Heady Topper Beer Science, Weezer at Staples Center and Cheesecake Gate in "Crappy Concert Beer"

In Batch 536 of Craft Beer Republic, a listener hand delivers Heady Topper to Flex, and Flex runs some beer science on whether you really have to drink it from the can. Greg goes to a Weezer show where the only beers are Michelob Ultra, Bud Light and a hazy that is anything but hazy. Plus Poop Beer Gate gets a strawberry cheesecake sour, and Goose Island goes three barrels deep.

Heady Topper: Can or Glass?

Listener Davis was in town for a Chicago beer trip and a Packers game, met Flex in person, and did not murder him. He also brought Flex a couple cans of Heady Topper from The Alchemist, the one beer Flex said he really wanted to try. The can says drink from the can, so Flex puts on his lab coat for some beer science and tries it both ways. With almost a million Untappd ratings behind it, Flex delivers an unpopular opinion that might get him some hate mail.

Crappy Concert Beer at Staples Center

Greg saw Weezer with his wife, Deb and Intern Brian at Staples Center, which he refuses to call Crypto.com Arena. The whole place had Michelob Ultra, Bud Light, Mango Cart and some Stella, but not one Budweiser. A ready-to-drink can was $24 for 7%. The bar's only Elysian option, Jacktail, was sold as a hazy, and what came out of the tap had other plans. Greg is now good on Stella for a decade. The beer was rough, but the backyard party stage set, with a real house and a working Ring camera, might be the coolest he's ever seen.

Poop Beer Gate: The Cheesecake Incident

A listener writes in about a strawberry cheesecake sour his wife said tasted like someone threw up a strawberry milkshake. When he brought it back, the bartender said a couple people had told him that already. Today. It reminds Flex of a watermelon slushie sour that tasted like suntan lotion. Then Vanessa sends in her worst beers, from a Florida brewery to one in Charlotte where the flights got dumped in the bathroom, and Greg admits to a power walk away from a brewery owner's wife.

Craft Beer News

Grand Theft Auto VI beers are headed to real shelves, brewed by Tripping Animals. Stone's original founders name their saved Escondido spot Quarry Escondido. Goose Island releases an 18.7% Bourbon County Triple Barrel Stout, which leads to the tale of Intern Brian's Goose Island keg that ruined his kegerator lines. And a very drunk man in Berea, Ohio, tells police he's passed out three or four times that night. Shout-out to Austin, Texas, last week's top listening city.

Beers We're Drinking

Flex: The Alchemist Heady Topper

Flex is drinking Heady Topper, an 8% double IPA from The Alchemist with 100 IBUs, courtesy of listener Davis. He gets pine, resin and some bitterness and is a little underwhelmed.

Greg: Malibu Brewing Company Wild Grove

Greg is drinking Wild Grove, a 6% hazy IPA from Malibu Brewing Company that listener Andrew sent in. It has a coconutty sunscreen vibe, it's real easy drinking, and it comes in a 12-ounce can, which Greg says should be legally required.

Listen to Craft Beer Republic: Crappy Concert Beer

Batch 536 of Craft Beer Republic features The Alchemist, Malibu Brewing Company, Elysian Jacktail, Goose Island Bourbon County, Tripping Animals, Stone's Quarry Escondido and craft beer news. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app!