Tag: A Podcast & A Beer

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In the Tap Lines for November 2025

We are heading into the silly season of American holidays from the just completed Halloween to Thanksgiving and then the grandaddy of them all, Christmas. As per protocol, once Thanksgiving has been given its proper due, we will start in on the Christmas seasonal beer celebrations.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from GABF Medal Winning breweries

~ special featured reviews of random beers from the ‘fridge as well as a Winter Ale or two

~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events

~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark

~ A Book & A Beer reads, well, still deciding which to pick from the TBR pile

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Doctor Who – The Missing Episodes

~ Sports & A Beer returns with underwhelming Premier League teams

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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A Podcast & A Beer – The Water Road

I will admit up front that I am not a boater but The Water Road podcast hosted by Adam Porter might just turn anyone into a canal fan. And in this nutso world right now an escape is desperately needed.  And I found a piece of calm with The Water Road.  

Porter quit his job as a BBC newsreader, then sold his house.  From there he moved onto a boat.  Quite a dramatic change.  But what drew me in was the sound design.  You hear canal locks turning, bubbling brooks, the thrum of the boat engine, wind.  The whole outdoors it seems.  Porter talks to people along the canals and to boat people and even though, I am not a boat person, I was relaxed and listening intently.  Each episode is bite sized and is done before you know it.

For beer, I would go with a radler.  One, because you can’t get toasted when driving a boat but a beverage is needed on a hot day on the water, and also because it is a very niche drink and so is a podcast about canals and boats in England and Wales.

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In the Tap Lines for October 2025

We are heading into back-to-back-to back holidays until the end of the year and we are heading into the same for craft beer. From Oktoberfest to Fresh Hop to Winter Ales, which should not be on shelves, Lookin’ at You, Deschutes.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from Baseball Playoff Cities

~ special featured reviews of two drastically different choices from Sierra Nevada Brewing

~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events

~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark

~ A Book & A Beer reads The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to The Water Road

~ Sports & A Beer returns with NFL teams that have Regressed

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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A Podcast & A Beer – Hard Knocks

I like the behind the scenes stuff, especially when it comes to professional sports. It is all too easy to pick apart a team just from watching highlights but that nitpickery becomes harder when you see what has led up to that moment.

And no one is better at creating and curating moments like NFL Films so I was wondering how their Hard Knocks brand would work in podcast form.

Hosted by Andrew Siciliano, the pod is more a recap format. More previously on then new material. That is at first, then they bring in a guest to talk about the episode and the Buffalo Bills overall and it gets more interesting. Plus I do like that at the end of each podcast, Siciliano anoints an MVP of the show. It is a fun touch to see who gets the nod.

There are a few football related names in craft beer but I will task listeners of the podcast to find a beer in your nearest NFL city and crack open a can. For me, here in Los Angeles, start with Crowns & Hops which is in process of an Inglewood taproom near SoFi Stadium or Los Angeles Ale Works and/ or Common Space in very nearby Hawthorne.

And if you do go to an NFL game or two this year, make sure to buy craft inside the stadium. The more you buy, the more they might just stock.

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In the Tap Lines for September 2025

September when one turns away from Oktoberfest beers because it is now Christmas season according to all the stores and because all the Festbiers came out early in August and are now kaput. But it is also the time for…..

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from Baltimore

~ special featured reviews of a bevy of hoppy beers from the likes of Russian River and Stone

~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events

~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark

~ A Book & A Beer reads some Stephen King

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Hard Knocks

~ Sports & A Beer returns with the Portland Trailblazers have been sold!

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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A Podcast & A Beer – All Systems Read

I am doing things in completely reverse order with no apologies. I watched the Murderbot series on Apple TV first, then I went to the All Systems Read podcast second and will actually read the books last.

Your hosts are Jess and Raven who have bonded over the book series and now go through the books armed with answers from discussion questions from other Murderbot fans. It is a good way to being many viewpoints into each show. I do appreciate a couple things about this podcast. One is that the hosts are not just re-capping. Their are unearthing more than just the top level. Second, they listen to those listener comments and take them on board.

For beer, let’s also dig a little deeper and see if anybody has had a beer made with yeast that has been in space. Even Budweiser has sent barley seeds into space. Ninkasi Brewing sent yeast up and then brought it back down to make Ground Control Imperial Stout.

East Coasters could try something from the Human Robot line-up of beers. For us on the West Coast, Stereo Brewing has an appropriate Red Ale named Robot.

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In the Tap Lines for August 2025

California is now entering the 3rd of three months of hot weather, sure, there have been some June Gloom mornings and it hasn’t be triple digits hot but it does wear on you and it does challenge one to find beers that don’t lead directly to naps. BSP will endeavor to help you chart a fun course through the sunny days to just the right beer(s).

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from Riverside, California

~ special featured reviews of a bevy of beer styles

~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events

~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark

~ A Book & A Beer reads The Murderbot Diaries

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to All Systems Read

~ Sports & A Beer returns with the Premier League Kick Off

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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A Podcast & A Beer – Lost Notes – Groupies

Very L.A. and very interesting look at a very specific point in time in music history. It is Lost Notes – Groupies.

Unless you were the wildest of teenagers, this podcast series will be a real eye opener. You learn about the Sunset Strip and these girls who had more chutzpah than I ever will. They would call up bands, go up to their rooms, party at their homes and dance, dance, dance. Apparently there was a time when being under 18 was not a prohibitive to rockers as it is (and should be) now.

Your host is Dylan Tupper Rupert and she guides the story forward and does so without shaming anyone while also giving the promiscuity the side-eye it deserves from our vantage point in time. It will certainly have you looking up music and photos of the area. It is excellent people watching, podcast style.

For beer, there is, alas, no brewery on the Sunset Strip but there are a few band beers out and about. There are ones for Sublime, Iron Maiden, Deftones or you could head to one of the many Rock & Brews locations around the Southland with its music decor and Kiss ownership.

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In the Tap Lines for July 2025

We are no entering the back half of this Annus Horribilus, aka 2025. And here I want to make a plea to Los Angeles craft beer fans to go out and visit an L.A. brewery. Use a vacation day, head out on a Sunday but please go out and support our breweries. Then post about it, let people know that L.A. (or your city) is not some bad place that must be warred upon by its own Federal governmenr.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from Vinepair’s Best New U.S. breweries

~ special featured reviews of a bevy of beer styles

~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events

~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark

~ A Book & A Beer reads Weep – Slack Jaw by Eion Brady

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Lost Notes – Groupies

~ Sports & A Beer returns with Club World Cup

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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A Podcast & A Beer – DC High Volume – Batman

I know there is a bit of superhero fatigue but I have enjoyed the short little bursts of the Dark Knight that DC Comics are producing under the High Volume banner.

Currently, the audio drama is working through the Long Halloween story which is a classic for the Caped Crusader and showcases the detective work Batman is known for. The voice acting is good though I find Gordon and Bruce Wayne a little too close which makes me strain to differentiate them. But that is a small note on an otherwise fund serial.

To pair with this, I would suggest finding a schwarzbier or other dark lager. Summer is no time to go drinking big, dark as pitch barrel-aged beers anyway. Plus there has been a nice little resurgence is darker but still light beers.