Cider Riot! ciders are, bar-none the best cider available. After running into Abram and trying their hopped cider  Everybody Pogo, I understood why ciders are becoming more and more popular. This particular cider is dry, crisp and delicious. On their website they describe themselves like this: Cider Riot is a crowd funded urban cidery in Portland Oregon dedicated to producing high quality ciders from Cascadian grown apples. With tradition as our guide and our roots firmly planted in the rich...

Barley’s Angels Farm to Bottle event at Rogue Hop Farm featured a number of presentations, tours and tastings showcasing Terroir to table quality. Craft Brew Cast recorded Palate Trips presented by Julia Herz and now, you too can take the Palate Trip. Amid hops and hives, rye and pumpkins in the Wigrich Appellation of Independence Oregon, while roosters crow, Julia lays the foundation for a journey, acquainting us with the flavors of each of five beer styles and how they compliment or...

  At the beautiful Breakside Brewery in Portland, Oregon I interviewed Brew Master Ben Edmunds  over 7 tasters of his fine craft beer. Each beer was an exquisite representation of it’s style. The quality of these brews is evidenced by the 2011 Great American Brew Festival medal awarded the Dry Irish Stout.  This was no doubt one of many awards to come for this innovative brewery. In this interview Ben tells us about Breakside from it’s beginnings through today’s expansion plans. He also...

Maui Brewing Company’s owner Garrett Marrero and Brewmaster Scott Freitas volley off one another in this very entertaining and informative interview taken at Kelly’s Olympian in Portland Oregon.They spill details about the new canning line, why cans, the 30+ beers that they make, who’s spending the brewery resources and what those expenditures mean to us Maui fans, the brewpub, local sourcing, poo-poos, and job opportunities all the while teasing and ­­bantering with each other.Special thanks...

Cascade Brewing’s Barrel House features 12 barrel aged sour beers, and 4 exceptional, quafable ales. The fruity sours are made with 150 pounds of fruit per barrel. Doug gives us the scoop on the Barrel room and reveals plans for the all Oregon kitchen menus, while Cody gives us a tour of the 300 barrels of ale aging in the barrel room.This is the first in Craft Brew Cast’s Quickies series. Craft Brew Cast     Home Page  iTunes Facebook (under...

Brewmaster Alan Sprints founded Hair of the Dog Brewing Company in 1992. Inspired by Winter Ales Alan’s brewing focuses on robust, complex beers. This small batch brewery produced roughly 700 barrels of beer in 2009.  These extraordinary, rare brews are bottle conditioned, and are therefore ideal for aging. Described in Malt Advocate magazine as having , “the best aging potential of any American-Brewed beer”, this brewery has found it’s niche. Not only among those who appreciate Vintaged...

Firestone Walker Brewery’s Brewmaster Matt Brynildson and I enjoyed a beer at one of the many events surrounding the Oregon Brewers Festival. Named Mid Sized Brewery of the Year in 2007, this one-of-a-kind brewery uses an oak barrel fermentation program with a unique twist. In 2008 they walked away from the Great American Brewers Festival with 6 medals. Including a gold medal for Union Jack IPA in the most competitive category with over 100 entries. Matt is an active supporter of the Glen...

Glen Hay Falconer Foundation Brewing Scholarship 2008 winners Patrick Miller and Vasilios Glestos brewed the latest collaboration ale for the Sasquatch Legacy Project early in 2009. I was there with my recorder capturing conversations with the brewing team at Walking Man Brewery. We discuss the style that they are making and the characteristics that they intend to brew into the beer as well as the techniques employed to achieve those results. I put Walking Man’s owner Bob Craig on the spot...

Drew Cluley invited me to The Pike Brewing Company for their Vertical Barley Wine Tasting and was a fabulous host. They served six vintages of the Old Bawdy side by side to a packed house in the Museum and restaurant in Seattle Washington. It is remarkable how well those beers have each aged. Fal Allen had brewed the three oldest ones, and Drew the three latest ones. If you haven’t tried Old Bawdy, get ahold of a few bottles, enjoy some of them fresh and let the rest age! In this show you...

