Tag: podcasts

Draught Diversions: A 6 Pack of Beer Blogs/Websites

Draught Diversion

Draught Diversions is the catchall label for mini-rants, think-pieces, and posts that don’t just focus on one beer here at The Tap Takeover. We hope you don’t grow too weary of the alcohol alliterative names we use…

This post could be seen as a “cousin” to my second Draught Diversion post which focused on podcasts. This time around I’m going to highlight a six pack of Beer Web sites/Blogs I visit every day and follow on twitter. Most people on the internets with an interest in craft beer are already visiting Beer Advocate (and the Forums), so I’ll only mention that one right here. The others? Well, let’s take a look. I’ll go through these alphabetically. If you have any suggestions, please let me know in the comments.

Brewbound (Twitter: @Brewbound)

Brewbound is probably the top website when it comes to beer news and releases as well as craft beer jobs. Although the Web site is geared more towards “craft brewers with brands sold on- and off-premise, beer distributors, retailers, investors and industry suppliers” there’s still a wealth of interesting information for folks like myself who enjoy the delicious beverage and want to know more about what’s going on in the industry. If you want a job in the beer industry, this is the website you want to visit every day.

On his weekly Craft Beer Cast, Al Gattullo almost always reads a story or two from Brewbound. Simply put, a nearly indispensable news site for craft beer.

Brew Jersey by Chris Casellani (Twitter: @WhyAmINotThere)

Going local for NJ is Brew Jersey, written by Chris Casellani. Brew Jersey is a “sub site” of the Best of NJ web site which promotes fun and interesting things about and to do in NJ. I’ve referenced Brew Jersey in a few of my Draught Diversions Brewery visit posts as resources or “for further reading.” Chris does a fantastic job of providing history of each brewery and a profile of the folks who started the brewery and make the beer. Essentially, each time I read a new installment of the semi-regularly released series, I feel very compelled to visit the brewery about which I just read.

If you are not from New Jersey and you are going to visit New Jersey, this is probably the first web site you’ll want to visit to get an idea of the 70+ (and growing) breweries in the Great Garden State where you’d like to get a flight of a couple of pints.

Craft Beer & Brewing (Twitter: @CraftBeerBrew)

I’ve mentioned John Holl on this blog a few times, he’s one of the pre-eminent beer journalists/writers today. As he’s a New Jersey guy, I naturally gravitate to what he has to say about beer (even if I don’t always agree with him). I’d been following @CraftBeerBrew on twitter for some time, and reading Craft Beer & Brewing for quite a while, too. The professional-level reviews at Craft Beer and Brewing often consist of a panel of reviewers, which are brief yet very informative.

Craft Beer & Brewing also has a great Weekly Podcast.

MyBeerBuzz.com (Twitter: @mybeerbuzz)

One of my favorite Web sites/blogs in the online beer community is MyBeerBuzz.com. Bill Cord is the “Founder, owner, author, graphic designer, CEO, CFO, webmaster, president, mechanic and janitor” for mybeerbuzz and one might guess he doesn’t sleep very much, especially when you learn he also produces and co-hosts a weekly radio show

What makes MyBeerBuzz.com so indispensable? Content, content, content. Strike that. Good content, good content, good content. Bill seems to tirelessly (and joyfully) comb beer news websites for all sorts of beer news and my favorite feature, future beer releases which often included bottle and/or can labels.

Bill is relatively local to me, based in Scranton, PA, so while mybeerbuzz does always feature brews from across the country (and world), it is nice to see some focus on PA breweries. As much as I love my home state of New Jersey, I feel very fortunate that Pennsylvania is a neighboring state since they have such a rich history and variety of excellent breweries.

Porch Drinking (Twitter: @PorchDrinkingCO)

For a really wide look at Craft Beer across America, Porch Drinking is one of the most comprehensive, professional web sites dedicated to that fine adult beverage. There’s a large team of contributors, a pretty wide swath of categories for the content/posts, including great reviews to help you find a good beer, or just read about beer in general.

I started following Porch Drinking about a year ago on twitter and I’ve clicked on the majority of their articles. On the whole, well written, informative, interesting, and professional. Another thing I like about the team of contributors as that there’s a pretty good gender balance, showing again that more than just neck-bearded dude-bros enjoy craft beer and have smart things to say about craft beer.

Stout and Stilettos (Twitter: @StoutsStilettos)

Stouts and Stilettos is a wonderful, fun website that highlights “All things #craftbeer, from the female perspective. Content curated by craft beer-loving ladies.” A nice variety of content from beer reviews to brewery reviews to news, these ladies cover it all. A nice looking web site and good content help to make this a site I return to regulary.

Like Porch Drinking, I find myself clicking on a lot of the articles the @StoutsStilettos account tweets, especially those by Chelsie Markel. They’ve even collaborated with Boneshire Brew Works brewery in Harrisburg, PA for a beer that seems to be squarely in my palette’s wheelhouse: Oatmeal Cookie Stout.

