MBR Podcast 12/25/08

For part two this week we've put together our favorite clips from 2008. Enjoy the memories and lively commentary.



Here's the mp3

Cheers!

MBR Podcast 12/23/08

Part one of this weeks podcast features news in 60 seconds, covering the Great Dane/Capital Brewery's attempt to create the biggest all malt beer ever, Australia's first no-carb beer, and AB-InBev loosing it's EU trademark battle.



Here's the mp3.

MBR Podcast 12/18/08

Part two of our blind Christmas Ale tasting, including Great Lakes Christmas Ale, Summitt Winter Ale, New Belgium 2 Below Winter Ale and August Schell Snowstorm.



Here's the mp3

Cheers!

MBR Podcast 12/16/08

This week we got festive with blind tasting of Winter and Christmas beers from some of the best breweries in the country. Part one includes tastings of New Holland Cabin Feaver, Anchor Christmas Ale, Rogue Santa's Private Reserve Ale and Goose Island Christmas Ale.



Here's the mp3

Stay tuned for part two on Thursday.

Cheers!

MBR Podcast 12-11-08

The second part of this weeks show has news in 60 seconds, with discussions of the proposed British happy hour ban, Goose Island keeping it's original location, and Bell's partner brewing with De Proef.



Here's the mp3

Cheers!

MBR Podcast 12/9/08

This week we spoke with Dean Coffey, brewmaster and owner of Ale Asylum. We discuss his beginnings as a brewer, his split with the Angelic Brewery, his set up, the controversial SB224 brewpub law, his new beer Mercy, and more.



Here's the mp3.

Cheers!

MBR Podcast 11-25-08

Our first Thanksgiving special. Sit back with a nice warm cup of egg nog or mulled beer, or perhaps a room temp British Bitter, and enjoy!



Here's the mp3

Cheers!

MBR Podcast 11/20/08

The second part of this weeks podcast has Jon and Kyle talking about Wisconsin's reputation as a drinking state.



Here's the mp3

Cheers!

MBR Podcast 11/18/08

This week we follow up on our interview with the creators of the 99 bottles documentary and take a look at the Honest Pint Project.



Here's the mp3

Cheers!

MBR Podcast Week 12 Part 2

Part two of this weeks podcast has a public service announcement and our reviews of Leinenkugel Fireside Nutbrown and Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noire



Here's the mp3

Cheers!

MBR Podcast Week 12 Part 1

The first part of this weeks podcast has beer news, including a discussion of falling sales in the UK and elsewhere, and a craft beer movement in Italy.
Stay tuned for part 2 this week, in which we taste the new Leinenkugel offering fireside nutbrown and Jolly Pumpkin's Bam Noire.



Here's the mp3

Cheers!

MBR Podcast Week 11 Part 2

Part two of our discussion with the film makers behind the 99 Bottles documentary, including discussions of free beer, the controversial SB 224 Brewpub legislation, 99 Bottles ill-fated opening in Milwaukee, the tastings going on at the screenings, and structuring a film around "ordinary" people asking questions.



Here's the mp3

Cheers!

MBR Podcast Week 11 Part 1

This week we spoke to David Oplinger and Jason Williams, the co-producer and director of the 99 bottles documentary, a look at craft beer in Wisconsin. Part one has some beer news, and the first part of our interview, touching on Berry Weiss, the idea for the movie, the logistics of getting to 16 breweries, death by brewkettle, vintage brews and their favorite Wisconsin beers.



here's the mp3

The documentary revolves around questions the crew gathered from beer drinkers, asking them "what would you ask a brewmaster?" So we extend the question to you: what would YOU ask a brewmaster? Comment on the blog and let us know!

Cheers!

MBR Podcast Week 10 Part 2

We continue our discussion on the hop shortage with Chris Colby of BYO magazine, covering the effect on homebrewers, price increases, the possibility of brewery closures, growing your own hops, and more.



Here's the mp3.

Cheers!

MBR Podcast Week 10 Part 1

This week we have beer news, including a discussion of presidential candidate's beer baskets and the end of Zima, as well as part one of our interview with Chris Colby, the editor of BYO Magazine, discussing the hop shortage and other challenges facing the craft brewing industry. Will cascade disappear? Will we all be drinking gruit? Thinking of brewing with cow bile? Chris addresses these and other issues.



Here's the mp3

Cheers!

Show 10/25/08

On this weeks show we talked with Chris Colby, editor of BYO Magazine, about the Hop Shortage and other issues facing the brewing industry and homebrewers going into the future. Chis wrote a great article on the hop shortage when the situation first arose, check it out.
One of the things Chris mentioned was that some varieties of hop may not make it though the shortage. We want to know, for the homebrewers or beer enthusiasts out there, what hops won't you miss? Vote on the poll or comment in the comments section and let us know.
As always, the podcast will come up Tuesday and Thursday.
Cheers!

MBR Pocast Week 9 part 1

There was no show this week, so here is a tasting we did a while back of the classic Belgian ale Saison Dupont.



