Drinking for Two

Today we have a huge brewery buyout, an annoyed listener, email taking a coma in your car, and a full ten minutes on the benefits of warm beer. Let's go. By the skin of your teeth. My teeth are officially skinned. And welcome into the Craft Beer Republic. I am Greg and over there is big Flexy. What's up? It'd be really weird if teeth had skin. That would be weird. I don't know why people say that. It's the weirdest.

It annoys me every time because I'm like that. Either it's gross because, like, the thought of shaving your teeth freaks me out, or it's just stupid because you don't have skin on your teeth anyways. I've never thought of it till now, so just just go on. Nobody needs to hear this. It's not getting any better. Uh, follow us on the socials. @CraftBeerRepublic. Of course. @CraftBeerRepublic. All that good stuff. Shout out to our top listening city of last week. And that is Ontario, California. Okay, so I just had to question this real quick because you said you've been kind of brain foggy lately. Sure. Yeah.

I meant to check with you before the show, actually. California. Actually, California. Okay. Just making sure. Yes. Not, uh, not Canada. Same initials though. It's Ontario, CA, so I can see where the confusion is not wrong. Yeah, but there is an airport out there, so, uh, not the smallest city, but out pretty inland past LA. Nothing good happens out there, that kind of thing. There you have it. There's your California lesson. Well. Thank you. I learned something today. Yes, uh, real quickly.

Don't forget, we're still doing nerd stuff. We're trying to the craft beer and the beer podcast terms. Go leave your reviews on Apple Podcasts, all that good stuff. It's. It's my SEO experiment. In fact, uh, our friends over at the Beer and Bikini Podcast, as I was doing the research and seeing, like, where we were in the charts, all of a sudden I noticed they had popped up to like, I forget what it was like. Number four on The beard. Just when you search beer, nothing else. And so I hit her up and was like, hey, you know, like, are you seeing a huge increase in downloads? She goes, I don't know why. And she went checked. Like, turns out I am.

I was like, well, turns out you're ranking higher in Apple Podcasts. So I'm doing everyone's research. I should start charging for this. Not a terrible idea. I mean, that's kind of your thing. Yeah, people pay me for this anyways. Um, do you mind if I crack a beer? Please do. Oh, time to crack. Out of my beer. Out of my bed. I Love My Beer I do.

That looks really good. Dude, this is gorgeous. It's a hazy everyone, and it's exactly what you think of when you think of hazy. Visually, this is shelter beer. Funny story about this in a second. Shelter beer company out of Montrose, Colorado. Sorta. I'm drinking Million Dollar hazy from the brewery, they say, inspired by the legendary million dollar highway winding its way through the San Juan Mountains. This hazy IPA captures the view from the top. Soft, smooth and luminous Colorado grown grains and Montrose blue

Mesa water give it a pillowy body, while mosaic, Citra and Sabro hops layer notes of tropical fruit, coconut and citrus hazy and golden like a mountain sunrise. It's a beer that proves the best things in life come with a little elevation. And I like their website. There's tasting notes, there's grain bill hops used yeast used the water. They used the fermentation, the vessel they used. Even brewing process is a step mashed in our four vessel 30

barrel brewhouse. I mean, love the detail here, guys. That is astounding. Yeah. 6.6. 8%. Let me swap over here. Has a 3.81 on untapped. You stingy bastards on the old schnauzer. I'm never going to forget that. The water from Montrose comes from Blue Mesa. Yeah, right. Uh, I am getting some tropical notes. Maybe some coconut in there. Uh, it's a light nose, so let me dig in the old Tongue-jobber. Mhm. Mhm.

Sobro. It's like that, uh, sunscreen. Hop. You said sobro. You got me really, really hard. Yeah. This is, uh. This is nice. I love me some sabro hops. Yeah. This is like the smell of the most delicious sunscreen, but in taste form. It's, uh, tropical. It's coconutty. It, uh, is pillowy. It even has, like, a little effervescence to it, like it's not over carbonated. It just kind of, like, sparkles on the tongue a little bit. So, um. I do like that. I like a little tongue. Sparkle.

