Line #1 Creator/TheBrewingNetwork


1	[[quoteright:315:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bn.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:315:An episode of Brewing With Style being broadcasted at an event. In photo (L-R): Tasty Mc Dole, Jamil Zainasheff, Justin Crossley.]]
3	The Brewing Network is an internet radio station devoted to discussion about home brewing, craft brewing, and the brewing industry. Online since 2005, the network started with just one show, and expanded to its current lineup of eleven (eight of which are still active). All shows broadcast live, followed by archiving in podcasts. It is owned by Justin Crossley, though there are many people working to make the station work. It currently airs from The Hop Grenade, its affiliated craft beer bar.
4
5	List of Shows:
6
7	The Session (formerly The Sunday Session): The BN's flagship show, it is relatively long for podcasts (usually 3-4 hours long). When creating the show, Justin aimed to mix the breakfast radio format with long form interviews with experts and brewers to get the sort of information short interviews wouldn't garner. Episodes air four times a month on Mondays.
8
9	There was a show broadcast on terrestrial radio, usually referred to as 'The Free FM Show'. Hosted on local radio station Free FM (with online streaming), it was hosted by Justin Crossley and Sean O'Sullivan.
10
11	Lunch Meet (AKA "That Other Show"): The BN's rarely broadcasted and even more rarely archived off topic and [[VulgarHumor politically incorrect]] show. Canceled because Justin got sick of doing it and the fans didn't donate $10,000 to keep it on the air.
12
13	Brew Strong: Hosted by Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer, it is focused on technical issues in a more concentrated information format than The Session. Episodes were originally archived fortnightly (typically recorded two at a time), though now it's recorded whenever Jamil can find a space in his schedule.
14
15	The Jamil Show: Brewing With Style (formerly Can You Brew It): The Jamil Show started as a show where Jamil Zainasheff and John Plise gave recipes for brewing to style guidelines. When they ran out of styles they changed to Can You Brew It. John left to be replaced by Tasty Mc Dole, and in this iteration they interviewed brewers to get the information required to brew clones of commercial beers. When they ran out of brewers willing to give them the information they needed, they swapped to Brewing With Style. John returned (described in the intro as a "special guest"), and they discussed styles, what they should taste like and commercial examples. It was cancelled due to Jamil [[MarriedToTheJob working too much]].
16
17	The Homebrewed Chef: Chef Sean Paxton discussed cooking with beer as well as beer and food pairings. It was short lived due to difficulties with Paxton's schedule.
18
19	Dr Homebrew: Hosted by JP, listeners send in beer and have BJCP certified judges taste and give feedback while discussing the beer with the brewer. Frequently described on air as an "interactive BJCP Score Sheet".
20
21	The Sour Hour: Jay Goodwin of The Rare Barrel hosts this show that focuses exclusively on sour brewing. It updated monthly on Wednesday nights with the last episode recorded March 2020.
22
23	Heads and Tails: Hosted by JP and Beardy, this show focuses on craft spirits and distillation. [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial Not that they do distillation at home, that would be illegal.]] It ran from September 2019 to November 2020, and was ended because Beardy moved to Washington.
24
25	Bikes + Beer: The first show to broadcast from The Hop Grenade's Fort Collins location (and only, now it closed down). Originally broadcast on local terrestrial radio, after it was cancelled it moved to The Brewing Network. The show focuses primarily on breweries and beer events in the Fort Collins area. It only had two episodes.
26
27	Shinerunner: Hosted by Mark Colburn, it focuses on marketing and distribution in the beer industry. It ran from February 2019 to the end of 2020.
28
29	Entre Cervezas: The Brewing Network's Spanish language show, described as a 'Spanish Brew Strong'. It ran for a little over a year, ending July 2020.
30
31	Hop and Brew School: Hosted by Justin Crossley and featuring people from Yakuma Hops, it's a show, as the name suggests, that focuses on everything hops including use in brewing and technical discussions of the compounds derived from hops. It ran from March 2019 to July 2020.
32
33	Beer Before Glory: Justin Crossley and Matt Brynildson interview professional brewers in a discussion of topics in the brewing industry. It only had four episodes.
34
35
36
37	----
38	!!''The Brewing Network'' features examples of:
39
40	* The brewcasters and Scott have fun with his being Jewish, embracing and having fun with the [[ANiceJewishIndex cliches]] associated with being a Jew.
