Episode 139 : The Path to Normal

Nick welcomes back Jake and Alex back to the show this week! We start off by talking about pro wrestling… yeah, I know right? Jake asks what we’re drinking, and he talks a bit more about Fort Point Beer Co. and how they’re his new fridge beer. Nick rampages on 12oz beers. Nick talks about his birthday week and celebrating with craft beer between Cinderlands brunch and the Foederhouse reopening and Pennsylvania removing some of the more strict restrictions with COVID. Jake shares his experience with California’s COVID restrictions. Alex then shares his experience with a new to the podcast brewery, Mastic Trail Brewing. Nick drops some news about Necromancer and then talks about breweries getting back to service. Alex asks what we think line culture will look like as we start to get back to normal. To wrap up, we hint at things to come, including but not limited to another collab episode with Fueled By Hops at the end of April! Thanks again for listening! We love you, good night!

Beers We Drank: 
Graphic Language - Four Points (Sour - 10.5%)
Galaxy Park - Fort Point (Single Hop Pale Ale - 4.7%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 4/8/21 : The Path to Normal

Episode 140 : Three Years of Recapping

We celebrate our 3 year anniversary! Nick, Alex, and Jake are joined by our friend Kate. We are blind taste testing Big Light Beers! We start off with our taste test and we try to stay on topic, but obviously this one is unhinged. We give our thoughts on what we think we’ll be able to pick out in this tasting. After we tasted the beers, we guessed how many we got right. We share our best or worst experiences with the beers that we tasted. The results were very telling and you’ll need to listen to find out who did the best. We thank you, our listeners for sticking with us for 3 whole years after the shitshow that was light beer showdown. Jake gets into his craft beer adventures with Kate and they talk about Camino Brewing and Narrative Fermentation. Nick talks about the Black Clouds release at Dancing Gnome and how he met Jerry of Fueled By Hops fame (#jerryapproved of course). After that, we just talk about whatever we wanted. We finish up with a recap of the last year of podcasts including some phenomenal guests and we definitely didn’t mention everyone. Marino’s 

Beers We (All) Drank: 
Coors Light - Coors Brewing (Lager - 4.2%)
Miller Lite - Miller Brewing (Lager - 4.2%)
Bud Light - Anheuser/Busch (Lager - 4.2%)
Michelob Ultra - Anheuser/Busch (Lager - 4.2%)
Pabst Blue Ribbon - Pabst Brewing (Lager 4.8%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 4/16/21 : Three Years of Recapping

Episode 141 : Emotional About Beer

Nick and Alex are back after our quick break doing the Fueled By Hops podcast (Go check out episode 77!) We kick off this week by focusing on our mutual love of early 2000s pop punk/emo music. This conversation lasted a lot longer than we thought it would, but we want you to sound off on your favorite emo/pop punk albums from the early 2000s! Sound off in the comments! Nick makes one of his epic transitions while we talk about weddings and funerals. After that, we recap our visits to some new places. We went to Old Thunder’s grand opening and we planned out our next guest on 5/16! Nick talks about Four Points new spot in North Side and we chat about Acrospire as well. We cover Dancing Gnome extending hours and the announcement that Grist House will be opening back up in June! Of course, we talk about Pgh Sandwich Society opening in Strange Roots Millvale. We finish up by talking about Rear End Gastropub in Etna coming this summer! Thanks again for listening!

Beers We Drank: 
Warm Hand Splash - Dancing Gnome (DIPA - 8.0%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 5/9/21 : Emotional About Beer

Nick and Alex welcome back Jen (@hellobrewtifulpgh) and our surprise guest Melissa (@bavaryinz) to the podcast this week! We get into the mask/no mask conversation and how to respect the business decisions as we move into what we hope is a post-COVID world. This leads to Mel telling us about how Hitchhiker handled the pandemic (or pandemi if you’re cool) and what all went into their plans for reopening. Nick talks about his experience at Four Points North Side without having to wear a mask. To lighten the mood we talk to Mel about her hair and her history with craft beer (and her experience with Sam Bond’s Garage in Eugene Oregon) before moving to our normal guest questions. We talk a bunch about emojis and then Mel gives us her top 3 beer styles. Opening up the conversation to what we’re currently drinking brings us to Cinderlands, and Nick tells his story of wasting a Grand Negro Voodoo Pappy (only a few ounces!) We talk about barleywine and it becomes a polarizing topic. As we wrap up this episode, we talk about Brienne Allan (@ratmagnet) and the exposure of discrimination, sexism, and racism in the craft beer industry. We hint at upcoming guests to end this episode. Thanks for listening and cheers!

Beers We Drank:
Traditional Lager - Yuengling (Lager - 4.5%)
Shoots Like A Girl Prime - Shubrew (DIPA - 8.0%)
PA Loophole v.4 - East End and a variety of others (White IPA - 5.6%)
UHD Saunter Through - Cinderlands (DIPA - 8.0%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 5/16/21 : Bavaryinz and HelloBrewtifulPGH

Episode 143 : The Mailbag Part 1

Nick and Alex are back for another week! The first edition of our Mailbag is coming to you! We threw up a question on our instagram page to see what you guys wanna hear from us! Nick keeps the “asker” anonymous until Alex answers as we go through the list of questions (thanks everyone for participating!) Our first question, brought to you by @pghbeerdouche, reaches back into the past and we have a great conversation about the best hair on the 1991 Penguins team that won the cup. Alex tells us to wear jorts proudly. After that, we discuss the over saturation of breweries in Pittsburgh and what role shipping from in-state and out of state breweries plays in the market. We shout out the new kids on the block, welcome to Pittsburgh @necromancerbrewing and @twofraysbrewery! The next question is what is your Dream Beercation? After we drop the bomb on where we’d go, the final mailbag question is about Craft Seltzer. Here, Nick and Alex take some time to discuss how we feel about the style and the general outlook of them.  Alex is traveling the next week or so, so send him your things to do in San Jose and beyond! Leave your reviews of the Mailbag episode! Thanks again for listening! Cheers! 

