Raising our glasses to commemorate a dozen episodes, Shawn and Andy are here to sprinkle some festive cheer into your speakers. Our latest podcast is a holiday special, replete with the rich, nutty flavors of Boulevard Brewing Company's Nutcracker Winter Warmer, which we lovingly dissect for your auditory pleasure. We'll take you on a trip to Kansas City, Missouri, unveiling the inspiring journey of John McDonald from art and carpentry to the founder of a beer empire. Sit back with your favorite brew as we recount the evolution of our own beer palates and connect over the universal love for a finely crafted pint.
Our conversation ventures beyond mere taste profiles and into the heart of what makes Boulevard Brewing Company stand out from the crowd. We celebrate their monumental growth, their cultural impact, and their ambitious expansion that now includes a massive beer hall, brewery tours, and a gift shop in their vintage 1929 building. But it's not just about beer; it's about the sustainable strides they're making, from full-scale recycling initiatives to the creation of Ripple Glass, proving that a good beer can also be good for the planet.
Finally, we stir up a festive debate, swapping our favorite Christmas movies and settling once and for all if "Die Hard" truly belongs in the holiday canon. Whether you're a "Polar Express" purist or a Hallmark holiday movie devotee, there's room for all by our fireside chat. So, tune in, pour out, and let's share in the merriment of the season together—because nothing pairs with holiday traditions quite like a malty beer and a heartwarming flick.
Raising our glasses to commemorate a dozen episodes, Shawn and Andy are here to sprinkle some festive cheer into your speakers. Our latest podcast is a holiday special, replete with the rich, nutty flavors of Boulevard Brewing Company's Nutcracker Winter Warmer, which we lovingly dissect for your auditory pleasure. We'll take you on a trip to Kansas City, Missouri, unveiling the inspiring journey of John McDonald from art and carpentry to the founder of a beer empire. Sit back with your favorite brew as we recount the evolution of our own beer palates and connect over the universal love for a finely crafted pint.
Our conversation ventures beyond mere taste profiles and into the heart of what makes Boulevard Brewing Company stand out from the crowd. We celebrate their monumental growth, their cultural impact, and their ambitious expansion that now includes a massive beer hall, brewery tours, and a gift shop in their vintage 1929 building. But it's not just about beer; it's about the sustainable strides they're making, from full-scale recycling initiatives to the creation of Ripple Glass, proving that a good beer can also be good for the planet.
Finally, we stir up a festive debate, swapping our favorite Christmas movies and settling once and for all if "Die Hard" truly belongs in the holiday canon. Whether you're a "Polar Express" purist or a Hallmark holiday movie devotee, there's room for all by our fireside chat. So, tune in, pour out, and let's share in the merriment of the season together—because nothing pairs with holiday traditions quite like a malty beer and a heartwarming flick.
And welcome in sports fans. Just kidding out sports fans, beer fans hey, we're all sports fans too.
Speaker 2:It's all so true. What goes with beer Sports.
Speaker 1:There we go, there we go. It's just just a common thing. You know you have that kind of commentator thing going on. You know it's like good evening sports being normal thing or whatever. Yeah, good evening beer. Fans and fans of the podcast, two guys in beer, andy Bextrom, sean Field back again for yet another episode as we work our way through the holiday season and into, eventually, the new year and, sean, I don't know about you, but we are flying through not only time but episodes where this is a dozen here it's.
Speaker 2:this is a 12 coming on through man. It's coming on through 12 pack. Yeah, we've been at this for four months, five months, something like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think it's going well. I mean, it seems like you know, people tend to enjoy it. At least I think so. You know, people are listening and checking it out and enjoying a beverage with us. Really, that's what we want, is we want to share the share, the enjoyment.
Speaker 2:I sure hope they are enjoying the beverages with us.
Speaker 1:So again, Andy and Sean, once again, tonight's episode number 12. So we are into a 12 pack, a dozen, a dozen donuts, but we're going to go with the 12 pack of beer.
Speaker 2:At the fruit of beer.
Speaker 1:It's a 12 pack of beer. We've had some beers Octoberfest. We've had the mobcraft with the kind of all over the place type of beers. That was cool and we had. We even had some lager drinks, with the moosehead lager going way back to, you know, the early episodes. So a lot of different types. But today's focus is going to be more on the holiday season and nutcrackin, nutcrackin we are. We got Boulevard nutcracker, winter warmer beer tonight.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we do. It's a Christmas beer. This episode will come out for Christmas, so Merry Christmas everybody. I hope you guys have beer in hand for Christmas with your friends and family and having a good time. It is a nutcracker beer, boulevard Brewing Company Nutcracker, which we pop the top off.
Speaker 1:Let's go ahead and get this episode started. Kind of dropped my bottle opener there for a second.
Speaker 2:You're struggling over there Struggle bus.
Speaker 1:I just, you know, I promise I haven't been pre-gaming, just researching. That's what. That's really what it is.
Speaker 2:So nutcracker, here we go. Let's see what it tastes like.
Speaker 1:It's definitely. It's got kind of a nutty hop, not hoppy, but multi flavor to it.
Speaker 2:There's a multi flavor to it for sure it is.
Speaker 1:You know I mean that a lot of winter beers are pretty heavy on the multi nutty brown ales like those type of things.
Speaker 2:So kind of yeah, this is an ale. I think the aftertaste has maybe a little bit of toffee in it, hints of toffee after you drink a little bit. You know you smack your lips and your tongue on your roof of your mouth a little bit.
Speaker 1:Just like that. That's perfect. There we go. That is perfect. Fundamentally sound Tastes a little bit.
Speaker 2:Do you taste the toffee in it? Or am I just crazy? I do.
Speaker 1:I do. I was getting something kind of kind of sweet a little bit, but I was couldn't quite place it, you know, just yet, but Molasses maybe yeah definitely, definitely kind of that type of flavor, kind of on the back in there.
Speaker 2:but I think there's a little molasses in there too. Perhaps it's slow to get there, though it did say yeah, it is a little slow.
Speaker 1:My dad will appreciate that.
Speaker 2:Who's an avid listener?
