Tales From the Cask Craft Beer Podcast

After all the people we have had in the bar lately, we just want to kick back and relax before the Thanksgiving mayhem heading our way this week! So we leisurely review the news and chat, and then we try some great brews! They are AleSmith Coastal Connect New Zealand Style Pilsner, Hardywood Christmas Morning Imperial Milk Stout, and DuClaw Caramel Cookie Retribution Imperial Stout!

We have a week off from MegaMergerMania finally, beginning with Vice offering some bad news if you invested money in a craft beer company in the UK. Next up Stacker has a terrific timeline showing the cost of a beer the year you turned 21, followed by Delish visiting BrewDog’s newest venture - kennels and beer! Then Ozy reveals why Black Friday is best for limited-edition beer, and we close up with WRAL (thanks Scott!) heading down to a Surf City brewery that has created eco-friendly packaging that is edible for wildlife!

Since we recorded early this week we are carrying over our #caskquiz question asking “what was your go to food and beer pairing for Thanksgiving this year?”

We 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 Apple Podcasts,  Stitcher, Overcast, or your favorite podcast app if you haven’t done so!

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!

Direct download: talesfromthecask339.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

You know we loves us some tech, and Untappd remains one of our fave apps! And of course our Thanksgiving ep is one of our faves of the year! So we are stoked to combine tech and turkey (or chicken) with the return of Brandon Walker and welcome newbie Chandler Hatch from Untappd to the bar! The guys tell us about their exciting new venture with retailers and distributors, and they join us for one of Jenn’s incredible food pairing dinners! This year we feature Olde Hickory On Cloud 9, Rodenbach Classic Alesmith RKS, Anchor Christmas 2019, Hardywood Cuvee Peach, and Blake’s Triple Jam!

It’s a double whammy with MegaMergerMania this week, beginning with the shocker from The Denver Post (thanks Michael and Steve!) revealing that New Belgium Brewing, Colorado’s largest craft brewery, has announced a sale to an international beer conglomerate! Then Brewbound reports that Artisanal Brewing Ventures is going to acquire Bold Rock Hard Cider! We pivot away to The Hill reporting that a beer industry poll finds a majority back a tax break for alcohol producers, while Forbes is a fly on the wall when ‘Brewing A Revolution’ brings craft beer history to the Smithsonian and The News & Observer shows how craft beer changed America. We close up the week with Food & Wine (thanks Steve!) announcing 'Small Brewery Sunday' as the perfect celebration to wrap up Thanksgiving weekend!

Last week we ask you “what are your top 5 best breweries of the past decade?” This week as is custom each Thanksgiving we want to know we are wanting to know “what is your go to food and beer pairing for Thanksgiving?”

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!

Direct download: talesfromthecask338.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

Cider is the beverage that really makes us feel like fall is here, and our friend Kirby Dean from  Blake’s Hard Cider reminds us why! Kirby shares all the news from the Michigan orchards and the cidery, and then he’s got three delectable treats for us: Classic Apple Lite Cider, Mixed Berry Lite Cider,  and Mojito Lime Lite Cider!

MegaMergerMania news returns via The Charleston Post & Courier (thanks Michael and Steve!) reporting that a new-to-South Carolina craft brewer (among others!) was just bought by the world’s biggest beer company! Next The Motley Fool shows that apart from that big acquisition, AB InBev is now looking to corner the hard seltzer market. Then it’s the Santa Rosa Press Democrat (thanks Mike!) profiling Bear Republic as it looks toward a bullish 2020, and Forbes demonstrates how small, independent distributors are changing the face of craft beer. We close out the week with Paste (thanks Alex!) sharing their ranking of the 50 best American breweries of the 2010s!

We are sad that so few people could answer last week’s #caskquiz which asked “what’s your workout reward brew? And what’s the workout?” This week we are wanting to know “what are your top 5 best breweries of the past decade?”

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!

Direct download: talesfromthecask337.mp3
Category:Tales From the Cask -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

The better for you category in craft beer is exploding right now, and we are so lucky to be working with Sufferfest Beer Company and our buddy Margaret Link, their Director of Marketing! Margaret relates the story of the brewery’s origin and tells us how she got into the beer biz (yes, it’s related to being an athlete!). And then she drops three taste treats for us: Repeat Kolsch, FKT Pale Ale, and Head Start Stout!

Climate change leads the news this week via Forbes visiting evacuated Sonoma County breweries who are reopening with electricity but without gas. Next up The New York Times reveals that the merchandising of college sports is leading to team-branded ales, and Forbes asks are you ready for craft malt to change craft beer? Then it’s The Associated Press making a last call as Utah is set to tap out on low-alcohol beer sales, and we wind up with People (thanks Frank!) profiling a North Dakota brewing company that has put pictures of adoptable dogs on its beer cans!

Last week’s #caskquiz question was our annual Series pick question: “Astros or Nats? Or I have no dog in this fight and want a great Series! Or I just want football!” This week’s #caskquiz asks “what’s your workout reward brew? And what’s that Sufferfest-worthy workout?

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!

Direct download: talesfromthecask336.mp3
Category:Tales From the Cask -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

We are really fortunate to have so many great people from NC breweries working with us, and Birdsong Brewing’s Ryan McLoughlin and Casey Browning with are two of the best! The guys bring the latest news from the C-Town brew scene (that’s Charlotte y’all!) and they have super beers to share! They are Friends in Low Places IPA, Movin’ on Up Hazy Pale Ale, Rich Girl Imperial Oatmeal Raisin Porter, and Wake Up Porter!

A couple of terrific interviews lead the news this week, beginning with The Arizona Republic talking with a Phoenix woman who started her own brewery because craft beer bars were a boy's club! Then The Takeout chats with Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman about craft beer’s past and its future relevance. Next up CNN visits cannabis firms who are hopping on the non-alcoholic beer wagon, followed by The Wilmington Star-News finding that barley is now only for beer, and that’s about it. We close the news with VinePair asking if we got milk stout and craft beer’s hazy respect for iconic intellectual property!

Last week’s carryover #caskquiz question was “what’s the first brewery you remember visiting?” This week in honor of the World Series, we pose the annual Series pick question: “Astros or Nats? Or I have no dog in this fight and want a great Series! Or I just want football!”

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 ourFacebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

Direct download: talesfromthecask335.mp3
Category:Tales From the Cask -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

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