Welcome to the next in the Podcast Showcase series, where we share podcasts with you in the words of the podcasters themselves. This time, we talk to The Pellicle Podcast.
Sum up your podcast in three sentences
The Pellicle Podcast is a show about the joy found in the cultures of beer, wine and cider told through the personal lens of its host, Matthew Curtis (me!) It features interviews, monologues and narrative-style episodes in an easy-to-digest format, primarily aimed at consumers/drinkers.
When my schedule allows it I try to produce an episode around every three weeks.
Who is your ideal listener? Who loves your show?
I would hope that my podcast is accessible to all lovers of great drink, especially beer, wine and cider. I will say it’s not a “how to” or “guide” to beer, so I assume that there is at least some level of knowledge or passing interest in great drinks.
But I hope that the show’s style and delivery takes some of the masculinity out of it — as much as a man hosting yet another beer/drinks podcast can at least! It’s my hope that its not just appealing to the classic white male beer demographic, anyway!
What made you start this podcast?
Before becoming a full-time drinks writer I worked in the musical instrument industry and studied a degree in sound engineering, so I’ve always been interested in producing great audio.
I used to record occasional episodes for the Good Beer Hunting podcast and when we launched Pellicle as a magazine/website in 2019, adding a podcast to our offering was always part of the plan.
Episodes have been a little sporadic initially, but I feel we’re finally getting a handle on that now. It helps now that we’ve built a little bit of an audience for the show, as I’m encouraged to make more episodes when I can see that people are tuning in!
What have you learned about your subject thanks to this podcast?
I think I learn something new about beer, wine or cider every day. I would never consider myself to be an expert, I’m just an enthusiast who gets to write and talk about his favourite subject for a living!
If anything, I’ve learned how therapeutic it can be to give a good amount of time to less often talked about subjects — like in our most recent episode I talk about my process as a writer, but end up exploring how lonely and stressful a profession it can be sometimes. It’s almost like I’m learning something new about myself with each episode as I put thoughts into context.
What has your experience of podcasting been? What do you love / hate about the process?
I love podcasting. I’m a writer primarily but turning to audio gives me an opportunity to explore ideas in other ways. I also love that the audience I have for the podcast is largely different from the audience I have as a writer, so the format quite literally helps me (and my magazine, Pellicle) reach more people!
If I hate anything it’s how time consuming the editing and post-production process is compared to writing, but spending that extra time fine tuning the show and trimming the fat is what makes publishing each episode all the more satisfying when it’s finished.
If someone wants to start listening to your podcast, which episode would you recommend they start with? Why?
I think Episode 21, where I interview Paul Jones, the founder of Cloudwater Brewery in Manchester, is a good stepping off point for the show’s style (that’s also our most popular episode to date.)
Episode 18 is a good one too, as that’s where I changed up the format into the style it occupies now, and where the podcast really starts to hit its stride, although the topic discussed in that episode (beer taxation) is a heavy one in all fairness. I will say though that there are only 22 episodes so far and it wouldn’t take too long to catch up from the beginning, and that would give you a flavour of how the podcast has grown into itself.
It definitely took a few episodes to get things sounding and feeling like I wanted. But I think that’s important, as the show should be allowed the freedom to grow and develop in line with my own experience as a host and producer.
Which other podcasts do you love listening to?
I mostly listen to beer podcasts in all honesty. I love Good Beer Hunting, Fermentation Radio, Beer with Nat, the Beer O’Clock Show and many others. It’s such a broad subject and I like hearing other folks take on similar topics.
I listen to a few food podcasts, with my absolute favourite being Lecker by Lucy Dearlove. I love her show’s narrative style. But my all time favourite show is the Blindboy Podcast. I love the effortless way the host, Blindboy Boathouse, takes on massive subjects, or digs into mental health. It’s probably been the biggest inspiration to me as a podcast host and producer in all honestly.
If people want to find you online, where can they do so?
You can find Pellicle at www.pelliclemag.com, where we publish articles every week. The podcast is available to stream in all the usual spots like Apple and Spotify, just search for “The Pellicle Podcast”.
Listeners can also support our content via our Patreon at patreon.com/pelliclemag. And you can find me on Twitter and Instagram using the handle @totalcurtis.
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Image credit: Henry Be