Ep. 22-& Chris & Jughandle Brewing Co.

Hi everyone and welcome to this week’s episode of People & Pints & Podcasts! I took an early trip down to Tinton Falls, New Jersey to visit the newly opened Jughandle Brewing Co. I had a wonderful chat with Chris Hannigan, one of the co-owners and brewers, on-air but I also talked with Pete and Mike off-air! The Jughandle team is phenomenal and were very willing to spend their morning chatting with me. Normally I have a beer on the show but as it was about 9:30 am, we decided to hold off. On my next trip, I’m sure we’ll be sharing a few beers!

I ended up coming on a relatively busy morning for the Jughandle team. They had a reporter from a local paper, some homebrewers and an excited 21-year-old with a microphone. Nonetheless, Mike, Peter, and Chris were more than willing to give me their attention and chat for a little bit! When I first arrived Pete took me through the space and we talked about their brewing process and equipment. Pete was very excited to hear that I had started homebrewing and he shared some great tips with me! Pete definitely brought an energy and enthusiasm that I greatly appreciated, peppering our conversation with exclamations like “that’s so cool” and “oh awesome!” He actively shared advice and was genuinely interested in my perspective and my attempts at homebrewing!

A little bit later, Chris joined us, and I quickly noticed their dynamic which Chris later described as the “yin and the yang.” Chris was also very friendly and warm but spoke more softly and quietly. Regardless, there was certainly an atmosphere of fun and goofiness that connected the yin and yang of Jughandle Brewing.

On-air Chris specified the “dichotomy” in beer terms, describing his preference for focusing on the hops and Pete’s appreciation for yeast character. Creating that balance is very important for a new brewery and is certainly an important part of the early success of Jughandle. One aspect that I think Chris explained well was the education of his consumer base. They’ve been brewing a diverse style of beers, which makes their selection much more approachable.

I ended up leaving with a crowler of their Kolsch, which I’m very excited to try! I’ve added it to the collection of my beers but hopefully I’ll get to it soon. I’ll be sure to tweet and/or instagram my reaction to it, so be on the lookout for that!

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Ep. 21-& Caz & Bone Up Key Lime White Ale

Hi everyone and welcome to this week’s episode of People & Pints & Podcasts. This past weekend I traveled up to the Boston area to visit some wonderful friends! On Friday, July 16th, I spent time with my excellent friend Jess (whom I will try to convince to eventually come on the show) before spending Saturday in Boston! Saturday night I was joined by friend of the show, Caz Novak, for his 3rd appearance on the podcast (for Caz’s other episodes click here and here). We finally got to sample some official Bone Up beer and it was very tasty! Liz and Jared, the wonderful team behind Bone Up, were on an earlier episode so you can listen to that conversation here. We also addressed the recent phenomenon of Pokémon Go! It was a sleepy, late-night edition of People & Pints but hopefully, you enjoy it because we sure did!

I spent most of the day just re-exploring Boston and enjoying the sunny, though hot, weather in the city! Jess and I met with Caz and our other friend Jules for a delicious brunch at Lulu’s Allston. Jess and I then walked through Boston, stopping at the Boston Public Market and eventually walking to Trillium in Fort Point.

After Jess left to return to Worcester I rejoined Caz and we got a chance to catch up! We enjoyed the cooler evening and spent some time with other friends around Boston College. Finally, after a very brief attempt to play Pokémon Go we returned to Caz’s dorm to record this episode.

The beer we tried from Bone Up was their Key Lime White Ale, an attempt to mix two delicious things: beer and Key Lime Pie. Ultimately, we enjoyed it! Caz described it as “lime,” which is very accurate, while I explained that it reminded me of the beach. Then, Caz said that Key Lime’s spirit animal is a dachshund wearing a key lime ice cream costume.  I had a little trouble explaining my choice but I kept picturing a chimpanzee. Finally, apropos of our discussion, I said that the beer would be Pikachu and Caz claimed it was Squirtle. Again, we really did enjoy the beer and hope you can try to find it!

 

The last time I had a Bone Up beer

 

We then attempted to get into the cultural craze of Pokémon Go. Caz does not play and doesn’t really have the nostalgic pull, a significant part of the app’s success. Caz said he thinks it’s a great idea but there have been several examples of recklessness that make him, and me, queazy. We agreed that there can be significant benefits to playing a game that essentially makes players get outside and walk around. Everything in moderation, though. There is still plenty of room for debate and conversation, and–certainly–research, around this phenomenon and I hope more intelligent people continue to dissect this app.

Finally, we returned to the beer for a rating. As discussed in last week’s episode, a numerical rating can be tricky and not entirely helpful, so I gave Caz the option to describe the beer in other terms. He very eloquently highlighted the delicious balance of the beer and explained that he enjoyed both the fruit elements and the beer elements. I agreed and added that the feelings this beer stirred up were pleasant and fun, certainly reminding me of summer and the beach. Also, for you number people, I gave it an 8 out of 10.

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Also, check out the new Starving of Thirst EP, Coasts!

Ep. 20-& Nathan & Right Proper Kodachrome Dream(ing) Radler

Hey all, and welcome to another episode of People & Pints & Podcasts! For this week’s episode, I returned to DC and reconnected with Nathan Zeender, head brewer and co-owner of Right Proper Brewing Co. We shared a beer and talked about his role at Right Proper! Listen in as Nathan and I talk about community, nostalgia and beer!

Nathan began his career in beer as a journalist and eventually became an “ambitious homebrewer.” With a few other determined partners, he opened the Right Proper brewpub before expanding to his Brookland location: a production facility and tasting room. The tasting room features a food truck each Saturday and a friendly, knowledgeable staff pouring delicious Right Proper beer.

Nathan and I walked into the back area and sat at his “desk,” a foldable table with papers and tools littered about. We made some space and began our chat. Nathan is an incredibly warm, friendly person and was more than willing to share his story with me.

At one point, I described Right Proper as unique and I wasn’t being patronizing. The Right Proper beers have a distinct flavor and character, a result of Nathan’s (and his team’s) focus on yeast. As Nathan says, their beers have “soul.”

On this episode, Nathan and I shared their “Kodachrome Dream(ing),” a radler. The radler, sometimes called a shandy in America, has a rich history and lore in Europe. Radlers are typical in the summer in Germany and the surrounding countries. In fact, radler beers were very popular in Amsterdam, so it was exciting to taste Nathan’s take on this traditional, refreshing beer. Typically, radler beers are a mix of a simple lager and a soda or sparkling juice. However, Nathan just used a lot of citrus peel, giving KD it’s bright, refreshing quality.

The name, Kodachrome Dream(ing), has a few meanings for Nathan and he gets into them during our review process. Nathan described KD as “vibrant” and I said “zest,” both capitalizing on the beer’s bright quality. For its spirit animal, Nathan referred to his childhood and his love of photography, one namesake for KD. I chose Dory, or any other tropical fish. Lastly, when I asked Nathan for whom he would order this beer, he said Yvan De Baets, the co-founder of de la Senne. I chose a much broader answer, saying that I was just interested in seeing the general public’s reaction to a beer like this. I ultimately really enjoyed this beer.

We ended our conversation by just talking about Right Proper’s role in the local community and how beer can service a local area. We continued to talk about the imagery and associations that a beer like KD can conjure up.

As usual, we attempted to rate the beer! Nathan pushed back against the idea of applying a number to a beer so he stuck with words. I gave my arbitrary number as 8.5/10 but was happier with my impression of the beer, which was nostalgia and home.

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We hope you enjoyed this episode and continue listening to the podcast!