Beer Guys Radio Craft Beer Podcast

(note: Ironmonger Brewing is a partner of Beer Guys Radio) David Sheets loves a challenge. As the founder of Ironmonger Brewing, he was looking for a way to get his brewery's beers noticed. So he made the bold decision: Blind taste his beers against one of the most heralded breweries in the country.  The Trillium Challenge was born. How did it work? He lets us know during the show. 

ROAD TRIP! The Beer Guys have a quest. To visit every brewery in Georgia this year. We were able to head to southwest Georgia this episode, and check out Pretoria Fields Collective. Head brewer Eric Kirchner and marketing director Jennifer Harris joined us this week to talk about starting up a brewery in a rural area, the importance of a true farm-to-glass program, and the differences between California and Southwest Georgia.

This week, we're talking to the couple behind Variant Brewing Company. Matt and Lauren Curling opened up their Roswell brewery in 2017, and immediately caused a splash in the Georgia craft beer scene. We talk to Matt and Lauren Curling about starting up a brewery, the importance of keeping a variety of beers in your taproom, and a distinct lack of shiplap.

Shades On, Bottoms Up! That's the motto of Sandy Spring's newest (and first) brewery, Pontoon. Sean O'Keefe, CEO and Co-Owner and brewmaster Cole Brown welcomed us to the brewery this week. We sample their newest brew, a hazy IPA called "Don't Haze Me, Bro!" talk about starting a brewery, and Pontoon's obsession over otters.

For the past 14 years, Owen Ogletree has hosted the Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting. Breweries from around the south (and the world) send in their special beers they've made specifically to go on cask.  For this show, we talk to some breweries in planning, including: Line Creek Brewing (Peachtree City) Split Batch Brewery (Duluth area) Banyan Roots (Atlanta Westside)

Yash Patel first started brewing at age 13.  While his dad was pretty happy about that, mom...not so much. However, since the brewing bug hit him quickly, he has spent a lot of time brewing beer. So it only made sense for him to take over ownership of Macon Beer company, central Georgia's first craft brewery.  We talk to Yash, a native Maconite, about his beers, the growing craft beer scene in Macon, and his ideas behind brewing beer.

For those that don't know, The Giving Kitchen was founded to help those in the service industry going through some tough financial times. SweetWater Brewing has helped out for the past several years by brewing "Second Helping," an IPA with juniper berries. We talk to SweetWater's Steve Farace about the development of the beer. We'll also learn more about The Giving Kitchen's mission with director Bryan Schroeder.

If you got a homebrew kit over the holidays, listen up. This week, we are talking to some innovative homebrewers that are taking their game professional. Kevin Downing, Corby Hannah, and William Teasley are three friends that formed Brothers that Brew. Now, they're prepping for the launch of Khonso Brewing. We talk to them about their beers, getting started in homebrewing and African-Americans in craft beer.

Our listeners (over 2,500) have spoken, and we've got the results!  Check out the best of Georgia and Alabama beer 2017.  A full list will be available on Monday, Jan. 1 2018 at beerguysradio.com.

We hope you're having a good time with friends and family this weekend. We're also taking a break. Please enjoy this "best of" show with Second Self, Modern Hops, Eventide, Burnt Hickory and Monday Night. Next week, it's the BEST OF GEORGIA BEER show - keep on voting!

STATS has been a staple of downtown Atlanta for nearly a decade.  But they recently made a big change, becoming a brewpub.  Austin Edwards has worked tirelessly for months, and now there are six of STATS own brews on tap.  We talk to Austin about starting up a brewpub, recipe selection, and the downtown Atlanta "Tourist Triangle" area.

In case you missed it, there was snow in Atlanta on Friday.  Amidst the panic and general hullabaloo, the grocery stores emptied of bread and milk, the perpetual traffic jam, there's a good side to this weather. Winter beers.  We talk about everything from Stouts to Barleywines to Scotch Ales, including sampling some of our favorites.  Joining us in the studio was FishScales, one of the members of hip-hop group Nappy Roots. Scales is a friend of the show and a serious craft beer fan.

What do you think of when Ginger Beer comes up?  A Dark and Stormy? Maybe you're mixing it up with Ginger Ale. Shane Kelly recently opened up a new type of brewery - Interstellar Ginger Beer and Exploration Company - in Alabaster, Alabama.  We talk to him about the science (!) of brewing ginger beer, and how Alabama is embracing craft beer, cider and ginger beer. 

We celebrate Thanksgiving....and our 100th episode with two of our favorite spots. Creature Comforts was our first guest, so it was appropriate to invite them on. Jonathan Chinouth and Matt Stevens joins us to talk about a busy year for the Athens brewery, as well as plans for next year's Get Comfortable Campaign. We also talked to longtime sponsors Lisa and Morgan McLellan from Your Pie-Perimeter.

Now that SB85 is law, it's a lot more feasable for breweries to stake their claim in Georgia.  And one of the more impressive trends we've seen is breweries opening up in smaller communities.  LaGrange's Wild Leap Brewing is one of those. Rob Goldstein and Chris Elliott join us in studio this week to talk about the process.  Plus, we'll talk Thanksgiving beer pairings, and we'll have news of breweries opening...and closing.