Fresh Hop Cinema was born of a beer trade. Max Minardi had taken a trip to Russian River Brewing and picked up some extra beer to bring back to trade with people who don't have access to it all the time and Jonny Summers ended up being one of those people. On the night of the exchange, the two met up and shared a beer or three. As conversations lubricated by beer often do, theirs turned to film; favorites, least favorites, what they were excited to see in weeks to come, etc… Both men were fervent podcast listeners and, throughout the course of the evening, joked about starting a podcast of their own. They dreamt of a listening experience that would seamlessly combine two of man’s greatest achievements: beer and film. They fantasized of a format that was informative without being dull, funny without coming across as shabby, a podcast that could glide between ‘carefree’ and ‘sentimental’ with fluidity when needed, and above all a podcast that was entertaining. As many brilliant ideas do, this one lay dormant in the minds of Max Minardi and Jonny Summers for nearly half a year until, on a whim, the two decided to head to the theater and return with a couple of beers, sit in front of two microphones and hit record. That was September 27, 2016. Since then the two have released episodes weekly and plan to keep doing so indefinitely.
The Team
Max Minardi
Max Minardi is a musician by trade but has been an avid movie lover since high school. Max’s contributions to the podcast come in many forms. In 2013 he graduated CSU Chico with a degree in audio engineering which lends itself nicely to this podcast sounding as crispy clean as it does because in addition to cohosting, Max is the producer and engineer of Fresh Hop Cinema. A self-proclaimed “born-again cinephile,” Max spends increasing amounts of time watching movies that people scream at him for never having seen in order to seem more knowledgable.
Sign: Scorpio
Elementary School Crush: “This is inappropriate.”
Go-To Beer: Sierra Nevada “Torpedo”
Guilty Pleasure Movie: "School of Rock”
Favorite Episode: Episode 75
Jonny Summers
Jonny Summers has been an active force in the craft beer scene for more than a decade. As a Cicerone Certified Beer Server, and having worked extensively in a sales capacity, he brings a unique insight to the beer side of Fresh Hop Cinema. The handsome ruffian has been described as the “cayenne pepper of the podcast.” *Listen to any Danger Zone and you’ll get the idea.* You can find Jonny on a rainy day bundled up inside playing solitaire with his cats with a Rob Zombie movie muted on the tube and a sludge metal album playing through the ole record player.
Sign: Cancer
Elementary School Crush: “Who can count?”
Go-To Beer: Trumer “Pilsner” or Lagunitas “12th of Never”
Guilty Pleasure Movie: Dirty Dancing
Favorite FHC Episode: Episode 32.