WEBVTT 1 00:00:13.505 --> 00:00:17.345 Welcome back to DC Beer Show. We are @DCBeer across social media, 2 00:00:17.345 --> 00:00:21.025 including on Bluesky, where we're there with Port City and Android 3 00:00:21.025 --> 00:00:24.545 Theory, and hopefully you. Brandy, what's in your glass this lovely 4 00:00:24.545 --> 00:00:28.130 evening? I was just drinking a Dying Moons from 5 00:00:28.430 --> 00:00:32.110 Lost Generation. I was at Lost Generation for a private 6 00:00:32.110 --> 00:00:35.790 event, a stolen bread, not s 7 00:00:35.790 --> 00:00:39.550 t o l e n, but stollen with 2 l's, which is a type of 8 00:00:39.550 --> 00:00:43.315 bread that Chris, my very dear friend and owner 9 00:00:43.315 --> 00:00:47.095 of Ravenhook, was instructing a class on how to make it. 10 00:00:47.315 --> 00:00:50.535 But right now, I am drinking some leftover 11 00:00:50.755 --> 00:00:54.590 Prosecco that I opened on Sunday morning that I'm like, 12 00:00:54.590 --> 00:00:58.030 I should probably drink it before it gets not fizzy. I'm 13 00:00:58.030 --> 00:01:01.870 lame. Anyhoo, mister Stein, what are you drinking? It's 14 00:01:01.870 --> 00:01:05.710 so funny. I thought Prosecco made one classy AF. Didn't 15 00:01:05.710 --> 00:01:09.465 know it made you lame today, I learned. I'm 16 00:01:09.465 --> 00:01:13.005 having a champagne of beer, Schönramer. 17 00:01:13.065 --> 00:01:16.905 Hell, it's back in town. The Schönramer out of 18 00:01:16.905 --> 00:01:20.525 Germany. Delicious pale lager. I've got some for you. 19 00:01:20.745 --> 00:01:24.445 I've got some for Jacob Scoops Berg. 20 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:28.100 Mister Berg, what are you having? You know, if you're drinking 21 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:32.020 German lager, that's Jakob Berg to you. 22 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:36.080 I also have a pale lager, but it comes from down the 23 00:01:36.080 --> 00:01:39.860 street. It's Lost Generation's Call The Owl. They're pre-Prohibition 24 00:01:40.080 --> 00:01:43.825 lager. Just a lovely lager, a little 25 00:01:43.825 --> 00:01:47.345 bit more ish. I do have another one in the fridge. I might open that 26 00:01:47.345 --> 00:01:50.465 one too. It's just a a nice way to go out for our last podcast 27 00:01:50.465 --> 00:01:53.850 of 2024. And what a year it was. It 28 00:01:53.850 --> 00:01:57.550 was. I love how Call the Owl is 29 00:01:57.610 --> 00:02:00.910 really an ode to Jared's great grandfather. 30 00:02:01.690 --> 00:02:04.910 Is it great grand grandfather, Jake? It is great. 31 00:02:05.770 --> 00:02:09.475 Great. Who owned a car body shop who 32 00:02:09.555 --> 00:02:13.235 that souped up cars to be rum 33 00:02:13.235 --> 00:02:16.615 runners and whiskey runners during prohibition. It's a wonderful 34 00:02:17.475 --> 00:02:20.455 ode to that since we are in the twenties. 35 00:02:21.635 --> 00:02:25.390 So I'm looking forward to having more Lost Generation 36 00:02:25.390 --> 00:02:29.150 beer and hopefully not seeing many more 37 00:02:29.150 --> 00:02:32.910 breweries closing in in 2025. Here we are. But I 38 00:02:32.910 --> 00:02:36.110 had a wonderful year, and I had a wonderful year with you guys. Thank you 39 00:02:36.110 --> 00:02:39.685 so much for being my DC Beer fam. I had a lovely 40 00:02:39.685 --> 00:02:40.185 time. 41 00:02:43.205 --> 00:02:46.905 Everybody, make a point of going to go visit Hellbender 42 00:02:47.205 --> 00:02:50.920 at some point in the very near future. I think I 43 00:02:50.920 --> 00:02:54.360 am the most butthurt about all of 44 00:02:54.360 --> 00:02:57.980 this news than probably 45 00:02:58.040 --> 00:03:01.500 anybody else because it is my neighborhood brewery, 46 00:03:01.720 --> 00:03:05.455 and I have been going there since 47 00:03:05.455 --> 00:03:08.195 I've lived in this house for 10 years. 48 00:03:08.815 --> 00:03:12.115 And they've gone through such 49 00:03:12.735 --> 00:03:16.335 turmoil, and they've still come out of the other 50 00:03:16.335 --> 00:03:20.150 side. And it really bums me out because I 51 00:03:20.150 --> 00:03:23.830 see every single day all the new construction going on over here at 52 00:03:23.830 --> 00:03:27.450 Fort Totten. It is blown up. In my opinion, 53 00:03:27.750 --> 00:03:31.190 I really just wish that they could 54 00:03:31.190 --> 00:03:34.895 wait, like, one more year just to see, because 55 00:03:34.895 --> 00:03:37.475 Urban Gardens gonna be opening on South Dakota, 56 00:03:38.255 --> 00:03:42.095 literally, 2 minute drive down the street. And the Aldi 57 00:03:42.095 --> 00:03:44.835 just opened. There's so many businesses and new residential, 58 00:03:45.695 --> 00:03:49.360 buildings being built. There's more people come. There's a huge 59 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:52.739 influx coming in, and I feel like Hellbender 60 00:03:53.760 --> 00:03:56.980 just would have benefited from that. But I totally understand 61 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:00.834 the issues, and it my heart breaks. 62 00:04:01.135 --> 00:04:04.894 So this one hit close to home, literally. Yeah. It's it's 63 00:04:04.894 --> 00:04:08.734 a hell of a time to be a beer drinker in the US and 64 00:04:08.734 --> 00:04:12.160 then more specifically in DC today. And the 65 00:04:12.160 --> 00:04:15.840 reason I say that is because we're 66 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:19.459 seeing another brewery go. In 67 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:23.440 January of 2023, I wrote an 68 00:04:23.440 --> 00:04:26.660 article for city paper about 3 Stars closing. 69 00:04:27.095 --> 00:04:30.775 In a perfect world, every single draft line of 70 00:04:30.775 --> 00:04:34.455 3 Stars Peppercorn Saison would have been taken 71 00:04:34.455 --> 00:04:38.055 over by Hellbenders. I think Southern Torrent was the name of the saison. 72 00:04:38.055 --> 00:04:41.640 Whatever their saison was. Right? And it doesn't matter if saison, white 73 00:04:41.640 --> 00:04:45.420 ale, farmhouse beer, doable. Even the dark Belgian 74 00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:49.100 style Franco spicy effervescent beer. 75 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:52.860 But that's not how the world works, and I feel broken 76 00:04:53.080 --> 00:04:56.775 and heartachy that 77 00:04:56.835 --> 00:05:00.595 this is the case. In the perfect world, my heart would have broken for 78 00:05:00.595 --> 00:05:03.735 3 stars, but then we would have seen Hellbender shore up 79 00:05:04.275 --> 00:05:07.975 business by working with a distro to get all those lines. 80 00:05:08.460 --> 00:05:12.060 I wanna give credit to Ben Evans and 81 00:05:12.154 --> 00:05:15.980 LT Goodluck, the taproom staff, and the 82 00:05:15.980 --> 00:05:19.340 community, because and this is the 83 00:05:19.340 --> 00:05:23.055 nicest way possible. My goodness was 84 00:05:23.055 --> 00:05:26.655 Ben Evans stubborn. He could have thrown in the 85 00:05:26.655 --> 00:05:30.435 towel long before they reached their 11th anniversary. 86 00:05:31.135 --> 00:05:34.495 Just this last year, there was a boiler issue. The local 87 00:05:34.495 --> 00:05:38.250 community showed them love. Where we showed up, they donated 88 00:05:38.310 --> 00:05:41.930 their beer. DC Brau either donated or at low cost 89 00:05:41.990 --> 00:05:45.690 tank space for them to brew more Ignite IPA. 90 00:05:46.310 --> 00:05:49.370 But before that, there was a patio issue. 91 00:05:50.125 --> 00:05:53.665 There was a licensing issue when one of the previous 92 00:05:54.125 --> 00:05:56.865 non Ben Evans cofounders 93 00:05:57.965 --> 00:06:01.345 split. I just it's been a lot. 94 00:06:01.885 --> 00:06:05.410 Hellbender was one of the first breweries on the East Coast to use a 95 00:06:05.410 --> 00:06:08.550 Belgian mash filter that you see over there, 96 00:06:09.090 --> 00:06:12.310 much more efficient in terms of extracting fermentable 97 00:06:12.530 --> 00:06:16.370 materials. That was always part of their ethos. They're working with 98 00:06:16.370 --> 00:06:20.005 Casey Trees around the brewery. They're 99 00:06:20.005 --> 00:06:23.845 metro accessible. Obviously, the Hellbender is DC's it's 100 00:06:23.845 --> 00:06:27.365 not a state, but it's our state amphibian. Yeah. It 101 00:06:27.365 --> 00:06:30.885 sucks. What are you gonna say? Well, I know all my 102 00:06:30.885 --> 00:06:34.639 neighborhood folks. I'll still see you somewhere around the neighborhood, but it won't 103 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:38.400 be at our watering hole. We'll figure it out. And shout 104 00:06:38.400 --> 00:06:41.919 out to our producer, Richard Fawal, who's Brew 105 00:06:41.919 --> 00:06:45.315 Daddies podcast that turned into the DC Beer Show. 106 00:06:45.875 --> 00:06:48.855 Their very first episode was recorded at Hellbender 107 00:06:49.395 --> 00:06:51.735 with Ben, and that was in 2017. 