Jacob Berg [00:00:05]:
Welcome. We are at DC Beer across social media. This is the DC Beer Show. Happy holidays. Brandy, what are you drinking this lovely winter evening?
Brandy Holder [00:00:15]:
Oh my, Jake, let me tell you the things that I'm drinking. A, I was drinking an Albemarle Cider, beautiful Ragged Mountain, in, which I'm still I'm kinda I'm double fisting, technically. But I am actively drinking for my beer selection, Lost generations, dying moons, and shadows. And this beer speaks to my soul. If my soul could speak, it would be this beer. It is and Jake and I, before we started recording, We were talking about how this batch is just I mean, chef's kiss. Amazing. I don't know How it's slightly different? Usually, when you drink it on draft at Lost Den, you just wanna sit there and drink it for 8 hours straight.
Brandy Holder [00:01:01]:
And then when it's canned, you know, it still tastes good, but it does you don't quite get the, like, richness or the fullness of it. And something about how they did it in the cans this time Really crushed it. And I'm so excited because we'll get to be pouring this this weekend, on Saturday, tomorrow. So, You'll hear more of that later on in the episode. Mister Stein, my my fave. How you doing? What you drinking?
Michael Stein [00:01:27]:
I'm doing great, Brandy. I am doing as you are doing, double fisting. What I'm told in England is called double parking.
Brandy Holder [00:01:37]:
Is that 3 Stars?
Jacob Berg [00:01:38]:
I've got a I've got
Michael Stein [00:01:40]:
a barley wine and what's sale, what's sale, red as our cheeks, brown as our ale.
Jacob Berg [00:01:45]:
I've got
Michael Stein [00:01:46]:
a brown ale. A brown ale from 3 Stars gone, but not forgot. Massive shout out to Mike McGarvey, to Lynn, to Nigel Meh. To meth, of course. Our good friends, 3 Stars alumni, if you will. So, yeah, I'm having some brown ale. Jake, what are you enjoying?
Jacob Berg [00:02:07]:
I am no longer double fisting, but I went with a 1 2 punch. And I started with left hand's Belgian white, which they are now doing with their nitro widget. Oh. And so just give that a hard pour straight down. You don't get the carbonation you do with wits, and so that's a little unusual, but it brings up this, like, weird creaminess, these banana clovey esters. Really well done. And as we all know, Roe from Blue Jacket came to us in DC from left hand. You know left hand for nitro stouts.
Jacob Berg [00:02:41]:
They're gonna nitro all the things, and I'm pretty cool with that. But then because it's winter, I had to switch over to Port City Colossal 5. It's a rebrew of their old ale. It's got a lot of that Dickensian, god bless each and every one of us. You know, figgy figgy pudding, Very, very rich, dark fruits, a little bit of treacle, as the British like to say. Very nicely done. Richard, super producer from Tennessee. Hey.
Jacob Berg [00:03:13]:
What are you drinking?
Brandy Holder [00:03:14]:
The abandoner.
Jacob Berg [00:03:16]:
No. No.
Brandy Holder [00:03:17]:
But you know what? I respect you because I'm jealous because you look so rested like you haven't been sitting in DC traffic fake for 8 hours a day. Not.
Richard Fawal [00:03:26]:
I am drinking I am drinking a chocolate stout, 10%, But I can't remember the brewery because I picked this up the other day in a growler from the Kroger down the street Because the Kroger down the street sells Flights and Growlers of craft beer.
Jacob Berg [00:03:46]:
Richard.
Richard Fawal [00:03:47]:
What?
Jacob Berg [00:03:47]:
You're in the South. Can you get a crowler of Duke's mayonnaise?
Brandy Holder [00:03:52]:
Oh, yo. Actually, North Carolina brandy's eyebrow perked up real quick. I was like, wait. What?
Jacob Berg [00:04:00]:
Yeah. We all just went. They all went language.
Richard Fawal [00:04:03]:
That's a I gotta look into them now. But, no, seriously, the the there is a beer and wine bar in the Kroger down the street from our house.
Brandy Holder [00:04:13]:
Richard, you are a true southerner because instead of saying Kroger down the street, you say The Kroger. That's what we that's what Southerners do. We say, oh, yeah. The Kroger does. He's assimilating. Kroger.
Richard Fawal [00:04:28]:
Hey. I'm I'm a I'm a true southern boy. I was born and raised in Alabama.
Brandy Holder [00:04:31]:
It's true. Never mind. I know. I will definitely proud of you, but I'm at
Richard Fawal [00:04:36]:
the 1st 21 years of my life in the great state of Alabama. But, yeah, this is a delicious beer. It's 10%. I can't remember. I thought it was Monday night, and then I went to the Monday night website to get more info. And it was like, wait. It's not Monday night. So, hopefully, by the next show, I'll I'll I'll know by the next episode, I'll I'll have found that out.
Richard Fawal [00:04:57]:
I'll talk to Andrew, the beer buyer at The Kroger, Who's my new best buddy in town. He tells me where all the good beer is.
Brandy Holder [00:05:04]:
Shout out to the Kroger down the street. Hey.
Richard Fawal [00:05:06]:
You know what I wanna find out? I wanna find out what Jordan's drinking tonight.
Jacob Berg [00:05:11]:
Jordan. And Oh,
Jordan Harvey [00:05:15]:
My friends.
Brandy Holder [00:05:16]:
What is what a lovely surprise.
Jordan Harvey [00:05:19]:
It it it worked out?
Brandy Holder [00:05:21]:
It did. You know why? Because we've been chit chatting. Chit. We're been chitting and chatting about the Krogers down the street with Andrew. Love Andrew. I don't even know him, but I look can we call him Andy so it could be Andy and Brandy?
Jacob Berg [00:05:37]:
Jordan, we don't wanna put you on the spot. But first, what's in your glass? And second, defend your undeserving college football team who should not be in the playoffs whatsoever, having gotten blown out by Texas
Jordan Harvey [00:05:52]:
Oh, wow. Okay. Okay. So okay. So we're gonna do a we're gonna do a number of things right here. 1st and foremost
Jacob Berg [00:05:57]:
Yes.
Jordan Harvey [00:05:58]:
I'm just gonna do the quick layout between I'm gonna do other half instead of, this necro scent Whatever from, a droid just because it looks weird. So we're gonna go, lab nightmare. And Oh, well, I'm sorry. They deserve to be in the playoffs because when you beat the 2 time reigning national champions, on top of the fact that when you have the greatest coach that ever lived, On top of the fact that, you know, our quarterback, unfortunately, did not break his leg, we deserve to be, to get our chance to play on my birthday, might I add, And I hope we win. So that is the defense rests.
Jacob Berg [00:06:36]:
That. Brandy, Lost Jen, Sunday. What's happening?
Brandy Holder [00:06:42]:
Y'all, Sunday at Lost Gen is gonna be quite lovely, magical, even maybe. DC Beer is hosting the Maker's Market that day. Thank you to Lostin for hosting and providing the most delicious beer. We have a bunch of different vendors. We have 2 vintage vendors, myself included. My lovely friend, Jen Pape, who they make the best earrings in the whole wide world that I wear pretty much every day of my life, and I get endless compliments on them. And I have everyone else hooked on these earrings, by the way. Everyone's still like, where'd you get those earrings? It's like, my friend, Jen, makes them.
Brandy Holder [00:07:22]:
And so, anyway, So getting into some earrings from Jen. They are cool. We have Ravenhook Bakehouse, as all of you know, Chris. We love Chris. Chris will, Yeah. Crest will be selling his his yummies. We have Calisia Whisperer. She makes a bunch of Cool embroidery plant themes, decorations, and it's so cool.
Brandy Holder [00:07:46]:
Very nerdy. We have my friend from Streetcar 80 2, Danny, making homemade dog treats with spent grain. And, actually, the batch that she's bringing to lost gin that day is made with the lost and spent grain, which is really swell. We have art by Janelle Jordan. We have Words by DJ. We have Hemp Kettle Tea. We have Bradshaw hot sauce, which I love. God, I love their hot sauce.
Brandy Holder [00:08:16]:
Are made out in Virginia. We have the capital flower fairy. It's gonna be lovely, and then there's beer. So please please come out and join us. And, Yeah. It's gonna be a big, big busy weekend for me. I know Jake and I are gonna be partying on Saturday. What are we doing, Jake?
Jacob Berg [00:08:33]:
We're gonna be going over to Metro Bar for the 12 beers of Christmas. I think, Mike, we might see you there. Jordan, you're invited. And, we're gonna be pouring, 8 beers in bottles and cans. Clap your hands. Jared's gonna be pouring brandy's affirmations. Check dark lager. And, we'll be pouring, tidings, keg nag, moldox among, others.
Brandy Holder [00:08:58]:
Come drink the 12 beers of Christmas with us. And Jake and I are definitely gonna be there behind the bar rocking out and pouring and and shooting the shit with you guys, Whoso? It'll be fun.
Michael Stein [00:09:09]:
We got spiced beer. We got Belgian spiced ale. We have winter ale with ginger. We have imperial spiced ale. We have Belgian style blonde ale, porter, spruce tip logger, saison, doppelbock, double IPA, IPA brewed pecans, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Come on down. We can't wait to see you at Metro Bar.
Brandy Holder [00:09:32]:
Love that.
Jordan Harvey [00:09:33]:
That that that beer list sounds outstanding,
Jacob Berg [00:09:36]:
but I
Jordan Harvey [00:09:36]:
have 2 things that I think will make it better, especially, thinking of brandy. Any Rouch beer or any brown ales there? Or just just everything but?
Brandy Holder [00:09:45]:
We have Cool Breeze, which is an oatmeal style. So not technically a brown ale, but it drinks kinda like a brown ale. So Okay. Yeah.
Michael Stein [00:09:54]:
It's very malty. It's very chocolatey. It's very velvety, smoothie, beer y, beer flavored beer. You're gonna love it. Cool Breeze. Come try some. Cool Breeze. I might just, you know, rock my winter coat and stuff a few Rauch beers in my pockets.
Michael Stein [00:10:14]:
So wherever we're going for the after after party, you know, like, Yeah. When I when I let the Rauch beer get to a good, you know, 60, 70 Fahrenheit, we'll we'll have some warm Rauch beer.
Jacob Berg [00:10:27]:
And there will be a brown ale there in the form of port city no. Sorry. Not port city. Right. Proppers. Hawxon Porter, which is Hawxon. A brown ale granted a porter, but it's a ale. It's brown.
Jacob Berg [00:10:44]:
It's delicious, and there's gonna have a coffee variance either at Shaw or at Brookland. So you should check those out. You know, we're gonna be on the Met branch trail, Mette Beer Trail, all weekend long.
Brandy Holder [00:10:57]:
I am so excited. I hope to see all of you, although I know it's kind of an odd day and during the week, I guess, but, especially for some of you Virginia dwellers and Maryland dwellers, Jordan and Mike, and, obviously, the Tennessee guy is probably not gonna make it. But, but I'm hoping that the rest of you guys can come. If you haven't heard about the good word, DC Beer, we have a Patreon, And we have cool members who have joined our Patreon, and we continue to have really cool people who join our Patreon. And our Patreon members get a lot of perks and discounts at places like the Arlington Brew Shop in Port City and DC Brow. But This coming, yeah, this coming week on 20th, so Wednesday, we are going to be yet again at Lost generations. And, Anne and Jared over there have offered us, the DC beer crew and members, A very lovely slash steep discount, happy hour. So it's only for our members, but they're they're giving us The 1st round on the house, but then giving us bigger than an industry discount that night.
Brandy Holder [00:12:14]:
We have a whopping 20% off of our bill. So even if you join Patreon just for, like, a couple of months or a month, which you should do it longer than that, it it would pay for itself within 1 night, to be honest. So, if you are privy to the good news, you should come join us that night. We're gonna go from 5:30 until Anne actually said we can go until we close the bar down, so Happy hour after after happy hour time frame, is gonna happen on 20th. So Get your livers ready for Christmas and and stuff. Like, you gotta prepare somehow. Right, guys?
Jacob Berg [00:12:56]:
So, Stein, I I see you're you're double parking, and I raise you a a good old fashioned British lock in at Lost Generation 20th.
Michael Stein [00:13:03]:
Right then, you know There's nothing illegal about it. It's closed shop. The pub is closed. Come on down for the lock in.
