WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:09.415 Welcome everyone to the DC Beer Show. We are at DC Beer 2 00:00:09.415 --> 00:00:12.855 across social media. Mike Stein, what's in your stein 3 00:00:12.855 --> 00:00:16.635 tonight? Well, hey, Jake. I'm enjoying a Dovetail Helles 4 00:00:16.935 --> 00:00:19.970 open fermented, lagered forever. 5 00:00:20.830 --> 00:00:24.670 Lovely beer out of Chicago, and we're getting kegs. So they're 6 00:00:24.670 --> 00:00:28.285 getting draft at the Arlington brew shop, and I was trying to work 7 00:00:28.285 --> 00:00:31.805 through the Dovetail Hellas to get them to flip that keg to put 8 00:00:31.805 --> 00:00:35.530 on Dovetail pills. So I'm very excited about that prospect. 9 00:00:36.230 --> 00:00:39.750 Jordan, my man, what are you having this fine 10 00:00:39.750 --> 00:00:43.530 evening? You know, the universe is, is nature is healing. 11 00:00:43.705 --> 00:00:47.245 Everything is back in balance. I'm having a Kindness Kills, 12 00:00:47.465 --> 00:00:51.145 New England IPA with some notes of pineapple and orange. So 13 00:00:51.145 --> 00:00:54.510 very, very citrusy for the for the heat that we've been having this week 14 00:00:54.650 --> 00:00:58.110 from RAK Brewing, a random acts of kindness up in Frederick, 15 00:00:58.330 --> 00:01:01.895 Maryland. You guys will hear a bit more from them later, but, Jake, 16 00:01:02.035 --> 00:01:05.415 what's in the glass, sir? So Mike's got open fermentation. 17 00:01:06.275 --> 00:01:09.760 You've got closed fermentation, and I've got very 18 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:13.540 closed fermentation because I have here factor 12. 19 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:17.085 It's a Flemish red aged for 20 00:01:17.385 --> 00:01:20.825 12 months, hence the 12 in 21 00:01:20.825 --> 00:01:24.665 casks. It's only, like, 5 and a half percent. So, it's a 22 00:01:24.665 --> 00:01:28.350 little sweet. It's a little sour. You get those cherries. You get those dark fruits. 23 00:01:29.049 --> 00:01:32.890 It's really well put together. Go get you some at definitely 24 00:01:32.890 --> 00:01:36.635 Downtown Crown. I'm a fan. Alright. I wanna kick 25 00:01:36.635 --> 00:01:40.315 this off with at least 1 upcoming event before people lose 26 00:01:40.315 --> 00:01:44.050 interest. Tomorrow, Union Market Dock 5, that's kind 27 00:01:44.050 --> 00:01:47.890 of like in the back behind. Drafts and crafts with 28 00:01:47.890 --> 00:01:51.570 parentheses, d for draft, parentheses, c for craft 29 00:01:51.570 --> 00:01:54.975 because it's DC, and it's a DC Brewers Guild and 30 00:01:54.975 --> 00:01:58.675 also the DC Makers Guild. So it's like 31 00:01:58.815 --> 00:02:02.250 20 plus breweries, distilleries, cideries, 32 00:02:02.470 --> 00:02:06.230 meaderies, what have you. And then also, 40 33 00:02:06.230 --> 00:02:09.835 plus craft vendors. Should be a good time. Come see 34 00:02:09.835 --> 00:02:13.595 Brandy. Come see I. We'll be there. It'll be 35 00:02:13.595 --> 00:02:17.370 fun. And you might actually see 1 of 36 00:02:17.370 --> 00:02:20.670 DC's newest breweries in planning, 37 00:02:20.970 --> 00:02:24.715 henceforth. That's gonna be over on H Street. They're gonna 38 00:02:24.715 --> 00:02:28.395 be there. They may have something, for you to sample in 39 00:02:28.395 --> 00:02:32.175 advance of them taking over the old H Street Country Club 40 00:02:32.235 --> 00:02:36.030 spot. Alright. What else is on people's radar? Well, I got 41 00:02:36.030 --> 00:02:39.650 a couple things. If you know, it's it's not the heaviest 42 00:02:39.709 --> 00:02:43.345 month. Right? It's July. It's It's hot as all get out outside right now, 43 00:02:43.345 --> 00:02:47.025 but, still have a number of live events. So definitely check the state of 44 00:02:47.025 --> 00:02:50.750 state social media and everything from, some comedy shows, some 45 00:02:50.750 --> 00:02:54.590 wild music. For those that like food, there's an 46 00:02:54.590 --> 00:02:58.349 Allagaz beer dinner at a lion hall. It'd be 4 courses, 5 47 00:02:58.349 --> 00:03:02.015 beers. That's That's Tuesday, July 16th. There is a fee associated with 48 00:03:02.015 --> 00:03:05.614 it, but I think the awesome chefs and the the people who put the 49 00:03:05.614 --> 00:03:09.430 menu together, would definitely make it your while and, you know, 50 00:03:09.430 --> 00:03:12.950 you'll definitely get the bang for your buck. In terms of DC beer 51 00:03:12.950 --> 00:03:16.345 events, we have 2 in in 1 week, on 52 00:03:16.345 --> 00:03:19.565 Sunday, July 21st, we will 53 00:03:19.944 --> 00:03:23.760 be at ripetopper for our beer share members 54 00:03:23.760 --> 00:03:27.540 only. You can learn more on our Patreon. Please subscribe to the Patreon. You can 55 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:31.334 not only support us, but you can support us as we support others. It's a 56 00:03:31.334 --> 00:03:34.694 mutually beneficial situation there. And then that 57 00:03:34.694 --> 00:03:38.450 Wednesday, 25th, you can find, yours truly 58 00:03:38.510 --> 00:03:42.209 at other half for the DC beer capital trivia 59 00:03:42.269 --> 00:03:45.170 link up at other half. So come out for some trivia. 60 00:03:45.965 --> 00:03:49.405 We appreciate the support and look forward to, to send you 61 00:03:49.405 --> 00:03:52.845 guys. Anyone else tracking anything come this this month or or next 62 00:03:52.845 --> 00:03:56.680 month? And also happy belated to our queen of 63 00:03:56.680 --> 00:04:00.440 beer, Brandy. If you didn't wish her a happy birthday or definitely show her 64 00:04:00.440 --> 00:04:03.975 some love. I'm sure she would appreciate it. She couldn't be with us tonight. 65 00:04:03.975 --> 00:04:07.595 So definitely show Brandy some love. We missed you, b. Alright. 