108 00:06:54.275 --> 00:06:57.570 Alright, Brandy. What are you looking forward to over the next week or so? 109 00:06:57.810 --> 00:07:01.250 Actually, this current week is my busy beer week for a 110 00:07:01.330 --> 00:07:05.090 seemingly the month because it's the women's brew culture club that will have 111 00:07:05.090 --> 00:07:08.690 happened yesterday, going to Denizen's holiday karaoke 112 00:07:08.690 --> 00:07:12.435 night. Just like 3 or 4 hours after this podcast drops, 113 00:07:12.995 --> 00:07:15.655 we've got our final beer share of 2024, 114 00:07:17.075 --> 00:07:20.755 a Friday night beer share at Right Proper Brookland, which is 115 00:07:20.755 --> 00:07:24.355 great because it means I can walk to LT. And also because Right Proper is 116 00:07:24.355 --> 00:07:28.080 dope. And we are going to be doing a fundraiser, 117 00:07:28.780 --> 00:07:32.380 which the with the h three project, and they are gonna be 118 00:07:32.380 --> 00:07:36.000 dropping off a donation bin for winter clothes 119 00:07:36.139 --> 00:07:39.805 and such items for the displaced and, 120 00:07:40.504 --> 00:07:43.884 victims of domestic violence. All of our friends 121 00:07:44.585 --> 00:07:48.104 and beer fam, when you come to the beer share tonight at Right 122 00:07:48.104 --> 00:07:51.510 Proper at Brookland, don't go to Shaw, then please 123 00:07:51.510 --> 00:07:54.870 bring some winter clothes to donate. That would be 124 00:07:54.870 --> 00:07:58.389 awesome. But if you can't make it to Right Proper Brookland, go to Right Proper 125 00:07:58.389 --> 00:08:01.990 Shaw anyway. You'll have a good time. They have a collaboration beer 126 00:08:01.990 --> 00:08:05.510 on, although, fingers crossed, they have that on at Brookland as 127 00:08:05.510 --> 00:08:09.225 well. Just for clarity's sake, if you're listening today, 128 00:08:10.405 --> 00:08:13.865 Friday, December 20th, we are 129 00:08:15.365 --> 00:08:19.125 at 920 Gerard Street Northeast. That's right. In the Brookland 130 00:08:19.125 --> 00:08:22.800 neighborhood, come on down to Wright proper Brookland. If you are 131 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:26.340 listening on multiple streaming platforms, we so appreciate 132 00:08:26.400 --> 00:08:29.760 you. Check us out on Patreon. A little bit 133 00:08:29.760 --> 00:08:33.600 later, we do talk about Julie Verratti in our interview 134 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:37.434 with Phil Runco. And just to remind y'all, Julie is a 135 00:08:37.434 --> 00:08:40.895 Patreon supporter. Come support us DC Beer on patreon. 136 00:08:41.355 --> 00:08:45.115 Patreon.com/dcbeer, and you can 137 00:08:45.115 --> 00:08:48.955 support us the way that we support the beer culture in 138 00:08:48.955 --> 00:08:52.420 our brewing city. So check us out on dcbeer.com. 139 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:55.940 Follow us on socials. You'll get a good idea 140 00:08:56.800 --> 00:09:00.640 of which events are coming this week. And, of course, we have 141 00:09:00.640 --> 00:09:04.240 to be grateful for Brandy for keeping us in the know. Thank you, 142 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:07.813 Brandy, for letting all of us know. I know that our dear friend, Phil 143 00:09:07.813 --> 00:09:11.195 Runco, does a yearly beer and review, which is 144 00:09:11.195 --> 00:09:14.575 extremely popular, one of our highest rated articles 145 00:09:14.795 --> 00:09:18.315 and, podcasts of the year, and we're 146 00:09:18.315 --> 00:09:21.135 very thankful for that. We love you, Phil. Thank you. 147 00:09:21.720 --> 00:09:25.480 But I thought I've always wanted to do kind of our 148 00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:28.459 own one, but I don't wanna take away from Phil's thunder. 149 00:09:28.920 --> 00:09:32.760 So I wanted to ask my fellow DC beer 150 00:09:32.760 --> 00:09:36.555 fam, you know, what really, what their highlights were of 2024. 151 00:09:37.095 --> 00:09:40.935 And we sent it out in the newsletter, and I've randomly been posting 152 00:09:40.935 --> 00:09:44.775 it on the Instagrams. So if you're interested or even 153 00:09:44.775 --> 00:09:48.615 care about what we care about, come on over and read about 154 00:09:48.615 --> 00:09:52.209 it. But I actually wanna say with sincerely, 155 00:09:52.910 --> 00:09:56.509 thank you to all of those social media folks, at the 156 00:09:56.509 --> 00:10:00.110 breweries who tag DC Beer because that really 157 00:10:00.110 --> 00:10:03.949 helps me and allows me to share any and all 158 00:10:03.949 --> 00:10:07.765 beer related events on our social media. So tag DC 159 00:10:07.765 --> 00:10:11.445 Beer if you have an event going on. Submit them to 160 00:10:11.445 --> 00:10:15.205 our website. It is our gift to you. It's the gift that keeps on 161 00:10:15.205 --> 00:10:18.805 giving, guys. Do yourself and us a favor and 162 00:10:18.805 --> 00:10:22.640 always tag us. Jake? If you don't do it right now, make it your New 163 00:10:22.640 --> 00:10:26.180 Year's resolution to do so in in 2025, 164 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:30.480 which will be here in just about a 165 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:33.965 week. But before we get into 2025, let's get a 166 00:10:34.045 --> 00:10:37.645 take a look back at the year that was with, as 167 00:10:37.645 --> 00:10:41.373 mentioned, Phil. Welcome. We're here with Phil 168 00:10:41.373 --> 00:10:45.165 Runco. Phil, what's in your glass tonight? I have 169 00:10:45.165 --> 00:10:48.960 a, West Coast Pilsner, which is a bit timely 170 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:52.400 as it was one of the the bells of the ball of what we are 171 00:10:52.400 --> 00:10:56.160 soon to be discussing. And that particular West Coast Pilsner is 172 00:10:56.160 --> 00:10:59.540 from Sapwood Cellars, and it's called, Frivol, 173 00:10:59.840 --> 00:11:03.295 if I'm saying it correctly. It's with Citra and Wakatu. 174 00:11:04.795 --> 00:11:08.315 Nice. Phil, we're super excited to have you. We always look forward to beer and 175 00:11:08.315 --> 00:11:11.775 review every year. By my math, in 2021, 176 00:11:12.795 --> 00:11:16.410 you had 16 breweries and brewers you talked 177 00:11:16.410 --> 00:11:20.250 to, 20 in 22, 21 in 178 00:11:20.250 --> 00:11:24.090 2023. Are we expecting bigger and better for 179 00:11:24.090 --> 00:11:27.795 the beer in review in 2024? I took it back down 180 00:11:27.795 --> 00:11:31.475 to 20. I like a nice round number. I wish there was a 181 00:11:31.475 --> 00:11:34.915 greater logic than that, but I'm more concerned with sort of the 182 00:11:34.915 --> 00:11:38.595 makeup of the of the participants. I tried to do 7 183 00:11:38.595 --> 00:11:42.330 from Maryland, 7 from Virginia, and 6 from DC, 184 00:11:42.950 --> 00:11:46.790 and that got us to, 20. 21 seemed, even though it's 185 00:11:46.790 --> 00:11:50.250 one larger, just a little too many, just mentally. 186 00:11:50.710 --> 00:11:54.194 So what's this process like for you? Do you start 187 00:11:54.735 --> 00:11:58.415 in November? Do you start in October? Are you striving to go 188 00:11:58.415 --> 00:12:01.935 and visit all 20 of, these 189 00:12:01.935 --> 00:12:05.454 interview subjects in person? The actual answers are all 190 00:12:05.454 --> 00:12:09.120 completed by them online. Right? Compiling it is 191 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:12.639 already a fairly onerous task once you add in the 192 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:15.940 live going to each place to get a a fresh photo. 193 00:12:16.560 --> 00:12:20.320 If I had to transcribe all of these interviews, I'd probably lose my 194 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:23.735 mind, probably lose my marriage. I already pushed the the 195 00:12:23.735 --> 00:12:27.015 boundaries of it, compiling it as is. But, 196 00:12:27.255 --> 00:12:30.695 yeah, this year was probably the earliest that I've had in the back of my 197 00:12:30.695 --> 00:12:34.215 mind that I wanted to try to not be put in a 198 00:12:34.215 --> 00:12:38.000 position of knocking everything out in 2 weeks, which I think 199 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:41.839 is what I had done, the previous year in terms of the photos. And 200 00:12:41.839 --> 00:12:44.959 for and for those who might have have not seen the article before, as soon 201 00:12:44.959 --> 00:12:47.199 as I started doing it, maybe the last year, I used to do it on 202 00:12:47.199 --> 00:12:50.935 a website called Brightest and Things. Maybe the last year there and every 203 00:12:50.935 --> 00:12:54.615 year I've done it for DC Beer, which I think has been the last 4 204 00:12:54.615 --> 00:12:58.214 years. Could be 3 years, but I think it's 4 years. Yeah. I've 205 00:12:58.214 --> 00:13:02.040 wanted to get a fresh photo of everyone. I think it 206 00:13:02.040 --> 00:13:05.800 just adds sort of a kind of a fun yearbook quality to it. And 207 00:13:05.800 --> 00:13:08.780 then beyond that, I also feel like it's kind of my only 208 00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:13.080 creative contribution to the article because, you know, I get that I 209 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:16.705 get to pick the the participants. All of the work is done by the people 210 00:13:16.705 --> 00:13:20.385 who are filling out these answers. These aren't my these aren't my 211 00:13:20.385 --> 00:13:24.145 answers, but they are my pictures. I have to say they're great scrolling 212 00:13:24.145 --> 00:13:27.810 through them, and it's always great to me when I see somebody I 213 00:13:27.810 --> 00:13:31.190 see couple times a year, once a quarter, once a month. 