All posts by Landlord

Pubcast 369-Church Street 10 Year Anniversary…Our First Visit

May 6, 2022Craft BeerLandlord

Church Street Brewing is celebrating their 10 year anniversary! We have always had a great relationship with these fine folks, and we have enjoyed their brews for many years and followed their changes and expansion with interest. There was a social media post asking for memories of the brewery, so we thought we would replay our first visit to them back in July of 2013, when The Brit sat down with the owners Lisa and Joe (who was also then the head brewer) Gregor. Their classic approach and styles have long server the palates of their faithful customers, and today we see this family business stronger than ever with Sean Gregor taking the reins of head brewer. Take a listen down memory lane and hear how it all started. Cheers!

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

Behind The Pint – Episode 2: Is The World Really Clear on Hazys?

April 1, 2022Craft Beer, Hazy IPA, IPA, West Coast IPALandlord

Today we examine the craft style phenomenon which seems to be highly divisive, Hazy or New England IPAs. You either love ’em or hate ’em!

We assembled a panel of local expert brewers from the Chicagoland area who join Phil ‘The Brit’ Clark to examine this relatively new style. They include my co-host Chuck Fort, Sr. Brewing Consultant at Church Street Brewing, head brewer Eric Bramwell from Riverlands Brewing, and Steve Kamp from Evil Horse Brewing.

We dive into what the style is, the differences between NEIPA and West Coast IPAs, what hops are used, how the boil process goes, and we even talk about hop and pint pricing and how the costs are rising these days, and also if you should add lactose or not. All this and more as The Brit gets educated in an effort to get a better appreciation for the style.

Of course we drinking some brews, and these are:

The Brit and Chuck – Hazy Little Thing, New England/Hazy, 6.7% ABV, Sierra Nevada Brewing
Eric – Dean Street IPA, New England/Hazy, 6.8% ABV, Riverlands Brewing Company
Steve – Sgt. Reckless, , 5.5% ABV, Evil Horse Brewing

Behind The Pint – Episode 1: Is Craft Beer Really Just Beer?

March 25, 2022Behind The Pint, Brewery, Craft BeerLandlord

We begin a new series of podcasts where we try to delve a little deeper into the business of craft beer. We want to go Behind the Pint. To kick us off, we’re asking if Craft Beer is really just beer, or if it’s a marketing ploy that has exploded into an industry.

We have three local Chicago industry experts, 2 brewers and one craft beer guru, on hand to pass opinions and talk about the topic in general. First up is my co-host for this episode. brewmaster at Hopvine Brewing in Aurora IL, Ken McMullen. Supporting the brewing side is owner/brewer Chris Valleau from Forest Park’s Exit Strategy Brewing. And finally, beer consultant, educator and writer, and international beer judge, Marty Nachel who helps provide the bridge between the brewers and the consumer. Phil ‘The Brit’ Clark asks the questions, and of course we all have something good to drink while we chat, which we list below.

What’s the final verdict on ‘craft beer’ – listen in and find out! Cheers!!

What We Are Drinking:

The Brit – Orenda Vol 2, Orenda – Volume 2 (Grape Brandy 2017-2021), 11.0% ABV, Pollyanna Brewing
Ken – Double BBA Vlad the Second Mexican Chocolate, Russian Imperial Stout, 14.1% ABV, Hailstorm Brewing
Chris – Corazón, Mexican hot chocolate-inspired Milk Stout, 7.2% ABV, Exit Strategy Brewing
Marty – A Little Crazy, Belgian Pale Ale, 6.8% ABV, Revolution Brewing

Pubcast Special: Pink Boots Society – Chicago Chapter – Brew Day!

March 23, 2022Craft BeerLandlord

Back in February, owner Lisa Gregor from Church Street Brewing Company gave The Brit a call and asked “Wanna stop by?” Alas, for several reasons he couldn’t be there in person but he asked co-host Chuck Fort to man the smartphone camera and we did a Zoom video call!

It’s not as great as we hoped, but we think it gives you a flavor for the fun day these brewing industry stars had. Thanks to the Leadership Squad of PBS for chatting with us, and the resulting brew was a pale ale called Cosmic Nunchucks. It was released in March and there may still be a few cans at local breweries as we publish this page.

I’ve included below the review we did of it with The Midwest Brew Review team. Cheers!