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Episode 156 - Mystery Beer Challenge 2025
52 Plays25 days ago
This week Brandon pours four mystery beers for Tony to try figure out what they are. Will it be a saison/pale ale mishap again or will he overcome the odds and get them all correct?
Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli)
Outro music provided by @FluidMinds
Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com
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Transcript
Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
And we're back again! This week we sample four mystery beers from Benny's. This is episode 156 of The Malting Hour.
Saturday Recording Vibes
00:00:37
Speaker
Welcome to the Molting Hour. I am one of your hosts, Tony Bullock joined Always With. Brandon winning journey. Brandon, how are we doing today? Good, how are you? Good, man. It's nice to record on a Saturday. Yeah, right? Instead of a Sunday night or yeah Wednesday night. Yeah, it's a Saturday in the afternoon. Yeah, actually it is officially 1221 so yes, we are after noon. tech Look at that. Look at us being Responsible cause responsible. Yeah to drink so we could drink
Birthday Plans and Revolution Tasting
00:01:05
Speaker
more later. Yeah Going out for my birthday, man and Yeah, I don't know. So this might be I've been trying as best as I can to like limit how much I drink. Yeah So I don't know how much I'll drink tonight. That's right. But definitely like
00:01:20
Speaker
um I'm going to do some tasters of some of those, if they got any of the the newer stuff they released. Tons of stuff. They have a ton of stuff. They actually brought back one that wasn't on tap last time we were there. Oh, that's cool. Yeah, so um um um I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, that's pretty much why I like going to Revolution for my birthday around this time, because they normally have some of the stuff from like their last release, like the special tappings are still on. Yeah. So I know that the Firestone collaborations are still on tap.
00:01:50
Speaker
And I think they still might have some firestone on tap. Ooh, very cool. um Yeah, so for those that are listening, I'm sorry. You missed Tony's birthday as a revolution. Thanks a lot, everybody. You missed it by a couple of days. Thanks for not showing up. yeah You also missed the unofficial official celebration yet.
00:02:11
Speaker
Revolution. Yeah,
Mystery Four-Pack from Uncle
00:02:13
Speaker
so thanks a lot. ah So for this episode we're doing kind of like a mystery I'm gonna call it a mystery ah Episode but it's not necessarily a mystery episode Um, it is a four pack of singles that I got, uh, on Christmas from my uncle for, uh, from Denny's and he, you know, he went and he just did like the mix for, and he said he had some, somebody, he always goes and has somebody like help him. Cause he's always like, Oh, my, you know, my nephew loves beer and blah, blah, blah. So like somebody will go and like handpick different stuff for him.
00:02:46
Speaker
um And I think he went to the upgraded, cause I think there was a price tag on it that said $15. These, I saw, the only thing I saw when you pulled these out was that it was a four pack. Yeah. So yes, there is the, you can build your own like six pack where those tend to be, I mean, you gotta, to even with these, yeah I realized you kind of have to look at the dates cause I did a build your own last weekend, I think.
00:03:12
Speaker
Yes, it was last weekend. I stopped in and, a yeah, because we recorded last Sunday and I drank something random. Correct. Why does that feel like a blur already? The Boulevard. Yes. God. 43, man. i'm I'm losing it already.
00:03:27
Speaker
um Yeah, the so you still gotta to check this.
Freshness and Date-Checking in Beers
00:03:31
Speaker
The build your own six packs seem to be like maybe older beers, but the build your own four packs, those are closer to when they were released. Like I had a pipe works grapefruit IPA that was canned in January of this year.
00:03:47
Speaker
that was a part of my mix. for Wasn't there one that you got that was like a little older than you expected? Because I swear I heard you say like, oh maybe they still need it or maybe you didn't get it. but I did. checking date There was one from like August. Yeah, you were checking. And it was a like it was a heat it was a hazy. And it was not sitting in the like it wasn't cool that I'm like, oh, that's gonna be probably not good.
00:04:08
Speaker
but uh yeah so he he looks like your uncle may have uh gone with the the good the good picks for it are you using the purse hook for your headphones i am i keep forgetting you have that little those bag hooks and that's really awesome i forget like i forget they're there too because that's not something we requested when we had the bar built but when he was putting it in he goes you want some purse hooks i'm like Okay, and for all the ladies that I have it around my bar. My wife, who leaves her purse upstairs. She's afraid we're going to go through it. I'm like, come on, come downstairs to the bar. Let's have a drink. We'll act like we're out we don't and we don't have to spend money. like You know what? I'll come by and be a bartender for you guys. Well, Hire Tony is a bartender. You're going to hire me. I just want to be able to have a drink while I'm serving you guys.
00:04:51
Speaker
All right, so we're starting this off. um I already poured one. So again, the name of the game, name not necessarily a mystery episode, but I want to see. Mystery beers for Tony. Yeah, if Tony can kind of figure out the style. and Tony's birthday mystery beers. Yeah, what's going on?
First Mystery Beer Tasting: Pale Ale or Lager?
00:05:05
Speaker
What's going on with these beers? Interesting. i gonna So it smells kind of smells like a fruit cocktail. A little bit. Interesting.
00:05:19
Speaker
OK.
00:05:24
Speaker
there's There's oh Man so the color of it is like blonde like straw mm-hmm It's kind of hazy I'm saying mm-hmm like i as if I don't see it right in front of me you're You're speaking as the other yeah There's a bitterness to it, it's kind of dry I Feel like there is a This is either a pale ale, mhm.
00:05:57
Speaker
Is there like, is there a certain, is there a specific yeast use for this? Um, like I don't want to say wild ale, but like a yeast that eats malt or wort. Um, no, I mean, like, is it, yeah is it like a wild fermented or is there? I don't believe so. No. Okay. Interesting. All right. Oh shit. I just spilled some on me. Carry it with you forever.
00:06:27
Speaker
I'm wearing this hoodie tonight. Oh man. The last like four times I've seen you. you had that I always wear it. Gosh, this is tough. All right. So it's fruity. Yeah. What do you think about for style? I would say pale ale. Okay. Or pale ale that has like some wild bacteria or wild ale. Okay. Or like, fuck man. Hold on.
