Good Beer Hunting

EP-328 Audrey Gehlhausen and Chris DellaBianca of Billy Goat Hop Farm

29 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you've gone on a brewery tour or listened to someone wax poetic about what goes into a beer, you may have heard this phrase: "Beer is an agricultur...

EP-327 Becky Ryman + Logan Ackerley of Wallenpaupack Brewing

08 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There's a brewery with a funny name hidden away in Pennsylvania's Pocono mountains that's slowly growing into a local powerhouse. Named after a nearby...

CL-092 Emily Monaco Goes Digging in the Land of Terroir

06 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Emily Monaco's latest story starts off with a very loaded concept, that controversial T word: terroir. This romantic, albeit somewhat undefinable te...

EP-326 Chris Leguizamon of Pure Project

04 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Genuinely nice people seem to be harder than ever to come by. But Chris Leguizamon, otherwise known as "Chris The Beer Educator" on Instagram, is one ...

EP-325 Noah and Peter Bissell of Bissell Brothers

17 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today's podcast was inspired by a single tweet, or more accurately a reply to tweet, from Bissell Brothers cofounder Pete Bissell. It came in response...

EP-324 Will Rogers of Charles Faram

15 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hops are in Roger's blood. He grew up on a hop farm and, after a few years in IT, came back to that world to work for Farams. In our conversation you'...

EP-323 Melissa Hidalgo, Dr. Beer Butch

05 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa Hidalgo might be the smartest beer person I know. She has a Ph.D in Literature from U.C. San Diego; is currently a professor of women's, gende...

CL-091 Catie Joyce-Bulay Asks The Million Malt Question

04 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

If you're a voracious fiction reader like I am, your biggest impression of Maine may come from Stephen King novels. But the United States' northeaster...

EP-322 Naveen Pawar and Adam Leibowitz of Mighty Squirrel Brewing

20 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In today's alcohol marketplace, it's all about the pivot. You better be able to change on a dime when it comes to what you make, where your brands are...

SM-005 That Dog Won't Hunt: Charleston Beer's Past, Present, and Future

20 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In summer 2021, Jamaal Lemon, Brian Alberts, Mike Stein, and Peter Jones worked together to publish Tek Cyear uh de Root, an article series that expl...

SL-031 Cutting America Off — The Controversial Researcher reshaping Our Drinking Habits

18 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Back in the summer of 2018, Good Beer Hunting readers were introduced to a name that stuck with me for years: David Jernigan. He's one of the country'...

CL-090 Helen Anne Smith Wants More For The Hospitality Industry

17 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Buzzwords like "craft," "ethical," and "sustainable" seem to be everywhere in hospitality. But do those terms actually mean anything, and if so, how d...

EP-321 Cortni McKenzie of Many Faces and Good Road Cider

06 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode we're going to chat about the present and look back in time. You're going to get to meet Cortni McKenzie, an aspiring beverage alcohol...

EP-320 Aaron Hosé, One Pint at a Time

02 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year, I had the honor of moderating "The Art of Storytelling: Highlighting Important Stories" at Crafted for Action, a four-day, hybrid c...

SL-030 Beyond Beer — Will a Global Outcry Have Lasting Impact on Mikkeller?

01 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past several months, Good Beer Hunting reporter Kate Bernot has been at the forefront of covering allegations of sexual harassment, bullying,...

EP-319 Blake Enemark, Tailgunner Brewing Company

23 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There are a lot of parallels between good music and good beer, from the similarly creative processes of conceptualizing new beers and writing new song...

CL-089 Gloria Rakowsky Searches For Truth Behind The Bar

20 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There are more than half a million bartenders working in the United States, although it's a pretty safe bet that those numbers have changed in COVID's...

EP-318 Emma Inch of the British Guild of Beer Writers

16 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Producing and hosting a weekly local radio show likely isn't how most beer writers get their start—but that's exactly where Emma Inch's career in be...

