Although he might use the term “silly little beers,” Mike Schallau’s is/was brewing is making some of the most thoughtful and impressive saisons anywhere in the country right here in Chicago. We travelled up to his Ravenswood brewery and taproom to talk about those beers and how he transitioned his nearly six year-old brewing project from using other people’s spaces to his own in the last year and how that’s allowed him to dive deeper into the wide range of interesting ingredients and experiments he’s become known for. We get into the idiosyncrasies of saison from the outside perception of the drinkers of the style, to changing people’s perceptions of Brettanomyces, why people are more important than the concept of “terroir,” and how he develops his impressive restaurant and brewery collaborations. But also, there’s some throwback talk to his Pipeworks days, a long tangent on Fantôme, a dive into the prison hooch subreddit, some risky urban foraging, and Mike’s picks for his essential Chicagoland 6-pack. 

Beers Sampled

Will Be

Always Zag

Long Thai Double Rainbow (collaboration with Half Acre)