00:06:59
Speaker
Oh, it could just be a paleo. Could just be a paleo. Cause I don't think it's better enough for an IPA, but I feel like they're, there's some wild yeast or something. Yeah. So now I just checked the canned on date. Um, so this, if he got this from the, the elevated section, he got an older beer. Ah, what's the date on the can? August. Okay. How am I doing on the? You're in the realm. I'm in the realm. Yeah.
00:07:27
Speaker
um So taking the style and everything, the beer itself, let's go that route. Like the beer itself, what are you thinking? how like i You know what, not knowing the date and just kind of being blind to it, I like this. yeah I think it's really refreshing actually. yeah And if there's no wild geese or some type of different geese in there,
00:07:50
Speaker
Gosh, maybe this beer is, you know, just changed in the can so much by not being refrigerated and sitting like this, that just the way that the beer changed, it didn't affect it in a sense that I think is negative. I don't get any weird off flavors. Yeah. It's just, it's dry. It's refreshing. It's like, I feel like I could just slam this, this beer. What's the ABV on it? Or do you want me to guess? Yeah, go ahead. If I had to guess the ABV on this based on what I'm drinking, you will be surprised.
00:08:22
Speaker
Five? Exactly. Is it? Yeah. Fucking A. Wow, look at me. All the years of doing this show, I'm finally getting... Well, I'm not... It's got something right. You know what I know? It's not it's not a saison, that's for sure. It's not, is it? I hope not. um Yeah, so I'm going to go pale ale with some type of different type of yeast, like, I don't know, wild yeast.
00:08:49
Speaker
I know I've had like Brett beers before that yeah have milder.
00:08:56
Speaker
taste to it but yeah i'm i'm gonna go paleo yeah so uh i'm at a disadvantage i know what it is but taking that out of account of my description like i think it um i did like when you said it it had that like fruit cocktail aroma i agreed with that i think a lot of that's coming uh from the hops um they they have a nice uh they do list the hop so it's it would lend to that aroma profile and the taste profile. Because it's almost like very, I don't want to say watered down, because it's not really the word, but it's like. It's light. It's a light tropical kind of flavor that's kind of flowing through it for me a little bit. Are there hops in here that I would know specifically? You would know all of them. Oh, shit. Yeah. Oh, fuck. I'm not going to guess them. How many hops are in it? How many hops are Four. Citro, in it? one of them. No. So, well, there's four. They use two for the boil, two for dry hopping. Interesting. And there's no mosaic. There was a duplicate between two of them. Simcoe. You said one. You said it wasn't. It is mosaic.
00:10:15
Speaker
I don't get any mosaic in this. Anyway, so what I was going to say is that I agree with you. It's really refreshing. In the state that it is, I don't know what it is fresh, but this is a good beer. I would buy this old can again. Yeah. So I'm going to do the rating first, and then we'll talk about what the beer is. So if you're going to rate this out of five brown paper bags,
00:10:42
Speaker
How many paper bags would you give this?
Second Mystery Beer Discovery: Session Ale
00:10:45
Speaker
I'm giving this a 3.8 in the paper bag row. Yeah, i'm I'm with you on that. I agree. um it's it's It's delicious. I could easily drink this, throw it back to the you know hot summer day type of beer. like Absolutely. this this is ri Crisp fall evening, around a fire. Drink this tomorrow during the Super Bowl. So ah the beer actually is, let's see. what Yeah, it is from Old Nation Brewing Company out of, uh, Old Nation Brewing Company out of Williamston, Michigan. Oh fuck, is this the M? It's Bereal dry hopped lager. It's their lager? Yeah. Interesting. Dry hopped lager. Okay. So, okay. So that's where I'm getting the very low. Interesting. Wow. This is a lager, huh? Yeah. You weren't far off, excuse me, with the pale ale, like,
00:11:42
Speaker
you know Because the fruitiness is throwing me off. Exactly. And that was my thing, too. I probably would have went towards pale ale because the fruitiness cuts through the maltiness that I kind of get through. Yeah, or like the breadiness that you get from it. Yeah. And my assumption is, after I looked at the can and I was like, this might be why, maybe because it's over six months old that the. Can I see the can? Yeah, that maybe the maltiness You kind of subsided a little bit. OK. But I'm impressed that the the fruitiness of the hops kind of held up. Yeah. Magnum mosaic. Magnum I get. Centennial mosaic. I don't get mosaic. I still don't get mosaic in there now, even knowing that, you know, it was it was in there. But again, older beer. So things could have happened. Interesting. I guess I guess what was throwing me off. The fact I was like, I was wondering if there was some wild yeast or something that kind of
00:12:41
Speaker
Because in my head it was a pale ale that something was happening with, you know what I mean? Because it doesn't drink like a lager, but it is crisp and refreshing like a lager. So there's a description on the website, but I will read the last one. It says, with its crisp and clean lager base, burial balances bitterness and aromatic hop notes of pine, orange, and tropical fruit. To create a showcase of drinkability. Yes.
00:13:04
Speaker
And Tony's got his readers on. I can fucking read today.
00:13:11
Speaker
look I had gone out um ah for my birthday and I had told Laura, I was like, you know what? I realized I'm 43, not 23. And she said, oh, I know that because you're reading this text with your readers.
00:13:28
Speaker
law
00:13:31
Speaker
Killing me, Smurf. It's true. I i dude i wear them all the time now. I rarely take them off. It's just easier to see. Did you ever, you said you were gonna do an eye detector problem. I didn't do it, I didn't do it, you know why? Because I'm a procrastinator, dude. Go see my dude. Dude, give me that info. Literally, he's at Milwaukee, just past, he's just past, like, Gall Street Inn. Okay. You know the bridge that goes over Milwaukee, right before the police station? Like, he's right there, Excel, Gelato, places, right there. Oh, it's right over there? It's literally right next door to that. Oh, cool. I've gone there,
00:14:04
Speaker
Dude's super nice. I took Benjamin there. Benjamin loved him. And every time he passes, he's like, it's my eye doctor. But really cool, dude. i yeah Yeah, I do need to go because, you know, it's getting to the point now where I used to be able to see everything that's on the, you know, the diagrams you have behind your bar there. finish Yeah, I'll finish that. And now I can't really see it. And I put my glasses, my readers on, and I can see it better, which is like, Oh no, I need, I needed these to see things up close. Now I kind of use them to like see in general. Hmm.
