Since the beginning of the podcast, craft beer style trends have changed considerably. With this in mind, Carlin and Rebecca sit down to compare new and old IPAs and fruited sours.
To celebrate Oktoberfest, Carlin and Rebecca drove down to True Respite Brewing in Rockville, Maryland to pick up a German themed beer dinner with food from Brew Belly Kitchen and Sudhaus. Listen as the food and beers are tasted on podcast.
Carlin and Rebecca head to the shelf at their local liquor store to taste four more beers. This time there are ups and extreme downs.
Finally getting around to it, Carlin sits down and evaluates some recent Hoarders beers. All are tasty, but there are some surprises and disappointments.
The Bruery put out a fun hot pink box of beers inspired by doughnuts from four different doughnuts shops. Carlin and Rebecca dive into it to see how tasty the beers are and if they taste anything like doughnuts.
Carlin and Rebecca took a day to run down to Washington, DC to pick up some Bruery Society beers and check out two nearby breweries. Listen to their opinions of the breweries and some of their beers.
Considered one of the best breweries in Maryland, and a podcast favorite, Carlin and Rebecca dive into the origins and innovative nature of this brewery. And, of course, four tasty beers are evaluated.
For this On The Shelf episode, Carlin and Rebecca try beers by one of their favorite fruited sour makers, a brewery that left and then returned to Maryland distribution, one that is highly lauded in Pennsylvania, and a Maine brewery the two visited on vacation years ago.
Bringing the series of Black Tuesday variant episodes to a close, Carlin sits down the evaluate the final three. The theme for this one is the influence of wine.
A rare non-Kyle Norman beer mail episode occurs with three beers from Nathan Kalasnik and one from Rich Smith. Two hoppy beers and two stouts get evaluated. See what gets the top spot.
Continuing the series of Black Tuesday variant episodes, Carlin sits down the evaluate three more. This time it’s about different types of barrels.
Rebecca had a birthday recently. And for her big celebration she and Carlin drove to Frederick, Maryland to hit six different breweries. Hear them give a recap and taste through some beers on this excursion episode.
Carlin goes it solo for the first of a three part variants episode series that features a big beer with nine different variations.
Looking to showcase more Maryland breweries, Rebecca secured four beers for this Frederick brewery that focuses on naming beers with recognized sayings.
Having just visited Brewery Fire in Taneytown, Maryland, Carlin and Rebecca left with enough beers for an entire episode on the brewery. Couple that with some interesting information on how it all got started and you have a fun and informative showcase episode.
It’s time for another dive into the beer cellar. Listen to find out what tasty oldies Carlin and Rebecca choose. Have the beers held up over time? Or have they been sitting a bit too long?
Looking to experience some more Maryland breweries, Carlin and Rebecca headed to Carroll County for some beers and food at Brewery Fire, Pub Dog, and 1623 Brewing. Hear all about this excursion as four beers from the breweries are cracked and enjoyed.
Carlin and Rebecca taste some beers from two Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area breweries, courtesy of Kyle Norman. Also making an appearance is a beer many never thought would be on the podcast.
Closely following the last On The Shelf episode, Carlin and Rebecca try beers from two of the same breweries. One beer sounds interesting, but could end up not panning out, but the other three are just about guaranteed to be good.
Carlin sits down with four more 375 milliliter bottles of Hoarders Society beers from 2020. Three are sour, one a stout.
Fully vaccinated and ready to go, Carlin and Rebecca hit the local liquor store to see what’s available. The result is an episode tasting four beers that all taste good, but still must be ranked.
After doing the Brett Trials episode, Sapwood Cellars Brewery in Columbia, Maryland put out a hop oils 4-pack. Naturally, Carlin and Rebecca got their hands on one to see how much of a difference these flavor boosters really make.
With beers from Kyle Norman at the ready, Carlin and Rebecca sit down to record this showcase for an extremely new brewery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Sapwood Cellars Brewery in Columbia, Maryland recently explored different strains of brettanomyces. Done with the same base beer and released in a six-pack, Carlin and Rebecca crack them all open to see just how different they are.
More Kyle Norman beers make an appearance in this episode, and they overall hit the mark more than the ones from the last beer mail episode.
Having started his Hoarders Society membership, but not having any of the beers yet, Carlin dips in to Hoarders beers from 2020.
Carlin and Rebecca sit down for another beer mail episode sponsored by Kyle Norman. This time it yields some real beer bliss, but also one gigantic fail.
