Advertise on podcast: Heavy Hops

One of my favorite parts about talking to musicians is getting to the heart of why they make the creative and musical decisions that are then committed to tape or performed live. Why did they choose to write their lyrics in a certain manner? Why did they record their live album in a historic water tower? How will they reimagine older material for an upcoming performance? The thread among many of these conversations is that they are reflections musicians share on what they’ve done or will do. This week’s conversation with Will and Sam Skarstad - collaborators, brothers and founding members of New York black metal band Yellow Eyes - shares a rare moment of these decisions happening in real time. The two took a break from intensive writing sessions to share observations of how their creative process is unfolding, how they feel about field recordings which have played an important part in creating ambiance and sense of place in past albums, and what they imagine for the follow up to 2019’s Rare Field Ceiling.  Find Yellow Eyes: Bandcamp Twitter Instagram Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Audio editing, mix and mastering: Esben Willems/Studio Berserk Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

Good Beer Hunting has changed how beer is covered and viewed. Over the past decade, founder Michael Kiser and his team have used photography, long form journalism, podcasting, humor and even festivals as avenues for sharing experiences, flavors and perhaps most importantly, human-size stories. I joined Michael at GBH studio in West Town, and over glasses of Bourbon County Barley Wine and Schlenkerla Weizen we discussed our mutual histories in beer, how covering it has changed over time, and what kind of future we see for this beverage that has shaped our lives. It was a pleasure to have this conversation in person - some things are just better face to face. Find Michael Kiser: Good Beer Hunting Feel Goods Company Twitter Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Audio editing, mix and mastering: Esben Willems/Studio Berserk Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

Tara Nurin is a veteran freelance writer, consultant, lecturer and educator who focuses on the culture, history and business of beer. Her most recent book A Woman’s Place Is In The Brewhouse: A Forgotten History of Alewives, Brewsters, Witches and CEOs (Chicago Review Press, September 2021) covers these exact topics, celebrating the contributions and influence of female brewers,. Our conversation focuses on herstory - history considered or presented from a feminist viewpoint or with special attention to the experience of women - and forces such as archival silences and historiographical biases that have erased women’s voices from brewing history. A Woman’s Place Is In the Brewhouse is an important addition to the collective body of beer history on account of both its well-researched historical focus, and the social questions it raises. Find Tara Nurin: Official Website & Socials Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Audio editing, mix and mastering: Esben Willems/Studio Berserk Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

Joining us this week are Kirill Orlov and Marc Najjar guitarist and bassist/vocalist respectively of Huntsmen. The bands unique combination of folk Americana with doom-inspired heavy sections and harmonized vocals are presented through different production and storytelling lenses on the band's debut American Scrap and 2020’s Mandala of Fear. The re-release of American Scrap by Prosthetic Records will be supplemented with a special performance of the album at Roadburn Festival. We discuss how American Scrap is more relevant than ever musically and lyrically; how the record is being transformed for the upcoming performance; and how they’ve incorporated vocalist Aimee Bueno sonically and personally into the project. The Dying Pines, the bands most recent output will be celebrated with a special hometown preview taking place at The Empty Bottle on April 9th.  Find Huntsmen: Official Website & Social Media Buy tickets to see Huntsmen with Sweet Cobra and Guest. Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Audio editing, mix and mastering: Esben Willems/Studio Berserk Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

Martin Atkins’ experience as a musician and entrepreneur spans genres, borders and industries. He was a member of Public Image Limited with Johnny Rotten, Ministry, Killing Joke, and Pigface in addition to being a performer with Nine Inch Nails. He’s touched every aspect of the music industry and covered it in his three books. We discuss Martin’s most recent undertaking, the Museum of Post Punk and Industrial Music in Chicago and what it's been like collecting, and deciding what to do with equipment, costumes, and other artifacts from his rich and colorful career. Martin is also the music business program coordinator at Millikin University in Decatur, IL and lectures regularly about the music industry. We devote time to my questions about building a local scene in a highly globalized world and how artists can get recognized amidst the proliferation of music online. Find Martin Atkins: More about Martin Twitter Instagram Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Audio editing, mix and mastering: Esben Willems/Studio Berserk Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

Joining me this week is Lance Shaner, founder of Omega Yeast Lab in Chicago. A microbiologist by training and former patent attorney, Lance’s analytical approach to creating hybrid yeast strains for breweries was groundbreaking from the inception of Omega Yeast in 2013. We discuss how Lance approaches creating these hybrid strains of yeast, and we give special attention to Omega’s Hothead - the first commercially produced Kveik strain available in North America. As the yeast lab that has always seemed to be a step ahead of the beer industry I was curious to know where he finds inspiration, how he works with hop growers and brewers to better understand their challenges, and where he can provide a solution. We also tie together music and beer, how does Lance square his musical and professional pursuits? Find Lance Shaner: Omega Yeast Lab Instagram Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Audio editing, mix and mastering: Esben Willems/Studio Berserk Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

Joining me this week is Jerald O’Kennard, Director of the Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago. BTI’s independent reviews of beer, wine and spirits are highly influential internally within the bev-alc industry and with consumers. Pappy Van Winkle received a considerable boost to its brand recognition in 1997 when BTI awarded it a 99/100, the highest awarded score at that time.  In an era where social media and democratized ratings platforms influence portfolio decisions for makers, wholesalers and retailers, the work that BTI does carries significant weight. Jerald and I dive into what makes a good sensory or review panel and how evolving style categories are accounted for in these contexts. How are pleasant “off flavors'' assessed in an objective environment? BTI’s approach of taking the perspective of the end user leads us to the topic of convergence between Ready to Drink (RTD) and Flavored Malt Beverage (FMB) canned cocktails. Find Jerald O’Kennard: Beverage Testing Institute Tastings.com Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Audio editing, mix and mastering: Esben Willems/Studio Berserk Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!  

