This weeks' episode is a retrospective of our show and some of the milestones in our first 399 shows. It's thanks to all our listeners who keep us recording each episode, and thanks to all the brewers who have given their time to talk to us. Plus thanks to all my co-hosts along the way, especially the 'original' Yankee, Lingo! We've drunk a bunch of brews on our journey, and the last 17 years have been a blast, so we'll keep podcasting as long as we can. 

The first podcast was published in Oct 2006 (Pubcast #1), back in 'Phase 1' of podcasting history. With the 'original' Yankee, my chum Mike 'Lingo' Lingafelter, we decided we would like to bring a little 'pub chat' to the internet. We had a different theme tune and a different approach to the show, with more variety, music, and full production segments, but still sampling beers along the way. The first beers we drank were Blue Goat Doppelbock from New Holland Brewing, and a Double Pale Ale from He'brew. Like us, New Holland is still going strong, but He'brew closed, then relaunched in 2022.

In Nov 2009 and Pubcast #51, we recorded a show at the legendary, but now gone, John's Tavern in Winfield IL. There we first met with a man who was soon to become a good friend and co-host for the show, Mark Naski.  Mark was a genius when it came to his knowledge of brewing and beer styles, and was instrumental in making the podcast change into what it has become today. He taught us so much about craft beer, and along the way helped a local brewery with advice about their recipes. Sadly Mark was taken from us in 2021, and we miss him dearly.

In December 2010, The Brit recorded the first brewery remote when he visited Oskar Blues in Longmont CO., and experienced Ten Fidy on tap for the first time. In 2013, the boom of the craft beer industry, we really started to visit breweries for interviews with the brewers. Some of our first recordings were with breweries that are still around today such as Tighthead Brewing (Pubcast#103), Church Street (Pubcast#107), and Penrose Brewing (Pubcast#110).

It was after show 161 that we really started to focus on brewery and brewer interviews, when the Illinois craft beer scene was really starting to grow.

Our first collaboration brew was with Hopvine Brewing and brewmaster Ken McMullen. It was an English pale ale called HMQ90 (Pubcast #198), brewed to celebrate the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, with a recipe from Mark Naski. Ken has since gone on to become another good friend and current co-host of the show, and moved over to help start Fox Republic Brewing.

Chuck Fort, Sr. Brewing Consultant (but then brewer) at Church Street Brewing, also joined the crew first as a regular guest and then by Pubcast #243, as co-host. Both Chuck and Ken continue to bring a wealth of industry knowledge...plus they're really good chums!

We experimented with video back in 2018 with a beer review show recorded at Church Street Brewing, (Barrel of Monks Beer Review), and the result was 'simple' at best. We then started up our YouTube channel in 2020 as a result of the Covid pandemic shutting down our ability to have face-to-face contact with people. Like many others, we used Zoom to chat with brewers on our Virtual Happy Hours, and then used the medium to continue reviewing brews, and then test brewers' palates with a Blind Taste Challenge series.

And that brings us up-to-date where today we try to go out and interview as many brewers at their breweries as time permits. Here's a link to a page that lists all our featured brewery interviews.

Here's to the next milestone of 500, and here's to the craft beer industry and those hard working brewers!!  CHEERS!

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