Speaker 1:or at least he's an avid sharer. He's constantly sharing his stuff.
Speaker 2:Kurt, thanks a lot man.
Speaker 1:He rocked buddy Probably the most shares than anybody else out there.
Speaker 2:So you should come join us for a beer here one of these days. There we go.
Speaker 1:Cheers to that. So Boulevard Boulevard Brewing Company. Where are they? Where are they out of? Anyway, I suppose you have all the information, don't you? I do this time You're going to go.
Speaker 2:They're out of Kansas City, missouri, kansas City. That really traps my eye. Is that from that commercial? I think so yeah, new York City, new York City, not Kansas City, that's right, I whatever. I think you knew what I was talking about I did, so, at least we got there. It was a salsa commercial. Yep, yep, was it PACE.
Speaker 1:It was something like Dad PACE or one of the salsas, Not the dancing. I wouldn't be able to do that one. So Kansas City not the salsa, but the beer.
Speaker 2:Yep, the Boulevard Brewing Company and Nutcracker beer. The ABV rating on this beer just I know all you beer masters out there are wondering the 7.8%, the alcohol volume, the IBU rating it comes in at a 38. We haven't really talked about the IBU rating on our show too much If you're not sure what that is. That's basically the number of the bitterness of the beer. The higher the number, theoretically, the more bitter the beer is going to be. International Bitterness Units that's what the IBU stands for and it comes in at a. The EBC comes in at 61. Ebc is pretty new. We haven't really talked about that at all. I don't believe that's basically the color of the beer.
Speaker 1:I don't think we've touched on that one at all, but the higher the numbers, I think we maybe touch for a second.
Speaker 2:I think just a second. Yeah, the higher the numbers of the EBC, the darker the color of the beer. In this particular beer, the Nutcracker does pour like a deep amber ale in color. For the Nutcracker beer, bolvar Brewing Company. It was founded in 1989 by a guy named John McDonald. Pretty interesting fella, was he old? He's not related to Ronald.
Speaker 1:Did he have a farm?
Speaker 2:No, but he did have a carpentry business. Ooh, that'll work. And he went to school for art. Oh well, there you go. And his passion for creativity and coming up with things as well led him to brewing beer and being creative with beer. There you go. It's a great way to be able to get into it. It's a good way to start. We'll talk about a little bit more of that here in a minute. But he did found this company since 1989. Since 1989, boulevard Brewing Company has grown to become the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest. If you look on their website, they have their mission on there. Their mission is pretty simple it is to produce fresh, flavorful beers using the finest ingredients and the best of both old and new brewing techniques.
Speaker 1:I like all techniques for beer. I don't know a ton of the techniques myself, but there are.
Speaker 2:any technique that brews beers is a good technique to make, absolutely. We did have a technique that one time with the drill.
Speaker 1:It's true, you're trying something new and innovative Custom stirring. We like to call it innovative Innovation is what we like to call it Thinking outside the box, or the vented Right.
Speaker 2:It's kind of the backstory on Boulevard Brewing Company On the summer of 1984, john McDonald. He was on a vacation in Europe, which didn't that happen in another episode. One of the guys was on vacation somewhere, I believe, so I don't remember what episode, but pretty sure there was another beer. We should probably remember this stuff if we talk about it.
Speaker 1:It's true, we should be experts on our own. If somebody Tell you what, if somebody comments on social media and reminds us which episode that one was on, we can put a link on there. But we'll also give you a gift card to something Sure.
Speaker 2:Or whatever it is, or we can ship you a free hat. Yeah, we'll send you a hat. There we go, we'll send you a hat. So, merry Christmas, here's a hat.
Speaker 1:So if you can remind us, that'll be trivia.
Speaker 2:That would be perfect. That's what it is.
Speaker 1:Now we frame it as trivia rather than we remember Trivia there it is Trivia, I like that.
Speaker 2:So while John was out in Europe at some point he became pretty thirsty, as we all do, and of course we all want to drink a beer, of course. So he happened to wander in a local tavern over there that's specialized in Belgian beers and he did try one. Then he tried another and he had to try another. It's been known to happen and of course, why not try one more as long as you're there? So that's pretty much what got John pretty excited about beer and kind of got hooked on it.
Speaker 2:As we did talk a little bit earlier, he did go to school for art. After he graduated art school he did make his living as a carpenter, which of course gave him that creativity that I was talking about earlier. You know, if you do art and you do carpentry, you're pretty creative individual, and he wanted to transfer that into the line of brewing beer because he just couldn't get that beer out of his head from Europe that he liked so much. So he did start to home brew. He did visit a lot of breweries because he wanted to start his own brewery. He put together a business plan, sold his house to have money.
Speaker 1:I feel like we've heard that before too when you're going to commit, you're going to commit, big. I guess is really what it is.
Speaker 2:So when you have a passion, for something, I guess I mean dig in. I mean, I don't think I'm that risky to sell my house to start a brewery. I wish I was. Yeah, sell your neighbor's house.
Speaker 1:Yeah right, there you go Right.
Speaker 2:I know some realtors but you could probably make that happen Exactly. Yeah, it's perfect, that'd be you, jason Miller. Yeah, there we go, dial her up. Yeah, so, mr McDonald, he sold his house just to have money to start his brewery. He set out to find the rest of what he could use to start the brewery. It didn't take him too long to get things started because after he sold his house, he did live and work. He worked in an old brick building on Southwest Boulevard Street that once housed the laundry for the Santa Fe Railroad, and he was renting this facility out. Since he sold his house and had nowhere to be, he moved his carpentry shop just into the corner of the building so he could still work, have employment, work on his carpentry, and then he began refurbishing the building and turning it into a brewery.
Speaker 1:Dramatic pause for sustenance.
Speaker 2:You got to take a drink of the nutcracker. Absolutely, you can't just let him sit there. No, it's actually pretty good beer. Honestly, I would drink more of this nutcracker, but it's actually pretty darn good, it's not real heavy.
Speaker 1:A lot of brown heels, especially in the winter I talked about that's kind of a theme during the winter season is, you know, like a nut brown or something. That's not super heavy, but it tends to be a little bit heavy. But this is, it's still kind of light, Pretty easy. You know it's not bad, or I've just gotten really used to this type of beer.
