Beervana Podcast

We love good beer, finding good beer, talking about good beer. But identifying what that “good” is in beer—that’s a lot harder. Truly great beers are defined by subjective, often subtle elements of a beer. Yet they aren’t unknowable. Here’s a proposal for how to identify them.

We are delighted to be back in a brewery! On today’s show, we are visiting Unicorn Brewing with owner Zach Vestal. We’ve been impressed with the tiny brewery’s beer over the past year, and wanted to come see the operation—which includes a homebrew shop and u-brew operation.

Following each new disruption, I keep looking for a return. Normalcy can’t be that hard to restore. Yet each disruption carries darker connotations than the event itself. I feel the need to publicly acknowledge that sense of danger the small animal feels. It has been growing in me for years now.

I will tell you a secret. It’s controversial and you will resist this information, but it’s true: hazy pale ales are better and more reliably good than their bigger IPA brothers. As summer heats up, find one and see if you don’t agree.

A provocative piece in this month’s Atlantic argues that “America has a drinking problem.” But does it? The evidence paints a fuller, more prosaic picture: things have been very stable for a decade now.

Last week we spoke to Nick Harris of Berkeley Labs about the ways in which bioengineering may remake brewing. That’s the latest example of technology’s impact on brewing, but it’s far from unusual. This week we’re going to look back at some of the pivotal technologies that changed brewing forever, even working a little beeronomics into the mix.

Seltzers, canned cocktails, hard teas, flavored malt beverages: these represent a complex regulatory stew of products but may in many cases be called “beer.” Once a small enough market it didn’t matter, they are now such big business they may destabilize the entire alcohol industry.

One of the country's best breweries continues to turn out incredible beer in relative obscurity. Taste Midnight Reflection, however, and you'll see why Portland's Upright really is that good.

For Show 140 we have a fascinating discussion about the scientific frontiers of brewing. Nick Harris, one of three founders of Berkeley Yeast, joins us today. Founded by scientists from UC Berkeley, the team at this lab is busy bio-engineering beer yeast to do amazing things.

After revolutions in hop breeding and product development and micromalting, yeast is getting its moment in the sun. A proliferating number of yeast labs offer organic and genetically-modified strains that do things like ferment without diacetyl or finish in half the time.

Celebrating the breweries owned and operated by underrepresented groups in no way diminishes the accomplishment of White, male brewers. Our celebration of Tonya Cornett does not come at Ken Grossman’s expense.

The past year has been so tough because it forced us into bubbles of stasis. We are creative, social beings who crave the way new experiences rewire our brains. We hunger to mix our minds with others. Few places are as good as breweries in delivering that charge of electricity we need to live.

An embryonic start on a resource for finding breweries led by underrepresented groups.

Hazy IPAs are the style that launched a thousand breweries. Yet their fusty old predecessors haven’t been banished entirely, and Fremont’s new release, Ollie, shows why.

The Covid pandemic, for all its ravages, did create a few positive opportunities. A year ago, as breweries looked at their empty tanks and blank brewing schedules, many launched long-term projects like barrel-aging stouts. They were able to fire up the kettles to replenish, expand, or even start new barrel-aging programs, salting away stores for later release. Breweries like Breakside are just now putting out the first fruits of these projects, and the coming year will present drinkers with a bounty of these specialty ales. We thought this was a good time to have a look at what they’re doing.

Breweries managed to survive the pandemic far more ably than anyone expected a year ago. They did it by retrenching and focusing on core customers rather than chasing those tantalizing customer just beyond reach. The “fan service” approach may be Covid’s greatest legacy.

The blossoms have begun to scent the air, which is turning warmer and drier, all sure signs that winter is going. That means more time drinking lighter, more summery beer. On today’s show, we’ll discuss one of the all-time great session ales, and a fine spring and summer beer to boot—kölsch, that specialty of Cologne. As much as a beer style, it’s an amazing cultural force. We’ll discuss its history, the beer and the way it’s made, and all of those cultural elements that have grown up around it.

A new documentary looks at craft brewing through a familiar lens—scrappy, unorthodox risk-takers setting out to make their mark. The movie brings in founding figures and places their story in a familiar narrative. It’s a fun movie and well-told. But what if the story is all wrong?

Hammer and Stitch has been open seven months, but debuted in October, just as the pandemic entered its most debilitating phase. For most people venturing out with the spring sunshine, it is a brand new brewery. Here’s a first look.

Audioblog: The Complex, 500-Year-Old Story of Reinheitsgebot by Jeff Alworth & Patrick Emerson