Four Brewers: Craft Beer and Homebrew

Season 3, Episode 14 – This week, we drink our craft “gateway” beers. Craft beer is awesome, isn’t it? Today, we’re drinking and talking about the beers that converted us from fizzy yellow lager drinkers to the beer geeks we are today. Our Gateway Beers Most of us have been there: you decide that you want to try something different, or a friend offers you their favorite craft beer to try, or maybe you didn’t even know what you were ordering from that pushy bartender with an bad attitude and…BAM! “What’s this? This is great!” It’s a magical moment. You’ll soon find out that your taste buds will never be the same, and you’re now part of the mystical and wondrous world of craft beer…or…you just really liked that IPA you just had and want another pint. We all have our own stories. We all love beer. Keep on drinkin’! BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Anchor Brewing Company – Anchor Steam BeerJohn Smiths – Newcastle Brown AleLost Coast Brewery – Great WhiteLost Coast Brewery – SharkinatorStone Brewing Co. – Enjoy By: 05.04.16 Direct audio: MP3Video for this episode: Video Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickrSnapchat Email 4B: [email protected] Leave us a voicemail: (213) 316-8699

Season 3, Episode 13 – We didn’t really have a show planned out for this week, so we decided to raid John’s cellar. Sometimes, you just want to head into your beer cellar, dust off some bottles, and see what happens. This week, that’s exactly what we did. If you’re a long time listener of Four Brewers, you’ve heard about John’s bloated cellar and the black hole of beers within. Since we didn’t really have anything planned for this week’s episode, John and Greg decided to brave the closet, no, uh, “cellar” and see what they could find. Port Brewing and Lost Abbey So, what did they find? Turns out that John has a lot of brews from Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey. The beers they chose are among some of the best whalez out there, even for our beloved “new-money” craft beer drinkers. The thing is, when you cellar a beer, you take a monetary risk. While most breweries would agree that beers are packaged to be consumed fresh (unless you’re Deschutes), beer geeks can’t resist laying a beer down for a while to see how it changes and develops. It becomes a monetary loss when the beer is cellared for a bit too long and takes on the qualities of an over-cellared beer. This week’s episode shows that with great power comes great responsibility. When cellaring beers, it’s important to monitor them in order to drink them when they’re at their prime. If they sit too long, well, they could turn into a hot mess. The beers on this week’s episode are a testament to both scenarios. Nagel comes through in the end with a stellar barrel-aged cider that he made. Seriously, guys…it’s the best thing he’s ever brewed. Hit him up for the recipe because holy shit… BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickrSnapchat Email 4B: [email protected] Leave us a voicemail: (213) 316-8699

Season 3, Episode 12 – This week, we try to figure out exactly why Tired Hands Brewing Company’s hands are so tired. Spoiler: we still don’t know, but you should still listen to the episode. This week on the show, we’re drinking beers from the whalez-bro-brewery outta Pennsylvania known as Tired Hands Brewing Company. Their beers are difficult to get in SoCal (they don’t distribute here), but our good friend, Dr. Zack, came up on a massive shipment and was kind enough to share some cans with us. SWEET. Their Hands are Tired AF, Apparently. Before we get into the beers, we open up the 4B Mailbag and answer some questions about dry-hopping and where to acquire some good beer in Cleveland, Ohio. Want to send us a question? Hit us up at [email protected]. First up is Hop Hands. Without giving too much away, this beer was the best of the bunch. It should be said that all three beers that we sampled were murkier than potato soup, which was to be expected, I guess. They were all served from cans (ICYMI above) and were all consumed within about three weeks of the canning date. Just remember that while you’re listening to the episode. Next up is Pineal. Matt explains to us exactly what the word “Pineal” means on the show, so don’t bother to Google the definition or anything. Just listen to the show, because that’s why were here, right? Sure! This beer was, um, well…it was good, but had its flaws, to say the least. We end the show with Alien Church, and I’m not going to say anything more about that beer. Also, Matt takes a potty break during the show. Yay! BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Tired Hands Brewing Company – Hop HandsTired Hands Brewing Company – PinealTired Hands Brewing Company – Alien Church Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickrSnapchat Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 3, Episode 11 – This week, Jason brought us so many beers from Modern Times…and it’s awesome. Get your Four Brewers “Metal Logo” shirt!Sales end Tuesday (3.15.16) evening!Available for a limited time: fourbrewers.com/metal Before we get into the beers, it should be known that Greg’s cask ale festival called “Firkfest” is going down on March 19, 2016 in Anaheim, California. We’ve been promoting this event for good reason—it’s a unique festival to Southern California, featuring 30 breweries and 50 cask beers, ranging from the more traditional cask conditioned beers to firkins with chocolate, peppers, or whatever else brewers want to add to their standard release and one-off beers. Get your tickets at firkfest.com. Bottle Logic Beers in Cans We’re drinking a lot of Modern Times beers on the show this week, 12 beers to be exact, which makes this show one of the longest 4B episodes yet. Jason is the resident Four Brewers Modem Tones super-fan, and he did not fail to deliver some Modem Whalez. …and These Modern Times Beers are in Bottles! Having 12 beers on one show makes it difficult to properly summarize the episode. Some of them are funky, some are hoppy, some are barrel-aged, and some are sour. Jason is a member of Modern Times’ “League of Partygoers and Elegant People” so naturally, he brought some good stuff. Modern Times is an all around great brewery. They have a great attitude toward beer, experimentation, and quality, and it shows in their beer. While they’ve had a few missteps here and there, their commitment to quality craft beer and their fans is unquestionably passionate. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Modern Times Beer – LomalandModern Times Beer – Fortunate IslandsModern Times Beer – Fruitlands w/ ApricotsModern Times Beer – Blazing WorldModern Times Beer – City of the SunModern Times Beer – Black HouseModern Times Beer – Booming RollersModern Times Beer – OrdervilleModern Times Beer – City of the DeadModern Times Beer – HooloomoolooModern Times Beer – Palace of Paper SacksModern Times Beer – Monsters’ Park (Aged in Nicaraguan Rum Barrels w/ Rum Barrel-Aged Coffee) Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickrSnapchat Email 4B: [email protected] Leave us a voicemail: (213) 316-8699

Season 3, Episode 10 – We’re back with part 2 of our visit to Bottle Logic Brewing in Anaheim, California, and this week, we’re saddling up some unicorns. Get your Four Brewers “Metal Logo” shirt!Available for a limited time: fourbrewers.com/metal Before we get into the beers, it should be known that Greg’s cask ale festival called “Firkfest” is going down on March 19, 2016 in Anaheim, California. We’ve been promoting this event for good reason—it’s a unique festival to Southern California, featuring 30 breweries and 50 cask beers, ranginga from the more traditional cask conditioned beers to firkins with chocolate, peppers, or whatever else brewers want to add to their standard release and one-off beers. Get your tickets at firkfest.com. Barrels at Bottle Logic Brewing We kick off the show right where we left off with part 1, drinking some German Chocolate Cake. The beer lives up to its namesake, and we find out that this beer is also what runs through Nagel’s veins (he’s German…bad joke). This beer is served on both nitro and CO2 at Bottle Logic’s tasting room, which is a common practice of Bottle Logic. Good idea for those who don’t enjoy nitrogen infused brew. While we’re drinking this beer, we discuss the unique technique that Bottle Logic employs to add ingredients like cacao nibs, vanilla, and even wood to their beers while they’re still in the fermentor. Moar Barrels! Next up is a beer that has yet to be released, Bottle Logic’s brettanomyces brew, Some Assembly Required. The bottle we had on the show was midway through its bottle conditioning and a bit warm, so it was a bit explosive. This didn’t stop us from thoroughly enjoying the beer. Definitely a unicorn worth capturing when Bottle Logic releases it. Finally, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, a barrel sample of the renowned Bottle Logic barrel-aged stout, Fundamental Observation. This beer rocks! This was only a barrel sample we had on the show—it was flat and room temperature—and it was already amazing. F.O. is no hype-whale, it’s the real deal, from what we could taste, and this was only a single barrel sample. While enjoying this beer, we talk about how Bottle Logic designs a beer that is destined to be barrel-aged. It’s not as simple as making a stellar stout and throwing in a barrel. Big, BIG thanks to Wes and Brandon for having us at Bottle Logic. They’re off to a great start for a two year-old brewery, and we couldn’t be more proud to have them brewing their beer in Southern California. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Bottle Logic Brewing – German Chocolate CakeBottle Logic Brewing – Some Assembly RequiredBottle Logic Brewing – Fundamental Observation, Barrel Sample Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickrSnapchat Email 4B: [email protected] Leave us a voicemail: (213) 316-8699

Season 3, Episode 9 – This week, a last minute stop into Anaheim’s Bottle Logic Brewing ends with juicy beers, something tart, and gigaflops of hops. Get your Four Brewers “Metal Logo” shirt!Available for a limited time: fourbrewers.com/metal Before we get into the beers, it should be known that Greg’s cask ale festival called “Firkfest” is going down on March 19, 2016 in Anaheim, California. We’ve been promoting this event for good reason—it’s a unique festival to Southern California, featuring 30 breweries and 50 cask beers, ranging from the more traditional cask conditioned beers to firkins with chocolate, peppers, or whatever else brewers want to add to their standard release and one-off beers. Get your tickets at firkfest.com. Beers From Bottle Logic Brewing Shooting each other in the junk with laser beams sounded like fun at the time, but drinking Bottle Logic Brewing beers in their barrel room seemed like a better idea. Speaking of shooting each other in the junk with lasers, it turns out that She Shot First with galaxy, citra and centennial in our gaping, carbonite mouths. Although hoppy wheats may be known for their modern unfortunate landmass times, this beer was birthed on the homestove of Bottle Logic Master Brewer Wes Parker. “Juicy,” says Four Brewers’ Jason Harris, otherwise known as Internet’s Golden Brett, in a nasally, high-pitched voice. Zerø Day juices our mouths with Vermont-style IPA cloud beer. Juice profiles are dialed in, maximum hoppage is achieved, targets are hit, and montages are played with sweaty Bottle Logic brewers listening to “I Need a Hero.” The beer looks like a yellow pair of Juicy Couture sweat pants got dipped in freshly dry hopped beer and wrung out into pint glasses. But, oh if it ain’t juicy and supremely delicious. Wes Parker, Brewmaster at Bottle Logic Berliner Equation w/ Blueberries is next. It’s kettle soured and bursting with fruit. 350 pounds of berries tie our tongues into a quadratic equation, nearly turning us into Violet Beauregarde. Thankfully, we got rolled to the juicing room for squeezing, doopity doo. Expansion for sour beer? Yes! Bottle Logic is creating a sour/brett beer facility. Oh, and spoiler alert. Recursion 8.0 is next. This IPA is surprising software, with 2.5 hexadecimal pounds of dry hop per gigabarrel. Dank.exe is compiled with no bugs. Pee.bat is called. We wrap up part 1 of the Bottle Logic visit with medal-winning Cobaltic Porter. Details are then leaked about their anniversary Week of Logic: Hint: it’s space themed. Stay tuned for part 2 of our visit to Bottle Logic next week, S2/E10. Photos from our session at Bottle Logic: https://flic.kr/s/aHskvfBkxw BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Bottle Logic Brewing – She Shot FirstBottle Logic Brewing – Zerø DayBottle Logic Brewing – Berlinear Equation w/ BlueberriesBottle Logic Brewing – Recursion 8.0Bottle Logic Brewing – Cobaltic Porter Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickrSnapchat Email 4B: [email protected] Leave us a voicemail: (213) 316-8699

Season 3, Episode 8 – This week, beers from Night Shift Brewing and Perennial Artisan Ales. This week, Nagel brought the pain with SoCal rarities from Perennial Artisan Ales and Night Shift Brewing. Before we get into the beers, it should be known that Greg’s cask ale festival called “Firkfest” is going down on March 19, 2016 in Anaheim, California. We’ve been promoting this event for good reason—it’s a unique festival to Southern California, featuring 50 breweries and 30 cask beers, ranging from the more traditional cask conditioned beers to firkins with chocolate, peppers, or whatever else brewers want to add to their standard release and one-off beers. Get your tickets at firkfest.com. Excellent Brews from Perennial and Night Shift. First up on the show this week is a brew from Night Shift Brewing, a gose made with oysters. Oysters are more commonly used in stouts to add a salty, briny/dry character. In this case, they were added during the boil of the gose, which is a beer style that is inherently salty. Adding the brine character from oysters is a natural fit for the gose style of beer. Next up is another gose made by Perennial Artisan Ales, but this one goes (oh, words) in a different direction. This beer also has a tart, salty quality, but is made with lemon peel and orange peel, along with a healthy dose of key lime juice. This beer is great—a true summer seeeper. We wrap up with two more Night Shift beers, Ever Weisse (radness) and Maracuya. Night Shift is reminiscent of The Bruery in terms of their curious exploration and their quality execution of unusual beer styles. At the same time, Perennial is also kicking ass and taking names. We can get Perennial in SoCal right now, but Night Shift would be a welcome addition…just saying’. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Perennial Artisan Ales – Suburban BeverageNight Shift Brewing – HarborsideNight Shift Brewing – Ever WeisseNight Shift Brewing – Maracuya Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickrSnapchat Email 4B: [email protected] Leave us a voicemail: (213) 316-8699

