Stop & Taste Conversations - New Holland Brewing

I met Carl a year ago at the China Craft Beer Conference.  Carl’s passionate and direct approach to life, business and brewing stood out and fueled my curiosity. I was really grateful that we were invited to be part of the 2017 Beijing Invitational Craft Beer Festival.  Besides the festival, Carl hooked us up with historical tours of Beijing and welcomed me to three unique Great Leap Breweries.  This conversation happened with in view of the Great Wall of China, on a patio up in the hills, while the first kettle-soured brew of his Great Leap Fermentation project quietly came to a boil. The Music: “Wealthy Street” on intro and outro, © and courtesy of Drew Nelson Guest Bio: Carl Setzer: Founder and Brewmaster - Great Leap Brewing Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Carl first came to China in 2004 and has been fascinated by this country ever since. While pursuing a Master’s Degree in Public International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, Carl studied Chinese language and culture. From 2007 to 2010, he w

In episode Thirty Five, my guest is Dave Kwiatkowski from the Sugar House in Detroit, Michigan.  Dave and I sat own over glasses of whiskey in Corktown and talked about his adventure in classic cocktails, small business and community building.  Dave’s a natural and encouraging champion for Detroit, Drinks and drinks IN Detroit.   The Music: “Wealthy Street” on intro and outro, © and courtesy of Drew Nelson Guest Bio After graduating from the Ross School of Business at The University of Michigan with a BBA in 2000, Kwiatkowski moved to Chicago where he traded equity options on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. It was there he was bitten by the craft cocktail bug, and in 2009 decided to return to his home town to open Detroit’s first craft cocktail bar, The Sugar House.    Discovering a deep affection for hospitality, he teamed up with friend and longtime Wolfgang Puck-trained chef, Marc Djozlija, to open their fine dining restaurant, Wright & Company.  Kwiatkowski is now a partner in several other proper

In episode thirty four, my guests are New Holland teammates, Jon Boer and Ryan Cioffi. THey’re heading up the beer and spirits making at our new brewpub and distillery, The Knickerbocker in Grand Rapids. We’ll hear how they came into a life in beverage and what to look forward to drinking on Bridge street and beyond.   The Details The Drinks: Blue Haven Fitzgerald and Debits and Credits Centennial Pale Ale The Music: “Wealthy Street” on intro and outro, © and courtesy of Drew Nelson Jon Boer - New Holland Brewing: Head Pub Brewer:  Jon is a Holland native, married to his beautiful wife Katie for two years. He's an avid tinkerer and hobbyist and brewed at New Holland for 5 years.  Ryan Cioffi - New Holland Artisan Spirits: Pub Distiller: Ryan grew up in West Michigan, in the city of Hudsonville, to be exact. He loves Old Fashioneds and has worked at New Holland for 4 years. He enjoys disc golf and things involving his dog.  

I’m pretty sure I met Fred in 1993 during my first Great Taste of the Midwest, which would be a formative experience.  It was a few years into the beer business, but roughly two before I’d join the ranks of Midwest breweries.  He has been a magnanimous brewery wrangler that cares deeply about connecting people to experience.  He and his team have kept their festival special throughout decades of change.  I think I speak for everyone in the Midwest brewing community when I say that we all look at “the Great Taste” as the grand daddy of the Midwest beer fest, and the one we try not to miss.  I’ve only missed two in my 23 years running, if it gives you any idea.  Fred has also applied his passion to the distilling world, and I caught up with him on the patio just before Distill America at the Edgewater Hotel in Madison, WI. The Music: “Wealthy Street” on intro and outro, © and courtesy of Drew Nelson Guest Bio:  Fred Swanson has been a High School Special Education teacher for more than thirty years.  He’s also

Some of you may know a little or a lot about the world of beer wholesalers, or maybe nothing at all.  I’ve been calling on Rave Associates, a beer and wine wholesaler in Ann Arbor since 1995, when the current owner, Jim Warbritton.  was a sales rep, and we’d cruise around to accounts together, selling all the beer we could get our hands on.  Jimmy and his executive VP, Rick Lack - the self-proclaimed “King’s of Michigan Beer” joined me to trade some stories, just before we headed into their trade show in Novi, Michigan to meet and greet the retailers of Southeast Michigan.   The Drinks: Moxie - Sour Ale by New Holland Brewing The Music: “Wealthy Street” on intro and outro, © and courtesy of Drew Nelson

