Category Archives: Brown Ale

Pubcast 264 – Bicentennial Illinois 6-Pack

Our friend of the show, Deb, or as she now prefers to be known ‘Hop Mama’, has returned from travels in Illinois and brings a selection of brewery offerings that may not have been on most folks tasting lists. Joining us is Illinois beer historian, John Bittermann and he brings a couple of cans of the Illinois Bicentennial beer. John Karwoski is on hand, and last but certainly not least is head brewer at Hopvine Brewing, Ken McMullen to provide our technical expertise. (Sorry about the two John’s sound quality – technical difficulties!)

The first Europeans to visit Illinois were the French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette in 1673, but the region was ceded to Britain after the French and Indian War. After the American Revolution, Illinois became a territory of the United States, and achieved statehood in 1818, so this is a celebratory year.

We have a six-pack of beers that culminate with the winning beer from the Illinois Bicentennial Craft Beer Competition. There’s plenty of controversy over one brewery, and plenty of thumbs in all positions when we rate each one, going to prove that everyone has a different palate and you should always try new beers, then drink what you like! It’s a while since we did an extended show, but we were having a good time tasting and chatting, and what better topic than Illinois brews. So stick around and hear what we think of beers from the heart of Illinois, and some interesting facts about Illinois.

We also did a live Facebook feed while we reviewed the Wee Heavenly Scotch Ale, so here’s a link to that video. And also, The Brit extends an invitation to Governor Rauner to come on down and visit the Brit and Yankee Pub and have a beer with us!

And right at the end an announcement about a beer we’ll be brewing with Ken at Hopvine to celebrate the Royal Wedding!

Beers Reviewed:

Destihl Brewing, Bloomington, Normal Pils, ABV 5%, IBU 38 (Thumbs – 2 Up, 3 Sideways)       Main Street Brewing, Belleville IL, Vanilla Bean Coffee Juele, Blond Ale, ABV 4.5%, IBU 10 (Thumbs – 3 Up 2 Sideways)
Lionstone Brewing, Geneseo IL, Peanut Butter Back 40 Wheat Ale, ABV 4% (Thumbs – 1 Up, 2 Down, 2 Sideways)
Rolling Meadows Farm Brewery, Cantrall IL, Abe’s Ale, Maple Brown Ale, 8.5% (Thumbs – 4 Up, 1 Sideways)
Hand of Fate Brewing, Petersburg IL, Wee Heavenly, Scotch Ale,  ABV 9.8%, IBU 22 (Thumbs – 5 Up)
1818 Prairie State Farmhouse Ale, Saison, ABV 5.5%, IBU 28 (Thumbs – 4 Up, 1 Sideways)

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

Pubcast 246 – The Yankee’s Back In Town!

The original co-host of the podcast, The Yankee, has returned from the wilds of Ohio and has brought some brews with him, a couple of which are guaranteed to challenge the taste buds of the Brit. It’s that time of year when those darn spiced pumpkin beers sneak out the dark corners of breweries, and we have a couple to taste.
But first as our lead in brew, we’re drinking Surly’s Coffee Bender, just to get out senses tuned up.

Then we get into a beer style that might not be anyone’s first choice, a shandy from Hoppin’ Frog. Couple that with a brew that snuck in (cos the Yankee thought it came from Ohio) from Clown Shoes, and we have the makings of a bumper edition and an evening of tasting and good old pub chat which is what we love!

The Brit also pulled out a bonus beer that had to make up for, and clear the palette of those spiced ales, from the folks at Innis & Gunn, an Oak aged beer, hopped bourbon cask ale.

Beers imbibed:

Surly Brewing Co., Coffee Bender, Coffee-flavored American Oatmeal Brown Ale, 5.5% ABV
Hoppin’ Frog, Turbo Shandy Citrus Ale, ABV 7.0%
Platform Beer, Co., Yammy Yammy, Sweet Potato Ale, ABV 7.7%
Hoppin’ Frog, Frog’s Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale, aBV 7.3%
Innis & Gunn, Hopped Bourbon Casked Ale, ABV 7.4%

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


Pubcast 215 – Metal Monkey Plus One Year

Metal Monkey Brewing opened their doors on Jan 30, 2016 down in south suburban Romeoville.  Nearly one year on, head brewer Dan Camp and the rest of the Monkeys are getting ready to hold their 1-year Anniversary party.
We were here last for a podcast at the opening and since then Dan and crew have settled in and started to produce some really solid brews.
We discuss where they’ve been and where they are going, and hit a couple more topics like Shower Beer and what’s the best container for selling draft beer.  Plus we sample some of the Monkey beers we haven’t tasted before and of course pass opinions that are only our simple, personal views.

Beers we sampled:
Burninator Doppelbock, 7.5% ABV, 22 IBU – Batch #100
Glazen Boterham Saison / Farmhouse Ale, 4.2% ABV, 24 IBU
Up And Atom American Brown Ale, 4.8% ABV, 22 IBU
Chocolate War Zone W/ Raspberries American Stout, 6.2% ABV, 60 IBU
Asmodeus Stout – Russian Imperial Stout, 12% ABV, 60 IBU

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

Pubcast 200 – Bicentennial Show

It is our 200th pubcast, and we are celebrating in the Brit and Yankee studios with many of our friends from over the years.  Our guests include tavern owners, beer servers, beer historians, brewers, and beer experts…oh, and beer consumers!
Joining Mark Naski and Phil Clark are Chuck Fort (Church Street), Ken McMullen (Hopvine Brewing), John Bittermann, Jon Harlson, John Karwoski, and live by Skype, the original Yankee, Mike Lingafelter.  Plus we have a couple of congratulatory messages from Sketchbook, Cademon, and Miskatonic breweries.

The Landlord has selected 8 beers that are examples of the range of brews from Illinois suburban breweries (with the exception of one from downtown), and we have a marathon tasting session. Opinions vary, and what we do find out is that there is a style for everyone.
Thanks to all who have listened over the years, we hope that we have educated, informed and entertained.  Here’s to the next 200 shows!  Cheers!

NOTE: this is a bumper edition, which we preface with our PSA, so listen carefully and don’t exceed your intake…spread it over a couple days!

Brews we taste:
Cahoots Brewing, Krule Summer, Kolsch Style Ale   5.2%, 20 IBU
Noon Whistle Brewing, Guave Gose Smack  3.8%
Cademon Brewing, Tropical Kingpin, Hefeweizen with Pineapple 5.5%
Lena Brewing, Scrap Iron, Black IPA ​7% 60 IBU
Hubbards Cave, Fresh IPA v1, Double/Imperial IPA 9.0%
Galena Brewing, Cortes, Barrel-aged Brown Ale 11%
Noon Whistle Brewing, Bob Ross Did It, Barrel-Aged Scotch Ale 10.1%, 1 year later
Flesk Brewing, 2nd Anniversary Ale, Belgian Strong Ale 9.8%, 2 years later

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