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It's just Joe and Nick this episode and the topic at hand: what separates a craft beer enthusiast from a craft beer jerk. We've all walked this line on occasion, but we want to keep the craft beer world as inclusive and welcoming as possible for those that maybe are just beginning their journey into craft beer or have different tastes than us. Craft beer drinkers get a bad reputation from time to time - and it's occasionally warranted - but can we dispel those misconceptions? Are craft beer memes from the likes of Pilsnerish, Hazebois, and Don't Drink Beer (DDB) the secret to humility? Tune in to hear the guys' banter on the subject!

Have you ever thought, "Wow, an airport beer just tastes better." You're not alone! Now that Dry January is over, the Secondary Fermentation crew (featuring the return of Jen!) discusses all of their favorite situations for enjoying a cold one. A beer tower at a bowling alley? A session IPA in the shower before a full slate of college football Saturday? There are moments and settings where beer is simply better! Tune in and enjoy a "I'm listening to a sweet podcast" beer!

Continuing with the theme of Dry January (as Joe and Lauren persevere through the final couple of weeks), we're chatting all about hop water on today's episode. Joe made his own hop water for the first time, and the crew does a tasting and compares to some popular commercial examples of hop water. Of course, we also dive into the nitty gritty of making hop water.

Just in time for Dry January, the Secondary Fermentation group is discussing NA (non-alcoholic) beers. We'll dive first into just how NA beers are made, why they aren't "alcohol-free", and then we'll do a tasting showdown between five largely available NA beer contenders to share our thoughts and recommendations. The beers in question: Dos Equis "Lime & Salt Zero," Blue Moon "Non-Alcoholic Belgian White," Samual Adams "Just the Haze," Athletic Brewing Co. "Run Wild IPA," and Flying Dog "Deep Fake."

As 2023 comes to a close, the Secondary Fermentation crew cracks a barrel-aged "Edison Ale" from Casita Brewing Company and reviews the global stats for Untappd check-ins this past year. Joe, Lauren, and Nick also reveal their own Untappd stats and how they changed from 2022, while sharing some of their favorite beers and breweries from 2023. Cheers to a new year in beer!

We're back after a little break and feeling a little ill. We've got a fun lineup of beers today: we are doing a vertical tasting of the 2021, 2022, and 2023 editions of Goose Island's "Bourbon County Brand Stout" and highlighting our tasting notes every step of the way. Should probably throw an ASMR tag in here, cause we spend most of the episode sniffing and lip-smacking (kidding....kind of). Hope you got to enjoy the 2023 stout and some variants!

Its Thanksgiving!... almost. Check this episode out for what we think are some tasty beer pairings for your favorite turkey day foods. Better yet, grab them yourselves and taste along on the big day. Gobble Gobble!

Once again, it is Stout Season, so we've got some stouts to crack on today's episode! Today we break down the various BJCP stout styles, providing style guidelines and our own perspectives and preferences. Also featured, of course, is LC's Pick of the Week, and another guest spot for Baby Owen (who is getting more and more excited to talk on the podcast). Cheers!

You might see a peanut butter cup imperial stout on a draft list and think, Wow, that sounds like a unique and special beer, and proceed to order a session IPA. Did you know your session IPA can be considered a specialty beer? Today we talk about the BJCP's style guidelines for specialty beers and experimental beers, and the recommendations for entering them into judging categories if you enter a competition. Tune in to find out why a triple IPA's suggested entry category is the American Barleywine!

It's (almost) fall, y'all - we've all seen the pumpkin beers back on the shelves of our local bottle shops and on tap at breweries partaking in the seasonal style. How did pumpkin beers come to be? Was it just to appeal to the PSL faithful? Is there really pumpkin in pumpkin beers? Were our founding fathers homebrew enthusiasts? All these questions and more, on this episode of Secondary Fermentation!

As we're in the middle of Oktoberfest, we found it appropriate to do a tasting and ranking of some North Carolina-brewed Oktoberfest beers, including Marzens, Festbiers, and a Harvest Ale! For the lineup, we have The Mason Jar Lager Company, Funguys Brewing, Brewery Bhavana, Hi-Wire Brewing, and a collab featuring Dirtbag Ales and Proximity Brewing Company.

Today, Joe, Lauren, and Nick discuss a couple beers and some craft brew news about the latest with Anchor Brewing, and then dive into a discussion about red flags when going to a brewery (inspired by Reddit and Vinepair). Does a dirty glass mean it's time to find a new brewery? Do you get annoyed when all they serve are IPAs? Tune in to see if we agree with some of your red flags!