This week a special treat from the west! Western NC, that is! Brewer/Co-Owner Steven Lyerly and Sales Maven Leif Larson join us for a terrific look at Olde Hickory Brewery! We chat about their 20-year history and try incredible beers: Piedmont Pilsner, the astounding Death By Hops, and one of our faves, the barleywine blend Omega Point!

Tons of news awaits you this week! First up is Fortune revealing thatcraft brewers now produce 1 out of every 10 beers sold, followed by The Triangle Business Journal with a look at craft beer trademark troubles,and then the The Washington Post describinghow to drink beer like a local around the world. We then visit Geekwire who offer a craftbeer virtual guide,

Portland Business Journal reportingthatthe eagle has landed with Ninkasi's beer brewed with space yeast, Time with a video where you canwatch a guy open a beer with a sheet of paper, and Craft Beer Raleigh and their 2015 NC March Beer Madness. We bring it home with The New York Times’ review of lagersand wind up in Texas with Austin 360 Blog and aSXSW 2015 panel diving into craft beer culture.

Last week our #caskquiz was “what is your favorite fruit forward IPA?” This week we are asking “what do you want to hear in our 100th episode next week?”

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!

Anchor Brewing Company is turning 40 this year and we are talking about all the new beers they will have to celebrate!  Mike Jones fills us in on the latest happenings and we sample their spring seasonal Anchor Saison, plus we try a side by side tasting of Anchor Steam and Brotherhood Steam!

We go global in the news, discussing what Germans really think of American craft beer and what African brewers are doing to promote sales, then return stateside to cover new Pennsylvania laws, the LA beer scene, and what 170 year old beer really tastes like!

Last week our #caskquiz  was “what is your favorite fruit forward IPA?” We are getting some great responses so we are giving you an extra week to answer this one!

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 pagehttps://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!

Summer Breeze makes me feel fine... It’s finally warm in the Sunny Lands!!  For the first time we have a mystery guest host who joins us for the whole show!  Do you know who it is???

In our news segment we discuss Spring Beers that will make you hate winter, how the craft beer industry is helping farmers,a new beer web series and get some tips for beer travel in Munich and starting a craft brewery!

We have several new DuClaw beers on tap this week including their collaboration with Cigar City, Moon Gun, X 9 Coffee Stout, and Hop Continuum.

Last week our #caskquiz was “what spring or summer beer are you looking forward too?” This week we are asking “what is your favorite fruit forward IPA?”

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 pagehttps://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 keep it in the family this week with our very own Ryan Trask, one of our sales stars! Ryan shares how he got in the biz and the differences in sales between the on and off-premise worlds. Then we try some terrific brews: the all-new Sierra Nevada Hop Hunter IPA, Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout, and Charlotte’s Triple C Chocolate Covered Pretzel Stout.

There is much to report this week for you! First CNBC says that craft beer drinkers just love their IPAs, and then VinePair has created a map of the craft and regional beers made by the large brewers. Next up is the always reliable HuffPo listing 17 of the most sought-after craft beers in America, followed by The Financial Times reporting that in the UK ales and craft beers are spurring a brewing boom, and we close with the Sacramento Bee announcing that Sacramento will be hosting a new California craft beer summit.

Last week our #caskquiz was “do you keep a stash of beer in storage for weather emergencies? ” This week we are asking “what spring or summer beer are you most looking forward to when the weather gets nice?”

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!

Chip returns to the snowy lands and the team stays warm in the bar with killer brews this week! We taste the collaboration beer Baird/Ishii/Stone Green Tea IPA, CBC Groundhog Day Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, and Starpoint Instant Karma Porter.

Do we scan the globe for news? You betcha! How about starting with Comic Book Resources and the announcement there about Rogue's Hellboy Right Hand of Doom Red Ale? We then move to cnet listing a five-pack of beer apps to find great new brews, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch revealing that A-B dropped its opposition to a North Carolina craft brewer's Natty trademark, the US Census Trade Blog Global Reach offering the latest numbers on beer imports and exports, and the San Diego Union-Times on how hot SD's beer scene has become.We round out the news with The St. Cloud Times detailing the incredible demand for barrels by craft brewers, The Independent announcing London's first ever 'beer week,and wind up with NPR on the secret life of a phys ed teacher.

Last week our #caskquiz was “What beer do you want to see make the move to cans?” This week we are asking “do you keep a stash of beer in storage for weather emergencies?”

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!

Tony and Jenn travel all the way to Durham, NC this week to interview the owner and brewer from Durty Bull Brewing Company at a local bottle shop!  Chip is gone but we still found a few fun news stories including the 19 types of Beer Snobs, more on collecting yeast from Whale Bones, a college program allowing 18 year olds to taste but not swallow beer , a trademark dispute between Red Bull and a small brewery and more repercussions from the Bud Ad, this time inspiring battles in Congress!