Season 3, Episode 7 – This week, homebrew from Four Brewers listener Michael Kirshner, and The Messenger from Noble Ale Works and Three Weavers Brewing Company. Can homebrews be whalez? This is the question that Four Brewers listener, Michael Kirshner, proposed to us in an email a few weeks ago. Personally speaking, I’ve definitely wanted to spear a few local homebrew whalez that have become legendary over the years, so yes, homebrew can indeed venture into the “whalez” territory. Thar Be Whalez! Michael was kind enough to send us some of his homebrew for the show this week and suffice to say, they are pretty over the top, as far as homebrew goes. The first beer up is a Flanders Red that was aged in a second use Buffalo Trace Barrel for five freakin’ years! What?! That’s some commitment. [Direct YouTube Video Link] Next up is quad that was brewed in March of 2014. This beer is a crowd favorite according to Mike, and rightly so. It’s delicious! The last beer from Michael is a Russian imperial stout made with oats and lactose sugar that was brewed in November of 2014 and aged for six months in a fresh Four Roses barrel. Michael wasn’t lying when he told us he was sending whalez…thar she blows! The Messenger We wrap up the show with an awesome collaboration beer between two stellar southern California breweries, Noble Ale Works and Three Weavers Brewing Company called, The Messenger. This beer was first brewed early in 2014. The Messenger is a seasonal release IPA coming in at 7.3% ABV, made with Weyermann pilsner malt and dry hopped with Pacific Jade, El Dorado, and HBC 342 hops. The bottle we have on the show this week was made with Buddha’s Hand and Yuzu to really give it a fruity, tropical zing. Thanks again to Michael Kirshner for the beers! BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Noble Ale Works / Three Weavers Brewing Company – The Messenger IPA (w/ Yuzu And Buddha’s Hand) Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickrSnapchat Email 4B: [email protected] Leave us a voicemail: (213) 316-8699

Season 3, Episode 6 – This week, ALL SURLY BREWING COMPANY BEERS. Well, most of them. OK, eight of them. This week, we’ve got seven beers from Surly Brewing Company that were sent to us by a gracious Four Brewers listener, as well as a super-whale from John’s cellar, a 2010 vintage Darkness. Hell. YES. Surly Brewing Company Surly Brewing makes great beer, hands down. The problem is, they don’t distribute very far outside of their home state of Minnesota. Granted, we have no shortage of great beer here in California, but Surly would definitely be a welcome addition. We have a variety of their canned brews, ranging from lager, to brown ale, to IPA. Surly has their own unique style and attitude. They know their way around a brew house, for sure. They’re also fans of John’s favorite ingredient, oats. It’s used in a lot of their beers. Surly Brewing Company’s Darkness (2010) As the show progresses, Surly’s Russian imperial stout, Darkness, eventually comes up in the discussion. It just so happens that John has two bottles of the 2010 vintage in his beer cellar, one of which was kept refrigerated for the last few years. This is important because keeping a beer cold tends to preserve it longer and lock in flavors. Jason and Matt recently had the 2010 Darkness at a bottle share, and said the beer was past its prime. How is it holding up? Listen and find out! BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Surly Brewing Company – HellSurly Brewing Company – Bitter BrewerSurly Brewing Company – CynicAleSurly Brewing Company – Coffee BenderSurly Brewing Company – FuriousSurly Brewing Company – OverRatedSurly Brewing Company – Abrasive AleSurly Brewing Company – Darkness (2010) Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickrSnapchat Email 4B: [email protected] Leave us a voicemail: (213) 316-8699

Season 3, Episode 5 – This week, we’re drinking ten different beers form Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. This week, it’s all about Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.. For over 30 years, they’ve been innovators in the craft beer movement in America, producing some the most ubiquitous beers on the market. We have ten different beers on the show this week from Sierra Nevada. While that may sound like a lot (well, it is for this little podcast), it’s actually just a cross section of the many brews they make. We’re covering everything from their more recent release, Nooner Pilsner, to the classic and well-known Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Beers Sierra Nevada is also no stranger to barrel-aging beers and collaboration brews. Two of their abbey collaboration beers are on the show this week, along with barrel-aged variants of their Bigfoot Barleywine-Style Ale and Narwhal Imperial Stout. Sierra Nevada brews all of their beers with whole cone hops. If you’re not familiar with the brewing process, most breweries use compressed hop pellets in their beers. Pellets are easier to work with, easier to store, and retain their freshness longer than whole cone hops. Using whole cone hops requires a different kind of brewhouse and they also impart different qualities. These whole cone hops and Sierra Nevada’s “Chico Yeast” house strain give their hoppy pales and IPAs a unique touch that screams “Sierra Nevada!” Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Collaboration and Barrel-Aged Beers Sierra Nevada’s beers are widely available. If haven’t had a lot from them, pick up a few different beers and give them a shot…maybe with a Torpedo? hahah—yeah, no. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Pale AleSierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Nooner PilsnerSierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Otra VezSierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Torpedo Extra IPASierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Beer Camp Tropical IPA (2016)Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Ovila Abbey Saison (w/ Mandarin Oranges and Peppercorns)Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Ovila Abbey Golden w/ PomegranateSierra Nevada Brewing Co. – BigfootSierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Barrel-Aged Bigfoot Barleywine-Style Ale (2015)Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Barrel-Aged Narwhal Imperial Stout Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickrSnapchat Email 4B: [email protected] Leave us a voicemail: (213) 316-8699

Season 3, Episode 4 – Does the shape and size of a glass really affect a beer’s characteristics? This week, we try to find out for ourselves. Does glassware make a difference when it comes to truly enjoying a craft beer? Glasses designed for more traditional beer styles have been around for a long time and it’s believed that they enhance certain characteristics of the beers that are consumed from them. Seasoned beer drinkers know that drinking a beer out of a glass is an overall better experience when compared to drinking straight from the bottle, even if it’s a standard “shaker” glass that brewers tend to despise. Well known beer establishments still serve beer in shaker glasses, despite the claims that the physical shape of the glass is doing a disservice to the beer inside of it. Style-Specific Beer Glassware Recently, beer glassware has reached a new level. IPA, stout, and even American wheat beers can now be served in style-specific glassware that supposedly enhances their qualities and nuances in certain ways. This week, we’re putting these glasses to the test. Disclaimer: all four of us on the show believe glassware affects beer perception. We tend to use the Libbey 3807 Belgian-style beer glass as our daily driver for consuming beer. Generally speaking, it’s a suitable glass for a wide variety of beers. Tattoo: Jesse Friedman of Almanac Beer Co. – NO SHAKER GLASSES This week, we’ve got four different glasses that were designed for four different beer styles: a pilsner glass, a hefeweizen glass, a stout glass, and an IPA glass. The manufacturers of each glass claim that they are designed to make the specific style of beer that’s inside the glass shine in different ways. Are the claims true? Is there a science to “proper” glassware? Perhaps (of course there is…)! BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Firestone Walker Brewing Company – Pivo PilsSpaten-Franziskaner-Löwenbräu-Gruppe – Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier NaturtrübFirestone Walker Brewing Company – Velvet MerlinStone Brewing Co. – Stone Unfiltered Enjoy By 02.14.16 Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickrSnapchat Email 4B: [email protected] Leave us a voicemail: (213) 316-8699

Season 3, Episode 3 – This week, beers from Founders Brewing Co., and Going In Blind with Matt. Michigan. More great beer from Michigan. Founders Brewing Co. is finally available in southern California, and we’re pretty stoked about it. Founders is a well known brewery among craft beer drinkers, brewing everything from hoppy IPAs to delicious, highly sought after bourbon barrel-aged stouts. Getting our hands on their beers proved to be quite the difficult task in the past, but not anymore. This week on the show, we’re sampling a bit of each. Founders Brewing Co. We always seemed to find a way to get our hands on a few of their beers before they were available here by means of trading, which was kind of a pain in the ass. How rad is it that we’ll now be able to go to our local bottle shop and get it right off the shelf?! So. Rad. Having Founders Brewing Co. beers on the show this week is a milestone that we are thrilled to arrive at. Huge thanks go out to Ze Beer Guy for getting these beers to us. He’s one of Founders’ newest sales reps here in southern California, and is well known in the beer geek community. He is the MAN! One beer that we didn’t feature in this episode was Founders’ Project PAM. We drank the beer and recorded the conversation, but it’s only going to be available to supporters of 4B on Patreon and PayPal. Consider supporting the show if you’d like access to bonus stuff and free 4B merchandise. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Founders Brewing Co. – All Day IPAFounders Brewing Co. – Centennial IPAFounders Brewing Co. – Dirty BastardFounders Brewing Co. – PorterFounders Brewing Co. – Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickrSnapchat Email 4B: [email protected] Leave us a voicemail: (213) 316-8699

Season 3, Episode 2 – This week, it’s all Bell’s Brewery. What’s that I hear? A bell? A tolling bell? This week on the show, we’re drinking NINE different beers from Bell’s Brewery. For us in SoCal, that’s pretty awesome, considering they just recently added distribution to southern California (May, 2014) and we were able to buy all of these beers in our local bottle shops. Bell’s Brewery Beers Fuck. Yeah. It would be quite tedious and redundant to go through and give a summary of every beer on the show this week, so I’m not going to do it. We tried to stick with more of the mainstream stuff from Bell’s that anyone could pickup in their area, if available (Saturn being the exception. That’s from Jason). Bell’s Brewery has been around for a long time, 30+ years, in fact. It’s safe to say that they know how to make great beer that’s unique to them, in more ways than one. Shout out to listener Dave V. for the email that inspired this show. Cheers, brother. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Bell’s Brewery – Two Hearted AleBell’s Brewery – Winter White AleBell’s Brewery – Oberon AleBell’s Brewery – Oarsman AleBell’s Brewery – Expedition StoutBell’s Brewery – Special Double Cream StoutBell’s Brewery – Java StoutBell’s Brewery – Saturn: The Bringer of Old Age (Planets Series)Bell’s Brewery – 30th Anniversary Ale Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickrSnapchat Email 4B: [email protected] Leave us a voicemail: (213) 316-8699

