Here comes the Broadway Brews Project

Being Broadway guys who moonlighted as The Happy Hour Guys (or vice versa) just didn't cut it any longer: So Mark and I decided it was time to bring our Craft lives and our Broadway lives together. 

So here's an intro to our newest series, The Broadway Brews Project. We're pairing a hit Broadway show with a local NY Brewer; then helping the whole crowd plan, brew and then celebrate a one-off beer, all for a charity of the show's choosing. And we follow along with our cameras the whole time, of course. 3 Episodes: Meeting/recipe planning, Brew Day, and Release Party.

So what show is up first? There may be a clue or two (or three) in this teaser!

Video 324: Tasting 25 years with Flying Dog Brewing!

Flying Dog Brewing was in NYC to celebrate their 25th Anniversary, so we helped them put together a little event at the Hidden Bar at L'Amico NYC. Great Brewery? Check. Genius Brewer? Check. Tasting a whole series of special release #CraftBeers? Check, check, CHECK!

Special thanks to Bev Director Percy Rodriguez at L'Amico, Mary Beth Wood of Harvey PR, and Erin Weston and the whole Flying Dog fam, (along with Squigs and Dane on the lenses!)

Thank Goodness they got our good sides.

Video 322, Lurking in the shadows of Giants: Bonsai Brewing Project.

Things have gone all topsy turvy in the Craft Beer world in the past year or so. Big Money has gotten involved, and with the purchase of Ballast Point last year by Constellation Brands for ONE BILLION DOLLARS, it seems that all of a sudden many people are only seeing dollar signs. So there are little guys (small/new craft brewers) out there now who want nothing more than to be big guys. On the other side of that, now there are big guys (regional craft brewers) who are working very hard to maintain their 'Little Guy' worldview and 'cred'. And sometimes you run into a brewer that's very happy to simply make great beer on a small scale and do it in the best way possible.

Enter Bonsai, where that ethos is built into everything they are, from the name forward. Graham Hart is the Owner and Brewer at this Whitefish, MT house party/brewery, and he's very happy to run his business exactly as it is. Will he get bigger? Most likely. Does he care? What's in store for him, and for Montana? Press play and see, and many thanks to the Happy Hour Gal for camera duty. Enjoy!

Video 321, HOW TO: Grow your Brewery.

Or: Blackrocks Brewery, 5 years later.

First came the beer: Two home-brewing pals that made terrific beers in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. 

Next came the Nano: The Happy Hour Guys first started following Blackrocks Brewery in Marquette, MI in late 2010, when Andy and Dave had taken the leap of faith and had a tiny 1 barrel Brewery, just out of the gate, impressing their community and regularly selling out of beer each week. 

Then came the growth: Just 5 short years later, Blackrocks has changed incredibly: Join us at their production facility where they let us in on their personal (and highly specific) manifesto for Success in the Brewing Industry. Enjoy!

Video #320: Looking back on 2015 - to 300, and...

This is the 2015 version (and the 8th installment) of our Year End tradition, a look back at all of the places we've visited over the course of a sudsy / boozy year.

2015 was a coast to coast extravaganza, featuring stops from Maine to Northern California, with Texas, Montana, Colorado, New York Missouri and more in between.

Also, (no big deal here) we officially released and celebrated our 300th video episode this year!

So...now what? Click play for a look at a remarkable year.

Video #319: Perennial Artisan Ales.

If awards can be any indication of how innovative and interesting a brewer is, just before we shot at Perennial they won yet another gold medal at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival. At this 'yeast forward' brewery they do things their own way, and with a sense of style unlike anyone else we've ever met. Press play to meet the staff and have a close encounter with... ABRAXAS. Also a huge thank you to Lindsay Van Winkle for handling main camera op duties. Enjoy!

Episode #318: Tributary Brewing.

Jimmy, Mark, and Jennifer are in Maine to visit an old acquaintance, Tod Mott, who with his wife and business partner Galen has opened Tributary Brewing Company in Kittery, just across the river from Portsmouth, NH. Tod definitely qualifies in the categories of 'Good TV' as well as 'Rockstar Brewer', having brought IPA to Harpoon Brewing in 1992, and Imperial Stout to Portsmouth ("P Brew") in 1996. And wouldn't you know it, The Happy Hour Guys just happened to show up one day before the release of a certain world renowned Imperial Stout...(funny thing, that!) Click play for more, and enjoy!

We approve of this man's choice of headgear.