Tales From the Cask Craft Beer Podcast

We are continuing our celebration of NC Beers this week with our friend Ryan McLoughlin from Charlotte’s Birdsong Brewing! Ryan tells us how he moved from the education field into the world of beers, plus he relates the story of Birdsong! And since it’s his first time on the show, he’s got a powerhouse lineup of awesome brews for us: Rewind Lager, Paradise City Session IPA, Sunshine Gose, Lazy Bird Brown, Pink Robots Kettle Sour, Jalapeno Pale, and Higher Ground IPA! That’s a lot of happy tasting!

It comes in handy with some sad news to start the week from Brewbound (thanks Steve!) reporting that Constellation Brands is closing two Ballast Point locations and abandoning plans for a San Francisco brewpub. Then we learn from Yahoo Finance that brewery openings have plummeted in the UK as that country is nearing peak craft beer. For better news we head out west with The San Francisco Chronicle to find the newest trend in athletic recovery is drinking beer, and via Fortune we hear that low ABV, fruit-flavored beers are having a moment. We wind down the with Fortune asking if it is last call for Ommegang’s 'Game of Thrones' brews while The USA Today 10Best crowns Raleigh beer festival Brewgaoo the best in the U.S.!

Last week we had our first ever double #caskquiz: do you like Jenn’s new voice/should she keep it? And is there a MegaMergerMania deal that would crush you? This week’s question is for all the beer-loving Game of Thrones-watching/reading folks: which GoT character would you most like to have a pint with?

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!

Direct download: talesfromthecask309.mp3
Category:Tales From the Cask -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

It’s incredible to believe that it took us 6 years to get our good friend Janet Cooper from Foothills Brewing onto the show! We rectify that oversight this week! Janet shares her beer world origins, including her stint at Mims Distributing, plus all the latest from Winston-Salem! Then she unveils treats from Foothills: Malt Shaker Amber Ale and Cabernet Cafe People’s Porter! Then she has two bonus treats from Georgetown Brewing: Bodhizafa IPA and Lucille IPA!

Craft beer MegaMergerMania returns this week via The Oregonian reporting that Oregon’s Ninkasi Brewing has sold a majority stake to a new craft-beer venture. Next up The Motley Fool thinks that craft beer is not dead...yet, and Forbes has a piece on beer brewing bias in a Stanford study that reveals preference for beer from male brewers. Then we wind down with Men’s Journal (thanks Steve!) telling us that Patagonia is suing Anheuser-Busch for selling a beer that suspiciously shares its name and logo and VinePair (Steve again!) surprising us with beer-flavored jelly beans as the Easter gift for the beer lover in your life!

For last week’s #caskquiz we learned in no uncertain terms that you aren’t interested at all in all the NAs coming! This week we are offering up our first ever double #caskquiz: do you like Jenn’s new voice/should she keep it? And is there a MegaMergerMania deal that would crush 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!

 

Direct download: talesfromthecask308.mp3
Category:Tales From the Cask -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

You know we love our road trips, and with this nice weather we drop the top on Chip’s T-Bird and head over to Durham to visit with our good friends Tim Harper and Nikko Carlson at Starpoint Brewing! The guys share what’s been happening since our last visit, and then we taste their latest brewing magic: Into the Mystic, Tilt, the legendary Tekkno Boy, and Black Pearl Oyster Stout!

In the news, we return this week to the lastest MegaMergerMania courtesy of FoodBev Media announcing that Mahou San Miguel has acquired a majority stake in Avery Brewing. Next is Forbes showcasing Blake's Hard Cider’s 'kinder' side with the release of Rainbow Seeker Craft Hard Cider, followed by Bon Appétit reporting that Big Alcohol is bracing for a more sober future. We wind up the news with The Chicago Tribune reminding us that although craft beer growth is slowing despite a record number of breweries, it is staying ahead of the broader beer market.

For last week’s #caskquiz we asked what you think about the RateBeer acquisition - do you believe the ratings now? Do you think they will be suspect? What about one brewery controlling all that data? This week we want to know “are you interested at all in all the NAs coming? If so, what are you trying/going to try?”

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!

 

Direct download: talesfromthecask307.mp3
Category:Tales From the Cask -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

Craft beer has exploded in North Carolina, and it’s time to celebrate NC Beer Month with our friend Rich Greene from the NC Craft Brewers Guild! Rich fills us in on the dozens of beer month events happening all across the state, and he shares the latest news from the Guild. Then we start our month-long exploration of NC craft beers with Sycamore Citrus Gose, Southern Pines Grapefruit Hefeweizen, New Anthem Songs Unsung, and Trophy Slim with the Tilted Brim!

The news field is crowded this week, starting with a long and thoughtful piece in Medium (thanks David!) on how the world’s biggest brewer killed the craft beer buzz. Then we have a Tales news first - 3 stories from one source (hey, you guys found them for us! Cheers!) They are all in VinePair, with the first two thanks to Steve: in one we learn about big beer, big data, and the big implications of AB InBev’s RateBeer acquisition, and in the other we get a short hop take on the beer industry being hit (hard) by aluminum tariffs. Then thanks to Alex we wind up soaring high when we see why the new Avengers movie features Creature Comforts!

For this week’s #caskquiz we want to know what you think about the RateBeer acquisition - do you believe the ratings now? Do you think they will be suspect? What about one brewery controlling all that data?

Don’t miss our new logo! The artwork was done by our friend Mark Des Cotes from Podcast Branding - click on the link to find out more!

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!

Direct download: talesfromthecask306.mp3
Category:Tales From the Cask -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

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