 Several of the ladies of New Trail Brewing in Williamsport, PA, join us this episode, including Assistant Brewer Cloey Hertwig, Packaging Tech Bethany McDonald, Office Manager Morgan Tramontana, and Regional Sales Representative Helana Zimmerman. Plus, past guest and Director of Brewing Operations, Mike LaRosa. We get to know a little bit about each of these amazing women and how they became part of New Trail, as well as some of the latest happenings at one of Pennsylvania’s most sought-after breweries. In Happy Fun Time, we played a round of Libation or Fabrication. Many pilsners were consumed. Do you love Beer Busters? Of course you do! Why not leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice and consider supporting us on Patreon. 

Beer Busters

234: New Trail Brewing (or Is It 3 or 4?)

 After chatting about this brewery in a few recent episodes, we sit down with Lauren Hughes, Head Brewer at Necromancer Brewing in Pittsburgh. We discuss the inspiration behind the brewery, opening during COVID, their mission to revive forgotten beer styles, Lauren’s journey to the brewery, and more. In Happy Fun Time, we play a round of There’s Weird in My Beer. And we drink a few tasty bevs, but it was a Monday so not too many. Do you love Beer Busters? Of course you do! Why not leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice and consider supporting us on Patreon. 

233: Necromancer Brewing (or I'm Gonna Get a Beer)

 Kim Collins, Owner and Head Brewer at Guardian Brewing Company in Saugatuck, Michigan, joins us this episode. Guardian is a 100% LGBTQ-owned, women-owned, & brewer-owned brewery, Located just two miles from Lake Michigan. Kim is also currently a Board Member on the Michigan Brewer’s Guild Board and is the Founder and Co-Chair of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee. We discuss all of this and more, including getting to know more about the amazing town of Saugatuck. In Happy Fun Time, our guest vies for champion standing in a game of Band or Beer. Also, there is a red barn that is now brown. Do you love Beer Busters? Of course you do! Why not leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice and consider supporting us on Patreon. 

232: Guardian Brewing (or Donut Boats)

 Joining us this episode is Adam Bey, Co-Owner of 412 Brewery in Pittsburgh and member of the Pittsburgh Brewery and Diversity Council. We discuss the history of 412 Brewery, how Adam and others came to take over ownership of the brewery from the founders, the Diversity Council origins and the very important work they do. Do you know what a Canadian Destroyer is? Well, we learned all about that and a whole lot more when Adam revealed that he has been a professional wrestler for many years. This leads to a lot of really great stories, some tangentially involving beer. In Happy Fun Time, Wayne hosted a particularly devious round of There’s Weird in My Beer. Do you love Beer Busters? Of course you do! Why not leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice and consider supporting us on Patreon. 

231: 412 Brewery (or We Love Crispy Boys)

 Co-Founder and CEO of Trace Brewing Company in Pittsburgh, PA joins us this episode to talk about the young brewery, his personal journey to founding Trace, how they are taking action to promote diversity in the beer world, and much more. A large chunk of our conversation centered around Trace Brewing’s Vocational Program, which offers six month paid internships at the brewery to candidates from underrepresented communities and those who would otherwise encounter steep barriers to entry into the beer industry. Honestly, this episode is more than worth it for just that conversation alone. Plus, we played a Holiday themed general trivia game in Happy Fun Time, all about Christmas movies and music, in a sharp break from tradition. Through it all, we… actually didn’t drink much because this was recorded on a Monday night. Do you love Beer Busters? Of course you do! Why not leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice and consider supporting us on Patreon. 

230: Trace Brewing (or Cool Sh*t Room)

 In an episode that plays fast and loose with time, continuity, and word tenses, Steph and Wayne were joined by Tara Nurin, a writer who primarily covers lifestyle trends with a focus on craft beer, alcohol and culinary tourism and their impact on economic development, and author of the recently published, A Woman’s Place Is in the Brewhouse: A Forgotten History of Alewives, Brewsters, Witches, and CEOs – while Dan was galivanting around Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Since we’re no strangers to podcast time travel, Dan was able to join for other parts of this episode – discussing the current trends in the beer industry, Happy Fun Time, and pondering the thought process of choosing a beer from a long list of options. To learn more about Tara and her work, and to find out where you can purchase a copy of her new book, visit her website, www.eyesontheworld.us. Do you love Beer Busters? Of course you do! Why not leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice and consider supporting us on Patreon. 

229: Tara Nurin (or I Should've Learned to Land Planes)

 Due to circumstances beyond our control, our scheduled guest for this episode could not join us. So, it’s just the three of us this time. It’s been a while. We take some time to continue our conversation on the state of equality in the craft beer industry, focusing on resources and actions. Those aforementioned circumstances beyond our control were ongoing staffing shortages in the brewing industry (and the larger service industry in general). We take the opportunity to discuss this issue as well. Plus more fun stuff, we promise, including a round of Brewery or Forgery in Happy Fun Time. All while sipping a variety of tasty beverages. Do you love Beer Busters? Of course you do! Why not leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice and consider supporting us on Patreon. 

228: Hostful! (or Chug Foam Together)

 This episode we’re joined by our friend/cool beer guy/podcast patron Brian Mills. We talk about the ongoing discussions of sexual harassment and assault in the beer industry. After an overview of where things stand, including the controversy surrounding the Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen, we move on to discussing how to affect real change in the beer world. Then, we move on to less serious conversation about world travels and beer stories, among many other random topics. In Happy Fun Time, Wayne dug up an old Libation or Fabrication from the glory days of 2015, just long enough ago that Dan and Steph don’t remember any of the answers. And, as always, we drank some beers. Do you love Beer Busters? Of course you do! Why not leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice and consider supporting us on Patreon. 

