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Episode 107 - Spring Cleaing 2023 and Chicago On Tap (feat. Matthew Moldenhauer and Laura Vertucci)
118 Plays2 years ago
This week we're joined by our friend Matthew Moldenhauer to drink through some beers we had lying around. We're also joined by Laura Vertucci to discuss Meals on Wheels Chicago's upcoming fundraising event "Chicago On Tap" on April 27th, 2023.
Beers on this episode:
Old Irving Brewing: Goat Destroyer
Dogfish Head: 2018 Fruit-full Fort
Black Dragon Meadery: 2018 Blue Dragon Blueberry Cyser
Firestone Walker: 2017 Bretta Weisse
Three Floyds Brewing: 2016 Dark Lord
To get tickets for Chicago On Tap 2023:
e.givesmart.com/events/uUN/
Also, if you send an email to info@themaltinghour.com you can request a promo code to save $15 on your ticket to the event.
Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli)
Break and outro music provided by @FluidMinds
Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com
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Transcript
Opening Banter and Special Guests
00:00:00
Speaker
He liked the beer, it's supposed to taste like a Bananas Foster. He goes, I don't think I've ever had a Bananas Foster before. I mean, yeah, he's not 80. Who's had a Bananas Foster? I have. I have. All right, rich mother. This week, we're joined by Matthew Moultenhauer and Laura Vertucci for some spring cleaning. This is episode 107 of The Molting Hour. What's the Haps on the Hops? Guy, he's that beast.
00:00:21
Speaker
This the moment now where we talk about our drink And tell you what we think, every other week And if we get drunk, well we might slur our speech Got the gift of ab, the friends who wish you had Join us for a drink, join us for a laugh Time is never wasted, wait you're getting wasted The moment now we're here, people, people taking places People, people taking places
00:00:45
Speaker
Welcome to
Introductions of Hosts and Guests
00:00:46
Speaker
the Malting Hour. I am one of your hosts, Tony Gold, joined always with Brandon Whittington. And special co-hosts, because our co-hosts can't seem to make it to my left. Matthew Moultenhour. Hey, Matt. Welcome back. Thanks. It's good to see you guys. It's good to see you too, man. And you're not on here necessarily for an older ring episode. No, but I think we're always going to plug things like, uh... Like the beer we're drinking? Yeah, like the beer we're drinking. Older ring my bot, goat destroyer, lager three months.
00:01:16
Speaker
Is it available now? Oh yeah, by the time this comes out, it's available now. For sure. I don't know if it's available today. Is it available today, too? Well, once picked it up, they're starting to ship it. I think we have it at the brewery starting tomorrow. So by the time this episode's out, it's already been out for a couple days. Unless you get your ass to work tonight and start editing really quickly. That's true. Oh, man. So we had an, oh, there's someone else here.
00:01:42
Speaker
How many times do you forget? I know, I know. I wasn't going to do it that I thought about it. I'm not going to do it anyways. And she's going to talk later. But my wife, Laura, is here. Say hi, Laura. Hi. She's on this episode later on. She's got something to talk about that we're also involved with and that old Irving is also involved with. So she's going to join us later. She's not drinking. It's the first guest who hasn't drank anything. So that's cool. How does that feel?
00:02:08
Speaker
Good. Feel good. Is she really a guest though? I appreciate she owns half of the podcast. I ain't kind of. Actually, Brandon owns most of the podcast, but it's about, we're like 95, 5% here.
00:02:24
Speaker
We need more ads. Make sure you're talking to your mic, Matt. I can turn him up a little bit. I'm going the wrong way. I'm going the wrong way. And muted. And we're not going to hear from him for the rest of the episode.
Beer Talk: Refrigerator Spring Cleaning and Tastings
00:02:40
Speaker
So the idea for this week's episode was Dan's idea, but Dan couldn't make it, unfortunately, was to spring cleaning of our beer refrigerators. And since I don't keep beer like everybody else, I actually went to a store and got some old beer. So that'll be fun when we get to that. Why is it cheater?
00:03:01
Speaker
Sorry, the only thing I have is the 25... Oh, I do have extra shit. I've got that 2015 Cascade Creek beer. And we were good enough for it? No, you guys are. I should have brought it. You should have brought the 3-liter old...
00:03:14
Speaker
That's right. I also, oh man, and I also have the founder's French toast beer for you. Early's pause. I'm going to go back to the house, start over, see you guys in about a half hour. Matt, I know you said what we're drinking, but what are we drinking again, sir? Yeah, we're drinking a go to shore. So this has been sitting in our tanks for the last three months, because that's what we do with some of these darker, maltier lagers. It really helps.
00:03:41
Speaker
and I tried it last month while it was still in tanks.
00:03:46
Speaker
And trying again now, it's just mellowed out even further. Oh nice. And it's light and crisp, even though it's a 7% amber lager. Oh jeez. This does not taste like a 7% beer at all. I love my box. Like, we know my jaded history with lagers on this show. We need to have like an insert, Tony's recap of everything.
00:04:12
Speaker
Didn't like about lagers, but now enjoys about lagers. Yeah, exactly. But my box, I'm noticing a box or what I like a lot, I think. I think that's where, and then like, I check dark lagers, I think are really good. I had one recently, I forgot who it's from, but it was like, there was almost a smokiness to it. I don't think it was intentional, but it was very nice, but this is a good, I feel like this is a good example of a mybok. There's also,
00:04:41
Speaker
There's a breadiness from this I really like. That was the first thing I got. Probably from the east.
00:04:49
Speaker
Well, and that's personally why I think I'm the same wagon as you is that I like darker lagers. A, because it has that kind of malt backbone and flavor that I used to be able to drink Stouts all day and can't do that anymore. And now the lagers help with that because it's crisp and clean at the end that you can have a few of these and still feel functional. It's a good thing you didn't go to Goose Island Stout Fest then because that was a lot.
00:05:20
Speaker
Brandon and I will probably do a recap on that soon. One of these days? Yeah. It was, I actually ended, we started our day with a beer from... Double Clutch. Double Clutch. I had their Dopplebock. What did you have? Did you have their Halas? The Roush beer? Oh yeah, the Halas Roush. And then my last beer
00:05:39
Speaker
I actually tell you think was wooden wings from phase three from the goose island clever, but the phase three version Was crispy boy from alarmist because I needed to have something that was Crispy and clean and not a big stout. Everything was delicious I'm and I'm glad that they had like double clutch and like alarmist brought some other stuff because it was much like phobab where they had the logger lounge which was like the saving grace like this
Event Recap: Goose Island Stout Fest
00:06:14
Speaker
I don't know if I really want to drink anymore. It was like... We left a half hour before it ended. Yeah, we left, which I'm actually also glad we did that because then we would have been fighting for Ubers and all that other shit, so that would have sucked, but... Yeah, we slept longer during the day. It was like an hour in and we were like, I'm feeling pretty good, you know? And we weren't like running to the races and like trying to like just chug stuff. We were like... Yeah, we took our time. Yeah. Look, we're doing our recap right now. It was a very well done event. It really was like, it wasn't super crowded.
00:06:36
Speaker
Think we were there like we were there for an hour for a stop fest and we were like
00:06:42
Speaker
It was easy to get beers. The longest we waited in line was like one person maybe in front of us Yeah, and it really wasn't lines. The food was great. It was cool the way they just walked around and handed out I hope they continue to do it at the new location. RFP Playboar Yeah, I mean last time there but I mean that's the nice thing when you actually have focused with everyone bringing in stouts and having some of the best people making stouts in the city and around the city is that everyone is kind of in the same boat with like
00:07:12
Speaker
Okay. We're going to have to try everything. Yeah. Yeah. And there was, we did, we did a pretty good job trying most things. Um, and we got to see Tim. That was good. And we got to try the barrel age migration, which I don't know. That's just not out. It's not
Beer Releases and Preferences
00:07:26
Speaker
out. What do you want you guys, somebody, somebody commented and said.
