Just before Chip’s beach vacation the coast comes to us as we talk with Roger Harris and Billy Smith from the new Crystal Coast Brewing Company!  They tell us how they got started in the Atlantic Beach/Morehead City area and bring us plenty to try including Kill Devil Belgian Golden Ale, Helles, Cirrus IPA, Crystal Coast IPA, Fly the Salty Wind Black Gose, and Black Pelican Maple Porter.  

We cover the big news in NC this week on the distribution limit deal struck between wholesalers and brewers and also include some commentary on how we felt the news can sometimes be skewed.  We always love listener news submissions and this week we got a great article about Rodenbach from our friend Steve!  We also report on the BA’s latest Top 50 craft brewers lists and hear about another shipwreck yeast strain that was harvested to brew a beer from the 1800’s.  

Our #caskquiz this week is “what questions do you have for Sheryl Yuengling?”  She is the 6th generation of America’s oldest brewery and will be joining us on the show very soon!

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!

Spring is in the air, basketball is on TV and our good friend Wil Cooper from Coronado joins us to talk about the latest releases and news from San Diego.  Tony steps in as co-host while Chip is on assignment in Florida and helps out with some sampling as we try Leisure Lagoon, Berried at Sea and limited offering Tecolote Kriek.  

We are all about wellness in the news this week and discuss the current trend of low alcohol beers as well as the best beers to drink for St. Patrick’s day if you are watching your weight.  We also have a follow up report on the Brewdog Air inaugural flight and learn about Metallica’s new beer!

Our #caskquiz this week is “what questions do you have for Sheryl Yuengling?”  She is the 6th generation of America’s oldest brewery and will be joining us on the show very soon!

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!

You guys all know what tech nerds we are, and you know we use Untappd all the time! So we were able to get Brandon Walker, the VP of Sales from Untappd, to join us at the bar! Brandon talks about the app’s origins, and he relates the exciting new projects they have coming soon! And since Untappd’s headquarters are in Wilmington, NC, Brandon brings us two locals to try: New Anthem Spin It Cream Ale and the Wilmington Brewing/New Anthem Collaboration Secret Lovers Triple IPA!

The Bud Light #corntroversy rolls on and on, beginning in The Chicago Tribune’s humorous timeline of the Big Beer festering corn-fueled controversy! In a follow up to a story from last week, WTKR reports that the Lucky Charms flavored beer has sold out and is now listed for up to $450 on eBay! Next is The USA Today introducing some Mexican craft beers that are coming from south of the border, and then VinePair (thanks Steve!) uncovers scientists who have hacked beer yeast to produce CBD and THC! We close the newsweek with Forbes heading north where an Ontario retailer is introducing a beer with no name!

Last week we asked “what cereal of your youth do you want to have made into beer? Bonus points: what style?” This week we want to know “what is your take on imported craft? Lots of potential? Not local enough? Are you drinking any yet?”

It took us a while but we just recently realized that we haven’t had our good friend Mackenzie Lawton from Austin Eastciders on the show! So Mackenzie joins us at the bar and tells us about the cidery’s explosive growth, and she also shares two amazing ciders with us: Austin East Rosé and Austin East Maker’s Stash Pear Rosemary!

The Bud Light #corntroversy will not let up! The Chicago Tribune has the latest news that MillerCoors is exiting an uneasy beer alliance amid the Corn Syrup War with Bud Light! Next up there’s more from Chi-town via The Chicago Tribune where we can relax during an afternoon of brew-filled relaxation at Chicago beer spa, followed by The USA Today asking for you to vote now for American craft beer's best! We wind up the week with Food & Wine teaching us about a college that has courses on how to can craft beer and Market Watch spooning up a beer that tastes just like Lucky Charms!

Last week we asked “what are some of your fave artistic beer labels?” This week we want to know “what cereal of your youth do you want to have made into beer? Bonus points: what style?”

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!

Who’d a thunk it all those years ago? We are 300 this week!  To celebrate, Tony returns to guest host with us, so the original three are on the mic! We have the revels at our good friend Bruce McKim’s place, and so many friends drop in to cheers with us! You know there will be whales of course, and Jenn brings the goods for sure: Kuhnhenn Blueberry Eisbock, Fremont Coffee Cinnamon B-Bomb, and Wicked Weed Fraise Morte!

The beer world must have known about our special show, so there’s extra news in store, beginning in Forbes’ report that Brewing News co-owner Bill Metzger will resign after last week’s publishing fiasco! Next up The Conversation tells us that drinkers prefer Big Beer keeps its hands off their local craft brews, while The Chicago Tribune paints a picture of the art of beer with Chicago artists bringing flair to local breweries' designs, and BoingBoing sweetens the news pot revealing that Carvel's Cookie Puss is now beer! We wind up the week via The BBC (thanks Frank!) discovering Danes who have found a secret beer trove and Lancaster Online presenting a Lancaster County couple who just visited craft brewery #1,000!

Last week we asked you to share a favorite moment/guest/episode/beer from our show! This week we want to know “what are some of your fave artistic beer labels?”

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!

They say he’s a man with a thousand voices - can we convince him to do some of them? Yes it’s our old buddy Scott Apicella with Hardywood Park Craft Brewery! Scott’s at the bar to tell us all the latest from Richmond, and he makes us very happy with some super treats: the all-new Suncrush line, including Tangerine, Grapefruit, and Ginger Lime; Richmond Lager; and a true fave, the Baltic Sunrise Baltic Porter!

