Just ahead of their Atlanta stop on their 40th Anniversary Tour, Foreigner guitarist, craft beer enthusiast, and Cicerone Certified Beer Server Bruce Watson chats with the Beer Guys about craft beer and their "VIB" meet and greet craft beer tastings he hosts along with bandmate Michael Bluestein.
Beer has a long history in the United States and the world.
In America, we have had thousands of breweries through the ages. And when you've got history, you've got collectors.
We talked to two dedicated collectors of "breweriana," Lee Dickson and Ken Jones. We were privileged to get a look of just a tiny portion of their collections, and talk about how you get started in collecting breweriana. Even if it's just for fun - and no, that can of Billy Beer your uncle gave you 10 years ago isn't worth anything.
The annual Atlanta Breweriana Collectibles Show is Saturday, July 29.
9am-2pm at:
Greater Good BBQ
4431 Hugh Howell Road
Tucker, GA 30084
If you have any questions, contact Ken at abico1876@yahoo.com
Truck and Tap's Beers of the Week:
- Omnipollo Shploing!
- Jailhouse Five-O
- Cigar City Oatmeal raisin cookie
Headlines - Sponsored by Your Pie Perimeter
This week, the Beer Guys talk to Birmingham's second-oldest brewery, Avondale. Head brewer Nate Darnell joins us to talk about the Alabama brewery's busy schedule and more!
This week, we're talking to Tom Moran from Roswell's Peach & The Porkchop about food and beer pairings.
In honor of the 20th anniversary of one of the most iconic beer bars in the nation, we took our show on the road to Decatur, GA this week. We talked to the owners of the Brick Store pub...as well as a couple of extra interviews too!
This week, we're talking to Skip Welsh, owner of NW Georgia's first brewery - Phantom Horse.
The three Kosoris(es?) were in the studio. Robin, Tamara and Brian are the family members behind Marietta's Viking Alchemist Meadery.
If you think that mead is that cloyingly sweet alcohol they serve at your local Renaissance Festival, you need to try these out. In fact, according to Robin, if you won't really get a honey flavor from their meads.
Plus, we learn how to brew your own mead (hint: it's pretty easy to get started!)
Plus, Brian Hewitt has his Cigar in 60, and Jay Williams checks out Red Hare Brewing's Sparkling Grapefruit soda.
On this week's show, we're talking to Keith Yager, the owner and brewmaster for Huntsville's Yellowhammer Brewing.
Also, we remember Dan Rosen, an Atlanta beer icon who passed away far too soon.
A busy show this week, as we had both Good Word Brewing in the house, along with the crew that's building Good Word, CRL Contracting! Plus, we got a pizza surprise from Your Pie Perimeter!
This week's episode brings Gainesville's Left Nut Brewing into the studio. Brewmaster Jason Ford and R&D director Rick Foote answer our questions. And yes, we do ask the question.
Plus, a podcast extra - if you want to know what ranch dressing soda tastes like, we've got the answer!
The gents behind Carrolton's first production brewery joins us on the show today. We talked about starting up a new brewery in the western suburbs of Atlanta, growing hops and the benefit of having an in house print shop!
The crew behind Torched Hop Brewpub joined us in studio today. Co-Owner Chris Bivens joined us to talk about their journey from a pizza and salad idea to a full-fledged restaurant.
Plus, we talk about the controversy over ABInbev's decision not to sell South African hops to independent breweries.
This week's show comes on the heels of the news that Ab-InBev "partnered" with North Carolina craft brew stalwart Wicked Weed Brewing. When the largest brewer in the world buys one of the "craftiest" companies out there, it's sure to ruffle some feathers. So that's what we talked about.
We broadcast at Cherry Street Brewing Cooperative, who recently celebrated their anniversary. The brewpub out of Cumming, Georgia, is growing and distributing rapidly, and that keeps Nick Tanner's team busy!
