Steal This Beer: Takeaways from a podcast-filled weekend

Spending a few days with John Holl and Augie Carton, co-hosts of the iconic beer podcast, was a dream

If you’ve seen me in person at any point since last Thursday, you might be a little alarmed. Sorry about that. But I can’t stop smiling. I know, it’s a little disconcerting, but I’m sure you’ll forgive me this once.

I spent most of the last four days hanging out with two legends — writer John Holl and brewery owner Augie Carton. Over the past eight or nine years, I’ve probably spent more time with those two than just about anyone in my life.

Through their pioneering craft beer podcast, Steal This Beer, John and Augie have “stolen” almost 1,000 beers over nearly 500 episodes. And I’ve happily listened for years as the duo have interviewed some of the most important figures in craft beer and delved deep into many of the pressing issues facing the industry.

Augie and John were in town for the Mortalis x Swiftwater Luau (more on that in a future newsletter) and used the Rochester as a studio for a long weekend.

Photo: Here’s Audie, with a dirty face after enjoying his breakfast, rocking my new Carton Brewing hat. It’s impossible to get a surly 2yo to settle down for a pic.

If you’ve never listened, here’s the general premise:

Augie and John are joined by a seemingly endless assortment of guests. An interview starts and is often sidetracked, typically by an Augie diatribe or story. (You often don’t know where it’s gonna end up, but it’s impossible not to be entertained.) Each guest brings on two beers for Augie and John to drink blind. They share their observations, tasting notes, and try to determine what style it is. It’s really just a way to strip away all the hype and the bullshit and enjoy the beer for what it is. It’s a way to enjoy the beer with company and amid conversation. (I am not trying to romanticize this — it’s really just an ideal way to hang out with some buddies and bond. It’s one of the major reasons why I love beer and the beer community.)

Here are my takeaways and observations from an endlessly fun and fascinating beer weekend:

John and Augie recorded nine episodes in Rochester

Beyond guesting on the first episode, which we recorded from the tasting room bar at the Genesee Brew House, I got to sit in on the next six episodes over two days. (Thanks to my incredible wife for watching the surly 2yo during this time and also for encouraging me to take the time to bond.) It was truly a life-affirming moment for a nerd like me. Listening to John and Augie banter, poke fun, and delve into really, really nerdy topics over that run the goofy gamut, was really inspiring.

During my interview, we explored the history of the Rochester beer scene, as well as my history as the chronicler of it.

I joked on social media that finding the two beers to bring in for blind tasting was nearly as difficult as naming a kid. (Thanks to the two wonderful human beings who helped me out here. More on them in our interview.) Ultimately, I found two local beers that I love. I thought it was extra important to showcase some Rochester beers, since Augie and John were here for the Luau. And ostensibly, my interview set the scene or foundation for the Luau-fueled episodes to follow. (I am excited for the audience to see what I picked and for all of you to hear Augie and John’s reactions to those beers.)

Photo (left to right): Mortalis CEO Paul Grenier, John Holl, Augie Carton, Swiftwater founder Andy Cook (trying on his Ghostbusters costume for the Luau), and me.

It’s just super cool, at least to me, that Steal This Beer’s summer slate of releases will cover Rochester in great depth and detail. Augie and John really rounded up a great roster of Rochester guests (and two more national guys who were in town for the Luau). I didn’t sit on those last two episodes, because I was volunteering at the Luau, but John and Augie both said they were great discussions.

Schedule of guests

1. Me

2. Dean Jones, Genesee Brew House brewmaster

3. Andy Cook, Swiftwater Brewing founder/brewer

4. Paul Grenier, Mortalis Brewing CEO

5. Micah Krichinsky and Eric Salazar, Strangebird Bird co-founders

6. Mike Beebe, Stumblin’ Monkey Brewing head brewer

7. David D’Allesandro, Frequentem Brewing co-founder/brewer

8. Mike Pallen, Mikerphone Brewing (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) brewer

9. Sean O’Keefe, Pontoon Brewing (Sandy Springs, Ga.) CEO

Photo: A sample from the Genesee Brew House brewer’s tap, available to those who tour the facility’s pilot brewery. This is a truly wonderful all-malt Michael Shea’s Irish Amber Ale, conditioned on bourbon chips to give it big cream soda vibes.