Speaker 2:Probably a little bit of both, but I would like to think that as much beer as you have drank and I have drank over the years of life I think we're pretty good on what's a light beer and what's not a light beer, and what's dark and what's not dark. I would think so.
Speaker 1:I hope so. I think it's also in the, as they say, in the eyes of the beer holder, because you get. You know, some people like a heavy, dark beer is going to be like not Bud Light but Bud Weiser, like the diesel, something real heavy like that. But when they try this.
Speaker 2:this is just terrible. It's heavy, but once you're.
Speaker 1:So it kind of depends on you know kind of what you're into, I guess, or if you've drinking a whole lot of drink, drink, drink, a variety of beer or not. Everybody comes from the Tony Cole School of Wizardry and George Killian Irish Red. I actually thought about I was going to get some of that earlier tonight. Just you know, because I happened to come across, I was like why not be bad, I just have a six pack kind of rolling around back there Taking it back.
Speaker 2:Old school. There you go.
Speaker 2:So, back to the back to McDonald here. So while he was refurbishing this facility, it took him more than a year and every penny he had raised to retrofit the building and finding all the equipment. One of the pieces of equipment that he found was a vintage 35 barrel Bavarian brew house to get everything up and running. On November of 1989, the first keg of Boulevard Pale Ale was ready for consumption. I wish I was there to consume something like that. Right, brand new, ready to go. So John loaded up the keg in the back of his truck and delivered it to the restaurant just a few blocks away to begin his very first sales of his new venture. I like it. So the first year the brewery only produced draft beer. They did want to bottle the brewery but they didn't have any money. Well, it's been known to happen.
Speaker 2:One would suspect, when you have to sell your house to even raise funds to start the thing.
Speaker 1:I don't want to say it's easy, but you put enough investment just into the stuff to be able to make it, but then, once you have to try to store it, that's a whole different set of inventory of different things. You have to have the systems to be able to bottle it or can it, and then all of a sudden, now you have to have all the cans. Then you have to ship all of the cans and all the equipment you still haven't made any money on it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, equipment, infrastructure, distribution. So his distribution was throwing the keg in the back of his truck and dropped it off at the restaurant a few blocks away because they didn't have any of the facilities or the equipment to bottle their own beer yet. But he did continue to try, John. He tried and tried and tried. He was rejected multiple times by multiple banks, numerous times, for trying to get the equipment to bottle. But finally there was an institution that did see his vision and they loaned him the money to buy and install a very small, very used, old bottling line.
Speaker 1:I always appreciate it when you find that story of the one that's you know. I mean, that's one of the things If you want to do something, keep trying to do it. You're going to get told no, like four or five times. But until you exhaust all of those options, keep asking, because there's going to be somebody that's going to be like I'm not going to read your business plan, I'm just paying attention to you, I'm just interviewing you.
Speaker 1:You seem like the type of joker that's going to actually pull off some of the crap that you're saying right now. Well, you seem pretty confident in it, so let's go ahead and do it, you know. So you know, just keep trying and keep getting after. You'll have to find somebody that I don't want to say will fall for your tricks, but you know like they'll believe what you're saying If you have that passion for it. For sure they're going more for that, rather than you can give me the business plan all you want, you know, I'll page through it and look at it a little bit, but unless you have the passion for it, I'm not going to go anywhere.
Speaker 2:It's the perseverance you know, the American dream. Basically, it's kind of what this guy had pretty much set out to do Absolutely, and we'll talk about his business plan here in about two seconds and we'll know how he went from selling his house to becoming one of the largest specialty brewers in the Midwest. There we go. I like where this is headed. Yeah, in fact, I'm going to take another drink and nutcracker.
Speaker 1:And this beer break brought to you by Boulevard Nutcracker, Not a sponsorship, just you know, just reminding that's what we're drinking. If you are looking for a sponsorship, reach us out on social media.
Speaker 2:Right, we'll spot whatever you need. Back to the start. Well, apparently, boulevard Brewery made surprisingly made a lot of good beer because their original business plan that John put together when he was trying to get these loans for the bottling lines and everything else, I'm called for him to someday sell up to 6,000 barrels a year. Someday, someday.
Speaker 1:Someday, someday, and that's still a pretty. You know that's nothing to sneeze at.
Speaker 2:Someday somewhere, somehow, it's a Billy Ray Cyrus song. I didn't know that I wasn't getting there on that one.
Speaker 1:You should have knew that one right away On his album or cassette tape Aki Breaky Heart. There we go.
Speaker 2:Anyways, which he was. I just seen something the other day he was on. Was it the first time he was on the album? Yeah, I think it was the first time. I think it was the first time.
Speaker 1:I think it was the first time. I think it was the first time. I think it was the first time. And then the other day he was on. Was it the Old Town Road or he was involved with that.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1:And so there's a whole generation of people that only know that and it breaks my Aki Breaky Heart.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's so bad. You know you should drink another sip of beer for that heart ailment, wash that stuff out of my mouth.
Speaker 2:So someday his business plan was to sell 6,000 barrels a year someday. Well, within three years he passed 6,000 barrels and was selling over 7,000 barrels a year, and he continued to climb. Naturally, the amount of barrels that they were selling continued to climb and climb, as they are now selling to neighboring cities and states. The original brew house that he started his carpentry business was only designed to produce a few thousand barrels a year, which we've heard this story a lot. There are a lot of breweries that made it big. By 2004, they were approaching 100,000 barrels a year. Think about that 100,000 barrels a year.
Speaker 1:That is crazy with a system that's only designed for a few thousand barrels a year, Especially if that's your goal. It's like maybe someday we'll get to 6.
Speaker 2:So by 2004,. 100,000 barrels a year. That's about a thousand barrels every day that they're brewing and shipping out or getting ready to ship every day. So in 2006, john decided that they probably better expand. So they did expand with a new project. It cost him $25 million. They bought a brand new building with 150 barrel brew house, packaging halls, offices and, of course, hospitality spaces to drink said beer, which is great, because that's what you want to do.
