Every year in the January/February time period, the pub staff and a lineup of guests sample a selection of that outlier style, the barleywine. For 2022, we had set a couple of dates but had to postpone them due to some life stuff happening. Then it got to be summer when a young beer drinker’s fancy turns to lighter styles. Well, not us!

Gathering in the air conditioned climate of our favorite winery and meadery, Broken Brix in St. Charles IL, The Brit and his co-hosts faced the challenge of six high-ABV barleywines, most of which were barrel-aged, and brewed in several states, including our home state of Illinois.

The guest lineup was a local who’s who of the craft beer industry, and in the photo below, left to right; Ed Seaman from Broken Brix, Chuck Fort from Church Street Brewing, Steve Newman from Brother Chimp Brewing, Tom & Cindy Rau from Art History Brewing, Ken McMullen from Hopvine Brewing, and craft beer consumer, Tom Ryan.

This year, we had a barrel-aged theme, with 2 entrants from Illinois, and one each from Ohio, Colorado, Arizona, and Oregon. Which ones did the panel prefer? Listen in and hear our comments and conversation! Plus, there’s bonus brews at the end supplied by our host Ed and one from Steve.

Our Barleywine Lineup:

• Around the Bend Brewing, Chicago IL – Proximal, Barrel aged barleywine September 2019, 13% ABV
• Platform Beer Co., Cleveland OH – Panic Switch, Barrel aged rye barleywine, 11%
• Dry Dock Brewing Co., Aurora CO – Hazelnut Bligh’s Barleywine ale aged in bourbon barrels for 10 months, 11.5% ABV
• Sedona Brewing Co., Sedona AZ – Barleywine, 15% ABV
• AleSong Brewing and Blending, Eugene OR – Maestro, Barley wine aged in a combination of whiskey (bourbon, wheat and rye) and red wine barrels, 13.2% ABV
• Flossmoor Brewery, Flossmoor IL – 2017 Wooden Hell barleywine aged in bourbon barrels, 9.1% ABV
• Flossmoor Brewery, Flossmoor IL – 2021 Wooden Hell barleywine aged for 25 months in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels, 25th anniversary edition, 11% ABV

Our ‘Bonus’ Barleywines:

• Brother Chimp Brewing, North Aurora IL – Samson, Barleywine, 10.2% ABV
• Sierra Nevada Brewing, Chico CA – 2000 Bigfoot Barleywine, 9.6% ABV

Play the audio podcast on our players above…or your favorite smartphone podcast app. We have a direct link to iTunes and Spotify below…and lots of other links on the sidebar!

   

This week we are excited to be talking to Reeve Joseph who is bringing mixed culture and sour ales to Chicago with his project called Odious Cellars. He is currently brewing out of Duneyrr Fermenta Brewery in Chicago’s Motor Row, while working on their taproom in west Logan Square. That said, you can obtain their brews at various outlets across the area, and we highly encourage you to do so!

This episode was recorded via Zoom, but joining The Brit in the pub studio are the pubcast’s co-hosts, Chuck Fort from Church Street Brewing, and Ken McMullen from Hopvine Brewing. We have a couple of shout-outs for this edition; first to Marge Wright who first opined on the marvels of OC styles, and secondly to Beer On The Wall in Park Ridge for opening their doors on a ‘closed’ day to allow me to purchase some additional cans.

We covered the obligatory topics of Reeve’s start in brewing, but wanted to focus on the 5 beers we had to drink. Each had a unique profile, plus the can art is magnificent – it’s worth buying just for that! So, listen in and hear what Reeve and the lads have to say about his beers!

Our Odious Cellars Sampler:

• Physis Nomos, Brett IPA, 5.5% ABV
• Novo Terrano, Wet-hopped Brett IPA, 5.5% ABV
• The Secret History of Things, Mixed-culture Saison, 4.2% ABV
• Divination, Sour Ale with Raspberries, Blueberries, Meyer Lemon, & Yuzu, 5.6% ABV
• Everywhere and Everywhen, Mixed-culture sour Ale, 6.1% ABV

And Reeve is drinking:

• Ode To Whimsy, Brett Witbier with Indian & Moroccan coriander, Satsuma mandarins, & Meyer lemons, 5.0% ABV

Play the audio podcast on our players above…or your favorite smartphone podcast app…we have a direct link to iTunes and Spotify below…and lots of other links on the sidebar!

   

EXTRA!

Here’s a link to our YouTube channel video which has the first part of our interview…

We all know that the cost of goods and labor is going up, but how does this affect the cost of your pint of craft beer? We gathered 3 brewers to discuss this and help you, the craft consumer, understand why the price of your pint and 4-pack might be a little higher this year.

The Brit’s co-host for this is Ken McMullen from Hopvine Brewing (Aurora IL), and joining them in the pub studio is Art History Brewing’s (Geneva IL) co-owner, Tom Rau. And over Zoom, we welcome Josh Grubbs, owner/brewer of Black Lung Brewing (Round Lake IL).

Not only do we consider the economics of producing a good craft beer, but we also are drinking some! Here’s what we consumed:

• Black Lung Brewing – Lakeside Blonde, Blonde Ale, 4.7% ABV
• Black Lung Brewing – Galaxie 503, Maltshake IPA, 7.0% ABV
• Art History Brewing – Moda De Noche, Dunkel Lager, 5.0% ABV
• Hopvine Brewing      – Hopviner Pils, North German Pilsner, 6.2% ABV

We did have some connection issues towards the end of recording for which we apologize but could do nothing about! Cheers!

Play the audio podcast on our players above…or your favorite smartphone podcast app…we have a direct link to iTunes and Spotify below…and lots of other links on the sidebar!

This is our Illinois Craft Beer Week edition, and we’re doing a Zoom call with Jamie Albert from Will County Brewing. Head directly south down Rt.59 from the Brit and Yankee pub studios, and just before you get to I-55 you will find Shorewood IL, home to Will County Brewing. March 2022 saw the 4th Anniversary for WCB, and head brewer/owner Jamie has seen the location grow in reputation and barrels produced, plus several medal successes for brews with some unusual adjuncts.

We first talked with Jamie in an episode of our Covid-induced series, Hops at Home (Ep. 10, April 18 2020), and just over a year later we check back in with Jamie to see how things are shaping up now we are getting back to relative normality. Of course, we’re drinking some of their brews selected from an extensive tap list that currently has classics and new styles. Jamie talks about how they are doing since Covid, expansion plans, and upcoming beer fests, one of which is coming this weekend and is benefiting the Will County Habitat for Humanity organization. Listen in to find out what makes this one unique!

What We’re Drinking:

• Ken & Phil – A Lot of Fight, Red IPA, 6.7% ABV
•                       – Eradicator Bock, Doppelbock, 8% ABV
• Jamie         – Brennus, Irish Red Ale, 5.9% ABV

Play the audio podcast on our players above…or your favorite smartphone podcast app…we have a direct link to iTunes and Spotify below…and lots of other links on the sidebar!