The Gnarly Gnome: All The Podcasts

Just a heads up… this is a long one. To my defense, though, I’ve been planning on this conversation for a very long time – and there was a lot of ground that we needed to cover, and an hour just wasn’t going to cut it when I sat down with Esoteric Brewing Company. We talked about who they are, as people, and as a brewery too. We drank a few beers and might have even convinced them that they need to start their own podcast, too. All in all? I think it’s an absolute success! For more information about Esoteric, although you could read about them on TheGnarlyGnome.com – you can’t do much better than hitting up their website or following them on social media! Guests This Week * Brian Jackson* Patrick Klesmith From The Beer Fridge * Esoteric – Black is Beautiful* Esoteric – Chrysalis* Esoteric – Dahlia* Esoteric – Divine Matrix* Esoteric – Ethereal* Esoteric – Ethereal with Basil* Esoteric – Kallima* Esoteric – Lotus IPA* Esoteric – Mystic* Esoteric – Paramount Porter As a reminder – this podcast, and pretty much everything I do wouldn’t be possible without folks like you. If you want to help you can always go to the support page here – or to the store and buy something. The absolute biggest help, though – is also the easiest. You can tell someone about the site, about the show… about the Gnome. Listen, Share, Repeat!

You’ve probably heard about this place. Certainly if you have your ear to the ground about Cincinnati beer, you have. Cartridge Brewing Company is located in the historic Peter’s Cartridge Factory, also known around these parts as the Powder Factory – and it’s been a big project that a lot of folks didn’t think would ever see the light of day. Here we are, though… in the light of day for a brewery that is going to make a lot of people very, very happy. We sat down to explore their story a bit, dive into some of the beer and talk about how it all has come together. The best part? We only scratched the surface… I have a LOT more that I want to talk to them about, so you know you’ll be hearing more in the future! Guests This Episode * Kyle Hackbarth* Lindsey Hackbarth* Anthony Cook* Adam Mills From The Beer Fridge * Cartridge Brewing – Grenade* Cartridge Brewing – Leaded* Cartridge Brewing – Sabot* Cartridge Brewing – Holster* Cartridge Brewing – Hollow Point Show Links * Cartridge Brewing Company – Website* Cartridge Brewing Company – Facebook* About The Brewery

This isn’t how I planned for this week’s episode to work out. I had a heck of a week in leading up to it, though. From a cancellation, and then two events that I didn’t make it to… nothing on the “gnome-front” seemed to work out how I intended. With two sick kids, and a tired wife… sometimes things aren’t easy. Yet, here we are. It’s another week and a quasi-episode to satisfy my urge to make a podcast for you. I drink a beer, and give a quick chat about what makes a taproom, a beer… anything, really – “good”. It’s been on my mind for a while, and it’s not going away any time soon… so be prepared! From The Beer Fridge * West Side – Helles

Sometimes, to get a really good look at the bigger picture, you have to spend some time with the “little guys”. Paradise is certainly not big. Their small brewery in Anderson makes some incredible beer, though – and it’s always a blast getting to spend a little bit of time with them. We talked about how they got started, and then dove into what they thought about the current beer scene, the current state of the world, and what it means for a brewery their size vs some of the bigger guys in town. Guests This Episode * Jeff Graff – Paradise Brewing* Andy Clawson – Paradise Brewing Show Links * Paradise Brewing – Website* Paradise Brewing – Facebook

Any chance I can get to sit down at Adena’s warehouse to talk with Michael Amann about beer, I’m going to take… and it seems like there is plenty to talk about. We of course hit on the topic that you’re all probably sick of hearing about – but dive into some other stuff as well. Seasonal creep is a big one that I’ve been wanting to touch on with all the folks that love to talk about it this time of year – is it a real thing? Does it matter? Why does it only happen this time of year? If that’s not enough for you, we drink a tasty rum barrel aged beer from Wooden Cask – a NE IPA from Streetside, and then drink a seltzer that is unlike any other one I’ve had before… not just because it’s pretty expensive (for fizzy water…) – there’s a lot packed into this show – it’s a fun one! Guests This Episode * Michael Amann – Adena Distributing From The Beer Fridge * Wooden Cask – Pumpkin Ale* Wooden Cask – RedRum* Streetside – Suh, Brah?* Untitled Art – Florida Seltzer, Black Cherry* Darkness Brewing – Mayan Sacrifice Show Notes * Wooden Cask – Website* Streetside – Website* Untitled Art – Website* Darkness Brewing – Website

I talk a lot about our local breweries, bars and taprooms staying scrappy as 2020 kicks all our butts. Higher Gravity is a fantastic example of what that means. This Northside bar/bottleshop is an amazing example of staying diligent, and paying attention at how you adapt to the changing industry as the world around you seems to burst in to flames. They are selling this years Beervent calendars, which makes for a good excuse to grab a beer on a warm evening to talk about how they’re managing not only staying open and safe, but how they’re prepping for a second location at the same time. These guys are great people and amazing stewards of craft beer in this city – enjoy this one… I know I did! Guests This Episode * Jason Parnes* Nick Belleman From The Beer Fridge * West Side – Lo-G* Melvin – Dry Hopper’s Guide To The Galaxy* Streetside – Puc It! Show Notes * Higher Gravity – Website* Higher Gravity – Facebook* You can pick up your Beervent Calendar right here!

I know that a lot of you don’t want to talk about this Pandemic anymore, and I respect that… I really do. But it’s hard not to cover it when we’re all worried about our local spots and how they’re doing during it all. We get some much needed reassurance from Garret Hickey and Steve Schmidt from Streetside Brewing Company. To keep things happy, enjoyable and not virus-related we also down a bunch of Demogorgan and talk about their barrel-aging program and some of the fun things that are coming down the line from that. It’s a great show, packed full of great beer, and great friends… you’ll like this one! Guests This Episode * Garrett Hickey* Steve Schmidt* Kathie Hickey From The Beer Fridge * Streetside – The Demogorgon* Streetside – Bourbon Barrel-Aged Demogorgon with Vanilla and Toasted Coconut* Streetside – Cinnamon Whiskey Barrel-Aged Demogorgon with Horchata

If you follow me on social media, you’re probably plenty sick of hearing about Oktoberfest beers by now. I’ve been drinking a TON of them. The style is at least in my top three, if not my absolute favorite, and becomes an absolute obsession for me this time of year. For the second year in a row I spend the fall seeking out as many local examples as I can get my hands on and trying to figure out which one is really the “best” for me. This is what I call my great Oktoberfest Quest – and this year is pretty spectacular. I limited the competition to just packaged versions of Oktoberfests, because… well… it’s a lot of beers. I spent a bunch of evenings working my way through a bracket of them all, putting them head to head until we were left with the final four – which is what this episode is all about. (you can see the whole bracket here if you’d like) I brought in some help (big thanks to Marco Penilla from Cellar Dweller for hanging out with me and making sure that things stayed fair, and to my wife for being a great tie breaker and beer pourer to keep things blind) – and we finished up the competition in epic fashion… leaving Listermann as the Grand Champion and with the title this year as the Best Packaged Cincinnati Oktoberfest. Guests This Episode * Marco Penilla – Cellar Dweller From The Beer Fridge * Listermann – Festbier* Sonder – Oktoberfest* Braxton – Oktober Fuel* Grainworks – Oktoberfest

I have such a deep, deep love for watching the journey that different Cincinnati Breweries go on to start from an idea to opening their doors for us to enjoy. It’s definitely been a journey for these folks, too… Rebel Mettle. They have been working for years to turn an idea into reality – creating a space that captures the bit of rebellious nature in all of us, and it sure seems to me that they’re on the right track. Their grand opening is in a matter of weeks (9/12/20) – and it seemed like perfect timing to finally sit down with them and paint a picture of what things are going to be like in their taproom. We (of course) drink a few beers along the way dive in deep to the ethos that makes it all come together! Guests This Week * Dwan Leonard – Rebel Mettle, Front Office Manager* Greg Goeke – Rebel Mettle, Vice President of Operations* Jonas Locke – Rebel Mettle, Director of Quality* Mike Brown – Rebel Mettle, President/CEO* Josh Deitner – Rebel Mettle, Director of Brewing From The Beer Fridge * Rebel Mettle – Stubentiger* Rebel Mettle – Sister Rosetta* Rebel Mettle – Blau Pils

I messed up this week… which I’ll explain when you listen to this week’s episode – but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let it stop me from sharing with you a beer that I fell in love with recently at Darkness Brewing Company. I jumped on a phone call with Eric Bosler about their Sazerac Attack, which is easily the best cocktail inspired beer that I’ve ever tried… it’s mind blowingly good. We talked about the beer, about how they’ve been fairing during the current… weirdness. And we talked about a bunch of other stuff that isn’t in the show (we address that… again, I’m sorry). This brewery is incredible… these folks are worth more time than I can hope to give them, and this beer? It’s stunning. Guests This Week * Eric Bosler – Darkness Brewing From The Beer Fridge * Darkness Brewing – Sazerac Attack Show Links * Darkness Brewing – Website – Social Media

Fresh of a week packed full of pumpkin-spiced happiness (in addition to last week’s show – I finally got a chance to try Braxton’s pumpkin spice seltzer, which was awesome) I am now turning my attention back to Oktoberfest beers, of which we have a TON around town. I’ve been on an eternal quest to figure out which one is my favorite – and it continues this year with a bracket-style competition with the best judge ever. Me. I explain how it will all work, and even roll through the first two matchups in this week’s episode. There’s more to come on some other formats with this idea – so stay tuned and make sure you’re following me on all my social media! From The Beer Fridge * Sonder – Oktoberfest* Fifty West – Vienermobile* Sam Adams – Oktoberfest* Rhinegeist – Franz

I had the chance this week to head down to Taft’s Ale House for the big tapping of their Frisch’s Pumpkin Pie Ale… which opened up a can of worms for me. Now headfirst into pumpkin thoughts, coupled up with the good timing of Braxton’s announcement of their pumpkin spiced Vive… we needed to talk about this a little bit. I got some sound from the tapping event to share with you – and then got home and made a phone call to Braxton’s Jake Rouse to talk about how this all happened. I’m not drinking any pumpkin anything on the show… but stay tuned, anything is possible in the next few weeks – the pumpkin seal has been broken! Guests This Week * Jake Rouse – Braxton Brewing Company

Nine Giant is fun. There’s no simpler way to put it than that. They took the idea of what a brewpub meant here in Cincinnati and turned it on it’s head when they opened their doors in Pleasant Ridge, and now they’re looking to do it again when they open up their expansion that is being dubbed the Fermentorium. But the nagging question from their fans has been a big, and simple… when is it going to happen? This week on the show we look to answer not only that, but to get a good look at what it all looks like. We drink a few beers and get caught back up on things (because it’s been far, far too long between episodes) and try to understand a little deeper at why they do what they do, and how they became such a favorite place for so many people in this city. I love these guys – I love their beer, I love their attitude and I love sitting down and having a drink or two with them whenever I get the chance. I hope you enjoy listening to this one as much as I did making it! Guests This Episode * Brandon Hughes – Nine Giant* Mike Albarella – Nine Giant* Chris Ray – Nine Giant From The Beer Fridge * Nine Giant – Boxer, Pilsner* Nine Giant – Cucumber Lime Very Emergency* Nine Giant – Spicy Pickle Very Emergency

Alone in the basement trying to put together a quick show for you doesn’t mean that I have to really be alone. Right? I gave Sonder Brewing Company’s Danny Herold a quick phone call to talk about their latest collaboration, an easy-drinking lager called Giga Coaster that they created with Kings Island. We talk about the beer, about the collaboration and have a quick beer together before I dove into a short little episode about what has been happening in the industry. There’s a lot of thank you’s, a couple beers… and the promise of a full episode next week! Guests This Episode * Danny Herold – Sonder Brewing Company. From The Beer Fridge * Sonder Brewing Company – Giga Coaster

Figleaf and March First have come together as one company since the last time that we talked to either brewery. It’s hard to describe what that means though, without sitting down with the folks behind it all to see how the relationship really plays out on a day to day basis. These are two breweries that while yes… are under the same umbrella, still operate as separate pieces of the same team. It’s special. In order to really get a good look at how it works, we dove in deep to it via the best way we know how… a few beers. We talked about how FigLeaf has changed, about where it all goes from here, and about what things each brand brings to each other in the bigger picture of it all. Guests This Episode * Andy Allgyer – Figleaf Brewery* Brian Yavorsky – Figleaf Brewery* Bryan Fisher – March First Brewery* Alex Widolff – Figleaf Brewery* Josh Engel – March First Brewery From The Beer Fridge * Figleaf – Starcrusher* Figleaf – Blackberry Breeze* Astra – Watermelon* Figleaf – Sous La Table Show Links * Figleaf – Website* Figleaf – Facebook* Figleaf – Instagram* March First – Website* March First – Facebook* March First – Instagram