• Drink Beer, Think Beer With John Holl

  • By: John Holl
  • Podcast
Drink Beer, Think Beer With John Holl cover art

Drink Beer, Think Beer With John Holl

By: John Holl
Listen for free

  • Summary

  • Drink Beer, Think Beer is a weekly conversation with brewers, growers, and other brewing industry professionals that explores the art, culture, and business of beer. Hosted by John Holl and recorded on location, this podcast gets to the bottom of every pint and offers insight into the dynamic world of beer.
    Copyright John Holl
    Show More Show Less
Episodes
  • Ep. 206 - Diane Flynt, author of Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived: The Surprising Story of Apples in the South

    Ep. 206 - Diane Flynt, author of Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived: The Surprising Story of Apples in the South
    Nov 1 2023
    This week, I’m delighted to be joined by Diane Flynt, the author of the recently published Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived: The Surprising Story of Apples in the South. This is a story of history, diversity, and the future.
    For those who say social media is a bad thing, I get it. But occasionally it can provide gems. For example, last week I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw Sean Lilly Wilson, the founder of North Carolina’s Fullsteam Brewery post about a new book he was reading: Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived: The Surprising Story of Apples in the South.  I was immediately intrigued and reached out to the author, Diane Flynt, to come on the show.  She and her husband Chuck live in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains, where she is an apple grower and cidermaker. She says above all else she is an insatiable learner, which led to the concept and writing of this book. 
    Flynt is a multiple-time James Beard Award finalist for Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Professional and founded Foggy Ridge Cider in 1997 after leaving her corporate career and produced cider until 2018. 
    There aren’t nearly enough books on apples in the world, especially engaging and well thought out ones, but this book stands among the top, in my mind and based on what I’ve read, for not only the rich history and passion it provides, but also the personal narrative weaved throughout, and the easy to understand approach, which helps put the subject in our hands. 
    Press materials provided in advance give this description: Flynt "shows how southern apples, ranging from northern varieties that found fame on southern soil to hyper-local apples grown by a single family, have a history beyond the region, from Queen Victoria's court to the Oregon Trail. 
    Flynt also tells us the darker side of the story, detailing how apples were entwined with slavery and the theft of Indigenous land. She relates the ways southerners lost their rich apple culture in less than the lifetime of a tree and offers a tentatively hopeful future." 
    This Episode is Sponsored By:
    Shopify
    Shopify’s already taken the cash register online, helping millions sell billions around the world. But did you know that Shopify can do the same thing at your retail store? Give your point-of-sale system a serious upgrade, with Shopify. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at shopify.com/drinkbeer and take your retail business to the next level today.
    For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.
    • Host: John Holl
    • Guest: Diane Flynt
    • Sponsors: Shopify, All About Beer
    • Tags: Cider, Apples, History, South, Agriculture, Flavor
    Show More Show Less
    41 mins
  • Ep. 205 - Sean O'Keefe of Pontoon Brewing

    Ep. 205 - Sean O'Keefe of Pontoon Brewing
    Oct 25 2023
    There is a lot of uncertainty in the American beer industry these days, especially among the smaller breweries. In what is both a cautionary tale and one of optimism, Sean O’Keefe of Pontoon Brewing in Georgia is here today to talk about how his brewery was forced to close and to furlough employees.
    Earlier this month the brewery put up a social media post announcing that it needed to close. This was necessary, owners said because one of it’s main distributors had not paid them for beer delivered. O'Keefe has not publicly identified the distributor, citing on-going litigation as the reason.  The brewery has been a vibrant part of the Georgia Beer scene for years now, focusing on big boozy imperial stouts and messing around with adjuncts. It’s also making more mainstream beers that can appeal to a wider audience.  It hasn’t always been easy, but the brewery has grown, and O’Keefe is candid about what has been happening behind the scenes to get to this point, and how fragile it can all be.  Right now the brewery is looking for investors and looking for a path forward. There seems to be a lot of announcements these days about breweries closing and it puts a spotlight on all of the facets that go into running a successful business, and how even one piece out of sync can hurt the whole brewery.  
    This Episode is Sponsored By:
    Shopify
    Shopify’s already taken the cash register online, helping millions sell billions around the world. But did you know that Shopify can do the same thing at your retail store? Give your point-of-sale system a serious upgrade, with Shopify. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at shopify.com/drinkbeer and take your retail business to the next level today.
    For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.
    • Host: John Holl
    • Guest: Sean O'Keefe
    • Sponsors: Shopify, All About Beer
    • Tags: Beer, Business, Bills, Stouts, Georgia,
    Show More Show Less
    55 mins
  • Ep. 204 - Nate Schweber and This America of Ours (now in paperback)

    Ep. 204 - Nate Schweber and This America of Ours (now in paperback)
    Oct 18 2023
    “I’ve known Nate Schweber going on 20 years now, we’ve been colleagues, friends, and even co-authors. I can say without a doubt that he is one of the hardest working reporters I’ve ever met, he has a keen eye for detail, enjoys a good drink, and knows how to rock with the best of them.  He’s a raconteur, with endless curiosity and compassion, and great passion. My life is better because I know him.  His chords are familiar to listeners of this show as it has opened up every episode since we started, and was even part of the old After Two Beers show I did for All About Beer. We’ve been to breweries and crime scenes together, we’ve had adventures and even wrote a book together – Indiana Breweries – which was released in 2011 and has since gone on to sell tens of copies.  He lives in Brooklyn these days, but he grew up in Missoula, Montana and has always had a passion for outdoor reporting. A previous book, Fly Fishing Yellowstone is a must for any angler looking for the story of trout in the historic park, not just the fish but tales of the streams and its history.  His latest book tells a remarkable story about conservation, activism, and journalism, with belts of sold drinking thrown in here and again. It’s called This America of Ours: Bernard and Avis DeVoto and the Forgotten Fight to Save the Wild.

     It was published on July 5, 2022 and the paperback is out now. It has also the book won the High Plains Book Award, and received the first place book award from the Outdoor Writers Association of America. The book tells the story of a husband and wife team that took on special interests and politicians like Joe McCarthy and worked to protect land that should have been protected, and along the way, they strike up a friendship with a woman who would alter the course of cooking in America.  It’s suspenseful, meticulously researched, frightening with bits of levity, and historically important with mirrors to today. It is one of the most engaging books I’ve read in a long time, and I’m not just saying all of this because he showed up at my house with a bottle of gin.  But, of course, that’s where we start.” -John HollThis Episode is Sponsored By:
    Shopify
    Shopify’s already taken the cash register online, helping millions sell billions around the world. But did you know that Shopify can do the same thing at your retail store? Give your point-of-sale system a serious upgrade, with Shopify. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at shopify.com/drinkbeer and take your retail business to the next level today.
    For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.
    • Host: John Holl
    • Guest: Nate Schweber
    • Sponsors: Shopify, All About Beer
    • Tags: Beer, Nature, Travel, Parks, History, Gin
    Show More Show Less
    56 mins
Art Cooking Social Sciences
Show More Show Less

What listeners say about Drink Beer, Think Beer With John Holl

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com.au reviews

Amazon Reviews
No Reviews are Available
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.