00:14:40
Speaker
Very interesting. It's a very interesting beer. i would I want to find, I don't know if they do this all the time, if it's a... It is a year round. Okay. Then I, you know, I'm i'm going to Benny's today because I need to get some stuff for tomorrow. And I think I'm going to look for it and see if it's there. See if they have it maybe in the cooler or find a can that is fresh. Because that's good. i Like I said, in the state that it's in,
00:15:09
Speaker
I would, okay, good. I was just like, I can see the back of the can, but I can't see anything about it. So that's good. Keep it the way it is. um i Yeah, i think I think it's very tasty, very good. I also feel like we should not show these beers. I'm gonna blur them out. Oh, yeah, yeah. For the picture. That would be awesome. That's a great idea. here we go Beer number two. Okay, whoa. What's the date on this can?
00:15:40
Speaker
I won't. Please don't be old. Please don't be old. There might not be a date.
00:15:49
Speaker
There's something there's a sticker on it that looks like a possibly binnie sticker that says 901. Yeah, I don't know if that's because there's one. ah Is it not is the one like this? Yeah, what does that say? It says eight. It says 1010 on it. 1010 at the top. Yeah, then that is not relevant. It says 819021.
00:16:10
Speaker
I think those are codes. 8-1-9. Yeah. This one says the same thing. 8-1-9-0. There's nothing on the bottom of that can. Nope. But that one's got the date. So OK, this one could be newer, could be not so newer. That's all right. But yeah. All right. All right. This also, this has a fruity aroma to it. It's it's hazy. I'm going to say this is a hazy IPA. OK.
00:16:40
Speaker
But it does not taste like, it's not hoppy like a hazy IPA. Yeah. It's very, it's kind of thin. A little bit. A little watered down. Yeah. You know what's funny? Looking at what you have and looking what I have, look at the difference. You have a clear beer. That's weird. Here, try this and see.
00:17:10
Speaker
weird trying hear too i'm gonna say this is an old beer yours drinks like a lager mine drinks like a fucking pale hazy not pale like a hazy pale ale i'm gonna do some science yeah do some science there you go i like what you're doing there there we go although now yours is very but it's i want a mix of whatever
00:17:42
Speaker
Brandon is going back and forth between our two glasses. We've kissed many times, so this is okay. Killing the carbonation. Killing the carbonation. No, that's perfect. There you go. Those they look like mixed beers now. Now it looks like the same.
00:17:57
Speaker
See? Yeah. You're like, it drinks a little different for me now. Yeah. So I'm going to say, is this another fucking lager? Is this like a pale lager?
00:18:11
Speaker
Technically no. When I say technically no, yeah I mean no. I was like, where are we going with this? So it's not a lager of any sorts. Is this supposed to be like a ah hazy pale ale? I don't know. Whatever this is, okay, and I'm apologizing up front. It's a very drinkable beer. Yes.
00:18:38
Speaker
It tastes like it's an old can, though. So now I'm thinking like I'm going to check the dates on the other ones before I pour them. Sure. um And I'm going to swirly it around a little bit because I did not expect to have to do that with this beer. Yeah, that was strange. I don't i don't know of a time. And even knowing what the beer is, I never would have done that with that kind of beer. So it's a hazy. It's a hazy IPA.
00:19:04
Speaker
Am I correct? No, but... The reason why I say that is because the way that it like... Yeah, yeah. No, I agree with you. It literally, the way that we eat, we've got it. so So when I poured, I poured... I don't remember. Did I pour yours first or mine? Mine. Yeah, I poured Tony's first. and Oh no, it hadn't been yours because it was so clear.
00:19:28
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. ah Either way, like one was like... Or it's a fucking IPA. One was clear and one was hazy. It's not super bitter. If we would have put these two, we should have put these yeah two side by side and taken a picture before I did this. It's insane. It was like night and day different. It looked like we were drinking two different beers. Yeah.
00:19:45
Speaker
um Really, really interesting that that's the way that that played out. But i pause for that for what it is, um it's it's a drinkable, enjoyable beer. yeah Even after I did the the blend, I still enjoy it. i you know it But it did it did change it because when I was drinking it, I'm like, I understand what this beer is based on what I knew. But now blending it, I'm like, oh man.
00:20:11
Speaker
I'm all fucked up. All right, let me go with ABV on this. Shoot. Six. Incorrect, sir. Five? In the middle. Five and a half.
00:20:26
Speaker
5.4. 5.4 is what the can says. I did a Google search. The only thing I could find, well, not the only, thing there was a couple of things, but a beer advocate had it listed at 5%. But the can shows it at 5.4. So. All right. My final guess is, we had some type of either IPA or paleo. Okay.
00:20:52
Speaker
Now you gotta rate it before I tell you what it is. So from what it is in this state. In this state. And in just using what you think it is and all that kind of stuff. so I do feel like there's some old hop taste to it somewhere in there. so i'm gonna go But it's still very drinkable. It's very light. I'm going to go 3.5. OK. Yeah, I'm in the same realm. I was like 3, 4, 3, 5.
00:21:16
Speaker
um The flavor is great. The aroma is pretty good.
Importance of Freshness in Beers: A Revisit
00:21:21
Speaker
um Go back in for. Yeah, I mean, it's it all it smells lager esque to me. So I'm going with some like fruity flavors, aromas. Yeah, sorry. flu Fruity aromas. um I just I just went back in to smell it. I swear I got a little bit left in the glass. It smells like an old IPA. It does a little bit. I'm going to say this is old. I'm going to say it's either an IPA or a paleo.
