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!