Episode 309 - Ryan McLoughlin from Birdsong Brewing!

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?

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