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The four basic ingredients in beer are malt, hops, yeast and water. In the current beer climate, hops are the rock stars, and yeast gets some attention, especially when it comes to Belgian-style beers but malt tends to be unjustly overlooked. In this episode Dan aims to correct that by visiting Troubadour Maltings, a working malthouse, and speaking to the owners to unlock malt’s mysteries. Follow Troubadour on Twitter and Instagram. Troubadour is a member of the Craft Maltsters Guild. Thanks again to Chris Schooley and Steve Clark from Troubadour Maltings for allowing us to visit and taking the time to talk to us. Turning Grain Into Malt

Summertime is vacation time, and a great time to learn about beer by going on a beer-cation. Beer Tourism is a real and growing industry, as beer lovers trek across the country and around the world to visit new breweries and old favorites, or seek out the local beer scene on their annual family trip.  Visiting breweries, taking tours and talking to brewers or staff is one of the most fun ways to expand your knowledge of our favorite drink. Breweries mentioned in this episode: * Allagash Brewing * Atlantic Brewing * Bar Harbor Brewing * Bissell Brothers * Bunker Brewing * Crop Bistro * Foundation Brewing * Gritty McDuff’s Brewing Company * Liquid Riot Bottling Company * Lost Nation Brewing * Maine Beer Company * Otter Creek * Rising Tide Brewing Company * Rock Art Brewery * Sea Dog Brewing * Smuttynose Brewing * Von Trappe Brewing State Brewers’ Associations * Maine * New Jersey * Vermont Beer Tourism Companies The Maine Brew Bus Company t

Proper beer service may not be something the average beer drinker spends a lot of time thinking about, but as more and more people discover the world beyond the American Lager, how to serve a beer right becomes an increasingly common topic of discussion. To learn the best way to consume our favorite adult beverage, Dan visits renowned restaurant and beer bar Cloverleaf Tavern in Caldwell, NJ, where he meets owner and General Manager Ryan Dorchak. As a certified cicerone, Ryan is more than qualified to teach us how to treat our beer, what’s the best temperature to drink it at, what glass to serve it in, and how to pour it. Be sure to listen all the way to the end of the interview for Ryan’s announcement about Cloverleaf’s Dogfish Head event in September! Cloverleaf Tavern Facebook – Twitter – Instagram – Web Here are pictures of some of the mementos on the wall at Cloverleaf.  The statute Ryan mentioned in the show about women not being allowed in bars is noted in the article from September 1933. It reads as follows: “Section 6: No woman shall be served with alcoholic beverages directly over any bar, nor shall minors be allowed in any room in which any bar is located, unless accompanied by a parent.”  Cicerone More information about the Cicerone Certification Program can be found here. Freezy Freakies

Listen to Dan McD tell the story of Belgian Witbier, a thousand-year-old style of beer that fell out of favor in the 20th century and had stopped being brewed, and the single man who brought it back from the dead to a place of prominence in the beer pantheon. Witbier Belgian Witbier from the BJCP Style Guidelines Beers White Ale: * Hoegaarden. I think that glass must have six sides on the bottom, not eight. * Blue Moon * Shock Top * Allagash White * Samuel Adams Cold Snap White IPA: * New Belgium Accumulation * Harpoon Long Thaw * Deschutes Chainbreaker When I was in Delaware to run the marathon, 3rd Wave, a local Delaware brewery, was the official craft beer partner of the race (or something like that). They were pouring a white IPA called Run Wit It at the finish. As I mentioned on the show, I’m not particular partial to this hybrid style of beer, but this one was better than most I’ve had. They actually did a decent job trying to balance the characteristics of the two styles, rather than just letting them fight it out. Pierre Celis Pierre Celis, Maestro of White Beer – This piece was written before Mr. Celis passed away in 2011. Pierre Celis: A Conversation in Hoegaarden  

