The Vermont Beer and Cheese Podcast
The Vermont Beer and Cheese Podcast is dedicated to sharing the stories and people behind some of the best cheese and beer there is, made right here in Vermont. Each episode will offer a beer and cheese pairing to go along with an interview with someone who works at a Vermont brewery or a creamery.
The Vermont Beer and Cheese Podcast
Episode 1: Interview with Dani Casey of Foam Brewers
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In this episode, I chat with Dani Casey of Foam Brewers
https://www.foambrewers.com/
The pairing for this episode is Foam's Tranquil Pils and Vermont Creamery's Goat Cheese Log Classic Chevre
You're listening to the Vermont Beer and Cheese podcast. In every episode, I'll share a Vermont made beer and cheese pairing, along with an interview from someone who works in a brewery or someone who works in a creamery. Today we'll hear from Danny Casey, co-founder and business manager of Foam Brewers. The pairing for today's episode is Vermont Creamery's Goat Cheese Classic Chev, paired with Foam's Tranquil Pills. I hope you enjoy. Hello and welcome everyone. Today we have Danny Casey, who is the co-founder and business manager of Foam Brewing. Hello. And Danny and I first met at Magikat quite a while ago. So, Danny, why don't you tell us about your journey from Magikat to Foam? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So yeah, like you said, we walk we worked together at Magikat, kind of randomly got into the beer industry. I went to college up in Vermont. I grew up in New Jersey and I decided to stay afterwards. And I worked at this little bagel shop across the street from the Magikat brewery. And at the time, you know, beer was just really up and coming. It wasn't really like searching for that position, but it kind of I started to meet some of the folks that worked over there and they were super cool. And they suggested that I apply for a part-time job in their Artifactory, which I did. And then I quickly fell in love with the industry and with beer and the just like the art and the crafts and everything involved in in in in the business of Magikat and in the brewing industry in general. So worked at Magic Hat for I I want to say nearly a decade. Went through lots of ups and downs, lots of turnover. The brewery, like you know, we got bought out, things changed a lot. Um I stuck it out because I still had a really fun, cool job. I think you were there for quite a while. When did what year did you did you leave before I think I left in 2013? Yeah. And I must have left right in 2015. So um I went, I actually was able to um get a position at Switchback. So you know Todd, he's my partner at foam. Um, and he's uh was the brewmaster at Magic Hat. I met him there as did you, and um, he had gone over to Switchback and he kind of helped me get in over there. So um I went over there for a short period of time, and these guys were kind of hatching up the plan for foam at that point and asked me to come on. So it was there for a little less than a year, and then I went over to foam. So as you know, foam it's the foam brewers. So it's kind of started initially by the three guys, uh, Sam, Todd, and Bobby. Um, but they needed some help uh to do all the other parts of the business that uh is not brewing. So that's where I kind of came in and lent my expertise uh to the team.
SPEAKER_00Yes, and foam just celebrated its tenure anniversary.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, happy anniversary. Thank you. Yeah, I know it's it's I was just thinking about it actually, because I was just looking at, you know, thinking about you know chatting with you today. And it's funny that I've it's it's funny that I've been at foam now longer than I think I ever really was at Magikat, which is which is crazy, you know, double digits for sure. So yeah, it's been a whirlwind for sure.
