Valentine's day is coming up; what to eat? This week on Let's Eat In, Cathy Erway is joined in the studio by Sixpoint Craft Ale's Brewmaster (and Cathy's Valentine), Shane Welch. Tune in to find out why Shane believes that Valentine's Day is an under-appreciated holiday. Shane describes one of his newest brews called "Three Beans", which includes cold brew from Stumptown Coffee Roasters and chocolate from Mast Brothers. Learn more about this Red Hook collaboration, and how the beer's release was affected by Hurricane Sandy. Listen in to hear Shane talk about the vulnerability of New York City, and how well New Yorkers have dealt with tragedy in the past decade. This program has been sponsored by Whole Foods.

"If you have a large portfolio of craft beers, things get a little more difficult because you need a lot of ingredients. It's kind of like a restaurant." [18:15] -- Shane Welch on Let's Eat In

Once again, we're digging into the Greenhorn archives, and revisiting the 2012 Farm Bill. Annette Higby, from the New England Farm Union, discusses Federal Farm Bill the various titles and programs, and the the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity act which is supported by the National Young Farmers Coalition. The National Farmer's Union is one of the oldest and best Farm advocacy groups in the country, with a strong family farmer focus. They are critics of the way farm policies have subsidized certain parts of our farm economy over other more sensible choices. Public investment in agriculture isn't going away, but we can shift the direction it points us, our food and our landscape. Tune in to learn how - and check out the New England Farmers Union, NEFU.org. This program has been brought to you by Hearst Ranch.

This week on Beer Sessions, Jimmy and Ray explore the oft-overlooked item that is absolutely necessary for yeast to create alcohol: malt. Jay Steinhauer of American Beer Distributing and Benjamin Stutz of Brooklyn Homebrew talk about base yeast, specialty yeast, and making beer, plus Sam Barbieri of Waterfront Ale House talks about his career in the bar (and ice cream) biz. Christan and Andrea of Valley Malts discuss their exceedingly rare project to create their own, local version of a Malt House. Finally the guys discuss aged beers, barley wine, and this years pumpkin shortage (yes, there was a pumpkin shortage). This episode was sponsored by Great Brewers.com: a favorite source for beer information and education and one of the internet's most popular beer destinations.

Photo: Sam Barbieri, owner of Waterfront Ale House and organizer of Fuhgetaboutit BBQ