214 00:13:31.490 --> 00:13:35.010 And I'm like, who is that guy? And it's, oh, it's Jennings or it's Mike 215 00:13:35.010 --> 00:13:38.529 Tonsmeier, and they look so svelte and well pictured in their 216 00:13:38.529 --> 00:13:42.230 photos. Last year for the 2023 beer and review, 217 00:13:42.824 --> 00:13:46.584 you asked Emily Brown best of out of town 218 00:13:46.584 --> 00:13:50.425 beers, and she wrote too many forget about 219 00:13:50.425 --> 00:13:54.264 it. What forget about it moments have come to 220 00:13:54.264 --> 00:13:58.105 light this year that you can share with our listenership that really struck 221 00:13:58.105 --> 00:14:01.029 you? Yeah. It's funny 222 00:14:01.730 --> 00:14:05.570 because when you don't know a brewery, it's just some words on a page. You 223 00:14:05.570 --> 00:14:09.410 know? The new the ones that are new to me, one of them is in 224 00:14:09.410 --> 00:14:13.155 our backyard, and you guys may be well familiar with them, 225 00:14:13.155 --> 00:14:16.995 but I had not heard of Blind House Brewing in Roanoke, which, 226 00:14:17.315 --> 00:14:21.075 a lot of people mentioned as being, one of the 227 00:14:21.075 --> 00:14:24.455 standouts it sounds as if they're a brewery that's doing a lot of 228 00:14:24.699 --> 00:14:28.240 mixed fermentation or bread fermentation saisons. 229 00:14:28.380 --> 00:14:32.160 They seem to be quite popular. One of the other sort of breweries, 230 00:14:32.300 --> 00:14:36.000 Old Hellbender out of Pittsburgh, was one I hadn't heard of that I looked up. 231 00:14:36.220 --> 00:14:39.740 In terms of humorous, Emily's sort of writing is always so 232 00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:43.515 fun, and she's always such a joy to to I wouldn't 233 00:14:43.515 --> 00:14:46.575 say to edit, but to just add some punctuation to 234 00:14:46.955 --> 00:14:50.255 because she brings such life and excitement 235 00:14:50.955 --> 00:14:54.315 and, like, verve is really the way to put it to her sort of writing 236 00:14:54.315 --> 00:14:57.230 and opinions. Sometimes some of the the 237 00:14:58.009 --> 00:15:01.209 submissions can be a little more formal be the way to put it. And I 238 00:15:01.209 --> 00:15:04.810 wish everyone wrote like Emily did, which is, like, you're 239 00:15:04.810 --> 00:15:08.565 excited and you're at a bar and you're telling your friend about 240 00:15:08.565 --> 00:15:12.405 something that that you are excited about. Because I always wanna encourage people 241 00:15:12.405 --> 00:15:16.005 to write like they speak because that's what people wanna read. They don't 242 00:15:16.005 --> 00:15:19.445 wanna read your term paper writing. Right. And so I think one of 243 00:15:19.445 --> 00:15:23.220 the other guests who I like who also has a voice, 244 00:15:23.220 --> 00:15:26.600 and this goes again to the sort of the out of town beer scene, 245 00:15:27.060 --> 00:15:30.820 is Giulia Verratti from Denizens because she never drinks anything 246 00:15:30.820 --> 00:15:34.580 from out of town ever. You'll never see her at Churchkey or 247 00:15:34.580 --> 00:15:38.125 the Sovereign or like a beer bar. She's at some 248 00:15:38.125 --> 00:15:41.745 neighborhood place and she's either drinking Denizens or Port City 249 00:15:41.965 --> 00:15:45.725 or Atlas. And really that's that. And you ask her like, what are your 250 00:15:45.725 --> 00:15:48.445 favorite out of town beers? She's just, I don't do that. There's enough good beer 251 00:15:48.445 --> 00:15:52.290 here. I support the locals. And that's that. Some people will write very 252 00:15:52.290 --> 00:15:56.050 floridly Phil words about favorite out of town beers, and 253 00:15:56.050 --> 00:15:58.550 Julie's got one sentence, and that's it. 254 00:15:59.570 --> 00:16:03.170 Yeah. If there was, like, a local beer mob, then 255 00:16:03.170 --> 00:16:06.635 Julie's in it. Right? And then she's taken the Omerta, 256 00:16:07.255 --> 00:16:10.475 and she is not going to drink outsider's 257 00:16:10.615 --> 00:16:13.915 beer, and I I respect that. You 258 00:16:13.975 --> 00:16:17.495 facilitate and you compile and you 259 00:16:17.495 --> 00:16:21.150 edit. Let's put these questions to you. If 260 00:16:21.150 --> 00:16:24.990 someone were to say Phil Runco, favorite local beers, favorite out 261 00:16:24.990 --> 00:16:28.210 of town beers of 2024, favorite places to drink, 262 00:16:28.750 --> 00:16:32.510 what would Phil what would the 21st entry? What would Phil Runco's entry 263 00:16:32.510 --> 00:16:36.065 be? As you 2 know, I spent half the year dealing with 264 00:16:36.065 --> 00:16:39.125 some cancer, and I can tell you that during 265 00:16:39.584 --> 00:16:43.345 chemo, I did not want to drink. I just didn't want 266 00:16:43.345 --> 00:16:46.805 to I didn't have any desire to drink beer, you know, and, 267 00:16:47.199 --> 00:16:50.240 yeah, sure. Phil focus on drinking on water. But I always said I'm really looking 268 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:53.839 forward to not only I'm looking forward to drinking beer, I'm looking forward to 269 00:16:53.839 --> 00:16:57.600 wanting to drink beer. And by, like, June of this year, once that kinda 270 00:16:57.600 --> 00:17:01.245 came back, it was awesome. As I know in the article, I help 271 00:17:01.245 --> 00:17:04.545 Ocelot brewing with some of its social media 272 00:17:05.244 --> 00:17:08.605 and with some of the collaborations, that they do, 273 00:17:08.605 --> 00:17:12.205 particularly the the the music collaborations. And so when I think 274 00:17:12.205 --> 00:17:15.869 about sort of, like, beers that I have been a part of that 275 00:17:15.869 --> 00:17:19.630 I'm particularly proud of, that's towards the top of that list. 276 00:17:19.630 --> 00:17:22.369 Getting to make Verratti and Sheer Mag 277 00:17:22.990 --> 00:17:26.290 and Montreal, Bad Moves. Tomorrow, 278 00:17:26.830 --> 00:17:29.810 you know, beer with Eleanor Friedburger and the Fiery Furnaces, 279 00:17:30.665 --> 00:17:34.505 which has 2024 Anchovy in it, which I'm excited to try. 280 00:17:34.505 --> 00:17:37.625 Those are, like, in the category of beers that this is a rare instance where 281 00:17:37.625 --> 00:17:40.905 I actually can speak to beers that I tried that I'm proud of. This is 282 00:17:40.905 --> 00:17:44.640 from a conceptual standpoint. Obviously, Jack Snyder and his 283 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:48.480 brother, Rich, make the beers at Ocelot. And as much as I can lob any 284 00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:52.160 ideas towards them, they are the ones who actually make them delicious. In 285 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:55.920 terms of other beers locally, I moved to 286 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:59.440 Ekington at the beginning of the very beginning of the 287 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:03.225 year, and having lost generation, 4 or 5 288 00:18:03.225 --> 00:18:06.825 blocks down the street. I have long waited to have a 289 00:18:06.825 --> 00:18:10.045 great brewery within walking distance, of me, 290 00:18:10.505 --> 00:18:13.804 and I assure you that I have not slept on the opportunity. 291 00:18:14.360 --> 00:18:17.500 I'm also much closer to Blue Jacket. And anytime 292 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:21.480 that a friend wants to meet for a drink and there's much food 293 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:25.320 involved, that's where you'll find me. I I love their low ABV 294 00:18:25.320 --> 00:18:27.695 lagers are really a 295 00:18:29.034 --> 00:18:32.029 staple for me, Chimbley Sweep. The German dark lager, I wanna say, is a a 296 00:18:32.029 --> 00:18:35.835 beer that I order every single time that I'm in there. It's low fours, 297 00:18:35.835 --> 00:18:39.674 I wanna say. Just so much flavor. I think about 298 00:18:39.674 --> 00:18:43.070 best local beers, that's sort of top of the the 299 00:18:43.070 --> 00:18:46.750 list for me. Yeah. Those would be that's my rambling answer. Out of 300 00:18:46.750 --> 00:18:50.510 town beers? I don't know. I 301 00:18:50.510 --> 00:18:53.070 don't know if I have I'd I wish I I wish I had thought about 302 00:18:53.070 --> 00:18:56.855 that a little more in advance. I tend to drink, a lot of 303 00:18:56.855 --> 00:19:00.635 Oxlopat and the Lost Gen and Blue Jacket, 304 00:19:00.855 --> 00:19:04.215 and I don't often find myself buying 4 305 00:19:04.215 --> 00:19:07.860 packs of out of town beers. See, it's a very Julie 306 00:19:07.860 --> 00:19:11.380 Verratti answer. you know how to keep a 307 00:19:11.380 --> 00:19:14.980 nose. I see the continuance of the Omerta is alive and 308 00:19:14.980 --> 00:19:18.200 well. You didn't mention De La Sam, Cantillon, 309 00:19:18.740 --> 00:19:22.125 Ridgeway, Coniston, or any of the 310 00:19:22.125 --> 00:19:25.265 English, Irish, Scottish, Belgian, French. 