew. We close up with Forbes again offering to

It took a while to get him into our busy brewing schedule, and it was totally worth the wait for our homebrew contest winner Chris Nadeau to come and make a batch of his incredible Trips Up North New England Stout! It was even better than we remembered! And to top it all off, he shared two great finds from up north, Treehouse Old Man ESB and Industrial Arts Wrench! With Chip back in the newsroom, he naturally turned to econ courtesy of The Wall Street Journal (thanks Frank!) announcing that the Trump Tariff layoffs have begun! Next up The Brewers Association has released their annual 2017 top 50 brewing companies by sales volume and you may be surprised at the rankings. Then VinePair believes that maybe craft beer’s post snob era is here, followed by The New York Times revealing that something’s brewing in the lab: beer without hops, and then Mumbrella reports that CUB’s Ginger Gene ad has been banned for ‘vilifying’ redheads! Plus we sneak in a little humblebrag about Raleigh placing 11th in Food Truck Na

We took the show on the road this week to Durham to visit with long time listener and collaborator Bryan D Roth. We catch up and learn of Bryan’s latest explorations in the beer writing world and we delve a little deeper into his piece from Good Beer Hunting. Regarding the changing landscape of traditional beer distribution from several different and often competing perspectives. After our thought provoking discussion We try the new and NC Only Southern Gothic from Sierra Nevada, Coronado’s brand new and unique Coco Chaos, and we wrap up with a pecan pie imperial brown ale from Evolution craft brewing.[Text Wrapping Break][Text Wrapping Break]We hit the news hard this week starting with Mybeerbuzz.com’s note on an anticipated new brew from Bear Republic. We head over to Spectrum Local News who dishes out all the back and forth on twitter regarding basketball,beer and governors. Paste Magazine shows us the dark side of craft beer releases and Travel and Leisure has the inside scoop on a very Royal beer! We the

Everything’s bigger in Texas, and that includes the awesome ciders from Austin Eastciders! Sales gurus Brad McKeever and Ryan McAulay join us in the bar and relate the story of the cidery, the scene in East Austin, and then they share delicious ciders with us: Original Dry, Blood Orange, Pineapple, and Texas Honey! Much to Chip’s delight, econ news leads the week via The New York Times which asks will Trump’s tariff trade policy fit into a can of beer? Next we have Newsday showcasing an 'Atlas of Beer' that surveys beer culture around the world, followed by two BrewDog stories: one in The Sun reporting that BrewDog is facing backlash over its ‘new’ cheaper Pink IPA beer for girls and the other from ABC News on BrewDog’s crowdfunded craft beer hotel opening this summer in Ohio! We wind up the week with Forbes showing that  hard cider sales slipped and then rebounded! Then we have your responses to last week’s #caskquiz which asked ”what’s the funkiest alcohol sales rule where you live?” while this week we

We couldn’t think of a better place to celebrate a quarter millennium of shows than over in Durham with our friends Tim Harper and Nikko Carlson at Starpoint Brewing! And they just had their 1-year anniversary at the site! We discuss their year in Durham, check in with head brewing dog Hobbs, and sample four astounding brews: Dirty D New England IPA, Perception Peach Pale Ale, Whiskeytown, and McKinney Vol. 1! There was really too much news this week, beginning with The New York Times demonstrating how craft breweries are helping to revive local economies, followed by The Denver Post reporting that New Belgium is cutting 28 jobs. Next is The Independent showing that Brewdog is going to open the DogHouse Hotel in Aberdeenshire, and then The New York Times (again) reveals a new old wave in craft beer. We follow with good news in the Midwest via ABC as Indiana is becoming the last state to allow Sunday beer, wine and liquor carryout! We close out the week with The News & Observer (via Geistbear) steppin