SM-004 'Every Can Counts' — Boycotting Coors in Colorado, the Castro, and Beyond

13 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Conversations around beer often focus on what to drink: I had this great beer the other day. Here's something you might like, or a brewery worth suppo...

EP-317 Hoby Wedler, Ph.D. Chemist and Entrepreneur

10 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Every now and then, I get to host an episode where the conversation has very little to do with beer or other kinds of beverage alcohol. This is anothe...

CL-088 Doug Hoverson Lives On Native Soil

07 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Every inch of the land now known as the United States of America actually belongs to someone else. Some call them Native Americans. Others prefer Amer...

EP-316 Amber Rosado of Mason Jar

02 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

If you've gone job hunting in the past 15 years, you may have sought out new professional challenges, a different geography, or more money, but there'...

EP-315 Laura Garcia, Brewer from Baja

26 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout my freelance beer-writing career, one person's name has continued to pop up as someone to pay attention to. That person is Laura Garcia, a ...

CL-087 Theresa McCulla Helps Reconstruct a Life

24 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As the curator of the American Brewing History Initiative at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Theresa McCulla has access to some...

EP-314 Vik and Viv Nayar of Two Robbers

18 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I've found myself adding some qualifiers to interview requests lately, ensuring people that while I create stories, analysis, and podcasts for Good Be...

CL-086 David Jesudason Sets Sail on the Myth of IPA

15 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What is an IPA? Most drinkers around the world would probably identify IPA as the flagship style of the modern craft beer movement. As its popularity ...

EP-313 Emma Janzen, Author

11 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The intersection between digital media and the more slow, meandering works of book authorship is one that, on its surface, might not seem to be well p...

CL-085 David Neimanis Isn't (Just) Bitter

09 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Where does inspiration end and innovation begin? When it comes to contemporary takes on established traditions, that line can seem a bit blurry at tim...

SL-29 Aww, Ship — Companies Thrive in Distribution's Legally Grey Area

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There's a lot of change taking place in beer and broader beverage alcohol, but you might not notice it. It's not the form of sales shifting for hard s...

CL-084 Matt Osgood says They're the Nicest People

01 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Finding good, honest people making good, honest beer isn't as easy as craft beer has led us to believe. But every once in a while, a truly singular br...

EP-312 Manny Valdes of Cruz Blanca

28 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Every once in awhile I like to have someone on the podcast who I've been talking to or working with for awhile. It's not always easy to know when the ...

EP-311 Charlotte Cook of Coalition Brewing

21 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The last few months in the British beer industry have been tumultuous. Inspired by the brave work of Brienne Allan, Britshbeergirl – real name Siobh...

CL-083 Anthony Gladman Deconstructs Decoction

19 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As much as craft beer places value on authenticity and artistry, it's not always an industry that likes looking backwards. Instead, the search for inn...

EP-310 Phil McFarland of Canopy Growth

14 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest is a rare revisit action with a previous guest - Phil McFarland from episode 25 - when he was on the even of shutting down what had been...

SM-003 Lager Beer & Public Health Part 3: Name Your Poison

10 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What's in beer today? Unless you're a brewer, do you know? I mean, do you really know? Usually, Western beer is made up of water, hops, a malted grain...

CL-082 Courtney Iseman Paints A Picture

04 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What is art? Throughout the course of human existence, critics, academics, and common people have all attempted to unpack the meaning and value of art...

SM-002 Governing Bodies Part 2: 'The Devil's Chloroform.

24 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when politics and public health intermix? We've spent the last year learning all too well that, unfortunately, just about anything can ha...

CL-081 Holly Regan is a Trip

21 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Holly Regan believes that we are all surrounded by opportunities to have transcendent experiences. As humans, we're often prone to looking inward, tha...

EP-309 Jess Keller Poole and Shawna Cormier of Seattle Beer School

17 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

While I cover the beer and beverage alcohol industries, I started from a simple place as an enthusiast. I was excited to drink different beers, then i...

