Episode 008—Averie Swanson of Keeping Together
The AltBrau Podcast
Averie recently struck out on her own after her time at Jester King and founded Keeping Together, her Saison and farmhouse-inspired beer project in Chicago, Illinois. Operating out of Half Acre Beer Company, her business model for Keeping Together is an unconventional one, and on today’s episode we discuss how and why she chose to leave Texas to bring her brewing knowledge to the Midwest, our mutual love for wild ales, and the challenges of starting a new endeavor in the shadow of COVID-19.
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Episode 007—Jerry Franck of Bottle Conditioned
The AltBrau Podcast
On today’s show we speak to Jerry Franck… an academy award nominated film maker who found himself entranced by lambic and the unique cast of characters who brew and blend them.
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Episode 006—Shilpi Halemane of Logsdon Farmhouse Ales
The AltBrau Podcast
With his extensive background in beer, wine, malting, and microbiology, was the perfect candidate to not only maintain the quality of the brewery's classic beers, but also to incorporate a variety of traditional Lagers into their catalogue. Sure, they were a departure from the wild fermentations I fell in love with, but still no less impressive.
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Episode 005—Arnaud Goethals of Vive la Tarte
The AltBrau Podcast
Arnaud, along with his wife Julie Vandermeersch, is the co-owner of Vive la Tarte, a bakery and cafe in San Francisco. I first met Arnaud when my wife worked at Vive la Tarte. We quickly connected over our love of beers from his homeland of Belgium. Throughout our friendship, Arnaud has struck me as someone who sees the industry, and his place in it, from a uniquely broad and incisive perspective, and I wanted to hear his thoughts about the future of hospitality in the Bay Area.
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Episode 004—Nick Impellitteri of The Yeast Bay
The AltBrau Podcast
Nick Impellitteri of The Yeast Bay in Portland, Oregon runs a boutique microbiology lab that supplies the beer industry with a wide variety of yeasts and bacteria. Most of his production is housed at a much bigger facility, home to perhaps the biggest name in craft yeast: White Labs in San Diego, California.
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Episode 003—Asa Stone of The University of New Mexico
The AltBrau Podcast
Asa Stone is used to wearing a lot of hats. An educator and Advanced Cicerone from Albuquerque, New Mexico, she explores the spaces where psychology, sociology, and history overlap, all within the context of the beverage industry. From that unique place, she seeks ways in which beer can be used to shine a light on issues of education, social justice, and environmental impact.
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Episode 002—Felipe Bravo and Wendy Gayl of the Fox Tale Fermentation Project
The AltBrau Podcast
Wendy Gayl and Felipe Bravo of the Fox Tale Fermentation Project in San Jose, California are entering the beer market on a very small scale. Taking inspiration from their combined background in food and brewing, they hope to find a local following for their beers, and to add local fruits, vegetables, herbs, and botanicals to their releases, all applied with a gentle hand.
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Episode 001—Mike Cruz of Tioga Sequoia Brewing
The AltBrau Podcast
On the first episode of the newly-launched AltBrau podcast, host Tim Decker talks to Mike Cruz of Tioga Sequoia Brewing. They talk all about Fresno, what it means to be an environmentally conscious brewery, and how Tioga Sequoia is persevering through wildfires and supporting the local community.
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Welcome to the AltBrau Podcast
The AltBrau Podcast
What does it mean to be an outlier? Who are the people in beer taking small steps and hoping to make big changes?
info_outlineWhat the hell am I drinking? This is sour, bitter, and smells more like cheese than it does any beer I’ve had before.
That was the thought that ran through my head the first time I tried Gueuze… the infamous beer from Belgium’s Senne Valley region.
Gueuze is a blend consisting of multiple years of spontaneously fermented golden ale aged in oak. These unblended components are called lambic.
You’d think that after that early experience I would never reconsider such beers. But... just as I forced myself to eat the olives I hated as a child because I saw adults enjoying them... I not only got used to the complex layers of flavor and aroma but I learned to love it.
Lambic has this effect on people. It has created a relatively small but extremely devout following of enthusiast from around the world. Proof of this can be found in any number of facebook groups where members show off their private cellars… some bigger than my current apartment.
I’ve personally seen single large format bottles of fruited lambic sell at auction for several thousand dollars.
So what is it that’s so magical about this historic beer style that nearly went extinct in the years following World War II?
On today’s show we speak to Jerry Franck… an academy award nominated film maker who found himself entranced by lambic and the unique cast of characters who brew and blend them.
Over the last few years, Jerry and his small team have been gathering and editing footage for their upcoming documentary “Bottle Conditioned” that tells the story of lambic and its place in the world.