Speaker 1:There is drink beer, which is amazing. You go from selling your house and committing to everything to like. Let's do a $25 million project Like.
Speaker 2:I can't even fathom having the wherewithal to make, that's the expansion, is the $25 million Exactly.
Speaker 1:To have the decision and just like, yeah, let's do it. Yeah, let's go. Okay, why not? Can't get any money for a bottling line, but we're going to renovate the entire place now.
Speaker 2:Right In 2016, they opened up tours and rec center next to the brewery. That specific building is a fully restored 1929 building that serves as the hub for the tours, swag sampling, entertainment, including an experience area with exhibits about beer and exhibits about Boulevard brewery company. So they have a little museum there, a gift shop and, the best spot of all, a 10,000 square foot beer hall.
Speaker 1:Oh, I like it, I mean yeah, that's not a small beer hall. I think we should take a road trip down there. We've gone to that area a handful of years ago, so it can't be at all that far. Eight hours.
Speaker 2:We're going to take a ride Give or take.
Speaker 1:I mean, it sounds like a pretty big facility Seven, if we don't stop for treats and accoutrements.
Speaker 2:Refreshments, it depends. Refreshments along the way. We've had this discussion.
Speaker 1:Maybe this is our next trivia question. We've had this discussion before as well, so it all depends on who's coming with us on this road trip If it's us or if there's a four pack.
Speaker 2:Man, I want to go check this place out. I mean I would, it looks amazing I would definitely go to this place.
Speaker 1:I'm kind of looking at some of the pictures online here and every this it looks fantastic, it looks pretty cool.
Speaker 2:I think the cool part about this is in 2019, at that same rec center and Tuber center that they opened up there in 2019, they continue to enhance that facility and they opened up a rec deck, the fourth floor gathering space, with, of course, the deck outside and tabletop shuffleboard. Love it, and, of course, can't forget about the beer up there either. Absolutely, you know like that would be a good time and those photos you're looking at in 90, do you see that photo of that, trying to describe it to the listeners out there? But the buildings from 1929.
Speaker 1:So it's real old and it's a real old district kind of kind of building old brick, building big bay windows. Yeah, it looks. It looks awesome, though it looks like it'd be a lot of fun Good time for sure.
Speaker 2:And on top of that, after all this big expansion, they continue to expand some more stuff, like all good breweries do, and they become successful. They commissioned what they like to call, in quotation marks, seller five, and that's a 3,600 square foot building that's home to six 1000 barrel fermentation tanks and that, of course, increased their fermentation capacity by 40%.
Speaker 1:Now, by my math, six 1000 barrel tanks equals, roughly speaking, 6000 barrels, if I'm. If I'm doing the math correctly here, I think you're close, which is what he was trying to hopefully get to, and now he can do it at once.
Speaker 2:He can ferment that at one time, yeah.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, that's it's. You want to talk about a success story and you know the American dream, you know making making things happen and having success.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that would be this, the boulevard brewing company, for sure. On top of that, they also completed construction and installation on a brand new 24,000 square foot canning hall that houses a high speed canning line that's capable of filling up to 350 12 ounce cans of beer every minute.
Speaker 1:I wouldn't be able to keep up with that. I'd give it my shot, but I don't think I'd be able to.
Speaker 2:And you go from struggling. You can't even get a loan to buy a cheap old used canning line and now you're building a 24,000 square foot facility just to can beer at 350 cans a minute Like that's crazy.
Speaker 1:I mean that that was probably brand news, state of the art, all of the things.
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm sure more of a reason to go down and check it out. It's amazing.
Speaker 1:It's amazing. It's awesome, though. That is stellar.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this brewery definitely sounds like a place I want to go Go check out. I think we should try to do that this summer. Not to mention you know we're drinking the Nutcracker Christmas beer here. Of course they have. If you go to their website, they make a ton of different type of craft beer. They have a couple of different lines, just a lot of good stuff. They don't have basic loggers or a light or this or that. It's all different craft beers and ales and IPAs. It just seems like a great place to go.
Speaker 1:That's one of the things We've talked a little bit about. Some beers, if they have like a, you know, a Belgian style you talked a little bit about, they do kind of a little bit of Belgian. That was kind of what he liked, but I do like that they have such a wide ranging. You know, I mean not that you have to have one kind, or if it's better to have just one kind or have multiple kinds, but it is quite amazing to if you want to focus on one thing and make that your thing, or if you want to try to be able to do everything, because some people lose their quality when they start doing everything. But you know, this is amazing and I've had I don't remember which one, but I know that I've had bullfired at least one other time and I thought that it was pretty good. But I'm just looking at their website, the list of beers right now, and it's about 12, 16, 20.
Speaker 2:It goes on and on, and then you get to the limited release and now we're up to 36, 40.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh, yeah. Well, this is still going even further down. But you know, it's even the first for the list and under the featured right now a double cold IPA, a Belgian wit, a pale ale and a weeded imperial stout. So it's all over the place.
Speaker 2:It is all over the place and to be successful doing all sorts of different things. Like you said, they do so many different things it's hard to be successful and you kind of lose quality of the stuff you're known for.
Speaker 1:Well, apparently not this place, because they went to nothing to 100,000 barrels in 12 years 13 years and in a way you almost have to have and I don't know what they have, but you know you almost have to have multiple different how do I put it? Brewers and maybe one maybe brewmaster or whatever. But you're kind of in charge of ales, you're kind of in charge of loggers, you're kind of in charge of like wit beers or wheat based or anything that you know what I mean. Like otherwise, you end up. You know, if you end up trying all the different things, things start kind of running together. But if you have certain people that can focus on certain things, you know of course it's part of expansion. You know, either you stick with what you're doing in the smaller operation or you expand to something massive like this.
Speaker 2:But I wonder if that's what they do. I guess I didn't really look into that too much. We'll find out when we're down there doing a live podcast at the Brewery at the rec center on the fourth floor deck.
Speaker 1:Yep, there we go. Yeah, we'll do that we got. We're going to try to do a summit during the oh shells, not summit.
Speaker 2:Shells, there we go, shells. Yeah, we'll do summit at some point in time.
