CORRECTED AUDIO: Beyond the Pour Podcast Episode 15: The Ratebeer “Best Of” Awards, Beer Snobbery, and Ding!
We’re back again with another delayed episode, this time delayed just because I’ve been busy enough not to have time to edit it. Sorry. I’ve done a light editing job here and I haven’t created a roadmap for you this time, but I’ll be better in future episodes, I promise.
NOTE: This episode originally ran with a slowed-down piece of audio at the beginning. The version currently uploaded should be good. Email beyondthepour@gmail.com if you have any problems with the audio.
Beyond the Pour Podcast Episode 11: Introduction to Beer Geekery
It’s been awhile since the last BtP episode, and I know people are just chomping at the bit for it… right? Probably not, but I apologize for the delay nonetheless. This was recorded about three weeks ago, and given a combination of work, school, and personal life I’ve just now gotten around to editing and posting it.
This week we decided to do an episode about getting started in craft beer, strategies for navigating the often-confusing world of barley, hops, and yeast for the new enthusiast. The conversation gets a lot more wide-ranging, and we do ramble on a bit, but it’s all in good fun.
Show Notes
0:00 to 1:05: Introductions and Salutations! This episode Ryan and I are joined by Winton, aka Beerichituba/Yuichituba on Youtube, the man who originally coined the term “beertuber.” He’s a buddy of ours so we’re all too happy to have him.
1:05 to 6:57: Winton’s in Utah at the moment, and is drinking a Uinta Anniversary Barleywine. For some reason it turns out there’s significantly less Pliny the Elder in Utah than in his hometown of San Francisco! Who would’ve thought? Ryan’s drinking the Firestone Walker Reserve Porter, because who can argue with that? It’s at least fifteen months old, and he’s still getting hops! Amazing. I’m drinking a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, because at the time of this recording DFH had just come back to my market, and why not?
6:57 to 18:10: Our main topic: Getting started in craft beer. Winton just tried the Conflux #1 from Deschutes, and found it to be, well, a bit much. A blend of several different beers, aged in several different barrels, then blended. Is it worth it, especially at the price point? Can even a very sophisticated palate really get the complexity?
18:10 to 40:07: An extension of the above (it’s all based on trying to share great beer with new drinkers this time). Ryan’s been reading the last Zymurgy magazine which has a piece from Stan Hieronymus of appellationbeer.com on “Beer Rules.” It turns out this whole list is on his website, which you can find here: http://appellationbeer.com/ We spend a lot of time on this list, and could’ve probably spun every single item on that list into its own episode, so definitely check it out and send us comments at beyondthepour@gmail.com if you have thoughts.
40:07 to 41:30: Interlude. I have two musicians on this show, and yet I have no official theme song. What gives?
41:30 to 103:35: The official main topic! Finally! (Just kidding, guys.) Introducing new people to beer. You’ve had that first great beer, the one that convinced you that beer could be great, where do you go next? I get ideas from the guys to share with the world. (Hint: The BeerAdvocate Top 100 list is not the place for you right now.) Winton recommends finding food flavors that you like and match beers that way. Ryan says to try all the beers from a particular brewery you like. Both say try pretty much everything and go from there. Or maybe just pick a style you like and go from there.
103:35 to end: We took a little break and came back with more beer. I found another bottle of the Stone Ruination 10th Anniversary, so of course I’m drinking that. Winton’s still working on his Uinta Anniversary Barleywine, because apparently he can’t drink a beer properly (I kid!) and Ryan’s doing some homebrew. I decided to let this episode run a bit long because I had had a bottle share with a couple of friends of mine who are still getting into craft beer, and wanted to share with my audience. We get a little more unfocused during this section of the podcast, but there’s some fun stuff in here.
Beyond the Pour Podcast Episode 10: The Homebrew Episode (With Special Guest Chad from Chad’z Beer Reviews)
Wow, it’s been awhile since I’ve uploaded an episode. Ryan and I recorded an episode a few weeks ago, but I had technical issues in the editing and that one will likely never see the light of day. We make occasional reference to it in this episode (which was recorded before I had discovered the technical issues in the last one) so sorry about that.
Anyway, in this episode Chad from Chad’z Beer Reviews joins us for a conversation about homebrewing and other topic. Chad has recently gotten into homebrewing, so I figured it’d be interesting to ask him what he’d learned in the process.
I’m trying to get on a more regular schedule of posting this podcast, but my class and work schedule has been insane lately. Sorry.
0:00 to 0:40 A quick administrative note.
0:40 to 8:20 Introductions and what we’ve been drinking. Regular co-host Ryan and I are joined by fellow Youtube beer reviewer Chad9976 of Chad’z Beer Reviews, and he’s been drinking a ton of homebrew, having recently gotten into the hobby. He also recently tried Kona’s Coffee Porter. Ryan is drinking on a Coronado Double Dorado, a local Double IPA that has only recently come back into bottles from an approximately two year absence. Me? I’m checking out a Samuel Adams Noble Pils, a beer that I haven’t had in several years and have realized I’ve been completley wrong about. I also have been drinking quite a bit about the Stone Ruination 10th Anniversary IPA, which you should definitely try if it’s in your market and still fresh at the time you listen to this episode.
8:20 to 11:53 Grupo Modelo has been bought by AB Inbev. What does this mean, really?
11:53 to 14:18 Green Flash opening up an east coast brewery. Yet again microbreweries are expanding. A theme for the podcast so far.