00:21:51
Speaker
Yeah, so now I'm wondering when I got to tell that's my uncle which binnies is going to need check himself. But ah yeah, I mean, overall, like decent beer. I i would order this again. i Again, I don't know how old it is. So I would be curious to have it fresh. Having one that I know is fresh. Our like our famous last words. Yeah.
00:22:11
Speaker
um But I mean, but that's kind of the name of the game here. Yeah, we drink um a lot of beers that are old. Yeah. and And that's just kind of like, I think a lot of people, a lot of craft beer drinkers, you know, this is something, whether you're doing a build your own, you know, mix pack or something, or you're finding something on the shelves, like, am I going to try this? Maybe you come across this beer and you hear us talking about it and you'll you know.
00:22:35
Speaker
Remember like oh that was okay to drink or oh, I should really avoid this. It's very important though to check the dates Absolutely. I've gotten to the point like so I've gotten to the point especially when I travel I think it's like Total wine or ABC whatever there's you know East Coast has a lot of these Like straight up just liquor stores and I've gotten to the point where when I go there I'll look at dates for things that are like IPAs and loggers and stuff like that and If it's a stout, I don't really care. Neither do I. If it's an adjuncted stout, that sounds really good to me. it it like my Especially if it's a coffee stout. If it's a coffee and coconut you know imperial stout, i'm or just a regular stout. Imperial, I lean less towards having to check, but the regular stouts or porters
00:23:23
Speaker
That it may be a jointed I wanna know yeah and but there's there's a care that I will check. But it doesn't necessarily mean I won't buy it correct. Because if it's six months old and it's coffee and coconut like whatever your example I would still buy it yeah there's a good chance you're gonna get it's four years old and it's been sitting there.
00:23:41
Speaker
chances are in a place like that you're not gonna find something that's four years old you know you'll you'll find that more often at like your local independent places that are just they have old stock and they're just oh I found this in a back shelf so yeah and people were up and so people coming by yeah and because there's there's a you know a whole world of beer drinkers that are just getting introduced to k craft beer and if they hear something like oh bourbon county stout or whatever and they go and they walk into their local mom and pop shop and they've got coffee from 2015 like sitting on the shelf they're like that's a bourbon county i need to buy that and then they taste it and it's like
00:24:20
Speaker
This tastes like shit. I don't, you know, again. Using that as a random. I don't know. That's funny, because it wasn't 2015, the infected year. I don't know if that necessarily would be the case. Real quick, do you have any more coffee bourbon counties? I think so. Interesting. I wonder what years you have and if they, because remember we did. I think from the more recent years. Episode two, we did another, we did a bourbon counties with the coffee ones. Remember where like.
00:24:47
Speaker
We were split, Emil was here and so was yeah Eric yep ah Flores and we we were kind of split on some of the bourbon counties. Like some of us got green pepper in an older coffee bourbon county while others didn't and then it completely switched where The other half who didn't get it, got it. And then the other half who got it didn't. Got it, got it. needed Got it. Me that have it going. By the way, I've never watched a single episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. And now and it's funny because it it definitely feels like a show that I would have been obsessed with and I still haven't watched it. It's funny because the newer rep so for context, I usually put something on in the background of the TV at the bar just on mute subtitles on um and it's always sunny is playing. I haven't watched like the last like season and a half, two seasons and a half like or you whatever. It's been a while since I've actually like sat down and watched it.
00:25:41
Speaker
It's probably best that you explain that only because I just said that randomly. Yeah, and I think it's going off on a tangent. I think, like, dude, there's just so much stuff that, like, ah so my wife and I have been kind of binging. Yeah. um ah show you I think you would probably enjoy. We just watched. It was called Man on the Inside.
00:25:59
Speaker
That sounds familiar. It's with Ted Danson. Oh, yes. I've been told that that's very good. um Yeah, so, you know, just to promote a show that would not pay us. Yeah. Well, hey, I finished ah the entire series of Christmas Cookie Bake Off Challenge. Oh, look at that. Yeah.
00:26:15
Speaker
um so you know we That used to be like our jam. That's what we started to watch all the time. But then we've got into all these other things. But like yeah, it was a good show. like Ted Danson plays a widowed father who his daughter is like his daughter is actually from. ah She's the waitress from. It's always sunny in Philadelphia.
00:26:36
Speaker
And she was like, dad, you you need to find a hobby. You need to do something, blah, blah, blah, because he just sits at a sits at home in his house and like does little stuff, or does nothing. um And he sees an ad in a paper looking for an older man. And their criteria was, knows how to use a cell phone. And so he goes in and to this office, and it's a private investigator who wants him to investigate um a woman who lived or there's a woman who lives in a retirement home that had a family necklace stole that was like a very expensive heirloom that was stolen and he was tasked with going in there and trying to find out who did it um so they literally move him into the retirement home and like you know it kind of those are story shows story of him like
00:27:24
Speaker
you know, being a private investigator, but kind of how he grows out of his shell and becomes. but Sounds interesting. Yeah, it was good. Becca and I really enjoyed it. It hit home for Becca a lot, because it deals a lot with like dementia. And, you know, she had a grandmother that passed from dementia. Well, didn't pass from dementia, but had it.
00:27:47
Speaker
an ant that currently has it. And like, yeah, so it's it's deep, yeah but it's a really good show. So go on that out there. Go ahead, everybody. um Make sure that we get some revenue for promoting that show. Yeah. And for that Netflix check. Yeah, for real. All right. let's but So we got to talk about what the beer is. Let's reveal the beer. So it's from Moores Brewing. OK. It's a session ale.
00:28:12
Speaker
Okay. So I wasn't wrong. No, I was close. I said IPA or paleo, a session ale. Cause it is very light. Indeed. Um, can I see the can please? You may. i don't think there's any Yeah. There's a description on the side that has nothing to do with the beer. Yes. That is the government warning and the, Oh geez.
00:28:36
Speaker
Yeah, that is about Moors. Moors Brewing Company session ale. Very interesting. So the um the beer advocate post that I saw says Moors session ale packs a light but flavorful balance of green papaya and a hint of key lime with a smooth lemongrass finish. I'm going to say this is an older can. Yeah, that's why I'm much older because I've had stuff from Moors and it's it's always been very, very good.
