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Beering Ain't EasyHouston's Best German PilsnerCan we all admit that Houston makes some damn good Pilsners? This week Ryan and Drew set up another spectacular blind tasting to crown Houston’s Best German Pilsner in an episode rife with controversy. Will Lil’ Snack from 11 Below hold onto its blind tasting crown, or will one of the new challengers steal their thunder? Listen to find out!Featured Beers:Lil’ Snack. 11 Below Brewing, Houston, TX. 4.5% ABV.Cloud Punch. Bad Astronaut Brewing, Houston, TX. 5.2% ABV.Dollar Pils Y’all. Holler Brewing Co., Houston, TX. 5.4% ABV.Professor Pils. Paradigm Brewin...2024-08-1329 minBeering Ain't EasyThe Houston Beer News EpisodeAfter many months on the road gathering the latest and greatest beer news, Ryan and Drew highlight the highs and the lows, the ups and the downs, and the the rising and falling breweries of the Houston area and beyond. It’s not all gloom and doom my friends… in the words of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, craft beer is “not dead yet.”Featured Beers:Nectar Double IPA. Seventh Tap Brewing, Shreveport, LA.Spin Craft. Bad Astronaut Brewing, Houston, TX The Fallen:Urban South HTXBuffalo...2024-07-3136 minBeering Ain't EasyThe Macro Beer Blind TastingAnd the winner is… America, obviously. The Beering Ain’t Easy podcast embarks on a blind tasting adventure through the most recognizable American Lager macro beers and one notable exception - Troy Aikman’s patented Eight Beer. Can Troy’s beer redeem the Cowboys playoff losing streak, or will he be relegated to the Keystone Light division? Will Ryan’s love of conspiracy theories finally pay off in a big way by being the first to uncover Houston Brewery moves? And lastly, will Ryan love or hate his Nickelback concert experience? You don’t want to miss this one.Featured Bee...2024-04-0944 minBeering Ain't EasySour Feelings and Brewery Faux PasWe drink two of the best sours in Texas, Atrial Rubacite from Jester King and Sea of Waves from True Anomaly, all while sharing our opinions and detailed instructions on how to perform the biggest faux pas when visiting breweries. Ryan brings it home with some beer news and Drew shares his toddler woes on airplanes.Featured Beers:Atrial Rubacite. Jester King Brewery, Austin, TX. 5.8% ABV.Sea of Waves. True Anomaly Brewing, Houston, TX. 8.5% ABV. Other Shout-Outs:GABFTexas Craft Brewers ConferenceHouston Beer Gui...2024-03-0550 minBeering Ain't EasyFear Factor: Beer Mixed Drink EditionIt has been well established on our Podcast that host Ryan likes his beers (and other drinks) unadulterated. So what did we do to him? We made him face his fears and drink a wide range of beer mixed drinks for the first time ever, tournament style! And let him talk about more conspiracy theories. Featured Beer Mixed Drinks:Michelada: Spicy Michelada Mix by Space City Snax. Maracas Mexican Lager by Nook Brewing Company, Broken, Arrow, OK (or Zeno’s if you are Ryan).Black and Tan: Guinness and Zeno’s Pale Ale by Lo...2023-09-2642 minBeering Ain't EasyDrinking Euro Beer and Howling at the MoonRyan and Drew crack into some of the best beers from Belgium and Germany while sitting outside on the edge of the Austin, TX wilderness. In an episode rife with bad accents and pronunciations, your hosts discuss why Euro beers have fallen down so far on the Beer Advocate ratings while paying homage to these classic styles. Will Ryan learn to appreciate the Belgian quad? Will we be able to finish the episode without being interrupted by coyotes? Tune in and find out. Featured Euro Beers Duvel. Duvel Moortgat. Puurs, Vlaanderen Belgium. 8.5% ABV.Ayinge...2023-09-0648 minBeering Ain't EasyThe Hops Are Watching: Beer Conspiracy TheoriesThis week we talk about the one topic Ryan enjoys more than beer… conspiracy theories. We go through a series of wacky beer-related conspiracy theories and make up a few unsubstantiated theories of our own. Plus Ryan runs down Birds Aren’t Real and his favorite conspiracy theories of all time and Drew explains the myth of the Sumerian beer goddess Ninkasi. As Shania Twain might have said: Man, hops make me feel like a woman!Featured Beers: Banger IPA. Saint Arnold Brewing. Houston, TX. Imperial Hazy IPA. 8.4% ABV.Houston Haze. Spindletap Brewing. Houston, TX. ...2023-04-0438 