Tales From the Cask Craft Beer Podcast Tales from the Cask

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. And after 344 episodes, it’s time to draw the curtain on our little show. Our parent Mims Distributing is going out of business after 56 years, and so we are winding down Tales too.
We SO appreciate all of the wonderful guests who have shared their time, stories, beers and ciders (and even meads!) with us.
We are most grateful to all y’all who have listened, sent in news items, gave us great feedback, and been our friends since 2013 when we started this, huddled around the mic on a laptop.
We hope you keep finding amazing brews to enjoy and share with others. Beer brings people together!
All the best,
Chip & Jenn

We are still getting over the massive Holiday Extravaganza party! So to ring out the old and ring in the new, we are just relaxing at the bar sharing yuletide stories! And of course we have some old and new treats: Foothills Craft Happiness Dream IPA, Sierra Nevada 40th Hoppy Anniversary Ale, and the always lovely Rodenbach Caractere Rouge!
Even though it’s the end/beginning of the year, there is still news. We start with Forbes wrapping up 2019 with the top seven shockers from the year’s beer news. Next up Food & Wine finds that mixing beer and wine is about to get easier in California, while The LA Times reports that Insurgente Brewing tried to reopen its brewery in Tijuana, while the city promptly shut it down again! Then Vinepair (thanks Steve!) reveals a Viking tradition and one-time Norwegian law that required brewing beer for Christmas, and we wind up with WPVI (Philly!) on the art of aging aka a beer club for seniors that’s brewing up fun!
Our carryover #caskquiz asked “what beers did you get in your stocking this year?” This week we want to hear “what’s your beer prediction for 2020?”
We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

Time just keeps flying by doesn’t it? It’s our lucky 7th time with the kitties as we have everyone up to the bar to celebrate our Holiday Extravaganza! We have whales galore, and stories to share, and of course a song at the end!
To keep the holiday spirit alive, we have a couple of heartwarming stories to share. First Vice UK visits the insanely competitive world of craft beer resales (just in time for Santa’s stocking stuffers!). Then in a great Grinchy trick, Food & Wine finds that craft beer, wine and spirits producers are facing a major tax hike if Congress doesn't get its act together! At the last minute though, the Grinch found the strength of ten Grinches, plus two as reported by KIII (South Texas) in that the U.S. Congress is extending the tax cut on craft beer brewers!
This week we want to hear “what beers did you get in your stocking this year?”
We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

Our old buddy Kris Harper with DuClaw is closing in on his 5-timer jacket! He joins us at the bar this week to help kickstart our celebrations for the end of 2019! And he has some awesome beers to try: Sour Me Wild Cherry Ale, Sour Me Double Blueberry Ale, and Apple Brandy Retribution. Plus we sneak in a little Upland Paw Paw just for fun!
The MegaMergerMania just won’t stop! Following up with the Ballast Point shocker from last week, The Motley Fool asks is Constellation Brands is throwing in the towel on craft beer? Then the New Belgium story heats up in Nikkei Asian Review revealing that Kirin's New Belgium deal is being threatened by Kirin’s Myanmar links! We pivot to happier news from Forbes who is proposing a toast to National Lager Day, followed by a fun editorial in Good Beer Hunting opining that White Claw might be the only thing that can save craft beer from itself! And as we love to do, we close out the week with real science via The Daily Mail demonstrating that tapping the side of a beer can will NOT stop it fizzing out!
Last week’s #caskquiz asked “what’s your reaction to the Ballast Point saga?” This week we want to hear “what beers do you want in your stocking this year?”
We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

There are big doings down in Charlotte for Sycamore Brewing, and Archie Gleason and Kimmie Krohn are here to share all the news! We learn about the explosive growth that the brewery has continued to enjoy this year, plus their plans for expansion and a new brewpub! Then we have four taste treats to try: Christmas Cookie WInter Ale, Tropical Kush IPA, Special Brownies Stout, and Numb Numb Juice DIPA!
The MegaMergerMania kicked into overdrive after the holiday, and in reverse too! It’s anti-MegaMergerMania with the shocking news via MarketWatch (thanks Alex and Mark!) reporting that Constellation is unloading its $1 billion craft beer acquisition Ballast Point to a small Chicago-area brewery! Whoa! Then kicking it back into drive Colorado Daily reveals the agreement that will keep the Boulder Beer brand alive outside of its local taproom! Next The BBC finds that Japanese beer exports to South Korea have hit zero amid a trade spat while Iflscience (thanks Frank!) shows how strong beers may be full of the same gut-friendly bacteria as yogurt! Finally Forbes asks (and answers) what makes this beer gay? and The Dallas Morning News wants you to tell a ‘Harry Potter’ fan that The Wizard’s Beer Festival is coming to Dallas!
Last week we carried over our #caskquiz question asking “what was your go to food and beer pairing for Thanksgiving this year?” This week we want to hear “what’s your reaction to the Ballast Point saga?”
We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!

After all the people we have had in the bar lately, we just want to kick back and relax before the Thanksgiving mayhem heading our way this week! So we leisurely review the news and chat, and then we try some great brews! They are AleSmith Coastal Connect New Zealand Style Pilsner, Hardywood Christmas Morning Imperial Milk Stout, and DuClaw Caramel Cookie Retribution Imperial Stout!
We have a week off from MegaMergerMania finally, beginning with Vice offering some bad news if you invested money in a craft beer company in the UK. Next up Stacker has a terrific timeline showing the cost of a beer the year you turned 21, followed by Delish visiting BrewDog’s newest venture - kennels and beer! Then Ozy reveals why Black Friday is best for limited-edition beer, and we close up with WRAL (thanks Scott!) heading down to a Surf City brewery that has created eco-friendly packaging that is edible for wildlife!
Since we recorded early this week we are carrying over our #caskquiz question asking “what was your go to food and beer pairing for Thanksgiving this year?”
We love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in Apple Podcasts,  Stitcher, Overcast, or your favorite podcast app if you haven’t done so!
We so love hearing from you! Please send in feedback and beer suggestions by calling us at (919) 502-0280, Tweeting us, following our Instagram or friending us on Untappd, posting on and liking our Facebook page, or emailing us! And please rate & review us in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t done so!