Beer Buzz Radio - Brief history of beer and "Best in Beer" nominations

Beginning next weekend, we’ll start our first-ever “Best in beer” survey, which will allow you to vote on the best places in Springfield to grab a beer. On the September 25th episode of Beer Buzz, brought to you by Mother’s Brewing Company, we put out the final plea for your nominations for best bar, restaurant, and store to buy craft beer in Springfield.

The final list of nominations is below, in no particular order:

Bars:
Patton Alley Pub
Farmer’s Gastropub
Mud Lounge
Skinny Slim’s
Finnegan’s Wake

Restaurants:
Patton Alley Pub
Farmer’s Gastropub
Creekside Bistro
Galloway Station

Package Store:
Bistro Market
Macadoodles (Republic)
Brown Derby Wine Center
Price Cutter

Along the way to closing out the nominations, I got a little sidetracked on the history of beer in America and why it’s unfair to categorize American Lager as “bad beer.” It’s actually well made and designed for specific purpose.

One of these days, I’ll write an article on why I think American lager is treated unjustly, but not today.

Listen to the show by clicking this link.

Glassware? Solo cup? Do you care?

So, during the show on September 11th, Brett and I got a little sidetracked discussing glassware and how it affects the beer you drink. Since it was on my mind, I wrote an article outlining the basics for the Beer Buzz column over at TAGsgf.com.

I don’t think glassware is what I’d call vital to a beer drinking experience (except in very rare circumstances), but it can help. For instance, drinking at Oktoberfest would be diminished a bit if you were drinking out of fragile glasses rather than the huge dimpled steins. What’s Oktoberfest without clinking glasses together heartily while yelling “Prost!”? Similarly, I think trappist ales deserve a bit more respect than the average beer, too. Glassware is one of the ways to show that beer the respect it deserves.

An American Pale Ale, though? A homebrewed porter? Glassware is fine and all, but I’d be almost as happy drinking them from a red Solo cup.

Check out the alternatives to Solo cups on TAGsgf here.

Beer Buzz Radio - Best Beer Bar in SGF? Also, more on black IPA's

On this week's Beer Buzz, brought to you by Mother's Brewing Company, we started our first-ever online poll. We want to know your favorite places to get craft beer in SGF. We also spoke about Black IPA's an how no one can agree on what they should taste like or even what they should be called.

OK, so let’s get this official poll rolling. You have until next Sunday at 5 PM to nominate your favorite bar, restaurant, or store for purchasing craft beer in SGF. Feel free to nominate a different place for all three categories.

Brett and I have excluded ourselves from the nomination and voting process so that the polls will not be biased by our tastes. That also means we won’t be throwing in any obvious choices should they not be nominated, so if you have a place you want to see on the list, you’d better give us a shout now. Email us at sgfbeerbuzz [at] gmail.com, find us on Twitter @sgfbeerbuzz, or post your nominations to Beer Buzz’s Facebook wall (Beer Buzz Radio). You have less than a week, so you should get going.

Nominations are closed next Sunday, and the poll will run all through the month of October. We’ll announce a winner in each category on the November 6th show. Again, there are three categories: Best Bar, Best Restaurant, and Best Bottle Shop.

Sunday’s show was all about the online poll and Black IPA. (or India Black Ale, or Cascadian Dark Ale – whatever you want to call it). Listen in here.

Beer Buzz Radio - Craft beer pet peeves, how to make the beer scene here better.

This week’s show started out with good intentions. We were going to have a very open discussion about how to grow and improve the craft beer scene here in Springfield, Missouri. Unfortunately, we got a little derailed by conversations about glassware, beer etiquette, and a few other things. However, the show’s solid, and so is the beer info. Restaurant and bar owners, take note: There are some very good tips in here for how to please your beer-loving customers.

Feel free to make suggestions for how to improve the Springfield beer scene. Give us a shout at facebook.com/beerbuzzradio or find us on twitter @sgfbeerbuzz. You can also email us. Sgfbeerbuzz [at] gmail.com.

Click here to listen to our 9/11/2011 show.

Beer Buzz Radio - Chad Frederick of Little Yeoman Brewing makes beers bigger'n you.

OK, so I’m a slacker. I should have posted this link for you last week, but it got lost in my hectic week. The show from 9/4 is a great interview with a local legend, Chad Frederick. Chad is the brewer and owner of Little Yeoman Brewery, located in Cabool, Missouri. They brew some BIG beers out there, and Chad’s philosophy on beer is to brew what he wants. He figures you should go big or go home.

In the studio, he produced a gallon-sized growler of his dry-hopped Vienna. It weighs in at about 8% alcohol by weight. By the way, Chad wasn’t messing around with those dry-hops, either. He like his big beers so much he got a license to produce up to 22% alcohol. Apparently, his barley wine (available only from Christmas to New Year’s), weighs in at about 18%.

Are you a fan of big beers with a lot of flavor? Check our Little Yeoman Brewery in Cabool. You can call them at (417) 926-9185, or just visit them at the brewery. They’re open 9-5:30 every day except Wednesdays and Sundays. Here's a handy map:


View Larger Map

Click here to listen to our big Little Yeoman show.