CL-080 Gabby Pharms Keeps It Neat

15 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The overlaps between beer and whiskey are plentiful. Both rely on craftsmanship and quality ingredients, and share certain production methods in commo...

Tek Cyear uh de Root — Part 3

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

You're listening to a special-edition, three-part podcast series about Charleston's Schützenfest, a mid-19th-century German gun and beer festival tha...

Tek Cyear uh de Root — Part 2

11 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

You're listening to a special-edition, three-part podcast series about Charleston's Schützenfest, a German gun and beer festival that initially was a...

Tek Cyear uh de Root — Part 1

11 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Charleston, South Carolina:, a city with a villainous history and a place I call home. From the palmetto-lined streets to the many saltwater creeks an...

EP-308 Amy Todd of Zymology Labs

06 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Through her business—Zymology Labs, based in Essex Junction, Vermont—Amy offers analytical testing, training, and consulting for the fermented bev...

CL-079 David Nilsen Builds a Bridge Between Beer and Chocolate

01 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Intangible, hard-to-define terms like "local," "craft," and even "ethical" remain debatable within beer spheres, but they're far from limited to one i...

EP-307 Keyatta Mincey-Parker of A Sip of Paradise Garden

23 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I first heard about Keyatta Mincey-Parker from Donnie, a wine buyer at my local bottle shop. As Donnie rang up my purchases, she told me how Keyatta h...

CL-078 Michael Stein Goes to the Dark Side

16 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past couple of decades, brewers and beer historians have recreated a growing number of formerly lost beer styles, like Grodziskie, Merseburge...

CL-077 Beth and Kate are Processing

11 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

If you follow news in the beer world, May 2021 became synonymous with the word "reckoning" as a wave of stories about sexual harassment, assault, and ...

EP-306 Tom Cook + Sam Pecoraro of Von Ebert Brewing

06 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What does it take to succeed in one of the country's most competitive markets for craft beer? That's at the core of this conversation with Sam Pecorar...

SM-001 Lager Beer, Governing Bodies Part 1: Overruled

29 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today, lager beers represent the comfort zone for most American beer drinkers…and a stereotyped monolith for many craft breweries to rebel against. ...

CL-076 Jonny Garrett shines a light in the dark

27 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In times of crisis, people tend to turn to the comfort of familiarity, whether it be revisiting the family recipes they enjoyed as a kid or just attem...

EP-305 Tiffanie Barriere of the Drinking Coach

22 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tiffanie Barriere is the epitome of southern hospitality—warm, kind, and welcoming. She's just the person you'd want as your drinking coach, which i...

CL-075 Bailey Berg Drinks Beer In The Last Frontier

19 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How does one survive in a place where temperatures regularly hit negative 30 degrees Fahrenheit, if not below that? A toasty Barleywine might hit the ...

EP-304 Mary MacDonald and Rob Fullmer, Association of Brewers Guild Professionals

15 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been countless stories of how individual people and businesses have adjusted, learned new things, and sur...

CL-074 Maurizio Maestrelli is Drinking in Italy's Garden

12 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Italy is definitely not what anyone would consider part of Europe's traditional brewing heartland: In terms of beverages, the Southern European countr...

EP-303 Jules Gray of Hop Hideout

08 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jules Gray describes herself as "someone that likes to keep busy." Not only is she the founder of Hop Hideout—one of the U.K.'s first drink-in bottl...

CL-073 Michael Kiser believes in you

05 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Working in media today feels weirdly similar to trying to navigate the Fire Swamp in the classic 1987 film The Princess Bride. Success is possible, bu...

SL-028 U.S. Goes All-In on RTDs, is the U.K. SOL?

03 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

You may have read or heard industry pros or journalists like me throw around these acronyms lately—FMBs and RTDs. They stand for flavored malt bever...

EP-302 AJ Cox, Brewer and Anthropologist

27 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In beer, even the heaviest intellectual conversations around topics like racism or worker exploitation tend to hit a natural barrier after a couple of...

