Good Beer Hunting

After more than a decade of wild growth, Michelob Ultra is now well-established as Anheuser-Busch InBev’s king of “better-for-you” beer. As odd as it may sound to beer enthusiasts, the brand has become paradigmatic in its popularity and sales figures. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before other breweries wanted to play catch-up. The Ultraficaton race is now very much on, with entries in the low-calorie, low-carb space multiplying quickly from breweries big and small. Among these is a new release from Boston Beer’s Marathon Brewing Company: a similar, sort-of-subsidiary effort not unlike its Alchemy & Science (now A&S Brewing) incubator, which acquires and promotes smaller breweries. Marathon’s first nationwide release was ushered to store shelves by brewer Shelley Smith, who joins this Sightlines podcast to talk 26.2 Brew: a beer that had previously only been available around the Boston Marathon. The brand will now see ramped-up production and will, from March, be marketed to beer drinkers who also prioritize their active lifestyles. At 4% ABV, 9 grams of carbohydrates, and 120 calories (stats that all appear in the product’s marketing materials), 26.2 Brew is just the latest product aimed at a growing number of shoppers who want to pair their wellness with their beer. Now, let’s get an idea of what all of this means for one of the largest beer companies in the U.S. This is Shelley Smith, brewer and manager of research and product innovation with Boston Beer. Listen in.

Welcome to the GBH Collective, a special series of interviews where we have the chance to dive a little deeper with Good Beer Hunting contributors and journalist and media folks from within the beer industry and beyond on topics of writing, beer, and the stories you read and hear from GBH and others. In this episode, we’re going to rekindle an old flame in Peter Frost. He’s the writer behind the MilerCoors blog, a publication which has garnered a ton of attention in the beer industry since he took it over. And it’s gotten a good amount of praise as well, which is not something that’s often granted to organizations like MillerCoors amongst beer drinkers and fellow brewers.  You may remember Peter from our interview with him back when he was the business and beer reporter for Crain’s in Chicago. That was way back in episode 118. He’s the same guy, and has the same charming and clever personality I’ve grown to love. But this is a vastly different context in which he’s operating as a journalist. This is Peter Frost. Listen in.

This week we have a special preview episode for you. Last year, you may recall we led a series of discussions at Foeder for Thought, the festival for wood-aged and sour beers by Green Bench brewing in St Petersburg Florida, as part of the Tampa Bay beer week festivities. Well, it was a blast, and the team at Green Bench has invited us back to the party to do it again this year, and I’m very excited to get down there and see their cellar expansion. They’ve been busy collaborating with a bunch of folks, and producing some of the best mixed-culture beers in the country. And Foeder for Thought is a celebration of those beers, their friendships, and their professional admiration of others. Also, it’s just a killer time. Tickets are on sale for that fest right now, which is March 8. Hit up goodbeerhunting.com/events and you can learn all about it. Today, I had co-founders Kris and Brian in the studio, and their colleague Valerie who runs the festival, to talk about how the festival came to be, what its ambitious are, and what’s on deck for the discussions this year: some topics that I’m excited to dig into, some personalities I’m thrilled to see on stage, and some beers I can’t wait to drink.

Welcome to a special edition of the Good Beer Hunting podcast—a series of episodes made in partnership with Guinness devoted to one of the world’s most iconic brands from Dublin to the United States, to Nigeria and the Caribbean. Guinness became an underwriter of Good Beer Hunting 18 months ago, helping us bring you a series of stories called Coming to America, exploring the relationship between imports and the U.S. beer drinker in the age of local craft. And more recently, they helped us start up a new series called Mother of Invention, where we explore the technical innovations, past and present, that have transformed the beer in your glass in surprising ways. And now we’re taking the opportunity to explore the story of Guinness itself in a unique way for GBH. Guinness made it possible for us to visit historic St. James Gate in Dublin, and their new brewery in Baltimore County in the U.S., and gave us free rein to pull at the strings of the stories we’ve so often heard in the form of legend, but rarely had the first-hand experience to dive in to. We wanted to turn legends into learning. They also gave us free rein of their brewing sites, both in Baltimore, home to their new brewery and taproom, called the Open Gate Brewery, which shares a name with the public-facing innovation brewing taproom located in Dublin, and historic St James Gate—which, to be honest, took some real doing. It’s not a place open to tourists, at least beyond the visitor center. And much of the more historical aspects are either in disrepair or preserved, and gaining access to those people and places isn’t easy for a film and audio crew. So for all the rigamarole we caused with our persistence, we’re thankful and grateful we were able to get past the gates, and into some of the more fascinating aspects of the various Guinness operations. And it was all in pursuit of understanding one thing: What makes Guinness Guinness? And how has that changed over the years?

