Craft Beer Radio

We have gotten a few emails from people having problems figuring out how to subscribe to Craft Beer Radio or the Craft Beer Radio Extras. Here we will explain what it all means and get you on your way to becoming a podcast junkie.

First, we want to make sure that you understand that you can always just download the mp3 files right off of our website, this is the simplest way to get our shows, but it requires you to come back to the site anytime we release the show to download it. After a short time you may find this tedious this is when you should get a podcast aggregator.

Aggregators
Podcast aggregators are programs that go out on their own and check all of the podcasts that you like for new shows. You can have aggregators download them automatically for you, and you can even have them automatically load the new shows onto your ipod.

I'm going to cover several podcast aggregators, but first I want to explain podcast feeds because you need to know what they are in varrying degrees depending on which aggregator you choose.

Feeds
A podcast feed is a file that lists the available shows. It's in XML which is a bunch of code that helps the aggregator understand the file. You should click here to see what one looks like.

There are several different programs that you can use as your podcast aggregator. iTunes now has podcasting built in. iPodder Lemon is a program that you can install on your computer to get the files. There are also web based ones like Odeo or Podnova.

iTunes
I would recommend iTunes for most users who aren't tech savvy. It's easy to use and to find podcasts in the iTunes Music Store. You don't need to have an iPod to use iTunes.
Once you have iTunes installed go to the music store, click on podcasts in the menu and search for Craft Beer Radio. From there you can subscribe for new shows and listen to all of our back shows.

If you want to add a podcast that is not in the music store to your iTunes, you need to get the URL (web address) for the feed of the show that you want. For example if you want to add the Craft Beer Radio Extras to iTunes the feed address is: http://craftbeerradio.com/CBR_Extra.xml . In iTunes, go to the podcast section, click on the advanced menu, then 'subscribe to a podcast'. Copy and Paste the URL for the Extras into the dialog box. This will add the Extras to your iTunes.

iPodder
I would recommend iPodder Lemon for people who want a little more control over their aggregator, or want something that is lean and mean. When subscribing to feeds with iPodder you will be pasting the URL's into the add podcast dialog, similar to what was discussed above.

Odeo
If you use multiple computers and want to have access to your subscriptions from each computer I would recommend a web based service such as Odeo. With Odeo you subscribe to all of the shows on the web site. Many of the shows are in the Odeo library so you don't need to know the feed URL's but you should be familiar with it when the show your want is not in the Odeo library. Odeo has a syncher which will download the shows to your computer, or you can listen directly from their website.

Podcast Ready
Podcast Ready is a aggregator that runs on the usb drive of your mp3 player. This is great if you use a mp3 player that shows up as a drive, and that you want to sync from multiple computers.

I hope this is enough to get you started with subscribing to podcasts and answers many of your questions.

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