If you're out and about this weekend, we'll be at the Wrecking Bar's Wild Wild Beer Festival (without Wicked Weed, apparently) as well as the Gwinnett Beer Fest. Come out and say hi to us. Cheers! and DRINK LOCAL.
- SweetWater 420 Fest hit Centennial Olympic Park, and as always, it was a huge hit (courtesy SweetWater 420 Fest)
The Beer Guys dusted off their Chacos and hit the SweetWater 420 Festival!
Since it's one of the largest beer (and music and comedy) festivals in the state, we figured it was a good time to talk about beer fests. Specifically, some of the great ones in the southeast (and the country), and our opinions on what makes a great beer fest. Also, some tips for newbies on surviving one!
We broadcast from the mobile Airstream studios of 30A Radio, so we talked to Cory Davis about the beer scene in the Florida panhandle. Some great information for folks looking to travel south on vacation this summer.
Truck and Tap's Beers of the Week
At the SweetWater Experience tent, they really pulled out the stops. With 28 beers on tap - almost every one only available in limited amounts and usually at the brewery - we took advantage of it.
First, we sampled SweetWater's Mexican Lager, a great easy drinker for beach, parties...or concerts!
But next, Tim and Aaron were able to introduce Cory to one of their favorite SweetWater beers, the Exodus Porter. And in no way should this serve as a plea for SweetWater to return this brew back into production.....
Headlines (sponsored by Your Pie Perimeter):
- Brass Tap expanding to Tuscaloosa
- Scofflaw doubling production capacity - 4 new 90 barrel tanks coming - from CRL Contracting!
- Shelton Brothers Festival coming to Atlanta
- Printer’s Ale Manufacturing opens up first production brewery in Carrolton.
- New Realm seeking development bonds from the city of Atlanta.
- Cherry Street has expanded production - look for 16oz cans coming this summer.
Coming up next week? Speaking of Cherry Street Brewing Cooperative, we'll be up in Cumming to help celebrate their anniversary. Have a great week, join us on the socials, and don't forget...DRINK LOCAL!
Special thanks to Corey Davis and the crew from 30A Radio for their awesome hospitality!
- Are you looking into building your own brewery? CRL Contracting can help!
- Sign up for THIS WEEK IN GEORGIA BEER (in the right column) and get Tim’s great listing of all events and releases for the week…and be entered to win some awesome swag!
- Thanks for listening and supporting the show! If you like what you’re hearing and seeing, consider becoming a patron! Details here.
- As Georgia was a bit behind the times in 1990 Friends Brewing had to personally pull their beer to the distributor with their beer cart. (Credit: Dow Scoggins)
Max Lager's and Friends Brewing bring a long gone Georgia beer back to life
Opened in Helen in 1990, Friends Brewing and the Helenboch Brewery was Georgia's first craft brewery. It was a very different time for beer in Georgia, and across the US. Microbrew was the term used for what we call craft beer today, Georgia still had a 6% cap on ABV, lagers were the preferred styles, and Friends Brewing was just the 175th microbrewery in the US.
Friends made a great impression on the beer scene when they launched, Helenboch won silver at the Great American Beer Festival in 1989 and Helenboch Oktoberfest took gold in 1991. The famed beer writer Michael Jackson visited the brewery as well, and no visit to Georgia is complete without a trip to Waffle House where Jackson experienced the greatness of hash browns served scattered, smothered, covered, topped, and chunked.
- Michael Jackson once visited Friends Brewing. After sharing their beers with him they took him to Waffle House. Welcome to Georgia, Mr. Jackson. (Credit: Rick Roberts/Dow Scoggins)
Helenboch Brewery Produced Award Winning Beers
Helenboch beer was brewed in Helen from 1990-1991 and contract brewed through 1998. After being gone for nearly 20 years a Facebook message to Friends Brewing's President Dow Scoggins from Helenback Race Series founder Dan Wilkins set the wheels in motion to bring it back to life. Scoggins posted to see if a brewery would let him brew his beer with them... or give him $500,000 to re-open a brewery. He didn't get any funding offers but Max Lager's John Roberts saw the post and reached out to Dow and in short order they agreed to make Helenboch happen again.
