Joining us this week is Averie Swanson, the founder and beermaker of Keeping Together. While the company was founded in 2019 - when Averie arrived in Chicago and had an opportunity to begin making her beers at Half Acre Beer Co. - Keeping Together was only recently first served at a beer festival in Washington DC. We use this event as a lens  through which we get to know Averie, the construction of Keeping Together’s beers, what inspires and drives her, cultural appropriation and how beer can...

This week I am in Studio Berserk in Gothenburg Sweden with Mikael Stanne, vocalist and lyricist of the melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity and Grand Cadaver.  Our conversation revolves around his newest project, The Halo Effect, whose lineup is rounded out by guitarists Niclas Engelin and Jesper Strömblad, bassist Peter Iwers, and drummer Daniel Svensson - former members of another legendary Gothenburg metal band: In Flames. We discuss the The Halo Effect's premier output, a single,...

From its clandestine roots, to an environmentally focused multi day music and lifestyle event, Fire In The Mountains, has become an important festival in the heavy music calendar. Want to see Emma Ruth Rundle play on a grand piano with the Grand Tetons as a backdrop? Enjoy a barbecue featuring local, sustainably grown, food cooked by a Norwegian chef? This is where you’ll have that opportunity.  Founders Jeremy Walker and Alex Feher walk us through the event’s roots, the centrality of...

I don’t often have an emotional response to music. Perhaps it's the prevalence of streaming services and being able to access audio and video content on demand that makes music an accessory. Sitting and intentionally focusing on a piece of music draws us in differently. In allowing music to consume us with less distraction our imagination can freely roam the architecture the artists create. Piecework, the latest release from Oakland-California’s Kowloon Walled City drew me in from the...

It’s no secret that the vinyl pressing industry has faced a surge in demand over the last 18 months. The British Phonographic Industry recorded 4.8 Million Vinyl Albums sold in the UK in 2020, marking a decade of growth, which globally eclipsed 1 billion dollars for the first time. In the United States LP and Ep shipments increased 23.6% while compact disc shipments fell 33.6% between 2019 and 2020 according to the RIAA.  Joining us this week to offer a manufacturer’s perspective on this...

Run The Jewels has not only taken the music world by storm, but they are also making waves in beverage - and specifically beer. Their history of making or lending their brand to collaborations with Goose Island, Interboro Spirits & Ales and Pipeworks Brewing were initial opening experiences for how they can connect with more audiences and create new opportunities for people to experience RTJ. Since those initial events in 2017 RTJ has launched a number of other beer projects, including...

Smoked beers are thought to be an acquired taste. Aromas and flavors of campfire or bacon, when presented in the context of a pale or dark lager, can be surprising, jarring or intriguing. However, when we think broadly about our own relationship to this sensory experience we can be transported to familiar and even nostalgic places: an outdoor gathering with friends and family, the smell of breakfast, or a barbecue. Enjoying a glass of smoked beer is a window into not only our own past, but...

Joining us this week is German multi instrumentalist Dave Schmidt. He is a pillar in the modern psychedelic music scene: his projects Electric Moon, Zone Six, Krautzone as well as his solo work - released under the name Sula Bassana - are essential listening for anyone looking to open their mind and reach the outer galaxies. His label Sulatron Records sits at the convergence of neo-psychedelic, krautrock, ambient electronic and progressive rock - in a normal year releasing a prolific amount...

Joining us this week is Brian Cook, you may know him as bassist in heavy bands Russian Circles and Sumac. This conversation focuses on his first solo effort - under the name Torment & Glory - which was released in late August. We Left a Note with an Apology draws from a wide music palate, folk tradition, country storytelling, krautrock with moments of sludgy distortion that transport the listener to a series of moments in Brian’s life. Our conversation also touches on the construction of...

This week we're in Gothenburg Sweden at Studio Berserk with Matthias Nööjd and Axel Wittbeck, guitarist/vocalist and drummer respectively of the riff driven heavy band Firebreather. The band will head to the USA for the first time in early 2022 with Monolord. Our conversation revolves around the role that touring plays in gaining notoriety, and the challenges that comes with gaining and building an audience on the road. We also discuss the bands forthcoming, as of yet untitled, third...

Joining us this week is Matthew Curtis, an award-winning freelance writer, broadcaster and author based in Manchester. You may be familiar with his work as Editor-in-Chief of Pellicle Magazine, a publication and podcast focused on beer, cider, wine, food and travel. Matt’s most recent book, Modern British Beer, is the focus of our conversation. The book itself provides a look at eighty different beers produced annually in the UK. In sharing the perspectives of the producers - and the...

This week we catch up with Mike Schallau, co-owner and brewer of Is/Was Brewing, an artisanal producer of rustic, farmhouse-inspired ales based in Chicago. We explore two of Mike’s first blended mixed fermentation beers: Levain and Bend Towards Daylight. In discussing the construction and intention of these beers we learn more about Mike’s symbiotic approach to creating these living beers. Is/Was recently celebrated its two year anniversary; and Mike reflects on learnings from this early...