Ginger and I met years ago over beer and chocolate.  She was in Michigan to present at the MBG and MBAA Winter Conference and took an extra day or so to hang on the farm. Ginger is a tireless advocate for equity in marketing, and has made a name for herself by establishing her own consulting businesses, Women Enjoying Beer. and The Fifty Percent.    We talk shop including beer, gender, service and training.   Here’s Ginger from the secret lair at Red Horse Ranch.   The Drinks: New Holland's Mischievous II Sour Ale & Pilgrim's Dole Wheatwine 2014   The Music: “Wealthy Street” on intro and outro, © and courtesy of Drew Nelson Guest Bio: Ginger Johnson TED talker, book author, beer enthusiast and marketer. Ginger's a dynamic speaker and founder of a few companies, one of which is Women Enjoying Beer. WEB = the only company on the planet studying women & their relationship with beer (yes. really). She's also involved in The Fifty Percent a project with Meagen Anderson, using data to improve our world. Hel

Talking beer, music, collaboration and creativity with a talented panel of musicians and beer enthusiasts, featuring Kyle Hollingsworth of the String Cheese incident and Kyle Hollingsworth Band, Grammy winning Peter Madcat Ruth of Madcat Midnight Blues Journey and The Change, Mike Shimmin from Joshua Davis Trio and others, and Nicholas Barron from The Strapping Owls. We talk shop, taste beers and even play a little music. The Music: “Wealthy Street” on intro and outro, © and courtesy of Drew Nelson Live music performed and improvised by our esteemed panel.  Kyle Hollingsworth - String Cheese Incident and KHB: Keyboards, Vocals Fred Bueltmann - New Holland Brewing and Strapping Owls: Sousaphone Peter Madcat Ruth - Madcat Midnight Blues Journey:  Harmonica Nicholas Barron - Nicholas Barron Band & Strapping Owls - Guitar & Vocals Michael Shimmin- Joshua Davis Trio - Cajon The Drinks:  New Holland Brewing beers: The Poet - Oatmeal Stout Black Tulip Tripel - Belgian-style Tripel Hoptronix - Do

Drinking pints at the market with Richard is a quintessential British experience.  We got to talk about his history, the UK beer market and all sorts of other stuff.  Next time, we’ll need to get his business partner Mike to join us, as the two of them together is even better.  Here we are from The Rake at Borough Market in August of 2016. The Drinks: The Music: “Wealthy Street” on intro and outro, © and courtesy of Drew Nelson Guest Bio: Richard Dinwoodie has been in the beer industry for almost thirty years.  He has been a champion for a diverse marketplace, fighting to provide more beer choices available to consumers, from around the world.  With his business partner, Mike Hill, he operates UTO Beer, off sale, and The Rake at Borough Market and Tap East brewpub at Stratford International, and is an Internationally recognized beer judge.

Chris and I go waaaay back to when I first started going to the Great American Beer Festival, aka the GABF.  I believe my first GABF was 1995, when Chris was just getting the project now known as The Falling Rock going, so we’ve covered some ground, not only in Denver, but Madison, Chicago, Philly - Chris gets around and is a huge part of our craft beer family. He’s a warm soul with a kind heart and I respect him a great deal.  We had a great time hanging out at Big Beers in Breckenridge The Details The Drinks:  Barrel Knickerbocker Old Fashioned, Zeppelin Bend Reserve Whiskey The Music: “Wealthy Street” on intro and outro, © and courtesy of Drew Nelson Guest Bio: Chris is co-founder and proprietor of Falling Rock Tap House in Denver, Colorado.  His beer career spans more than thirty years, and includes experience at wholesale, brewery and retail.  He’s also served as beer judge and on the Board of Directors for the Brewers Association. Find out more and give him a visit at fallingrocktaphouse.com or @Falling

I got to know Mark a little bit at the  Brewers Association’s beer dinner at The Salon with Chef Nicholas Balfe and Adam Dulye.  We got to chatting and decided in short order that more beers and conversation were in order.  We met at what we thought would be a quiet beer garden in his neighborhood, but as the London Craft Beer Festival let out a few blocks away, a post-fest party gathered around us, sharing our picnic table, beers and lively conversation well after the Mics were off.     The Details The Drinks: Cloudwater DIPA v6 & v7, Five Points Pale Ale The Music: “Wealthy Street” on intro and outro, © and courtesy of Drew Nelson Guest Bio: Mark Dredge is a beer, food and travel writer based in London, England. He's currently writing his fifth book and trying to complete his beer bucket list. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MarkDredge