00:29:03
Speaker
And that, not to say that that wasn't very good, but there's something old about it. I wonder if we should just call this episode testing the powers of the Binny's build your own four pack. I like that. That's a long title, but um we're going to do that. um But this is an excellent time to take a quick break. You know what? You're right. We'll be right back.
00:29:31
Speaker
And we're back. Welcome back everybody to our, what do we what do? What do we change the title to?
00:29:38
Speaker
Helping Binnies or something? No. It's still a mystery. Yeah. A birthday mystery beer thing from Binnies. Binnies birthday mystery beer. Yes. That could be old. Okay. This, we got another one in front of us. This looks hazy again. Now this, is there a date on this can? Did you check?
00:30:01
Speaker
Um, there is a Best Buy date and it said October of this year. This year, 2025. Yeah. Okay, cool. Cause this has a fresh hop smell to it. Like this smells good. Yeah.
00:30:20
Speaker
This is bitter. Yep. This is an IPA. I'm saying it now. It's an IPA. I don't think it's a hazy IPA though. Although it looks hazy.
00:30:31
Speaker
It looks a little hazy. Yours. Did you pour yours before mine? No, I poured yours first. Mine looks a little more clear. But I did swirl the cake. Yeah, I did. I didn't see you do a little of that. But it does look a little like, you know, that's going to happen. There's going to be some like, I just, do I have a fresh noon whistle beer at home and I poured it last night and I could see like little floaters in it. You know what I mean? Like, I'm like, yeah, it's just, just a part of it. Um,
00:30:56
Speaker
Look at the aroma. It's hoppy. It smells hoppy, tastes hoppy. It's not like super bitter. So maybe it is, I don't know, a hazy. Also comes off as a little sessionable too. Yeah. I don't, I get like, this might be a hazy because I feel like I'm getting that citrusy little bit of ness in my my chest and in a burp. I think I'm going to have like a citra burp. Yeah.
00:31:21
Speaker
So that's what I'm gonna go with here. But I'm gonna say that it's probably in the six to seven percent. Okay. That's where I'm at with this.
00:31:33
Speaker
Yeah, it smells like fruity, a little piney. I don't know, is this a pale ale? Nobody knows. You do know. I know, somebody knows.
00:31:52
Speaker
I don't know. I'm going to go IPA. Okay. Go IPA. So with that, what do you, you know, you talked about the aroma. What are you tasting? Oh man.
00:32:08
Speaker
There's a bitterness to it. It also feels very, it feels very sessionable. Like it feels very, um,
00:32:20
Speaker
There's like a citrusy, citrusy, citrusiness to it. yeah Nothing that's really popping out like, oh man, that's like a big, bright tropical or citrus flavor, but it's a very, like the aftertaste in my mouth is like orange, like yeah orange juice kind of like without the sweetness, but there is that type of, so I want to say there's citrus involved in this. Yeah, tropical is definitely something that I would lean towards.
00:32:47
Speaker
It's got like a slight creaminess to it, like very, very slight. um if It's a saison. I'm going to punch the microphone. And when I say like creaminess, like i'm I'm kind of lending that to the mouth feel. Yeah. um But easy drinking, um I would agree. kind of like you know I know what it is, but ah you know sessionable seems like quite accurate for me. but um drinks really well. I think this is, you know, it looks hazy. I don't know. Again, like, I'm not the one that seeks out. Well, I have more lately, but like, hazy's had ever been like my go to but like now more, more and more now I kind of seek them out and like, enjoy them. So
00:33:39
Speaker
um But yeah tropical tropical notes on the tongue a slight bitterness um You know a smooth creamy like mouthfeel, but overall like a really good. Yeah, it's good. I like solid I do enjoy this beer. Yeah, I'm gonna give it a How many brown bags you know 3.9 brown bags Okay, yeah, I'm um i'm like 375.
Review of Sketchbook's Sufficient Clearance Hazy IPA
00:34:06
Speaker
So, um yeah, fantastic. It's good. Really well done. This beer is Sufficient Clearance. Hazy IPA. From Sketchbook. From Sketchbook. Yeah! All right. What's the ABV on it? 5%. Okay, yeah what you when I said six, seven, I'm like, it's gonna be lower. Funny story about Sufficient Clearance.
00:34:31
Speaker
The first hazy IP I ever liked. Really? Yeah. um Like I tried it when I was doing... um What is that square roots festival? And I was pouring it and I tried it. I was like, okay, I get it. This is good. I know the, the can and everything, but yeah, this was the first one. I was like, Oh, okay. I get hazy IPAs. It's good. And I feel like, I don't know if they've adjusted the formula or, you know, hazy IPAs have just gotten so different that, uh, it's funny. Cause I, I feel like with the way that we have hazy IPAs here now in Chicago or all over United States, but
00:35:04
Speaker
especially in Chicago with like the hot butchers and shit like that, like this to me now tastes like a national brand making a hazy IPA before they knew how to make hazy IPAs. Yeah. You know, like I don't, I don't remember the last time I had a Sierra Nevada's hazy IPA, but I remember when I first had it and I was like, okay, this is, this is all right. But you know, we're here in Chicago. We have, you know, um,
00:35:33
Speaker
Lejeux and hot butcher and here it is the you guys thought we weren't gonna get to it But here um I mentioned them beezer old Irving You know like we have beers like that here and so having a national brand hazy IPA when it first came out is like a not Not what i'm I'm looking for, but sufficient clearance was was definitely, that's what that reminds me of now because it's it's a good hazy beer, but this is like a hazy beer that you can drink without being like, oh man, there's that like,
00:36:10
Speaker
punch you in the face, like kind of sweetness or like the creamy mouthfeel makes more sense now too. But some of Hazy's are just a lot. There's just a lot going on and I do like it. It's and it's like like having a barrel aged adjunct did stout. You know, there's a lot going on, but yeah like those beers, so blast off. For now, it is cold outside.