SPEAKER_00What are like some of the let's see, some of the good changes, like from like things that you are really happy you never have to do again when like starting the business, but then also maybe some of the things that you miss from those early days.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean, well, the early days were a slog, you know, for sure. We all we just worked, we did everything, you know what I mean. So for me, obviously, like the nights, the late nights working is something I'm glad I don't have to do anymore. But I do miss it, but you know, my life has changed a lot since we opened foam. I have two kids, now two dogs, uh uh house. I live in Underhill, which is quite a bit bit away. So, you know, your life changes, and then you know, your you know what you what you want to do changes, I guess, a little bit in terms of being out. Like I love going out and seeing music and and being in the scene. You know, foam has a really vibrant music scene when we are open pretty late, but you know, at the end of the day, I'd probably rather, you know, I'd rather be home with with the fam. So but so that's nice. Um, but you know, I think it was small, so I think a thing I miss is sometimes, and we try to keep, you know, we we try to try to figure out how we can keep this small feel, you know. We are a little bit of a bigger organization now. We have um probably over 50 to 60 people on staff at any given time. We got the brewery in Heinsburg, we have the you know, the the brewery and the restaurant at 112. We expanded exponentially over the last 10 years within that building, um, which was the original um tap room. We got salespeople, you know, we manage distributor relationships. So when we first started, you know, we worked every day side by side with the you know 10, 12 people that that worked for us. And now with a bigger team, it's just kind of keeping that small brewery um feel and those connections alive. Um, but I guess one thing as you get bigger from my perspective, there's just more responsibility and stress, especially as a business manager. I I think me and my partners, we make every decision thinking about, you know, what's the best for the business because we want to make something that is able to provide for all of our amazing staff, you know, day in and day out. And that that can be, you know, a heavy weight to to carry on your shoulders as it gets bigger and more complicated. And there's a lot of phones and then just navigating the industry as well. I mean, when we opened, it was like a really good time, I think. We just kind of got into on that sweet spot of especially what we were doing, kind of more of that, you know, small batch, hazy IPA tap room experience, you know, then the limited can releases, the wild ales that we were doing. We hit it really at a good time. And as you know, like right now the industry's going through a little bit of a um, you know, a time of change, you know. So things are are changing and and we're we're trying to diversify and change with the industry to do what we can do to keep things rolling. But yeah. When did you open the Heinsberg brewery? So we probably signed the lease on that in um 20, I want to say like 2016. So it started pretty soon after 2016, 2017. But it was, you know, really um we had just bought a used uh rotary canning line, like a really, really um uh small, slow, inefficient canning line. Um and got the warehouse space down there. It was really just a small space, still is really, you know, we have the warehouse now attached to it, but um, and we put the canning line and a couple fermenters down there. But we didn't put a brew house in um until years later. What we would actually do is we would brew on our seven barrel um and in Burlington and we would tote the beer down to Heinsberg. We'd do two two brews a day and put it into a 15-barrel fermenter, and then we would can the 15 barrels once a week and then sell it in the tap room. So we did that for for a couple of years before we started to to to build it all out and put the brew house in there. So um, so we kind of we've we've grown a lot, but we've grown slow and methodically, and we try to try to do it as carefully as we can.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I love when I uh pick up samples there. Um just the seeing all the changes over the years, it's been really fun.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, there's been a a lot of iterations and changes, and just last year we put in some more volume, some bigger tanks, and then we obviously took on the um the warehouse as well a couple years back. So I think that was uh 2022. We took over the warehouse, which um just gave us a lot of ancillary space. So we got the cooler in there and all of our cans and all of our supplies that we need.
SPEAKER_00So you make a lot of different beers, you have several that are kind of available all the time, and then some seasonals.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. So we we yeah, so we'd have a lot of beers. So we've been kind of like talking about just the way the industry's been changing a bit. We've been kind of working more on on dialing in our our lineup and being more strategic about what we have out there at one time. So we do um two, I guess three core beers pretty much now that are available year-round. So the built to spill, which is a double IPA, uh, the dead flowers, which is a single IPA, both are kind of super soft and hazy um style, New England style IPAs. And then we do the Tranquil Pils, which is a uh German-style Pilsner that's available um all the time. And then we do a rotating IPA seasonal line. Um, so right now we have um, oh geez, what is it? Um the new one that's out, eternal sunshine. Um, and then we rotate seasonally. We have uh dead wax in the fall, um, archipedals in the winter, and then nameless in the spring. Um, so that's available. Um, then we do like a sour dark line. So right now um we have uh alien observer blushing in that. So those are like fruited sours, gozas, and then in the wintertime we offer like a stout and a porter, heavy water, and lover's rock. So that's also rotating. We do uh canvas, which is a pale ale, and long distance driver, which is a West Coast IPA, and those are pretty much available year-round as well. Um, and then we do like an Uber rotational line in addition to that. So I know that sounds like a lot, and I said we were scaling it back, but we are actually scaling it back, even though that seems like a lot. Um and yeah, we're just kind of we're we always those are the those are kind of the beers that we've been um distributing and packaging, but we also have you know all different beers all the time at our tap room at 112, since that's kind of the experimental brewery. And um, we have everything there just on draft and in Growlers to go.