Beers We Drank: 
Mystic Mama - Jackie O’s (IPA - 7.0%)
Elk Artist - Dancing Gnome (American Bitter - 4.5%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 5/26/21 : The Mailbag Part 1

Episode 146 : Pride and Podcasting

Nick and Alex are back this week for a few conversations about things! First, go vote for us as Pittsburgh’s Best Podcast as voted on by the Pittsburgh City Paper readers! 
(https://citypaper.secondstreetapp.com/Best-of-Pittsburgh-Readers-Poll-2021/gallery/?group=388190) After plugging ourselves relentlessly, we switch gears and talk to Alex about Pride Month. Alex shares the background he knows about it and we explore the conversation around acceptance and openness in the LGBTQ+ community. After the pride month conversation, Nick tells the story of meeting up with ABV Chicago (a local Chicago craft beer podcast). Alex tells us about going back to Grist House. Nick talks Four Points North Side, again. As we wrap this week, we talk about our love of low ABV crushers for the hot days and give a shout to Hop Nation USA and #spicyboisummer. Thanks for listening! Vote for us!

Beers We Drank: 
Point To Point - Four Points Brewing (IPA - 7.4%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 6/27/21 : Pride and Podcasting

Episode 148 : The @pghbeerdouche

Nick and Alex welcome @pghbeerdouche Mike to the podcast this week! Alex questions Mike immediately about his history in the craft beer realm. Mike and Nick reminisce about Sharp Edge and early 2010s drinking which leads us to Caliente. We talk about Pittsburgh being a craft beer destination now, as opposed to still finding its way. We ask Mike why he named his page Pittsburgh Beer Douche. We interrupt Mike a lot in this segment. Cool Whip is good. After Mike finally finished his story of how the instagram account became a thing, we ask what his top 3 beer styles are. We talk pale ales and then move into the emoji question. Mike gives his response and we judge him mercilessly. Nick swoons over Bridge City Brinery again. We wrap this week with everyone’s emoji’s and missed connections and of course a shout out to Monday’s brewing in Peters Township.  

Beers We Drank: 
No Added Flavor - Hitchhiker (Kolsch - 5.0%)
FAQ - Dancing Gnome (DIPA - 8.0%)
Le Discotheque - Necromancer x Dancing Gnome (Saison - 5.5%)
Fourth Street + Plus - Four Points Brewing (IPA - 6.6%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 7/18/21 : The pghbeerdouche

Episode 150 : Kids In Breweries

Nick and Alex keep the beers flowing with this week’s episode. We start by covering the conversation about fall beers such as pumpkin beers and Octoberfest/harvest beers.  We talk Pumking and Alex gives his favorite vibes for drinking fall beers. We talk about Dancing Gnome’s tap list and some upcoming releases. Nick talks about running into Sydney from 412 Brewing. After the intro, we jump into the kids at breweries based on the opening of Lovedraft’s Craft Beer in Mechanicsburg, PA. Nick loses his mind for a bit and tells some bad jokes, and then we continue to explore the opinions and both sides of the kids at a brewery argument. Nick gets fired up again after discussing some of the more subtle meaning behind the “no kids at breweries” rules. Alex expresses his concerns with kids being at the brewery. We both agree that breweries are not a place for kids and we also believe that we don’t hate kids, but we might hate kids. As we wrap, Nick moves into the positive things in craft beer coming up! Barrel And Flow Fest is coming up in September at South Side Works! Nick is pissed he’s gonna be out of town that weekend! Then we plug Drink the Cookie Table from Fueled By Hops on November 6th.

Beers We Drank: 
Point To Point - Four Points Brewing (IPA - 7.0%)
Noble Spirit - Eleventh Hour (Pilsner - 5.0%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 8/4/21 : Kids In Breweries

Episode 161 : Coven Brewing

Nick welcomes the crew of the newly announced Coven Brewing to the podcast. Caiti and Trevor are branching out on their own with Coven Brewing and we start off by drinking a beer Caiti brewed as kind of a start to Coven. Trevor and Caiti expand on what Coven will be and how they came to be moving into the Roundabout Brewery space. We talk a little bit about Couch Brewery and how they’re transitioning to a new brewery soon as well. Nick asks Caiti and Trevor what beers they’re looking to bring to Pittsburgh as Coven gets going. We discuss the Alchemist coming to Pittsburgh through a distributor and Caiti tells a great story about Heady Topper. Caiti talks about Monks in Philly and we talk about the best craft beer bars we’ve been to. We keep rolling on beers and hint at the bonus episode content (drunk band names). Nick talks BCBS and the Black Friday releases. From there the conversation shifts to pandemic shipping and local beer. Nick forces the Coven crew to talk about Roundabout. As we wind down the episode we finish up with more Coven talk and Caiti tells some stories while Trevor fills us in on the timeline of Coven and what to expect. Thanks again for listening and go follow Coven Brewing on Instagram (@coven.brewing)

Beers We Drank: 
Fights with Birds - Coven Brewing (Saison - ???ABV)
Unlikely Foragers - Equilibrium Brewing (Farmhouse Ale - 6.0%)
Wild Tacoma Montmorency Cherry - E9 Brewing (Wild Ale - 6.1%)
Florets - Other Half (IPA - 6.6%)
VII - Triple Crossing (BA Imperial Stout - 12%)   

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 11/29/21 : Coven Brewing

Episode 161 : Coven Brewing BONUS! 