41	* AudibleSharpness: When Jamil was introduced for Can You Brew It, a sword 'shing' was played
42	* AwardShow: The [=BNAs=] (Brewing Network Awards), which is usually the first episode of the year.
43	* BirthdayEpisode: Doctoberfest. It was even planned as a [[SurpriseParty surprise]].
44	* BroadcastLive: Emphasized frequently, as it allows people to ask questions of the guests either via the chat room or Skype, as well as making the overall experience more interactive than a pre-recorded podcast would be. At the beginning it was the main aspect used to sell the BN as being better than competing podcasts.
45	* ButtMonkey: For a long time, JP. After some years though he lost it and told the others that the insults they were hanging off him were actually getting to him and they should lay off a little. There are still jokes about JP, but they are less harsh as they originally were. Also Sam.
46	* CatchPhrase: Jamil's "Hey howdy hey my brewing brothers and sisters", followed by John's "greetins cretins" (pronounced 'creetins'). For a long time listeners would sign off letters with "suck it JP". Scott signs off his segments with "This is Scott the Jew, saying la hiem". For a long time Tasty [=McDole=] would try to squeeze a mention of his popular recipe Janets Brown into a discussion, to a point where he would sometimes just say its name for no actual reason.
47	* TheCommandments: The Brewing Network at times refers to what they call "the brewer's code", which is "don't be a dick". Usually cited when a competition relies on the honor code (ie not checking the internet for answers) or talking about behavior at beer festivals and conferences.
48	* CookingShow: The Homebrewed Chef
49	* DeadAir: Justin is a stickler for broadcast standards, including going nuts at brewcasters who forget to turn their microphone off when they eat or drink and at one point going on a long rant when they criticized the pictures in a calendar which was being discussed because it was made by a new sponsor. On the plus side they thought it was hilarious and posted the whole segment on their site.
50	* DrinkingGame: The drunk of the week award, which usually involved contestants giving their drinking resume, telling them what they act like when drunk or encouraging stupid behavior. This was dropped as a regular contest for about a year, as taking the calls and deciding a winner became a chore to do. It has been replaced by people competing for the prize by leaving funny voicemail messages while drunk.
51	* DrinkingOnDuty: Understandable and pretty much expected as all of the shows involve discussing various aspects of beer. Justin pointed out in one episode of The Session that he couldn't remember an episode he was in where he didn't have a beer.
52	* EagleLand: Their [[https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-the-brewing-network-invade-a-large-country video]] for their indiegogo page raising money for their trip to Australia to cover the ANHC. It also has fun with Australian NationalStereotypes.
53	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Listen to the first few episodes of The Jamil Show and you'll hear a very reserved, quiet Jamil hosting. This was brought up in Lunch Meet, as Justin tries to imitate Jamil's quiet, softly spoken demeanor. Fast forward to the time they wrap up the BJCP, Jamil is much more extroverted, using sexual innuendo all the time (which is encouraged when the network gets sponsorship from Adam and Eve) and being more natural as he got used to being on the radio.
54	* EnforcedPlug: Several, with Adam and Eve, BYO magazine and AHA memberships being the most consistent ones.
55	* ExcuseQuestion: Averted by Justin, who insists the listeners do something to earn prizes. Typically it involves playing games tilted towards brewing, such as Beer Jeopardy or Guess the Fake. It only happened twice- the much-maligned at the time and afterwards "Guess What Number JP Is Thinking", and "Guess Where JP Is Having His Vacation", which was ruined by Doc.
56	* FakeGuestStar: John Plise on Brewing With Style. In one episode Jamil wonders aloud how long he will be introduced as a special guest. It got even sillier after he left but was still mentioned in the intro.
57	* {{Filler}}: From 2012 onwards Brew Strong was criticized for having too many Q&A episodes, as well as having a "Going Pro" series that went for 12 episodes. Jamil justified the number of Q&A episodes by saying they receive lots of questions and they needed to get them out of the way. Listeners who didn't mind argued that Jamil, hosting two shows and running a brewery, had less time to prepare the more detailed and in depth style of show. Some critics of The Session consider the banter to be this and prefer the shows that get directly to brewing information.
58	* FriendlyRivalry: The Sour Hour has one with The Session, though it's pretty much one way. Jay encourages people to leave iTunes reviews that say his show is better than The Session, and he reads reviews he likes on air. On The Session they're barely aware of this.