00:07:30
Speaker
I'm coming in Sunday, is it going to be there? It won't be there. To be determined. At this point, we actually just got in the labels today. We're waiting on the black cans. Once we have those... Oh, but you guys are canning it too? Yes, we are canning it and then it will be on Osner, but we're still trying to figure out the date that we're going to release on Osner. And then we're also going to have a release party at Old Irving.
00:07:53
Speaker
with Phase 3 and Sean and those guys. Cool. Yeah, this is one of our oldest, oldest beers. This one was aged 16 months. That's insane. I have, I have the original migration. I think I have one can of that left. Definitely what I want to do is side by side. Yeah. I remember, did we do it on episode or did we just drink it together? I had it with you. It all blends together now. I don't know what series I've had. I never remember. Laura, what was your favorite old Irving beer that you've ever had?
00:08:20
Speaker
I don't know. She keeps me humble. I like the Brussels sprouts. I was just going to say, she does like the Brussels sprouts. It's very good. Yeah, it's good eats. Anyway, yeah. I was going to say, my one thing about Stalffest before we move on, I would not be upset if they moved it to the barrel warehouse. Not at all. Not at all. It's such a gorgeous place. I love it. That would be a super cool idea. That was the first prop day we went together.
00:08:46
Speaker
That's, oh man, that's why I tried begonia. Badonia. Badonia. Badonia. Oh yeah, badonia. That was so good. The mold. The mold, Bourbon County. So good. This is before anybody realized that there was that big open section and there's just like. Like in half of a field. That's some wooden shack and just two guys standing there like, what's going on here? Like, oh, they're just pouring random
00:09:06
Speaker
Rare as bourbon counties. Yeah, it's awesome. Oh, that's what's great about theirs. They just have the most Willy Wonka stash. I mean, they're the OG of what made Bearly's beers. It's why Chicago's the epicenter for it all we got to try was it 14 prop 17 prop and 15 rare while we were there like when we saw that we were gonna have that I'm like
00:09:29
Speaker
I know it seemed kind of like there's all these great beers and beers I've never tried, but I think I told Brandon the night before, I was like, I have to go and try all those.
Beer Origins and Fun Facts
00:09:39
Speaker
And 14, coconut, you can still taste it, even after having barrel-aged migration with a thousand pounds of coconut.
00:09:46
Speaker
It's not a nocket. It's such a good beer. Only 450 pounds. Sorry, sorry. It wasn't a 450. Yeah. Still a lot. Still a lot. Yeah, but the coconut you could still taste in the 14 prop and the Bananas Foster prop was really good. And then we had rare
00:10:01
Speaker
15 rare recently, didn't we? When we went over there, Brandon? Yes. I was laughing though, because one of our listeners, Pat, was there with us as well. What's up, Pat? Good friend. He's been on the show. Yeah, he's also been on the show. We were standing there and he's drinking it, and he's like, it's good. I can taste the banana. And then his comment was, he liked the beer. It's supposed to taste like a Bananas Foster. He goes, I don't think I've ever had a Bananas Foster.
00:10:30
Speaker
I mean, yeah, he's not 80. Who's had Bananas Foster? I have. I have. I've had it at the place that it was created. Neighbor Jeff and I have made Bananas Foster together and almost, I couldn't get my bananas to light. And then he just kept pouring more rum. Sounds like a bad sex experience. I couldn't get my banana to light. So her dad, Jeff, helped me a little bit. We gotta kill him. He gave me some more rum.
00:11:03
Speaker
Okay, now I have to ask, where does Bananas Foster come from? So there is a restaurant in New Orleans called Brennan's and they invented it as just like a fancy dessert.
00:11:15
Speaker
It's cool there because they do a table side. So like they come out and it's like, you know We make it yourself their version of like a Greek restaurant, you know, you're just like, holy shit. That's on fire. My bananas are burning So you're saying there's places that don't do it there's probably places that don't do a table side Old Mitch Hepburn joke go to Benny Hada ask it to go
00:11:42
Speaker
Did you guys do the shit? Yeah? Okay. I'll take it. All right, let's get into this spring
Beer Experiments: Accidents and Challenges
00:11:51
Speaker
cleaning. Brandon, what did you end up grabbing? Did you grab something yet? Nope. Oh, okay, cool. It's got to be completely random. Awesome. I like that. Let's start with... I mean, I'm starting with this. I don't know. You grab some. You grab some from your... Oh, I was going to say, or from the fridge. It's up to you.
00:12:05
Speaker
I'll try to see what's in here. Alright, fantastic. Just a rush roulette of where the night's gonna go. I'm gonna mystery beer it. Mystery beer it, interesting. Oh this is fun. Do we all have to close our eyes? No. You do. Alright, do you want to hand me your glass? Alright. If it's dark, it's a stout.
00:12:29
Speaker
If it's not dark, I won't know what it is. I really wish Dan was here, so I can tell it's a Saison. I haven't had this in a long time. Oh, so you didn't actually see it, okay. I don't know if they did multiple years of this, but... I don't know what this is. Laura, take a whiff. What do you smell? I have no idea. Chocolate? Interesting.
00:13:00
Speaker
I thought you were going to say beer. I was, but it doesn't smell like beer. I don't think I've had this before either. Really? Yeah. You know what it is now? I know what it is. I pulled it out. I thought you literally just stuck your hand in there and grabbed something. No. No. Is there chocolate in like some fruit? Is there like chocolate and cherry? Close.
00:13:28
Speaker
Um, raspberry? Yeah. So chocolate and raspberry. What year is this? I don't know. Let's see if it says... 2018. I'm perplexed. Here, this might give you a clue. Oh my god, this is so much better than the first time Clark and I had this. Is this the math one?
00:13:56
Speaker
No, oh, wow. So tell, what is it? I can't, Fruitful, what? Fruitful Fort? Fruitful Fort. So just so you guys know, Chocolate and, I thought Chocolate and Trade, you guys have their math, I forgot what it was, like, math isn't the title of it.
00:14:09
Speaker
It's literally like a chocolate and cherry beer, but it was like chocolate and cough syrup beer. It was really bad. But it was not a good beer and it's actually, there's a bottle of it still sitting at Garfield's and every time I see it I'm like,
00:14:26
Speaker
Is it better now? I'll have to look it up, but... Was it bad? Like, how was its ratings on tap? Was it overall rated pretty bad? I don't remember. I'm gonna look it up right now. Or was it... Mike, I'd be curious if it was just like, you got a bad bottle. Well, I also imagine... No, I added it twice. A lot of times the cost of depending on how high of alcohol it was can come through kind of medicinal, especially with cherry. It was like their 20th anniversary beer. It's called Higher Math.
00:14:54
Speaker
The 20th anniversary? It is called higher math, though. Let me look it up. See, this is why I need Clark here, because then he can look this up and I don't have to fucking worry about it. So it's a Belden Strong Golden Ale, celebrating 20 off-centered years with our luscious chocolate cherry birthday cake in liquid form.
00:15:14
Speaker
Which is not the beer that we're drinking. Correct. My first check-in in 2015 was, uh, I don't get it. Clark says, you know what? You don't get it. Wait, what's that? He said, hi, I'm Tony. I don't give beer. I don't like good beer. What a dick. Did Clark like it? Uh, I didn't see. Oh, let me see.
00:15:40
Speaker
You had it, by the way. You put medicinal, literally. He said, delicious, perfectly sweet, and 17. He liked it? I don't remember Clark liking this. I remember Clark saying it was gross. I don't remember liking Clark ever. Yeah, maybe it was you, you and I, yeah. Fuck you, Clark.
00:16:02
Speaker
Anyways, what are we drinking? I know you said fruitful. Fruitful fork. What is this beer all about? So it's an ale brewed with boysenberry, raspberry, blackberry, and elderberry. So where's the chocolate coming in? Your mind. It's blowing my mind. All the malt. Yeah, I had to actually... 18% alcohol. What? Yeah, that's what I remember. That's what you don't remember.
00:16:29
Speaker
I had to shake off a little, I think, I don't think it's oxidation, but there was definitely like a weird flavor. And then once I kind of swirled it around, that can of came off and kind of opened up a little bit, like a fine wine opened up. This is tasty. It's definitely not the math beer. I'm just gonna keep calling it math beer.
