Minivans Before Beer Cans - Finding the Comedy in Parenting

This week Nate gets the week off for the Holiday and Billy is featured on another episode of Minivans Before Soda Cans.  Milo takes the lead and things get real weird.  We talk about Fresca, Farts, Fiserve Forum, and more.  We test out some new podcast gear and also feature a surprise band appearance at the end of the episode.  Enjoy!  

In episode 055 we discuss some of the best go to Christmas gifts when it comes to buying for dad this holiday season. We recap our fake vs real Christmas tree poll with some interesting results. We also discuss “porch pirates”, aliens, ghosts, celebrities driving minivans, weird child names, fast food review, and Buster the pod dog getting trapped. The beer of the week is Nate’s pick, a Fulton Hopstar Session IPA.  

In episode 054 we build off of the survey we discussed in 053 that placed men driving minivans lower than UPS drivers on the attractiveness scale. We give you all the best advice to get a little more respect and keep it real while still performing in dadmode. Billy drops some knowledge with a word of the week, Nate’s son has a new word for naughty Christmas ornaments, and we have a lukewarm take from Billy regarding a certain children’s game as well as frustrations with Apple. Lastly, the beer of the week is one of Billy’s favorite, New Glarus - Two Women.

After taking a bit of a hiatus for work and family matters, the Minivans are scraped off and warmed up, ready to go! This week we discuss the ins and outs of Christmas trees. We delve into the environmental impacts that are regularly overlooked. We also take some time to throw some shade Kirk Cousins way, who has clearly become our pod nemesis. Other topics we touch on this week are prolonged potty training, shoe deals for fun guys, the attractiveness of men based on what they drive, Nate’s review of A Star is Born, and the ultimate dad voice. Feels good to be back! The beer of the week is Nola Brewing Company - Revivalists    

This week we explore the uncanny resemblance toddlers and children of other ages and stages can have to adults who are under the influence. We play an amusing guessing game to see if we can tell the difference. Other topics this week include an ironic Croc story, a hot take on Facebook Marketplace, the irony of rustic chic weddings, line dancing and more. The beer of the week is a Port Orleans Brewing Company Riverfront Lager.

This week we keep it nice and easy and recap our Halloween experience after loading our Dad Bods with fun size candy bars. Billy has a dad fail, Nate’s son phones home, we learn the ingredients of nougat, and we envy dad’s with fires handing out candy. This week we sample an Odd Side Ales - Bean Flicker.

This week we drink a spicy beer and spit some fire about some “really important issues” that have been weighing us down for so long. We recap the boy band poll, throw out the Road Coat promo code again and then get fiery. Bothersome topics of discussion this week are as follows: Internet comment sections, vanilla coke, high school football divisions, bro handshakes, the best parents ever, socks, gas pump laments, and pillows. The inspiration for this weeks episode was a surprisingly delicious Rahr & Sons Brewing Company - Paleta de Mango.

The Midwest shifted from summer to winter this past week and skipped right over fall! In honor of our ever-changing climate, we discuss what this means for dressing children, and prepping for the colder weather. To help prepare our listeners, the kind people over at One Kid offered up a sweet 15% off of their Road Coats which not only keep your kids warm in the colder months, but also keep your kids securely strapped into their car seat with a revolutionary design. Simply head over to their website and enter the promo code 15%OFFROADCOATVBC when you checkout to get the discount on your entire order! This week we also share a powerful brew from Oskar Blues titled - Ten Fidy Imperial Stout, which would be another way to stay warm this season.

Things just got weird. Riffing off of a topic that came up on Nate’s work we decided to go all in to Boy Bands. We are back in the 5th grade again. All your favorites, Backstreet, N’Sync, 98 Degrees, LFO, the list goes on, and on, and on, and on…. What constitutes a Boy Band? Jackson 5? The Beatles? We draft our own Boy Band All-Stars and create our own super groups on this episode and go back and forth like picking teams on the playground. We learned a lot about ourselves on this one, and also that the Light Funky Ones may have had some of the greatest lyrics of all time. The beer sampled this week is a Prairie Artisan Ales- Twist.

We did it! No podfade here. 47 episodes in a year, just a few shy of one a week. Pretty impressive if we do say so ourselves. And we will. We recap all of the small victories along the way and sip on the champagne of beers as we look to the year ahead. Thanks to everyone out there who supported us and we look forward to many more future episodes. Thank you!

After our windy cider interview (still working on our tech game…) Nate and Billy are back to the classic two-man show. This week we dive into the wonderful world of Kidz Bop. How did it start? Is it any good? Should they be covering those songs? Why the letter Z? This may be the most fun we have had on a pod to date. Hope you enjoy the episode! This week we sample a One Barrel Brewing - Banjo Cat India Black Ale.

This week we are sampling some cider for the fall season and talking apple orchards, pumpkin farms and more. What makes a good cider? Are all ciders created equal? We ask the expert. At the end of the podcast, Nate has an informative interview from on location at Minnesota Harvest Orchard with Rob Fisk (owner of Wyndfall Cyder). Not only was he kind of enough to take the time during the busy orchard season to be interviewed, but he also enlightened us regarding his upcoming endeavors. We learned a lot and hope you enjoy it as well. Fall is here!

Billy and Nate are both back in action to help start the school year off on the right foot. In this episode, we discuss what back to school means for our families and reminisce of going back to school as children ourselves. Also in this episode, we critique Nate’s solo podcast, recap Aaron Rodgers epic comeback, and reboot a product giveaway. Random musings include a hot take from Billy, Eminem and Imagine Dragons, and mosquitos. The beer of the week is a Crying Eagle Brewing Company - Hop Blooded IPA.

Due to some technical difficulties with our super advanced free software, our originally 043 episode may be lost forever.  However, we have hoped to fix this issue for good due to a generous donation from one of our most important listeners (thanks Julie Tunes).  Since Billy was in the middle of moving and without internet, Nate took this week onto his own shoulders and carried the load.  I hope you are looking forward to checking this out as much as I am.  Enjoy! 

It's finally time.  The sh*t hit the fan.  We go all in on potty training and discuss, philosophies, rewards systems, products, fail stories and so much more.  Also included in this episode is the drawing for the most recent featured product by Splash Swim Goggles.  Tune in to see if you were the lucky winner!  The rest of the episode is rounded out with some gender inequality discussion, pest problems, minivangelism, listener suggested products, and the simple struggle to find things in the fridge.  Another reminder and last call to enter the Dad's Opening Cards in Cars Challenge and our beer of the week is a Mississippi Brewing Company - Mississippi Mud Black & Tan.