Nick is back with Caiti and Trevor for the bonus episode. We start off with a discussion on terrible music. Nick and Trevor reminisce about the old days. Caiti talks about Baltimore and Nick asks her about the best brewery in Baltimore. Trevor gives us the newest segment : Leslie Knope’s Fleetwood Mac Sex Pants or Drunken Band Names, I call it. Trevor TikTok opens a beer while we discuss dating apps and farmers who are sugar daddies. We enjoy the lighter opened beer and move into nostalgia. Caiti talks about foraging and Nick and Trevor yinz aht. After that, we wrap up with Coven Brewing. Follow along with them again at @coven.brewing on instagram!

Beers We Drank:
All 1st Anniversary Everything - Other Half (BA Imperial Stout - 15%)  
Blueberry Make You Feel - The Veil (Farmhouse - 6.7%)
Dire Wolf Coffee Joy - Wolf’s Ridge (Imperial Stout - 10.4%) 

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 11/29/21 : Coven Brewing BONUS!

Episode 164 : The Wolf Days of Winter

Nick and Sara return! We’ve got a bunch of stuff to talk about and we start off with bitching about winter. After that, we move into our question of the week. We answer the question “what dead celebrity are you drinking craft beer with?” We had a lot of fun with this question and we wanna know who you’re drinking with and what you’re drinking too! Nick shouts out @pintsandpanels for providing some knowledge. After the dead celeb convo, we rave about Golden Age Beer and their new spot in Homestead. Next up we send off Roundabout’s taproom in Lawrenceville. At the end of this episode Nick and Sara bring you everything we know about Best Brunch Ever, a @Fueledbyhops_ beer fest. Sara gets crazy excited about Prototype coming back to Pittsburgh for this festival. We are gonna have a time that weekend with Best Brunch Ever and the All That Remains - Fall of Ideals tour the night before. Ending with our normal plugs, we just wanna thank you again for listening and keeping us going as we’re getting dangerously close to our 4 year anniversary and the nice episode part 2. Thanks and cheers!

Beers We Drank:
Smooshie (Raspberry/Vanilla) - Shubrew (Fruited Sour - 6.8%)
The Weapon Exhibit C - The Veil (Sour IPA - 8.0%)  

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 1/30/22 : The Wolf Days of Winter

Episode 176 : Three Rivers Beer Week w/ Jen and Jen!

Nick and Sara headed out to Verona to hang out at Inner Groove with Jen (owner of Inner Groove @innergroovebrewing) and Jen (@hellobrewtifulpgh) and talk all things #TRBW and the First Pour!! We talk through all of the collab beers with Cleveland breweries and then we run down some of the events that have been announced, with more to come! GET YOUR TICKETS for First Pour and come hang out with us! Save $10 with code HELLOBREWTIFULPGH!!!

Check out threeriversbeerweek.com for all the info on all events and collabs!

For added enjoyment of this episode, drink every time we mention the First Pour or the phrase “you should go”!

Beers We Drank
My Verona - Inner Groove (Golden Ale - 5.2%)
Capture Color - Inner Groove (Hazy IPA - 7.5%)
Funnel Form - Inner Groove (Pale Ale - 5.7%)
Counting Sheep - Inner Groove (West Coast IPA - 6.5%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 9/27/22 : Three Rivers Beer Week w/ Jen and Jen

Nick and Sara are on site with Trevor from Coven Brewing! The main story of this episode is Trick or Treat at Coven on 10/22. This is a free event and it runs all day from 12pm to 12am! The food trucks are Blue Sparrow and Deadfish and their collab Dead Sparrow. Live music from DJ Baked Beans, F*ck Yeah, Dinosaurs! and DJ Dini Daddy. Guest beers from The Referend and Warwick Farms. Collaboration beers from The Answer (Richmond, VA) and DSSLVR (Ashville, NC). After quite a bit of off topic conversations and beer drinking, we wrap up the primary episode with Trevor and we’re going see you in the bonus episode! 

Beers We Drank:
Kawau - Fidens Brewing (DIPA - 8.4%)
Lantern’s Low - Fidens Brewing (DIPA - 8.3%)
Bubble Wrap - Other Half/The Veil/Side Project/Weldwerks (BA Stout - 14.5%)
Sandy - The Veil (Imperial Stout - 14%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 10/10/22 : Coven Brewing and Trevor!