Here's the mp3

MBR Podcast Week 8 Part 2

The second part of our interview with Dan and Deb Carey of New Glarus brewing company. In this installment we talk about their new Alt beer, the unplugged Imperial Weizen, Bohemian Lager and Berlinner Weiss, their new R and D series, and our thoughts on our time at New Glarus.

Here's the mp3

MBR Podcast Week 8 Part 1

This week we got a chance to go down to beautiful New Glarus Wisconsin and interview the Dan and Deb Carey, the brewmaster and owners of New Glarus Brewing Company. In this first installment, we discuss their background, the beginnings of their brewery, Dan's rejection of beer styles, their new brewery, their Octoberfest beer, their fruit beers, our homebrew and long boarding from Madison to New Glarus with a bottle of Raspberry Tart and a box of hard boiled eggs, and spies.



Here's the mp3/

Cheers!

Show 014 Outtakes

This week we got the chance to talk with Dan and Deb Carey at New Glarus Brewing Company. We had a great time looking around the original and the new brewery, and talked with them about their history, their beer, and their future plans for the brewery. As usual the show will be podcast Tuesday and Thursday, but there were some parts of the interview that had to be cut for time, so here are some outtakes:
Dan on our homebrew:

The Carey's Interview Us:

The Carey's on Spotted Cow:

Cheers!

MBR Podcast week 7 part 2

We continue this week with our blind Oktoberfest tasting.
Not included but consumed:
7) Weihenstephaner
8) August Schell
On the audio:
9) Capital
10) Tyranena
11) Berghoff
12) Central Waters
13) Hacker-Pschorr

Here's the mp3
Cheers!

MBR Podcast week 7 part 1

Here's first part of our Oktoberfest show, featuring some history and a blind tasing of Oktoberfest beers with our expert panel, including special guest Jeff Glazer. Included in the first half of the tasting are:
1. Bells
2. Spaten
3. Paulaner
4. New Glarus
5. Leinenkugel
6. Great Lakes
Feel free to play along at home!

Here's the mp3

Show 12

This week we did our special Oktoberfest episode, including a blind tasting of 13 oktoberfest beers from around the world. As always, the show will be posted as the podcast on Tuesday and Thursday. We want to know, what's your favorite oktoberfest beer? vote for one of the 13 we tasted on the poll, or comment on this post and tell us your favorite!
Cheers!

MBR week 6 part 2

Part Two of our interview with Jolly Pumpkin Brewmater/owner Ron Jeffries, including insights on specific beers and his first foray into pumpkin beer.


Here's the mp3

Cheers!

MBR Pocast Week 6 Part 1

This week there was no broadcast, so we're revisiting a pre-podcast interview with Ron Jeffries of Jolly Pumpkin. He gave us an enlightening interview with a lot of detail about his process and the beers he brews.

Here's the mp3
Stay tuned for part two Thursday.

Cheers!

MBR Podcast week 5 part 2

We continue our discussion of food and beer, and Kyle issues a challenge.

Here's the mp3

MBR Podcast week 5 part 1

Part one of this weeks podcast features a continuation of our discussion of beer and food pairings and news in 60 seconds, including a surprise delivery for the Queen of England and the end of Kyle's prohibition.

here's the mp3

Cheers!

Show 011

This weeks show was a continuation of our discussion on Beer and Food. The audio will be posted here and on www.madisonbeerreview.com Tuesday and Thursday as we've been doing the past few weeks, but we wanted to mention the challenge that Kyle previewed at the end of the show.
The Challenge is this: whoever can come up with the best food and beer pairing wins a bottle of our homebrew coconut porter, which Kyle designed to pair with vanilla ice cream. Post your pairing idea on the comments section of this post and we'll announce a winner in the coming weeks.
Cheers!

Show 010 Part 2

The second part of this weeks show features an interview about food and beer with Rob Grisham, the head chef at Brasserie V. Stay tuned next week for more beer and food coverage, and please leave a comment to give us your thoughts on beer and food pairings.

Here's the mp3.
Cheers!

Show 010 Part 1

The first part of this weeks show features news in 60 seconds and part one of our series on food and beer, an interview on beer and cheese pairings with Bill Anderson from Fromagination, the Madison specialty cheese shop.

Here is the mp3 link.
Cheers!

Show 009 part 2

In this segment we re-visit our interview with Aran Madden of Furthermore and talk a bit about all the different beers he brews:


the mp3 link

Show 009 Part 1

Part one of this weeks show has a wrap up of last weeks discussion of session beer, a review of Grumpy Troll's World Beer Cup Gold award winning Baltic Porter, some talk about soda and news in 60 seconds:



here's the mp3 file.


This weeks question looks forward to next week's show on Beer and Food: Which do you think pairs better with food, beer or wine? Let us know by voting and give us a comment on why you think so.
Cheers!

Show 008

This week we talked about session beers and reviewed Rogue's Juniper Pale Ale and Capital Brewery's Capital Square Series Baltic Porter. Take a listen:



Cheers!

