Beer is booming in Durham, NC and Bull City Burger & Brewery is a big part of the scene! Seth Gross, Grande Burger Flipper and Beer Tester joins us to talk about the history of the brewery and brings along some super brews to taste: Bryant Bridge Gateway Golden Ale, Pro Bono Publica Porter, and Harvest Ale 2015.

When has beer been in the mainstream news so much? It’s hard to pick which stories to share! We do anyway beginning with Consumerist asking will the mega beer merger lead to higher prices & fewer choices for consumers?, followed by Courthouse News revealing that MillerCoors has dodged a Blue Moon Craft-Brew War, and then The USA Today lists 5 schools where you can turn your taste for beer into a career. Next up is Forbes demonstrating that with Pico, the Keurig for beer is finally here, and we conclude with War on the Rocks offering craft beer beyond IPAs.

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “what’s your take on the ABInBev-SABMiller deal?” and this week we want to know “what is a craft beer?”

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!

Robert Owen from Duck Rabbit Brewery has been on the show, and now it's his first time in our bar! He has returned to talk about the latest from the Farmville NC brewery, and he brought along some of their finest brews: Amber Ale, Brown Ale, and Wee Heavy Scotch Ale!

We school you on the news this week! What better education to begin than with a story from The Harvard Business Review showing A a simple graph that explains the logic of the ABInBev-SABMiller merger, followed by (thanks to listener and stringer @sfringer) Wired’s opinion that the potential merger could threaten real craft brews, and then The New York Times reeports that Beck’s Beer is offering a cash settlement to buyers over misleading packaging. Next up we have Shape asking beer with Superfoods: do or don’t?, then Beverage Daily looks at what creates consumers’ responses to beer, and we close on The Hill revealing an overnight regulation linking bees and beer.

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked for your holiday beer recommendations and this week we want to know “what’s your take on the ABInBev-SABMiller deal?”

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 thrilled to have a very special visit from superstar brewer Rudi Ghequire from Rodenbach, the legendary Belgian brewery! He first visited us via satellite in Episode 101 on April 01, 2015 and this week he joins us at our bar! We talk about the history of Rodenbach, the differing taste preferences in areas of Belgium and the U.S., and we sample the delicious Rodenbach Session and Caractère Rouge!

We have a lot of fun news items for you this week! The Chicago Tribune reveals that Modelo is collaborating with restauranteur Rick Bayless on a craft beer, while The Washington Post shows us how to find out which beer is made closest to you, and Techdirt reports that LMFAO the beer survives LMFAO the band's lawyers to keep its name. We follow with Vice letting us know that ‘Salmon-Safe’ beer is a thing now and we wind up with Quartz’s list of the most beautiful beer bottles on the planet.

Last week for our #caskquiz Audra Gaiziunas asked the questions “if you are a homebrewer, what’s your fave hop? And for beer enthusiasts what is your fave brand in terms of image?” and this week we want to know “what collaboration would you like to see between a foreign brewery and an American craft brewery?”

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 so psyched this week because our good friend Audra Gaiziunas from Brewed for Her Ledger is in the bar! She fills us in on the latest in the world of craftbeer finance and lets us know what she’s been up to. And in a special twist, friend of the show Dan T. from Oakshire Brewing, who we met through Audra, sent us some extraordinary beers: Gose to 11, Hopollo 7 Northwest IPA and the stupendous Brewer’s Reserve 8th Anniversary Ale!

Is there any more deal news? You betcha! We begin with Business Insider revealing another beloved craft beer has found a deep-pocketed backer, and Fortune tells us that there are big changes coming for Samuel Adams beer. Next we get into Shape with a beer-protein shake for weightlifters, then Vice reports that women who drink beer regularly run a lower risk of heart attack, Live Science visits our buddy John Sheppard at NC State and learns that wild yeast could yield new kinds of beer, and we wrap up with The USA Today and a love boat for beer!

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “where do you see craftbeer in 2020?” and this week Audra asks the questions “if you are a homebrewer, what’s your fave hop? And for beer enthusiasts what is your fave brand in terms of image?”

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 all back this week as Chip returns from the beach tanned, rested and ready to podcast! To celebrate 2 birthdays this week, we keep the bar to ourselves and open some major-league beer goodness: Short’s Brewing’s Good Humans Dry Hopped Double Brown Ale and ControversiALE, and the breathtakingly awesome AleSmith & Mikkeller collaboration Beer Geek Speedway Imperial Oatmeal Stout with Kopi Luwak Coffee!

After a fine job by Tony & Jenn last week, Chip retakes the newsdesk with the latest on the ABInBev-SABMiller merger rumblings! We start with The Independent’s opinion piece that the merger makes sense when lager is in the last chance saloon followed by Main Street’s belief that it's time to say goodbye to craft beer as you know it. Next up is Bloomberg noting that beer cans are giving the Wall Street derivatives regulator a headache, then The Denver Post warning us to beware the kettle sour beer, and Tech Times offering to help us drink like an ancient Sumerian with the oldest beer recipe ever discovered. We close out with VinePair revealing the price of a beer at every NFL football stadium, Fortune’s coverage of the Super Bowl of craft beer, and CNNMoney showing us that Pope 'Phrancis' dolls, beer and cheese are for sale in Philly!