At its most basic, beer is made using four key ingredients: malted grain, water, yeast, and hops. In this episode, Dan travels to Angry Erik Brewing where he is joined by Matt Storch of Bentley B. Hops to learn all about hops, what they are, where they come from and what they’re doing in beer. Very special thanks to Matt for joining me on this podcast, and to Heide, Erik, Will and everyone at Angry Erik for letting us record the podcast there. Bentley B. Hampton man grows key ingredient of beer Bentley B. Hops is online and on Facebook. Support the kickstarter campaign to expand the hopyard: Bentley B. Hops: 1 Project, 2 Communities Angry Erik Brewing Angry Erik is located at 10 Millpond Drive (Unit #8) in Lafayette, NJ. You can find them at AngryErik.com and on Facebook. You can also follow them on Untappd. All About Hops The “Barth Report” mentioned in the show is produced by the Barth-Haas Group. For The Love of Hops was written by Stan Heironymus. Read his blog Appellation Beer or follow him on Twitter to learn more about hops. More information about the hop varieties mentioned in the show can be found on the Hopunion website. Mittlefruh. M-I-T-T-E-L-F-R-U-H. Mittlefruh.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! To honor the one day of the year when everyone is Irish, Dan takes Kevin and Dubs on a tour of traditional Irish beer styles. We discuss the characteristics that define each style and the history of brewing them on the Emerald Isle. Irish Beer Styles * Dry Irish stout * Irish red ale References The Search for God and Guinness was written by Stephen Mansfield. You can read more about him on his website. Shup Up About Barclay Perkins is a blog by Ron Pattinson in which he writes about brewing from a historical perspective. Here are collections of his articles about Irish stout and Irish ale. Cider Ireland is an association of craft cider makers in Ireland. There is information about the history of cider in Ireland on their site. The Táin The Irish epic Táin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley) is primary written in prose, not verse. You can learn more about it here, and the entire text is available online. Here is The Decemberists’ “The Tain,” based on the tale: Online Learn About Beer on Twitter E-mail us at LearnAboutBeer@loadeddicenetwork.com

Budweiser has a long tradition of airing new commercials during the Super Bowl. But this year they debuted a commercial that upset many people in the beer world, set social media buzzing and generated a tremendous response from beer drinkers and brewers alike. In this episode, Dan holds a roundtable with Kevin, Dubs, Derek and Vince from the Loaded Dice Network to discuss the commercial and its implications in the beer world and beyond. SHOW NOTES: The Budweiser Super Bowl Commercial Response Articles * Shots Fired? Budweiser Takes Aim at Craft Beer in Super Bowl Spot * Analyzing Budweiser’s Hypocritical, Anti-Craft Beer Super Bowl Ad * Bud Is Proudly ‘Macro’ Amid Micro-Brews in Swagger-Filled Super Bowl Ad * Budweiser Ad Declares War… On Itself? * The Super Bowl’s Riskiest AdBudweiser’s Awful Super Bowl Ad Is a Perfect Illustration of Why Young People Don’t Drink It * Local brewers, bartenders sound off on Budweiser * Controversy Brews over Super Bowl ad * Budweiser campaign highlights rift between ‘big beer,’ craft * Shots fired, shots re

Almost every style in the world at its core is one of the two main types of beer: ales and lagers. Dan and Evan discuss these two types, what they mean, how they’re different, where they came from and what the beer drinker can expect from each. SHOW NOTES: Samuel Adams Winter Lager from the Boston Beer Company. Just so you can see how badly Dan messed that up in Ep. 1.   Albrecht V, Duke of Bavaria, who ordered the 1553 decree that beer could only be brewed between later September and April. Sources for this episode include: * The Oxford Companion to Beer. Edited by Garrett Oliver. * Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher (Free Download for iOS) * AllAboutBeer.com Beers mentioned in this episode: * River Horse Tripel Horse * KCCO Black Lager * Pilsner Urquell * Fuller’s London Pride and ESB * Samuel Smith (Tadcaster) Organic Pale Ale

Premiere Episode! Dan is joined by Kevin to introduce “Learn About Beer” and what it’s all about, and the guys spend time discussing winter beers, what they are, and what makes them special. SHOW NOTES Beer Tasters at Starwalker Studios Brew Drink Run Hop Cast The Beer Diaries Beer Judge Certification Program – The style guidelines Dan mentions during the show.