Drinking Partners #263 - Funkytown Beer | Barrel and Flow 23
Drinking Partners
Welcome to Drinking Partners Live at Barrel and Flow 2023! Ed and Day kick things off with a lively introduction, setting the stage for an exciting discussion. Proudly reminding everyone that Barrel and Flow is the number one brew festival in America—not just in Pittsburgh or among black brew festivals, but across the entire country. Founders of Funkytown Brewing from Chicago, Illinois: Richard Bloomfield, Greg Williams, and Zach Day share their inspiring journey from childhood friends to successful brewery owners. They cover their early days of drinking beer in college, their trip to...
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Drinking Partners #262 - Mary Hester | Life Venture Real Estate Solutions
Drinking Partners
Welcome to the 262nd episode of the Drinking Partners podcast, recorded live at the vibrant Emerald City. In this episode, Ed and Day dive into the importance of homeownership and building generational wealth with special guest Mary Hester, founder of Life Venture Real Estate Solutions. Mary shares her expertise on how her advocacy firm helps individuals become successful homeowners by providing education and connecting them to valuable resources like subsidies and grants. The discussion covers the psychological barriers and trauma related to money that many people face and how Life Venture...
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Drinking Partners #261 - Sydney Davis | Artist Talk Mental Health
Drinking Partners
What does the name “Drinking Partners Podcast” tell you? It’s probably some guys who appreciate a stiff drink (and maybe T-Pain), chopping it up with guests. Now take “Artist Talk Mental Health”: this week’s guest, Sydney Davis began to host gatherings especially for Black artists and creatives after recognizing so many of her artist friends struggling with their mental health. “It’s giving an opportunity for artists to get up on a platform and be like, not only is this my art, but this is the story behind it,” she tells Ed and Day. ATMH prides itself on creating a safe space...
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Drinking Partners #260 - Russell General Contracting
Drinking Partners
“I’m tired of tearing shit down,” says Montae Russell. “Let me build something up.” This kind of constructive, uplifting mindset is often heard on the Drinking Partners podcast, but never quite so literally. Montae is one-half of the husband and wife duo behind Russell General Contracting (5:50). He’s lead carpenter; Alexis works as consultant. Together, they have helped to preserve Pittsburgh, and the nation’s, cultural heritage, working on both the National Negro Opera House and the August Wilson House. Not only are Alexis and Tae savvy small business owners, but...
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Drinking Partners #259 - Altered Genius | Dashawn Boring
Drinking Partners
“You got a can with your face on it,” says Ed Bailey, to this week’s Drinking Partners guest, DaShawn Boring. It’s Boring’s first time on a can. The beer is from Altered Genius, where he brews. His face is next to Day’s face. And their faces are next to Daelyn’s face. It’s a “3 Day Weekend”–a highly drinkable, dark kolsch-style altered ale, perfect for MLK Day, or any other righteous occasion. Ed, Day and DaShawn talk about the beer collab, the perils of dating a vegan, and the Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe. This one’s for the Beaver Countians. Guest: DeShawn Boring,...
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Drinking Partners #258 - TLC Libations
Drinking Partners
The Drinking Partners are kind of a big deal now. Buses in their hometown have Ed and Day’s faces on the side of them. But has the fame gotten to their oversized, 6-foot tall heads? Hardly. They’re still men of the people–certainly not the types to turn down booze out of a mason jar. Which is good, because that’s how Erika Turner [4:50], co-founder and CEO of , has prepared some in-studio cocktails for this week’s episode. Turner is the daughter half of the mother-daughter ownership team behind Western PA’s first Black-owned woman distillery. The interview swings from bartending...
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Drinking Partners #257 - Corey Ochai | 1028 Studios
Drinking Partners
“I feel like the best art in the world creates conversation,” says artist Corey Ochai [4:17], founder and CEO of 1028 Studios, and there’s no pair better to chop it with than the Drinking Partners. Ochai, who listeners might recognize as the creative director of America's best Black arts and craft beer festival, Barrel & Flow, reveals to Day and Ed why he briefly lost his joy for painting: “I was trying to create something that people would like, instead of creating from something that was inside me.” The comment prompts a conversation about what inspires real, meaningful artistry,...
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Drinking Partners #256 - Roux Orleans
Drinking Partners
Just when he thought he was out, they pulled him back in. “I don’t do Cajun style or Creole style,” – it’s authentic New Orleans taste in the North. Mike Barnes, aka Big Easy, tells the Drinking Partners that after 20 years working in kitchens down South, he thought his days as a chef were over. Then word of his home cooking got out among friends. A few years and $10 pans of jambalaya later, he’s got his own spice collection and catering company, Roux Orleans, where he’s making catfish, crawfish, and gumbo so good that all you can say is “fam.” Laissez les bon temps roulez....
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Drinking Partners #255 - Noire Expedition Gin.
Drinking Partners
If there’s anything the Drinking Partners do, it’s drink, and celebrate Black excellence. It’s a package deal. And this episode has plenty of both. From Sharpsburg’s swanky 1028 Podcast studio, Day and Ed welcome Kenyan Hicks, owner and distiller of Pittsburgh’s Noire Expedition distillery. Theirs is a 90-proof, floral, American gin, with notes of lavender, citrus and juniper. The three take theirs neat, while they discuss the finer points of gin, the craft beverage industry’s pay-it-forward mentality, and a long-lost uncle named Lumpkin. It’s a journey and an episode so Black -...
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Drinking Partners #254 - Barrel and Flow 2022
Drinking Partners
Before a studio audience at The Stacks at 3 Crossings, in Pittsburgh’s historic Strip District, the Drinking Partners are live from Barrel & Flow, the country’s premiere Black arts and craft beer festival. Before the 75 breweries and a crowd of thousands arrive, Ed and Day sit down with two New England brewers who are redefining how beer is made and who it is for. The first guest is Alisa Bowens-Mercado [7:00], CEO and brewmaster of Connecticut’s Rhythm Brewing Co. She discusses how contract brewing is “a beautiful thing,” and how hard it can be to find Black folks and...
info_outlineRen Navarro of beer-diversity.com joins the Drinking Partners virtually from Canada and offers insight into the Canadian beer scene, most of which surprises Ed, who did not “see Canada having grass.” After an opening discussion that listeners will find amusing, the trio discusses more serious concerns, from coping with the pandemic to diverse ownership in business and beer. What does diversity mean in 2021? That question becomes the central focus of the interview as they explore its impact on the craft beer industry. Ren’s advice for breweries: Do your homework. She shares important additional tips as well: make a space welcoming and educate drinkers on the similarities between craft beer and macro beer, so craft beer can be accessible to all. Except babies, who Day does not want at breweries. Enjoy this fun, yet significant conversation and find more about Ren Navarro: www.beer-diversity.com