We jump in the car and head south to Route 66 in Wilmington, IL., where located on an island between the Kankakee River and the Mill Race channel is Old School Brewing. Paul ‘Pauly’ Bidne is the head brewer there, and we chat with him about his brewery which can literally be described as an ‘old school’ tap room/brewery producing great beers and full of friendly people and lively chat!
Pauly was a home brewer (and ex-plumber) and now one of many who have turned to brewing professionally, and learned his craft at Flossmoor Station brewery. He talks to us about his beers, and some of other stories are the friendly rivalry with the lads at Metal Monkey Brewing, OSB’s relationship with Unpossible Mead, brewing NA beers and craft sodas, and some of the challenges of keeping up with beer production on a small system.
Pauly is one of the characters we love in the craft beer industry and we encourage you to take that trip down Rt 66 to visit OSB and try his beers, especially the California Common! Cheers!
Beers Sampled:
- Wildcat, Cream Ale · 5.5% ABV
- If We Build It, IPA · 6.5% ABV
- Whatcha Gonna Do, California Common · 5.0% ABV
- Mango Is Our Middle Name, Berliner Weisse · 3.9% ABV
- Malty Monkey, English Mild · 5.8% ABV
- Sax Solo, Saison · 7.0% ABV
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