Who doesn't love a beer exploration field trip?

Well, Roche for one but Lashelle is all about the beer adventure.

Listen as she recaps her trip to Pen Druid Brewing, a brewery that believes in "spontaneous fermentation" to make "wild beer" as well as a top 50 food experience in the country!

Then, Lashelle explains her love of chaos in her beer.

Make sure your craft beer loving friends are listening and subscribing to Head Retention wherever you get podcasts.

Email us! headretentionbeer@gmail.com

Who knew so much went into what beer ends up on restaurant menus and store shelves!

Steve Quartell, the beer director for Lost Dog Alexandria, does and he joins Roche and Lashelle to discuss the balancing act of buying beer for restaurants and stores. How does a person's height play a role in what they buy? How many IPAs should a restaurant have on the menu? What about how beers are listed on a menu? These are just some of the factors when deciding how to stock and display beers.

Listen to this fascinating inside look at the science of beer display.

Make sure your craft beer loving friends are listening and subscribing to Head Retention wherever you get podcasts.

Email us! headretentionbeer@gmail.com

Everybody loves pumpkins beers, right?

RIGHT!?!?!

Actually, pumpkin beers aren't as universally loved as the big pumpkin media would have you believe. But that doesn't mean brewers should just brew bad beers and throw a pumpkin label on it.

Lashelle and Roche are joined by Blaine of Sinistral Brewing Company for a frank discussion of pumpkin beers, the good, the bad, and the very ugly.

Click here for more info on Sinistral Brewing Company
Thanks to Ocelot Brewing Company for hosting this episode.

Make sure your craft beer loving friends are listening and subscribing to Head Retention wherever you get podcasts.

Email us! headretentionbeer@gmail.com

It's been awhile since we actually sampled beers on Head Retention so Lashelle, Roche, and Jon of Solace Brewing Company sidle up to the bar at Solace's Sterling location to sample summer beers that are new for 2024. The trio have a few times with winter beers but this is the first time they've had a summer beer tasting so to start, they discuss what makes a summer beer. Everyone has a different opinion but there are a few markers that are universal and that is, what beer works best for a summer vibe.

Then, they roll up their sleeves for the hard work, drinking summertime beers!

Make sure your craft beer loving friends are listening and subscribing to Head Retention wherever you get podcasts.

Email us! headretentionbeer@gmail.com

If you've ever been to a brewery you've seen the tanks and equipment involved in the brewing process. But you've probably never seen the set up to get the beer from the tanks to the can that can then be shipped to your favorite beer store.

Recently, Roche was able to take part in the canning process at Ocelot Brewing Company under the watchful eye of Lashelle. It's an extremely stressful but ultimately rewarding experience that Roche and Lashelle recap on this episode of Head Retention.

Thanks to Ocelot Brewing for letting Roche work the line.

Thanks to Iron Heart Canning for putting up with Roche working the line.

Make sure your craft beer loving friends are listening and subscribing to Head Retention wherever you get podcasts.

Email us! headretentionbeer@gmail.com

Are beer labels more important than the beer itself?

Maybe?

For many, the beer label is the introduction to the beer or even the brewery. So nailing the label is vital.

Designer Jeffrey Everett of Rockets Are Red joins Roche and Lashelle to give insight on how much thought should go into making labels for beer, what the beer label design process entails, the difference between "art" and "branding," and so much more.

Jeff also shares stories from his career as a designer who has worked with everyone from punk rockers to Dr. Fauci!


To see more of Jeff's work, click here.
Click here to follow Jeff on Instagram.
For more information on the Beer Exhibit, click here

Make sure your craft beer loving friends are listening and subscribing to Head Retention wherever you get podcasts.

Email us! headretentionbeer@gmail.com

Title says it all. After a yearlong hiatus, Head Retention is back! But before we can move forward with our craft beer journeys, let's take an episode to look back at what Lashelle and Roche have been up to...in their lives as well as their craft beer journey. Then, they preview what's to come with the podcast and discuss the triumphant return of a beer style.

Make sure your craft beer loving friends are listening and subscribing to Head Retention wherever you get podcasts.

Email us! headretentionbeer@gmail.com

It's an episode (literal) years in the making! Roche and Lashelle welcome Charlie and Chris (the originator of the Crispy Boi lifestyle!) from Fairwinds Brewery in Lorton, VA.

Fairwinds has been busy winning ALL the craft beer awards and join the show to discuss awards (national and regional)and what they mean to breweries. Also, is Kolsch the official beer of Virginia craft brewing? Charlie and Chris (and Lashelle) make the case. Finally, interesting conversation on the important role the taproom server has in educating the clientele...which leads into...

(24:00) ...the most controversial subject we've ever undertaken on Head Retention, flights in the taproom! Roche is shocked to learn that most taproom workers (bartenders, servers, AND brewers) are not fans of flights, for a number of a reasons that the gang is only too happy to explain.

Make sure your craft beer loving friends are listening and subscribing to Head Retention wherever you get podcasts.

Email us! headretentionbeer@gmail.com