Season 3, Episode 1 – This week, we’re drinking three homebrews from Greg (two of them are pink!), and going in blind with John. Welcome to 2016 and season 3 of Four Brewers! This week on the show, we’re drinking homebrew from Nagel and going in blind with some blind tasting action provided by John. First up are two pink concoctions from Mr. Nagel. The first one is a cranberry Malbec wine cooler thingy. It should be noted that all of these brews were made by Greg for the holiday season to serve to guests in his home, and they’re all made from kits. The wine he made came as a kit with the grape juice, chemical additions, and cranberries, which makes for a really easy homebrew. Making kit wine is really easy. John wrote a piece on a Riesling wine he made from a kit a few years back. Check it out if you want a rundown on the process. John’s Beers for “Going In Blind” Next up is a prickly pear witbier, which was again, made from a kit. The prickly pears, however, were not included in the kit, and were acquired at Greg’s in-law’s house in Temecula. In case you don’t know what prickly pears are (like John), they are the fruit that grows on a certain variety of cactus. They’re very hard to work with, as Greg explains on the show. The last brew from Greg is a milk stout that was originally intended to be a hard root beer, but in the end, the spicing didn’t quite work out. So, he ditched the root and kept the beer as is. All in all, these beers (and wine) were quite tasty. The brew days for these were all fairly low key and didn’t require a whole lot of time and effort. Don’t diss the kit! As long as you keep everything that’s post-boil clean and sanitary, and pitch the proper amount of yeast while maintaining proper fermentation temperatures, you should be good to go and on your way to making a great kit beer or wine. We conclude the show with a dive into the 4B mailbag, as well as another round of Going In Blind, hosted this time by John Holzer himself. Click on the blurred photo above to see the blind beers if you can’t handle the mystery and suspense… BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 52 – This week we conclude season 2 of Four Brewers with coconuts, stouts, barrels, and some good ol’ blind tasting, courtesy of Jason Harris. Here we are. We made it! The final show of 2015, episode 52 of season 2. When I say “we made it”, I mean just that—all of us. Four Brewers wouldn’t be a thing without all of the support we get from beer geeks all over the world. We thank you all from from the bottom of our beer-soaked hearts. Thanks for listening and supporting the show. You’re all the best. Barley Forge, Stone Brewing, and Oskar Blues Beers We’re ending 2015 with a show that falls in line with classic 4B structure and fashion. We’re drinking a couple of whalez, blending some brews, doing some blind tasting, and having fun. That’s what this is all about, right? Having fun with friends and drinking great beer. First up is a beer that’s making another appearance on the show, the coconut rye stout from our friends at Barley Forge Brewing Co., The Patsy. The first time we had this beer was on S2/E18 when we paid a visit to the Berly Ferge in Costa Mesa, California. We decided to bring it back because it’s Johns favorite beer of 2015, and Oskar Blues Brewery just released their coconut infused Irish porter named Death By Coconut. We wanted to compare the two beers side by side. Next up are three variants of Stone Brewing Co.’s 2015 Xocoveza For the Holidays & The New Year (yes, that’s the full name), two of which are barrel-aged (Xocoveza Extra Añejo, and Xocoveza Charred). This beer was a hit when it debuted last year and this year was no different. Beer geeks all over the country were buying this beer buy the case, and rightly so, since it’s such a delicious, chocolatey and spicy brew. We wrap up the show with a round of Going In Blind, hosted by Jason Harris. There’s also some 4B Mailbag shenanigans and Untappd beer ratings discussion thrown in for good measure. We wish everyone a safe and happy 2016. Drink something good to ring in the new year and give someone a hug. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT…and we’ll see you next year for season 3! Beers from this week’s episode:Barley Forge Brewing Co. – The PatsyOskar Blues Brewery – Death By CoconutStone Brewing Co. – Xocoveza For The Holidays & The New YearStone Brewing Co. – Xocoveza Extra AñejoStone Brewing Co. – Xocoveza Charred Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 51 – This week we’re doing kind of a grab bag episode with beers from The Good Beer Company, Side Project Brewing, El Segundo Brewing Company, and Kern River Brewing Company. Hey, y’all. It’s a holiday week. I’m gonna level with you. I’m in the mood to holiday. I need to get my holiday (and Star Wars: The Force Awakens) on. Writing about this week’s Four Brewers episode just doesn’t seem to flow properly. There’s some fun stuff happening this week. Oh, and did I mention Star Wars? Yeah. Star Wars. Star Wars: The Force Awakens This week’s show is a little random. We’ve got some hoppy stuff, some sour stuff, and some funky stuff, all of which is very good stuff, but let’s face it: they’re no match for a holiday week that also involves Star Wars: The Force Awakens, amirite? The Good Beer Company is a fairly new brewery from the downtown Santa Ana area of California. We’re drinking three of their sour beers this week, all provided by Mr. Nagel, their biggest fanboy. But is Greg a Star Wars fanboy? To be honest, I really don’t know. Oh, and in case you didn’t hear, Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened last Friday, and it was awesome. All in all, the beers from The Good Beer Company were in fact pretty damn good, just like Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Star Wars. Next up is a whale of sorts for us, Side Project Brewing’s Saison du Blé (Batch 4). Matt brought this one, and it’s right up our collective alleys, much like Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We end the show with two IPAs, Citra from Kern River Brewing, and Broken Skull from El Segundo Brewing Company, made in collaboration with Steve Austin. Yes, that Steve Austin. The “What?!” and “Hell Yeah” guy. He was a badass wrestler back in the day and it turns out that he loves craft beer. But, I didn’t see Steve Austin in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Is Steve Austin a Star Wars fan? HELL YEAH, AND THAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE. …and Star Wars. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:The Good Beer Company – Sangrioro (blend 2)The Good Beer Company – Blend 4The Good Beer Company – Blend 3Side Project Brewing – Saison du Blé (Batch 4)El Segundo Brewing Company – Broken SkullKern River Brewing Company – Citra Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 50 – This week, beers from Destihl Brewery, Allagash Brewing Company, and the return of Going In Blind: Greg Nagel Edition! This week, we’re diving into some more beers from Destihl Brewery’s Wild Sour Series, as well as some funky stuff from Allagash Brewing Company. Shows from session 27 (episodes 50, 51, and 52) were the first to be recorded in December, so this officially kicks off the 4B 2015 holiday season! It really is the best time of the year. Destihl Brewery Wild Sour Series We first learned of Destihl’s awesome sour beers way back in 2012 when John and Mattwere at the Great American Beer Festival. Destihl brought the pain with their awesome sours that made for huge lines during the festival. We had their gose from this same series on the show back in March. Friend and Patreoneer, Sandro Chiavaro recently sent us the other variants in this series, so of course we’re cracking ’em open on the show. Thanks, Sandro! While drinking these beers, we discuss the recent nerd-rage drama surrounding Kane Brewing Company’s release of A Night To End All Dawns. Allagash Brewing Company Net up are some beers from Allagash Brewing Company that we don’t see too often here in southern California. During the tasting of these beers, we are introduced to the newest 4B contributing character, “Golden Brett”, the funky-gold-minin-hop-slingin beer drinker. We wrap up with the return of Going In Blind, the Greg Nagel edition. Spoiler: We nailed it. BOOM! BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Destihl Brewery – Wild Sour Series: Wild Sour Series: Counter ClockweisseDestihl Brewery – Wild Sour Series – Wild Sour Series: LynnbrookDestihl Brewery – Wild Sour Series – Wild Sour Series: Flanders RedAllagash Brewing Company – Century AleAllagash Brewing Company – Golden BrettAllagash Brewing Company – Midnight Brett Ale Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 49 – This week, we’re finally raiding our collective cellars for the best beers from The Bruery that we could gather. This week, we’re drinking a lot of beer from The Bruery. On paper, four beers may not seem like a lot, but when it comes to The Bruery and their rich and usually higher ABV beers, it’s a lot, especially for John, ahem… Beers from The Bruery and Bruery Terreux While an epic event such as this would warrant an even more epic blog post, we’re going to let this episode speak for itself. Needless to say, The Bruery makes many stellar beers and they aren’t afraid to tread in water that others would normally not even dip a toe into. The Bruery is a local favorite for us for different reasons, and they’re really one of the best breweries in the world, and that’s not hyperbole, son. Expect more from The Bruery in future episodes of Four Brewers. Between the four of us and our cellars, there’s much to be consumed. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Bruery Terreux – Tonnellerie RueBruery Terreux / Jester King Brewery – Imperial CabinetThe Bruery – Bois (Rye Barrel Aged)The Bruery – Mocha Wednesday Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 48 – This week on the most awesomest beer podcast on the Internet as far as we’re concerned and more than confident is actually true according us, are some mostly local brews and one brew that some how snuck into the “locals only” party. We’re drinking stoutish beers on the show this week. “Stoutish” according to the Four Brewers Dictionary (it isn’t a real dictionary) means “a dark beer that may not be a stout but has certain traits that would lead one to believe it is a stout, and it’s also part of a larger beer tasting that has actual stouts in it, therefore one could say that it’s a group of stouts that aren’t all stouts; also there’s an IPA thrown in for fun and good measure.” Yeah. We’re doing that this week. Beers from New English, Ritual Brewing, and Sierra Nevada First up are some stoutish beers from New English Brewing Co., the first of which is an IPA, which is obviously not a stout, but falls in line with the Four Brewers definition of stoutish, so it qualifies. Anyway, the beer is called Pure and Simple IPA, and it is in fact just that: pure and simple. New English is a fairly new San Diego area brewery, so it’s almost like they need to make a great IPA to even be considered as qualified for leasing brewing space in the area. This beer doesn’t disappoint. If you want a pure and simple IPA, then look no further…or look further and drink another great IPA from another great brewery after you drink this one. Tasty, San Diego IPA is fairly ubiquitous at this point. Damn, it feels good to be a beer geek in the golden age of craft beer. Next up, we get to the stoutish-er (do I *really* need to define this?) beers which we kick off with two more beers from New English Brewing Co., the Brewers Special Brown Ale and the Bourbon Barrel Aged Brown. These beers are once again very, very good. New English even won gold at this year’s Great American Beer Festival, but it wasn’t for these stoutish beers. It was for an actual stout, which (guess what?!) is up next. Zumbar Chocolate Coffee Imperial Stout is up next. This is not a stoutish beer. It’s a goddamn stout. This beer won gold at the Great American Beer Festival this year. It’s pretty rad and it was the inspiration for this weeks episode. Buy it. Drink it. High-five the brewer. Ritual Brewing Co. is a local brewery to 3/4 Four Brewers, located in Redlands, California. They recently celebrated their 3rd anniversary, so congrats to them for that! Java Deluxecame out a few weeks before their anniversary party to much fanfare. It’s made with coffee from local coffee roaster Stell Coffee, and it’s great. Ritual also won gold this year at the GABF for an aged variant of Big Deluxe. Here’s something cool: we tasted a cuvée of Java Deluxe and Zumbar. (Did it disappoint? Well, since I said it was something cool that we did, probably not. If I said it was something lame that we did, that would be telling as well.) We finish up with some “Guess That Brew!” and some 4B Patreon shout-outs while sipping on a beer included with this year’s Sierra Nevada Brewing Company winter pack, Coffee Stout. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:New English Brewing Co. – Pure & Simple IPANew English Brewing Co. – Brewers Special Brown AleNew English Brewing Co. – Bourbon Barrel Aged Brown AleNew English Brewing Co. – Zumbar Chocolate Coffee Imperial StoutRitual Brewing Co. – Java DeluxeSierra Nevada Brewing Company – Coffee Stout Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 47 – This week we’re hanging out with Jesse Friedman, co-owner and brewer at San Francisco’s Almanac Beer Co., and we’re drinking some really special stuff. This week we are joined once again by our good friend Jesse Friedman, co-owner and brewer at Almanac Beer Co. in San Fransisco, California, and we’re drinking some really interesting stuff that encompasses the worlds of beer, wine, and spirits. Almanac Beer Co. Beers with Seven Stills Dogpatch Whiskey First up is the Almanac Dogpatch Sour. This beer is made with dried Rainier cherries and aged in red wine barrels for a number of months. The beer has a nice lactic tartness to it with the cherries giving it an extra fruity kick. Here’s something interesting. There is an undetectable amount of acetic acid in the beer, which we learned from Jesse is a good thing. Having a beer that is entirely lactic makes for a somewhat boring and overwhelmingly tart and thin beer. Almanac is by no means in the business of making vinegar bombs, but they’ve learned from others in the industry that acetic acid can also be your friend when it comes to making delicious sours. Almanac Beer Co. Dogpatch and Farmer’s Reserve Grand Cru The next couple of beers are really interesting. The Dogpatch Grand Cru is essentially a beefed up version the Dogpatch Sour, but with a couple of twists. Jesse walks us through exactly what goes into making this beer on the show, but we’ll try to sum it up here. It’s basically comprised of 30% red wine grapes, consisting of Zinfandel, Syrah, Tannat, Petite Syrah, and Tempranillo grapes. Two versions of the beer are aged in new French oak barrels and then blended back together to make the final product. This is not your typical sour ale. The red wine presence is quite big, making for a complex and satisfying experience. It’s pretty damn good. The Farmer’s Reserve Grand Cru goes through a similar production process, but instead of using a variety of red wine grapes, this beer uses Muscat grapes. This beer got a lot of different reactions from the room. In summary, it’s loaded with aromas of pineapple, lychee, mango, and even a hint of Nelson hops, even though Nelson wasn’t used to make this beer. The wine presence comes through really nice on the palate, just like the Dogpatch Grand Cru. Think of these beers as beer and wine hybrids. Almanac wasn’t subtle about it either. Jesse thinks the best thing about both of these beers is how they can divide a room and really get people talking about what they’re experiencing while drinking the beer. Mission accomplished. Seven Stills Dogpatch Whiskey We wrap up the show with a first for Four Brewers. We’re drinking some Dogpatch Whiskeyfrom Seven Stills, made in collaboration with Almanac. Seven Stills is known for making whiskey that is influenced by beer. Seven Stills is from the same neighborhood in San Fransisco as Almanac called “Dogpatch”, so this collaboration seemed natural. In order to make for a proper wash for distilling, Almanac brewed a version of Dogpatch Sour with wheat added to the grain bill and higher starting gravity that made for a higher post-fermentation alcohol level. After distillation, the whiskey was aged in used Dogpatch Sour barrels and then aged again in Dogpatch Sour Grand Cru barrels. This whiskey is cask strength, so you may want to add some water to cut down those fusel notes. Wood, cinnamon, vanilla, cotton candy, taffy, black pepper, caramel, and honey characteristics all come through on the aroma and palate. At $45-$50, this isn’t a cheap whiskey, but it’s unique and delicious. Seven Stills is on to something, here… So, thanks once again to Jesse for hanging out with us. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers (and whiskey) from this week’s episode:Almanac Beer Co. – Dogpatch SourAlmanac Beer Co. – Dogpatch Grand CruAlmanac Beer Co. – Farmer’s Reserve Grand CruSeven Stills Dogpatch Whiskey Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 46 – This week, beers from two of Los Angeles’ best breweries, Highland Park Brewery and Monkish Brewing Co.. We’re heading back to L.A. this week with two collaboration beers from Monkish Brewing Co. and Highland Park Brewery. These breweries are quickly becoming pillars of Los Angeles beer with their awesome farmhouse and sour ales. Highland Park Brewery and Monkish got together in what we consider a match made in beer heaven to make two collaboration beers, Cart Fetish and Pushin’ Carts. Monkish and Highland Park Beers Keeping with the theme of the show, we’re also drinking Monkish Brewing’s first foudre fermented beer, Haiku de Saison and one of our all time favs, Crux. From Highland Park Brewery, we’re drinking Yard Beer, an early favorite of Jason’s that’s pretty great. Exciting things are happening in Los Angeles beer. The beers that Monkish and Highland Park are brewing are nothing less than exceptional, varying from the classic SoCal hoppy IPA to funky and Belgian inspired sour beers. With breweries acquisitions becoming more commonplace, it’s nice to know that curious, innovative, and talented people will be there to keep craft beer going strong. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Monkish Brewing Co. / Highland Park Brewery Collaboration – Cart FetishHighland Park Brewery / Monkish Brewing Co. Collaboration – Pushin’ CartsMonkish Brewing – CruxMonkish Brewing Co. – Haiku de SaisonHighland Park Brewery – Yard Beer Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 45 – This week on the show, we’re drinking beers from Russian River Brewing Company. BOOM. If you’re a craft beer drinker, you’ve heard of Russian River Brewing Company. Craft beer drinkers far and wide seem to adore Russian River and their beers, ranging from the somewhat hard to find and ever-so-hoppy Pliny The Elder, to the hard to get beers like the tart and acidic Beatification. Russian River has roots in the Inland Empire of southern California, originally hailing from Temecula, California, but moved up the coast to Santa Rosa, California, which is where they call home today. Pliny The Elder We’re kicking off the show with the legendary beer geek-hoppy-holy-grail, Pliny The Elder. Bottles of this beer tend to be hard to find outside of central California, so getting some bottles for the show this week was a bit of an endeavor for us. Luckily, we have a few friends in high places, and were able to score a couple bottles, one from La Bodega Wine & Spirits in Riverside, California, and at the last minute, El Cerrito Liquor in Corona, California. Pliny The Elder is a beer that is best enjoyed fresh, due to the copious amount of dry hops used in secondary fermentation. IPA in general should always be consumed as fresh as possible, and Russian River goes out of their way to make sure you know this by plastering it all over the bottle’s label. Russian River Brewing Company Beers We’re drinking A LOT of Russian River beers on the show this week, so we’re not going to get too in depth on the blog post about them. We tried to get as many as possible, going as far as San Diego the day before the show to pick up a bottle of 2013 Framboise for a Cure from the legendary cellar of “Dr. Bill” Sysak. We also got a bottle of Beatification from our good friend, Cougar Steve, which he brought back from a recent trip to Russian River Brewing Company. Huge thanks once again to Kim at La Bodega Wine & Spirits and Jazz at El Cerrito Liquorfor the Pliny, as well as Dr. Bill and Cougar Steve for the whalez hookups. It takes a village to do a bar podcast, you know… BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Russian River Brewing Company: Pliny The ElderRussian River Brewing Company: DamnationRussian River Brewing Company: SalvationRussian River Brewing Company: SanctificationRussian River Brewing Company: Framboise For A Cure 2013Russian River Brewing Company: SupplicationRussian River Brewing Company: Consecration Russian River Brewing Company: Beatification Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 44 – This week, we’re at The Beachwood Blendery with Gabe Gordon and Ryan Fields drinking the first two bottle releases from The Blendery, Propagation 001 and 002. Propagation 001 and 002 go on sale TODAY, November 1, at 11 am. If you’re not already in line, get down to The Blendery and pick up some bottles ASAP! The time has finally come, and we couldn’t be more excited. Beachwood BBQ and Brewing‘s new sour/wild beer project is finally off the ground. They’re releasing their first two beers today, Propagation 001 and 002, a petite saison and a Berliner weisse, respectively. Beachwood has quickly become one of the best breweries in southern California, garnering awards at the World Beer Cup and medals at the Great American Beer Festival. When they announced The Blendery back in December of 2014, beer geeks everywhere knew they were in for something special. The Blendery at Beachwood BBQ and Brewing This week, we’ve got owner and chef, Gabe Gordon and brewer/barrelmaster Ryan Fieldson the show with us. We’re kicking it off with the first Propagation series beer, a petite saison made with 12 different strains of brettanomyces. We talk to Gabe and Ryan about the process and the inspration behind the beers and the brewery itself, as well as what Gabe thinks a really good gueuze shouldn’t be (spoiler: it shouldn’t be an acetic vinegar bomb. Word.). Propagation 001: Petite Saison with Brettanomyces One of the coolest things about The Blendery is their dedication to figuring out why Belgian gueuze is what it is. Is it possible to make these world-class, well known styles of beer in downtown Long Beach? Their approach to the process is both scientific and playful. Restrained experimentation and a structured, scientific process is the heart and soul of The Blendery. Ultimately, their goal is to make beers that even Belgian brewers could appreciate. Propagation Series Beers Propagation 002 is the next beer on deck. This beer could easily be considered a reference for the Berliner weisse style of beer. It’s damn near perfect, and refreshingly delicious. While many might scoff at such a “simple” offering, Ryan reminds us that if you can’t even brew the most basic of beers in a particular style, then maybe you shouldn’t be brewing them at all. Jason Harris, Gabe Gordon, Matt Becker, Ryan Fields, Greg Nagel (left to right) Big thanks to Gabe and Ryan for having us at The Blendery. Additional thanks also goes Beachwood’s creative and marketing manager, Aaron Carroll, for setting this show up with us. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:The Blendery: Propagation 001The Blendery: Propagation 002 Direct audio: MP3 Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 43 – This week, our good friend John Ryti joins us and he brought some killer brew from Ironfire Brewing Company in Temecula, California. This week’s episode is sort of a mixed bag. A little bit of homebrew, some macro beer, some kettle sours, and some IPA. Nothing wrong with mixing it up, right? nagelBOOCH Kombucha We’re kicking off the show with some home-brewed kombucha by Mr. Nagel. If you’ve never heard of kombucha, it’s basically fermented tea. It usually has a funky aroma with a sometimes fruity and tart taste. It’s very low in alcohol, and is loaded with many of the same microbial thingies you’d find in yogurt. I also hear it’s great for hangovers…just sayin’. If you’re interested in making your own batch of ‘booch, Kombucha Brooklyn sells an inexpensive kit that comes with everything you need to get started. Guinness Nitro IPA Next, we’re going to the dark side, or, the light side, in Guinness’ case. Guinness recently announced their Nitro IPA. Yep. IPA, in a can, on nitrogen gas. We’re fans of Guinness so we thought we’d give it a shot. Spoiler alert: The beer is a bit bland overall, but not bad, which is better than what we expected. Get it now while it’s fresh if you want to try it. Ironfire Brewing Company Our good friend, John Ryti is back on the show with us for the next few episodes, and he brought some beers from a great brewery based in Temecula, California, Ironfire Brewing Company. Ironfire just released their first two kettle-soured beers named, Sex and Violence, and Fast and Loose. Kettle-souring beers seems to be all the rage right now (kettle sours are the new session IPA…), and for good reason. They’re relatively easy to produce, and they won’t infect your brewhouse, since the wort is being boiled after the bacteria has “soured” it. Ironfire takes kettle souring to a new level by aging it in barrels and adding fruit. All the yums. We finish up with a beer more in line with what Ironfire is known for, a tasty double IPA called Dead on Arrival. Big thanks to Ryti for hanging out and bringing the brews! BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Guiness Nitro IPAIronFire Brewing Company: Sex and ViolenceIronFire Brewing Company: Fast and LooseIronFire Brewing Company: Dead on Arrival Direct A/V episodes: MP3 / Video Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 42 – This week, the boys are headin’ to Texas. Jason tends to travel quite a bit for work. One of the fringe benefits is that he’s able to explore the local beer scene in whatever town he’s visiting. Jason was cool enough to bring some beers back from his recent trip to Texas. San Antonio, Texas, to be exact. Texas Craft Beers We’re starting with a classic Texas lager (which is now owned by Pabst Brewing Company) Lone Star Beer. While Jason brought this back as more of a gag, we find out that it’s actually pretty tasty. One of the highlights of Jason’s trip was his visit to Jester King Brewery. Color Matt extremely jealous. Jason talks about the brewery and some of the beers he tried while he was there. He even brought back a bottle of Vulgar Affectation for us to try on the show. Yo Soy Un Berliñer Big thanks to Jason for bringing back the brew. A trip to Texas may be in order for all of us, soon… BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Pabst Brewing Company: Lone Star BeerFreetail Brewing: Yo Soy Un Berliner5 Stones Artisan Brewery: Barrel Reserve Spanish MonkLone Pint Brewery: Yellow RoseBuffalo Bayou Brewing Co.: Figaro, Figaro Figaro Fiiigarrro!Jester King Brewery: Vulgar Affectation Direct A/V episodes: MP3 / Video Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 41 – This week, beers from Sixpoint Brewery, a super-yummy hoppy pale ale from our local friends, Wicks Brewing Company, sprinkles of Almanac Brewing Company’s Citra Sour, and some in-depth homebrew discussion on Quad recipe formulation. This week on the show, we’re taking a trip to Brooklyn, New York (we’re not really there, duh) to get some of that sweet Sixpoint Brewery action! Wicks Brewing Company – Paladin Pale Ale But first, we start with a new segment on the show, the 4B Mailbag! To accompany the Mailbag segment, we’re drinking a delicious beer from a local favorite of ours, and many in the Inland Empire of southern California, Wicks Brewing Company’s Paladin Pale Ale. This beer is Wicks’ first official bottle release that has made its way to shelves, and it’s superb. A super-hoppy and danky pale ale that has the punch of an IPA with the ABV of a pale ale. This is no session ale, folks…it’s a pale ale, and it’s delicious. Sixpoint Brewery Beers Next up are the Sixpoint Brewery beers. Thanks to 4B friend and Patreoneer, Scott McElhone, we were able to get our hands on three six-packs of Sixpoint brews that aren’t distributed in southern California. We’re trying to branch out, people! First is The Crisp. John thinks this is one of the coolest beer names for a lager, and the beer inside of this Sixpoint brew does not fall short of its name. It’s quite tasty and damn near perfect. Next is Sweet Action. We didn’t quite figure out what this beer was, exactly (turns out it’s a cream ale), but it did spur some conversation regarding guitars, bands, and Wayne’s World. Finally is the much sought after Resin. For an east coast IPA, this beer delivers. We beer drinkers in California often criticize east coast IPA for its over the top malt character and seemingly lackluster hop profile. This beer is not that. It quite good and unique for the style. The malts are definitely there, but they take a middle seat to the wonderful hop profile. It’s a solid IPA that’s worthy of the hype that precedes it. We wrap up the show with Citra Sour from Almanac Beer Co. while discussing possible beer recipes for a Quad that Greg wants to age in a rye whiskey barrel he acquired from Re:Find Distillery. Quadruple style beers can be difficult to brew. Barrel aging can also be quite difficult. We try to put it all in perspective. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Wicks Brewing Co: Paladin Pale AleSixpoint Brewery: The CrispSixpoint Brewery: Sweet ActionSixpoint Brewery: ResinAlmanac Beer Co.: Citra Sour Direct A/V episodes: MP3 / Video Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 40 – This week we’re drinking some GABF medal-winning beers. Every year, beer drinkers from all over the United States and the world descend upon Denver, Colorado for the Great American Beer Festival. It’s one of the biggest beer festival we know of, and two of the Four Brewers got to attend this year. 2015 GABF Medal-Winning Beers While the draw and the allure of GABF is the seemingly endless beers available to sample, many people and breweries especially focus on the awards on Saturday morning. Winning a bronze, silver and/or gold medal at GABF is quite prestigious to say the least. The panel of judges at the festival is comprised of the best brewers, beer drinkers, beer writers, and beer enthusiasts from all over the country. Winning a medal at GABF can really catapult a brewery into the stratosphere. Southern California is no stranger to winning metal in Denver. Breweries like Pizza Port, Societe Brewing Company, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing, and countless others from SoCal have dominated in recent years. This year, SoCal took home many medals, even though the landscape of winners outside of California seemed to be much more diverse. This week, we’re focusing on some local breweries that took home some medals. Taps Fish House and Brewery at GABF 2015 First up are two beers from local Orange County and Inland Empire superheroes, Taps Fish House and Brewery. They took home four medals, and also won Mid-Size Brewpub and Mid-Size Brewpub Brewer of the Year for their brewery located in Corona, California. Today, we’re drinking the bronze medal-winning Amend This! and silver medal-winning TAPS Kellerbier. Bottle Logic Brewing Company at GABF 2015 Next up is a brewery that’s fairly new to SoCal but is already a favorite of many local craft beer drinkers, Bottle Logic Brewing from Anaheim, California. Bottle Logic scored two gold medals this year for their dark lager named Lagerithm, and their Baltic porter, Cobaltic Porter, and we’ve got them BOTH on the show. Hells. Yes. Firestone Walker Brewing Company at GABF 2015 Firestone Walker Brewing Co. is definitely no stranger to the stage at GABF. FW really killed this year at the GABF awards, winning five medals and Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year. Thanks to Matt, we were able to get our hands on the bronze-medal winning Sour Opal. 21st Amendment Brewery at GABF Next up is Toaster Pastry from 21st Amendment Brewery. This beer kinda took everyone by storm over the last month, and for good reason—it’s awesome! The hop aroma that comes from a freshly poured pint of this beer is just stellar. The whole room filled with the danky aroma that came from this beer as we opened them in the 4B studio. This beer won a silver medal at GABF, and now we know why. Damn, this is good! 21A took one more silver medal this year for their session beer, MCA. Well, done, 21A! Ritual Brewing Company at GABF 2015 Last, but certainly not least is the new jewel of Inland Empire breweries, Ritual Brewing Company from Redlands, California. Ritual has always kind of flown under the radar, but their beers have always been spot on. The brewery is beautiful, and the folks at Ritual couldn’t be cooler people. They really deserved to win some metal this year. Ritual took home TWO gold medals this year for their imperial stout, Big Deluxe, and for the beer we have on the show today, their barleywine-style ale, Fat Hog. The Great American Beer Festival was great this year. The Brewers Association expanded the available floor space for breweries and attendees, which made for even more beer to choose from and guaranteed that every brewery that wanted to attend, could attend. Our hats are off to the Brewers Association. Really, they did a superb job this year. The complete list of medal winners and award winners at GABF this year can be found here. Hope to you next year! GABF THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode: • Taps Fish House and Brewery: Amend This! and Kellerbier• Bottle Logic Brewing: Lagerithm and Cobaltic Porter• Firestone Walker Brewing Co.: Sour Opal• 21st Amendment Brewing Company: Toaster Pastry• Ritual Brewing Company: Fat Hog Direct A/V episodes: MP3 / Video Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 39 – Matt snuck into John’s cellar and helped himself to some great, and not-so-great cellar-aged beers. If you’re a beer geek with a cellar, you’ve either been here, or will be here one day. You know what I’m talking about. You’re new to craft beer and you want to be able to break out a beer on a second’s notice to pair with food, bring to a bottle share, or simply enjoy with a friend while you Netflix and chill. Then it becomes more and more apparent that you either have a problem, are on to something awesome, or both. Cellar Worthy? Perhaps… This is where John’s cellar is at this very moment. While most of his cellar is comprised of beers that could easily trade for some of the best midwest whalez, there are those few outliers that look like they don’t quite belong. On the other hand, there are beers that look ripe for the picking. That’s what we’re doing today—invading John’s cellar. It’s for his own good. We’re kicking off the show with three beers that in their prime, were pretty great beers. These beers represent the young craft beer bottle collector’s naivety and ambition to get anything in their cellar that looks the least bit “rare” or is hyped as such. Buy one fresh, lay one down. But do you really know why this beer is headed for the cellar, or does the beer just end up there? Cellar Worthy and Ready to Enjoy! The second part of the show reminds us these ultra-rare whalez that you’re storing in your cellar need to eventually be opened. While it’s fun to show off your six year-old bottles of beer, they may never fulfill their true destiny when they’re ready for consumption. Are you ever going to open that $25 bottle of beer, or are you just going to stare at it? Get busy living, or get busy dying. Hopefully, you learned something from this week’s show. Build a cellar and stock it well, but don’t overindulge. Monitor your beers, and purge those that are needlessly suffering in their old age. (That was kind of creepy.) BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Moo Brew: Dark AleMahr’s Bräu: Mastodon – The HunterDe Struise Brouwers: Black AlbertAvery Brewing Company: BrabantCrooked Stave Artisan Beer Project: Surette Reserva (Chardonnay Barrel Aged)Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project: Surette Reserva (Peach Whiskey Barrel Aged) Direct A/V episodes: MP3 / Video Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 38 – This week, we’re still high on hops, but low on ABV. Hoppy pale ales are on deck. While we all love IPA and their juicy hoppiness, drinking more than a couple can really take a toll on your soberness. Luckily, breweries everywhere are making hoppier-than-usual versions of pale ale, which by style are lower in alcohol than IPA. This week, we’re drinking some of the best hoppy pale ales we could get our hands on. Off Color Brewing – Troublesome To break in our palates, we’re starting with a wheat gose from Off Color Brewing called Troublesome. We’re big fans of the artwork for this beer, as well as the contents inside. We were able to pick this up locally in Costa Mesa, California, which is rad because this beer is great! The salt presence is very much subdued while the beer is crisp and clean. Good stuff. Now to the pales. First up is Pseudo Sue from Toppling Goliath Brewery. This beer has a lot of hype behind it, and for good reason. This beer divided the room, mostly because of the hop character and lack of proper bitterness. But, we are being a bit hypercritical (hey, we’re a beer podcast), and all agree that it’s a great beer overall. Hoppy Pale Ales Next up is the citra hopped Zombie Dust from 3 Floyds Brewing Company. This beer is great, and very highly sought after. Greg is well known for not being a fan of the citra hop, but he love this beer. We all agree—it’s great. Grunion from Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits is up next. We’re quite partial to this local SoCal brewery, and this beer is simply excellent. Its massive hop nose and clean, dry finish is reminiscent of and IPA with the alcohol content of a pale ale. Grunion and Zombie Dust are pretty much on the same level as far as quality and overall tastiness, which is great for us in SoCal, since we can’t get Zombie Dust locally. Over-hopped pale ales are nothing new, but they seem to be popping up more and more lately. Freshness of a hoppy pale is of great importance, more so than IPA, due to its lower hopping rate and alcohol. As with IPA, find the freshest possible batch before purchasing. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Off Color Brewing: TroublesomeToppling Goliath Brewing: pseudo Sue3 Floyds Brewing Company: Zombie DustBallast Point Brewing & Spirits: Grunion Direct A/V episodes: MP3 / Video Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 37 – This week, we’re drinking a hell-of-a-lot of Oktoberfest and Märzen style beers. Prost! It’s that time of year again…Oktoberfest! This year, we’re not fucking around. While there are many, many interpretations of “Octoberfest” beers out there, we decided to find as many as locally possible and just go for it. Oktoberfest Beers This week, we’re drinking 14 different Oktoberfest and Märzen-style beers from around the country and from Germany itself. While not all of them can be considered official “Oktoberfest” labeled beers, they all are brewed to celebrate than annual German tradition that is Oktoberfest. This year, Oktoberfest runs from September 19 thru October 4 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. We’re not going to spend any time on this post…there are 14 friggin’ beers on the show this week. Grab your dimpled mug and drink along. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Gordon Biersch Brewing: MärzenStaatliches Hofbräuhaus München: Hofbräu OktoberfestbierPaulaner Gruppe: Oktoberfest Märzen (USA Only)Spaten-Franziskaner-Löwenbräu-Gruppe: Spaten Oktoberfestbier / Oktoberfest Ur-MärzenSierra Nevada Brewing Co.: Oktoberfest – Brauhaus Riegele (2015)Abita Brewing Company: OctoberfestBayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan: Weihenstephaner FestbierSchlenkerla Heller-Bräu Trum: Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier – MärzenWarsteiner: Oktoberfest Special EditionHangar 24 Craft Brewery: Oktoberfest Fall LagerBoston Beer Company (Samuel Adams): Samuel Adams OctoberFestSpoetzl Brewery: Shiner OktoberfestLeft Hand Brewing Company: OktoberfestNinkasi Brewing Company: Oktoberfest Festbier Lager Direct A/V episodes: MP3 / Video Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 36 – This week on the show, a plethora of IPA, and some tasty beers from our buddy, Phil. This week, were drinking the OC Brew HAHA South County IPA, as well as IPA from SoCal and Athens, Georgia. And just for the fun of it, we’re throwing in a Berliner Weisse as well. We kick off the show with with two beers from friend of the show and Patreoneer, Phil Lorezini. Phil is currently living in Florida, and was kind enough to send us some beer from Creature Comforts Brewing Company out of Athens, Georgia. To get things going, we open Athena, a delicious and spot-on Berliner Weisse. It’s tart and refreshing with just enough of that acidic bite to take it over the top. Berliner Weisse can be a complicated beer to make, even though it’s quite delicate and simple. Achieving the proper level of tart and funk is the sign of a great Berliner Weisse. Athena doesn’t disappoint. IPA and a Berliner Weisse. Now to the IPA! Keeping with Creature Comforts, we open the Tropicália IPA. Creature Comforts aptly summarizes this beer as “a ripe and juicy balanced American IPA”. It’s brewed with Citra, Centennial, and Glaxay hops. The beer finishes dry enough to pass for a west coast IPA while having a malt profile similar to an east coast IPA. It really is a nice balance of malt and hops, and not an overpowering, bitter malt bomb like many east coast IPAs tend to be. The east coast is slowly coming around to that west coast-style IPA radness, y’all. Next up is the OC Brew HAHA South County IPA. This beer was brewed in collaboration with Cameron Collins, founder of the OC Brew HAHA, Left Coast Brewing Co., Artifex Brewing Company, and Pizza Port San Clemente. The “south county” part of the name refers to south Orange County, which is where these three breweries hail from. Nagel recently did a write up on the beer for Orange Coast Magazine that sums it up pretty well. One thing that stood out to him was a mouth numbing affect the hops seemed to have on him, which is kinda weird and hard to pinpoint why. It’s a deliciously hoppy beer that’s well executed. You can try it at the OC Brew HAHA which is this Saturday! Get your tickets before they sell out… Speaking of Pizza Port San Clemente, the next beer up is their Mango IPA, Lono. This beer smells and tastes like a freakin’ mango. It’s delicious. Pizza Port San Clemente utilizes step mashing in their beers (which could be a reason why they’re beers are so great), leading us into a discussion on the importance of step mashing and if it’s something that actually makes a difference in certain styles of beer. We wrap up the show with a beer from Barley Forge Brewing Company, One Louder. We’ve had this beer on the show before and it was great, so why not have it again? Barley Forge also utilizes step mashing, and their beers are awesome. Maybe we’re seeing a pattern here? BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Creature Comforts Brewing Company: AthenaCreature Comforts Brewing Company: TropicáliaLeft Coast / Artifex / Pizza Port San Clemente: South County IPAPizza Port: Lono (Mango IPA) (San Clemente)Barley Forge Brewing Co.: One Louder Direct A/V episodes: MP3 / Video Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 35 – This week, we’re drinking three vintages of the Stone Brewing Co. collaboration beer, w00tstout. This week on the show, we’re drinking three vintages of the Drew Curtis/Wil Wheaton/Greg Koch Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstout, or as it’s generally known, w00tstout. It’s origins were inspired by the touring variety show known as w00tstock, which was created by Wil Wheaton, Adam Savage, and the group Paul and Storm. w00tstout is a collaboration between Stone Brewing Co. CEO Greg Koch, Wil Wheaton, and Fark.com creator, Drew Curtis. Stone Brewing Co. – w00tstout Stone Brewing Co. releases the beer annually during Hop-Con, an event held during the San Diego International Comic-Con. Two of the three vintages were designed by the collaborators mentioned above, with the exception of Stone w00tstout 2.0, which was a collaboration between Wil Wheaton, Drew Curtis, and Aisha Tyler. All three vintages of w00tstout were partially bourbon barrel-aged and made with pecans, flaked rye malt, and wheat malt, while the 2014 Stone w00tstout 2.0 was made with the same ingredients as the 2013 Drew Curtis/Wil Wheaton/Greg Koch Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstout, but with the addition of cocoa. Whew! Pizza Port Brewing Company – Pick Six Pilsner We kick off the show with a warm up beer from Pizza Port Brewing Company named Pick Six, a hoppier-than-usual pilsner that has been a long time favorite of beer drinkers local to the San Diego beer scene. Pizza Port recently started canning some of their long-time legendary pub beers, and so far they’re all hits. This beer is deliciously perfect during these scorching SoCal summer days. So, how did the two previous vintages w00tstout hold up in comparison the the latest 2015 release? Well, you’ll have to listen to the show to find out. w00t THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Pizza Port Brewing Company: Pick Six PilsnerStone Brewing Co.: Drew Curtis/Wil Wheaton/Greg Koch Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstoutStone Brewing Co.: Stone w00tstout 2.0Stone Brewing Co.: Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstout (2015) Direct A/V episodes: MP3 / Video Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 34 – Natalie DeNicholas joins us for another round as we drink a variety of beers for the great state of Colorado. This week, we’re going full Colorado. Six beers from four great CO breweries. It’s no secret that Colorado is a mecca of craft beer, and this week we’re honing in on some of our favorites. Colorado Beers We kick off the show with a couple of beers brought to us by friend of the show Enrique Leyva. He recently visited Colorado and brought some beers back for Matt. First up is Prost Brewing Company. Prost has only been on the scene for a few years, but their authentic German brews are spot on and delicious. If you’re ever in Denver for the Great American Beer Festival, you’re sure to see some beer celebs throwing back Pils at Prost. Next up is a Life’s Trade from TRVE Brewing Company, “the most metal fucking brewery ever,” according to Matt. It’s a saison fermented in Puncheons, and it’s awesome. TRVE is a very small operation and they’ve recently announced plans for expansion. Great Divide Brewing Company is next on deck with their 21st Anniversary sour ale. TL;DR we all think it needs more time in the bottle, which will allow the tart character to develop a bit more. We finish the show with two beers from Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project that John has been storing in his cellar for a few years, Bourbon Barrel Cherry Origins, and Nightmare On Brett (Grand Cru). Our love for Crooked Stave runs deep, and these beers only reinforce our devotion. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Prost Brewing Company: PilsTrve Brewing: Life’s TradeGreat Divide Brewing Company: 21st AnniversaryCrooked Stave Artisan Beer Project: Bourbon Barrel Cherry OriginsCrooked Stave Artisan Beer Project: Nightmare On Brett (Grand Cru) Direct A/V episodes: MP3 / Video Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramtumblrFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 33 – This week, homebrew from Nagel and special guest Natalie DeNicholas. Friend and fellow homebrewer, Natalie DeNicholas, joins us on the show this week with homebrew in hand. She’s been brewing for a few years now, and is a member of the famous southern California homebrew club, Maltose Falcons. Natalie DeNicholas (via Instagram) First up are two saisons that Natalie brewed early in her homebrewing career. While she doesn’t remember the details of the recipes, she does remember the basics of each of the beers. The first saison we try poured brilliantly clear in the glass and smelled wonderful. This beer was pretty basic as saison recipes go, and was fermented with a French farmhouse yeast strain (assumably Wyeast 3711). The carbonation and flavor on this beer was great and served as a perfect opener for the show. The second saison was more in line with a tradition Belgian saison, made with belgian malts and fermented with a Belgian White Labs yeast strain (WLP565, more than likely). Next up is Natalie’s anti-oatmeal stout. The recipe originally called for oats to be used in the mash but Natalie, well, forgot to add them. Whoops. It happens to us all at one point or another. This beer had a big chocolate aroma, and even though it didn’t have oats to beef up the body, it maintained a nice mouthfeel with a pleasantly sweet body. Great stuff, indeed. We finish up with a kölsch from Mr. Nagel. Prior to the show, Greg thought about filtering this beer to see how much it would affect certain aspects of it, but he ultimately couldn’t find the time to get it done. Since this brew was version 1.0, he thought he’d bring it by anyway to get our feedback on how it could be improved. Temperature during fermentation can have a big impact on the yeast character of a beer, especially a kölsch. We all conclude that the ester profile is a bit much in this beer and fermenting at a cooler temperature might help reduce it to an acceptable level. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Direct A/V episodes: MP3 / Video Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcherYouTube (Videos) Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 32 – This week we find out if Green Flash Brewing Company’s versions of Alpine Beer Company beers are up to snuff with Alpine’s authentic brews. These days, brewery buy-outs and partnerships are becoming more and more commonplace, not only in terms of macro breweries buying out smaller craft breweries, but also larger craft breweries partnering and purchasing smaller, well known craft breweries. One example as of late is the purchase of Alpine Beer Company by Green Flash Brewing Company. Whether a brewery is purchased by a macro or a fellow craft brewery, there is one question that most craft beer consumers and aficionados ask: What’s going to happen to the quality of the beer? Will it remain the same? Will it be brewed at the same brewery, or will it be shipped off to a massive brewhouse somewhere on the east coast, only to become a watered down, boring version of its former self? Alpine Beer Company – Nelson and Duet When it came to the purchase of Alpine Beer Company by Green Flash, most people thought it was a good thing for both companies. Alpine was a very small operation while Green Flash was cruising along with their brand new 50BBL brewhouse and making beer for the masses all over the country. With the help of Green Flash, Alpine could afford to pay its employees more money and provide benefits for them while at the same time getting their beer to more people. Green Flash is well versed in IPA, so replicating Alpine’s massively popular IPAs shouldn’t be too much for Green Flash to handle, right? This brings us to where we are today, and this week’s episode. For quite some time, Green Flash has been brewing two of Alpine’s best core beers: Duet and Nelson. Hop heads all over SoCal and beyond know and cherish these beers. They’re legendary. So, when Jason heard that beer geeks were harshly questioning the quality of Green Flash’s versions of the hoppy Alpine classics compared to the Alpine versions (which Alpine still brews and bottles), he decided to take matters into his own hands. This week, we’re drinking Duet and Nelson from both Green Flash Brewing Company and Alpine Beer Company. Jason went to Alpine Beer Company to purchase fresh bottles of Duet and Nelson that were brewed at Alpine, then went to Green Flash Brewing Company to purchase two fresh growlers of the same beers brewed at Green Flash. SPOILER ALERT: RESULTS AFTER THE PHOTO. Alpine Beer Company Growler Caps Let’s cut to the chase. We were very surprised with the outcome of this experiment. Two tasters of each beer were brought to us blindly. We were told what the beers were by name, but didn’t know which brewery they came from. John’s girlfriend, Yvonne, helped us out with that. [Thanks, Yvonne!] As it turns out, the criticism of Green Flash’s versions of Alpine’s beers is justified. Duet, brewed with Simcoe and Amarillo hops, was the real eye-opener. Drinking these beers side by side, you’d think they were completely different beers. Their colors were even quite different. Aromas were also different, and not just subtly. We even had to send Yvonne back to make sure she brought us Duet from each brewery. They were that different. The room was divided on which one of these was the better beer. In the end, we chose the Green Flash version as (what we thought was) the authentic version. Wrong. Duet and Nelson Side by Side The two Nelson variations were actually much closer to one another. But just like Duet, their colors were wildly different. The room agreed the one of the beers stood head and shoulders above the other. We guessed this one correctly. The Alpine version was fantastic. So, there you go. It seems the the criticism of Green Flash’s versions of the Alpine IPAs is somewhat warranted. That being said, Green Flash’s versions were still very good beers, but were different from the originals brewed by Alpine. Could batch scaling be the issue? Maybe each brewery had a different crop of hops? Then there’s the beer color issue. We kick around some ideas regarding why they were so different, but in the end, who knows. Maybe one day we’ll have Green Flash on the show and we’ll get an answer. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Alpine Beer Company: Hoppy BirthdayAlpine Beer Company: DuetAlpine Beer Company: NelsonAlpine Beer Company: Pure Hoppiness Direct A/V episodes: MP3 | Video Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcher Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 31 – This week, we’re drinking a variety of Belgian-style ales because why the hell not. It truly is a great time in craft beer. The beers are this week’s show exemplify it. Crooked Stave, Jester King, Highland Park Brewery…damn. We kick off the show with two beers from one of Los Angeles’ newest breweries, Highland Park Brewery. Highland Park is a local favorite of ours, and rightly so. They’re located near Eagle Rock Brewing and Golden Road Brewing Company, so making a trip so the somewhat out of the way brewery and tasting room at HP is well worthwhile. Assorted Dope-Ass Brews Next up is the 2015 LA Beer Week collaboration beer, Unity. Unity was brewed at Smog City Brewing in Torrance, CA in collaboration with other local Los Angeles breweries. We also spend a bit of time talking about LA Beer Week’s Kickoff Celebration that Jason and Matt attended back in June. The final beer is a collaboration between Crooked Stave, Jester King, and Swiss brewery Brasserie Trois Dames. Matt randomly found this beer at a local shop near The Bruery, so of course, he bought it. I mean, you can’t go wrong, right? Until next week… BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Highland Park Brewery: UnculturedHighland Park Brewery: Slow MovesSmog City and LA Beer Week Breweries: UnityCrooked Stave, Jester King, and Brasserie Trois Dames: Cerveza Sin Frontera Direct A/V episodes: MP3 | Video Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcher Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 30 – This week’s episode is all about homebrew, more specifically, homebrew from 4B super-fan Kyle Wells! Homebrew, homebrew, and more homebrew. This week it’s all about homebrew. We’ve got four on the show this week, three of which are from 4B Patron and super-fan Kyle Wells, and the from our very own Greg Nagel. Kyle gave us these brews a couple of months ago with the expectation that we’d try them on the show and give him some feedback. Spoiler alert: Kyle is a great brewer. Kyle Wells’ Homebrew Not too long ago, Greg brewed a batch of saison that was split up with the intent of making different beers from the same ten gallon batch. With this beer, he added some Anaheim chilies to the mix. Greg’s wife is a fan of chili beers, and this one was made just for her. Chili beers can be difficult to make. Getting the right balance of heat, chili aroma, and chili flavor is tricky. Getting it right takes a bit of trial and error. We all agree that this brew turned out well. Thanks for the brews, Kyle, and keep up the great work! BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Mid World Brewing: Black FlaggMid World Brewing: Belgian SaisonMid World Brewing: Scottish Red Ale, V1.1Fort Awesome Brewing: Anaheim Chili Saison Direct A/V episodes: MP3 | Video Subscribe:iTunes: Audio / VideoRSS: Audio / VideoStitcher Support the show:PatreonPayPal 4B Social Media:FacebookTwitterInstagramFlickr Email 4B: [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 29 – This week, we’re hanging out with Walt and Luke Dickinson from Asheville, North Carolina’s Wicked Weed Brewing. So, this show is pretty rad. We’ve got Walt and Luke Dickinson from Wicked Weed Brewingon the show, at the same time, from two different locations, one of which is a car outside of a bar. Holy. Shit. Wicked Weed Brewing Canvas Series We’re drinking six different beers from two different series from Wicked Weed. The first set of brews is from their Canvas Series, which are basically smaller batch, experimental brews, and the other three are from their special release series of beers (basically, beers that made it beyond the canvas series). Wicked Weed Brewing – Medora, Black Angel, and Genesis Wicked Weed has pretty limited distribution at the moment, but that’s all about to change with the installment of their new 50BBL brewhouse (again, Holy. Shit.). Their popularity among beer geeks has been soaring as of late, and over here in SoCal, it’s hard to get ahold of their brews. Luckily, Wicked Weed was kind enough to send some of their amazing creations to us. There wasn’t a bad beer in the bunch. Seriously, they were all very good, and each beer was better than the next. Hey, Wicked Weed, distro in SoCal soon? Yeah?! Please?! Thanks again to Luke and Walt for hanging out with us! BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Beers from this week’s episode:Brett BurglarLa Bonte (with Pear)Genesis Blonde SourMedoraRecurrantBlack Angel Cherry Sour Help support Four Brewers!Support the show on Patreon!Donate via PayPal Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, leave a review of 4B!Stitcher Thumb us up on Facebook:facebook.com/fourbrewers Follow us on Twitter:twitter.com/fourbrewersshow Got a question? Feedback? Email us:feedback at fourbrewers dot com.