Fred sat with Kate Hill following the final dinner at Pigstock 2016 at the Haggerty Center in Traverse City, Michigan this October.  Kate shares how she came to teach people at Kitchen at Camont in Gascony, France, as well as traveling the world to share her passion.    The Details The Drinks: New Holland’s, The Poet The Music: “Wealthy Street” on intro and outro, © and courtesy of Drew Nelson   Guest Bio: Kate Hill, a published author and professional cook of 30 years, founded Camont as a cooking school and retreat in 1991 after moving to this fruitful spot in France from the US. Camont became a place to rethink ideas about food and cooking and Kate is a willingly mentor, coach and teacher. Here, we grow and buy seasonal produce from local farmers and make great Gascon food to share in the old stone kitchen. Our programs have grown from Kate’s relationships with Gascony’s thriving food community – particularly its farmstead butchers, and now you, too, can work with them to learn how to break down a pig and c

This conversation was a special treat, as it happened in the week following Harvest Gathering.  Earthwork Farm was considerably more quiet and tranquil than just days prior when it was teaming with smiling and ebullient people celebrating it with song, drink and warm smiles. While quiet and peaceful, I could still feel the pulse of Harvest, resonating in the bees humming away nearby.  Bob Bernard, is the founder of Earthwork Farm and his son, Seth - is founder of Earthwork Music, Harvest Gathering and countless other creative pursuits. We drank home-brew on the gazebo off the back of the main barn, and had a little chat.  It's our finale to the Harvest Gathering edition and I hope you enjoy it.    The Details The Drinks: Seth’s “Monster in the Closet” Imperial Stout The Music: Intro and outro feature “Wealthy Street” © Drew Nelson.  Seth and Bob play, “Travel”  from Being this Being  © Seth Bernard and “You Are My Friend“ © Dick Siegel Guest Bios Samuel Seth Bernard  Seth Bernard has a uniquely Michigan anato

I met Ryan at this year’s Harvest Gathering and it was interesting how quickly we were finding things we had in common.  Ryan’s story is a pretty remarkable example of the impact Harvest Gathering can have on people’s lives.  He’s a musician and heavily involved in Michigan’s festival scene and shares his music and story from Maddie’s Circle at Earthwork Farm. The Details The Drinks: New Holland Incorrigible Reserve, with bee.  The Music: “Wealthy Street” on intro and outro, © and courtesy of Drew Nelson.  Ryan and Jack play “Please” and “Blind Eye” © and courtesy of The Change from their album, Fight or Flight Guest Bio: "Ryan Williams" from Local Spins’ John Sinkevics: It’s fair to say Ryan Williams was destined to become a musician and event promoter.Born in Chicago and raised in Memphis, Williams – a singer and multi-instrumentalist who now makes his home in Grand Rapids – grew up in a family that featured a grandmother who performed as a backup singer with bluegrass pioneers Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs

Frank and Mark have been playing music together for an awfully long time, and it was great to sit with them in the woods and hear their stories.  They’ve warmly contributed to the the Michigan music community for decades in a remarkable way, playing with and mentoring countless musicians of all genres.  The Details The Drinks:  Dragon’s Milk Bourbon Barrel Stout by New Holland Brewing The Music:  “Wealthy Street” © and courtesy of Drew Nelson on intro and outro, members of Jive at Five perform “L.O.V.E.” Composed by Bert Kaempfert, with lyrics by Milt Gabler and “Galaxy Song” composed by Eric Idle and John Du Prez. Guest Bios: Jive at Five: Inspired by the small combo traditions of Nat King Cole, the Mills Brothers, Louis Jordan, Count Basie, and swing and jazz legends, Jive At Five gets the room swinging from the first note. Formed in 1992, Jive At Five features Michigan musical veterans Tom T. Ball on upright bass, Mark Schrock on electric guitar and vocals, Frank Youngman on trumpet, archtop acoustic guita

Joshua Davis has a vibrant role in the Michigan music community.  He’s a co-founder of the band, "Stepping In It" has a robust solo career, and was an early contributor to Earthwork Music Collective as well as Harvest Gathering. Joshua shares stories of his early influences, what it’s like to come home and reconnect and the importance of building strong community.  Josh also plays a couple tunes, including one from his upcoming album, The Way Back Home and another inspired from one of the first Harvest Gatherings.     The Details The Drinks:  Dragon’s Milk Bourbon Barrel Stout by New Holland Brewing The Music:  “Wealthy Street” © and courtesy of Drew Nelson on intro and outro, Joshua Davis performs “The Little Things” and “Bound for Glory” © and courtesy of Joshua Davis. Guest Bio Joshua Davis was raised in the folk tradition: the music, the social movements, the land. He writes songs that blend the roots of American music with gritty rock n’ roll and vintage soul. Performing Songwriter Magazine called the re