Speaker 1:They'll be on our list for sure, but shells was the one that we were going to try to go to at some point too. Absolutely, we're going to be on location a little bit more here coming in the next 12 pack.
Speaker 2:Yes, for sure. Well, we did an episode on Fat Tire you were talking about. Because you did the Fat Tire episode, you were talking about them being real, sustainable, doing a lot of attempting to a lot of environmental things. Well, boulevard Brewing Company is about the same. So we'll take you guys through some their sustainability things that they do down at their facility. Come along with us. Come along with us. We're going to save the planet. I'm not a gold green guy, but I think it's cool when companies do attempt to do things the right way. You know, oh, absolutely.
Speaker 1:You don't have to be. It's, to a certain extent, it's not even a matter of, like you know, just flat out going green.
Speaker 2:It's just being not being overly wasteful or not being being good stewards of the planet and resources, I suppose.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you don't have to just be completely wasteful and do whatever you want. Into a certain extent, even doing that can be profitable for the business too. You're not wasting as much product. You're utilizing things. You're finding better avenues to deal with certain things that maybe even benefit the community. I know that there's a lot of brewers out there that use like the spent hops. They will donate it to farmers to like feed pigs. Oh sure, so you know whether it be donating or selling it to local areas, or you know things like that. Are they making it into soap? I've had some IPA soap. Let me tell you I smell fantastic and I want to lick my skin all day.
Speaker 2:Well, the question is, does your wife want to lick your skin all day? Because that's the most important part of that conversation.
Speaker 1:She mostly wants to roll her eyes if they want. So you know, anything beyond there just gets to be like.
Speaker 2:That didn't work out too well for her. As long as you can lick your own skin, I guess there we go, your arm, I'm talking about people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, your mind's out of the gutter, yeah, and talking about his bicep or his forearm. Yeah, mind out of the gutter and have another swig of nutcracker.
Speaker 2:Perfect, I'll join. You Got to love the nutcracker. So in 2010, let's get on the sustainability stuff here, because it's pretty interesting kind of what they've done. In 2010, the Boulevard Brewing Company they set out to become a zero landfill company. I thought that was kind of interesting. What kind of company can become a zero landfill where nothing goes into a landfill? Well, by 2011, they figured it out. Oh good, perfect. They removed their last dumpster from the main brewing facility. The brewery now recycles or composts almost all of its waste with a variety of local companies. The fraction that they cannot recycle or compost gets incinerated by a local cement company to generate energy for the cement company. Then the ash that gets used for them incinerating is an ingredient they use in their concrete. Well, there you go. So I thought that was highly interesting.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I didn't know that that was a thing. That's pretty cool. I've heard of it considering well, it's not exactly a zero-sum, oh, there's usefulness of all of it Okay.
Speaker 2:Perfect. Yeah, they really figured it out. That'd be another reason to go take a tour there and just kind of learn how they came up with all this stuff. They also have a space camper line of beer that they brew.
Speaker 2:So if you purchase any of this line of beer, the space camper line of beer. A percentage of those proceeds go to sustainable causes in the area like tree planting and water protection. So far, since they've been brewing the space camper line of beer, they have contributed $70,000 to the effort of planting trees and water protection and those sorts of things, which is not a small chunk of change. To help with that, no doubt, as we talked earlier if you guys remember out there, you wonderful listeners the Boulevard Brewing Company is in Kansas City. Well, they estimated that Kansas City threw away about 150 million pounds of glass every year, including, of course, millions of Boulevard beer bottles. They also estimated that the area of businesses in Kansas City use up to 100 million pounds of recycled glass annually. Interesting thing about Kansas City they did not have any local recycling for glass. They didn't have any local facilities to process glass, any of that stuff. So all the glass in and around Kansas City, in the suburbs, was just waste.
Speaker 1:Well, Dory, it breaks down really quick, oh real fast. Throw it into a landfill. It breaks down fast, you know, it's no problem.
Speaker 2:Well, the Boulevard Brewing Company wanted to fix that problem, so they came up with a solution for all this. Of course they did Well. They went out and talked to local companies that came up with a solution. That solution was called Ripple Glass, so that was kind of a company they started with the local communities. It's a state-of-the-art processing facility that was built and innovative an innovative metro-wide collection system throughout Kansas City that the Brewing Company founded, along with other local companies. The Ripple Glass Company gathers over 700 tons of glass every single week from businesses and residents in the Kansas City area. Oh wow, that's a lot of glass. Yeah, it is. They recycle all that stuff into new glass countertops, insulation and a lot of variety of other things. Now they estimate that Ripple has saved over one billion of Boulevard Brewing Company glass bottles from going into the landfill. That's a good number. That's a lot of glass bottles.
Speaker 1:What kind of makes you?
Speaker 2:think of that's just one brewery and in one city. In one city, in one state, how much glass bottles are we throwing away?
Speaker 1:That's crazy and you'd hope that there'd be other facilities to be able to do recycling. But to your point and to the point of what was just mentioned there, kansas City isn't a small community. No, it's amazing they didn't have anything for that, so somebody had to create that solution.
Speaker 2:This is crazy and, of course, like a lot of people, are getting on board the solar train. They have installed an 18 kilowatt solar system on one of their brew houses and on that 24,000 square foot canning facility we talked about, they installed a 200 kilowatt solar system. Wow yeah, the packaging, all gardens that they use are produced using 70% post-consumer recycled paper, and all that is 100% recyclable. The trays that go inside the case are all 100% post-consumer recycled material and, of course, are also 100% recyclable. They purchased 1,064 tons of recycled materials last year, saving approximately 18,091 trees, 3.2 million gallons of water, 1,064 kilowatts of power, 2,234 cubic yards of landfill space and reduced the CO2 by 4.7 million tons. Wow, so they sure do their part. For a brewing company, they sure try to do a lot.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. For a brewery that big to be able to have that except. A lot of people talk about sustainability and zero carbon footprint, but the bulk of what a lot of companies do are doing something to offset their carbon footprint. They're not actually reducing their carbon, don't get me wrong. They're reducing a certain amount of it.
