Hazy IPA Archives - The Brit and Yankee Craft Beer Pubcast

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…

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Today we examine the craft style phenomenon which seems to be highly divisive, Hazy or New England IPAs. You either love ’em or hate ’em!

We assembled a panel of local expert brewers from the Chicagoland area who join Phil ‘The Brit’ Clark to examine this relatively new style. They include my co-host Chuck Fort, Sr. Brewing Consultant at Church Street Brewing, head brewer Eric Bramwell from Riverlands Brewing, and Steve Kamp from Evil Horse Brewing.

We dive into what the style is, the differences between NEIPA and West Coast IPAs, what hops are used, how the boil process goes, and we even talk about hop and pint pricing and how the costs are rising these days, and also if you should add lactose or not. All this and more as The Brit gets educated in an effort to get a better appreciation for the style.

Of course we drinking some brews, and these are:

The Brit and Chuck – Hazy Little Thing, New England/Hazy, 6.7% ABV, Sierra Nevada Brewing
Eric – Dean Street IPA, New England/Hazy, 6.8% ABV, Riverlands Brewing Company
Steve – Sgt. Reckless, , 5.5% ABV, Evil Horse 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!