311 00:19:25.645 --> 00:19:29.085 So respect to the locals. I'm gonna 312 00:19:29.085 --> 00:19:32.684 simultaneously bust your chops and say, well done, sir. You 313 00:19:32.684 --> 00:19:36.400 already mentioned Blind House, who's available in in North Virginia, 314 00:19:36.700 --> 00:19:40.140 bottle conditioning, mixed fermentation beers, so they've got some buzz 315 00:19:40.140 --> 00:19:43.920 there. I like to use your beer review piece through Trendspot. 316 00:19:44.860 --> 00:19:48.460 If a brie, 3 or 4 brewers or 3 or 4 beer 317 00:19:48.460 --> 00:19:51.884 buyers, bottle shop owners mention something, 318 00:19:52.424 --> 00:19:55.945 then it pops up on my radar. And so, Blind House is one of those 319 00:19:55.945 --> 00:19:59.644 this year. They're down in Roanoke. They distribute into DC proper. 320 00:20:00.264 --> 00:20:03.970 Maybe we'd see a couple of kegs pop up at the Sovereign. They'll do when 321 00:20:03.970 --> 00:20:07.730 you meet the brewer evening at some point in 2025. What are 322 00:20:07.730 --> 00:20:11.410 some of the other sort of commonalities and things that you 323 00:20:11.410 --> 00:20:15.170 got out of reporting and collecting for the 324 00:20:15.170 --> 00:20:18.995 Bureau in Review? Yeah. It's always fun to see what does 325 00:20:19.695 --> 00:20:23.215 repeat. And there definitely were a a number of 326 00:20:23.215 --> 00:20:26.815 threads that I found popping up less in the, like, 327 00:20:26.815 --> 00:20:30.115 recommendations of breweries, but there definitely were 328 00:20:30.175 --> 00:20:33.600 industry trends that kept repeating. One is 329 00:20:33.600 --> 00:20:37.200 the return or golden age 330 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:40.820 of craft lager appreciate appreciation that we are, 331 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:44.640 you know, seem to be living in, although I went back to 332 00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:48.274 that 2016 article, and people in 2016 333 00:20:48.575 --> 00:20:52.174 were saying, vloggers here, baby. And 334 00:20:52.174 --> 00:20:55.934 so every single year, it seems that people are are saying that. 335 00:20:55.934 --> 00:20:59.135 But I think perhaps in 2016, it might have been a little bit of wish 336 00:20:59.135 --> 00:21:02.740 casting. And now you have, Crooked Crab 337 00:21:02.740 --> 00:21:06.419 saying, you know, we did a full batch of dark lager, and it was one 338 00:21:06.419 --> 00:21:09.860 of our bestsellers. A lot of people talking about West 339 00:21:09.860 --> 00:21:13.559 Coast Pilsner, as poppy lagers generally. 340 00:21:14.284 --> 00:21:18.044 And as I think some people mentioned, a lot of it is just how it's 341 00:21:18.125 --> 00:21:21.804 how these beers are positioned, how they're presented to people. And 342 00:21:21.804 --> 00:21:25.565 it seems as if West Coast Phil was the thing that got people to, quote, 343 00:21:25.565 --> 00:21:29.140 unquote, get LT, whereas, like, IPL as a term, 344 00:21:29.140 --> 00:21:32.980 India Phil lager might have been a little bit clunky. You 345 00:21:32.980 --> 00:21:36.820 had people advocating for low 346 00:21:36.820 --> 00:21:40.600 ABV beer, which I was put in that sort of area type brewer category 347 00:21:40.740 --> 00:21:44.155 along with lager love. And I think one thing interesting 348 00:21:44.535 --> 00:21:47.915 there is Rich Snyder of Ocelot sort of mentioning 349 00:21:48.055 --> 00:21:51.895 that West Coast IPAs are back, but they're not necessarily back as 350 00:21:51.895 --> 00:21:55.255 they were. They're back taking some of the lessons of hazy 351 00:21:55.255 --> 00:21:58.700 IPA and and incorporating them into how you 352 00:21:58.700 --> 00:22:01.919 approach a a West Coast IPA, which 353 00:22:02.140 --> 00:22:05.919 honestly for me fits with my own sort of consumption preferences. 