00:16:55
Speaker
Yeah, I've never had this before. I remember seeing it. I had no idea it was an 18% beer. That's insane. Yeah, but it wouldn't surprise me. You should go back to that man beer at some point. So much of their beers. Dogfish had 120. That was a beer that you bought, put away for two years, and knew that it would be undrinkable for two years. I had it once at Hopley Fresh. I don't know if it's like... Yeah, it was good. Oh no.
00:17:24
Speaker
you could only do a very, very small amount. Yes. A sample size, like, you know, three ounce taster is like more than enough. A 12 ounce bottle is easy to share with somebody with that. Exactly. That's about as far as you can see. If we had one of the, like a fresh one, see, and that's something I'd be interested in doing. I don't have to look. I don't know if I have any one twenties anymore, but I mean, at one point I had like 10 year old one twenties just like hanging out. Whoa. I would crack them and they were like, it turned into a barley wine is what it did. Like,
00:17:42
Speaker
I liked it like being super bitter.
00:17:51
Speaker
Yeah, it's a well-made beer. And the hops fading didn't turn into, because I think there's so many hops in it, it didn't turn into like, you know, when you have a bad old IPA or pale ale that's like a year old and jewel, or your local grocery store is trying to sell it to you, not on sale, but the bourbon county's on sale, and it's only been there for four months, and it's a beer that can sit on the shelves.
00:18:17
Speaker
an I.P.A. like that. To me that was my rant. That's always about oxidation and just how old it's done. Luckily we have someone like Tim who
00:18:29
Speaker
really keeps everything. Yeah, it keeps a lot of our beers. Like I've had beers of ours that are over a year old and you're like, oh, this is actually holding up extremely well. That's awesome. The downside of, you know, all those beers is when I was out in San Diego and you know, you help make sure you clean up the beer and what's old, I would have, you know, Ninkasi, their Tricerahops double that was like 10%. That's a good beer.
00:18:54
Speaker
I had that one at like two and a half, three years old. And yeah, the hubs fell off, but it was still a really nice beer. Yeah. And you're like, Oh, yeah, this is what happens when you have a good packaging beer can hold up. Well, that's what when when you guys came in to do the the Krampus episode, I was talking to Trevor and I was like,
00:19:14
Speaker
I think it had just been out for a couple of weeks was post and I was like, oh, I was talking to him about it. I was like, I think I have an old can from last year. He goes, that'll never go bad. He's like, the way it's made, he's like, that should last forever. Maybe not literally, but for a while.
00:19:33
Speaker
of Trevor right there by the way, too. Nobody can do Trevor except for Trevor. That's true. I love Prose. That's such a good beer. Yeah. It's one of our favorites. And that's what we talked about was that we had just brewed a Cinnamon Toast Crunch beer. Yeah. And then we took it to the brew fest. And then a couple weeks later, Prose came out for the first time. And we both had it. We were like, this is exactly what we wanted ours to be like. It's like, son of a bitch. You guys stole that from us. Thanks, man.
00:20:00
Speaker
You're welcome. I don't think we ever asked. I don't know if you know the story, but like, I was told that there is, Trevor said like, Proster was an accident.
00:20:11
Speaker
And then that was the first interview we did. Didn't we say that in the first episode? She did, but we never got into the story, so I'll get back to that. We never got back to that. So Prost was the answer to an accident. So one of those, as I've been told, was especially when they were first making Trendy, which eventually came. These are making hazies and learning how to get into all these aspects.
00:20:34
Speaker
they were making a hazy that ended up being too bitter and not juicy with the quality that you wanted. And so what Trevor did is he made a base beer, which was cinnamon prost, that had more of that malt sweetness back end to it. Obviously we didn't add cinnamon and vanilla to a hazy, but then he blended those two to actually end up with a really nice hazy to help balance out the bitterness.
00:21:03
Speaker
But then afterwards he was drinking, drinking and going, this is just a blank beer. I can do stuff with this. And then that's where they made the cinnamon and vanilla. One time I'm still trying to get it back. They made coffee crunch, which they did a coffee version of it. I'm trying to do a Vietnamese coffee version of that. Thank you.
00:21:24
Speaker
And then Trevor's like idea that he's always had with that is that he wants to do like a cereal Collection where it's like off-name brand cereals and use that as the base And make some really cool versions of those. I'm on board for that. Because we've brewed with cereal like we did a whole
00:21:45
Speaker
Well, not a whole, but we did, especially during Halloween, we did our cereal beers. What was it? Co-Chocula. Co-Chocula and Frank and Barry. Frank and Barry, yeah. We actually sent them to... Brueloscopy? No. Oh, fuck. Basic brewing. Basic brewing radio. And they drank them. And they liked it. The thing we found out, though, was adding those actual cereals, you don't get a lot from it. So we ended up with Frank and Barry.
00:22:12
Speaker
Unless you use a shit ton. I thought we were using a lot. Five gallons of the Count Chocula, we had five or six boxes that we put in the mash. And that's because you have to put it in the mash. Being a home brewer is myself hearing that. You can't do the post fermentation things that all the professional brewers do, which is where you get
00:22:32
Speaker
all the flavor. I was actually just talking to Trevor about Wildworks beer and they're like, the furthest away you get it from the beer that's in the glass to your mouth, the further away you get from that, the less flavor you get. The closer to that you have, the most milder flavor is just throwing it right in the glass right before you drink it.
00:22:52
Speaker
It's not a bad idea. French pressing. Yes, which I've done that with Goose Island. So have we. We've got ideas. We've got a lot of ideas coming up. We'll let you know about that. You take a fresh coconut, pour it into it, cover it, let it sit overnight, drink it. Best coconut stud I've ever had. What?
00:23:10
Speaker
Good, now we got another idea. Look out, tick tock, here we come. The way we found to counter that for it being so, actually that's a really good way of looking at it, the further away from the glass, the less you're gonna get in the boil, because we had already kind of heard that cereals weren't really gonna impart, it was kind of just like cool to say like, hey, we added, like it's for Halloween, Halloween beer. It's a great photo, huh? Yeah, like- You got sugar out of it.
00:23:37
Speaker
bakers cocoa to the boil and that gave a nice chocolate flavor to it and for the frankenberry that brandon did we wrapped it on top of some frozen strawberries and then cagged it so both beers turned out good the coolest thing about the frankenberry was that it looked like
Homebrewing Insights and Collaborative Experiences
00:23:54
Speaker
when it was coming out of the mash, or yeah, it was like, remember how pink it was? Oh no, it was done boiling, because after fermentation, the pink was gone. All the color was gone. I'll settle that out. Yeah, it was gone. It wasn't coming back. Just watch it, I was like, this is going to be dope. Even if it was just that color, that would have been so cool. It looked like brain.
00:24:14
Speaker
Yeah, but I like talking with you guys because you know what you're talking about, do the homebrew, and not to give a little bit away for you guys. He still doesn't know that we're bullshitting. In a show, you guys just did your collab with Howard Street Brewing, which I hadn't had before, even though I live near them, and you guys made a really solid pale ale, and most of their stuff is really nice, but yeah, you guys were actually able to
00:24:37
Speaker
work with someone and produce a really solid town. Yeah, it was crazy. Actually, that was Toby, the brewer, Howard Street brewer. He said it was one of his fastest brew days because we actually got in there and like did things with him and he was able to do other things along the way. So it was kind of nice. It was a four hour brew day for him. You mean you didn't hold a bag of grain over your shoulder, take a picture and then start drinking? Be like, all right, let's go back and pour in beers. No, we did everything. We helped.
00:25:06
Speaker
dumped the bag and then continued to drink. Yeah. And then we did great out and everything. Yeah. Everything until the point was like, we don't need you. Once Boyle was done, he was like, I got it. I'll handle it from here. I'm like, right. That was it. And all he did was he just had to transfer it to the basement anyway, so. Which? Gravity transfer. Yeah. I'm actually, I did kind of want to see that. Yeah, that would have been cool. Yeah. That set up's awesome. I still have a growler of that, so we should probably drink that soon.