Matt Pennisi with Durty Bull Brewing Company joins us to talk about getting his brewery up and running, their brewpub plans, his sour and barrel aging programs; plus he brings a couple of his beers for us to try- Black Gose and a Blended Sour!

Last week our #caskquiz was “What was your take on the Bud Super Bowl ad?” This week we are asking “What beer not currently packaged in cans would you like to see make the move?”

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 pagehttps://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 had such a run of incredible people stop by the bar lately, it was wearing us out! So we locked the doors and took a breather to unwind with the latest and greatest from our friends at Foothills Brewing! Three delightful brews were waiting for us: Pilot Mountain Pale Ale, February IPA of the Month “Charlie”, and the sought-after (and back just briefly) Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout!

We couldn’t fit in all the beer news out this week, but we covered a lot! We start with the controversy of the Bud Super Bowl ad slamming craft beer, beginning with The Chicago Tribune’s interview with a craft brewery co-founder who wasn’t happy with Super Bowl ad snark,then we check out CNNMoney’s position that Bud mocks craft beer but it owns microbrews. Next up is The HuffPo asking is sewage beer the next big thing?, followed by Fortune revealing spirits stole more market share from the beer industry last year, and then Yahoo Sports and a picture of Madison Bumgarner downing a beer with Khal Drogo of 'Game of Thrones'. We move to The Washington Post talking about an NBC interview with President Obama on beer, Deflategate and the Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl matchup, The Columbia Free Times opining that craft beer goes big — maybe too big, The LA Times demonstrating how brewers turn barley into beer, and wind up with Medical Daily reporting that an antioxidant found In hops prevents cognitive decline.

Last week our #caskquiz was “have you ever bought anything from SkyMall and if so what was it?” This week we are asking “what you think about the Bud Super Bowl ad -  was it good or bad for Bud, good or bad for 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!

How do we top the incredible guests of late? Get another one of course! This week Jonathan Williman from our friends at Bear Republic joins the fun! We talk about their awesome beers, the water situation in northern California, and what we can expect from Bear this year! Then we try their first creation, Red Rocket Ale and follow it with Racer X Double India Pale Ale!

The news begins on a sad note, as The LA Times reports that our beloved Skymall has died, then we move to happier topics via TheBoston Globe on how craft beer fans go to great lengths to buy top-rated brews, and io9 on why grease kills the head on a beer. We follow up on a previous story with NBC as the brewer of 'Gandhi-Bot' beer agrees to rename it after complaints, then hear NPR reporting on brewers taming unpredictable yeast. We finish up with The New Yorker revealing that small is bountiful, Yahoo Food introducing a craft brewer making low alcohol beers, and Fox News celebrating the beer can turning 80 this weekend!

Last week our #caskquiz was “have you ever purchased the wrong beer by accident and if so what beers did you mix up?” This week we are asking “have you ever bought anything from SkyMall and if so what was it?”

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!

Are we slowing down after our road trip? No way! This week we import direct from Baltimore (Ball’mer to the natives) Dave Benfield & Morgan Schell from DuClaw Brewing! They just began selling beers in NC and as you know we have been drinking them before on the show, so they brought some great ones to us this week: Sweet Baby Jesus Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter, Naked Fish Chocolate Raspberry Stout, Neon Gypsy IPA, and the seductive Serum DIPA!

We got so much news this week! Bloomberg starts us off with the story thatSierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman has beome a billionaire, then The New York Times offers options from gluten-free beer to kombucha for health-conscious drinkers, and Mother Jones reveals that craft beer uses 4 times as much barley as corporate brew. Next Reuters reports on brewing goliaths struggling to fit in at a craft beer party, Fox News shows us that self-serve beer taps are coming to a bar near you, and fittingly the Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star asks how 'bout some peanut butter with your beer?

Last week our #caskquiz was “have you ever brewed beer on your own, and if so what was the first style you made?” This week we are asking “have you ever purchased the wrong beer by accident and if so what beers did you mix up?”

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!

A new year and it’s time to hit the road! We roll into Mills River, NC and drink beers with our friends at the all-new Sierra Nevada Brewery! Brian Grossman runs the show at the brewery, and we join him and sales gurus Tommy Gannon and Dave Kemper for fresh-as-it-gets Sierra Nevada! We celebrate Brian’s 30th birthday with Nooner Pilsner, Pale Ale, and Beer Camp Hoppy Lager! And fan fave Aubrey Herbert makes a surpise cameo!

Fun news awaits this week! SFGate reports that the San Francisco Giants are planning a pop-up beer garden. Legal news comes via ChicoER about Lagunitas Brewing dropping a lawsuit against Sierra Nevada over ‘Hop Hunter’ logo after a public outrage, then NBC tells us about a Connecticut brewery stirring controversy with its 'Gandhi-Bot' beer. We finish up with Beer & Brewing suggesting beer pairings for Girl Scout cookies.

Last week our #caskquiz was “what is the hot beer style for 2015?” This week we are asking “have you ever brewed beer on your own, and if so what was the first style you made?”

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!