Beer Guys Radio - Highlights

New Jersey's first meadery was founded by a dream of Sergio Moutela...and a Kickstarter campaign.   Now, Melovino Meadery has been served in New York's famous James Beard House, and won multiple awards.   Moutela openly shares his passion and knowledge with others in the pursuit of making better mead. He is the author of Mead Made Right and the TOSNA method of advanced nutrient additions in mead making.   Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors of the American Mead Makers Association, and in 2017, Melovino became the most award winning meadery at the Mazer Cup International, the largest mead competition in the world.   We talk to Moutela about his drive to help change New Jersey law. Plus, we'll talk about making mead, and his new venture, The Mead Bar.

When you think of South Florida, you think of beaches, bikinis, and retirees….although maybe not at the same time. Regardless of your thoughts, Belgian-style ales probably aren’t the first thing to pop into your head. But there’s a brewery in Boca Raton that may make you think twice. First opening its doors in 2015, the brewery sports a pretty impressive array of beers. We talk to Kevin Abbott, the director of operations. 

Allagash is one of the heavy hitters in the craft beer industry.   But back in the mid-90s, they couldn't get anyone to put their Belgian-style beers on tap.   After the success of Allagash White, they expanded into the company they are today.   We talk to brewmaster Jason Perkins about the growth of the iconic Maine brewery. We also get his take on the hazy IPA craze, and green vs. amber glass bottles.   Cheers!

NoDa came to national prominence with their 2014 World Beer Cup gold medal for Hop Drop and Roll.  Today, as the second oldest brewery in Charlotte, NoDa is helping to add to the state's craft beer boom.  We talk to brewmaster Chad Henderson about what's next for NoDa.

They call him the "Mead Magician." And with the awards and accolades coming out of this Arizona meadery, you may understand why.  Carlos Bassetti tinkered in homebrewing before going towards mead. We talk to him about Superstition, using exotic ingredients, partnering with Mikkeler and more! Oh yeah, Berry White day too.  For our Georgia listeners - Modern Hops has started to bring Superstition into the state, so check bottle shops! 

Brad Shell poses with kittens for calendar shoots.  He has brewed a beer using 99 scorpions.  And he's doing his part to make Charlotte a little more weird.  After stints with SweetWater, Terrapin and Rogue, Shell founded Unknown Brewing, one of Charlotte's first craft breweries.  Since then, he's created beer with catnip, has a list of projects called his "crazy queue," and is even getting into distilling.  If you like the show, please don't forget to subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.  Don't forget....DRINK LOCAL!     

Kristian Li and Alex Acker's craft beer story is like many others.  You get an extract brewing kit a gift and catch the homebrewing bug. You progress quickly to doing all-grain batches, and eventually decided to give up your full time gig to open a brewery.  What makes Kristian and Alex different? Their brewery is in Beijing.  The two expats were longtime friends who saw the opportunity to help grow craft beer interest in China. So they started Jing A in 2013, opened up a taproom in 2014, and the rest is history.  Find out how they were able to bring IPAs and kettle sours to a market used to macro lagers.   

This week's Drink This Beer checks in with Chicagoland's Mikerphone Brewing.  Founded by, Mike Pallen, a small town kid with a passion for craft beer and hip hop music, the small brewery is known for cranking out big beers.  The nanobrewery opened its tap room in 2017, and continues to grow. Check out our interview with Pallen now!   

Drivin' n Cryin' has been a fixture on the rock scene for decades.  Probably best known for its 1991 hit, "Fly Me Courageous," DnC is still touring, making albums and generally kicking ass.  But their latest project isn't an album. It's a beer.  Collaborating with Kennesaw's Burnt Hickory Brewery, DnC created "Mystery Road / Straight to Hell IPA," an aromatic and juicy 5.5 beer that's....dare we say...crushable.  We talked to DnC founding member Tim Nielsen and Burnt Hickory owner Scott Hedeen about the collaboration and what' coming up next for the both of them.  *Mystery Road / Straight to Hell IPA is currently available for sale at Burnt Hickory Brewery's taproom.

