The Malting Hour

This week Brandon and Tony drink New Belgium "Voodoo Ranger Fruit Force". Beer description: Fruit Force is a high-flying, Fruit Punch IPA landing at a powerful 9.5% ABV. Prepare for take-off and hold on to your aviators. Thanks to Kevin and Deb Goggin for the theme song. Outro music by Fluid Minds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week Brandon and Tony sample some fruited beers from the Midwest. Then they go deep into their love of hot peppers, smoking meats, and jerky - what a week! Beers on this episode: New Glarus - Strawberry Rhubarb Old Irving Brewing - Miko's Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro and break music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week Brandon and Tony celebrate their freedoms from labor with Ranger Creek Brewing and Distillery's "San Antonio Lager". "San Antonio Lager is an easy drinking German-style lager, brewed in honor of our city. Nostalgic enough for San Antonio's amazing history but contemporary like our city today. It's refreshing while also flavorful enough for craft beer drinkers. Just like our city, It's got a little something for everyone." Thanks to Kevin and Deb Goggin for the theme song. Outro music by Fluid Minds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week Brandon and Tony tackle local beer for another week of Malted Mini's. Old Irving - A Different Kind of Helles Brewed with a lager grain bill including torrefied maize and lightly hopped with noble hop Saaz. Collab with Chicago metal band, Bloodletter. Noon Whistle - Squishy Gummy This Northeastern IPA is a big ol' hazy juice bomb packed with Citra, Mosaic & Simcoe hops; giving off flavors of bright citrus, passion fruit, berry and pine. All music provided for this episode provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we take a deep dive into the beers Brandon brought back from his trip down south. Beers on this episode: Steel Hands - Pecan Brown Ale Palmetto Brewing - Huger St. IPA Naked River Brewing - Moon Pie Stout Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro and break music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week Brandon and Tony catch up after some vacation time and drink some delicious local beers. Goose Island - "35th Anniversary Cuvée" (description from Beer Advocate) For their 35th Anniversary, Goose Island offers this unique cuvee of five different barrel aged beers. The blend consists of 48% English style barley wine, 28% oatmeal stout, 13% rye stout, 8% American imperial stout, and 3% Belgian style quad - aged in a mixture of bourbon, rum, and cognac barrels for 18-36 months. Hop Butcher For The World - "Celery Salt" Nelson Sauvin-hopped American Pale Ale All music provided for this episode provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week's After The Final Pour we drink Maplewood Brewing Company's "Black Seed" barrel aged imperial stout. "A wheated stout aged in Apple Brandy Barrels. Black Seed is brimming with roasty notes of chocolate and caramel that play perfectly off the candy apple notes from the brandy barrels. Indulgent, dessert-like flavors that somehow carry a tinge of nostalgia, this is a bold but fun stout that allows the unique barrel notes shine." Thanks to Kevin and Deb Goggin for the theme song. Outro music by Fluid Minds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we celebrate Christmas in July via Christmas beers from 2022. Also, we learn Danny has never seen Die Hard! Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro and break music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week Brandon tries Old Irving Brewing's "Cushy Berry" and Tony tries Half Acre's "Way Bird". Old Irving Brewing "Cushy Berry" "Kettle-Soured Ale brewed with strawberry and raspberry and hopped with Hallertau Blanc. CUSHY is our series of easy-drinking, Fruited Sour Ales brewed to be slightly tart & sweet, and ultimately refreshing. Each beer is blended with real fruit juice concentrates, giving it a distinct color and flavor." Half Acre - WayBird Hazy IPA "WayBird is where you want Hazy IPA to live. Rooted in El Dorado & HBC 586. Heavy waft Citrus & Stone Fruit. Just enough bitterness to keep it grounded in the Half Acre flavor realm. Big mouthfeel, easy drinking & clean IPA from your friends on Balmoral Ave." All music provided for this episode provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we're joined once more by Matthew Moldenhauer as we begin, rise, and return to the Summer of The Stout. We also fight a fly in the studio, Dan gets a new nickname, Alexa throws the show off the rails and Brandon announces his new podcast "F*** this S*** and F*** that S***!". Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro and break music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week Brandon, Tony and Danny sample Afterthought Brewing Company's collaboration with Is/Was Brewing "This & That". Beer description: "Collaboration with Is/Was Brewing. Saison brewed with triticale plus Callista and Grungeist hops. Fermented in stainless steel with our mixed saison culture." Thanks to Kevin and Deb Goggin for the theme song. Outro music by Fluid Minds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week Danny makes his triumphant return to the show with some beers from his recent travels as we round out our "Vacation Beers 2023" series. Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro and break music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we drink Crystal Lake Brewing's "Sherman & Tingle's Driver Nation" and Pipeworks Brewing's "Barrel Aged Saddle Up". Sherman & Tingle's Driver Nation "We hear you Driver Nation. From lake- front concerto backyard barbecues, good times reserve a great beer. 97.1 FM The Drive's Sherman & Tingle, along with Crystal Lake Brewing, bring you a crisp, clean, classic lager that goes with everything, from power chords and drum solos to pizza and burgers. Sip, savor, and rock on, Chicagoland." Barrel Aged Saddle Up "Giddy Up! Barrel Aged Saddle Up is a cuvee of three different batches of barleywine. We took the best barrels laid down in 2017 and 2018 and blended them with fresh barleywine brewed in 2020 that was finished with cherry. The result is a deeply flavorful blend with resonate oak, vanillin and bourbon notes and a fresh tart note of cherry. Barrel Aged Saddle Up is a very special, complex and memorable barrel aged offering." All music provided for this episode provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we're joined by Laurin Mack of Conrad Seipp Brewing Co. to share the story of her great, great, great Grandfather Conrad Seipp and "the beer that built Chicago." https://www.seippbrewing.com/ Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we take a quick trip back on the train from Illinois Craft Beers Week's "Beer Under Glass" and sample a beer from Reserve Artisan Ales. All music provided for this episode provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week Brandon and Tony catch up with all things going on in their lives (and a good amount of fast food talk) in between their recap of Beer Under Glass 2023. Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we dive into part 1 of our vacation beers. Brandon and Tony sample beers from Arizona and Arkansas. Only "A" states this week. Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we drink two beers we've never had before! Exciting! Riverlands Brewing Company - "Kayak Pils" German Pilsner with Hallertau hops. Our House Pilsner going forward, we retired the color designation from our previous Pils, Yellow Kayak, and now we bring you the new Kayak Pils. Applying lessons learned from all previous lagers we've brewed, we bring you a crisp, easy drinking yet flavorful beer, lovingly and painstakingly thought out and crafted. Spicy and slightly citrusy noble German Hallertau hops blend with the cracker and honey notes from premium German Pilsner malt to create the lager we've been searching for. Prost! Odious Cellars - "The Secret History of All Things" Brett fermented American Farmhouse Ale, lightly dry-hopped w/ Crystal & Saaz. All music provided for this episode provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

