GOOD BEER HUNTING PODCAST STYLE GUIDE
Welcome to the Good Beer Hunting Podcast Style Guide. Our podcasts are similar to our editorial website in that they cover all facets of the beer industry—we just share our insights in an audio format instead of writing them down. And like our stories, our podcasts fall under specific categories and have customs that help deliver our message in a unified voice. You should know this is a GBH podcast the second you tune in. Like our editorial style guide, this is a living document which will evolve as GBH—and GBH’s podcasts—evolve.
A HISTORY OF GBH PODCASTS
The GBH Podcast channel started as a series of interviews conducted by creative director, Michael Kiser. Since we first started recording in 2014, we’ve expanded to have multiple hosts and other podcasts channels. We’ve launched other shows, we’ve done podcasts in partnership with underwriters, and expanded our audience to over 150,000 unique subscribers.
Our podcasts are broken down into 6 categories: Features, Sightlines, GBH Collective, GBH Out Loud, Fervent Few, and Specials.
Features: The crux of our podcast channel. Every Saturday, we feature a long form interview with someone we find fascinating, critical, or innovative within the beverage industry. Although the majority of guests are within the beer industry, many occupy interesting spaces surrounding us. We’ve had coffee roasters, lawyers, cannabis journalists, even state senators on the show. Here’s one of our favorite interviews. Oh! And here’s another—it’s very different in tone, which demonstrates the range of pathways a Feature episode can take.
Feature episodes aren’t just rote question-and-answer interviews. We encourage folks to ask hard questions, push ideas further, and be unafraid to get uncomfortable. Imagine yourself as an active member of this conversation, and think about what interests you and where you want to dig in more.
Your audience should learn something from these interviews—and if you’re lucky, your guest will as well. We always try to do these interviews in person, but have adjusted our parameters based on the current state of the world. Click here to learn more about how to record a Feature episode.
Sightlines: This is our news vertical, similar in tone to our Sightlines written content. These episodes are hosted primarily by our Sightlines team: Bryan Roth, Jonny Garrett, and Michael Kiser.
Sightlines podcasts take a central question, like “Did Untappd Really Throw the Beer Version of the Frye Festival,” or “Does Higher ABV Equate to a Perceived Increase in Quality and Value,” and talks to a range of experts (usually you’ll hear 2-4 voices) to figure out the answer. The tone is both authoritative and welcoming—these are reporters who will dig up answers for you.
The two episodes above are some of our favorites, along with this one exploring the world of beer influencers. We release these episodes 1-2 times a month. Click to learn more about how to record a Sightlines episode.
GBH Collective: These are one-on-one interviews between members of our team. Usually, these are released after someone has written an article for our website, or someone has done something new and interesting that our team wants to highlight.
It should feel like pulling back the curtain on a story or a process—how did it feel when Claire Bullen assumed a new role as editor-in-chief, or what was it like reporting on and photographing the Paradise Fires in Northern California?
This podcast goes deep with the folks behind the scenes. We release these episodes 1-2 times a month, and they’re hosted by a variety of GBH members. Click to learn more about how to record a Collective episode.
GBH Out Loud: So many of our articles are special—and hearing them read out loud is a completely different experience than reading words on a page. GBH Out Loud is a collection of some of our favorite articles, read out loud by the folks who wrote them. They include a short introduction by podcast producer Ashley Rodriguez, and then a 1-2 minute anecdote from the author about what they’re about to read.
Mark Spence, who writes the blog Beer is Offal, has read a number of his stories out loud, and Bryan Roth read one of our most popular stories of all time about Michelob Ultra out loud as well. These come out 1-2 times a week. Click to learn more about how to record an Out Loud.
Fervent Few: We have a robust subscriber community called The Fervent Few who supports GBH editorial financially through donations large and small. Jim Plachy is our community manager, and once a month him and creative director Michael Kiser go over topics that have come up on the Fervent Few slack channel.
Generally, these interviews are 30-45 minutes of the two of them going over what’s new and interesting amongst our members. These come out once a month.
Specials: Sometimes, we’re on the road for a beer festival, or we’re inspired by a beer to make music, or we work with an underwriter to produce a unique storytelling experience, or a member of our team decides to drive to Georgia to brew a beer and learn life lessons.
We air tons of special episodes that don’t fall into the categories listed above—and we're ready to hear your next wild idea and make it into an audio story worth listening to. If you have an idea for a special podcast episode, you should probably get in touch with Ashley.
THE GBH PODCAST VOICE
Depending on the episode type (Feature, Sightlines, etc…) this can vary, but keep in mind your audience. Audio moves fast—if your guest says something that feels complicated, feel free to ask a clarifying question. In the book Out on the Wire, Ira Glass says that audio is the most visual storytelling format. What he means by that is that we build a world in our minds when we listen to others in our ears. Bring people along with you—have your guests describe where they’re at, record yourself drinking a beer, ask simple questions that are easy to follow. One of the biggest differences between audio and written content is that people are less likely to go backward—you can re-read a sentence, but most people aren’t going to rewind a podcast. Be clear with your intention and sometimes, the best question is the simplest one.
Here are some quick tips to record:
Simple questions are always ok. It’s totally appropriate to ask, “and then what?” or “could you elaborate?” These are easy for your listeners to follow.
It’s better to record more than you need rather than not record enough. I always start the recorder right when I meet with a guest, even if I don’t intend on using the first 5-10 minutes because we’re just chatting. Likewise, always keep the recorder on after you finish. If it’s not interesting, we can always cut it.
Timestamps are helpful to record. If you need to make cuts or want to remember a particularly salient part of your conversation, record the timestamp (00:01:30 if someone said something interesting at the one minute and thirty second mark). This makes editing way easier.
Your memory is best right after a recording. If you know you want to make cuts, it’s helpful to write down notes during this time.
RECORDING LOGISTICS
If you’re a GBH podcaster, you likely have a handheld recorder, a couple of mics, a windscreen, a pop filter, and mic stands. If you’ve never used your recording set-up before, contact Ashley to show you how to format your recorder and set up your equipment.
When you’re done recording, send all your files via a Dropbox link in our #podcast channel.
BEFORE YOU RECORD
If you’re about to record an episode of the GBH podcast (no matter what category), here’s a short list of things you’ll need to do:
-Propose an idea—our #podcast Slack channel is the place to throw out ideas and refine your topic. Before you start recording, it’s helpful to put your idea in the channel
-Talk to podcast producer Ashley—she’ll let you know what you need, what you need to script, and how to store your audio. Proposed episodes should be talked about in the GBH podcast slack channel and should have Ashley tagged.
-Schedule interviews and take notes—if you need to do an episode remotely, we use a website called Zencastr, which Ashley can get you login info on
-Once you do all your interviews, write a script—again, Ashley is here to help if you need it, and there are templates you can utilize above. Please write a script before you record your scripted work and share it to Ashley so she can make sure it looks 100% correct
-Save all your audio files in WAV format—this is the highest quality format and makes a difference in editing and sound quality
RESOURCES
Zencastr—this is what we use to record remote interviews, but your guest needs to have a desktop or laptop
Anchor—another recording app if your guest doesn’t have access to a computer
Rev—transcription service for interviews (this is especially helpful for Sightlines episodes)