Who doesn't like a little tongue sparkle from time to time. Uh, it's got Colorado grown pilsner malt, wheat malt, and flaked oats. The yeast is coastal Hayes. I'm really enjoying this. I think 381 is a little, uh, for this one, I. I don't know if it's because it's a brewery no one's heard of or what, but, um, bump it up to a four motherfuckers. I got a single of this bad boy from the craft beer thrift shop, and I actually am wishing I got Quatro. Well, there's always time to go back.

There is, because nothing moves off those shelves. Nope, nope. You might be able to even barter for a cheaper price. I will trade you. I was a little worried because there's no date on here, and I was like, oh man, being at Total wine like this could be from last week or this could be from last century. So, um, it appears to be pretty fresh. Let's hope that that's the case. If it's not, then it can only get better from here, but I'm definitely enjoying it. It's funny, I will say here's

here's the can for Flex big old shelter across the top. It's green. It's hard to see, but it's like green topography. Map on the can. Kind of cool. Um. Shelter beer. I never really heard of weed had I've had shelter distilling from mammoth, and in fact, they were on the show back when I looked it up. Batch 103 had the guys from Shelter Distilling on the show, and they also brew beer. I didn't know I was I was today years old. I was looking up the stats for the show and I realized that they're the same company. They just it looks like they must

do their beer out in Colorado now instead of in mammoth or some of the beer. I don't know, but it's it's. Kind of fun. Yeah. Same thing. So same company. So I was like, oh, that's cool. I didn't realize they were doing that same. Circle moment for you. Yeah. So shelter beer slash distillery I don't know Kansas shelter beer. So I'm going with it. But I really enjoy it. I've never seen their beer canned before. It was forever. It was just taproom only, so that's awesome. And, um. Yeah. Yeah, I'm digging the shit out of this.

I would definitely drink three and a half more. I just I love it when they can get those sabro hops to, like, vomit out that coconut flavor. I don't even understand how it happens from a hop. I don't know, but it vomited all over the place. It's so good. Ooh, she was vomiting in my mouth. I know. Baby birding sabro hops. So many people are turning off. Their radios right now. So disgusted. No, the baby bird thing.

That was actually a little talk of the town today when I went out to lunch. And, uh, Sam, who's a bartender, every world's famous best bartender at Eagle Park, uh, he's in a band. And they flew out to Daytona this past weekend for Daytona Bike Week. Is there, uh, the house band for the main motorcycle company that puts it together. So they got to open up for Kip Moore, who's like a pretty big country star. Okay. But, you know, Daytona Bike Week, lots of parties, bars,

all this whatnot going on. And he's telling us stories showing us these crazy videos. And he said at this one bar they went to, there was multiple bartenders. He said, every bar is essentially like a strip club down there because the bartenders wear next to nothing. Hello. And they each they each have their own menu of different shots that you can take, not the. Each bartender. But yes, because he said they have like their own little square bar. So it's almost like a farmer's market,

but with scantily clad bartenders. I hope those guys are hot. And he was saying that he was naming off some of these shots, and one of them was a baby bird shot. And I said, I'm sorry, is that where the lady puts the booze in her mouth and then spits it into yours? And he said, yes, that's exactly what it was. So in the big joke today, it was just baby birding. Everything to whomever. But I, I would totally do that.

I'm not. I might be sick in the head. I would do it. Is there something about that that's hot to you? Like a hot chick, baby birding some booze? No, it's it's not hot at all. Okay. Cause I'm thinking like that is not a turn on, no matter how hot she. I mean, sure, I'll take the interaction with said hot lady, but nothing about that activity is hot to me. No, it's not nothing along that line at all. Okay, you just do it for the story. Yeah. If you're into that, turn the show off. Um. Bye bye. But, no, it's just. I feel like a story to tell. Like.

Oh, yeah. We were so shitfaced. We went to this bar and this bartender spit, you know, a shot into dude's mouth. What a story. Uh, yes. What a story that would be. Yeah. And you. And then he was showing us a video of, uh. Have you ever heard of a hurricane shot? I've heard of hurricane drink. Yes, very. What is it? Uh, New Orleans? Yeah. It's like the same thing. And as a as an AMF, basically. But blue or something, I forget. Right. So this, uh, he was showing us a video of his, one of his bandmates

taking a hurricane shot. Okay, so you slot back the mixture of whatever they make for you, slug it back, then they spit water in your face and slap you. And we're not talking like a little slap. We're talking like slap in the face contest kind of slap. And this is some real Florida shit. Yeah, that's exactly what they said. Just super duper Florida man

type shit. Wow. I, uh yeah, I don't know what to say to that. Yeah, I don't know. It's, uh. I don't know if I would do that one, though. I don't like getting hit in the face. No, that's not my favorite pastime. I'll tell you what. So now here's the question for you. When it comes to either or, would you rather do a baby bird shot or a shot? Oh, you know, that's actually a really tough question because you're right. I do not want to get slapped. I also don't necessarily need, uh, a lady from the bar spitting into my mouth.

