After a month’s break, the Landlord is back and fully bionic!
The professional recommendation was no alcohol for 4 weeks post-surgery, so tonight will be the first brew since January 23. We have two honored guests in the pub completing our panel of tasters; the always entertaining John Bitterman who is always willing to beg, borrow, and steal to enlarge his Illinois breweriana collection. And a man who always keeps us supplied with new brews, and can be considered a craft brew aficionado, but from sensible consumer perspective, my pal Tom Ryan.
It’s a packed show including real Finnish Sahti, a blind review of Revolution’s League of Heroes limited 12-pack releases, a quick visit out to Cademon Brewery in Genoa, where brewer Andrew Nordman has risen like a phoenix thanks to a successful crowd-funding effort, and a bonus beer review from Blue Blood Brewing in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Mark’s lovely wife Tina returned from a trip home bearing a bottle of Strong Sahti from Finlandia Brewery in Sastamala, Finland. Clocking in at a whopping 10% this ‘rough and ready’ traditional beer has been brewed for over a thousand years in one from or another, and gallons of the stuff has been drunk over the years, and now it’s our turn to sample it.
Then we head out to Cademon Brewing, in Genoa IL, for a chat with brewer / owner Andrew Nordman, and hear how he managed a successful crowd-funding campaign to get the brewery re-opened after having to close up on the day of their second anniversary. They’re back now and we hear about his new approach to beer.
Then the panel gets to blind-taste the new variety pack from Revolution Brewing called League of Heroes. This pack focuses on their ‘Hero’ IPA series and showcases the latest offering in this series. It’s a great way to get to know what hop style you prefer, and we test our tasters to provide their opinions and pick their favorite. Nobody is wrong, and it’s all a matter of personal preference.
Finally, and just because it’s been a while since we got together, we end up trying a ‘bonus’ beer. This is from Lincoln, Nebraska’s Blue Blood Brewing, and one of their barrel-aged Outlaw series. This is a wine barrel fermented wild ale, bottle conditioned with Brettanomyces, clocking in at 6.5%.
Play the show from our player below, or from SoundCloud…
