Good Beer Hunting

Back in April of 2014, I got an email from Jake Koeneman, Josh Hambright, and Chris Bly about a brewery concept they were starting up in Indianapolis called Central State Brewing. They had their mind set on being a 100% brett brewery, they had a plan in place, they wanted help with the branding side of things, and before long GBH was working alongside them to bring the concept to life. It’s 2016 - and like most brewery plans, things have shifted dramatically from some of that early planning. They’re still a brett brewery, but after some real estate issues early on, they’d decided to go gypsy for awhile, which changed the model entirely. Subsequently we helped them open a bar called the Koelschip that serves their beers as well as those brewed by friends or people they admire, and it’s since been named one of 100 best bars in america by Draft magazine after only a few months of being open. And now they’re on the precipice of getting their own production space and opening a second bar devoted to german lagers. So needless to say, these guys are opportunistic, and some of the most adaptable people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. And through all of that, we’ve been able to build a brand that captures their humor, their seriousness, and their desire to fuck with just about any system that we put in place. So with so much crazy history behind them already, and with them about to take some major new steps into even more unknowns, it seemed like a perfect time to capture their story. These are some of the best people you will ever meet making beer. They’re funny, honest, and not afraid to tackle some of the more challenging questions around brewing beer, being a small business owner, and managing relationships under serious financial pressures to perform. That might sound like a bummer, and they’ll be the first to tell you it can be at times. But what I admire most about these guys is their openness, their ability to article complexities, and a crazy resilience to becoming jaded. I can’t wait for the year ahead.

This week's episode is devoted to an entirely different collaboration. This one is between Thomas Larsen of Ska Brewing from Durango Colorado, and Stephan Mance from Half Acre right here in Chicago. This collaboration, like most, is largely for fun and a trip to Chicago, which Ska founder Dave Thiboldeaux is fond of making. But there's a special reason that these two breweries are tied together and that's through the little-known history of some hardware. You'll often hear people talk about lineage and pedigree in brewing, the influence that a single brewer can have as he or she makes their way through the world working at a variety of breweries all over the country. It'd be one helluva genealogy protect to map out. But long before people were forced to buy new steel to open a brewery, there was a healthy secondary market for used equipment — and many of those brewhouses have lived a journeyman's life of their own. So with that in mind, we got together at the studio to chat about the collaboration, but also some of the experiences that have shaped each brewery, and how they're adapting to the future, each according to their own evolution.

This week’s episode is devoted to an entirely different collaboration. This one is between Thomas Larsen of Ska Brewing from Durango Colorado, and Stephan Mance from Half Acre right here in Chicago. This collaboration, like most, is largely for fun and a trip to Chicago, which Ska founder Dave Thiboldeaux is fond of making. But there’s a special reason that these two breweries are tied together and that’s through the little-known history of some hardware. You’ll often hear people talk about lineage and pedigree in brewing, the influence that a single brewer can have as he or she makes their way through the world working at a variety of breweries all over the country. It’d be one helluva genealogy protect to map out. But long before people were forced to buy new steel to open a brewery, there was a healthy secondary market for used equipment — and many of those brewhouses have lived a journeyman’s life of their own. So with that in mind, we got together at the studio to chat about the collaboration, but also some of the experiences that have shaped each brewery, and how they’re adapting to the future, each according to their own evolution.

Today's guest is Michael Salvatore of Heritage Bicycles in Chicago. He's an entrepreneur with a sort of gutsy, intuitive, creative approach to creating things like bike shops, cafes, and other community-oriented places in the city that I've grown to love as a customer, and admire as a small business owner. He's one of those people that you start chatting with over coffee and walk away with some new insight into your own life and work without even realizing it. At least, that's what happens to me when I talk to him. And I finally realized how valuable that was — so I decided to bring him in to the studio and record just such a conversation to share with you all. While his focus is on bikes and coffee, he's quite connected to the craft beer world here in Chicago. We have a ton of friends in common and he's always pitching new ideas that are relevant to the beer world too. So I think you'll take a lot away from this. And if not, well, you'll at least know a lot about one of Chicago's up-and-coming business people, and you'll probably be inspired to pay them a visit.