This week we are so excited to introduce an old friend from a new partner brewery - it’s Greg Leone from Michigan’s Roak Brewing! Greg gives us all the skinny on the doings in Royal Oak and tells us how much he misses living in NC! Plus: shorts! Then we get to sample three crazy good brews: Live Wire IPA, Devil Dog Oatmeal Stout, and HopGazer IPA! Craft beer and health are at the top of the newshour via Fox News revealing that craft beer drinkers have healthier habits than non-craft drinkers. Next up The Financial Times reports that the US craft beer slowdown has sent the hops market from boom to bust. We close with The Chicago Tribune showing us that craft beer icon Three Floyds' brewery will triple in size and The USA Today shining the spotlight on craft brewers who are seeking to involve more African Americans. Then we have your responses to last week’s #caskquiz which asked  “what’s your go-to beer after your workout?” This week we want to know “do you do things like drink diet non-alcoholic beverages

We are so in the spirit of Valentine’s Day this year, and the great folks at Crispin, Lost Abbey, and Hardywood are there for us! They have some great red tastes for us this week, including Crispin Rose Cider, Lost Abbey Framboise Amarosa Barrel-Aged Raspberry Sour, and Hardywood Raspberry Stout! We have a follow up story in the news from that terrific piece in The Atlantic last month courtesy of Bloomberg offering up craft brewing as a model for helping the middle class. Next KNSD San Diego reports that Stone Brewing is taking on 'big beer' giant MillerCoors for use of the 'Stone' Brand, followed by The Seattle Times revealing that Seattle-based PicoBrew is going professional with its Z series beer-brewing machine. We close this week with The Boston Globe pouring us post-race beers with electrolytes and Live Science’s trip in the wayback machine to show ancient ale: or the oldest beer in Greece dating to the Bronze Age!   Then we have your responses to last week’s #caskquiz which asked “if you could com

We all know about the medicinal properties of craft beer in moderation, and who better to discuss them with than our friends Scott Goudy, Samuel Itin, and Neal Nealing from Medthink Communications! We chat about what the lads do at Medthink and and get to try some big stouts: Evolution Rise UP, Foothills Sexual Chocolate 2018, and Lagunitas Cafe Con Leche! Plus we learn that they are budding podcasters! It was really hard to cull the news this week! We being with Business Insider’s profile of a former biotech executive left her day job to open her own brewery. Next up The WaPo Wonkblog ventures their opinion that Budweiser’s Super Bowl ad is a plea to its fleeing customers, followed by The BBC reporting that North Korea is launching an  'exclusive' new beer. We close the news with Munchies suggesting that you punish yourself with a pepper spray-flavoured 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 Instag

It took us years of patient asking, and this week Jenn closes the deal and brings in our retailer friend and frequent contributor Bruce McKim! Bruce tells us his origin story, talks about the evolution of craft beer retailing, and shares some of his cool can/bottle collection! Plus he has some taste treats including Wicked Weed Angel of Darkness 2015, Mikkeller/Three Floyds Salmon Pants, Dogfish Oak Aged Vanilla World Wide Stout, and the just-released Wicked Weed 5th Anniversary Still Sour with Apricots! We have more fun news in the craft beer world this week, beginning with Science! VinePair shows us a Brooklyn scientist and his two-headed monster turning craft beer into whiskey! Next we have The New York Times visiting the buzz in Stockholm with craft beer featuring less buzz, followed by The Bozeman Daily Chronicle debuting cooperative craft breweries as a new approach to revitalizing small towns. We wind up with Food & Wine telling us why you really need a new scratch and sniff beer guide! We so l

So the sunny lands were a bit snowy last week, and we were trapped away from the bar! Thank goodness it melted and we were able to rejoice with delicious new treats from Upland Brewing! The lineup was outstanding: Prim Barrel-Aged Fruited Sour, Revive Barrel-Aged Fruited Sour, and the Crimson Wood-Aged Sour! You take a week off, the news piles up! We begin in The Atlantic where we learn that craft beer is the strangest, happiest economic story in America. Next up is The New York Times offering two big brewers joining the New England I.P.A. craze, followed by strategy+business and their question can craft beer continue to tap into growth? We wind up the week with Civil Eats’ visit to foraged craft beer and Wired’s dateline Jan. 24, 1935: first canned beer sold! 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 liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate &am