After taking a couple weeks to go through our cellar and try some beers amongst ourselves we are ready to have some visitors back in the bar!  This week we talk with Greg and Kevin from Wicked Weed and get all the latest on their many facilities in Asheville, there is plenty going on for the summer tourist season!  They’ve got new items on the beer side too and we sample Appalachia, Passionfruit Lychee Burst, Serotina and their own Oak Fermented Cider. 

We had another great round of listener submitted new stories this week- Michael sends us some Mega Merger Mania news from Canada and Steve sends us a great article about two of our favorite things Craft Beer and Cheese!  We also continue our discussion on diversity in the beer world and how the BA is helping with a new grant.  On the educational front we learn how drinking beer can help global biodiversity and review a new exhibit in Denver that covers Colorado’s history of beer.   

Last week’s #caskquiz question was Avengers: Endgame inspired: “what’s the best use of a beer in a movie or TV show? What beer was it?”  This week we are taking a week off from the #caskquiz as both of our hosts are heading out on vacation! 

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 told you last week how many taste treats were piling up in the beer cooler, and we are aiming to increase those depletions this week! So we belly up to the bar for another killer lineup! We start with ciders: Blake’s Traffic Jam Strawberry, Blackberry, and Raspberry Cider,  1911 Established Black Cherry Cider (thanks Dennis!). Then it’s beer time: Bear Republic Thru the Haze IPA, Shubrew No Woman No Rye (thanks Bruce!), and Ballast Point Easy Seas!

We have a colossal MegaMergerMania story leading the news via The Motley Fool, as two craft beer legends, Sam Adams & Dogfish Head, are joining forces! Next up Food & Wine profiles a ‘Beethoven of Brewing’ who makes some of England’s best beers — and she can’t even taste them! Then we move to Westword uncovering the real story behind the Oskar Blues/Guns N' Roses lawsuit, followed by The Charlotte Observer showing that breweries in Charlotte provide a welcome shot to home values. We wind up the week with The Independent reporting that Beavertown Brewery is giving away free beer in exchange for blood donations, and The USA Today spoils (not really) that 'Avengers: Endgame' is giving Creature Comforts its own superhero moments!

Last week’s #caskquiz question asked “how much are YOU spending on craft beer each month?” This week we have a #caskquiz that Avengers: Endgame inspired: “what’s the best use of a beer in a movie or TV show? What beer was it?”

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 had a blast during our extended NC Beer month, and now it’s time to see the rest of America! We hop all over the country, and we have beer delights including Metal Monkey

Bikini Bottom, DuClaw No Way Gose, AleSmith Hi Hoaloha Pale Ale, Coronado Tail and Tooth Hazy IPA, and batting cleanup, Hardywood Park Hopkeeper Double IPA with Virginia Honey!

The news begins overseas this week via The Daily Mail exploring the wine-loving French who are creating British-style beers in their own craft breweries! Next we have Market Watch providing more proof that millennials are beer snobs, followed by Hour Detroit going undercover with a craft beer reviewer, and then Food & Wine reports that ’ice’ beers are no longer recognized by the Brewers Association. Then you guys step up for the final two stories! First WRC-TV (thanks Frank!) looks inside the lives of DC's blue collar cats and Forbes (thanks Jasmine!) profiles 'functional beverages' as the next trend that everyone's going to be talking about!

Last week’s #caskquiz question asked if you are digging any spicy beers, and if so what are they? This week is a #caskquiz rewind: “how much are YOU spending on craft beer each month?”

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 seems like only yesterday we were all at redacted in Cary for the Sycamore Brewing kickoff party… in reality it’s been a year! So to celebrate, we have our buddies Archie Gleason and Josh Jolly in the house! The boys share the news about the explosive growth the brewery is enjoying, and they have a cooler filled with taste treats: Mountain Candy IPA, Juiciness IPA, Citropica IPA, and a surprise gift from Archie’s travels up north, 3 Floyds Gumballhead Wheat!

Now that the heat has returned (finally!) to Mayberry, we begin the news with Bloomberg asking what’s craft brewing’s hot new style? Beer made with spicy chili peppers! Next up is another MegaMergerMania event, this time in Canada via the CBC, as Sleeman is making a bid for Calgary's Wild Rose Brewery. Then Fox News is reporting that an Army vet lost 44 pounds only drinking beer for Lent! We wind down the week with VinePair (thanks Steve!) revealing a craft beer pioneer who blames its bankruptcy on pumpkin beer and Ars Technica demonstrating how to brew ancient Wari beer!

Last week’s question was for all the beer-loving “Game of Thrones”-watching/reading folks: which GoT character would you most like to have a pint with? This week we want to know if you are digging any spicy beers and what are they?

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!