I Listen So You Don't Have To: Steve Austin Show Ep. 318

David Walker, the brewmaster at Firestone, is on the Austin Show
Photo via FirestoneBeer.com

If you’re new, here’s the rundown. We listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are many wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but this feature largely hews to the regular rotation we feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If we can save other folks some time, we’re happy to do so.

Show: Steve Austin Show
Episode: 318
Run Time: 1:12:35
Guest: David Walker (12:10)

Summary: Austin drops by the Firestone Walker Brew Pub in Venice, Calif., to chat up co-owner David Walker. It’s heavy on the background from the outset, as Walker explains the history of the brewing outfit and pub itself as well as his own personal background of moving from England to California. Walker has a lot of information about how the craft beer industry evolved. Eventually Austin spins the topic to label and logo design, then asks Walker about the background of specific beers. Wrapping up, Walker explained his company’s relatively new partnership with Duvel Moortgat.

Quote of the week: “Family businesses are sort of strange. They make decisions that normal businesses don’t because it’s a family. Their name’s on the bottle. They, they get stopped in the street and tapped on the shoulder and said, ‘Hey, you know, this is your business, thank you for doing this.’ Or, ‘I don’t like that.’ So there’s a sort of a proprietal element to a family enterprise that you don’t have, I think, with giant public companies or, or just other sort of investors. And Duvel Moortgat had that in spades. Plus, they’re an amazing brewer.”

Why you should listen: You care deeply about beer.

Why you should skip it: You don’t give a second thought to beer.

Final thoughts: Austin had to get an episode on wax before going in for shoulder surgery. He did his homework on his guest to add to his already strong knowledge of the craft beer industry. The guest is a nice guy, well spoken with a decent story to tell. But it’s all about beer, and I found the entire thing dreadfully boring. You may not… but I’m suspecting you’ll have a good guess before you hit the play button.