It took weeks of cajoling and some pregame beering, and it worked to get our friend Travis “Trevor” Hardee to join us! He talks about his career in the beer world, what his job entails, and how many stores set up their beer sections. Then we try classic brews from Starpoint, Wicked Weed, and Lagunitas: Hipster Hobo, Labonte Pear, and Waldo!

A plethora of beer newsness awaits this week, starting with yet another installment of our ongoing series MegaMergerMania! The Richmond Times-Dispatch brings news that the sale of Devils Backbone Brewing Company to AB InBev elicits praise and sadness. Then, the weather via The Weather Channel forecasting last year’s heat wave may drive up craft beer prices, followed by Forbes Asia on the frontier of beer in Vietnam, and in the UK The Publican’s Morning Advertiser says that craft beer must gain better access to pubs to see US-style success. Finally, we head into Space.com with a heads up for beer lovers revealing that Mars tech could brew better bubbles and then Deutsche Welle tells us why Jews replaced wine with beer in Bavaria.

Last week’s #caskquiz was “Is it a ‘cop-out’ for a brewery to brew a year-round beer but change hops per batch depending on what is available?” This week we want to know “How likely are you to buy a pint and shop in grocery stores with growler stations?”

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 or friending on Untappd @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 a relaxy week at the bar, and so we are going to the West Coast for our beers! Well, not technically going there, but you know what we mean! It’s an all-A week too, with Anchor Mango Wheat, Almanac Citra Sour and the amazing Alaskan Smoked Porter!

The news is global from craft beer! First of all we have rankings: The BA released their 2015 Brewery Rankings! Then we follow with The Indianapolis Business Journal’s story on a an IU biochemist helping craft brewers overcome costly challenges, then Crux’s revelation that Benedictine brewer-monks say beer, like God, just makes life better, and The LA Times reporting Carnival's largest cruise ship will brew its own on-board craft beers. Then The Guardian tells us that Wales and London's craft beer scenes continue to thrive, while the  CBC shows that 'Stout' friendships exist between craft brewing rivals, and Herald Scotland says that a Scottish craft brewer is launching the 'world's first spreadable beer'. Finally we have The San Diego Union-Tribune on the fact that Ballast Point Sculpin is leading San Diego craft beers to a robust year and The Economic Times India about Mango lager and India's thirst for craft beer.

Last week’s #caskquiz was “where do you buy your ingredients for home brewing?” And this week we are asking (via our friend @choverstad) “Is it a ‘cop-out’ for a brewery to brew a year-round beer but change hops per batch depending on what is available?”

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 or friending on Untappd @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!

This week we chat with Dan Gridley, the owner of Farm Boy Farms in Pittsboro, NC about growing the hops, barley, rye, etc. that are used to create beer. Local is huge now, and that goes for beer ingredients too! Dan sells to NC breweries so that they can source their raw materials close by. We also try Starpoint Top Knot, Wicked Weed Dark Age, and a very special beer: Tony made an IPA!

Culling the news was a challenge for sure! Good news starts off for craft beer sales via The Pittsburgh Tribune reporting that craft beer continues to grow, while The Morning Advertiser (UK) notes UK imports of US craft beer are up. Next Forbes posits that private equity in the craft beer market spells upheaval within a decade, followed by Quartz revealing why startup beer brewers are skipping stores and selling directly to locals and Munchies with a shocking story about a Nazi-themed German beer. We wind up with MassLive comparing the craft beer community to early indie rock and The Cincinnati Business Courier showing Cincinnati’s newest bar will price beer like stocks.

We extended the #caskquiz where we asked “what signs have you seen someone show that they are a craft beer bore?” while this week we want to ask all homebrewers “where to you buy your ingredients for brewing?”

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 or friending on Untappd @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!

After all the draft system fun last week, we decided to unwind with some new fave brews from some old fave breweries! This week we have Olde Hickory Weizenbock, Lagunitas Undercover Shutdown, and the astounding collaboration from Coronado/Bear Republic called Merbear Rye IPA!

Craft beer news is all over the place this week! First up is The Denver Post on craft beer competitors who collaborate, followed by Medical Daily revealing that hops may soon be a key ingredient in antibacterial medications, and then YouGov Brand Index naming St Patrick's Day’s top beer for 2016. We finish up with 2 from Fortune: the surprising inspiration behind Dogfish Head beer and the 5 most loved beers for St. Patrick's Day!

We recorded early this week so we are extending last week’s #caskquiz where we asked “what signs have you seen someone show that they are a craft beer bore?”

We love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, tweeting us @talescask, following our Untappd or 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 turn 150 this week and celebrate with Jennifer Hauke, Principal of DraftLine Technologies! We had a really great time talking about Jennifer’s family history in Detroit with draft line cleaning, the evolution of her company, and the development of its great new system for tracking draft line cleanliness called SmartSystem! And since no party is complete without sampling taste treats, we go Californian and sample Anchor Meyer Lemon Lager, Ballast Point Watermelon Dorado, and Coronado Barrel Aged Stupid Stout!

We really had to cull the beer news for you! We lead with another installment of MegaMergerManiaTM courtesy of The Tampa Bay Times reporting that Tampa's Cigar City Brewing sold to a venture capital firm, followed by Market Watch positing that craft beer is now drowning in brands and products, and then Chemical & Engineering News revealing both that alcohol-free beer may boost breast milk supply and that a new enzyme strips brews of buttery notes. We finish up with Metro offering 14 signs you’re becoming a craft beer bore and The Guardian on the Californian craft beer brewed from wastewater.