  HopValley Brewing Co. had been open for about a week when I stopped by. They have done a remarkable job of opening this beautiful restaurant and brewery in very short order. Lot’s of light and warm wood, not only is the decor inviting, but the beers are outstanding. This is a worthwhile destination just a block or so off of the beaten path in Springfield, Oregon. Brewmaster and part owner Trevor Howard has already proven himself to be a world class brewer with several medals in his...

  Cambridge Brewing’s head brewster Megan Parisi and member of the Pink Boots Society of women in the brewing industry speaks about their seasonal and award winning beers, exactly how she got her foot in the door as a professional brewer, a bit of the history of women in the brewing industry and some of the not so glamorous work that goes into specialty ales. Teri Fahrendorf, international beer judge, Road Brewer and founder of the Pink Boots Society gives a very sensual description of her...

  It is rare to see a business commit so completely to environmental and socially responsible practices. Despite higher operating costs and logistical challenges that those very practices present, Stone Brewing Company World Bistro and Gardens is a model to that end. Greg reveals Stone’s unwavering focus to conscientiously invest in responsible, sustainable business practices, as well as safe and healthy choices for their guests while supporting local agriculture. For example; there are bans...

Jim Koch presents the Longshot Homebrew Contest finalists of both the nation-wide side and the Employee side of the competition. Expressing his passion for homebrewing and the relevance it continues to have in the Craft Brewing movement Jim reveals the winners of this years competition. Interestingly one of the beers that won last year will be included in the upcoming release of the Longshot mixed case. You’ll have to listen to the show to find out why. These winning recipes will be brewed...

Day one of the Great American Beer Festival and I started off with a beer at Falling Rock Tap House. They are the unofficial hub during GABF week. You’ll hear owner Chris Black discuss the GABF and what is behind this pub making the “top 10″ list. Then I attended a food and beer tasting featuring some wonderful craft styles from none other than Michelob. Nathaniel Davis, Master Brewer at their 10 bbl experimental brewery in St Louis talk with me about their beers, Michelob’s roots as a...

This episodes kicks of my Green Series with the Beer Institute’s President Jeff Becker. Jeff provides a history of ecologically sound practices in the brewing industry as well as discussing current technologies and breweries raising the bar in this area. Jeff also offers up resources for those of you seeking to minimize your brewery’s footprint. Ben Love with Portland Oregon’s Eco-Pub Hopworks Urban Brewery touches on the myriad of building and brewing steps they have taken. A tremendous move...

Rogue Ales master brewer John Maier, founder Jack Joyce, and John Young from the newest Rogue outpost each join us in this show. John Maier tells us about the latest in his John’s Locker Stock series – Love and Hoppiness. This is a lagered strong ale that has sentimental roots and John tells of its evolution and annual occasion. Jack Joyce discusses how the hops and barley shortages has effected the industry as a whole, changing the way breweries plan and collaborate. He introduces no less...

Walking Man Brewing is a warm and inviting place with a range of beers that has literally something for everyone with the most discerning of taste for Craft Brews. In keeping with that standard it is also a place where the Legacy of Glen Falconer continues, as each year the latest recipients of the Glen Hay Falconer Memorial Foundation’s professional brewing scholarships, brew a collaboration beer. This Legacy Project is the brain child of Bob Craig, owner of Walking Man Brewing in Stevenson...

Craig Nichols sat down over a beer with me and we talked about the North American Organic Brewers Festival and so much more: Roots surprising answer to the hop and barley shortages and pricing issues. Thier upcoming Belgium Festival, Great American Beer Festival experiences Important details to successfully age ales. Their outstanding brewers and upcoming ales. They’re doing some experimental things including wood aging, imperials, gruets, the epic ales. Roots pub expansion and serving...

(reposted) In this premiere episode you’ll hear interviews recorded live at the Sasquatch Brew Festival with Quentin Falconer, Glen Hay Falconer Memorial Foundation‘s Brewing Scholarship recipients Jacob Leanard and Corey Blodget, and Wakonda Brewing‘s Juanita Kirkham. I also discuss Rogue ales YouTube videos, Oregon Brewers Festival, brewing news, and events. This episode is reposted because it dropped off of the feed about a month after it was released. It has important information about...