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Episode 157 - Yuengling Comes To Illinois
56 Plays21 days ago
This week Brandon and Tony welcome Yuengling to Illinois and sample all five beers currently available.
Beers on this episode:
Traditional Lager
Light Lager
Golden Pilsner
Flight
Black & Tan
Meals on Wheels "Chicago on Tap" tickets are now available!
https://www.mealsonwheelschicago.org/cot
Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli)
Outro music provided by @FluidMinds
Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Episode Context
00:00:01
Speaker
So let's consult with my friend, Al Idiot. This week we welcome Yingling to Illinois. This is episode 157 The Malting Hour.
00:00:12
Speaker
the What's the haps on the hops? Got yeast, that's peace. This the molten hour 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.
00:00:24
Speaker
Got the gift of gab, the friends you wish you had. Join us for a drink. Join us for a laugh. Time is never wasted. When you're getting wasted? The molten hour here. People, people taking places.
00:00:34
Speaker
People, people taking places. People, people taking places.
Hosts Catch Up and Discuss Recording
00:00:40
Speaker
Welcome to the Malting Hour, I'm one of your hosts, Tony Gullick, joined always with Brandon Winninger.
00:00:46
Speaker
Nice little, uh, feisty high cadence in the, uh, Brandon Winninger. How's going, bud? Good, are you? Pretty good, you know. We're doing the responsible thing and actually recording this on a Friday, not a Monday or Tuesday or Sunday.
00:01:02
Speaker
Yeah, we're responsible. Ha ha ha! So this, I'm going to get right into this because you and I just did a little catch up we've talked a lot recently.
Arrival and Availability of Yingling in Illinois
00:01:15
Speaker
This particular beer has finally made its way. Is it all Midwest or is it just Chicago? Well, it's in Illinois now specifically. Okay. um I don't know if, I don't know if Indiana has it I don't think so.
00:01:29
Speaker
I don't know. And I don't care. Yeah. However, we are, what what when's the first time you've had this beer? um or what's your 20 years ago really yeah wow yeah i mean when at my old job when i used to travel to atlanta i think they had it down there and um it was the first time i think i had it everyone's like you gotta have it it's the best beer ever and then my Buddy Joe Lococo, it was like, he would tell me it was his favorite beer because I think he lived in Pennsylvania for like six months.
00:02:05
Speaker
um He's like, yeah, you got try it. So I got there and tried it. I'm like, hey, it's a good beer. There's a novelty to it because and think it's the oldest beer. 1820 something.
00:02:18
Speaker
teen one um know. I looked it up recently, because I originally said like 1880 to somebody at work, and then I looked it up and I was like, oh shit, even
Yingling's History and Initial Impressions
00:02:30
Speaker
longer than that. i knew it was from the 1800s, but we are talking about Yingling, which is finally here in Illinois.
00:02:36
Speaker
i don't remember the first time I had it, but I remember it was a time when I didn't care about lagers, so I wasn't, i was like, yeah, okay, yeah beer, beer flavored beer. And then so now it's it's finally available for distribution, as far as like you can go to liquor stores and grocery stores whatever and yeah buy it.
00:02:55
Speaker
want to say a couple weeks ago, it started popping up in some restaurants, and I had it on tap at Miller's Ale House. Dude, I was like blown away. I was like, holy shit, this beer is delicious. and Just the regular yingling. i haven't had it on tap in a long time. It's really good. like it's and Because I couldn't compare it to anything because i didn't really remember having it in the past, but I have had it, and ah I'm glad I enjoy lagers because this is really good. and Plus, it's an amber lager.
00:03:25
Speaker
It is.
00:03:28
Speaker
Which, as you know, i do love Porter's, Brown Ales,
Yingling as a Party Beer Option
00:03:31
Speaker
Ambers. And so i feel like this is like right in my wheelhouse and right at my alley for like a particular lager that I'd like to drink.
00:03:39
Speaker
yeah i mean i like that we have this as an option now um i mean and again like it's not often that i'm going out and buying logs i probably will still um gear towards um like craft loggers or local loggers things like that um but this isn't like especially when you have a party know people over that are not Like craft beer drinkers. Or if you're going somewhere and like you don't want to spend, you know, $16 on a four pack and you want to show up with beer that everybody's going to drink.
Pricing Strategies and Introductory Offers
00:04:09
Speaker
Yeah. I will say, i mean, ah it's most places that have it now it's on sale because they're, you know, they're promoting it. But like so like the retail price on it is is pretty steep.
00:04:20
Speaker
um Well, it's funny because the 24 pack I saw is like $20 and that's just a couple of dollars more than like say your Bud Light or Coors Light. If it's not on sale, it's like $20, $19.99. The the jewels I think their retail price was $23.99. Oh, shit. Yeah. I've only been to Mariano's and Benny's, and both places have had it on sale right now. The 12-packs. I did wish, because I was looking for it, I wished that Benny's had the... They have some tall cans.
