Within the past three months, East Dundee has become home to one of the newest breweries in Illinois, Black and Gray Brewing. Owners Chris and Theresa Kennedy, have given the north-western suburbs a little gem, as The Brit found out recently when he headed out to talk with Chris, aka ‘No Hair Chris’. Joining them was Chris’s brewing partner, Chris Contesso, aka “Long Hair Chris’.
The evening was sunny and warm, following a rather tempestuous band of weather that had swept across the area, and we decided it was too nice to be inside so we set up the mics on the beautiful outside patio. Despite a few passing cars, we found out about their story, and more importantly, we sampled the brews on offer.
Each one sampled was found to be classic, brewed correctly, and just plain delicious; how they achieved this on the small system they have lends testament to some brewing expertise that these guys possess. Chris and Chris talk to The Brit about why they brew the beers they do, their background, and what lies in the future for Black and Gray, plus The Brit gets a lesson in Revolutionary history.
We recommend a road trip out there, or maybe a bike ride on the Fox Valley bike trail. The downtown area has plenty of great restaurants to get food from, and then head over to enjoy it with a flight or a couple of pints from Black and Gray. Thumbs up!
Beers Sampled:
- Farmhouse, Cream Ale, 4.7% ABV 17 IBU
- Das Kolsch, Kölsch, 4.9% 25 IBU
- Zephyr, California Common,
- Minuteman, NEIPA, 6.6%
Full Tap list here.
Play the show from our player, or the Podbean player below…