66 00:04:07.655 --> 00:04:10.875 The day before the beer show on 21st, 20th, 67 00:04:11.640 --> 00:04:15.020 Hellbender's boiler installed, up and running, 68 00:04:15.160 --> 00:04:18.519 making beer. They're gonna throw a party about it. So we thank 69 00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:22.245 everybody. This will include, like, all day happy hour. 70 00:04:22.305 --> 00:04:26.145 So thanks, like, some good deals on, usually, what I drink there 71 00:04:26.145 --> 00:04:29.800 is bare bones Kölsch. They do do pitchers, 1 of the few 72 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:33.419 breweries in DC that will actually just give you a picture of Kosch, 73 00:04:33.639 --> 00:04:37.315 which is great. They're gonna have a couple new releases there as well. 74 00:04:37.455 --> 00:04:41.295 Obviously, food trucks, you should watch their socials. We'll 75 00:04:41.295 --> 00:04:44.930 put it up at dcbeard.com/events as 76 00:04:44.930 --> 00:04:48.550 well. 1 more thing about food 77 00:04:49.170 --> 00:04:52.870 is that birch and barley is about to be 78 00:04:53.250 --> 00:04:56.995 no more. Taking a break and rebranding as to this new 79 00:04:56.995 --> 00:05:00.595 American southern style restaurant called Mallard. And you 80 00:05:00.595 --> 00:05:03.960 can check out some of what is coming at Mallard 81 00:05:04.660 --> 00:05:08.500 upstairs at Church Quay before Mallard opens. So sort of like 82 00:05:08.500 --> 00:05:12.255 a, you know, try. Have a little bit of mallet before you commit 83 00:05:12.255 --> 00:05:16.095 to dining downstairs. Don't worry, everybody. The beer is still there. Yeah. 84 00:05:16.095 --> 00:05:19.460 I wanna clarify, Jake. You said if you go to 85 00:05:19.460 --> 00:05:22.840 Hellbender and you do as you do, 86 00:05:23.060 --> 00:05:26.840 Jake, which is order Kölsch, they'll give you a pitcher. 87 00:05:27.845 --> 00:05:31.065 Now you should pay for the pitcher. 88 00:05:31.764 --> 00:05:34.884 Yeah. This is not a steel of titanite. You shouldn't walk out with a plastic 89 00:05:34.884 --> 00:05:38.730 pitcher either. Ain't ain't nothing in this world for free. Right. That 90 00:05:38.730 --> 00:05:42.430 being said, I was talking to a brewer, a good friend, who was at Hellbender 91 00:05:42.650 --> 00:05:46.055 for the save Hellbender, party at the moon 92 00:05:46.055 --> 00:05:49.115 tower, save the boiler and the brewery, 93 00:05:49.574 --> 00:05:53.410 and he was making a joke like, oh, yeah. Like, I love this beer. 94 00:05:53.410 --> 00:05:57.110 It's so good. Let me pay you for this pale ale that I'm getting. 95 00:05:57.890 --> 00:06:01.570 And, of course, they were like, no. No. No. You're 1 of our you're our 96 00:06:01.570 --> 00:06:05.365 favorite brewer's favorite brewer. And he was like, no. I need to pay 97 00:06:05.365 --> 00:06:08.965 you for this so you can get a new boiler, and now the new boiler 98 00:06:08.965 --> 00:06:12.509 has arrived. We're super excited for Saturday, 99 00:06:12.650 --> 00:06:16.430 July 20th, 1 to 9 PM, free entry at Hellbender, 100 00:06:17.210 --> 00:06:20.855 a day of music and beer. So they're gonna have food trucks, they're gonna 101 00:06:20.855 --> 00:06:24.695 have live music, and there will be a beer release. So I 102 00:06:24.695 --> 00:06:28.330 just wanted to plug that again. That being said, I 103 00:06:28.330 --> 00:06:32.169 also wanna plug everybody that's just doing wonderful stuff the 104 00:06:32.169 --> 00:06:34.830 best they can. I was at Blue Jacket on Thursday. 105 00:06:35.785 --> 00:06:39.465 Impeccable casks there. I know that Monday through Friday, Roe 106 00:06:39.465 --> 00:06:42.925 Gunzel, head brewer at Blue Jacket, is checking the cask. He is literally 107 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:47.639 tasting beer at, you know, 9:30, 10 AM to make sure when 108 00:06:47.639 --> 00:06:51.265 they open daily at 11 AM, the beer is of top notch 109 00:06:51.665 --> 00:06:55.265 quality. I know that Dave Delaplane, longtime manager at 110 00:06:55.265 --> 00:06:58.945 Roofers Union in, Adams Morgan, is checking the casks 111 00:06:58.945 --> 00:07:02.440 on Saturday Sunday. When I was there, on a Thursday, 112 00:07:02.660 --> 00:07:06.500 he was making sure that the casks were top notch, and I had a couple 113 00:07:06.500 --> 00:07:10.180 friends from London in. So they're true experts. Right? Every corner pub in 114 00:07:10.180 --> 00:07:13.795 London has a cask. Actually, I haven't been to London, so I can't say 115 00:07:13.795 --> 00:07:17.555 every corner pub. I've been told I've been told. It's 116 00:07:17.555 --> 00:07:21.300 been about a decade since I last tried to hit every corner pub in London, 117 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:24.740 but we are serving delicious cask at Blue Jacket. 118 00:07:25.360 --> 00:07:29.125 It's on par with the stuff across the pond in London, and the same 119 00:07:29.125 --> 00:07:32.805 goes for all of our local breweries that are doing the best they can. So 120 00:07:32.805 --> 00:07:35.690 I just wanted to give a shout out to everybody doing the best they can, 121 00:07:35.690 --> 00:07:39.389 making the best beer possible in the District of Columbia. 122 00:07:39.770 --> 00:07:43.604 Well, you know, that that has kinda started a a new goal, that 123 00:07:43.604 --> 00:07:47.175 I I'd like to set for us both. Like, maybe we just need to do 124 00:07:47.175 --> 00:07:50.935 some market research in London. Okay? So maybe we need to 125 00:07:50.935 --> 00:07:54.390 just book some flights and figure it out and just go 126 00:07:54.770 --> 00:07:58.550 taste the beer, for research purposes. This is the junket 127 00:07:58.610 --> 00:08:01.895 we've been talking about. Yeah. I volunteer 128 00:08:02.675 --> 00:08:06.515 as tribute to help roll out at 9:30 or 129 00:08:06.515 --> 00:08:10.139 10 in the morning to just to do a little quality control, quality 130 00:08:10.139 --> 00:08:13.900 assurance on these casks. I have been to London. It 131 00:08:13.900 --> 00:08:17.384 is a delight to walk into a pub and see, like, a 3.8% 132 00:08:17.925 --> 00:08:21.685 Green King IPA on and be like, oh, well, I guess 133 00:08:21.685 --> 00:08:25.020 this is what a session is is is when you sit there and just crush 134 00:08:25.020 --> 00:08:28.860 a bunch of sub 4% delicious living real 135 00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:32.485 ale flavorful beer. I would also like to go back, 136 00:08:32.565 --> 00:08:36.164 Drink so much, I can stop minding the gap and, you 137 00:08:36.164 --> 00:08:39.990 know, other various British things. Alright. 138 00:08:39.990 --> 00:08:43.450 Yeah. We're skirting around 1 big event at the moment, and that's 139 00:08:43.590 --> 00:08:47.370 Snallygaster, which again is counter programming 140 00:08:47.590 --> 00:08:51.155 against Great American Beer Festival. Yes. So GABF in 141 00:08:51.155 --> 00:08:54.915 Denver released their beer list, and it's something like 40% of the 142 00:08:54.915 --> 00:08:58.740 breweries there are either from Colorado or California. 143 00:08:59.680 --> 00:09:02.900 now you're actually gonna have maybe, like, a little bit more diversity, 144 00:09:03.280 --> 00:09:06.260 variety, you know, more states, international. 145 00:09:07.115 --> 00:09:10.575 This is a yes, Anne, Jake. Yes. Great American Beer Festival, 146 00:09:10.715 --> 00:09:14.255 arguably the greatest beer festival in America. 147 00:09:14.715 --> 00:09:18.339 However, you can't take WMATA, the Washington 148 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:22.240 Metropolitan Authority Transit Association there, the way 149 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:26.025 you can just hop off at archives, Navy Memorial, and 150 00:09:26.025 --> 00:09:29.785 just walk a couple blocks to Snallygaster. Wow. 151 00:09:29.785 --> 00:09:33.440 Yes. Great American beer festival. Wonderful beer. People have been doing it 152 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:36.740 for literally decades. Absolutely, undeniably, 153 00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:41.195 1 of the best. However, are they gonna have beer from 154 00:09:41.195 --> 00:09:44.175 Berlin? Are they gonna have beer from Munich? 155 00:09:44.715 --> 00:09:48.220 Are there gonna be some Brussels, a Belgian 156 00:09:48.220 --> 00:09:51.120 Lambic, some, some creaking beer, some. 157 00:09:52.380 --> 00:09:56.015 Right. You know, I'll just leave it I'll leave it as a yes 158 00:09:56.495 --> 00:10:00.195 and. Well, yes, I will be there, 159 00:10:00.255 --> 00:10:03.935 and I will be having all the great beers, as many 160 00:10:03.935 --> 00:10:07.360 as possible, as safely possible to 161 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:11.120 consume, before I had on the metro and will model 162 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:14.845 my way back to my home. So Shout out to 163 00:10:14.845 --> 00:10:18.464 the bus drivers union, to all the unions propping up, WMATA. 164 00:10:19.245 --> 00:10:22.625 We stan organized labor. We love to hear it. 165 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:26.960 Reverend Barber was in, DC last weekend, 2 weekends ago, and we 166 00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:30.800 were saying he had called up some of the, bus drivers. So shout 167 00:10:30.800 --> 00:10:34.465 out to everybody driving a bus around the DC Metro. We 168 00:10:34.465 --> 00:10:37.825 love y'all. Yes. And we do love y'all. Thank you all for your service, and 169 00:10:37.825 --> 00:10:41.500 also thank you, Jake, for your service of volunteering as tribute. But I would just 170 00:10:41.500 --> 00:10:45.100 like to propose an idea that, you know, what can make the bus line just 171 00:10:45.100 --> 00:10:48.865 a smidge better was maybe if they would take us up to Frederick to 172 00:10:48.865 --> 00:10:52.545 visit all the wonderful breweries in Frederick, but specifically the 173 00:10:52.545 --> 00:10:56.240 kid on the block. There's this brewery called rack random acts of 174 00:10:56.240 --> 00:10:59.920 kindness. And I'm here with, 2 wonderful gentlemen with me. I have Steve McIntyre and 175 00:10:59.920 --> 00:11:03.040 Brandon Roth. Welcome to the show folks. How are you? Good. How are you? Thanks 176 00:11:03.040 --> 00:11:06.785 for having us. Doing well. Doing well. So, you know, I've had 177 00:11:06.785 --> 00:11:10.545 the luxury of making it up to Frederick, Maryland to check out, Ripe 178 00:11:10.545 --> 00:11:13.750 Brewing. But for those that haven't, Steve, why don't you tell us about who you 179 00:11:13.750 --> 00:11:17.509 guys are and, what your craft beer story looks like? Yeah. 180 00:11:17.509 --> 00:11:21.315 Thanks. We, we originally started rack kinda with a 181 00:11:21.395 --> 00:11:25.155 bit of a different start than we had anticipated. We were hoping 182 00:11:25.155 --> 00:11:28.935 for some event space, and a brewery happened to become available 183 00:11:29.155 --> 00:11:32.310 and tie up beer, and it worked out pretty well. We, 184 00:11:33.430 --> 00:11:37.210 we obviously didn't know much about beer, so we were very excited to get started 185 00:11:37.510 --> 00:11:40.815 and a little bit nervous as well, not knowing how to brew, knowing a lot 186 00:11:40.815 --> 00:11:44.255 about beer, but not knowing how to brew. The story kind of, 187 00:11:44.574 --> 00:11:48.070 it it's it started slow, and, we we 188 00:11:48.070 --> 00:11:51.670 found the right people to to be in the right positions. Started 189 00:11:51.670 --> 00:11:55.325 with the general manager who's very wonderful, Nancy, came from 190 00:11:55.325 --> 00:11:58.685 quite a few other breweries, and then we met Brandon. And 191 00:11:58.685 --> 00:12:02.365 Brandon, you know, came from Flying Dog in Southwood, and we're 192 00:12:02.365 --> 00:12:06.079 really excited to get started with him. And I think that his vision really 193 00:12:06.459 --> 00:12:09.899 is passionate about, you know, some of the things that we were really interested in 194 00:12:09.899 --> 00:12:13.715 where we're thinking about what does the brewery look like, and we 195 00:12:13.715 --> 00:12:17.555 wanted to push the envelope with kind of what what beer is around Frederick. 196 00:12:17.715 --> 00:12:21.075 There as you know, there's 8 or 9 other breweries around, so there's a lot 197 00:12:21.075 --> 00:12:24.620 to compete with. And we wanted to, just change the envelope 198 00:12:24.620 --> 00:12:28.380 and, you know, you're familiar with the ambiance. It's very different from most breweries 199 00:12:28.380 --> 00:12:32.085 out there. It's a little bit more swanky and little more upscale. It 200 00:12:32.085 --> 00:12:35.845 looks a lot more like a cocktail lounge than anything. So we 201 00:12:35.845 --> 00:12:39.285 were, yeah, we're really excited to see where it goes and what it offers the 202 00:12:39.285 --> 00:12:42.620 community. And, you know, we're very excited to be a part of a a really 203 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:45.980 cool beer community and not only just Frederick, but Maryland as a 204 00:12:45.980 --> 00:12:49.654 whole. Brenda, I heard you got your start with Flying Dog and and Sapwood. Would 205 00:12:49.654 --> 00:12:52.775 you like to speak to that? Just, you know, were you, you know, brewing at 206 00:12:52.775 --> 00:12:56.214 both? You were you just kinda helping out, Masterhead Brewer? Like, how did that look 207 00:12:56.214 --> 00:12:59.990 for you at those 2 locations? So Flying Dog is pretty much where I 208 00:12:59.990 --> 00:13:03.690 got my start. I started off there as a seller tech, you know, 209 00:13:03.910 --> 00:13:07.715 doing nitty gritty. You know, you get about 1 year in, and you're 210 00:13:07.715 --> 00:13:10.755 like, man, if I don't love beer, why am I here? Because this is basically 211 00:13:10.755 --> 00:13:14.355 a manual labor job. But I worked my way up, you know, 212 00:13:14.355 --> 00:13:17.940 there and, you know, did filtration, did brewing, 213 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:22.000 pretty much was, you know, well rounded there, 214 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:25.695 but kinda saw the writing on the wall for Flying Dog as 215 00:13:25.695 --> 00:13:29.475 to where they were headed. So, you know, eventually 216 00:13:29.775 --> 00:13:33.520 kinda got out of there, and I was more just interested in the place 217 00:13:33.520 --> 00:13:37.120 that was, concerned with making the best product they 218 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:40.855 possibly could, you know, from being at both ends of the spectrum, having, like, 219 00:13:40.855 --> 00:13:44.295 the big beer kind of place and the small beer kind of place. It 220 00:13:44.295 --> 00:13:47.830 was for me, it was kinda just more to be at a place that was 221 00:13:47.830 --> 00:13:51.190 really concentrated on making sure every drop of beer that came out of that place 222 00:13:51.190 --> 00:13:54.875 was the best that could possibly produce. You know, coming from mid tier 223 00:13:54.875 --> 00:13:58.714 brewery, it's a little bit different. You gotta worry about cost constraints and all 224 00:13:58.714 --> 00:14:02.420 that type of stuff. So it's a it's a different environment, but I feel like 225 00:14:02.420 --> 00:14:06.100 both kinda gave me a good experience on both ends of the 226 00:14:06.100 --> 00:14:09.640 spectrum to kinda make me realize a little bit more what I really wanted. 227 00:14:09.915 --> 00:14:13.195 I I would agree with you. I think, flying dog, I mean, they did some 228 00:14:13.195 --> 00:14:16.735 good stuff. You know, I'm not I'm not here to bash anybody. But, like, 229 00:14:17.035 --> 00:14:20.860 they definitely do new stuff every week or every other week, so 230 00:14:20.860 --> 00:14:24.700 definitely more, you know, experimental versus, probably kinda being, maybe 231 00:14:24.700 --> 00:14:27.180 boxed in is the is the right way to phrase it for for flying dog, 232 00:14:27.180 --> 00:14:30.695 where there's, like, a a set a tap list or or just set production 233 00:14:30.695 --> 00:14:34.135 schedule, I should say, of that. So I definitely could understand that. 234 00:14:35.015 --> 00:14:38.240 But so RAK is, RAK Brewing is the name of the brewing. 235 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:42.400 But it's RAK is an acronym, random acts of kindness as I 236 00:14:42.400 --> 00:14:44.880 understand it. So if you could just tell us about the name, like, what was 237 00:14:44.880 --> 00:14:47.515 the the vision behind the name, or how did that how did that name come 238 00:14:47.515 --> 00:14:51.355 about? Rock stands for random acts of kindness. You know, we're all the 239 00:14:51.355 --> 00:14:55.000 partners in this brewery are also owners of a real estate team. 240 00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:57.800 A lot of the work that we like to do out for the community is 241 00:14:57.800 --> 00:15:00.300 part of our nonprofit, TGP Gibbs. 242 00:15:01.400 --> 00:15:05.175 And when we were coming up with names, we originally thought 243 00:15:05.175 --> 00:15:08.714 of RAK, you know, to kinda coincide with what our current branding is. 244 00:15:09.175 --> 00:15:12.709 Fied away from it, hired a marketing company. They put a ton of 245 00:15:12.709 --> 00:15:16.010 names in front of us, and as you can imagine with, you know, 9, 000 246 00:15:16.149 --> 00:15:19.764 breweries in the country, but also all the additional names that have been taken 247 00:15:19.764 --> 00:15:23.464 for brewers that aren't in production or, you know, have never really come to fruition. 