We’re back with Trevor from @coven.brewing and we’re talking stouts and what is Pittsburgh. Topics include the sliding scale of rage, Great British Bake-off, and lactose intolerance. Trevor spills some insider information and then we move into the major conversation of the bonus episode, Pittsburgh Pizza! Shoutout Hot Heads hot sauce (hotheadsofficial.com) After the pizza talk, we discuss hop tasting and why Sara is tasting nothing but garlic in her beers. To wrap up the bonus, we do our top 3 pizza places in Pittsburgh. Trevor asks the important questions and we discuss who will break into the national stage with their hazy beers. 

Beers We Drank: 
JBM 35 NOA Mudcake - 3 Sons x Omnipollo (BA Stout - 14.35%)
Palatine Pils - Suarez - (Pilsner - 4.8%)
Feed Beats - Monkish (DIPA - 8.2%)
Jjjuiceee Project - Treehouse (DIPA - 8.7%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 10/10/22 : Coven Brewing and Trevor! BONUS

Nick is joined this week by Aaron Weiss, a lawyer, who works directly with breweries and alcohol establishments. Aaron gives a bit of background on why he got interested in beer/craft beer and from there we dive into more about how PA specifically handles licensing for breweries and restaurants. This leads us to talk about what happened during the pandemic in the craft beer world. Nick asks Aaron to give us his craziest stories from the job and what his day to day can be like. After all the legal stuff, Nick wraps up the episode with his favorite guest questions and of course this goes off topic and we talk about beer fests and Aaron’s part in Barrel and Flow specifically. We end with Aaron’s top 3 beer styles. Thanks for listening!

Beers We Drank:
Hellping Hops - Helltown Brewing x 412 Food Rescue (NEIPA - 6.2%)
Full Squish - Cinderlands (NEIPA - 6.5%)
Spy Dolphin - Dancing Gnome (DIPA - 8.0%) 

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 11/1/22 : Aaron The Beer Lawyer

Episode 179 : We’re Back!

Nick and Sara are back in the basement ramping up for another year of the Weekly Re-Cap. We started by covering our most recent excursion to Liberty Pole Whiskey. Sara explains her need to stay away from hazy/hoppy beers recently and we rage about Personal Day Seltzer. This leads us to our experiences with food and we talk about Fat Butcher in Lawrenceville and Bridge City Brinery’s Takeoutery in Etna, which of course led us to talk about Blue Sparrow’s bus at Dancing Gnome. We obviously had to talk about Dancing Gnome bottling beer. After we cover the new breweries of the last 2 months (Bonafide, Lolev and Aslin) we gush about the great emo resurgence of 2023. Then we get into beerfest season with Drink The Cookie Table 2 (Listen for the giveaway instructions) first and we hype Barrel and Flow. That’s it this week. Thanks for listening! 

Beers we drank:
English Porter - Dancing Gnome (English Porter - 3.6%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 2/3/23 : We're Back!

Episode 180 : Kevin from Prototype Brewing

Nick and Sara invited Kevin from Prototype into the basement and we talk all things Drink The Cookie Table 2, Prototype, and craft beer in general. As we roll through, Kevin brings us into the fold with what Prototype has coming up including 8th State Brewing’s Altered State festival in South Carolina, Sip at Soma in Harrisburg, and their own Prototype Invitational coming back some time in the fall (you can probably figure out when.) From there we get into Prototype’s story and their unique relationship with Collusion to keep the beers flowing. After we talk all about Prototype, we wrap the episode with Kevin’s top 5 emojis and then of course we ask him what his Top 3 Beer Styles right now are! Thanks again for listening and we’ll see ya next week! 

Beers We Drank: 
Groovy - Funguys Brewing (Triple IPA - 9.5%)
India Pale Ale V6.22 - Abjuration/Dem Bones Brewing (NEIPA - 6.4%)
Earthly Riches - Cushwa Brewing (Czech Dark Lager - 5.5%)
Ice Cream Paint Job - Coven/DSSOLVR (Cream Ale - 5.6%)
8th Anniversary Reserve - Grist House (BA Imperial Stout - 11.3%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 3/5/23 : Kevin from Prototype Brewing

Episode 181 : Dem Bones Brewing

Nick and Sara were joined this week by John, a local home brewer, who goes by Dem Bones Brewing. John tells us about his home brewing and his past in craft beer and we drink a couple of his beers and talk about what comes up. This includes social media and the Fueled by Hops festivals. We wrap this long episode with the Weekly Re-Cap questions and John fills us in on his emojis and his top 3 beer styles. Thanks again for listening!

Beers We Drank: 
Low Tide - Dem Bones Brewing (Hazy IPA)
High Tide - Dem Bones Brewing (Hazy IPA) 
Refresher - Dem Bones Brewing (Fruited Sour)
Raspberry Crunchee - Other Half (Berliner Weiss - 7.4%)
Exquisite Beast - Dancing Gnome (DIPA - 8.0%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 4/20/23 : Dem Bones Brewing

Episode 182 : Emo-tional Damage with Tyler

Tyler from Creekside Beer joins Nick this week for the honorary Blink-182 episode! This one is a far departure from our normal beer centric podcast, so we talk about a bunch of shit that has nothing to do with beer, even though we drank some great beers! We go through some of our favorite albums from 2003 and roll right into trying to remember the year certain albums came out and Nick educates Tyler on Columbia House and BMG Music. From there we get into the music industry and we know very little about it so don’t bash us for anything said. After going thru the “It’s not a phase” playlist we wrap up this episode with our top 3 genre defining songs. Thanks for listening as we break from beer. We’ll be back soon with more beer content!

