Cincy Brewcast

In a big move for a brewery that's relied on a great food partner for ten years - MadTree made a lot of waves this month when they announced that they'd be bringing their food program under their own MadTree banner starting next year.  While I'm still working on a BIG blog post to talk all about my thoughts on the changing world of food inside of our craft breweries - I couldn't resist the urge to head out to MadTree to sit down and chat about how they feel about it, as well as what we can expect when they roll out their new food program next spring.

After a long season, with 35 different packaged Oktoberfest beers battling it out to see who is the best this year... we're finally there.  The finals were recorded live at MadTree Brewing Company (last year's winners), and it was a really, really tough decision.  The decision was so difficult that I had to call on help from Marco and Julia from Truth, Beer, Podsequences to help me judge - AND had to get help from DIPA Josh to make sure that the contest was all on the up and up by helping us with the pouring. In the end, though, as always - there could be only one winner, and this year Sonder took home the Golden Gnome as the first-ever double-winner of the contest. It was fun, it was chaotic... it was a good episode!  Enjoy! Guests This Episode Marco Penilla - Truth, Beer Podsequences Julia Rohs - Truth, Beer Podsequences Special Appearances By: Danny Herold - Sonder Brewing Company Caroline Ludwig - Craft Parenting Pod Joe Ludwig - Craft Parenting Pod DIPA Josh - He does drink other beers t

I love the folks at Common.  I love what they've built in Mason, Ohio.  I also LOVE every chance I get out to record an episode of the Brewcast with them.  I headed out to hang out recently to see how things have been going, as they settle down after their fifth anniversary and to hopefully show you exactly why a small neighborhood brewery like theirs can 100% stand out, even in a busy beer city like Cincinnati. This is definitely the type of show that makes me remember why I enjoy Cincy Brewcast - and I hope you have as much fun as we did! Guests This Episode Mark Lortz Amy Lorz Mike "Mikey P" Parsons Mark "Quick Trip" Miller From The Beer Fridge This Dark Cloud Won't Get Me Down Festicuffs Wheat You Talkin' About Willis? Caramel Mikey

This episode is always a blast, bringing with it more than its fair share of chaos! Big Cis is a collaboration beer that we brew every year in memory of Mike Cisneros, who helped start this show back in 2015. To be fair, the show was his idea, and I was just along for the ride until he passed away only a year and a half after we had been making it. The beer honors him. It honors who he was and represents a lot of what drives me forward as a beer blogger here in Cincinnati. This year we brewed the beer down at Darkness in Bellevue, KY - so I sat down with owner Eric Bosler to chat about Mike, about Big Cis, about their journey... it was a ton of fun, even if the recorded sound is a little rougher than you're used to. I'll nail the whole live event thing one of these days! Guests This Episode Eric Bosler - Darkness Brewing Mike Almoslechner - Bellevue Education Foundation From The Beer Fridge Darkness Brewing - Big Cis Show Links Bellevue Education Foundation - Facebook

I LOVE this event every year. Sonder and Friends Oktoberfest perfectly represents what I love about craft beer, and I make sure to fire up the podcast every year to celebrate. I sat down with Justin and Danny from Sonder and friends Mark (and Amy later) from Common Beer Company and Brian from BC's Brewing Co. We drank a bunch of Oktoberfest beer and just sort of let the conversation take us wherever it wanted to! Guests This Episode Danny Herold - Sonder Justin Neff - Sonder Mark Lortz - The Common Beer Co Brian Brownlow - BCs Brewing Co Amy Lortz - The Common Beer Co From The Beer Fridge Sonder - Oktoberfest Common Beer Co - Festicuffs For the full video version of this episode - head over here to YouTube!

We keep hearing it repeatedly: the future of breweries lies in the neighborhood spots. Lebanon Brewing Company understands that very well, and when they opened their space last year, they worked their butts off to become part of Lebanon in every way possible. On this week's episode, I headed up to Lebanon to chat with owner/brewer Jake Borsvold about how all of those pieces come together for them. We spend some time learning how Jake's story got him to where he's at, now - and of course drinking a few beers along the way, too! If you are curious about Lebanon Brewing Company, make sure you follow them on Facebook and Instagram - but more importantly - make sure you visit them at 20 W Silver Street in Lebanon, Ohio. Guests This Episode Jake Borsvold - Lebanon Brewing Company From The Beer Fridge Lebanon Brewing Company - Cedar City Pils Lebanon Brewing Company - Amigo Lebanon Brewing Company - Lebanhosen Lebanon Brewing Company - Ales For ALS Lebanon Brewing Company - DeadBea

