The Brewing Network Presents - The Session

The Session returns this week as the Brewcasters delve into the Brazilian craft beer and homebrewing scene. Mirroring the explosion in the US, Brazil's beer drinkers are getting more and more selective and sophisticated with their palettes and their dollars (or, more accurately, their real). Leading the charge are people like brewmaster Patrick Zanello of Sao Paulo's Cervejaria Colorado - Patrick joins the show to share his beer, his expertise, and his perspective on one of the world's fastest growing brewery scenes. You'll also hear from renowned Brazilian homebrewer Ricardo Rosa, our own in-house experts John Palmer and Nicole Erny, and much more.

After the busiest June in BN history, The Session is finally back in action this week. Tune in to catch the first-ever broadcast from our new studio, as Goose Island CEO John Hall joins the Brewcasters to shine some light onto the goings-on at his legendary Chicago brewery a little over a year after the now-infamous Anheuser-Busch-InBev takeover. You will also hear a recap of the 2012 National Homebrewers conference, a discussion with Ninkasi winner Mark Schoppe, and much more.

Check out more of some of the best of the BN and take a trip down memory lane with us. In this episode you'll hear a goodbye from Daniela, hello from Beevo, and expertise from Shay Comfort. It's the best of The Session!

This week's show is a Best of the Session compilation. Tune in and listen to some of the best moments in BN history and relive the memories of your favorite shows.

This week, The Session delves into the Alabama craft beer scene. Brewmaster Craig Shaw of Birmingham's Avondale Brewing Company joins the show to tell us his story of building and running a craft brewery in a state that enforces some of the most restrictive bottling and distribution laws in the nation. He is followed by Representative Joe Hubbard, a Democrat from Montgomery who has been a colorful presence in the discussions from the floor of the State Legislature during their debates over various beer and homebrewing bills.

The Session makes another broadcast from our temporary studios this week, as head brewer Craig Fermoy and partner Stephen George of the United Kingdom's Humpty Dumpty Brewery fly all the way across the pond to sit in Justin's new garage in Martinez. Founded in 1998 in a sleepy village in Reedham, Humpty Dumpty specializes in cask and bottle-conditioned ales, producing about 45 barrels per week while stocking a wide range of beers from breweries across the U.K. and around the world.

This week on The Session, live from our temporary studios in Martinez, the Brewcasters are joined by Will and Mari Kemper, the owners of Washington's Chuckanut Brewery. Chuckanut continues to wow judges and rack up awards for their German-style pilsners, Vienna lagers, altbiers, and much more. Tune in as the GABF's two-time brewer of the year reveals all his deepest, darkest brewing secrets.

After seven years and hundreds of shows, The Session makes its final broadcast from the Rat Pad. The Brewcasters say goodbye to Pacheco with the help of Michael Fairbrother, the founder of New Hampshire's Moonlight Meadery. Few businesses experience the explosive growth that Moonlight has in the two short years they've been producing their world-class meads - you'll hear all about how and why the success has been so fast and so furious from the man whose homebrewing and mead-making started it all.

This week on The Session, the Brewcasters welcome back to the show Scott Metzger, the founder and CEO of Texas's Freetail Brewing Company. Scott achieved some infamy in the craft beer world and beyond for his response to a legal threat from an Oregon-area brewery (which shall remain unnamed) in 2011. Now, he returns to the Brewing Network airwaves for a proper interview about the things we really care about - his beer and his brewery, which opened in San Antonio in late 2008.

The Session is back in action this week with Chad Yakobson, the brewer and owner of Colorado's Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project. Specializing in 100% Brettanomyces fermentations and barrel-aged sour and wild ales, Crooked Stave has carved out quite a name for themselves in just a couple short years. Tune in to learn from a man whose brewing endeavor is a culmination of the knowledge and inspiration he amassed over years of study, during which he wrote a Master’s dissertation on Brettanomyces yeast species.

The Session returns this week with Dave Hoops, the master brewer for Fitger's Brewhouse in Duluth, Minnesota. Tune in to hear the history of one of America's most storied breweries - from a pre-1900 German brewmaster named August Fitger, to its current incarnation opened in 1995 and selling a ton of beer despite Minnesota's archaic distribution laws, this is a brewery story that you won't want to miss. Also, get ready for a big announcement from Justin about the future of the Brewing Network.

It's another JP-led broadcast of The Session this week, while Justin is out God-knows-where doing God-knows-what. The Brewcasters are joined by general manager Cyrena Nouzille and brewmaster Dave Griffiths of Southern California's Ladyface Alehouse. A warm, casual European style brasserie, Ladyface features their own hand-crafted ales and the best of American craft beer on tap, as well as a menu rooted in traditional French and Belgian country dishes that are seasonally inspired by California's bountiful local harvests.

This week, The Session welcomes to the show Matt Brophy, the brewmaster and COO of Maryland's Flying Dog Brewery. Tune in to hear their evolution from a brewpub in Aspen, Colorado to a full-fledged Denver brewery, and then to a state-of-the-art brewing facility in Frederick, Maryland. No stranger to controversy, Flying Dog produces world-class craft beers and continues to push the envelope with experimental brews and limited edition one-offs, all the while paying homage to their Gonzo Godfathers – George Stranahan, Hunter S. Thompson, and Ralph Steadman. We also discuss advanced extract (mini-mash) techniques with Doc and Moscow after their brew day together.

Justin takes the studio mobile and broadcasts live from Zeitgeist during SF Beer Week with Matt Brynildson from Firestone Walker Brewing Company and Lars Larson from Trumer Brauerei. Download the show now and listen to Matt and Lars discuss hops, sour beer, Pilsner and more. You'll even hear Justin tell one of the best brewers in the world that there is something wrong with his beer... It's another great interview with amazing brewers, done Brewing Network style!

The Session returns this week with Jeff Brown, the president of Colorado's Boulder Beer Company. Jeff was scheduled to join the show last November, but travel and technology got in the way. This week, he joins the Brewcasters to share the story he never got the chance to tell - a story that has taken many twists and turns in the more than 20 years Jeff has been in the business.