Having been about a year since the last beer excursion episode, Carlin and Rebecca decided to hit the road and visit four breweries with outdoor seating. The result was a much-needed outing with some great beers. Now the two sit down to taste through some beers they brought home and talk about their experiences.
Beer social media app Untappd has been around for quite some years now, but recently Good Beer Hunting published an article breaking how it influences the craft beer market, in a problematic way. Carlin and Rebecca talk this one over and give their opinions and insights. Oh yeah, and they taste mystery beers.
With two more mystery beers poured and ready to be tasted, Carlin and Rebecca first tackle a discussion about the upcoming Uber acquisition of alcohol delivery service Drizly. And once the blind tasting happens, Carlin discovers an aroma and flavor in one of the beers that really gains his attention.
Carlin and Rebecca open up with a discussion about exploding beer cans and the impacts of this negative trend of the craft beer industry. Two beers are tasted blind at the end, both from the Chicago area.
Carlin was able to get his hands on a variety pack for a brewery he has enjoyed from afar for many years. Rebecca joins in to help drink through the lineup while Carlin dispenses info about this well-established brewery.
Carlin and Rebecca sit down to tackle a big variants episode they’ve teased a few times over the years. This one features versions of a beloved local beer that has sadly faded out of existence.
Carlin does one more episode before receiving his first batch of Hoarders Society beers. Cracking open a great fruited sour and three complex barrel aged stouts, this episode is a good send off for Carlin’s Reserve Society membership.
Working on whittling down Carlin’s beer stock, this dive into the cellar sees a return to the competitive spirit of how these episodes started. Both Carlin and Rebecca choose one high and one low ABV beer. Three impress, but one falls flat.
Carlin immediately dives in to four Bruery beers for full evaluation, three of which Carlin has never had. Two come highly recommended, one is an all time favorite, and another just sounds weird.
The Black Is Beautiful craft beer collaboration effort to promote equality and inclusion was created last year by Marcus Baskerville of Weathered Souls Brewing. Since it’s start, many breweries have participated, which different iterations of the beer being produced. Carlin and Rebecca were able to find a few, which they taste in this episode, while talking about the program.
Carlin and Rebecca dig into variants of a unique sour beer that Carlin fell in love with at the beginning of his sour beer exploration years ago.
Verticals are an interesting way to taste how a beer changes over time. For this one, Carlin and Rebecca evaluate the changes in one of the most popular bourbon barrel aged imperial stouts.
Countless months have passed since the pandemic broke, just as countless months have passed since the last time Carlin and Rebecca dove into their beer cellar. The episode format makes a return with some pretty old offerings, some of which did not stand the test of time.
Carlin and Rebecca return to the beer and food episode format by trying a new lineup of cheese, each having an intended beer to pair with it. Some pairings fall a bit flat, but a few end up being big winners.
Another anniversary for The Bruery’s Black Tuesday happened recently and they released another special edition variants box. Carlin and Rebecca sit down to taste through these decadent treatments of the popular beer and assess which ones came out the best.
With no specific topics to cover, Carlin dives into the typical four beers and feels inspired to throw in a bonus. Barrel aged, big, sour, and sweet all tickle the palate as Carlin continues to add to the overall ranking list.
Carlin and Rebecca got their hands on some fresh beers from the most popular brewery from Richmond, Virginia. Rebecca did the research, and Carlin’s just around for the beers in this showcase episode.
Unable to host the yearly Baltimore Beer Festival to showcase Maryland breweries, the Brewers Association Of Maryland came up with a different way to celebrate. Carlin and Rebecca talk about it in this episode and evaluate the beers this new idea spawned.
Friend and former guest of the podcast Rich Smith went to Illinois recently and brought Carlin and Rebecca a bunch of beer goodies. This episode features some of those beers.
Carlin and Rebecca sit down to showcase a brewery with an imaginary backstory, but beers that bring you back to reality. This one was made possible by Rich Smith, who recently visited Illinois and provided the beers for the show.
Farm breweries became a legal option in Maryland in 2014. Two brothers decided three years later to start one in Whiteford, Maryland that has grown to offer a lot of different styles consistently. Carlin and Rebecca recently visited, so here are their thoughts, while tasting some of the beers.
Yet another line-up of beers from Kyle Norman appear in this episode, The first beer gets the episode off to an interesting start, and that momentum continues with four more beers that deliver some surprising flavor profiles.
Carlin and Rebecca have some homebrews to crack open and evaluate in this new episode format. Two of the beers are fresh, while the other two are aged. See how they stack up.
Brewtal Battle Podcast 