NBTextra : Dr. Bill Sysak’s Cellar : 1999 Bellevue Selection Lambic Gueuze from New Brew Thursday on Vimeo.

The second half of the EPIC New Brew Thursday episode filmed in Dr. Bill Sysak’s personal cellar. In this edition of NBTextra, we try a 1999 Bellevue Selection Lambic Gueuze and talk to Dr. Bill about his history with beer.

March 4 : Gueuze Girardin : with Dr. Bill Sysak in his personal cellar from New Brew Thursday on Vimeo.

This week we go to a secret location that only a few beer geeks have ever been, the personal cellar of Dr. Bill Sysak. We enjoy some Gueuze Girardin paired with cheeses and ceviche. We also talk to Dr. Bill about Gueuze, wild yeast, pairing food, awesome beer parties, and of course the wonderfulness of beer as a whole ..

If you’ve never had Gueuze Girardin, you should, it’s amazing and completely accessible. In fact, it is often on the bottle list at Stone World Bistro & Gardens, if you are in the San Diego area. Here is what the brewer has to say about it :

GIRARDIN GUEUZE from Brouwerij Girardin is a lambic of exceptional excellence, the epitome of traditional gueuze, bombarding the palate with slightly lemon-grapefruit tang. Considered by many to be the finest lambic of all.

This beer is made more awesome, when consumed with a beer master, who knows exactly what you should eat with it .. enter Dr. Bill.

Dr. Bill, as he is affectionately known, has been a celebrity in the beer world for a long long time … For the last 30 years he has tasted, traveled and experienced more of the beer world then many of us will in our entire lives. He has an expert level of knowledge about what beers do, and should, taste like.. He can take a style, or a specific beer, and tell you instantly what foods will work best with that beer. He is currently the beverage supervisor at Stone World Bistro & Gardens, and is a certified cicerone. Today Dr. Bill gives us a great education on lambics and gueuzes as well as talking about food pairings, insanely awesome private beer parties, and mass storage of beer in your home.

So sit back, crack a beer and enjoy the show!

Stay Safe. Drink Beer.

Brewed by:
Brouwerij Girardin
Belgium

Style | ABV
Gueuze | 5.00% ABV

There no questioning that, in the US, there is a ground swell of craft beer revolutionaries that refuse to compromise quality, innovation and style for cheaply produced mass-marketed beer. The revolution started in the hands of people like Fritz Maytag, Charlie Papazian, Fred Eckhardt and others, who stepped out from the masses and reminded us what beer was supposed to taste like. Over the past 30+ years that revolution has gone from the quieted shouts of a few, to the deafening roar of a community several million strong. Are you a part of the revolution?

Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, Beer Advocate, Rate Beer, Blogs, Podcasts, Movies, Brewers, Festivals, or a private get together the craft beer revolution is thriving and getting stronger and stronger every day … but despite the community roar as a whole, it is still just as important for each individual to advocate to the friends, co-workers, and other people in their lives, to raise awareness that choice exists and that beer serves a bigger purpose in our social community.

New Brew Thursday started out as a way to introduce one beer a week to people who may not know about the choices available. It was always our hope that at least one person per episode would see past the thirty blocks of mass produced lager to the few shelves of locally produced craft beer. The time and money that we spend each creating, producing and delivering our show is done in the hopes that our audience will be inspired to get involved and bring the craft beer revolution to the people in their lives. So now we want to hear from you!

Tell us your “Craft Beer Advocacy” story. Whether you held a tasting for friends, how you helped someone have their first craft beer epiphany, tell us about your craft beer epiphany.. whatever you have to say about the revolution. Each week, we will pick the best one, according to us, and read that one on the show and the winner will receive ….. wait for it .. it’s awesome … it’s incredible …

A copy of the Beer Wars DVD , signed to you by the creator Anat Baron.

How can you win :

Submit via Email :
advocate@newbrewthursday.com

Submit via Youtube :
upload a video of you telling your story, and we’ll include the video on the show as well. Once uploaded to Youtube, email the link or send it to us on twitter.