00:04:55
Speaker
They did. i saw it. Did you want the Portage Park one? Yeah. They had it off to like past... Because there was like a couple areas where it was at. It was on the shelves with the beer, Somewhere in the cooler and then all the way in the back against the wall that's by Irving, there was cases then there was tall boys.
Yingling's Availability and Community Involvement
00:05:14
Speaker
Oh, shit. I didn't walk over there. Because what I was looking for was originally I was going to pick up Flight because there is 24-ounce can of Flight that you can get. Oh, nice.
00:05:26
Speaker
Because it's like, you know, let's drink this really light beer, but let's give you a bigger version of it. so It's got two carbs and 90 calories. Drink up. Not when it's, well, not when it's too, like, you know, like that's a 12 ounce bottle. Anyways, but we'll we'll we'll get into those beers later. But yeah, I i was i was just curious. And I think ju i looked up Jewel and Jewel said they had it and I was already at Benny's. I'm like, I'm not going.
00:05:51
Speaker
there Beer on the Wall also has some of these, and they have the 16-ounce cans. Oh, which is funny because i was originally – I wanted to check out Beer on the Wall, and i went to their website where you can order stuff, and I typed in Yingling, and nothing came up.
00:06:05
Speaker
It might just be that they don't have it on their online system yet. No, I found it. That's where I saw it. Oh, shit. Yeah, I looked it up today because I was thinking about going there. I looked it up yesterday or the day – it might have been last night when you texted me to be like, hey, what are you going to pick up?
00:06:17
Speaker
I wonder, maybe because it's Friday, was the they normally do Thursday beer drops, but maybe they just opened or they just updated. Well, it could have been a Thursday beer drop and they didn't get it into their online system yet. Yeah, maybe they did it Friday. Either way, i ended up going to...
00:06:29
Speaker
um bennies to pick up stuff and something that's probably where you went to absolutely but we did mention beer on the wall and I will give a shout out to beer on the wall they are from my knowledge they are providing a raffle prize for Meals on Wheels wo whoo which that episode will be coming soon yeah we've got it in the books and we're going to record it so that's pretty exciting yeah Got to get it out before the event happens. It's after the event. All right, let me read about their straight-up traditional lager.
Review: Yingling Traditional Lager
00:07:01
Speaker
1929, 1829 is there. Ah, see, I was close.
00:07:05
Speaker
You said 1820, so that was... It's not bad. Famous for its rich amber color and medium-bodied flavor, with roasted caramel malt for a subtle sweetness and a combination of cluster and cascade hops, this true original delivers a well-balanced taste with very distinct character.
00:07:21
Speaker
Born from a historic recipe that was resurrected in 1987, Yingling Traditional Lager is a true American classic. 4.5 ABV, 12 ABUs. Year round, 141 calories, 12 carbs, baby.
00:07:34
Speaker
ah When I had this on draft, it was like, man, this this kind of, it drinks like a lighter beer. It doesn't drink like a heavy, sweet lager to me. yeah Now, it doesn't drink like a light beer, no but it drinks like a lighter beer, which I really like. And I this is the second time I purchased them.
00:07:54
Speaker
No, I think maybe it's the first time I purchased a 12-pack of it and still got some cans at home. So I'm pretty happy about it. I really like it. I'm i'm happy it's here in Chicago. And like you said, like I'll probably stick to buying lagers that are local. But it is nice to have this option like every now and then be like, oh, I'll grab Yingling or get Yingling on tap at ah a bar or restaurant. Yeah, it's a nice change of pace. it's a It's a good additional offering.
00:08:16
Speaker
but And again, especially for like non-craft beer drinkers who want like a historical beer you know say what you want i i've heard rumblings about the politics of yingling and you know i've heard nothing and i want to keep it that way yeah um but i mean that being said that you know we're here specifically just to talk about the beer and you know we've already said this probably will not be regular purchases for us um but and i we i know we've i'm almost certain we've had yingling on an episode before have we pretty sure
00:08:51
Speaker
probably um and i i'm almost certain that we did an oktoberfest their oktoberfest uh really yeah because i have one i think left still in there and it might be two or three years old at this point shows you how good my memory is doing all this drinking with you um yeah i'm gonna yeah i'll double check and see Yeah, I think overall this is ah just a solid beer that I think is very approachable to all type of beer drinkers, whether you're strictly craft beer or you're a macro beer drinker.
Yingling's Approachability and Availability
00:09:25
Speaker
And I know people who love this beer, who only drink like, you know, Coors Light or Bud Light or whatever, and they they really like it. And I get why. Like I said, it's a very approachable beer, and I'm very happy it's finally here in Illinois.
00:09:37
Speaker
We had Yingling in 2021 episode 60 of Old Man Beers Part 2. Interesting. I guess that makes sense. why i'd be I thought it would be more of like ah an East Coast beer episode that we just were like, oh, Yingling is a part of this. Which is kind of funny looking at the beers that we had on that episode. We also had Sieps.
00:09:58
Speaker
Nice. Extra Pale Ale. Schlitz. Steel Reserve. Oh, Jesus. Miller Lite and good old classic Bud. So not only did we choose like old man beers, but we also chose like old beers, like yeah recipes and stuff. That's a good episode. We should go back and listen to that. yeah Brandon, there's an eagle on their logo.