14:18 to 20:52 Our feature topic: Homebrewing. Chad mailed us both a bottle of one of his buddy Shaun’s homebrews, which we reviewed with him for his Youtube channel, and I thought it’d be a great thing to be able to talk with Chad about his newfound homebrew hobby and what he’s learned about beer since starting a couple of months ago. Chad talks about the basics of sanitation and hop additions.
20:52 to 28:24 Chad is interested in learning to make wild beers. We go off on a significant tangent here about the theory and practice, despite the fact that none of us have ever made a sour beer. Whoops. I make reference to the Mad Fermentationist in this section. http://www.themadfermentationist.com/
28:24 to 31:58 The fermentation temperature discussion. Ryan calls this the most critical part of homebrewing. Ale brewing in the basement, and the possibility of lager brewing during the winter.
31:58 to 37:15 After a pee break, we come back into some other areas. Chad wanted to talk about a couple of his brewery pet peeves, and talks about lack of ABV listing on the bottle, and bottle dating.
37:15 to 54:35 The retailer’s responsibility for fresh beer? Versus the brewery’s responsibility to only sell beers across the country that can take some age?
54:35 to 1:03:14 Our favorite local breweries. Also our favorite local places to drink, and stuff that’s pretty much always in our fridge.
Check out Chad’z Youtube channel here. Also check out Ryan, Chad, and myself reviewing one of Chad’z friend’s homebrews here.
The Session 65: Drinking Alone
I’m a couple of days late getting my latest edition of the Session blog carnival posted, but at least I shot it on the right day, right?
This month’s session is all about drinking alone, namely, going out to pubs for a pint by oneself. I’m a bit wishy washy on the subject, as I have been known to do it from time to time but for the most part I do all my drinking from bottles in my house.
Check out the carnival host here.
And a full list of all past Sessions is here.
Beyond the Pour Podcast Episode 9: Quality Control Issues
It’s been about three weeks since the last episode, largely because the beer news world has been pretty slow lately. We came back strong, though, with a long conversation about quality control at breweries and what a brewer’s responsibility to their customers is when bad beer is released.
Download this episode
View in iTunes
Show Notes:
0:00 to 7:50 Introductions and what we’re drinking. I’m doing a super-fresh Bell’s Pale Ale, and Ryan’s got an even fresher Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale. Was Sublimely Self Righteous the first black IPA?
7:50 to 30:37 Quality Control in Breweries. At a bottle share in San Diego, Ryan had a bottle of an Upland Brewery sour that gushed nearly a foot in the air and left him with only half a bottle left. This got him to thinking about breweries and their quality control, and what they might owe the consumers that get obviously flawed beer. Should a consumer get compensation for a bad bottle? I talk about issues I’ve had with Jolly Pumpkin beers, as well as Keweenaw brewing. Also mentioned: Deschutes, the Lost Abbey, Dark Horse, and more. Lots of breweries have occasional or continuing issues with quality control; what is the proper response to these issues? We’d love to hear your thoughts and if we get enough responses we’ll do a bunch of emails in a future episode, so please listen and respond at beyondthepour@gmail.com.
30:37 to 35:15 Taking a bit of a tangent off of that, as beer reviewers we tend to try to make sure we’re getting the freshest and best beer possible for review on the show, but that’s not always a fair representation for what’s on the shelf and available in the market. Do we bend over backwards a bit too much to make sure we’re “fair” to the products we review?
35:15 to 55:53 What we’ve been drinking lately and our wrap-up. Ryan had an out-of-town guest in his house last week, none other than fellow Beertuber Master of Hoppets, so we talk a bit about that. I also talk about being back in school and the way that that has effected my beer drinking. We talk a lot about how great the people in the craft beer community are, and end another episode imploring people to engage in bottle shares.
The Session #64: Pale Ales
This month’s Session is all about Pale Ales. Hosted by The Beer Babe: She asks:
“Your mission — if you choose to accept it — it so seek out and taste two different pale ales. Tell us what makes them special, what makes them forgettable, what makes them the same or what makes them different. Then, share it with us.”
I had a bottle of Fuller’s London Pride and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. I also talk a bit about pale ales in general, why we as beer geeks tend not to take them too seriously, and why we perhaps should. Check out the video below.
(Any beer bloggers watching this video should definitely check out the Youtube beer community if you haven’t already. There are some great channels out there doing some pretty incredible beer reviews. Likewise, any beertubers out there who haven’t plugged in to the beer blog community are missing out, as well.)
Beyond the Pour Podcast Episode 14: Catching Up is Hard to Do
I’ve been terrible about posting in this spot lately. What can I say? Classes have taken up about 113% of my available time, and I’ve just not had the opportunity to post stuff here.
Anyway, I’m trying to be better. So here’s the most recent podcast episode in which Ryan and I catch up on what’s been going on when we haven’t been podcasting. I didn’t put together show notes for this episode (sorry) but it’s a fun listen. If you’ve missed prior episodes, you can check out our iTunes page here.
Episode 14: Catching Up is Hard to Do
Download. iTunes.
Enjoy!
PS I think our last episode got a little lost in the mix, so I’m going to post it here as well. We’re joined by Youtube’s own Tantrum777, our fellow Youtube beer reviewer Jamison, and talk about rare beer culture and our personal top five historically-important beers. It was a fun episode, and it’s a bit underseen, so I figured I’d point it out here as well.
Episode 13: Rare Beer Culture and a Top Five
Download. iTunes.