Joining me today is Katie Davies, guitarist and vocalist for the British grindcore band Pupil Slicer. The band’s debut Mirrors was released in March 2021 and it captured my interest, the combination of mathcore, grind and post metal was unique in its delivery and transportive in its effect on me as a listener. I found myself revisiting Converge’s Jane Doe and Dillinger Escape Plan’s Calculating Infinity, finding new musical and lyrical nuggets within those classic albums. In addition to describing how those and other artists have impacted their song and riff-writing; Katie touches on vocal-style and conveying tension between the fun musical energy they perceive from these influences and Pupil Slicer’s lyrics. Find Katie Davies & Pupil Slicer: Bandcamp "Thermal Runaway" Video "Wounds Upon My Skin" Video Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Audio editing, mix and mastering: Esben Willems/Studio Berserk Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!  

Joining me this week is JJ Koczan, founder of The Obelisk, an online publication focusing on desert rock, stoner and doom metal.  JJ and I both found our way into the music industry around twenty years ago through college radio and journalism. JJ became Managing Editor at The Aquarian Weekly and Associate Editor at Metal Maniacs Magazine in New York before creating The Obelisk thirteen years ago.  I wanted to understand how JJ negotiates being a fan of heavy music in addition to someone who covers it daily; does his profession color his listening experience? Does the pitch an artist, label, or publicist makes color his perception of the music? I think about these same questions a lot when it comes to event curation and even programming for this podcast. Before jumping in I’d like to give a shout out to Esben Willems who edits, mixes and masters these episodes weekly for inspiring this episode. If you’re listening and have a guest idea, feel free to reach out and share it.  Find JJ Koczan: The Obelisk Twitter Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Audio editing, mix and mastering: Esben Willems/Studio Berserk Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

Joining us week is Amaury “Ammo” Dastarac, a freelance illustrator based in Brussels. You’ve likely seen Ammo’s work; he’s created concert and festival posters for Neurosis, Converge, The Melvins, Chelsea Wolfe, Enslaved and Hellfest. He’s also illustrated beer labels for breweries De Ranke, Cantillon and most recently Brasserie De La Mule. We discuss his style, visual and musical inspirations, how he crossed over into illustrating beer labels, embedding himself first into legendary venue Magasin 4 in Brussels, then the fabric of the Brussels beer scene. We also dedicate time to how he approaches working with the legendary lambic producer Cantillon, whose past labels are iconic and in the case of Rosé de Gambrinus, controversial. What goes into bringing producers and brands visually into the present? Find Ammo: Art & Label Portfolio Instagram Belgian Beers Race Game: a board game he illustrated in which players visit as many breweries as possible, buy their beers, drink throughout a three day competition Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Audio editing, mix and mastering: Esben Willems/Studio Berserk Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

For a few years I’ve been intrigued by agave spirits, and in particular Mezcal. The flavor profiles, methods of production and history of these beverages are fascinating and delicious. In the interest of promoting curiosity, an eternal goal of this podcast, I wanted to give space to this unique world of beverages that have an intriguing sense of place. Joining me in this endeavor are Lou Bank and Chava Peribán, Executive Director and Project Manager respectively of S.A.C.R.E.D, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit that helps improve lives in the rural Mexican communities where heritage agave spirits are made. They also co-host the Agave Road Trip podcast.  Lou and Chava provide context by offering insight into the agricultural, political, social and economic histories of Mezcal. We also touch on the work that S.A.C.R.E.D does in improving lives in rural Oaxacan communities by supporting agricultural and water security initiatives. You can read more about their work at the links provided in the episode notes. Find Lou Bank and Chava Peribán: Read More About S.A.C.R.E.D Agave Road Trip Podcast Chava is also the documentarist for Maguey Melate Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Audio editing, mix and mastering: Esben Willems/Studio Berserk Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

Joining me this week is Paul Hletko, founder and distiller of Few Spirits in Evanston, immediately north of Chicago. Hletko’s imaginative approach to bourbon, whiskey and gin have garnered many accolades since Few’s inception in 2011 including Whiskey Advocate Craft Whiskey of the Year and Icons of Gin World Distiller of the Year. We discuss his approach to ingredient selection and the construction of his brown spirits including mash bill, barrel sourcing, yeast strains, and adjuncts. The significance of the distillery's location in relation to the temperance movement receive attention, and we expound upon the correlations between songwriting and creating flavor. While Paul is mission and vision driven he is an ally of small distillers in the industry, having served as president of the American Craft Spirits Association and on the advisory board of DISCUS (Distilled Spirits Council of the United States). I take the opportunity to ask about relevant topics in the industry including consolidation among larger distillers and distributors, and direct to consumer sales. Find Paul Hletko: Few Spirits Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Audio editing, mix and mastering: Esben Willems/Studio Berserk Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!