Please include in your email the following information :

Your name
Your address
Anything special you want the signed copy to say .. ( this will be fulfilled at the discretion of Anat Baron )

Looking forward to reading your submissions!

NBTextra: Blue Palms Brewhouse with Brian Lenzo from New Brew Thursday on Vimeo.

When we did the episode with Anat Baron of [ Beer Wars ], she specifically said she wanted to shoot it at [ Blue Palms Brewhouse ]. When we got there, we understood why. This place is awesome .. Loads and Loads of craft beer, and they even have a Enamel Animal – watch the Beer Wars movie and you will understand what that is, and why it is full of WIN.

We sit and chat with Brian Lenzo about his bar, his story, and why he cares so much about craft beer..

Want to experience Blue Palms Brewhouse, but drink a Bud ?? You can do that too, you’ll find those in the junk pile..

Feb 25 : Howard St IPA : with Brian Yaeger & Brenden Dobel at Thirsty Bear Brewing from New Brew Thursday on Vimeo.

This week we sit with not one amazing guest, but TWO … it’s crazy, it’s epic, and it all went down at the Thirsty Bear Brewing company in San Francisco.

First we spend some time talking to Thirsty Bears head brewer Brenden Dobel. Thirst Bear Brewing Co is a awesome brewpub in the heart of San Francisco, just steps away from the Moscone Center on Howard St. We enjoy the aptly named Howard St IPA and talk about the history and future of the Thirsty Bear

Next we chat with Brian Yaeger the author of Red White & Brew, which tells a fascinating tale of his journey around the country interviewing brewers and hearing their stories. It’s an amazing book, and if you haven’t read it I definitely recommend you get a copy and read it ASAP.

So Kick back, pop an IPA and enjoy the show!

Brewed by:
Thirsty Bear Brewing Company
California, United States

Style
American IPA

If this is your first day on the internet, and this just happened to be the first website you have ever journeyed too, you might not know what a hater is.  So let me take a moment to explain with the use of visual graphics to help you understand.

Craft beer geeks can be & generally are some of the nicest people you will ever meet, which is a HUGE reason I am so passionate about the craft beer industry. In the last year, I have met and drank beer with some of the coolest people on the planet. I have attended events where there are hundreds of complete strangers sharing beer, sharing stories, and making lasting friendships in the short course of a “morning beer festival session”. So with all these cool people, why the need to talk about “haters” .. cause they exist too, even among the super nice ( in real life ) people that you meet at craft beer events.

Let’s face it, the anonymity of your darkened second bedroom, lit only by the light of your computer screen, after having a few tasty craft beers might make you a little more willing to say and do things online that you wouldn’t feel comfortable doing in the real world. For example. I have seen hundreds of people who bash [ Beer Advocate ] on twitter, there are even “anti beer advocate” twitter accounts that are devoted to pointing out all the negative things about Beer Advocate’s website, their community and even the founders [ Jason ] and [ Todd Alström ]. We, unfortunately, even got into the fray one night during a discussion, turned slug fest, about the way BA uses their twitter account.

Another victim of this particular type of online bashing is the Beer Wars movie. Of course, if you watched our last episode, you saw that we sat with Anat Baron and talked about the movie, and touched on a few of the main concerns that people have expressed about the movie. If you haven’t seen our episode, check it out, and if you haven’t seen the movie, then FOR SURE get on that by going here : [ Beer Wars Website ]. What people are completely comfortable saying on twitter, or forums or wherever online .. they would not likely feel comfortable expressing to the face of the movie maker herself. Of course, this being the new digital age, even if Anat, or the Alström Bros don’t follow you online, they are likely to see exactly what you say about them. So even on that level, it is something to think about before you go drink your haterade and get all crazy online.

So, dear reader, I can imagine you thinking to yourself two things :

1. The Alström Bros and Anat Baron are adults, professional, and celebrities so they should have thicker skin and deal with it
and
2. I have the right to say whatever I want and express my opinion as I see fit.

You are completely correct on both thoughts. This post is not designed to kiss BA, or Anat’s ass or coddle them or even try to convince you that you can’t speak your mind online. This post is an effort to remind you that we are all working towards the same goal. Advocating for craft beer and helping the masses understand that they have choice, and to exercise that choice.