00:10:19
Speaker
How many?
00:10:23
Speaker
What does yingling even mean? How many eagles are you giving? Give it a solid four. Yeah, I'm with you. Four, maybe 0.1. Yeah. yeah Like somewhere around... i know and I'm going to go with four. I'm going to go four. Four is, i think, pretty solid for this, especially for... Excuse
Review: Yingling Light Lager
00:10:41
Speaker
me. A traditional lager.
00:10:42
Speaker
Now, the other thing about Yingling is that I didn't know... They had any other like beers. I thought it was this and probably like a light version. yeah um We have everything that's available here in Illinois.
00:10:57
Speaker
They have the light, the Pilsner, Golden Pilsner, the Black and Tan, and then Flight, which is the low-carb, low-calorie, active beer. their Michelob Ultra beer.
00:11:11
Speaker
I bought a six-pack of that one. Of what? The flight? The flight. Yeah. i mean I mean, I almost bought the case, the 12-pack, because I was like, eh. cause And the reason I did, I was doing price comparison. The 12-pack of the cans was on sale for $9.99. The six-pack of bottles was $8.99. Correct.
00:11:31
Speaker
So it was like, eh. This was the one beer that I was like, I don't really like the low-carb, low-calorie beers. So was like, eh. I don't really want to commit, but if it's good, might be an option later. on Yeah, I will. so the quick search I did on Yingling, the first beers that they brewed and it says, which are still brewed today was their Lord Chesterfield Ale.
00:11:51
Speaker
It's a great name. And a dark brewed Porter. Ooh. o Oh yeah, that's right. I saw Yingling Porter. I hope that makes its way here. Well, it there probably, i mean, it might, but so the the Black and Tan is a porter right in an ale.
00:12:03
Speaker
Which I'm very excited about. yeah that was That's the one that I'm most excited about, to be honest. I figured. so Thanks for knowing me. Appreciate it. All right, let me see. What's up next? Oh, this is exciting. What's going to be next?
00:12:16
Speaker
Yeah, um it's it's crazy that it's taken this long to get, like, it's almost like having... um
00:12:27
Speaker
like a new Glarus beer now in Chicago, because I feel like a lot of people who go to the East coast and come back home to like Illinois will come back with like yingling. You know what i mean? Like it's one of those beers that you go and grab and you bring back with you.
00:12:40
Speaker
Oh yeah. It's one of those like, Oh, Hey, I went there and I, I drove and I brought back a case of beer or two or three, which I've done in the past. Like they've got a Bach beer too. I hope that makes its way here.
00:12:53
Speaker
And a Mango Relaxation Bongo Fizz. What? Yeah, those are not here yet. All right, you have brought out the Light Logger. I'll read the description.
00:13:05
Speaker
Exceptional brew that appeals to consumers who don't want to sacrifice character for a low-calorie, low-carb light beer. masterfully Masterfully developed to maintain the full flavor profile akin to our flagship lager brand, but has only 99 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12-ounce serving.
00:13:22
Speaker
Skillfully pairing a caramel malt flavor and mild hop character creates a beautifully rich colored beer with deep amber highlights that finish smooth and clean. This is four... percent ABV, 99 calories, 3.2 carbs, available year-round, 15 IBUs. Ooh la la.
00:13:40
Speaker
So obviously we've had regular yingling. The rest of these beers you've not had, correct? Correct. All right, let's go in. It's not as dark as the regular one, but it definitely lends itself to a more caramelly looking version of a yellow beer.
00:13:55
Speaker
I would agree. It smells like yingling.
00:14:03
Speaker
a pretty tasty light beer. Yeah. My first sip, I was trying to think of like macro light beers that I've had and I was like running like Miller Lite or Bud Light.
00:14:14
Speaker
I mean, it's kind of in that wheelhouse for me, but I do like um the malt body on this. I feel is a little sweeter. Yeah. I was going to say that that um it it tastes a little bit sweeter than some of the light beers that the macro light beers that I have consumed recently.
00:14:31
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's ah it's a tasty light beer. This, i you know, honestly, like, if I was buying beers for, like, let's say we're we're brewing or something like that and it's hot outside, i would grab the yeah light lager. Absolutely. Because it
Craft Light Lagers and Yingling's Flavor
00:14:45
Speaker
feels like the regular, like, yinging lager, like, when I have it, I have some at home.
00:14:50
Speaker
I only have one. Like, I don't, like, drink multiples of them. Maybe I've had two, but, like, I'll have one. i'm like, oh, that was good. yeah and And that's it. And that's all I'm going have. This, I could have a couple of. Like, it's it's very, again, another approachable beer.
00:15:02
Speaker
It does have some similarities to the regular traditional lager, but I think that's the sweetness, like you said. And the body of this is obviously much lighter. Yes. But it's much lighter than the traditional lager.
00:15:16
Speaker
um Yeah. I mean, for 99 calories. I mean, this is pretty damn good. It's got a lot of flavor to it. Yeah. It doesn't taste watered down like some macro light beers. Yeah. I think they did a really good job with this.