Observations and conclusions

I could listen to Dean Jones from the Genesee Brew House talk about beer for hours. Every time I’ve interviewed Dean, I learn something. He has devoted more than 30 years to this industry and is, at this point, the unofficial mayor of Rochester beer. He’s the scene’s biggest cheerleader and also its most generous source of knowledge, encouragement, and advice. (There’s a reason he’s the host of Genny’s keg tree lighting ceremony each year.)

Dean and Augie had an incredible conversation about cream ales. Dean has been making them for his entire career, including a run of impressive examples at Genny like the Mosaic Dry-Hopped Cream Ale and the Orange Honey Cream Ale. Augie, meanwhile, has been bastardizing and fucking up cream ales (in a hugely delicious way) for 13 years at Carton Brewing. Carton’s most famous beer is a 12 percent coffee cream ale called Regular Coffee. (And Carton occupies six of the top 11 places on the Beer Advocate list of top-rated cream ales.) You’re gonna wanna listen to this exchange. It contains so much insight.

I remember when Andy from Swiftwater was spending long, long, long days inside his under-construction, under-renovation South Wedge space more than a decade ago. He did an incredible amount of work over 13 months to get Swiftwater into its current form. Listening to him recount this journey was very, very inspiring. Plus, you’re gonna learn a ton more about his agrarian roots and cow pools.

Paul and the Mortalis crew boot-strapped that brand into one with international buzz. But it all boils down to the people. Augie and Paul’s chat about hospitality will give you some new perspective on how you make a small craft brewery into one that ranks as one of the highest rated in the world on Untappd.

I could listen to Micah and Eric, two of Strangebird’s co-founders, talk about beer all day. Between them, they have more than 40 years of professional experience, which is a rarity in the Rochester scene where a ton of folks enter the industry after homebrewing. Augie and Eric’s exchange about the art of barrel-aging is worth your time, especially the portion about the proper musical soundtrack for those “living” barrels.

Mike, who recently made the jump from Nine Spot to Stumblin’ Monkey (more on that in a future newsletter), is a Rochester native with an incredible resume that spans the entire country (San Diego to to Denver to New Jersey and back home again). And he’s a long-time friend and supporter of this podcast. That familiarity lends itself to a really fun conversation. (It’s always good when someone can give Augie the hard time he deserves.) Plus, you’ll hear about Mike’s latest brewery gig, news that was actually broken in a Steal This Beer episode earlier this month.

If you listen to the episode with Dave from Frequentem, you’ll hear my most embarrassing moment over the seven episodes. (Jake Whiting already knows all about this.) But most importantly, you’ll learn about why Dave loves lagers and how he approaches the art of cream ale. And again, I really loved the chat about hospitality and the importance of creating positive customer interactions. (Frequentem does this in a really cool and unexpected way.)

Like y’all, I am wildly excited to listen to the two national guests on future episodes. I’d love to hear more about what brought them to Rochester and learn more about how their scenes differ from our own.

My biggest takeaway from this weekend? Beyond how Augie can’t pronounce “Genesee” or “Canandaigua”? Industry folks in Rochester genuinely love this city and love each other. Not to get all schmaltzy and shit, but it’s really inspiring. Hope you have as much fun listening to these episodes as I did participating in them. (Though a trusted someone did tell me this week that I should get more negative on here — not try to sugarcoat stuff. So maybe it might get a bit more saucy here soon? We’ll see.)

A final note: It’s pretty wild to think I’ve been working on this independent publication for over two years now. In that time, I’ve published nearly 200 newsletters, highlighted some of my favorite people in the industry, curated two beers festivals (that featured 150 participants and 4,600 attendees), and continued to break all the biggest news in the region (closures, consolidations, openings, etc.).

The Cleveland Prost remains the preeminent source for regional beer news. If you own a brewery, bar, or beer-adjacent business, this is the best place to reach the nerds you wanna be in front of. So I remain open to sponsorships, advertisements, and sponsored content. Feel free to reach out to me at clevelandprost@gmail.com for more. And more than anything, thanks for all the support. None of this would be possible without the devoted (and thirsty) audience.