00:36:33
Speaker
No, it's not. I mean, it's like 20 degrees. yeah Grow up. Grow up here. Actually, right now it is 30, but it feels like 27. It's a nice spring day. Yeah, well, we have a chance of more fucking ice today, so not excited about that.
00:36:52
Speaker
I think we're in snow at like three o'clock and then it's done. Hey Tony, do you like to go to a place where you can drink different beers? I do. Did you know that Meals on Wheels is doing a fest called Chicago on Tap? Is that so? It is. We have been a part of that, so I'm surprised you forgot. That's crazy. We've been a part of that for the for the last couple years.
00:37:13
Speaker
Meals on Wheels is doing their Chicago on Tap Fest again this year, Thursday, April 10th at Theater on the Lake. Dozens of local breweries and restaurants will bring their very best for you to try, providing unlimited tastings of their favorite brews and bites. You and your friends will experience live music from the Ledfoot band. No, that's not true. Yeah, no. Get rid of that. Is that is this the is this the old one? No, it's on their current website. We need to change that. Yeah.
00:37:41
Speaker
Man, ruin that. It was close to being a full ad right there. I know. Hey Tony! Yeah? Do you like drinking beers at a random place? I do! Well great! Did you know that Meals on Wheels is doing Chicago on Tap again? They are! yeah This year, Thursday, April 10th, dozens of local breweries and restaurants bring their very best for you to try providing unlimited tastings of their favorite brews and bites. Wow! You and your friends will experience some great music uh games and raffles and enjoy one of the best lakefront views in the city at theater on the lake and tickets go on sale in march i don't have the definitive date yet though interesting and is it true i did hear a rumor that tickets are cheaper this year like tickets are cheaper tickets are going to be 45 dollars this year that's insane
00:38:27
Speaker
And they've actually opened up the space this year. So you've gone and if you've gone in the past, the back area of Theater on the Lake has been where the event has been. But now they're going to have the entire venue. that The entire venue? Yep. That includes the restaurant space. There will be more seating, more space for more breweries, and more restaurants to serve you their delicious treats. Wow, Brandon. and I can't wait to go again. I can't either. So hope you guys will join us because we will definitely be there at Chicago On Tap.
00:38:56
Speaker
April 10th. See you then. you like that everybody that's that's how we're gonna do that that ad is gonna run that is actually gonna be the ad that we run from now a opportunity i think we do and just flip it and that's iter it got it you guys got to hear hear the recording process of that And I didn't even tell Tony. Yeah, that was hilarious. I thought there was like, I thought you're going someplace else with them. Like, we're about to go to beer on the wall. Did you give me a $10 gift card for beer on the wall for my birthday? Let's go. Oh, man. Yeah, but that is gonna be fun. Looking forward to it. We are a little more involved. And by the way, I did send out an email waiting to see if I got that back up. I forgot forgot to include you. I just was reached out to who we needed to reach out to.
00:39:40
Speaker
Okay. I haven't heard back, so I'm going to send a text later today and be like, okay, I sent you an email. um We'll talk about that later. Yeah. Well, I mean, well, just for context, we're working with Meals on Wheels because we do feel like this is a great event. It's an important event for obviously raising money for their cause, but it also, I feel like it raises awareness for You know, breweries and restaurants in the city, you know, giving them all a chance to kind of come out and showcase their best stuff because, um, you know, there's people, you know, people don't travel a lot right and it, you know, and I feel like more now than ever, like since the days of the COVID like there's people that are less.
00:40:28
Speaker
inclined to go try new places. Yeah. I don't know. Maybe there are. I don't know. No, no. i I think I think a lot of people still maybe don't want to venture out and also it's a crazy time in the world right now and I get that and maybe you're a little worried about things but this is a great event that helps people out helps get meals to the elderly and also you know this is a ah beer event and a food event that's only $45. I mean there's plenty of other events like that but I can tell you from experience, especially at this price point, the 45 bucks, this is definitely super bang for your buck because it is like a bunch of pours of beer. It's ah like unlimited and and then all the eating and all the food and stuff. We've had friends who've won raffles. In fact, I felt like like
00:41:15
Speaker
This sounds like it's rigged, but like everybody that I knew except for like two other people, like one something, which was pretty cool. I should have done the raffle. I know i should have done the raffle too. I was kind of upset about that. Well, it's funny because I don't do it because I'm like.
00:41:29
Speaker
Well, the first time we went, we, we had a table and I was constantly trying to like hand out stuff. Oh, did we have a table last year? No, no, last year we didn't know. We just hung out by older. Yeah, we were. Yeah, of course. Um, just hung out by the people that we knew and, you know, did that. Um, but I, in one of the things that like, you know, people had,
00:41:49
Speaker
told us about was that I had heard was like, you know, there's nowhere to sit, you know, can't do this. And if the weather's bad, you can't go outside. It's a little bit earlier this year in April, but I think that um opening up the entire place to have we're not mistaken. I think last year was April as well. It was April, but it it was towards the end of the year. It was towards the end of April. So it's a little earlier in April. Gotcha.
00:42:12
Speaker
So I'm assuming maybe the restaurant has more availability to kind of lend out the entire space. But you know kudos to to them because you know they're shutting down to open up the space. And you know my assumption or hope would be that you know they will be showcasing some of the stuff that they have. Oh, yeah. We didn't ask that. We should probably find out. they are um I know they started, when they first started, they had a great head chef that kind of like lended to some stuff. so you know I just wanted to say real quick, we are gonna have a full episode about the Meals on Wheels, Chicago on Tap, yeah coming very soon. We'll have that soon. I'm gonna say soon one more time, soon. Fourth beer, fourth and final mystery beer, and this is different from all the rest.
Fourth Beer Tasting: A Surprising Stout
00:42:54
Speaker
This is a dark beer. Indeed. It smells like a stout. 100% smells like a stout.
00:43:04
Speaker
Ooh, that is roasty. Ooh, I like that. That is hitting everything I want from a stout, baby. Is this a, I don't know if it's a milk stout. There's a sweetness to it. Yeah. It's hard to say if there's any adjuncts because if there is any adjunct in this, I would say coffee, but it's not like a, I don't know if it's a rich coffee flavor or it's just a roasted malt coffee flavor.