248 00:15:23.925 --> 00:15:26.960 It was pretty tough to come up with something, and so we just thought about, 249 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:29.760 you know, who we are as people and, you know, what we're trying to do 250 00:15:29.760 --> 00:15:33.520 with inspiration of the community, and, you know, we love Frederick so much. We 251 00:15:33.520 --> 00:15:37.105 spent a lot of time here. We, you know, we patron everything that's around us. 252 00:15:37.105 --> 00:15:40.865 And so, you know, we wanted to basically continue on with with 253 00:15:40.865 --> 00:15:43.985 what we're doing traditionally with our other businesses. It just felt like it was gonna 254 00:15:43.985 --> 00:15:47.720 match well. And so we pulled back to rack and then we 255 00:15:47.720 --> 00:15:51.560 looked at some logos and some designs. And, really, our big first year is 256 00:15:51.560 --> 00:15:55.404 just Ari Arbery. It just looks so consistent with what that, you know, 257 00:15:55.464 --> 00:15:59.225 what that emblem and logo looks like. And the more that we talked about it, 258 00:15:59.225 --> 00:16:02.185 we just couldn't get away from it at that point. We're kind of engrossed in 259 00:16:02.185 --> 00:16:05.589 it and loved what it was about and felt like that it had meaning that, 260 00:16:05.589 --> 00:16:09.350 you know, a lot of other stuff doesn't have out there. So, we settled 261 00:16:09.350 --> 00:16:12.685 on it. And, you know, now that we're 6 months in, we're we're really happy 262 00:16:12.685 --> 00:16:15.885 that we made that decision, and a lot of people in the community have embraced 263 00:16:15.885 --> 00:16:19.645 it. So, it's worked out pretty well. I guess, you know, with the 264 00:16:19.645 --> 00:16:23.330 name like RAK or Random Acts of Kindness, have you guys, like, taken extra 265 00:16:23.330 --> 00:16:27.010 strides, to, you know, make the tap room more, you know, 266 00:16:27.010 --> 00:16:30.555 more homey, more, you know, more more warm and comfortable? It's definitely a 267 00:16:30.555 --> 00:16:33.835 beautiful tap room. I mean, it's like, I would go as far to say, and 268 00:16:33.835 --> 00:16:36.875 I've been to a lot of breweries, no offense to people out there, but it's 269 00:16:36.875 --> 00:16:39.800 probably 1 of the nice staff rooms I've ever seen just in terms of the 270 00:16:39.800 --> 00:16:43.240 lighting, the comfortable chairs. It's just the the 271 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:47.005 open concept is just very nice. Like, but do you guys do extra have you 272 00:16:47.005 --> 00:16:50.685 guys taken any extra strides to make it feel more of a, like, a community 273 00:16:50.685 --> 00:16:54.240 place or more more home for your for your patrons? I would say not 274 00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:58.079 necessarily directly to the taproom. When when we started when we started with 275 00:16:58.079 --> 00:17:01.600 the whole project, we really wanted something that felt more comfortable. You know, you go 276 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:05.265 into most breweries, and it's concrete floors and wooden 277 00:17:05.265 --> 00:17:09.105 furniture and metal ceilings, and it's loud and, you 278 00:17:09.105 --> 00:17:12.888 know, everything's dragging across the ground. It's just not a very comfortable place 279 00:17:12.888 --> 00:17:16.526 to have a conversation. And so when we started building out the taproom, everything 280 00:17:16.526 --> 00:17:20.085 in mind came with you know, we've already got sound deadening 281 00:17:20.085 --> 00:17:23.845 ceiling. You know, we wanted something plush, so to 282 00:17:23.845 --> 00:17:27.365 speak, leather, to be able to deaden some of that sound, wood on the walls 283 00:17:27.365 --> 00:17:30.549 to be able to help absorb some of it. I mean, we really thought of 284 00:17:30.549 --> 00:17:34.309 it as, like, a place to do day night or, you know, 285 00:17:34.309 --> 00:17:37.985 sit down and have a conversation with an old friend, just catch up where you 286 00:17:37.985 --> 00:17:41.585 didn't feel like you were being interrupted by the person sitting next to 287 00:17:41.585 --> 00:17:45.265 you. As far as what we've done with, you know, RAK and random acts of 288 00:17:45.265 --> 00:17:48.670 kindness, we've we've done a lot of charity stuff. In Frederick, every 289 00:17:48.670 --> 00:17:52.270 united United Way campaign for Frederick County hosts a big event. And 290 00:17:52.270 --> 00:17:55.925 so, we have spent you know, we spent about 2 and a half weeks 291 00:17:55.925 --> 00:17:59.525 fundraising for them, and, we host at least 1 nonprofit or 292 00:17:59.525 --> 00:18:03.045 charity each month. And, you know, obviously, we we wanna be able to do 293 00:18:03.045 --> 00:18:06.750 more as soon as we can. Just acknowledging some of how you guys have 294 00:18:06.750 --> 00:18:09.950 revamped the place, you know, you know, rest in peace and shout out to, I 295 00:18:09.950 --> 00:18:13.615 believe it was House Cat and, Smoke Town. Now did you guys have to perform 296 00:18:13.615 --> 00:18:17.294 any rituals or seances, for the the the former breweries 297 00:18:17.294 --> 00:18:21.090 before you guys opened, or was it was it pretty smooth outside of 298 00:18:21.090 --> 00:18:24.850 gutting the building, would it a pretty smooth transition? Most of the work was done 299 00:18:24.850 --> 00:18:28.230 back on Brandon's end. It was, you know, it was, 300 00:18:28.575 --> 00:18:31.615 you know, in in same thing. We don't we don't wanna talk about this. It's 301 00:18:31.615 --> 00:18:35.430 just, you know, we have expectations of of certain things and 302 00:18:35.430 --> 00:18:38.470 and how we wanted things to be done. And so front of house was just 303 00:18:38.470 --> 00:18:41.990 a lot of work with patching holes and stuff that that that wasn't seen in 304 00:18:41.990 --> 00:18:45.255 it. You know, I I very much think that that fit their business model. The 305 00:18:45.255 --> 00:18:47.815 type of person that was coming in may not be worried about that, but, of 306 00:18:47.815 --> 00:18:51.090 course, with the plans that we had for the tapering, there were just a lot 307 00:18:51.090 --> 00:18:54.210 of things that we had to we had to shore up, so to speak, to 308 00:18:54.210 --> 00:18:57.970 really fit the entire vibe. Brandon's very strict with his, you know, 309 00:18:57.970 --> 00:19:00.775 how he brews, and I'll I'll let him talk a little bit more about this. 310 00:19:00.775 --> 00:19:03.995 But he's very specific about how he brews, where things are placed, what 311 00:19:04.295 --> 00:19:07.370 cleanliness, and all those types of things. And when you start, you know, with a 312 00:19:07.370 --> 00:19:10.410 a blank canvas, it's easy. But when you start with a lot of stuff from 313 00:19:10.410 --> 00:19:14.250 someone else, it makes it tough. It's a lot of organization and, you know, cleaning 314 00:19:14.250 --> 00:19:17.625 and some of those other things that go into it. Yeah. What do you think 315 00:19:17.625 --> 00:19:21.465 has been your biggest challenge in in terms of getting, rack where it is 316 00:19:21.465 --> 00:19:25.210 or just getting rack open to begin with? I think that's kind of a 317 00:19:25.210 --> 00:19:28.809 twofold question. I'll let Brandon talk about the beer piece a bit because, obviously, that's 318 00:19:28.809 --> 00:19:32.635 a huge component. From the business end, you know, we we are 319 00:19:32.635 --> 00:19:36.015 right there next to 3 other breweries that have been along for a long time. 320 00:19:36.395 --> 00:19:39.755 You know, we we love where we're at. We love having that competition. We also 321 00:19:39.755 --> 00:19:43.280 like the fact that people can can make their way around, but standing 322 00:19:43.280 --> 00:19:46.960 out, you know, especially in Frederick where there are 9 other 323 00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:50.645 breweries right there in the downtown area. It, it's 324 00:19:50.645 --> 00:19:54.325 certainly a challenge to make a name with long standing you know, everybody's been 325 00:19:54.325 --> 00:19:57.865 there since 2018 and before, so 326 00:19:58.370 --> 00:20:00.850 we're kind of the new kid on the block, and we have to earn the 327 00:20:00.850 --> 00:20:04.690 respect and, you know, we have to make good neighbors. And, from a 328 00:20:04.690 --> 00:20:08.485 business standpoint, you know, I think we came in an interesting time with people 329 00:20:08.485 --> 00:20:12.085 that are trying to be healthier, trying to to save a little bit. 330 00:20:12.644 --> 00:20:16.320 You know, they spent the 2, 3 years out of COVID, like, kind of just 331 00:20:16.320 --> 00:20:20.039 in a tornado, so to speak. And I think people are trying to get 332 00:20:20.039 --> 00:20:23.240 back to normal life and really, really appreciate some of the things that they had 333 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:26.905 missed for so many years. And so, you know, as far as 334 00:20:26.905 --> 00:20:30.745 gaining gaining a name, it's not like it was in 2021 where all I 335 00:20:30.745 --> 00:20:34.559 could do is sit outside at a brewery and drink beer for cheap, 336 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:37.919 you know, a cheap afternoon. It was like that was kinda your only out. But 337 00:20:37.919 --> 00:20:41.675 now that people are finding, you know, travel is a big thing this 338 00:20:41.675 --> 00:20:45.115 year, and, I think people are definitely trying to be a little bit 339 00:20:45.115 --> 00:20:48.700 healthier in in in their lifestyle. So, you know, 340 00:20:48.700 --> 00:20:52.540 getting recognition and, getting people in the tap room is certainly, you 341 00:20:52.540 --> 00:20:56.220 know, certainly been something that we we hope would go a little bit better, but, 342 00:20:56.220 --> 00:20:59.965 you know, we're obviously really grateful for everybody that's come through as well. 343 00:20:59.965 --> 00:21:03.804 So, Brandon, I I hear you may have had to kinda revamp the the 344 00:21:03.804 --> 00:21:07.620 Brewhouse, just to kinda fit, you know, where you guys are today. Could you 345 00:21:07.620 --> 00:21:10.420 tell us about that? Just wanna kinda what that look like, what your vision for 346 00:21:10.420 --> 00:21:13.140 the beer is? You know, we're getting into some of the other questions about styles 347 00:21:13.140 --> 00:21:16.740 and whatnot. Yeah. I mean, a lot of it was just kind of, you 348 00:21:16.740 --> 00:21:20.225 know, coming from my background with Sapwood and from 349 00:21:20.285 --> 00:21:23.885 Flying Dog. I had different things that, you know, you wanna see 350 00:21:23.885 --> 00:21:27.350 done. You know, Flying Dog, I feel like the cleanliness and the 351 00:21:27.350 --> 00:21:30.570 sanitary process is kinda what they knock into your head. 352 00:21:30.870 --> 00:21:34.635 So I kinda brought that along as with Sapwood, it's it's it's 353 00:21:34.635 --> 00:21:38.395 kind of the originality and the creativity and, you know, trying to 354 00:21:38.395 --> 00:21:41.835 create something new. So I think it's both of those, but, 355 00:21:42.690 --> 00:21:46.210 it's really just trying to mold something in that someone else's 356 00:21:46.210 --> 00:21:49.730 vision into what you want your vision to be, 357 00:21:49.730 --> 00:21:53.395 which, you know, can be tough at times because there's other 358 00:21:53.395 --> 00:21:55.955 equipment out there that you would like to have that cost a lot of money, 359 00:21:55.955 --> 00:21:59.475 and there may be some constraints with what, you know, you're dealing with. But I 360 00:21:59.475 --> 00:22:03.270 think thus far, we've done a really good job of working with what we've 361 00:22:03.270 --> 00:22:06.710 been given and upgrading some things here and there, you 362 00:22:06.710 --> 00:22:10.395 know, to to to make our ability to create 363 00:22:10.455 --> 00:22:13.335 world class beer better, and we're still working towards that. You know? It's, 364 00:22:14.055 --> 00:22:17.899 it's it's never an overnight thing. You know? We're always improving, and I 365 00:22:17.899 --> 00:22:21.419 think that's the number 1 thing from my aspect is I just wanna always 366 00:22:21.419 --> 00:22:25.147 be getting better. You know? It's it's like our I 367 00:22:25.147 --> 00:22:28.824 I see where our untapped scores were initially, and I, you know, we're we're 368 00:22:28.824 --> 00:22:32.500 slowly raising those up, and that's what I wanna continue happen because, you know, 369 00:22:32.900 --> 00:22:36.740 developing anything, you know, along the lines of, like, a sapwood or anything in 370 00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:40.500 that, you know, realm, it it takes time. It doesn't just happen overnight. 371 00:22:40.500 --> 00:22:43.757 You know? It it takes some building, and that's what we're doing right now. So 372 00:22:43.969 --> 00:22:47.362 Since we're finally talking about the beer, most listeners know I'm a I'm a, I'm 373 00:22:47.362 --> 00:22:50.755 a hazy guy. It's not all I drink is but just what I like to 374 00:22:50.755 --> 00:22:53.820 drink. So what style of beer do you guys like? Steve, you know, Brandon, do 375 00:22:53.820 --> 00:22:57.020 you have a preferred style? Are you a Pilsner Lager kind of guy? Hey, sours? 376 00:22:57.020 --> 00:22:59.340 What do you what do you what do you prefer when you're not training for 377 00:22:59.340 --> 00:23:02.395 your your math? I like all beer when I'm training for my marathon. It makes 378 00:23:02.395 --> 00:23:06.095 me feel less bad about myself. I I tend to like 379 00:23:06.235 --> 00:23:10.010 IPAs. I went through a bout with sours for quite some time. I 380 00:23:10.010 --> 00:23:13.770 just felt they were unique. Actually, flying dogs, Berlin and 381 00:23:13.770 --> 00:23:16.810 Weiss was kind of my first introduction to sour beers, and I went through a 382 00:23:16.810 --> 00:23:20.615 little phase with that. I just like the the bitterness of the beer. But 383 00:23:20.615 --> 00:23:23.995 I I would say that I I tend to fall in the category of 384 00:23:24.215 --> 00:23:28.059 5 to 7%. Hazy IPAs prefer 385 00:23:28.059 --> 00:23:31.539 a little bit more juicy than not, but I'll drink most stuff. 386 00:23:31.779 --> 00:23:35.620 I really loved our our protect y pills. When Brandon first made it, I told 387 00:23:35.620 --> 00:23:38.645 him, I don't like pills in there. I'm not gonna drink it. And then I 388 00:23:38.645 --> 00:23:42.485 had it. It's fantastic. So I found myself 389 00:23:42.485 --> 00:23:45.770 going to that more often than not, but, yeah, I'm pretty open to a lot 390 00:23:45.770 --> 00:23:48.169 of things. I I think there's a lot of great beer out there in it. 391 00:23:48.169 --> 00:23:51.530 Even if you don't like the you you don't particularly like the style, you can 392 00:23:51.530 --> 00:23:55.365 still respect the craft and, how much work has 393 00:23:55.365 --> 00:23:59.205 gone into it as well. So Based on the category of what I feel 394 00:23:59.205 --> 00:24:02.510 like we make the best, I feel like the beers that we make the best 395 00:24:02.590 --> 00:24:06.270 are hazy IPAs and sour beers. My 396 00:24:06.270 --> 00:24:09.950 particular favorite beers are usually lighter beers and 397 00:24:09.950 --> 00:24:13.335 mixed fermentation beers. You know, honestly, with with 398 00:24:13.335 --> 00:24:17.095 sours and, mixed fermentation beers and hoppy beers, 399 00:24:17.095 --> 00:24:20.790 that's where I feel like I have the most knowledge. So that's kinda 400 00:24:20.850 --> 00:24:24.610 where we're leaning towards right now. In this industry, for me, 401 00:24:24.610 --> 00:24:28.335 it's like you gotta constantly be learning. So we, you know, we're we're 402 00:24:28.335 --> 00:24:32.174 working on stepping up our light beer repertoire. We just did 403 00:24:32.174 --> 00:24:35.875 a collab last week with the former head brewer of Landmade on a light beer. 404 00:24:36.390 --> 00:24:40.070 It's a totally forged lager. Malt is from Bear 405 00:24:40.070 --> 00:24:43.910 Branch in Westminster. We've foraged spice bush, that's went in the 406 00:24:43.910 --> 00:24:47.575 Whirlpool, give a little bit of a citrusy kick, and then we also got 407 00:24:47.575 --> 00:24:51.255 hops from Heritage Hills in Urbana. So entirely produced 408 00:24:51.255 --> 00:24:54.680 within Maryland, and it it gives us a good learning 409 00:24:54.680 --> 00:24:58.280 experience to kind of learn a little bit more how to make a 410 00:24:58.280 --> 00:25:01.800 nuanced light beer that has some depth into it. You know? 411 00:25:01.800 --> 00:25:05.375 Because that's 1 thing I feel like maybe in my repertoire, 412 00:25:05.434 --> 00:25:08.875 I I don't know as well. You know? I'm coming from Sapwood, hoppy beers, and 413 00:25:08.875 --> 00:25:12.630 mixed fermentation beers was, you know, our wheelhouse, and 414 00:25:12.630 --> 00:25:16.470 that's what I feel like I have the best knowledge in. But Yeah. If you're 415 00:25:16.470 --> 00:25:20.309 not expanding in this realm, you're falling behind. So we're always 416 00:25:20.309 --> 00:25:24.054 trying to try to expand our knowledge and try something new, 417 00:25:24.054 --> 00:25:27.815 and, you know, that's kinda what this beer was for me personally. And I 418 00:25:27.815 --> 00:25:31.210 kinda test to the fact that the the hazy's are a little good. This kindness 419 00:25:31.210 --> 00:25:34.730 kills has been my, my special lady friend for this evening. 