With the possible exception of Lazy Magnolia, most craft beer fans would be hard pressed to name a brewery in Mississippi.  But thanks to relaxed laws and better education, the industry is growing.  We talked to Lucas Simmons, owner and brewmaster of Jackson, Mississippi's Lucky Town Brewery. The second-oldest brewery in the state, he's seen a slow growth and is looking forward to the future. Oh yeah, we talk about beers too!  Like what you hear?  Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. More information: www.beerguysradio.com Support: www.patreon.com/beerguys

At Moody Tongue's Chicago taproom, you have two food choices:  Oysters, or German Chocolate Cake.  As strange as that may sound, brewmaster and owner Jared Rouben says those are the perfect pairings of his company's beers.  After starting his career in fine dining, Rouben joined Goose Island where he was able to fine tune his craft beers. Now, he works with fine ingredients (truffle beer, anyone?) to create his drinkable, flavorful beers that are designed to pair specifically with food.  Like what you hear?  Subscribe to the podcast More information: www.beerguysradio.com Support: www.patreon.com/beerguys

What exactly is "local"?  Is it in your home town? Your home state? Your home region?  Perhaps it's in the eye of the beholder. Regardless, we talked to Eric Kugler, rep for Bluffton (SC)'s Southern Barrel about their beers, what constitutes local beer...and how a rep stays sober after a long day making calls!   

Shelton Fest.    A bucket list event for any craft beer fan. We were fortunate enough to have this year's Shelton Fest (2017) in our home city, Atlanta.    We were able to talk to numerous great brewers from around the country...and around the world!    In part 3, we talk to two southeastern breweries - 7venth Sun Brewing (Florida) and Bearded Iris (Tennessee)   Be sure to check out parts 1 and 2 for more coverage.

Shelton Fest.  A bucket list event for any craft beer fan. We were fortunate enough to have this year's Shelton Fest (2017) in our home city, Atlanta.  We were able to talk to numerous great brewers from around the country...and around the world!  In part 2, we talk to Jackie O's, an Ohio brewery that's well known to beer nerds....and an Estonian (yes, Estonian) brewery that caused a huge buzz at Shelton Fest - Pohjala. Be sure to check out parts 1 and 3 for more coverage.

Shelton Fest.  A bucket list event for any craft beer fan. We were fortunate enough to have this year's Shelton Fest (2017) in our home city, Atlanta.  We were able to talk to numerous great brewers from around the country...and around the world!  In part 1, we talk to two newer breweries known for their sour programs. Carolina Bauernhaus (South Carolina) and Hourglass Brewery (Florida).  Be sure to check out parts 2 and 3 for more coverage - coming soon!   

It's Shelton Fest week, and in advance of this great beer fest debut in Atlanta, we talked to one of the Shelton Brothers - Dan.  In this wide-ranging interview, we talked about how the Shelton Brothers got their start, the reason behind their initial departure from Georgia, and a recent article about them in Beer Advocate.  Get tickets, details and more for Shelton Fest 2017 here.  Don't forget to listen to Part 1!

It's Shelton Fest week, and in advance of this great beer fest debut in Atlanta, we talked to one of the Shelton Brothers - Dan.  In this wide-ranging interview, we talked about how the Shelton Brothers got their start, the reason behind their initial departure from Georgia, and a recent article about them in Beer Advocate.  Get tickets, details and more for Shelton Fest 2017 here.  Don't forget to listen to Part 2!

Jacksonville probably isn't the top of your list when it comes to craft beer cities. However, the northeast Florida city has a small, but growing list of breweries. Bold City Brewing Company was the first.  We talk to CEO Susan Miller and Brewmaster Jeremy ("Big Jerm") Baker about their start and their styles.

Just ahead of their Atlanta stop on their 40th Anniversary Tour, Foreigner guitarist, craft beer enthusiast, and Cicerone Certified Beer Server Bruce Watson chats with the Beer Guys about craft beer and their "VIB" meet and greet craft beer tastings he hosts along with bandmate Michael Bluestein.

Southern Prohibition (or SoPro if you're a cool kid) is one of the hottest breweries in the south. (Photos courtesy Southern Prohibition) When you think of craft beer, Mississippi may not be the first state that comes to mind. However, with new laws that went into effect on July 1, breweries now have the amazing opportunity to actually sell their product directly to consumers. Experts are predicting the Magnolia state's craft brewery footprint will only get bigger. But any brewery that opens up will have a hard time competing with the quality of Hattiesburg's Southern Prohibition. A revamp of a few of their recipes paid off, and they are becoming one of the hottest breweries in the south. In fact, they recently won Paste Magazine's best Session IPA for Devil's Harvest. A big honor, especially considering they beat out some huge breweries. We talked to head brewer Ben Green about brewing in Mississippi, their recipes, and what's coming up next for them.