Season 2, Episode 28 – This week we’re drinking Nagel’s vacation beers! Before I (John) start this post, The guys and I just want to say thank you to everyone who came to our first anniversary party at Hamilton Family Brewery. It was really fun catching up with our friends and fans, and seeing some new faces. Josh (brewer and co-owner of HamFam) did an excellent job with the collaboration saison, and everyone seemed to be really impressed with it. Four Brewers with Joshua Hamilton Big, BIG thanks to Josh and Crysten for having us at their place and for being so accommodating. We can only hope 4B anniversary parties to follow are just as epic. Now, to this week’s show! We’re back with our first 4B-only in-studio show in quite a while, and we’re drinking some beers that Greg brought back from his recent trip to Oregon. Fort George and The Commons Brewery – Plazm We kick off the show with a beer from Fort George Brewing, Plazm, a collaboration with The Commons Brewery. We’ve had Fort George on the show before, and we’re big fans of their IPA offerings. This time, we’re drinking their saison/farmhouse ale. Fort George never seems to be a let down, and this beer is no exception. Pfriem Beers We move on from Fort George and try a few beers from pFriem Family Brewers. Our good friend, Mike Sardina, recommended to Greg that he stop by their place while he was in Oregon, and Greg did just that. All in all, we really liked their beers, and we were really digging on the bottle art and labels. pFriem is definitely a brewery we’ll be on the lookout for in the future… Trinity Brewing – Damn, It Feels Good To Be a Gangsta! We wrap up with another round of “Guess That Brew”, and finish the show with Damn, It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta from Trinity Brewing out of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Greg happened to see Trinity on the shelf while he was up north. We don’t really have access to Trinity in SoCal, so why not pick some stuff up, right? Be sure listen next week, where we have Walt and Luke from Wicked Weed Brewing on the show! BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Help support Four Brewers!Support the show on Patreon!Donate via PayPal Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, leave a review of 4B!Stitcher Thumb us up on Facebook:facebook.com/fourbrewers Follow us on Twitter:twitter.com/fourbrewersshow Got a question? Feedback? Email us:feedback at fourbrewers dot com.

