Another GABF is in the books...

Reports from the field say this year's Great American Beer Festival was a shell of what it once was. That's not surprising considering the overall craft landscape, but still a bummer.

Seeing the beers and breweries that win, and what categories are popular is always fun. I learn about new breweries every year. Also, the West Coast IPA continues to make a comeback. There were 300 entries in the category with Hazy/Juicy edging it out for the top spot but just 1 more entry. Impressive.

More news on Iron Hill that somewhat unexpectedly shuttered all their locations. Their financial are pretty shocking. It's a bit surprising they stayed open this long.

On the international front, India is facing a major can shortage that could impact beer supplies and more news on pre-Incan psychedelic brews. Groovy.

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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GABF Recap and the return of West Coast IPA

How much beer would it take for you to change your name?

What kind of beer? For how long? How about 19 years worth of Busch Light? That's the dream for someone, I'm sure. And Busch Light is ready to deliver.

Oktoberfest is officially over in Germany but in keeping with American traditions it will be going strong here for about another month. We're OK with it. More festbiers and schnitzels are fine with us. A little scare at Oktoberfest last week, it had to be shut down briefly due to a potential bomb threat.

We got an update on Asahi. Seems like they're back online after the cyberattack last week. We're getting mixed signals on whether or not data was leaked. We'll update if we find out more.

Gen X is now the king of packaged goods, including beer. That honor has gone to Baby Boomers for a while now, but Gen X took the lead. We're very proud of our accomplishment.

In other news... Winston Churchill's work around for American Prohibition, Dubai chocolate (stouts?), a real beer whale, and the longest of long beers.

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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Oktoberfest ends, beer whales, and candy stouts

Another week and more Oktoberfest fun. We got out for some barrel aged goodness and hot pretzels as the Fest season rolls on.

Big news on a couple fronts this week as Iron Hill announces the closure of all locations. They'd previously stated few were slated to close so this was a surprise. Asahi also announced all (or several, it's unclear) of their breweries were shut down due to a cyberattack.

Michelob Ultra takes the top spot as the best selling beer in America, dethroning Modelo which took a bit quicker rise to the top after Bud Light alienated a large portion of their fanbase. Let's see how long they stay there.

Rumor is that Gen Z may be saving cask ale. Brian actually called that one. Good for them, they've been taken the blame for too much lately.

In other news there's some cool new science for using spent grains, Charlie Sheen's got an NA beer coming, and chimpanzees are total lushes. Cheers!

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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A new brew at #1 and Gen Z saves cask ale

It is time once again to drink a bunch of Oktoberfest beers, for science.

Is it Oktoberfest again already? Almost. But we're ahead of the curve. Not enough to be seasonal creepy, mind you, just enough to get you prepped for the festivities.

Our annual Oktoberfest blind tasting is one of our (and your) favorite episodes. We sit down and sample a dozen Oktoberfest beers and pick our favorites. This year was a fun one.

Shout out to the Nates for hosting and catering the event. We had brats, charcuterie, beer cheese dip, hot German potato salad, and soft baked pretzels. Quite the smorgasbord. 

The Contenders

 * Ayinger Privatbrauerei Oktober Fest-Märzen
 * Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn Oktoberfest
 * Fat Orange Cat Brew Co. Bavarian Kittens
 * Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Märzen
 * Hofbräuhaus München Oktoberfestbier
 * Spoetzl Brewery Shiner Oktoberfest
 * Tucher Bräu Festbier
 * Samuel Adams Octoberfest
 * Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. / Störtebeker Oktoberfest
 * Six Bridges Brewing Feierabend
 * Warsteiner Oktoberfest
 * Weihenstephaner Oktoberfestbier

Have you tried these this year? Let us know what you think and how our list compares to yours. 

Prost!

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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Annual Oktoberfest Blind Beer Tasting 2025

How much would you pay for brewery swag???

Brian and I checked out Atlanta’s new soju distillery this week and learned a lot—everything from smooth 17% pours to a fiery 40% bottle, plus makgeolli, the cloudy, tangy rice wine that surprised us in the best way. Back at Halfway Crooks, I nearly bought a tote bag until I saw the $20 price tag, which sparked a whole chat about brewery swag sticker shock.

We also dug into the sad news that 21st Amendment is closing after 25 years, shared our beers of the week (including Focal Banger, Cold-Hearted IPA, and a big port-and-bourbon-barrel stout), and laughed about Gen Z putting ice in beer. Add in some global stories—Africa’s beer boom, mosquitoes loving beer drinkers, and even trace MRI chemicals in European lagers—and it was a packed episode.

Next week’s our Oktoberfest tasting show, so no livestream, but plenty of Märzens on deck!

