In this episode we talk with Amy Beers, the author of the new book Indianapolis Beer Stories: History to Modern Craft in Circle City Brewing. Amy is a Certified Cicerone and she leads walking beer tours around Indy through her company Drinking with Beers. In this conversation we discuss her book, the invisible history of Indianapolis beer prior to Prohibition, and the vibrant modern beer scene in central Indiana.

In this episode we’ll talk with Em Sauter, a fellow Advanced Cicerone and the creator of Pints & Panels, a cartoon that celebrates beer and provides educational resources for folks curious to learn more about our favorite drink. Em is the author of two books, the most recent of which, Hooray for Craft Beer, was just published in April. With whimsical cartoons and easy-to-understand explanations, the book is a fun and positive way to look at beer from a new angle and learn about it in a non-intimidating way. Today Em and I talk about the book, her creative process, why positivity is so important in the craft beer world, and she even tastes a few bean to bar chocolates along the way.

In this episode we talk with beer and chocolate writer Luke Owen Smith about pairing beer and chocolate, the beer and chocolate scene in New Zealand, the challenges and opportunities for both in a small market, and how craft chocolate can learn from craft beer’s growth and its mistakes.

In this quick interview with beer educator and Advanced Cicerone Natalya Watson, I talked with Nat about how we develop a better tasting vocabulary and ability to describe beer, and she highlighted the importance of practice and curiosity.

As craft beer works to be more inclusive, the language we use to describe beer needs to be examined. In this episode Dr. J Nikol Jackson-Beckham talks about where cultural biases are found in beer language and how we can learn to use descriptive sensory language to welcome newcomers and learn from others.