Beers We Drank: 
DDH Ghost in the Machine - Parish Brewing (DIPA - 8.5%)
Magic Mushroom - Shubrew (IPA - 7.0%)
Explorer - Anchorage Brewing (BA Imperial Stout - 15.0%)
Stained Glass Ceilings - Dancing Gnome (DIPA - 8.5%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 5/9/23 : Emo-tional Damage with Tyler

Episode 183 : Velum Fermentation

We took the show on the road for episode 183 and visited with our new friends at Velum Fermentation. Nate and Jenna tell their story about how Velum came to be and their history in the industry. From there we jump into the events in planning and what the vision is for their current space. After that we get into their current tap list and run through the beers available currently and a little look into what’s to come. We get into the emoji question and Velum’s top 3 beer styles and a bit of a science lesson. As we wrap this episode Nick asks where the name Velum came from and we go through the story. Thank you for listening and we’ll see you in the taproom at Velum soon!  

Beers We Drank: All Velum Fermentation
Turn That Think Into a Drink (DIPA - 8.2%)
Giraffe Nap (WCIPA - 7.5%)
Fake Out (’Snack’ IPA - 4.5%)
Long Day Porter (Porter - 4.1%)
Concrete Bunny (IPA - 6.6%)
Wizard Teeth (Witbier - 4.0%)
Wrench Dream (Lager - 4.4%) 

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 5/21/23 : Velum Fermentation

Episode 184 : Five Years Of Fueled By Hops

Nick is back for a yearly check-in with the Fueled By Hops crew, Nick and Ryan! Ryan tells us the REAL story of how Fueled By Hops got started and we reminisce about the history of the group. Growth and community was the next step and Ryan goes through how the group expanded and what caused the glassware and festival beginnings. We dive deeper into the festivals next and really expand on how Fueled By Hops moved into the world of the great themed beer festival. Next up we tackle the insanity of the pandemic and how Fueled By Hops pivoted to survive through the craziest time in everyone’s life. Nick and Ryan break down Drink The Cookie Table 1 and how Nick almost got his ass kicked by a pro wrestler. Moral of the story, “always have an extra jockey box!” The Best Brunch ever is up next and man, what a party that was. The stories from this one are mostly positive but the credit card fraud is definitely a stand out. We then talk at length about Trick R Treat at Ill Will next and Ryan drops some knowledge about the beer list at their festivals. As we move into the upcoming events, we talk about Let’s Be Blunt and then looking forward to Drink The Cookie Table 3 at Union Brothers Brewing in Zelienople. At the end we cut it short due to Nick's need to pee but we're back baby! Can't wait to see you next week! Thanks again for listening!

The Weekly Re-Cap 4/4/24 : 5 Years Of Fueled By Hops

Podcast 23: Nobody likes you when you’re 23! 
The Michael Jordan episode starts off with a bang of a conversation. 
Beer #1 (Boston) : Half Acre Vallejo (6.7% IPA) Jake found Half Acre in Boston. Surprise, we’re enamored with the can design. Jake really liked the beer overall
Beer #1 (in the studio) : Fruity Nuggets - 450 North (DDHIPA 7.2% Columbus, IN) Shout out to @kushisforlosers for the hook up with this Hazy IPA from out west. Golden color, fruity nose and a citrusy taste. Alex loves the can design on this one too. 
This week find Nick and Alex at Drag Bingo at Couch Brewery on 9/19 from 7:30-9:30! 
Alex went to the Baja 1000 can release at Couch on Friday. 
Jake is still wanting Backlash Brewing to open! (Here’s a hint: They are doing a soft (extremely soft) open on Thursday 9/20)
9/30 - The Weekly ReCap at Couch Brewery! Slight change here, we’ll be doing a live podcast from the brewery, but it’ll be after they close so submit your questions for the brewer Cary and we’ll make sure to ask him!
Jake had a few beers this week that he never had before. 
We discuss the nuanced style of Oktoberfest biers. 
Beer #2 (in studio) : Glitter Parts Pineapple - Levante Brewing (NEIPA - 7.0%) Alex loves this beer. It tastes like straight up pineapple juice. Nick doesn’t love it.
Nick and Sara’s anniversary took them to a new spot in Lawrenceville called Walter’s Southern Barbecue. Go check these guys out. Amazing food and a great tap list. 
Beer #2 (Boston) : Bright w/ Citra - Treehouse (Citra NEIPA - 7.2%)
Hair watch 2018 is back! Jake has been growing it back out. 
Jake and Nick discuss fall beers/oktoberfest beers.
Beer #3: Purp the Magic Dragon - Burley Oak (Dragonfruit/Stone Fruit Sour Ale 4.4%) Super sour and very juicy. Easy drinking and not much alcohol taste due to the light ABV.  
Jake plays devil’s advocate and wants to see the bubble burst and craft beer growth will settle out. 
We also hit on beer sitting on a shelf and not getting the product that the brewery wants you to have. 


Have a good week and send in your questions for Couch Brewery!