Speaker 2:Right, If I go, plant a tree that takes care of whatever like trash can, worth of stuff that I'm going to put at the end of the driveway.
Speaker 1:So now I feel fine putting the trash can out there. Well, you're still putting trash out there. Yes, you have a tree and it's a certain amount of carbon offset, but at the same time you're still putting a bunch of trash out there. If you could fix some of that problem.
Speaker 2:And eliminate it and turn it into an ingredient for concrete. You could do both. Yeah, yeah, they really man. They really got that knock-down art over there of their sustainability efforts. And one last thing that they do on one of their brew house packaging buildings they have one of those green roofs which, of course you know. Plants are on top of the roof and absorb water, sunlight, heat, or better, insulate on top of the roof, so that's kind of cool.
Speaker 1:I just seen there was a post they were talking about green roofs. It was more of like a, not a cultural thing, but it was more of like a camping thing and getting out of the middle of nowhere. So it's kind of interesting when you see something like that, like in the middle of a metro area right, yeah.
Speaker 2:green roof, yeah. I think they have a lot of those in Chicago and New York, though I've seen over in those areas. I think the Target Center used to have something like that in Minneapolis. I don't know if it's still those or not, but it's kind of amazed about that.
Speaker 1:I thought it was fake for the longest time.
Speaker 2:And if that wasn't enough, this company does a ton of work for charity, but wait, there's more.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's pretty much what it is and I wasn't going to go through the whole list. But they do so much work for charity it seems like every couple of months they're raising money for a new charity. Every couple of months they're putting on events for books, for kids and the sustainability stuff and you just name it, man, they just do on their website. Anybody out there listening that wants to try this stuff go to their website. You can find all the charities and the work they do. They do just a ton, so not only on top of becoming a successful business from the ground up making great beer, doing all that sustainability stuff they give back to people like you wouldn't believe through all the charity work they do.
Speaker 1:I got distracted and I was looking at the roof of the Target Center on Google Maps. It's quite green up there. I don't know when the last 10 this picture was taken, but there's a bunch of like walking paths up there.
Speaker 2:Really.
Speaker 1:I wonder if there's an ability to go touring that.
Speaker 2:It's not beer related though.
Speaker 1:Maybe we have to get a beer to walk up here. We can bring a beer with us there we go. It is in Minneapolis and there is a lot of breweries in that area.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, overall, what do you think of the Nutcracker beer?
Speaker 1:I think it's quite good. I'm the only bad part of it. I'm almost out, so it's very good. I mean it's not super light, it's not like a Coors light. So when I describe it as light, that's not necessarily where I'm getting, but it's easy drinking.
Speaker 2:I guess is the way that I'll put it.
Speaker 1:You could definitely, like you mentioned, you could have a couple of them and it wouldn't be. You won't feel like you're just like, oh, I'm just dying, got to like lay on the couch. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm just laying on the couch, but that's not what you feel like. You know, you feel like you could still do this or that or whatever. Like it's not super heavy, I guess, is what it is. So, yeah, it's very good, got some good flavor to it, got some good taste to it. It's a nice. This should be really good. I mean, of course, it was like 12 degrees today and windy and crappy outside as far as when we're recording this, but it's kind of a good beer for that. You know what I mean. Oh, for sure, the beers in the winter are really hardy, but this one is. It's hardy enough, but it's also not super heavy.
Speaker 2:Winter warmer, like it says right on the bottle. Yeah, it's not heavy. If you, it tastes real good, it's not heavy. I was actually surprised when we do these goofy flavored beers on the podcast here. Anytime you drink them, you're just never quite so sure about them and you're just kind of like, yeah, they probably won't be that great. This is actually one. I'd probably buy a case of it. Actually, have some around to drink, for sure.
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely, and that's I was thinking about that earlier when I was looking at, you know, some different beers to be able to bring for the four different episodes, was just trying to like okay, well, I don't want to go down the same path of the beers that like, I specifically, like you know whether it's a mix pack, mobcraft obviously went way off the rails with kind of what we were willing to maybe select. But that was fun, that was great to be able to like, try and experience. You know different things but I will admit that you know like typically I'm more of a IPA kind of live within that world, but you know I'm always open to trying a million different things. Cause, again, I started, you know, like so many of us started just drinking light beers and the great Tony Cole brought me Killian's.
Speaker 2:Irish Red. And then I'm like all right, you know what?
Speaker 1:now I have to try everything, so I haven't stopped in just one spot. I kind of wander all over the place. I do harken back to. You know what I do enjoy. You know cause everybody does that. You know what I mean. You're going to go back to the pepperoni pizza that you really like, but does that mean you can't try this type or a Canadian bacon? If you put some pineapple on there, I'm going to kick you out of my house, but you know like, that's a whole different conversation.
Speaker 2:I would agree. So so this is Christmas beer, so we're going to change it up here a little bit. Andy, I wanted to ask you, since it is Christmas, everybody watches.
Speaker 2:Christmas movies. I want to know what your favorite Christmas movie is of all time, one that you're going to come home. You have to watch it every year. You purposely sit on the couch to watch it every year. You grab a nutcracker beer, you crack it open, you sit in your recliner, you pull the lever. Your your legs flying near. What Christmas movie is it that you're watching?
Speaker 1:I think that the funny answer not necessarily the funny answer, but the kind of I don't want to say tongue in cheek answer I don't know how I would word it, but I put out there like die hard, because you know everybody likes to argue like well it's not a Christmas movie. Oh, it's a Christmas party and it's during Christmas and you know that's no, it's a Christmas movie.
Speaker 1:That's all part of the bet, and I do say, and I do argue with people that it is a Christmas movie for so many different reasons, because it really is a Christmas movie.
Speaker 2:I agree. I'm going to drink to that. There we go.
Speaker 1:But mentally, until I watch it like I just think it's a year round type of movie and I'm willing to watch it just about any time. But if we're looking like hardcore Christmas, like there's no doubt that this is a Christmas movie type of type of bit, I would have to say the polar express that would be it's. I never really thought because.
Speaker 2:I only seen it. That is a surprising selection. The one with Tom Hanks, yeah, that one really Okay, I only seen it for the first time.
