Seen Through A Glass

14/06/2024

I interviewed Pizza Boy Brewing Co. owner/brewer Al Kominski for the latest episode of Seen Through A Glass, and when we got to talking about why craft beer sales are sagging, he had some stuff to say.

“This spiral, this doom loop we’re in right now, has been completely induced by us...we only have ourselves to blame for this. Because as we started getting [price increases] for malt, and hops, and other charges, instead of really looking at what what it’s costing us, and maybe making a pint 25 cents more, we raised the pint a dollar! And then things got slower and we raised the pint another dollar. And now we have these $% $8 pints that make no sense at all.”

All this and more ("Not enough peanut butter in there. Double the peanut butter.") in the latest episode of Seen Through A Glass!

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-xe4ak-163e57e

13/06/2024

Hey, I talk about the PA Cider Fest in today's new podcast episode, and it's THIS WEEKEND...but you can still get tickets, and it's looking like a perfect day in Biglerville. We went to this before, and it's just a breathtaking site, plus food, music, and PA CIDER!!
Click that Facebook link, or go straight to ticket sales here. I'll see you there!

Providing complete ticket presale and admission management with tailored solutions for clients ranging from small event promoters to large-scale venues

12/06/2024

This is probably a dangerous ask, but...
I'm looking for dive bars -- REAL dive bars, not cute places that want to act like dive bars -- in central PA; Harrisburg to DuBois, Williamsport to Johnstown. I know they're out there: the Omar bar in Bellefonte, the Frosty Hook in Spring Mills, Boomerangs in the West End of Union County. In town, out in the country, I'm looking for places that are unpretentious, have been there for years, probably don't have a large menu (if they have any food that isn't in a rack or a machine).
I want places where a stranger can walk in and not be wondering if they'll walk out. I do NOT want fight bars, the old bucket-of-blood places, I don't want biker bars, I don't want drug dens.
What do you think? Do you get what I'm asking? Let's hear it.

03/05/2024

Do you like hops?
New Trail Brewing Company uses a lot of hops!

Do you like hazy IPA?
New Trail Brewing makes some great ones!

Do you like podcasts?
I have one that many people like, and the latest episode is all about New Trail Brewing and hazy IPAs (and whiskey judging, and donuts)!

Last question: DO YOU LIKE WEEKENDS?
Of course you do, and the weekend is a great time to drink hazy IPA and listen to a podcast! The link is right here! Thanks!

https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-5rji9-15ff8db

01/05/2024

This interview with Mike LaRosa of New Trail Brewing Company for the next episode of Seen Through A Glass...

Lew: "Hazy IPA...what IS the haze?"

Mike: "Well, it comes from being angry."

I'll apologize in advance for how loud I laugh at that point.

01/05/2024

Delivering a full episode-load of New Trail Brewing Company tomorrow!

27/04/2024

I LOVE this!

18/04/2024

Hey, here's a happy coincidence. Just as my episode with Liberty Pole Spirits drops, my friend Jeff Schwartz reviewed the peat-smoked rye we tasted at Liberty Pole on Sunday. Take a look (and if you don't follow Jeff's Whiskeyfellow page, you oughta!).

whiskey whisky whiskeyfellow bourbon rye scotch singlemalt review distillery drinks booze alcohol spirits whiskyfellow reviewer reviews

09/04/2024

Got the full shipment of stickers (more about that soon!), and also got a short sample run of fridge magnets.
What do you think?

30/03/2024

Next episode of Seen Through A Glass is postponed.
There's an announcement on the podcast site.
I tried to link to that, but Facebook said it was spam and deleted the post.
I don't even get this anymore.
Please have a listen. It's on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

29/03/2024

First samples of the podcast stickers have arrived! They look great, and I'll be sending them out to the Christmas photo contest winners on Monday! Pulling the trigger on a full order shortly, and I'll have details on how to get yours soon!

20/03/2024

PDF proofs of the first stickers!

16/03/2024

Riding the rails today: the Ales On The Rails "Sips & Shenanigans" in New Freedom, PA. Beers are imminent. Toot-toot!

02/03/2024

I was a guest on Douglas J. Madenford's podcast recently. Had a great time, give it a listen!

Episode 85 is out! In this episode I welcome Lew Bryson up on to the front porch. We discuss his journey from rural Lancaster county to his love of food and drink including his various publications about beer and whiskey. We close our discussion talking about his current podcast, Seen Through A Glass, and discuss the value and importance of eating and drinking locally.

24/02/2024

When your well-meaning local brewer thanks you for a favor by giving you a crowler of a Tröegs Independent Brewing/ New Trail Brewing Company collabo barleywine at 12%...

21/02/2024

Just recorded tomorrow's show...except the interview, which I'm recording TONIGHT! I'll get it, come home, edit it, drop it into the episode, and have it ready for tomorrow morning's 10:30 drop time...And if I don't, well, I HAVE ANOTHER EPISODE READY TO GO! Cranking it out here at Seen Through A Glass!

(And for those of you who know...yeah, I know that's not how you position a Blue Yeti, but it makes a better picture!)

18/02/2024

Poe Paddy Porter.
Clarion River Brewing Company Winter Hearth cherry-smoked Porter
Our Town Brewery Slow Down Rye Barrel aged imperial stout
And...
New Trail Brewing Company Tröegs Independent Brewing collabo Loggers Path BARLEYWINE.

TOOOOT TOOOOT!!

18/02/2024

Can't believe this myself, but...I'm making baked beans for the first time. Using a Dutch oven and a combo of family recipes and Alton Brown. I'm using dried limas (which are ALREADY SOFT, thank you everyone who told me to skip the soaking and just cook them in water till they're soft!!), with molasses, brown sugar (almost every recipe called for both), dry mustard, tomato paste, bacon and onion, and a few shakes of interesting stuff, like BBQ rub, Tony Chachere's (h/t to Don Cazentre), smoked paprika, and Penzeys Spices Pork Chop Seasoning for a hint of smoke. They're in the new oven at 250° for six hours.
Fingers crossed, but I'm pretty confident. This is genetic memory stuff, and I'm thinking of my grandmother Mae, and my great-aunt Bert Heiser. They made the best damned baked limas. I honor them today.

13/02/2024

Just had it confirmed that my central PA podcast, Seen Through A Glass, will be heard on my local FM radio station, WSOV 101.7 FM - Sounds of the Valleys, three times a week, in the noon hour. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. They're starting with the latest episode, about the Meat Lab at Penn State, with some tips on selecting and freezing meat. You can stream WSOV at WSOV.ORG .

07/02/2024

Working on the next episode, and...it's not a town profile. Things went a little sideways, so I had to improvise.
Here's a little tease for you. If you know where this is...SHHHH! Keep a secret!
It's a GREAT interview, with a ton of information you can use.

Thursday morning, 10:30 Eastern.
Seen Through A Glass.
From the smack-dab center.

21/01/2024

House made orange rosemary soda. This is DELICIOUS. (Yes, this might be reconnaissance...)

16/01/2024

Wow, I had an intense brainstorming session on Sunday!
Came up with lots of ideas for improving the podcast, for new episodes, for ways to bring the podcast out to you, and yes, for the long-promised merchandise. I'll be implementing some of these ideas in the next few episodes, and you'll see some major changes in how the show is supported over the next few months. Good stuff coming (as my high school physics teacher used to say).