One more for the road…

Though not exclusively about beer, Paste Magazine features quite a bit of quality beer writing, including their lists like the regular blind taste-rankings for styles of beer including the most recent (as of this post here at the Tap Takeover) featuring 103 Christmas/Winter Beers

Draught Diversions: Beer Podcasts

Draught Diversion

Draught Diversions is the catchall label for mini-rants, think-pieces, and basically non-review posts here at the Tap Takeover. We hope you don’t grow too weary of the alcohol alliterative names we use…

Podcasts. They are ubiquitous. Since dropping SiriusXM Radio a few years ago, much of the time in my car is passed (along with a couple of hours at work) with either audio books or podcasts playing as my soundtrack. I’ve even appeared on a few podcasts and have considered starting a beer-related podcast with a good friend.

Be that as it may, the variety of podcasts in my listening queue ranges from a radio show that drops their daily show into iTunes, several geeky/science fiction and fantasy podcasts, and the subject of today’s Draught Diversion – Beer Podcasts. There are many, many beer podcasts available through the various providers like iTunes, but three have made their way into my constant rotation. After I go over them here, please let me know in the comments any beer-related podcasts you think I should be trying.

These podcasts will have some New Jersey/Northeast Leanings…

Steal This Beer
http://www.stealthisbeer.com/ | iTunes

Few beer people and brewers in NJ are as well-known or as respected as Augie Carton, owner of Carton Brewing. His beers smash all expectations of what beer can be and are extremely sought-after across the country. Augie is the chief imbiber on the podcast and he is joined on most episodes by Brian Casse of the I Drink Good Beer blog, Justin Kennedy and beer-writer extraordinaire John Holl where they most often record at Barcade in Jersey City, NJ.

In 100+ episodes over the past couple of years with about one new episode per week, the crew have had a range of guests on the show including David Walker of Firestone Walker brewery, Jason Perkins of Allagash Brewing, and Jeremy Lees of NJ’s Flounder Brewing, among others. With the hosts living in NJ/Northeast, there’s a natural focus on breweries and beer people in the region, but those guests account for maybe about half of the episodes.

There is always lively discussion about various beer topics ranging from new breweries, the intricacies of beer styles, mini-rants about untapped, or whatever craft brewer AB InBev recently purchased. Most importantly, the heart of every show is the beer in the black glass. Why a black glass? So no characteristics of the beer can give clues as to what the beer is. Guests bring on a beer and try to stump our fine hosts. Or rather, the hosts tend to stump themselves when trying to guess what beer is in the black glass, like when they thought a stout was a pilsner.

All told, a fun way to pass an hour of listening time and a great way to enhance your knowledge and enjoyment of beer with a few folks who are just hanging and shooting the shit.

After Two Beers (All About Beer Magazine)
http://allaboutbeer.com/podcast/ | iTunes

The episodes here are less frequent, but the focus is slightly different. John Holl hosts this one with the podcast functioning more as a one-on-one interview than a roundtable that Steal This Beer is. This podcast launched in 2016 and new episodes drop about once per month.

Because John has been writing about beer for so long and published a few books, he’s had the opportunity to speak to a wide range of people over the past year, including Phil Markowski of Two Roads Brewing in CT, Laura Bell of Bells’ Brewery in MI, and Rebecca Newman of Summit Brewing in MN among others.

The one-on-one element of this podcast allows a bit more of a spotlight to shine on the guests John has on the podcast.

Al Gatullo’s Craft Beer Cast
http://am970theanswer.com/content/all/al-gattullo-craft-beer | iTunes

Al is a local NJ guy and this is the most local of the three podcasts I’ve mentioned. Al’s Craft Beer Cast is also the beer podcast I most recently “discovered.” Al is a producer on Joe Piscopo’s radio show on AM970 the answer and on Saturday nights, Al broadcasts his beer show where he’s been talking beer since early 2016. Luckily for those of us who either don’t get reception of the radio station or aren’t otherwise able to listen on Saturday Nights, the radio show is available on Sundays in iTunes.

Many of Al’s guests have been local NJ brewers like the folks behind Jughandle Brewing in Tinton Falls, NJ and Departed Soles in Jersey City, NJ. Al also had non-NJ guests like Jim Koch of Samuel Adams/Boston Beer, Marcus Englet of Weihenstephaner, Germany and Greg Koch of Stone Brewing. Al does a great job with these interviews, and will often take his show on the road to NJ locations like Paragon Tap & Table in Clark, NJ which has a great beer selection. I’ve had dinner a few times with my folks who live in the next town over/my hometown.

Similar to how Augie and crew of Steal this Beer do their black glass thing, Al does a Suds and Duds segment where he talks about recent beers he had and enjoyed, or didn’t enjoy.

All three of these shows give a slightly different perspective, but what binds them all together is the love of good beer and sharing that passion for the pint with others.

If you haven’t listened to any of these, go to iTunes or their respective websites and give a listen.

Ein Prosit!