When you look at the top restaurants around the world, no matter what cuisine they may focus on, there’s one commonality they all share, and that’s deep relationships with those who grow and raise the very best ingredients. It’s the same in beer—you can’t be the best at what you do without the meaningful, personal, financial, and long-standing relationships that ensure the brewery has access to the very best quality ingredients. These relationships don’t materialize overnight, but for Firestone Walker, they’re the product of 30 years of work. In this series, we highlight a number of these crucial growers, brokers, and processors who have played a role in the world-class beer that Firestone Walker makes.

Episode 4: The Science & the Art

The fourth and final episode of the Source Material series features a panel discussion recorded at the 2025 Craft Beer & Brewing Brewers Retreat, with Firestone Walker Brewmaster Matthew Brynildson, Russian River Cofounder Vinnie Cilurzo, and Mike Roy of hop grower Roy Farms. Through the conversation, the two remarkable brewers and multigenerational hop farmer walk through sensory evaluation of a selection of hops to give listeners a glimpse into the way these hop savants think as they rub and evaluate both classic and contemporary hops. Along the way, these influential brewers address dynamics in the 2025 harvest, mitigating the impact of smoke on hops, new public hop varieties, and much, much more.

Intro music: VintageGroove / Pond5