Justin Koury - A wine and spirits expert with over 25 years of hospitality industry experience. Justin has spent decades teaching culinary techniques whiskey pairings and consulting in the spirits and cider Industries.

Todd Godbout -Todd has been exploring the world of wineries, breweries, distilleries, and cideries since 2003, the same year he created WineCompass.com, a tasting room compendium that now includes information on almost 20,000 craft beverage tasting rooms. Since then, he has written over 1,500 posts at the WineCompass blog and leveraged his contacts to create the Virginia Wine TV and MyJoogTV video series. He has participated as a judge for the Maryland Governor’s Cup and World Drinks Awards. In the technology sphere, he developed the Android Compass Craft Beverage Finder mobile application and its equivalent on Amazon Fire and Alexa. In 2018 he co-founded BevFluence®, an organization that provides a unique ecosystem where products are tasted, shared, and fully experienced. BevFluence® provides these services through influencer marketing campaigns and unique regional experiences through bartender labs and speakeasy events. The team has collaborated with the Michigan Wine Collaborative, Ryland Peters & Small publishing house, the American Cider Association, Visit Nelson County, as well as various guilds, DMOs, and associations.

Ricardo Petroni - co founder/ brewmaster at Round Table Brewery

Pat Fondiller- Beer Beast since early nineties in San Francisco, NYC since 1997. Worked at the Gate, Southpaw, Greenwood Park. Sales at Smuttynose 2010-2017, Shmaltz/Alphabet City 2018, partner at Alewife from 2018-2024, RoundTable 2025-present.

Manny Calderon Jr. – Mastermind of Niche Brands NYC, a marketing company that specializes in developing craft beers.

Courtney Iseman is a Brooklyn-based craft beer and spirits writer for outlets including The Washington Post, Food & Wine, Punch, Inside Hook, Craft Beer & Brewing, CraftBeer.com, Thrillist, VinePair, and more. She is also a content consultant for beverage brands and retailers, and the author of the Beer Tarot Zine available through Bean to Barstool.

Joined by photographer Miguel Rivas @thebeertrekker

Jerry Siote- Co-Owner / Director of Brewing Operations. I've been a professional brewer since 2014 here with Lone Tree Brewing Company. Personally, I love experimenting with traditional hops in hop-forward styles, while incorporating new hopping techniques and new varieties into West-Coast-style IPAs, Pale Ales and Lagers. We run two breweries in Colorado, our original location in Lone Tree, CO and a recently acquired brewery in 2024 located in the town of Parker, CO. Our goal is to make the best craft beer possible by emulating traditional styles from all over the world while trying to create new flavor profiles for the communities we brew in. Going into our 14th year of producing beer, we love what we do and strive to make the best beer with the best ingredients. Cheers.

James Zarzour- The Yakima Chief Hops South Regional Sales Manager with a focus on connecting family hop farms with the world's finest brewers!

Bruz is a Belgian style focused brewery in Denver, CO

Ryan Evans - Ryan is a co-founder and CEO of Bruz Beers. A Colorado native, Ryan has an MBA from the University of Denver and has extensive business experience - having held executive positions in several industries. Ryan discovered Belgian beer while backpacking through Europe and couldn’t get them out of his mind. He returned from his travels with a thirst for Belgian beer and a love for Belgian culture.

An avid outdoor sports enthusiast, Ryan has climbed nearly all of Colorado’s “fourteeners” and is a lover of hiking, camping and backcountry skiing. He has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and Denali in Alaska, adding them to the list of famous mountains he has experienced. Having been on Denali three times, he says he still has another trip up that amazing mountain in him!

Mr. Bentley and Trip, the Bruz Brew Dogs, are he and his wife Rachels favorite kids!

Charlie Gottenkieny

Charlie is a co-founder of Bruz Beers and is the architect of our portfolio of fine Belgian-style beers. Charlie started his brewing journey as a home-brewer – a pursuit he began in the late Eighties as a result of his travels to Belgium. In those days, Belgian beers were hard to come by in the U.S. and craft breweries were still in their infancy. But after tasting his brother John’s home-brew, Charlie realized that “if you can’t buy it, brew it yourself.” So, he set out to teach himself how to make Belgian-style beers at home.