00:15:28
Speaker
um And this isn't, and it's not ice cold, so I feel like we're getting more flavor from the beer. So I feel like if this was ice cold, this probably was like super refreshing.
00:15:40
Speaker
Like you said, like on a hot day. Yeah. Excuse me. Only excuse. there much um Yeah, I'm trying, like again, I keep, every time I take a, you know, a little sip, I'm like, what does this remind me of? And maybe it's just yingling, like.
00:15:56
Speaker
Yeah, I can't pinpoint a macro beer that this reminds me of. Which is funny. It reminds me so much of, you know, regular, the the regular lager,
00:16:10
Speaker
But it... Like, I would want to say, oh, it's like a watered-down version, but it doesn't taste watered-down. No, not at all. There's still, like, flavor there. It's just they were able to scale back what is so predominant in the traditional lager and bring it to, like, a lighter version. Yeah, they did ah they did a really good job with this one. I don't know how long this one's been around. I was just going to say, i don't know if you knew how long it was around. It didn't say in the description.
00:16:32
Speaker
How dare they? Jerks. What's the point of the description if you're not going to tell me how long it's been around? 1829? 1829? twenty eight nine Yeah, I'm looking up real quick. Oh, so they started the Lightlogger in 1991. Oh, nice.
00:16:46
Speaker
Which is fun. Like, i I swear, I mean, I hadn't sought it out ever. Yeah. But that's not something, i mean, maybe they do have it on tap on the East Coast or whatever, but like it's. And I'm sure we've seen it next to the regular Yingling. Yeah. We've seen it, but not registering being like, oh, I'll take a light beer. Yeah, I'm just always attracted to the the red box. Give the heavy hitters. Tell them to me.
00:17:07
Speaker
Well, that so wait, the original, isn't that what, 4.2%? Is that what I said? Or 4.5. So it's a half percent ABV. Which is crazy. like yeah Yeah. And i think it's the same IBUs.
00:17:22
Speaker
Yeah, 15 IBUs. So, I mean, and it's like 50 calories less. That's pretty, that's impressive. Yeah. To do a light lager, and we don't have a lot of craft light lagers. It's pretty much just, you know, here are these lagers, like craft lagers. They them their own way, but they're not going to call light.
00:17:41
Speaker
But, you know, there's hits and misses with craft beer and craft lagers that, you know, some are really good, some are like, eh. This one, like in particular, as far as a light beer goes, really...
00:17:53
Speaker
I think accentuates what's great about the traditional lager while making it a light version. Yeah, I would agree. really like it. Yeah. Pretty tasty. I hope...
00:18:18
Speaker
Yeah.
00:18:25
Speaker
I guarantee you the light one would probably go first after it's been here for a while.
00:18:36
Speaker
But he can feel the body.
00:18:46
Speaker
Yeah. When Trevor brought us all a sample of one of their new barrel-aged stouts, my dad took a
Personal Story: Losing Sense of Taste
00:18:52
Speaker
sip. He's like, eh, you want this? like... You know, like, nah, it's not my style. I'm like, what?
00:18:57
Speaker
What's your style?
00:19:05
Speaker
Did you have COVID? Yeah. Could not taste or smell. And I was telling him, I was like, now I know how you feel. And he just started laughing. And I was like, is that like a sad for life laugh?
00:19:16
Speaker
Or like, are you? Oh.
00:19:21
Speaker
Because, I mean, it's been like the running joke our entire life. just remember as a kid going out for pizza once and my dad was putting something on the pizza. Or my dad, oh, he was eating it and we were with my uncle.
00:19:32
Speaker
And he was like, oh, this is really good pizza. And my uncle turned to him and goes, how do you even know? He's like, how do you know? Doesn't it just taste like nothing? He's like, I can taste stuff. But that point, when I had COVID, like...
00:19:45
Speaker
You can tell if something's salty. You can tell if something's sweet. But you just can't get those distinct flavors. Which I guess makes sense. And I'm assuming it's probably in the wheelhouse of what he's got going on.
00:20:04
Speaker
That was my thought. I'm like, if I couldn't taste or smell, I'd like, fuck it, hot sauce on everything. At least have a sensation. Right. And I had brief thought.
00:20:17
Speaker
I don't know if it would have been more enjoyable or you'd be worse off. Because would just be like everything's stinging and you can't even enjoy the taste of the hot mean, the first six were great. Was it six or was it five?
00:20:29
Speaker
Well, whatever. I feel like at five is where eyes went. soon to the bottom, was like, you know, my life sucks. The rate's the worst.
00:20:36
Speaker
How many... Bald eagles are you getting this way? Lighter eagles with no hair. I'm going to go like Yeah.
00:20:48
Speaker
Again, not a knock to traditional yingling being like, this is better. But I'm going for the style. It's a very well done light beer. Good call.
00:20:59
Speaker
And that's, yeah, 4-2 for me. It's funny because I was going to say, oh, I think 4.1 as well, just like traditional. But...