Cheers!

Tim

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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Soju, brewery swag, and ice ice... baby.

Big booze gets a beating from boycotts

Beer adjacent news here. It seems Canadian boycotts are hurting American whiskey wine report sales down massively across Canada. I imagine these aren't the only international pains we'll be feeling.

Some beer growth is happening, even if it's for Big Beer. Guinness announced they're undertaking a massive expansion to relieve pressure on their main brewery. The new location will also brew other brands under parent company Diageo's umbrella.

RIP to an OG. Gordon Bowker, co-founder of Redhook (and Strabucks!) has died. He was 82.

In other news more BrewDog drama as co-founder leaves suddenly, Maine Beer Co. founder Dan Kleban is making a run for US Senate, and the science of beer foam and why it matters.

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/beerguys]. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

Guinness growth, Canadian boycotts, and beer foam science

With so many ups and downs it's no wonder we need a beer.

Mo Mic Nate will be on the road next week on a great New England beer adventure. Hopefully he drinks a lot of great beers we can't get here, and brings plenty back to share.

Survey says that beer consumption is at an 86 year low. We're not sure we trust the math, but we know it's a struggle out there. Aluminum costs on the other hand, they're up, and may get even more upper. I'm sure higher costs will help breweries to do well and get people drinking more. It's foolproof.

In other news... More drama from BrewDog, as is tradition. Ballast Point is alive and kicking, and just got a big investment. Best of luck to them. In the world of SCIENCE! Apparently sound makes beer brew faster. Neat.

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/beerguys]. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

Beer consumption down, aluminum costs are up

What would be the first beers you put in the Craft Beer Hall of Fame?

We've talked a good bit about the Craft Beer Hall of Fame since their early planning stages. They added their inaugural group of brewers not long ago and new they've welcome their first beers. Those had to be some tough decisions.

The Great American Beer Fest is just around the corner and they've got some new things planned for 2025. There were some interesting changes last year as well. As we all know our beloved beverage is having tough times. The BA is doing amazing things to make GABF interesting to beer lovers and others. It's sure to be a good time.

We learned of some crazy laws in Wisconsin that is seriously hurting the brewfest scene. Apparently, out of state brewers will now have to pay a huge fee to come in for festivals. Reports are anywhere from $1,000 - $1,300, which is a massive amount for a small brewery. At one event over 60 breweries have already canceled their participation.

In other news... Fat Tire wants to give a Gen-Zer $100,000 to take a year off and chase their passions, Boston Beer Co. is closing a couple of taprooms, and a craft beer video game has a sequel coming. Check out Dude, Where's My Beer? on Steam for the free demo.

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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Hall of Fame Craft Beers and GABF attractions

It's a daggum good time to drink a beer, I tell you hwhat...

Have you watched the reboot of King of the Hill yet? It's pretty good. Push on through to Episode 2 and see Hank Hill take up a hobby that merges two of his true loves.

It's hold and cold here in Georgia. Hot, and cool. Either way, it's important to stay hydrated. We got tips.

Whether we like it or not, the Oktoberfest beers are out in full force. I know these breweries have to be first to market to get the early birds. But Brian found some Oktoberfest beers on the shelf from a brewery that's been closed for quite a while. Sad.

There's big shake ups for big beer companies at the executive level. Jim Koch is returning as CEO of Boston Beer Co. and Pabst has a couple c-level swaps happening.

Some good news for Europe. Beer production is up. I'm sure we'll here news next week of it being down, flat, whatever. But for now, it's up.

We also learn what draws people to buy a beer that they're not familiar. Packaging is important, and the "experts" think they have some insight.

That's all for this week. Cheers, Y'all!

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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Hank Hill brews, Jim Koch is back, and hard energy

It's been a hot one here in Georgia. We had a few days where it "felt like" it was over 100 degrees. Terrible temps make for good drinking weather, though.

In this week's show...

 * Hulk Hogan passes away but that seemed to boost his beer sales
 * Brewdog announces closure of several brewpubs
 * A new record is set in the Beer Mile
 * King of the Hill beer release is delayed
 * Bearded Iris is sold (And we didn't even know they broke up with Scofflaw)
 * Buffalo Brewery vandalized and then shafted by insurance
 * And Coors Light drops a cold-activated... deodorant?

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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New beer records, big craft closures, and a release delay

We love craft beer.  Join us each week as we enjoy a pint or two around casual conversations with the awesome people that make our favorite beverage.  Covering the trends, science, and business of beer with a handful of terrible jokes thrown in.  Grab a pint, have a seat, and tune in!  Hosted by Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt.

Beer Guys Radio Craft Beer Podcast