Jordan Harvey [00:13:12]:
I'm just I'm happy to hear that, It's not traditional happy hour hours, because I'll be at the at the Hayes factory in Ivy City, and I'll be on the anchor leg for that for that Wednesday. So The no excuses for folks saying, oh, I won't get there till late. Okay. Well, you can drink with me. I'm I'm fun, and I drink beer. Yeah. So There we have it.
Brandy Holder [00:13:31]:
Yes. She she said as long as a DC Beer person is there, then it the the discount goes until one of us leaves. So I am anchor lady. I might tap out at, like, 9 to go to bed. But We'll
Jordan Harvey [00:13:44]:
do a nice little bat baton transfer, just like a, you know, track meet. Just stick.
Brandy Holder [00:13:48]:
As long as you decorate the baton, like, Christmas y or something. Yeah. You're gonna wrap it in wrapping paper? So thank you to Anne and Jared. You guys are the best, And, we're so thankful for all of our beer friends, all of our friends over at NRG, and, at all the other local breweries. We love you guys. So thank you for always giving DC beer, a reason to be around.
Jacob Berg [00:14:13]:
One of those local breweries is DC Brow. Mike Stein.
Richard Fawal [00:14:18]:
Aren't they the
Michael Stein [00:14:19]:
oldest brewery? Yeah. Tuning in to the oldest brewery oldest production or packaging brewery in Washington, DC. And I'm here with Alex Spencer, head brewer of DC Brow Brewing. How are you, Alex?
Alex Spencer [00:14:33]:
I'm doing just fine.
Michael Stein [00:14:35]:
Well, Alex, tell the people tell our listeners who may not be familiar, with you, who you are, how long you've been with DC D brow. And how long you've been brewing?
Alex Spencer [00:14:43]:
Well, I've been, been at brow since summer of 2018. When I, I joined the production crew, I, took over the barrel program Not long after that, so a lot of the, the barrel beers that have come out in recent years have been kind of by projects. And then, I've been more or less at the reins for about the last 2 years. You know? And I started brewing back in, what, 2010. So been around the, been around the block for a while.
Michael Stein [00:15:15]:
You've been at it for a while. Yeah. And followers, you know, who are on our Patreon are, Patreon supporters. They've got some bonus content from us, but, even just regular readers of the site know we've had A good bit of coverage devoted to the new public, the new corruption, and, Jake was Kind enough to get some interview with you, get some interview with Brandon, but more seasonally appropriate, I wanted to ask you about, Holiday Ginger. Holiday Ginger is a beer that we, we, DC Beer, will be pouring at Metro Bar tomorrow, December 16th from 2 to 5. Metro Bar has the 12 beers of Christmas, and DC Browse Holiday Ginger will be there. Alex, tell us a little bit about holiday ginger.
Alex Spencer [00:16:07]:
So holiday ginger was actually a a beer that we, I guess came up with the concept kind of for the export market with the plan to, to send it overseas. So we brought it out 1st last fall around this time, I don't think we ever actually ended up exporting any of it. It all, it all stayed in the local markets. Our our goal was, you know, sort of a a winter warmer, you know, rich and malty with a, You know, pronounced sorta holiday spice character. So we we brought it out last year and sort of spiced it all ourselves. Earlier on this year, one of our maltsters, gave us a little sample of something new that they had come up with. That's, Belgo malt out of Belgium. I guess they have a, a a small little line they call the creative series, and they had a, it It was a gingerbread cookie infused malt where they, infused ginger and Cinnamon and other baking spices into the malting process itself.
Alex Spencer [00:17:15]:
They sent us a little sample, and we smelled it, tasted it, and said, this belongs in Holiday Ginger. So we kind of took what we did last year and kinda rebuilt it around this, this gingerbread cookie mall.
Michael Stein [00:17:30]:
So that went into the updated batch. That's one of the tweaks from last year.
Alex Spencer [00:17:34]:
Yep. So just a lot of, you know, ginger, cinnamon, baking Price is very much that gingerbread character. And then we, you know, top it off with a bunch of molasses and and, added a bunch of ginger of our own.
Jordan Harvey [00:17:50]:
Oh, wow.
Alex Spencer [00:17:51]:
And then, you know, top it up in the fermenter with just a little bit of vanilla.
Michael Stein [00:17:56]:
So is that a huge pain in the Rear during brew day? Is it a massive pain in the ass to grate the ginger or incorporate that? What's the hardest part of brewing this beer?
Alex Spencer [00:18:08]:
All things considered relatively simple. You know, molasses is, a little bit of a pain to pour, but you heat it up a little bit and it pours just fine. And, you know, fortunately, the, ginger settles in the whirlpool pretty easily.
Michael Stein [00:18:23]:
Yeah. I love the concept of an export beer intended for the export market but didn't leave DC and is now, in fact, I'm told only in DC. You know, I was asking about it in, Northern Virginia, and it seems like it's only in the district. So, if you haven't gotten tickets, Come see us at Metro Bar tomorrow. Come try Holiday Ginger from DC Brow. Alex, you've you've kinda came on as barrel manager managing all these barrels in the warehouse, and you've certainly done a number of experimental projects. I was talking with our editor, Jake Berg, earlier tonight, and he wanted me to ask you about wake up in the future, specifically a beer that is Very strong, very robust. I could be wrong, but if my math is right, it's 3 times the strength of holiday ginger.
Michael Stein [00:19:18]:
If holiday ginger is 5%, maybe wake up in the future is a 15% stout. Is that?
Alex Spencer [00:19:26]:
It it varies a little bit depending on the year. We we measure it every year and depending on, you know, How much alcohol we picked up from the barrels that it went into. It's it's varied over the years from 13 and change to to 15 and change. This year's barrels measured at an even 15%. So you're correct. Three times as strong as the holiday ginger.
Michael Stein [00:19:50]:
That's amazing. So it's been, has it been 5 years that you've been making that beer since you came on in 2018?
Alex Spencer [00:19:58]:
I think we were releasing the first one around when I started. So that was, a previous brewer who's no longer with brow had started that, but I kinda took the reins from, from there on out. But it's, I think 2018 or 2019 was the 1st year we released. And then this year, we're, we're doing something a little bit different. And rather than, rather than putting it in cans, we're actually bottling it, and that's giving us the opportunity to, to do some variants as well. So in addition to the, the normal bottles that we've got in the taproom, this weekend, we'll have a, a coffee variant, And then we've got a,
Jacob Berg [00:20:41]:
Nice.
Alex Spencer [00:20:41]:
A cocoa and vanilla variant
Jacob Berg [00:20:44]:
Wow.
Alex Spencer [00:20:44]:
In the works as well and may try a, a couple of other things to be determined.
Michael Stein [00:20:51]:
Yeah. Oh, that's super exciting. So they'll be, this year, the 2023 edition, But then there'll also be at least 2 variants of coffee, and some, coconut a fruited, variant.
Alex Spencer [00:21:03]:
It's, like like hot cocoa and vanilla.
Michael Stein [00:21:07]:
Hot cocoa and vanilla. Sounds lovely with the with the 15% rich chocolatey, velvety smooth stout. I love it. I love it. So is this then the 1st year that there have been variants for wake up in the future, the big stout?
Alex Spencer [00:21:23]:
It it it is. Yeah.
Michael Stein [00:21:25]:
That makes sense. You know? It's it's a brand that, it's kinda like a sleeper because it comes out, it does well on the market, And then it does well all year, and I have a joke with, Julie, who's the owner from the brew shop. And everybody busts her chops about, oh, it's porter season. We just had our 1st snow. It's porter season, and her whole thing is like, porter season is 52 weeks out of the year. And I like to think the same. Obviously, not every occasion calls for a 15% ABV stout, but if you're born in the summer, if your birthday is in August like me, It's a great occasion to crack a stout, even 15 ABV. So that's that's super exciting.
Michael Stein [00:22:04]:
We're really pumped, for For the wake up in the future variants. That's that's awesome. What projects or, one offs, experimental beers, things coming down the pike that you are interested in that that you can tell us about.
Alex Spencer [00:22:18]:
Well, here's a fun one. So I participated with a a brewers association delegation to the United Kingdom over the summer and, brewed a A brown ale with a brewery in London. And then couple of weeks ago, that, that brewer swung by DC. So we, Brewed up a little hazy IPA that'll go in the, the continuing resolution line, and that will be getting canned tomorrow and, should be available should be available really soon. It's, it's tasting great.
