Barley & Sword Brewing: You Have My Sword

Michael P. Howell's journey into brewing started young — the Navy at 18, an Irish pub in a Maine shipyard town, a homebrew mead recipe, and an unlikely detour through a Viking living-history guild. It all came together on one D&D night with friends, when a passing idea turned into a business plan — and an LLC within the month. In this episode, Michael sits down to tell the full story, including the wild tale of twenty Czech brewers showing up at the taproom to help rebuild one of his beers from scratch, decoction process and all. He talks through his theory on why classic beer styles never really go out of style, shares the moment a German naval officer swore his hefeweizen tasted like the real thing, and closes things out with a Chasing the Muse collab conversation you won't want to miss. Watch all episodes of the Dedicated to the Craft Podcast Spotify / Apple Podcasts Follow Ballast Point Brewing on social: IG: @ballastpointbrewing FB: BallastPoint ballastpoint.com Follow Barley & Sword on social: IG: @barleyandsword FB: barleyandswordbrewingcompany barleyandsword.com Please Explore Responsibly ™ Ballast Point Brewing Co, San Diego, Ca About the show: Dedicated to the Craft is a celebration of loving what you do every day. In this space, we will talk to everyone from breweries to artists and musicians. There's nothing we love more than raising a glass with guests who are as passionate about their craft as we are about beer. Join us as we share brewing tips, stories, and lots of laughs – all over a few of our favorite brews. Chapters: 18:30 - The D&D Greenlight — "You have my sword, you have my axe," an LLC in under a month 25:12 - Coddiwomple — where "enjoy the journey" came from 38:00 - The Pendulum Thesis — classic styles, two to three years ahead 40:59 - "That's Validation" — the German naval officer and the hefeweizen 42:44 - The Liberation Story Begins — 20 Czech brewers arrive in the taproom 48:13 - "Peter Loses His Mind" — no decoction, rebuilding the process live, the 10.5-hour brew day 1:00:25 - Chasing the Muse — the collab origin, Ballast Point as the classic-style cornerstone