Four Brewers: Craft Beer and Homebrew

Season 2, Episode 16 - We’re going back to the homebrew this week with beers from John and Greg. Also, Hite. We’re going back a couple episodes into the past with this show as we pregame for the now released Saison Showdown. We kick off the show with a brettanomyces version of Greg’s saison from episode 9 of season 2 that was fermented with brett trois yeast. Wicked Weed and…Hite… Next, we’re drinking a beer muled by Mr. Carlos Granillo, Wicked Weed Brewing’s TakéTaké Saison. North Carolina’s Wicked Weed Brewing is somewhat new to the craft beer scene and they’re already making waves with their well-crafted beers and recent success at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival. Next up is a very special beer brewed by John and Carlos, Big G’s BBQ Smoked Porter. This beer clocks in at a very low 5.0% ABV, which technically disqualifies it from the porter category, so think of it as a “session smoked porter”. Five percent of the grain bill was smoked for three hours in Carlos’ smoker, and it sat on the top rack above a trip tip steak that was also in the smoker. Apple wood and cherry wood chips were used in the smoker, and half of this batch was aged for seven days in a used, five gallon whiskey barrel. The beer was brewed in 2012, and everyone agrees that it held up really well. Since this show was the precursor to the Saison Showdown, we decided to “cleanse” our palates with a tasty Korean treat of a beer known as Hite Ice Point. This sort of “Japanese-ish/American-ish hybrid light lager” is a favorite of Jason’s and suffice to say, opinions of the beer were polarized… BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E16 Show OutlineSession #15 Live Video Stream 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 15 - The Elite 8 of The Saison Showdown, and the reveal of the big winner. We’re back with part 2 of The Saison Showdown and we’re pretty excited to announce the winner, which – SPOILER ALERT – is after the photo. We were all really happy with the results, and really taken back by how some of the beers did in the competition. The Saison Showdown Just to recap, in order of the combined average rankings of both Rate Beer and Beer Advocate, the beers we tasted on the show are as follows: · Anchorage Brewing Company – Love Buzz· Boulevard Brewing Co. – Saison-Brett· Brasserie Fantôme – Saison· Logsdon Farmhouse Ales – Seizoen Bretta· Brasserie Dupont – Avec Les Bons Voeux· Brasserie Dupont – Saison Dupont· Boulevard Brewing Co. – Tank 7· Grassroots Brewing – Arctic Saison· Brewery Ommegang – Hennepin· The Bruery – Saison Rue· Prairie Artisan Ales – Prairie Ale· Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project – Surette· The Lost Abbey – Carnevale· Firestone Walker Brewing Company – Opal· Monkish Brewing Co. – Selah· Propolis Brewing – Beltane The “Elite Eight” that made it to the second round are as follows: · Boulevard Brewing Co. – Saison-Brett· Brasserie Dupont – Avec Les Bons Voeux· Monkish Brewing Co. – Selah· Grassroots Brewing – Arctic Saison· Firestone Walker Brewing Company – Opal· Brasserie Dupont – Saison Dupont· Prairie Artisan Ales – Prairie Ale· The Lost Abbey – Carnevale The “Final Four” that made it to the third round are as follows: · Boulevard Brewing Co. – Saison-Brett· Grassroots Brewing – Arctic Saison· Firestone Walker Brewing Company – Opal· Prairie Artisan Ales – Prairie Ale The finalists of The 2015 Four Brewers Saison Showdown: · Boulevard Brewing Co. – Saison-Brett· Firestone Walker Brewing Company – Opal The big winner of the 2015 Four Brewers Saison Showdown is: · Boulevard Brewing Co. – Saison-Brett The Saison Showdown Bracket There you have it folks! Congrats to Boulevard Brewing Co.! There are three awesome individuals that helped us with this massive blind tasting; Sara Kidd, “Dr.” Zack Alexander, and Bob Vreeland. We couldn’t have done this show in such an orderly and swift manner without the help of these pillars of podcast production. Our gratitude is extended to them for all of time. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E15 Show OutlineSession #15 Live Video StreamThe Saison Showdown Score SheetThe Hand-Written Four Brewers Saison Showdown Bracket SheetPDF of The 2015 Four Brewers Saison Showdown Bracket 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 14 - Here it is, folks! Part 1 of The Four Brewers Saison Showdown! Hey everybody! We’re back with another showdown of whalez and whatnot, but this time, it’s a style of ale known as saison! We chose 16 saisons from around the world (that we could acquire), and ranked them in order of the average rankings of Rate Beer and Beer Advocate combined. Who will be the big winner? Well, if you really want to know, like, RIGHT NOW, you can listen to the first minute of the show where we tell you what the randomly served beers were, which will allow you to know which beers we were talking about as they were randomly served to us, you can check out the scoring sheet we used for the showdown, or you can checkout the episode 14 show outline. If you want to wait until part 2, which will be released next week, then skip the first minute of the show and ignore everything else we just mentioned. It’s up to you, dawg! The Saison Showdown Saison is a very diverse style of beer, and it’s a pretty old style as well. It tends to have diverse interpretations among brewers and consumers, and we tried to touch on the different styles of saison that are currently available on the market that we could reasonable acquire. In order of the combined average rankings of both Rate Beer and Beer Advocate, the beers we tasted on the show are as follows: · Anchorage Brewing Company – Love Buzz· Boulevard Brewing Co. – Saison-Brett· Brasserie Fantôme – Saison· Logsdon Farmhouse Ales – Seizoen Bretta· Brasserie Dupont – Avec Les Bons Voeux· Brasserie Dupont – Saison Dupont· Boulevard Brewing Co. – Tank 7· Grassroots Brewing – Arctic Saison· Brewery Ommegang – Hennepin· The Bruery – Saison Rue· Prairie Artisan Ales – Prairie Ale· Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project – Surette· The Lost Abbey – Carnevale· Firestone Walker Brewing Company – Opal· Monkish Brewing Co. – Selah· Propolis Brewing – Beltane There are three awesome individuals that helped us with this massive blind tasting; Sara Kidd, “Dr.” Zack Alexander, and Bob Vreeland. We couldn’t have done this show in such an orderly and swift manner without the help of these pillars of podcast production. Our gratitude is extended to them for all of time. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E14 Show OutlineThe Saison Showdown Score SheetSession #15 Live Video StreamThe Four Brewers Saison Showdown Bracket Sheet 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 13 - This week, we’re drinking some pretty rad sours while John gets serious about bottle dates. Welcome to the fourth show, that is, the fourth show of session 14 of Four Brewers. In case you’re unfamiliar with how we record shows, we get together every three weeks and record three shows in a four hour session, which we broadcast live on Google Hangouts and our YouTube channel. The shows are then edited in post-production and released weekly. Due to scheduling conflicts, we had to record four episodes during our last session (that’s a lot of beer…). This leads us to this week’s episode. The discussions get a little heated and a bit off the rails, and our deepest inner beer geeks come out to play. Now that you know what you’re in for, let’s dive in! Here Gose Nothin’ We start off with a beer thats new to all of us that was provided by Temecula’s [self-proclaimed] Beer Ambassador, Mr. John Ryti, Destihl Brewery’s Here Gose Nothin’. The best way to describe this beer is clean, refreshing, and cleansing. It has notes of tangerine and clementines, and packs a big and salty sour punch. We all enjoy the beer, but all agree that this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the awesome sours that Destihl became known for a few years ago and is still currently making. Figaro from Cascade Brewing Cascade Brewing is up next with Figaro, a “northwest-style” ale made with white figs and lemon peel and aged in Chardonnay barrels. It has a rough, but balanced sourness, and is quite savory, to say the least. This is the first time we’ve all heard of white figs, and we find out that there are actually many different varieties of figs out there. TIL. The Dissident Next up is a tasting of three different vintages of The Dissident from Deschutes Brewery; 2008, 2012, and 2014. This beer is a sour brown ale that is made with cherries, and is meant to age in the bottle…by design. What this means is that Deschutes specifically designed this beer to age and sour in the bottle, much like beers that are bottle conditioned with brettanomyces. In fact, it even has an “enjoy after” date printed in the back of the bottle. It’s this “enjoy after” concept that sparks a debate on the show. Should a brewery release a beer that isn’t ready for consumption when it’s fresh? Is the brewery catering specifically to beer geeks who plan to cellar this beer? Is the brewery right to put the burden of aging a beer to its prime on the consumer? These are all brought up during the debate, and makes for an interesting and lively discussion. As far as The Dissident goes, it’s a great beer that changes a lot, mostly for the good, over a few years of cellaring. Deschutes knows sours, and it shows with this beer. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E13 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

Season 2, Episode 12 - This week’s show is live from the one and only Firkfest, in Anaheim, California. The day is upon us. The time has come. Firkfest is here! Undoubtedly, you’ve heard our cute little ads before each show for Greg’s annual festival in celebration of cask ale, and for good reason–it’s a rad event. Cask ale is a style of beer that is easily overlooked and somewhat misunderstood. Is it a beer that is flat, warm, and flavorless? Is it a beer with a bunch of stuff thrown into it to make the base beer taste different? On this week’s show, we hope to provide some clarity on the topic. Yes, traditional cask ale is generally served at a certain temperature and conditioned with yeast inside the cask to attain a certain volume of carbonation, but at the same time there’s also an offshoot that incorporates firkins of beer, flavored with other ingredients to give beer inside of it a different flavor, aroma, and overall experience. This week, we are live from Firkfest 2015. This was a different kind of live experience for us in that the show was actually broadcast live to the attendees of the event. This was also a bit of an experiment for us, and overall it went pretty well. That being said, you’ll definitely hear a difference in the audio compared to our other episodes. Tomm Carroll from Celebrator Beer News and Beer Paper LA joins us as a co-host for this episode, and is also the moderator of the panel. We are joined by Aaron Champion of Cask Ale LA, Evan Price of Noble Ale Works, Andy Black of MacLeod Ale Brewing Co., and Chris Walowski of Smog City Brewing, all of whom have experience with cask ale in one form or another. The panelists provide a lot of insight on what cask ale is and how the definition and translation of the style has mutated over time. This is a truly traditional style of beer that represents the history of beer as we know it today. You’ve got to know where you came from to know where you’re going… Photos from Firkfest can be found in the Photos section of the site. Big thanks to everyone who attended the event, those who went out of their way to say hello to us, and of course, Mr. Nagel for organizing another great festival. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. 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 11 - This week’s show is all about our new favorite brewery from Alaska, Anchorage Brewing Company. This week it’s all about Anchorage Brewing Company. They’ve taken the beer world by storm as of late with their tasty brettanomyces saisons, IPAs, and tripels. Anchorage has a very unique take on beer that can be quite inspirational to homebrewers. The first beer up (03:05) is Galaxy, a white IPA made with Galaxy hops, corriander, kumquats, and peppercorns. The beer is fermented with wit yeast in French oak, dry hopped with another dose of Galaxy hops, and then bottle conditioned with brettanomyces and wine yeast. Damn. There’s a bit of a debate on the show as to whether or not this beer should be classified as an IPA. Anchorage Brewing Company Beers Next up (13:37) is The Tide and Its Takers. This was Matt’s second beer ever from Anchorage brewing, Love Buzz being the first. This beer is based around the tripel style, and has notes of oak, pineapple, funk and fruit. It isn’t nearly as bitter as Galaxy, which explains why they may have chosen to label Galaxy as an IPA. The final beer (22:47) is definitely a contender for #WednesdayWhalezday, a barley wine-style ale called, A Deal with the Devil. This massive barley wine had a starting gravity of 37º plato (1.164 SG), and a post-fermentation gravity of 10º plato. That equates to a big beer with big body. The beer was aged for eleven months in cognac barrels, and is rich and boozy–definitely a sipper. Candied sugar, burnt brown sugar, and candied walnuts and almonds all come thorough in a big way when tasting this beer. It’s great, and the hype is real! See you next week, and as always… BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Side note: This week’s Firkfest ad was inspired by Radiolab, an awesome public radio/podcast that all the cool kids listen to. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E11 Show OutlineFirkfest 2015 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 10 - This week, we’re geeking out to AleSmith and Mikkeller radness. A couple episodes ago when we did the blind bourbon barrel-aged stout tasting, we got some feedback pertaining to why we didn’t include any of the barrel-aged variants of AleSmith Brewing Company’s Speedway Stout. The reason is that Speedway Stout itself is a coffee stout, and the barrel-aged variants of Speedway have flavorings added to them in addition to coffee. We wanted to keep the stout tasting as pure as possible by excluding any beers with flavoring and/or aroma additives (by the way, we heard you, internet…they’re NOT called “adjuncts”…), hence the reason Speedway Stout was excluded. Mikkeller and AleSmith Beers BUT…since we were accused of erroneously “snubbing” AleSmith, we decided to dedicate an ENTIRE SHOW this awesome beer and brewery. You want the Speedway Stout? Well, now you’re gonna get it. In addition to AleSmith beers, we thought it was appropriate to include another brewery known for making imperial stout whalez, Mikkeller. You may have read in recent news that Mikkeller is partnering up with AleSmith to start brewing beer in the United States. That’s awesome. Mikkeller recently brewed a collaboration beer with AleSmith called Beer Geek Speedway, so we thought the addition of Mikkeller to the show was appropriate. In case you didn’t already know, the brewery, Mikkeller, is what’s known as a “gypsy” brewery, meaning the brewery itself doesn’t have its own brewing facility, rather they use other breweries’ facilities to brew their beers. It’s a great way to get your product in the market if funds to build a brewery aren’t available. We start with Mikkeller’s Beer Geek BreAKfast, which was brewed at Anchorage Brewing Company in Alaska. We had some issues with this beer. Usually, it’s a great brew. But, this batch was really, REALLY over-carbonated, and the extra CO2 really destroyed the overall experience of the beer. Seeing how this was brewed at Anchorage Brewing, who’s known for its stellar beers made with brettanomyces, we presume that maybe some brett made its way into the batch. Again, this is typically a great beer, but this bottle was a disappointment. Next up is what many consider to be one of the best imperial stouts in the world, AleSmith Brewing Company’s Speedway Stout. This beer is a classic from AleSmith. It’s a rich beer with tones of dark fruit and coffee. In fact, it’s made with Ryan Bros. coffee. It’s usually always available and easy to overlook, but it’s definitely worth picking up. AleSmith and Mikkeller Collaboration Beer So what do you do with two awesome imperial stouts if given the opportunity? Blend them together, add some Kopi Luwak coffee, call it Beer Geek Speedway, and blow some minds. That is exactly what AleSmith and Mikkeller did. Both of the beers in this blend were brewed at AleSmith in San Diego. Unbeknownst to the public, owner and brewer at Mikkeller, Mikkel Borg Bjergsø used this opportunity to give the AleSmith’s brew house a test drive. After the beer was released, it was revealed the Mikkel would be taking over the AleSmith facility on Cabot Drive, after AleSmith moves into their new brewery, which is currently under construction. How rad is that? Getting back to the beer…of course, it’s great. The Beer Geek Breakfast part of the blend mellows the dark fruit tones of the Speedway Stout, and makes for a silky smooth mouthfeel. The coffee addition in this is just right. This beer is really the best of two different worlds coming together to create something spectacular. This beer isn’t a gimmicky money grab at all—it’s the real deal. Next, we open up a Beer Geek Brunch Weasel from Mikkeller. This beer is made with vietnamese coffee beans, and was brewed in Norway at Lervig Aktiebryggri. It’s inky-black, and has notes of maple, fig and dark fruits. The final beer of the show is AleSmith’s own [Bourbon] Barrel-Aged Speedway Stout made with Vietnamese Coffee. Holy. Shit. Damn, is this beer good! Silky, creamy, chocolately, coffee…this beer is basically bourbon barrel-aged M&Ms in a bottle. It’s amazing, and a fine example of how awesome AleSmith Brewing Company really is. When tickets for this beer were sold online, they sold out instantly, and with good reason. Beer geeks throughout SoCal creamed their shorts. The gushing about this beer is legit—it is truly amazing. So, there you go, interwebz. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E10 Show OutlineFirkfest 2015 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 9 - This week, we’re going back to the hops with homebrew from Nagel and hoppy radness from Noble Ale Works, Alpine Brewing, and Societe Brewing Company. Now that we’re all fully recovered from last week’s epic stout tasting, we’re back with a homebrew from Greg, and some beers from some of SoCal’s best breweries: Noble Ale Works, Alpine Beer Company, and Societe Brewing Company. We kick the show off with a unique homebrew from Greg that’s kind of saison, and kind of a pilsner. Weird, right? The beer was intended to be a saison, and technically speaking, it is. It was brewed with Belgian pilsner and rye malts, and fermented with White Labs WLP568 Saison yeast. What makes this beer different was the utilization of whole leaf Saaz hops. The beer was bittered with Nelson Sauvin in the boil, while the Saaz hops were used in a custom hopback made by Greg. The Saaz come through so much in this beer that it’s reminiscent of a Czech pilsner. All in all, it’s a tasty, easy drinking beer and an example of how experimentation with homebrewing can lead to unintended, yet interesting results. Hoppy Brews from Noble, Alpine, and Societe Next up is yet another attempt to convince Matt that Sorachi Ace hops aren’t just extract from an old lady’s perfume bottle, Noble Ale Works Sorachi Ace Showers. Matt was given this beer from the brewer himself, Evan Price. If you aren’t familiar with the “Showers” line of beers, it’s a series that Noble Ale Works has been doing for quite a while now, that focuses on one specific hop. This beer is a great example of how to utilize the characteristic of this hop. The malt profile on the beer has a unique, malty, savory flavor, almost like candy, and the hops back it up with a balanced, lemony bitterness. This beer doesn’t smack you in the face, and it’s quite refreshing. Interestingly enough, Matt kind of digs the beer, while Jason is simply not a fan. Thanks for the beer, Evan! To: Matt, Love: Evan (Price) The next two beers are from Alpine Beer Company. Jason picked up a couple of growlers from Green Flash Brewing Company, who is now brewing Alpine beers at their facility in San Diego, California. Alpine Beer Company is a very small brewpub out of Alpine, California who is known for their spectacular beers, most notably their hoppy beers. They were recently purchased by Green Flash Brewing Company to help expand the brand, get the beers to a bigger market, and help Alpine Beer Company keep making the truly unique brews that they are so well known for. The two beers we have on this episode, Hoppy Birthday and Nelson, are two classics from Alpine. Both of these were brewed at Green Flash, which in comparison to Alpine’s brewhouse, is enormous. There are certain recipe scaling issues that come about when stepping up a beer to a production run of this size. We discuss those issues on the show, and whether or not these beers are truly accurate iterations of the beer Alpine is known for. Alpine Beer Company – Nelson The final beer of this episode is The Miser from Societe Brewing Company, by way of our good friend and “Ruler of the Underworld” at Societe, Mike Sardina. This beer is made with Amarillo, Simcoe, Mosaic and El Dorado hops, and boy does it show on the nose. This beer smells absolutely delish. Coming in at 10% ABV, the body on this beer is really nice, and not just a vehicle for hop delivery. Societe very much prides themselves on making a unique, quality product, and it really shows in this beer. Expect an on-location episode from Societe in the near future… BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E9 Show OutlineNoble Ale WorksAlpine Beer CompanySociete Brewing CompanyFirkfest 2015 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 8 - This week on the show, part two of our epic blind bourbon barrel-aged stout tasting, with the final rankings and results. The time has arrived! We’re drinking the final five beers of our blind tasting, adding up the scores, and announcing the big winners. Just to recap, here are the beers we’re tasting: · Firestone Walker Brewing Co. – Parabola, 2014· Goose Island Beer Co. – Bourbon County Brand Stout, 2014· Hangar 24 Craft Brewery – Pugachev’s Cobra, 2014· The Bruery – Black Tuesday, 2014· Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Bourbon Barrel-Aged Narwhal, 2014· Dark Horse Brewing Company – Bourbon Barrel-Aged Plead The 5th, 2014· Bell’s Brewery – Black Note Stout, 2014· Bottle Logic Brewing – Darkstar November, 2014· Avery Brewing Company – Uncle Jacob’s Stout, 2012 SPOILER ALERT: The results of the tasting are listed below, after the photo. All of our individual scores were pretty close to one another, and that could simply be coincidence, or the result of us discussing these beers as a group. Every beer in this tasting was great. They are all world class beers, and it was a real treat to have them all on the show. The Blind Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout Bout Results of the 2015 Four Brewers Blind Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout Bout: 1. Firestone Walker Brewing Co. – Parabola, 20142. Hangar 24 Craft Brewery – Pugachev’s Cobra, 20143. Dark Horse Brewing Company – Bourbon Barrel-Aged Plead The 5th, 20144. Bell’s Brewery – Black Note Stout, 20145. Bottle Logic Brewing – Darkstar November, 20146. Goose Island Beer Co. – Bourbon County Brand Stout, 20147. The Bruery – Black Tuesday, 20148. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Bourbon Barrel-Aged Narwhal, 20149. Avery Brewing Company – Uncle Jacob’s Stout, 2012 So as you can see, Firestone Walker Parabola come out on top, followed by Pugachev’s Cobra from Hangar 24 Craft Brewery, with third place going to Dark Horse Brewing’s Plead the 5th. This was a fun exercise, and we encourage you to try this with your friends. The results may surprise you… BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Special shoutouts go to “Cougar Steve” Saavedra for hookup on the Michigan beers, and Scott McElhone for inspiring the titles of episodes 7 and 8. Four Brewers Patrons get 50% off Firkfest tickets! Send an email to Nagel ([email protected] *note: there is no dash anywhere in this email address) to get your discounted tickets. These are limited to two (2) per individual Patron. Links to things from this week’s episode:Firkfest 2015 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 7 - The time has come. The moment has arrived. This week is part one of our epic blind tasting of bourbon barrel-aged stouts from across the United States. We’ve been hyping these episodes for a few weeks now, and they have finally arrived. Here’s the premise of these shows: Episode 7 (part 1) is going to be the introduction of the blind tasting, and why the beers were selected. We’re going to drink four of the nine beers, and rate them according to aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel, and then a final overall rating. Episode 8 (part 2) will feature the final five beers and the results of the blind tasting will be revealed. But, let’s take a step back and briefly discuss how this came about. The Blind Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout Bout Back when Goose Island’s Bourbon County Brand Stout (BCBS henceforth in this post) was released in 2014, beer geeks on the internet went apeshit trying to find this beer. Our friends on social media posted pictures of this beer being purchased by the case, and Black Friday officially became known as BCBS day for all of us (beer geeks). The ironic part about all of this is that Goose Island Beer Co. is owned by AB-InBev (ABI henceforth in this post), who to many beer geeks, is the “enemy” of the craft beer movement. They are owned by a macro brewery, to put it in simple terms. BCBS is a macro beer. Sure, it’s still made by the hard working and passionate folks at the Fulton Street Brewery (Goose Island Beer Co.) in Chicago, Illinois, but that brewery is exactly what ABI purchased back in 2011, along with the Goose Island brand. Now, before you write us a nasty email telling us that “ABI didn’t buy the Goose Island brewpubs, and that’s where the beer is made, so technically it’s not a macro beer”, go ahead and pump your brakes, homeboy. This beer is brewed at Fulton Street, and it’s a macro brew. As long as you’re willing to concede to the fact that by purchasing BCBS that you’re purchasing an ABI product, then we’re all good. Just because Goose Island Beer Co. is now owned by ABI doesn’t mean that BCBS is now a “quality compromised” beer. ABI actually bought Goose Island Beer Co. to help expand the brewery and essentially, get more BCBS to the masses. BCBS is still a great beer. Hell, Goose Island was the first brewery to put stout in bourbon barrels, and they’ve pretty much perfected it at this point. ABI bought this company to get a leg in the craft beer door as it were, and screwing with this beer would be, well, idiotic. That being said, this beer brings a lot of hype along with it, and that’s precisely why we decided to do this blind tasting. Does this beer live up to the hype? Let’s find out! We picked nine bourbon barrel-aged stouts. We tried to keep this tasting as pure as possible by eliminated any beers that have known adjuncts in them, such as vanilla, coffee, and cacao nibs. We wanted stout aged in bourbon barrels. That’s what BCBS is, and you can’t compare this beer fairly to others made with adjuncts. We also wanted fresh examples of each beer. As fresh as possible, anyway… In no particular order, here are the beers we chose and were able to acquire: · Firestone Walker Brewing Co. – Parabola, 2014· Goose Island Beer Co. – Bourbon County Brand Stout, 2014· Hangar 24 Craft Brewery – Pugachev’s Cobra, 2014· The Bruery – Black Tuesday, 2014· Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Bourbon Barrel-Aged Narwhal, 2014· Dark Horse Brewing Company – Bourbon Barrel-Aged Plead The 5th, 2014· Bell’s Brewery – Black Note Stout, 2014· Bottle Logic Brewing – Darkstar November, 2014· Avery Brewing Company – Uncle Jacob’s Stout, 2012 We have a special guest pouress for the next couple of shows, who is also a 4B Patron on Patreon, Ms. Dana Parker (@MissTurkeyBowl). Dana is the only one at this point who knows which beers are which. The beers were kept outside of our studio, and she brought them to us randomly. We’re not going to list the tasting notes on the blog post, but you can view them on this week’s show outline. Next week in episode 8, we’ll drink the final five beers and announce the results of the blind tasting. So, until then… BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Special shoutouts go to “Cougar” Steve Saavedra for hookup on the Michigan beers, and Scott McElhone for inspiring the titles of episodes 7 and 8. Four Brewers Patrons get 50% off Firkfest tickets! Send an email to Nagel ([email protected] *note: there is no dash anywhere in this email address) to get your discounted tickets. These are limited to two (2) per individual Patron. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E7 Show OutlinePliny Fights Cancer Charity RaffleFirkfest 2015 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 6 - We’re starting early for this show, eleven in the morning to be exact, and were taking it easy and ramping up to the bourbon barrel-aged blind tasting with session beers from around the world. It’s all about pacing yourself and easing in. That’s what we’re doing this week. Our blind tasting, bourbon barrel-aged stout series is happening next week, so we decided to do a little beer tour and sample some session-able beers from around the world. We had a really early start for this recording session, so it seemed appropriate. First up is a classic English bitter from Fuller's called London Pride. This beer is a really great starter due to it’s caramel, malty flavor that’s balanced with just the right amount of bitterness. It isn’t too harsh, and really wakes up the palate. Next up is a beer on the other side of the spectrum, Lost Coast Brewery’s Sharkinator white IPA. Described simply as a dry hopped version of Lost Coast’s Great White witbier, the hop aroma of this beer is very much in-your-face, and has a nice, burst of citrus flavor with a malty, wheat finish. We get into a discussion about dry hopping techniques, as well as the effect a bottle label can have on a consumer looking for new beers. Session-able Beers The bottle label discussion brings us to a beer from Green Flash Brewing Co. called Mosaic Session IPA. Green Flash, like many other breweries, jumped on the session IPA bandwagon with this beer, and while the beer has a nice hoppy aroma, the mouthfeel and flavor leave you wanting something more. Session IPAs in general seem to suffer from this as a whole. This is definitely an evolving style that will either find it’s groove, or fall by the wayside like other beer style trends. The next beer is a great example of why green bottles are so bad for beer. Brasserie Dupont’s Avril is a 3.5% ABV table beer that is normally an outstanding example of a low alcohol, easy drinking, Belgian saison. However, upon pouring this particular bottle of beer, that skunky, stinky smell associated with light struck beers presents itself. Green bottles are just as bad as clear bottles when it comes to blocking ultraviolet light, while brown bottles perform quite well at this task. From a purely aesthetic point of view, this is a very sexy, well designed bottle, but when it comes to beer, the form of the packaging should always follow its function. Consuming this beer fresh is ideal, so be careful when purchasing any beer in a green or clear bottle as it will only accelerate the beer’s deterioration. We’ll save you the trouble of reading about the next beer. Fürst Wallerstein’s Zwickel is normally a pretty tasty brew, but this bottle has seen better days, and the beer inside simply just fell apart. We found out on the show that this style of beer doesn’t travel very well, and has poor shelf life. It was a bummer for sure, but it happens. Finally, we end the show on a high note with a favorite of Jason’s, Köstritzer Schwarzbier. This 4.8% ABV black lager is delicious. It was a “craft conversion” beer for Jason, and rightly so. Described by Matt as a “helles with cocoa”, the beer is super-dry, and the style can range from 14-28 IBU. It’s very accessible, so pick up some cans if you see it. This week’s show was sponsored by the Beachwood BBQ & Brewing Pliny Fights Cancer Charity Raffle, and Firkfest. We’ll be broadcasting the raffle drawing live from Beachwood BBQ in Long Beach on February 23rd. Firkfest is March 21st at Farmers Park in Anaheim, California. Tickets are going fast, so get ‘em while you can. Links for both events are below. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E6 Show OutlinePliny Fights Cancer Charity RaffleFirkfest 2015 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 5 - We’re back in the South Bay at our final stop of our on-location recording session, El Segundo Brewing Co., with special guest and Certified Cicerone, Thomas Kelley. El Segundo Brewing Co. (@ESBCbrews), located in the city of its namesake, has quickly gained recognition as one Southern California’s best IPA breweries in the last few years. After opening its doors in May of 2011, brewer Rob Croxall and self-titled “Rain Maker” Thomas Kelly, set their sights on making great beers, one style at a time. This logic was partially due to their limited access to some of the more popular hops, such as Citra and Mosaic, as well as Rob’s limited experience as a professional brewer. Rob had some solid recipes from his days of homebrewing, and eventually, they secured the ingredients and the experience they needed to make the beers that would eventually make them stand out in a heavily competitive Southern California craft beer market. El Segundo Brewing Co. We kick the show off with a delicious pale ale made with Citra hops, named Blue House Citra Pale. It’s a fairly simply grain bill, consisting of 2 row and Vienna malts. The Citra hops provide flavors similar to tangerine juice and lemonade. It’s ESBC’s biggest selling beer, and rightly so. At 5.5% ABV, one could down a few pints without regretting it the following day, while still experiencing a beer with the hop punch of an IPA. Next up is a very popular ESBC IPA that’s in limited rotation, Mayberry IPA. It was first brewed last year, and it flew off the shelves. The beer is brewed with mostly Mosaic hops, with Chinook used early in the boil for bittering and Cascade added later in the boil. One interesting thing about the way Rob dry hops his beers is that he doesn’t recirculate the hops in secondary. A common practice is to recirculate the beer with the dry hops with the use of a pump to maximize the exposure of the beer to the hops. Rob chooses to simply let the hops sit in the beer for a week or so, and occasionally inject carbon dioxide into the bottom of the tank to get the hops back into suspension. For home brewers, this is the equivalent of gently rousing the carboy to get the hops back into solution. Mayberry IPA has huge hop character, which goes to show that just because something is common practice doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best practice for everyone. El Segundo Brewing Co. – NO BEARDS WITHOUT GUARD The final beer is a departure from the others on the show thus far, a malty, fall seasonal beer conjured up by Thomas and other Certified Cicerones local to ESBC, a beer named Horn of Plenty. Part of ESBC’s “Cicerone Series” of beers, Horn of Plenty has the grain bill of a dunkel weisenbock, but is fermented with Westmalle Abbey Ale yeast. Lemon peel, thyme, and coriander were added in the brite tank, giving the beer a slight lemon edge on the nose. Special B malt was added to give it a rich, bread crust character, and Munich malt was used to help give the beer it’s ruby red hue. This beer was made to be paired with food and span different courses of a meal. The conversation on the show tangents for a bit into discussions about beer pairing, dinners, restaurants, and craft beer adoption in fine dining establishments. Thanks to the folks at El Segundo Brewing Co. for having us at their brewery. They’ve got fairly wide distribution in Southern California, so be sure to pick up a few bottles of ESBC brew when you see them. You won’t regret it. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E5 Show OutlineEl Segundo Brewing Co. 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 4 - This week, we’re on location at Monkish Brewing in Torrance, California with owner, president and brewer Henry Nguyen and Monkish “Evangelist,” Brian White. The second stop on our South Bay/L.A. beer tour, Monkish Brewing Co. has quickly become a brewery in Southern California that has set themselves away from the pack, brewing nothing but Belgian-style inspired beers. We start the show with two beers that have a history with one another, Crux and Oblate. The latter beer was the first to be brewed at Monkish, even though Crux was technically supposed to be the first beer made, but the result was Oblate. They are similar beers but differ in malts and adjusts. Monkish Brewing Co. – Sunset Beer The next beer was a collaboration made with Sunset Beer Company, named Sunset Beer. In the early days of Monkish, Henry was brewing at night and delivering beer during the day. He established relationships with many of shops, and Sunset Beer Company was one of them. This “hipster” beer as Henry calls it, is a witbier made with wheat malt, orange zest, and Lotus seed, as well as Citra, Galaxy, and Mosaic hops. It’s fermented with their house yeast, White Labs WLP530 Abbey Ale Yeast, and bottle conditioned with Brett Trois and Brett Brux yeast. It’s dry, aromatic, hoppy, and absolutely delicious. Fermentors at Monkish Brewing Co. Next up is a beer that has made its way into Matt’s heart, Selah. This beer has only been made once, so far. It was inspired by Jolly Pumpkin‘s approach to beer, and was Monkish’s first beer made with brettanomyces. This is one of only two beers that Matt will drink that contain Sorachi Ace hops, and boy do the hops work well in this beer, giving it a big lemon nose. Henry wanted this beer to finish bone-dry, and used Wyeast 3711 French Saison Yeast, which is know to be a big, big attenuator, as well as Brett Trois and Brett Brux. Foudres at Monkish Brewing Co. The final beer is Shaolin Fist. This beer is very unique in that it is made with Sichuan peppercorns. Henry was unsure this beer would sell, since during fermentation the brewery smelled like a Panda Express restaurant. This is a very savory beer and is quite complex. Nagel jokes about the beer paring well with carne asada tacos, but in reality, it really would pair well! Henry goes in-depth on a lot of the technical stuff behind Monkish beers, and it’s really quite interesting to hear his point of view on beer. If you’re ever in Torrance, pay a visit to Monkish, and head on over to Smog City, which is less than a quarter mile away. Thanks, Monkish! Big thanks to Henry and Brian for having us! We’ve had a great response to our Patreon campaign thus far, and we’re totally stoked to have 18 (5 new Patrons this week!) Patrons supporting the show! We can’t thank them enough for the support and are humbled by their generosity. If you feel you’re getting any sort of value/entertainment/knowledge from 4B, please consider supporting the show on Patreon: http://patreon.com/fourbrewers We have Four Brewers T-shirts up for pre-order, as well as stickers and buttons that are available for immediate shipping. Head over to our online store: https://squareup.com/market/four-brewers-store Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E4 Show OutlineSunset Beer Company BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. 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 3 - Four Brewers is on the road! Our first stop in this three episode series devoted to Los Angeles beer is Smog City Brewing Co., in Torrance, California. This week, we’re trying our hand at remote shows, and exploring the LA beer scene. The first stop on the tour is at Smog City Brewing Co., located in Torrance, California. Jonathan Porter and Chris Walowski sat down with us three hours before the release of their bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout named Infinite Wishes, to talk about the brewery and share some tasty brews and interesting stories. Sabre-Toothed Squirrel Labels The first beer, which was served up at a bright and early nine o’clock in the morning, was their “hoppy amber” ale named Sabre-Toothed Squirrel. This beer is made with Falconer’s Flight hops, and could almost be described as “Arrogant Bastard light” in terms of the way the hops and amber malt qualities interact with each another. This sabre-toothed squirrel definitely has some bite… (See what I did there?) Next up is Smog City’s outstanding imperial stout called The Nothing. This beer was originally brewed by Porter at his former brewing home, Tustin Brewing Company, as Double Chocolate Imperial Stout. Coming in at 10% ABV, it contains two types of TCHO cocoa nibs and two types of chocolate malt, and is meant to have a mouthfeel similar to that of a chocolate milk shake. It’s also made with malted oats, which of course, gives John a beer boner. Infinite Wishes Infinite Wishes is the next beer on deck. It’s the bourbon barrel-aged version of The Nothing, and is in the neighborhood of 12% ABV. It was aged in bourbon barrels for precisely 364 days, and it is truly spectacular. It’s quite smooth and hides its alcohol quite well. The barrel character really shines and isn’t too overwhelming or woody. Fans of Smog City were lined up outside of the brewery when we finished recording this episode at 10:00 am, and it sold out in a matter of hours. Here’s to hoping the’ll make this beer again next year… We wrap up the show with a nice, palate cleansing Smog City saison named Saison Contraire. This beer was fermented with Smog City’s house brettanomyces yeast, and then refermanted with two other types of brett yeast. It’s then dry-hoppped and packaged with another dose of brettanomyces to condition the beer in the bottle. That’s a lot of brett, yo. Needless to say, it’s pretty friggin’ great. Smog City Brewing Co. have been at their current location since 2013, but were brewing beers at Tustin Brewing Company under the name Smog City since 2011. They’ve come a long way in the last four years, and we can’t wait to see what 2015 has in store for them. Big, big thanks to the staff at Smog City for having us, and hosting our debut on-location show! Thanks, Smog City! Side note: About halfway through the episode, there is a faint, consistent white noise that can be heard in the background. That was the sound of their CO2 tank being refilled by an outside vendor. Hey, we were in a brewery. It happens. We’ve had a great response to our Patreon campaign thus far, and we’re totally stoked to have 13 Patrons supporting the show! We can’t thank them enough for the support and are humbled by their generosity. If you feel you’re getting any sort of value/entertainment/knowledge from 4B, please consider supporting the show on Patreon: http://patreon.com/fourbrewers Links to things from this week’s episode:S2/E3 Show OutlineSmog City’s Taxidermy SquirrelTCHO BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. 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 2 - This week, we’re altering our palates and sacrificing some great beers in the process, all in the name of fun! This week, we’re altering our palates, be it for good or bad, to experience what’s like to taste different styles of beer after eating “Miracle Berries”. Miracle Berries are known for their ability to basically make things that are bitter taste sweet, and things that are sour to tastes even sweeter than if it were bitter. They come from West Africa, and Jason and Greggot some as part of Cards Against Humanity’s “12 Days of Holiday Bullshit” promotion. Flavor Trippin’… (Blood Orange Gose not pictured) Without giving too much away in the blog post, the results were quite interesting. Johnwas not a fan of this little experiment going into it, simply because he thought it was a waste of time and (great) beer. But we all know that John can be a bit of a party-pooper at times… Miracle Berry Pamphlet from CAH We try a variety of different beers from sour, to bitter, to big and rich. Here’s a list of the beers that we’re tasted with the Miracle Berries: – Brouwerij Rodenbach - Rodenbach – The Bruery – Tart of Darkness – Anderson Valley Brewing Company – Blood Orange Gose – Stone Brewing Co. – Ruination Double IPA – The Bruery – Grey Monday Being that this was the third show of session 11’s recording session, the usual “third show syndrome” antics kick in, and fun is had by all…except John, of course. We’ve had a great response to our Patreon campaign thus far, and we’re totally stoked to have 12 Patrons supporting the show! We can’t thank them enough for the support and are humbled by their generosity. If you feel you’re getting any sort of value/entertainment/knowledge from 4B, please consider supporting the show on Patreon: http://patreon.com/fourbrewers Links to things from this week’s episode:CAH 12 Days of BullshitS2/E2 Show Outline BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. 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 1 - Happy New Year! This week, we’re kicking off Season 2 of the podcast with a whopper of a show, mostly dedicated to homebrew, and Daniel Cady joins us for another go-around. We kick off the show with another Saison collaboration brew from John and Matt named Raincross Saison. Everyone enjoys it, more or less, but there isn’t much enthusiasm, and we do our best to completely pick it apart. John talks about his plan to condition it with the East Coast Yeast ECY34 brettanomyces blend, so we’ll surely revisit it in the future. Nagelbrew! Next up, we have a tasty stovetop home brewed roggenbier named Rye Oh My! from Señor Nagel. Brewed as a quick, kitchen-sink beer for his holiday guests, everyone on the show enjoyed its easy drinking and bready yeast complexities. Greg also brought along a hoppy (reddish) IPA homebrew named Burning Ugly Christmas Sweaters that was…a bit…off…um… Finally from Greg, we revisit his Rye Saison that he fermented with the White Labs American Farmhouse Blend. We all enjoy it, but agree the brett needs more development time. Finally, we finish off with an epic Going In Blind session. The beers for this long, awesome session were all supplied by good friends of Greg’s, Kristina and Steve Allison (Kristina is also a Patreon 4B patron–thanks!) We have some killer beers, and some not so killer beers, but good, sloppy times are had by all. We’ve had a great response to our Patreon campaign thus far, and we’re totally stoked to have NINE Patrons supporting the show! We can’t thank them enough for the support and are humbled by their generosity. If you feel you’re getting any sort of value/entertainment/knowledge from 4B, please consider supporting the show on Patreon: http://patreon.com/fourbrewers Links to things from this week’s episode:Recipe for John and Matt’s Saison, v2S2/E1 Show Outline BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. 