We take on five beers from the great city of Cincinnati for this episode, courtesy of listener Andrew who picked out an exceptionally fun variety of styles and odd ingredients. It’s not every week we get beers with juniper berries, paw paw, and tayberries. Also, we discuss a tweet about which famous old people could identify Mario; we talk about some of our favorite signature fonts; and we have the majesty of dolphins ruined for us forever. 

Beers Reviewed

Streetside Brewery - Return of the Mac (Coffee blond w/ caramel creme coffee and vanilla)

Rhinegeist Brewery - Infinite Dawn (Sour blonde ale aged in an oak foeder)

Rebel Mettle - Volume (Schwarzbier with juniper berries)

Urban Artifact - Dilophosaurus (Barrel-aged wild ale w/ paw paw)

Fibonacci Brewing Company - Ploidy (Imperial oatmeal stout w/ tayberries)

Add a 2021 FoBAB Gold Medal to the many reasons why Cruz Blanca’s seasonal barrel-aged beer release is not to be missed, but you hopefully already knew that anyways. For this one, we chat with head brewer Jacob Sembrano before opening up all eight of these grapplers in the Luchador series. Jacob talks with us about growing Cruz beyond just a brewpub, what makes something a “Cruz beer,” and some of the surprising flavor inspirations behind this year’s Luchadors. Then we drink ‘em all up, and it’s a wild ride, y’all. Also, Craig has a hard time enjoying the aquarium, and Ryan just wants to talk about candles. 

Beers Reviewed

Escorpión (Imperial prickly pear and dragon fruit ale aged in Cabernet red wine and Barbados rum barrels)

Barbarosa (Imperial black and red raspberry ale aged in Heaven Hill bourbon and Cabernet red wine barrels)

Maravilla (Imperial blonde ale aged in Barbados rum and Woody Creek rye whiskey barrels with Mexican vanilla)

Coco Fantasma (Imperial blonde ale aged in Barbados rum and Woody Creek rye whiskey barrels with chocolate, coconut, and almond)

Carmelita Suave (Imperial stout aged in Barbados rum barrels with Metric coffee and dulce de leche)

Señor Bandito (Imperial stout aged in Woody Creek rye whiskey barrels with black, Morello, and Luxardo cherries, Mexican cassia bark, and Ceylon cinnamon)

Rey Gordo (Imperial stout aged in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels)

Rey Cuvée (2018 + 2019 + 2020 Rey Gordo blended and double barrel-aged in Woodford Reserve barrels)

We’re finally caught up on Craig’s summer Northeast trip which took him to Barreled Souls, who do 100% oak-fermented beers out of their Maine location. The flavors are big and bold, and some work much better for us than others. But the standouts are incredible, and we’re even getting some slushie vibes. Also, Craig considers his scent, Ryan runs down all the different sub-styles of soup beers, and we hold a community Fluff event. 

Beers Reviewed 

Space Gose (Gose w/ coriander, Maine sea salt, and lemon zest)

Speakeasy Red Sangria (Red wine barrel-aged gose w/ Concord grape, cranberry, orange, currant, & lemon)

8x Magnification (Quadruple IPA)

Crazy Squares 2.0 (Barleywine w/ Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal)

Woodford Bourbon Stay Puft (Imperial stout w/ marshmallow fluff aged in Woodford bourbon barrels)

It’s the episode where we drink all the Bourbon County beers being released on Black Friday this year, and give you our honest reactions to this eight-bottle lineup. Whatever we say probably won’t influence your purchasing decisions whatsoever, but we had fun and got drunk while doing it. Honestly, we try to run our podcast with a set of principles as there's a drive into deep left field by Castellanos and that'll be a homerun. And so that'll make it a 4-0 ballgame.

Beers Reviewed

Bourbon County Brand Stout 2021

Bourbon County Reserve 150 Stout

Bourbon County Reserve Blanton’s Stout

Bourbon County Cherry Wood Stout

Bourbon County Double Barrel Toasted Barrel Stout (BCDBTBS)

Bourbon County Classic Cola Stout

Bourbon County Fourteen Stout

Proprietor’s Stout 2021