Welcome to the second installment of Beer Sessions Radio at Brewery Ommegang’s Belgium Comes to Cooperstown beer festival! Jimmy Carbone kicks off the episode with some of the folks behind Brewery Ommegang, President Simon Thorpe and Brewmaster Phil Leinhart. Tune in to hear discussions about the anti-fracking movement in Upstate New York, why New York state water is perfect for making beer, and the rapid expansion of Brewery Ommegang. Jimmy checks in with Bill Herlicka of White Birch Brewing to talk about some of White Birch’s new beers, consistent brewing, and how a deal large retailer can completely change a company’s brewing process. Later, Jimmy’s talking with Sean Lawson of Lawson’s Finest Liquids about meeting demand, and collaborating on beers with brewpubs across the country. Jimmy chows down on some of Scott Vaccaro’s roasted pig, and talks about Captain Lawrence Brewing’s new brewery expansion. Finally, Jimmy chats with Tommy Harder of the Blind Tiger Alehouse. Tommy entered the Hop Chef competition at the festival; tune in to hear about Tommy’s approach to beer and food pairings, as well as the dish he cooked for the contest. This episode has been sponsored by GreatBrewers.com.

“Underneath the Marcellus shale here there are huge reserves of gas that need to be developed. The basic issue that we’ve got with it is not that you shouldn’t develop it, but right now the technology pollutes the water… You can’t make world-class beer with polluted water.” — Simon Thorpe on Beer Sessions Radio