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Episode 151 - FOBAB 2024 Preview (feat. Ray Stout)
66 Plays14 days ago
This week we're joined by our old friend Ray Stout to discuss everything FOBAB 2024.
Don't forget to buy your tickets here:
https://www.universe.com/events/2024-festival-of-wood-barrel-aged-beer-tickets-Z7W984
Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli)
Outro provided by @FluidMinds
Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com
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Transcript
00:00:01
Speaker
I take it we're ready. I'm leaning into the mic, making eye contact with both of you.
Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:00:39
Speaker
Welcome to the Malting Hour. I am one of your hosts. Tony Golic joins always with... Brandon Winningjour. And to his right, our special guest... Ray Stout. No stranger to the show, Ray. Welcome back. Man, it is so good to be here. Dude, we love having you. I love coming. Perfect. All right. Well, that's it. Thanks, everybody. Bye.
00:00:57
Speaker
That's like yeah it's become like a weekly joke as soon as the guest is here. We kick him off. That's it. We're done. See you next year. Or the next time we decide to do a beer drinking thing. Ray, why are you joining us this week? Because Brandon told me there was wings here. There is wings. There are
Phobab Festival and Chicago Beer Culture
00:01:15
Speaker
wings. our wings yeah No, I'm here to talk about the most fabulous time of year, Phobab, the festival of wind barrel aged beer coming up. Absolutely. For me, that is the most fabulous time of year. I think we've talked about it before, especially in Chicago, when barrel aged beers start getting released, it's like the beginning of the holiday season in Chicago, at least. I don't know how to deserve it or else, but it's holiday season for me.
00:01:42
Speaker
It's all the gifts I buy for myself. These beers. Yeah, no, it really is special. you know Every brewery I go to um you know for the past couple weeks have been dumping their barrels and blending their barrels. And it's it's just such a cool thing to see. Get out there and work it, huh? Yeah, no, you got to meet the people.
00:01:59
Speaker
you know You got to know what they're doing. Yeah, that's right. You got to keep your finger on the balls. But yeah, it's just tremendous. And it's just such a cool showcase of, you know,
00:02:11
Speaker
we really are making some of the best beer in the world right here in Chicago land and it's tremendous to see. Yeah and we were, I mean going through, Tony and I were at the Great American Beer Festival and we sampled a lot of the Illinois stuff and it was great. We were disappointed that Illinois did not bring home even more medals. We'll get it next year, we'll get it next year. Well I mean that's what it is like but it It's such a wide scope and like when you talk about the entire U.S., I mean, yeah, craft beer, you can think of as a small unit, but like.
00:02:50
Speaker
the fact that like these you know some of these small breweries that we'd never heard of were like you know coming out with gold medals and silver medals and you know all that stuff that was it was it was really impressive but um it makes me excited because i i've had the barrel aged beers here um and i enjoy the barrel aged beers here Definitely more than a lot of the other places because you know, we're spoiled because we're we're spoiled because they're delicious barrel-aged beers. They do it good and and they do it the way we like it I guess, you know, you know different pallets I would suppose so so yes, we are biased but like
00:03:29
Speaker
Man, I love living here,
Illinois Breweries and Competitions
00:03:30
Speaker
man. It's just so good. It's what's keeping me here in Chicago, bear leech beers. That's about it. And you know we hold our own in those national competitions for sure. you know There's a couple of things that you need to take into account, right? Is that how many breweries from a state are entering, right? So that you have to to divide by that number. And you know Illinois,
00:03:49
Speaker
We have about 300 breweries now and not all of them do large competitions. And also in a place, um you know, festivals out west is that, you know, you got to take into account those beers are then being shipped to that festival, right? So, you know, not to knock our friends in Colorado, but Colorado could literally just drop the kegs off yeah the day of judging, right? They're not sitting in a warehouse. And especially for beers like, um, IPAs that have a lot of hop character, you know, as that sits in a keg and gets jostled across the country over a series of weeks, it's not going to be as prime as it was when it came out of the tap. Sure. Um, but yet we still, you know, I think we walked away with nine medals. Yeah. Um, you know, and we consistently, we consistently show up and consistently win in a big way.
