Over the last seven years, SO many amazing women have come into our orbit through events, working with breweries, partnering with artisans, entrepreneurs and more. Erica and Jaime have always wanted to get to know them a little better and hear their stories, but small biz life doesn’t often leave time for leisurely chats. We also wanted to find a new way to connect with our beer loving community, as we aren’t able to get back to large scale events quiiiite yet.
So, we launched the Eternal Hoptimist Podcast!
Every episode is hosted by SOBDL co-founders Erica and Jaime and includes fun chats about craft beer, insight into what we’re cooking up behind the scenes at the Society, and an interview with an awesome woman in our world. Each episode is only around 30mins, making it the perfect listen on your commute, while you squeeze in a workout, or on a walk around the neighbourhood. New episodes drop every second Friday.
Need a little more convincing before tuning in? Here are a few can’t miss moments from the first two episodes.
The bevy that could have been
Jaime & Erica open the first episode with a bit of a recap on the history of SOBDL which is worth a listen if you’re new to the crew. But even if you’ve been around since day one, there are some fun behind the scenes tidbits. Jaime shares a hilarious scenario from the planning of Bevy 0001 where they considered asking her neighbour to open up her space to let attendees use her washroom and hosting the whole thing between the two apartments! Can you imagine?
Life before beer
One of the most interesting things about the craft beer industry is that people come to the job from literally everywhere! On the first episode with Avery Jennekens-Meron of Royal City Brewery, the ladies all reveal their ‘past lives’ before getting into beer. Erica got her start as an educator, Jaime went to school for photography and Avery has a degree in Philosophy, aka bullshitting (her words, not ours!) Avery also talks about pursuing a career in firefighting which she plans to balance with her work in beer. Coolest first guest ever!
A peek behind the curtain
Who decides which beers end up on LCBO shelves? Do the folks at LCBO HQ actually sample the product? What does NISS mean and why does it involve so much paperwork??? The second episode with Karen Carter answers these Qs and offers some fascinating industry insight from her perspective as a Category Administrator for Beer and Cider at the LCBO. The trio talk about the process of working with the LCBO and Karen offers some advice to breweries looking to get their beer on shelves.
Build your beer wishlist
Whether it’s bonding with Karen over their mutual love of Beau’s Lug Tread, reminiscing with Avery over Royal City’s original branding or Jaime revealing her obsession with West Avenue Cider’s Cherriostiy, so many of the province’s top craft breweries get a shoutout. Erica and Jaime sample a beer (or two!) every episode, so listen for recommendations of new brews to try, or be reminded of an old favourite.
Expression regression
If nothing else, the pod is worth a listen for the comedy gold of Erica’s mental block around the expression ‘keep your eyes peeled.’ Check out not one but both episodes for her creative interpretations of the phrase. It’s all in reference to some exciting news coming down the pipeline – podcast listeners get an exclusive sneak peek at what’s coming up in the SOBDL world, including our first event since Jan 2020. So don’t miss an episode if you want to stay in the loop!
Thanks to everyone who’s listened so far, we love you! Are you loving the podcast? Leave us a review to help more folks find us. And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.
Find the Eternal Hoptimist Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music.