Speaker 1:I'd seen like little clips of it here and there and ever, but I'd only seen like beginning to end the whole thing, probably within the last five years, and now it's like anytime that it's on, I'm like yeah here we go.
Speaker 1:This next part's going to be sweet. You know, like I just get dialed into the thing and I don't know what it is and it's only because you, you know, brought that up Like I. Like me, you know a variety. You know Elf is kind of fun and the Christmas, a Christmas story, is pretty good and the Grinch stole Christmas the one with Jim Carrey is not bad, but I do still prefer the. I'm more of an old school.
Speaker 2:The original one.
Speaker 1:Either the OG or maybe it's just a matter of the first that you've seen. You know what I mean. I've had that argument with people too, Like is one better because you've seen it first or because it was better? And it's hard to say, Sure, but I do like the old, the animated one, you know way back, but I thought the Jim Carrey one that was pretty good. I have not seen the one with Benedict Cumberbatch, so don't even ask me about that one, but there's a lot of you know, like you know, some good Christmas movies that are out there. Was it Fred Claus with Vince Vaughn?
Speaker 1:Yeah when you had to like Phelian or something like that. I mean, there's there's a lot of different movies that are out there that are, you know, pretty good. But yeah, I think Polar Express is kind of what I, you know, come back to most of the time, and the time that it's on or when it gets past, like basically right after Thanksgiving, or when it's going to start showing up on TV, then I'm just like all right, when is it going to be on? I don't even DVR it, I just like. So I'm like all right, that's going to be this night when I'm home, it's going to be this time I'm going to get two beers, that way I don't have to go back to the fridge in about seven minutes.
Speaker 2:I'm ready to go. Well, she's already sleeping at this point in time, she would probably look at him to get your own beer.
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Yeah, unless she needed one. Why don't you get up and get me one while you're at it? Yeah, that's a much more likely scenario right there, but yeah, that's a.
Speaker 1:That's probably the one that I uh that come back to, you know. I will freely admit, though and this is, for you know, like a worldwide broadcast, because we are prestige worldwide- is what's going on.
Speaker 1:But I will admit for the people that are out there in case, inquiring want minds want to know. I am kind of a hallmark guy. Judge me for what you want, but I am kind of. I will sometimes like, especially there are certain people in it, I will sit down and like, yep, I'm going to check this out. Maybe I'll have a couple of beers watching that too.
Speaker 2:But I'm judging you right now. That's fine.
Speaker 1:I'm willing to accept that I used to do that when I was at work down in the cities, you know like we'd sit and just binge like all night long. You know like five movies in a row. Sure that it was working. Was, that was secondary, it was hallmarks.
Speaker 2:Well, maybe my wife should come over here. She'll watch some hallmark movies with it, because she's obsessed with those. There we go, there we go.
Speaker 1:They're all the same to me. They're all the same. They're all the same to me too. They're 100% the same to me.
Speaker 2:Some of them got it.
Speaker 1:They're a little fun. They got the little quirks about something.
Speaker 2:Couple were filmed in Minnesota. I watched those, the one in Duluth and then the one in Isani at the Ericsson farm.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that one was, it was decent. It was decent, the dude was pretty good, but the female was kind of I don't know.
Speaker 2:It needs to brush up on her acting skills A little bit. Just touch Just touch.
Speaker 1:I have not seen the one from Duluth, though, but I think I do. It's a hockey one, I think yeah.
Speaker 2:Is it, and they filmed one this summer too. Yeah, it was another hallmark Christmas one.
Speaker 1:I feel like I just looked at it recently and I think I just set it up to DVR on my TV. So maybe when I get back from vacation I'll try to look it up and try to see if I can find it or watch it. So I'm a little bit surprised. I'm never opposed to that.
Speaker 2:Little bit surprised. I learned new things about you, things you just didn't know about your friends for 20 years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he was gonna say you know, they just come out. After a couple of years, they just come out.
Speaker 2:Well, polar Express though. I would say not a huge trend. On that one, I loved the book growing up and when they made that movie with Tom Hanks I was excited about it. Until I watched it I didn't even know there was a book. It seemed rather dark to this point. I didn't even know there was a book, Dark and sinister Boy. Yeah, we read the book in school. I didn't. What kind of school did you go to?
Speaker 1:North Bac Tech.
Speaker 2:There is one on the list that's my favorite that you didn't mention, and I was kind of surprised.
Speaker 1:Okay, what is? I'll toss it back to you. For what is your favorite Christmas film? Home Alone oh, that is an amazing.
Speaker 2:That is the number one Christmas movie of all time.
Speaker 1:That is an amazing Macaulay Culkin, joe Pesci, daniel Stern. The job that Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern did in that movie Absolutely epic, amazing, just incredible.
Speaker 2:In fact, Macaulay Culkin just got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Speaker 1:Oh nice.
Speaker 2:Three weeks ago. Yeah, right on.
Speaker 1:I would have thought that he would have had it a long time ago.
Speaker 2:I don't know what.
Speaker 1:He's a great actor though, yeah but he was in a million things when he was a kid.
Speaker 2:I guess Only one, really big though, home Alone, my girl.
Speaker 1:Yeah, home Alone, my girl. What was the one where he like pushed, tried to like knock Elijah Wood out of a tree house or something? The Good Son or something, I don't know, that one was a little bit more dark. I didn't actually see the movie, I just knew that it existed. Yeah, richie Rich, it's in a handful. I guess I thought maybe he had one, but I don't know.
Speaker 1:I feel like his brother has almost been more popular in not how do I word this not adult film sets, right, but more like films while he is an adult. But yeah, his brother Akiren has been in, I think, a bunch of movies more recently in the last like ten years he's been in quite a few.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, I actually was at the Home Alone house in Chicago, oh really, yeah. I took my daughter there on one of her road trips. We kind of swung through there. It's in Waniika, Illinois.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:The road that it's on is only wide enough for one car to go one direction, so you know if you ever drive by it.
Speaker 1:Did you do a tour of it? No, because it's. Or was it an?
Speaker 2:option to do a tour. There is no options. The home is privately owned by people that live there, so they do have signs all over. This is private property. Stay off. And how long ago was it you did this?
