Recently, our friends over at Broken Brix, Ed and Sue Seaman, took a trip out to Iceland. Aside from traveling the country and going to see Chicago’s legendary band Wilco for their 3-night tour in Reykjavik, Ed was on a quest to find what the Icelandic nation drank during all those long winter days! He brought back (or was it ‘smuggled’ back?) a suitcase of goodies, including craft beer, and who did he think of sharing them with but of course the Brit and Yankee team!

We welcomed Ed and Sue to the Brit and Yankee Pub studio for this recording of a travelogue and tasting session, and joining the Brit is co-hosts and brewers, Ken McMullen from Aurora’s Hopvine Brewing, and Chuck Fort from Itasca’s Church Street Brewing.

We didn’t know what to expect, and the beers were tasted with an open mind. What we found out was that Iceland sounds a cool place to visit and that the craft beers are pretty darn good. We’re not sure that any of them are exported to the USA, but hopefully Ed and Sue paint a picture of a place that you can visit to try them yourselves. One of the reasons they went there at this time of year was to see the Chicago band Wilco, who were performing 3 nights in Reykjavik, and Ed and Sue went to all three performances!!

So listen in while we hear tales of thermal pools, great food, and struggle with the Icelandic language, but are rescued by Google Translate! This is a fun episode, and many thanks to Ed and Sue for sharing the beers with us! Skál (pronounced “sk owl”)!

PS – sorry about the sound quality for Ed’s mic…he sounds a little distant!

Beers Sampled:

• Dokken Brugghus, Paska Puki, California Common, 4.7% ABV
• Dokken Brugghus, Dynjandi, American IPA, 5.9% ABV
• Viking Brugghus, Krummi, Stout, 5.8% ABV
• Gaedingur Brugghus, Namm Namm, Milk Stout, 5% ABV
• KHB Brugghús, Gellivör, IPA – English, 6.2% ABV
• KHB Brugghús, Steinbui, Pale Ale, 4.5% ABV
• Gaedingur Brugghus, Sweet New England, NEIPA, 8% ABV
• Gaedingur Brugghus, Baltazar, Baltic Porter, 6.6%

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The Brit took a trip out West to the craft brewing mecca of Denver, Colorado. While there, he visited a unique brewery where real ale takes the spotlight, Hogshead 54 Brewery. Robert Bell is one of the 3 people responsible for this oasis of British ales and does most of the brewing. In this special episode, we find out about his passion for brewing beers that can be dispensed through hand-pull engines (of which there are 7 at HH54), and give the drinker a taste of the UK!

Robert talks about what makes real ale so special and what needs to happen in the brewing process to produce them, and what ingredients they use. We find out the history of HH54, which is just over 10 years old, where the name came from, and how Robert came onboard. They also have keg beers and are venturing into lagers on a limited basis, some of them on cask.

Join us for this fascinating look into a one-of-a-kind brewery paying homage to the roots of British beer…check them out the next time you visit Denver!

Beers Sampled:

• Chin Wag – Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB), 5.8% ABV
• Barges’ Mild  – English Dark Mild Ale, 4.2% ABV
• Gilpin Black Gold – English Porter, 5.0% ABV
• Hogwild IPA – English IPA, 5.9% ABV

Check out our ‘quick look’ video here, then head over to our YouTube channel for more videos!

Play our audio podcasts using your favorite smartphone podcast app or our player above. We have a direct link to Apple Podcasts and Spotify below…and lots of other links on the sidebar! Plus you can subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking this link.

   

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.

This episode was recorded just after the busy St. Patrick’s  Day weekend, so Chuck was happy to just sit, relax, and talk pizza and beer! He talks about how he smokes barley for his Red ale in his wood-fired pizza oven and what wood he uses for firing his pizzas. We head back in the annals of time to how Chuck’s background shaped his interest in baking and then selling baking ingredients. How does he make his dough? Well, we get some details but he still keeps some proprietary secrets to himself! And why the rectangular shape? There’s a story to that as well! We all reveal our favorite ingredients and sample a selection of brews…it was a great session! Cheers!

Beers Sampled:

• Chuck’s Temple Red -collab with Art History Brewing, Irish Red Ale, 5.5% ABV
• Pilot Batch 40: Rye Irish Red – Hopvine Brewing, Irish Red Ale, 4.3% ABV
• Fastenbier, Art History Brewing, Franconian Dark Lenten Smoked Lager, 4.8% ABV
• Thor, Hopvine Brewing, APA, 6.0% ABV

Play our audio podcasts using your favorite smartphone podcast app or our player above. We have a direct link to Apple Podcasts and Spotify below…and lots of other links on the sidebar! Plus you can subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking this link.

   

Sometimes a brewery sneaks up on you, and their beers just wow the heck out of you!! That’s what happens in this week’s episode when we talk with Afterthought Brewing’s owner/brewer, Mike Thorpe. They have been producing beer for sometime, their first release being 6 years ago, and we have tried and enjoyed some of them obtained from bottle shops, but we had never been out to the taproom in Lombard.

OK – We’re sorry!!  So, this week we put that to rights and oh boy, if you like Belgian saisons and wild ales, then you’ll be in heaven out there! My co-host is Ken McMullen from Hopvine Brewing, and we enjoy a range of samples that are out of this world, including a Cantillon ‘calibration’ beer!

Mike talks about his process for producing these ales, the types of barrels he uses, and how the yeast contributes to the fermentation process and the flavor of the beers. Their main production brewery was inherited from another brewery (where we recorded a show way back in 2013!) and it is only 800 square feet, but they are producing amazingly ‘big’ beers from such a ‘small’ space!

Please note: the taproom was very echoey, so our recording reflects that somewhat…but we hope it won’t distract too much from the conversation!

Beers Sampled:

• Flowerfield #1 – Blend of Saison Meer: Lilac and Strange Wit (witbier with citrus, grains of paradise, and chamomile) aged in a Caledonia Spirits Barr Hill Gin barrel
• Extra Noble – Saison brewed with pilsner malt and rye alongside Noble hops
• Bière De Pieces #44 – Blend of blonde saisons including some with second-use cherries and raspberries plus a bit of Wedding Table and then aged in the Manic mead barrel that held Bière de Pieces #39
• 5 Years, 5 Barrels – A blend of saisons aged in (1) neutral oak, (2) a marionberry gin mead barrel, (3) a black currant mead barrel, (4) a whiskey barrel, and (5) a Chardonnay barrel, including a blend of oak-aged Afterthought Ale and Thelia that was re-fermented with marionberries and huckleberries

Play our audio podcasts using your favorite smartphone podcast app, or our player above. We have a direct link to Apple Podcasts and Spotify below…and lots of other links on the sidebar! Plus you can subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking this link.