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 1, Episode 31 - This week, head brewer at Twisted Manzanita Ales & Spirits, Daniel Cady, joins us live in the studio. Twisted Manzanita Ales & Spirits, formally known as Manzanita Brewing Company, has only been around for a few years but they’re making some spectacular brews. This week on the show their head brewery, Daniel Cady, joins us to share some of their best. First on deck is an India pale lager named Tinfoil Hat that they brewed in conjunction with San Diego Brewing Company. The unique thing about this IPL is the use of an Alt-Bier yeast, instead of standard Lager yeast. The yeast character really shines through, and the citrusy aspect of the hops really work well. This isn’t a grassy hop bomb, but its balance is quite refreshing. Twisted Manzanita Ales & Spirits Next up is Twisted Manzanita’s delicious chocolate mint stout named Enlightenmint. Clocking in around 8% ABV, and finishing it’s fermentation at around 7° Plato, this beer is like drinking chocolate ice cream. It’s really something great. Big body and minty aroma, followed by a thick, sweet chocolate backbone. This is definitely worth picking up if chocolate and mint is your jam. This is where we get into the heavy hitters, as if 8% ABV wasn’t enough, and break out the sippers. First up is a brew from the original Manzanita Brewing Co branding, batch 1 of the Serenity barleywine, coming in at just around 3 years old, and aged in whiskey barrels. The beer is incredibly smooth and deceivingly easy to drink. The barrels shine through just like they should, and the body is just right. The beer is slightly oxidized, but it only enhances the character even more. The next beer is pretty special. It’s an “iced” version of the Serenity barleywine, in that it was ice distilled. Daniel gets into the logistics of how this was done on the show. This beer was not available to the public, but since we happen to know the brewer, we get to try it. Lucky us, right?! In short, this beer is boozy, but still fairly well balanced. The final beer is a sour that was blended just for the show and it’s named after a part number in the McMaster Carr catalogue…really, it is, and Daniel gets into why that is. Pretty rad, indeed. Daniel talks about the sour mashing that went into making this beer, and the many strains of brettanomyces from Europe that he got to experiment with in order to get the final product. Big, big thanks to Daniel and the folks at Twisted Manzanita for the insight and fantastic brews. Twisted Manzanita has a big future if they keep up the quality of the beers they’re brewing, and we couldn’t be more stoked on what’s to come from them. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. 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 1, Episode 30 - Happy holidays, everyone! This week, it’s all about the holiday brews. Damn, these last few months have gone by fast! It’s already that magical time of year when you stress out over the perfect gifts to give your friends and family, freak out at your Uncle’s twisted viewpoints on the latest controversial news topics, watch grandpa fall asleep at 4:30pm, and crack open your favorite holiday brews. This week, John Ryti and Tim “Showtime” Ryan join us for the last time in 2014, and we’re opening some…wait for it…holiday brews! Ken Schmidt / Iron Fist Brewing Company Collaboration We kick the show off with a beer that’s not necessarily a holiday beer, but was brewed by a local beer celebrity of sorts, who is actually quite jolly. We’re talking about none other than San Diego, California’s own Ken Schmidt. He got together with Iron Fist Brewing Company out of Vista, California, and made a chocolate mint stout, appropriately named Chocolate Mint Stout, that’s quite fitting for the season. Ken’s a great guy, and you can’t miss him in public–he’s always sporting his short pants, a Hawaiian shirt, and a big smile. Next up is a pretty rad tasting of some vintage Our Special Ale from Anchor Brewing Company, specifically the years 1995, 1996, and 2005. Jason picked these up at Stuffed Sandwich a while back, and he graciously donated them to the show. Anchor Brewing Company – Our Special Ale Our Special Ale is a beer that changes slightly from year to year. The recipe tends to be a little different, but is always reminiscent of the previous years it’s been brewed. The final two beers on the show are from some local SoCal breweries. First up is Noble Ale Works‘ You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out, Kid! which is a winter warmer made with organic apple cider. Beer nerds tend to have mixed feeling when is comes to apples in beer, generally because “apple flavor” is usually considered to be an off-flavor, but that’s not always the case. Noble Ale Works and Karl Strauss Brewing Company The final beer is from Karl Strauss Brewing Company, Five Wee Heavy Bells. Karl Strauss has been following the 12 Days of Christmas theme, and this is the fifth release in the series. Karl’s holiday beers are usually some of their best yearly releases, and this brew is no exception. The show tends to dip in and out of the good ol’ “third show syndrome”, but we hold it together and don’t embarrass ourselves too much. I guess one could say that we’re like those dudes at a holiday party that are having a bit more fun than everyone else. Le sigh… Oh yeah…If you’re feeling the holiday spirit and would like to show your love for the show, please considering become a Patron at our Patreon page. XOXOXO So, yeah. Happy holidays from 4B and BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT! 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 1, Episode 29 - This week on the show, we are again joined by John Ryti and Tim “Showtime” Ryan, and this time, Ryti brought along some homebrew. We kick off the show this week with a fantastic brew from the folks at Refuge Brewery in Temecula, California. Blood Orange Wit is a tangy and big-bodied, low ABV pale ale. This beer isn’t just another fly-by-night wheat ale—this thing is delicious! This is Refuge’s first offering in a can, and it’s totally worth checking out. Refuge Brewery – Blood Orange Wit Next up on the show are a few brews from Ryti. First up is, well, we don’t know. Neither does Ryti. He found this keg of brew hiding in a cold-box and forgot to label what it was. The second beer up is a stout that Ryti made as part of a group brew. This beer went into ~50 gallon port wine barrel that was about 75 years old. Pretty cool, right? Ryti’s final beer is a clone of Stone Brewing Co.’s Vertical Epic Ale 09.09.09. Ryti made this brew a few years go. The cool thing about the Vertical Epic series is that Stone provides the recipes for each beer so homebrewers can whip up a batch themselves. We tried Ryti’s version along side an actually bottle of the beer, which at this point in on its way downhill, so drink up if you still have any. Ryti’s version of the brew turned out quite well. 09.09.09 was one of the best of the Vertical Epic series in our opinions. If you never got a chance to try it, check out the recipe and brew it up! We end the show with the Aventinus Eisbock from Weisses Bräuhaus G. Schneider & Sohn. On a previous show, we mentioned that this style of beer wasn’t very widely brewed and was somewhat difficult to attain. Well, Jason found the mother load at a local Total Wine. If you missed the announcement last week: We’ve started a Patreon campaign! If you don’t know what Patreon is, it’s a crowdfunding service similar to Kickstarter, except it’s meant to allow donors, or “patrons” as they call them, the opportunity to give continued support for artists through monetary donations. In our case, we are accepting donations on a per-episode basis. You can contribute any amount you wish, per episode, be it a quarter or ten bucks (holy shit!). Take the time to check it out. We ultimately want to offer more content to our fans, i.e. supplemental video content of our personal brew days and homebrewing techniques, visiting breweries, going to more festivals, etc., and we can only do that with your help. If you feel you get any value from the show, please consider throwing some duckets our way. We’re off to a great start, and couldn’t be happier about the generosity of our fans and friends thus far. THANK YOU! Four Brewers’ Patreon page: http://patreon.com/fourbrewers Links to things from episode 29:Recipe for Stone Brewing Co. Vertical Epic Ale 09.09.09Stone’s Vertical Epic Series BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. 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 1, Episode 28 - This week, some totally rad brews from our friend Philip Lorenzini, special guests John Ryti and Time Ryan, and Foudre, duders! Long time friend of New Brew Thursday and Four Brewers, Philip Lorenzini, hooked us up with some really great beers, and we invited some friends to spread the beer love, John Ryti, aka Temecula’s Beer Ambassador, and Tim Ryan, aka “Showtime”. We start with a beer that we meant to get to last month on the show, Cascade Brewing Company‘s Foudre #1. This beer is a blend of three soured triple ales and was released in celebration of Cascade’s newly acquired foudre. If you’re not sure what a foudre is, it’s essential a very large wooden barrel, or cask. This photo was taken at Crooked Stave a few years ago and shows a style of foudre. Cascade, Perennial, and Three Taverns Beers. Needless to say, Foudre #1 is pretty great. Cascade used to be a somewhat rare treat for us in these parts, since they are located in Portland, Oregon, but their distribution to SoCal has picked up, and now we can very easily and joyfully give them all of our beer monies. Next up are two beers from Perennial Artisan Ales, one of which was provided by Philip Lorenzini, and the other acquired by our very own Matt Becker. Fist up is Saison de Lis, which is a Belgian style ale made with chamomile flowers. The chamomile works very well in this brew, and the beer itself stands out as very unique. Hints of cinnamon spice crept their way into the beer, too. It’s really interesting and totally worth trying if the opportunity ever presents itself to you. Stefon is next up. This was a collaboration beer between Perennial and Solemn Oath Brewery. It’s a dark rye farmhouse ale that was conditioned with brettanomyces. The brett isn’t very dominant in this beer, which is neither a good nor bad quality, and the beer overall is very well balanced and flavorful. Last up from Philip is Theophan The Recluse from Three Taverns Craft Beers. This beer is an Imperial Russian Stout that has flavors of raisins, bread and chocolate. This brewery is new to us, and this first offering was really solid. BIG, BIG thanks to Philip for sending these beers. He’s and awesome guy and a loyal fan. Cheers, dude! Onto something that we’re really excited about: We’ve started a Patreon campaign! If you don’t know what Patreon is, it’s a crowdfunding service similar to Kickstarter, except it’s meant to allow donors, or “patrons” as they call them, the opportunity to give continued support for artists through monetary donations. In our case, we are accepting donations on a per-episode basis. You can contribute any amount you wish, per episode, be it a quarter or ten bucks (holy shit!). Take the time to check it out. We ultimately want to offer more content to our fans, i.e. supplemental video content of our personal brew days and homebrewing techniques, visiting breweries, going to more festivals, etc., and we can only do that with your help. If you feel you get any value from the show, please consider throwing some duckets our way. We’re off to a great start, and couldn’t be happier about the generosity of our fans and friends thus far. THANK YOU! Four Brewers’ Patreon page: http://patreon.com/fourbrewers This week’s episode is sponsored by the OC Brew HoHo Holiday Ale Festival, which is Saturday, December 13th at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim, California. There will be a plethora of great brews on tap, and a butt-load of tasty food trucks. Check out the tap list, and head over to OCBrewHoHo.com for tickets. It WILL sell out, so snatch ‘em up while you can! Links to things from episode 28:Jesse Friedman’s Podcast, Brewer’s Log BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. 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!Donate via PayPalSupport the show on Patreon!

Season 1, Episode 27 - John and Matt brewed a special grisette-style saison, David Gillanders is back on the show, and we’re drinking a DIPA from Barley Forge Brewing Co.. John and Matt finally did some goddamn brewing, and they made a pretty great brew! Matt got his hands on a “special” strain of yeast (he really didn’t give us any details other than that) and called upon John and his pimp-ass brewing setup to make ten gallons of a grisette-style saison, aptly named Grisette Beta. To date, this is probably one of the best brews that has come from said brewhouse. John’s Brewhouse It was originally intended to be a 4.0% ABV beer, but due to some miscalculations while mashing, the original gravity came out a little higher than it should have, thus raising the final amount of alcohol in the beer. This beer was very much an experiment for Matt. He was looking to have a solid session-able saison that he could brew the shit out of, and outside of a few tweaks that need to be made, this beer is pretty much what he wanted. Feature: “Going In Blind.” Sara joins us yet again for another round of Going In Blind. The beers this week were themed around witbier, and consequently, the tasting was a bit lackluster. But, yeah…listen to it anyway! Not to give anything away, but we may be experiencing some third-show-syndrome antics… Barley Forge Brewing Co. Keeping in line with said antics, we wrap this episode up with an excellent double IPA from a brand new brewery from Costa Mesa, California, Barley Forge Brewing Co.. Their beer, named One Louder is DANK! Like, WOW, in a totally good way. It’s a Hop Head’s dream. Yum. Barley Forge opened about three weeks ago and so far, we’re very impressed with their beer offerings. Barley Forge is definitely worth hitting up the next time you’re in the OC. Greg did a nice write up on the brewery back in July while it was still under construction. This week’s episode is sponsored by the OC Brew HoHo Holiday Ale Festival, which is Saturday, December 13th at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim, California. There will be a plethora of great brews on tap, and a butt-load of tasty food trucks. Check out the tap list, and head over to OCBrewHoHo.com for tickets. It WILL sell out, so snatch ‘em up while you can! Links to things from episode 27:Grisette Beta Recipe BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPalSupport the show on Patreon!