227: Brian Mills (or That's Why I Opened My Mouth)

After a short hiatus, we're back! And this time we're joined by the new crew at Chatty Monks Brewing in West Reading, PA - Devi Jagadesan (owner), Ryan Berkis (marketing), and briefly John Stemler (brewmaster and beverage consultant). We chatted about the challenges of taking ownership of a brewery during the pandemic, changes and future plans for the brewery, and Ryan taught us old folks about TikTok. #dontgetstemlered Do you love Beer Busters? Of course you do! Why not leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice and consider supporting us on Patreon.

226: Chatty Monks Brewing (or I'm Two Ryans)

 We’re joined this episode by Rob Getz, brewer at Devil’s Eye Brewing in Dillsburg, PA, who Dan (somewhat drunkenly) met at a Renaissance Faire beer fest. We discuss that story, Rob’s unusual path to brewing at Devil’s Eye, his shady beer hand-off with Steph at an abandoned hotel, and much more. In Happy Fun Time, Wayne hosts a round of Bad Beer Reviews, a game all about beer reviews that are not good. All while we sampled an array of Devil’s Eye brews. Do you love Beer Busters? Of course you do! Why not leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice and consider supporting us on Patreon. 

225: Devil's Eye Brewing (or Another Hot Chicken Sandwich)

This episode was recorded on site at the Brews and Bands for Bart Beer Festival at Tattered Flag Brewery and Stillworks in Middletown, PA. This event was organized to raise money for the family of Bartley Kaminski, a huge figure in the beer world who sadly lost his battle with cancer recently. We invited a long list of friends to sit down and chat, catch up, and raise a glass to an amazing human being. Enjoy, and we hope you'll raise a glass too.

224: Brews and Bands for Bart Beer Festival

 This episode we are joined by Betsy Lay, Owner and Head Brewer, and her wife, Alison Wisneski, Director of Marketing for Lady Justice Brewing Company in Aurora, Colorado. Lady Justice is a not for profit (though not legally a non-profit, something we discuss) and community supported brewery whose mission is to brew great beer to make the world a better place. The Latina-founded, queer and woman-owned operation dedicates time, space, and money to nonprofits and community partners that support and empower women and girls in the state of Colorado. In Happy Fun Time this episode, we played There’s Weird in My Beer. Also, Dan was unable to join us this episode due to illness, don’t worry – it wasn’t COVID and he’s back to 100% now. Do you love Beer Busters? Of course you do! Why not leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice and consider supporting us on Patreon.   

223: Lady Justice Brewing (or Edible Luster)

Shortly after the recording of this episode, Bartly Kaminski lost his battle with cancer. Our thoughts and love are with his family, his many, many friends, and the countless lives he touched. The Brews and Bands for Bart Festival will go on as planned, to honor his memory and celebrate the joy that Bart brought into the world.

222: Brews and Bands for Bart

 We’re joined this episode by our longtime friend and frequent podcast guest, Ethan Buckman from Stickman Brews. We chat about what’s new with Stickman, Ethan’s new venture, False Bottom Spirits, and a number of other things of varying degrees of randomness. In Happy Fun Time, Wayne hosted a round of the rarely-seen Brewery or Forgery, in which Dan, Steph, and Ethan compete to see who can spot the fake brewery names among the real. Also, we drank some Stickman beers. On a more serious note, this episode we announce the details of the upcoming Brews and Bands for Bart block party fundraiser at Tattered Flag Brewery to benefit Bart Kaminski, founder of Hop Hedz, who was recently diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. He has been responding very well to treatment and maintained his trademark high spirits, but the medical bills are adding up. If you don’t know Bart or Hop Hedz, you have definitely seen his work if you’ve spent any time drinking beer in Pennsylvania or beer from our state. Bart has been a huge presence in PA craft beer for many years, designing beer themed apparel and merchandise as well as providing graphic design and branding for more breweries than you can count, plus planning and facilitating beer events of all kinds. More importantly, he is an amazing human being who has positively affected the lives of countless people, including us at Beer Busters. More detail in this episode, and we will soon be devoting an entire episode to this event, chatting with Tattered Flag, Hop Hedz, and Dean Pierce, a homebrewer and general beer guy who helped put this all together. Do you love Beer Busters? Of course you do! Why not leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice and consider supporting us on Patreon. 

221: Stickman Brews (or Feral Packs of Chihuahuas)

 This episode is an audio recording from our virtual event, A Love Letter to Lagers, held on June 8th, 2021, as part of Philly Beer Week. Our guests for this happy hour panel were Jack Hendler, Co-Owner and Brewer at Jack’s Abby in Framingham, Massachusetts, and Ashleigh Carter, Co-Owner and Brewer at Bierstadt Lagerhaus in Denver, Colorado, breweries known for producing amazing, award-winning lagers. We talk all things lager, from the technical, to the historical, and why it’s just so good. Plus, we dive into the history and culture of the two breweries our guests represent, and some of their favorite lagers, while sipping on a few of them. Do you love Beer Busters? Of course you do! Why not leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice and consider supporting us on Patreon. 

220: A Love Letter to Lagers

A bi-weekly podcast where we sit down with brewers, owners, representatives and others in the craft beer industry to sip some brews, play some games, learn some things and talk about all the people and places that make the craft beer world the wonderful community that it is. On the road more often than not, we set up our mics in breweries, beer bars, at beer fests and even hop farms and malt houses to get to know the people that make great beer possible. Whether you’re a casual craft beer drinker, a full on beer nerd, a home brewer or an industry insider, Beer Busters is your go to source for a look inside and celebration of this unique industry. Our mission is to provide insightful discussion without being too stuffy and loads of fun and laughs along the way. Great beer is best shared with great people and we’re here to help spread the love!

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Beer Busters

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