CL-072 Katie Mather and The Dream Turned Reality

21 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever dreamed a dream so perfect, so grand, so utopian that it seems impossible to turn into reality? Katie Mather has—but unlike most peopl...

FF-028 John Gross Knows Your Runtime

15 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to a Fervent Few episode of the Good Beer hunting Podcast The Fervent Few is our subscriber community - made up of 100s of beer fans, professi...

EP-301 Stacey Ayeh, founder of Rock Leopard Brewing

10 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

While Rock Leopard is relatively new to the scene, Ayeh is not. He's worked in the alcohol industry since 2002, when on a trip to Sweden he discovered...

EP-300 Briana Brake + Atinuke Akintola Diver of This Belongs to Us

04 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The way we find and tell stories of beer is changing, and in recent years, what was once relegated to magazines, websites, and podcasts is becoming mo...

EP-299 Michelle McGrath of the American Cider Association

28 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As a total percentage of the beverage alcohol industry, cider hasn't really changed much in recent years. It amounts to about 1% and has been successf...

EP-298 Sara Kazmer of Elsewhere Brewing

20 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Every brewery has a story, and along with the beer they brew, their narrative is what helps to set them apart. A great story can captivate and connect...

CL-071 Jennifer Jordan Hunts for Hops at the Edge of the Driftless

18 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Beer history has blossomed in recent years, as a new generation of researchers and writers have uncovered fascinating stories from the murky early day...

EP-297 Ben Self of West Sixth Brewing

15 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Have you heard the phrase "stick to beer"? It's a version of an oft-cited phrase that people tell each other when one is veering away from their subje...

CL-070 Beth Demmon is riding a party wave

10 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Lately, the world has felt joyless. Even the weekends, which once offered a reprieve from the obligation of work, feel bland and gray when you're stuc...

EP-296 Esthela Davila and Carmen Favela, Mujeres Brew House

06 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Women currently make up less than a quarter of all craft brewery owners in the United States, according to the Brewers Association's survey on demogra...

SL-027 A full strength look at non-alcoholic beer

03 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We are well beyond the days of "Dry January," but the conversation around the success and long term impact of non-alcoholic beer continues. The month ...

EP-295 James Calder of Society of Independent Brewers

27 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In today's episode I'm talking to James Calder, Chief Executive of the UK's Society of Independent Brewers. SIBA, as it's more commonly known, plays a...

EP-294 Javier and Jose Lopez, Casa Humilde Cerveceria

20 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week's guest is a duo from Chicago who this past year, despite a pandemic, launched one of the city's most exciting Mexican-inspired brewery conc...

CL-069 Stephanie Grant Knows Black is Beautiful

17 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Stephanie Grant has an infectious positivity. You can't help but enjoy watching her cook amazing meals on her Instagram stories; or celebrating Black ...

EP-293 Greg Avola, Untappd and Next Glass

13 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week's guest invented one of the most impactful things in American beer history —but it's not a beer style, or a recipe, or a festival, or a pi...

CL-068 Kristen Foster is Done with Dry January

10 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kristen Foster has been a part of Good Beer Hunting's Fervent Few community, as well as a contributor, since 2017. Since then, she's written a number ...

EP-292 Wright Thompson, Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and the Things That Last

06 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Depending on who you are and your connection to alcohol and storytelling, this interview can be different things to different people. It's about a boo...

CL-067 Ruvani de Silva Shares Her Joy

03 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As someone who was born in the '80s and thus is not a digital native, I've enjoyed making Internet friends since my parents first got a computer when ...

EP-291 Lucy Do, The Dodo Micropub

30 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The word "community" is often overused in our industry. There's our local community, the communities we've created around ourselves on our favorite so...

CL-066 Will Hawkes Jumps On The Wagon

28 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I'm chatting with Will Hawkes, a London-based journalist who's been writing about beer since 2010. Over the past decade, Will has reg...

EP-290 Kelly Moritz, Indeed Brewing

23 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Have we said "pivot" enough lately? What about "omnichannel," or "innovation"? These words were all thrown around with abandon in 2020, as COVID-19 ch...

