Batch 310: Bottles with Backstories
Malt Couture
Alex won his first ever razzle in order to put this episode together when he sources a hazy DIPA from Threat Beer Company. A mysterious benefactor sells Alex a Stone Stonewall bottle from 2005. Then rounding out the Bottleshare is the 2025 Toronado Barleywine Festival winner from Wonderous Brewing Co. and a love letter to Dark Lord from a bunch of basement dwellers in Chicago. In the Beer News, George Clooney gets involved in the NA beer game and Half Acre and Maplewood Brewery & Distillery merge to form a new Chicago beverage platform. For more info about colon cancer and to help...
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Batch 309: Cool Aunts and Ice In Your Wine
Malt Couture
We all had one. She'd buy you tickets to R-rated movies or go on pre-Thanksgiving dinner walks. She adds Coke and ice to her red wine and smokes slims. She's your cool aunt and she's not judging anyone for drinking NA beers. The Malty Boyz™ also do their due diligence when they crack open Bud Light Blizzard Brew and take in the terroir of HIghmark Stadium. In the Beer News, Tilray acquires BrewDog, Michelob Ultra Zero becomes the king of NA beers, and a SoCal beer icon is blowin' in the wind. To get involved with the , click the link for info about the recipe, BSG discount, and links...
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Batch 308: Geriatric Millennial Grifters
Malt Couture
Alex tracks down another White Whale as Surly Darkness Batch 1 lands on the show and finds itself in the mix with Holy Mountain Brewing Company's Summoning Spell, Bissell Brothers' Brewing Super Swish, and Fiddlehead Brewing's Second Fiddle. In the Beer News, a beloved SoCal brewery closes shop, BrewDog announces they're being sold but not without tons of drama, and Budweiser takes the top spot in this year's Super Bowl commercial rankings according to USA Today. To get involved with the , click the link for info about the recipe, BSG discount, and links to help raise awareness of...
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Batch 307: PRRRTing in the Wind
Malt Couture
Returning to their old way of ranking beers, Alex's video game and Stephen's wrestling rating systems are back for this batch's motley lineup of beers. Bell's Brewery's Hopslam finally makes it on the show. A throwback to the IBU Wars, Three Floyds Arctic Panzer Wolf, takes the Malty Boyz™ back to the mid-2000s. Alex's leather jacket-gate inspires a massive collaboration with Barreled Souls Grifter and Friends strong ale. Then a Drekker's smoothie sour has Alex struggling to wrap his head around... well, craft beer. In the Beer News, Midnight Sun shutters an iconic taproom location while a...
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Batch 306: The Top 5 Whiskeys of 2025
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Alex hunts down the best and most sought after whiskeys released in 2025! E.H. Taylor BTAC, Russell's Reserve 15 Year, Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Special Release Tanyard HIll Rye, Bardstown Bourbon Company Distillery Reserve Hokkaido Mizunara Oak Barrel Finish, and Hill Farmstead Whistle Pig Rye 10 Year all compete for that coveted spot atop the Malt Couture Power Rankings. In the Beer News, the TTB gets served a lawsuit to allow meads, ciders, and fruit wines to display vintages on their labels and the world's oldest monastic brewery in Germany is sold. Thanks to for sponsoring this...
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Batch 305: Barleywine is Life 7: The State of Barleywhales
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Alex and Stephen start 2026 with a visit from Lord Maris for the seventh Barleywine is Life episode with four Barleywhales that have been lighting up the tradeboards on the secondary market. Featuring barleybobs from The Veil (STARVE: Exhibit H), Goose Island (King Henry II), Anchorage Brewing (Penta Oaked A Deal With the Devil), and Half Acre (Bazalt Wilderness of History). In the Beer News, Jim Beam temporarily shutters a distillery, Disneyland offers a $250 adult beverage, and Bells Brewing tests the spelling skills of their fanbase for this year's Hopslam release. To get involved...
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Batch 304: Good For The Goose, Good For The Gander
Malt Couture
After braving the Black Friday crowds outside Binny's and pissing in bottles in now temperate weather, Alex and Stephen have sourced a horizontal of all six of Goose Island's Bourbon Country Brand Stout releases from this year. They'll be goosin' it, they'll be loosin', and they'll be Power Rankin' it to see how this year's Chicago Juice stacks up. Nothing like 14% ABV beers in the AM to kick off the new year. In the Beer News, the Canadian Brewing Awards integrate AI into their voting system and the judges take a hard stance against the clankers, Bud Light brews beer with melted snow from...
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Batch 303: The State of Whales Today
Malt Couture
Call us The Malty Boyz™. Some years ago--never mind how long precisely--having little or no malty bucks in our purse, and nothing particular to interest us on the shelves at Binny's, we thought we would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. Now we've slayed many a white whale but it's been a minute since we've searched for a modern day whale. Which is why in this episode, Alex reels in some Schramm's, Hill Farmstead, Moksa, and Perennial Artisan Ales to see what's still worth paying triple digits over in the beer and mead game. In the Beer News, the thrilling conclusion...
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Batch 302: Sober Due Diligence
Malt Couture
After a run of White Whales, Old Money, and lots of fresh hops, Alex and Stephen return to the NA space to Power Rank an XL line-up of beers (and a soda) that have popped up in the Beer News in recent months. Sapporo, Paulaner, Years Beer, Rhinegeist Brewery, and Athletic Brewing Company are all represented for this due diligence episode. In the Beer News, A Class of '88 pillar topples as Rogue Brewing abruptly shutters their operations, The Siebel Institute of Technology and World Brewing Academy move to Canada in response to visa operations in the US, and Cigar City ditches aluminum and...
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Batch 301: When Old is New
Malt Couture
Alex looks into some old dogs learning new tricks as Brasserie Au Baron, Kern River Brewing Company, 3 Fonteinen, Brasserie Fantôme, and Yazoo Brewing Company break from traditions. In the Beer News, Paulaner gets into the soda game, Untappd allows any beverage to be checked in, and craft beer legend and long time New Belgium brewer Lauren Woods Limbach retires after 28 years. To get involved with the , click the link for info about the recipe, BSG discount, and links to help raise awareness of colon cancer. If you'd like to make a direct donation to help support Alex, head over...
info_outlineIt's Pliny the Younger season so Alex and Stephen sourced 12 of the highest rated Triple IPAs and are putting them head-to-head for a three-part series. In Part 1 they try TIPAs from Wonderous Brewing Co., Pizza Port Brewing Company, Green Cheek Beer Co., and Monkish Brewing Co. In the Beer News, Monday Night Brewing gets into a legal battle with Coors Light over a "Case of the Mondays," BrewDog founder fancies himself the Elon Musk of the UK, and Stone Brewing gets a stern talking to by their main investment partner Sapporo.
Thanks to Cellarmaker Brewing Company for sponsoring this episode! Follow them on Instagram @CellarmakerBrewing. Visit Cellarmaker House of Pizza in San Francisco and their taprooms in Oakland and Berkeley.
To get involved with the "Life" International Barleywine Collab, click the link for info about the recipe, BSG discount, and links to help raise awareness of colon cancer.
If you'd like to make a direct donation to help support Alex, head over to his GoFundMe.
For more info about colon cancer and to help support the fight against it check out the Colon Cancer Foundation.
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