1 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:16,160 This is Beer in Front, part of the Odd Pods Media Network and the 2 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:21,640 Beer Media Group. Sometimes the beer in front of you is the best one 3 00:00:21,719 --> 00:00:27,320 yet. I'll talk to people around the beer world and get their stories all 4 00:00:27,519 --> 00:00:36,200 about beer. That's Beer in Front, and it's coming up now. Welcome 5 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:42,359 to episode two hundred and fifteen, the June sixteenth edition of Beer in Front. 6 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:47,679 I'm your host, Dave's Alatorus and Beer in Front is a proud odd 7 00:00:47,759 --> 00:00:54,200 Pods Media Network member and a charter member of the Beer Media Group. Midwest 8 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:59,799 Coast Brewing Company, located at twenty one thirty seven West Walnut and the Great 9 00:01:00,039 --> 00:01:06,879 City of Chicago, is opening their new all season rooftop with retractable roof this 10 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:11,000 Tuesday, June eighteenth. On today's show, I'll talk with Ryan and Tim 11 00:01:11,359 --> 00:01:17,719 from Midwest Coast so you could hear more about this great new project. After 12 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:22,359 we talked, I went to the soft open last week and I'll share my 13 00:01:22,519 --> 00:01:27,319 first hand experience if this one of a kind gem in the Chicago brewing district. 14 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:33,879 I'm releasing this episode on Father's Day, so for all the fathers out 15 00:01:33,879 --> 00:01:37,680 there, Happy Father's Day. If you didn't listen to it, a couple 16 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:42,280 years ago, I did a Father's Day episode where I talked to a lot 17 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:47,959 of my friends in beer and podcasting and they were reminiscing about the beers that 18 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:53,200 their dads drank growing up. So I'll include the link in the show notes 19 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,560 if you could check that one out. But that was a lot of fun. 20 00:01:56,599 --> 00:01:59,120 I think it was like two years ago I put that out, But 21 00:01:59,159 --> 00:02:04,439 that was a lot of fun reminiscing about old school beers like Schlitz and old 22 00:02:04,519 --> 00:02:17,080 style beers like that. So give that one a listen. In Beer and 23 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:23,879 beverage news, the Kelsey brothers, Jason and Travis, they're now the majority 24 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:30,599 owners of Garage Beer. This was started by Braxton Brewing. They become really 25 00:02:30,719 --> 00:02:38,080 big now. They kind of had that Montucky Colt snack vibe where it's a 26 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:42,800 macro tasting beer but it's a craft made So I mean, I had the 27 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,240 Garage Beer folks on the show last year. I thought it was really good. 28 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:50,879 So but they have two new owners in the Kelsey brothers, so look 29 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:53,719 for them to be doing a lot of promotions for Garage Beer coming up. 30 00:02:55,120 --> 00:03:04,919 Athletic they acquired the Ballast Point facility in San Diego and that's huge. So 31 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:07,800 they're gonna be making it's gonna be the second facility they have in San Diego. 32 00:03:08,319 --> 00:03:14,599 But now Ballast Point is going to be contract brood. So I keep 33 00:03:14,719 --> 00:03:20,759 saying that needs to be an episode because that's just so wild. Like ten 34 00:03:20,879 --> 00:03:25,960 years ago, you could get sculpin in like grapefruit sculpin, and that was 35 00:03:27,759 --> 00:03:30,400 ten years ago. There was fourteen ninety nine to six pack, but you 36 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:36,360 still bought it because it was really good. And then they sold for a 37 00:03:36,599 --> 00:03:42,319 billion dollars and then you add the Kings and Combics buying it for pennies on 38 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:47,120 the dollar. They closed the big facility in the West Loop that they had, 39 00:03:47,199 --> 00:03:53,360 they closed other locations, and now they're just gonna be contract browed. 40 00:03:53,479 --> 00:03:59,960 So it's a wild story. But Athletic they are buying the Ballast Point facility 41 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:09,319 in San Diego. New Amsterdam Vodka and the viral show Hot Ones. They've 42 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:16,120 come out with the new hot pepper infused vodka called heat Check. Now I 43 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:20,759 love Hot Ones. I don't know if this is based on the Wings of 44 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:26,040 Death at the end, but if you like something with a little kick, 45 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,639 you could check out heat Check from New Amsterdam and Hot Ones. If you're 46 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:35,519 a fan of gin, Maplewood here in Chicago is coming out with a new 47 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:43,519 gin called Brewers Gin. It's a really nice looking bottle, nice green notes 48 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,879 on it with the maple Wood logo. But according to the release that they 49 00:04:46,879 --> 00:04:51,920 have, this is going to be a citrus forward modern American gin with bright 50 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:58,600 notes of juicy orange and fresh marmalade. This is also going to be finished 51 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:04,120 with Moses Isaiah and Citra cone hops. So that sounds really interesting to me 52 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:08,759 and I'll have to go pick up a bottle of this. But if you're 53 00:05:08,759 --> 00:05:14,120 a fan of gin, check out Brewer's Gin from Maplewood. The barrel age 54 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:18,199 program, the deep Wood series from Revolution is second to none in my opinion. 55 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:25,079 They're going to have one coming out later this year in collaboration with Firestone 56 00:05:25,079 --> 00:05:30,639 Walker. This is going to be a barley wine aged in rye whiskey and 57 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:35,000 red wine barrel so that sounds really interesting. It's going to be called Opocalypse 58 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:40,000 later, so keep an eye out for that later in the year from Revolution 59 00:05:40,439 --> 00:05:45,040 and Firestone Walker. And finally, they must have had some new money from 60 00:05:45,199 --> 00:05:53,639 ticket sales, but the Ravinia Festival is updating their lawsuit against Revinnie of Brewing. 61 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,319 There was an article on the Tribune. You know, once again, 62 00:05:57,360 --> 00:05:59,839 it's my opinion. I'm not a lawyer. It seems like it's bullshit to 63 00:05:59,879 --> 00:06:02,920 me. But you know, it's not cool. So if you're around, 64 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:08,360 you got to support a great local business. And you know it doesn't sound 65 00:06:08,399 --> 00:06:12,639 good. I mean, you can't keep paying your lawyers and run a business. 