Hop Nation USA - A Craft Beer Podcast

STOUTSGIVING 2021 (Part 1)

Full bore. All gas, no brakes. It's part one of the Thanksgiving Hop Nation USA special featuring Adam, Steve, Kelsey, Katie, and First Sip Brew Box's Dennis. Real talk there were over 3+ hours of audio recorded and I the editor was very busy all week and very food comatose on Thursday, the day I edited this. So I decided it's easier to release it in parts. Anyway we drink the Dogfish Head Utopias Barrel Aged World Wide Stout, talk about Kweza Brewery the first independent brewery of Rwanda, and go off the rails.

Stay Tuned for Parts 2 and 3 throughout the holiday weekend with more stouts and more merriment.

Episode 227: Fourth and Long (LIVE at Abjuration Brewing)

Steve and Adam are once again in "The Rocks" to talk with Dave and Tom of Abjuration Brewing. Their 4th full appearance to celebrate their upcoming four year anniversary. They talk about all the changes and additions to the brewery since the last episode over a year ago. This includes a canning line, a biergarten, new staff, new beer and more. They get into the tribulations of Abjuration such as the pandemic and continuing to try to be a good neighbor in McKees Rocks. Finally they end on a game of Nobody Asked You answering the beer questions from around the internet.

BEERS:

Abjuration Brewing Classic India Pale Ale Eclipse/Citiva v1.5

Abjuration Brewing Candied Sour Pink Cotton Candy v1.12

Abjuration Brewing Breakfast Cereal Ale Chocolate Monster Cereal v1.11

Abjuration Brewing Chocolate Hot Pepper Stout Ghost Pepper/Tabasco v1.7

Episode 226: Foxy McFoxface (LIVE at Sly Fox 2)

Back on the road, Adam and Steve are once again drawn to Sly Fox Beer as they prepare to open a brand new brewery on the South Side of Pittsburgh. Representing Sly Fox are returning guests Ryan and Kyle as well as first timer and brewer Jon Ross. They talk about the new facility, cheesesteaks, traditional beer styles, and challenges to get the new facility open. They also learn a lot about the brewer, his experience, and plans. And finally they do some traditional and non-traditional pairings of beer and Thanksgiving food.

BEERS:

Sly Fox Beer x 2SP Brewery Dog Will Hunt Hoppy Lager

Sly Fox Beer Well Intentioned Wit

Sly Fox Beer Dunkel Lager

Episode 225: Mystery Fridge of Mystery FAFO Edition

Katie joins Steve and Adam at Hop Nation Central to peer into the abyss of the mystery fridge, reach into the void, and draw out their fate. Also the news of the week. Sam Adams has a beer with Space hops, New Belgium has a beer with Four Roses, and Giant (not Iggle) has some cheese with beer in it. Also how to replace your racist tourist trap with a new lager focused brewery in one step. Then it's the history of biersuppe and how it became the cheesy warming beer soup we all love. Finally, a round of Build-A-Brewery where we steal IP theft style, the best parts of breweries around the city to Frankenstein our own.

BEERS:

Aslin Brewing Mango Freeze

Dancing Gnome x Dissolvr Prime Velocity Cream Ale

Hitchhiker Brewing Half Sweet Half Nuts Stout

Episode 224: Pickles ‘n‘ Milk (LIVE at East End Brewing)

Adam and Steve are on still on the road and have finally made their way to one of Pittsburgh's OG craft beer outposts, East End Brewing. They sit down with owner Scott Smith to talk about the new venture East End Chewing, partnering with Primanti's, pitching pizzas, milk tubes, and more fun things. Then they get into music in breweries, talking about the neighborhoods of the Steel City, curiosities of the city, and homebrewing. Finally, it's a fun game centered around the what makes up the Burgh its history and where disc golf is. 

BEERS:

East End Brewing Company Pintonka Pils

East End Brewing Company x Primanti Bros Almost Famous Pickle Beer Gose

East End Brewing Company You Are Here: Elliott Spruce Lager

East End Brewing Company Smokestack Heritage Smoked Porter

Episode 223: Union Local (LIVE at Union Brothers Brewing)

Steve and Adam travel north of Pittsburgh to the town of Harmony to sit down with Zach Waltz, the head brewer/owner of Union Brothers Brewing. They talk about the upcoming expansion to a 10 bbl brewhouse, the lightning speed they've gone from opening to expanding, and UBB history. Then Zach enlightens us to working for the power company and his wisdom gained from homebrewing. Finally, Adam gets his revenge with a quiz full of obscure trivia even Steve doesn't know.

