The Brit and Yankee Craft Beer Podcast

This week head up to Mundelein IL to visit with Tony Bena, co-founder and head brewer at Tonality Brewing Company. One of the newest breweries in the Chicagoland area, they opened last November with a solid, classic taplist and a full restaurant menu. Tony chats with The Brit and co-host Ken McMullen (Fox Republic Brewing) while they sample some of his brews, including what could be called his 'early days' flagship beer, a rather delicious Kölsch. We hope we have set the 'tone' for your next brewery visit! Cheers!!

We've reached our 400th show and we've put together a retrospective of some of our milestones along the way. It's thanks to all our listeners who keep us recording each episode, and thanks to all the brewers who have given their time to talk to us. Plus thanks to all my co-hosts along the way, especially the 'original' Yankee, Lingo! We've drunk a bunch of brews on our journey, and the last 17 years have been a blast, so we'll keep podcasting as long as we can. Here's our story so far...CHEERS! Join us next week when we visit another of Illinois great craft breweries.

Since 2021, Lisle has been home to Bubblehouse Brewing, and when we asked the craft beer community in the Chicago area where we should visit for our next interview, the Bubblehouse 'popped' up as a favorite. The Brit and co-host Ken McMullen (Fox Republic Brewing brewmaster) headed over there and sat down with Jon Miller, Head Brewer and co-Founder, to discover more about this very popular brewery and taproom! CHEERS!

In this episode we venture back up to Lake County and the village of Lake Villa, where we visit with Harbor Brewing Company Founder Kyle Wenzel, and Head Brewer Adam Brose. HBC has been around for over 5 years and has built a large following in their taproom, plus the biergarten located at Winthrop Harbor where you can find awesome beer and views of Lake Michigan. With over 24 taps, these guys seem to be doing it right, and we recommend a visit to one or both of the locations! CHEERS!

This year, The Brit has asked a panel of brewers and chums to help him taste, chat about, and arbitrarily pass judgement on a range of barley wines. We have gathered them from across the USA, plus we have a couple that come from the UK, home of the barley wine style. Joining The Brit are, from Art History Brewing Tom Rau, Ed and Mike Seaman from Broken Brix, Chuck Fort from Church Street Brewing, and ex-tavern landlord John Karwoski. Thanks to Tom, we are recording this at Geneva Lager Works, home to the production arm of Art History Brewing. We also have a short video to accompany a couple of the tastings which can be found on our YouTube channel. Plus Cindy Rau stops by later, just to make sure Tom is not getting too rowdy! CHEERS!

It was during Covid in December of 2020 when we first checked in via Zoom with Josh Grubbs at Black Lung Brewing. Since then he has opened his primary brewery and taproom in Round Lake Beach, and has expanded to a satellite taproom in Fox Lake beside beautiful Lake Nippersink. After our short recording hiatus, we wanted to restart our podcast episodes with a success story. We find out more on their first 3 years, how their brews have been refined, and hear lots of stories about the brewery and beer names. Guest co-host is ex-landlord John Karwoski, and BLB assistant brewer/metal band member Rob Noon is on hand as well. We recommend a visit if you haven't done so yet! CHEERS!

We are back in the pub studio for this episode, which will be the last one until the end of January, as we are taking a short hiatus. We do have an all-star cast in the house with co-host Ken McMullen from Fox Republic Brewing, co-host Chuck Fort from Church Street Brewing, plus the head brewer from Church Street, Sean Gregor. And in this is a bumper edition we have a 6-pack of seasonal brews to taste, plus all the pub chat on many topics. We hope you enjoy our festivities and Cheers for the Holidays!

The greater Chicagoland area hosts many of Illinois craft breweries, but there are plenty of downstate options to visit and enjoy. In this episode The Brit, and co-host Ken McMullen of Fox Republic, travel to Kankakee IL to visit  founder and brewer Matt Strysik, who together with his wife Emily, co-own Knack Brewing located alongside the Kankakee River. This is a grass roots operation but Matt is producing extremely high quality, and very drinkable beers, tapping in to the tastes of the area clientele but also testing out the waters with some adjunct variants. Definitely worth a visit downstate!! Cheers!

This episode we start the podcast with an apology! We have overlooked BBGB for over 5 years, and now we are here to sample the brews and realize we definitely missed out on some good ones! Brewmaster Bob Salzman has turned around the brewery side of this gastropub, and is producing some well-made classic styles. We talk to him about the unique features of Hardware, the restaurant, and what it is like to have a hopfarm as part of the brewing side, one benefit being that his Harvest Ale is fresh and tasty! Cheers!!

If you are a homebrewer or a professional you have likely heard of Brülosophy, a website where they take the art of homebrewing beer to a new level with recipes, methods and their exciting 'Exbeeriments', which scientifically test our palates and push the boundaries of our perceptions of beer. As one of the main contributors to the site, Steve Thanos conducts these Exbeeriments, and in this episode he visits The Brit and co-host Ken McMullen down in the pub studios to put their palates to the test. As a long-standing member of the Plainfield Ale and Lager Enthusiasts (PALE) homebrew club, he brings a wealth of knowledge to the topic, and he's fresh off winning some medals at a local beer festival. Do The Brit and Ken pass the test? Tune in and found it in this fascinating look into the grass roots of craft beer! Cheers!!

