The Brewing Network Presents - The Session

Chris Graham joins us in the studio and tells us how to trick out our homebrewery with gadgets to make brewing easier and more fun. He gives a top ten list of things he can no longer brew without, from his lecture given at NHC this year. Complete with a .pdf download to follow along at home. Check the homepage for that.

Chris and Mike White of White Labs Yeast, Shaun O'Sullivan of The 21st-Amendment Brewery, and Chris Graham of MoreBeer! all join in to do a great show. We discuss yeast in-depth, including counting yeast, proper starters and pitching rates, blending yeast, propagation techniques and much more. Plus tons of fun and GABF giveaways to boot.

John Palmer, author of How To Brew, helps us learn about step mashing, when it should be utilized, when it should not, and how to do it. Also, it's a long show full of Meltdown, Japanese education, and listener calls.

Doc teaches us why brew system efficiency is important and why it's not, how to calculate it and tips to improve it if you're having trouble. Also, we enter people into our GABF giveaway, have fun with drunks and rock some classic tunes. It starts slow, but ends great...hang in there!!!

Bay Area homebrew legend Homer Smith joins us to talk about how homebrew has changed throughout his tenure of 35 years, what he loves about the industry, his favorite porters and stouts and some BBQ too. Sit back and enjoy the stories of our favorite homebrew guy...Homer!

The entire show is upbeat and part of our new "meltdown" theme. Best part is a great lecture on brewing sour beers at home from Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing first given at the NHC this year. Also, we discuss producer Shat's first all grain attempt.

The Brewcaster's run down their NHC experiences, complete with audio from the conference and pictures linked to boot. Also, a great discussion on blending beer from Firestone Walker Brewmaster Matt Brynildson.

Homebrew Chef Sean Paxton guides us through a tour of Belgian Trappist Brewery Rochefort, complete with a downloadable slide show and guide so you can follow along at home. We discuss the history, the beers, and how to brew them ourselves in this in-depth fathers day episode.

This week we wrap up pur anniversary party, talk homebrews with JP and Producer Chad, and present an interview done with Sam Calgione of Dogfish head. The audio quality of the interview is not what we normally present but the content is awesome.

This week we celebrate The Brewing Network's second anniversary with a big bash at The Bistro in Hayward. It's a long show with a lot of shouting and cursing, but you get an idea of the amazing crowd of support we recieve from the BN Army. Plus, there's a live performance of our favorite beer songs from The BN's own Session Band and also from Cold Hot Crash. The Cold Hot Crash audio is rough due to such a big sounding band in a small room, but they rocked the house live!

This week is our hippy cry baby show as we discuss one of Brewcaster J's favorite topics, organic brewing with homebrew shop 7 Bridges Coopertive. Also, we get a surprise appearance from our long lost Brewcaster D!!

In our first show back from a brief hiatus, we talk Belgian beers with Brewery Ommegang Brewmaster Randy Thiel and also learn about the new DRAFT Magazine from co-founder and Beer Director Scott Kerkmans. It's a packed show with lots of information and also Brewing Network updates about what's new, why we took time off, and what to expect at our second anniversary party coming up June 3rd.

Shawn and Craig from Schooners join us in the studio to talk about their award winning beers and barrel aging. We had alot of fun tasting great beers and learning how to age our big beers properly. Cask conditioning, barrell aging and general beer information abound.

Part II of our competition series covers judging of beers and common flaws that show up in competition submissions. Jamil Zainashef, Kevin Pratt, Brent Brubaker and Doc help evaluate several listener beers and score them as if they were being judged in competition. Some of the judging gets into heated debate, which makes for some excitement. Oh...and happy Easter if that's your thing!

This week we welcome the great Pete Slosberg of Pete's Wicked Ale on the show. Pete spends time with us in the studio talking about starting his company at a time when Craft Beer was in its infancy and how he built a brand and moved on into the future. It's a great show with Shaun O'Sullivan co-hosting and JP manning the chat room along with Stephanie to add some female perspective to the show. Plus, we play a new game called "Spam-or-not".