Show 007

This week was our tribute to the Olympics, Beer Talk Today style. Take a listen.
Part 1:

Part 2:


This weeks question: what was the biggest upset in the Beer Games? As always we encourage comments and emails at beertalktoday@gmail.com
Also we're happy to announce our new partnership with the folks over at Madison Beer Review. They do great stuff so check it out and look for our audio over at www.madisonbeerreview.com
Cheers!

Show 006

This week was our coverage of the Great Taste of the Midwest Beer Festival, including interviews with a bunch of the breweries participating in the festival and a full interview with Larry Bell, founder and president of Bell's Brewery. Take a listen:



This weeks question: what was the best part of the Great Taste of the Midwest? If your answer isn't on the poll, vote "other" and give your answer by commenting on the blog.

Cheers!

Show 005

This week has beer news, an interview with Bill Rogers about the Great taste of the Midwest and a tasting of the new New Glarus Unplugged Berliner Weiss. Stream the show here:

Those of you who want an easier time downloading the clip can go here.

Cheers!

Show 004

This weeks show featured an interview with Furthermore Brewmaster Aran Madden. Aran talked with us about his unconventional beers, his unconventional brewing set up, and his brewery's "ready, fire! aim" attitude. Follow the link below to listen to the show:



This weeks question: which Furthermore beer is your favorite? Vote in the poll on the side or comment on this post and tell us what you think.

For those of you who wish to download rather than stream the show, go here Look under the track list and click on "free download" next to Show 004.

Cheers!

Show 003

Click the play icon to hear this weeks show:



This show was all about Belgian Beer, and we interviewed two guys who own great bars that serve Belgian and Belgian style beer right here in Madison, Matt Van Nest of Brasserie V and Brian Haltinner of Maduro. Both had some great insight on what's going on with Belgian beers in America today.

This weeks question: do you think the popularity of Belgian Beer in the US is a fad or a new trend poised to last? Vote on the poll or post a comment on this blog entry. Any other questions, comments or suggestions can be sent to beertalktoday@gmail.com

Cheers!

Show 002

Click the Play Icon to Stream this weeks show: Beer Talk Today – Show 7/12/08

Today's show was all about wood aged beers, including an interview with Ron Jeffries from Jolly Pumpkin and a taste of Dogfish Head's Palo Santo Marron wood aged beer. Below is a little picture to tickle your imagination. It is the barrel operations at Jolly Pumpkin.






This weeks question: With breweries such as Jolly Pumpkin and experimenters like Dogfish Head, what do you think about these wood aged beers, and what do you think is the future of wood aged beers in the American Craft Beer Industry? Chime in on the comments section of the blog, send us at email at beertalktoday@gmail.com or wait and call us in on the air next week.

Outakes!

Ron from Jolly Pumpkin gave us a ton of great stuff, some of which had to get cut to make the piece fit. This clip has Ron talking about a bunch of the beer Jolly Pumpkin brews, giving lots of detail information. For the true beer geeks!
Beer Talk Today – Ron on Specific Beers

No July 5th show

I just wanted to let all of our loyal listeners know that there won't be a new Beer Talk Today this Saturday, as we're out of town for the 4th of July weekend. But never fear, next week we've got a great show planned, including an interview with Jolly Pumpkin Brewmaster Ron Jeffries! We're really excited to be talking with someone on the cutting edge of todays American brewing scene, and we hope you all tune in.

Show 001

I would like to welcome all of the Beer Talk Today listeners to the blog. Here, we hope that you will become involved in our beer discussions, whether it be by asking questions or expressing your opinions on the beer news that is happening today. We will try our best to answer any questions that we receive on the following week's show.

If you have any suggestions for beers that we should do tastings of, or if you are interested in coming into the studio to talk about beer news, we hope that this blog provides you with a way to contact us. Another way to contact us is at our show email address, beertalktoday@gmail.com.

Lastly, we will be asking questions on air relating to the present week's subject matter. Feel free to post your responses in the comments section. This week's question dealt with the the mergers that are currently happening in the beer world. Do you feel that these mergers are helping or hurting the beer industry? And as a consumer, what are your opinions on these mergers?

Thanks to everyone who listens to our show. We hope you enjoy beer and beer talk as much as we do.

-The Firehouse Brewers.
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Show 001 Tasting Outakes! **Click the little Play arrow**
Saison Dupont:
- Beer Talk Today – Saison du Bud dry
- Beer Talk Today – Just another beer?
Siera Nevada Fresh Hop:
- Beer Talk Today – Ultimate Beer Cellar
- Beer Talk Today – The Perfect Pour

Some Good Beer Articles

A few things I found that I wanted to share
-A story in the New York Times about cellaring beer
-The rise of the craft brew industry
-An interview with Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head

New Glarus Trip

A couple weeks back your fearless radio hosts and a few friends went down to New Glarus Wisconsin to tour the New Glarus brewery and see the town. Jon and Kyle wanted to make the trip as epic at possible, so they long boarded the whole 30 miles from Madison. Here's a few pictures from the trip.
There was some flooding:





















This is where the famous fruit beers are aged: