Brews, Booze, & Reviews

Neighbors, when we throw a shindig in a small home that's in the middle of being remodeled (the dungeon), we cram as many friends as we can here, throw some adult beverages in their glasses, turn on the mics and have a blast! 

Beverages:

     - Too many for my lazy ass to keep track of

Guests:

     - Ben "Guest #1" Revier

     - Beau Fraase

     - Nathan Roe

     - Santa Al Jastram

     - Zach Rameden

     - Sean Syverson

     - Rick Brandvold

     - Tyler Mangin

     - Blake Bushy

     - Evan Christie

     - Evan ?????

     - Dan Berry

     - Chris Larson

     - Torry Kjelshus

I once again want to thank everyone for listening to the show, and for our sponsors who helped us continue to do this without having to take out loans.

Speaking of which:

Hi neighbors! Nox here. As we're winding down, I decided to reach back in the vaults and re-release our 2nd episode recorded January 20th, 2019. I took this episode out because there was just a huge jump downwards in downloads from our first episode to our second, and I knew it was because it was a little sloppy, and the audio wasn't great at all. I didn't know how to properly sound-proof the studio, and Matty was learning which plug-ins to use to make us sound better. We had cheap condenser mics that picked up every noise around us as possible, and I still had concrete floors and walls down there. I did a little post on this episode so it should sound quite a lot better than when it was originally released. Enjoy!

Who's on this episode:

- Nox

- Big Ern

- EZ Chris

- Andrea A

- Travis G

- on the knobs and sliders: Matty B

- and introducing Izzy the dog

Which bourbons:

1) Four Roses Single Barrel

2) 1792 Bottled in Bond

3) Bulleit Frontier Whiskey

FAQ's answered for our listeners:

- What is bourbon?

- What does Single Barrel mean?

- What is Small Batch?

- What do they do with the one-use barrels when distilleries are done with them?

Welcome to our last installment of our scotch series, ending with the widest variety (in our opinion) of scotches! From sweet to peaty, this region covers a wide range of flavors! Holly L and nephew Tucker join us on this tasting journey through the islands of Scotland!

In this episode we sample and review

- Scapa The Orcadian 2019 batch

- The Arran single malt 16 year

- Jurra 10 year

- Highland Park 12 year, and finally

- Talisker 10 year

Welcome to another audio vacation that is BBR! On this show, Jacob K and Zach R join us in the dungeon to sip on 7 wild fermentation ales.

In this episode we sample and review 

- Kros Strain Brewing's Golden 79

- Jester King's Snorkel farmhouse ale brewed with golden oyster mushrooms and smoked sea salt

- Jester King's Citrus Froot Direct farmhouse india pale ale fermented with oranges and mandarins

and from Lupulin Brewing's Scribbled Lines series:

- MOAB red wine barrel-aged dark sour ale

- Fugacity 6 barrel-aged golden sour with apricot tangerines and blood oranges

- Fugacity 8 barrel-aged dark sour ale with cranberries and raspberries

- Fragmented Delusions barrel-aged dark sour with black currant.

Big Ern and Nox stop out to one of the smallest towns we've ever been to, Ayr ND, to chat with Dan Heising about Cottonwood Cider House! We discuss how some of the ciders were made, experimentation with ingredients, and the humble beginnings of the Cider House!

In this episode we sample and discuss their Post Apple, Honey Cider, Pear of the North, Strawberry Rhubarb, CBB (chamomile and blueberry), and their Hops & Berry (blackberry with cascade and azacca).

Rye whiskeys are the topic of todays show, where the BBR crew welcome back special guest Holly L to have some sips and good laughs!

In this episode we sample and review Smoke Wagon BiB straight rye whiskey, Cream of Kentucky BiB straight rye whiskey, High West's Midwinter's Night Dram act 9 scene 4, Michter's single barrel 10yr straight rye, and Belfour's limited edition straight rye whiskey.

It was Drekker Brewing Company's 8th birthday, so they teamed up with eight of the weirdest, most awesome breweries in the entire US for eight anniversary collaboration beers in two separate 4-packs : Fair Foods & Carnival Attractions! We invited founding members of Fargo Underground, John and Maren Jorgenson, into the studio (along with recurring guest Jacob Klueber) to sample and review them!⠀

Fair Foods⠀

Funnel Cake collab w/ RAR Brewing : Fruited sour with Strawberry, Raspberry, Funnel Cakes, Vanilla Beans - contains no lactose⠀

Pie-O-Rama collab w/ Fourscore Beer Co. : Fruited sour with Blueberry, Blackberry, Plum, Pie Crust, Cinnamon & Brown Sugar - contains no lactose⠀

Crystal Ball Cake collab w/ Definitive Brewing Company : Fruited sour with Passionfruit, Guava, Dragonfruit, Yellow Cake - contains no lactose⠀

Bacon Cinnamon Roll collab w/ Burley Oak Brewing Company : Fruited sour with Apple, Cream of Coconut, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon Rolls, Bacon - contains no lactose⠀

⠀

Carnival Attractions

Tilt-A-Whirl collab w/ Xül Beer Co : Fruited sour with Mango, Guava, Passionfruit, Tangerine, Key Lime, Cream of Coconut, Pineapple Sorbet, Vanilla Beans - contains no lactose⠀

Fun House collab w/ Wiley Roots Brewing Company : Fruited sour with Strawberry, Watermelon, Coconut, Sweetened Condensed Milk⠀

Fortune Teller collab w/ Corporate Ladder Brewing Company : Fruited sour with Orange, Marshmallows, & Blue Curacao - contains no lactose⠀

Gravatron collab w/ Mortalis Brewing Company : Fruited sour Black Currant, Key Lime, Vanilla Soft Serve Ice Cream, Graham Crackers - contains no lactose

Welcome to another fascinating show where the BBR crew, along with local comedians Zachary Rameden and Matthew Smith, drink a smattering of bourbons in the $30 - $60 price range. Follow along with us as we sample and review the following bourbons in this exact order:

1)  Old Forester 1897

2) Woodinville Straight Bourbon Whiskey

3) Redwood Empire's Pipe Dream

4) Michter's Small Batch US 1

5) Rowan's Creek Kentucky Bourbon

6) Willet (Pot Still)

Welcome back to part 2 of 2 of our Ritual Zero Proof cocktail comparison, where Evan and Nick from Bridgeview Liquor saddle up once again to see if NA cocktails are as good as the real thing!

In this episode we sample and review a Daiquiri made with Flor De Cana rum against Ritual's rum, and a whiskey sour made with Buffalo Trace bourbon versus the Ritual whiskey.

Welcome to another Spooktacular episode of BBR, where we yearly drink pumpkin brews and discuss horror movies! On this episode we invite back horror movie fan and expert Ryan Stacy with the "How To Survive A Horror Movie" podcast to chat about a few tasty adult beverages, and this year's scary flicks!

In this show we sample and review a Pumpkin Spiced Pistachio cream ale from Indeed Brewing, WIld Terra Cider's Spice is Nice cider, Drekker Brewing's Pumpkin Spiced Latte Chonk Sundae Sour, and the final pumpkin beer from Southern Tier that we haven't discussed yet: Warlock imperial pumpkin stout.

Welcome to another interesting show where we drink some NA cocktails and match them up against their alcoholic versions! We sit down with Evan and Nick from Bridgeview to sample some Ritual Zero Proof 'spirits'.

In this episode, Nick mixxes us a pair of Bee's Knee's cocktails using Boreal Juniper Gin and Ritual's gin spirit, followed by a pair of Palomas made with Cascahuin reposado and pit it against Ritual's tequila spirit.

Once again, the BBR crew decided to 'torture' ourselves and see if we can continue the legacy of not being able to tell the difference between several macro brews, like in episode 18 back in June of 2019. We invited back to the show cousin Torry for some fun laughs and confusing tastings!

Follow along with the BBR crew as we stumble through the following beers in this order:

1/A)  Michelob Lager

2/B)  Hamm's

3/C)  Budweiser Lager

4/D)  Busch

5/E)  Leinenkugel's Original Lager

6/F)  Old Milwaukee

7/G)  Pabst Blue Ribbon

“A falling knife has no handle” is a saying that is well known here at Falling Knife Brewing in Minneapolis, where they are "willing to take a risk and get what we want. Even if it means we take a few cuts along the way." Excellent point, and even better beer! The BBR crew sit down with Drew from Falling Knife to chat about the brewery and the culture surrounding it.