00:43:33
Speaker
I'm gonna swirl this around, open it up a little bit. Oh man. This is really good. It is.
00:43:46
Speaker
A lot of silence right now. Sorry. everybody Boy, I don't know where to go. So this, this is a tough one. This is tough. I don't know if it's a milk stout, but there is like this creamy sweetness to it. There is. Um, so I'm going to say maybe it's a milk stout and
00:44:09
Speaker
I'm gonna lean more towards like 7% on this. um But yeah, there's like a nice roasty coffee flavor to this. It's got that tan head on it, which I love.
00:44:21
Speaker
um I'm always weary about when I get a stout and it's got white foam on top. I don't, I tend to not like those. This has like a tan, you know, head on it. You know you're getting into fun beers when your head is like dark. Indeed, indeed. Like that really rich dark flavor or dark ah head on it. yeah But yeah, I think I'm gonna go, then it goes seven,
00:44:47
Speaker
Maybe seven to eight percent milks out. And brown bags, I'm giving this a four point two five. Oh, getting right into it. sorry Yeah. But that doesn't mean you can't talk about it. I just wanted to get my because I didn't want to like this is my first impression. That's what I'm getting out of it. I don't want to overthink it. Yeah, no, it's it's roasty. It's multi. um It's everything. So if you're a fan of barrel aged beers,
00:45:15
Speaker
It's the character of a beer that you want without the barrel flavor. um It's got great a great sweetness that's balanced by the maltiness. It's not like super sweet. It's just a nice subtle sweetness. Everything in this beer complements itself very well. yeah um And ah like there's there's notes of, like we said, like you can you can taste the maltiness. You can taste some chocolate. You can taste um you know that sugary sweetness. There's no there's some like a little bit of chocolate in there. Like like rich. When I say rich, I don't mean sweet, but like that rich dark cocoa. Yeah.
00:45:56
Speaker
Man, I like this. Yeah, like you're bordering on like dark chocolate. Yeah. like it it it's I also did just hit my vape, which is kind of sweet. Yeah. So it did make that pop a little bit more. Yeah, it's it's it's a fantastic beer. I really like this. I'm really excited to find out what this is. um What are you giving this, though, Brandon? um I'm going to go like 425. All right, yeah where we' we're dead on again. So let me go.
00:46:24
Speaker
read this description. Once dubbed the purest water in the world, the quote unquote spring runs right through our brewery in the heart of this place and is the inspiration of our Imperial Stout brewed with a blend of robust malts, distinctive hops and notes of chocolate and toffee. Our stout is serious craft is for serious craft beer lovers. Clocks in at nine and a half percent. Holy shit.
00:46:54
Speaker
This comes from our friends at Jacob, Leinenkugel Brewing Company. It is Big Eddie. Hey! I didn't do the last one in the floor pack. Fantastic. Dude, this Big Eddie's delicious. Yeah. Holy shit.
00:47:10
Speaker
This is the one, so in case everybody, I don't think everybody knows, but this was from the chrisp the winter beer that I bought. Yep. This is fantastic. Yeah. I decided to do it all switcheroo. I like that. Dude, that I'm really impressed with this beer and it's really sad that Lightning Cool is going away. Well, their their flagship brewery is going. Yes. But I really hope that like this is still an option because this is really good. I did hear that the line and Kugel family was making a petition to save the brewery. That's cool. um And try to just keep it open. And maybe it's a thing where they try to buy it back or whatever. I don't know.
00:47:52
Speaker
You know, maybe it becomes its own thing. That would be cool. That's how Goose Island runs, or ran. I don't think it does anymore. they sold um I think they eventually sold the brew pubs, because they know Clybourne was part of that, and then they ended up selling it. but They still have a stronghold in Chicago, and they were able to close Clyburn and move to another location, even though I think they don't fully own it anymore. But they've been like super involved. in I mean, they're beers. I mean, there's a whole bunch of one-offs that they do that are just available at the brew pubs.
00:48:29
Speaker
I believe your son is home. Yeah. The terror has arrived. I need to leave. I'm not going to see him. But yeah, so like yeah that's my hopes is that they would you know something else can come up do something and be like, hey, you know what? Maybe we'll just let you guys, if you guys want to run it or you know get people in place to run it and keep it going. So still up in the air. I know they're making a you know a run for that. I don't know if it's officially closed yet.
00:48:58
Speaker
And I'm kind of in like, I want to look it up. I probably should have before I, well, this was a random poll, literally right before we came back from the break. But I want to see like if it's officially closed, if it's not, maybe we should make a run up there. Like just. Got a bad idea. Yeah. Well, hey, you know, new glares is open on Saturdays now, right? Oh yeah. I need to go and do that. I got some people who would like to know. Like new glares was always open on Saturdays. They weren't open during the week. No, when I looked up, I saw they were open during the week and not open on the weekends.
00:49:28
Speaker
That's weird. Yeah. Which, you know, new players can do that. yeah um But, you know, now that they're expanded and they're open on Saturdays, at least, and maybe I'm wrong about that, but I remember looking up one time because I wanted to go up on a Saturday and I was like, oh, if you're not open on Saturdays. You're Monday through Friday.
00:49:43
Speaker
um So yeah, i it's not I mean, it's not that far of a drive. We probably should do that. Maybe when the maybe when the weather gets nicer, um go up there, and I think Benjamin would have fun running around oh yeah on the outside. You know what I mean? Couldn't do something, just hang out in new glares for a night. Yeah. Maybe we should do that. A little weekend trip with the family. Yeah.
00:50:05
Speaker
good I'm inviting myself into de your family. like i know a part you favorite part I know I'm I'm just now made booking trips for us. Yeah, that would be cool. Brandon, this was awesome. Now I will say this.
00:50:17
Speaker
I would like to, for the next episode, do the same for you. OK. We'll do another blind. this is Because this is fun. The the mystery beer is fun. I feel like we really had to, or at least for me, I really had to think about what I was tasting, what I was experiencing as I was drinking it. Funny enough, though, like the lighting Kugels is probably my favorite.