Podcast 23 9.16.18

Podcast 25: Live from the Couch!
This week is a very special edition of the podcast as we were recording at Couch Brewery with head brewer Cary!
Beer #1: Recliner - Couch Brewery (Oatmeal Stout 6.5% ABV) Very dark and not super heavy, we really enjoyed this one. 
We fired a bunch of questions at Cary and he took them all in stride. 
His first story was about how Couch got started. 
Cary explains how he and his crew balance their day jobs and the brewery. 
Alex asked about how Cary got into craft beer. Cary started out with a lot of imports and kind of grew into his own creations from there. 
Cary tells the story of how the crew got together and scouted a bunch of places in Pittsburgh to find the perfect location to sit on the couch and drink a beer. Couch is made to be comfortable and relaxed. 
The story of the bar is up next. Cary and the guys found this dive bar in Tarentum and they snagged the bar when the building was going to be changed over to a soup kitchen… Hilarity ensued. 
After the bar story, Cary had to check the beer. 
Beer #2: Wake Up Protocol - Dancing Gnome/Triple Crossing (NE DIPA - 8.5% ABV) Hazy as hell, really refreshing and a solid drinker.
Beer #3: Nobody’s Robot - Dancing Gnome (DIPA - 8.2% ABV) Very fruity nose. Alex and Sara got a bit of hop bitterness. 
While Cary was away we discuss the aesthetic of Couch and the furniture. 
We touched on some of the beers we had during DG’s Birthday Party. Hop Culture threw one hell of a bash. 
Cary returns! Thanks to all of our listeners!
From there we discuss social media and technology in the craft beer industry. 
One thing that stands out about Couch is that Cary and the guys built their “hot side”(where they boil the wort) from scratch and its a totally unique system that no one anywhere has it. He elaborated on the brewery business plan and how they were able to itemize purchases and time frame to develop the brewery. 
Cary loves welding and basically made the “hot side” from scratch. He expands on that quite a bit. 
We all start firing shots at Mike, who we’ve never met but we already love. 
ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! We will be running a contest on Instagram this week to give away a VIP Ticket to Pittsburgh Libations Week Kick Off Bash!!!! 
Cary returns! And we fired a bunch of beer questions at him. His favorite beer is Recliner. Mike likes IPAs and Darren wanted a Hefeweizen. 
Cary explained why they have a wide variety of types of alcohol at Couch. They have a full bar of local spirits to cater to everyone. They carry Boyd and Blair Vodkas, Liberty Pole Spirits, Quantum Spirits, McGlaughlin Distillery, Maggie’s Farm Rum, etc.
The orange sectional we were sitting on has a great story that Cary told. 
We have a great discussion on editing and curse words.
Jake wanted to make an appearance so we put him on speakerphone. 
We play Jake’s favorite game: “What questions did you already ask?”
What’s Cary’s favorite beer and style? 
Jake asked the tough questions. What is the hardest part of owning a business in the service industry?
Beer #4: Atomic Punk - Couch Brewery (Amber ale with fall spices - 5.5% ABV) There is no pumpkin in this beer. Cary used Atomic Clock and added pumpkin style spices to a keg that’s almost kicked already! They’re making more though! Cinnamon nose and the allspice and cloves come through in a light and well rounded amber ale. 
Cary discussed their canning process. Individually canning is extremely labor intensive. They had the whole crew on it for Atomic Meltdown. 
We have a quick math lesson to figure out about 13 cases of that beer were canned. 
We finish off our interview with Cary with one of our favorite topics: Can Design. So he told the story of how he met their regular Patrick who designed both cans for Couch. 
We wrap up with what’s coming up and next week’s Dancing Gnome Birthday Party recap. 

Couch Brewery: www.couchbrewery.com
Pgh Libations Week: www.pittsburghlibationsweek.com

Podcast 25 : Live from the Couch!

Podcast 36: We Birthed a Podcast : Beery Christmas!
Nick and Alex hold it down while Jake is traveling from Nashville to Boston. 
We decided to find some holiday themed beers and review them while drilling each other with Christmas themed questions.

Beer #1: Holiday Donut Cookie - Platform Beer/Brewnuts (7.0% Holiday Ale with milk sugar, vanilla, spice and Snickerdoodle cookies) Smells of cinnamon and nutmeg, very clear pour but tastes more beer-y than anything. Not a lot of carbonation which is to be expected for the style.

We went to Hal’s for Four Points Brewing tap takeover. We were blown away by the Orange Passion Biotix (5% Sour with Blood Orange and Passionfruit) sour. Check out Four Points Brewing (Link below!)
Nick and Sara went to Dancing Gnome this week for Simcoe Jam and we were pleasantly surprised. The guys always take care of us and we love going there. The beer was great and then we all headed to Hal’s.
Nick and Alex smashed out some Super Smash Bros Ultimate for an extremely long time. 

Alex’s segment of the week: Awkward Christmas Questions!
Question 1: What are you thoughts on Candy Canes?
Question 2: Is there anything about Christmas you don’t like that most people do like?
Question 3: Who on your list is the hardest to buy for?

Beer #2: Celebration Ale - Sierra Nevada (6.8% Fresh Hop IPA) Reddish color, hoppy finish but the fresh hops make it taste like a crisp holiday beer. No spices to overpower anything. 

Question 4: What is your least favorite Christmas song? This one got really heated. Alex was upset with Nick’s pick and Nick was lost on what Alex thought was the worst. After the worst we both named our favorite Christmas songs as well. Sara joined us for this question. 
Alex comes right out and says he hates Trans-Siberian Orchestra. No one else is in agreement.
Question 5: The true meaning of Christmas is… (the cringiest of questions)
Question 6: Do you have a Christmas movie you have to watch during the season? 

