Beer Guys Radio Craft Beer Podcast

Live from the Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting we talk with a few of Georgia's soon-to-be breweries. Mitch Steele, Carey Falcone, and Bob Powers join us from New Realm Brewing, Matt and Lauren Curling join us from Variant Brewing, and Ryan Skinner and Todd DiMatteo join us from Good Word Brewing. Plus, we talk with Owen Ogletree about 13 years of his craft beer fest.

We were lucky to have three awesome guests. First, the evil genius behind Burnt Hickory Brewery, Scott Hedeen, joined us in studio. We uncapped plenty of whales from BHB, thanks to Scott (and Brian Hewitt's) stash. Also joining us was Morgan and Lisa Maclellan, the owners of Your Pie Perimeter. Not only are they one of our great sponsors, they are renowned among the Your Pie community when it comes to their craft beer program.

While Aaron is "on assignment", Brian Hewitt steps in to help co-host the show.  We sit down with Robert E. "Doc" Lee to talk about his brewery deep in the woods of Georgia.  Omaha Brewing Co. is an oasis in the desert.  We tape the show at Your Pie Perimeter, one of our great sponsors and a great place for craft beer and pizza.

We had the crew from Reformation Brewery in the house this week. Co-founder Spencer Nix, along with Ryan Morley-Stockton and photographer extraordinaire Jessica Miller joined us in studio this weekend. We talked about the brewery's origin story, which includes some in depth conversations about religious history, seminary school, and parties that got just too popular for a house to hold. 2016 was a big year for Reformation. They canned their first brew (and have now expanded to 5 canned products).

As we say goodbye to 2016, we wanted to hand out some awards. We asked you, our listeners, to vote on the best of craft beer in Georgia and Alabama. Nearly 1,000 of you responded, and we have the results. 

As the year comes to a close we're taking some time to relax and visit with our friends and family, and we hope you're able to do the same. In this episode of Beer Guys Radio we're playing some of our best interviews from this year from Scofflaw Brewing, Cherry Street Brewing Co-op, and Good People Brewing Company. Cheers and Merry Christmas!

As we get into the homestretch into Christmas and the new year, we were able to talk with the crew behind Huntsville's Mad Malts Brewing. Co-Owners Chris Bramon and Jeff Peck joined us to talk about their start in craft beer, the reason behind their name change, what they learned at the Great American Beer Fest, and what year 2 has in store for them.  We also had homebrewer extraordinaire Jon Shari (of Little Cottage Brewery fame).

A few weeks ago, Tim took a trip to Blue Ridge. While there, he ran into Tom Fennell, owner of Fannin County Brewing. He joined us on the show via phone this week.  We talked to Tom about his start in the craft beer industry, after realizing that a winery may not be in the cards for him. We also speak to the growth of craft beer in his small town, and the popularity of craft with the tourist crowd. 

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  We're talking, of course, about stouts, porters, and all those great roasty holiday beers that come out this time of the year. To help us enjoy them, we invited the trio from Dry County Brewing company into the studio. 

We're taking a little break this week to spend some QT with friends and family. And we're releasing the show a bit early so you can listen while you travel! (looking for more craft beer stuff to listen to on your drive? Check out Project BGR, our other craft beer podcast!) In the meantime, please enjoy some of our best interviews from the year, including: Three Taverns Craft Brewery, Blue Pants Brewery, Monday Night Brewing, SweetWater Brewing. 

If you haven't noticed, downtown Roswell is becoming a pretty good craft beer destination. Gate City Brewing Company is one of the reasons why.  On this week's show, we talk to Brian Borngesser and Pat Rains, co-founder of Roswell, Georgia's Gate City Brewing Company. They discuss their start, the challenges of moving from gypsy brewing to their own system, and the difference between contract and gypsy brewing.

Once in a while, we like to break the mold a bit.  And that's what we did this week. We talk distilling - whiskey and rum to be specific. Erik Vonk from Savannah's Richland Rum joined us, as did Michael Anderson from Decatur's Independent Distilling.  Craft beer and craft distilling has many things in common, and we talk to Erik and Michael about that, including how they got their start in distilling. Also the vagaries involved in barrel aging, and the importance of keeping their ingredients local. 

Eventide Brewing's brand manager Haley Cowan joined us in the studios this week.  We talked about the origins of the brewery, their Kickstarter campaign, and the importance of being a community destination for the Grant Park neighborhood.  Truck and Tap's beers of the week:  Eventide's Pale Ale Eventide Kolsch Eventide Highlander Scotch

Lagers require a little more time to brew than ales. And for the most part, craft beer drinkers are mainly an ale-centric bunch.  But for the men behind Hapeville's Arches Brewing, lagers are a way to showcase their brewing skills. Ryan Fogelgren and Jamey Adams joined us in the studios this week. Specializing in crisp, clean-drinking (mainly) German-style beers, the crew behind Arches have gained a good following in the community, and have even gained fans at the nearby Porsche headquarters. 

Ron Smith and Mary O. Boyle are with us today. Not only are they craft beer fans, they are the authors of “Atlanta Beer: A Heady History of Brewing in the South” as well as “Prohibition in Atlanta: Temperance, Tiger Kings and White Lightning.”