Um, well, I was starting to lead towards Baby Bird. And here's where I changed my mind. It's Florida. Fair enough. I was like, I don't know what's in that mouth. Or how many. You know what? Never mind. Uh, yep. Moving on. What else is up with your, uh, your fellas at the bar? Uh. Fellas at the bar? Well, uh, Brett, newer listener to the show. Hi, Brett. He was telling us a wonderful story

about how when his, uh, him and his wife went to the same college. Okay. And, you know, they they kind of knew each other a little bit from there. And she was kind of telling him stories about when her and her girlfriends used to get together and go out. That's my favorite movie. Right. And, uh, you know how guys get together and they go out and they go to, you know, Mack on chicks. Right? Yeah. It's like, you know, patented, patented guy thing. You're 21. So his wife was like, yeah, we used to get together to go out for dudes, and they would call it

Mack and Scrote. I'm sorry. What? Now they would actively go out to Mack on Scrote. So does that mean they specifically wanted to make out with Scrotes? I'm thinking a little more than make out, but but yeah, that was the end game. That was the goal and that was where they wanted to get to. Where were they when I was in college? That's what I'm saying. I don't know if I've ever heard of that before. Holy shit.

Neither have I. I missed out in my 20s. But you know what? Good for them girls, man. Yeah. Doing the Lord's work. Right? Getting their. Applause. Yeah. Hell, yeah. That's amazing. Plus, the term Mac and Scrote. It just lives rent free in my brain. It might need to be the episode title. Batch 501. Mac and Scrote. Mac and Scrote. Yeah, I don't know. Don't put Scrote in any of the reviews, though, because I don't think they'll turn on to a different podcast search.

That's some SEO that we're not looking forward to. Yeah. So yeah, that's pretty much everything that's going on right now. And, uh, the Monday crew. Good. Good times. Uh, well, we got an email from a listener who I guess is nameless. Maybe it's Brett. Probably not. They're angry. It sounds a little. Fontana. Jimmy. Subject are tap lists getting out of control. Hey, Greg and Flex, long time listener. First time emailer. I've got a question that's been

bugging me. Is it just me or the brewery? Tap lists getting ridiculous. I walked into a local spot last weekend and they had 28 beers on tap. All caps 28. Half of them were hazy IPAs with slightly different names, three pastry stouts that sounded like full desserts, two hard seltzers, a smoothie sour, and something that had terpenes in the description. I still don't know what that means. When did we go from simple, well-made beer to needing a spreadsheet and a flavor glossary just to order a pint?

Don't get me wrong, I love options, but I also kind of miss when a brewery had like 8 to 10 solid beers and you actually knew what you were drinking. Now I feel like I needed to train for all of it. Our brewery is doing too much. Or am I just becoming the old guy yelling at Hazy Cloud? Uh, would love your take. And if you say I'm wrong, I'll buy the next round. Cheers. Overwhelmed in Orange County? You're wrong. Yeah. I just want free beer with you. I'm not. I don't actually think he's wrong.

I just I want the free beer he's promising. I don't know, I love options, and I do like, especially when you're at a brewery that does, like the four ounce taster glasses. Um, you know, if you're at somewhere that just does the pints, it's a little bit overwhelming. But when you get the chance, you know, to go out, have, you know, five little four ounce beers, six little four ounce beers, you know, where you're not taking in too much, but you're still getting to try a decent amount of what's out there. Um, I thoroughly enjoy it. I am somewhere in the middle.