Beer #3: Noel - Delirium (10% Belgian Triple) The quintessential holiday import. Highly carbonated and deep red in color. Caramel-y and syrupy. The alcohol is well hidden and the carbonation does not lend to a light drinking experience. 

We discuss the local breweries and their forays into Christmas ales and holiday beers. Mad Elf is obviously part of the conversation. We drink it in a little bit, so stay tuned. 

Question 7: What was your favorite gift ever? This question launches us into a discussion on Eeyore the donkey from Winnie the Pooh. 

Beer #4: Holly Jolly - Fatheads Brewery (7.4% Winter Warmer Ale) Very clear pouring but still darker than a standard IPA. Lots of spices but not overpowering. A very well balanced Christmas ale. (Add Fatheads to the breweries we Stan, this week)

Holly Jolly being brewed with honey threw us into a conversation about Strange Roots and mead and it got a little weird. 

Wrapping up, we rank the beers we had tonight:
Alex: 
#4: Holiday Donut Cookie - Platform
#3: Noel - Delirium
#2: Holly Jolly - Fatheads
#1: Celebration - Sierra Nevada
Nick: 
#4: Holiday Donut Cookie - Platform
#3: Holly Jolly - Fatheads
#2: Celebration - Sierra Nevada
#1: Noel - Delirium

We close it out with a Happy Holidays to all! Check out the links below!

Four Points Brewing: https://fourpointsbrewing.com/
Holiday Pop-up Bar: https://www.facebook.com/miraclepgh

Podcast 36 - We Birthed a Podcast : Beery Christmas!

Podcast 37: Christmas (St)Eve and Happy Sue Year!
On location at Nick/Jake/Alex’s parents house, we’re recording our Christmas Eve celebration. 

We had lots of different stuff and I really don’t feel like typing out everything we talked about. - Nick

Listen along as we go thru the beers we’re drinking and a couple more Christmas questions since Jake missed out. 

The Beers:
Exquisite Beast - 8% DIPA (Dancing Gnome)
DDH Melcher Street - 7.2% IPA (Trillium)
Stillings Street - 7.2% IPA (Trillium)
Heini’s Good Cheer (2018) - 11.3% Old Ale (Roundabout Brewery)
DoubleMex (2018)- 9.9% Imperial Stout w/ Mexican Coffee (Brew Gentlemen)
Permutation #63 - 6.3% Wild Ale (Trillium)
Permutation #72 - 4.7% Pale Lager (Trillium)
Hunahpu’s (2015) - 11.5% Imperial Stout (Cigar City)

There’s quite a bit we covered in between drinking all these beers. We’ll be back to a little bit more normal next week, but thanks for listening. 

Sorry about the issues with the microphone at the end, you’ll be able to tell….

Podcast 37 : Christmas (St)Eve and Happy Sue Year!

Episode 71: Journey to the Drunk Planet

Nick and Alex are joined this week by Phil from Drunk Planet Glassware! We talk about Phil’s travels, his experience in the craft beer industry and his beer opinions and preferences. He’s currently helping Voodoo New Ken get up and running where he’ll take over as GM when they open up! We chat about the Cleveland craft beer scene and Voodoo opening a new spot there. From there we talk about beer styles and what we’re drinking. We grill Phil with his top 3 beer styles, because duh. We talk vegan restaurants and Black Forge Coffee and Korn Coffee! As we wrap this week we cover the upcoming festivals and Phil plugs @DrunkPlanetGlassware on instagram! Go Follow them for your daily meme intake and some kick ass glassware!

Beers We Drank: 

Volume Seventeen: Hyla Crucifer - Wunderkammer Bier (Foraged Farmhouse/Saison - 5.7%)
BA Luscious 2018 - The Alchemist (English Style Imperial Stout - 11.3%)
No Time Like the Present - Voodoo x Equilibrium (DIPA - 7.6%)
Kapow Kandy - Grist House (Pineapple/Passionfruit/Guava Sour - 7.0%)
Fayston Maple - Lawson’s Finest (Chocolate/Tart Cherry Imperial Stout - 10.1%)

The Weekly Recap 9/9/19 : Journey to the Drunk Planet

Episode 73 : The Cans In Pittsburgh

Nick, Jake and Alex are back this week with their guest Bill from @canspgh. Listen along as we discuss social media, can lines, emojis, dreadlocks and beer styles. We cover our favorite breweries and food trucks and get into some interesting points about Pittsburgh craft beer. 

Beers We Drank: 
Quad Mmm… Jream - Burley Oak x Other Half (Imperial Fruited Sour - 11%)
Blue Martian - Platform Brewing (Sour Ale - 9.1%)
Urban Evidence - Hitchhiker (DIPA - 8.4%)
Bamboozle - Bearded Iris x Dancing Gnome (Triple IPA - 9.8%)

The Weekly Recap 9/29/19 - The Cans In Pittsburgh

Episode 95 : Quarantinecast

Nick and Alex are joined this week by not 1, not 2, but 3 guests. Trevor, Amanda, and Sara join in for an incredibly raucous episode of The Weekly Recap. This week, we just let the mics roll and talked about a bunch of shit and drank some whales. Enjoy our crazy all over the place conversations with a little beer talk sprinkled in. Stay safe and keep listening! Thank you!