Welcome to a special edition of the Good Beer Hunting podcast—a series of episodes made in partnership with Guinness devoted to one of the world’s most iconic brands from Dublin to the United States, to Nigeria and the Caribbean. Guinness became an underwriter of Good Beer Hunting 18 months ago, helping us bring you a series of stories called Coming to America, exploring the relationship between imports and the U.S. beer drinker in the age of local craft. And more recently, they helped us start up a new series called Mother of Invention, where we explore the technical innovations, past and present, that have transformed the beer in your glass in surprising ways. And now we’re taking the opportunity to explore the story of Guinness itself in a unique way for GBH. Guinness made it possible for us to visit historic St. James Gate in Dublin, and their new brewery in Baltimore County in the U.S., and gave us free rein to pull at the strings of the stories we’ve so often heard in the form of legend, but rarely had the first-hand experience to dive in to. We wanted to turn legends into learning. They also gave us free rein of their brewing sites, both in Baltimore, home to their new brewery and taproom, called the Open Gate Brewery, which shares a name with the public-facing innovation brewing taproom located in Dublin, and historic St James Gate—which, to be honest, took some real doing. It’s not a place open to tourists, at least beyond the visitor center. And much of the more historical aspects are either in disrepair or preserved, and gaining access to those people and places isn’t easy for a film and audio crew. So for all the rigamarole we caused with our persistence, we’re thankful and grateful we were able to get past the gates, and into some of the more fascinating aspects of the various Guinness operations. And it was all in pursuit of understanding one thing: What makes Guinness Guinness? And how has that changed over the years?

Welcome to a special edition of the Good Beer Hunting podcast—a series of episodes made in partnership with Guinness devoted to one of the world’s most iconic brands from Dublin to the United States, to Nigeria and the Caribbean.  Guinness became an underwriter of Good Beer Hunting 18 months ago, helping us bring you a series of stories called Coming to America, exploring the relationship between imports and the U.S. beer drinker in the age of local craft. And more recently, they helped us start up a new series called Mother of Invention, where we explore the technical innovations, past and present, that have transformed the beer in your glass in surprising ways. And now we’re taking the opportunity to explore the story of Guinness itself in a unique way for GBH. Guinness made it possible for us to visit historic St. James Gate in Dublin, and their new brewery in Baltimore County in the U.S., and gave us free rein to pull at the strings of the stories we’ve so often heard in the form of legend, but rarely had the first-hand experience to dive in to. We wanted to turn legends into learning. They also gave us free rein of their brewing sites, both in Baltimore, home to their new brewery and taproom, called the Open Gate Brewery, which shares a name with the public-facing innovation brewing taproom located in Dublin, and historic St James Gate—which, to be honest, took some real doing. It’s not a place open to tourists, at least beyond the visitor center. And much of the more historical aspects are either in disrepair or preserved, and gaining access to those people and places isn’t easy for a film and audio crew. So for all the rigamarole we caused with our persistence, we’re thankful and grateful we were able to get past the gates, and into some of the more fascinating aspects of the various Guinness operations. And it was all in pursuit of understanding one thing: What makes Guinness Guinness? And how has that changed over the years?

Welcome to a special edition of the Good Beer Hunting podcast—a series of episodes made in partnership with Guinness devoted to one of the world’s most iconic brands from Dublin to the United States, to Nigeria and the Caribbean.  Guinness became an underwriter of Good Beer Hunting 18 months ago, helping us bring you a series of stories called Coming to America, exploring the relationship between imports and the U.S. beer drinker in the age of local craft. And more recently, they helped us start up a new series called Mother of Invention, where we explore the technical innovations, past and present, that have transformed the beer in your glass in surprising ways. And now we’re taking the opportunity to explore the story of Guinness itself in a unique way for GBH. Guinness made it possible for us to visit historic St. James Gate in Dublin, and their new brewery in Baltimore County in the U.S., and gave us free rein to pull at the strings of the stories we’ve so often heard in the form of legend, but rarely had the first-hand experience to dive in to. We wanted to turn legends into learning. They also gave us free rein of their brewing sites, both in Baltimore, home to their new brewery and taproom, called the Open Gate Brewery, which shares a name with the public-facing innovation brewing taproom located in Dublin, and historic St James Gate—which, to be honest, took some real doing. It’s not a place open to tourists, at least beyond the visitor center. And much of the more historical aspects are either in disrepair or preserved, and gaining access to those people and places isn’t easy for a film and audio crew. So for all the rigamarole we caused with our persistence, we’re thankful and grateful we were able to get past the gates, and into some of the more fascinating aspects of the various Guinness operations. And it was all in pursuit of understanding one thing: What makes Guinness Guinness? And how has that changed over the years?