I like choices, obviously. When when you've got 28, though, that feels. That feels like a Cheesecake Factory menu. Which when I go to the Cheesecake Factory, I already know what I'm ordering every time. Oh, see, I don't I don't go that often. I go like, you know, once every five years or something. And I know they got, you know, a whole pizza section, a whole pasta section, a whole burger section. But I gotta read through the whole damn thing. And by the time I'm done, everyone's ordering dessert. So 28 might be a lot. I do appreciate the variety. Like, I was trying to think of who

does it well, and I think there does not exist does a really good job of having like a couple of each. Let's be honest, when I'm going there does not exist. I'm going to be a fucking haze whore. And if I had my way, they'd have 5 or 6 hazes on tap. But they never do. It's always like two. And then maybe a third. That's like a double. But it's smart because they have a kolsch, they have a Pils, they have a lager, they've got a couple Westies, they've got a couple hazes. Sometimes they have a dark beer, sometimes they don't. It's smart. You get a little of this and a

little of that. I think you're welcoming in more people, but you're not overwhelming people. Okay, see, I don't know. For me, the part I don't like about it, at least to when I go to my my favorite location. They do beer so well in every style that the worst part is when you open the menu and you see like six lagers on there, you don't know what lager to pick because they're all so good. Then you go to the IPA section. You're like, Jesus Christ. These are like seven amazing beers.

How do I hone in on which one I choose? And that is the frustrating part for me is where it's like, that's where you want to keep drinking and keep drinking where it's not. Maybe a great thing, but yeah, so that's where I could say that, you know, maybe, maybe it is a little too much. But that's not their fault that they do such great stuff. Yeah. I mean, if all 28 beers are fantastic examples of those of those styles, then, okay, I could I could see it a little bit, but there's there's got to be some misses on there and pare it down just a little bit.

28 just feels like a lot. Uh, there's a local brewery near us that does nowhere near 28. In fact, I think they have the right number of taps. Um, for the size brewery they are. I'd say it's probably 10 to 12. Let's call it 12. My big complaint about them is they don't do very many styles outside of there, cause they have like ten Coors and then the occasional rotation. It's a lot of Coors. Yeah, it's like the same ten beers are always on. I'm like, man, do some, do some new shit. Have some for Coors five. Cause.

But you know, when most of your tablets. Cause that's what bugs me the most. Respect. Overwhelmed in Orange County. Thanks for emailing in male @CraftBeerRepublic dot com. If, uh, you guys would like to do the same and complain about something or not complain, maybe it's something nice. Who knows? I did picture Fontana Jim calling though, and complaining about that. Yeah, I went to this brewery and they had 28 goddamn taps. Well, Greg and Flex, let me tell ya.

This sounded like a slowed down Hulk Hogan. Let me tell ya, brother. Well, you know, I. Got done at WinCo and I went to a brewery. That was my Fontana gym impression, that's all. Yeah, man. Fontana gym. We miss you, bud. Call us. Yeah. Please complain about something. Please call us. Uh, normally at this point in the show, I would hit some music and find out what Flex is drinking, but, um, Flex is not. Are you okay?

Yeah. I'm fine. Should I send. Help? Well, well as well. On on the home front. So. Had this Fat Tuesday at work, right? I need to make it clear I am not a religious individual. This gentleman at work, it's gonna make it all that more. Not a religious individual. Okay? And, uh, he's kind of got this issue where he's gotta bust it up to. Then he refuses to eat food. So he started making a reason to drink.

Maybe he should give up drinking as well, since he's not well. He used to eat like shit. We're talking like $90 DoorDash orders, and. Yeah, so he said, yeah, maybe I just give up drinking altogether, uh, you know, for lent. And I said, yeah, I said, why not? And I said, uh, if you do it, I'll do it with you. You know, kind of like a support buddy system thing. And now it's just become a running joke at work that we have given up drinking for 40 days and nights.

Of course. Because the nights are the most important part. Yeah, because the 40 days part is easy. Yes, yes. So, uh, that is what is going on right now. Huh? So in reality, you're enabling his weirdness about the dentist. That's what I'm hearing here. Yes, yes, because he is, uh, that's why he's his cracked tooth. He's got an actual fear, a phobia of the dentist to where he takes, he sweats, he dry, heaves, cries like all the above.

Like, can't even call the dentist without getting worked up. It's pretty crazy, like hearing him talk about it and like hearing him talk about driving past dentist offices and how it'll ruin his day just driving past the dental office. This guy needs some therapy. Super therapy. And so that was the idea that, you know, he's he's cut off eating food, and he just eats pudding and mashed potatoes and. Oh, because that's good for your teeth. Pudding. Well, you know. That's not better.