00:21:19
Speaker
And it just tastes really good. really like it. Well done. Well done.
00:21:33
Speaker
Oh, I just want a beer tonight, and this is the one I'm going to reach for. know what I mean? Yeah.
00:21:46
Speaker
I prefer the carbonated water when I have it, and when I don't have it, it's the damn beer.
00:21:52
Speaker
Well, thank you so much, sir.
00:21:56
Speaker
We are now pouring the third beer in our Yingling Collection.
Review: Yingling's Golden Pilsner
00:22:08
Speaker
I was like, yeah, that's what I meant.
00:22:17
Speaker
And it's not that old. We are drinking Yingling's Golden Pilsner. What do you smell? Yeah, because I'm just I'm very curious. It is, reminds me of brewing a beer little bit.
00:22:28
Speaker
Yes! Like, dude, the hop. Yeah. Like, it's not even just hop. It's that warty hop.
00:22:43
Speaker
Let me, before I take a sip, going to read this.
00:22:51
Speaker
Yingling and Son Incorporated, America's oldest brewery.
00:23:13
Speaker
So it's a little bit under the traditional lager. All right, here we go.
00:23:20
Speaker
I took a sip already, so. Ooh. That's good. Yeah. Excuse me. It's funny because the color is almost similar to the light one.
00:23:31
Speaker
Agreed.
00:23:41
Speaker
It's not brown, but it's, man, this is really good. Yeah, I knew I was going to like this. I figured I'd like it too. But man, this is... Like, dude.
00:23:53
Speaker
So now, I'm talking about beers that I would grab... This is one. Yeah, for sure. I was just thinking that too, because it's like regular yingling is really good. But this, I think, is better.
00:24:06
Speaker
And I really love the fucking smell. Like, I'm getting a chubby over here. It makes me want to brew. Well, yeah, dude. It's like, that's... It's so... I've never had a beer.
00:24:18
Speaker
mean, I may have. We have had some beers where we're like, oh, it smells like wort. And then it was like... A lot of the... Excuse me. A lot of the NA beers that we've had... Oh, yeah. Smells like wort.
00:24:29
Speaker
And then it tastes like wort. Yeah. Not that great. But to me, You know, it's not far off from tasting like wort.
00:24:40
Speaker
It's definitely got that, like, Pilsner body and mouthfeel. Yeah, it's light, crisp, refreshing. But the sweetness to me is, like, almost like the wort sweetness.
00:24:51
Speaker
Like, you know... Because we've all done it. You brew and you take a little sip of the wort after you read your gravity. And it's like, oh, that's tasty. That sweetness that's there is just kind of like... It kind of resembles that a little bit to me.
00:25:03
Speaker
That's funny because I actually feel like... And I don't get that. And maybe it's just my taste for it. I feel like the light beer has a little bit more sweetness than this does.
00:25:14
Speaker
Not to say this doesn't have a sweetness to it. But that's interesting. No, but I'm saying... And I think my point is that the sweetness... You're not saying it's a negative no, no.
00:25:24
Speaker
But the light beer was sweet too.
00:25:34
Speaker
Like what you were smelling. Yeah. It's a very similar taste than that is to the smell. And to me, that's super pleasing. And I feel like this would be a beer...
00:25:56
Speaker
Sure, the aroma might be off.
00:26:08
Speaker
Actually, I'd probably light lager.
00:26:14
Speaker
I don't know if I would go Pilsner next. I feel like that's just me wanting them to experience like this is good. You got to try it. Yeah. So I'm happy that have these.
00:26:32
Speaker
I'm not going to lie. It's really good. It's, it's super tasty. And, uh,
00:26:49
Speaker
Yeah. It's really, really good. I really like this.
00:26:54
Speaker
I want to just keep drinking this all night long. You can. Oh, thanks. Well, it's been in my car, except for the two cans that I went and chilled. Because I was like, I'm not bringing this fucking shit up. don't know where it's changing.
00:27:09
Speaker
Yeah, this is fantastic. I got to say, like, you know, all three beers, even though we're rating them, I mean, all them are very drinkable.
00:27:25
Speaker
Mm-hmm. If I was going to have three beers, mean, I can easily just have all three of these. And even in this order that you've like grabbed these beers, I think it's perfect. Yeah. Like, I think it's a great representation of what Yingling has to offer.
00:27:38
Speaker
What do you think? I don't know if you read it. No. you know what the hops are in this? I don't. And I suck with noble hops. Um, so it's Hollertau. That's, I should have said that because that's one of the most obvious.
00:27:51
Speaker
And Saz. Oh yeah. Okay. Those are two, uh, Two big noble hops there. Fuck. Why didn't I think harder? Yeah. And that makes sense.
00:28:08
Speaker
just smells like beer. It doesn't wort anymore. But it is crazy that that's the aroma that just hits you when we first open And this is definitely something that I would...
00:28:19
Speaker
I definitely want to brew again. Because it's been so long. It's been a while. I would love to do something like
Brewing Pilsner: Recipe Considerations
00:28:27
Speaker
this. I would love to do like a Pilsner. But I've been thinking about this a lot.