In this episode we sample their Arnie Palmer hard seltzer (made with infusions from Meteor), Kaiju Smash tropical sour (made using Sourvisciea), Terminal Chill West Coast IPA, Verbal Tip NEIPA, Dark Match imperial stout, and Very Old Painless BA Barleywine.

Welcome to BBR's 200th episode, and we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate this momentous occasion than by introducing you to Urban Growler Brewing, and it's co-owners Deb Loch and Jill Pavlak! Open since July 2014, these two women have overcome a bit of adversity to get their brewery started and keep it open. Find out more about their story with us!

In this episode we sample and discuss their Linger Longer Lager, Cowbell Cream Ale, Thrillz for Pilz pilsner, Vanilla Latte Blonde Ale, Hazy IPA (v4.0), Tornado Drill IPA, Rhubarb Wit, and their Ginger Pear Bourbon Cocktail made with their (triple?) hard seltzer.

It's that time of year again for our annual Oktoberfest faceoff! Isn't it weird how it keeps coming out sooner and sooner in recent years? Well, we invited local comedians Tim Jones and Matthew Smith to join us to discuss this season's picks.

In this episode we rate and review Oktoberfest Beers from Lakes and Legends Brewing, Copper Trail Brewing, Surly Brewing, Toppling Goliath Brewing, former champ DCR Brewing, and returning champ Hacker Pschorr.

Bourbon, bourbon, and more bourbon on today's show, as we invite newcomer and local comedian Matthew Smith, and welcome back local comedian (as well) Tim "Mutha-F***in'" Jones to sip on some whiskeys!

In this episode we sample and review Calumet's Small Batch, 15 year, and 16 year expressions.

Can YOU get enough pickles? We here at BBR can't. So much so that we invited comedians John Narum, Paulina Combow, and Paula Kosienski from Nashville to join us and patreon subscriber Jacob K  to sample some local examples of this delicious veggie in beer!

In this episode we sample and review Half Brothers Brewing's Pickle Rickle golden pickle beer, DCR Brewing's Pickle pils and it's variant Bloody Pils, and Destihl Brewing's Dill Pickle Sour Beer.

Sometimes, we here at Brews, Booze, & Reviews have good ideas when it comes to shows, and sometimes we have bad ideas. Although the intent was to have some fun, tastier beverages for our comic friends coming from the Tennessee area, we might have missed the mark a little.

Speaking of comedians, we were blessed to have Paulina Combow, Paula Kosienski, and John Narum join us, as well as patreon subscriber Jacob Klueber!

In this episode we sample and review Dough Ball cookie dough flavored whiskey, WhiskeySmith Co.'s Banana and Pineapple flavored whiskeys, and Whicked Pickle spicy pickle flavored whiskey.

You know what we here at BBR like? Experimental stuff, and what could be more experimental than sour seltzers? We invited local comedian Nathan Roe and recurring guest Holly Larson on the show to discuss these four beverages.

In this episode we sample and review Artisanal Brew Works' Warheads Extreme Sour hard seltzers with flavors including watermelon, blue raspberry, black cherry, and lemon.

We also decided to check out some snacks made from hotlix.com: Crick-ettes! These are flavored and dried crickettes, tossed with sour cream and onion flavoring, and salt and vinegar flavoring. Weird!!

Our second taproom takeover in Minneapolis is here at Fulton's taproom location! We are joined by Brian Hoffman, regional sales director Justin REiss, and taproom manager Jill Steffens on the show to discuss the humble beginnings of Fulton, and a bunch of their brews!

In this episode we sample and discuss their Chill City Chuggers golden lager, Northern Standard amber ale, Grapefruit Lonely Blonde blonde ale, Sweet Child of Vine IPA, 300 Mosaic IPA, and their Barrel-aged Worthy Adversary imperial stout using Panther Distillery barrels.

We also talk a little about their "Ready To Drink" cocktail Tiki Drink, along with chatting about their seltzers!

Welcome back to another taproom takeover episode of Brews, Booze, & Reviews! In this show we head to the lovely Utepils Brewing in Mineapolis and speak with FOH manager Joe Lien about Utepils and their brews!

.

In this episode we sample and chat about their Pils czech style pisner, Strawberry Ewald the Golden hefe, Vera Cruz vienna lager w/lime, Ewald the Golden hefeweizen, Decision Fatigue pale ale, and finally Totally Different (But Still Wirth It) stout.

.

Welcome back to another episode of the wide, wide world of whiskey. Today we sampled some single barrel bourbons from our friends at Neeley Family Distillery. Not only did we have a blast drinking and discussing these lively libations but we also discuss some new ventures for the Neeley family. So come and saddle up as we taste bourbons with returning guests Carly Stark, Holly Larson, and of course from Bridgeview Liquors Evan Christie.

.

In this episode we sample and review three of their gift shop finds: their Toasty Malt, Honey Nectar, and Spiced Cherry bourbons.

.

On today's show, the BBR crew gets old school and drinks some things that we might have drank while under the age of 21: Boone's Farm! We invited past guests Evan Christie, Holly L, and Carly S to the show to chat with us and have fun reliving some of our older days!

.

In this episode we sample and review their Fuzzy Navel, Strawberry Daiquiri, Snow Creek Berry, Strawberry Hill, and Sangria!

.

Welcome to another pre-mixed cocktail show at Brews, Booze, & Reviews! We welcome back to the studio comedians Dave Standal and Tim Jones to partake in some tasty Manhattans!

In this episode we sample and review 1792 manhattan by Heublein, On The Rocks manhattan with Basel Haydens, High West's manhattan, and Bulleit's manhattan cocktail mix.

In our fourth year in a row featuring scotches from different regions during Father's Day weekend, there's little left to explore. Once again we invited our friends Chris Larson and Dave Jacobs from 107.9 the Fox and Crypt at Jacob's Manor! We also invited for the first time on our show local comedian Zach Rameden as well!

In this episode we sample and review from Campbeltown region Glen Scotia 15 year, followed by Auchentoshan's Three Wood and Glenkinchie's 12 year from the Lowland region.

Local comedians Dave Standal and Tim Jones join us on todays show to discuss a couple of their favorite beverages when out at a club. We compare a bar rail gin and tonic to one that we upscaled a little by adding better quality of the same exact ingredients, and a rum and coke with again slightly upscaled ingredients, and we compare the two against each other to see if it would be worth charging a few extra bucks per drink at the bar. The one caveat is that we used a 3:1 ratio of alcohol to mixers, and some bars just don't do that.

In this episode we sample and review gin and tonics made with Karkov Dry London Gin with Schweppes tonic water facing off against Boreal Juniper Gin from Vikre Distillery paired with Fever Tree's Premium Indian tonic water. Then we dive into rum and cokes (or Cuba Libre's) with Captain Morgan and Diet Coke up against Real McCoy 12 year and Fever Tree's Distillers Cola.

One of the most anticipated episodes this year, we finally get down with some really tasty wheated bourbons! To help us on this episode, we invited comedian Nathan Roe, and regular guest Evan Christie.

After chatting about Under Brew Skies 2022, we sample and review 1792's Sweet Wheat, Old Fitzgerald's Botted in Bond Fall 2021, and Old Rip Van Winkle 10 year.

On today's show, we decided to get some more than usually expensive champagne, and we wanted to invite some of our favorite guests on to enjoy them with us! Joining us is Evan Christie from Bridgeview Liquor, local comedian Nathan Roe, and Guest #1 Ben Revier!

In this episode, we sample and review Torre Oria Cava Brut, Francis Boulard Grand Cru Grand Montagne, Dom Perignon Vintage 2010, and Cristal 2006 vintage.

There's a new beer craze coming to light from several breweries around the world, so we invited recurring guest Don(g) Kenna, with his vast knowledge of brewing beer both professionally AND homebrewing, to the show to discuss the topic of cold ipa's, india pale lagers, what the difference is, and whether or not these beers fall into the cold ipa category, or fall into the IPL category.

In today's episode we sample and review Young Blood Beer Co.'s Ope, There Goes Gravity Cold APA, Fargo Brewing Co.'s cold ipa collab with Atypical Brewing and Barrelworks out of Minot called A-Team, and finally Modist Brewing's Chill Chill Chill Chill Chill.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, once again it's time for another "Loco for Locals" special episode where we highlight beverages local to right here in Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo! We also have recurring guest Don Kenna joining us today as well!

In this episode we sample and review Maple River Winery's award-winning Rhubarb wine, 4e winery's Aronia Berry wine, and their Dark Current wine, and finally Rookery Rock Winery's Black Currant wine.