Four Brewers | Craft Beer And Homebrew Podcast

Season 1, Episode 28 - This week, some totally rad brews from our friend Philip Lorenzini, special guests John Ryti and Time Ryan, and Foudre, duders! Long time friend of New Brew Thursday and Four Brewers, Philip Lorenzini, hooked us up with some really great beers, and we invited some friends to spread the beer love, John Ryti, aka Temecula’s Beer Ambassador, and Tim Ryan, aka “Showtime”. We start with a beer that we meant to get to last month on the show, Cascade Brewing Company‘s Foudre #1. This beer is a blend of three soured triple ales and was released in celebration of Cascade’s newly acquired foudre. If you’re not sure what a foudre is, it’s essential a very large wooden barrel, or cask. This photo was taken at Crooked Stave a few years ago and shows a style of foudre. Cascade, Perennial, and Three Taverns Beers. Needless to say, Foudre #1 is pretty great. Cascade used to be a somewhat rare treat for us in these parts, since they are located in Portland, Oregon, but their distribution to SoCal has pi

Season 1, Episode 27 - John and Matt brewed a special grisette-style saison, David Gillanders is back on the show, and we’re drinking a DIPA from Barley Forge Brewing Co.. John and Matt finally did some goddamn brewing, and they made a pretty great brew! Matt got his hands on a “special” strain of yeast (he really didn’t give us any details other than that) and called upon John and his pimp-ass brewing setup to make ten gallons of a grisette-style saison, aptly named Grisette Beta. To date, this is probably one of the best brews that has come from said brewhouse.  John’s Brewhouse It was originally intended to be a 4.0% ABV beer, but due to some miscalculations while mashing, the original gravity came out a little higher than it should have, thus raising the final amount of alcohol in the beer. This beer was very much an experiment for Matt. He was looking to have a solid session-able saison that he could brew the shit out of, and outside of a few tweaks that need to be made, this beer is pretty much what he

Season 1, Episode 26 - David Gillanders is back on the show this week, and we’re drinking beers from Sante Adairius, Jester King, and Fantôme. This week on the show, we try to recreate the magic that is The Festival – brought to you by the Shelton Brothers. Not only do they import some amazing beers from overseas, but they distribute some of the coolest craft breweries in the US. We weren’t able to recreate the bottle list of one of the craziest festivals we’ve ever seen, but damn it did we ever try! Just for good measure, we invited our buddy David along as a thanks for all the Citra. We start out with Witchmaker from Jester King, a rye farmhouse IPA. This beer is a classic farmhouse beer, despite the creepy sparkle eyes on the label that stare right into your soul. Jester King / Fantôme Collaboration Beer. This was just a warm up for the main event – a collaboration between Fantôme and Jester King. It took two continents to get this bad boy into our hands, it’s the Del Rey – but as it turns out, NOT a summe

Season 1, Episode 25 - Put on your fishing waders because this week, we’re knee deep in brews from Kern River Brewing Co., Knee Deep Brewing Co., and Spiteful Brewing Company. Devout craft beer drinkers far and wide make the pilgrimage to central California for the periodic release of Kern River Brewing Company‘s hoppy masterpiece known as Citra double IPA. We just happen to be friends with someone who won the Citra lottery (really, the brewery holds a lottery to buy the beer) and that someone is Mr. David Gillanders, who coincidentally is this week’s guest.  David was gracious enough to bring over a couple bottles to share with us, as well as some other beers he picked up during a recent trip he took to Chicago.  Kern River Brewing Company – Citra Citra is an amazing beer. The beer won gold at GABF in 2011, and it absolutely deserved it. While all of us on the show are big hop heads, Nagel isn’t too fond of the Citra hop, due to its “cat piss and orange” smell (he meant that in a negative way, too). Hey, sou

Season 1, Episode 24 - This week, Matt’s clearing out the cellar. We’ve been at that point in our craft beer journey when we discover the diverse selection of beers available to us, and realize, “Hey! I TOTALLY need to start building my beer cellar up!” So, the first thing we do is seek out anything that might possibly “cellar well”. Well, that’s precisely what Matt did, and now we get to enjoy the fruits of his naive excitement. The main reason Matt decided to do this was to clear out all of the 12 ounce bottles and cans that were taking up space in his cellar. These beers are mainly from the 2006-2009 era. Hair Of The Dog beers. We kick it off with a vertical of Fred from Hair Of The Dog Brewing Company. Jason provided two of the beers, specifically, batches 77 and 87, and Matt brought batch 70. This beer was named after acclaimed beer writer Fred Eckhardt. These beers held up very, very well, to say the least. Hair Of The Dog and Stone Brewing Co. beers. Next up is another brew from Hair Of The Dog, 2006 D

Season 1, Episode 23 - This week, a Duck Duck Gooze side-by-side, and some, er, interesting homebrew from Nagel. Welcome to November. It’s that special time of year when we get together with our families, roast birds in the oven, and drink barrel-aged beer to keep warm in the brisk winter weather. On the show this week, we’re cracking open two beers from The Lost Abbey called Duck Duck Gooze. You may have heard of it. It’s an excellent sour that many beer geeks consider to be a “whalez, bro”. No hype here. It’s fantastic. The Lost Abbey – Duck Duck Gooze 2009 & 2013. Matt really knocked it out of the park for this episode by providing not only one, but two variants of the DDG, one from 2009, and one from the most current 2013 release, which was provided to him by his super-rad boss, Patrick Rue. So, thanks Matt…and Pat! We break away from the drinking for a bit to discuss the recent IPA showdown at Vendome Wine & Spirits in Toluca Lake, CA. The results may surprise you… Greg brought two homebrews for

Season 1, Episode 22 - It’s that special time of the year when pumpkin beers abound. This week, we carve it up. This week on the show, we’ve got two homebrews from our Aussie brother from a different mother, “The Beer Mule”, and two interesting craft beers from Hangar 24 Craft Brewery. Many of you may know The Beer Mule. You know, that globe-trotting-drink-you-under-the-table Aussie dude who also happens to be a pilot? Well, we were lucky enough to get some of his homebrew on the show this week. We kick it off with what we think is his New Zealand hopped Pale Ale (after further reaserch…it is. Motueka & Wai-iti hops) called Kiwi Skunk. It’s an overall refreshing beer that’s crystal clear and vibrant, given that it’s two months old.  The next beer on deck is The Mule’s Flanders Red Ale, Intro To Oak. From all accounts, this year spent probably around a year in secondary souring-up, and was bottled on 9.9.2014. Right off the bat, this beer smelled great. It had all of the usual characteristic that one would

Season 1, Episode 21 - This week on the show, we’re all up in the 2014 Great American Beer Festival. The Great American Beer Festival is America’s largest beer festival, and is held once a year in Denver, Colorado. Greg and John were up there for the festivities this year, and needless to say, they were not dissapointed. On the show this week, we’ll be drinking three award-winning beers from three southern California breweries who all won medals this year at GABF for the first time. GABF 2014 Award-winning SoCal Breweries We start the show with Saint Archer Brewing Co.‘s White Ale. The beer took home a gold at GABF this year, and it’s easy to see why–this beer is delicious. This light, clean, and dry witbier bursts with that signature witbier yeast aroma, and is backed up by a refreshing burst of citrus flavor. Saint Archer is a relatively new brewery out of San Diego, California, and they came running out of the gate with some truly great beers. Seeing them win at GABF was no surprise.  Next up is Rocco Red 

Season 1, Episode 20 - This week, we’re diving into some blind tasting, drinking some Nagelbier, and reaching exponential levels of hoppiness. We’re not messing around this week. We’re coming out swinging with some blind tasting, courtesy of Jason’s girlfriend, and our bud, Sara. Matt accidentally caught a peek of the first beer, and it takes us a seemingly odd amount of time to guess said beer. We’re then a bit blown away by one of the selections and learn that preconceived notions about any particular beer are just that, and beers should be just by the actual product in the bottle, or in this case, the 25.4oz can they are packaged in. Next up is a long overdue homebrew segment. Greg brought us his Belgian strong-something-or-other that he brewed with local homebrewing legend, Brad Daniels. Brad is a local craft beer and homebrewing enthusiast from Anaheim, California, who’s probably best known for is unique and badass home brewery named Peace Brewing. Without getting into much detail, the dude’s brewery has

Season 1, Episode 19 - This week on the show, we harpooned some whalez from the other side of the continent, Brooklyn Brewery. Welcome to Four Brewers, the one-day-late edition. As many of you know, the Great American Beer Festival came to a close last Saturday (…it was AWESOME!), which means we were pretty much in recovery mode when we got home, and couldn’t get the show edited and out on time. Better late than never, right? RIGHT. This week, Matt and his totally awesome rad wife hooked us up with some Brew fromBrooklyn Brewery out of New York. We rarely see Brooklyn Brewery’s beer in this neck of the woods, so it goes without saying that these are quite a treat for us. Brooklyn Brewery Beers. We kick off the show with the only beer made with the Sorachi Ace hop that Matt can stomach, Brooklyn’s Sorachi Ace. Sorachi Ace hops tend to have a very perfume-like nose to them, and can really dominate the overall experience of a beer, since they live somewhere in the neighborhood of 18% alpha acid. This beer both c

Season 1, Episode 18 - This week, we’re going to Germany and celebrating Oktoberfest! It’s Oktoberfest! This week on the show, we’re drinking four different German brews, three of which are Oktoberfest beers from Paulaner, Weihenstephaner, and Hofbräu, and the last, another beer from Weihenstephaner, their Korbinian doppelbock. Greg is studying for his Certified Cicerone® exam, and it just so happens that he’s researching Germany and its breweries and beers. Not only did he provide all of the beer for the show this week, he steps up and drops knowledge on the history of Oktoberfest and its beer. Oktoberfest Beers from Weihenstephaner, Hofbräu, and Paulaner. Also, Weihenstephaner Korbinian Doppelbock for good measure. Oktoberfest began as a festival in 1810 that lasted 16 days, from late September to early October, and celebrated the wedding of Prince Ludwig and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The beer made for the festival, called Märzen (which means “March”), was traditionally brewed in March, and lagered fo

Season 1, Episode 17 - This week we’re trying out some of the awesome beers coming out of Firestone Walker Barrelworks, as well as some midwest flavor from New Glarus. Firestone Walker is regarded as one of the best breweries in America. From their awarding winning IPA, to their barrel-aged blends, Matt Brynildson and crew definitely know how to bring the radness. So, when a brewery of this caliber decides to start producing sour beer, the outcome is obviously going to be nothing short of incredible, right? Yep! We start off with the Bretta Weisse, their Berliner style wheat beer. This beer clocks in at 4.9% ABV, and a total acidity of 7. We’re unclear on what exactly an acidity of 7 actually is, but this beer definitely has a nice balance of tartness and and malty-wheat goodness. Firestone Walker Barrelworks Beers Next on deck from Bottleworks is the Feral One. From Firestone Walker: “We humbly offer you our inaugural Barrelworks bottling on the occasion of our first anniversary—Feral One. A blend of our be

Season 1, Episode 16 - This week, we go to the dark side and are baptized in the blackest of beers.   Roasted in fire, veiled in wax where it stoodBorn in the darkness of dark malts and woodDevoured by organisms, freed spirits drew nearCoating the tongue with the darkest of beers   This week, we travel to the deepest parts of our cellar to sacrifice the darkest of beers upon the alter of the internet, to the Beast, called by his disciples, “Palate.” The ritual begins with a roasted porter implanted with the darkest of coffee beans. Bred for darkness at Smog City Brewing Co., Groundwork Coffee Porter is reminiscent to that of coffee beans drenched in the eternal darkness and evil of chocolate. Smog City Brewing Co. – Groundwork Coffee Porter Born in twilight of a darkening sky in the year 2012, the next victim is an elusive beer that manifests only in the coldest of winters in the northernmost part of the land, from a place known as Hill-Farmstead. Hill Farmstead – Twilight of the Idols Twilight of the Idols t

Season 1, Episode 15 - This week, We ‘mule’ some beer from Massachusetts and up our game with live Google Hangout + IRC Chatroom!  This week on the show, Greg brings in two beers brought by houseguests @2BeerGuys and@aljpeace from coastal Massachusetts. They were in town for Disneyland and the 2014 Beer Bloggers Conference and left some fun session beers from Notch Brewing Co in the fridge–  Hootenanny Berliner Weisse and Cerne Pivo. Jason hand-muled his beers. Mystic Brewing’s Day of Doom, and Spencer Brewery’s Trappist Ale. Notch Brewing Beers With Notch’s Hootenanny, we discuss common off flavors in some Berliner Weiss’ like butyric acid, present from oxygen getting in a sour mash. Notch’s is clean and lacto-tart! We also discuss clarity in the style. We loosen the belt one notch for Notch Brewing’s Černé Pivo, and are shocked at something that is commonly present in most dark lagers, but not this beer. Is it weird? Good? Bad? Listen and find out! Spencer Trappist Ale is up next…you know, America’s first a

Season 1, Episode 14 - This week, a show four years in the making. Matt shares four different sours that he brewed in 2010, along with a final blend of the four beers. This week on the show, we’re going “back in time”, so to speak. We recorded this episode back in June with Denise Ratfield, but it never made it to the interwebs. Well, it’s finally here, and it’s pretty great. We kick the show off with two stellar beers from Jester King Brewery out Austin, Texas. The first beer on deck is a farmhouse ale called El Cedro, made with Citra hops, aged on Spanish cedar spirals, and bottle conditioned with brettanomyces. Jester King Beers The next beer on deck was brought to us by Andrew Bell, Matt’s co-worker at The Bruery, who purchased it at Jester King during one of his recent trips to Texas. Nocturn Chrysalis is an oak-aged sour ale made with Marion blackberries from the state of Oregon. This is a rather remarkable beer—almost akin to eating fresh pie. Even though it’s made with blackberries, dark cherry notes

Season 1, Episode 13 - This week on 4B: English IPA, English porter, and two homebrews with issues. Welcome to lucky episode thirteen of Four Brewers! This week is a bit all over the place for us. We kick the show off with what is probably one of the most tradition and easy to find IPAs on the market, Samuel Smith’s India Ale. India Pale Ale tends to be a very regional beer, meaning that it can vary widely in translation. East coast IPA, for example, is thought of as being more balanced and malt forward, and greatly influenced by traditional English IPA. Keeping with that logic, one would think that this IPA from Samuel Smith’s would be a malt bomb of an IPA. But that’s actually not the case here. While this IPA is indeed quite balanced as far as IPA goes, the malt backbone is actually quite pleasant and not very dominating. It has a nice bitterness and comes off quite refreshing. It’s totally worth trying out sometime, and will give you an idea of what an actual English IPA is all about. Samuel Smith Beers S

Season 1, Episode 12 - Co-founder of Almanac Beer Co., Jesse Friedman, joins us for a healthy dose of Almanac brews, gives insight on the company’s history, and their place in the craft beer world. This week, we’re drinking not one, not two, not three, but FOUR different Almanac beers.Jesse Friedman, co-founder of Almanac Beer Co., crashes the party via Google Hangouts to chat about his beer, get thrown a few softballs, and drink some Almanac brews with us. Almanac Beer Co., located in San Jose, CA, was founded in 2010, and has already made waves in the beer scene with their outstanding barrel-aged beers, ranging from bourbon porter, to sour blonde fruit ales. Founders Jesse Friedman and Damian Fagan first met in their local homebrew club, where Jesse happened to sample a homebrew made by Damian that had the quality, taste, and presentation of a commercial beer. Jesse gets into this a bit more on the show, as well as what makes their brewery unique in its vision. Almanac Beer Co. – Episode 12 Beers The first

Season 1, Episode 11 - Newport Beach Brewing Company brewmaster, Derek Bougie, joins us for a mouthwatering pucker-fest, featuring two great brews from Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, and three sour homebrews from Derek himself. This week on Four Brewers, our friend and special guest, Derek Bougie is bringing his beer geek “A” game as well as his unique style of ball-busting. We start off with two great beers from Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, out of Dexter, Michigan. The first beer is a collaboration with Maui Brewing Company called “Sobrehumano Palena ‘ole” (which means “superhuman” and “without limits”), a wild ale made with cherries and liliko’i fruits. Jolly Pumpkin, Maui Brewing, and Anchorage Brewing Collaborations The second beer is another collaboration ale, but this time between Jolly Pumpkin andAnchorage Brewing Co. called “Calabaza Boreal“, a saison style ale made with grapefruit peel, grapefruit juice and peppercorns. It almost comes off sort of like an IPA with it’s grapefruit character, and is an int

Season 1, Episode 10 - This week, we’re drinking the saison rumored to be the source of Wyeast Laboratories 3711 saison yeast, a delicious sour from Allagash, stout from Freeport, Maine, and finally, Matt’s first small batch brew in quite a long time. This week, we’re joined once again by our in-house special guests Sara and Yvonne, and it gets a little crazy this week. We start off with some “discussion” on the movie The Godfather, and drink a tasty brew from Brasserie Thiriez called “Extra“, a dry-hopped french farmhouse ale, rumored to be the source of Wyeast’s 3711 French Saison ale yeast. Brasserie Thiriez, Allagash Brewing Company, and Maine Beer Company After that, we dive into a couple of excellent beers via Mr. Nagel, Allagash Brewing Company‘s Coolship Cerise, and Maine Beer Company‘s Mean Old Tom. Coolship Cerise is an open-fermented sour ale aged in oak barrels with cherries, and it’s nothing short of delicious. Greg gives us a some insight on how Coolship is made, fresh off his recent trip to the

Season 1, Episode 9 - This week, we’re sippin’ on two delicious IPAs, both of which involve Beachwood Brewing, and then we’re going to the dark side with John’s black oatmeal IPA, Oats N’ Bros. Joined by our in-house special guests Sara and Yvonne, we kick off the show this week with Beachwood Brewing‘s third anniversary IPA, aptly named “Greenshift“, which is made with nearly every hop under the sun. Well, not really, but it’s got a butt-load of hops in it, and it’s surprisingly smooth for being a 10% ABV beer. Beachwood Brewing has really been kicking ass this last year, and we couldn’t be happier for them and to celebrate their third anniversary with them. Stone Brewing Co./Beachwood Brewing/Heretic Brewing – Unapologetic IPA and Beachwood Brewing’s Greenshift IPA Next up, we’re drinking another beer that Beachwood had a part in, called “Unapologetic IPA.” A collaboration between Stone Brewing Co., Beachwood Brewing, and Heretic Brewing Co., this IPA was brewed with all experimental hops, which give it a v