We can’t believe we are saying goodbye this week to one of the triumvirate of our show, and yet here we are waving sayonara to Tony! He is moving over to the dark side (aka brewery side) with our friends from Sierra Nevada, and so of course we decided to have a party with friends who have been with us from the start!  We welcome old-timers Aubrey Herbert & Joe Zonin - plus newcomer Connor Desmonds! To help make it extra special, Jenn and Aubrey raided their secret stashes for some epic whales: Rodenbach Vintage 2012, Sierra Nevada Barrel-Aged Narwhal 2015, Beer Geek Speedway Stout Mikkeller/Alesmith Collab 2014, and a Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2008!

The news was easy with the help from our intrepid staff (that would be you guys!) culling the beer world for stories! We start with one from Chip via The Washington Post asking that if craft beer is booming, is that bad news for the U.S. economy? Next Bill D finds from Gallup that Americans still favor beer over other alcoholic beverages! Then we get a companion set from Frank C and the Toronto Star with the news that Ontario Premier Doug Ford says there will be buck-a-beer by Labour Day weekend, although he should have asked first because craft brewers have turned him down! Finally Michael R has Food & Wine’s list of the 25 most important American craft beers ever brewed, and Scott F sends us VinePair’s question for 10 brewers: what’s the best stadium beer?

We have your answers to last week’s #caskquiz “what beer have you found this summer that has dazzled you?” This week we want you to tell us “what’s the lowest price you have paid for a craft beer?”

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 are all about local when it comes to beers we love, and this week we are celebrating NC brews with our friend Jasmine Bamlet with the NC Brewers Guild! Jasmine talks about all the incredible growth in NC brewing, and she has some NC goodness to try with us: New Sarum Lemon Shandy; Resident Culture  Kids on Holiday, Whatever You Feel Just Dance It, & Secret Feelings; plus Sierra Nevada Alpha Hop Barrel-Aged Brett Saison!

Opening the news this week is VinePair (thanks Michael R!) revealing 10 telltale signs you’re in a legit brewery. Next we have Food & Wine reporting that Stone Brewing has opened another taproom, and it’s in China! Then we go to Westword’s list of seven trendy beer styles that are catching on and one that isn’t, and we wind up with The Takeout on Anheuser-Busch's new initiative: improving diversity in beer stock photos!

We have your first answers to last week’s #caskquiz which we are carrying over this week: “what beer have you found this summer that has dazzled you?”

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!

Now that Chip has made another triumphant return from San Diego Comic-Con, it’s time to kick back and relax with great brews from Roak, Fatheads, and Raleigh’s Brewery Bhavana! The treats are Roak Ice Cream Man,  Fatheads Headhunter IPA, and Brewery Bhavana Burrow!

We start the news on the lighter side, of beer that is! The Chicago Tribune asks can craft brewers make good light beer? Next up we learn that Forbes believes that the craft beer marketing is maturing, while Foodbev Media is reporting that soft drinks and craft beer are fueling canned drinks growth in the UK. We close up in the Great White North with Food in Canada showing that barley research could benefit craft brewers, while Now Toronto reveals how Canadian indie bands are cashing in on craft beer fests!

We have your answers to last week’s #caskquiz which we carried over from the previous week: “have you ever traded beer with a stranger? What was swapped?” This week we want to know “what beer have you found this summer that has dazzled you?”

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!

There’s a pleasant cool breeze coming in from the Finger Lakes as Dan and Chad from Ithaca Beer Company join us at the bar.  We learn how Dan Mitchell started the brewery in Ithaca, NY in 1998 and grew it to cover 14 states.  They also fill us in on the latest happenings and releases and we sample Happy Pils and Cranbretty! 

We travel up north for the news this week as well, learning about a study from Cornell on why some people don’t have a taste for beer.  We also check out 8 hotels that are brewing their own beer and get some pointers on creating a great beer list.   It’s been 10 years since InBev bought AB and we see how they have been faring since. Finally we report on a Czech non-alcoholic beer that helps women with breast cancer.   

We are extending our #caskquiz from last week which was “Have you ever traded beer with a stranger?  What was swapped?” 

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’s the owner of the coveted 10 timers jacket and he’s in the bar! Yes our good friend Joe Zonin returns to celebrate Carolina Brewing’s 23rd anniversary with us! Plus he shares some outstanding beers with us: Be Like Mike New England IPA, Irish Dry Stout, and a special treat, the Belgian-Style Quad Beer Army Collaboration!

At long last MegaMergerMania returns, in two stories! First up in The Drinks Business we learn that Australia’s Lion is acquiring London’s Fourpure Brewing, and we follow with Food & Wine reporting that six foreign craft beers owned by AB-InBev are about to make their US debut. Next up Craftbeer.com (thanks Michael Radziwon!) shows that Denver’s Brewability Lab is giving special needs adults a job and purpose, then The New York Post profiles a female beer sommelier, and The New York Times uncovers America’s craft beer diplomacy. We close over at Call to the Pen where we see the San Francisco Giants are charging nearly $20 for craft beer!

We have your answers to last week’s #caskquiz which asked “do you have a beer cellar? Is it organized?” This week we want to know “have you ever traded beer with a stranger? What was swapped?”

