Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Episode 25 - Prairie Boys


You certainly can find a lot to do around Tulsa when you're looking for a new career. For the past couple of months I've had the pleasure of bottling beers at the Prairie brewery in Tulsa. It's been a rewarding experience to say the least and getting to hear the dialogue between Chase and Jake about brewing tidbits or Wes and Collin joke about new beer names and labels. It's a small, tight-knit family that comes together and builds this massive movement in the craft beer industry. As we joked in the episode sometimes you get down to 2 people running the bottling line because the phone never stops ringing and the e-mail inbox is always full.

The perks of a long hard day are worth it but you have to be on your feet all day, eventually covered in water and sticky beer and lift heavy cases. As always most see it as a labor of love for a well hand-crafted product. It's a great feeling to know something I helped bottle will be shared around the country and more importantly is putting Oklahoma on the craft beer map.




Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Episode 24 - The Beers of Summer (Sponsored by BierGarten Wine & Spirits)

Well, that crazy time of year is slowly creeping upon us. Mayfest and Blue Dome Arts fest have roared through downtown along with the Hansons Hop Jam. May has been wet and wild as far as weather and festivals go and we look toward the hot, steamy summers we are known for in Oklahoma. A veritable Okie Death Valley if you will. Because after all this rain you'll need to mow your lawns at an accelerated rate (ugh) and need some refreshing beers to cool down with. (Paired with water, naturally.) 

So a group of close drinking comrades recently gathered to do the hard work of quaffing craft beers from around the country to help take the edge off the summer heat.







Everything reviewed (except growlers, but maybe one day in the future) can be found at BierGarten 



Beers and Overall Scores (Based on 6 reviewers)

1. Choc Spring IPA - 4.5
2. Elk Valley Pale Ale - 4
3. Anthem Arjuna - 4
4. Elk Valley Midnight Ryed - 4
5. Austin Eastciders Dry Cider - 4
6. Full Sail Session IPA - 3.5
7. Sierra Nevada Nooner Pils - 3
8. Prairie Artisan Ales Tulsa Rugby Ale (3.2%) - 3
9. Bridgeport Long Ball Golden Ale - 2.5
10. Marshall Brewing Lil' Belg (3.2%) - 2
11. Leinenkugel Canoe Paddler - 2
12. Sierra Nevada SummerFest - 1.5
Choc's seasonal Spring IPA was the overall favorite, if you couldn't tell from the episode how much everyone was gushing over it.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Episode 23 - Red Earth Brewers Forum



To unofficially kick off Oklahoma City Craft Beer Week we were invited to record at the Inaugural Oklahoma Craft Brewers Forum hosted by the Red Earth Brewers home brew organization. This event brought out the members to a spectacular venue, Dunlap Codding, in the heart of downtown OKC.

Beer is OK was on hand selling our wares and meeting fellow beer geeks we typically interact with in the social media realm. This event showcased local home brews and raised some money for the REB.

The main event was a forum with Patrick from Anthem Brewing and Tony from Roughtail Brewing moderated by Nick Trougakos from the ThirstyBeagle blog. Many topics were touched on, the most exciting was to hear the tweaking of Hoptometrist from Roughtail and the new rare release programs both breweries are implementing in the near future.

So crack open an Arjuna or Roughtail 2nd Anniversary and enjoy!