The Brewing Network Presents | The Session

Joran and Shawn - the two guys behind Halfway Crooks Beer - come from two very different backgrounds, but somehow still managed to meet up and combine their passion for lagers (and weird beer labels) into something magical. Sully and JP chat about lager beer, brewery vibes, and having an inviting brand that the sole purpose is to push lagers unto the masses. Lagers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From his early days in the craft beer scene, Dave McLean had always been interested in the malting process. Fast forward 20 years, and dave is now heading up a craft malt house in Alameda, Ca, providing freshly malted grain to brewers and distillers nationwide. How important is fresh malt? Are there any funny puns to be made in the malt world? How erotic can ice cream really be? Find out all these answers and more on this episode of The Session! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Keeping the Pacific Northwest covered in lager beer isn't an easy task. Lucky for them, there's Kevin and the folks from Wayfinder Beer! Located in Portland, Or, Wayfinder is primarily a lager house that also does a fair amount of ale brewing. But when your flagship is a Helles (with a 4-step mash), you're probably doing lagers right. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area craft beer scene is ever-growing, and today on The Session, we talk to one of the fresh faces making great beer out here - Five Suns Brewing. Jess Jackson, owner and brewer at this Martinez brewery, joined JP on this week's show to talk about his path from homebrewer to craft brewer, and how his small brewery is positioned to ride out the pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frequent guest and friend of the show Dave Marliave makes his return to The Session! Dave's history in brewing (and life) has been full of challenges, especially with the closing of Flat Tail brewing, but that didn't stop him from pushing forward and getting back into the craft beer game. New Spring, is Dave's latest project, and we were happy to catch up with him to talk about his journey to his new location, what New Spring means to him, and what he has coming on the horizon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sitting in the "backpack" of Fairfield, sits Suisun City, home to True Symmetry Brewing Company. Jason, brewer and owner of True Symmetry, comes on The Session to talk about his days as a homebrewer, his move to pro, and what a small brewery has to do these days to stay open. Jason and JP are also joined by Jamil and Teresa - plus two special guests! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As 2020 winds down, what better way to shift into a new year than to have a whole show dedicated to homebrewing? We invited Marshall Schott from Brulosophy on the show to give us the five more popular homebrewing subjects (according to brulosophy.com), and a little bit about each experiment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Kesteloot is our guest today, from Peace Tree Brewing out of Knoxville, Iowa. Peace Tree is known in the area for their stubby bottles, and their best-selling Belgian Blonde Ale, of all things! We talked about his short-lived days as a homebrewer, making the jump to professional, and sample a few of his beers! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jamil and the Heretic Brewing team are known for making world-class beers. So when we realized they are also crafting some great canned cocktails, we were intrigued. The canned cocktail market is big, but the products have usually been sub-par. Today we chat with Jamil about how he approaches the cocktails Heretic makes, and how it's similar and yet different than crafting beer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Red Clay Brewing, from Alabama, Zoomed back into The Session this week. Having just been on last year, they have a lot to talk about - mainly their collaborations with Master Sommelier Emmanuel Kemijii. We chatted about using weird ingredients while still trying to adhere to some sense of beer styles. Among the usual beer chatter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mother Road Brewing Company definitely walks the walk. Located in Flagstaff, Arizona, they are a company that is committed to providing a supportive workplace for their employees, as well as including their local community in the direction of their beers. Michael's brewery is set up for success, inside and out, and we had a great time chatting with him! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Brewing Network got together to pay our respects to Mike "Tasty" McDole. His passing leaves a gigantic Tasty Cookie-sized hole in our hearts, both on and off the air. Tasty's impact in our lives can never be measured, but it can be celebrated, and that is what we tried to do with this social distanced foregathering. Tasty was a brother to us all, and we'll miss him. Join us as we raise a pint in his honor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last time Lee Bakofsky was on The Session, he was brewing beer for Eagle Rock Brewing, one of the staples of the LA craft beer scene. Now, he's moved to a brand new brewery called Party Beer Co., so we chat with him to learn all about how you transition jobs as a brewer - and open a new spot - during a pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on The Session we are joined by the fine people from Imperiale Beer Project, in Brentwood, California. Not only are they still in business during the pandemic, but they opened their doors at the height of the California shelter-in-place announcement. We chat with former homebrewer and Club D.O.Z.E. member Vito DeLucchi, and owners Brandon and Jessica Freel, on how this whole project came to be, and how things have progressed since opening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the age of COVID, breweries are finding it harder and harder to find their way through the shutdowns and into a survivable business model. Danville Brewing Company is no exception. We chat with brewer Matt Sager, to find out how the shutdown affected him, how they fought their way back into the marketplace, and what happened to all that beer they had to let sit in the tanks while they were closed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hop Revolution & Hallertau Brewery from New Zealand join the Session to talk hops, COVID-19 & more. Tune in and find out about how New Zealand's newest hop farm's first harvest went back in February & March. Also, Hallertau Brewmaster Stephen Plowman talks about what makes New Zealand hops so special. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

COVID-19 has flipped the craft beer industry on its head, but what happens when you have to move your entire brewery in 26 days during a pandemic? Dave Marliave from Flat Tail Brewing Company knows exactly how that goes, and we chat with him on this Shutdown Special. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gary Glass from the American Homebrewers Association joins The Session, along with Brian Cooper & Oleg Shpyrko, who are both running for Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Regional Rep positions. Learn about HomebrewCon online from Gary, and how you can vote for your West Coast Regional Rep for the BJCP from Brian and Oleg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Wallash and Jay Goodwin from The Rare Barrel join us on another special edition of The Session during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Natalie & Vinnie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing Company join us for this COVID-19 Special Edition of The Session. In yet another format change (sorry folks), we have been streaming live video to Facebook a couple times a week in order to bring more content home to you. As part of that, we decided to record the audio and make it part of our Session podcast feed as well. So that is what you are hearing here. Tune in and find out what one of America's most celebrated breweries is doing to stay alive and keep us all stocked with fresh beer during the pandemic. You can also find the live video interview on our Facebook Page. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this COVID special edition of The Session, we are joined by Arizona Wilderness Brewing Company from Gilbert, Arizona. The brewery was hit pretty hard by the shutdown, but share their story of resilience and compassion in this candid interview. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special, and weird episode of The Session, we change formats to meet the demands of the current global pandemic crisis. Host Justin Crossley is back in the studio, but this time all by himself to try and make a little sense of what's happening, and how The Brewing Network intends to proceed as we all attempt to get through this. As part of the process, J interviews Nico Freccia, Co-Founder of 21st Amendment Brewery, to discuss lender forgiveness for breweries during the crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In light of the current shelter-in-place situation we find ourselves in here in the Bay Area, we decided to postpone this weeks Session with True Symmetry Brewing, and instead have cut together a few clips from past shows. We even have a current interview from Justin and our pals down at Hop Revolution in New Zealand! It's a great mix of old BN and current topics, and we hope you enjoy it. Sully and Teresa joined JP as he introduces these clips, recorded in his tiki room (hence the photo). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aram Cretan and Matt Hunter, two of the guys behind Federation Brewing Company, traveled from the Port of Oakland to be on The Session and to tell their story. They not only brought several beers for us to talk about, but they brought some laughs and some good stories about coming up in an industry that ebbs and flows like most others. especially with the coronavirus rapidly spreading around the world. Sully and Tasty join JP as host for this fun and exciting chat about local beer! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Session continues as we welcome David Lin of Comrade Brewing Company out of Denver, Colorado. David won two medals at the 2019 Great American Beer Festival, as well as being named "Small brewery of the Year"! We talk about moving from homebrewer to brewery owner, making killer IPAs, and how a brewery can be responsible and take care of its employees while still being successful. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Del Cielo Brewing, out of Martinez, CA, joins us in the studio for this episode of "The Session"! Owners Luis and Cielomar take us through the evolution of this almost two-year-old brewery. From Luis' homebrewing days to his current position as head brewer - and everything in between! Plus, it's the triumphant return of Kim Schimke to the studio, so join us as she goes into too much detail about her stint in the hospital and her road to recovery! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special bonus episode of The Session, we take the show on the road to Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's Torpedo Room, in Berkeley, California. As part of Sierra Nevada's 40th Anniversary celebrations, they have fixed the original brewhouse that Founder, Ken Grossman, built by hand to a trailer to take it on the road. We catch up with Ken at the Torpedo Room, along with Charlie "The Pope of Foam" Bamforth, for an exclusive interview about innovation in brewing. Along the way, we get some really cool stories from both brewing legends, share a few laughs, and find out what they really think about craft beer and innovation in the industry... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Livermore is the edge of the East Bay beer scene, but there's no shortage of great breweries out there. Today we talk with one of those - Shadow Puppet Brewing! Craig Danielson and Will Hutchison hung out in the studio and shared six of their tasty beers with JP and Sully. These guys have a knack for producing not only nice lagers, but drinkable high gravity beers. We talk all about that and more on this episode of The Session! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Session, we are joined in the studio by Revision Brewing Company from Sparks, Nevada. We are joined by Co-Founders and Brewers, Jeremy Warren and Jeb Taylor, as well as Co-Founder and VP of Sales and Marketing, Darla Robert. Revision comes in to a studio rattled by Justin's sudden fall from sobriety, but counters with a stellar list of award winning beers that excite us all. This one is a show for the books folks, so just tune in and listen to the mayhem! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Session, we welcome Crucible Brewing from Washington State. We are joined by President and Head Brewer, Dick Mergens, who brought us a healthy sampling of beers to try. Dick doesn't believe in having a house yeast, having brewed with over 30 different strains, and his creativity shines in the sample he brought. His sour beer, Rest In Peaches, almost makes Justin ditch is sober experiment! Tune in and get all the info from one of Washington's finest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ocean View Brew Works from Albany, California, joins us in-studio on this episode of The Session. A small, community-based brewery, the OVBW team make some great beers and aren't afraid to buck the current climate and brew classic styles that they love. We get to try a stellar American Lager, a Bitter that's not bitter, a French Ale that we love (and they argue about), and a Black Lager that takes the cake. Tune in and learn about their process, techniques, and one of the coolest little communities in the Bay Area. Plus an update on Justin's sobriety...WTF is the world coming to?!? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Session is back this week after the long holiday break with Downtown Sacramento's Alaro Craft Brewery. Owner, Ray Ballestero, and Head Brewer, Chris Keeton, join us in the studio and tell us about the unique history of Alaro, which opened in an iconic craft beer location in Midtown Sacramento. With big shoes to fill, the Alaro team set themselves apart, while also paying homage to a California craft beer pioneer, Rubicon Brewing Company. Tune in and learn about the beer, the food, and why Alaro values elegance over gimmicks in their entire concept. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charlie Bamforth, A.K.A Dr. Bubbles, joins us once again on this episode of The Session. Last we spoke to Charlie, he was just about to go into retirement from the UC Davis Brewing Science Program. However, that hasn't slowed Charlie down one bit! The doctor has two books on the way, including In Praise Of Beer, which is available for pre-order now. He's also been consulting for the legendary Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, writing about football (the real kind, he says), and keeping a close eye on the beer industry he's been working in for over 30 years. Later in the show, we get a visit from some Brewcasters that we haven't heard from in quite some time. Tune in and end 2019 Brewing Network style in this episode of The Session! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Block Three Brewing Company from Ontario, Canada, joins us on this episode of The Session to talk about Canadian Craft Beer. Tune in as Co-Founder, Graham Spence, and Head Brewer, Kevin Freer, teach us about Canadian Craft Beer and the beers of Block Three Brewing. With a heavy focus on barrel-aged and mixed fermentation beers, we learn about their techniques, including the use of a koelship to produce unique fermentation profiles. To wrap things up, we spend a good amount of time discussing the state of the Craft Beer industry in the U.S. and argue about what it means to be "craft". It's a good ol' classic long show where we let our colors fly... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Session, we welcome Mike Marr, Owner and Brewmaster at Buffalo Creek Brewing, from Long Grove, IL. to the show. Mike specializes in traditional German and Belgian style ales and lagers, with a few other styles sprinkled in to appease his homebrew roots and add variety. There might be a little meltdown in there too... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flatland Brewing Company from Elk Grove, CA. joins us in studio on this episode of The Session. Co-Owner/Brewer, Andrew Mohsenzadegan, and Brewer/Cellar Dweller, Mack Sant talk to us about how they got started brewing, and how sour beer is their passion. We also hear about J's private parts, and a new plan to bring the BN in the road in 2020! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason and Ryan from Ogopogo Brewing came all the way up from San Gabriel, CA to hang out with The Session crew, and the result was a great bit of radio. Both guys are former homebrewers and have large amounts of brewing knowledge, in addition to having an extensive background brewing at large facilities. Brewing a wide range of beers - from hazy to lager - Ryan and Jason work hard to bring quality beer to market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Session, 2019 National Homebrew Competition Ninkasi winners, Nicholas McCoy and Jeff Poriot, discuss homebrewing for competition. This duo of champion homebrewers go through every detail of how they approach brewing for competitions and share their knowledge with us. From choosing what competitions and categories to enter, to deciding on specific ingredients to use, Nick and Jeff cover it all. We also learn about how Justin narrowly avoided spending 72 hours in jail while in Mexico for Cerveza Mexico... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Session, we welcome the crew from Alvarado Street Brewing Company, out of Monterey and Salinas, California. We are joined by Co Owner and Director of Brewing, JC Hill and Lead Brewer and Haze Master General, Biggie. Alvarado Street has made some serious waves in the Craft Beer world with their stellar beers and focus on hop forward hazies and IPA's. Tune in and learn how to get the most out of your hops with tips and tricks from one of the best in the west! We also check in with our friends from Hop Revolution in New Zealand to find out how their first ever crop of New Zealand hops are progressing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Session, we speak to John Corbin and Kerry McGinnis from Red Clay Brewing Company in Opelika, AL. Red Clay focuses on getting classic styles right and they prove it to us with a great Heffeweizen, Scotch Ale, Biere DeGuarde, and more. We also get a follow up from everyone's new favorite feedback listener, Ron, and we sadly, say goodbye to Beardy... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Session, we speak with Common Roots Brewing Company out of South Glens Falls, New York. These folks have an incredible story after suffering a devastating fire at their brewery that nearly wiped them off the map. Now, just months later, we learn about their amazing recovery, the community that supports them, and of course, the beer that just couldn't be left in the ashes. Christian and Bert Weber share their inspiring tail with us as we taste some of there wonderful craft beer creations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Session, we welcome the folks from The Tap Brewery, from Bloomington, Indiana to our studios. We are joined by Head Brewer, Jarrod May, Assistant Brewer, Matt Grimm, and Cellarperson, Zach Rapattoni. Tune in and learn about this fast growing brewery and their focus on classic styles, turning out tons of different beer styles each year. They also brew a lot with local honey, unique fruits, and other diverse adjuncts to keep things interesting in the brew house. We also hear from our good friend Dave Marliave at Flat Tail Brewing, and you really won't believe his response to an angry listener email he received... As heard in this episode, check out our newest sponsor, Manscaped, and get 20% off, with free shipping, when you use coupon code BREWING. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Winning a medal at the National Homebrew Competition is the dream of many of us. On this week's Session, we talk with four homebrewers who have achieved that dream in order to learn all we can about how they are making some of the best beer in the country. Not only did we get some great tips, but these guys were kind enough to give us the recipes for their respective medal-winning beers, plus some tidbits needed to replicate them perfectly. So settle in, sharpen that pencil, and get ready for some homebrew geekdom! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Session, we are excited to welcome New Zealand's newest, and largest, single hop farm, Hop Revolution. Founder and plant scientist, Susan Wheeler, and CEO Jason Judkins, came all the way from New Zealand to visit American craft breweries and appear on our show to talk about their exciting new venture. We learn about the history of hop farming in New Zealand, as well as Hop Revolution's unique founding that is tied to rugby star, Terry McCashin, from the famous All Blacks. Susan and Jason are surprisingly, and refreshingly, forthcoming about the project ahead of them and how much they have to learn and how they will lean heavily on brewers to guide them all the way through their first harvest in 2020. Tune in and get the scoop on this exciting new hop venture! We're also joined by Shaun O'Sullivan from the 21st Amendment brewery, and get a visit from Kim Schimke of @kimsbaybrews fame (and also our Brewing Network social media minion). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Session, we welcome Harmony and Levi Fried from Long Beach Beer Lab to the studio. Levi and Harmony have extensive education, training, and professional experience...in medical science and classic pastry making and baking. And this is where the fun begins! The dynamic duo left their previous careers behind to marry their passions (personally and literally) and open a beer lab (brewery) and bakery in Levi's hometown of Long Beach, California. Today we learn how the two met and how they ended up here, sharing incredible creations and living their dream of owning their own business together. Levi is also on a mission to document the results, and find the perfect scenario, to produce the perfect quick fermentation beers with Kveik Yeast. By our taste tests, he's getting close. And finally, much to our surprise, we get a visit from Mike "Tasty" McDole who jumps back on the mic and is definitely his good ol' self. It's a classic Session you shouldn't miss! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Session, we are joined by Brewmaster and Co-Owner, Justin Beardsley, from Eight Bridges Brewing Company, out of Livermore, California. Eight Bridges focuses on producing difficult styles very well, and puts quality control at the top of their list of priorities. We learn about Justin's refusal to use inferior ingredients, and how he started with humble homebrewing roots and has now built a successful family craft beer business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Humble Sea Brewing Company from Santa Cruz, CA. joins us in-studio on this episode of The Session. Cofounder and Brewmaster Nick Pavlina, along with Cofounder and Creative Director Frank Scott Krueger, talk to us about their very humble beginnings (no pun intended), and how they managed to start their brewery with a one barrel brew system and $10,000. Today they make their creations on a 10 barrel system and serve out of their Santa Cruz tasting room. We learn about their delicious beers, unique philanthropic efforts, and the clever system they have devised to name all of their beers. We also just have a great time getting to know them, and might have even managed not to insult them in the process. Or did we...? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lynn Litchfield from Toasted Barrel Brewery came all the way out from Salt Lake City, Utah, to be on The Session with us. As a long-time Brewing Network Listener, he felt it was the only way to do it! Lynn is a former homebrewer/barber/concrete guy who became a commercial brewer/concrete guy/barber on the side. Some things never change, I guess. Lynn's focus is on kettle sours and mixed fermentation, with a few IPA's thrown in for good measure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Session, we are joined by Marcus Baskerville from Weathered Souls Brewing Company in San Antonio, Texas. Marcus flew out to join us in-studio and brought some incredibly unique creations to share. From a stellar American Light Lager (brewed with a very unique yeast from White Labs, WLP925 High Pressure Lager Yeast) to an Imperial Milk Stout that he boiled for 24 hours, Marcus runs the gamut of styles and does them all very well. We also get to meet his family, which includes his retired Correctional Officer and proud father (we get great stories our of him) and his cousin (also our good friend) Terrence The Black. We round out the show with a bit of beer news that Sully shares his expertise on, and end with a bang after a good ol' fashioned 3 hour Session. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

East Brother Beer Company, from Richmond, CA. joins us in the studio for this episode of The Session. Head Brewer, Paul Liszewski and Co-Founder, Rob Lightner, share with us their incredibly well made craft beer, focusing on classic styles, fresh from the brewery. We get to taste killer examples of Vienna Lager, Bohemian Pils, Oatmeal Stout, and West Coast Double IPA. Each one nails the style and reminds us of why we brewcast. We also learn about the unique community they reside in, that has a long history in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is worthy of its own brewery the likes of East Brother. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices