Lucky Town Brewing Interview Part 2 - Redefining Mississippi Beer

Here is the second part of our interview with Chip and Lucas from Lucky Town Brewing. They discuss Lucky Town's beer line up, why they chose Kickstarter, and what you can expect from them in 2012. 

Need to get caught up? Part 1 can be found here. 

Be looking for this if you want
to find creative southern beer.

Let’s talk about your beer for a bit; I know that you have introduced four of them on your video (see below).  Tell us a bit about them?

Lucas: Absolutely, our first beer and our staple is our maple and brown sugar oatmeal stout. We thought of adding that in there one day and started playing with recipes and took it down and won a competition with it. It turned out to be a really good beer. You don’t get as much sweetness as people think when you say that because we actually put the maple and brown sugar in the bowl so most of it ferments out, so you get a little bit of sweetness but you get a lot of additional flavor out of it.

Chip: That one is the Flare Incident.

Lucas: On top of that we have our Ballistic Blonde which is a Belgian style blonde. It is a very simple beer but we stay slightly true to form with the Belgian style but we added more hops to it because we love hops and it was just not hoppy enough. It does have some fruity notes, the yeast gives off some nice esters. We have our Lizard Tail Pale Ale which was kind of an accident one day, but it turned out really well. It is dry hopped, again we love hops so we use them more than we should. Then there is our Hop Fiasco that has been evolving ever since we have started it. The reason we call it the Hop Fiasco is because we dumped over half a pound of hops in a five gallon batch. It was a little intense for what we wanted so we backed it off, we changed up the hop schedule a little bit, and it has gotten to be a really, really good beer.

What is on the tap for future styles?

Lucas: We are playing with a lot of things, of course seasonals, we have an Octoberfest, we have an amber that was designed by Brandon Blacklidge our R&D manager. It was his first designed beer and it came out extremely well. The boy has the best palette I have ever been around when it comes to beer tasting. He has come a long way with his recipe formulation. Saisons, I’ve got one sitting right now that we are messing with. That one is going to be something that will constantly change. Of course we eventually want to get in to doing sours and all the weird, funky stuff, because we love it and there is not one style that we all enjoy so much that we don’t want to drink anything else. So we want to play with everything.

Chip: We also did some experimenting with the holiday porter which had…

Lucas: ...vanilla, fig, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, it was a smorgasbord of holiday spices.

How has the reception been with people in the area in regards to the beer?

Lucas: Very positive. As a brewer it makes you feel better than nothing else when you see somebody and you know by looking at them that they have never tried anything unique and they drink it and they love it. We had such a good reception for that stout because most people down here when they think of stout they only think of Guinness at best. Guinness is just not for everybody, so when they drink ours they are really surprised and you can see it in their face. They are not used to something like that so we have had an extremely good reception and I hope it keeps up that way.

Any particular style a favorite of yours?

Lucas: I’m typically a stout guy, I love oatmeal stouts , that is why we have one on there, but I don’t stick to one thing on any evening so that is kind of hard to say. I just love beer.

Chip: I tend to go either one of two ways, I like hops a lot so I like stong pale ales and hoppy IPAs, but also there are times that I prefer a smooth creamy porter or stout. It kind of depends on what mood I am in.

Tell us a bit about why you chose Kickstarter for the Lucky Town Brewery project?

Chip: We didn’t know about Kickstarter for awhile until after we started the business. We actually saw another brewery that was starting up use it which was Wilderness Brewing, which is Mike and Nate out of Kansas City, Missouri, so I gave them a call and we talked and about what our goals were and what we were trying to do. I asked him how was it and how was the reception because they were successful in their Kickstarter project. I brought it to the team and said that I think this would be a really good idea for us to get people involved not only on the startup side of it, from the ground up, but also because it attracts people that want to be involved but they don’t have the means to drop a big investment in a new company. It kind of gives them a little bit of pride and passion, especially for local people.

Lucas: It gets our name out there and like Chip said, it allows people to be a part of something for very little investment. It helps us in several ways, for the first phase of our business plan it allows us to get a little starter with minimal capital risk on our part. It will jump start us, I guess kickstart just like the website is called. It helps us get involved with people that want to be involved with the brewery. We have met so many people that want to be supportive of this since we have started so from every aspect this has been helpful to us.

What do you see as your projected output?

Lucas: We would like to start, and this is part of the plan now, we are projecting to start with a 15 barrel system. That allows us to not be too big starting off, but we can also add larger fermenters and upscale our output without completely changing the brewhouse size. We don’t want to go any smaller than that because we feel that with the market we are sitting in we will overrun the system very quickly. It may be a little larger, but I doubt it. I think 15 barrels is our target size to start off with.

Will you be distributing in bottles, cans?

Chip: Starting out we will be on draft and only on tap. It will be distributed throughout the central Mississippi region. In Mississippi, the law requires that all manufactured beer from a production brewery must be distributed by a distributor so we won’t be able to self-distribute anything and we also cannot have a taproom right now.

Lucas: Yes, that is another thing that hasn’t even attempted to be changed yet, but we would like to make a good business case to some of the legislature around here to see if we can’t do something about that. No one has tried to change that because we only have one brewery and they are kind of located out in the country so a taproom is really not that enticing for them, but we have gone places, I have personally visited Yazoo Brewing in Nashville and you can sit on their front porch and drink in the afternoon and take a tour which is just awesome. It is a great part of the community, so through this year we are going to see if we can get the legislature on our side to change that law for next year hopefully, or at least get it brought up because that will influence us when we go straight to brick and mortar on where we put the brewery. There is no sense in getting in the middle of Jackson if we can’t have a taproom. It is not going to be that conducive to us.

What can folks expect from Lucky Town Brewing in 2012?

Chip: Beer.

Lucas: We should have two styles flowing by the end of this year.

Do you plan on having a grand opening, or is that too far down the road?

Lucas: We will when we get to that point.

                                                                  ********

That wraps up our interview with Lucky Town Brewing. A big thanks to Chip and Lucas for taking the time to talk with us.

Check out their Kickstarter project and chip in a few bucks to help make a better beer world.

For more information on Lucky Town Brewing check out their website, facebook page, follow them on twitter or see what they are enjoying on Untappd. 

Want to help change the beer laws in Mississippi? Go check out the efforts of Raise Your Pints, or if you are in Mississippi contact your local state representatives and state senators. 

Lucky Town Brewing Interview Part 1..Brewing Southern Style

On Saturday, February 11, through the awesomeness of Skype I interviewed Chip Jones and Lucas Simmons, two of the fine folks from Lucky Town Brewing Company, a new craft brewery getting on their feet in Jackson, Mississippi. They currently have a Kickstarter project underway to help them acquire a bit more capital. Chip leads Lucky Town’s sales, marketing, and distribution efforts, while Lucas is the brewmaster looking to redefine the Mississippi beer scene.

These folks are pioneers for awesome Mississippi beer.
(From left to right, Angela Aiello, Brandon Blacklidge,
Lucas Simmons, Chip Jones)

Tell us a little bit about yourself, how did you get started in brewing beer?

Lucas: I started brewing back when I graduated college and I was working at Nissan’s Canton Plant here in Mississippi. And a fellow engineer who worked alongside me for a couple of years, we both started talking about it. He actually grew up in Germany and he thought our beer selection was deplorable and he lived in Tennessee for a very long time. He decided we should just make our own. I asked, “You know how to do that?” He said, yeah. So we started brewing in his garage and within a month I was building my own equipment, I built a kegarator and it kind of exploded from there and has been going on about nine years now. I’m just getting better equipment, doing a lot more styles.

Chip: I come from a design oriented background, earned my degree in architecture from Mississippi State University. That is where Lucas and I met in college, we were both members of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and growing up in Mississippi I wasn’t even aware that you could make your own beer until I learned from Lucas that he had been doing it for years, so I got interested in it and started learning a little bit through him and doing my own research so that is how I got into it.

Tell me a bit about the Mississippi region where you plan on starting?

Lucas: The Jackson metro area, but that depends on a few things. We call ourselves Lucky Town because that is the rough translation of Gluckstadt where I have been brewing for the last nine years. We are going to end up somewhere in this region.

What advantages does it bring?

Chip: Jackson is the largest metro area in Mississippi, it runs about 620,000 residents in a five county area and there are a lot of statistics that back up our decision to locate here. Mississippi consistently ranks in the top 15 states for beer consumption per capita, even though we have some of the strictest beer laws in the nation which is kind of ironic. Mississippi ranks last in breweries per capita. Currently there is only one brewery in Mississippi [ed. Lazy Magnolia] and that brewery is 150 miles away from Jackson. That is the nearest brewery. A lot of people talk about how there are so many breweries in America that anybody lives within 10 to 20 miles from one. Well that is definitely not the case in Mississippi.

There has been a push for southern brewing styles incorporating southern culture and elements into their beer, how are you planning on working that into your brewery and your beer?

Lucas: We like to use anything we can local. We believe the same thing and we want to use southern styles. It is like our Stout of the Rising Sun that we have done which is completely southern pit barbeque beer. We are going to do as much as we can to keep it that way. The South is very proud of itself and they like to see things that represent it.

Chip: I think one advantage is that the southeast US is not as saturated with breweries as most regions of the country are so it lends itself to more opportunities for unique beers and experimentation with regional ingredients and local techniques that you won’t find in other areas.

What has been the most challenging part of launching Lucky Town Brewery?

Chip: I would say being in Mississippi, kind of like how I didn’t know you could make your own beer, it would be the education part. Many people here don’t realize how far behind we are not just in craft beer, but the beer industry. We are trying to get people to realize that this is something that we can all get behind, it is something we can support, it is a very natural process, we can locate anywhere, it is not as harsh an industry as chemicals or textiles or what have you. I think once we get people to realize that you can have your own local brewery we will get people behind it.

Mississippi is known for its restrictive, and some might argue draconian alcohol laws. How are you negotiating that?

Lucas: We are restricted at the moment to session beers and that is ok, it doesn’t really bother us to much, we would like to see that change eventually, but we can still make great beer. I know the trend right now is to make big body, extreme, high gravity beer and hopefully we will get to make some of those in small batches when these laws eventually get changed, but right now we can make some amazing session beers and that is a good starting point for us. We feel that with the Raise Your Pints movement and Lazy Magnolia pushing on a few things that if it doesn’t get changed this year eventually it will, so we can start with small stuff and then hopefully by the time we are fully up and running we will have the opportunity to do what we want.

How do you feel you can differentiate yourselves from other beer across the south?

Lucas: They all make great beer and so we find ourselves doing styles that they haven’t hit yet and we try to do things a little more extreme, we add unique stuff. It is kind of hard with as many breweries that are out there to be original these days, but I think you still can.

Chip: Our motto is to be bold and rediscover beer. We take that outlook in all aspects of the business. Anytime we make a decision we look back at that and does it met the criteria of being bold. That is how we have come up with the styles and goes with everything from the kind of pint glasses we choose to the type of designs we choose with our graphics and labels. We apply it to everything. Our biggest competitor is not other craft breweries; it is Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors. We are just trying to get people to try something outside of the box. You don’t have to buy the same beer day in and day out.

Sometimes imposed limits, particularly the alcohol restrictions, force you to innovate in other ways, how is Lucky Town approaching that?

Lucas: We are trying to get more creative with it. Take an imperial stout, you can add so much flavor to it and you are not really messing with the style. You can do the same thing with a low-bodied stout, you just have to be a lot more careful. You have your extreme beers now and all of them are high gravity, I think eventually you will see people getting a little more creative with normal session beers. It is going right now where everybody is drinking these huge high gravity beers, but eventually I think you will see people get creative with small bodied beers just the same. 

.........................................

That’s it for Part 1, but stay tuned folks there will be more tomorrow in Part 2 where Chip and Lucas go into detail about Lucky Town's beer, why they chose Kickstarter, and what they have planned for the future. In the meantime, check out their Kickstarter project and chip in a few bucks to help make a better beer world. 

For more information on Lucky Town Brewing check out their website, facebook page, follow them on twitter, or see what they are drinking on Untappd.

Want to help change the beer laws in Mississippi? Go check out the efforts of Raise Your Pints. 

“Racing” and Tasting: The Crystal City 1K Beer Walk

Before we launch into our recap of the "race", let’s very quickly talk about beer, particularly beer in a can. It is beer can appreciation day. In 1935 this became a reality. Truth is though we need to spend a little more time on the topic than I am allotting here so I am postponing a more detailed discussion of the beer can and its impact till Thursday.

Best race number I have ever had. 

Instead we are going to recap the Crystal City 1K Beer Walk that I, my friend Brett, and his wife Amy participated in this last Sunday. The Crystal City 1K Beer Walk is the sister event to the Crystal City Wine Walk, both of which are hosted by the Washington Wine Academy. The concept is pretty simple, walk from station to station trying different beers. To add to the “race” atmosphere and to control traffic flow there were heats throughout the day. Ours was the second heat starting at 2:30 PM. Check in went very smoothly and we quickly had our race numbers, tasting glasses, and our 20 drink tickets.

The course snaked through the Crystal City Underground, a collection of shops and eateries that exist beneath the “tall” buildings of Crystal City*, starting at the 2200 block street entrance and finishing in the old food court by the 17th street entrance. We were able to enjoy an array of beer, everything from Ommegang and Spaten to Old Milwaukee and Shiner.  

For friends of the grape, interspersed in with the beer were various wines. It was a nice touch, but my attention was wholly focused on the grain. In addition there were also complimentary snacks along the route to include barbeque sandwiches and slaw, pita bread and hummus, and cheeses.

We hit all the tasting stations except for the first where the line was out the door. The set up for each station was rather novel. They used the unoccupied retail space along the route which also brought along with it the advantage of security. Each stop had a person in a security shirt monitoring it to ensure no underage drinking or race bandits. It made sense though I am sure most of them would have rather been imbibing than watching. Everyone affiliated with the event that I encountered was courteous and helpful.

On the beer side there were several standout breweries on display, the first was Port City Brewing, the local on display. (Being the second stop ensured that they received a good deal of traffic, they also benefited from the overwhelmed New Belgium station next door which only had one pourer) They brought their full range of year round beer for folks to taste, a good idea as they continue to grow awareness in the DC metro and Northern Virginia region. Bill Butcher, their founder and head brewer, was there and happily answered questions and spoke about his beer. (As I have stated before, I am biased for them, Port City is my local and I do want to see those folks succeed.) The fine folks from Flying Dog also had a standout selection showcasing their year round selections but unfortunately they didn’t bring their winter seasonal K-9 Kruiser, a favorite of mine.

As I think of it, only a few breweries did have a winter seasonal, Harpoon with their Winter Warmer, Leinenkugel’s with their Fireside Nut Brown, Blue Moon with their Winter Abbey, and the most notorious beer of the event, the brilliant black chocolate stout by Brooklyn Brewery. Brooklyn also brought an IPA, a classic lager, and their excellent brown.

Other highlights were the previously mentioned Ommegang Brewery pouring both their BPA (Belgian Pale Ale) and Witte Ale, and as a bonus, Duvel. I must admit I did do a tasting of Old Milwaukee, after all, it was my grandfather’s favorite beer.

While the Sam Adams beer selection was weak,
Brett (R) and I (L) did have fun hanging
with him (M). Photo by Amy Evenstad.

I can’t comment on how the event went on Saturday, but I can say that certain stands suffered on our day, in particular the New Belgium and the Samuel Adams stations being the most obvious. The New Belgium station, as previously mentioned, simply for the wait to be served; it was a bit of bad planning on the event’s part. Samuel Adams for a different reason, they were originally supposed to be serving Black Lager, Mighty Oak, Alpine Spring, Whitewater IPA, but were down and out of most selections, substituting their Latitude 48, and Coastal Wheat. The Latitude 48 isn’t too shabby as far as a substitute goes, on the other hand I don’t think I will ever care for the Coastal Wheat, it is the poor man’s version of their Summer Ale which frankly is a pretty solid summertime beer. I find the Coastal Wheat to be lacking in taste and body. They weren't alone though, other breweries had also run out of various beers, Sam Adams was just the most noticeable. 

As we crossed the finish line we were treated to music and more beer selections and from my view everyone looked to be having a festive time. This was the first edition of the beer walk, and it was pretty solid. They had a good selection of beer, and while I would have liked to have seen more locals, such as Lost Rhino, Blue and Gray, or Alewerks out of Williamsburg, the selection provided was very decent. For $20 I felt I got my value both with beer diversity and snacks. I would recommend one server per beer to help move the lines along, particularly at the first station where it is almost a given that everyone will stop at. Overall though, for the first year the Washington Wine Academy did a fine job as host, it was a cool event, and I look forward to next year.

Hope to see you there!

(*Before you think that Crystal City is some fairy tale, Wizard of Oz type place let me break it to you gently and tell that it is not. The first building developed here was The Crystal House and it had a big chandelier in its entrance, the rest of the buildings followed suit with that naming convention, hence Crystal City.)

Beer links for the week of January 23rd.

In the news!

Mitt Romney Would Fail the Presidential Beer Test (The Daily Beast)

Politics aside, at least with Clinton, Bush, and Obama, (the Presidents since I could legally drink) I think I could sit down and slug back a beer with them and hold a decent bar conversation. Romney, on the other hand, probably doesn't even know what a tavern is. 

(I know he is Mormon)

Rate Beer says this is
the best cider in the world
(Original here)

5 Hard Ciders Guests Will Like Better Than Beer (thestreet.com)

I like cider and we will be having a dedicated cider month (actual month yet to be determined) but better than beer...not sold yet. 

Sen. Schumer pushes local craft beer (The Observer)

Politics I can get behind, New York is going to establish itself as a craft beer powerhouse...unless the knock out one of their best breweries because of hydrofracking 

Beer is Boosting Warwickshire Economy, say farmers.  (Coventry – Telegraph)

Not just in America, but our cousins in the UK are seeing the benefits of craft brewing. For a country with a rich brewing tradition like Great Britain this is sort of a return to the pre-industrial revolution days. 

Beer ‘must be sold’ at Brazil World Cup, says Fifa (BBC News)

While I appreciate that beer must be sold, if you look closer you find out that it isn't so much about the fans, but about who is sponsoring the event.  

Beer: A new aroma in Hershey (Lebanon Daily News)

Beer and chocolate. Two great tastes, now in one location. Road trip to Troegs' new digs!

Home brewers support bill that would lift restrictions (Fond du Lac Reporter)

The sad part was this was not a problem until last year…and it was a tax issue. 

Watering the Worker’s Beer (Forbes)

The title is a reference to this old song (Video)

Don't worry though, they'll save money and you'll pay the same price. 

Knocking back the brewskis: VladamirPutin reaffirms macho image with football and beer session (The Daily Mail)

I love this because of the weird schizophrenia Russia has with alcohol, they are trying to curb rampant alcoholism, and there has been some blame on brewers, but here is Putin slugging back some liters to show he is a good ‘ol boy. Politics, practicality, and double standards. 

Watson to Police, “F You,”,“Do you know who I am?” (630 AM WPRO)

Here is a pro tip. If you say that it probably isn't going to go well. If you insist on saying that, don't be driving drunk, have an open container, and a bag a weed in the car with you.

Beer Here: Barley Wine fromNew Glarus Brewing (The Isthmus)

Yes please. Hamilton! Are you out there? You need to pick some of this up and hold it for me. 

The Pour: Tasting a $90 beer (Adelaide Now)

I would buy this if I could. No joke, just once to check it off the list. 

FloriDUH: Warm beer has man foaming at the mouth (Sun-Sentinel)

Oh Florida, where would we be without your special kind of stupid. 

I figured as story about the Romanian beer market
needed a picture of their beer. Photo by Steven Hales.
(Original here)

The Romanian Beer Market is estimated by Ernst & Young at about EUR 1.8 billion (Balkans.com)

The scramble continues, SAB Miller will continue to find new markets to make up for the shortfalls at home. (And cut your alcohol content too!)

United States of beer (Chicago Tribune)

I think the Great American Ale Trail: The Craft Beer Lover's Guide to the Best Watering Holes in the Nation is going to become required reading for the blog staff. 

Site News!

This week we recap the Crystal City 1k Beer Walk from this last weekend, review a couple of big winter warmers, and look at what happens when you mix beer & beer (Hint: awesomeness.)

As always we appreciate you coming by to visit. You can also find us on facebook, twitter, and Google+. The icons in the top right corner will take you where you want to go.

See what we are drinking on Untappd. 

You can also listen and subscribe to the Jolly Good Fellows Beercast on iTunes. We are up to 3 whole episodes now! Remember to subscribe and it will automatically update your device when a new podcast is uploaded. 

Part 2 of the Broadcast Brewery interview

Yesterday we posted part 1 of our interview with Mike Causey, owner and head brewer of Broadcast Brewing Company, a new brewery that will be setting up shop in east Nashville. If you didn't read part 1 you can find it here. Now let's dive into part 2!

How do feel that Broadcast Brewery can differentiate itself from other breweries in the region?

Well you know, I look at it in the sense of restaurants, I use that as an analogy. You have a lot of great restaurants in town that have their special little niches. I think the palettes are a little bit different for the breweries in the area, you have Blackstone’s St. Charles Porter which wins awards year in and year out, they just built that fabulous new brewery in town as well so they got a great beer and following there, and Yazoo of course has been more of the frontrunner of the craft beer movement here in town and has opened a lot more doors and has gotten a lot more people attuned to the idea of craft beer which we are definitely thankful of. In addition to that how many different flavors are out there, Yazoo can only produce so much beer, so that is why I think there is a tremendous amount of room in this region. The beer drinkers in town are evolving their tastes, and the market is getting bigger. You see a lot more bars opening up with, instead of two or three taps, they have ten taps. When your pubs are opening up with numerous taps with only micro brewed beers and no macros you know the demand is getting a lot larger for the true craft artisan type beer.

Broadcast Brewery poured two ales in 2011 at the 

Nashville Beer Fest. (Photo courtesy of Broadcast Brewery)

Let’s talk about your beer for a minute, I know that you have introduced two at local Nashville festivals, the Marconi ale and the Tesla ale. Tell us a bit about them?

The honey pale [ed. Marconi ale]  is going to be our main beer that you’ll see. We will have two lines that we will serve year round. The other will be a porter that will also run year round. After that we are going to rotate taps at the tap room, being a small brewery we will have that flexibility.

What is on the tap for the future styles?

We will have a lot more high gravity beers and beers that will have different adjuncts and ingredients that give it a special touch. We are inspired by the southern food movement going on right now, using southern ingredients and elevate that to see if we can make something work with the beer and make it exciting. I say that with a little reservation in the sense that I don’t want to make a wacky beer with a southern ingredients. I’m not a big fan when someone goes out and says, ‘we’re going to put this in it and make it work.’ I want to bring the southern elements in to the process. A brewery I think that does it well is Full Steam Brewery up in Durham, NC. I like what they are doing there and want to follow a similar vibe as them.

What do you see as your projected output?

Initially 2000 barrels in the first year.

Will you be distributing throughout the region? How large of a region are you looking at?

Yes, absolutely. We would like to expand in Alabama and Kentucky, but of course that is dependent on market demand. I don’t see us going in there initially the first year, but targeted growth, two, three, four years in, definitely pushing out into those regions.

What can folks expect from Broadcast Brewery in 2012? 

People can expect some exciting beer, we will have our main line honey ale that we were talking about, made with local honey and it will be a good session beer, something that has a craft beer flavor and taste but you are not going to feel like going to sleep or explode after three of them, a beer that you can have a few of them, really enjoy the flavor and ingredients, but not like some pale ales where you have two of them and your saying to yourself, ‘I’m done.’ That will be our main one. With the rest of the beers I think you will find us working with exciting new flavors and making good beer.

When do you plan to have your grand opening?

It’s a bit dangerous on that, so many breweries have fallen on meeting their opening day so I am kind of shooting long on that and saying fall of 2012. Maybe sooner, people will know as soon as we tell people, but until I have the beer made, in kegs, ready to pour, that type of thing we are not going to be opening up. We will open up when the beer is ready. 


Want to know more about Broadcast Brewery?
Follow them on facebook or twitter or sign up on their website. 


We here at Jolly Good Fellows want to thank Mike for taking the time to talk to us. Got questions for him, or suggestions for who we should interview in the future, then let us know in the comments. 

We interview Mike Causey of Broadcast Brewery (Part 1)

On Monday, January 16, 2012, I interviewed Mike Causey, head brewer and owner of Broadcast Brewery, a new brewery that will be emerging on the Nashville craft beer scene this year. Due to the length of the interview we are posting part 1 today and part 2 tomorrow morning. This part looks at how Mike got started brewing and the launching of Broadcast Brewery. 

How did you get started in brewing beer?

Pretty common story I imagine, my wife about ten years ago, looking for a gift to give for my birthday. She ended up giving me a beer making kit. I was a big fan of beer but never really thought about trying to make it, I was just enjoying the different craft beers at the time and a lot of imports as well. So I started there and it became a passion and to see the least pretty much has taken over my life.

Do you remember the first beer you home brewed?

I think it was a wheat, it was straight out of a kit, doing extract and all that kind of stuff, it was a hefeweizen, now that I think about it. I lived in Germany for awhile and was a big fan of those. It surprised me how well it tasted, just like bread, the fresher it is the better it tastes. It’s like home-cooking; it’s going to be great.

It’s very satisfying too.

Yes, and that kind of led me into wanting to open up a brewery. I come from media production, doing a lot of digital work as far videos, documentaries, websites, that kind of thing, which is satisfying but it wasn’t as tangible as brewing beer. That is what I really enjoyed about making beer was the tangible, hands on, you’re milling the grains, it’s physical. I found that a lot more satisfying and of course it results into a great beer.

Is there any particular style a favorite of yours now?

Now, I enjoy the full range of sours, I have really been getting into that. I don’t think we will brew those just yet; initial startup makes it very difficult to do a sour because of the time involved.

Making the jump to a fully realized craft brewery is a big deal, why now?

We have been in the process for about three years, so it is not an easy jump. One you want to make sure you are financed properly, so you can maintain the growth, because it is a huge capital investment up front, with returns coming in over time. That took a while, just like finding the right location took us a while within the city that had the right mix and feel with what we are doing. We looked at many warehouses, we came close on a few locations but it didn’t work out for a myriad of reasons, and we finally found this one. [ed. 906 Main Street, Nashville] I would have liked to been open sooner, but you need to find the right place at the right time, and that is what we were trying to do. We didn’t want to rush it or sacrifice some things; we wanted the best situation to make the best beer that we could make.

What made you decide on the Nashville region?

I have been here twenty years, I am originally from Alabama, but I moved up here about twenty years ago, so in Nashville terms you are a local at that point. This is my home now, been here longer than I have been anywhere else and there is a tremendous growth opportunity here. There are three or four breweries operating right now, so much room for growth and creativity, just so much room in the market unlike other areas like Colorado or Portland where they are pretty saturated.

What has been the most challenging part of launching Broadcast Brewery?

The most challenging was finding the location. That was really one of my most challenging things, to find a place that fit right. We wanted to make sure that we had the right people involved at that location so we can make something happen. There were some that were great for one aspect, or had a lot of walkup traffic, which we are somewhat interested in, but not as important because we are primarily going to be a packaging brewery or different things like that. That was really the hardest part of it, getting people on board and excited about the idea has not been a problem. It has been more of getting the right location, and then you have to look at the zoning here in Nashville, there are legal issues and laws in the zoning that makes it a little challenging in this area.

Look for part 2 tomorrow morning, where Mike talks about their plans for 2012 and most importantly the beer they will be brewing!

You don't realize how lucky you have it...

I was going to finish out the cellaring series today, but instead I came across this thread on Beer Advocate and it broke my brain so instead I am going to rant a bit.

The first image that popped up on Google
when you type overrated beer. Original here.

You don't realize how good we have it right now in the beer world. Blue laws are crumbling and giving way to common sense, new breweries are springing up every day across the country, we have a more diverse selection of brews to choose from than ever before in history. We have brewers that are stretching the boundaries of beer, creating new styles, resurrecting old styles from historical and archaeological evidence. We are entering a new golden age of beer while at the same time the craft beer movement is preparing for its biggest fight yet, but now people have to complain about "Who's overrated." So much for appreciation.

One this blog we have two hard and fast tenets.

1. There is a time and place for every beer.
2. Beer should always be approachable.

I tell you this because while people can slag on Bells, Mikkeller, Jolly Pumpkin, etc. for a variety of reasons they can't fault them for not expanding the our selection or experimenting with new,cool flavors and styles, and in today's beer world that is what is really important. These guys were and are pioneers and leaders bringing us back to some semblance of not only what we had 78 years ago before it was all taken away but introducing new things that wouldn't have even been available to us even then.  I'm not saying that they are excused from critique or beer criticism, but here is the thing they just may listen if it is well-reasoned and logical. They are not MillerCoors or Anheuser-Busch InBev who could frankly give a shit what you the beer drinker think.

Thank you Dogfish Head, thank you Avery, thank you Sierra Nevada, and to every other craft brewer out busting your hump to slake our thirsts. I may not always like your brews but I'll always try them once and I sure do appreciate the fact that you are making them and the choices you give me.

If you think they are overrated then piss off and crawl back in your hole. It just leaves more for me.

Welcome to your weekend - Christmas Day Special Edition!

Brought to you by Christmas tree and presents,
 with special guests: The Bruery's  4 Calling Birds, Port City Brewing's Tidings,
Full Sail Brewing's Wreck the Halls, Inveralmond Brewery's Santa's Swallie,
and Sierra Nevada's 2011 Celebration.

Beer links brought to you by Hanukkah!

When you Google Hanukkah
and select the first image it takes you here (SFW)

In the News!

The Festival of Lights starts on Tuesday. To all my Jewish friends and readers I hope you have a very happy holiday season. 

Beer lovers celebrate, it’s National Growler Day! (eatdrinkexplore.com)

How did I miss this?! Well mark your calendars, we are doing something for this next year, Dec 17, 2012.

Top Ten: Craft beer themes of 2011 (Washington Times) Pretty decent list of craft beer themes for this past year, on a serious note it will be interesting to see how they continue to trend. On a not so serious note, Fuck Yeah Beer!

Police Report: Stolen Beer; Thefts From Vehicles (Waukesha Patch) While Waukesha isn’t a small town it still has some small town charm. Odds that the beer stolen at 12:36 AM was Miller Lite? I’ve got three to one.

Now on Tap: Beer Chocolates and Candy Marketed to Men (ABC News) I have a ridiculous sweet tooth so I would be game to try these. I think the best one is the stout caramel bars….holy shit these are expensive! A good sixer of beer or a small bag of candies? I think the decision is pretty self-evident.

Samuel Adams’ Single Batch series:  4 great beers in 22-ounce bottles (The Boston Globe) I spotted two of these today at my local Total Wine, I think I may have to go grab 8 for a special write up (4 to drink, 4 to cellar)

Beer buys bubble over as the mercury rises (Herald Sun) I can’t say I’m too surprised we know our Australian cousins love beer, but I would really like to see the American version of this.

Jingle Beers (London Free Press) A selection of recommendations for across the pond. Anything that mentions Krampus is welcome in these links.

Beer makers wage turfwars over high-end consumers (Business Daily Africa) Someday there will be a craft beer revolution in Africa but right now we have to content ourselves with the premium beers of Heineken and Miller Genuine Draft. Ugh.

Fear the beer bill (Daily Local News) My views on blue laws are pretty simple, get rid of them. I understand the complaints, but it is monopoly breaking in a sense and it brings Pennsylvania in line with a fair portion of the nation. It will be better for consumers and the brewers.

How a Seattle brewery is using solar technology to brew beer (Geekwire) Yay for going green!

Investigation: Pubs underfilling pints of beer (The Mirror)

This is a goddamn atrocity!

On that note here is what will be happening hopefully around the site this week. A small piece on cellaring tomorrow, a review of Jewbelation on Wednesday, and on Thursday you can expect the last minute beer gift guide just in time for last second gift buying this weekend.  

We missed “Welcome to your weekend” this last weekend, but it’ll be back in time for Christmas holiday.

As always you can find us on Twitter at: @beerfellows and you can friend us on Untappd to see what we are drinking also under beerfellows.

If you have thoughts, comments, or recommendations on the blog let us know in the comments. As always thanks for stopping by and Happy Holidays! 

In which our intrepid adventurers enjoy more beer, watch their teams battle it out, and return home

Game Day

It was all delicious...except the propane. 

Sunday morning dawned cold and clear. After grabbing a quick breakfast down at Luna Cafe in De Pere, (a cozy eatery that made an excellent latte and had delicious scones) we stopped at the supermarket on the way back to the hotel to stock up on food and drink, well aware that everyone else was bringing drink and vittles. The basic items filled the cart fast, hot dogs, bratwursts, buns, chips etc. All was proceeding quickly until I walked into the “Beer Cave” There I spent the next 15 minutes trying to figure out what beer to take with me. (A quick side note on how I buy beer. If in a new area, or someplace I haven’t been in awhile I go out of my way to buy new styles or try new breweries.)

Your fearless author almost
throws out his back
(Photo by Summer Marthaler)

I ended up making two of my own six packs to go along with the remnants of the Capital Brewery Winter Skal and Amber left over from the previous evening.  Six new beers to try (I noahed my beer, grabbing two of each, Lithia Regner Red Ale, New Glarus ChocolateAbbey, Black Top Black IPA, Back 40 Bock, O’so Night Train Porter, and Milwaukee Brewing LouisDemise Ale)

By the time we had arrived back at the hotel and checked out, Justin had arrived. We tossed in his gear in the trunk, piled into the rental and headed over to Lambeau Field. Tailgating at Lambeau is a must for any NFL fan. For thirty bucks we had parking in a backyard mere yards from the stadium, and to top it off parking for most of the rest of the crew showing up. The last time I parked this close to the entrance was in November at the Chargers-Packers game. There I had to have a special parking permit and I was glad I was driving a brand new Cadillac. Here it was open to the masses. 

A motley crew with our token Raider fan

Shortly after we arrived the rest of the tailgating team turned up. First to arrive was Summer and Jake, having driven in from Goodrich, followed minutes later by Davey and Bones. Matt and Ann would arrive later in the afternoon. 

Jake, Summer, friends & Bones

The grill was fired up, the brats were soon on, and the beer started to flow. The first to go was the Rye Porter and IPA that Justin had brought with him from Red Eye Brewing in Wausau. The Rye Porter was fantastically delicious. Soon we were into the bottles of New Glarus and Capital Brewery. Jake and Summer worked on the Miller Lite they had brought, content to drink a beer that was comfortable for them. Between the food and beer, the bean bag boards were set up for some “fierce” competition and general trash talking.

I walked into Lambeau with a mild buzz, a full stomach and over the next few hours watched the Green and Gold dismantle the Silver and Black much to Brian’s chagrin. I kept my whistle wet with first a Miller Genuine Draft provided by Justin, and then discovered that New Glarus SpottedCow was being served at the stadium. A couple of those lasted until the last second ticked of the clock. 

As Brian would say, a pilgrim heading into an unholy land.
(Photo by Brian Smith)

We all gathered after the game, but the energy had drained out, washed away by the excitement and the cold. Brian and I drank the Lithias while waiting for the traffic to clear out, divvied up the remaining beer with Davey, and said our goodbyes as friends and family departed. It was evening when we left Green Bay heading southbound chasing red lights down Interstate 43 back to Milwaukee.

Late that night in the Best Western by Mitchell Field Airport Brian and I ate some wings and fried cheese curds. I washed mine down with a Coke, the alcohol of the last two days finally catching up, my taste buds demanding something different. Brian was resolute and polished off one more beer, this time a Point Amber.

The Seats (Photo by Brian Smith)

The early morning flight on Monday was packed with tourists and business men but still uneventful. The travel had wiped me out, but Brian had to rally and head into work for the afternoon. We brought back four bottles along with some cheese curds from “downtown” Gad, Louie’s Demise Ale by Milwaukee Brewing Company, O’so Night Train, and New Glarus Chocolate Abbey and Back 40 Bock. Two went with Brian, the Night Train and Bock, while I bagged the others. I drank one on the evening I returned. The Chocolate Abbey will be put in the reserve stocks to age for a year.

Brian showed more fight than his team. 

This was an experience where beer played a central role and to me it encapsulates what Jolly Good Fellows is all about. Enjoying beer, both new styles and brands, and those that are tried and true, rekindling friendships and creating new experiences and starting your own traditions. For me being a proud son of Wisconsin, drinking Spotted Cow and watching a Packers game from the stands of Lambeau Field with my friends goes down as one of my all time great beer memories. It was a little slice of heaven.

Thanks for stopping by.