The Brewing Network Presents - The Session

In this episode, The Session dives deep into a vat of malt. Joining the show is Doug and Gabi Michael, proprietors of Gladfield Malt from Canterbury, New Zealand. Gladfield produces most of the barley they use in their sophisticated malting plant themselves and has built up a big name in the international brewing industry, supplying more than 280 breweries and homebrew shops across New Zealand, Australia and Asia. Don't miss a conversation with them, a visit from Tom McCormick to discuss the first-ever California Craft Beer Summit, this week's beer news, and much more.

The Session welcomes Will and Mari Kemper of Bellingham, Washington's Chuckanut Brewery and Kitchen back to the show...and this time they're in-studio! Chuckanut is the GABF's two-time national small brewery of the year, and Will and his crew continue to clobber the competition, taking home (among many other awards) a GABF gold medal for their Dunkel in 2014. Tune in for a crash-course in the lagering and fine-tuning techniques Will uses to create his masterpieces, and as if that were not enough, the crew from Menace Brewing Company (also located in Bellingham) joins the show to talk about their fledgling not-for-profit beer project.

The Session concludes its all-SoCal June as the crew from Noble Ale Works in Anaheim, California heads up to The Hop Grenade to join the show. Tune in for some textbook BN asshattery as head brewer Evan Price and his minions infiltrate the studio with weird stories, bad jokes, and...oh yeah, some good beer info.

This week on The Session, Ironfire Brewing Company makes the trek from Temecula, California up to The Hop Grenade to take part in The Session's all-SoCal June. Tune in and catch their story, a recap of the National Homebrewers Conference, this week's beer news, and much more.

The Session celebrates Los Angeles Craft Beer Week with an all-Southern California June! Kicking off the party in this episode is Monkish Brewing Company out of Torrance. Tune in as the crew talks Belgian-style beers that run the gamut from farmhouse-style to pale ale. This episode also features a recap of the Firestone-Walker Invitational Beer Festival, this week's beer news, and much more.

This week, The Session welcomes Kyle Hollingsworth to the show. When he's not on tour rocking the keyboards for The String Cheese Incident, he is homebrewing or collaborating with commercial breweries like Stone to create custom recipes and releases. How does one reach this level of musical and beerical zen? Tune in and find out. This episode will also feature a guided sensory panel training session to help you further develop your beer quality and consistency.

This week on The Session, the Brewcasters cover the 2015 changes to the BJCP style guidelines, and who better to help cover the topic than a three-time Ninkasi winner, the president and highest ranking judge in the program, and the principal author of the guidelines themselves? That's right - Gordon Strong himself gives us the lowdown on all the updates and new categories.

The parade of East Coast breweries continues this week as the Brewcasters welcome John Stemler of Free Will Brewing Company to the studio all the way from Perkasie, Pennsylvania. As if that were not enough, you'll also hear a new BN game, this week's beer news, and much more.

This week, The Session covers the craft beer scene in Japan. Tune in as the Brewcasters are joined by Shigeharu Asagiri, president and head brewer at the Coedo Brewery, and Ry Beville, publisher of the Japan Beer Times. Are the Japanese drinking much craft beer? What's the homebrew scene like there? Do they have access to magical hop varieties we've never even heard of? These and other pressing questions will be answered in this episode.

The Session returns this week with more East Coast love - this time it's Carton Brewing Company out of Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. Tune in as founder Augie Carton joins the show to tell the story of the seashore community where he was born and raised, and the turn-of-the-century red brick warehouse that now houses his state-of-the-art brew house. You'll also hear the finalists make their case for a free pass to NHC, Mead Made Right with Melovino Meadery, this week's beer news, and much more.

The Session welcomes brothers Daniel and Thomas Lowe, the founders of Fourpure Brewing Company, to the studio all the way from the UK. Based in London, Fourpure's name pays homage to the four core ingredients used to make beer: grain, yeast, hops and water. Tune in and catch their great story, a brand-new BN game, and much more.

This week's Session is dedicated to all the fine folks who continue to claim that East Coast craft beer is underrepresented on the BN. That supposition goes up in flames (again) in this episode as the crew from RiverWalk Brewing Company in Newburyport, Massachusetts makes the cross-country trek and infiltrates the BN studio with lots of their unfiltered, unpasteurized, bottle-conditioned beer. You'll also hear the last two AHA Governing Committee candidates, this week's Beer News, and much more.

This week, The Session is stoked to welcome the crew from Fresno's Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company to the studio. Brewmaster Kevin Cox has been brewing professionally for more than 20 years, scoring himself numerous regional and State awards, as well as multiple GABF golds along the way. Tune in and hear how he's doing it, plus more AHA Governing Committee candidate interviews, a brand-new BN game, and much more.

It's a rare occurrence on The Session this week - Doc actually messed up a beer. Lucky for you, we turn his blunder into a learning experience. Tune in and catch his tips and tricks for dealing with a stuck fermentation and turning a sweet mess into a dry, drinkable finished product. This episode also features the return of The Happy Hour, this week's Beer News, and much more.

The Session welcomes another Brewers Guild president this week - and it's back to the west coast as Dave Gull, founder of New Helvetia Brewing Company and head of the Northern California Brewers Guild, joins the Brewcasters. This episode also features a big announcement from White Labs, this week's Beer News, interviews with AHA governing committee candidates, and much more.