00:28:38
Speaker
And it comes with recipes and stuff like that. And I was just kind of reading through stuff. And there was some like... They already had like some talk of fall beers in there. And I'm really debating doing my Oktoberfest again.
00:28:52
Speaker
was going say, now's the time to it. Like early. Well, because I've never done the long lagering. I've literally just done it. always tasted great. And you know, because I've done it at room temperature basically.
00:29:04
Speaker
And it's turned out fantastic with that hop that I use. But I feel like if I do this...
00:29:17
Speaker
Yeah, it's good for both. just happens to be one that can do it. I would like to do a long run on it just see what happens. I think you should.
00:29:36
Speaker
It's not like you have to do the full from March until the end of September. Yeah, no. Yeah, that would be awesome. I mean, because any time over, like, four weeks would be more than enough time that I've ever spent.
00:29:46
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, that would be awesome. I'm definitely, don't know what I'm going to brew.
00:29:58
Speaker
start buying now. Yeah. Let's just stockpile. was going to say, we should probably buy, like, $250. Pound bags of at least two-row or pills and balls. I thought read an article earlier today that the tariffs have now been suspended.
00:30:12
Speaker
didn't read Not doing the tariffs. Let's hope so. And then I read something else saying that he's going to add more tariffs. But I did get a text message from Jets Pizza today that said, Beat the tariffs.
00:30:24
Speaker
Have 25% off. What the hell? I got to wear some Jets. Yeah, right? Overall, Brandon, how many...
00:30:34
Speaker
Golden Eagles are you giving this? Well played. Thank I'm going to go... That's solid four on this one. I'm going to go 4.25. Okay.
00:30:46
Speaker
Or maybe like a 4.3. This is really good. This is my favorite of the three so far. Really like it.
00:31:13
Speaker
I think I two more left. But like having these now, I'm like super excited that I can go back and have more. It's not just like, oh, we have one cannon and that's it. Yeah. Yeah.
00:31:24
Speaker
Super, super good. And I'm looking forward to the next two. Me too. And we will talk about those after a break. Good. Because I've got a whiz.
00:31:38
Speaker
So dumb. So dumb. And we're back! Welcome back, everybody.
00:32:00
Speaker
Coming in at only 95 calories and 2.6 carbs, Flight is the next generation of light beer.
Introduction to Yingling Flight
00:32:24
Speaker
Is it a bit lower? Yeah, it's lower in calories and carbs by four. Yeah. Four calories, one carb. So, yeah.
00:32:35
Speaker
Pick your poison. Pick your poison on this one, I gotta say. Alright, let's get in here. Smells like beer. It's very... This is the lightest one that they have as far as color goes. This looks like a macro straw-colored beer.
00:32:47
Speaker
I have thoughts.
00:32:50
Speaker
I have thoughts. So... If I was going to say they watered something down, this feels it.
00:33:12
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I can see that. mean, drink a lot of Coors Light these days, and this is what it reminds me of, which is great. And to be honest, I wouldn't be upset if I had a 12-pack of this. Yeah.
00:33:33
Speaker
But being at 4.2%, it's actually pretty fucking impressive. Yeah, but, like, it's so close to the light. Like, I don't know if I would... Like, do you really need to save on four calories and one carb?
00:33:45
Speaker
Yeah.
00:33:51
Speaker
But see, here's the thing. If I did a side-by-side, a blind side-by-side of these, I don't know which one I would pick. That's how much I do like this beer.
00:34:04
Speaker
Okay.
00:34:07
Speaker
I actually probably could.
00:34:14
Speaker
I mean, I would probably go for this just to get that extra 0.2% of booze in me. And minus one carb and four calories.
00:34:28
Speaker
Yeah. That's pretty cool that it's,
00:34:32
Speaker
2.2%, you know, I mean, it's not a lot, but 0.2%
Market Position of Yingling Flight
00:34:35
Speaker
more than a light beer. It's like, well. It still cracks me up that Flight was the only one that I saw in a 24-ounce can. the 16 can?
00:34:43
Speaker
No, it was 24-ounce. Yeah, that's what it said on the Jules. Oh, I thought you were saying the 16-ounce can. it was 24-ounce. What the fuck am I going to do with a 24-ounce can? You share with your friend after a run?
00:34:55
Speaker
Yeah. Hey, buddy. Hey, bro. You want to shotgun this flight with me? I know you're looking for something refreshing. How about this flight? I've got this 24-ounce can of a low-carb, low-calorie beer.
00:35:07
Speaker
you guys want to go on a flight with me?
00:35:17
Speaker
Flight was on tap? Flight's on tap, yeah. interesting. Yeah, because that's like... Even Michelob Ultra is not something that you see on tap very often. Yeah. Do you think flight stands for fucking light?
00:35:31
Speaker
I hope it does. If it does, I mean, that's how I'm just going to refer to it as Or we need to brew light beer. Just call it fucking light. We'll call it F dash light.
00:35:44
Speaker
The F stands for fucking.
