This is our Memorial Day weekend edition, and we’re happy to say it is ‘in memoriam’ of 2020, and how it affected one (and probably many) of the breweries in the Chicago area. We visit with brewmaster Chris Valleau, who together with his wife Katherine, is co-owner of Exit Strategy Brewing located in Forest Park, IL. The Brit and co-host Ken McMullen of Hopvine Brewing, sat down with Chris to look back at how the pandemic year affected them on a personal level, how it changed their business model so they survived to be open today, and how the future looks for them and the craft brewing industry.

As usual, we sample some of the brews on tap at ESBC, which are listed below. We recommend a visit as their patio is large and the beers are great. We’ve finally put 2020 to the back of our minds, and we move on stronger than ever! Cheers!!

Brews Sampled:

• Nobody Reads The Copy, English Special Bitter, 5.5% ABV
• Apologize, Witbier, 5.6% ABV
• High Violet, Kettle Sour with Blackberry, Vanilla & Lactose, 6% ABV

Timings:

• Part 1 – 00:00
• Part 2 – 15:03
• Part 3 – 30:38

Here’s a link to the YouTube channel video:

Play the audio podcast on our players above…or your favorite smartphone podcast app…we have a direct link to iTunes for iPhone users, and Google Play for Android users below…