Episodes

​ It's back - it's science time! But first... we hit the feedback back, talk about some elections and other beer news - including Sierra Nevada's throwback beer move and the new beer style that's got people up in arms. In the library we discuss whether or not Prohibition was a good thing for beer and why American versions of British beers seem to fall short - according to the Brits. In the brewery, Drew discusses a very cool charity he just worked with and YCHops sets the record straight on the ...

The Brew is Out There! The Olympics may be over, but that doesn't mean we're not still pursuing our dreams of winning medals in our favorite sport. To help you get onto the podium, we sit down and talk with Nick Corona of QUAFF and the 2016 American Homebrewers Association's Homebrewer of the Year. He talks his way of planning his entries and the subtle strategy of style choice. Links Barb's Hef - Nick's BOS AHA NHC Beer - https://www.experimentalbrew.com/recipes/barbs-hef This episode is brough...

​ In a first for the podcast, we have a guest interview. IGOR Eric Pierce brings us a conversation with John Wei of Brewlander & Co in Singapore. How did he get started with good beer? What does it take to find ingredients and why did make the job to go pro? Find out! We also sit down and cover the beer world – Hazy IPA going national, Drew’s quixotic LA quest, the notion of courtesy scoring and hey.. what’s that? Why yes, we’re announcing another experiment! Sit back and get ready to listen! ...

The Brew is Out There! STYLE SHOW With Session Beer Day right around the corner (April 7th), it's time to visit one of Drew's absolute favorite beer styles - Mild. This blandly named style has a long and interesting history with many variations of what it means to be mild. So how about digging into one of the best beers you can quaff over a long session. Flat caps optional, but awesome beer is mandatory. Links Shut Up About Barclay Perkins - http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/ Homemade Invert Sy...

You know the rule - when the remainder of the division of an episode number and the number of months in the Gregorian calendar is zero, the sleeper awakens and sounds forth with pronouncements induced by the querying missives of the seekers of truth. *cough* What we mean to say is every 12 episodes, we take your questions and try our best to give you an answer or two or three in some cases. Sit back! It's answering time! Episode Links: BrewSwag.com - Use Code "Experimental" and save 7.5% and giv...

The Brew is Out There! Last year, Peter Symons led us all through a discussion of early Australian brewing practices and he promised he had more up his sleeve. Get ready to look up his sleeve and we explore the unique Australian take on Prohibition and how the Australian brewing industry modernized in his new book 6 O'Clock Brews Links Peter's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/bronzedbrews/ Buy Bronzed Brews: http://www.lulu.com/shop/peter-symons/bronzed-brews/paperback/product-22... Buy 6...

In our ongoing efforts to try and learn everything - and fail miserably - we revisit Denny's question from Episode 58 about dried lager strains labelled like ale strains. After much listener input, Drew sits down with Bryan Heit of Sui Generis Brewing to get the current scientific picture on yeast genetics. It turns out science makes for really complicated answers! Plus, we talk retirement, rough times for craft brewers, charity and how lasers are making better beer before digging into your ques...

The Brew is Out There! Although the season marches invariably onwards towards the warmer temperatures of Spring and Summer, we still have our nice cool climes and the opportunity to enjoy our cellar treasures. But while we're digging into the cellar for those riches, maybe we should replenish them while long brewing days are still pleasant! In this episode, we'll walk you through our expriences making big beers - our secrets - and offer up two of the finest we've made. Sit back and break out the...

On this week's episode, it's fully the new years which means it time to see just what we're going to fail at this year! And we're bringing you along for the ride! But first, a Christmas Miracle, some expired LME and being mindful in the pub. In the Brewery, Denny has some questions about dried lager yeast - can you help him out? In the Lab, we get an update on the IBU test Denny's operating through. And then finally we hit the list - we talk about how "well" we did last year and what we plan to ...

The Brew is Out There! While it's nice and chilly in most of the US, we figured what better time to sit down and talk with Zymurgy editor and Lager afficionado, Dave Carpenter about the wide world of lagers, myths about them and why you should be making them at home. Oh and did we mention Dave has a book about Lager as well? Links Lager: The Definitive Guide to Tasting and Brewing the World's Most Popular Beer Styles: http://amzn.to/2CKeCeZ This episode is brought to you by: Brewers Publications...

On this week's episode, we announce our new charity - it has a personal connection for Denny. We hit the pub and talk a fund raiser for IGOR Miguel's daughter's cancer fight at Rouleur Brewery and we dig out the crystal balls to see what we can see for the world of homebrewing and craft brewing for 2018. In the brewery we look through Drew's notes from the latest Zymurgy Live with Dogfish Head. In the Lounge, we sit down with Garrett Garfield, a transplanted Texan turned Chilean homebrewer and p...

The Brew is Out There! New Years is almost here with it's Janus like powers of transformational drive. Denny and Drew sit down and review how they organize things in the brewhouse to make the brew day easier and more likely to happen. How do you organize things? Links Gamma Lids for Grain Storage: http://amzn.to/2zp5zOb Food Saver Vacuum Sealer: http://amzn.to/2D7BVPE Mobile Prep Table: http://amzn.to/2D6xo02 Toolbox: http://amzn.to/2BtgV5v This episode is brought to you by: Brewers Publications...