Season 2, Episode 27 – This week we’re hanging out with author Emma Christensen and we’re drinking homebrew. We’re back in the studio! While the on-locations shows are quite a hoot for us to do, it sure is nice to be back on our home turf. We’re joined this week by Emma Christensen via Google Hangouts. She wears variety of different hats, two of which are author and homebrewer. She’s also an editor at The Kitchn, which according many people (and more specifically Matt) is a super-rad web-based food magazine. Brew Better Beer – Emma Christensen Emma is the author of the home brewing how-to book, Brew Better Beer. She was kind enough to send us each a copy of the book, as well as four bottles of homebrew that she made from actually recipes in the book! Holy shit, how cool is that?! We talk to Emma about the book, what inspired her to write it, and how it’s different from other home brewing books. It should be said that it’s a beautiful book with a large variety of homebrew recipes, and was written for both the beginning and advanced homebrewers. You can check it out on Amazon, if you like. Obviously, there’s beer to be drank and don’t worry, we drank it. Emma drank along with us as well. It was fun, and the beers were pretty kick-ass. Big thanks to Emma for guesting on the show. Buy the book, and get to brewin’. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Help support Four Brewers!Support the show on Patreon!Donate via PayPal Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, leave a review of 4B!Stitcher Thumb us up on Facebook:facebook.com/fourbrewers Follow us on Twitter:twitter.com/fourbrewersshow Got a question? Feedback? Email us:feedback at fourbrewers dot com.

Season 2, Episode 26 – This week, we’re back in Dr. Bill’s cellar, and talking about the business side of beer. This week we’re back in Dr. Bill’s epic cellar, and we’re discussing the beer industry. We kick off the discussion with a beer that falls right in line with the discussion, Stone Brewing Co.’s Enjoy By 07.04.15 IPA. Stone is a big advocate of enjoying beer fresh, and really has led the way in bottle dating and stressing the importance of checking the freshness of beers before they’re purchased and consumed. Enjoy By literally tells you when to drink the beer. Drink it fresh! Stone Brewing Co. – Enjoy By 07.04.15 IPA The next beer up is Cantillon’s Grand Cru Bruocsella, vintage 2011. This beer kicks off a really important discussion about beer quality, in regards to localized nano breweries. Craft beer is booming right now, and there are a lot of great breweries opening (which is totally awesome), but it does come with its caveats. Brewing beer on such a small scale leaves a lot of room for mistakes and QA issues. We talk about how important it is to make the best product possible, since many new customers are trying beer for the first time. You don’t want to leave them with a bad taste in their mouth…right?! Cantillon – Grand Cru Bruocsella Thanks again to Dr. Bill for having us at his home and in his radical cellar. You da man, Bill! BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Help support Four Brewers!Support the show on Patreon!Donate via PayPal Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, leave a review of 4B!Stitcher Thumb us up on Facebook:facebook.com/fourbrewers Follow us on Twitter:twitter.com/fourbrewersshow Got a question? Feedback? Email us:feedback at fourbrewers dot com.