After 27 years and more than a hundred competition medals – including two AHA Home-brewer of the Year awards – Charlie was ready to scale it up a bit. He has brewed at a number of commercial breweries and is the head brewer at Bruz. He has taught brewing and beer styles at several community colleges, has spoken publicly at beer conferences and events, and is a nationally recognized beer judge

Zack Kaiser (Absolem Cider), Parick Chavanelle (Allagash), Larry Westler (Apres) sit down with Jimmy Carbone to talk Ciders from Maine, fermentation and how they all came to love the process.

Zack is a Cidermaker, owner, and co-founder of Absolem Cider Company. In love with the craft, art, and science of fermentation. This passion developed through experiences at Neshaminy Creek Brewing, Millstone Cellars, Diamondback Brewing, and Perennial Cider Bar. Currently searching for tasty apples, grapes, and fruits.

Patrick Chavanelle has been an employee at Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine since 2011. He's currently the Research and Development Manager, responsible for coordinating new beer development, analyzing raw materials, and running the brewery's cider and wine program. He sits on the board of the Hop Quality Group where he is thoroughly involved in their public hop breeding efforts. Patrick is currently working towards his Master of Science in Brewing and Practice through the University of Nottingham, as well as the Winemaking Certification program through the University of California, Davis.

Larry Westler went from apple enthusiast to photo editor to lead cider maker at Apres, and has jumped into cider making feet first in the last few years. Originally from NYC, the move to Portland eventually led to a career change as well, turning a passionate hobby into selfies with thousands of pounds of apples from Maine orchards, destined to be fermented. After initially bartending at Apres, he transitioned to becoming a member of the production team, and now runs the cider program. He strives to keep a diversified portfolio of cider that showcases modern and traditional methods while keeping the focus on Maine-grown apples and fruit in general.

Jimmy has a chat with Jorge Gaviria- founder of Masienda and author of " Masa". They discuss all things corn, including corn beers that Jorge has collaborated on at Peekskill Brewing and Roberta's.

Jorge Gaviria is the founder of Masienda, the fastest-growing masa brand in the country. Before founding his company in 2014, Jorge trained at top restaurants, including Danny Meyer's Maialino and Blue Hill at Stone Barns. He has been recognized by top international press outlets for his work and was awarded Forbes “30 Under 30” for food and wine and named one of Food & Wine’s “Game Changers” of the culinary industry. His James Beard-nominated, bestselling cookbook MASA: Techniques, Recipes, and Reflections on a Timeless Staple has been praised as a best cookbook of 2022 by Los Angeles Times, Food & Wine, The Washington Post, NPR and more. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, daughters, and dog, Reuben.

All hail the golden age of beer! Today there are nearly nine thousand breweries in the US alone, brewing an enormous range of styles from imperial stouts to double India pale ales, golden pilsners, briny melon goses, and much more. But while this breadth can delight the taste buds all year, how does one choose what to drink without feeling overwhelmed or defaulting to the same brews again and again?

Acclaimed beer expert Tom Acitelli presents a fifty-two week guide to choosing the perfect beer to complement every week of the year. With tasting notes, brand recommendations, a guide to how to best serve, sip, and savor, plus fascinating backstories and trivia, Acitelli unearths what beer lovers actually care about and reveals how to appreciate the best that the golden age of beer has to offer.

You can get a copy of the book HERE

Recorded at Notch Brewing - Brighton( Boston) March 5, 2025

Andy Farrell is the brewmaster of Bell’s Brewery, overseeing innovation and recipe development at both the Comstock Brewery. Andy has helped bring dozens of brands to life, including Hazy Hearted, Light Hearted, and Oberon Eclipse. He has represented Bell’s at several conferences and numerous industry associations.

Born and raised in Kalamazoo, Andy first started working at Bell’s in 2000, working in brewing, cellar operations, as well as leadership roles, serving as Head Brewer, Brewing Innovation Manager, and his current role as Brewmaster. Andy leads a great team of brewers who manage specialty brewing, including new product development, barrel aged beers, portfolio optimization, and raw material assessment, as well as research and development brewing trials at both the Comstock, and Kalamazoo breweries. Andy has been influential in building the innovation brewery, which has allowed Bell’s to quickly take new ideas to market.