Inside the Brewery: A Mead Barrel Adventure!

06/22/21 • 28 min

It’s 2020 and the world has been flipped upside down due to a dangerous pandemic that ravaged older members of society. For many, the lockdown gave us pause to reflect on what really mattered in life. For Round Guys Brewing Company founder, Scott Rudich, it gave him ideas!
Scott always wanted to have a strong barrel aging program, however, time commitments largely pulled his attention away until then. Pagan Poetry in its first incarnation featured a quad aged in a tasty white wine barrel. Inside the Brewery host, Bill McGeeney, recalls the delicate pear and apple notes that weaved silky waves into the plum and dark fruit quad base beer. A truly magical moment for any fan of beer to behold!
In 2020, Round Guys Brewing Company found themselves straddled with an uncertain production schedule and an uncertain consumption market. The team brewed a high abv Scottish wee-heavy style beer called Iron Tusk. Iron Tusk became a perfect candidate for aging in a barrel. However, it wasn’t going to be just any barrel!
At the same time, Adam Crockett of Upper Reach Meadery, continued to forge ground breaking meads, bending mead making to its most creative limits, without gimmicks or strange adjuncts. His focus was on perfecting the craft, redefining the mead market similar to how craft beer took the reigns from light lagers and distributed flavor and enjoyment back to the masses!
Rudich and Crockett teamed up, whereby Round Guys Brewing Company would purchase barrels for aging this already tasty Iron Tusk! In this episode, you’ll be taken on a master class of barrel and mead making by two true professionals in their field.
Round Guys Radio Network’s Inside the Brewery is one of three shows on the Round Guys Radio Network. Please follow Round Guys Radio wherever you receive your podcasts (Apple, Google Podcast, Stitcher, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc) and sign up to our mailing list for new updates and stories at RoundGuysBrewery.com/RGR.
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Art of the Brewery: the Artist Philosopher

He doesn’t consider himself to be a philosopher, but we beg to differ. Listen and tell us we’re wrong!

The artist philosopher, Dan Yowell, began creating intricate label art for Round Guys Brewing Company with a simple sketch. The sketch found its way onto the wall of the Round Guys Brewing Company kitchen, where it sat for a considerable amount of time.

In 2020, Round Guys Brewing Company decided to revamp a legacy label for its Chronomancer Quad Ale. Finding a new design that successfully conveyed the idea of a “Chronomancer” became surprisingly difficult to source. After exhausting all of his sources, Bill McGeeney put out a general call within the organization for ideas. Scott Rudich suggested to use that design that sat clear taped to a wall.

Dan Yowell’s odd design, which to the layman resembles a mega-grub, became an instant fan favorite. People instantly found themselves attracted to the abstractness, imparting their own ideas and emotional attachment to something, that for all practical purposes, was a weird giant grub.

Host Bill McGeeney takes you on a mission to learn about Yowell’s philosophy based inspiration for his art, along with how he binds craft beer and brilliant designs together in this Art of the Brewery podcast on the Round Guys Radio Network. Please follow Round Guys Radio wherever you receive your podcasts (Apple, Google Podcast, Stitcher, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc); also join us online at Facebook.com/RoundGuysRadio and sign up to our mailing list for new updates and stories at RoundGuysBrewery.com/RGR.
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Inside the Brewery: Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

One of the unique constraints the Covid pandemic placed on society during 2020 drew from society’s ability to protect the underserved, most notably the homeless and poor living often unseen in our region. Long community focused, Lou Farrell devised an innovative and simple solution to reduce food insecurity during the pandemic lockdown. He began delivering peanut butter and jelly sandwiches downtown!
The brilliance of a peanut butter and jelly campaign to feed the hungry pulls in part from Farrell’s previous work helping the needy. Peanut butter, as we all know, can be quite a sturdy protein, less temperamental to many temperature challenges you’d have with other proteins and fats. In addition, jelly provides a pleasant sugar for homeless individuals, whom, due to the nature of being on the streets, can burn through these calories quite fast.
Sandwiches need not be sophisticated works of culinary art. Instead, Farrell requests that people use simple white bread to appeal to all palates, left whole – not cut. Creamy peanut butter must be double layered, followed by a simple coating of grape jelly. Wrap the sandwiches in a clear plastic ziplock bag. Stack the completed sandwiches into a box and drive them to a drop off point. From that point on, it’s Farrell’s job! Farrell picks up the food items and delivers them around to three different food bank / drop off areas.
Join Round Guys Radio Network's Inside the Brewery Podcast host, Bill McGeeney as he explores all there is to know about the Bread Drop Campaign. Learn more about this podcast episode by going to https://roundguysbrewery.com/round-guys-podcast/rgr/inside-the-brewery-peanut-butter-jelly-time/.
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