Personally, I don’t have any love for the BA website, or the brothers themselves ( having never met either one in person ), but NO ONE can argue the immense contribution they have made to the craft beer world, or the community at large. I have tons of love for Anat, having met her and having seen what an incredible person she is, and I genuinely love the Beer Wars movie , despite it’s flaws. Regardless of how you feel about the movie, you have to admit that this documentary does amazing things for the craft beer world. It puts the real struggle in the marketplace out in the open and exposes the flaws in how distribution in the US is handled, and how that distribution model puts all the power & choice into the hands of 2 large corporate beer makers. If you think Rhonda is stupid, and her beer idea was lame .. fine.. but her story, and her struggle are both very similar to what the average small craft brewer goes through trying to get thier beer to market. If you think that Sam from Dogfish Head is too big to be considered a story to focus on for this movie about craft brewers .. then fine but aren’t you happy for his success? Don’t you wish all the really cool craft brewers out there could find the type of success that Dogfish Head, Stone Brewing Co, Avery Brewing Co, etc.. etc.. have begun to have in the last few years? Even if you may not like every beer they produce, doesn’t it make you happy to be able to go into a craft beer store, and CHOOSE not to buy that beer, but to buy a different beer that you do like ?

These type of choices exist for two reasons ..
1. There are amazing and truly talented craft brewers who are putting everything on the line to do what they love, and produce a high quality, artisanal product that they believe in.
2. We have supported those efforts by buying those beers, and telling our friends about how great they are.

If we as the community of “advocates” can’t understand the contribution of websites like [ Rate Beer ] & Beer Advocate, or pod casts like ours, [ Hop Cast ], [ Two Beer Queers ] and many others and especially movies like Beer Wars bring to our beloved craft beer world, then you haven’t been paying attention to the revolution.

So, what does that mean? Are we not allowed to dislike a beer, or dislike a website? Of course not. Choice is at the very heart of what we are trying to advocate for, so how can we remove the choice to like or dislike something. However, there is a difference between not liking something and going out of the way to hate on it. For instance. Are you blogger that wants to write a review about Beer Wars ? Did you find something you didn’t like in the movie ? Talk about that, but also focus as much or more time on what you did like about it, and how you felt it contributes to the craft beer movement. Also, hit up Anat on twitter .. you can find her at [ Beer Wars ]. She is extremely responsive, and will maybe help you understand the bits of the movie you didn’t get, or didn’t like.

Does Beer Advocates website, and forum community just completely piss you off ? Great .. be a force for change in the community, helping others to see that we are all trying to be advocates .. not snobs, lovers of craft beer .. not haters. These are the ways that we can truly advocate. Our community is getting large, and with a large group of people online, the trolls get activated. Ultimately you can not beat the trolls, but you can be louder, and more persuasive then they are.

With all the new craft beer drinkers coming into our online community every day, what impression do we want them to get ? That we are a bunch of beer snobs, or beer douche-bags that won’t accept them because they can’t explain the difference between a Barley Wine and an IPA .. or do we want them to see us as a group of buddies who love beer, and want to enjoy their journey through craft beer as much as we enjoyed our own ?

I, for one, choose the latter, and if you’re out there supporting the craft beer revolution, then I tip my glass to you, and say Cheers!

Stay Safe & Drink Beer.

Feb 18 : NBT Special Edition : Beer Wars : Special Guest Anat Baron at Blue Palms Brewhouse from New Brew Thursday on Vimeo.

This week on New Brew Thursday, we veer slightly from the norm of tasting a new beer and interview filmmaker Anat Baron, director and producer of the movie, [ Beer Wars ]. If you haven’t already heard about Beer Wars, it’s a film about the beer industry and the struggle between “David” and “Goliath” for the one thing that matters more than anything in retail business—your choice.

We talk to Anat about creating the movie, dig deeper into different stories that take place in the movie and discuss the beer scene in general. All of this goes down at [ Blue Palms Brewhouse ] in Hollywood, California—one of the best craft beer bars in the Los Angeles area.