SPEAKER_00Do you have a lot of stuff that will be tap only? Um in Burlington too.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. So a lot of that stuff is tap only, but we also use you know the tap the the brewery in the tap room to kind of do like new product development and testing and see what people like, test out new ingredients. Um, so sometimes we do different iterations of a beer and and different styles and tweak it, but yeah, we're always we're always just innovating and trying new things down there. And then we we bring stuff back to um like we're we're getting ready for the 4th of July. So every year we do the indie, which is the watermelon goza. Um, so they're actually grinding watermelons today down there. So lucky me, I get to miss that sticky endeavor. Um, so yeah, but they're they're always brewing different things and seasonally because it's seven barrels and it's just draft. So we're always looking to, like I said, do new product development, try new things, but also create a diverse lineup in the tap room. So if you're going in there, you have, and depending on what you like to drink, you have a variety of options. So we have, you know, light lagers, um, something a little like fruity potentially, maybe a wild ale on. Then, you know, we get into our later pale ales, IPAs, doubles, triples. So there's a spectrum of variety for for customers that are just coming in to grab, grab a drink and watch some music or sit on the patio and grab some food.
SPEAKER_00So and how do you, when you're testing out stuff, how do you do you just go on a go by sales if it's something that you wanna I think we we look at sales.
SPEAKER_02We've been starting doing we look at like feedback on different platforms, like you know, untapped and ratings and things like that. I mean, the sales, I mean we it's it's yeah, we could look at we look at rate of sale because everything eventually does sell out, you know what I mean? So it's sometimes hard to to see. And then there's like so many factors too, because it's like, well, if something was on in November, you know, obviously the rate of sale is gonna be slower than something in July. But you can you can get a feel, you know, and and we have our bartenders and we chat with them to see, you know, what people are liking. And then we've also been doing um working on doing some, you know, just some tasting and ratings internally. We've been working on this cool new app called the draft labs. So we have all been as the new beers come out, there's a there's a crew, like our our main, you know, full-time crew that's on there that can uh taste the beers and kind of put in notes and rate them so we can we can kind of gather some data from that to see what people at the brewery are liking. I mean, I think generally, you know, we we kind of we try to have our finger on the pulse. I mean, everybody likes different things, so you're kind of getting the different feedbacks you're seeing what the majority of people in in the in the brewery, like the employees are liking, and then um I think we can get a good idea of what would do well in market from that.
SPEAKER_00How do you decide what types of beers to make?
SPEAKER_02Oh, well, you know, I think we draw on a lot of inspirations. I think it depends on you know, I guess it depends on what we're what we're what we're shooting for. So it's like if something falls into like one of those categories for distribution, uh, we're like just looking at trends and taking things that we've done in the tap room that have been successful and trying to implement them. So it's like obviously it's like you could, you know, it depends on what we're what we're trying to achieve. I think in the tap room, we're trying to try a lot of different things and we're drawing on inspirations of what we see, you know, in other places, things we've had, whether it's new things or old things. I mean, I think recently we've done like a big throwback, like in our mixed pack of, you know, beers that have inspired us to get into the industry. So kind of looking at new things that are happening in the market, whether it's like, you know, really light lagers that you're seeing coming out, things that are like really low ABV, low calorie, or like these like kind of like fruit beer RTD melds that you see in different areas. So kind of just like seeing what's out there, trying new things, but then also kind of like revisiting some some old inspirations and classics there. And then, you know, if we're if we're looking to fill whole or switch things up into our, you know, our core calendar, you know, you see like last year, I think, you know, our IPA for the summer didn't do so great. So we're like, okay, well, what are some other IPAs that people really have liked that we've canned over the years? Um, so that's where kind of Eternal Sunshine came in and we tweak it a little bit um in the tap room under maybe something different, and then we can put it into the into the IPA lineup. You know, same goes with you know the sour lineup. If we have one beer that did really well at the tap room, we can then go ahead and and and can it and put it out into the market.
SPEAKER_00Do you have a favorite phone beer?