Season 1, Episode 26 - David Gillanders is back on the show this week, and we’re drinking beers from Sante Adairius, Jester King, and Fantôme. This week on the show, we try to recreate the magic that is The Festival – brought to you by the Shelton Brothers. Not only do they import some amazing beers from overseas, but they distribute some of the coolest craft breweries in the US. We weren’t able to recreate the bottle list of one of the craziest festivals we’ve ever seen, but damn it did we ever try! Just for good measure, we invited our buddy David along as a thanks for all the Citra. We start out with Witchmaker from Jester King, a rye farmhouse IPA. This beer is a classic farmhouse beer, despite the creepy sparkle eyes on the label that stare right into your soul. Jester King / Fantôme Collaboration Beer. This was just a warm up for the main event – a collaboration between Fantôme and Jester King. It took two continents to get this bad boy into our hands, it’s the Del Rey – but as it turns out, NOT a summertime sadness beer! Will these two great tastes go great together? How could they not, right? Bringing it back to our home state of California, we opened up a bottle of Cask Strawberry from Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Carpenteria, CA. It was muled back from the brewery by our very own Jason Harris, and the gang had very differing opinions on this saught after beer. (Spoiler: half of them are DEAD WRONG -Jason) Lastly, we managed to score a bottle of the BlizzCon Exclusive beer, ThunderBrew, which was called an “Imperial Brown”. We had our suspicions about it’s true origins, however. You can’t pull the wool over the Four Brewers’ eyes, there are too freaking many of us! BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. 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!Donate via PayPalSupport the show on Patreon!

Season 1, Episode 25 - Put on your fishing waders because this week, we’re knee deep in brews from Kern River Brewing Co., Knee Deep Brewing Co., and Spiteful Brewing Company. Devout craft beer drinkers far and wide make the pilgrimage to central California for the periodic release of Kern River Brewing Company‘s hoppy masterpiece known as Citra double IPA. We just happen to be friends with someone who won the Citra lottery (really, the brewery holds a lottery to buy the beer) and that someone is Mr. David Gillanders, who coincidentally is this week’s guest. David was gracious enough to bring over a couple bottles to share with us, as well as some other beers he picked up during a recent trip he took to Chicago. Kern River Brewing Company – Citra Citra is an amazing beer. The beer won gold at GABF in 2011, and it absolutely deserved it. While all of us on the show are big hop heads, Nagel isn’t too fond of the Citra hop, due to its “cat piss and orange” smell (he meant that in a negative way, too). Hey, sounds good to us! Big, big aromatics on this beer, and yes, cat piss and orange are two of the dominant aromas present in the beer. Luckily, these bottles are super-fresh, so all of the aromatics and flavors just pop. It’s awesome. Knee Deep/Kern River Collaboration – Deep River Next is a collaboration beer between Knee Deep Brewing Co. and Kern River Brewing Co. called, Deep River Double IPA. One of Jason’s good friends picked up this bottle for him. Knee Deep is another brewery known for its intensely hoppy brews, so this beer fit right in with the Citra. Not a lot of details were given about the beer, so yeah…just know that it’s hoppy and delicious. Spiteful Brewing Company – God Damn Pigeon Porter The final beer is another beer from David that he picked up while in Chicago, Spiteful Brewing Company‘s God Damn Pigeon Porter. Hey, how’d that name get past Battle‘s desk?! This beer is brewed to taste and smell like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and it really does taste like a PB&J! It’s pretty incredible. David claims to have never had a PB&J sandwich (dude’s been known to be a bit of a fibber in the past). If you’ve also never had PB&J, this beer pretty much hits the nail on the head. Even the saltiness of the peanut butter is present in the beer. Weird! Big thanks to David for the brews. He’s the fucking man! BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 24 - This week, Matt’s clearing out the cellar. We’ve been at that point in our craft beer journey when we discover the diverse selection of beers available to us, and realize, “Hey! I TOTALLY need to start building my beer cellar up!” So, the first thing we do is seek out anything that might possibly “cellar well”. Well, that’s precisely what Matt did, and now we get to enjoy the fruits of his naive excitement. The main reason Matt decided to do this was to clear out all of the 12 ounce bottles and cans that were taking up space in his cellar. These beers are mainly from the 2006-2009 era. Hair Of The Dog beers. We kick it off with a vertical of Fred from Hair Of The Dog Brewing Company. Jason provided two of the beers, specifically, batches 77 and 87, and Matt brought batch 70. This beer was named after acclaimed beer writer Fred Eckhardt. These beers held up very, very well, to say the least. Hair Of The Dog and Stone Brewing Co. beers. Next up is another brew from Hair Of The Dog, 2006 Doggie Claws. This beer is a west coast-style barley wine that’s usually released in November, and it’s a pretty heavy hitter at 11.5% ABV and 70 IBUs. Stone Brewing Co.‘s Imperial Russian Stout is up next. Stone usually releases their IRS in 22 ounce bombers, but in 2008, they made a run of 12 ounce bottles that were exclusively for export. But, they held some bottles back and put them up for sale shortly after the release, and Matt picked up a bottle. He also brought a 22 ounce bottle of the same vintage to compare. Feature: “Guess That Brew!” We’re still not done with the drinking, but we decided to speed things up and open more bottles (and a can) from Oskar Blues Brewery, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Dogfish Head Brewery, and The Lost Abbey while playing a few rounds of “Guess That Brew”. Oskar Blues Brewery, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Dogfish Head Brewery, and The Lost Abbey beers. The live IRC (chat) really knocked it out of the park for this session of GTB. Props to Bob Vreeland, Dr. Zack, and OC Beer Nut. Oskar Blues’ Ten Fidy really stood out from the bunch. This beer is excellent fresh, and this particular batch from 2008 really held up well. Cans are really good at limiting, if not eliminating oxygen from getting into the beer, and this beer is a testament. To finish this post up, we’ll just list the final beers on the show… Dogfish Head – World Wide Stout (2008?)Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Bigfoot Barleywine 2008 and 2009The Lost Abbey – Angel’s Share 2009, Bourbon Barrel Aged It’s amazing we made it though this recording session without getting too sloppy… Thanks for the beers, Matt! Links to things from episode 24:Hair Of The Dog Fred Vintage GuideHair Of The Dog’s BrewhouseMatt’s traded bottle of The Bruery’s Partridge In A Pear Tree“Dead Giveaway” Charles Ramsey/Schmoyoho VideoBoogie In Your Butt BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 23 - This week, a Duck Duck Gooze side-by-side, and some, er, interesting homebrew from Nagel. Welcome to November. It's that special time of year when we get together with our families, roast birds in the oven, and drink barrel-aged beer to keep warm in the brisk winter weather. On the show this week, we're cracking open two beers from The Lost Abbey called Duck Duck Gooze. You may have heard of it. It's an excellent sour that many beer geeks consider to be a "whalez, bro". No hype here. It's fantastic. The Lost Abbey – Duck Duck Gooze 2009 & 2013. Matt really knocked it out of the park for this episode by providing not only one, but two variants of the DDG, one from 2009, and one from the most current 2013 release, which was provided to him by his super-rad boss, Patrick Rue. So, thanks Matt…and Pat! We break away from the drinking for a bit to discuss the recent IPA showdown at Vendome Wine & Spirits in Toluca Lake, CA. The results may surprise you… Greg brought two homebrews for us to try this week, one made with sourdough yeast (yes, really), and the other, a Tart Of Darkness clone, which was a More Beer homebrew kit. We start with his Tart of Darkness clone. The beer itself turned out OK, but this homebrew teaches us that making a sour beer that's on the level of The Bruery's Tart of Darkness takes a lot more time and work that just adding bacteria to wort. Next, we try Greg's collaboration beer that he made with OC Baking Company. Greg did a five day sour mash for this beer and fermented it with sourdough bread yeast from OC Baking Company. The beer really didn't turn out well–we're not gonna lie. Not all experiments turn out well. Sorry, Greg, but thanks for the beer! We mentioned The Festival on the show, which is a badass beer festival hosted by Shelton Brothers. Tickets are still available. It's going to be epic… BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT! Subscribe to the show: RSS iTunes – While you're there, give a review of the podcast! 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! Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 22 - It’s that special time of the year when pumpkin beers abound. This week, we carve it up. This week on the show, we’ve got two homebrews from our Aussie brother from a different mother, “The Beer Mule”, and two interesting craft beers from Hangar 24 Craft Brewery. Many of you may know The Beer Mule. You know, that globe-trotting-drink-you-under-the-table Aussie dude who also happens to be a pilot? Well, we were lucky enough to get some of his homebrew on the show this week. We kick it off with what we think is his New Zealand hopped Pale Ale (after further reaserch…it is. Motueka & Wai-iti hops) called Kiwi Skunk. It’s an overall refreshing beer that’s crystal clear and vibrant, given that it’s two months old. The next beer on deck is The Mule’s Flanders Red Ale, Intro To Oak. From all accounts, this year spent probably around a year in secondary souring-up, and was bottled on 9.9.2014. Right off the bat, this beer smelled great. It had all of the usual characteristic that one would find on the nose of this style of beer. We dive into this beer further on the show, and in summation: sour beers need a lot of time and patience. Hangar 24 Craft Brewery – Falling Leaf. Label customized by Bob Vreeland. Next are two beers from a brewery that’s near and dear (and quite local) to us, Hangar 24 Craft Brewery. Our buddy, Bob Vreeland, hooked us up with H24’s newest “Barrel Roll” series of barrel-aged beers called Falling Leaf, and their seasonal release, Gourdgeous. Essentially, Falling Leaf is Gourdgeous aged in bourbon barrels. Both beers are made with pumpkin and spice, and as we all know, pumpkin beers tend to really divide beer drinkers quite a bit. When it comes to pumpkin beers, you either love them or hate them. However, pumpkin beers present themselves in many different styles of beer, so pumkin beers shouldn’t be judged soley because they are made with pumpkin. Have we said pumpkin enough yet? Pumpkin. Pumpkin. PUMPKIN! Things get a little crazy at the end of the show, which at this point seems to be par for the course. So yeah…deal. BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 21 - This week on the show, we’re all up in the 2014 Great American Beer Festival. The Great American Beer Festival is America’s largest beer festival, and is held once a year in Denver, Colorado. Greg and John were up there for the festivities this year, and needless to say, they were not dissapointed. On the show this week, we’ll be drinking three award-winning beers from three southern California breweries who all won medals this year at GABF for the first time. GABF 2014 Award-winning SoCal Breweries We start the show with Saint Archer Brewing Co.‘s White Ale. The beer took home a gold at GABF this year, and it’s easy to see why–this beer is delicious. This light, clean, and dry witbier bursts with that signature witbier yeast aroma, and is backed up by a refreshing burst of citrus flavor. Saint Archer is a relatively new brewery out of San Diego, California, and they came running out of the gate with some truly great beers. Seeing them win at GABF was no surprise. Next up is Rocco Red from Bootlegger’s Brewery out of Fullerton, California. This beer, along with their Galaxian Barleywine, won bronze at GABF this year. This was also Bottlegger’s first time winning some metal at the fest. Rocco is their Amber ale. It has a quite dominant caramel flavor that hits your palate up front, but is balanced with a nice dryness, so it doesn’t come off too sweet or cloying. It has a pleasant pine characteristic to the aroma, and is an overall excellent beer. Cheers to the Boots team for the win! The final winner from SoCal that we managed to get our hands on is Bottle Logic Brewing‘s Lagerithm, which is an American-style dark lager. It’s pretty rad to see Bottle Logic win gold with this beer style–it’s not an easy beer to brew. Bottle Logic has been pumping out some awesome beers since they opened in February, from their Double Actuator double IPA, to their Tattered Prince French-style saison, and their Hanamachi Japanese-style rice lager. Big cheers go out to the crew at Bottle Logic! A big shoutout also goes to Beachwood BBQ & Brewing for bringing home a gold for Mocha Machine (sooo good!), a silver for Un Atout, and winning the award for Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year. Beachwood continues to impress and dominate at GABF, and we couldn’t be more proud of them. One of the more notable things about the fest for the last couple of years is the My GABFapp (iOS/Android). Every brewery and every beer at GABF this year is in the smartphone app, and the Brewers Association really went above and beyond with the overall design and functionality of the app. Some more excellent news is that there will be an additional 90,000 square feet of floor space added to the festival next year. This means more breweries, more beer, and more beer fans–a win all the way around. John’s photos from this year’s GABF 2014 can be found here. Also, the complete list of medal winners and award winners at GABF this year can be found here. We can’t emphasize enough how rad the GABF experience is, how cool it was to see some old friends, and our gratitude to the Brewers Association for having us GABF this year. It was a blast, and is something every beer drinker should experience. Cheers also go out to all of the winners at the competition this year. Cheers! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 20 - This week, we’re diving into some blind tasting, drinking some Nagelbier, and reaching exponential levels of hoppiness. We’re not messing around this week. We’re coming out swinging with some blind tasting, courtesy of Jason’s girlfriend, and our bud, Sara. Matt accidentally caught a peek of the first beer, and it takes us a seemingly odd amount of time to guess said beer. We’re then a bit blown away by one of the selections and learn that preconceived notions about any particular beer are just that, and beers should be just by the actual product in the bottle, or in this case, the 25.4oz can they are packaged in. Next up is a long overdue homebrew segment. Greg brought us his Belgian strong-something-or-other that he brewed with local homebrewing legend, Brad Daniels. Brad is a local craft beer and homebrewing enthusiast from Anaheim, California, who’s probably best known for is unique and badass home brewery named Peace Brewing. Without getting into much detail, the dude’s brewery has hot water on demand, a hoist for his kettle, a bar, and a freaking urinal all built into his heavenly facility. We hope to feature his place on a future video episode. Brad invited Greg over to his place for “brewing and brunch”, as it were, and that’s where this beer got its name, Belgian Brunch. Fermented with Safale T58 yeast, brewed with some non-specific hops, and then finally corked and caged (fancy!), this 12 day old homebrew came off a bit hot, and had all of the indicators that led us to believe that it ultimately needed more time in the bottle. Greg told us that Brad agrees, and that six months of cellar time will probably work wonders on this brew. Next up is something of a treat from the San Diego region of Southern California, Exponential Hoppiness from Alpine Brewing Co.. This beer is a triple IPA, and of course, is delicious. Alpine puts a spin on the style by adding oak chips to the secondary to round out all of the flavors. If you’ve never tried it, seek it out. It’s worth the trek to Alpine for a day of drinking brews and hanging out on their back patio. Finally, we end the show with some discussion on smaller breweries and if they feel the pressure to constantly innovate, and if it’s necessary due to their small size and consumer demand of their mainstay beers. Brew the shit out of it! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 19 - This week on the show, we harpooned some whalez from the other side of the continent, Brooklyn Brewery. Welcome to Four Brewers, the one-day-late edition. As many of you know, the Great American Beer Festival came to a close last Saturday (…it was AWESOME!), which means we were pretty much in recovery mode when we got home, and couldn’t get the show edited and out on time. Better late than never, right? RIGHT. This week, Matt and his totally awesome rad wife hooked us up with some Brew fromBrooklyn Brewery out of New York. We rarely see Brooklyn Brewery’s beer in this neck of the woods, so it goes without saying that these are quite a treat for us. Brooklyn Brewery Beers. We kick off the show with the only beer made with the Sorachi Ace hop that Matt can stomach, Brooklyn’s Sorachi Ace. Sorachi Ace hops tend to have a very perfume-like nose to them, and can really dominate the overall experience of a beer, since they live somewhere in the neighborhood of 18% alpha acid. This beer both combats and compliments this hop with Brooklyn Brewery’s own in-house strain of Belgian ale yeast. It’s one of the best Sorachi Ace beers around, and definitely worth seeking out. Silver Anniversary Lager is next up, which is essentially a doppelbock strength version of their Brooklyn Lager. We tangent for a bit (surprised?) and discuss gluten-free food stuffs, the Beer Wars documentary, and the history of Brooklyn Brewery’s iconic logo. Last but not least is the Brooklyn Cuvée Noire, a 10.6% ABV bourbon barrel-aged, Belgian style stout made with sweet orange peel. This bottle happens to be blend #4, and it’s pretty fantastic. As excited as we were to drink these bottles of radness, we got off topic quite a bit, and honestly, didn’t spend a whole lot of time discussing the beers. Hey, it happens. If you’re missing the homebrew aspect of the show, next week’s episode will feature a brew from Mr. Nagel. Greg’s no slacker, yo. Brew the shit out of it! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 18 - This week, we’re going to Germany and celebrating Oktoberfest! It’s Oktoberfest! This week on the show, we’re drinking four different German brews, three of which are Oktoberfest beers from Paulaner, Weihenstephaner, and Hofbräu, and the last, another beer from Weihenstephaner, their Korbinian doppelbock. Greg is studying for his Certified Cicerone® exam, and it just so happens that he’s researching Germany and its breweries and beers. Not only did he provide all of the beer for the show this week, he steps up and drops knowledge on the history of Oktoberfest and its beer. Oktoberfest Beers from Weihenstephaner, Hofbräu, and Paulaner. Also, Weihenstephaner Korbinian Doppelbock for good measure. Oktoberfest began as a festival in 1810 that lasted 16 days, from late September to early October, and celebrated the wedding of Prince Ludwig and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The beer made for the festival, called Märzen (which means “March”), was traditionally brewed in March, and lagered for four to five months. The 16-day beer-drinking extravaganza was closed with horse races, and then probably a good week or so of recovery. One really cool thing about these German imports is that they are very high quality brews that are fairly inexpensive. So, get together with your buddies, buy a couple cases of German brews, and learn about the roots and history of beer. Until next week, brew the shit out of it! Prost! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 17 - This week we’re trying out some of the awesome beers coming out of Firestone Walker Barrelworks, as well as some midwest flavor from New Glarus. Firestone Walker is regarded as one of the best breweries in America. From their awarding winning IPA, to their barrel-aged blends, Matt Brynildson and crew definitely know how to bring the radness. So, when a brewery of this caliber decides to start producing sour beer, the outcome is obviously going to be nothing short of incredible, right? Yep! We start off with the Bretta Weisse, their Berliner style wheat beer. This beer clocks in at 4.9% ABV, and a total acidity of 7. We’re unclear on what exactly an acidity of 7 actually is, but this beer definitely has a nice balance of tartness and and malty-wheat goodness. Firestone Walker Barrelworks Beers Next on deck from Bottleworks is the Feral One. From Firestone Walker: “We humbly offer you our inaugural Barrelworks bottling on the occasion of our first anniversary—Feral One. A blend of our best efforts, from hand-selected barrels chosen by the Masterblender and Barrelmeister. Feral One is a blend of Sour Opal (American Sour Ale – 30%), SLOambic (Fruited Sour – 14%), Agrestic (American Wild Red Ale – 16%), and Lil’ Mikkel (Bretted Saison – 40%). Savor now, or age longer for a special occasion. A Santé!” Needless to say, this beer is quite delicious. Getting away from the Firestone brews and wrapping up the sour beer part of the show, our friend John Ryti, hooked us up with a New Glarus brew from their Thumbprint series named, Wild Sour Ale. We may have held on to this beer a little longer than we should have, which is kind of a bummer, but high-fives still go out to Ryti for the hookup. New Glarus Brewing Co. – Wild Sour Ale Feature: “Going In Blind.” Yvonne joins us for another edition of what is probably our favorite game on the show, Going In Blind. The beers this week were purchased by Matt’s wife, Alicia, and she went out of her way to throw us a curve ball with her selections. Until next week, brew the shit out of it! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 16 - This week, we go to the dark side and are baptized in the blackest of beers. Roasted in fire, veiled in wax where it stoodBorn in the darkness of dark malts and woodDevoured by organisms, freed spirits drew nearCoating the tongue with the darkest of beers This week, we travel to the deepest parts of our cellar to sacrifice the darkest of beers upon the alter of the internet, to the Beast, called by his disciples, “Palate.” The ritual begins with a roasted porter implanted with the darkest of coffee beans. Bred for darkness at Smog City Brewing Co., Groundwork Coffee Porter is reminiscent to that of coffee beans drenched in the eternal darkness and evil of chocolate. Smog City Brewing Co. – Groundwork Coffee Porter Born in twilight of a darkening sky in the year 2012, the next victim is an elusive beer that manifests only in the coldest of winters in the northernmost part of the land, from a place known as Hill-Farmstead. Hill Farmstead – Twilight of the Idols Twilight of the Idols taps into the deepest of wells for its lifeblood, and is then showered in the wrath of vanilla and coffee. Delivered to us by our brethren in beer, Beer Geek Radio, we toast their generosity and chant their name in the darkest cave in the city of Moreno Valley, California, known to disciples as the den of the Beast. The final slaying is the from the depths of hell itself, Oregon. These final brews, which were laid to rest in barrels of bourbon, one with nibs of Theo, and the other with lurid coffee beans, are bound by time and pure darkness. Known as Black Butte XX and Black Butte XXVI, from the brewery of Deschutes, they are more than six years departed from one another, and yet their bond runs deep. Melting the wax from their fragile, dark, crowns frees them from their grim isolation, only to then be ravaged by the Beast itself. A worthy sacrifice indeed, but the Beast will never find true satisfaction. Deschutes Brewery Anniversary Beers A black beer brood with the Beast this nightReigning in malt, damned by his sightLick clean the corpses of these casualties, its preyNow warm and rotting; the fetor of decay May the Beast forever reign. Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 15 - This week, We ‘mule’ some beer from Massachusetts and up our game with live Google Hangout + IRC Chatroom! This week on the show, Greg brings in two beers brought by houseguests @2BeerGuys and@aljpeace from coastal Massachusetts. They were in town for Disneyland and the 2014 Beer Bloggers Conference and left some fun session beers from Notch Brewing Co in the fridge– Hootenanny Berliner Weisse and Cerne Pivo. Jason hand-muled his beers. Mystic Brewing’s Day of Doom, and Spencer Brewery’s Trappist Ale. Notch Brewing Beers With Notch’s Hootenanny, we discuss common off flavors in some Berliner Weiss’ like butyric acid, present from oxygen getting in a sour mash. Notch’s is clean and lacto-tart! We also discuss clarity in the style. We loosen the belt one notch for Notch Brewing’s Černé Pivo, and are shocked at something that is commonly present in most dark lagers, but not this beer. Is it weird? Good? Bad? Listen and find out! Spencer Trappist Ale is up next…you know, America’s first and only Trappist brewery? Opinions of this newest Trappist brewery have varied widely among beer geeks…but their beer? It caused a chant. Is it Monkenweizer? Freedom Trappists! Mystic Brewing and Spencer Trappist Does Jason have right-place-right-time antics? It sure does appear that way, because he scored an exclusive bottle of a pretty awesome brew. Redstone Liquors delivered a bouncing baby Masterson Rye Whiskey Bourbon Barrel aged Day of Doom quad from Mystic that’s very “mystic.” Regardless, it’s a fricken bourbon barrel quad, and the flavors parfait very nicely. Overall, our trip to Massachusetts was a complete success. Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 14 - This week, a show four years in the making. Matt shares four different sours that he brewed in 2010, along with a final blend of the four beers. This week on the show, we’re going “back in time”, so to speak. We recorded this episode back in June with Denise Ratfield, but it never made it to the interwebs. Well, it’s finally here, and it’s pretty great. We kick the show off with two stellar beers from Jester King Brewery out Austin, Texas. The first beer on deck is a farmhouse ale called El Cedro, made with Citra hops, aged on Spanish cedar spirals, and bottle conditioned with brettanomyces. Jester King Beers The next beer on deck was brought to us by Andrew Bell, Matt’s co-worker at The Bruery, who purchased it at Jester King during one of his recent trips to Texas. Nocturn Chrysalis is an oak-aged sour ale made with Marion blackberries from the state of Oregon. This is a rather remarkable beer—almost akin to eating fresh pie. Even though it’s made with blackberries, dark cherry notes are present in the beer, and they blend nicely with the tart and sweet characteristics. Feature: Homebrew – Matt’s Sours The last half of the show was very exciting for us. Back in 2010, Matt made 10 gallons of wort and split it up into 2.5 gallon carboys, all of which were destined to become different sour ales that were to be blended to make one final sour. Doing something like this is quite ambitious, and takes time and patience. These beer are evidence that time and patience really do payoff when it comes to homebrewing. Matt Becker Three of the four ales were soured with different strains and blends of bacteria from different yeast providers, White Labs, Wyeast, and East Coast Yeast. The fourth (and best of the bunch) ale was inoculated with dregs from different bottles of commercial sour ales that were all pitched into a yeast starter. Matt talks about the entire process from brewing to blending while we discuss the different qualities in each of the beers, and then share our thoughts on the final blend. See you next week! Make some sours! …and be patient. Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 13 - This week on 4B: English IPA, English porter, and two homebrews with issues. Welcome to lucky episode thirteen of Four Brewers! This week is a bit all over the place for us. We kick the show off with what is probably one of the most tradition and easy to find IPAs on the market, Samuel Smith’s India Ale. India Pale Ale tends to be a very regional beer, meaning that it can vary widely in translation. East coast IPA, for example, is thought of as being more balanced and malt forward, and greatly influenced by traditional English IPA. Keeping with that logic, one would think that this IPA from Samuel Smith’s would be a malt bomb of an IPA. But that’s actually not the case here. While this IPA is indeed quite balanced as far as IPA goes, the malt backbone is actually quite pleasant and not very dominating. It has a nice bitterness and comes off quite refreshing. It’s totally worth trying out sometime, and will give you an idea of what an actual English IPA is all about. Samuel Smith Beers Sticking with Samuel Smith’s, we dive into their Taddy Porter. This is again, another fine example of a traditional English beer. The beer style “porter” has been around for quite a long time, and many American craft breweries have their own delicious takes on it. It’s nice to get back to the roots of the style, and Taddy Porter is a great example, among many others. Feature: Homebrew – Jason’s SMaSH IPA, and Nagel’s “Yellow Submarine” Saison. Jason finally brewed a beer for the show! Awesome! Keeping things simple, he decided to go with a SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop) beer. The base malt in this brew is all 2 row base malt, and the hops are Mosaic. Jason talks about his first time fermenting beer in a bucket, we get off on the wonderful grapefruit aroma, and analyze an off-aroma present in the beer. Greg Nagel’s Yellow Submarine Saison Next up is Greg‘s “Yellow Submarine” saison. Greg talks about his not-so-efficient brewday (we’ve all been there), as we tangent into politics and other nonsense. See you next week! Make some beer! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 12 - Co-founder of Almanac Beer Co., Jesse Friedman, joins us for a healthy dose of Almanac brews, gives insight on the company’s history, and their place in the craft beer world. This week, we’re drinking not one, not two, not three, but FOUR different Almanac beers.Jesse Friedman, co-founder of Almanac Beer Co., crashes the party via Google Hangouts to chat about his beer, get thrown a few softballs, and drink some Almanac brews with us. Almanac Beer Co., located in San Jose, CA, was founded in 2010, and has already made waves in the beer scene with their outstanding barrel-aged beers, ranging from bourbon porter, to sour blonde fruit ales. Founders Jesse Friedman and Damian Fagan first met in their local homebrew club, where Jesse happened to sample a homebrew made by Damian that had the quality, taste, and presentation of a commercial beer. Jesse gets into this a bit more on the show, as well as what makes their brewery unique in its vision. Almanac Beer Co. – Episode 12 Beers The first beer on deck is Almanac’s Dark Pumpkin Sour, an ale aged in wine barrels and brewed with pumpkins and spices. The pumpkins are sourced from Bodega Bay in Sonoma County. The beer has a pleasant, soft tartness that really compliments the pumpkin and roasted malts quite well. Keeping on the pumpkin theme, the next beer we open is Almanac’s Heirloom Pumpkin Barleywine. Pumpkin beer season makes for a plethora of pumpkin ales and seems to get a bit convoluted, but Almanac’s barleywine really stands out. It’s a blended beer made with 500 pounds of hand-roasted pumpkins from La Tecera, California. If you haven’t caught on by now, Almanac is all about sourcing fruits and adjuncts for their beers from local California farmers, hence the “Farm to Barrel” theme printed on all of their bottles of beer. Next up, we open the Farmer’s Reserve Citrus. This sour ale is made with Buddha’s Hand citrons and Bergamot oranges, aged in red wine barrels, and is quite refreshing. Feature: “Guess That Brew!” Jesse, being a long time listener of Four Brewers, is no stranger to our little beer review game, “Guess That Brew.” But this time, we put a twist on it. All of the beer reviews we’re reading are Almanac beer reviews. Not to give anything away, but Jesse actually knows his beer pretty well… Jesse Friedman hanging out on Google While playing the game, we crack open our final beer from Almanac, Valley of the Heart’s Delight. Before Silicon Valley was known as such, it was called “the valley of the heart’s delight”, due to it’s sprawling fruit orchards. This sour ale pays tribute to its namesake with the addition of apricots, loquats, and cherries. It’s then aged in used wine barrels. All of the fruit in this beer was hand-picked by the Garden To Table non-profit from urban farms and privately-owned properties where the fruit resided. We’d like to thank Jesse for being so considerate as to guest on our show. Almanac is really making some great beers and has a unique take on their vision as a brewery. At the moment, they’re available in California, Washington, and Denver, so if you see their stuff on a shelf and you’ve never experienced their brew, buy it and enjoy. If you didn’t hear already, we’re officially on Stitcher. See you next week! Drink some beer! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 11 - Newport Beach Brewing Company brewmaster, Derek Bougie, joins us for a mouthwatering pucker-fest, featuring two great brews from Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, and three sour homebrews from Derek himself. This week on Four Brewers, our friend and special guest, Derek Bougie is bringing his beer geek “A” game as well as his unique style of ball-busting. We start off with two great beers from Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, out of Dexter, Michigan. The first beer is a collaboration with Maui Brewing Company called “Sobrehumano Palena ‘ole” (which means “superhuman” and “without limits”), a wild ale made with cherries and liliko’i fruits. Jolly Pumpkin, Maui Brewing, and Anchorage Brewing Collaborations The second beer is another collaboration ale, but this time between Jolly Pumpkin andAnchorage Brewing Co. called “Calabaza Boreal“, a saison style ale made with grapefruit peel, grapefruit juice and peppercorns. It almost comes off sort of like an IPA with it’s grapefruit character, and is an interesting and overall excellent brew. Feature: Homebrew – Derek Bougie’s Sours. Derek was kind enough to share three sour homebrews which were aged in a six gallon, medium-toast American Oak barrel. The first brew, named “La Vahine“, was originally and ale that was somewhere in the realm of a brown ale and a dubbel. It clocks in around 7%, and is at this point, a little under four years old. Beer number two is an 8.75% golden sour ale, appropriately named “Golden Sour“, bottled in August of 2009. We don’t really dwell on this brew a lot, as the show kind of goes off the rails while we discuss rap-rock, conservatives, and the Detroit music scene. Yeah…we apologize in advance. Derek Bougie’s Homebrewed Sours The final beer from Mr. Bougie is a 8.75% sour ale, aged in the same barrel as the previous two brews. This brew, “Funky Nuts“, was bottled six years ago, and was “Best in Show” winner at the 2008 Orange County Fair. Big thanks go out to Derek for sharing his tasty homebrew with us. If you’re ever in the Newport Beach area, make a stop at Newport Beach Brewing Co., and give Derek a high-five. Buy some beer and food while you’re there, too—it’s a great spot! If you didn’t hear already, we’re officially on Stitcher. See you next week! Drink some beer! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 10 - This week, we’re drinking the saison rumored to be the source of Wyeast Laboratories 3711 saison yeast, a delicious sour from Allagash, stout from Freeport, Maine, and finally, Matt’s first small batch brew in quite a long time. This week, we’re joined once again by our in-house special guests Sara and Yvonne, and it gets a little crazy this week. We start off with some “discussion” on the movie The Godfather, and drink a tasty brew from Brasserie Thiriez called “Extra“, a dry-hopped french farmhouse ale, rumored to be the source of Wyeast’s 3711 French Saison ale yeast. Brasserie Thiriez, Allagash Brewing Company, and Maine Beer Company After that, we dive into a couple of excellent beers via Mr. Nagel, Allagash Brewing Company‘s Coolship Cerise, and Maine Beer Company‘s Mean Old Tom. Coolship Cerise is an open-fermented sour ale aged in oak barrels with cherries, and it’s nothing short of delicious. Greg gives us a some insight on how Coolship is made, fresh off his recent trip to the east coast of the United States. Mean Old Tom is a stout aged on vanilla beans. Maine Beer Company is out of Freeport, Maine, and if this beer is an indication of the deliciousness of their beer, then we’re definitely looking forward to more from this brewery. Feature: Homebrew – Matt’s Small Batch IPA. Matt’s Mashing In! Matt‘s known for brewing small batches of brew in the past, but since becoming a professional brewer, time for homebrewing has been limited. But Matt’s back in the saddle, and he decided to brew a very basic IPA to get back in the game. Photos from the brew day are up on our Flickr page. Check ‘em out! Feature: “Guess That Brew!” Jason’s taking a break from competing on this round of Guess That Brew, and instead, is providing some interesting reviews to rack our beer-soaked brains. If you didn’t hear already, we’re officially on Stitcher. See you next week! Drink some beer! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 9 - This week, we’re sippin’ on two delicious IPAs, both of which involve Beachwood Brewing, and then we’re going to the dark side with John’s black oatmeal IPA, Oats N’ Bros. Joined by our in-house special guests Sara and Yvonne, we kick off the show this week with Beachwood Brewing‘s third anniversary IPA, aptly named “Greenshift“, which is made with nearly every hop under the sun. Well, not really, but it’s got a butt-load of hops in it, and it’s surprisingly smooth for being a 10% ABV beer. Beachwood Brewing has really been kicking ass this last year, and we couldn’t be happier for them and to celebrate their third anniversary with them. Stone Brewing Co./Beachwood Brewing/Heretic Brewing – Unapologetic IPA and Beachwood Brewing’s Greenshift IPA Next up, we’re drinking another beer that Beachwood had a part in, called “Unapologetic IPA.” A collaboration between Stone Brewing Co., Beachwood Brewing, and Heretic Brewing Co., this IPA was brewed with all experimental hops, which give it a very unique and bright floral character. Really tasty, indeed. We don’t spend a lot of time talking about this beer, really. Rather, we devote a good amount of time talking about Stone’s recent expansion to Berlin, Germany, and their related IndieGoGo fundraising campaign. It’s been the buzz of the interwebs since July 19th, when Stone announced that they’re finally opening a brewing in Europe and on the east coast of the United States, garnering both positive and not-so-positive feedback from the beer community. Feature: Homebrew – John’s black oatmeal IPA, “Oats N’ Bros” Next up, we’re trying John’s latest creation, Oats N’ Bros. This is a black IPA made with two pounds of oats, similar in fashion to his standard oatmeal IPA, “Oats N’ Hoes.” It’s 7.3% ABV and made with Centennial, Simcoe, and Amarillo hops, coming in at 95 IBUs. The oats lend a smooth, silky mouthfeel to this IPA, giving it a similar feel to a milk stout without the added sweetness that comes with adding lactose to the beer. Oats N’ Bros Black Oatmeal IPA The other unique thing about this black IPA is the use of brown malt in the mash. Brown malt is an excellent choice for making a brown ale, due to its biscuity, toasty nature, and it seems to work pretty well in darker beers, too. Click here for John’s Oats N’ Bros recipe. If you didn’t hear already, we’re officially on Stitcher. Cheers, and we’ll see you next week! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 8 – This week, we’re once again joined by the lovely Denise Ratfield of Pink Boots Society and Stone Brewing Co., who (like the dope lady she is) brought #AllTheBeers. Robert French is also back in the studio with us. We try three varieties of Societe’s “The Bachelor”, learn more about Denise, and learn that Jason simply dominates during “Guess That Brew.” If you have yet to hear about Societe Brewing Company in San Diego, California, well…get in the know! They’re making killer beer in San Diego that’s uncompromising and true to their take on what craft beer should be. Societe Brewing Company – The Bachelor Denise brought three varieties of Societe’s American IPA, The Bachelor, to share with us. These growlers were provided by our good bud, Mike Sardina, Societe’s “Ruler of the Underworld.” Mike is one of the most sincere craft beer geeks we’ve ever met, and he’s a perfect fit over at Societe. The Bachelor is an ever-changing, single hop IPA. The hops in the beer vary from batch to batch, so you can really get the true essence of whatever hop was used in the beer pretty well. The first variant of The Bachelor we’re drinking is made with Mosaic hops. Mosaic hops tend to come off very much like passion fruits, and this beer definitely delivers the fruit, perhaps even all over your face. The second variant of The Bachelor is made with Amarillo hops. Amarillo is a great hop for IPA, especially when combined with Simcoe, so it’s really nice to see it used in The Bachelor as a single hop. The third variant of The Bachelor is made with Citra. [Citra is so hot right now. So hot.] We all love its citrus-like characteristics and it really shines in this beer. Societe makes some of the cleanest beer you’ll ever drink, and Citra in The Bachelor is a match made in beer heaven. Feature: “Guess That Brew!” We’re back for another round of “Guess That Brew.” This time, we’re reading two reviews of two very different but much sought after brews. Jason proves once again that he is the master of this game. Don’t cross this dude—he’ll lay the smack down. Feature: Denise Ratfield and “Unite Pale Ale.” Denise Ratfield has been involved in the brewing industry since 1995 when she worked on the bottling line at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. She currently works at Stone Brewing Co.’s headquarters as their Brewceptionist. Along with working at Stone, Denise has been an active member of the Pink Boots Societyas the Social Media Committee Chair. She also recently organized the massive brewday that was International Women’s Collaborative Brew Day. Pink Boots Society is comprised of women who work in the beer industry. Their main goal is to empower women in the brewing industry through an open exchange of ideas and scholarships. There are many women working behind the scenes in the beer industry, whether they be brewers, brewery owners, shop owners, or even beer writers. Their voices and advancement in the industry are important. Pink Boots Society is there to help them advance and thrive, and encourage even more women to get involved in the beer industry. Mike Hess Brewing and Pink Boots Society Collaboration Beer – Unite Pale Ale As mentioned earlier, Denise was the event organizer for International Women’s Collaborative Brew Day. The idea was originally brought to Denise and Pink Boots Society by Sophie de Ronde from Brentwood Brewery in the United Kingdom, in collaboration with Project Venus UK (think Pink Boots Society, but in the UK). The thought was to have women in the beer industry from all over the world unite for one day and brew a beer. In this case, it was a pale ale made with Cascade hops—a true classic. A recipe was posted online, and those who participated could tweak the recipe as needed and brew the beer. Over 70 breweries around the world participated. The beer was named “Unite Pale Ale.” The variation of Unite that we are drinking this week was brewed at Mike Hess Brewing Company in San Diego, California, by two team members from Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, CA, Laura Mirsch (Brewer at Stone Brewing Co.) and Hollie Stephenson (Brewery Supervisor at Stone Brewing Co.). It’s a 4.9% pale ale that’s quite delicious. Latitude 33 and Pink Boots Collaboration Beer Label Denise is all about the Pink Boots Collaborations these days, and her latest is with Latitude 33 Brewing Company out of San Diego, California. Denise and Kevin Buckley (Latitude 33’s Brewmaster and Head of Brewing Operations) made a 5.3% oatmeal pale ale (ah-hem,John…?) with Nugget, Nelson, Southern Cross, and Motueka hops named “Worldly Scholar.” It’s on draft and in bottles, and it’s available RIGHT NOW! Funds raised from the sale of the beer will benefit Pink Boots Society scholarships. Denise will also be pouring this beer at Beervana, a two day celebration of craft beer in New Zealand. If you didn’t hear already, we’re officially on Stitcher. Cheers, and we’ll see you next week! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there,