00:35:47
Speaker
It's interesting, too. Because that's what you're going to do after you drink it. Because it's 0.2% more than a light beer. Other interesting thing about this, it's a clear bottle. Yeah. Which I didn't really put together when I bought it.
00:35:59
Speaker
And looking at it now, like, huh, we're not worrying about skunking with this, I guess. But maybe, don't know, it's not like super hoppy. You know what I mean?
00:36:14
Speaker
I got to say overall, though, it's much better than I expected. I think Michelob Ultra is garbage. I don't like it. I would agree. Even the Blue Moon very low alcohol beer, I think, is garbage.
00:36:26
Speaker
It doesn't taste good at all.
00:36:38
Speaker
Because it's the closest to an actual refreshing beer.
00:36:44
Speaker
So this is interesting. And this is AI telling me this. Thank you, AI. So I asked, well, I'm going ask Google then I get their AI response first.
00:37:03
Speaker
What? Yeah. No. No way. Absolutely not. No. Absolutely not. I mean, I don't agree with that either. I mean, you know what? Maybe they are, and they just use very small amounts of it to keep it But Cluster and Cascade just have... mean, those are like IPA hops.
00:37:23
Speaker
Hey, Yingling people, because we're going tag you in this if you're listening. Please. Tell us what hops you use in this. Or if anybody else knows, let us know.
00:37:34
Speaker
Do breweries listen when we tag them in episodes? I think some do. think some might. Some definitely interact with our posts, at least. Yeah. And if we... Oh, I've got to do the one shout-out. If you're Old Irving and you're Matthew...
00:37:46
Speaker
You listen to the show and then you reach out. Yeah, be like, hey, you guys were looking for somebody to talk to you guys? You want to be best friends? I regret that decision every day. No, JK, we love you, Matthew, and we'll see you soon.
00:37:59
Speaker
Next week? Yeah. So I think this is a very easy question. I unless you have something more to say about this one. not necessarily. I feel like it's just kind of straightforward, easy drinking, don't dislike it.
00:38:13
Speaker
Yeah. How many...
00:38:19
Speaker
less feather wings of an eagle are you giving this one? I'm going to go 3-8, 3-9, think.
00:38:27
Speaker
I think, so I'm going to two. I know we don't do this every time, and sometimes I do this. Me personally, how I like it, I would say, would you give it a three? Three three Three eight, three nine.
00:38:38
Speaker
Me personally, I'm there, like three eight. Yeah.
00:38:49
Speaker
It's much better. you can go four three with that if you want to compare it to those, that style. If we're going style wise, four three. Yeah.
00:39:05
Speaker
Yeah. Hold on. Let's see. Why not just drink carbonated water?
00:39:11
Speaker
Take a shot of whiskey.
00:39:18
Speaker
Okay. Okay.
00:39:22
Speaker
Oh, shit, I was wrong.
00:39:30
Speaker
I'm like, eh. Anyway, so Michelob Ultra is 95 calories. Okay. 2.6 carbs. Okay. What's the ABV? 4.2.
00:39:40
Speaker
Interesting. And yet, here Yangling has done a better job. So definitely 4.3. Because I don't like Michelob Ultra. First time I hit it, I was like, this is awful.
00:40:03
Speaker
So good. Well, let me go get my chocolate peanut butter protein. There you go. I had one of those this morning. Spruce up a stout. Ooh la la. Yeah, overall, yeah, not bad.
00:40:15
Speaker
I don't hate it, and would drink the other ones that I got.
Introduction to Yingling Black & Tan
00:40:27
Speaker
is the Black & Tan. And while you're opening it, I'll go ahead and read about it. Yingling Black and Tan models a traditional English half and half.
00:40:44
Speaker
Black and Tan combines 60% of our popular dark brewed porter, which we need here in Chicago,
00:41:04
Speaker
Right off the bat, boom, I love that color. That looks like a porter. Smelling it? Smells like fresh wort of a stout.
00:41:15
Speaker
That's crazy. Yeah. Like, that's what I'm getting. Are you getting that? Yeah. like fresh wort of like if you did a porter stout or something that.
00:41:25
Speaker
Swirled it a little bit. getting a little bit of what I would expect from a porter. Yeah, actually swirling it around. Although I washed my hands with your Christmas soap that I really love. Okay.
00:41:39
Speaker
Interesting. Interesting. This one...
00:41:53
Speaker
And it's got that similar vibe.
00:41:57
Speaker
I like this, actually. like it, too.
00:42:02
Speaker
What sucks is it makes me want to drink the porter straight up. Oh, yeah. Because feel like...
00:42:13
Speaker
Yeah. For how good this is, it makes me want the porter more.
00:42:23
Speaker
Yeah. Like you said, like, I'm getting, like...
00:42:50
Speaker
Right. Like starts to hit. Um, yeah, Yeah, I don't know what the optimal temperature would be to drink this. I think it's a good temperature what you have it at.
00:43:01
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I agree.
00:43:09
Speaker
I actually prefer porters cold. Yeah. I wish I had something to compare it to, like an actual black and tan. I can't the last time I had a black and tan. I mean, there's Guinness right by me.
