Monthly Archives: September 2016

Pubcast 203 – Exit Strategy Brewing Co

Brewery, Craft Beer

Chris Valleau is the owner/brewer for ESBC, and together with his wife Katherine, he brought craft beer and great food to Forest Park. The brewery sits on the northern boundary of Madison St, with River Forest on the other side of the road (so look for the even numbers on the south side when you head out there!), and presents a very comfortable environment to try Chris’s brews.

In this episode, Phil flies solo (while Mark is out on one of his trips), and chats with Chris about his 18-month old venture, and how he produces such solid, to-style beers, including the legendary-named DIPA, Judgmental Dick.
Topics and samples are free-flowing, and we definitely recommend a visit, plus keep your eyes open for locations carrying their lineup.  Check out the brew lineup on their website.

Play the show from our player below, or from SoundCloud…


Pubcast 202 – The Limited Release Show

Craft Beer

On this episode, we gather a few friends of the podcast to talk about several topics and sample some limited releases that you may have or should be able to still get.
Kevin Herbst from Midwest Brewers Fest is here to talk about the next MBWF 2016 festival scheduled for October 8, and Ken McMullen from Hopvine Brewing talks about the cask test at MBWF, and his steps into distribution for Hopvine’s brews. John Bitterman rounds out the guest list, and not only brings 3 of the limited release  brews, but also tells us about his brush with beer writer and vintage beer recipe guru, Ron Pattinson. The Landlord had to rustle up another mic for this one and it wasn’t performing as planned, so apologies for him sounding like he is in a bathroom!

Today’s brews are a collection of limited releases from across the state and in order of play are:
Mikerphone Brewing, Travelin’ Man, dry-hopped Saison, 6%
​Arrowhead Ales, Melon Collie and the Infinite Hoppiness, Session IPA, 4.5%
​Noon Whistle, Lombard, Conan the Mandarian, Wheat Ale aged in Cabernet Barrels
5.1 IBU, 4.2%
​Off Color / Penrose Brewing, Consensus, Saison, 5.8%
Our Bonus Beer, courtesy John Bittermann:
Goose Island, Brewery Yard, Stock Pale Ale, 8%

Play the show from our player below, or from SoundCloud…

Pubcast 201 – Oktoberfest Again!

Craft Beer

In this episode, we select 4 readily available Oktoberfest brews, 3 from Illinois, and see if it’s worth laying out your hard earned dollars for a six pack.
As our baseline, we use a brew that Mark has some interest in – full transparency, it’s his recipe – Church Street’s Itascafest Marzen.  As the Landlord isn’t a fan of these styles, we’ll let him define if he likes it or not.

Our other selections are:
Revolution Brewing, German-style Oktoberfest, ABV 5.7%, IBU 25
Big Muddy Brewing, Oktoberfest, ABV 5.5%
Victory Brewing, Festbier, ABV 5.6%
Central Waters Brewing, Octoberfest Lager, 4.8% ABV

This is just our view…here’s another where they taste 55 varieties, Church Street not included – Paste Magazine.
You be the judge, and drink what you like!  Cheers!

Play the show from our player below, or from SoundCloud…

Pubcast 200 – Bicentennial Show

Barrel Aged, Belgian Strong Ale, Black IPA, Brown Ale, Craft Beer, Double IPA, Gose, Hefeweizen, Kolsch, Scotch Ale

It is our 200th pubcast, and we are celebrating in the Brit and Yankee studios with many of our friends from over the years.  Our guests include tavern owners, beer servers, beer historians, brewers, and beer experts…oh, and beer consumers!
Joining Mark Naski and Phil Clark are Chuck Fort (Church Street), Ken McMullen (Hopvine Brewing), John Bittermann, Jon Harlson, John Karwoski, and live by Skype, the original Yankee, Mike Lingafelter.  Plus we have a couple of congratulatory messages from Sketchbook, Cademon, and Miskatonic breweries.

The Landlord has selected 8 beers that are examples of the range of brews from Illinois suburban breweries (with the exception of one from downtown), and we have a marathon tasting session. Opinions vary, and what we do find out is that there is a style for everyone.
Thanks to all who have listened over the years, we hope that we have educated, informed and entertained.  Here’s to the next 200 shows!  Cheers!

NOTE: this is a bumper edition, which we preface with our PSA, so listen carefully and don’t exceed your intake…spread it over a couple days!

Brews we taste:
Cahoots Brewing, Krule Summer, Kolsch Style Ale   5.2%, 20 IBU
Noon Whistle Brewing, Guave Gose Smack  3.8%
Cademon Brewing, Tropical Kingpin, Hefeweizen with Pineapple 5.5%
Lena Brewing, Scrap Iron, Black IPA ​7% 60 IBU
Hubbards Cave, Fresh IPA v1, Double/Imperial IPA 9.0%
Galena Brewing, Cortes, Barrel-aged Brown Ale 11%
Noon Whistle Brewing, Bob Ross Did It, Barrel-Aged Scotch Ale 10.1%, 1 year later
Flesk Brewing, 2nd Anniversary Ale, Belgian Strong Ale 9.8%, 2 years later

Play the show from our player below, or from SoundCloud…