As with many microbreweries of the day Friends Brewing is no more, but the original owners are still very passionate about beer. I sat down recently with Rick Roberts, Frank Cronin, and Dow Scoggins from Friends; John Roberts from Max Lager's; and Dan Wilkins from the Helenback Race Series to sample and talk about this old/new brew and the memories it brought back.
You can try Helenboch beer at Max Lager's now "until it's gone" or run the Helenback Race Series on April 29th and enjoy a pour at the finish line.
- The modern version of Helenboch beer, sampled at Max Lager's Brewpub in Atlanta, GA. Get it while you can.
- A six-pack of the original Helenboch beer still survives after nearly 20 years.
We talk to Brandon Hintz, the owner of North Carolina's Currahee Brewing and Alpharetta's Hop Alley Brewpub.
We're talking all about Athens-area beers with Chris Herron, CEO of Creature Comforts Brewing Company, Brian Roth of Southern Brewing Company and Owen Ogletree from Brewtopia Events.
Owen was kind enough to invite us to broadcast from the 22nd annual festival, and it was awesome as expected. The guys from Scofflaw also crashed the party too!
Have a great week, check out beerguysradio.com, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter...and DRINK LOCAL!
We are featuring the crew from Madison, AL's Rocket Republic Brewing Company on this week's show.
Tim and Aaron sat down at the Porter Beer Bar with Nick Purdy from Wild Heaven Beer. We had a great conversation, ranging from SB85's impact on their brewery, the plans for the second location, and how to get the best watermelon flavor out of a watermelon (hint: it involves lots of work).
No foolin' around here! We attended TinyPalooza 2.5 at Snellville's Lincoln Fill Station. Before we went around sampling some amazing beers, and after the wind tried to literally take our production equipment away, we were able to talk to Athens newest brewpub in planning, Akademia.
On a dark and stormy night, we headed out to TopGolf Midtown for the finals of their winter league.
As luck would have it, we were joined by Tucker Berta-Sarkisian and Brian "Diggs" Diggelmann from SweetWater Brewing, Gina Silva and Tyler Vigue from TopGolf, and the one and only Ale Sharpton!
Spring Beers were on the discussion list, and we talked about the change in season, and the transition from maltier, darker beers to hops and saisons.
Truck and Tap's Beers of the Week:
Lots of them. Ale shared some beers from his recent trip to Charlotte, including NoDa's Hop Cakes Double IPA. Plus, SweetWater's Wookie Down Imperial Red Ale, its newest Dank Tank Release. And 420, Jekyll's Hop Dang Diggity....and more!
Headlines (Sponsored by Your Pie Perimeter)
SB85 HAS PASSED! Finally, Georgia becomes the last state to allow direct sales for brewers and distillers in the state. What does that mean? Basically, we will no longer have to deal with the farce of buying a tour and getting free samples. Yes, that means that you can actually go to a brewery and order a pint of their beer. Amazing stuff on 2017. Looks like the rules will go into effect late summer or early fall of this year, so stay tuned.
One great announcement on the heels of this - Wild Heaven will open a second location on the Beltline.
Other news headlines:
- Phil Ferrell running for AHA Board of Governors
- Max Lager’s revives one of Georgia’s first craft beers: Helenboch lager from Friends Brewing Co.
- Tennessee’s Mill Creek Brewing Signs agreement to distro in Alabama
- Student on Spring Break caught with truckload of natty light
- Michelin star brewery the future for craft beer?
- Stone makes beer out of sewage water
- Paul Ryan ties have some people boycotting Ballast Point
Next week, we're continuing this road trip. We are headed to the Lincoln Fill Station in Snellville, checking out TinyPalooza 2.5. Cheers!
We're talking to Reformation, Jekyll and TopGolf Alpharetta this week.
We talk to Molly Gunn and Nick Rutherford, the duo behind Atlanta's iconic beer bar, The Porter in Little Five Points. Cheers!