00:25:33
Speaker
Yeah, it's delicious. There's a lot of beers that I have. My go-to thought process is like...
00:25:42
Speaker
high life. We were just talking about loggers and they do it. They do it well, but it's a single note. Yeah. You know, yeah, exactly. And especially in craft beers, what I tend to look for is something that has a little bit more depth and complexity, even if it is a traditional solid or a pale ale. And what I liked about sarcasm starts at 10 a.m. is that you had a little bit of
00:26:04
Speaker
sweetness, you had that crisp bite, you had the hot presence, and being in a panel that wasn't, you know, your early 2000s just hopped to high heaven, you know, had a lot of balance to it, but you had depth as well.
00:26:17
Speaker
And it's funny, we removed, we had been calling it like it was, we were aiming for it to be a session sessionable like pale ale, because we were aiming for it to be just under 5%, roughly. And then when it came in at five, six, we're like, we can't call it a session sessionable sessionable pale ale anymore.
00:26:37
Speaker
When you drink it, it drinks like one. Yeah. Like it's very light. Like the, the happiness on it is like pretty, it's super smooth. Like even like my wife who doesn't like, um, happy beer. She was like, yeah, that's pretty good. Speaking of wives, Laura, what did you think of that beer?
Beer Tasting Feedback and Session Break
00:26:52
Speaker
You actually tried it. I liked it.
00:26:54
Speaker
Thank you. And Dan, my buddy Dan, also, he is a straight, like, Bud Light drinker. Loves Bud Light. And he was knocking those back, too. Like, he enjoyed it. I feel like we got, and those are, like,
00:27:09
Speaker
Laura will always be honest about beers and things I have her try. Like I said, I'm surprised she didn't say, this just smells like beer. Because most of the time I'm like, hey, try my beer. What are you getting from this? She's like, beer. A lot of stuff isn't like, I'm not making anything super crazy. There've been a couple where I'm like, does it smell like orange juice too? And I get a yes out of it at least.
00:27:31
Speaker
Ooh, and we're blasting off. It paired really well with pickled pizza. Absolutely. But yeah, thanks a lot for saying that. I'm glad you came out for that. That was a lot of fun to do. And we've talked possibly about maybe doing another beer with them maybe this year. We don't know. We're thinking maybe a longer we discussed. So even more approachable. But I would love to brew that beer again
00:28:00
Speaker
because there was two things that Chuck and I, and I don't know, Brad, I don't know if you ended up agreeing with this, like Chuck wanted to up the dry hop on it, get a little bit more aroma, and I wanted to add just a little bit more bitterness to it. Nothing crazy, but I just wanted like a little bit more.
00:28:33
Speaker
that fine line in between what? Yeah, it would be a pale ale. But we like it the juice. Yeah, you like it the juice? Yeah. Do we want to have, I know we're close to probably a half hour. Do we want to have one more before? Or do we want to take a break and then have another? You guys tell me. We're taking a break. We'll be right back.
00:28:41
Speaker
It's good where it's at. I'm not upset.
00:30:42
Speaker
And we're back! We are back. Welcome back everybody. Hope you enjoyed that nice little break. We are here, joined with Matthew. Hi. That was good. Who's that little laugh to my right? It's my wife! Laura. Becca, I don't know if you want to say hi. You don't have to. You can just nod or say hi.
00:31:07
Speaker
She waved. Brandon's wife's here. The words all being videotaped. Yes. Becca's the reason why we're able to do this show. Thank you, Becca. Yes, thank you, Becca. I thank you. Hey, hey, hey. Take it easy. All right, what are we drinking now? You dug through, Brandon, you dug into your other beer. You got the bottle over there. Oh, yeah. I can read it this time. It doesn't always have to be you guys. We are drinking Black Dragon Meadery's Blue Dragon Blueberry Cicer.
00:31:35
Speaker
in days of old blue dragons were bald they flew around in the thunder electricity what how am i supposed to pronounce that right thunder no not
00:31:48
Speaker
electricity was frightening sorry I'm treating you like Dan and that's not nice electricity was frightening as they rode lightning and tore their enemies asunder that was cool carbonated apple blueberry made 500 milliliters 6.5 alcohol my volume this is where they out of where's bike dragon
00:32:11
Speaker
Somewhere in Michigan. Cool. Yeah, I'm on the website right now. Apparently, must be somewhere nice in the summer because they closed our tasting room for the season. Oh. It says... It's new buffalo. You guys, listen to this. Ingredients, honey, apple cider, blueberry, potassium metasulfite, pot, sorbit. Pot? It says pot.
00:32:37
Speaker
We're about to have a fun night. Pied? Pie or pot? Pot. That's funny. There's no pot in this. There might be pot in this. I'm pot in this. Yeah. It's an apple mead, traditionally called a Caesar, seasoned with fresh blueberries to an electrifying blue-apple balance, and then carbonated until it
00:32:59
Speaker
Breathes? Man, I need, oh my god, little glasses. That's right. That was it, me and Phil breathe. Guys, what are your takeaways on this? Matt, we'll go with you first.
00:33:09
Speaker
I quite enjoy it. Someone was mentioning a little bit of finger on the nose right off the bat, but I've always really liked sizers. I like them a lot more than me. Mead tends to be just way too much sickly sweetness all at once for me, or the sizer and especially the carbonation helps cut through the sweetness. Okay, I agree with that. I want to know what you think, Brandon.
00:33:37
Speaker
Um, so I was the one that when I, when I first took, uh, took a hit of the aroma, uh, I got like a blast of, was like vinegar. Um.
00:33:46
Speaker
And this bottle, I think, is at this point maybe six years old, almost? Oh, shit. We've had it. I'm trying to think of when we went up to Michigan. I'm talking to my wife, who's not going to answer, but I'm trying to think of when we went to Michigan. They're in Benton Harbor, by the way. Yeah. Yeah. So right outside of New Buffalo. I'm trying to think of when we went to Michigan. I think it was maybe 2017. I'm going to make Clark take it. I understand we go up there. And we brought that back, and we've been sitting on it forever.
00:34:13
Speaker
just saw it and you know with her being out here I was like hey let's let's crack into that to get rid of it it's taking up space we've got a lot of beer in this house you know and it when she's here to enjoy that's kind of nice too so um but yeah I get
00:34:30
Speaker
It's got this subtle apple juice, apple cider kind of flavor to it. And then the blueberry is coming through very nicely, complemented super well. And it's as lightly carbonated. And being as old as it is, and I will say that's probably the one thing we've had at the refrigerator the entire time, ever since we bought it. It just has stayed at the constant temperature. That's the best way to do it sometimes. I don't know if you're going to get to it.
00:34:59
Speaker
Yeah, and I was worried. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out and it's pleasantly enjoyable and definitely one like if we, you know, we haven't been to Michigan in a while and I think we need to take a trip up there when I would grab to bring back. Yeah, I've never had a cider before. I've had meads, I've had ciders. You've never had zombie killer? I never had, no. Oh, wow.
00:35:23
Speaker
Yeah. You just need to go out and grab it. I know. I see that all the time. Like, that looks fun. With all the times you go to Michigan with Clark. I know. Well, that's the thing. Like, seeing that, as I said, I'm like, well, now I have to, you know, Clark, we got to go. This, the, bless you. Editor's note. Not editing that. At you.
00:35:48
Speaker
I agree with what you said Brandon, like there's like this nice apple juice apple cider flavor. I have had meads before so I do get that like honey sweetness but the blueberries and I feel like the cider kind of really overpower what I don't like about meads which is the super like super sweet meads I should say.
00:36:11
Speaker
I really like this. I would get this again in a heartbeat. I like when blueberries are done very well and I feel like this is the right place to do it. I like how many blueberries they used in this. Because blueberry, depending on it, we buy blueberries all the time and sometimes it's hit or miss.
