After the mayhem last week with the guys from Blake’s Hard Cider, we decided to clean up the bar and relax with beers from Three Floyds, Sierra Nevada, and Coronado! We sample the amazing Three Floyds Alpha King American Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Five Hop Experimental IPA, and Coronado Stupid Stout Imperial Stout!

The news begins with weather this week! NOAA’s Climate.gov has a cool and scary article about climate & beer, which we follow with Thrillist telling us how to spot a fake beer bar. Next up is Eater announcing that Sam Adams is hopping on the nitrogen-infused beer bandwagon, then Munchies reveals how beer made from leftover bread could help end global food waste, and we wind up Outside and learn why they believe the craft beer can shortage Is actually a great thing.

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “what name do you like for the can-growler: crowler, purrowler, ar something else?” and this week we are asking in honor of the Superb Owl “what’s your NC vs. Colorado beer matchup and who wins?”

We love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, tweeting us @talescask, following our Instagram @talesfromthecask, posting on and liking our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TalesFromTheCask or emailing written or audio messages to talesfromthecask@gmail.com! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

It’s time to change things up with incredible ciders from our friends at Blake’s Hard Cider! Founder Andrew Blake and Sales Maestro John Beal drove all the way down from Michigan with some tasty ciders for us to try: Flannel Mouth, El Chavo, Blushing Bourbon, and the spectacular Amshire!

It may be winter, but there’s always news! We start with The Street’s list of 5 beer styles the brewers will want you to drink in 2016, followed by Forbes’ question will Carlsberg ever sell beer in wooden bottles? and then The San Diego Reader telling us where to get a giant can of beer to go. We continue with Paste’s 7 ridiculous, but kind of awesome, beer gadgets, then Engadget revealing the app Untappd is going 'to the next level, and we close with Eater on why farm-to-keg brewing is the next big beer trend.

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “do you have a specific routine for tasting varying styles in order?” and this week we are asking “what name do you like for the can-growler: crowler, purrowler, ar something else?”

We love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, tweeting us @talescask, following our Instagram @talesfromthecask, posting on and liking our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TalesFromTheCask or emailing written or audio messages to talesfromthecask@gmail.com! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

In the aftermath of our Holiday Spectacular, we close the bar so we can clean up and unwind before New Year’s with some brew deliciousness! This week we raid the fridge for Blake’s Cider Wassail, Wicked Weed’s Pernicious IPA, and finish up with Stone Brewing’s W00t Stout Collaboration with Drew Curtis and Wil Wheaton!

News stacked up at the end of 2015! We have more MegaMergerMania breaking via The Denver Post announcing that Breckenridge Brewery sold to giant Anheuser-Busch and Zacks (via @sfringer) story that AB InBev is to acquire Four Peaks! We then relax with TechHive’s review of the NitroBrew nitrogen injector, then Beerpulse (also via @sfringer!) on Highland’s set of 12 IPAs for 2016, and Priceonomics’ (via @Beal187) profile of the Guinness brewer who revolutionized statistics. We close with The Toronto Star’s report that beer arrives in Ontario grocery stores (finally!) and Scientific American’s piece on how fermentation gives us beer, wine, cheese—and cancer?

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “for New Year’s Eve: beer or champagne?” and this week we are asking “what beer-related resolutions do you have for 2016?”

We love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, tweeting us @talescask, following our Instagram @talesfromthecask, posting on and liking our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TalesFromTheCask or emailing written or audio messages to talesfromthecask@gmail.com! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

Our Holiday Spectacular is here! We celebrate in style with many of our local faves - Aubrey, Joe, Bryan, Leif and Thomas! Plus, Hoda and cousin make special appearances along with podcasting legend Jay and fifth Beatle Darrell! Everyone had to bring taste treats and we got to try them all: AleSmith Jamaican Blue Coffee Speedway Stout, Olde Rabbit’s Foot 2011, Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin 2014, Sierra Nevada Barrel Aged Narwhal, and Crispin 12 Men Cider with Rum and Candi Sugar!