minBeering Ain't EasyNegative Space at Ludicrous SpeedAfter we had so much fun tasting verticals and horizontals during our Eureka Heights episode, Ryan and Drew are back at it again with none other than the Negative Space Milk Stout from 11 Below Brewing! Come find out all about the awesome Negative Space variants and whether this beer is better fresh or slightly aged (and our thoughts on beer aging in general). And if that’s not all, we’ll bring you up-to-speed with our quest to visit all 70+ Houston breweries and make up excuses on why it takes so long to get to all of them!Feat...2023-01-3142 minBeering Ain't EasyBeer World RecordsRyan and Drew use their extensive research to tell you about beer-related world records so you don’t have to google them for yourself! And don’t google them, because we may have made some of these up. Plus, do kids ever throw up where you want them to and is Wade Boggs full of shit?Beer:Dunkel. Klaus Brewing Company. Houston, TX. 4.8% ABVFake Landing. Bad Astronaut Brewing Co. Houston, TX. 6.6% ABVFruity Haze Haze Juice. Eureka Heights Brewing Co. Houston, TX 6.5% ABV Other Shout-Outs:Frost Town...2022-12-2041 minBeering Ain't EasyGoing Nuclear: A Eureka Heights TastingStout Season is here! Ryan and Drew go full-on “nucular” by tasting a variety of Eureka Heights Nuke the Whales Imperial Milk Stouts aged across multiple years and their variants. What can go wrong with drinking four 11% ABV stouts? Apparently a lot of things.Beer:Nuke the Whales (2021). Eureka Heights Brew Co.Nuke the Whales (2020). Eureka Heights Brew Co.Nuke the Whales (Coffee and Vanilla 2021 Variant). Eureka Heights Brew Co.Nuke the Whales (Coconut, Pecan, Cocoa Nibs, and Vanilla 2021 Variant). Eureka Heights Brew Co. Other Shout-Outs:2022-11-1537 minBeering Ain't EasyHot Takes and Unpopular OpinionsDo you hate a beer that everyone loves? Love a brewery that everyone hates? Are you the type of person who holds back your opinions for fear of how stupid you sound, or do you just put it out there in the open for all to dissect? Well, Ryan and Drew choose the latter path, letting rip their beer industry Hot Takes and Unpopular Opinions.Beer:Cloud Punch. Bad Astronaut Brewing, Houston, TX. German Style Pils.Neon Sunshine. Sun Cloud Brewing, Oklahoma, OK. Belgian Wit. Other Shout-Outs:Martin H...2022-10-1139 minBeering Ain't EasyOktoberfest: Houston vs. The WorldWe’re back with the third annual Oktoberfest Episode! This time we ramp things up by not only tasting our beers blind, but also taking our reigning champ, Paulaner, and putting it head to head with three Houston beers. And if that isn’t enough for you, Ryan and Drew test the myth of “Das Boot” with a good ole’ fashioned beer boot chug!Oktoberfest Beers:Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier. Paulaner Brauerei, Munich, Bayern Germany. 6% ABV.Oktoberfest. New Magnolia Brewing Company, Houston, TX. 6% ABV.Oktoberfest. 11 Below Brewing, Houston, TX. 5.3% ABV.Oktoberfest. G...2022-09-2736 minBeering Ain't Easy2 Year Anniversary: Drew Turns 40, Adam Moves to AustinThe Beering Ain’t Easy Podcast is celebrating it’s two year anniversary! We bring back original co-founder Adam onto the show to talk about his move to Austin, Drew turning forty, and Ryan’s bathroom etiquette conundrum. Plus we do micro-recaps of the HTown Brewery challenge and cover Turkey Forrest, Elder Son, and Klaus Brewing!Beers We’re Drinking:Hops Drop. Spindletap Brewery, Houston, TX. 6.5% ABV.Space Train. Eureka Heights Brewing, Houston, TX. 5.5% ABV.Black Quad. Real Ale Brewing, Blanco, TX. 10.5% ABV. Come visit the Houston Block Party Hosted b...2022-08-2334 minBeering Ain't EasyGelatinize My Oats: Oatmeal Stout Blind TastingUpon seeing the early signs of summer weather in Houston, Ryan and Drew decide to send off stout season in style via a Beering Ain’t Easy patented blind tasting! This time we put three Oatmeal Stouts head-to-head, including the award winning Settler’s Stout from Vallensons Brewing Company. Can “new” Houston beers overtake an English beer from the 1700’s, and are the host tastebuds as refined as GABF judges? Plus we update you on our HTown Brewery Challenge by recapping Baa Baa Brewhouse, Twisted Acre, and Battlehops!Featured Oatmeal Stouts: Settlers’ Oatmeal Stout. Vallensons Brewin...2022-04-1935 minBeering Ain't EasyIf You Pour It, They Will Come: Featuring Star SailorWe continue on our quest to highlight great guests from the beer industry, and this week we're joined by Marin, owner of one of Houston's best beer bars - Star Sailor. We'll hear all about the entrepreneurial challenges of opening a business during Covid, the glorious highs of building an inclusive business environment, and even tips on how Ryan and Drew can be better communicators! And beer. Lots of amazing beer.Featured Star Sailor Beers:DDH Art Car. Saint Arnold Brewing Company, Houston, TX.3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Cuvee Armand & GastonPink Caddy...2022-03-221h 03Beering Ain't EasyThe Hops and Grain Supply ChainWe bring on special guest Ryan Leer to hear about how his passions for homebrewing and videography mashed together into a career at Brewers Supply Group (BSG), a subsidiary of Rahr Malting. We’ll hear about the craft beer boom from the eyes of the raw material supplier, take a ride through the Yakima hop farms, and throw in some amateur wrestling stories while we’re at it!Featured Beers:Nitro Coconut Truffle. Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood, NY. Imperial Milk Stout. 10% ABV.Candy Clouds. Parish Brewing Company collaboration with Weldwerks Brewing Company. IPA. 8% A...2022-03-0844 minBeering Ain't EasyWhat Counts as a Christmas Beer?There are a lot of winter and “Christmas” beers that come out around the holidays, but do they all really count as Christmas beers? We take three completely different styles of “Christmas” beers and put them to the test to see if they are Christmas enough! Plus Drew pulls out a relic beer from the back of his beer fridge named “Santa’s Butt” and we debate what are the best and worst Christmas songs of all time. I don’t know if there’ll be snow, but have a couple beers!Featured Beers:Seasick Crocodile. Praire Ar...2021-12-2144 minBeering Ain't EasySticky Situation: Peanut Butter StoutsIt’s Peanut Butter Stout Time, Peanut Butter Stout Time! We’ll stack up four peanut butter stouts in a taste-off to find out which is the peanut-butteriest while Ryan educates us on the history of adjuncts and how peanut butter is added to the brewing process. We’ll also give some on hot takes on Reinheitsgebot and our opinions on what stout adjuncts are acceptable to drink. Lastly, we’ll bring you up-to-date on our HTOWN brewery challenge as we recap trips to No Label, Local Group, 11 Below, Gordon Street Tavern, and Holler!Featured Beers:Peanut Bu...2021-11-3043 minBeering Ain't EasyWhat Draws You to a Brewery?What draws you to breweries? Other than the beer of course! We poll the audience and tap into Ryan’s brewery connection to find out the truth. Plus, Adam and Drew lament over a challenging solar system science project assigned to their kids and debate whether it is ever acceptable to offer feedback/coaching to your kid’s teachers. Lastly, we update you on our HTOWN Brewery Challenge status by recapping True Anomaly, 8th Wonder, Great Heights, and Walking Stick! Featured Beers:Vernal. Equal Parts Brewing Company, Houston, TX. Marzen. 6.1% ABV.Gorlami. Equal Par...2021-11-0241 minBeering Ain't EasyBlind Tasting: Houston's Best PilsnerThe Beering Ain’t Easy blind tastings are back, and who better to celebrate it with than friend of the show Ryan! This time we stack up five Pilsners from the greater Houston area to see who wins the Crisby Boi crown! And if that’s not enough, we coach Ryan through the process of successfully transitioning from the city to his newfound dad life in the suburbs.The Beering Ain’t Easy blind tastings are back, and who better to celebrate it with than friend of the show Ryan! This time we stack up five Pilsners from the...2021-06-2227 minBeering Ain't EasyHouston Hops: Picking Houston's Best Flagship IPAHave you ever wondered if your brewery biases influence how you rate a beer? Do you think you’d be able to identify your beer in a blind tasting lineup? Adam and Drew bring on their very first guest Ryan for a very special hop-forward blind beer tasting event to crown the winner of the Best Flagship IPA in Houston, TX! These aren’t the small lot darlings, these are the higher production IPA’s that you’re likely to find in stores outside of the Houston area. We’ll put five beers to the test while also discussing the evolution...2020-10-1326 min