Category Archives: Barley Wine

Pubcast 397 – The 7th Annual Barley Wine Classic

It’s hard to believe we have been recording our annual barley wine show for 7 years, but yes, we have shown this style some love since our first one was recorded in the now gone but not forgotten, legendary John’s Tavern in Winfield. We have tasted and reviewed over 40 barley wines from across the USA, and this year we have another 7, plus 2 from the UK!

This year, Art History founders, Tom & Cindy Rau, graciously agreed to allow us to record the show from their Geneva Lager Works production brewery location, and are part of our tasting panel, although Cindy comes along later as she has AHB biz to deal with! Joining them are co-host Chuck Fort from Church Street Brewing, Ed and Mike Seaman from the Broken Brix Fermentation Emporium, and ex-tavern landlord, John Karwoski. It’s a panel of brewing experts who may or may not be familiar with the ancient style of barley wines.

Listen in to hear what they have to say about the style, and then they’ll arbitrarily rate their favorite one, with all due respect to all the others we taste! Cheers!

The Lineup:

  • Barrel of Monks Brewing, Boca Raton FL.
    • Trip Sitter, 7th Anniversary English Barleywine, 12% ABV
    • Trip Sitter, 7th Anniversary BBA English Barleywine, 12.5% ABV
  • Harvey’s Brewery, Lewes, East Sussex UK
    • 2013 Elizabethan Ale, English Barleywine, 7.5% ABV
    • 2023 Elizabethan Ale, Sparkling English Barleywine, 7.2% ABV
  • Riverlands Brewing, St. Charles IL., J.A.M., American Barleywine aged for 24 months in Four Roses Bourbon Barrels.
  • New Image Brewing, Arvada CO., Wood Reserve Series: Port Scotch BA, American Barleywine, 13% ABV
  • Church Street Brewing, Itasca IL., Barley A Prophet, English Barleywine, 10% ABV
  • Prairie Street Brewing, Rockford IL., BBA American Barleywine, 12% ABV

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Pubcast 212 – ‘Tis the Season…

As we head into the rush of the holiday season, the pubcast crew decided we should highlight some seasonal ales and winter warmers that we think would be good for experienced and new craft beer drinkers to try. It seems to be the spiced ales that come in for most of the attention, but we are trying to look at a couple of other brews that could be good alternatives to those heavy stouts we looked at last week.

This edition is what we consider our Brit and Yankee Christmas party, and joining Phil and Mark is friend of the pubcast and certified consumer,Tom Ryan, Chuck Fort, assistant brewer at Church Street, and as we are recording live at John’s Tavern in Winfield, publican and owner John Karwoski rounds out our trinity of tasters. It’s a seasonal six-pack and we chose our top 2 at the conclusion on our tasting session.

We sample the following beers for your consideration:
Church Street Brewing, Itasca IL – Pontificator, Doppelbock, 7.0%
Sam Smiths Yorkshire, England – Winter Warmer, 6.0%
Noon Whistle Brewing, Lombard IL – Bog Theory, Cranberry Mint Saison, 4.8%
Pipeworks Brewing, Chicago IL – Santa vs Unicorn, American Barley-wine Style Ale, 10%
Cahoots Brewing – AMeN!, Barrel-Aged Barleywine, 10.1%
Anchor Brewing Co., San Francisco CA – Christmas Ale 2016, 6.5%

Play the show from our player below, or from SoundCloud…

Pubcast 162 – Heartland Beverage

This week we welcome Brian Kerby from Heartland Beverage to the pub. He brings some of his brand’s brews for us to taste, and we learn about a new beverage, kombucha. We chat about the big merger news and how Brian is growing his business.
Brews we taste are:
Middle Brow‘s Parklife – A wheat beer with sorachi ace hops, fresh lemon zest & fresh mint.
Unity Vibration‘s Bourbon Wild Peach – an American Wild Ale, or Kombucha Beer – your choice!
Middle Brow / Unity Vibration Collaboration Moscow Mule – another American Wild Ale / Sour
Cahoots Brewing AmEn! – a barrel-aged Barleywine Ale

It’s a great episode, and is longer than usual, so please pace yourself! Cheers!
Here’s the Soundcloud version to play, and a gallery of photos