66 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,720 So it's not good for Veny you're brewing. But if you're around in 67 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:20,519 either the Highland Park or the Diversity location in Chicago, you know, grab 68 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:24,879 a beer, grab a bite to eat. That's really good. But yeah, 69 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:39,439 they're getting their lawsuits being updated from the damn festival again. Midwest Coast 70 00:06:39,439 --> 00:06:45,279 brewing company Nestles at twenty one to thirty seven West Walnuts in Chicago is on 71 00:06:45,319 --> 00:06:53,439 the brink of unveiling it's much anticipated all season rooftop tomorrow June eighteenth. This 72 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:58,360 is not just any rooftop. It's a game changer for the city's tap room 73 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:02,399 scene. Has breadth making views, an extensive selection of beer, and a 74 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:10,360 retractable roof that defies Chicago's weather. It's a spot you cannot miss. Joining 75 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:15,800 me now or general manager Ryan and Brewery manager Tim to delve into the story 76 00:07:15,839 --> 00:07:18,800 of one in Chicago's Find This Breweries. Gentlemen, thank you so much for 77 00:07:18,839 --> 00:07:23,120 coming on today. Thank you. We're excited to be here. Thanks for 78 00:07:23,199 --> 00:07:27,639 having us man. Oh yeah, anytime. Wait, retractable roof. Who's 79 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:30,439 been playing with the on and off switch? Just watching this go back and 80 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:34,759 forth? Oh wow, that's a great question. The on off switch is 81 00:07:34,839 --> 00:07:40,680 both of our two arms. That's amana retractable roof. So all right, 82 00:07:41,439 --> 00:07:45,680 it's either Tim on one side and me with a big stick or vice vers 83 00:07:45,959 --> 00:07:51,040 So can you share some details about the new expansion. What can people expect 84 00:07:51,079 --> 00:07:58,680 when they step onto the new rooftop starting tomorrow? Yeah, So basically we've 85 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:01,600 expanded into our second floor. It's a rooftop that's, like you mentioned, 86 00:08:01,639 --> 00:08:07,319 completely enclosed in a glass that can retract back and forth. We pride ourselves 87 00:08:07,319 --> 00:08:09,439 on our taproom that we like to think is kind of an elevated tap room 88 00:08:09,519 --> 00:08:15,720 experienced, and the second floor is just taking that literally to a different level. 89 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,920 So we like to think it's really polished up here. It's got, 90 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:22,920 as you mentioned, just incredible views of the city. Currently in the summer 91 00:08:22,959 --> 00:08:24,680 months. Right now, we're surrounded by trees. So it's kind of this 92 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,639 green oasis, which is really cool and on you know, great summer days, 93 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:31,639 we can have it all open air and you just truly feel like you're 94 00:08:31,679 --> 00:08:37,519 outside and this cool oasis on the west side of Chicago. Here here you 95 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:39,840 said, you're surrounded by trees. How were to cicados? Are they popping 96 00:08:39,879 --> 00:08:46,279 in to check it out? Knock on? Yeah? Yeah, I would 97 00:08:46,879 --> 00:08:50,960 it jets ourselves. But yeah, so far, so good. Yeah, 98 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:54,840 that would suck for the grand opening, just to get Inundata with cicado's falling 99 00:08:54,879 --> 00:08:56,799 out of the trees. I'd be lying if I said that wasn't one of 100 00:08:56,799 --> 00:09:01,799 our fears. Yeah, just being here. Well, I mean between the 101 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:07,440 pandemic and I'm sure you've been dealing with city permits and all of that nonsense, 102 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:11,000 this couldn't have been an easy project. No, it took quite some 103 00:09:11,159 --> 00:09:15,279 time, and you know, really it started with the zoning and our particular 104 00:09:15,279 --> 00:09:18,840 neighborhood that that really kind of delayed us. Working through some of that red 105 00:09:18,879 --> 00:09:22,840 tape took a while, and then finally, you know, when we got 106 00:09:22,879 --> 00:09:28,480 the red green light rather to start the construction project. The build itself was 107 00:09:28,519 --> 00:09:31,960 actually pretty fast. I think they're gonna surprise us both. Yeah, I 108 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:33,919 mean they came in, they did a little bit at demo, and then 109 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:37,039 I mean, I don't think the construction once the demo was over, I 110 00:09:37,039 --> 00:09:41,679 don't think the construction took six months. I mean they went they got nice 111 00:09:41,759 --> 00:09:46,559 quick up here. Yeah. Yeah, it was basically they broke around or 112 00:09:46,879 --> 00:09:52,039 roofed in October and then wrapped up the project in you know, late January. 113 00:09:52,159 --> 00:09:56,799 So after that it was just kind of the process of dealing with the 114 00:09:56,799 --> 00:10:01,799 city, which is, you know, it's very fun process. We'll say 115 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:05,080 that. Yeah, but we're across that finish line thankfully, so yeah, 116 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:07,919 it's but you're right, it had been a long time in the works, 117 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:13,240 kind of since we opened this space in twenty nineteen. We've always envisioned this 118 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:16,279 rooftop and it's been a part of the plan. So just to have it 119 00:10:16,399 --> 00:10:20,399 now in twenty twenty four still seems like a daydream a little bit. But 120 00:10:20,919 --> 00:10:22,879 we are so pumped me across the finish line and finally have it open. 121 00:10:24,759 --> 00:10:28,559 This is going to come out the day before you open, and then the 122 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:33,240 SWFT open is next week, so I'm really looking forward to checking this out. 123 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:37,919 After this interview on the show, I'll give the full review of the 124 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:41,960 SWFT open. So, but yeah, I'm really excited about checking it out. 125 00:10:43,039 --> 00:10:48,200 The pictures and the renderings look phenomenal. Yeah, I think you know, 126 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:50,320 both of us two are are shocked at how close it came to looking 127 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:54,360 like the renderings. I think off the time, those renderings just look so 128 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:56,600 sweet and polished, and then the finished product can look different. But honestly, 129 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:00,200 the finished product has just blown us away. So we are just pump 130 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:03,799 to up to see you man, I'm to open our doors to everybody. 131 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:07,399 Do you guys have any new special beers that are coming out for the open? 132 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:13,639 Yes. So back in the day we first opened they we the city 133 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:18,000 required us to have an elevator, even though we didn't have anything on the 134 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:22,639 second floor, and so we named one of our hazy I PA's elevator to 135 00:11:22,679 --> 00:11:26,200 Nowhere, funny play. People would ask us all the time, where's the 136 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:31,639 elevator going or like nowhere? Yeah, but now that it goes somewhere, 137 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:35,720 we named we made a new beer. We made a double version of the 138 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:41,399 elevator to Nowhere. All the Elevator to Somewhere. I get those names fixed 139 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:45,960 up. All the time. Basically they're really close. But yeah, so 140 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,440 we have a double version of that that's going to be an upstairs, exclusive 141 00:11:50,519 --> 00:11:54,120 only on the only on the rooftop beer. And then we got a bunch 142 00:11:54,159 --> 00:11:58,759 of beers actually timing out pretty