Category Archives: Scotch Ale

Pubcast 228 – Church Street and Tasty Brews

Craft Beer, IPA, Maibock, Scotch Ale, Sour Ale, Stout, Wild Ale, Zwickel

In this episode, we return to Church Street Brewing in Itasca, nearly 4 years after we first talked to them (Pubcast 107, July 6, 2013), and find out what’s changed and taste some of their new brews. Joining Mark and Phil today are head brewer, T.J. Bachorz, assistant brewer Chuck Fort, and halfway through the show Illinois beer glass collector and historian, John Bittermann stops by.

Join us for friendly conversation and a sampling session, including what makes white stout white and how it differs from a regular stout. For the comparison, we throw in another can of UK brew from Harvey’s, their Black Stout. Big thanks to owner Lisa Gregor who also stopped by, and T.J allowing us to record our show in the taproom.

Church Street Brews:
Head in the Clouds, Zwickelbier – 5.4% ABV 30 IBU
Magisterium Maibock, Maibock / Heller (Helles) Bock – 6.5% ABV 22 IBU

Other Brew Reviews:
Crooked Stave, Denver CO., Hop Savant, Brettanomyces IPA, 7%

Byway Brewing, Hammond IN., Bean White, White Stout w/coffee beans & cocoa, 7.5%

Harvey’s Black Stout, authentic porter stout, 4.8%

Schlafly (The Saint Louis Brewery), Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy, 35th Anniversary of The Wine &Cheese Place, 6.2%

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

Pubcast 200 – Bicentennial Show

Barrel Aged, Belgian Strong Ale, Black IPA, Brown Ale, Craft Beer, Double IPA, Gose, Hefeweizen, Kolsch, Scotch Ale

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…