SPEAKER_02Oof. Well, it's like asking me who my favorite child is. I think like my ch my tastes like change, you know, seasonally. But I definitely have and like I don't know, every few years, like I feel like I get into different things. I don't know if you feel like that too, but oh yeah, definitely been drinking more lighter beers. So like the the um the pilsners. I mean, we do the minus time series, which is kind of like a nod to old traditional lager beers from from all around the world. So my favorite is the one of those is the Danish lager. So it's kind of like a inspir it's in it's inspired by like Carlsberg. Um, so that one I really like. Um and then honestly Tranco Pills all it will be like a go-to for me. But I also really like canvas, and canvas is making like kind of a like a pull right now um it to come back. So and then in the tap room, it's always changing, but I always gravitate towards like a I like a hoppy, like a dry like a hoppy dry pale ale.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um, so that's why I like kind of like the uh canvas. What's your what's your favorite foam beer?
SPEAKER_00Uh well when you were listing the beers earlier, I kept thinking I was like, oh yeah, that's a good one. Oh yeah, that's a good one. Uh I do get excited when I see the heavy water come out. Um the the stout. That's that's a good one. And uh blushing. Yeah, that's that's a really good one too. That's a nice summary kind of beer. Yeah. And those are both uh good cheese ones too. Uh stout's so easy to pair with all those like nutty cheddars and alpine style cheeses, and I think with the blushing, I've I've had like a fruity. Yeah, and like a nice chev with uh something fruity.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, for sure. It goes with everything for dessert.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, for sure. Your artwork on your cans is very unique. Where does that come from?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so we uh actually work with um different local artists for each can that we do. Uh John, he's our uh sales and marketing guy, but really kind of our creative director. And um ever f since the beginning we've kind of contracted worked with, you know, different different visual artists, whether you know they're you know, digital graphic designers or just painters, or we've had uh folks do all all different types of mediums that we then take into um to we kind of you know work with a graphic designer to to to make into the label. So it's really cool. So there's a whole laundry list of um we've we started by just you know, I think reaching out to folks we had relationships with and then it's grown as a you know the beer industry's kind of a small tight group. The art industry is is similar. Um so we've been able to branch out and create new relationships with new people. So yeah, we have a we have a you know a bunch of artists that have have worked with us and then a few graphic designers that take that art and make it a beer label, if that makes sense. Yeah. Yeah, we've always you know we built foam as kind of you know a place for for the art community to to to come and and you know hang out, whether it's at the music um shows and and or to show art. And we we've just been, you know, we're very in entwined with the with the art community. And it's just like a passion of all of ours and something that we would just love being involved with and being able to, you know, support through our music venue and through our our cans.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and while we're speaking of art, I was just thinking about your tap room too, is like a work of art.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, there's a lot going on in there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's uh it's a really fun space.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yeah, it's quirky for sure.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and you got some fun sculptures out on the patio too.
SPEAKER_02And yeah, Christopher Gilbert, so it's funny they came, so the guys kind of had started the whole idea and then and then came to me, and then you know, I came on board and it was like they had gotten a loan, and the first thing they bought with the loan was like five thousand dollars of art sculptures. I was like, guys, what do you what? Which is great, but like that's just like a perfect example of like, you know, like how we've just from the very beginning wanted art to be a core value of of the business and and our identity. So those little swirly sculptures that are also in the ball, all around foam that was an a sculpture that was a sculptor that was based out of Heinsburg, Vermont, actually. And he was moving, he moved somewhere, so he was selling all those, and I think Todd had known him, so uh that's how we had bought those. So we're all started. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So you do a lot of educational sessions for your employees as well, like around sensory and stuff like that. Do you want to talk a little bit about that?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so that's like, yeah, kind of talking to like about like trying to create, keep those connections as to like when we were starting. Um because we're all like kind of there every day, tasting and things like that. So we had started doing a brew club, um, which was super fun. Um, it we would have it like every other week, and all the staff could come and they could um each week somebody would have to do a presentation on a different style of beer. Um, so whether it was like a Saison or uh Flanders, like I did mine on Flanders, people did light lager beer, whatever. There was a whole spectrum, so they kind of pulled it out and then kind of presented so that it kind of gave people an opportunity to do a little research and learn about beer and then really fun. We would we would make it very fun. Uh and it got it got kind of like out of not out of hammock, just the layers of yeah, there was jeopardy, there were um beer pong games. It it it it evolved into something really, really, really cool. So we've been doing that. We kind of we took a little break on that for now, and now we're doing uh the draft lab sensory stuff, trying to get that going. And we've been doing some different fermentation workshops. Um, so we did one on um uh sourdough bread, we've done uh one on just pickling or fermenting cucumbers, so so just trying to incorporate all different fun things for the staff to learn to keep them engaged and constantly learning. Because I think things can get repetitive for everybody, you know, in their day to day job. So it's just making keeping people excited about what they're doing and keeping them just. Like really in love with with beer and and and the science of it and and constantly learning because there's always something new to learn. I mean, I've been working in the industry now for 20 years, and I'm, you know, whenever we do one of those things, it's like I always learn something new. So it's cool. You should come down. We should have you come down one day. Yeah, I'd love to. Um something about, you know, just quality and testing. And um, that would be really, really cool, actually. So we've been trying, we got we kind of did the style thing, and I'm trying to incorporate some some different some different things in there. So like more, you know, more scientific, I guess, aspects of fermentation and quality assurance, obviously. So so yeah, it'll be cool.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, definitely. What is your favorite way to enjoy a beer? Oh, like, like um in what vessel? Or like yeah, what setting? Maybe you know, uh out on the patio at foam, uh on your back deck at home, yeah, definitely. Oh, oh everywhere.