Welcome to a special edition of the Good Beer Hunting podcast—a series of episodes made in partnership with Guinness devoted to one of the world’s most iconic brands from Dublin to the United States, to Nigeria and the Caribbean.  Guinness became an underwriter of Good Beer Hunting 18 months ago, helping us bring you a series of stories called Coming to America, exploring the relationship between imports and the U.S. beer drinker in the age of local craft. And more recently, they helped us start up a new series called Mother of Invention, where we explore the technical innovations, past and present, that have transformed the beer in your glass in surprising ways. And now we’re taking the opportunity to explore the story of Guinness itself in a unique way for GBH. Guinness made it possible for us to visit historic St. James Gate in Dublin, and their new brewery in Baltimore County in the U.S., and gave us free rein to pull at the strings of the stories we’ve so often heard in the form of legend, but rarely had the first-hand experience to dive in to. We wanted to turn legends into learning. They also gave us free rein of their brewing sites, both in Baltimore, home to their new brewery and taproom, called the Open Gate Brewery, which shares a name with the public-facing innovation brewing taproom located in Dublin, and historic St James Gate—which, to be honest, took some real doing. It’s not a place open to tourists, at least beyond the visitor center. And much of the more historical aspects are either in disrepair or preserved, and gaining access to those people and places isn’t easy for a film and audio crew. So for all the rigamarole we caused with our persistence, we’re thankful and grateful we were able to get past the gates, and into some of the more fascinating aspects of the various Guinness operations. And it was all in pursuit of understanding one thing: What makes Guinness Guinness? And how has that changed over the years?

Welcome to another Fervent Few episode of the Good Beer Hunting podcast where myself, Jim Plachy, and GBH’s strategic director, Michael Kiser, catch up. We’ll talk about the topics and discussions that took place in our membership community in the last couple weeks. Our 500 or so subscribers are scattered all over the world. Sometimes we meet up with them when we’re on the road, or they hang out with each other, but it all comes together in our community forum on Slack. If you value the content and experiences that GBH produces, you should join. Your monthly subscription gets you access to the community, special events, and exclusive gear deigned just for members. I joined, and now I manage it all. Plus, it’s my favorite place on the Beer Internet. Visit goodbeerhunting.com/ferventfew to strike up a conversation in beer.

“It’s just beer” is a mantra screamed into the social void daily. Its believers just want to enjoy a beer in peace, to escape the world for a damn second.  The problem is, it isn’t just beer. Beer is both an artisanal and commercial product. Craft is a social construct. Small batch brewing is a way of life, its marketing often an act of rebellion. So drinking it is a statement whether you want it to be or not. What we drink, where we drink it, how it gets there, and what we pay are all infused with politics. So what happens when a brand embraces that by stamping its beliefs on its cans, or plastering them on their social media, or making viral campaigns preaching to their customers? Should a company be allowed to do that? And on the flip side, do they have a responsibility to do so? My guests today believe this decision is made for them by the juxtaposition of their beliefs and the way the world is heading. Save for their anti-Trump beer, Ben Duckworth and Steve Grae of South London’s Affinity Brew Co don’t cram their left-wing ideas down people’s throats. But anyone with a passing interest in British politics will note the roses on their cans and Labour Party slogans that make up many of their beer names. In doing so, they hope to encourage friendly debate and keep politics at the forefront of drinkers’ minds during one of the greatest political upheavals in British history. Inside their beautiful cans and bubbling through their Belgian-inspired session beers there is even more room critical thought—the responsibilities of a brewer to moderate alcohol levels, regulate serving sizes, and to challenge the government’s approach to alcohol licensing.  But first lets just talk about beer. This is Ben Duckworth and Steve Grae of Affinity Brew Co. Listen in.