Real Wild & Woodsy Festival | Flagstaff, Arizona

For lovers of mixed culture, foeder-conditioned, funky and barrel-aged beers, the Real Wild & Woodsy Festival really is the Teddy Bears’ (or should that be Teddy Beers’?) Picnic of festivals. Held just outside the center of Flagstaff at the Arizona Historical Society’s Pioneer Museum for the first time this year, the festival feels like a secret garden party.

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Foeder-Aged Ales at Pathlight Brewing

A glance at the Pathlight Brewing tap list reveals an impressive variety: ranging from an English Dark Mild, to a milkshake IPA called $ugar DaddY, to wild ales with wine grapes. Brewers Tanner Vaughn and David Harris strive to make “a little bit of everything.” The menu has something for every beer drinker.

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2nd Shift Brewing | Chateau La Douchebag

We have all seen them lining up outside a brewery as early as 6 a.m. — or sometimes the night before — to ensure they can be the first to claim their coveted release before anyone else and sometimes even flip the bottle on the secondary market. Yes, the rare beer seekers are out there, lurking in almost every brewery and bottle shop just waiting for that whale of a beer to drop.

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5 Questions with Rodenbach Brewmaster Rudi Ghequire

The art of brewing beer varies by region, brewer and brewing style. Many brewers find their niche in one style or art-form, craft their beer to perfection and become famous for it. That’s the case for esteemed Rodenbach Brewery in Roeselare, Belgium, which brews oak foeder-aged sour Ales that have led the way for the category for almost two centuries. Their most popular offering is the simply named Rodenbach Classic, a standard-bearer Flanders red Ale that effuses the precision and expertise of Rodenbach’s master blenders and brewers. 

Perhaps Rodenbach’s most well-known brewer is Rudi Ghequire. A Rodenbach brewmaster since 1982, Ghequire has walked the hallways in their massive foeder-filled brewhouse more times than he can count. Foeders are special to Rodenbach and they are special to Ghequire. Yet, many beer drinkers, myself included, are not fully aware of the magic of foeder-aged beers, the flavors that blending foeder-aged beers creates and the expertise needed to delicately create these offerings. To find out more about foeders and what makes Rodenbach’s foeder program special, I asked Ghequire five questions. 

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Wild Mind Artisan Ales | Electric Factory

One of the Twin Cities’ best-kept craft beer secrets sits in the middle of a South Minneapolis industrial district. Where I-35 meets Highway 62, amid concrete contractors and industrial steel fabricators, you’ll come across Wild Mind Artisan Ales.

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Christmas Classics | New Belgium Brewing Foeder Frambozen

When it comes to holiday beers, New Belgium Brewing had the market cornered for years with Frambozen: a medium-bodied brown ale awash with fresh raspberries and a delightfully festive pinkish head. The seasonal release was eagerly anticipated every year, and when they discontinued this brew back in 2015, I mourned the loss deeply.

Luckily, though, fans of the tartly fruited brown ale have been treated to new iterations of the classic over the past few years. An imperial version with cocoa was delightfully similar to the original, with subtle hints of chocolate that deepened the overall flavor without adding too much sweetness. I suspect it was the success of that iteration that brings us to the current limited release: New Belgium Brewing Foeder Frambozen.

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Wynkoop Brewing Adds Foeders to Ever-Growing Barrel-Aging Program

Sometimes in order to take two steps forward, you’ve got to take one giant leap back. Such was the case two years ago when Wynkoop Brewing made the difficult decision to end the packaging and distribution of its beers to outside bars, restaurants and liquor stores. However, the decision to shift focus solely toward on-premise sales has also allowed the Wynkoop team to re-invest in innovation and grow a stronger overall beer program.

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The PorchCast | Ep 31 Sour Seminar w/ Lauren Salazar, Andy Parker & Gert Christaens

During Episode 31 of the PorchCast, Tristan and Hunter trekked up to New Belgium to meet up with Lauren Salazar, Specialty Brand Manager and Wood Cellar Blender for New Belgium … Read More