Beer Me!

There is a certain level of magic behind beer, in the fermentation alone. Those little yeasty cells are working hard to convert sugar to alcohol and CO2, but what else? Disco parties? 

Courtney Iseman, a Brookyn-based beer journalist, has recently published a zine: "Beer Tarot: Pulling Cards, Pouring Beer, & Discovering Self." She suggests adding a little mysticism, a little magic to the consumption side of beer; through Tarot. 

In this episode of Beer Me, she explains that while the practice of Tarot has been around for centuries, it has be...

The mix of wonderful and hilarious people one meets in the beer world is a marvel. There is no better time to celebrate those friends than Thanksgiving, or a few weeks after. 

Beer Me welcomes back to the show Carl Crafts, Sam Nellis, and Grant Vaught. We all met working at Birch & Barley/Churchkey in DC and all have gone off into various directions - but still mostly in beverage. 

It is a tradition on Beer Me to gather once a year to answer the burning question: "What will yo...

"What are your hopes and dreams for the American Craft Beer Industry as a whole?"  This impossibly hard-to-answer question was asked of three beer industry veterans during a live show, in the rain, during their first hour of the Snallygaster Beer Festival. 

Beer Me Radio returned to our "recorded live" roots for one special show during Snallygaster beer festival in Washington, DC, in a podcast tent, in the rain. It was incredibly fun. 

Our host, Sarah Jane Curran, had the opportunity to interview Josh Schlesinger (Head of Sales and distribution for Bissell Brothers Brewing Company), Mat...

Successful collaborations are a hallmark of the brewing industry. There are countless examples of collaborations between breweries, brewers with restaurants, and even brewers with bands. The result of these collaborations is the beer, which is formed through many (MANY!) decisions that lead to the desired result (hopefully). 

As Beer Me Radio relishes in its "cheese era", the newest episode builds on a few recent episodes surrounding cheese and beer.  Megan Vaughan, Founder/Owner of Vaughan Cheese in Chesapeake, MD recently joined the show to share about the process of beer-washed cheese (Listen HERE). She me...

"It was just a day of horse racing" explains Andreas Krenmair, Beer Author and Historian and most recent guest on Beer Me, as he describes the first Oktoberfest. 

Austrian-based Andreas has done significant research on the Vienna Lager style and Austrian and German beer & brewing history. Most recently he joined the Beer Me podcast to begin to scratch the surface of Oktoberfest history. 

He explains how a city-wide celebration of the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen where the main attraction was a horse race has grown into th...

Jack's Abby Craft Lagers opened in 2011 in Framingham, MA by three brothers: Jack, Eric, and Sam Hendler. They set out to only produce lagers, in a world of IPAs, and have stayed true to that vision. 

Rob Day, the VP of Marketing for Jack's Abby, described how Jack Hendler studied brewing in Germany and continues his education in German brewing with an annual trip to traditional and modern brewing facilities in Germany, on this week's episode of Beer Me. 

Every year, this lager brewhouse celebrates Oktoberfest (the season we ar...

When boiled down (pun intended) beer is an agricultural product, as is chocolate. This is one of the many similarities between the craft beer and chocolate worlds.  Chocolate is produced from the seeds of a fruit that grows on a tropical plant. As with beer, chocolate is also a fermented product, and much like beer, there is craft production and mass production. 

David Nilsen, beer writer, and educator sat down with Sarah Jane Curran, host of Beer Me! to discuss pairing beer and chocolate, inspired by these parallels. 

MUSIC CREDIT: The following music was use...

After our last episode, talking beer and cheese pairings with Anne Becerra, we needed more cheese. As one does. And there are so many parallels between beer and cheese, both in the production and storytelling possibilities. 

This week we welcome to the show, Megan Vaughan, cheese expert and owner of Vaughan Cheese in North Beach, Maryland to discuss beer-washed cheese. Megan breaks down the cheese-making and aging process that involves washing cheese with beer and how that impacts the cheese during the aging as well as the final product. 

She also answers Sarah Ja...

Almost as ubiquitous as a beer and pretzel, there is the classic pairing of beer with cheese. This pairing is also an excellent gateway into the beer world for those just starting on their beer journey, so we decided to do an episode dedicated to beer and cheese. 

We welcome Anne Becerra (Cicerone, Speaker, Consultant: annelikesbeer.com) back to the show to talk through her process of pairing beer with cheese. While there are always the classic three C's for pairing beer with food (Compliment, Contrast, Cut), her approach is more organic. 

She guides us...

Homebrewing has been a topic of discussion many times here on Beer Me, but we haven't had many opportunities to dive into what it looks like to transition from hobbyist to professional. While it is a path that requires tenacity, there are certainly rewarding moments along the way. 

This week, we welcome to the show Jason Bell, Founder of Living the Dream Brewing in Littleton, Colorado. He takes us through his path in kitchens, restaurants, beverage sales, and finally opening a brewery. 

His brewing path started with homebrew, and he describes how his mindset needed to...