Season 2, Episode 24

This week we’re in Columbus, Ohio, to chat with Scott Francis, brewmaster at Barley’s Brewing Company and Barley’s Smokehouse. Scott started brewing back in the days of Prohibition-style Beer and has witnessed the craft beer resurgence led by the availability of improved ingredients. Later we take a stroll around German Village, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Barley’s Brewing Company
Ale House No. 1
467 North High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215

Barley’s Smokehouse & Brewpub

Ale House No. 2

1130 Dublin Road
Columbus, Ohio 43215

Historic German Village
588 South Third Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215

(614) 221-8888

The Book Loft
631 South Third St. 

Columbus, Ohio 43206

Caterina Ltd.
571 South Third St.
Columbus, Ohio 43215

Experience Columbus
277 W. Nationwide Blvd., Ste. 125
Columbus, OH 43215
866-EXP-COLS

Season 2, Episode 22

This week we sit down with Jeff Drumm, owner and brewmaster of Crow Peak Brewing Company in Spearfish, South Dakota. Later we look at a few of the region’s many natural attractions.

Crow Peak Brewing Company
125 West Highway 14
Spearfish, South Dakota
57783

The Mammoth Site
1800 US 18 Bypass
Hot Springs, South Dakota
57747
(605) 745-6017

Custer State Park
13329 US Hwy 16A
Custer, South Dakota
57730
(605) 255-4464

Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary
PO Box 998
Hot Springs, South Dakota
57747
(800) 252-6652

Needles Highway
Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway
Black Hills National Forest

Wind Cave National Park
26611 US Highway 385
Hot Springs, South Dakota
57747-6027
(605) 745-4600

Hot Springs Area Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 342
Hot Springs, South Dakota
57747
(605) 743-4140

Season 2, Episode 21

This week we return to St. Louis to sit down with Mark Naski, head brewer for Amalgamated Brewing, which brews and distills for The Stable restaurant and bar. Naski takes a very traditional European approach to brewing, sticking to classic methods and ingredients. Next we head to the Lemp Mansion, former home of the Lemp brewing family, before shopping for antiques along Cherokee Row.

The Stable Brew House, Distillery, Eatzzeria
1821 Cherokee Street
St. Louis, Missouri 63118

Lemp Mansion Restaurant & Inn
3322 DeMenil Place
St. Louis, Missouri 63118

Cherokee Antique Row

Special appearance by:
Steve Buszka, Jennifer Clark-Buszka and Seth Rivard, of the Muskegon Brewing & Distilling Company, currently under construction in Muskegon, Michigan.

St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission
701 Convention Plaza
St. Louis, MO 63101
(800) 916-0040

Season 2, Episode 10

Firehouse owner Bob Fuchs describes how they accidentally set one of their old fire engines on fire – along with his beer menu, of course. Then we head to Mount Rushmore National Memorial to learn about changes to the park’s infrastructure and guest services in recent years, then chat with Ruth Ziolkowski , widow of sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, about how the carving and blasting of Crazy Horse Memorial has been a family affair since its inception over fifty years ago.

Firehouse Brewing Company
610 Main Street  
Rapid City, SD 57701

Mount Rushmore National Memorial
13000 Highway 244
Building 21, Suite 1
Keystone, SD 57751
(605) 574-3121

Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation
12151 Avenue of the Chiefs
Crazy Horse, South Dakota
57730
(605) 673-4681

Special appearance by:
Bob Beckley, co-owner of Three Rivers Eatery & Brewery

Hot Springs Area Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 342
Hot Springs, South Dakota
57747
(605) 743-4140

Season 2, Episode 9

Colorado’s third oldest microbrewery, Durango owner Mark Harvey describes the beer menu and distribution. Later we explore one of New Mexico’s ancient volcanoes.

Durango Brewing Company
3000 Main Avenue
Durango, Colorado 81301

Durango Bluegrass Meltdown
April 16-18, 2010

Ice Cave & Bandera Volcano
Ice Caves Trading Co.
12000 Ice Caves Rd.
Grants, New Mexico 87020

(888) ICE-CAVE

Special appearance by:
Fred Bueltmann, beervangelist and partner of New Holland Brewing, Holland Michigan.

Durango Area Tourism Office
635 S Main Street
PO Box 2321
Durango, Colorado
81302
(800) 525-8855

New Mexico Tourism Department
491 Old Santa Fe Trail

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

Season 2, Episode 2

In part two of our interview with Brian McEachron, co-founder of Steamworks Brewing Company, we learn about the Four Corners Mug Club, and more about his specific beer menu. Next we journey west to Mesa Verde National Park.

Steamworks Brewing Company
801 East Second Avenue
Durango, CO 81301

Mesa Verde National Park

PO Box 8

Mesa Verde, Colorado
81330
(970) 529-4465

Durango Area Tourism Office
635 S Main Street
PO Box 2321
Durango, Colorado
81302
(800) 525-8855

Lodging & Dining Information for Mesa Verde
http://www.visitmesaverde.com

Mesa Verde Country Visitor Information Bureau
(800) 530-2998

A Pint of Plain
Tradition, Change, and the Fate of the Irish Pub
by Bill Barich

Author Bill Barich takes us on a journey through the Irish countryside in search of the perfect pint of Guinness in a classic village pub as epitomized in the John Ford movie The Quiet Man. Along the way, Barich interweaves the history of brewing in Ireland pre-dating the Norman invasions, and discusses the influences of law and society that created the classic early 20th century pub.

Two themes reappear throughout: drink and drive laws are effectively removing authentic pubs from rural Ireland; while at the same time Diageo-Guinness USA’s Irish Pub Concept is proliferating a facsimile of an authentic pub to an international consumer market.

The government of Ireland has been increasing their intolerance to drink driving, to the point that it is virtually impossible to have a single pint and legally drive home. In rural areas, this effectively shrinks a potential customer base from miles to minutes away.

Barich’s disdain of the Irish Pub Concept is clear. The for-profit model essentially sells the concept of an Irish pub in kit form, from the menu to the name. As a business, this has found global popularity worldwide, resulting in Irish pubs from Amsterdam to Guam. Their very popularity seems to offend Barich to his core.

What Barich doesn’t seem to understand, or chooses to ignore, is that the pub experience is as much about the individual customer as it is the owner, building and décor. His quest to find a classic pub was doomed from the start, because Ireland and its people have changed: There are more opportunities, both in careers and entertainment. It’s no less offensive that pubs of 2009 differ from their 1909 predecessors, than its offensive that the pubs of 1909 are nearly unrecognizable from the tavern equivalents of the 12th century. I suspect that if Barich had been a dockworker trading rounds after his shift a hundred years ago, that he would have been too busy mourning the loss of a favorite pub ritual, to appreciate what was in front of him. Beyond the pint of Guinness, that is.

Barich also seems to be under the impression that patrons of the Irish Pub Concept become patrons out of a misguided belief that are experiencing a true Irish pub. When I travel, I am often drawn to Irish pubs. I do this not because of the décor, or the music, or because I think I will soak up a wee bit of the old country. Rather, Irish pubs are often a reasonable substitute to microbreweries and brewpubs. I can assume that they will offer at least a few imports in bottles or on tap, so I won’t be stuck with the accessible menu of Buds and Millers that eclipse most bars and restaurant menus. And I can also reasonably assume that the food will be more than burgers and fries.

By the end of the book, the quest for the perfect pub and pint seems to exhaust Barich, and he actually loses his taste for beer.

I understand completely. I savored the book’s opening chapters, but as I neared the end, I was ready to be done.

— Sally M. Snell, Travel by the Pint