If you haven’t already seen Beer Wars, it’s available virtually everywhere—iTunes, Netflix, Amazon, Satellite, On Demand, and of course, DVD.

Check out the Beer Wars website at [ beerwarsmovie.com ].

NBT Extra : 21st Amendment : Collaboration Brew from New Brew Thursday on Vimeo.

Hungry for more NBT… well, here you go. Welcome to NBTextra! NBTextra is basically a mini-episode of extra footage and behind the scene stuff that didn’t make to a final show.

We had so much content from Shaun (translation: he wouldn’t quit talking … tee hee. ) that we decided we would create a new NBT Quickie called NBTextra!

Enjoy a scoop on the upcoming collaboration brew between Stone Brewing Co, Firestone Walker, and 21st Amendment.

Also a quick tour of the 21st Amendment Brewery, and crazy drunk guy that loves the president.

Feb 11 : 21st Amendment : Brew Free or Die IPA : on location with Shaun O’ Sullivan from New Brew Thursday on Vimeo.

This week we find ourselves at [ 21st Amendment Brewery ] in San Francisco with Shaun O’ Sullivan. We get completely crazy, with a full house behind us and talk canning, Partner Brewing, childhood memories, and quote a few movie lines.

We also give some love to our fellow beer geek podcasters [ Hop Cast ], and [ Two Beer Queers ] and even create a whole new IPA named after Brad from the Hop Cast called Beerad IPA! It’s EPIC. Follow Brad here : @beerad

It’s still Beer Week for our neighbors to the north in San Francisco, so we continue our tribute to the San Francisco beer scene with an epic journey to the 21st Amendment Brewery and Cafe on 2nd Street downtown. This month is also Strong Beer Month with 21A and Magnolias, check out both craft beer havens and drink all the strong beers, and get a free glass!

” It watches the episode, it does this when it’s told to! ”

Brewed by:
21st Amendment Brewery
California, United States

Style | ABV
American IPA | 7.00% ABV

A big part of what we hope that New Brew Thursday brings to our audience is education. While we have never called ourselves experts, we love to learn about beer and beer culture and hope that our viewers come with us on that journey, learning with us, and even correcting us when we are wrong.

So far, that journey has been incredible. We have met so many great members of the craft beer community and had experiences that a year ago I wouldn’t have even dreamed of. However, we felt that we still needed to bring a more “legitimate” learning experience, to even the very experienced craft beer lover. With that in mind, we are thrilled to announce the addition of a new weekly segment for New Brew Thursday, that will do just that. We hope you will join us in welcoming the newest member of the NBT Crew, “Dr.” Bill Sysak!

“Master Pairings with Dr. Bill” , will be a 5 – 10 minute segment included in each show, where the incomparable “Dr.” Bill Sysak will teach you all about pairing beer with food. Not only will you learn about specific pairings, but why those pairings work, and give you the ability to experiment on your own and find successful pairings that will impress all your craft beer loving guests!

Dr. Bill has been a beer celebrity in the craft and specialty beer scene for many years. Through his father, Dr. Bill was exposed to quality beer earlier than most when they formed what could be called an early version of New Brew Thursday, except that it was on Fridays. Through this father-son bonding experience Bill was educated about the variety of styles and complex flavor profiles as he methodically stepped through the great beers of the world.

Dr. Bill has visited more then 500 breweries & has been to Belgium 30 times and been to 300 Belgian Breweries. Now back in his hometown in Orange County, he has amassed one of the most extensive privately held collections of rare beer in the US & is known for hosting the most extreme private beer festivals in the world.

Recently named a [ Certified Cicerone ], Dr. Bill currently works at the Beverage Coordinator at [ Stone Brewing Co. ] and puts on some of the most amazing beer & food pairing events at Stone World Bistro & Gardens. His pairings range from breakfast, to cheese, to dinners, to chocolate.

Follow Dr. Bill on twitter here : twitter.com/bistrobeer

This new segment will begin in March and will be apart of the normal episode style you’ve come to know and love.

Got a special beer that you would love to see paired with food. Let us know and we’ll get it on the show!