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’s been forever since we heard that Bal’mer accent, so we juice up the DeLorean to visit with our friend Dave Benfield from DuClaw Brewing! Dave tells us all about the latest from Maryland and tries some delectable brews with us: Gose O’s, Dad Bod Double IPA, and All Along the Hop Tower Double IPA!

We are replete with beer news this week, beginning with Food & Wine’s somewhat misleading title people aren't super excited about beer right now. Next we have a follow up to last week’s story on the European CO2 shortage, this time via Yahoo News UK reporting that beer rationing is beginning in the UK as a result of the carbon dioxide crisis. Then we learn from The BBC that Birmingham beer glasses have been seized for being too small, followed by Madison.com with tips for building a beer cellar, and we wind up with Mass Live’s parade of craft beer names that are getting crazier every year!

We have your answers to last week’s #caskquiz which asked “who is your World Cup team and what beer are you drinking to cheer them on?” This week we want to know “do you have a beer cellar? Is it organized?”

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 took years of cajoling, and it has paid off! Eric McKay and Patrick Murtaugh, the co-founders of Hardywood Park Craft Brewery are here at the bar and in our market at last! The guys discuss their history together, the founding of the brewery, and the mythical story of their trip to Australia. And we get to try an incredible flight of their beers including Pils, VIPA, None of This Makes Sense, Virginia Blackberry Belgian White Ale, Peach Tripel, and Tropic Like It’s Hot Sour Ale!

The World Cup dominates the beer news this week! But first we begin with The Takeout (thanks @sfringer!) believing that craft lager is an oxymoron no more. Next up The Daily Beast asks are craft beer bottles an endangered species? Then we go to Europe during the World Cup competition with U.S. News and World Report revealing that beer is running dry in Moscow, followed by The Independent reporting that the UK is facing a beer shortage during World Cup and barbecue season, and we close with The Drum’s surprising news that Carlsberg has created a caviar beer to fish for fans at the Russian World Cup!

We have your answers to last week’s #caskquiz which asked “have you ever visited a farm brewery?  Which one?” This week we ask “who is your World Cup team and what beer are you drinking to cheer them on?”

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!

This week Tony and Jenn invite fellow Mims employee and beer adventurer Dave Burrows back to the show to fill in the cohost spot while Chip is on vacation.  Dave regales us with stories of his latest beer trips and brings us some amazing brews to try.  We head to Massachusetts favorite Treehouse and try their Very Green DIPA then cross the country to sample two Colorado brews, Paradox Arno Palmer and Trinity President’s Club.  Rounding out the lineup is  Central Waters BA Barleywine from Wisconsin. 

It’s a diverse news week as well!  We learn about Canadian beer standards from Food Safety News, find out that PBR could possibly be without a brewer and get a list of the best beer cocktails.  We also cover a great story about Dairy farms finding new opportunities as breweries. 

Last week our #caskquiz was “have you ever invested in a brewery or bought stock? Which ones?” This week we want to know: “Have you ever visited a farm brewery?  Which one?” 

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 have always wanted to be...ACTING! And this week we get the chance when we go live from the Raleigh Little Theatre! Starring brews form Sycamore, Starpoint, and Anchor! Featuring theatre mogul Charles Phaneuf plus two good friends from the charity event Groove in the Garden: Adam Lindstaedt and Nick LaRock! And we have props on stage including Sycamore Strawberry Lemonade Gose, Starpoint 12 Parsecs Session IPA, and Anchor SanFranPsycho IPA!

In the beer news, we go financial with The Motley Fool and learn how to invest in craft beer! Next up Paste (thanks sfringer!) reveals that craft breweries are teaming up to raise funds for the ACLU with "People Power" beers, and then Forbes pictures beer being more popular than wine in 48 states on Instagram! We close in the world of baseball, first via The Mercury News with the excitement that beer lovers will enjoy A’s turning back the clock on seat alcohol sales, and finally MLB.com introduces Gabby DiMarco, the fan who caught a foul ball in her beer and finished it!

We have your answers to last week’s #caskquiz which asked “what’s your 2018 summer band tour/beer pairing?” This week we want to know “have you ever invested in a brewery or bought stock? Which ones?”

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!

With the arrival or meteorological summer on June 1, what better time to taste the latest from cool Asheville, NC! Our good friend Peter Bassett from Wicked Weed joins us and his cooler is packed with some terrific beers: Imperial Coolcumber, Artistry II, Persistence, Fraise Morte,  and Sandiaca!

We have beer news! To start with, Food and Wine reveals the most popular beer trends of 2018 (so far). Next up is The Denver Post reporting that the price of canned beer will rise — and so could cost of public projects in Colorado as new tariffs on steel and aluminum take effect. Then The USA Today shows us Milwaukee breweries from classic to craft, and we close the week with Forbes on Lagunitas Brewing’s successful formula of craft beer and music!

We have you answers to last week’s #caskquiz which asked “does the term ‘craft’ mean anything to you applied to a product other than beer? If so what?” This week we want to know “what’s your 2018 summer band tour/beer pairing?”

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!