Post Doc - Washington Beer Talk - Part 1 #46
Post Doc - Washington Beer Talk - Part 1 #46

Post Doc is over in Redmond. It started with a joke - the obvious answer to what you do with your life when you are post doc is open a brewery. That is just what Tom and Debbie, along with their respective partners, decided to do. The post docs expertise in chemistry helps give capital P Post Doc the upper hand. But what do you do when your landlord tells you they plan on demoing your building when the light rail comes to town. Get the answer in this two part series. Episode 1 of 2

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Cycling Cicerone, Podcast 31-60Andrew Biebercraft beer, podcast, bike, beer, texas, houston, katyComment
Spindletap Washington Beer Talk - In Texas #45
Spindletap Washington Beer Talk - In Texas #45

Spindletap is an interesting Houston phenomenon. Their hazy IPA catapulted them to the spotlight and they have been living the high life ever since. Rushing from release to release, with their IIPAs making up for their non IPAs, they feature on average at least one “I” per beer. They use their giant space to their advantage to throw big events. They even used their huge warehouse, shared with a friendly neighborhood oil logistics company, to stage relief supplies for hurricane Ike. True Houston super stars.

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Cycling Cicerone, Podcast 31-60Andrew Biebercraft beer, podcast, bike, beer, texas, houston, katyComment
Saint Arnold - Washington Beer Talk #41
Saint Arnold - Washington Beer Talk #41

Jennifer from No Label last week pointed me towards her old homebrewing buddy, Aaron, who now runs beer operations at Saint Arnold Brewery. Saint Arnold is the oldest craft brewery in Texas, an order of magnitude larger than No Label, and a Houston cultural staple. Aaron has been in the beer business for years shares what it is like climbing the beer ladder.

I hate making excuses, but the mic Aaron was wearing was picking up some interesting background music from a totally unknown source (if I had to guess, earbuds playing softly in his pocket) and as a result, his audio is pretty doctored to have the music removed. I figured I’d get ahead of that one now so you can know of my shame.

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Cycling Cicerone, Podcast 31-60Andrew Biebercraft beer, podcast, bike, beer, texas, houston, katyComment
No Label - Washington Beer Talk #40
No Label - Washington Beer Talk #40

This week is my first favorite brewery and the star of my home town, No Label Brewery out in Katy (a suburb of Houston). It’s the only brewery this far out west of and is the 3rd oldest in H-town. Jennifer Royo, co founder, joins me today while I wax nostalgic about Texas and gives us her take on the industry. She and husband Brian started a family around the same time as they started they brewery, so she also talks a bit about the juggling act of raising a young family and a young brewery at the same time.

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Cycling Cicerone, Podcast 31-60Andrew Biebercraft beer, podcast, bike, beer, texas, houston, katy Comments
Wander - Washington Beer Talk #32
Wander - Washington Beer Talk #32

The family that brews together, stays together… that’s how that phrase goes right? Chad and Coleen are a brewing family. Wander is their 20 barrel brew house that is several steps larger than others just starting out. Wander was designed from the get go to be a production scale brewery. Chad tells us how he and Coleen juggle their growing family while their brewery grows into it’s bones.

Wander was an especially noisy brewery and I experimented with some new noise removal processes. Like what you hear? Leave a comment!

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Cycling Cicerone, Podcast 31-60Andrew Biebercraft beer, podcast, bike, beerComment
Aslan - Washington Beer Talk #31
Aslan - Washington Beer Talk #31

Aslan Brewery is an organic brewery and a B Corporation focused on their triple bottom line - People and Planet then finally Profit. Jack Lamb and his co-founders started Aslan much like any other brewery, but despite the self-imposed, margin-slashing decision to go certified organic, they grew quickly to be one of Washington’s top 25 largest breweries. Lamb is on a mission to make beer be the first thing when you hear Aslan, not a lion from the other side of a wardrobe. And yes, I ask him right off the bat how a guy named Lamb went straight for the lion themed brewery.

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Cycling Cicerone, Podcast 31-60Andrew Biebercraft beer, podcast, bike, beerComment
Surly Brewery - Washington Beer Talk #30
Surly Brewery - Washington Beer Talk #30

Surly Brewery is the last brewery on the Minneapolis tour and the biggest brewery I’ve talked to yet. At well over a 100,000 barrels, they smash most of the other small breweries and blast through the legal barrel limits for selling growlers and self distribution. What’s insane though is that Surly is really only 12 years old. What sets them apart from other breweries? Let’s listen to Ben Smith, Head Brewer at their massive production facility and tourist attracting brewpub to find out

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Cycling Cicerone, PodcastAndrew Biebercraft beer, podcast, bike, minneapolis, beer, willows lodgeComment
Head Flyer Brewing - Washington Beer Talk #29
Head Flyer Brewing - Washington Beer Talk #29

We’re nearing the end of the Minneapolis journey. This week we have Head Flyer, a new brewery at only about a year and a half old. Neil is a straight shooter who plays it by the books. I see if, after a couple of beers, I can goad some real talk out of him, like how his young brewery pulled together funding for their beautiful tap room or how he manages juggling his young children, running the brewery, working his day job, and keeping up with his Netflix queue. Sweat on his brow, I’m sure he was ready for a nice chance to breath, sit down with a beer, and to have an easy little chat about brews. Sorry, not today. Let’s see if we can sweat some answers out of him.

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Cycling Cicerone, PodcastAndrew Biebercraft beer, podcast, bike, minneapolis, beer, willows lodge, sumerian, woodinville beer, WoodinvilleComment