Glen Ellyn IL is only a 15 minute drive from the pub studio and yet we have yet to visit their brewpub, Two Hound Red! So we have rectified that in this episode and we sit down with brewer Steve Woertendyke, just ahead of their Oktoberfest celebration, so we can intentionally sample the Oktoberfest offerings. Very impressed with the Marzen and the Smoked Marzen, plus the full liter steins are all sure to make the day a great success. Listen in and hear how 2HR got started and how Steve is now brewing great beers while the restaurant turns out fantastic dishes to accompany those brews. Definitely worth a trip out west...you won't be disappointed...Cheers!!

Our Labor Day weekend edition is a first for the podcast team as we visit the one and only non-alcoholic craft brewery in Illinois, Go Brewing. We sit down with Joe Chura, one of the co-founders and the President of GBC, and James Bigler, their head brewer. So at this weekend's barbecues, why not offer your designated drivers and non-drinkers an alternative, and perhaps your craft beer afficienados can try them as well! Listen in as we talk about Go's meteoric rise to be a leading provider of NA brews, while we sample some of their great offerings...Cheers!

After last weeks visit to Fox Republic, the newest Chicagoland brewery, we head out to one that opened about a week before, Sundial Brewing and Blending. Located in the old Flesk Brewing space in the Icehouse Mall in Barrington, IL, co-owners Mike DeMalpartida and lan Swanson welcome The Brit and co-host Ken McMullen into the taproom to find out what they are all about. After tasting the first sample brew, and then reading through their fantastic tap list, we were sold! We find out about how they came to be, and why they decided to take a more unique approach to their beer offerings. So, if you are looking for somewhere that has a different take on craft beers, then a trip to SBB should definitely be on your calendar. They already have a couple of their beers going on the Brit's list of top beers for 2023, so listen in and find out why! Cheers!

This week my normal co-host, Ken McMullen is on the other side of the mic as he is the interviewee, and we are visiting his new brewery project, Fox Republic Brewing. Joining him is his brewer, the VERY tall, Sam Walstaff, and The Brit chats to both of them about their newly opened watering hole. We are sampling their brews, including the range of Tequila Seltzers, their collabs, and their own-brewed offerings. The guys talk about all the challenges they faced getting ready to open, and some of the ones they face now, getting food trucks to show up for example! It's a great place to visit, down in Yorkville IL, and definitely worth a trip out there! Cheers!

McHenry County in northern Illinois, is home to several great craft breweries, all of which you can check out on the McHenry Co. Craft Beverage Trail. This week we are visiting one of the two located in Woodstock IL, Kishwaukee Brewing, who recently won a silver medal for their Bufflehead Brown Ale at the 2023 World Beer Cup. Kishwaukee Brewing Co., is the pride of founders and owners, Dan and Cara Payson, and we visited with Dan and his head brewer, Mark Gres, to find out a little more about their success. Joining me for this interview was my co-host, Ken McMullen from Fox Republic Brewing, and we sample some of KBC's excellent brews while we find out more about this excellent craft brewery. Cheers!

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 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!

Friends of the podcast and owners of Broken Brix Fermentation Emporium, Ed and Sue Seaman, took a trip to Iceland and came back with craft beer galore, which they wanted to share with the podcast team! So, in this episode we get to taste some craft styles that are brewed with glacial water, and hear a little about their adventures in Viking country, including their 3-night attendance at the Wilco concert in the capital, Reykjavík. Some of the beers surprised us with their quality, and some not so much. Co-hosts and brewers, Chuck and Ken, are on and to pass on their professional comments. Skál!

It's a special edition this episode and while out in Denver CO., The Brit took an opportunity to visit with a unique brewery known for their outstanding real ales. Hogshead 54 Brewery has 7 engines and produces a range of British ales, second to none. Robert Bell is the brewer out there, and he sat down with us to talk about how he brews, what he brews, and who is drinking these beers. It's a fascinating insight into a side of craft beer that we are VERY fond of, so take a listen and then make it a destination brewery next time you visit Denver. Cheers to real ale!

We're back with and audio podcast this week, and recording down in the Brit and Yankee Pub studio. The Brit's co-host is Ken McMullen from Hopvine Brewing, and together they welcome Chuck Grote of Wood Fired Pizza fame. Chuck is probably one of the most well-known food truck vendors in Chicagoland's western suburbs, but not many people know that he also has recipes for brewing excellent beers, and has a fascinating back-story. We're peeling back the onion, and finding out a little more about the man with the distinctive look and great pizzas. Cheers!

It's a long overdue visit to the Lombard taproom, and a chat with Afterthought Brewing's owner/brewer, Mike Thorpe. Mike's passion for the saison style is front and center in the award-winning ales he produces, and The Brit and co-host Ken McMullen, get to taste some of his best examples. If you can't visit Belgian, then head to Afterthought where you can try some of the most simple to most complex saisons this side of the Atlantic! It was a little 'echoey' in the taproom, but hopefully it won't detract too much from the conversation. Santé!