After a summer break the All Things Beer podcast is back with an episode devoted to homebrews. We welcome back recurring guests Hans Gorsuch and Chris Mercerhill to discuss and dissect the fruits of our labor, including a hefeweizen, two different saisons, a biere de garde, and a wet hop harvest ale. Our conversation touches on topics like decoction mashing, the use of herbs and teas in brewing, aquaponic farming, mixed fermentation, the Great American Beer Festival, new yeast varieties, and brewing with home grown hops.

Pat's Pints

Summer Homebrews

In this episode we take a deep dive on strong German lagers from the bock family (doppelbock, maibock, weizenbock, eisbock). We trace the history of this style back through the mists of time to the city of Einbeck and it's reinvention as a lager in 17th century Munich. Then we head out to Edison Brewing in Gahana, where they are pouring a bock, a doppelbock and a maibock, for a conversation with owner Wil Schulze and brewmaster Victor Ecimovich. Victor shares some of his wisdom learned in brewing traditional beers over many years at breweries including Millstream (Iowa), Goose Island (Chicago) and Hosters (Columbus). The final segment features friend and award winning homebrewer Jamie Gentry for a discussion on homebrewing  bocks. 

All Things Bock

In a follow up to Episode 18 (Going for the Gueuze) we welcome back Dan Reeve for more discussion of Belgian Lambics. In this episode we explore Lambic variants beyond gueuze, with a focus on lambics conditioned on fruit. Along the way we enjoy and describe Krieks from both Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen, as well as Cantillon's Rose de Gambrinus (featuring raspberries). We discuss the microbiology behind Lambic fermentation and Dan discusses his successes and failures at homebrewing Belgian-style sours. 

Fruit Lambics with Dan Reeve

Matt Cunningham from Rustic Brew Farms in Marysville, Ohio joins us to talk about the malting process. A fourth generation farmer, Matt got into the malting business in 2014 as a way to diversify the crops grown on the family farm. He discusses his journey from malting barley from hand transferring the malts in 5 gallon buckets to his current set up with two rotating drums that process malts one ton at a time. Along the way we get into details of the malting process, agronomics, European vs North American strains of barley, the challenges of running a small business, Czech Tmaves and Metallica.

Craft Malting

Does the prospect of crisscrossing a foreign country in search of one of the world’s most sought after beers sound enticing? If so join us on a virtual tour of the Trappist Breweries of the Low Countries in search of the rare Westvleteren XII. Along the way we do our best to sample the best Quads and Belgian Dark Strong Ales that Europe has to offer. To finish things out we share a homebrewed Belgian Dark Strong Ale, featuring foraged black walnuts. 

Westvleteren or Bust...In Search of the Ultimate Quad

We are joined by Land Grant brewer Justin Reik and Canadian connoisseur Chris Mercerhill for an informative, irreverent journey through the land of beer glassware. Couched in a gameshow format each of us brings a mystery beer to the show that highlights the characteristics of a specific glass. If that isn’t enough we each pick a song that sonically exemplifies our chosen beer-glass pairing. Sit back for an extended romp through the world of glassware, with frequent tangents into the realms of music, science and travel.

Glassware Gameshow

‘Tis the season to be jolly, and in this episode we do our best to spread some holiday cheer. We look at the evolution of the Winter Warmers and other winter seasonal offerings stretching from the dark ages to the modern day. We are joined by Barley’s brewmaster Angelo Signorino, who has been at forefront of the Ohio craft beer scene for nearly three decades. Angelo shares the history of the much beloved Barley’s Christmas Ale and surprises us with a delicious double oatmeal stout aged in maple bourbon barrels. Along the way we sample holiday beers from Samuel Smiths, Anchor, Land Grant, Outerbelt, and Columbus Brewing Company.

Winter Warmers and Festive Holiday Ales

In this episode we are joined by homebrewer and Pat’s Pints Podcast veteran Hans Gorsuch for an in depth discussion of saisons. We discuss the history of the style going back to its farmhouse roots, and dissect one of the world’s truly iconic beers, Saison Dupont. We explore variations on the style that go beyond Dupont, including brett saisons and mixed fermentation ales. Along the way we highlight excellent saisons from Ohio breweries including Rockmill, Branch and Bone and Jackie O’s. We finish with tips for homebrewing saisons.