00:50:36
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, I mean, I mean, I love so um i more partial stuff, but I mean, we had a hazy IPA, which was the first hazy IPA that I ever liked, which is sufficient clearance from sketchbook. I do think the more beer was older. Yeah. But I was pretty good on getting it with the session ale, the bow real.
00:50:54
Speaker
be real or however it's pronounced. Oh, definitely older. From, yeah. ah I feel like that fresh would be fantastic. So the two, between the more and the the the new, orthoddo what is it? not new New Orchard, I think? No. What are these guys called? Old Nation. Old Nation, yeah. Yeah. Old Nation and Moors, having those fresh, those would be phenomenal. Those would be like yeah hands down and sufficient clearance. Did we know what the date was on this?
00:51:25
Speaker
It was... It's the one that did the Best Buy by this year. Best Buy, oh, January 10th, 2025. So it was an older one. So even that was older. No, Best Buy, Best Buy 2025. Right. Of this, we're in 2025, so October of 2025. No, this is Best Buy 011025. Oh. So that was also older. So I'm wrong, I read it as 1-0. No, no, no. It's the January 10th of this year. So it's, it's just past its, and I feel like maybe that's why It was good, but it also felt a little...
00:51:58
Speaker
Not watered down. I also got these in December. So we were but sorry a little delayed. so Not bad. A little over a month past its prime. Overall, the what is it, Big Eddie? Yeah. that is my That is my favorite beer of this great blind taste test. It's very good. And I didn't slam it. So I think that has a lot to do with it. I did. You finished it. Well, you were talking a lot. I kept drinking. Brandon, this is awesome, man. Thank you. You're welcome. Next episode, we'll do the same. we'll do i'll I'll do a mystery four pack for you.
00:52:29
Speaker
I'm going to the binnies today for stuff for the Super Bowl, so I'll build you i'll build one then. Sweet! I'm gonna look at the dates. I know you didn't build this for Pat, but kudos to your uncle though for getting, I mean really like, what's the other beer that you had from
Home Brewing Plans and Revisiting 'Into the Void' Stout
00:52:45
Speaker
that? Do you know? I don't. I can check. Oh, it's it's called Rush. who's that but It's a Golden Ale.
00:52:52
Speaker
o um I know, but I was like, we've done a lot of like, lower beers and I i wasn't necessarily like, Oh, we need a high AV beer beer. But i I was like, I wanted something that just went completely the opposite direction. this is And literally I grabbed the beer ah to pour. And I was like, wait, we've got the big head. I was like, let's do that. and You know, I might. And you brought it. So I was like, that would be fun to see if you can kind of nail it. So I said milk stout. I did say 8%. I wasn't milk stout, just an imperial stout. But you know me, baby, I love my stouts. yeah I think this is going to be another summer of the stout for me. yeah um I'm thinking so. also
00:53:31
Speaker
i I'm doing a lot this year. There's a lot going on. One of the things I am for sure gonna do is I'm gonna brew a beer this year. At least one beer. Nice. So I don't know what kind of beer that's gonna be, but I would like to bring a little bit of homebrew back to the podcast, buddy.
00:53:47
Speaker
Um, I, I have been perusing. So, um, the home brewers association, um, when I last renewed, I probably need to renew again. Cause I think it was a couple of years ago. Um, I, and the reason I renew is like, it's just, it's fun to be a part of it and it's fun to like, well, and you're helping, well, yeah, helping them and like getting stuff, but like they send a magazine like every couple of months. And the one I got most recently has.
00:54:16
Speaker
all of the recipes from like winners from the last year's home brew competition. Oh, nice. And I was like, so I had entered last year. Oh, that's right. Was it last year, of the year before? Two years ago. I don't remember. I think it was two years. But yeah, I think it was two years. But I was like, I was looking at it and I was, it had to be because I didn't brew last year or this year. So, um,
00:54:43
Speaker
It really hasn't been that long. yeah We have not brewed in a while. Man. You know what we need to do this year? Brew? We've set an order on that. We need to make four Thanksgiving or Christmas when we get there. We got to make into the void. Oh, yeah. We got to make it. It's been a long time since we've made that stout. It's such a good beer. Yeah. We need to make that beer. I want to find a good adjunct again. like i and I think, well,
00:55:12
Speaker
I was like, Oh, we should do like a half and a half. I don't, I don't want it. Like, I don't either way. I'll take this. I'll do this. Now that I have my own kegerator, like a real. Did you get it working yet or? I've not done anything. Okay. Okay. I was going to get. I was wondering if you were going to set it up for the Superbowl. I was going to get a keg of Beezer. Is it still sitting in your car? Nope. I was going to get a keg of Beezer for the Superbowl, but just not enough heads to. Yeah.
00:55:36
Speaker
did Not that I wouldn't mind having a keg of beezer, which I still might do in March. um I wouldn't be opposed to investing in making two batches, one you can have here, one by me if we want to do a different adjunct. I mean, that beer lasted forever. yeah got Would that beer lasted into almost spring of the following? Because we brewed it in November. Yep. I think almost summer, because you guys went on a trip, and I was here, and I had some. Yeah.
00:56:05
Speaker
um So I feel like and not a bad beer to have on tap and be able to swap out the kegs. You know what I mean? Yep. They have a good big smell. Agreed. Yeah, we should do that again. I'm OK with that. As long as we can brew it. But i think I think my main focus this year is to finally uh nail a solid paleo recipe yeah i would love to have a paleo i did my warwick paleo i did the portage park porter at one point a porter and a paleo i feel like is where i want to get or brown ale i don't know i'm gonna stop talking i feel like you might need to do a burto brown ale
00:56:49
Speaker
Oh, Berto Brown Ale sounds like a great idea. It's right there in Vortage Park. All right. I think that's going to be it for this week, Brandon. I love you, buddy. Love you too, man. Thanks for curating this episode. You're welcome. And hey, man. I'll see you later tonight. See ya. Cheers, everybody. Bye.
00:57:09
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. Dan can be found on Instagram as hip underscore underscore hops and to 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 Malting Hour.