Category Archives: Brewery

Pubcast 387 – Kishwaukee Brewing Company

June 29, 2023American Brown Ale, Brewery, Craft Beer, Doppelbock, IPL, SaisonLandlord

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, who may have assisted in starting the career of one of Kishwaukee’s future employees…more on that in the interview.

We talk with Dan and Mark about how their brewing careers started, and how they came to join forces at Kishwaukee to produce classic, award-winning beers. Dan’s approach has got them through building the brewery at the start of the pandemic, then opening after the first shutdown, only to be closed a week later with the second one. All that being in the past, they have emerged from those dark days, and are moving into a strong position as a producer of great beers in the Illinois craft beer scene. Their tap room is a wonderful space, as is the outdoor patio, and you won’t be disappointed when you make a visit!

We must offer our apologies to Mark, who apparently had a mic which had ‘technical difficulties’ and caused him to sound like he was at the other end of the brewery. We’ve done our best to improve his sound in post-production, so hopefully it won’t detract too much from the conversation!

Beers Sampled:

Bufflehead Brown Ale, American Brown Ale, 6.8% ABV
Sandhill Lager, India Pale Lager, 5.5% ABV
Tart Peach Saison, Wild Saison, 5.5% ABV
Pollinator, Doppelbock, 7.7% 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.

Pubcast 386 – Getting Our Kicks on Rt 66 at Old School Brewing

June 23, 2023Brewery, Craft BeerLandlord

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

Pubcast 376 – Sturdy Shelter Brewing

February 10, 2023Brewery, Craft Beer, Fruited Sour, Hazy IPA, Imperial Red Ale, PorterLandlord

Over the past couple of years, the Fox River Valley is starting to rival downtown Chicago in the sheer number of craft breweries. The tri-cities of St. Charles, Geneva, and Batavia alone can boast 11 locations and Sturdy Shelter Brewing is the newest of these, located beside the Fox River in historical downtown Batavia.

Co-owner and brewer, Frank Mercadante along with his wife Diane, and General Manager Oliver Bulley have created a taproom and brewery that has become an important meeting place in the Batavia community, plus the all-important brews are well made and there is something for everyone.

The Brit and co-host Ken McMullen (brewmaster at Hopvine Brewing) visited with the Sturdy Shelter team one Monday when the brewery was closed and we could sit down and enjoy some good conversation, and sample some of their current taplist. We find out how the name of the Italian Pilsner came about, the history of the building, and plans for the future.

Beers Sampled:

Francesco, Italian Style Pilsner, ABV 5.6%
Batavia Lager, Helles Style Lager, ABV 5.5%
Huckleberry Sour, Fruited Kettle Sour, ABV 4.3%
Pulped Up! Tropical, New England Hazy IPA, ABV 7.1%
Robustacious, Imperial Red Ale, ABV 7.5%
Porter, ABV 5.3%

Here’s our short ‘teaser’ video showing the brewery…

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

Behind The Pint – Episode 1: Is Craft Beer Really Just Beer?

March 25, 2022Behind The Pint, Brewery, Craft BeerLandlord

We begin a new series of podcasts where we try to delve a little deeper into the business of craft beer. We want to go Behind the Pint. To kick us off, we’re asking if Craft Beer is really just beer, or if it’s a marketing ploy that has exploded into an industry.

We have three local Chicago industry experts, 2 brewers and one craft beer guru, on hand to pass opinions and talk about the topic in general. First up is my co-host for this episode. brewmaster at Hopvine Brewing in Aurora IL, Ken McMullen. Supporting the brewing side is owner/brewer Chris Valleau from Forest Park’s Exit Strategy Brewing. And finally, beer consultant, educator and writer, and international beer judge, Marty Nachel who helps provide the bridge between the brewers and the consumer. Phil ‘The Brit’ Clark asks the questions, and of course we all have something good to drink while we chat, which we list below.

What’s the final verdict on ‘craft beer’ – listen in and find out! Cheers!!

What We Are Drinking:

The Brit – Orenda Vol 2, Orenda – Volume 2 (Grape Brandy 2017-2021), 11.0% ABV, Pollyanna Brewing
Ken – Double BBA Vlad the Second Mexican Chocolate, Russian Imperial Stout, 14.1% ABV, Hailstorm Brewing
Chris – Corazón, Mexican hot chocolate-inspired Milk Stout, 7.2% ABV, Exit Strategy Brewing
Marty – A Little Crazy, Belgian Pale Ale, 6.8% ABV, Revolution Brewing

Play the audio podcast on our players above…or your favorite smartphone podcast app…we have a direct link to iTunes for iPhone users below…and lots of other links on the sidebar, including Spotify!