Fuhmentaboudit!

Brewstoria, Queens' local homebrew club, paired up with Pilsner Urqell and Reyes Brewing Company to host a diverse and delicious fundraiser for the Queens Council On The Arts' "High School to Art School (HS2AS) Program. Inspired and tasty homebrews were shared alongside unfiltered Pilsner Urquell, beers from Reyes Brewing Company, ICONYC, Big Alice, Clemson Bros., KCBC, Keg and Lantern and more. Chris grabs precious fun and loquacious moments with its participants, pros and joes. Hear here on episode 212 about the mission, the people and the stories behind the charitable fun: 2017 NY Craft & Imports Festival - the first, and definitely not the last!

Invited by the Culinary Institute of America, a gaggle of HRN hosts journeyed North to visit the Hyde Park NY campus and interview the people that make them awesome. In this episode, Chris speaks with Hutch Kugeman and John Fischer about the ins and outs of their hands on brewing program. Hutch brews and teaches inside a fully functional active brewery in the center of campus. Fuhmentaboudit! is powered by Simplecast.

The Fuhmentaboudit gang is joined by Sigurdur Snorrason, Co-founder & President of RVK (Reykjavik) Brewing Company. Join us as we delve into Iceland home brewing and beer culture, the country’s tumultuous relationship with alcohol and Siggi’s personal journey to opening a brewery.

Traditional cider is getting pretty big in New York State and around the country, but although Kyle Sherrer's cider is rooted in tradition, this cider is anything but. Chris and Mary join Kyle Sherrer and David Hall at Graft's popup in Newburgh to talk about the cidery's start, its trajectory, and its focus on flavors and technique to get complex and unique flavors out of simple fruits and yeasts. Hear of Kyle’s history with Millstone, beer influences, and how it has all driven him to expression through apples and art at Graft.

Chris and Rachel sit down with Dr. Patrick E. McGovern to discuss his latest book, "Ancient Brews, Rediscovered and Re-Created". The book includes homebrew interpretations, meal pairings, and much much more. Hear of his inspirational journeys of discovery, of his collaborations with Dogfish Head and dreams of "dinobrew" in this intimate chat on episode 208 of Fuhmentaboudit!

Jason Synan and Aiyana Knauer join us in the studio tonight. We chat about creating balanced sour beers at Hudson Valley Brewery and what it's like to work at two of the best bars in America.

Beer Adventurer Chris O'Leary joins Chris, Mary and Rachel in the studio to discuss the 138 new breweries he has visited in 2017. From Charlotte, NC to Vancouver, BC to Leeds, England, he fills us in on beer trends, cool tasting rooms and brewery culture. Follow O'Leary's beer travels at Brew_York on various forms of social media.

Miso kimchi? Black radishes? Purple Kombucha? In this episode, Rachel navigates the Baltimore fermentation scene with founders and fermenters at Hex Ferments, Maryland-based food alchemists, dedicated to sourcing from local and organic farmers. They talk about their journey as artists into the world of krauts, kimchi, and kombucha, and their innovative take on classic fermented foods to help introduce new customers to the world of fermentation and gut health. To find out more about Hex Ferments, check out hexferments.com.

In this pre-recorded episode of Fuhmentaboudit, Mary, Rachel and Chris welcome Ken Fornataro, CEO and head chef of culturesgroup.net. a blog and nonprofit organization dedicated to food culture’s education, preservation, and research. Ken has an extensive background in cooking and science. A primary focus of culturesgroup.net is how cultures and societies are related to food and how they function in relation to food. In this episode, Ken gets into many throw back ferments (beef broth sake!?!?) and draws on special life experiences. Enjoy!

Jay Goodwin, Co-founder/Director of Blending and Brewing at The Rare Barrel and co-host of The Sour Hour podcast, calls in to the show to talk barrel-aged sour beers, bugs, off-flavors and hot sauce. We delve into yeast and bacteria selection, kettle sours, good, great and terrible practices and much more.

