Curious about the craft beer scene in Middle East? This week on Beer Sessions Radio, Jimmy Carbone is joined in the studio by Mazen Hajjar, the brewer behind Lebanon's 961 Beer. Hear what the typical Lebanese beer enthusiast drinks, and learn why Mazen decided to grow 961 Beer and distribute internationally. Jimmy is also talking with a wide variety of Long Island Brewers. Mike Philporick of Port Jeff, Greg Martin of Long Ireland, and Curt Potter of Blue Point Brewing Company are in the house talking about a Long Island collaboration beer, Surge Protector IPA. Surge Protector is a benefit beer for victims of Hurricane Sandy on Long Island, and for Barrier Brewing based in New York. Wendy Littlefield from Vanberg & DeWulf calls in to talk about New York's Coast to Coast Toast! Craig Flymark also calls in to talk about Barrier's brews post-Hurricane Sandy. The studio's packed on this week's Beer Sessions Radio; tune in! This program has been brought to you by GreatBrewers.com.

"Sometimes we get to the point where we try to push the IBUs and do all this crazy stuff, but we forget the basics. If we don't make drinkable beers, we're failing the consumer." [35:00]

"The more beers out there, good beers- the more converts we will get." [42:00]

-- Mazen Hajjar on Beer Sessions Radio

Today's episode of Beer Sessions Radio is live from the Belgium Comes to Cooperstown beer festival in Cooperstown, New York. Tune in to get a feel for the atmosphere of the festival, and check it out next year! First up, Jimmy Carbone talks with Michael Saklad, the Eastern Regional Sales Manager for Stone Brewery. Hear about the beers that Stone brought to the festival, and what goes down in the Stone tent in Cooperstown. Next, Jimmy's chatting with Chad Rich, the owner of a new brew pub in Waterbury, Vermont called Prohibition Pig. Tune in to learn the rich history of Vermont craft beer, and hear about how Hurricane Irene affected the old Alchemist brew pub. Daniel Lanigan, a Massachusetts beer bar pioneer, talks with Jimmy about his introduction to craft beer. Hear about how Daniel started the iconic beer bar in Amherst, The Moan and Dove. He expanded to Northampton with another bar, The Dirty Truth, and finally settled in Boston with his new bar, Lord Hobo. Tune in to hear more antics from Belgium Comes to Cooperstown on this week's Beer Sessions Radio! This episode has been brought to you by GreatBrewers.com.

"The Heady Topper is a very drinkable IPA. For an 8 percent beer, it goes down smooth. It's so easy to drink, just like a lot of the Stone beers." -- Chad Rich on Beer Sessions Radio

"I knew I was going to lost 100% of the clientele [of the previous bar]. When you have a clientele with a fairly successful small-scale business, it's tough to go in and wipe out your entire clientele and start from scratch." -- Daniel Lanigan on starting The Moan and Dove, Beer Sessions Radio

Welcome to the second installment of Beer Sessions Radio at Brewery Ommegang's Belgium Comes to Cooperstown beer festival! Jimmy Carbone kicks off the episode with some of the folks behind Brewery Ommegang, President Simon Thorpe and Brewmaster Phil Leinhart. Tune in to hear discussions about the anti-fracking movement in Upstate New York, why New York state water is perfect for making beer, and the rapid expansion of Brewery Ommegang. Jimmy checks in with Bill Herlicka of White Birch Brewing to talk about some of White Birch's new beers, consistent brewing, and how a deal large retailer can completely change a company's brewing process. Later, Jimmy's talking with Sean Lawson of Lawson's Finest Liquids about meeting demand, and collaborating on beers with brewpubs across the country. Jimmy chows down on some of Scott Vaccaro's roasted pig, and talks about Captain Lawrence Brewing's new brewery expansion. Finally, Jimmy chats with Tommy Harder of the Blind Tiger Alehouse. Tommy entered the Hop Chef competition at the festival; tune in to hear about Tommy's approach to beer and food pairings, as well as the dish he cooked for the contest. This episode has been sponsored by GreatBrewers.com.

"Underneath the Marcellus shale here there are huge reserves of gas that need to be developed. The basic issue that we've got with it is not that you shouldn't develop it, but right now the technology pollutes the water... You can't make world-class beer with polluted water." -- Simon Thorpe on Beer Sessions Radio