As we head into Streetside's anniversary week, it seemed like a great chance to sit down with Garrett Hickey. Garrett is one of the owners, founders and a great person to talk to if we want to get a picture of how things have changed with the brewery over the last seven years. I'm always fascinated with how Streetside has developed its personality, even while a few different head brewers have managed to put their own spin on things during the same timeframe. We talked about a lot of things, from the brewery's stance on collaboration and why it's important from a professional and a personal level to what we think craft beer drinkers are looking for in 2023. Of course... you know that we also opened up a few beers while we chatted! Guests This Episode Garrett Hickey - Streetside Brewery From The Beer Fridge Streetside Brewery - Rainy Day Clubhouse Streetside Brewery - On The Cloud of Unknowing Streetside Brewery - Tame The Demons, Single Barrel Streetside Brewery - Tame The Dem

Why do some breweries get a lot of hype when they open their doors? Why do some beers get people talking and others don't? What do craft beer drinkers really want these days? This episode tries to answer the questions and more as I sat down with Jason Brewer and Zac Boehnke from Wandering Monsters. We talk about how their roads ended up to where they are today, we drink a few beers, and get a little off track quite a few times. It's what I consider a great episode of the Brewcast! Guests This Episode Jason Brewer - Founder - Wandering Monsters Zac Boehnke - Head Brewer - Wandering Monsters From The Beer Fridge Wandering Monsters - Bossie Wandering Monsters - Mayor Mooken Wandering Monsters - Fogbringer III Wandering Monsters - Untitled Monsters (Collaboration with Untitled Art) Show Links The Wandering Monsters Website Wandering Monsters On Facebook Wandering Monsters On Instagram

Cincinnati's craft beer community is constantly growing and endlessly evolving. March First's new taproom down on Fountain Square in the former Rock Bottom space is a perfect example of that. I headed down during their opening week to see what they're doing to keep that evolution going. We had a few beers and shared the secrets to their success. Guests This Episode Josh Engel Chris Paquette Manu Hazeley From The Beer Fridge March First - Craft Lager March First - Weekend Wheat March First - Neptune IPA March First - Starcrusher IPA Show Links March First Fountain Square - Facebook Page March First Fountain Square - Instagram Page

This week's episode takes us over to Glendale, Ohio - which will soon be home to a much-needed brewery called 'GlendAleHouse'. I sat down with owners Scott and Laura to talk about what inspired them to jump in head first and convert their home into a taproom, brewery, and pizza restaurant. You'll figure out pretty quickly during the interview that these folks are easy to fall in love with, and the brewery that they're planning will be one of your new favorite taprooms too. Huge thanks to GlendAle House for making some time for me to sit down and talk with them! If you like this show and want to support it, you can always head over to here to do just that. Guests This Episode Scott Morgan - GlendAleHouse Brewery Laura Morgan - GlendAleHouse Brewery Show Links GlendAleHouse Brewery - Facebook GlendAleHouse Brewery - Instagram

I never really seem to learn my lesson about recording shows on location from loud events, do I? This episode is packed full of the chaos you would expect from trying to record during a beer festival. It's loud, a little disorganized, yet a ton of fun. I chatted with a few folks that I've been wanting to get on the show and had a great time doing it! Guests This Episode Jon Newberry - Wiedemann Brewing Company Steve Huber - Wild Ohio Brewing Rachel Hopkins - CinBev Darrin Wilson - Northwood Cider "Turtle" - Turtles Brew From The Beer Fridge Fifty West - West Coast IPA Wiedemann - Pickle Wild Ohio - Original Tea Moerlein - Pilsner Northwood Cider - Gem Turtles Brew - Orange/Vanilla Show Links Wiedemann Brewing - Website Wild Ohio - Website Moerlein - Website - Last Episode Northwood Cider - Website Turtles Brew - Website

These folks have been generating all sorts of excitement around their NKY brewery project. I couldn't resist but schedule an episode of the podcast the week before they opened their doors to help learn all about their story, and how they got to where they are today. Fabled Brew Works has done an incredible job at not just making some great beer (and mead) for their soon-to-be fans to drink but creating a space filled with personality and unlike anything else currently in Cincinnati. We sat down over a flight of drinks and discussed it all, exploring what you can expect when you belly up to one of the city's most exciting new breweries! Guests This Episode John Ewers Jon Lawlor From The Beer Fridge Fabled Brew Works - Kraken... A Cold One. Fabled Brew Works - Misty Mountain NE IPA Fabled Brew Works - IPA of the Beholder Fabled Brew Works - The Witching Sour Fabled Brew Works - Bugsy Fabled Brew Works - Humbaba Show Links Fabled Brew Works - Website - Facebook - I