Today’s guest is Michael Salvatore of Heritage Bicycles in Chicago. He’s an entrepreneur with a sort of gutsy, intuitive, creative approach to creating things like bike shops, cafes, and other community oriented places in the city that I’ve grown to love as a customer, and admire as a small business owner. He’s one of those people that you start chatting with over coffee and walk away with some new insight into your own life and work without even realizing it. At least, that’s what happens to me when I talk to him. And I finally realized how valuable that was — so I decided to bring him in to the studio and record just such a conversation to share with you all. While his focus is on bikes and coffee, he’s quite connected to the craft beer world here in Chicago. We have a ton of friends in common and he’s always pitching new ideas that are relevant to the beer world too. So I think you’ll take a lot away from this. And if not, well, you’ll at least know a lot about one of Chicago’s up-and-coming business people, and you’ll probably be inspired to pay them a visit.

Today's guest has been working in Chicago beer for a long time now, but her journey is anything but typical, and it doesn't follow a straight line at all. Yes, she's a home brewer who now has her own brewery. But here's how the dots actually connect. She started as a homebrewer, and was certainly thinking about opening a brewery some day. But her next step was the role of a beer buyer for Bangers & Lace, and Trenchermen, both favorite bars of mine in the city with great lists. Then she started her own coffee roaster and cafe, called 4 Letter Word…in Istanbul. As in, Turkey, bringing third wave origin coffees to a city with it's own unique history in coffee. Then she returned to Chicago part-time to start a Chicago-based version of the coffee brand. And during all that, she was working on a brewery concept. Like, the whole time. And just this past week, the taproom for that brewery opened to the public, following her first cans getting on to the shelf. The brewery is called Whiner Beer Co. ad it's a partnership between herself and brewer Brian Taylor on Chicago's southside. Their first beers, six pack of 12oz cans, are called Le Tub - a mixed fermentation, barrel-aged and blended sour saison for about twelve bucks. It's a brave new world folks. So between her coffee roaster and now getting Whiner off the ground, we wanted to catch up with Ria before she left for Kenya this week for a coffee sourcing trip. We have a great relationship with Whiner — we helped them workshop some things with the team back when the brewery was just a sparkle in her eye — some brand strategy elements that helped focus the concept. But more importantly, their first beer served was a coffee saison for Uppers & Downers this past February, which you can hear more about from our hangover party recording, episode number 72. And at the SCAA expo in Atlanta this past spring, her and I already started talking about this year's Uppers & Downers as we tasted through some lactic fermentation coffees. Wacky stuff.

Today’s guest has been working in Chicago beer for a long time now, but her journey is anything but typical, and it doesn’t follow a straight line at all. Yes, she’s a home brewer who now has her own brewery. But here’s how the dots actually connect. She started as a homebrewer, and was certainly thinking about opening a brewery some day. But her next step was the role of a beer buyer for Bangers & Lace, and Trenchermen, both favorite bars of mine in the city with great lists. Then she started her own coffee roaster and cafe, called 4 Letter Word…in Istanbul. As in, Turkey, bringing third wave origin coffees to a city with it’s own unique history in coffee. Then she returned to Chicago part-time to start a Chicago-based version of the coffee brand. And during all that, she was working on a brewery concept. Like, the whole time. And just this past week, the taproom for that brewery opened to the public, following her first cans getting on to the shelf. The brewery is called Whiner Beer Co. ad it’s a partnership between herself and brewer Brian Taylor on Chicago’s southside. Their first beers, six pack of 12oz cans, are called Le Tub - a mixed fermentation, barrel-aged and blended sour saison for about twelve bucks. It’s a brave new world folks. So between her coffee roaster and now getting Whiner off the ground, we wanted to catch up with Ria before she left for Kenya this week for a coffee sourcing trip. We have a great relationship with Whiner — we helped them workshop some things with the team back when the brewery was just a sparkle in her eye — some brand strategy elements that helped focus the concept. But more importantly, their first beer served was a coffee saison for Uppers & Downers this past February, which you can hear more about from our hangover party recording, episode number 72. And at the SCAA expo in Atlanta this past spring, her and I already started talking about this year’s Uppers & Downers as we tasted through some lactic fermentation coffees. Wacky stuff.

We're only a couple of episodes in to exploring the UK's craft beer culture on this podcast, but already stories are beginning to emerge that I wouldn't have heard if we'd never started. Not long after speaking to Beavertown's Creative Director, Nick Dwyer, I was approached by his good friend, James Rylance of East London's Redchurch Brewery. Rylance started telling me about his new brewing project at Redchurch. Redchurch just expanded out of its home in East London to a brand new production facility in Essex, just outside of the city. Making them the first of London's new wave brewers to do so. Redchurch's owner, Gary Ward, has handed over the previous facility to Rylance so he can devote time to creating interesting mixed fermentations and using herbs and fruit in some truly experimental beers. He's dubbed the project "Urban Farmhouse." Rylance himself has come a long way since he got into brewing while he was studying fine art. He cut his teeth at The Kernel before spending two years at Beavertown as they got up and running, which is where our story begins. I didn't expect this conversation to take the twists and turns that it does. Rylance went on to tell me about how, after leaving Beavertown, he spent two months making wine in Burgundy. We also talk about the six acres of land where Redchurch will be growing their own fruit and herbs, and discuss the relevance that the term "farmhouse" has for a brewery underneath a railway arch in East London.

We’re only a couple of episodes in to exploring the UK’s craft beer culture on this podcast, but already stories are beginning to emerge that I wouldn’t have heard if we’d never started. Not long after speaking to Beavertown’s Creative Director, Nick Dwyer, I was approached by his good friend, James Rylance of East London’s Redchurch Brewery. Rylance started telling me about his new brewing project at Redchurch, Urban Farmhouse. Redchurch has just expanded out of its home in East London to a brand new production facility in Essex, just outside of the city. Making them the first of London’s new wave brewers to do so. Redchurch’s owner, Gary Ward, has handed over the previous facility to Rylance so that he can invest in time in creating interesting mixed ferments and using herbs and fruit in some truly experimental beers. A project he’s dubbed “Urban Farmhouse.” Rylance himself has come a long way since he got into brewing while he was studying fine art. He cut his teeth at The Kernel Brewery before spending two years at Beavertown as they got up and running, which is where our story begins. I didn’t expect this conversation to take quite the twists and turns that it does however. Rylance went on to tell me about how, after leaving Beavertown, he spent two months making wine in Burgundy. We’ll also find out about the six acres of land where Redchurch will be growing their own fruit and herbs, and discuss the relevance that the term ‘farmhouse’ has for a brewery underneath a railway arch in East London.

Today we're going to talk about origin beers. There's increasing discussion in niche beer circles about the accuracy of some of our beer vernacular. What constitutes farmhouse ales, for example? Most leading farmhouse beer producers don't operate a farm at all. Rather, they hold close to some of the prevailing traditions of those styles largely lost to history. And increasingly, farmhouse producers are located in urban environments, pulling extremely far away from their inspiration, but perhaps staying connected to methodology or year profiles that give them a way to talk about a different approach to brewing regardless of the disassociation. But today we talk to someone who's working hard to take another part of beer making back to an extreme niche tradition, and that's Mad Fritz Brewing in Napa Valley. Owned and operated by Nile Zacherele, a professional vintner at David Arthur Vineyards on Pritchard Hill, Mad Fritz is an attempt to take the ingredients of beer back to an origin status, not unlike winemaking where the location, the soil, and the cultivation of the ingredients is both present—and local—to the production of the beverage. To that end, Nile has convinced some locals farmers to grow barley for him, which he intends to floor-malt himself. He even sources water from local wells and reservoirs. He also barrel-ages or barrel-ferments all his beers, many of them on the paler side, which means they pick up wood character quickly. I first learned of Nile's beers when he sent a care-package some months back and I tasted through them with some good friends and colleagues here at the studio. We were curious—and sometimes downright perplexed—by what was happening in the bottle. These were very unusual beers in both concept and execution. Not to mention the details where were we found ourselves becoming engaged—a shift in water profile, a lingering grain quality, wood character that skewed our expectations. So when I had the chance to visit recently on a short trip around the North Bay, I wasted little time in asking Nile a hundred different questions. Then we went up the hill to the vineyard to taste the grapes, the fermenting juice, and the finished wines that have serviced as a sort of inspiration point for brewing origin beers. And I'm happy to say I'm still curious and perplexed.