Saisons

Given the unfortunate cancellation of 2020 Oktoberfest we asked Jamie Gentry and Chris Davison of Wolf’s Ridge Brewing to join us for a celebration of the glorious German beers of fall, märzen and festbier, paired with a generous helping of 20th century German metal music. We go deep on the history and characteristics of these beers, and Chris shares a cornucopia of tips for brewing German lagers. We finish with a bonus chapter on Rauchbier, featuring Wolf’s Ridge’s excellent Buchenrauch.

Oktoberfest Metalfest

We continue our deep dive into the world of IPAs with Nick Smith, founder and brewmaster of Steam Machine Brewing in County Durham. In the second part of this episode we move across the pond to the US where the style was revived in the early 1980s. Our conversation follows the growth in popularity of the style up to the modern day, including the seemingly endless variations of this venerable style.

History of the IPA with Nick Smith (Part 2)

In this episode we go international for the first time ever by welcoming Nick Smith from Steam Machine Brewing in County Durham for an in-depth look at the birth and evolution of the India Pale Ale. In the first of a two-part episode we explore the history of the IPA from its inception up through the 1980s. As a lifelong resident of the UK and an amateur beer historian, Nick provides a wonderful perspective on the birth and evolution of the IPA in its homeland - starting from it's origins as a refined tipple for the British Raj up through its long, slow decline in the 20th century.

The History of the IPA with Nick Smith (Part 1)

In this episode we are joined by Columbus sour beer aficionado Dan Reeve for a virtual voyage to Pajotenland. Join us as we take an in depth look at a style that many feel represents the pinnacle of brewing art, blended lambic gueuze. We crack open gueuzes from Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen and Lindemans and share stories from our separate visits to the lambic breweries near Brussels.

Going for the Gueuze with Dan Reeve

In the second half of our interview with Sean White, co-owner and head brewer at Little Fish Brewing, we continue our exploration of the fascinating world of sour beers. The episode kicks off with with a candid discussion of the challenges of spontaneous fermentation. As the pod progresses we talk about the flavor contributions of aged hops, blending, adding fruit and Sean’s love of using homegrown and local ingredients in his beers. The episode finishes with tips for homebrewers who want to take up the challenge of brewing sours.

American Sours and Wild Ales with Sean White of Little Fish Brewing (Part 2)

In this episode we sit down (virtually) with Sean White, co-owner and head brewer at Little Fish Brewing in Athens, Ohio, for an expansive discussion of sour beers and wild ale brewing. With two World Beer Cup medals for their barrel-aged sours (a bronze for Petit Poisson in 2018 and a gold for Barrel Aged Woodthrush in 2016) Sean and the team at Little Fish are one of Ohio’s leading practitioners of this artistic form of brewing. The discussion covered so many topics we had to split it into two separate episodes. In Part 1 we discuss the meaning of terms like sour beer and wild ale, capturing yeasts from the wild, Brett beers, sabering bottles, mixed fermentation saisons, alternative grains, Little Fish’s takes on oud bruins and Flemish reds, and what might be an entirely new style, farmhouse malt liquors.  Look for Part 2 to be released in mid-May.

American Sours and Wild Ales with Sean White of Little Fish Brewing (Part 1)

In this episode we connect (remotely) with Dan Eaton who covers the beer and food industries for Columbus Business First. Dan shares his thoughts on the impact of the corona virus on the business of beer in Ohio, while Mark gives a first hand account of its impact on Land Grant Brewing.  We also touch on topics that include acceptable work attire and flattening the weekly beer consumption curve in these unprecedented times. Those who listen to the end will be treated with timely beer recommendations should the end times be upon us.

Talking Pandemic Beer Blues with Dan Eaton

Pat Woodward and Mark Richards explore the world of craft beer from their base in Columbus, Ohio.

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Pat's Pints

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