59	* HehHehYouSaidX: Frequently used, especially by Doc. At one point they were using it so often listeners complained and they had an episode of The Session where using the joke was banned.
60	* InMemoriam: The episode of The Session dedicated to telling stories about regular Tasty [=McDole=], who had sadly passed away due to cancer. At times it was a TearJerker as those present had a deep love and respect for the man.
61	* Tired of constant requests to bring back Lunch Meet, they set up an ImpossibleTask: they'll bring it back if the fans donate $10,000 [[http://igg.me/at/bring-back-lunchmeet/x/11926713 here]]
62	* InstructionalFilm: The Homebrew U DVD series. Currently only one volume (American Pale Ale), there was an offhand mention in one episode of The Session about shooting for a DVD about pilsner.
63	* NeverTrustATitle: The Sour Hour. It is theoretically an hour long, but there are more episodes that are an hour and a half or longer than those with times closer to an hour. There's also the fact it isn't exclusively about sour brewing but goes into all types of funky brewing such as the use of brettanomyces. After a while the shows became an hour long, however this is more due to editing their long off topic rambling (unusual for the Brewing Network, typically they archive their shows with no cuts) than anything else.
64	* NowBuyTheMerchandise: For some time Justin was pretty much supported by merchandise sales and donations from listeners (with a lot of on air gratitude), with some sponsors making up the gap. Justin's main source of income is now managing The Hop Grenade, and sponsorships and merch sales mainly help to sustain it and pay the salary of JP.
65	* NoEnding: Most shows that ended simply stopped being made with no announcement it was happening. Only twice has the ending been acknowledged in the last episode- Lunch Meet and Shinerunner. The Jamil Show, Homebrewed Chef, Bikes + Beer (though they only made two episodes), and unless their absence is temporary due to covid Hop and Brew School, and Sour Hour all stopped with nothing said about it.
66	* ObsessionSong: the songs written by listener Sugar Valley Brewer about chat moderator Beevo. While he has written songs about other brewcasters ("JP Lost His Wiener in the Dildo Mould" and the closing song "JP's an Asshole"), his most popular ones are creepy songs about Beevo. For a lot of the other brewcasters and listeners they are CreepyAwesome, with "Wakka Wakka Wakka On Her Bare Behind" winning the Song of the Year award for 2013.
67	* OverusedRunningGag: Due to the nature of the show, The Session has had many. Examples include Vinnie puppet, turning down a drunk of the week caller and playing In Da Gadda Da Vida, jokes about Justin's brewing ability, and the period where people were calling to see if their Skype was working.
68	* RidingIntoTheSunset: The episode simply titled 'D Day', which was the farewell for Session regular Daniela. She had gotten a job in her native Germany and this meant leaving the show. At times it became a real TearJerker.
69	* SafeDrivingAesop: One episode had Justin explain why he thinks people who try to get away with drunk driving are stupid. He went through his past, explaining his experiences, and drove home over and over that he has no respect for anyone who drunk drives and will call out anyone who tries.
70	* ShockJock: In the early years people accused the Brewcasters of being this, something Justin strongly denies.
71	* SoundToScreenAdaptation: The Brewing Network briefly expanded to television with its reality TV show Beer Wars, on community TV station KOFY.
72	* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Justin tries hard to make sure there is at least one woman on The Session- usually it's the chat moderator, with the role mostly filled in the early years by Daniela and afterwards by Beevo. Occasionally Nicole would join the crew. Listeners have criticised the show as being overly blokey as a result. The other shows are almost always 100% male, though Beevo occasionally makes a contribution to the other shows as she is usually taking care of the camera switching for the video feed.
73	* SuperCop: In Lunch Meet when an article mentions a police officer by the name of J R [=McKnight=], they immediately make jokes about him being this tough, no nonsense cop who can take care of anything (as well as using a fake voice to give him lines). From then on, when they talk about situations that need a tough hand to fix it, they mention that J R [=McKnight=] is on the case.
74	* TitleMontage: The Session starts out with a series of clips from previous episodes, along with a [[OpeningNarration voice over]] that gives a basic description of what the show is about. The clips have been changed several times to give some variety.
75	* YouCanLeaveYourHatOn: A Very Stripper Christmas.
76

Context Creator / TheBrewingNetwork