well. We should have another new kind of 143 00:11:58,759 --> 00:12:03,559 just like regular heat. We should have our new American Lagger, and then 144 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:09,279 we've been pumping out. We kind of workshopped the shandy last year and we 145 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:11,960 brought that back this year. We think that's gonna do really well, and 146 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:16,360 it's like two and a half percent. We actually we made the next batch 147 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:22,480 today. We had to make one hundred gallons eliminade and then blended with a 148 00:12:22,519 --> 00:12:26,279 beer. So that was fun. It's always a fun day. Yeah, 149 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:28,879 yeah, but yeah, I mean, so outside of that, so we 150 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:33,440 have you know, when you do sixteen beers downstairs on draft, we're doing 151 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:37,759 twelve upstairs. So most of them are most of them are going to make 152 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:41,960 appearance upstairs with cheese. What we're gonna do seasonally, you know, maybe 153 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:45,360 not have a lot of stouts up here during the summertime, but winter time 154 00:12:45,399 --> 00:12:46,759 when it's snow and you know, you might have a couple of stouts kind 155 00:12:46,799 --> 00:12:50,799 of flowing upstairs. So we'll we'll see kind of what how that all works 156 00:12:50,799 --> 00:12:56,360 out. But that's that's what we're looking at now. Cool, like the 157 00:12:56,399 --> 00:13:00,879 expansion is a new chapter, but Midwest Coast have been put now some great, 158 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:05,399 exceptional beer for five years. Can you share the story, guys on 159 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:11,200 you know how this journey began. Yeah, so I actually I was brought 160 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:18,440 on day one back at employee one June twenty nineteen. We started brewing first 161 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:22,919 week of July and soft opened the whole month of August and then had a 162 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:28,120 great opening in September. And yeah, when I came in, let's talk 163 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:33,080 with Cameron and our owner at brewer, and there the interview processors chat about 164 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:37,799 beer and kind of realized we both have the same opinion on beer and that 165 00:13:37,879 --> 00:13:41,679 we just kind of like beer flavored beer. It's kind of one of our 166 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:43,960 official unofficial mottos here. We do, like I said, you know, 167 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:48,039 we maga shandy. You know, we do some fruited variations of stuff, 168 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:52,879 and you know, we do some some different things, but our our core 169 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:56,639 focus is just let's make good beer. Let's slick beer styles we want to 170 00:13:56,679 --> 00:14:00,440 make, and let's make them as good as we can as traditional as we 171 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,679 can, uh, and and that's just kind of what what we've become. 172 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:09,879 It's always kind of funny look at a lot of different postings. Articles will 173 00:14:09,879 --> 00:14:13,320 talk about like, oh, they're really known for their German lockers and they're 174 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:16,000 a really good I PA, Like, I don't really think that we're any 175 00:14:16,039 --> 00:14:20,360 of those things, but I think we just kind of do. I think 176 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:26,799 we offer a wide variety of options across the whole spectrum of beer, from 177 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:33,559 American styles, German Belgians, Sayson stouts, I p as, I mean, 178 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:37,159 you name it. We got a California common rock in the tanks right 179 00:14:37,159 --> 00:14:41,559 now. I mean that's just kind of we kind of just that's what we 180 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:43,399 do, and that's what me and when we when I interviewed, that's what 181 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:46,840 we liked. Like, we're just like, we just want to make beer 182 00:14:46,039 --> 00:14:50,600 the right way, sat shortcuts used, you know, German ingredients for German 183 00:14:50,679 --> 00:14:54,000 beers, all that kind of thing, and that's just kind of where we've 184 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:56,919 where we've landed. Yeah, I think that's kind of where I came to 185 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:01,840 as the general man. You're one of the things that I really liked about 186 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:07,759 this brewery was that there's offering for everyone, and that the brewers didn't want 187 00:15:07,759 --> 00:15:11,480 to pigeonhole themselves in a certain kind of style or category. So it's important 188 00:15:11,519 --> 00:15:15,639 to me running the tap room that everyone who walks through the door there's there's 189 00:15:15,639 --> 00:15:18,200 a beverage for everyone, and that there's a seat at our bar for everybody. 190 00:15:18,879 --> 00:15:22,039 And I think that over the last coming out of five years now, 191 00:15:22,039 --> 00:15:28,000 we've really really nailed that, from beer to staff to the guest experience. 192 00:15:28,919 --> 00:15:31,440 I think that this is a place for everyone, and that's really our goal 193 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:35,960 is to ingrad ourselves in the community here in West Town and offer bar stool 194 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:39,240 for everybody. Like I can't I can't imagine, like who would call you 195 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:43,399 like an IPA brewery or a Guerman brewery. I mean, I know you 196 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:48,279 have vaguely stylish and I saw a couple other like IPAs on tap, but 197 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,720 you know, I would think you're more known for like a traditional European style. 198 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:56,440 I know you have like brown ales cream ales out, but yeah, 199 00:15:56,480 --> 00:16:00,720 I don't know if I would call you an IPA brewer. Yeah, I 200 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:03,120 don't. It's just one of those things where I think when people try to 201 00:16:03,279 --> 00:16:08,120 get I get why people are you want to say breweries get something at which 202 00:16:08,159 --> 00:16:11,000 I get. You know, you got breweries that are good at making German 203 00:16:11,039 --> 00:16:15,360 beers or breweries that are known for their i pas. But I think we 204 00:16:15,519 --> 00:16:19,679 just kind of we're so widespread and it's kind of hard to pull us into 205 00:16:19,679 --> 00:16:22,279 something. So I think people kind of just well, like, well, 206 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:26,039 I like the German beer they make, so they're a good German. I 207 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:29,200 like their IPAs here, which is kind of a good thing. I mean 208 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:30,559 that people don't really know what to call us. I mean, yeah, 209 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:33,759 I think it means for doing a lot of things well. And that's also 210 00:16:33,879 --> 00:16:37,759 just like like I said, like Ryan was saying, kind of curate that 211 00:16:37,879 --> 00:16:41,360 top list, you can't ever please everybody, but with sixteen taps and try 212 00:16:41,399 --> 00:16:45,879 and not go heavy on on certain styles and trying to make sure it's pretty 213 00:16:45,879 --> 00:16:51,840 spread out and kind of offer as