The Brit and Yankee Craft Beer Podcast

Energy City Brewing was one of the early pioneer breweries in the Fox Valley area, and gained quite a following from craft beer drinkers. David Files, along with his wife Heidi, first opened in Batavia IL and sold their limited number of styles from a small location beside the Fox River, so small that people had to line up outside and they only opened one day a month for to-go sales. Six years lat...

This week we are excited to visit again with someone who has been on our podcast before, and is now owner and brewer at his own establishment. Erik Pizer has been part of the brewing community in the Chicagoland area for many years, and is now firmly ensconced in Tinley Park at Flipside Brewing. Open for just under 6 months, he has built his business around the brewpub model, providing a range of...

Last week our podcast interview was with one of the newest breweries in Illinois, and this week we chat with one that has been around for over seven years... Metal Monkey Brewing in Romeoville IL. We have been tracking the owner/brewer team of Dan Camp and Jason Janes since their opening, which incidentally saw some 1100 people attend. We checked in with them 1 year later in show 215, we featured...

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 Gen...

Note: there is a video version of this show available here This year we changed the format for our Barleywine show to focus on a vertical of a classic beer. The Brit was able to source 4 variants of the classic J.W.Lees Harvest Ale from one of his favorite watering holes, Broken Brix Fermentation Emporium in St. Charles, IL. To share in the tasting he invited his co-hosts and some guest brewers to...

This year we changed the format for our Barleywine show to focus on a vertical of a classic beer. The Brit was able to source 4 variants of the classic J.W.Lees Harvest Ale from one of his favorite watering holes, Broken Brix Fermentation Emporium in St. Charles, IL. To share in the tasting he invited his co-hosts and some guest brewers to sample them. Sipping with The Brit are co-host Ken McMulle...

It's the time of year that breweries release beers that contain cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and other adjuncts. The Brit visited a local chain liquor store and randomly selected 7 beers for the panel to taste and chat about. And that panel comprised the two co-hosts of the podcast, Chuck Fort from Church Street Brewing, Ken McMullen from Hopvine Brewing, and back because he hasn't been to the pub for...

The Brit is on vacation visiting family in the UK, so what better opportunity than to visit a few pubs and a brewery! The southern county of Sussex is home to Harvey’s Brewing, originating in 1745, but it also boasts plenty of new craft breweries including the one we visited, Firebird Brewing , located in an old brickworks factory in Rudgwick, Sussex. Co-founder / brewer Richard Peters was kind en...

In this bumper episode of Behind The Pint we are exploring why lagers have experienced a new surge in popularity, even though they have been the backbone of the beer industry for hundreds of years. The Brit and his Yankee co-host, Chuck Fort from Church Street Brewing, took a road trip downstate to Urbana IL, and met up at Riggs Beer Company with the two brewing Riggs brothers, Matt and Darin. Bot...

Every year in the January/February time period, the pub staff and a lineup of guests sample a selection of that outlier style, the barleywine. For 2022, we had set a couple of dates but had to postpone them due to some life stuff happening. Then it got to be summer when a young beer drinker's fancy turns to lighter styles. Well, not us! Gathering in the air conditioned climate of our favorite wine...

This week we are excited to be talking to Reeve Joseph who is bringing mixed culture and sour ales to Chicago with his project called Odious Cellars . He is currently brewing out of Duneyrr Fermenta Brewery in Chicago's Motor Row, while working on their taproom in west Logan Square. That said, you can obtain their brews at various outlets across the area, and we highly encourage you to do so! This...

We all know that the cost of goods and labor is going up, but how does this affect the cost of your pint of craft beer? We gathered 3 brewers to discuss this and help you, the craft consumer, understand why the price of your pint and 4-pack might be a little higher this year. The Brit's co-host for this is Ken McMullen from Hopvine Brewing (Aurora IL), and joining them in the pub studio is Art His...

This is our Illinois Craft Beer Week edition, and we’re doing a Zoom call with Jamie Albert from Will County Brewing. Head directly south down Rt.59 from the Brit and Yankee pub studios, and just before you get to I-55 you will find Shorewood IL, home to Will County Brewing . March 2022 saw the 4th Anniversary for WCB, and head brewer/owner Jamie has seen the location grow in reputation and barrel...

Church Street Brewing is celebrating their 10 year anniversary! We have always had a great relationship with these fine folks, and we have enjoyed their brews for many years and followed their changes and expansion with interest. There was a social media post asking for memories of the brewery, so we thought we would replay our first visit to them back in July of 2013, when The Brit sat down with...

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...

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 ge...

In this edition, my co-host Chuck Fort ( Church Street Brewing ) and The Brit welcome a 2021 GABF Gold Medal winner and someone who is intensely passionate about his craft. Matt Manthe is the brewer behind Odd Breed Ales , a small brewery in Pompano Beach FL, who is making quite a mark in the arena of wild and farmhouse ales using a unique mixed culture of wild yeast and bacteria, and aged them in...

It was beautiful Fall weather when we headed down to Tinley Park to record our latest episode outside in a beer garden. We're at Banging Gavel Brews who have been brewing since the end of 2014 but still have not been able to brew or serve at their chosen location for a variety of reasons. Instead, they have opened up a fantastic beer garden, complete with their version of a 'jumbotron' so their pa...

We finally made it up to Lake Zurich and to a brewery that we have long wanted to check out and sample their brews, and with a 4th Anniversary looming at the end of September this was the right time! Roaring Table Brewing has been slowly but surely producing some of the finest brews in the area, and even national craft industry magazines are starting to be aware of how good they are. Co-host Ken M...

We are rebroadcasting a show first recorded back in 2012, from the early days of our podcast. This episode was recorded before The Brit persuaded ex-pat Fin, Mark Naski, to join as co-host, and features Lingo and The Brit getting a beer appreciation lesson from him. We really didn't know anything about beer before Mark came around (and some people say we still don't!), and his schooling helped us...

It's a second 'vacation' recording, and this time we are at the Sedona Beer Company , gazing at the beautiful red rocks and getting a good dose of vortex energy. Heading up this operation, together with her husband Mack, is Sedona native Kali Gajewski. The Brit sat down with her in their cool patio courtyard, of course with a couple of brews and found out about what makes them the top dog for brew...

Nestled just south of Sedona AZ, is a small town of 15,000 called Camp Verde, centered around the Verde River valley. Alex Goetting is a 32 year old who has founded a local watering hole in a small industrial area, where Verde Brewing Company provides some great craft beers to the local community and tourist population. Take exit 287 off I-17 S , take a left past the new Starbucks, and head about...

We first found Big Thorn back in December of 2018 when we tasted their Wood Thyme Tart Gruit, and from then on we were hooked! It took us until September 2019 to arrange to visit the brewery, as it is 3 hours south of the B&Y pub down in Georgetown, IL. It was worth the wait, and co-owners Anna Schweig and Aaron Young showed us their brewery and fermentation room which was built by them, and r...

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...

It's an early look at a new venture for Pollyanna Brewing , as we depart from craft beer to visit with podcast chum Ed Malnar and find out all about distilling spirits. The Brit and co-host Ken McMullen discover what all that shiny new equipment is being used to produce, ahead of the official launch date of May 20, which Ed is calling 'Spirits Day'! We did get to sample the American Gin, which is...