Head Retention

March brought unexpected and sad news to the DMV beer scene as Old Ox Brewery announced it would close its doors for good on April 5th. 

Roche and Lashelle traveled to Old Ox to speak with owner/brewer, Chris Burns, about the reasons for Old Ox' closing, the challenges of owning a brewery in 2025, and advice for owners (and potential brewery owners).

Then, Chris, Lashelle, and Roche reflect on the tremendous impact Old Ox has ha...

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Head Retention!

Lashelle break down why St. Patty's Day is her favorite "holiday" of the year while Roche revels in his surprisingly high level of Irishness before sampling some appropriate options for your St. Patrick's Day libations, including some that are not stouts. 

Sláinte!

Make sure your craft beer loving friends are listening and subscribing to Head Retention whe...

Last episode of Head Retention spotlighted Roche's new "go to" beer. Lashelle was fascinated with the story behind Senate Beer so in this episode, discover the history of a DC original. Senate's heyday, demise, the incredible story of how a lost recipe was rediscovered and a woman's quest to get this DC classic revived and back on the shelves! 

Guests:

Kim Bender: Heurich House (the family behind Senate Beer)

...

Roche is excited to share with Lashelle that he has found a go to beer! This isn't a "show off your craft beer chops to your friends" beer. This isn't a "4 pack to savor" beer. This isn't even your "favorite beer" beer.

No, this is something different. This is a Friday night, grab a 12 pack, crush all weekend long, no matter what you are doing, beer.

Find out what Roch...

Who doesn't love a beer exploration field trip?

Well, Roche for one but Lashelle is all about the beer adventure. 

Listen as she recaps her trip to Pen Druid Brewing, a brewery that believes in "spontaneous fermentation" to make "wild beer" as well as a top 50 food experience in the country!

Then, Lashelle explains her love of chaos in her beer. 

Make sure your ...

Who knew so much went into what beer ends up on restaurant menus and store shelves!

Steve Quartell, the beer director for Lost Dog Alexandria, does and he joins Roche and Lashelle to discuss the balancing act of buying beer for restaurants and stores. How does a person's height play a role in what they buy? How many IPAs should a restaurant have on the menu? What about how beers are listed on a menu? These are just so...

Everybody loves pumpkins beers, right?

RIGHT!?!?!

Actually, pumpkin beers aren't as universally loved as the big pumpkin media would have you believe. But that doesn't mean brewers should just brew bad beers and throw a pumpkin label on it.

Lashelle and Roche are joined by Blaine of Sinistral Brewing Company for a frank discussion of pumpkin beers, the good, the bad, and the very ugly. 

It's been awhile since we actually sampled beers on Head Retention so Lashelle, Roche, and Jon of Solace Brewing Company sidle up to the bar at Solace's Sterling location to sample summer beers that are new for 2024. The trio have a few times with winter beers but this is the first time they've had a summer beer tasting so to start, they discuss what makes a summer beer. Everyone has a different opinion but there are...

If you've ever been to a brewery you've seen the tanks and equipment involved in the brewing process. But you've probably never seen the set up to get the beer from the tanks to the can that can then be shipped to your favorite beer store.

Recently, Roche was able to take part in the canning process at Ocelot Brewing Company under the watchful eye of Lashelle. It's an extremely stressful but ultimately...

Are beer labels more important than the beer itself?

Maybe?

For many, the beer label is the introduction to the beer or even the brewery. So nailing the label is vital.

Designer Jeffrey Everett of Rockets Are Red joins Roche and Lashelle to give insight on how much thought should go into making labels for beer, what the beer label design process entails, the difference between "art" and "...

Title says it all. After a yearlong hiatus, Head Retention is back! But before we can move forward with our craft beer journeys, let's take an episode to look back at what Lashelle and Roche have been up to...in their lives as well as their craft beer journey. Then, they preview what's to come with the podcast and discuss the triumphant return of a beer style. 

Make sure your craft beer loving friends are listening and sub...

It's an episode (literal) years in the making! Roche and Lashelle welcome Charlie and Chris (the originator of the Crispy Boi lifestyle!) from Fairwinds Brewery in Lorton, VA.

Fairwinds has been busy winning ALL the craft beer awards and join the show to discuss awards (national and regional)and what they mean to breweries. Also, is Kolsch the official beer of Virginia craft brewing? Charlie and Chris (and Lashelle) m...

Welcome to 2023 and a new year of Head Retention! Roche and Lashelle kick off the year with a look at some beer trends to watch in 2023. Phil Runco spoke with over a dozen breweries to find out what the brewers are keeping an eye on this year. He joins the show to discuss the results including what styles are on the way up, what styles are on the way down, the enduring power of the IPA, and the inevitable contraction of the busines...

This summer, Roche and Lashelle travelled to Lisbon, Portugal...though not together. On this episode of Head Retention, they compare notes on places in Lisbon where you can find traditional American craft beer, the best way to drink like a local, the importance of befriending your bartender, and, most importantly, getting over yourself and enjoying beer in whatever setting you find yourself. 

Make sure your craft beer loving friends...

There is a lot of talk in the craft beer industry about using locally sourced ingredients. Waredaca Brewing does that in ways that a lot breweries do,  growing fruits, herbs, vegetables, etc to use in their beers. But they also realized their well water was especially suited for a particular style of beer, lagers. 

Keith Kohr, head brewer at Waredaca, invited Roche and Lashelle to the farm brewery's taproom to discuss...

It was a controversial subject a few years ago but the stigma of "selling out" to a macro brewery has mostly subsided.

Head Retention spoke with Devils Backbone COO, Hayes Humphreys just after their acquisition by AB InBev in 2016 and he's back to give Roche and Lashelle an update on what life is like for a craft brewery that has been bought by one of the big boys.

Hayes discusses the (mostly) posit...

Lashelle, Roche, and our friend Jon of Solace Brewing Company are back for another edition of holiday beer tastings on Head Retention.

After a recap of the different styles associated with the holidays, the gang taste an assortments of holiday beer styles from Mid-Atlantic breweries including Hardywood, Flying Dog, and Troegs.

It's also fun to have taproom talk while enjoying your beer so they also discuss ...

Head Retention tackles a subject so controversial, we had to do a second episode about it.

Kids in breweries, yay or nay?

On the one hand, the family atmosphere is a hallmark of your local taproom. Families coming to the brewery, the adults enjoying quality beer while the kids play board games (for urban taprooms) or run off some energy (for farm breweries). It's part of the brewery experience, right?
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