much as we can within reason. All 214 00:16:51,919 --> 00:16:56,679 Right, Who was responsible for friends giving? Because I need to give that 215 00:16:56,799 --> 00:17:00,720 person a hug that it's like one of my favor for it, if not 216 00:17:00,799 --> 00:17:04,720 Beaver Holiday beers, that comes up. Yeah, so we the first iteration 217 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:10,119 of that, I think if I remember right with, I think Cameronon made 218 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:15,400 that his home brewing days they wanted to bring it in and the first time 219 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:18,720 we made it it was just a traditional American brown. It was about I 220 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:22,960 think it was like four and a half five percent and still had cinnamon, 221 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:27,160 nutmeg or to feel on it. But kind of after we did that, 222 00:17:27,279 --> 00:17:32,319 it was good. But we kind of sat down one day outside and we 223 00:17:32,319 --> 00:17:34,880 were chatting over beer. We're like, what if we I kind of want 224 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:38,119 to change this beer up. I like where we're going with it, and 225 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:41,160 he was kind of he was kind of in the same boat, and so 226 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:44,720 we kind of ended up kind of just on I like a seven percent, 227 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,799 call it like a strong ale, but it doesn't really have a style. 228 00:17:48,279 --> 00:17:52,400 I think it's just kind of a it's a seven percent. I think strong 229 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:57,480 al is the best way because it's still kind of English English backbone, but 230 00:17:57,519 --> 00:18:00,839 it's not It's not a brown ale any more by any means. But I 231 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:04,160 we think that that kind of bumping that ab b up. And then we 232 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:07,920 added a lot more of the set of a nutmeg orange peel the second time 233 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:14,400 through as well with that apop, and it just turned out we're like, 234 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:18,319 this is what we want the spear to be. It hasn't really changed since 235 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:22,079 then. And I'll say to you, Dave, it's hands down our favorite 236 00:18:22,079 --> 00:18:25,960 brew day of the year, just per the smells that. Yeah, I 237 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:29,440 mean it is like I send a message out to front of house stand to 238 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,920 say, if anyone wants to just get into the holiday spirit, be at 239 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:36,000 the brewery this day and duck your head in the brew house because it's just 240 00:18:36,039 --> 00:18:40,839 like a blast of holiday spirit. It's amazing. Yeah, we pull the 241 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:45,319 bags out of the oiled kettle and it just it smells awesome. It's it 242 00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:48,640 is the best smelling. There are bad smelling brud is, but there are 243 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:52,960 definitely favorites, and that's probably top tier. Oh yeah, you have that 244 00:18:52,119 --> 00:18:56,759 the send me a note before you do it so I could be in the 245 00:18:56,759 --> 00:19:02,839 neighborhood. You got it. You mentioned like die that recipe. How often, 246 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:07,680 like when there's an idea for a beer, how often are you like 247 00:19:07,079 --> 00:19:11,559 going back tinkering with the recipe? Has there ever been a time where you 248 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:15,440 just hit it out of the parks? You know? First Batch? Yeah, 249 00:19:15,759 --> 00:19:21,440 actually the first beer Cameron and I collaborated on. So when we opened, 250 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:23,640 Cam had a few beers that he wanted to make that he had from 251 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:29,440 his homebrew days. Some of us stuck around Westom Brown. But that beer 252 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:33,480 has gone through a lot of iterations and changes. It's still the same bear 253 00:19:33,519 --> 00:19:37,119 at its core, but we you know, made some alterations, changed some 254 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:41,920 grain, changed some pops, amounts of pops, just trying to you know, 255 00:19:41,079 --> 00:19:44,799 trying to perfect it. So that beer has gone through some iterations. 256 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:48,440 But the first beer that Cam and I ever made, he had his six 257 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:49,759 beers he wanted and we're sitting down and he was like, all right, 258 00:19:49,839 --> 00:19:52,799 like what do you want to make? And I was like, I want 259 00:19:52,799 --> 00:19:57,119 to make an ESB. That's just my favorite style. And so we sat 260 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:00,920 out, we did our research. We we're like, all right, here's 261 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:04,640 the recipe, and that beer hasn't changed in five years and it's kind of 262 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:07,279 what It was probably the first beer that really put us on the map. 263 00:20:07,359 --> 00:20:11,759 I think the Brown Nail has actually done a lot of leg work lately, 264 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:15,319 but ESB was kind of our first kind of bread and butter, just like 265 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:19,519 what we were known for. We won the Metal GBF in twenty twenty, 266 00:20:19,599 --> 00:20:23,559 I believe, and so that was cool, but that was one we nailed 267 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:29,160 right away. We just made a Mexican logger. It just ran out last 268 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:32,319 week. That was one that everybody said we nailed on the first try, 269 00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:36,680 so that was good. I like, I'm the teaker. Whenever we make 270 00:20:36,759 --> 00:20:38,559 something, I'm always like trying to find a way to make it better, 271 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:45,079 and I think I'm never pleased. I always want to try and tweaks things. 272 00:20:45,359 --> 00:20:49,000 But there are like those two beers A beers that we haven't really messed 273 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:53,200 with, and we're like, cool, that's not normally the norm. You 274 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,880 know, it's not what we expect. It's what you go for. But 275 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:00,000 until you try it, and you never know what goes wrong on a brewde 276 00:21:00,759 --> 00:21:04,400 Yeast is East is living organized and so sometimes I have the mind of its 277 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:08,160 own and it doesn't behave like we would like it too. But it's when 278 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:11,880 you feel like you nail one on the first shot. Oh yeah, and 279 00:21:11,079 --> 00:21:17,240 especially scaling up from you know, a five gallon homebrew badge to the full 280 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:19,400 scale production. Yeah, there's a lot that could you know, go wrong 281 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:22,640 or you know, even if you scale it up perfectly, something's going to 282 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,359 be different about it. Yeah. I mean, because I had, you 283 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,880 know, I back in my homebrewing days again like five gallon scale, and 284 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:33,160 then I worked at at brewery in Atlanta, it was ten barrels, but 285 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:36,599 I was like an underling, really do a lot of brewing, still a 286 00:21:36,599 --> 00:21:41,400 little bit more brewing on a thirty barrel system before we came here ten barrel 287 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:45,839 system. And so even then, scaling in my mind scaling down Ermon's mind, 288 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:48,119 scaling up. That's always kind of hard to you got to figure that 289 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:52,559 out. But I think too, like I don't know. One of my 290 00:21:52,559 --> 00:21:55,799 favorite parts about brewing, the brew process from home brewing to you know, 291 00:21:55,839 --> 00:21:59,440 what we're doing on our level is just the Bob Ross happy accidents that happened 292 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:06,759 to talk about the hell a shouto oh yeah, so yeah that was Uh, 293 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:11,640 I'll throw keV under the bus a little bit here so nobody listens. 