We only had time for quick news this week. Megamergermania continues in The New York Times story that craft brewers have to compete for beer cans and UPI reveals that reindeer deliver beer to UK pubs!

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked“what special beer are you pouring for your Christmas party?” and this week we are asking “For New Year’s Eve: beer or champagne?”

We love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, tweeting us @talescask, following our Instagram @talesfromthecask, posting on and liking our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TalesFromTheCask or emailing written or audio messages to talesfromthecask@gmail.com! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

We are getting ready for our Holiday Spectacular episode next week, so we closed the bar and decided to just relax amongst ourselves! That was made so easy with fabulous beers from Southbound, Olde Hickory, and Oakshire! We tasted the Moondance, Lindley Park & Hellshire 4. All worthy companions to your holiday festivities!

Megamergermania returns this week with three stories! First up is the St. Louis Dispatch quoting Carlos Brito telling Congress that the ABInBev-SABMiller merger will boost competition, followed by Mother Jones revealing that the King of Beers wants to push craft brews out of your supermarket and then Bloomberg’s story on beer drinkers suing to stop the merger. Next up The Wall Street Journal shows that in New York, good times are flow for craft brewers, then the San Jose Mercury News has some ideas on gifts for brewhounds, The New York Times takes a ride from Milan to Rome with bikes and beer, and we close with Motherboard telling us that scientists are genetically modifying their way to new types of beer.

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “what beer related gift are you giving or want to get this Chrismukkah?” and this week we are asking “what special beer are you pouring for your Christmas party?”

We love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, tweeting us @talescask, following our Instagram @talesfromthecask, posting on and liking our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TalesFromTheCask or emailing written or audio messages to talesfromthecask@gmail.com! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

With Tony out on assignment, Jenn and Chip decide to road trip to new brewery Fainting Goat Brewing in Fuquay-Varina NC this week! We talk with owners Tim Reichert & MaryAnn Durborrow about their new brewery, learn how they got started, and try a neat flight of beers: What the Buck Pale Ale, Not So Pale Chocolate Ale, Stiff Leg Tripel, and Horny Honey Pomegranate Witbier!

Another record falls this week as Businesswire reveals that the the U.S. brewery count has reached an all-time high of 4,144! Next The New York Times reports on the close ties between exercise and beer, followed by CBC’s companion pieces on the finding of a beer bottle nearly as old as Canada and the potential that the beer may be seized by the provincial government. The Dieline debuts C10 Architect Beer, then Kickstarter announces the final tally of Pico’s fundraising campaign, and we close with The News and Observer (from Friend of the Show Will Doran!) suggesting gifts for the beer lover in your life.

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “what unusual food did you have for your Thanksgiving feast?” and this week we are asking ‘what beer related gift are you giving or want to get this Chrismukkah?”

We love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, tweeting us @talescask, following our Instagram @talesfromthecask, posting on and liking our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TalesFromTheCask or emailing written or audio messages to talesfromthecask@gmail.com! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

It’s that wonderful turkey time of the year, so of course we had to get food blogger and jet-setter Kristen Baughman on the line via satellite! She regales us with her travel tales, and talks Italian craft beer and food pairings with us. Then we do our own beer-food pairings and try some all-new 12-ounce bottles from AleSmith Brewing: Nut Brown Ale, L’il Devil Belgian-Style Pale Ale and IPA!

After all the MegaMergerMania of the past few weeks, things have quieted down on that front. Other news is out there though! CNBC reports on beer's new frontier: Nitro, followed by Greenville Online announcing that Sierra Nevada is starting a rare beer club, and War on the Rocks presents a noble idea of beer without hops. Next up is Crain’s Chicago Business revealing that Chicago is the craft-brew capital of the U.S. by one measure, then DNAInfo shows us that a 'Flux Capacitor’ can make a perfect brew, The USA Today shows us a craft beer icon plunging into magazines, and we end with WNCN’s story that the ACC will allow beer sales at its basketball tournament and football championship.