Speaker 1:Eight years ago, Nine years ago, so I believe, and I could be wrong. So again on the social media feedback to me if I get this wrong. But my understanding is that private party has now sold the house to the guy that played buzz Really and he has replaced a bunch of the pictures with the McAllister family pictures in the house and now does that tour that would be cool.
Speaker 1:Again, I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that it was him that bought that and is involved with that. All right, Well, I might be road tripping back over that way. Well, that's on the way to Kansas City, isn't it Kind of that? You know it's a good loop we can make a loop out of it Goose. Island Brewery is in Chicago, so let's go and we'll dial that up.
Speaker 2:A podcast episode out there. There we go. So I bring up Home Alone because it is my favorite, personal favorite Christmas movie all time. I've watched it every year since it's released, sometimes five times a year. I just watched it a couple of weeks ago, but you know the scene, probably in the middle of the movie, where Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci are looking at the house and he's got Michael Jordan on a train going around the windows looking like people.
Speaker 1:Oh, yep, where they have the dinner party, the stuff that's going on the ropes hanging from mum, he's shaking all about and all that stuff.
Speaker 2:So the song that's playing in that particular scene is Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. Have a happy holiday. Right. So what's interesting, this is the trivia of the night, the Christmas trivia. There we go, that particular song released in 1958. The gal that sung that song, that you heard in that movie and you've probably heard on the radio a million times, her name is Brenda Lee. She recorded that song when she was 13. Oh wow, this year it was the number one song on the hot Billboard, hot 100 this year.
Speaker 1:This year this year, first time it's ever hit number one.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow, yeah, Brenda Lee is now like 78 years old.
Speaker 1:I was gonna say she's had some other bangers though over the years. If I remember she had like three, number one hits of other music. I thought I recognized the name.
Speaker 2:So guess what she took out to take the number one spot.
Speaker 1:Who did she take out?
Speaker 2:Mariah Carey.
Speaker 1:There, it is All I want for Christmas is you? Yeah, there we go. You always see the memes of when you get close to Thanksgiving is they're melting her and she's ready to break free.
Speaker 2:See, I don't dislike that song. They just way overplay it, oh, absolutely.
Speaker 1:And that song has been number one since 2019.
Speaker 2:It's been forever Number two song during that time Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree there we go.
Speaker 1:Finally knocked Mariah.
Speaker 2:Carey out of the top spot.
Speaker 1:You know, speaking of home alone, you bring that up Not to kept an interruptus and go on a tangent Tuesday, but that is kind of what we do here, At least what I do. Maybe I should have more beer. But if somebody did research at one point in time and now I'm failing to remember the exact amount, but kind of towards the middle-ish where he goes to the store and gets some groceries and things like that, the bags break later and everybody goes to the store and it was something like 1973 or whatever the amount was Somebody went through and they tried to like granted, this was years ago, this is the 90s, 91. But somebody went through and they priced out what it would be to get all of those same things now and it was like over a hundred bucks.
Speaker 2:I've saw those memes circulating on the social media out there. Yeah, it's pretty hilarious oh unreal.
Speaker 1:I mean it has been now what? Almost 30 years, 32 years, pretty close, yeah. So I mean I suppose that happens and inflation happens when government prints money recklessly and puts it into circulation.
Speaker 2:It is, it is.
Speaker 1:Christmas. That's a conversation for another podcast. We'll have to have another couple of beers to get deep into that one. So what else you got on tap that's about it.
Speaker 2:That's kind of what we got. Yeah, I was going to ask you what you had on tap. I had the Christmas trivia man. I'm good, I'm ready to open another beer you got?
Speaker 1:yeah, we got to get. I think that's what's on. Tap is the next beer.
Speaker 2:The next beer. Pretty much what it is so which is what for the new year? What are we drinking in the new year?
Speaker 1:For the new year we're going to. We went to Kansas City with this one. We're going to come back, not super local, but kind of back to Minnesota. We're going to go kind of to the Minneapolis area with Indeed Brewing Nice, oh, I can do that. You'll have to narrow down exactly which one it is, but I believe it might be one of the IPAs Indeed, possibly Indeed Brewing which I have been there a couple of times, sort of it's kind of fun little tap room. So but yeah, perfect Should be a good episode and I hope you can join us for that. Hope you enjoyed this episode for Boulevard Nutcracker, winter Warmer.
Speaker 2:It's a good beer. It's great beer, man. Everybody, go out and get it while you can. It's just a limited release. It's a very good beer. I'm glad we had it and I appreciate everybody for listening.
Speaker 1:Hope you all enjoy your Christmas and we'll see you in the new year, and we'll be back here in just a short amount of time for the next episode, when we check out Indeed Brewing and bring you the baker's dozen because you got to have the 12 pack and then the extra bottle on the top for the roadie Perfect when you're walking, not driving for that. So I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope you can join us for the next one. Again, like, share, subscribe, tell your friends, tell your kids, tell your parents, tell your enemies, tell whoever Facebook, instagram, twitter, youtube, we're on Pandora now Rumble, we're on everything Spotify, all of the different platforms. So make sure you get the information out there and share the Facebook post, because that's what the well I should say. Share the social media post, because that's really the way most people are able to click on it. Sometimes it's just the easy way to be able to do it.
Speaker 2:Interact with us a little bit too. Tell us your thoughts when you get a time, absolutely. What beer do you want to have on the podcast? That stuff helps us out and let's just interact with you a little bit more and have more fun with the people that listen.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we got a couple of people that interact here and there and we definitely appreciate them chiming in. We've had a couple of people kind of give us some feedback on some things, some ideas of some stuff, and, of course, I think there was the post about what was the first beer you had.
Speaker 1:Oh, yes, and then we got some good, solid responses on that one too. So, yeah, definitely check us out online and interact and kind of give us your feedback and what you think and, like I said, beer that you want to be able to do, and maybe we'll get your beer featured on a future episode. But yeah, until then, for now, boulevard Brewing Company, nutcracker, winter Warmer, andy Baxter and Sean Field for Two Guys and Beer, and we'll talk to you next time.