Michael Stein [00:22:55]:
Oh, I love it. So you were in England. You were in London brewing a brown ale, and then the London brewer came to DC, and you you brewed some
Jacob Berg [00:23:04]:
pale ale.
Alex Spencer [00:23:05]:
Hazy IPA.
Jordan Harvey [00:23:07]:
Hazy IPA.
Alex Spencer [00:23:08]:
It it kinda runs full circle, you know, because that's that's what this brewery in London is known for is their hazies.
Michael Stein [00:23:15]:
Yeah. You know, I saw this. There was a wonderful podcast that was done, across the pond, and and you were on there, with the interviewers, and Lotte, Peplow was there from the from the VA. And I said, you know, Alex brewed this brown ale, so I am Now having, 3 stars imperial brown ale. Can that's got about 2 years, maybe more on it?
Alex Spencer [00:23:39]:
I was gonna say, how's that holding up?
Michael Stein [00:23:41]:
It it is not terrible by a long shot. It's actually quite nice. So November 2020 or excuse me, September 2021. So certain certainly should have been consumed by September last year, but here we are. Here we are, 2 Septembers past. It's really pretty decent, all things considered, which Kinda hearkens back to wake up in the future. You know, I had a can of, 2019, 2020, and those beers are Still really drinking well
Alex Spencer [00:24:11]:
Mhmm.
Michael Stein [00:24:12]:
Which is remarkable because I think they may be unavailable, you know, from a consumer perspective. You may not be able to buy 2019, which is now, you know, like a 4 year old beer, soon to be a 5 year old beer.
Alex Spencer [00:24:27]:
Yeah. I mean, we, we hold on to and and seller a good bit of the old stuff. So I don't know how much 19 we have left. If we have any left, we often do a, you know, a mixed vertical pack in the taproom.
Michael Stein [00:24:42]:
Yeah. Which is a great investment. Man. And every time that's on offer, I grab a pack, and, typically, I wind up wishing I had gotten more than 1 4 pack. That's usually you know? But, Sisyphus pushing the rock up the hill, doomed to repeat my mistake. So, Alex, this is super exciting. We can't wait to to try the the Hazy Pale Ale, the Hazy IPA, with the with the London Brewer, and we've got cans of wake up in the future and the variance. Anything else you care to share with our audience before we wrap?
Alex Spencer [00:25:16]:
Well, anybody who's been down to, Any of the IMP venues, anthem, 930 club, hopefully, we'll have, tried the I m p a and the I m pilsner. I know we're, we're really excited to, to have those beers in all those venues.
Michael Stein [00:25:34]:
Mhmm. Yeah. We first covered the beers in the spring, I think, maybe early summer, when that news was was coming out. How are those beers doing? How are they tasting? Are they to your liking?
Alex Spencer [00:25:44]:
Oh, they're they're tasting great, and they're moving very, very well.
Michael Stein [00:25:47]:
That's wonderful news. That's wonderful news. Well, Alex Spencer, thank you so much for for joining us here on the DC Beer Show.
Alex Spencer [00:25:53]:
Yep. Thanks for having me.
Jacob Berg [00:25:54]:
Thank you, Mike. Thank you, Alex.
Brandy Holder [00:25:57]:
Mike Stein, I love you and miss your face. I'm glad that I saw you at our last beer share, rest in peace, District Maid. But
Michael Stein [00:26:06]:
Same same brand, Same, and we will keep on drinking District Maids Spirit and 3 Stars beer and everybody who's gone but not forgotten as we continue to hold it down to keep the flame alive for beer culture in the District of Columbia, as as well as our tri state, surrounding environs in the DMV. And you can't see Brandy right now, but she is swagged out with her DCBier Beanie. If you join us on Patreon, you know that we have some wonderful merch on the site. You know you get bonus content. Check us out on Patreon. Check out the webshop on dcbeer.com. We'd love to see you at the next share, at the next event. Come see us at the market.
Michael Stein [00:26:54]:
Come see us at Metro Bar. We can't wait to have a beer with you and tell you all about it. Cheers.
Jacob Berg [00:27:01]:
Cheers all. Be excellent. Cheers. Be well to each other, and, we're back at it soon. Happy holidays. Do your shopping. Do it on that beer trip.
Jordan Harvey [00:27:11]:
Prost.