CL-065 Natalya Watson Bridges The Gap

22 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As a person who makes audio, I'm fascinated by the work that goes on behind the scenes. How does an interviewer ask questions? How do two people find ...

EP-289 Ren Navarro, Founder of Beer.Diversity.

16 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This is Beth Demmon, and you're listening to the Good Beer Hunting podcast. At the end of every year, it's common for publications to put together rou...

SP-003 Turning Hindsight Into Foresight

14 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past year, Good Beer Hunting has maintained an ongoing, weekly newsletter and expert community under our Sightlines Premium banner. As an ext...

Introducing the AltBrau Podcast

09 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to be an outlier? Who are the people in beer taking small steps and hoping to make big changes?  We're excited and thrilled to ann...

CL-064 David Neimanis on the Wonders of Super Punch

08 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Some of my favorite stories start small. Usually with a question, perhaps something you ponder passively before it takes you down a rabbit hole full o...

CL-063 Courtney Iseman Jumps Between Past, Present, and Future

31 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

You've probably read some version of this article or headline over the past several months: "Here's a lesson we learned during the 1918 flu that we ca...

EP-288 Andreas Krennmair, Author of Vienna Lager

26 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

News flash: 2020 has been a tough one. And yet despite the intense challenges, this year has seen several positive developments, even—and maybe espe...

SL-026 Changing The Narrative

23 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

COVID-19 has changed a lot in our lives, including when and how we choose to consume alcohol. But there continue to be misconceptions about our beer-b...

A Thousand Words — Home

19 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this series of the GBH podcast, we ask members of our team to enter the realm of audio storytelling. Most of us are familiar with the phrase, "A pi...

SL-025 No Relief for Small Brewers

17 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the Sightlines podcast. I'm Jonny Garrett. On July 21, barely three weeks after the U.K.'s hospitality industry and pubs came out of lockdo...

EP-287 Jamal Robinson, New England Brew Co., & Phil Pappas, CT Brewers Guild

12 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week's guest is a long-time industry friend of mine from back when he and I worked tougher to help launch Stony Creek Brewery in Branford, Connec...

CL-062 Holly Regan Will Not Be Erased

10 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We hear it all the time: Craft beer is a "community" where folks can come together to socialize, grab a beer, and let loose. But what happens when tha...

EP-286 Julia Herz, Consultant and Educator, HerzMuses Enterprises

05 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Julia Herz has been a notable figure in craft beer for nearly two decades. Much of that time was spent as the face of the Craft Beer Program at the Br...

CL-061 Beth Demmon (Attempts To) Untangle Work and Worth

03 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Who are you without work? If you went to a party and introduced yourself to someone new, what would you talk about if you couldn't ask them about thei...

EP-285 Lucious Wilson, Wedge Brewing Company

28 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I'm not making a radical statement here, as we enter the final weeks of 2020, when I say it's been hard. Both for individuals and as a collective soc...

CL-060 Gabrielle Pharms Orders Her Texas Bourbon Neat, Please

25 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our Beer and a Shot series, made in partnership with Miller High Life, asks our contributors to get to know a city. Each piece brings together a bar...

EP-284 Susanna and James Forbes, Little Pomona Cider

21 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I've known one of today's guests for a good few years. Susanna Forbes and I first met as drinks journalists at countless events around London. Back th...

CL-059 Samer Khudairi Becomes a Character in his own Story

19 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's hard to tell a story about yourself. And yet, I find I'm most moved by personal narratives—articles that provide a sneak peek into the life of ...

EP-283 Rob Brennan, Supermoon

14 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today's conversation is another one of those times when I feel profoundly grateful that I get to close the loop with someone that takes me back ten ye...

CL-058 Alicia Kennedy Longs for a Martini in a Nick & Nora Glass

12 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the Good Beer Hunting Collective podcast, the show where members of our team interview each other to get a behind-the-scenes look at some o...