Season 2, Episode 25 – This week we’re at the ever-so-awesome Urge Gastropub in Rancho Bernardo, San Diego. This week, we’re still in San Diego, California at our third stop, Urge American Gastropub. This show is a bit of a deviation from our normal shows in that Urge isn’t a brewery, but rather an awesome beer-geeky pub and restaurant. Anna, Hidden Barrel Peche, and Cable Car Ale Urge [bURGEr] Gastropub was founded in 2010 by owner and proprietor Grant Tondro and Zak Higson. Grant comes from a family of restaurant owners, and is a huge beer geek. Urge boasts 51 taps of craft beer, and an insane bottle list that even the geekiest beer geek would drool over. We kick off the show with a beer that’s pretty much impossible to get in Southern California, Anna from Hill Farmstead Brewery. Urge is a restaurant after all, so naturally we’re gonna have some food on the show. Grant whipped up an awesome spread for us that included a few different burgers and some beer cheese fries. It’s all awesome stuff–Urge is no joke. Grant Tondro, General Manager & Proprietor, Urge Gastropub The other beers on the show include a peach sour named Hidden Barrel Peche from AC Golden (yup, Coors), a 2015 Cable Car Ale from The Lost Abbey, and a pint of 2015 YuleSmith Summer from AleSmith Brewing Co.. #Whalezbro indeed… Inside the Coldbox at Urge Gastropub Grant has plans to open a brewery in Oceanside, California in late 2015 named Mason Ale Works, with Mike Rodriguez (formerly of The Lost Abbey and Boulevard Brewing) at the helm. Keep your eyes open… Urge Gastropub is a great spot with delicious food, awesome brews and a great atmosphere. Definitely worth checking out the next time you’re in the area. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E25 Show Outline Help support Four Brewers!Support the show on Patreon!Donate via PayPal Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, leave a review of 4B!Stitcher Thumb us up on Facebook:facebook.com/fourbrewers Follow us on Twitter:twitter.com/fourbrewersshow Got a question? Feedback? Email us:feedback at fourbrewers dot com.

Season 2, Episode 24 – This week, we’re visiting one of the many breweries along the Hop Highway, Belching Beaver Brewery in Vista, CA. Belching Beaver is one of many breweries along the legendary Hop Highway in San Diego, California, which is home to many other notable breweries like Stone Brewing Co., Port Brewing Company, Toolbox Brewing Company, and Iron Fist Brewing Co.. Opening just three years ago, they’ve already set themselves apart with their unique takes on classic styles. They really skyrocketed in popularity with the release of their delicious Peanut Butter Milk Stout. Belching Beaver Brewery Beers (Rabid Beaver Rye IPA not pictured) During the course of the episode, we sample six different beers from the brewery, and discuss them with Belching Beaver brewer, Sean Laidlaw. Sean started in the beer industry at Mission Brewery after returning from a stint at Sierra Nevada Beer Camp, which is also where he met our own Greg Nagel. After working at Mission Brewery for just over a year as an assistant brewer, he decided to just ship and start brewing at Belching Beaver. Sean Laidlaw, Brewer at Belching Beaver Brewery The first two beers we try on the show are Me So Honey and Beaver’s Milk, both of which are very well crafted and awesome beers. But when we get to their coconut and pineapple infused IPA Great Lei, our minds are blown. Typically, coconut is used in stouts and porters. The roasted notes and tropical sweetness from the coconut really lends itself well to those styles. But when the coconut is paired with pineapple and the right variety of matching hops in the IPA style, it works amazingly well. For those who aren’t keen to IPA, this beer introduces hops and bitterness in a very approachable way by masking the bitterness with the pineapple while enhancing the fruit characteristics of the hops. The coconut really takes it over the top to make it a refreshing and tropical experience. Belching Beaver Brewery – Hop Highway IPA Next up is a beer whose name is a tribute to San Diego’s stretch of beer-legend highway, Hop Highway IPA. India Pale Ale in San Diego is nothing new, so for a new brewery to launch with an IPA named after such a legendary stretch of road, it’d better be great. This beer delivers. Made with Citra, Nelson, and Galaxy hops, this beer delivers lasting, clean bitterness and tropical hop bite. IPAs these days tend to trend more toward less hop bitterness with massive hop aroma and flavor. This beer pays tribute to the classic style, but also delivers the modern characteristics that IPA lovers today demand. Greg Nagel Belching Beaver recently announced that they will be canning their beers, which is music to our ears. Cans are super-portable and protect beer very well from light and oxidation. Belching Beaver is currently using a mobile canning line, but plans on installing their on canning line when the new brewery in Oceanside, California is built. We can’t thank Belching Beaver enough for having us at the brewery. Next time you’re in North County, pay them a visit. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E24 Show OutlineBeers from this show: Me So Honey, Beaver’s Milk, Great Lei, Hop Highway IPA, Rabid Beaver Rye IPA, and Old Smokestack. Help support Four Brewers!Support the show on Patreon!Donate via PayPal Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, leave a review of 4B!Stitcher Thumb us up on Facebook:facebook.com/fourbrewers Follow us on Twitter:twitter.com/fourbrewersshow Got a question? Feedback? Email us:feedback at fourbrewers dot com.

Season 2, Episode 23 – This week, we’re discussing beer cellaring with the legendary “Dr. Bill” Sysak at his home in Escondido, California. This week’s blog post was provided by Yvonne England [John’s super-rad girlfriend]. You’re welcome. [Bracketed commentary supplied by John Holzer.] This week, we go see Dr. Bill Sysak, the Craft Beer Ambassador for Stone Brewing Co.. He “handles the beverage philosophy” for Stone. We’re pretty sure he made that shit up, but it’s cool [He didn’t make it up]. He’s Dr. Bill. He can get away with it. He’s been around the craft beer world for a while, so he’s a great resource on all things beer. He’s known for cellaring (dudes, he’s been doing this for over three decades), so that’s why we went to his cellar. “Dr. Bill” Sysak We start the show with a 2012 Double Bastard Ale by Stone Brewing Co. As John eloquently notes, this beer cellars well, transforming into a beautiful beast filled with cameral and winter fruit loveliness [John didn’t say that]. Stone Brewing Co. – Double Bastard Ale 2012 Dr. Bill gives some advice on cellaring: if you’re getting a beer that you want to cellar, buy a case. Taste one fresh. If you like it, drink it all! But, if you want to start cellaring it, here are some rules (feel free to mix shit up). Look for 8% or stronger, bottle conditioned, and darker is better. Keep it temperature controlled—red wine temps, whatever that means [55º-65º]. Avoid extreme temperature fluctuations, direct sunlight, and minimize oxidation [This last one is direct more towards brewers]. Belgian tripels, stuff with wild yeast strains, and sour beers are also great to age. Thomas Hardy’s Ale, Vintage 1996 John gets into a few details on his crazy cellaring adventures. He went a little nuts, initially [I did]. He admits it [I do]. He saw Bill’s cellar years ago and went bananas with The Bruery beers. It got out of control. Don’t do this [or, do]. Dr. Bill suggests a few styles to get you started (Barely Wines, Imperial Stouts, and so on). Then he provides a few specific beers: Big Foot, Old Guardian, Old Crustacean, and Old Fog Horn. If you’ve bought a case to cellar, try them every 6 months. When it peaks [you think it’s tasting great], drink them. Throw a party. Invite us [yes, do this]. [Insert this epic Thomas Hardy’s Ale from 1996 that Yvonne trollishly forgot to mention…] Then Dr. Bill drops a bomb: saisons. You can cellar that shit. It’s risky, but potentially worth it. Matt disagrees [does he?]. He’s Matt. He does that. If you remember, we recently had a bad experience with an bad saison, but Dr. Bill explains it away: Nuance in brewing. A burnt kettle. It was unintentional. It was a bad side of brewing. These things happen you guys. Cool your jets [yes, do this]. If you want to learn more about cellaring beyond this episode, and you like to read, check out Patrick Dawson’s Vintage Beers book. It’s a great, scientific resource on cellaring. But, as Dr. Bill notes, it’s a practice. You should play around with it. Experiment. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. [Thanks, Yvonne.] Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E23 Show Outline Help support Four Brewers!Support the show on Patreon!Donate via PayPal Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, leave a review of 4B!Stitcher Thumb us up on Facebook:facebook.com/fourbrewers Follow us on Twitter:twitter.com/fourbrewersshow Got a question? Feedback? Email us:feedback at fourbrewers dot com.

Season 2, Episode 22 – This week, we’re drinking the final six beers from the Ultimate Box Set, Tracks 7-12. We’re flipping the record to side B this week and sampling Tracks 7-12 from The Lost Abbey Ultimate Box Set. Be sure to check out part one where we sampled Tracks 1-6 because they were pretty killer brews. We’ve gone full Satanist at this point, mostly due to the hellish theme of the box set beer names, and of course, the alcohol. Just a reminder: The “Bonus Track”, Track #13 (Message in a Bottle), will be a Patreon-only episode, exclusively for our Patreoneers on Patreon. If you’re not a supporter, maybe consider supporting 4B on Patreon? The Lost Abbey Ultimate Box Set Here are Tracks 7-12:• Track #7: The Devil Inside• Track #8: Number of the Beast• Track #9: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door• Track #10: Bat Out of Hell• Track #11: The Devil Went Down to Georgia• Track #12: Heaven and Hell Overall, we LOVED Tracks 6 and 12, but this was truly an awesome compilation of beers. Cheers to everyone at The Lost Abbey for crafting such unique and stellar brews, and for putting this box set together. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E22 Show OutlineThe Lost Abbey Help support Four Brewers!Support the show on Patreon!Donate via PayPal Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, leave a review of 4B!Stitcher Thumb us up on Facebook:facebook.com/fourbrewers Follow us on Twitter:twitter.com/fourbrewersshow Got a question? Feedback? Email us:feedback at fourbrewers dot com.