We reconnect with Tara Whitsitt, of Fermentation on Wheels, and author of the upcoming book of the same name. We chat about highlights and learnings from her journey around the country, some favorite ferments and what she is planning next.

Join Chris in a recap of his adventures at the Craft Brewers Conference, the annual conference for the Brewers Association, then listen to interviews with Bart Watson, Chief Economist of the Brewers Association, and Paul Leone, Executive Director of the New York State Brewers Association. Lastly, Mary and Rachel highlight some of their learnings and takeaways from Fuhmentaboudit's 14th season. Join us on March 8 as we launch season #15!

Join Mary and guest co-host David Kyrejko on Fuhmentaboudit's 200th episode as we dive deep into chocolate with Nate Hodge, co-founder and head chocolatier at Raaka Chocolate. Learn how Nate went from answering a Craigslist ad to creating unique chocolate bars that are enjoyed all over the country, how chocolate goes from seed to bar and lots more!

Chris and Mary are joined in the studio by Anu Menon and Suyog Mody, Co-founders and owners of Driftaway Coffee. Driftaway is a subscription-based coffee roaster in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Listen in to learn how coffee beans get from fruit to cup, how grinding and preparation impact your cup of joe and how to taste and evaluate coffee.

Stephen Lyman, Cool Japan Ambassador - Honkaku Shochu, Certified Shochu Adviser - Sake School of America and founder of Kampai.us, joins Mary, Chris and Rachel in the studio. We delve into the fascinating world of shochu, a traditional distilled beverage from Japan. Shochu is made from a variety of sources, including barley, rice, sweet potato and chestnut, koji, yeast and water. Tune in to find out how shouchu is made, how to taste it and much, much more.

Mary and Chris are joined in the studio by Raphael Lyon of Enlightenment Wines and Honey's. Raphael is a small-batch mazer in Brooklyn and fills us in on his latest creations. Listen in to learn more about 16th century kvass, mead made with hallucinogenic honey, "Sunday School" at Honey's and traditional mead-making approaches.

To round out the end of beer week, we bring to you a panel from The Well on Innovations in Brewing - moderated by our own Mary Izett! The all-star panel features Dan Acosta of LIC Beer Project, Erik Olsen from Greenpoint, and Peter Oates and Ricardo Petroni of Equilibrium as they discuss the innovations going on in brewing nowadays. Tune in to find out about new breweries, new hops, new styles, and New England IPAs.

This week on Fuhmentaboudit, Chris and Rachel are joined in studio by brewers Jeff Lyons & Brett Taylor (also from episode 128) of Keg & Lantern Brewing Co. We hear their stories detailing humble beginnings to the now, celebrating the 9th annual NYC Beer Week. A mutual love of Brettanomyces has Jeff and Brett inspired and thrilled to be working together as the creative brewers of Keg and Lantern. With roots of being a member of the NYC Homebrewers Guild and The Brooklyn Brewsers, Jeff Lyons has previously worked/brewed/taught at Brooklyn Homebrew, 508 Gastrobrewery and Greenpoint Beer and Ale. Brewing with Jason Sahler at Strong Rope Brewery since March 2016, Brett Taylor took the leap to full time brewing in November 2016.

Kheedim Oh, Chief Minister of Kimchi at Mama O's Premium Kimchi, joins Chris, Mary & Rachel in the studio tonight. Tune in to hear how Kheedim got started, learn more about the different types of kimchi and get inspired to make your own. Bonus: learn how to make Kheedim's favorite kimchi dish.

Mary, Chris and Rachel are joined by Michael Schwartz, founder and owner of BAO and Organic Food Incubator. Listen in to learn how Mike teaches a Cub Scout pack how to pickle, makes kombucha without a SCOBY and creates fermented ketchups and barbecue sauces utilizing traditional sauerkraut techniques.