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “are you bummed out by the MegaMergerMania?” and this week we are asking “what unusual food did you have for your Thanksgiving feast?”

We love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, tweeting us @talescask, following our Instagram @talesfromthecask, posting on and liking our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TalesFromTheCask or emailing written or audio messages to talesfromthecask@gmail.com! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

Everyone loves Aubrey, so we got Ms. Herbert back to the bar to talk about Sierra Nevada Brewing and all the latest from Chico and Mills River! She also brings us a terrific lineup of beers: Sierra Nevada Stout, Celebration Ale and Estate Homegrown IPA!

You thought you would have a week off from MegaMergerMania? Hah! The San Diego Union-Tribune starts off with the shocking news that Ballast Point is selling to be sold to N.Y. corporation Constellation for $1 billion! We follow that with The LA Times’ in-depth analysis of the deal, and commiserate with Paste on the 5 stages of craft beer grief when your favorite brewery sells out. Moving on from M&A, Outside introduces the ultimate beer recommendation app, then Muchies/Vice reports on why women are leading Korea’s craft beer movement, Food & Wine (via @TheDA_Powell) gives us the ultimate American brewery tour, and Vinepair (via @BEAL187) believes that the Pilgrims would’ve landed in Virginia but didn’t because they ran out of beer.

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “what international craft beer have you tried?” and this week we are asking “are you bummed out by the MegaMergerMania?”

We love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, tweeting us @talescask, following our Instagram @talesfromthecask, posting on and liking our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TalesFromTheCask or emailing written or audio messages to talesfromthecask@gmail.com! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

We love us some draft beer, and Joe Linquist from draft system maker Micro Matic joins us for a pint! Joe gives us the ins and outs of how draft beer works, issues that can come up, and how important cleaning draft equipment is. Then we reach into the secret beer vault for some new faves: Lost Abbey Witch’s Wit, Bull & Bush’s Miso Hoppy, and the astounding Oakshire Hellshire 5!

We introduce a new segment in the news given all the purchases etc. happening right now! It’s MegaMergerMania and it leads off with The BBC reporting beer giants AB-InBev and SABMiller have agreed to their mega-merger, and we have an in-depth companion piece from The New York Times. Leaving that deal, Forbes has a cool infographic showing the countries with the most craft breweries, followed by Reuters revealing that Britain has inked a $150 million barley deal with China's craft breweries, and we close with Eater asking is the craft beer and spirits movement threatening big brands?

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “would you ever put a kegerator or some kind of draft system in your home bar?” and this week we are asking “what international craft beer have you tried?”

We love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, tweeting us @talescask, following our Instagram @talesfromthecask, posting on and liking our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TalesFromTheCask or emailing written or audio messages to talesfromthecask@gmail.com! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

There is no more storied beer company in America than its oldest, Yuengling Brewery, and we have 6th generation brewer Jennifer Yuengling joining us! Jennifer talks to us about the deep history of Yuengling, which has been brewing since 1829, shares some fun stories about growing up and working in the business, and tastes the classic Traditional Lager and the outstanding all-new IPL!

Beer news abounds this week! First up Forbes indicates that there is trouble brewing for craft beer as the aluminum can supply tightens, followed by Consumerist revealing that Guinness is tweaking its recipe so vegans can enjoy a pint, and Eater shows us that wild-fermented beer is the best way to drink pond water. Next we follow up from last week with Crowdfund Insider reporting that PicoBrew’s brewing appliance “Pico” surpassed $700,000 in its first week on Kickstarter, and we close with War on the Rocks talking about craft beer beyond IPAs.

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “what is a craft beer?” and this week we are asking “would you ever put a kegerator or some kind of draft system in your home bar?

We love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, tweeting us @talescask, following our Instagram @talesfromthecask, posting on and liking our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TalesFromTheCask or emailing written or audio messages to talesfromthecask@gmail.com! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!