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “what beer do you want to see pumpkinized?” and this week we are asking “where do you see craftbeer in 2020?”

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 venture over the river and through the woods to the Starpoint Brewery Garage in scenic Carrboro, NC!  Jenn and Tony get the latest scoop from owner and brewer Tim Harper on his expansion plans and what’s in the tanks.  Tim does not disappoint and we get to sample some extra special brews.  Our own estate hops are used in the “I know a guy” Cream Ale, we sneak a taste of Barrel Aged DUH! with Peppers, AND we get a nip of some Whiskeytown hiding in the cooler!

There’s plenty of news to report on as well, we cover the scene at the first California Craft Beer Summit, get one writer’s opinion of Flavored Beers that shouldn’t have been made, and continue our breakfast discussions with Beer Flavored Syrup!   On a more serious note, we  learn that the first brewery to brew Miller Genuine Draft  is closing partially due to the increase in the craft beer market.  We are excited to visit the Denver Airport as they will be bringing back the Beer Flights Fest just in time for the Great American Beer Festival and hear how the Pope’s first US visit is commemorated in a beer by Cape May Brewing!

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “what is your take on the Lagunitas-Heineken deal?” and this week we are asking “which style of beer would you like to see pumpkinized?”

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!

San Diego returns to the bar this week with our friend Johnny O, the Sales & Marketing Ambassador from Coronado! We talk to him about his brewing past and sales present, and we try some outstanding beers: For Days Session IPA, Islander IPA and Punk’In Drublic!

Major breaking news in the craft beer world as Lagunitas sold half the brewery to Heineken! We bring you the latest beginning with Buzzfeed’s story Lagunitas Is Now Half Owned By Heineken, Will Go Global, followed by Business Insider’s opinion that the craft beer wars are heating up. Next in a similar vein is Forbes on Anheuser-Busch InBev and its craft beer, The Denver Post telling us love it or not, pumpkin beer is the most American beer you can drink, then CBS on the hype for hops helping farmers break into beer business, and we close with a cool gadget on c|net that turns beer cans into open-top drinking cups.

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “what retro beer do you wish you had access to for your tailgating?” and this week we are asking “what do you think about the Lagunitas-Heineken news?”

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 go old-school radio this week with our special guest Joe Ovies from 99.9 The Fan and WRAL Sportsfan. Plus he is also part of the 919 Beer podcast crew! Joe talks radio and beer, and tries some great new beers with us: D9Hakuna Matata International IPA, Olde HickoryOktoberfest, and Sierra Nevada Vienna Lager!

We travel all the way to Japan to bring you news this week with our first story via Asahi Shinbum reporting that Japan plans to lower the tax on beer and increase the rate for 'happoshu'. Next up is Thrillist’s beer ranking of every state in the USA, followed by Fortune asking is organic craft beer really worth drinking, and we close with The Washington Post’s admonition to stop ‘aging’ that hoppy beer. It’s only getting worse.

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “what breakfast food should be infused in the next hot beer?” and this week we are asking “what retro beer do you wish you had access to for your tailgating?”

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!

Internet blogging sensation Bryan D. Roth is back in the bar this week! He regales us with his latest shenanigans in the beer world and helps us try amazing taste treats! We sample Ballast Point Pumpkin Down Scottish Ale, Coronado 19th Anniversary Ale, and D9 Whiskers on Kittens Blonde Sour Ale! Don't forget to check out his blog This Is Why I'm Drunk!

We had to step up our news game with Bryan in the house, starting with The Nerdist revealing HBO & Ommegang are re-releasing 2 Game of Thrones Beers, followed by The News & Observer teaching what it really takes to major in beer, and then Ars Technica’s surprising piece telling us not to believe in beer goggles—they might be a myth. Next up is NPR uniting 2 of our faves, beer and comics with 9,000 years of history with 'The Comic Book Story Of Beer', and we wind up with Fortune showing us that now there's a Pop-Tart beer.

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked to hear your suggestions for the name of Jenn’s new bar and this week we are asking “what breakfast food should be infused in the next hot beer?”

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 going Hollywood this week...with beer! It’s a very special episode with filmmakers Camden Watts and Shane Johnston, creators of an all-new documentary about the NC craft beer business, Brewconomy! They breakdown the process of making the film all while trying some NC beers with us. This week it’s FoothillsOktoberfest, Haw River’s Regent’s Rye Trappist Tripel, and Lynnwood Brewing’s Hubris Imperial IPA!

It’s not exactly a documentary, but we have news! This week we begin with Wired who tell us that brewers are on a quest to breed a better hop, followed by War on the Rocks asking what craft beer revolution? and then the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reveals the beer of champions. Next up isFortune’s list of 6 great apps for craft beer lovers, The LA Times peers into the future with robots that serve beer and we conclude with NBC and the strange case of the 1,200 stolen bottle caps!

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “how many breweries are in your state?” and this week we want to hear your suggestions for the name of Jenn’s new 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!