00:36:30
Speaker
There's sweet ones, there's tart ones, there's shit ones. Ones don't taste like anything, those are the shit ones. Give me a squishy blueberry. Damn right. If it's in my yogurt, it's okay. But it's hard to really get this flavor into this without, you know, I have to imagine they're, I mean, you're in Michigan.
00:36:51
Speaker
they're probably getting, they're probably growing their own or have a source. This is your business.
00:37:02
Speaker
Uh, yeah, super excited that we, we pulled this one out and did it. I would, I'm trying to remember. I mean, again, it's been so long. I don't remember if like it's any different than it was fresh, but I would love it to have this fresh again. Yeah. Um, cause I think we, it was like a roadside, we were just driving around and I think she saw it and she's like, Hey, that says metery or whatever. And we pulled over to the side of the road and we're just like, let's try some needs. And why don't you ever do that when you're like, Hey, look, there's a metery.
00:37:30
Speaker
I would if there was a blueberry picking. Touché? Was a guy just in his pickup truck. No, it was actually me. Y'all want some meat. Welcome. Come into my RV and have some of my meat. No. That's how they sounded.
00:37:49
Speaker
It's the south of the north. Michigan, south of the north. What about the Trump signs? You'd think so. Yeah. No, it was an actual building. And I think there's, you know, I don't know. There was one place that we had gone to that was like half of it was like meads and other stuff you could taste. And the other half was like olive oil.
00:38:12
Speaker
We're gonna get wasted tonight, boys. We went in there and it was just like, they gave you like the little thimble drinks and we did that and like, of olive oil? Have you never been to the places where you taste the olive oil? They literally give you the thimble of like, olive oil to taste?
00:38:32
Speaker
There's places, maybe, I don't think it was Savannah, but no, like Gatlinburg. If you go to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, there's places there that sell olive oil, and literally, it's just a shop where you go around, and they have these big vats, and you pour off the flavored olive oils, and you can try them, and then buy it if you like. That's pretty cool. Yeah. I mean, I love reasons to go out of a bread, maybe. But there's a street shop. So you can do that, too. They'll have crackers or bread all around the thing, too. So you can dip if you want.
00:39:01
Speaker
Or you can just be a straight shooter. They call me Shooter McGadden when I show up at those places. Oh man, here he comes. I'm not crazy, right? I think we've gone to one before. I'm not crazy. This guy's drinking. Dixie comes. Dixie comes with fucking olive oil.
00:39:21
Speaker
I don't think you're supposed to open it. Oh yeah, wineries have done this too. Oh, so there's, I think Delina, Illinois is big on that too. They have, I mean, there's shops all down there. Like you can go in like there's, there's specific like hot, hot sauce shops where you can taste all the different hot sauces. That was like that when we went to Michigan city in Indiana, we went to a hot sauce shop.
00:39:45
Speaker
I love places that are in the state. Why'd you go to Michigan City, Indiana? We stayed there. I found an Airbnb out there for our anniversary. And it was included in the middle of nowhere. It was pretty cool. It's like in the woods. So it's New York, Ohio. It's great. I was expecting you to say, well, there was a camp show. And we were going there. No, that's all. That's all this year. If you guys are listening, let me know. You think you're listening to Spy Kids?
00:40:18
Speaker
Now I'm going to send it to them. You're their biggest fan. Well, I just saw your wife fangirl. Are you wearing a camp shirt? I am. I'm wearing a brewery shirt. Anyway, overall, we didn't rate anything, and that's okay, but we're going to rate this one.
00:40:39
Speaker
Five bushels of blueberries, Brandon. How many bushels have you given this? I'm going four and a half. Oh, four and a half. Becca, do you want to weigh in a number? You don't have to if you don't want to.
00:40:50
Speaker
I'm going to give it a 5. I like it. Matthew, how many bushels do you give them? I'm going to give it a 4 out of 5, but on my own scale, that's very good. That's something I'd go back to and drink. That's good. And everybody knows it. Our scaling is weird.
00:41:09
Speaker
uh whatever we're feeling in the moment not really great but fuck man four point seven five that's what's great and unfortunate it's amazing but it's about places where you can do those such things everyone has their different own personal ratings for me like a two is something where i'm like ah it's not stylistically something maybe i would particularly like but you know it's it's not the worst three is like hey i think they did a fun enough job of course like i would definitely go back to it i don't think i don't know if i've ever
00:41:39
Speaker
rated something above four and a half, and that's not because I'm trying to be hipster of not rating anything at high. It's just my own personal, if something was a five, I think that's the only thing I would ever drink again. It's funny, because I put Grampus in the buff at a five. I would give this a 4.28 bushels of blueberries. I really like it. I would have this again, for sure. Laurie, what would you give this? Based on the label, because you do labels. Here.
00:42:12
Speaker
I would give it a bushel and a peck. Also, I like a 10 scale better than a five. Five feels like you have very, you know, it's like, not enough. Should we change the rating to a 10? No. Did I just change the podcast?
00:42:31
Speaker
You guys also do a 4.28, which is, if you're doing a 10 scale, then you just go one, two, or three, or four. If I was doing a 10 scale, no, it would be great, because I'd be like, that's a 6.321. You're a niner. I think technically on a 4.28, what is that, on a 100 or 1,000 scale that you've already made up? I mean, that's where I'm at, and that's where that cicer will sit.
00:42:59
Speaker
I liked it. For my first slicer, I feel like that was a good introduction to it. And it's going to be hard to top, to be honest. I can't believe you haven't had one. I don't know if this is... I don't... Brandon, can you open this? I said I don't want to put a hole in your ceiling. I can't... I feel like we have done this...
00:43:18
Speaker
went at the old Fishwings location. I feel like we had a couple of cicers on tap. Oh yeah, probably a time or two. I probably never had it. I was always just focused if you guys had brown sugar from Laguanitas on tap. That's all I ever want from Laguanitas. I don't need Laguanitas to make. That was a mistake. I don't ever need Laguanitas to make any other beer. They just make brown sugar and that's it.
00:43:37
Speaker
My favorite beer. I always liked their 420 beer. Oh, it just came out. They just released it again right now for this time of year because it comes out normally around March, so it's ready for around 420. I wonder if they're going to be part of the Mars dank fest. We just got invited to be a part of that that's going to be on 423, which is a Thursday. I guess they don't want to do 420 on a Saturday.
00:44:05
Speaker
This year? Or is 4-20 the Thursday? Well, 4-23 is a Thursday. Is that Monday? Math. 4-20 is a Thursday. 4-20 is Thursday. I know 4-23 because that's my nephew's already. What's going on with this?
00:44:28
Speaker
to the smoking hour, or we sound like a bunch of stoners who don't know when 420 is. Oh yeah, they're doing it on the 23rd, because it's on a Saturday. Blaze it. Blaze it. So 420's on a Wednesday? Thursday. Thursday. Man, all the stoners are going to have a real fun time listening to this one. So 420's on a Thursday, so the festival's on a Sunday? Saturday. Couldn't be, because Friday would be the 21st, and the 22nd would be a Saturday. Sure, math. Math. Who needs it? Hey guys, what is it on a Wednesday?
00:44:57
Speaker
Now, 4-20's out of Thursday, he just looked it up. But yeah, Mars is doing the dank fest, so that'd be really interesting if, uh, if log were needed.
00:45:07
Speaker
So by the way, they're, you know, opening up the doors to their, um, their facility here in Chicago very soon. So I'm pretty excited. Did you ever go to it when they were open? Yeah. Yeah. Their actual tab. That's right. Yeah. The Willy Wonka. Yes. Which literally is like walking into, you would like it.
00:45:38
Speaker
Do you have any suggestions on what beers we should bring for Dankfest? Ooh, what's your dankiest dank beer? I have no idea. I think I'm going to bring shower thoughts because it's going to be fresh and out at that point and it's going to be an Imperial Hazy with Ruaka and Nelson Savine and Motueka. Oh, that's a good mix right there. So I mean, it's going to be super aromatic. Yeah.