SPEAKER_02I mean, I love I love drinking beer everywhere, but probably home. I like being home. I like being on the water, I like yeah, on the mountain skiing, you know, always always into some pocket beers when I go skiing. You know what I mean? Yeah, but I love I like, yeah, probably just sitting on my patio. I do really enjoy drinking beer out of a glass. Like I know that sounds like kind of pretentious, but yeah, I have canned beer at home. I like to pour it into a glass. I do have uh a kegurator at my house too, so we do often have draft beer, but but yeah, I I like I like uh I like enjoying beers in new places, and I like enjoying new beers in new places as well, just trying different things. So and with good company, yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_00That's a a must. Yeah, it's fun uh like visiting a new city and kind of seeking out the breweries, and they're tend to be such a big community center for you know wherever they're located. So that's a fun way to see a new place. But sure. What is something that you wish more people knew about Vermont beer?
SPEAKER_02I guess um I think that people probably stereotype Vermont beer as hazy IPA. So I guess just that we do do it all, you know, that there's so many different varieties out there to to try. And um, there's just more than I know there's like some of the the big hitters that people recognize from Vermont, but there's there's a lot of little guys too. So I think just getting out there and and trying all the beers that maybe aren't the ones you'd expect from Vermont.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, great. And we talked a little bit about your tap room space, but let's say, where are you located and where can people find your beer?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so we are at um 112 Lake Street in Burlington. So we're right across from Waterfront Park, down on the Burlington Waterfront. So you could come visit us. We're open seven days a week. Uh gofilmbrewers.com for all of our actual hours and listings, our menus. We always have rotational beers, like I said. Um we have a delicious brunch restaurant called Deep City attached to the brewery. So open Thursday through Mondays, uh, eight to two. So that is an awesome spot. We also rent that space out for special events, which is really cool. So um you can see us there. And we also distribute our beer um throughout Vermont and really uh most of uh New England, New York, New Jersey, a couple of ancillary states, about 14 states uh we're in right now. And we have a uh beer finder on our website. So if you want to try to seek it out specifically in a in a marketplace outside of Vermont, you can put your zip code in there and see. So um see see where it was sold in the last you know week or so. So so yeah, come in, definitely come down and check us out. Great. Well, thank you so much, Danny.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, thanks for having me, Annie. Hey everyone, thank you so much for listening to the first episode of the Vermont Beer and Cheese Podcast. I do have some bonus pairings for you. It was really hard to pick just one. Danny and I talked about a few seasonal beers in this episode, and both the heavy water, which is their American stout and blushing, a fruited sour ale, would also pair well with the Vermont Creamery Chef. I have had the heavy water with this cheese before and really enjoyed it. The roast and the sweetness in the malt are a really fun contrast to the bright tang of the cheese and the creaminess of the cheese with the dark beer is also really fun. It is a very different pairing than the Pilsner, but it's still really delicious. I haven't actually had the blushing with this cheese before. I wasn't able to find it um this time of year. So I'm not entirely sure when it is available, but I have had this cheese with other fruited sours before. And so I'm hoping that this one works as well. So if you give it a try, let me know what you think. Thanks again for listening, and please subscribe so you know when episodes are available, and leave a comment and let me know what you think so far. Thanks.