Beers We Drank: 
Inu Island Stout Coconut + Vanilla - Inu Island Ales (Imperial Stout - 13.5%)
Fear Movie Lions - Stone Brewing (DIPA - 8.5%)
Woke - Three Chiefs x Untitled Arts (Imperial Stout - 10.1%)
Pink Lemonade Seltzer - The Answer (Hard Seltzer - 9.5%)
Black Magic Double Oak Bourbon Barrels (Orange Wax) - Voodoo (Imperial Stout - 13%)
Upward Below - Dancing Gnome (Petite IPA - 4.0%)
Hazedelic Juice Grenade - Grist House (IPA - 6.2%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 3/15/20 : Quarantinecast

Episode 98 : Struggle and Support

We’re back on FaceTime for another episode of quarantinecast. We discuss what’s going on in craft beer and how we’re adapting and handling safely getting our craft beer fix. We talked about Sam Adams’s involvement in the relief efforts for craft beer/restaurant workers. If you’d like to donate, here’s the link : (https://www.samueladams.com/) We touch on the online ordering systems in place and what we think about line life and what the world will be like when the new normal takes over. After that, Alex and Jake talk White Claw flavors (yes, you read that right). We finish up this episode with a discussion about the Pittsburgh Flagship beers episode coming up, drop your vote for best Pittsburgh flagship in the comments!

Beers We Drank:
Gingerbread Stout - Hardywood (Imperial Gingerbread Stout - 9.2%)
Haze Charmer - Troegs (Pale Ale - 5.5%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 4/6/20 : Struggle And Support

Episode 100 : The Weekly Re-Cap Recap!

Nick, Jake and Alex take a trip down memory lane since we’re hitting the 100 episode milestone. We find some quotes and reminisce about our time podcasting. We cut in the quotes as we go and there are some truly epic pieces on pop culture and just our funny moments. We pay tribute to the O (The Original Hot Dog Shop) and recap our top guests, best beers, and segments. We end with a big old thank you to all our fans and followers and we’re looking forward to continuing this journey with all of you! 

Beers We Drank: 
Sip Of Sunshine - Lawson’s Finest (DIPA - 8.0%)
805 Blonde - Firestone Walker (Blonde Ale - 4.7%)
Boss Tweed - Old Nation (DIPA - 9.3%)

Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 4/19/20 : The Weekly Re-Cap Recap!

Episode 101 : Back to the Grind

Back at it with the normal structure, the brothers sit down and talk some shop with our new logo and episode 100 and beyond. Alex talks Dogfish Head because of his quarantine beer choices. Topics this week include our “on hand” beer choices, Jake’s sneaker obsession, online beer sales, and more! We talk about the All Together beer recipe from Other Half and more support for the service industry. To wrap up this episode, we recap the Pittsburgh Clothing Company “Beast of the Yeast” bracket Final 4. Thanks for listening!

Beers We Drank: 
Slightly Mighty - Dogfish Head (Low Calorie IPA - 4.0%)
805 Blonde - Firestone Walker (Blonde Ale - 4.7%)
All Together - Grist House x Other Half collab (IPA - 6.5%)

The Weekly Re-cap 4/26/20 : Back to the Grind

Episode 102 : Austin Returns

We add Austin to the mix on FaceTime this week. We revisit the Pittsburgh Clothing Company “Beast of the Yeast” bracket with him and we discuss Fatheads being included and we give a shout out to Hitchhiker for winning! We move to brewers and brewery employees on social media next. Alex has some strong opinions and he makes them somewhat clear. After that, we decide to recap our 5 star reviews on Untappd. Thanks again for listening!

Beers We Drank: 
Broken Souls - Grist House x Barreled Souls (BA Imperial Stout - 11.8%)
Trading Tales - Collective Arts x Dancing Gnome (Lager - 5.1%)

The Weekly Re-Cap 5/3/20 : Austin Returns

The Weekly Re-Cap 6/15/20 : Trevor and the Quarantine

Episode 111 : Conspiracy and the Shower Beer

Nick and Alex sat down this week to discuss whatever came up! We started out talking about the Black is Beautiful collab that was put together by Weathered Souls and Nick talked about his first experience with the beer drinking Voodoo’s version. Alex wanted to talk about Inner Groove brewing in Verona, so we did that! Jake made his return to Instagram and he wasn’t on this week to defend himself. Afterwards, Nick speculated wildly about the fabled Voodoo Black list. Alex revisited our promise of doing the light beer challenge and wanted our listeners to hold us accountable and make sure we do this. After that we touch on shower beers to wrap up for the week. We hint at what we wanted to talk about and what we’ll get into in the weeks to come, but again thanks for listening and let us know what you think! 

Beers We Drank: 

Black Is Beautiful - Voodoo Brewery x Weathered Souls (Imperial Stout - 10%)
Ruekeller - The Bruery (Pilsner - 5.8%)


Music:
All The Way Up - Eddy
freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_D…th-CloudBounce

The Weekly Re-Cap 7/22/20 : Conspiracy and the Shower Beer

The Weekly Re-cap is a weekly podcast where husband and wife duo Nick and Sara discuss craft beer, beer trends and beer culture while drinking and reviewing events, brews and articles from around the beer world. All topics are fair game and it's never the same twice. Occasionally we have guests from the industry, friends and dogs.

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