Given the unfortunate cancellation of 2020 Oktoberfest we asked Jamie Gentry and Chris Davison of Wolf’s Ridge Brewing to join us for a celebration of the glorious German beers of fall, märzen and festbier, paired with a generous helping of 20th century German metal music. We go deep on the history and characteristics of these beers, and Chris shares a cornucopia of tips for brewing German lagers. We finish with a bonus chapter on Rauchbier, featuring Wolf’s Ridge’s excellent Buchenrauch.

We continue our deep dive into the world of IPAs with Nick Smith, founder and brewmaster of Steam Machine Brewing in County Durham. In the second part of this episode we move across the pond to the US where the style was revived in the early 1980s. Our conversation follows the growth in popularity of the style up to the modern day, including the seemingly endless variations of this venerable style.

In this episode we go international for the first time ever by welcoming Nick Smith from Steam Machine Brewing in County Durham for an in-depth look at the birth and evolution of the India Pale Ale. In the first of a two-part episode we explore the history of the IPA from its inception up through the 1980s. As a lifelong resident of the UK and an amateur beer historian, Nick provides a wonderful perspective on the birth and evolution of the IPA in its homeland - starting from it's origins as a refined tipple for the British Raj up through its long, slow decline in the 20th century.

In this episode we are joined by Columbus sour beer aficionado Dan Reeve for a virtual voyage to Pajotenland. Join us as we take an in depth look at a style that many feel represents the pinnacle of brewing art, blended lambic gueuze. We crack open gueuzes from Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen and Lindemans and share stories from our separate visits to the lambic breweries near Brussels.

In the second half of our interview with Sean White, co-owner and head brewer at Little Fish Brewing, we continue our exploration of the fascinating world of sour beers. The episode kicks off with with a candid discussion of the challenges of spontaneous fermentation. As the pod progresses we talk about the flavor contributions of aged hops, blending, adding fruit and Sean’s love of using homegrown and local ingredients in his beers. The episode finishes with tips for homebrewers who want to take up the challenge of brewing sours.

In this episode we sit down (virtually) with Sean White, co-owner and head brewer at Little Fish Brewing in Athens, Ohio, for an expansive discussion of sour beers and wild ale brewing. With two World Beer Cup medals for their barrel-aged sours (a bronze for Petit Poisson in 2018 and a gold for Barrel Aged Woodthrush in 2016) Sean and the team at Little Fish are one of Ohio’s leading practitioners of this artistic form of brewing. The discussion covered so many topics we had to split it into two separate episodes. In Part 1 we discuss the meaning of terms like sour beer and wild ale, capturing yeasts from the wild, Brett beers, sabering bottles, mixed fermentation saisons, alternative grains, Little Fish’s takes on oud bruins and Flemish reds, and what might be an entirely new style, farmhouse malt liquors.  Look for Part 2 to be released in mid-May.

In this episode we connect (remotely) with Dan Eaton who covers the beer and food industries for Columbus Business First. Dan shares his thoughts on the impact of the corona virus on the business of beer in Ohio, while Mark gives a first hand account of its impact on Land Grant Brewing.  We also touch on topics that include acceptable work attire and flattening the weekly beer consumption curve in these unprecedented times. Those who listen to the end will be treated with timely beer recommendations should the end times be upon us.

We pull a previously unreleased episode on Czech Pilsners from the archive and give it an update.  Mark adds his perspective on Pilsner Urquell, Mliko pours and other notable beer spots in the Czech capital.  We finish with some thoughts on where to get a good pilsner in Central Ohio.

In this episode Canadian ex-Pat Chris Mercerhill returns to the podcast.  We engage in a wide ranging discussion on our neighbor to the north while drinking beers from Flying Monkees, Nickel Brook, Collective Arts and Unibroue.

In this episode Hans Gorsuch and Chris Mercerhill join us for an in depth look at one of the World's truly iconic beers, discuss homebrewing with Brett, and get into some American Brett beers (April 2019).

In this episode Tom Ayers of Ill Mannered Brewing in Powell, Ohio joins us for a conversation on neighborhood breweries, yeast management, Australian sparkling ales, Ohio grown ingredients, and more (March 2019).

Join us for a voyage into the world of Baltic Porters with award winning homebrewer A.J. Zanyk (February 2019).

Hans joins us again as we hop across the English channel to drink Belgian Tripels and Golden Strongs.  Join us for tastes and tales of some of the most influential Belgian ales, including Duvel, Westmalle Tripel and Dupont Moinette (July 2018).

Mark and I are joined by our friend Hans Gorsuch to drink some British Beers (bitters, IPAs, Imperial Stouts) that I brought back from England. We dissect metal-themed beers, discuss cask ale, and try some beers from smaller scale breweries like Steam Machine and Durham Brewing (March 2018).

In this classic episode we go on the road to Athens, Ohio home of Little Fish Brewing.  Owners Sean White and Jimmy Stockwell discuss their philosophy to brewing Belgian-inspired farmhouse ales, using local ingredients and the Athens beer scene (Oct 2016).