Brandon tries to stump Ray Stout and Tony with a mystery pour of Revolution Brewing's "Supermassive Cafe Deth". Beer description: "Inspired in part by the disconcertingly large gravitational singularity at the center of our galaxy, we devised Supermassive Café Deth to be the midpoint of a theoretical bourbon barrel-aged stout-coffee continuum. After a painstaking eighteen months of aging, this slightly sweet blend of Deth's Tar meets its cosmic binary in the form of freshly roasted Dark Matter coffee to the tune of ten pounds per oak barrel." Thanks to Kevin and Deb Goggin for the theme song. Outro music by Fluid Minds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we're joined by Illinois Craft Brewers Guild Executive Director Ray Stout to discuss this year's Beer Under Glass at Union Station and all things Illinois Craft Beer week (May 19-26). https://www.illinoisbeer.org/icbw.html Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we sample Destihl's "Dosvidanya Bourbong Barrel" stout. Beer description: Like a Matryoshka or 'nesting' doll, the secret of Dosvidanya® Imperial Stout lies locked deep within her mysterious & elaborate wooden layers. The hidden soul of this oak bourbon barrel-aged beer that we said Dosvidanya ('farewell') to several months before revealing, is its rich flavors like dark chocolate, toffee, black cherries and coffee along with robust & roasty maltiness that finishes dry. All music provided for this episode provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we drink Goose Island's "Very Chill Cold IPA". Beer description: Very Chill emphasizes the clean drinking profile of a lager while leaning into the experimental hop profiles of new school IPAs — equally as crispy and hoppy. Some people call it a Cold IPA. Some people call it an India Pale Lager. We call it insanely good. !!REMINDER!! To get tickets for Chicago On Tap 2023: e.givesmart.com/events/uUN/ Also, if you send an email to info@themaltinghour.com you can request a promo code to save $15 on your ticket to the event. All music provided for this episode provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we visit Chicago's Midwest Coast Brewing Company. We're joined by owner and brewer Cameron Compton, brewery manager Timothy Ficken and brewer and cellarman Kevin O'Brien to discuss the history of Midwest Coast Brewing and what to expect from them in the near future. Also, Dan's back.. so.. that's cool I guess? Check out Midwest Coast Brewing Company: https://www.midwestcoastbrewing.com/ To get tickets for Chicago On Tap 2023: e.givesmart.com/events/uUN/ Also, if you send an email to info@themaltinghour.com you can request a promo code to save $15 on your ticket to the event. Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we jump back into our "Malted Mini's" format to bring you a review of Ballast Point's "High West Barrel Aged Victory at Sea (2017)" Beer description: We partnered with our friends at High West® Distillery to create a barrel-aged version of Ballast Point Victory at Sea, our award-winning Imperial Porter with cold-steeped coffee and vanilla. From a blend of Ballast Point Victory at Sea aged in High West's own bourbon & rye whiskey oak casks, new layers of complexity emerge with notes of soft caramel and smoky oak over a dark chocolate and roasted almond body. High West crafts delicious and distinctive whiskeys to honor the American West, making it the perfect pairing with our signature San Diego-born porter. !!REMINDER!! To get tickets for Chicago On Tap 2023: e.givesmart.com/events/uUN/ Also, if you send an email to info@themaltinghour.com you can request a promo code to save $15 on your ticket to the event. All music provided for this episode provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we sample some beers we have dubbed "Spring Beers of 2023". Beers on this episode: Off Color Brewing - Beer For Baseball Bell's Brewery - Oberon Old Irving Brewing - Oni Midwest Coast Brewing - Hanging Curve Begyle Brewing - Free Bird Pipework's Brewing - Dawn of the Shed To get tickets for Chicago On Tap 2023: e.givesmart.com/events/uUN/ Also, if you send an email to info@themaltinghour.com you can request a promo code to save $15 on your ticket to the event. Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Break and outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we're joined by our friend Matthew Moldenhauer to drink through some beers we had lying around. We're also joined by Laura Vertucci to discuss Meals on Wheels Chicago's upcoming fundraising event "Chicago On Tap" on April 27th, 2023. Beers on this episode: Old Irving Brewing: Goat Destroyer Dogfish Head: 2018 Fruit-full Fort Black Dragon Meadery: 2018 Blue Dragon Blueberry Cyser Firestone Walker: 2017 Bretta Weisse Three Floyds Brewing: 2016 Dark Lord To get tickets for Chicago On Tap 2023: e.givesmart.com/events/uUN/ Also, if you send an email to info@themaltinghour.com you can request a promo code to save $15 on your ticket to the event. Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Break and outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we sample 3 Floyd's latest release "ZOMBIE ICE" double pale ale. "Crafted with an unholy amount of citra hops, this Undead Double Pale Ale heralds the zombie evolution after the dust has settled from the apocalypse." Thanks to Kevin and Deb Goggin for the theme song. Outro music by Fluid Minds