294 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:17,319 Yeah, it's fine. So our elite, our elite for we brought him 295 00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:22,599 on, uh two or three years ago. Now he's awesome. He's the 296 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:25,960 nerd of the group. He knows that he does our he runs our East 297 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:30,680 management, which Cam and I before we brought him on. Uh, but 298 00:22:30,759 --> 00:22:33,400 he does a lot better job at it than we do. But uh, 299 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:38,559 we're making our hellish holsting hellis. And I popped into the cooler that day. 300 00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:41,160 It was a twenty barrel back. So we're a double brute. So 301 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:45,880 I popped in the cooler and I'm like, snow German lockings in here. 302 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:48,880 And so I come back out and I'm like, hey, keV, where 303 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:52,880 are you uh pitching in that beer today? And he's like he's like, 304 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,799 oh, the East that we used for october Fest. And I was like, 305 00:22:56,880 --> 00:23:00,240 that's like an Octoberfest. He's it's not like a German loggers if it 306 00:23:00,359 --> 00:23:04,160 East, and he's like they're they're different, and he was like I thought 307 00:23:04,599 --> 00:23:07,839 He's like, I thought they were the same. He's like, I didn't 308 00:23:07,839 --> 00:23:11,400 realize we used because like the Octoberfest is in the East that we use a 309 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:14,880 lot, so one off we use it for Octoberfest and that's pretty much it. 310 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:17,480 Yeah, he was like, oh, I'm just gonna use that East. 311 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:18,799 I'm like, so, do we just not have any German logger East 312 00:23:18,839 --> 00:23:22,680 at house? He's like no. I was like cool, and camera to 313 00:23:22,839 --> 00:23:26,319 read the first match and had gone off for the day and so tip him 314 00:23:26,319 --> 00:23:30,559 a call and I was like, so we're gonna prop them, uh, 315 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:33,400 And we're like, well, let's just pitch the German Yeast. We'll get 316 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:37,559 some lot, we'll get well, let's picture October Fest East. We'll get 317 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:41,440 some logger yeast for the next match and just kind of call it a day 318 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:45,720 and see what happens. Came out and it actually came out really well. 319 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:48,319 It's the same exact as the whole steam all. It's. The only things 320 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:55,400 changed is the yeast kind of that bars. It's like a it's like a 321 00:23:55,519 --> 00:23:59,440 r vie, a little fast, little best beard kind of lighter in like 322 00:23:59,519 --> 00:24:03,960 fest year, but like it's not quite that either. So this kind of 323 00:24:03,279 --> 00:24:07,799 we called it a hybrid logger know what else to call it? Yeah, 324 00:24:07,839 --> 00:24:11,079 but we had to figure something out. We had twenty barrels of warp and 325 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:14,960 you know, we had to had to get East in there somehow. Yeah, 326 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:17,880 calling up like Omega like, hey, do you guys have anything I 327 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:21,119 could use? Yeah exactly, And they're like we do tomorrow. We're like, 328 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,960 well we need it today. Yeah. Yeah. So that was that 329 00:24:25,039 --> 00:24:27,200 was the happy accident. U don't try to make a habit of those, 330 00:24:27,319 --> 00:24:32,640 but uh, it's nice that it worked out for us. So yeah, 331 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:34,680 that was a good that one's uh I was running a low too, that 332 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:37,799 one's about to about to stick the can and then we can get our our 333 00:24:37,839 --> 00:24:42,119 German pills there, uh rolling again. We've had it in cans for a 334 00:24:42,119 --> 00:24:45,160 while, but it's been it's been out on it hasn't been undrafting about six 335 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:49,319 months, and people clamored for it to come back. So you've always been 336 00:24:51,039 --> 00:24:56,720 a dog friendly, family friendly spotted Midwest Coast. Is this going to continue 337 00:24:56,759 --> 00:25:00,240 with the new rooftop or are there any restriction because of the route dop. 338 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:03,920 Oh, Yeah, we're I mean it's basically the same thing on the second 339 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:08,640 level. Still family friendly, still super dog friendly. We're trying to ramp 340 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:14,119 up some more dog friendly events and just do more stuff in terms of that, 341 00:25:14,279 --> 00:25:18,920 partnering with local rescues and whatnot. So that's really been our MF since 342 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:22,960 the start. And I mean I think part of me when I'm interviewing people 343 00:25:23,039 --> 00:25:26,880 to join our front of house staff is like, do you like dogs? 344 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:30,960 Is maybe question one or two that yeah, people, because it's kind of 345 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,599 requirement. Ears So we're just we're super dog friendly and yeah, that's that's 346 00:25:34,599 --> 00:25:37,839 definitely gonna be the case of the second floor. Awesome, Yeah I need 347 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:42,160 well mine's kind of leash react that we're also I'd bring her, but yeah, 348 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:47,680 I love going to brewery, tamp rooms that are dog friendly. Yeah, 349 00:25:48,079 --> 00:25:51,640 I have the same issue my my dog. I got her. She 350 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:55,839 turns four this summer and I got her. And when I first got her 351 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:59,359 here Covid, I bring her to the brewery all the time, and who's 352 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:03,160 mad at it? Ten week old German shepherd green at the door. But 353 00:26:03,519 --> 00:26:06,599 she's gotten a little too comfortable at the place, And so when I bringure 354 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:08,559 out about the city, she's awesome. When I take her to other bars, 355 00:26:08,599 --> 00:26:12,519 restaurants, she's great. I bring her here, she's definitely a little 356 00:26:12,599 --> 00:26:15,519 at least she active, so I try to not do that as Much's it's 357 00:26:15,559 --> 00:26:19,079 her kingdom here, so it is queen of the castle, and she knows 358 00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:22,160 is Yeah. It's like it's like, hey, now you're a full grown 359 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:27,160 German shepherd, you can't be a turd. Yeah. So we're here on 360 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:32,680 slower days, but yeah, I mean, it's the dogs here great. 