"Day 2 of our BUG reports, and this time we find TJ from Church Street., Brandon from Werk Force, and Frank from Motor Row. It's Hazy's, BUG beer, and Sour Batch lagers, plus of course the regular guest appearance by the Green Line CTA train!"

"The inaugural event for Chicago Craft Beer Week is the Beer Under Glass festival, held at the Garfield Conservatory. The Brit headed out there and was joined by co-hosts Ken McMullen and Chuck Fort, and waved the mike in the direction of several brewers. We are releasing an episode a day throughout CCBW, and we start with an extended chat with craft beer impresario, Pete 'Pedro' Crowley from Haymarket Brewing. Punctuated by Green Line trains, this recording begins our celebration of a great city of breweries and brewing. Alex Lovingood from Brickstone makes a cameo appearance! Cheers!"

"A little different beverage is the focus of our show this week as we visit with cider-maker Ed Seaman over at Broken Brix in St. Charles IL. Originally the home brew shop and still is, Ed has expanded to being a licensed cidery and winery, plus he has a tap room where you can taste not only his offerings, but awesome craft beer as well. We find out all about cider making and taste a few samples on the way! Ed is the 'apple of our eye' this week...Cheers!"

"It's a trip down to Joliet and MyGrain Brewing for a great chat with head brewer Dan Rosenberg. An impressive building, an impressive food menu, and best of all, a VERY impressive tap list with something for any taste. We chatted with Dan on his roots, his brewing approach, and sampled some of his great beers. With their first anniversary coming up we also got a post-recording sneak preview of their anniversary release which we can say will be worth grabbing a bottle or two! With the good weather pending, it's definitely worth a trip down there, and we hope we can tee you up for that with this episode!"

"We're back after a short vacation, and in this podcast we welcome someone else who has been on vacation, Illinois beer historian and glass collector, John Bittermann. But John visits breweries on his vacation, and this time he has brought back brews from some of his stops, plus he tells us about those downstate breweries we don't always get to go to. Chuck Fort and TJ Bachorz from Church Street, and beer nerd Tom Ryan, are on hand to help John and The Brit taste them, and there's a rare treat bonus beer to round out the show. Pub chat, good folks, Illinois beer, and a lesson in openign a can from the bottom...what more could you ask for!"

"Coinciding with their Grand Opening, this episode profiles Scallywag Brewing, the latest addition to the ever-growing population of Illinois breweries. This brewpub is located in downtown Westmont, and we sat down with the founding team a couple of weeks before the opening to find out what these scallywags were all about. When you visit, bring your parrot and eye patch...why? Listen in on your trip there, and find out!"

"This episode is a retrospective interview with Penrose head brewer and co-owner, Tom Korder. Following their recent sell-out 5th anniversary party, we wanted to find out what has changed over those 5 years, and what the future holds for this Geneva IL brewery. The Brit heads to their barrel room and chats one-on-one with Tom."

"It's a trip north to Glenview and brewery gem that seems to have slipped under most people's radar, Macushla Brewing. Head brewer David Kelley talks about his passion for the place, the beer, and especially yeast. Ken McMullen joins me on this podcast as guest co-host, and even he learned a few tips on adding honey to a brew. Tune in to hear exactly what Macushla means, and we definitely say you need to stop by and try a few of their beers!"

"Recorded on St.Patrick's Day weekend, we visit another of the trending new breweries that have recently opened in the Chicagoland suburbs. Located in Woodridge and the burgeoning Seven Bridges area, Ike and Oak spares no expense to bring good beer and good food to their patrons. The Brit and this time's Yankee, Ken McMullen, talk with owner and official beer taster Ed Randquest, and brewmaster Nathan Tetell to talk about their visions and sample some of their brews on tap. Slainte!"

"This episode coincides with Riverland Brewing's opening weekend, and we sit down with brewer co-owners Eric Bramwell and Dave Marks to chat about the journey to opening day. The brewery is a great addition to the growing Fox River corridor and in our view, is a great taproom space to enjoy their brews, which we get to sample and provide our thoughts on the flavors and styles. It's also a media collaboration with Midwest Brew Review, and their video will be released soon. Listen in and then go visit. Cheers!"