He figures he's not getting calories anywhere else, so that's why he can eat the sugar. Right? So actually, I know a guy who he's not quite this bad, but he's he's pretty bad. He's he's close to this guy. And he found a dentist that will even for the lightest of things like cleanings, will give him the the nine night pill. And he will take it like an hour before his appointment. And basically his wife helps him into the car and has to help him up to the. No kidding. Yeah.

In fact, they've had to wheel him a few times. One time I got a surprise call. It was like, hi. Uh, do you know you know this person's name? And I said, yes, he needs a ride from the dentist. I was like, where's his wife? She's not answering the phone. I was like. Geez. Okay, I'll be right there. So I never really knew that this existed, this sedation dentistry. Yeah, it's totally a thing. In fact, I go to the same dentist as him because at the time I needed a dentist and he was like, hey, I love my dentist. You should go and definitely take the pill. I've never done the knockout pill.

Um, I always drive myself. The only time I wish I would have done it was I did have to have a root canal. That was pretty nasty, but it ended up being a good thing I didn't because I had to go to like some specialist the same day. So I was like, I'm never, never gonna do that pill again or again in the first place, because I would not have been able to get myself to the specialist at that point. Right. Yeah. So I was like looking up different offices around the area that do the sedation and there's like some really gnarly dentists out there like, yeah, this one place was saying how they have like a room with

massage chairs. Oh, shit. They offer, uh, different beverages to you, and they play whatever music you want to be played to. Calm down. And it's like this whole, like, aura room. Get a happy ending. Yeah. And they did not put that on the website. Not sure if it, you know, maybe it happens. Maybe. Maybe it's like a tip thing. I don't know that these things are these dentists, you know, they used to be the highest suicide rate profession. Oh.

Because people are so afraid of them and they hate their, you know, hate going there, and that they had like a super high suicide rate. So maybe they took that into consideration or like. Maybe so they're trying to turn things around a little. Bit. How can we make people not fear us? Right. Yeah. And they came to the conclusion of massage chairs. Yeah. That's all it took. That would get me going. Wow. All right, so I guess I'm drinking for two for the next, what,

five weeks or something? Yeah. Do you want to know my new, uh. What is this? Over April 2nd. Thursday, April 2nd is when lent is over. I'm giving up sobriety for lent. Does that count? That's a good thing. Do you want to hear what I've been drinking? What my little like urge is now? Oh, gosh. Go on. Just to feed. Feed the hunger. Uh huh. Are you drinking? Have you ever. Was that athletic or whatever? No no no no no no no. I would never. You ever heard of a dirty soda? Isn't that just a soda with vodka in it? No, it's like a soda with cream.

Like cream? Isn't that half and half or, like, coffee creamer? I don't know. I'm pretty sure it's called a dirty soda. Okay. So I was hanging out in my living room watching TV one night, and I was like, man, I had, like, half a Diet Coke left in my cup. Like, I got the urge for something a little sweet. And I thought, hey, I got I got some French vanilla coffee creamer. Oh, no. And I thought, hey, people do this. It's gotta be good. And you just do a little splash in the Diet Coke and it is just

heaven in your mouth. Wipe that look off your face. No, you gotta. You gotta try it. No. So this doesn't sound good at all. So I did text my buddy Andy, and I said, hey, man, this is what I'm on now. So he went out and he bought himself some French vanilla creamer and a bunch of soda, and now he does the same shit. And he texted me today, said that he needed a re-up, and he sent me a picture of a bottle

of coffee cream, a 12 pack of zero A and W root beer and cherry Pepsi. You guys need help? And a dentist? I'm telling you, you gotta try it. I think I'll pass, but. The root beer, by the way, is the best. We did take a Sunday at work, and we. I brought in some creamer. I mean, that probably tastes like root beer float, right? Oh. It's amazing. It tastes exactly like a melted root beer float. It is dessert in a cup. You ready to. To fucking stone me to death?

Not a root beer float fan. Ah, I mean, I get it. It's just, you know what I want? I want a root beer and I want some ice cream, but I don't want them fucking. Oh, I love them fucking. No. And I love being like the third wheel in it too. No, no, I want to be the, uh, the pimp to their hoes. I tell them what to do, but not at the same time. Okay, I guess I can respect your decision.