361 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:37,240 We have a whole program with our mug Club that we allow. Well, 362 00:26:37,279 --> 00:26:41,640 first of all, we learned the dog name first, and then as we 363 00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:45,559 know the humans, we let them pick out a hop and then we'll make 364 00:26:45,599 --> 00:26:48,119 an I p a name it after the dogs. So we've done a couple 365 00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:51,920 of those as a little give back to our our mug club regulars. A 366 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:53,880 lot of those kind of helped you get us through the pandemic and they're still 367 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:57,799 around. Kind of like our Dog I Pa series, Well, we get 368 00:26:57,839 --> 00:27:02,599 to know the regulars and and the beers that they like, and they get 369 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:04,759 to kind of help shape their own beer, name it after their dog, 370 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:08,880 and we feature a photo of the dog that the dog beers on draft. 371 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:15,000 So right now, it's Moxie's Pity Party. Is the hazy dog IPA we 372 00:27:15,039 --> 00:27:18,880 have on right now? Moxie is this pity mix who belongs to one of 373 00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:22,920 our awesome bartenders, Holly, And it's Moxy's Pitty Party because if you're not 374 00:27:23,039 --> 00:27:27,079 dting Moxie, she'll let you know. She just needs et. So but 375 00:27:27,079 --> 00:27:32,279 it's an awesome IPA and Holly and her husband Aaron got to pick out the 376 00:27:32,319 --> 00:27:36,039 hops for it. So it's a pretty cool program that really like it helps 377 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:41,200 us bridge the gap between the brew house and the bar itself and get customers, 378 00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:47,559 regulars and staff members involved in the brew process and then also feature dogs 379 00:27:47,599 --> 00:27:49,799 and awesome beer they need type. So that's been a really rewarding program for 380 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:52,359 us. Oh yeah, you hear that, boy Rock, If you weren't 381 00:27:52,319 --> 00:27:55,839 in such a pain in the ass, you could be on a beer. 382 00:27:56,839 --> 00:28:02,079 Yeah, I love that. Yeah. Now, like I know, you've 383 00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:04,240 had like food trucks and stuff. Is there going to be food now? 384 00:28:04,279 --> 00:28:08,480 With the rooftop, we're gonna amp up some more of those food trucks and 385 00:28:08,559 --> 00:28:12,680 food pop ups. But right now it just kind of comes down to the 386 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:18,960 certain kinds of licenses you can get as a brewer in Illinois. It's something 387 00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:22,200 that a lot of people don't know. If we were to get a commercial 388 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:26,039 kitchen and become a group hub, we would have to let go of our 389 00:28:26,079 --> 00:28:30,640 self distribution rights so and we lose the dogs inside and we'd lose them. 390 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:36,359 So it's you know, there's pros and cons, but we're not ready to 391 00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:40,720 stay by to the dogs in the tap room quite yet. And then from 392 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:44,079 a business perfective, we want to keep that self distribution. Oh yeah, 393 00:28:44,599 --> 00:28:48,279 possible too. So at the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild is awesome and they do 394 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:52,880 a ton of stuff. Raced Out is awesome too, and they've been making 395 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:59,200 strides to try to make our licenses a little bit more friendly for just making 396 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:02,480 money, which would seem like it would just be a no brainer, but 397 00:29:02,599 --> 00:29:06,480 not always in the eyes of the legislate later. So yeah, so long 398 00:29:06,519 --> 00:29:08,720 story short, Yeah, we'll still have food pop ups and stuff up here, 399 00:29:08,759 --> 00:29:12,279 but no kitchen, and dogs will still be welcome. Yeah. No, 400 00:29:12,359 --> 00:29:15,599 that's weird. I didn't know that about losing your self distribution. Yeah 401 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:21,400 yeah, I mean I think that would be like just really like pulling at 402 00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:23,599 you from both ends, like what do you do? Oh yeah, we 403 00:29:23,759 --> 00:29:26,559 like to say it's so we don't lose the dogs, but yeah, the 404 00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:30,640 piece is the self distribute shit, Like it's just we make more money when 405 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:34,720 we sell the beer ourselves, so we still you know, we we have 406 00:29:34,759 --> 00:29:38,000 a distributor out in the suburbs. It helps us out for sure. But 407 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:44,720 yeah, it's nice having having that little extra cash. Oh yeah, absolutely, 408 00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:47,519 especially with you know, the last five years. Every you know, 409 00:29:47,559 --> 00:29:51,279 every little bit helps. Yeah, totally. No, speaking of distribution, 410 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:56,319 now, you're around all around like the Chicago Land area, you know, 411 00:29:56,359 --> 00:30:00,039 I see you with like bottle shops like your Musku is models and canned You 412 00:30:00,079 --> 00:30:04,079 could be found at binnies. Were you at Jewel for a while, because 413 00:30:04,119 --> 00:30:07,480 I thought I remember seeing you at a grocery store. Yeah. So if 414 00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:11,599 I remember correctly, I think it's we are we're in like ten or so 415 00:30:11,759 --> 00:30:17,160 closest jewels to our location, okay, and so like you're not going to 416 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:21,200 see us in the fourth side any of the I think the jewels on the 417 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:25,720 West side, I think are mostly carrying us, all right, cool everywhere, 418 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:30,480 like around the Chicago area. Is there any like plans to expand to 419 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:34,160 like other state? Uh not at the moment. I think we we I 420 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:38,240 think when when we first opened and it was kind of sitting down and planting 421 00:30:38,279 --> 00:30:44,119 out kind of a lot of the future stuff with the orders, I think 422 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:48,039 there was an idea of, you know, maybe one day opening a second 423 00:30:48,079 --> 00:30:52,640 space more of a production facility, and then maybe trying to become, you 424 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:56,119 know, a regional brand. I think that was what they kind of originally 425 00:30:56,200 --> 00:31:00,000 wanted. But I think what we've seen in the beer market over the last 426 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:03,680 five ten years is I think everything's just gone hyper local. I think you're 427 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:07,079 seeing a lot of those bigger brands pull back. I mean, loganis just 428 00:31:07,119 --> 00:31:12,839 closed their location out here, and we've actually we've seen it a little bit 429 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:17,640 kind of even in the suburbs where we