00:04:31
Speaker
So wait a minute. Have you ever been to a great American beer festival? I have not. What? Wait a minute. Isn't that crazy? I get invited every single year. Do you want to go next year? We're going to go again. Oh, well, maybe. I know it does. The First Association. So did you go to the Guild Plaza? So they have guild areas. Yes, we saw it. We had a question about that. And our question was, where's the Illinois craft workers guild? You know, some guilds have a little more time on their hands to do a lot of that kind of fun stuff. Sure. Here in Illinois, we are grossly embattled and in legislative fights and a lot of ah lot of work. And you know my my whole mission over the past few years is you know keeping breweries in business and passing legislation that helps do that. right And so you know we we got extended outdoor dining for breweries in Chicago so they could have their patios. Those were supposed to go away.
00:05:20
Speaker
um And right now, we're working on the ability for for breweries to sell a a larger variety of brewers to sell wine and spirits um to you know enhance their offerings.
Legislative Support for Breweries
00:05:30
Speaker
And also, THC beverages has become incredibly popular. we did We talked about that, I think, last time you were on about the THC. Yeah, no. It's it's it's a hot button topic. Chicago, as we know, is is is is looking for revenue at this point. And I think they see it as a potential um yeah significant source of revenue. yeah um Clearly. you know We would much prefer that than to to raise excise taxes on alcohol and cities talking about $10.6 million. dollars that's you know It hurts small businesses, right? Because it's less money that businesses have and small breweries have to hire staff or grow. But you know ultimately, those
00:06:05
Speaker
Prices get pushed on to consumers. And you know we're seeing sticker shock at the grocery store. right We're seeing $16 four packs of beer now as like a regular occurrence. And that used to be like when you bought something Imperial or like a special release. Without a doubt. Without a doubt. And you know um some places are able to hold their prices a little lower just based on volume. But you know for a small craft brewery to compete in in the retail space now, you know we're talking about you know $14 to $16 a four-pack at retail. Yeah, we were briefly talking about it before we started recording. I had start ah i have a text card with Brandon, Daniel, and and and Clark, and I had mentioned that you know there was a time when Beryl Age beers here in Chicago, when there was a presale, you had to have your finger on the pulse to
00:06:57
Speaker
have access to it to buy it to even get it. And I've seen a shift in it the last two years is that they will eventually sell out at least that's what I saw last year. But they seem to stay up a little bit longer which I'll say this for me personally sometimes I'm not ready to buy those beers on that day because I'm paying mortgage and crap like that. And I'm like, yeah, let's wait for the next time, which is kind of nice. So I don't have to do it right away. ah But it's just a very interesting thing. And i to me, and you can you know correct me if I'm wrong, I feel like because of the way that things are in life in general, things being more expensive, people might be taking a look at those beers and being like,
00:07:37
Speaker
I might wait, I might not get it this time, or you know'm I'm not sure how it all plays out. I think you really hit the nail on the head is that you know um scarcity or that sense of ah urgency used to drive a lot. And that's not that's not saying there are there are releases that sell out. Absolutely. Yeah, right a good correction. yeah There are ones that actually... But there are the thing is now, and this is one good thing about being in the state of Illinois, is that We have hundreds of breweries making awesome barrel aged beer. And so it used to be you had to go to a handful of spots to get you know some of the best of the best. And now you know you can go to your local tap room and and and and drink a beer that is a faux vat medalist that you know what people would have lined up around the block for. right for
00:08:28
Speaker
And you know we're seeing it a little bit on ticket sales, but we're seeing it kind of across the board across all kind of events, right? ah Pitchfork just got canceled. Yeah, that was a bummer. I was bummed to hear about that. And so you know the cost of events keep going
Phobab Event Challenges and Economic Impact
00:08:43
Speaker
up. Attendance, you know the the line in the crap brewing industry is flat is the new up, right? Yeah. And so you know even to level attendance, you know you're not walking away with that that that delta that you used to in previous years. And so we're seeing you know music festivals suffer we're seeing you know the burgers association scale back on on events like they used to do an event in dc called saber they haven't done that in the past two years um you know and so trying to find events that work and continue to bring out people um is a challenge and you know luckily phobab is super special and you know we are
00:09:18
Speaker
pretty darn close to selling out Saturday, which is which is an awesome problem to have. And so if you're if you're waiting on those tickets, you better get going. um you know Friday is generally a little more tame tame of a crowd. um But you know we're we're not necessarily seeing it, but we had to put substantially more marketing resources in in this year than ever before. Yeah. I mean, you really want to push the... I mean, people know about it, but there are some people out there who are still discovering craft beer.
