BlackStack Brewing has built quite a reputation off of exceptionally well-crafted hazy IPAs, and we have three of them in this lineup to prove it’s true. Craig also managed to find two other styles to help us better understand this five year-old brewery out of St. Paul, MN. You gotta love a show that challenges your expectations of style, and this one reinvigorates some haze appreciation on our part. Also, Craig excitedly recaps his time at the World’s Largest Bouncy Castle; Ryan invokes Patio Dad to gain a new perspective on haze; and we’re a little nostalgic for the Kveik Days of 2019. Also, Google translates into peanut butter, Roll Your Own Ham nights, and (heavy sigh) Critical Meat Theory. 

Beers Reviewed 

Giving Trees (Mixed culture foeder-fermented Berliner Weisse w/ apple cider, cinnamon, granola, and brown sugar)

DDH 755: HBC 586 (NEIPA)

Kveik 755 (NEIPA)

Trust the Process (DDH DIPA)

Maximum Drip (Milk stout w/ coffee)

Unlike a usual episode where we rub our fuzzy faces and gaze at our navels, this peach beer show comes with a twist. Certainly we review five local beers under a shared theme of “beer with peaches,” but we also foray into a dice-rolling RPG-style podcast with a whole game based around a popular mustachioed video game character (who is not Mike Haggar from Final Fight…sorry). Fortunately, the beers are much better than Ryan’s dice rolls, and Craig’s playing like he has a GameShark. Also, we talk about what Spirit Halloween does in the offseason, imagine other fruit-based mascots, and get some trivia on these five breweries to help move the game along. 

Beers Reviewed

Goose Island Beer Co. - Sounds Queer, I’m In (Wheat ale w/ peaches & natural peach flavor)

Phase Three Brewing - Raw: Passion Fruit// Peach (Wheat ale w/ passionfruit and peach)

Around the Bend Beer Company - Vivian (Pistachio cream ale w/ peaches)

Pipeworks Brewing Company - Ride the Gnar (Sour ale w/ peach and white grape)

Hopewell Brewing Co. - Fun Facts (Wild Ale w/ peach and black tea)

Known as Beervana for a reason, Portland, Oregon is maybe the premier beer destination city in the United States. Summer Craig recently spent some time getting to know the beers of the Pacific Northwest, and he got some help from accomplished beer writer Jeff Alworth. The Beer Bible author gives us the story of Portland’s beer proclivities and how they don’t always follow the national trends. Also, Jeff gives us good Portland beer history, explains how the hazy trend might’ve actually started out west, and tells us whether or not “smoothie sours” made it into the recent reprinting of his book. We also review five stellar beers from Portland breweries, yell stuff at HackerMan, conceptualize Inkblot Brewing, and try to solve a beer snob mystery.

Jeff Alworth Interview (00:14:58 - 00:51:24)

Beers Reviewed

Breakside Brewery w/ Barley Brown’s Beer - WanderJack (American IPA)

Ruse Brewing - Wolves in the Rain (West Coast IPA)

Wayfinder Beer - Original Cold IPA

Little Beast Brewing - Dream State (Foeder-aged Ale w/ strawberries)

Upright Brewing Company - Pathways (Blended saison)

The hefeweizen is a pretty universally appreciated summer beer, and we’ve amazingly never dedicated an entire show to the style. But thankfully a bunch of cool local brewers have put their best non-hoppy hazies in cans for us to consider, as we rise from 5% ABV all the way up to 5.4% ABV in this lineup. Also, we do some summer PD by putting Summer Craig through a SWOT analysis; Ryan has rediscovered his Willi Becher; and we have Hefeweizen Opinions (on HBO). There’s also a game that Ryan’s unfortunately calling Beerdle, and Craig’s wife gets in on the ranking action.

Hefeweizens Reviewed

Revolution Brewing - El Hefe Loco

The Conrad Seipp Brewing Company - Bavarian Hefeweizen

The Hopewell Brewing Co. - Here & There

Roaring Table Brewing Co. - Secret Beach

Maplewood Brewery - Bavarian Dream

Though it may not be many people’s pick for Oregon’s best beer city, it’s hard to ignore the quality beers produced in Bend. From Craig’s trip, we have five diverse beer styles from five different Bend breweries that both impress us with new flavors and stir up some nostalgia. Also, Craig talks about his trip to The Last Blockbuster and quizzes Ryan on related trivia. Plus there’s talk of squirrels drunk off of tree fermenters, a Rule 34 Brewery, imaginary berries, and a desperate plea for someone to take Ryan’s unwanted DVD of the movie “Funny People.” Make it an ABV Chicago night, and we’ll take care of those late fees.

Beers Reviewed

Crux Fermentation Project - Island Pilz (Tropical Pilsner)

Boss Rambler Beer Club - We’ll Do It Cold! (Cold IPA)

The Ale Apothecary - Connor (American Wild Ale aged in Pinot Noir barrels w/ marionberries)

Boneyard Beer - Notorious IPA3 (Triple IPA)

Deschutes Brewery - The Abyss: Coconut (Imperial Stout aged in whiskey barrels w/ roasted coconut flakes, licorice, cherry bark & vanilla beans)