did well when we were new, 430 00:31:17,759 --> 00:31:21,000 but now that we've been around as much and there are so many breweries that 431 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:25,240 are opened out in the suburbs all across Chicago, it's just kind of everybody 432 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:30,119 wants to drink local, and local is getting more and more local. Yeah, 433 00:31:30,359 --> 00:31:33,359 well, like you know your suburbs. If you're living in the suburbs, 434 00:31:33,359 --> 00:31:36,400 you want to drink the beer that's down the street, not a beer 435 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:41,880 from the big city. So it I think it's I think that's kind of 436 00:31:41,279 --> 00:31:45,559 I think we've kind of pulled back away from that idea of coming maybe a 437 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:51,200 regional player one day. I don't say it won't ever happen, but I 438 00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:55,559 think just kind of where the market's at now, focusing on kind of the 439 00:31:55,599 --> 00:31:59,920 top room space with its new upstairs, and we still have a decent distribution, 440 00:32:00,079 --> 00:32:01,039 and I don't think you're ever going to see I don't think you're gonna 441 00:32:01,039 --> 00:32:07,160 see us outside of Chicago Land anytime, Okay, but yeah, yeah, 442 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:08,759 I think, just like Tim said, just the focus on the local, 443 00:32:09,039 --> 00:32:14,119 like anywhere that I go personally, like I'm reaching for, you know, 444 00:32:14,559 --> 00:32:17,599 if I'm I'm in Ohio, if I'm in Washington, Washington State or something, 445 00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:22,920 I don't want Chicago Beer there, you know, I want all whatever 446 00:32:22,319 --> 00:32:27,720 their version of DZ Cutter is up there, So that's certainly the focus. 447 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:31,599 And then obviously all of our margins, our main margins are made inside under 448 00:32:31,599 --> 00:32:35,680 our own roofs. So the more sales that we can drunk up in the 449 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:38,640 tap room, that's the better for us. So that's also why we're expanding 450 00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:44,519 into this massive rooftop space. So yeah, and we mentioned in the intro 451 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:51,039 to retractable roof, so if the weather's allowsy outside, you could still head 452 00:32:51,039 --> 00:32:54,000 over the Midwest Coast guys, I want to thank you so much. I'm 453 00:32:54,039 --> 00:33:00,839 really looking forward to checking this out to the soft open and I'll hopefully see 454 00:33:00,839 --> 00:33:06,759 you guys there once again. They're located at twenty one thirty seven West Walnut 455 00:33:06,799 --> 00:33:09,559 in the city of Chicago. You need to check it out. Midwest Coast 456 00:33:09,599 --> 00:33:15,000 Brewing Company, Great Beers. I'm a big fan. Guys. Thank you 457 00:33:15,079 --> 00:33:17,440 so much day, Thank you really appreciate it. Yeah, man, thanks 458 00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:21,920 for having us as much. Hey, once this is done, can you 459 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:23,960 guys like get to work on the Bears, Like, can you help Bob 460 00:33:24,359 --> 00:33:28,960 and get the stadium done for the Bears. We'll start on their rooftop too. 461 00:33:29,039 --> 00:33:30,759 Yeah, all right, perfect, Maybe it will be the sole beer 462 00:33:30,799 --> 00:33:35,720 supplier. That'd be nice. There you go, perfect, All right, 463 00:33:35,759 --> 00:33:37,759 guys, thank you so much and I'll see you in a couple of days. 464 00:33:37,799 --> 00:33:52,359 It's Salt Open. Sounds good. Thank it. If you like fun, 465 00:33:52,599 --> 00:33:55,359 then you're gonna love the Beard Alt Podcast. It's a podcast where we 466 00:33:55,359 --> 00:33:59,960 talk about two of the greatest things in the world, Beer and weird Ass. 467 00:34:00,319 --> 00:34:04,960 And frankly we talk more about weird Out than anything because he's the gift 468 00:34:05,039 --> 00:34:09,079 that keeps on given. So join us as we talk through weird Al's career, 469 00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:13,760 what he needs to us, and we have some very special guests on 470 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:20,039 to discuss the magic that is Alfred Matthew Yankovic beared Out part of the Odd 471 00:34:20,039 --> 00:34:24,440 Gods Media Network. Oh, once again, I want to thank Ryan and 472 00:34:24,519 --> 00:34:30,599 Tim from Midwest Coast Brewing Company for coming on. That was a lot of 473 00:34:30,599 --> 00:34:35,039 fun talking to them. And then after we talked, I went to the 474 00:34:35,079 --> 00:34:42,400 soft open of the new rooftop over at Midwest Coast and it was outstanding, 475 00:34:43,119 --> 00:34:46,000 mean easy to get to. For me, I'm right down Western so it 476 00:34:46,079 --> 00:34:52,599 was just a straight shot down Western Avenue, but really cool facility, the 477 00:34:52,679 --> 00:34:57,280 downstairs bar, which is actually the first time i'd been to the downstairs bar. 478 00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:01,039 The downstairs bar is awesome as well, but then you go up to 479 00:35:01,159 --> 00:35:06,199 the rooftop. When we got there was a little warm, so they had 480 00:35:06,239 --> 00:35:12,239 it closed initially just to keep the ac going. But really cool. Good 481 00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:17,719 views of the city, well spaced out so you're not cramped. There's a 482 00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:22,960 lot of room to like move around, You're not right on top of each 483 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:28,000 other. I thought it was really good. They had all of their beers 484 00:35:28,039 --> 00:35:30,320 there to try, which I tried a couple of them, and I have 485 00:35:30,519 --> 00:35:35,280 some that I'm going to talk about later on the show. But I wanted 486 00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:38,920 to try a couple of things that were different, and you know, they 487 00:35:39,039 --> 00:35:45,079 have great beers, but I wanted to try the shandy because I'm like, 488 00:35:45,079 --> 00:35:47,599 all right, it's two and a half percent. I could have a couple 489 00:35:47,599 --> 00:35:52,039 of these. And when you think of shandyes, you think of line and 490 00:35:52,119 --> 00:35:59,280 coogl but this this was a raspberry lemon It's called fine and shandy. This 491 00:35:59,519 --> 00:36:05,960 was absolutely fantastic. Like I had a couple of these great flavor you get 492 00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:09,920 the raspberry, you get the lemon. So this was something that definitely in 493 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:15,559 the summer, I would grab a couple of those. That was really good. 494 00:36:15,079 --> 00:36:20,840 They also have other offerings. They had some na beers there if that's 495 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:24,880 your thing. They had guest cider from Airis, so you know, it's 496 00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:30,519 nice to see supporting other local places. So if you like cider, you 497 00:36:30,519 --> 00:36:35,400 could pick up one from Aris. They also had a seltzer that, you 498 00:36:35,400 --> 00:36:39,599 know, some people had gluten issues, so they had a seltzer called Eventually 499 00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:45,880 Someday which was strawberry and watermelon. I loved that as well. I thought 500 00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:52,599 that was extremely tasty. I had more strawberry than watermelon, but you know, 501 00:36:52,639 --> 00:36:54,159 I also had a couple other you know, I had a sour. 502 00:36:54,199 --> 00:36:58,760 I had the shandy before, so my taste buds could have been off, 503 00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:02,559 but like that was I thought was a phenomenal seltzer. That's something I would 504 00:37:02,559 --> 00:37:06,920 buy in six packs if I were to see that. Their hell Is was 505 00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:13,719 