00:43:20
Speaker
And we just fucking know. This is really good. It's really... Don't do that. The wheels were turning in his brain. Well, I was thinking, I'm like, what if we did it with Guinness and...
00:43:33
Speaker
traditional lager. Probably get the same effect. The thing that I... And again, this is... But Guinness is a stout. True. Remember that. That is true.
Historical Context of Black & Tan Blends
00:43:43
Speaker
think that what I...
00:44:19
Speaker
Somebody told me this was a porter, I'd be disappointed. Yes. Knowing it is what it is, like, okay, it's tasty. I would think that this is, mean, you got to assume, we don't have to assume, but...
00:44:40
Speaker
And it's interesting that they did their porter, because black and tans, if I'm not mistaken, are normally stouts. Well, and I think, did the black and tan traditionally start with Guinness? I don't know.
00:44:56
Speaker
introduced in 1986, Yingling produced one of the first handcrafted draft blends. So one of the draft blends, at least. So as far as one being on tap or you can get in a can, Yingling is one of the first. As far as it being created, I'm sure that that concoction has been around for many, many moons.
00:45:11
Speaker
So let's consult with my friend. AI. Al idiot.
00:45:32
Speaker
So they were calling it black and tan back then. The 1800s were popular. Yeah. People were doing shit back then. Stuff and things. They were just making coke and... Cocaine?
00:45:44
Speaker
Yeah. Consumers in England have blended different beers. This is 17th century England.
00:46:02
Speaker
They were doing it to water them down.
00:46:16
Speaker
That's our one political joke for the evening.
00:46:47
Speaker
With this being what it is, I thoroughly enjoy it.
00:46:58
Speaker
I would enjoy it. Yeah. would say, you know.
00:47:17
Speaker
I'm gonna go like 3.9. 3.9, interesting.
00:47:31
Speaker
I'm at like a 3-7. Son of a bitch. 3-7. I would go back and drink it. It's not bad. But I would prefer just a porter or the Yingling Lava.
00:47:43
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I would agree with that, too. But if, you know, having a couple cans lying around, I'd be like, oh, cool. I'll have black and tan. And, like, maybe this is one that... We will have a couple cans lying around.
00:47:54
Speaker
Don't worry. We'll exchange this weekend. We'll exchange this weekend. I'm thinking, like... Have it ice cold and also have it a little warmer to see how I feel about it, too.
Summary and Ranking of Yingling Beers
00:48:04
Speaker
Brandon, we just drank every Yingling beer that's now available in Illinois. How do you feel about that? Kipsy. Angry. Oh, man. Yeah, you missed We need that soundboard.
00:48:15
Speaker
Yeah, I'm feeling pretty good. Overall, if you had fucking life. Totally missed the mark. Just quit, dude. Just quit.
00:48:29
Speaker
Oof.
00:48:39
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, ranked like what you're going to drink. Preference what I would want to drink again. Absolutely. I'm going to one, the Pilsner. I'm going to go two, the Light. Three, Traditional. Four, the Flight.
00:48:52
Speaker
And then this one. I with. I think. I'm with you and I feel like Flight and Black and Tan can flip flop with Yeah. But yeah, Pilsner's my favorite.
00:49:03
Speaker
Light's great. Lager's there. And I'm thinking more of what I would probably drink. But the Golden Pilsner, I think, is our favorite top-notch out of all these. I'm looking forward to drinking more of these.
00:49:15
Speaker
Yeah, me too. And I'm super glad they're here. It's been a long time in the making. Now, if we can convince New Glarus... Which will never happen.
00:49:26
Speaker
don't know. I mean, come on. They're building this new, like, $5 billion, million-dollar, whatever, like, expansion, like... Come on. You gotta start pushing some stuff south of the border, man.
00:49:38
Speaker
Just have your neighbors. Sorry that people were shitty to you when you came down here to try and sell your beer. But we all love your beer now. Yeah, didn't that happen for a hot minute? And then they pulled out? don't think that... Yeah, I think they were like, no thanks.
00:49:49
Speaker
Yeah. Nobody wanted to distribute. And now look at us. We're crossing the border. I'll still keep going over the border. Oh, yeah. But if I can get this... If I can get New Glarus at my local store. This not the New Glarus episode.
00:50:00
Speaker
But... We have done that. You chance to visit this establishment. Go ahead. It's glorious. Absolutely. And the New Glarus town is fantastic. Yeah, overall, man, good beers.
00:50:10
Speaker
Not a bad one in the batch. Like I said, I was surprised that Flight was as good as it was and is. And yeah, I'm excited that they're here and I'm glad we did this.
00:50:20
Speaker
Me too.
00:50:29
Speaker
Patrick's Day episode. So there's kind of a
00:51:05
Speaker
Like, I was going to do that with the traditional lager, but I'm like, no, I think going to go log on with the Pilsner. Well, Brandon, everybody. Love you too, man. And we'll see everybody next week. Bye. Bye.
00:51:17
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.
00:51:42
Speaker
Clark can be found as Clarkowski on all three.
00:51:51
Speaker
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.