Season 2, Episode 21 – This week, we crack open The Lost Abbey Ultimate Box Set and sample Tracks 1-6. This week we’re [stage] diving into what is quite possibly one of the most sought after items in the world of craft beer, The Lost Abbey Ultimate Box Set. There have been talks to open this box set on the show since the beginning of Four Brewers, and now we are finally delivering with this two part Box-Set-blowout-bonanza. Given the intensity and quantity of the 13 beers in the set, we decided to split the Box Set between two episodes. This episode is focusing on “Tracks” 1-6, and next week’s will feature the final six Tracks, 7-12. The “Bonus Track”, Track #13, will be a Patreon-only episode, exclusively for our Patreoneers on Patreon. If you’re not a supporter, maybe consider supporting 4B on Patreon? The Lost Abbey Ultimate Box Set If you’re unfamiliar with The Ultimate Box Set, it’s essentially 13 beers that were blended and bottled in 2012 by The Lost Abbey. Each beer was inspired by different a rock & roll song and beers were released every month-ish, with the final Box Set made available to purchase in November of 2012 to lucky individuals who won the opportunity to purchase one. Each winner could purchase up to two Box Sets, and that’s how John acquired his (this is his Box Set, by the way. Thanks, John!). Local beer geek and friend, Kasey Spatz, offered John the Box Set, so without her this show wouldn’t be possible. Thanks, Kasey! Here are Tracks 1-6:• Track #1: Runnin’ With the Devil• Track #2: Stairway to Heaven• Track #3: Hell’s Bells• Track #4: Sympathy For the Devil• Track #5: Shout At the Devil• Track #6: Highway to Hell Tune in next week for Tracks 7-12. Until then… BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E21 Show Outline Help support Four Brewers!Support the show on Patreon!Donate via PayPal Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, leave a review of 4B!Stitcher Thumb us up on Facebook:facebook.com/fourbrewers Follow us on Twitter:twitter.com/fourbrewersshow Got a question? Feedback? Email us:feedback at fourbrewers dot com.

Season 2, Episode 20 – This week on the show, we’re back in the studio in classic Four Brewers style, drinking homebrew, craft brew, reading beer reviews, and blind tasting. BOOM! We kick off the show with a beer that’s has been 6 months in the making, John and Matt’sbrettanomyces-conditioned saison. You may recall a similar beer from episode 27 of season 1, their grisette-style saison. This is essentially the same beer, but with some corn sugar added at the end of the boil to dry out the beer a little more. This beer was fermented with Matt’s super-secret saison yeast. Ten gallons of this beer was made, and five gallons was keg-conditioned with ECY34, the “Dirty Dozen” brettanomyces yeast from East Coast Yeast. Matt and John are quite happy with how this beer turned out, and everyone agrees that it’s a winner. Monkish Brewing Co. – Rara Avis Next up is a very special beer provided to us by Brian White of Monkish Brewing Co., Rara Avis. This beer was made specifically for The Rare Beer Club, and was also served at The Bruery’s recent anniversary party, Copperversary, in Anaheim, California. Huge brett funk with a bit of acidity and fruity hop character make this beer absolutely fabulous. Big thanks to Brian for the hook up! We end the show with “Guess That Brew” and “Going In Blind”. We haven’t played these games in quite a while, and their return is welcomed by all of us. Yvonne England joins us as our pouress for this session. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E20 Show Outline Help support Four Brewers!Support the show on Patreon!Donate via PayPal Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, leave a review of 4B!Stitcher Thumb us up on Facebook:facebook.com/fourbrewers Follow us on Twitter:twitter.com/fourbrewersshow Got a question? Feedback? Email us:feedback at fourbrewers dot com.

Season 2, Episode 19 – This week, we’re going full-throttle with the beer-geekdom and drinking beers with Brad Daniels at his awesome home brewery, Peace Brewing, the third of our three stops at three Orange County breweries. This week, we’re at one of the coolest homebreweries in southern California, Bradley Daniels‘ Peace Brewing in Anaheim. While his place isn’t an actual “craft brewery”, his home is legendary in the Orange County beer world, and we thought it appropriate to feature his brewery/bar/man-cave in this, the last stop of our Orange County brewery tour. Peace Brewing We kick the show off with a blonde ale that Brad has brewed 12 times so far. This recipe was actually written by our very own Matt Becker when he worked at O’Shea’s Brewing back in the day. The beer was a hit with Brad’s friends, so he continued to brew it. Brad’s home is quite beautiful and he hosts many events that cater to a broad range of people, so having a beer that’s approachable and easy drinking is ideal. This beer is perfect for such occasions, but can also be appreciated by even the geekiest beer geek. Brad has a very unique home brewery. It’s essentially a three-tier brewing system without the brewing stand. When Brad began homebrewing 25 years ago, he didn’t have a lot of money to spend on brewing equipment and he pieced together what he could. His brewing setup today is very much like his original system 25 years ago, with a few tweaks here and there. Brad gave us a quick tour of his setup and brewday in the video above. Brad’s Brewing Area Next up is a stout that Brad has on tap and in bottles nearly year-round, it seems. It’s an oatmeal stout that’s served with nitro on tap, but also traditionally conditioned in bottles for portability. This beer is a big hit in Brad’s circles, and in his own words, he “can’t seem to get away from it.” This beer is essentially a dry stout, but at a slightly higher ABV. “Brewer’s Licorice” is used in this beer to give it a unique edge. Brad’s Homebrew Setup We wrap up the show with a beer that was featured on a previous episode, Brad and Greg’scollaboration beer, Belgian Brunch. When we first tried the beer, we all agreed that it wasn’t quite ready for consumption. The carbonation wasn’t quite there, and the beer was a bit fragmented, overall. Seven months later, the beer is tasting great, but is still a suitable contender for cellaring. Bradley Daniels Brad is a genuinely great guy. He’s a true beer geek, upstanding citizen of Anaheim, and a gracious host. We can’t thank him enough for having us. We had a blast! BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E19 Show OutlineMore Photos from Peace Brewing Help support Four Brewers!Support the show on Patreon!Donate via PayPal Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, leave a review of 4B!Stitcher Thumb us up on Facebook:facebook.com/fourbrewers Follow us on Twitter:twitter.com/fourbrewersshow Got a question? Feedback? Email us:feedback at fourbrewers dot com.

Season 2, Episode 18 – This week we’re on location at Barley Forge Brewing Co. in Costa Mesa, California, the second of our three stops at three Orange County breweries. The second of our three brewery tour is Barley Forge Brewing Co. in Costa Mesa, California. Opening just six months ago, Barley Forge is already well on their way to becoming one of Orange County’s best craft breweries with a variety of beers ranging from the super-hoppy, to rich and exotic. Owner, Greg Nylen and Head of Brewing Operations, Kevin Buckley join us to talk about the brewery with a spread of Barley Forge’s outstanding brews. Barley Forge Brewing Co. We kick off the show with a Dortmunder-stlye lager from Barley Forge named Grandpa Tractor. This 5.0% ABV euro-style lager is made with Northern Brewer hops and was designed by Greg and Kevin to pair with Asian foods. It’s light, clean and refreshing, and translates well in bottle format, which we try along side the draft version. Before we head into the IPA and stout beers, we take a detour into Belgium with Barley Forge’s Belgian-style amber ale, Goesting. This beer is 5.7% ABV and is brewed with Perle and Styrian Goldings hops. Orange peel is used during the mash to give the beer a slight citrus kick that doesn’t take center stage, and Achouffe yeast is used to ferment the wort and give it its Belgian edge. Stone fruit is prominent on the nose, and the beer pairs nicely with mild, nutty cheese and honeycomb. What’s on tap at Barley Forge? Next up is a side-by-side of two double IPAs from Barley Forge, One Louder, and Future Tripping. We acknowledge that none of us are new to the IPA style of beer, but Barley Forge’s IPAs stand out in that they can accommodate to a wider audience with different tastes. One Louder will appeal to someone who likes more of a balanced, NorCal-style IPA, and is brewed with Nelson and Chinook hops, with some honey malt to round out the flavor. Future Tripping appeals more to those who enjoy an aggressively bitter IPA, and is made with Simcoe and Amarillo hops. If you love SoCal IPA, then Future Tripping is your jam. “This one goes to eleven.” We wrap up the show with a delicious coconut stout made with rye malt named, The Patsy. We find out later why it’s called the Patsy, but if you’re up on your classic British sketch comedy, you’ll understand the reference. This beer is awesome! Huge toasted coconut and chocolate aromas on the nose lead one to think that this beer might be a little too rich when it’s tasted, but the rye malts cut right through the sweetness and makes for a drier, cleaner than expected finish. Beer floats, anyone? The Brewhouse at Barley Forge Thanks to Greg and Kevin for having us at the brewery. It really is a beautiful spot with a lot of great beers on tap and some great in-house eats. Kevin Buckley is a well-seasoned brewer who knows his stuff, and it shows in the quality of their product. Before the start of the show, we met up with the team behind the craft beer documentary Blood, Sweat, and Beer: The Movie, Alexis Irvin and Chip Hiden. The documentary follows two start-up craft breweries from Maryland and Pennsylvania as they open up shop and get their beer out to the masses. Greg attended a screening of the film at the Newport Beach Film Festival last month, and it didn’t disappoint. You can save 20% on the pre-order price, which starts at $4.99 (it’s a sliding scale pricing model, so if you would like to kick in a little extra to help these two indie filmmakers out, you can), by using the code “beerme” at checkout. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E18 Show OutlineBlood, Sweat, and Beer: The Movie Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, leave a review of 4B!Stitcher Thumb us up on Facebook:facebook.com/fourbrewers Follow us on Twitter:twitter.com/fourbrewersshow Got a question? Feedback? Email us:feedback at fourbrewers dot com. Help support Four Brewers!Support the show on Patreon!Donate via PayPal

Season 2, Episode 17 – This week we’re on location at Noble Ale Works in Anaheim, California, the first of our three stops at three Orange County breweries. We’re back with another round of on-location episodes and this time, we’re focusing on the Orange County beer scene. The OC is very much up and coming, in terms of the excellent beers that are being produced, with breweries sprouting up all over the place from Brea to San Clemente. Brad Kominek (left) and Evan Price (right) Noble Ale Works is the first stop on our Session #16 road trip, and we’re hanging out with head brewer Evan Price, and lead brewer Brad Kominek. We start off with a porter served on cask that’s very near and dear to Evan’s heart, Porter Exporter. Evan and Brad recently returned from a trip to England where they visited many English pubs and breweries. The trip inspired them to get more into traditional English beer styles as well as cask ale. Noble has been serving cask beer for quite a while now, but this trip to England really inspired Evan and Brad to go even further with the cask ale and traditional English beer styles. Mind The Cask Porter Exporter is actually a beer whose recipe was derived from a book that Evan is currently obsessing over, Ronald Pattinson’s The Home Brewer’s Guide to Vintage Beer: Rediscovered Recipes for Classic Brews Dating from 1800 to 1965. The use of brown malt is key to giving this beer its coffee overtones and dryness. Keeping with traditional, the beer was served on cask at 55ºF, and was a perfect beer to start our long day of recording. The next beer is somewhat legendary in the beer geek world, Noble’s “golden milk stout with coffee”, Naughty Sauce. Sounds weird, right? How can a stout be golden?! Inspired by a blonde ale brewed by Jonathan Porter when he was still brewing at Tustin Brewing Company, Evan set out to make a beer of his own that incorporated all of the flavor, body, and aroma of a coffee stout while maintaining a golden color. Naughty Sauce is served on nitrogen, which gives it a super-smooth mouthfeel and fluffy white head that sticks to the inside of the glass. It’s a beautiful beer, and is described by Evan as a very approachable beer to new craft beer drinkers. Evan Price pouring “We Saved Latin” We wrap up with a collaboration beer that Noble made with another Southern California brewery, and friend of Four Brewers, Monkish Brewing Company. Evan was really blown away by the awesome brettanomyces beers that Henry Nguyen was making at Monkish, and decided it was time to make one at Noble. Evan admits that this beer was successful mostly because Henry really knows how to work with brettanomyces, and was gracious enough to throw some knowledge Evan’s way. The beer was bottle conditioned with brettanomyces about a month ago, and the brett character is already starting to shine. The name of the beer is We Saved Latin, and is set to be released in a month or so. Big thanks to Evan and Brad for having us. Noble Ale Works has been killing it lately, and they are definitely worth checking out if you’re in or near Anaheim. They’re also within walking distance of the Honda Center and Angel’s Stadium. How rad is that?! BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E17 Show Outline Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, leave a review of 4B!Stitcher Thumb us up on Facebook:facebook.com/fourbrewers Follow us on Twitter:twitter.com/fourbrewersshow Got a question? Feedback? Email us:feedback at fourbrewers dot com. Help support Four Brewers!Support the show on Patreon!Donate via PayPal