The fallout continues from the Superb Owl ads for Bud Light by A-B InBev, in our new #corngate segment! This week we are featuring none other than Jim Koch, the legendary founder of Sam Adams writing a blog post: Corntroversy - Deja Vu? Next up is another sad brewery closure, this time via OPB reporting that BridgePort Brewing Company in Portland OR is closing. We then head south to San Francisco where Eater reveals that workers at Anchor Brewing are moving to unionize. The Thirsty Wench (thanks Michael!) shares what she calls the sexist & asinine ramblings in Great Lakes Brewing News with a follow up story from WKBW on WNY breweries cutting ties with the magazine after the aforementioned article. We wind up show this week with Thrillist’s 9 craft beer trends you'll be tired of in 2019!

Last week we asked you “what do you think about A-B’s latest ad Bud Light ad - brilliant marketing? Meh? Does corn even bother anyone?” In honor of us hitting our milestone 300th episode next week, we want to ask if you have a favorite moment/guest/episode/beer from our show? Please share it with us!

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!

We got a brief glimpse of our buddy Ryan Trask from Olde Hickory at the Holiday Spectacular… and now we have him for a whole show! Ryan shares the latest from western NC, plus the all-new canned offerings from the brewery, and a couple of thirst-quenchers: Death By Hops IPA (in cans!) and Small Batch IPA!

The news exploded over the week! The biggest bomb dropped during the BIG GAME, summarized in The New York Times’ story on Bud Light picking a fight with corn syrup, Miller Lite & Coors Light in a Super Bowl ad! Next we have a craft beer version of MegaMergerMania from SFGate with the news that Sierra Nevada has acquired Sufferfest, the San Francisco brewer of gluten-removed beers, followed by The Daily Telegraph’s sky-is-falling piece claiming that the UK craft beer bubble is bursting. We wind down the week with SF Weekly profiling a prominent San Francisco craft beer bar with two women at the helm and Food & Wine revealing that historic Belgian brewer Rodenbach will make its first-ever collaboration beer with Dogfish Head!

Last week we asked you “what brews did you serve this year for the BIG GAME?” and now we are dying to hear “what do you think about A-B’s latest ad capers - brilliant marketing? Loserville? Meh? Does corn even bother anyone?”

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!

He escaped from the frozen wastes of the north just in time! With the polar vortex nipping at his heels, our good friend Andrew Blake arrives to share the winter goodness from Blake’s Hard Cider! We hear about the terrific year they had at the cidery in 2018, and we are able to sample two super ciders: Great Blake’s Coffee Infused and the astonishing Homage 5th Year Anniversary!

We split the good and the bad in the beer world this week beginning with another installment of our MegaMergerMania series, this time from This Is Money (thanks Thomas!) reporting that Fuller's has struck a deal to sell off its beer business to Japan's Asahi for £250m. Next up Food & Wine shows us that beer shipments are down again while the number of breweries is booming, and then Craft Brewing Business profiles California’s Admiral Maltings. We turn then to VinePair asking how you say “hoppy” in Arabic, followed by Oregon Public Broadcasting stopping by for a last call at Widmer Brothers. We wind up the week listening to Kentucky Sports Radio’s  fascinating investigative piece into Kentucky’s craft beer con man and watching CNN’s frosty look at how it's so cold in parts of the Midwest, they can't deliver beer!

Last week we asked you “what’s your take on nutrition labeling on beer? Do you think it will have any impact? And will it change what you drink?” This week we want to know “what brews are you serving this year for the BIG GAME?”

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!

Our brewing buddy Thomas Vincent is back this week, and he is talking about his new venture, Nazz’d Brew Works! Thomas relates the progress on the new space in Graham, NC and fills us in on other things he is working on, including a podcast! Then he helps us taste some fine beers: Jenn’s own special Sierra Nevada Beer Camp 224, Adroit Theory I ADAM, and Sycamore Pakalolo!

The US government dysfunction leads the news via WTVR reporting that a DC craft brewery is suing the government, saying the shutdown is hurting its new beer sales. Next we have The USA Today revealing that Bud Light is adding nutrition facts to label, and that could shake up craft beer, while VinePair believes that wheat wine is the most extreme craft beer style you haven’t been drinking. We follow with Techworld introducing the craft beer-obsessed techies disrupting the brewing industry, then Travel + Leisure visits  Disneyland’s very first craft brewery, and we wind up the week with Brew Your Own (thanks @evanrnhall!) showing you how to brew Raw Ale!

Last week we asked “what do you think of #FlagshipFebruary? Will you join in? What brewery/flagships will you be supporting?” This week we want to know “what’s your take on nutrition labeling on beer? Do you think it will have any impact? And will it change what you drink?”

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!

It only took us 5+ years, but we finally got Mr. Draft himself, Jess Petrosky, back in the bar! Jess joined us way back in Episode 22 (!), and he is now working with the venerable NC brewing pioneer Highland Brewing! He shares all the latest from Asheville and brings terrific taste treats to try with us: AVL IPA, Cold Mountain Spiced Ale, and Barrel-Aged Black Watch Stout!

There is already so much craftbeer news we had to cull a lot for this week! We begin with The New York Times reporting that craft beer is looking beyond ‘Young White Dudes With Beards’, followed by The Wall Street Journal’s scary piece revealing that Walgreens is testing digital cooler doors with cameras to target you with ads! Next up The Daily Mail reiterates that beer should be chilled and consumed as soon as possible because it loses its unique aroma when stored for too long, and then The Motley Fool ventures their opinion on whether or not craft beer is still worth investing in. We wind down the week with KNSD 7 (San Diego) showing us pot-infused craft beer hitting San Diego shelves and Forbes (thanks @skeeordie11!) with the cool new hashtag #FlagshipFebruary, which aims to save core craft beer brands before they disappear!

Last week we wondered  “what are your big beer predictions for 2019?” This week we are asking “what do you think of #FlagshipFebruary? Will you join in? What brewery/flagships will you be supporting?”

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!