I don't like it, but I respect it. I appreciate that. Yeah. Um. All right. Well, Flex is drink or Greg? Me? I'm drinking for two for the next few weeks, so, um, people want to send in some beer reviews. I'll happily play them on the show. Otherwise, I'm gonna get real drunk. There you have it. I was gonna text you today and say, hey, maybe, maybe two beers on the show for you. I thought I almost did, and I thought, you know what? We know what the reading's gonna be like. Words get hard. Words get real hard.

I'm already tired enough, and I just. I don't think the people deserve that. It looks like a fucked up chocolate milk that you're showing me. Yeah, it's really good. I do like your glass, though. It's a sweet glass. I don't know, my old glasses. My wife got them. I don't know. That's cool looking. Nice design. Very like art deco water glass. And now it's a dirty soda glass. Oh, you're a dirty soda. Uh, all right, a little news before we get out of here. Big news today as we record, uh, Tilray is going to acquire BrewDog,

their brand, their IP, and their U.K. brewery and 11 pubs for 33 million. I guess that's pounds. Sounds heavy. Uh, Tilray Brands has acquired key assets of Scottish craft brewer BrewDog for £33 million. The deal includes Brewdog's global brand and intellectual property, its main brewery in L in Scotland and 11 pubs across the UK and Ireland. Tilray said it was. It is also negotiating a separate deal for US and Australian assets, which could close within the

next 30 days. Tilray expects the acquisition to generate roughly $200 million in annual net revenue, and contribute 6 to $8 million in adjusted Where the fuck that is? Why are you giving me weird acronyms? BrewDog is one of the most iconic mission driven craft beer brands in the UK, said Tilray CEO Irwin Simon. Has he never read the news? Adding that the company plans to. That's a terrible name. Come on, Irwin Simon, two first names. Adding the company plans to

focus refocus the brand on craft beer excellence and return it to profitable growth. Sorry, I know you've got two first names, too. Yeah. Don't. Don't tell anybody. Yeah. I won't hold it against you. Flex amiss. That was really dumb. BrewDog once valued as high as £2 billion, even heavier, and has more than 200,000 individual shareholders from its equity for punks crowdfunding campaigns, though reports indicate those investors are unlikely to see returns from the sale.

The acquisition continues Tilray's strategy of buying every fucking craft beer brand ever. Following the previous deals for former Anheuser-Busch and Molson Coors Kraft brands. Yeah, I was gonna say that does not sound surprising. Uh, the Tilray buy him out, but also feel like that's kind of a deal for them. 33 million whatevers. Yeah. I mean, what does that equate to in dollars? Yeah, I guess I could have done that.

Um, given our economy probably quite a bit 40 over $44 million. Yeah. I still feel like that's kind of got to be a steal for him. Maybe, I don't know. I mean, breweries aren't worth that anymore, are they? I don't know, what do I look like, a brewery worker. Guy? Appraiser? Yeah. That's what I said. Yeah. Sorry, I it's a weird connection issue. I went through a tunnel.

Uh, this one hits close to home. Drake's brewing out of NorCal. Fig mountain out of my hood. Uh, form joint venture under West Coast Craft banner. Drake's Brewing and Figueroa mountain brewing have formed a joint venture known as West Coast Craft, the companies announced last week. In addition to Drake's and Figueroa mountain, the JV will include Bear Republic, which Drake's acquired in 2023, and Lager Brand House beer, which is part of Figueroa mountain. WCC brands will retain their

independence in marketing, branding and innovation, and there is no change in ownership, per the announcement. What'd you guys just become? Friends. Like what? What is it? If you're not changing. Anything, it sounds like a drunken night that we're like, hey, we should do this. Yeah. You guys all double Dutch. Like a real vague new name. Yeah. West coast craft. Yeah. I'm also, I'm actually kind of surprised that it wasn't taken for something else already. That's true. Uh, also hot Take Drake's hasn't been relevant in a long time.