354 00:22:06.539 --> 00:22:10.220 But one other sort of common topic, and I'd be curious to hear what you 355 00:22:10.220 --> 00:22:13.985 guys think about this, is there seem to be sort of a 356 00:22:14.205 --> 00:22:17.565 debate, a conversation about people 357 00:22:17.565 --> 00:22:21.325 returning to bars. Some people seem to say, you 358 00:22:21.325 --> 00:22:24.940 know, it's happening and it's great. And some people seem to be 359 00:22:24.940 --> 00:22:28.700 fretting about it and saying it's not happening. I had invited Steve 360 00:22:28.700 --> 00:22:32.400 Jones, legendary brewer, now brewing at the Brewers Arc, 361 00:22:32.539 --> 00:22:36.380 and, she he had a Verratti dark comment about how 362 00:22:36.380 --> 00:22:39.794 he saw the state of the industry and people not drinking beer. At the same 363 00:22:39.794 --> 00:22:43.414 time, you had other people. Emily seemed pretty upbeat about it. 364 00:22:43.554 --> 00:22:47.315 Emily Brown again. You know, you guys are are immersed in the scene, 365 00:22:47.315 --> 00:22:50.995 and I'm sure you hear a lot from some sort of people 366 00:22:50.995 --> 00:22:54.740 about how they Phil about the state of the industry and take Yeah. I mean, 367 00:22:54.740 --> 00:22:58.520 my understanding of this is that draft sales, in DC 368 00:22:58.580 --> 00:23:02.020 kind of cratered during the pandemic, and they're they've been very 369 00:23:02.020 --> 00:23:05.825 slow to pick up. Seeing more cans, 370 00:23:05.825 --> 00:23:09.365 but the margin's better on draft, both for breweries 371 00:23:09.745 --> 00:23:13.284 and for bars and restaurants as well. 372 00:23:15.024 --> 00:23:18.705 I've seen breweries, bars and restaurants absolutely slammed on a 373 00:23:18.705 --> 00:23:22.540 Wednesday and I've seen them deserted on Thursday Friday. 374 00:23:23.560 --> 00:23:27.000 I can't really make heads and tails of it nor do I wanna 375 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:30.300 bring gloom and doom. Having 376 00:23:30.360 --> 00:23:34.015 edited this piece and in the process of posting 377 00:23:34.015 --> 00:23:37.795 it, I have seen Steve Jones comment. And 378 00:23:38.095 --> 00:23:41.775 his pessimism is, I think, probably more 379 00:23:41.775 --> 00:23:45.149 well earned than any optimism that I've 380 00:23:45.149 --> 00:23:48.990 seen. Yeah. I would echo that and say it's 381 00:23:48.990 --> 00:23:52.750 a wild world in which we live where I had a sacred and 382 00:23:52.750 --> 00:23:56.390 profane dry hop pale lager today at LT, 383 00:23:57.225 --> 00:24:00.845 you know, at the roost. And then they had Knobloch 384 00:24:00.985 --> 00:24:04.825 and Eichorn, all these German lagers on that they'd never had before. So 385 00:24:04.825 --> 00:24:07.945 we're getting a ton of very interesting beer on draft. I don't know if we 386 00:24:07.945 --> 00:24:11.625 hadn't had you know, for example, the mayor of DC shut down 387 00:24:11.625 --> 00:24:15.150 drafts, arguably responsible thing during pandemic times in 2020, 388 00:24:15.690 --> 00:24:19.210 if we'd be seeing beer from Franconia or 389 00:24:19.210 --> 00:24:22.750 Maine at a tank pub that in theory only serves 390 00:24:23.529 --> 00:24:27.275 tank draft beer in Maine. So I think both things 391 00:24:27.275 --> 00:24:30.955 can be true where we're excited to see people back on premise. And then a 392 00:24:30.955 --> 00:24:34.095 brewer who has been brewing in Baltimore 393 00:24:34.955 --> 00:24:38.635 for, I don't know, a couple decades. Maybe it's more well earned than any other 394 00:24:38.635 --> 00:24:42.400 brewer. But, Phil, we're so grateful for you, and we're we're very eager 395 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:46.080 to rip into, beer and review. As we say this 396 00:24:46.080 --> 00:24:49.440 now, of course, this will be out today, and we're so grateful for 397 00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:53.140 you. Phil, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. 398 00:24:53.855 --> 00:24:57.075 Thank you, everybody. Have a happy, healthy, safe 399 00:24:57.695 --> 00:25:01.375 holiday season and New Year's and such. You can 400 00:25:01.375 --> 00:25:05.055 celebrate at any number of breweries or neighborhood restaurant group 401 00:25:05.055 --> 00:25:08.830 spots, or you can do what Brandy and I do and sit at home 402 00:25:08.830 --> 00:25:12.530 and drink a very effervescent beer if we make it to midnight. 403 00:25:12.750 --> 00:25:16.590 Thank you so much DC Beer listenership. We'll see you 404 00:25:16.590 --> 00:25:19.490 and you will hear us on Friday, 405 00:25:20.110 --> 00:25:22.343 January 10th 2025.