This week we drink through our annual St. Patrick's Day beer lineup. It's also Dan's first St. Patrick's Day beer episode! Beers on this episode: Great Lakes Brewing Co. - Conway's Irish Ale Breckenridge Brewery - Nitro Irish Stout Sullivan's Brewing Company - Malting's Red Ale Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Break and outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we try three random beers we've never tried before. Beers on this episode: Phase Three - Comic Cake Marz Brewing - Cream Puff Paczki Stout Alarmist - Bamberger

This week Brandon and Tony sample Hard MTN DEW (regular and Baja). Yep.. we did it. "HARD MTN DEW is a new flavored malt beverage (FMB) available in four bold flavors, including MTN DEW, Baja Blast, Black Cherry, and Watermelon." Thanks to Kevin and Deb Goggin for the theme song. Outro music by Fluid Minds

This week we reach into the way back of the fridge to bring you "Empty The Fridge Part 2". Beers on this episode: Cruz Blanca - Barbarosa Sketchbook - H2OP Sprakling Water Lake Effect - Gose Reposada Hop Butcher - Meet The Simcoes Pipeworks - Ninja Vs. Unicorn Lo-Fi - Blueberry Wheat Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Break and outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we sample Chicago's "Is/Was" Brewing's "This & That(Brettanomyces)". "Collaboration with Afterthought Brewing. Saison brewed with triticale and Sugar Creek wind malt and bottle conditioned with Brettanomyces." Thanks to Kevin and Deb Goggin for the theme song. Outro music by Fluid Minds

This week we're back in the studio together, minus Clark, to enjoy some Trappist beer styles. Beers on this episode: Achel 8 Blond Tynt Meadow Westmalle Tripel Trappistes Rochefort 6 Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Break and outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we wrap up our January "Malted Mini" series with an IPA from Logboat Brewing Company. Also, Tony gets mad at Dan... again. Beer description: Space Junk was created with our good friend, Beth Bombars and her band in response to Beth's 52 week song writing project. Sabro, Idaho 7 and Azacca Cryo hops helped create a citrus forward yet bold, IPA. Whether your writing/performing music or vibin' with buds at a show, SPACE JUNK will help clear your mind. Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week's "Malted Mini" episode, we sample Guinness Open Gate Brewery's "Old Fashioned Inspired Ale" and get into a deep conversation on orange juice pulp.. riveting podcasting right here. Beer description: "We love a cocktail-inspired beer here at the OGB. This time around, we bring back an experiment we launched initially more than two years ago - a Barrel-Aged Old Fashioned-Inspired Ale. We start with an English Barleywine, age it in bourbon barrels for six months, then finish the beer with sweet cherry and orange purees. The result is exactly what you'd expect - rich malt characters of toffee and raisin, warming vanilla and oak, and just a touch of the classic orange and cherry found in the cocktail." Intro and outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we bring you a new format we might use from time to time that we have dubbed "Malted Minis". Not a full episode, but not an After The Final Pour. This week we sample Petoskey Brewing's "Super Trooper", a brown ale brewed with Columbian coffee beans and donuts from a local producer. Intro and outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we sit down with Chuck Patella of Howard Street Brewing to learn about the most northern Chicago brewery in Rogers Park. Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Break and outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

Happy New Year! To start the year off we're bringing you our list of favorite beers we drank in 2022. Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we end the year with a continuation of the fun from episode 100 with Nik White and Afro Beer Chick of The Neat Pour Podcast. We sip on and discuss a big imperial stout from Foreign Exchange: Aliena. "Russian Imperial Stout brewed with Madagascar Vanilla Beans." Thanks to Kevin and Deb Goggin for the theme song. Outro music by Fluid Minds