In Fig.. Fig.. Mountain's just gross, so suck it. The only thing worth anything there. Is bare republic. Don't fuck up bare republic. You heard it. Here. You hear it here. Don't fuck it up. Don't fuck it up. See how much hate mail I get for that one? Uh, along the same lines, Left Hand Collective adds Bootstrap Brewing and will move their production to the left hand facility. Just everybody joining up. And San Diego's finest city beverages platform grows with House of Mason acquisition. Latitude brewing, the umbrella that

includes latitude 33 and Thorne Brewing, has acquired the House of Mason brand platform um, which includes Mason Aleworks Epic Brewing, which they've been on the show. Second Chance Beer Co, Castellum Ciders, Old Harbor Distilling, and Swell Soda. The deal closed on December 31st, according to a press release. Lots of mergers and friendliness happening. Yeah, that was like the theme of 2025. And it seems to be spilling into 2026. Really does.

Um, this should surprise no. One. Monster alcohol net sales declined nearly $37 million. Get right out of town last year. And they take a $53.7 million impairment on their alcohol brands. And for those of you that are new in impairment charges, an accounting write down that reduces the value of an asset when it's determined to be worth less than it originally expected. Most of that charge, 51.2 million, was recorded in the fourth quarter bad fourth quarter last year. That's usually how you lose games.

Right? Touche. Uh, if you ever want to kill a brewery off, just sell it to monster at this point, Boston Beer. Oh, this is sad news. Boston Beer's Angel City Brewing sets last day for April 30th. Angel City Brewery's last day in operation will be April 30th, the LA based Boston Beer subsidiary announced on social media earlier this month. Plans for the brewery's closure were revealed in August, when Boston Beer announced it would shutter its truly LA taproom and Angel city locations. The company also shared hopes to sell Angel city so the brand can live on,

but that has yet to materialize. I am a little surprised that no one's at least tried for the IP of Angel city, but here we are. Yeah. What are you gonna do? What are you should. There you go. You know what? I got 20 bucks. Offer it. Yeah, I probably have 20 bucks to. I could scrounge some up. The CBR collective is gonna offer $40. $40 for Angel city IP. Sounds like a deal to me. Let's do it.

We'll probably still lose money. It's worth a. Shot. It's worth a shot. We'll end it with this one. And, uh, thanks to the homie Davis for sending this in, that he was eating a cannibal sandwich as he sent it to me. With some blue moon ice cream. Mhm. And other Wisconsin things. Playing cribbage. Yes. And having a what is it, a brandy. Old fashioned. Sweet. Yes. Yeah. So, uh, a drunk driver,

they say, fell asleep. More like takes a coma at the wheel. A suspected drunk driver was arrested after police say they found him unresponsive behind the wheel at a Lakewood intersection, the Lakewood Police Department said Tuesday evening. Officers were called to the 20th Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard for a welfare check on a driver who was asleep behind the wheel when officers arrived. They found the unconscious driver and a passenger who was waking up inside the vehicle. Officers say they were unable. Unable to wake the driver,

so they removed him from the vehicle. As a safety precaution, the driver and the passenger were taken to a hospital. Once there, the driver's blood alcohol concentration What? It's got to be bad, like 0.27 or something. You're so not even close. Oh. Come on. I've never heard this number before. What's the most insane ABV you can think of? And somebody's not dying. Uh, like 0.46. Okay, it was 0.636. Come on. Almost 12 times the limit.

Speechless. Yes. The driver, who was not publicly identified, was treated and then arrested. Treated? I bet he was like, that guy's. A fucking blood transfusion. I think that's how you treat that. I think you got a fresh liver while he was there, too. Jesus Christ. 6.636. And that's once they got him to the hospital. You know, it was higher. Well, yeah, it had to have been before he committed off a little bit. Right? It's fucking nuts that that dude

should be dead. There you have it. Speechless. I left Flex speechless. So with that, I'll hit some music and I'll say hi, Vanessa. Hi, Vanessa. Sounds like some shit that should have happened in Florida. But alas, it was Colorado. Uh, thank you all for listening. Thanks for doing the things you do. Follow us. @CraftBeerRepublic @flex_me_a_beer underscores. Uh @CraftBeerRepublic. Com 805538 beer male @CraftBeerRepublic. Com all that good stuff. Uh, send us a beer review.

Since I'm drinking for two these days. We'll put it on the show. I do believe that's everything. I hope you're all staying very well hydrated. And on that note. Good night everybody.