On this week's episode, we hit the pub to talk the beer business before jumping into the hot unwanted guest topic of the day - What is Saccharomyces Distaticus, why is it in the news and how do we kill it? And then we take a listener suggestion for an end of the year wrap up - with a revisit on some of our favorite questions and answers from the non-all Q&A shows. And then of course Drew leaves you with the most obvious current movie recommendation every because yeah.. Episode Links: BrewSwag.co...

The Brew is Out There! RECIPE SHOW Drew sits down with Michael Tonsmeire, aka the Mad Fermentationist, and walks through how you can get two juicy beers of radically different natures from one brew session. So sit back as we explore his Apricot infused Sour and super juicy New England IPA. Links Mike’s Blog: https://www.themadfermentationist.com/Mike’s Brewery: https://sapwoodcellars.comHop Juice Recipe: https://www.themadfermentationist.com/2015/06/hop-juice-north-east-ipa-r…Apricot Atomic ...

On this week's episode, we correct things we got wrong, sit down and look at some different responses to the whole beer name and respect issue, talk about how an early San Francisco craft brewer is coming back and why their move feels similar to Widmer's recent moves and explore the idea of Black Friday Counter Programming the Goose Island Bourbon County Frenzy. We stop by the library to get Drew's recommendations on books for brewers and why Denny doesn't have time to read anymore. In the brewe...

The Brew is Out There! STYLE SHOW Drew sits down with Craig Gravina of the Albany Ale Project to discuss this almost completely forgotten strong ale style from Upstate New York. Learn how this style got started, how it mirrors the Dutch and English heritage of the state, how it transformed over time and what finally happened to a beer that was shipped around the world at one point! (And of course, how you can make it yourself!) Links Albany Ale Project: http://www.albanyaleproject.com/ Facebook ...

On this week's episode, we sit down and look at more trademark disputes, interesting business moves and why social media is ruining beer before heading to the lab for secret experiments, the brewery for ingredient explorations and then into the lounge where Drew sits down with a couple of award winning home brewers - Derek Springer (aka Five Blades Brewing) of the Society of Barley Engineers and Nick Corona (aka 2016's AHA Homebrewer of the Year) of QUAFF. Find out what it means to homebrew in A...

The Brew is Out There! PROCESS SHOW Drew sits down with Jeff Alworth, writer of the Beervana blog and podcast and the recent The Secrets of Master Brewers to talk what lessons Jeff discovered while touring a bunch of different brewing cultures. Together they explore the notion of national brewing identities and why many factors, including the Cold War, make the beers of Bohemia radically different from the beers of neighboring Bavaria. Also, does the US have a "brewing identity"? Links Beervana ...

On this week's episode, we sit down and look at the world of trademarks and lawsuits involving some of the biggest and smallest breweries, pay to play in the barroom and the most British pub story, ever. Then we dive into a wonderful presentation from lambic master Frank Boon and the BA's newly announced hop breeding program before Drew sits down with "Doctor" Bill Sysak and Bill Sobeiski at the newly (30 days is new right?) opened Wild Barrel Brewing of San Marcos. Find out their long beer hist...

The Brew is Out There! TECHNIQUE SHOW! Inspired by a posting on Milk the Funk Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/MilkTheFunk/), Drew sits down with brewing partner in crime, Kent Fletcher and they revisit their experiments with Methode Champenoise - aka how make your beer into Champagne! So sit back and relax as you figure out how to legitimately play with dry ice! Links MTF Facebook Posting: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/1854595017902037/ Maltose Falcons Methode Ch...

2 full years of podcasting! No time to celebrate - we've got things to cover! We'll talk transcripts, O2 in hops, the BA's second phase of Craft Beer independence, the beery witchy connection and a bunch of interesting brewing developments before we sit down and talk hops, hops and more hops with Bryan Pierce of YCH Hops about where the hop industry is going, how great this year's harvest was and what's new and exciting in the hoppy world (and what happens if IPA's stop being the thing). And the...

Leave your kegs and taps at the dooor... The Brew is Out There! BREW DAY SHOW! The AHA's Learn to Homebrew Day is November 4th, right around the corner! Whether you're into public displays of brewing (like Denny) or more intimate private group brews (like Drew), we're going to help you get your brewday party on with our tips! Don't forget to register a brewday at homebrewersassociation.org and spread the joy of homebrewing! Links Register Your Site Today: https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/a...

Once more it's feedback - this time on the safety of canned starters and our cider episode. Denny gets his mushroom correction on. We stop by the pub to talk a whole bunch of beer news, including GABF breweries, more water canning, how a Ninkasi winner got his brewing shut down and how one restaurant stepped in to save a whole bunch of breweries from losing their kegs. In the brewery, Drew walks through a little math and a spreadsheet for brewing that he uses. In the lab we revisit the keg purge...

The Brew Is Out There! On this week's episode of the Brew Files, we sit down in the pre-GABF mayhem to talk Pro-Am Competitions with Oleg Shpyrko, winner of the 2017 Romancing the Beer Competition, and Shaun Smith of Camarillo's Institution Ale Company about why Pro-Am's are a thing and what it takes to transform a potent homebrew (a 9.3% abv Imperial Stout with Cocoa, Peppers and Vanilla) into a commercial brew. Links Festivus Feats of Strength Recipe: https://www.experimentalbrew.com/recipes/f...