Joining us this week are Jim Cibak and Marty Scott - Brewmaster and Barrel Program Lead respectively - at Revolution Brewing in Chicago. The brewery’s “Deep Woods” Series of barrel aged beers has garnered the attention of drinkers of these time and ingredient intensive styles. Balance, Jim and Marty argue, as perceived during the sensory process, and calculated in analysis, is central to the challenge of achieving consistency, complexity and conveyance of barrel expression for which their...

Joining us this week is Sanford Parker, a Chicago-based musician, studio engineer and producer. You’ve heard his work in these capacities on albums from Eyehategod, YOB, Wovenhand, Voivod, Hide, Darkthrone, Youth Code, Harm's Way, Facs, and Unearthly Trance, just to name a few. As we get to know Sanford, hear about his engineering and production process, and dive into a select few works, his approach and passion for music becomes evident. Select Works Sanford Recorded, Produced and...

Joining us this week is Nick Dellacroce, guitarist of instrumental doom band Bongripper and solo project Bottomed. We discuss what’s been happening with Bongripper, what we’ve been listening to and which albums, podcasts, movies and shows have struck us from 2021 so far. Listeners will recognize Nick not only for his musical work, but also from his appearance in Episode 7 Part I and Part II. Playlists, podcasts, and band names below are hyperlinked, so click/press to explore! Playlists...

I was recently flipping through a collection of old compact discs and DVDs, and came across a treasure trove of folk and pagan inspired metal albums. From violins, bagpipes, and hurdy gurdies to throat singing, lutes and horsehead fiddles, modern metal bands have found interesting ways of incorporating traditional instruments, folklore and ritual into their music and performance. These sounds and lyrics are interwoven with a variety of different sonic expressions of heavy music. Deities, such...

Joining us this week is Tim Pope, keyboardist, programmer and lyricist for Australian extreme metal band The Amenta. Describing this band's sound - whether on a single album or as a characterization over time - in a two or three word genre title is challenging. Maybe that’s the point.  Revelator, the band's fourth album, which was released in February by Debemur Morti Productions, represents the biggest stylistic jump between albums to date. Tim identifies the use of organic sounds and...

Gert van der Waal refers to his ventures in hop growing, malting, and distilling as “experiments.” There’s a level of modesty in this claim indicative of his character. On his small farm located outside Pretoria, South Africa, you’ll find four varieties of hops: Cascade, Kracanup (a cross of Chinook and Cascade originating from Australia), DrakGold (a variety bred near Durban on the east coast) and NAK, a local strain whose name references the rocky terrain on his farm,...

Maura Walsh, a Chicago-based artist, gained notoriety during the pandemic for her appropriately named Tiny Guide to Chicago's Best Music Culture Spots and Tiny Guide to Chicago Arts which raise funds for local organizations Chicago Independent Venue League and Save our Stages. We explore the origins of this project, the challenges of communicating architectural detail on such a small medium, and dive into the experience of having a project go viral overnight. We also touch on Maura’s most...

This week's episode is a story about curiosity, saying yes to opportunities, not fearing living somewhere new, and relishing challenges. Coy Eakes, co-Founder of Gamma Brewing, located just outside of Copenhagen, Denmark, tells us how he left his native North Carolina for a country he’d never been to, how he found brewing, and the importance of collaboration as an avenue for better understanding his new surroundings and profession.. Coy’s journey continues stateside where he will open a new...

During the first weekend after Easter, Tilburg - a university town in the south of Holland - becomes a destination for curious music enthusiasts from around the world seeking to discover and enjoy up and coming, and select established names, in heavy music. Roadburn Festival’s influence and role as a forward-thinking tastemaker is immeasurable; every metal festival organizer in Europe - and some in North America - watch its announcements extremely closely and labels take careful note of its...

For the fiftieth episode artist and longtime collaborator Bryn Gleason is taking the helm and asking listener submitted questions. Sam and I offer behind the scenes insight into the shows background, how we adjusted during the lockdown period, what we look for in collaboration beers and projects, and what future content listeners may expect. Big thanks to everyone who listens weekly, those who encouraged us to take the plunge, and folks that have opted to support us financially on our...

This week we're focusing on a specific overlap of agriculture and beer: small scale hop farming in non-traditional areas. Who is starting small farms, where are they located and what are the historical and present challenges these farmers face in North America where the “scale-up to succeed” mentality and monocropping are most prevalent? How is the “what’s new” consumer fixation challenging for small scale, non-traditional growers, and how do branding and marketing play into the hands of...

We’re back in the studio this week for the first time since October, enjoying a few beers with Samu Rahn. Our wide-ranging conversation touches on Samu’s musical endeavors as a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist in dark heavy bands Cairn and Wintering; the importance of seeking new, niche, experiences - whether at home or abroad; beer and metal intersections by way of Hammerheart Brewing; and what it has been like working as a distribution sales rep during the pandemic.  On the back nine...

With summer festivals and club concerts on the horizon, we wanted to explore the connections between mental, physical and hearing health. No better guests to join us than Chicago-based audiologist Dr. Michael Santucci and Otolaryngologist Dr. Howard Kotler, an ear nose and throat specialist. As the world’s only audiologist-run earphone manufacturer Dr. Santucci’s firm Sensaphonics attracts musicians from all over the world seeking hearing protection.  Using the recent film Sound of Metal...