00:46:00
Speaker
But I also, to me, I think dank and I'm like on that West Coast, something we'll probably have some fresh Sentinel at that point. Yeah, Sentinel's good. It's funny because I know it's dank-fest with the idea behind it, but the first thought in my mind, I'm like, April? You guys should bring an Oni. Oni's just so good.
00:46:18
Speaker
It's not dank, but it's got a nice fruity, hot flavor. Speaking of which, my kind of beezer has blown sitting over there. I wanted to get it refilled. All right, Pete. That's what I was hoping when I showed up. I was going to say, what do you guys got for cakes? On right now, you can still get, we just did fresh ethanol. That's only a week old. And beezer. Right now, we're basically refilling beezer in the market every two weeks. So beezer's pretty much always available.
00:46:48
Speaker
Yes. And our brewers and production people hate it right now because they're flying through so much. And it's one of those engines that you can't stop. Man. So no one gets a break at the moment. Keep going guys. Brandon, what are we drinking? Uh, we are drinking Firestone Walker Brewings, Breda Weiss, Berliner style wheat beer.
00:47:14
Speaker
Okay, that's the bread. Like, I definitely was expecting a little bit of that tartness, but... Huh, barrel ratio, 100% French oak, maturation time, four to eight months, Thai Chihuahua acidity, uh... Oh, yeah, that's my favorite. Seven grams per liter. My favorite. Flora, proprietary blend of bread and mices and lactobacillus cultures.
00:47:40
Speaker
Oh yeah. It is batch number three and it was bottled in 2017. Bad idea. I think it's like 4.6%. So this one's six years old too. Yeah, well there's a local liquor store and not too far from us that has a tendency of keeping a lot of beers around. Some...
00:47:57
Speaker
that like this I feel like work others well you're kind of bummed that you bought and you got home you're like this is four months old like four months old past the like fresh by date yeah they don't really pay attention but you get things like this as well that are sitting around and then sometimes they'll do who does abyss do shuts
00:48:21
Speaker
They had a couple bottles of abyss from like 2018. Oh wow. That at one point they're like, yeah, they're $9.99 just by him.
00:48:32
Speaker
Like they were trying to clear them up. You need the balance of those stores because otherwise you don't find gems like this. And there was another one, they had another red wild ale that I was between that and this but I am more of a fan of Berliner Weiss beers. So what's your take on this one, Matt, so far?
00:48:56
Speaker
It's always the pretend the mice is hearing it over to my left, too, where I love and hate the nose at the same time, where it initially turns me off. I wanted them to just keep smelling it, and then I just want to just keep smelling it over and over and over and drinking that, where it just keeps on growing on me. I think that's originally not to go back to the well of the old horse blanket that most people don't even know that actually smells like. Yeah, I've heard it so many times, but I don't know what that smells like.
00:49:28
Speaker
I do kind of because my mom had horses growing up. Oh that makes sense. And so it's kind of this like and it's hard every time people talk about cat urine is an aroma in beer. Boxwood. Apparently we have a better term now. And so I'm trying to figure out what the better term for horse blanket is because there's certain things where it's like
00:49:50
Speaker
kind of salinic and salty with a little bit of funk and a little bit of sweetness. Just like a horse's blanket. But it doesn't turn you off.
00:50:06
Speaker
we learned the term boxwood from Joe from Joe from dry hop he was on he used to work in the wine world and that was their term for when something had that cat ear and smell and boxwood is a root it's a plant Laura what's a boxwood it's a bush yeah that has a smell kind of like yeah yep
00:50:30
Speaker
So if you're ever walking around your neighborhood and you smell cat pee, it's probably a box of... Or a cat, or a cat peeing all around. Yeah, I mean, I... We should have stray cats that run through our yard all the time. We should talk to Joe and see if he's got something for horse blanket. I'll text him tonight and see if there's something. But I understand what you're saying. I always get like...
00:50:51
Speaker
There's like this tartness to it, like a sourness to it, but not like an off-putting sour. It's sharp. Yeah, but then they...
00:51:01
Speaker
I don't know what else to say about it as far as the aroma, but to me it's a familiar one, especially for like something with Brett and Lacto in it. So this one in particular, I'm going to channel my inner Daniel, Danny, hip-hop. It's got a nice tartness to it. Like when I first took a sip, but then there's like, it was almost like the slight
00:51:25
Speaker
Yes, I knew you were going to win. I knew I was. It really was, but like, it's not as, which is actually pretty nice because it's not like a, there wasn't like, it was in the beginning, now I get more like, there's more layers to it, there's a little bit more like breadiness to it, there's tartness to it. But my first sip, I guess maybe because I was expecting it to be
00:51:44
Speaker
much more tart than it is. But it's a permanent one, so I don't know why I was thinking it was gonna be like super tart and drying of my mouth. But when I think of bread and lacto together, that's what I kind of thought it was gonna be. But this to me is really refreshing. It's kind of like a good beer you could like sip on in your yard on a hot summer day, you know what I mean?
00:52:08
Speaker
right now. I mean, that's what I love about bread and lactose is you can come back to it next year and it can be something completely different. Also true. But there is like a lightness to it, right? Like there's, it's not just full funk in your mouth. Is that the beginning of the episode? That's the episode title. Fuck. I don't know if you want to be on this one more.
00:52:35
Speaker
Full funk in your mouth. Did we record Tony's rant about the bananas? Yeah, I got that. Yeah, we did. That was a part of the bananas foster.
00:52:47
Speaker
Brandon, what are your overall on this? I like it. It's super light, but it's got a good medium body. The lactose, the lactobacillia, and those two together I think always just work really well to give it a nice creaminess.
00:53:09
Speaker
and like a good like tart forwardness so it's tart it's kind of got like this medium bodied creamy mouth feel finishes super clean and it's this isn't like my go-to style but it's good enough and maybe it's because it's six years old like
00:53:29
Speaker
I feel like I can continue to drink this and not get like heartburn. Yeah. Cause there's other ones that I'll, you'll get through half of the glass and you're going to be like, yeah, I'm going to start to feel this. That was my fear of getting the wild fermented red ale. Cause every time I see a red ale and wild fermentation, my mind goes to like a Flanders, which would just.
00:53:47
Speaker
peel away the enamel from my teeth, burn my esophagus. Which is good in what it's like. Yeah, it tastes great. In what else? Of course. And I think the last time I ever had, like the last time I had like a good Flanders was probably at Hop Leaf.
00:54:01
Speaker
They had something. And it was just like, it blew my mind. It was really good. But it was also like, even to that, I was like, okay, I'm done with this beer after this point. Yeah, you don't have to have my own. I need a stout or something hoppy to counteract all of the... We should, as the podcast, start the first Flanders Fest. We should do a Flanders Fest where it's all Flanders Red.
00:54:26
Speaker
Oh, not Ned Flanders. But also Ned Flanders is involved and we get like Tums involved as well. Well that will increase the amount of participants. Absolutely. Are you going to fly in all the breweries from Belgium because how many... We'll go there. We'll go there. We'll just do it in Belgium. Even if it's on a street corner.
00:54:45
Speaker
We'll talk after the episode. I was going to say, Laura might have your tongues over there, but I think I moved. Gotta have tongues when you're drinking salad beers. You were drinking something the one time and he was like, I got heartburn. So I brought tongues and I just leave them at the corner of the bar for him over there. Just in case one, especially when drinking random styles. Here's my question for you guys with wild ferment and sours.
00:55:15
Speaker
One of the things that I have issue with is and that I love is you come back to it and you can have the exact same beer. It's what I love about Orval. But every time you have Orval, it's never the same. Right. Do you think that ends up being a detriment for it actually gaining fans and customers and people because you don't have consistency? Yeah.
00:55:34
Speaker
I'd say yes and no. I feel like there's other people who like that. Way to improv and then deny it. I mean. Yes and. Yes and. Or we talked about that. Yes and. Yes. And.
00:55:49
Speaker
We did discuss it. Yes and no. I feel like that's something that might be attractive to the drinkers who like that beer. I haven't had one. Actually, I saw one at Beer on the Wall a month or two ago. No, we're going to do the Belgian beer episode.
00:56:07
Speaker
And I saw that, I was like, oh man, I forgot about this beer, like even existing. But I think that, I think yes and no, that it's probably, there's a lot of people out there who may have had it once, then had it again, they're like, thanks, or they didn't, they weren't getting what they were getting before, so I never went back to it. But the fact that it's always changing could also be the reason why
00:56:27
Speaker
other drinkers go to it. I would like to go back and revisit it, especially now, because last time I had it was at Fishman's and R.I.P. It's been a long time since I've been there. Quite a while. Well, they're closed now. All right. Well, that's it, everybody. Thank you for listening. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Oh, wait, sorry. We still got to talk about Meals on Wheels. Oh, spoiler alert. Also, real quick, what's left? We got one more left. Where are we at on time?
00:56:58
Speaker
All right, why won't we do this? Brandon, grab something. We'll crack it open. And we're going to have Aggie and Laura tell us. Laura, welcome, by the way, to the show. Now you've been off to the side this entire time. And thank you for joining us and sitting through what I do when I come here to hang out with Brandon. I appreciate it. It's been a real blast. Really? Have you had fun? Uh-huh. Did you enjoy yourself? I did. Even though you were a dream? 100%.
00:57:27
Speaker
Brandon just poured us some beers. We're going to talk about that beer. But first, the main reason why you're here is because you are on the, what did you call it? I asked you on the right in here. I'm on the associate board at Meals on Wheels Chicago. What's Meals on Wheels Chicago, Laura?
00:57:44
Speaker
We serve the city of Chicago's homebound seniors and people with disabilities and get nutritious meals to them in their home, which improves their quality of life and their ability to stay and remain in their homes. There are over 10,000 clients in the Chicagoland area.
00:58:07
Speaker
And unfortunately, isolation is a big part of their life and their driver often is the only person that they see during the week. And to keep this outstanding organization running smoothly, we rely on donations and proceeds from events, sponsorships and volunteers. I'm mostly on this show tonight to talk about an upcoming event in April. What is this event? I am so excited.
00:58:37
Speaker
It's called Chicago on Tap. We've been to it before. We did. We went. We did. It was at Talia Hall. And it was several, several years ago. Yes. It's now at Theater on the Lake.
00:58:48
Speaker
which I've never been to. You've never been to theater. That's right. Nope. Yes. I've gone to comedy shows since it's been renovated. It's amazing. It's talking to our brewers actually today. This is one of the only events that they're actually excited about wanting to be and be a part of being on the lake. We have a couple people, including our sales rep Nate, who's an actor and LJ, who's an actor who've been there and they just love the space and it's absolutely gorgeous. Um,
00:59:17
Speaker
And I think we've all, growing up, I knew neighbors and people that were always using Meals on Wheels. And I think it's one of the biggest organizations that's really touched pretty much everyone I know's lives and helped people. So it was easy. Well, and I'm glad you guys are a part of it. And I'm glad to hear that the location is cool. I've not yet been.
00:59:40
Speaker
it's close to Lincoln Park and the diversity harbor. Yeah, it's right next to the zoo. Yeah. I used to live right there. And so I would go down to the lake. And so just even that night, if they have any amount of being able to see outside, it's just gorgeous to be able to see the entire Chicago skyline and being on the lake. I'm excited to see the building just because I growing up in Chicago,
01:00:05
Speaker
anytime we got off the highway there it was the dilapidated building that was boarded up or if I was rollerblading or riding my bike on the lakefront trail you'd go by it and like what a waste of a building and then when they revamped it and reopened it at the time like they had their their head chef that was running the thing was Cletus Freeman who used to run Fountainhead and used to have city provisions he was a great chef and like kind of put that on the map culinarily you know
01:00:34
Speaker
that aspect and then he moved on to other things but so I've been like itching to go there ever since it's reopened because I mean what a cool spot now I've got our chance so why don't you tell us what it's all about
01:00:50
Speaker
There's going to be roughly 20 breweries, 60 different types of beers, and... Including Old Irving. Including Old Irving, yes. And I was hoping that if you've already decided that maybe you could... Do you know what you guys are going to be doing at the time? In a month? In a month? Or have an idea? Yeah, it's probably going to be... It's a paralyzed migration. Totally. Got you in paralyzed migration.
01:01:12
Speaker
I'm probably going to bring something special, something that you would particularly like. I always like to do something that people don't expect. Yes, why Tony? Why does he get something he likes? Brandon, it means you're going to like it too. Because he told me that Crampers in the Buff was a five for him. Ooh! But I definitely like to do it. I would like a keggy right here.
01:01:37
Speaker
Most likely, if it's like me, it's probably going to be Della, something that I love that's easy drinking, probably shower thoughts, something that's nice and hype and hazy. Della's delicious, delicious, Kolsch. Della, my new Della button in my coat, by the way. Thank you.
01:01:54
Speaker
You're welcome. Sorry, what else were you going to bring? Shower thoughts because I always like bring something hazy and big. Got to. Beautiful. And then usually I'll kind of oscillate either between like at this point it'll be cushy blood orange or sour or maybe something a little bit fruity. That's kind of my like up in the air last minute decision type thing. Fun.
01:02:17
Speaker
Awesome. I look forward to trying those. And I will drink that night. Because I'm taking off the next day. I think I am too. I'm going to New Orleans the next day. Yeah, Brandon's going to have a flight. Is it a Thursday? Yeah, it's a Thursday. I know I'm going to have a 5am flight though. Hey, good job. What else? Anything else?
01:02:37
Speaker
Yes, there'll also be some Chicago restaurants. Yeah, handing out bites to eat. Raffles with prizes from different breweries, gift cards to different Chicago restaurants, sporting events, theater, comedy show packages we're putting together, a live band, lead foot band. And then everybody goes home with a 2023 Chicago untapped souvenir pour glass. You know, we have those cool little taster glasses. Yes. I've got that's the next day. That's Friday.
01:03:06
Speaker
I've got the glasses from the first time we went. Yeah, yeah. Those interested in joining us can find tickets at Meals on Wheels Chicago dot org and click on the event Chicago on tap to buy your tickets. Also, there is a special little promo code that if you want it, you're going to have to email us at the malting hour.
01:03:32
Speaker
and be sure to put in the subject either Chicago on tap or Meals on Wheels or Why is Laura with Tony still? Tony's wife. Tony's wife. Please don't put Tony's wife. Actually, put Tony's wife. That's funny. And we'll send you a special promo code that is a little discounted ticket, right? Yes. So you'll be able to use it. We're actually going to blow it up. You're actually going to get it for free. You're going to work for it. Like they do with Meals on Wheels, feeding the elderly, working all the time.
01:04:20
Speaker
The ticket cost is $75 but with the promo code it'll be 60.
01:04:28
Speaker
So you save 15 bucks. Plus, if you don't end up using the promo code, that $75 is, especially if you're in Chicago. It's going to a great cause. It's direct to them, yes.
01:04:43
Speaker
Like Matt said, I think everybody, at least in here, either knows somebody or has been a part of. I remember when, in my teenage years, I did some youth group thing where I actually worked with Meals on Wheels and prepared some meals to send out, which was a lot of fun and nice to do. It's an important event and it's super cool because a lot of local breweries
01:05:04
Speaker
Uh, some that have been on this show other than, uh, Old Irving, um, Howard Street. Yeah. Howard Street will be there. Ooh. Ooh. Yeah. Nope. They haven't been on the show yet, but yes, they will be there. Uh, Rev's going to be there. Revolution's going to be there. Oh, nice. Um, do you have the other ones? Yeah. Um, Buffalo Creek rowing.
01:05:22
Speaker
And crushed by giant. Oh, yeah, our friends crushed by Giants dry hop. Hopewell not hop. Well, that's right. Everybody said hop all the first time. Hardly water is another one that I do. I think it's a cider or no, I'm sorry. Hard seltzer. Yeah, that's my jam right there.
01:05:41
Speaker
um metropolitan oh yeah that's right birthday party there that was great yeah metropolitan always loves some good lagers their beers are so good so i mean even just with that like that list right there and knowing and then there's food yes there's food yes we're gonna be there
01:05:57
Speaker
And we'll be there. Matthew, are you going to be at this one? I will. Myself and Nate's going to be there as well. And hopefully some of our brewers, I was telling them about this, they're excited. What I love even about this, most beer fest nowadays are anywhere from 60 to 150 plus dollars for a beer fest.
01:06:18
Speaker
And this being $75 is not all that expensive and it goes to a great cause, which is usually the great cause is drinking good beer. In this case, you get to drink good beer plus feel good about what you're doing. Absolutely. Definitely. Yeah. And yeah, it's on a Thursday night and it's the first night of the NFL draft.
01:06:35
Speaker
Looking it on your phone. I mean priorities, right? That's our number nine. Oh, yeah, sorry Brandon real quick. What are we drinking? We are I think we're like an hour and 45 minutes for this episode
01:07:00
Speaker
We are drinking a 2016 Dark Lore. It's black with sparkles. That's the wax color. Made with dark matter, unicorn blood, coffee. I didn't get coffee. And you know what I didn't get also? I didn't get soy sauce. No, no soy sauce whatsoever. I got sweet
01:07:25
Speaker
Um, barely just out like a little into smoke or something on the back end. You know what else I didn't get? Green pepper with coffee being in there. So I'm liking this one a lot. Oh, seven years old. Yeah. And Dark Lord days coming up in May. They just announced the other reason why I did this to just, you know, we're not going, but I got a concert to go to with my wife. We're on Arkansas. We're going to see camp. Are you familiar with that?
01:07:53
Speaker
She's got the shirt. How much there was a video for this? Good choice, Brandon. I think the only time I've read Dark Lord has been with you. And then when Ron brought one over for, no, not Ron, somebody brought over for my 39th birthday right before the pandemic hit and the world went shit. That was pretty good. It's good times. I remember Gus brought some hitters. Gus brought, I think Dark Lord. I think Gus brought the Dark Lord. How many,
01:08:24
Speaker
skulls would you give this we haven't changed the scale we're still at five okay fine you know for this one in particular we're going on a ten skull scale well the ten skull scale multiply it by two do math yeah do math okay I'm gonna do maybe a three point seven
01:08:49
Speaker
I don't like to change numbers. So we're at a five. OK, so Brandon's doing the five points again. No. No, if we want to go 10, that's fine. I'm like seven and a half. Yeah, OK. I like that. I feel like that's your three, 3.75. Beckett, did you get some of this? I tasted it. I'm not a fan. Did you see that? I think after you said soy sauce. Oh, Z. Oh, no. I think that's something. Sorry. Yeah, that sometimes is impressionable. A little smoky and salty. I apologize.
01:09:29
Speaker
Would you like some dark chocolate salted caramel? I mean, for me, that's actually kind of the reason I'm, you know, 4.2, 8.5. Like, for me, this is actually one of my favorite salads I've had in a while. You have the death. There's absolutely obviously the age. There's no burn whatsoever, but dark chocolate salted caramel is like spot on. Yeah. For everything. Good descriptor.
01:09:54
Speaker
I'm with you guys. I'm going to go about eight skulls. Eight skulls on this. I like that. Laura, way to go with the... Oh, you want to judge this? Look, it's so dark,
Nostalgia and Toy Ratings
01:10:06
Speaker
Lord. Look at that. I mean, that is... That looks like something my brother would have played with when he was a little kid. So how many skulls would you give this? You know, hailing Satan. How many skulls would you give this out of 10? I would give it...
01:10:21
Speaker
Six skulls out of ten. Six skulls out of ten. That's decent. Especially for your first full rating. Yep. Cool. Thanks for asking me. Thanks for including me. Thanks for sitting through one of our longest shows ever. We appreciate it.
01:10:37
Speaker
Oh, it's not anywhere even near the October fest. Oh, yeah, that's right. That was like three days long. Well, you guys, that was so much fun.
Community Involvement: Meals on Wheels
01:10:46
Speaker
Can I ask Laura one more question? Please. Just because I've not gotten to know you a little bit. How did you get involved with Meals on Wheels and what brought you into everything? Asking the real questions. Yeah, I, you know, like a lot of people looking for some way to, you know, spend my time wisely and positively and give back. One of my coworkers was
01:11:07
Speaker
the executive board president for a couple years and our firm, Monahan Law Group is always a big supporter and sponsor. She said that there was an opening on the associate board. So I just before the world turned upside down and
01:11:25
Speaker
She's talking about that sound of her face I made earlier about the pandemic. Yes, yes. I joined and have really been enjoying myself ever since. And this is our first on tap since I've been on the board. So I'm really excited to be on this side of it because like Tony said, we went in.
01:11:40
Speaker
2017 2018 to Talia Hall and it was a lot of fun So yeah, I really I really like being a part of it. So but it's here like I mean you join the board right before the pandemic but
01:11:58
Speaker
I would have to assume that there was a huge uptick in need for like Meals on Wheels. Yeah, you're you're exactly right. That's true. And it's probably still reeling from that too. Yeah, it made and it made everything harder obviously to get, you know, everything situated and food to people and people who were already isolated even more so. March of 2020, we did a
01:12:22
Speaker
virtual 5K and that was a good way to raise funds when we couldn't be doing the in-person things such as
01:12:31
Speaker
this on tap event and our summertime golf event and our celebrity chef ball event. We're all off the table. Yeah, that's a big one. We just had that in October. And so, yeah, we're excited to get this on tap back up and running and to get the on tap back on tap back on tap.
Event Promotion and Closing Remarks
01:12:52
Speaker
I love it. Thank you.
01:12:53
Speaker
April 27th, Meals on Wheels Chicago.org. We're going to put the link in our episode description and obviously as we get closer and probably pretty much from here and out until the end, you know, because we're going to be there and once you guys come out too, we'll probably keep posting about this as well. Don't forget to email us at info at the maltinghour.com
01:13:19
Speaker
and put in either Meals on Wheels in the subject, put Tony's wife in the subject, put Aggie the Cat in the subject. Either way, just put something in there to request the promo code. And you can save 15 bucks. And if you don't do it, that's OK. You can still buy tickets and come out, hang out with us, have some food, drink some beers, local beers, and support a good cause. And thank you for joining us, Laura. Thank you guys for having me. We appreciate it. Thank you.
01:13:47
Speaker
Hey, Becca, thanks for joining us too. You know, there's a plan. We have a plan that we've talked about where all the wives would be here one day. We'll just sit back and watch it ride, but that's still probably a couple years in the making. We'll see one day. Matthew, always a pleasure.
01:14:05
Speaker
Thank you for having me. I love hanging out with you guys and sharing great beers and helping good causes. You know, you're eventually going to replace Matt and... Dan and Clark, just so you know that. You'll be the third co-host. Eventually you're just going to make your way out of here. I figured we'd just have an offshoot. That way you can network. The real malting hour. The real real malting hour. That's why Dan and Clark can never come on because they're doing the real malting hour. I still can't find online. That's kind of weird.
01:14:35
Speaker
Anyway, Brandon, love you man. Love you too, bud. Thanks everybody for listening and don't forget to check out the Meals on Wheels on tap on April 27 and check the link in the bio. Send us an email. We'll see you guys later. Bye. Bye.
01:14:53
Speaker
This has been The Malting Hour. Be sure to follow us on all social media by searching The Malting Hour and at themaltinghour.com. You can also follow us individually on social media. Brandon can be found on Instagram as bmdub81, on Twitter, bdub81, and on Untapped as bdubdrinksbeer. Tony can be found on Instagram and Untapped under Ace of Hope Chicago. On Twitter, The Ace of Hope Chicago. Clark can be found as Clarkowski on all three.
01:15:21
Speaker
Dan can be found on Instagram as hip underscore underscore hops and hip hops on YouTube. Be sure to subscribe, like and rate the show on your preferred podcast listening platform. Until next time, cheers from all of us at The Multing Hour.