outstanding. The cremail three from the t is excellent. Outside of they have 506 00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:17,320 a double dry hop ear that they were talking about earlier called Elevator to Somewhere 507 00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:22,800 that checks in at eight percent. But everything else is reasonable, so you 508 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:28,480 could definitely have more than one beer. When you're there, but you have 509 00:37:28,599 --> 00:37:32,000 to go check it out. It's a great facility, great views, you 510 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:35,280 know, in the middle of the night, like well there. This was 511 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:38,800 from six to ten. They opened up the roof and it was just really 512 00:37:38,920 --> 00:37:44,559 cool so you get the fresh air. It's a great spot. You need 513 00:37:44,599 --> 00:37:47,760 to hit up Midwest Coast. I need to thank them for inviting me to 514 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:52,559 the soft Open and thank you to Rachel who set all of this up. 515 00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:07,679 All right, the first one I'm gonna have from Midwest Coast is there West 516 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:14,480 Town Brown. This is an American brown ale five point three percent alcohol that 517 00:38:14,719 --> 00:38:20,760 use Columbus and willam atte hops thirty three IBus on this. I love a 518 00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:22,679 brown ale or remember I mean, if you're younger than I am, then 519 00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:30,360 forget about it. But when craft beer started everyone had a brown ale and 520 00:38:30,599 --> 00:38:35,760 I'm glad that Midwest Coast has this one out. So let's bust open the 521 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:44,760 West Town Brown. Really good color on here. The color is brown but 522 00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:50,559 looks nice good foam here, Really get that nice malty a rome me here, 523 00:38:50,679 --> 00:38:57,599 you get like some toffee out of this smells really good. Oh yeah, 524 00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:00,800 how does everyone not have a brown ale out? And why why did 525 00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:06,800 these stop becoming popular. This is so good. I mean, you think 526 00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:08,079 of it, or you look at it, and you think, all this 527 00:39:08,119 --> 00:39:14,599 could be heavier than it is. It's only five point three percent excellent beer. 528 00:39:14,719 --> 00:39:19,119 Really get the nice malt notes there, You get the tawfee, you 529 00:39:19,159 --> 00:39:24,119 get sweetness like maybe it's a caramel Let me have another sip. Yeah, 530 00:39:24,159 --> 00:39:30,280 like a toppee karamelle type taste of that. I don't know if karamelle is 531 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:34,800 a word, but it is now, but I think it tastes really good. 532 00:39:35,159 --> 00:39:37,599 There's a little bitterness from the hops, not a lot, but you 533 00:39:37,679 --> 00:39:42,840 kind of get it at the back end. This is excellent, Like, 534 00:39:43,199 --> 00:39:49,159 this is something that should be in my refrigerator all the time. It's that 535 00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:52,639 good. And also, while I'm talking, I do want to say that 536 00:39:52,719 --> 00:39:58,280 the guys at Midwest Coast hooked me up with the beer. Normally, like 537 00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:01,079 ninety five percent of the beer I have on this show I buy myself, 538 00:40:01,159 --> 00:40:06,360 but they were kind enough to give it to me and not take my credit 539 00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:09,719 card sell. But I would drink this regardless. This is that good. 540 00:40:10,119 --> 00:40:15,000 I think it's an excellent beer. If you see it around, it's in 541 00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:20,599 a nice dark brown can, gold BoNT down here. It's a great tasting 542 00:40:20,639 --> 00:40:25,599 beer, great looking beer. If you see Midwest Coasts West Town Brown, 543 00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:39,360 you have to put it in the cart. It's excellent, all right. 544 00:40:39,400 --> 00:40:44,840 The next one that I'm gonna have from Midwest Coast, this is their hazy 545 00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:51,599 session IPA called Dune Surper. The can is gorgeous, like they need to 546 00:40:51,639 --> 00:40:55,800 submit this to the Crushy Awards. I love this can. It doesn't list 547 00:40:55,960 --> 00:41:00,800 anything on there, and I went on the Midwest Coast webs and I didn't 548 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:05,039 see this one listed, so I can't tell you the abbs. But it's 549 00:41:05,039 --> 00:41:08,360 a session, so I'm assuming it's under five percent. But the can looks 550 00:41:08,400 --> 00:41:19,039 great, So let's crack open Dune Surfer. Dune Surfer looks really nice. 551 00:41:19,079 --> 00:41:25,519 It's very light in color, good foam here. Now big notes, big 552 00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:30,960 notes out of the aroma. I think I'm getting some like stone fruit out 553 00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:36,840 of this. It's most really nice. That's really good. Yeah, definitely. 554 00:41:36,880 --> 00:41:39,679 You could tell it's a session so it's lighter. This is something you 555 00:41:39,719 --> 00:41:43,840 could, you know, crush a couple of these. I like the flavor 556 00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:47,239 of this a lot. You do get all those hops right up front. 557 00:41:47,440 --> 00:41:52,880 I don't get a lot of malt here. I'm mostly getting the hops, 558 00:41:52,920 --> 00:41:57,800 but it tastes really good. Now. I get a little malt now, 559 00:41:59,199 --> 00:42:04,400 but I like this. I think this is good. And so everything I've 560 00:42:04,440 --> 00:42:06,679 had from them is good. You know. I talked about it on the 561 00:42:06,679 --> 00:42:10,239 intro with the regular beers that I had there. I had the sour, 562 00:42:10,440 --> 00:42:19,360 I had the Seltzer and in the shandy. So everything is good and even 563 00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:23,400 their hazy game is top notch as well. So if you see this one 564 00:42:23,440 --> 00:42:30,280 around, it's a beautiful can. You've got the silhouette of the Chicago skyline 565 00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:32,679 on here. You've got the lake, you know, because we're all into 566 00:42:34,199 --> 00:42:37,159 like dunes and surfing in here, because you know that's what we do in 567 00:42:37,239 --> 00:42:39,639 Chicago. But no, if you see the can put in the car, 568 00:42:39,760 --> 00:42:55,920 this is another winner from Midwest Coast. All right, that's going to wrap 569 00:42:57,039 --> 00:43:00,320 things up for this edition of Beer in Front. I thank you very much 570 00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:05,800 for listening. Once again, I want to thank Ryan and Tim p Midwest 571 00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:09,280 Coast Brewing Company for coming on and inviting me to the soft open. You 572 00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:15,239 could find them at twenty one thirty seven West Walnut in Chicago, raat location 573 00:43:15,480 --> 00:43:20,880 great beers. I think it's a spot you need to hit in Chicago. 574 00:43:20,920 --> 00:43:23,400 If you're visiting or if you're local, you gotta go. And you just 575 00:43:23,480 --> 00:43:27,320 have to thank you so much for listening. Next week, I'm going to 576 00:43:27,360 --> 00:43:31,880 have my friend Aaron Fitzpatrick. You may know him is Fitzmagic Eats on social 577 00:43:31,960 --> 00:43:36,920 media. We're going to talk about food in the city of Chicago, and 578 00:43:37,039 --> 00:43:39,320 we're gonna share a beer as well, so look for that next week. 579 00:43:39,679 --> 00:43:45,400 Have a great week everyone, Happy Father's Day, and remember sometimes the beer 580 00:43:45,440 --> 00:44:01,039 in front of you is the best one yet.