00:09:45
Speaker
whether they know about barrel aged beers or not, they might see something like that you know on social media and be like, hmm, that sounds interesting. Let me try that. Yeah. And we really expanded our reach this year. you know We targeted Washington state and Colorado. um you know we we We were able to get a grant from the state of Illinois, a tourism grant. And so I'm happy to report as if I counted you know probably 12 hours ago,
00:10:07
Speaker
32% of ticket holders were coming from different states. Holy shit. Nice. And so that's a pretty significant number, right? And you know and then you throw in kind of the craft beer enthusiasts in Chicago um you know that makes up the rest. But you know beer continues to be an economic driver in the state of Illinois. It continues to be a tourism driver in the state of Illinois. And that's why I'm so happy that we have so many awesome brewers making so much good beer.
00:10:30
Speaker
That's really cool to hear especially knowing that like you know those people who might be coming in for the first time to experience phobab you know I would say there's probably a pretty good chance that after coming here and trying all these beers than maybe trying a bunch of other breweries, it might be more of a draw to come back, yeah whether during FOBAB or any other time during the year. Yeah, without a doubt. you know and Chicago is ah a beautiful place to visit. you know It's consistently ranked one of the best tourism cities in the United States. um and you know can I would say partially because we have such a good beer culture here. right that
00:11:05
Speaker
you know, the craft beer that's made here, the breweries or or the local taverns that are carrying it, you know, they're all like top notch. And so when people come here, they they spend money on hospitality and and craft beer is a huge part of it over the past, you know, 10 years.
Beer Tasting: More Brewing's Mindy
00:11:21
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:11:22
Speaker
Well, before we keep moving on, I do want to know you were given a very special bottle that we're drinking right now. I would like to talk about that because I'm drinking through this way too fast because it's so delicious. it's it's still it's It is very, really fantastic. So ah more brewing is releasing Mindy on two days from now. And so I happened to be there today and was blessed with their 2024 version. And it's absolutely phenomenal. It's all sorts of different crazy whiskey barrels aged 36 months. And it's just such a well-balanced beer. I'm happy to hear your thoughts on it. Yeah. Out of curiosity, what? Does it say the ABB on there by any chance? It's a very dark label. Yeah, what's your guess?
00:12:12
Speaker
14? What's your guess? 14.3. Oh, 15.5. Hey, look at us. There we go. We did it. We did it. I went not to say that 14's low. ah It's crazy easy to drink. And yes, I know that my palate and my body has become very accustomed yes to drinking barrel aged beers, especially on this podcast. ah Man, that's a very smooth beer. I originally said like when I first smelled it,
00:12:41
Speaker
excuse me I got like a maple sweetness aroma and even like in the taste but as I've gone on there's like notes of coffee and cocoa and then bourbon and the wood characteristics like this is really good. Now when you say two days from now, do you actually mean Friday? I mean Friday. So two days ago from when this came out. Three days ago. so yeah know We're looking to drink this now. Hopefully you get to try it.
00:13:07
Speaker
This may be one that that sells out quickly. I yeah i was going to say, beers like this, yeah I feel like one-off releases might sell a little bit quicker. I don't i don't know, but when there's variants, some people might be more interested in one variant than another. so i feel like that and again like When I, when I was talking about one reference point that I had for a barely experience, like revolution revolutions. I love revolutions, barely. We're going to love all the variants they do and they, they start in the summer and you get into October and like, this is the best time. And I'm not.
00:13:44
Speaker
bummed that I can get it now, even though it was like you know went on sale a couple days ago, they're still available, and even the previous one. I do know that eventually it will be gone, but it is nice. like I want them to profit, but also I like the idea of knowing that like maybe come February or March, I can get a four-pack of something that I didn't grab in November. So what's interesting about the Morbier is And I think they've done this with a lot of their more recent releases. More recent? Sorry. Bad joke. I'm gonna leave. um They do ah random draws. Right. And the draw is still open as of now. It will not be- Like a lottery, right? Yeah. It will not be on this release on Monday. But um that's interesting because I feel like you don't know if it's sold out. Yeah. You know?
