Beer and Bullsh*t

And now for something completely different: "Welcome to Ren Likes To Talk. A podcast where Ren Navarro, founder of Beer.Diversity, sits down with her friends and talks about anything and everything! Pull up a seat and listen in!" For some bonus "I just had a baby" content, check out Beer and Bullshit host Ben Johnson on another great podcast you should subscribe to, available here: https://blubrry.com/renlikestotalk/

Ben and Chris dig into your emails and chat about slime beer, cask ale, gateway beers, seltzer, and sweatpants from the internet. Plus Chris got a dog!

Ben chats with Left Field Brewery owner Mandie Murphy about the Ontario Craft Brewers, a potential second location, beer at baseball games, and becoming just the third living wage certified brewery in Ontario. Also, Ben rants a bit about The Tragically Hip's legal action against Mill Street Brewery.

Ben chats with Great Lakes Brewery owner Peter Bulut Jr who reflects on 30 years in brewing and shares the details of the forthcoming Great Lakes brew pub in downtown Toronto.

Ben and Chris chat with Mike Clark and Luke Pestl of Bellwoods Brewery about the real estate gambles that got the ball rolling for their company, the fate of that other location (and that other, other location), making beer that gets international attention, and the polarizing milkshake IPA.

Ben and Chris chat with Erica Campbell, an Ontario beer sales rep veteran and the co-owner and co-founder of the Society of Beer Drinking Ladies. They chat about bringing more women into the craft beer industry, the challenges and rewards of being in beer sales, and what's next for the SOBDL.

Ben and Chris chat with Mike Lackey, Brewmaster at Great Lakes Brewery and Iain McOustra, Brewmaster at Amsterdam Brewery, about their decades in Ontario beer, their various collaboration brews, slushie beers, haze, and schooling young brewers with thumbtacks and dollar bills.

Ben chats with Mary Beth Keefe, head brewer at Granite Brewery in Toronto, about her 30 year-old family business, open fermentation brewing, Ringwood Yeast, and the Unicorn Boys.

Ben rants a bit about blogging and lockdowns then chats with Sean and Sarabeth Holden of the newly-opened Red Tape Brewery in Toronto about their "bespoke beer" business model and shipping ingredients from Baffin island for Inuit-influenced recipes.

Ben and Chris dig in to listener emails and answer your pressing questions about cider, beers to drink while shovelling, and making new friends; plus they ramble about their first beers, rare times they over-indulged, and stand-up comedy.

Ben chats with Luc "Bim" Lafontaine of Toronto's Godspeed brewery about his affinity for Japan, the sip of Pilnser Urquell that changed his life, and why Drake owes him money.

Ben chats with Ryan Morrow, Collective Arts Brewing Company's Brewmaster, about the company's expansion plans, brewing beer at "big craft" brewery, cannabis beverages, and that time they enjoyed a couple India Session Ales together.

Ben chats with Sam Corbeil, Brewmaster for Sawdust City Brewery. Sam talks about the proliferation of IPAs, the unappreciated stout, chicken wings at Cask Days, and the cookie company marketing collaboration that kind of sort of almost happened once.

Ben chats with publican Milos Kral, the proprietor of Milos Craft Beer Emporium in London, about the relationships he's built with local brewers, the absurdity of Ontario's beer laws, and why, even though he's poured 2000 different beers at his bar in eight years, he'll always have a soft spot for Czechvar

For the season one finale, Ben and Chris chat with Kevin Freer, the head brewer at Block Three Brewing in St Jacobs. Kevin chats about hazy beers, patio bubbles, and exploding beer and somehow we also manage to talk about the FLQ, Kurt Russell, and boner-inducing vaccines.

Ben chats with Jason Fisher, the owner of Indie Alehouse and Eataly Toronto's Birrotecca, about expanding operations right before a pandemic, the state of beer writing, the Ontario Craft Brewers association, and the Sparkelsgebot.

Ben chats with Jason Fisher, the owner of Indie Alehouse and Eataly Toronto's Birrotecca, about expanding operations right before a pandemic, the state of beer writing, the Ontario Craft Brewers association, and the Sparkelsgebot.

Ben and Chris read listener email and talk about surprisingly good beers, food pairing, and passing out at poker night; plus cats, recreational drugs, and of course, Saved By The Bell.

Ben talks to fledgling kitchen-brewery owner Peter Reeves about No Worries brewery, which focuses on making beer for people who don't understand beer. Peter explains how you can turn taco night leftovers into your own beer and descirbes his struggle getting his beer, Ben Mulrooney 55, into The Beer Store; featuring Rob Norman.

Ben and Chris chat with aspiring brewery-owner, Kevin, who Ben met at his kid's karate class. Kevin outlines his pun-focused business model and we learn arguably too much about his troubled family; featuring Eric Miinch.