Blake and Noah are the voices behind the new 'Blake The Brewery Explorer' podcast, a spin-off from Blake's social media profiles that showcase his exploration of craft breweries. I love getting new folks on the Brewcast to talk about their love of this industry, and I thought it was a great time to head up to Dayton to meet up with them! We hit up Toxic Brewing Company for a few beers and a chat about what makes this all so much fun for the two of them. I hope you enjoy hanging out with us! Guests This Episode Blake Longfellow - Blake The Brewery Explorer Noah Jones - Podcast Producer From The Beer Fridge Toxic Brewery - Practice Yoga Toxic Brewery - Abby's Cure Show Links Blake The Brewery Explorer Podcast

I've long been a fan of David Nilsen's work as a writer and an advocate for craft beer. I've been hoping to get him on the podcast for quite a while, and finally, the pieces fell into place for us to sit down and chat. We got together at Moeller Brew Barn's Dayton location (thank goodness for taprooms open on Tuesday afternoons!) and talked about it all. We covered the projects he's got going on, from a new craft beer zine called Final Gravity to his Bean to Barstool blog and how it all came together in his craft beer journey. We also dove a little deeper into craft beer itself, where it is today, and where it might be going from here. This was a great episode! Make sure you follow David on your favorite platforms and support the work that he's doing! If you like this podcast or any of my stuff - don't forget that you can always support by going to TheGnarlyGnome.com/Support - it helps a ton to keep the ball rolling! Guests This Episode David Nilsen - Writer, Podcaster Show Links D

What a journey these folks have had so far... from opening a planned distribution-only brewery two months before a global pandemic to where they are today, there's been a lot for NEW Ales. They are finally catching their collective breath and opening the taproom that they envisioned for themselves "one day" back when they were planning their brewery - and I couldn't be happier for them. We sat down in the new space to talk about what it means for them and when we can all expect to belly up to the bar for the first time! We even got to talk to their incredible food partner that will occupy the space next door - you won't want to skip this episode! From The Beer Fridge Currently Unnamed Dark Lager Hop Chowda - NE IPA Smack My Berries and Call Me Cobbler - Berry Cobbler Sour Guests This Episode Wes Heupel - NEW Ales Beth O'Harra - NEW Ales Jeremy Loukinas - Steel City Pizza

I've been curious about non-alcoholic beer for a while now. It's a growing market, which makes me really interested in it. I've been slowly exploring some of what's available on the market for quite a while, and to be frank - it's a little overwhelming. I needed to call in some help for this one. I reached out to Marco and Julia from Truth, Beer, Podsequences (if you're not already listening to their show, you probably should be!) to see if they could help me work my way through not only trying a bunch of these but through some exploration of what makes them what they are - and why folks might be drinking them. We got together and our unknowing podcast host, Higher Gravity, because they are one of the best places in town to try many non-alcoholic options (and because we love them). We cracked open a bunch of beers, and we got to work! Guests This Episode Julia Rohs - Truth, Beer, Podsequences Marco Penilla - Truth, Beer, Podsequences From The Beer Fridge Clausthaler, Dry Hopped

If you're a longtime listener of Cincy Brewcast, you know that we have always loved having Michael Amann on to talk about Adena Distributing, and just to give us a very different perspective on craft beer than we might have. The outlook on everything from inside the distributor's perspective is one that has made this show better by having him as a guest. Because of that, I was a little shocked when I started hearing rumors that Adena was going away - what better way to figure it all out than sitting down for a new episode? Michael and I sat down over a few beers, and talked about a LOT, not just the future of Adena. I think you're going to like this one! Guests This Episode Michael Amann - Adena Distribution From The Beer Fridge Listermann - Hop Head RAR Brewing - Out of Order, Stone Age Rocks Mason Ale Works - End To End Burners Wooden Cask - Chocolate Caliente

It’s not just Cincy Brewcast – after a little hiatus of sorts, it’s all back. I’m coming at you this week with an easy one (heck… I’m not even drinking a “real” beer). I’ll dive into the hiatus itself a little deeper this week on The Weekly Pint (The link to that show is here…) … Volume 9, Episode 1 – The Brewcast Is Back Read More » The post Volume 9, Episode 1 – The Brewcast Is Back appeared first on The Gnarly Gnome.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I enjoy Bockfest every year. It’s very, very Cincinnati – and always stands out as one of the best festivals that happens every year. This year was no exception… even though the weather forced the parade to cancel, folks showed up in droves on Saturday to … Volume 8, Episode 39 – Bockfest, Live, Drinking With Bret and Mike Read More » The post Volume 8, Episode 39 – Bockfest, Live, Drinking With Bret and Mike appeared first on The Gnarly Gnome.

It’s not a topic that anyone wants to discuss, the closing of a brewery. But it’s part of what we must come to terms with as our beer scene keeps growing and evolving. New places open, and others close their doors. In this episode, I sat down with Jason Surniak from the former Queen City … Volume 8, Episode 38 – When A Brewery Closes For Good… Read More » The post Volume 8, Episode 38 – When A Brewery Closes For Good… appeared first on The Gnarly Gnome.