Michael Kiser

Aug 13, 2024 | goodbeerhunting.com | Stephanie Byce |Michael Kiser |Kyle Kastranec |Mark T. Spence

Three Nashville brewers sipped beer from small plastic cups in the backroom of Bootleg Biology, Tennessee’s only yeast lab. The lab’s garage door, framed by an old red, white, and blue brewers’ conference banner, was open despite the early February cold. The beer they were sampling was brewed with a wild yeast collected from a sunflower. Surrounded by brewing and lab equipment, they compared tasting notes. They pronounced it “Belgian saison-y,” with flavors of bubblegum and banana.

Aug 6, 2024 | goodbeerhunting.com | Stephanie Byce |Michael Kiser |Kyle Kastranec |Mark T. Spence

The early, early morning hours of Oct. 2, 2021, should’ve been quiet. In most of Albany, they were. But if you hung a left off of New York State Route 5 onto Walker Way, you couldn’t miss the line of cars—more than 100 long—that extended well beyond the shuttered garage door emblazoned with a script font reading “Fidens.”The occasion was the brewery’s second anniversary.

Jul 31, 2024 | goodbeerhunting.com | Stephanie Byce |Michael Kiser |Kyle Kastranec |Mark T. Spence

In a city known for its spectacular array of Mexican cuisine, it’s fitting that one of its best-known cocktails is modeled after barbacoa, a slow-cook method of preparing meat meant to create a tender, juicy, and extra-flavorful final result. Made with mezcal, lemon, lime, ginger syrup, and chipotles, with red bell pepper and beef jerky for garnish, Julian Cox’s breakout cocktail, invented in 2008, is the superlative example of a drink born of the Angel City.

Jul 29, 2024 | goodbeerhunting.com | Stephanie Byce |Michael Kiser |Kyle Kastranec |Mark T. Spence

The fox is barely visible. At first it is just a rustle in the tall grass. Twilight has dyed the winter landscape deep blue, and sound works faster than sight. When it does emerge, the fox moves swiftly through the open, a spark running down a length of wire. Though darkness has nearly closed in over the woods, they still flare with gestures of life. Crows crowd the corridor of old oaks, the trees’ self-appointed guardians and defenders against the rasping magpies.

Jul 23, 2024 | goodbeerhunting.com | Stephanie Byce |Michael Kiser |Kyle Kastranec |Mark T. Spence

When a loved one dies, we tell stories and drink in their honor.  An Irish wake is a celebration of the life of the departed, with memories shared over a whiskey or a pint of beer while the deceased lies in the same room. In Mexico, there’s Día de Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, where it’s believed that spirits walk among the living, prompting family members to build colorful altars called “ofrendas,” which are decorated with photos, food, and beverages to toast the spirits.