It’s been a record time the past few years with our buddies Justin Crouch and Zac Smith from Wicked Weed, and now there’s a Guinness World Record to boot! Yes, a 177 tap takeover happened at a huge bar in downtown Raleigh last weekend! The boys helped us get ready with a pretaste of the astounding Crazy? Genius! Barrel-Aged American Sour Ale with Raspberries and Mangoes!

The news begins a bit downbeat this week via The Denver Post which reports that Colorado’s oldest craft brewery is downsizing, ending distribution and laying off 21 employees. Next we head Outsideonline to learn that dirtbags were the original craft beer influencers, and then Forbes reveals that the Craft Beer Marketing Awards has announced their first Award Series. Then we hit the track with Runner’s World as they ask can drinking beer wreck your weight-loss progress from your workouts? We close up with the Iowa City Press-Citizen showing us that Carson King has handed $3 million to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital!

This week we are carrying over last week’s question which is a spinoff of the “3 Questions”, namely “what’s the first brewery you remember visiting?”

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 ourFacebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

The beers don’t magically appear in stores and bars - it takes the wizardry of people like Courtney Cowan to get them here! Courtney joins us at the bar and regales us with the intricate path of how beer gets from brewery to you! Plus she reveals her backstory, her years in the retail world, and her journey to us! Of course she finds some delectable treats for us: Coronado Tiki Sunset Kettle Sour, Upland Guava Sour, and both Wicked Weed German Chocolate Cake and Wicked Weed S’mores Imperial Stouts!

Legal news begins the week via CNBC as brewers warn the US Supreme Court to back the Clean Water Act, or else beer will taste like medicine! Next Forbes joins us in NC as they visit some of the breweries of all shapes and sizes that make North Carolina a craft beer Mecca, and then Fortune (thanks Steve!) shows why you’ll never get a fresher beer than right now! We follow with The Brussels Times (thanks Frank!) showcasing Brussels Beer Project and Maison Dandoy joining forces on a new biscuit (um cookie) and a new beer, while Carlsberg (thanks again Steve!) issues their latest Green Fibre Bottle update. We close up shop with Fortune (again!) unveiling Sam Adams Utopias hitting shelves this week!

Last week’s #caskquiz asked “what makes a beer sessionable to you? Style, ABV, finish, something else?” This week we want you to answer a spinoff of the “3 Questions”, namely “what’s the first brewery you remember visiting?”

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 ourFacebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

We have a lot coming up the rest of the month, so this week it’s just the two of us kicking back in the bar! Jenn gives us the scoop from last week’s GABF, and then she goes into the secret stash for a smorgasbord of delights: Alchemist Farmer’s Daughter Saison, Odell 180 Shilling, and Kuhnhenn Dark Heathen Triple Bock Lager!

Jenn wasn’t alone in Denver! The Takeout was also there finding the trending beers at the GABF that offer a glimpse into our fizzy future! We also have fun news from The Baltimore Sun (thanks Frank!) sharing Baltimore brewers who are clapping back at review culture with ‘2 Stars Not My Style’ sour, followed by MarketWatch revealing why tech startups and craft beer go hand in hand, and then VinePair (thanks Steve!) believing that it’s impossible to define ‘sessionable’ in craft beer! We wind up the newsweek with AL.com profiling craft beer, hip hop, and the clout of Nappy Roots, and Food & Wine unveiling Schraderbrau Beer just in time for the new 'Breaking Bad' movie!

Last week’s #caskquiz asked “what oktoberfest stood out for you this year?” while this week we want to hear “what makes a beer sessionable to you?  Style, ABV, finish?”

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 ourFacebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

We are finally in October, and it’s time we celebrate the blazing hot arrival of the month with our best buddy Sierra Nevada sales guru and Tales co-founder Tony Walldroff! Plus Oktoberfest beers! Tony shares what he’s been up to, the news from Sierra’s national sales meeting, and of course beers! They include Hofbräu Oktoberfest, Sierra’s Oktoberfest collaboration with Bitburger, and (of course you knew we would sneak in some pumpkin for T!) Wicked Weed Pompoen Rum Barrel-Aged Sour Pumpkin Ale Fermented with Ginger!

The USA Today (thanks sfringer & foolintherain!) leads the news by unveiling a meeting of beer & chocolate in Yuengling and Hershey's rich, chocolatey porter collaboration! Next up Fortune reports that craft beer added $79 billion to the US economy in 2018, while CBS Sports spotlights a beer vendor who charged a fan $724 for two beers at a Miami Dolphins game! Last week’s “beer money” sign/charity fundraiser story continues, first via ABC News revealing that the fundraiser has erupted into racist tweets, a fired reporter and online drama! In spite of all that hubbub, The NY Post shows that the “beer money” guy got his own holiday and brew in Iowa! We close the week with The Post & Courier examining ‘coopetition’ in Carolina’s craft brewing scene, VinePair finding a surprising connection between Prohibition and the Early Bird Special, and craftbeer.com (thanks Frank!) profiling a brewer who has honored his grandfather’s legacy as a WWII Navajo Code Talker.

Last week’s #caskquiz asked “have you had a beer with local ingredients and what was it?” while this week we want to hear “what oktoberfest stood out for you this year?

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 ourFacebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!