Season 1, Episode 7 - This week, we’re shaking trees and drinking something old and tasty with award-winning local homebrewer, Robert French. Denise Ratfield of Pink Boots Society and Stone Brewing Co. is also along for the ride. Fort George Brewery – Sunrise Oatmeal Pale Ale and 3-Way IPA Jason is, once again, bringing the Fort George love with these two excellent offerings, Sunrise Oatmeal Pale Ale, and 3-Way IPA, which is a collaboration between Fort George, Block 15, and Boneyard Beer. Suffice to say, we’re all becoming huge fans of Fort George. The topics of the localization of breweries and prioritized markets also come up in the discussion. Feature: Homebrew – Robert French’s “Old Bandersnatch” and “Shake Your Tree.” Robert French is a long time friend of ours, and he’s been brewing for about 18 years. Recently, he built this super-dope single tier brewing stand that’s just beautiful. But he’s not just a pretty dude, with a pretty brewing stand—he makes excellent beer, too. Robert French and His Brewing Stand Robert’s first offering is his rye whiskey barrel-aged old age called, “Old Bandersnatch.” It was aged in an eight gallon rye whiskey barrel for two weeks. This bottle has about a year or so of age on it, and it’s tasting fantastic. It won gold in the first round of the National Homebrew Competition in San Diego, and it completely deserves it. This beer is also a testament to the wonderful grain that is Maris Otter. It’s silky, smooth, and has just the right amount of sweetness with a wonderful texture. Robert French – Shake Your Tree His second offering is a beer that he made for his daughter’s wedding, called “Shake Your Tree.” It’s a peach saison that was fermented with White Labs’ WLP670 American Farmhouse Blend. Whole, puréed peaches were added to the fermentor. This beer is about a year old and the peaches still shine through wonderfully and are complimented perfectly by the brettanomyces yeast present in the beer. Feature: “Going In Blind.” Going In Blind – Green Flash White IPA and St. Feuillien Saison Sara‘s back and pouring the brews for another round of “Going In Blind,” but this time, she’s pouring some beers that Yvonne purchased. To be honest, both of these beers were zingers for all of us, but in the end, Matt narrows it down and ultimately gets the gold star for this round. If you didn’t hear already, we’re officially on Stitcher. Cheers, and we’ll see you next week! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 6 - This week, we dive into some tasty farmhouse ales, first from Bellwoods Brewery, and then a fun From the Cellar segment featuring Prairie Ale from Prairie Artisan Ales, finishing up with a session of the always fun Guess That Brew. Bellwoods Brewery – Farmageddon We start off this week with Farmageddon from the not-well-known (to us, at least) Bellwoods Brewery in Toronto, Ontario. We alienate some Canadian fans, mix up our accents, and contemplate peaches. We really, really enjoy the beer, too. Plus, Steve Jobs is dead. Feature: From The Cellar For our first true From the Cellar segment, we taste a delicious Saison from Prairie Artisan Ales – Prairie Ale. We have a fresh bottle side-by-side with a bottle aged for about a year, and we do some fun contrasting and comparing. Prairie Artisan Ales – Prairie Ale Feature: “Guess That Brew!” Finally, we bring back the reverb for a game of Guess That Brew! We have a beer with no slut fruits, John loves and hates this game, a beer that definitely isn’t Orange Wheat, and Jason gets another bullseye. Cheers, and we’ll see you next week! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 5 - This week, we chat about Session IPA and safely chug Beachwood BBQ Alpha Waves out of Long Beach, California, followed by Going in Blind! Then, Nagel’s non-beers: Sake and Cider. We start off the show this week with a sessionable IPA from Beachwood BBQ, Alpha Waves then dive into non-beer homebrews from Nagel. Beachwood BBQ & Brewing – Alpha Waves Alpha Waves from Beachwood BBQ & Brewing in Long Beach, CA, is a described by the brewery as a “trickster of a ‘session IPA’ that will knock you down with surges of flavor and aroma.” “Session IPA” have been all the craze this year. Beachwood Brewing’s stands out from the rest in that it is a true session ale, clocking in at 3.8% ABV. It has a healthy malt backbone, and quite a big hop presence, even though it’s only 50 IBU. Feature: Homebrew – Greg‘s Homebrew Sake and Cider Greg’s Sake, named “Kamakazi Gang Bang” was an experiment to see how good a homebrew Sake can be. Much how Japanese WWII pilots would get tons of ass before their final flight, Nagel purchased a Sake kit from homebrewsake.com. Following the arduous broken English daily instructions, the rice/koji was soaked overnight, baked, cooled quickly, then fed it to the yeast. Every day, the amount doubles until the kit is finished. Once primary fermentation is complete, it’s racked into secondary, then tertiary after 30 days. After six months, it’s like fuel for a Japanese Zero, but mellows out over time with big vanilla, banana and stone fruit notes. Greg’s Sake in a Bottle of Mother Funker, with Dregs. We also sample Greg’s Cider, named “Cummin’s Cider,” that was ‘brewed’ easily from bringing a carboy up to Oak Glen’s Law’s Cider Mill. Step one: Sing The Sound of Music’s “The Hills Are Alive” while running through the apple orchards, dumping your sanitizer out of our carboy all over the ground. Next, add five crushed campden tabs to the carboy. Have the cider mill crush five gallons right into the carboy. Taste some to make sure it’s not gross. Pitch yeast after 24 hours (I used White Labs Old English Cider yeast). Add yeast nutrient twice daily while swirling and control temp to 68F. After primary, rack to secondary and wait 30 days. Improves considerably with age. Some people like to back-sweeten, which is gross. Save the trouble and buy the millions of sweet ciders available at the store. Feature: “Going In Blind…” We’re back for another round of “Going In Blind,” and this time, the beers were chosen and served up by Yvonne England. John wasn’t able to participate in the first round, since he “accidentally” saw the beer that was being served. Doh! Going In Blind, with Dale’s Pale Ale and Coconut Porter Ultimately, we find out that we’re drinking Dale’s Pale Ale from Oscar Blues, and Maui Brewing Co.’s Coconut Porter. We can’t stress how fun blind tasting is to do. Give it a try with your homies! Cheers, and we’ll see you next week! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 4 - This week, a really enjoyable rye IPA from Mike Hess Brewing out of San Diego, California, followed by John Holzer‘s Cantaloupe pale ale named “Jill.” We start off the show this week with a delicious beer from Mike Hess Brewing in San Diego, California, called “Habitus.” It’s an 8.0% ABV IPA made with rye malt, and Sterling and Chinook hops. Overall, a nice spicy rye character comes though, but isn’t overbearing. The unique combination of hops really sets it apart and makes it an very quaffable IPA, even at 8.0% ABV. Mike Hess Brewing – Habitus Feature: Homebrew – John‘s cantaloupe pale ale, “Jill.” John brings us his cantaloupe pale ale made with Meridian, Simcoe and Amarillo hops. Fermented with one pound of cantaloupe, the original idea for the beer was for it to have some big tropical notes, but not be too hoppy, and too high in alcohol. Made in collaboration with David and Adam Gillanders, Jill was brewed in memory of their mother, Jill Marie Thibodeau, who fought a tough battle with cancer. Jill was a fan of craft beer, so David and Adam thought it fitting to make a beer in her memory. Recipe: 10 gallon batch, 82% mash efficiency. 154º mash temp for 40 min, 20 min mash out to 168º. 60 min boil. 64º fermentation temperature. 1.063 OG. Malts: 22 lbs 8 oz 2 Row Malt, 1 lbs US Caramel 15 malt, 12 oz Gambrinus Honey Malt. Hops: 2 oz Meridian Hops at 40 min, 4 oz Meridian Hops at flame-out. Dry hop: 2 oz Simcoe at 7 days, 2 Simcoe oz at 10 days, 2 oz Amarillo at 13 days. Yeast: White Labs WLP051 with 3.2L starter. Cheers, and we’ll see you next week! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 3 - A plethora of delicious craft brew on this week’s show reminds us that we are living in a great time in craft beer. This week on the show, we are quite possibly, drinking all the beers. Well, more like seven different beers, but hey, it’s still a lot of brew. Jason brings us some brews from the northwest from Bale Breaker Brewing and Fort Gorge Brewing. We wrap things up in the first segment with a tasty brew from Los Angeles based brewery, Monkish Brewing. Monkish Brewing, Fort George, and Bale Breaker Brewing Co. Feature: “Guess That Brew!” In the second segment of the show, we introduce our game of sorts, “Guess That Brew.” Basically, we read reviews of different beers from the internet and try to guess which beer the reviewer is describing. It’s actually pretty entertaining. Give it a listen, then try it out with your friends. Feature: “Going In Blind…” Hangar 24, Firestone Walker, Dogfish Head, and Ballast Point Brewing Co. beers for “Guess That Brew!” The final segment of the show is a true test of our collective beer analysis skills. We’re drinking four random brews, procured by our lovely assistant (and Jason’s significant other) Sara. Again, give the segment a listen and try it out for yourself. You’ll be surprised how much you really don’t know about your favorite brews. Cheers, and we’ll see you next week! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 2 - Modern Times Beer Fortunate Islands brings the wheat and hops… Welcome to episode two! This week on the show, we’re drinking wonderful a hoppy wheat beer from Modern Times Beer named “Fortunate Islands.” Modern Times is one of the newest breweries to sprout up in San Diego, California, and they’re making incredible beer. They’ve only been open since September 2013, and they’re already making a big name for themselves. Modern Times Beer – Fortunate Islands Feature: Homebrew - John’s Oatmeal IPA, “Oats N’ Hoes” John’s oatmeal IPA has really garnered a lot of attention in the local Riverside, California homebrew scene. Inspired by Lee Chase and Automatic Brewing Co.‘s Will Powered IPA, Oats N’ Hoes is a west coast-style IPA, made with one pound of oats and Falconer’s Flight hops. Recipe: Oats N’ Hoes 10 gallon batch, 82% mash efficiency. 148º mash temp for 40 min, 20 min mash out to 168º. 60 min boil. 65º fermentation temperature. 1.069 OG. Malts: 25 lbs 2 Row Malt, 2 lbs US Caramel 15 malt, 1 lb U.S. Flaked Oats. Hops: 2 oz Falconers Flight Hops (all hops are Falconer’s flight) at firt wort hop addidion, 1 oz at 10 min, 1 oz at 5 min, 2 oz at flame-out. Dry hop: 2 oz at 7 days, 2 oz at 10 days. Yeast: White Labs WLP001 with 3L starter. Cheers, and we’ll see you next week! Enjoy! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Season 1, Episode 1 - Anchorage Brewing’s Rondy Brew Saison w/Lemongrass and Brett kicks off the inaugural episode of Four Brewers. Welcome to Four Brewers! Four Brewers is a new podcast from Matt Becker, John Holzer,Jason Harris, and Greg Nagel that celebrates craft beer and homebrewing. This week on the show, we’re celebrating our collective return to the interwebs, and welcoming our newest member, Greg, to the show by opening some really special brews: A saison from Anchorage Brewing Company called “Rondy Brew,” and a wonderful sour from The Lost Abbey called “Veritas 007.” As with all new ventures, we’re working out the bugs of doing a new show (bugs, beer, title of the episode, get it ?…heh), and getting a feel for the overall flow. Episode one beers. Anchorage Rondy Brew, The Lost Abbey Veritas 007, Homebrew and force-carb bottle Feature: From the Cellar - Lost Abbey Veritas 007 – Sour Blend w/cab franc grapes. Matt brought a bottle of Veritas 007 from The Lost Abbey to celebrate the first episode. In short, it was awesome. The Lost Abbey Veritas 007 Feature: Homebrew - Nagel’s Soured Dunkelweizen Greg Nagel brought some of his Dunkelweizen to share on the show. Half of the batch was fermented in the standard, yet not-so-typical way, and the other half went way of the sours. Base beer: Metheweizen 60% Wheat, 40% German Pilsner, Rice Hulls, .5 lb Blackprinz at vorlauf, 20 IBU Hersbrucker hops, WLP380 German Hef IV. Mash temp to desired mouthfeel, ferment at desired temp to obtain banana/clove flavors/aromas. The beer sampled in this episode was mashed at 154º and fermented at 85º-90ºF. Previous batches at 74ºF were more pleasant and to style. Sour beer: Nervous Breakdown (base beer on Roselare yeast cake and bugs from a Lil’ Opal contributing barrel at Barrelworks) Thanks for listening and enjoy the ride. Cheers! Subscribe to the show:RSSiTunes – While you’re there, give a review of the podcast!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!Donate via PayPal

Four Brewers is a craft beer and homebrew podcast brought to you by Matt Becker, John Holzer, Grag Nagel, and Jason Harris. Episodes coming soon...