Our first ever live-podcast happened during the Harvest Gathering 2016 at Earthwork Farm in Lake City, Michigan.  A three day celebration of music and community, the Harvest Gathering is like nothing else.  Earthwork is home of the Bernard family farm as well as the Earthwork Music Collective. My first guest on Friday was May Erlewine Bernard. She is a remarkable musician and sweetheart to boot. We met in “Maddie’s Circle”, which hosted workshops throughout the weekend.  It was a tranquil scene on log benches with warm conversation and kind souls.   The Details: The Drinks: Incorrigible White Sour Ale The Music:  “Wealthy Street” © and courtesy of Drew Nelson for Podcast intro and outro, May performs, Wild, and Sweet Days © and courtesy of May Erlewine Guest Bio May Erlewine comes from a family of artists and musicians. Early on she was exposed to music (and people) of all kinds. May was home-educated, came up singing and while still just a teenager hitchhiked all across North America playing in small and lar

I had a great time welcoming several collaborators from our upcoming Rocktoberfest to the brewery and podcast.  We’re really proud of this event and everyone’s generous spirit and ongoing efforts towards quality.  It’s a light hearted group that takes their work seriously, without taking themselves too seriously.  It was a learning curve to mic five guests without a tech on hand, so I hope you an pardon some atypical audio challenges.  Those issues aside, I think you’ll enjoy an engaging conversation with passionate folks I’m glad to know, and call friends. Episode 20 - The Details The Drinks:  New Holland’s Macatawa Stout, Uncle Bert’s Red Lager The Music:  “Wealthy Street” © and courtesy of Drew Nelson Guest Bios: Ken Estelle is CEO of Feeding America West Michigan. He joined the organization after a 30-year career in the aerospace industry and firmly believes that hunger can be solved. Feeding America West Michigan works with hundreds of local farmers, retailers, and processors to provide food to half a mi

Adam is a prince among men. He's brilliant with spirits, hospitality and expressing creative ideas through beverages. I've enjoyed collaborating with him on events immensely, which has included making cocktails in a deluge under a tin shack, bacon-washing whiskey and dripping fat-washed gin through his Chinese tea tower.  I'm always grateful for his generous spirit and bright personality.  We caught up at the Palace Cafe during Tales of the Cocktail, 2016.   Episode 19: The Details The Drinks:  Cognac Old Fashioned, Palace Planter’s Punch The Music:  “Wealthy Street” © and courtesy of Drew Nelson Guest Bio: Adam Seger CCP CORPORATE SOMMELIER/EXECUTIVE BARMAN: IPIC Entertainment-Luxury Movie Theaters and Restaurants Coast-to- Coast www.iPic.com  MIXOLOGIST IN RESIDENCE: The Art Institute of Chicago FOUNDING PARTNER: HUM Spirits Co, BALSAM Spirits Co and Rare Bitters Co. An alumnus of Michelin Starred restaurants Chez Julien in Strasbourg, TRU in Chicago and The French Laundry in Napa Valley, Certified Culinary

China has a young, exciting and growing craft brewing scene, and Michael is revered as one of its dynamic leaders.  I met Michael at Liquid Laundry, one of the three breweries he oversees in Shanghai.  He has a remarkable and diverse career in brewing, covering three continents.  He was welcoming and generous, sharing his story and several beers, as well as some much needed advice towards exploring Shanghai.  Episode 18 - The Details The Drinks:  Sleepless in Saison, Liquid Laundry Brewery,Shangai; Dragon’s Milk, New Holland Brewing, Beer Barrel Bourbon, New Holland Artisan Spirits The Music:  “Wealthy Street” © and courtesy of Drew Nelson, “Everywhere is Calling” © and courtesy of Cavepeople Michael Jordan Michael's professional experience in brewing is very diverse, operating breweries with brewhouses ranging in size from 10 to 250 bbls. Michael began professional brewing in 1995, his last year of college and still enjoys the balance of art and science. His overall goal is to make great beer and have an enj

Brian and I got to know each other working on the collaboration between Carhartt and New Holland Brewing, that resulted in The Carhartt Woodsman and many other projects.  We talk about his roots in marketing, which began with a poorly funded escape to Portland, Oregon from his hometown Chicago, equipped without much more than a set of new tires from his Dad. Brian shares how his early lessons shaped his career, his perspective on branding, writing and storytelling, as well as how it brought him to work with the iconic Carhartt.  This episode is dedicated to the memory of Steve Carter, November 25, 1951 - June 7, 2016 - Cheers, Mr. Carter. Episode 17 - The Details The Drinks:  Biercamp Pale Ale, Ann Arbor, MI, Dark and Stormy with  Ron del Barrilito barrel aged rum The Music:  “Wealthy Street” © and courtesy of Drew Nelson, “Everywhere is Calling” © and courtesy of Cavepeople Brian Bennett Creative Director at Carhartt. Chief Assistant to the lady who manages three rascal children. Meat eating American Patriot