420 00:25:34.730 --> 00:25:38.250 So yeah, I've been enjoying it. I really appreciate it. I plan 421 00:25:38.250 --> 00:25:41.165 to plan to get back up to Frederick some more cans of that. Are there 422 00:25:41.165 --> 00:25:44.684 any other upcoming collabs or events you guys would like to leave with our listeners 423 00:25:44.684 --> 00:25:47.360 before we get up out of here for tonight? Yeah. So we had the the 424 00:25:47.360 --> 00:25:50.740 1 collab that I told you about already with, Matt Firdos, 425 00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:55.475 a local brewer. He's not laminate anymore, but former head brewer, Landmade. So we 426 00:25:55.475 --> 00:25:59.315 have that forged auger coming out. We also have another collab coming up 427 00:25:59.315 --> 00:26:02.740 with rough edges, which is a brewery up in 428 00:26:02.740 --> 00:26:06.500 Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. That is going to be a sour 429 00:26:06.500 --> 00:26:10.184 beer, and it's going to be basically every local berry you haven't 430 00:26:10.184 --> 00:26:13.804 heard of. It's gonna be a mulberry, black raspberry, 431 00:26:14.905 --> 00:26:18.480 marionberry, boysenberry, wineberry, 432 00:26:18.860 --> 00:26:22.460 and honey berry. And then he's gonna come down 433 00:26:22.460 --> 00:26:26.054 here, and we're going to do another end of the lab where it's going to 434 00:26:26.054 --> 00:26:29.815 be a West Coast, IPA, but with New Zealand hops. So it's 435 00:26:29.815 --> 00:26:33.255 going to be a Motueka Southern Cross West Coast 436 00:26:33.255 --> 00:26:37.010 IPA. Other than that, we've got Puckerpalooza coming 437 00:26:37.010 --> 00:26:40.850 up, mid August. It's August 17th, and we're 438 00:26:40.850 --> 00:26:44.405 releasing 12 different sours on the same day. We've got a 439 00:26:44.405 --> 00:26:48.165 couple, you know, Nuance traditional sours for regular people. 440 00:26:48.165 --> 00:26:51.790 We've got some kettle sours, and we've got some smoothie sours. So, 441 00:26:51.790 --> 00:26:55.550 we're gonna have 4 of those that are be canned and in big production and 442 00:26:55.550 --> 00:26:58.945 8 of those, which will be 1 kegs off just for that day. But we'll 443 00:26:58.945 --> 00:27:02.705 have 12 different sours on for just that event. So if you 444 00:27:02.705 --> 00:27:06.390 like sours, come out August 17th. I know a few folks is 445 00:27:06.390 --> 00:27:10.070 first with the heat where we're looking for some sours. So, us at 446 00:27:10.070 --> 00:27:13.350 DC Bureau, we'll be sure to get the word out. But, Steve, Brandon, thank you 447 00:27:13.350 --> 00:27:16.294 guys so much for for coming on the DC Bureau podcast. So we've definitely hoped 448 00:27:16.294 --> 00:27:19.654 we can have you guys again in the future. We're happy to support and work 449 00:27:19.654 --> 00:27:22.695 with you guys as well. Thank you guys for the time, and, thanks for coming 450 00:27:22.695 --> 00:27:26.400 on the show. Cheers. Yeah. Thank you. We appreciate it. Thank you so much 451 00:27:26.400 --> 00:27:30.080 to the good folks at RAK. Obviously, if you are taking 452 00:27:30.080 --> 00:27:33.804 a stroll on the lovely Carroll Creek, you should stop and check them out. And 453 00:27:33.804 --> 00:27:37.645 thank you, Jordan, for letting the folks know there are MARC 454 00:27:37.645 --> 00:27:41.325 trains that do go there, but I know that we have some of the 455 00:27:41.325 --> 00:27:45.160 1 percent of the 1% who also listen to this show. And so 456 00:27:45.160 --> 00:27:48.840 if you're gonna try and do Snally and then get on a private jet, 457 00:27:48.840 --> 00:27:52.345 say, like, you know, out Prince William County Airport and fly to 458 00:27:52.345 --> 00:27:55.705 GABF straight after that, you should let us know. Editor at 459 00:27:55.705 --> 00:27:59.385 dcbeard.com. We definitely wanna hear from you if 460 00:27:59.385 --> 00:28:03.010 that is how you are traveling. Yeah. Let us know. 461 00:28:03.070 --> 00:28:06.770 Should your private jet be taking off from Anne Arundel County, 462 00:28:07.150 --> 00:28:10.835 any other undisclosed location? And also, let us know if we can 463 00:28:10.835 --> 00:28:14.615 borrow said jet to do some market research in London because we would appreciate it. 464 00:28:15.635 --> 00:28:18.790 Alright, folks. I feel like that's what we've got 465 00:28:19.330 --> 00:28:23.090 for this week. It's really hot out, and as 466 00:28:23.090 --> 00:28:26.894 Jordan mentioned, it's July. I wanna give a big shout out to the 467 00:28:26.894 --> 00:28:30.674 folks who are still putting on the events. Neighborhood 468 00:28:30.735 --> 00:28:34.490 Restaurant Group is holding it down. Do check out some of their events. They've 469 00:28:34.490 --> 00:28:37.790 got Suarez coming up over, at Shelter, 470 00:28:38.490 --> 00:28:41.285 couple other events. Again, it's dcbeer.com/events. 471 00:28:42.705 --> 00:28:45.765 If you've got beer events, we wanna hear about them too. 472 00:28:46.305 --> 00:28:50.100 And if you're at the beach, you know, whether it's Jersey, 473 00:28:50.100 --> 00:28:53.780 Delaware, Virginia Beach where just opened up another 474 00:28:53.780 --> 00:28:57.460 location, we wanna hear about those as well. We're 475 00:28:57.460 --> 00:29:01.305 at dcbeer across social media. Stay cool, 476 00:29:01.305 --> 00:29:05.065 everybody. Blast the AC. Fingers crossed for a little bit of rain, 477 00:29:05.065 --> 00:29:08.560 but not rain on Saturday Sunday. Right? It can happen on 478 00:29:08.560 --> 00:29:12.240 Tuesdays or whatever. That's great. Don't forget that water, folks. If you're 479 00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:16.080 having a beer, have a liter of water. If you're having 0 beer, have a 480 00:29:16.080 --> 00:29:19.835 liter of water. Stay hydrated. We'll see you around town.