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “what quaffling tricks have you practiced? in moderation!!” And this week we want to know what signs have you seen someone show that they are a craft beer bore?”

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!

March Madness is here along with Springtime weather so Jenn and Tony take the show on the road in another action packed episode!  We manage to report on quite a bit of news while enjoying some tournament basketball and discuss another take on hemp seed beer, report the latest on small batch malt farms and learn about our new favorite pastime: gelande quaffing!  The year is well under way but there are still Top 10 lists being released, plus we go back to Harvard to see how MBA students run a virtual brewery and hear about another beer spa!

While we are out at an undisclosed location we meet up with Keith Klemp, All About Beer contributor and longtime supporter of the craft beer movement.  Keith has been a part of the beer scene in several states and we learn all about his adventures!  Of course we enjoy some great brews and this week we have a brand new offering from Wicked Weed and Jester King, Parking Lot! Rounding out the mix Keith contributes New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red and we enjoy the latest from Foothills Hop of the Month Series, Topaz American Pale Ale.

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “what’s your take on using sexuality in craft beer?” while this week we want to know “what quaffing tricks have you practiced?  In moderation of course!”

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 have a crowd in the bar this week, and they are ready to taste stupendous beers from Creature Comforts Brewing out of Athens, GA! We were able to get ahold of three brews: Athena Berliner Weisse, Tropicalia IPA, and the Koko Buni Milk Porter!

Some weeks there’s way too much news, and this is one of them! First up is The New York Times reporting that a Chinese brewer has made an offer to buy SABMiller’s stake in CR Snow, followed by The Boston Globe revealing that a Massachusetts beer distributor will pay a $2.6 million fine in a pay-to-play case, and then Quora asking why were some styles of beer called dry beer when all beer contains a lot of water? Next we have The Daily Star (UK) spotlighting a beer with as much protein as a sirloin steak, Eater’s tale of how sweet, boozy root beer found an audience among men, and Reuters on German beer purity being in question after an environmental group finds weed-killer traces. We close up with another from The New York Times showing that in Singapore there is craft beer where you’d least expect it and Paste with a provocative piece on sexuality in craft beer.

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “what distillery would you like to see use beer barrels?” while this week we want to know “what’s your take on using sexuality to sell 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!

We have such a special treat this week - Wicked Weed is in the house, and Justin Crouch is tasting with us! Justin tells us about the brewery’s origins, how he got into the beer business, and brings along some super beers for us to sample: El Paraiso Imperial Coffee Stout, Pernicious IPA, Freak of Nature Double IPA and La Bonte with Plum.

Next up is the news! Fortune starts us off telling us how big beer is trying to take over San Diego, followed by The Washington Post’s opinion that the ‘Mad Men’ era of drinking is upon us and then The Wall Street Journal reports on expats stirring up the Vietnamese beer scene. Next The Daily Beast shows us that when a specialty craft beer is released, beer geeks can go crazy, and Los Angeles Magazine reveals Jameson whiskey wants to be craft beer.

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “what’s your favorite animal-named beer?” while this week we want to know “what distillery would you like to see use beer barrels?”

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!

After being cooped up in our icy prison for the past few weeks, the sun returned and we high-tailed it to Durham for a tasty time with Keil Jansen the brewmaster from Ponysaurus Brewing! We had a blast talking with him about the brewery and he shared two of their amazing brews: the Belgian Pale Ale and the India Pale Ale!

There was so much news this week we could barely squeeze it all in! We begin with Paste on Peyton Manning’s (hypothetical) evolution into craft beer, followed by the Washington Beer Blog offering advice to help if you want to work at a brewery and then Masslive’s Beer Nut reveals 5 fallacies about craft beer. Next up is Quartz via our friend @sfringer reporting that a new McDonald’s in South Korea will serve draft beer and we finish up with AOL telling us that  a town in Slovenia is getting its own building public beer fountain!

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “should we still keep calling it craft beer now that there are so many definitions of the term?” And this week we want to know “what’s your favorite animal-named 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 couldn’t get enough of each other again this week so we’re without a guest but sticking to the original recipe with Chip, Tony and Jenn. In one of the most robust news segments of all time We couldn’t resist giving ourselves a pat on the back for being named one of the Top 50 Disruptors in Beverage World Magazine!  As expected, the Super Bowl had another controversial Budweiser Ad  and the designation of Craft Beer is again questioned.  We enter the future with a computer generated beer recipe and discuss the latest trends in hops with female industry leaders.  We can’t forget to include the latest in Mega Merger Mania with new player Asahi eyeing a couple of  brands belonging to  SABMiller.  Want to sound like a beer nerd?  We discuss the terms you need to know. If you are planning a beer related vacation there is a must visit destination near Dogfish Head!  Untapped is upping its game with new features catered towards the craft beer drinker and we explore another beer and health piece on why you should be drinking beer after your workout.  

We are never short of new and exciting beers to sample on the show and this week we have a real treat with Foothills latest Hop of the Month, Anchor’s Barrel Ale and Peppermint Victory at Sea!

Last week for our #caskquiz we asked “What’s your NC vs. CO beer matchup and who wins?”” and this week we are asking “Should we keep calling it craft beer now that there are so many definitions of the term?”

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!