BEERS:

Union Brothers Brewing Marzen

Union Brothers Brewing Short Stack Pumpkin Pie Sour

Union Brothers Brewing Rockee Rooad Pastry Stout

Episode 222: Bashing Decaying Pumpkins

After a computer whoops and a missed week, Adam and Steve call in the reinforcements from Adam and Matt of the Decayin With The Boys podcast. In the news: One Pint at a Time gets a 3 Rivers Film Fest date, Union Brothers expands, West Virginia actually has craft beer, and Bash Brew has some exciting announcements. Then Hop Nation Adam plies the rest of the group for beer and horror film pairings. What do you drink on the Train to Busan? What goes best with a Warlock? Why does Mint Chocolate Chip rule so hard? Finally, it's the return of the infamous Horror Movie & Beer Quiz. One Adam hates it. The other one not so much. Find who is who.

DRINKS:

Blake's Hard Cider Apple Lantern Roasted Pumpkin

Whole Hog Brewery Pumpkin Ale

Southern Tier King & Cola Mixed Cocktail

Episode 221: Pint at the Movies (w/ One Pint at a Time)

Aaron and Brigitte Hosé creators of the new film One Pint at a Time join Steve and Adam for zoomy edition of the podcast. The talk about their new film which highlights the experience of being a Black brewer in America and the history brewing. They also talk about the film's origins at Pittsburgh's own Fresh Fest and recapping the 2021 Barrel & Flow Fest. They get into Aaron's history as a filmmaker and how he and Brigitte got into the craft beer scene. Finally, they play some Beer & Film trivia with candles on the line.

BEERS:

City Built Brewing Company Fifth Street Hooligans NEIPA

Intracoastal Brewing Maple Bacon Donut Brown Ale

Grist House x Smittox Brewing Dessert Wanderer Stout

New Belgium x Ale Sharpton Piano Keys Stout

Ivanhoe Park Brewing Cold Bear, Please Kolsch

North Country Brewing Field Notes Oktoberfest

Altered Genius Dahl Peach Saison

pFriem Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout

J. Wakefield Brewing Hops for Teacher Pale Ale

Aurochs Hefe

Necromancer Brewing Before Swine Purl Ale

 

Episode 220: Glarusingly Obvious Pun

After weeks on the road, the crew is back at Hop Nation USA studios. Kelsey joins Adam and Steve to enjoy some of Wisconsin, and only Wisconsin's favorite brau, New Glarus Brewing. First they do some clean up on the news with talking about the upcoming Three Rivers Beer Week in Pittsburgh, New Guinness location in Chicago, new Doordash beer delivery, and a bunch of beer winners. Then it's onto the history and stylings of New Glarus brewery itself and what makes it so successful. Finally a fun little state line, border crossing fun where they figure the kind of strippers Texas has and how big the cream puffs are in Wisconsin.  

BEERS:

New Glarus Brewing Co Staghorn Oktoberfest

New Glarus Brewing Co Spotted Cow Farmhouse Ale

New Glarus Brewing Wisconsin Belgian Red

Episode 219: Full to the Brim (LIVE at Full Pint Beer)

Steve and Adam are still on the road recording in other spaces. This week they are at the resurrected Full Pint Beer. They're joined by Bobby Nacho the head brewer, and Dan Franklin one of the co-owners. They talk about bringing back a brand that was a known staple of Pittsburgh, returning beloved beers, and introducing their own new recipes. Then they get into talk about CBC (Craft Beer Conference.) Learn about what was to see and do this year in Denver, plus what the hell is a mash filter press? Full Pint has one and we ask about it. Finally, it's a rousing game of Would You Rather and Chi-Chis gets name dropped.

BEERS:

Full Pint Beer Chinookie IPA

Full Pint Beer Smackdown Sour Pink Passion Fruit

Full Pint Beer Dawn of the Living Stout White Stout