If you're like Aaron, you love Asian food, but hate the beer selection.
Andy Tan and Chris Collier aim to change that. They have just opened up Hopstix. The Chamblee restaurant combines Asian fusion cuisine (including sushi hot dogs and amazing ramen) along with craft beer brewed on site. We talk about Andy and Chris' journeys through craft beer, their relationship with the Covert Hops homebrew club, and more!
Truck and Tap's Beers of the Week:
- Hopstix English Mild
- Terrapin Brewing Company “Lucille” Imperial Stout
Headlines - Brought to you by Your Pie Perimeter!
- Tim gives us an update on SB 85...not a lot of movement this week.
- Same goes for the Georgia Brunch Bill.
- ASW distillery and Monday night teamed up for a collaborative whiskey.
- Craft beer.com’s readers vote on best beer bar in each state. OTBX, Porter are the winners in Alabama and Georgia, respectively.
- Savannah River Brewing opens its doors, Augusta’s second brewery.
- Red Clay Brewing and Auburn team up to protect a rare snake
- Craft Brew Alliance sued because Kona isn’t brewed in Hawaii
Coming up next week, we'll be on location, talking to the team behind one of the best beer bars in the country, The Porter! Thanks for listening, and we'll talk to you next week.
- Are you looking into building your own brewery? CRL Contracting can help!
- Get your tickets for the Suwanee Beer Fest! March 18th. Use Promo Code BEERGUYSRADIO for special early bird pricing ($45) - offer ends March 11!
- Sign up for THIS WEEK IN GEORGIA BEER (in the right column) and get Tim’s great listing of all events and releases for the week…and be entered to win some awesome swag!
- This week’s Drink This Beer is with Rob Sama, owner of Chicago’s Baderbrau. Get it wherever you get your podcasts!
- Thanks for listening and supporting the show! If you like what you’re hearing and seeing, consider becoming a patron! Details here.
- Big Beach Brewing's growler in its natural element - the outdoors.
Spring is in the air, and we're thinking about the great outdoors.
So what better way to celebrate the mild weather with a coastal brewery?
Big Beach Brewing Company from Gulf Shores, Alabama, joined us for this episode. We talked to head brewer Rod Murray and co-owner Jim Schamburger about their craft beer journey, the differences in brewing beer for the beach crowd, and their rapid growth over the year.
We also had Brandon King in studio. He's one of the minds behind two great craft beer destinations - The Stout Brothers / Smyrna Beer Market and The Nest restaurant in Kennesaw. We talked beer, barbecue...and their anniversary party that will feature such things as smoked alligator.
Truck and Tap Beers of the Week:
- Big Beach Brewing Rod’s Reel Cream Ale
- Big Beach Brewing For the love of Mosaic IPA
- Orpheus Brewing's Maenads Tripel
Headlines (brought to you by Your Pie Perimeter)
- Tim gave us an update on SB 85
- The Georgia Brunch Bill is front and center on the minds of many restaurateurs across the state.
- Atlanta magazine 50 best bars. Including some great beer bars, like Wrecking Bar, Brick Store, Porter, Leon’s, Argosy and more.
- Sweetwater celebrated its 20th anniversary with an Atlanta legend.
- Hopstix set to open in Chamblee , and we’ll have owner Andy Tan on next week
Thanks for listening! Coming up next week, we'll talk to the Atlanta metro's newest brewpub, Hopstix! See you on the socials, and don't forget to DRINK LOCAL. Cheers!
- Are you looking into building your own brewery? CRL Contracting can help!
- Sign up for THIS WEEK IN GEORGIA BEER (in the right column) and get Tim’s great listing of all events and releases for the week…and be entered to win some awesome swag!
- This week’s Drink This Beer is with Rob Sama, owner of Chicago’s Baderbrau. Get it wherever you get your podcasts!
- Thanks for listening and supporting the show! If you like what you’re hearing and seeing, consider becoming a patron! Details here.