We made it to episode 100! And what better way to celebrate 100 episodes than with Nik White and our old friend Afro Beer Chick of The Neat Pour podcast!? We sample some fun beers and some bourbon celebrating 100 episodes of The Malting Hour. Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Break and outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we pick up right where last weeks episode left off with Trevor Rose-Hamblin, Tim Broyles and Matthew Moldenhauer of Old Irving Brewing. Dan has been kind enough to share his "7 Swans-A-Swimming" from The Bruery. "The seventh verse of our Twelve Days of Christmas series of beers showcases the rich, malty character of a Belgian-style quadrupel. Happy Holidays!" Thanks to Kevin and Deb Goggin for the theme song. Outro music by Fluid Minds

This week we welcome back Trevor Rose-Hamblin, Tim Broyles and Matthew Moldenhauer to sample through this year's Krampus Barrel-aged stout line up from Old Irving Brewing. It's always a blast hanging out with these guys and there was over 2 hours of recording to edit through. We also start talking over each other (more) towards the end so.. there's that. https://oldirvingbrewing.com/ Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we go back in time and revisit a lost After The Final Pour from August of 2022 and sample Monkish Brewing Company's "Bomb Atomically". https://www.monkishbrewing.com/ Thanks to Kevin and Deb Goggin for the theme song. Outro music by Fluid Minds

This week we sample 3 variants from this year's Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout lineup. Thankfully, Clark found the studio. Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we try Rabid Brewing's double barrel aged "Manticore". "A beautifully smooth, endlessly attractive, and utterly timeless Russian Imperial Stout. A chimera of brewing deftness and a hefty dose of oatmeal, this crating pushes the tradition of stout making into The Halls of Immortals. This one goes to eleven. Double barrel aged in bourbon and pecan whiskey barrels." https://www.rabidbrewing.com/ Thanks to Kevin and Deb Goggin for the theme song. Outro music by Fluid Minds

This week Brandon and Tony recap their experience at the Festival of Barrel Aged Beers 2022. Remember to support the Illinois Craft Beer Guild https://www.illinoisbeer.org/ Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we continue our yearly tradition of sampling different pumpkin beers. We also speak with Surge and Charles Pumpkin for their insights on a few beers we sampled. Happy Halloween from all of us at The Malting Hour. Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli)and remixed by Tony Golec (@asaphelps) Outro and break music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This week we stop by Haymarket Brewing's Chicago location and sit down to discuss the 20th Anniversary of FOBAB (Festival of Barrel Aged Beers). We're joined by Pete Crowley one of the founders and head brewer of Haymarket Brewing, Ray Stout executive director the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild and Janna Mestan, former board member of ICBG. To purchase tickets for the 2022 Festival of Barrel Aged Beers: https://www.fobab.com/ To learn more about the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild visit: https://www.illinoisbeer.org/ To learn more about Haymarket Brewing: https://www.haymarketbeer.com/ Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

Welcome back to our special two part recap of the 2022 Great American Beer Fest. On this episode we discuss day two of the fest with interviews from Craig of ABV Chicago and Mike Billy of Tangled Roots Brewing. Special thanks again to everyone we spoke to at the festival and BIG thanks to GABF and The Brewers Association for inviting us to the fest this year. We look forward to coming back in 2023. Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro and break music provided by @FluidMinds

This week week we bring you part one of our recap of this year's Great American Beer Festival. We discuss all of our fun on day one of being in Denver for the festival, including the Sam Adams and Dogfish Head Brunch, our trip to Oskar Blues taproom for lunch and of course time spent at GABF. We close out part one with an on location interview with Malting Hour show crasher Rachel and Emma of porchdrinking.com Come back Thursday, October 20th 2022 for Part 2 and more interviews. Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outro and break music provided by @FluidMinds

This week Dan has curated the episode as we sample four different beers from Door County, WI. Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Outor and break music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com