00:14:40
Speaker
like So you can go in on you know Thursday night, maybe they cut it off on Friday morning and then like they they do the draw. But I'm like, yeah, it's crazy to think that like you know this could be...
00:14:53
Speaker
you know availabl it's not available I was going to say, the other part is that I feel like, and I want to say be it's not oversaturated as far as barrel aged beers go in Chicago, but there are a lot of offerings. So it's tough to be like, you know, what am I going to, what am I going to buy this year? Like this year, one of the beers we're going to have later is the 2024, one of the 2024 benthic from half acre. I've never bought an allotment of benthic and this year Frank Clark and I decided to split it and I'm really happy that I did because I really like these beers and like kind of wish I just bought it myself I don't care how much it was it's all been very good so far but it's the first time I've done it I haven't done a cruise Blanca purchase of of their barrel aged beer so like each year I kind of decide like what is it that I'm going to buy
00:15:40
Speaker
Which, again, it's a nice option to have, but I just like, ah I just don't want breweries to suffer from that because barely aged beers are not cheap to make and it's a lot of labor and a lot of money and there's a lot of creativity also that goes into it and it would suck to have certain beers fall to the wayside.
00:15:56
Speaker
Yeah. and and And that's exactly right. and And you mentioned price points of craft beer or a barrel aged beer possibly being a deterrent. And that's why vessels like PhoBab are so cool, right? Is that you can try all of these ridiculous variants and all these ridiculous types of craft beer and before you buy a
Innovations at Phobab: QR Code Sales
00:16:16
Speaker
bottle of it, yeah right? And you know something that i I don't think has ever been announced anywhere before.
00:16:23
Speaker
is that um you know we are running a ah small um test this year at Phobab. And so we have um you know probably 10 to 15 breweries that we are partnering with Osner on. Okay. So this was teased last week by Matthew and we told him to shut his stupid mouth and so because you were coming here this week. And so ah you know brewers breweries are holding back a certain number of bottles for FOBAB attendees to taste and then order through the Osner platform for pickup at the brewery later. That's pretty badass, I'm not gonna lie. And Cruise Block is actually one of those breweries. So how does that work? So the weekend comes through like Friday and Saturday, and then when would that go on sale? So there'll be QR codes available at the tasting locations for participating breweries. And so you literally go in, you scan your QR code. I know, right on. buy the bottle through the internet so you're not making the purchase at UIC. So right there and then. Right there, right then. And then you can go pick it up at a date to be set up. So you taste the beer, you like the beer. You buy the beer. You buy the beer. I make a lot of...
00:17:29
Speaker
Good bad decisions. Yeah. And so, you know, and and like I said, this is this is a test this is a test run. um It's not no um festival has ever done this ever before. So we are the we are the guinea pigs of this. so But it just makes so much sense. Right. There's all these beer festivals out there where You know, brewers are either donating a product or donating the time and just kind of using it as a marketing opportunity. But wouldn't it be cool if somebody really liked it, they scanned a QR code, you got sent to their their online store or through a third party marketplace, you buy the beer and then you have to go to the brewery to pick it up. Yeah. Because what's even better is that that person is going to go to the brewery. They're not just going to pick up the beer. I've never. You're going to have a beer, right? I think there's only been one time. There's only been one time when I ordered a beer through Osner that or a website for a brewery that I didn't because I had something else going on. So I'd like stop in. But most of the time I plan on making like it a trip like I'm going.
00:18:26
Speaker
I'm not going to not have a beer there, especially when those breweries might have variants. I keep using Rev as a you know an example here, but they always have like special tappings that are not being sold when they're doing the Deepwood series. So you grab these beers and then you get to try things that you wouldn't be able to try unless you went to the brewery, which I think is a brilliant plan.
00:18:47
Speaker
Yeah, and you know, what's really, really exciting is that some of the participating breweries aren't doing massive bottle runs of these products, right? They're literally holding back two or three or four bottles if a FOBAB attendee wanted to purchase it through their online store. And so it just makes it a little more fun. It makes it a little more valuable experience for the brewery.
00:19:12
Speaker
and you know And hopefully this is something that works out well this year and we can grow next year and you know then you could start kind of getting some of these these whale beers as a fobab attendee. Well, especially if there's one that you try and you're like, holy cow, this is great. I really like this beer. There's been plenty of times where I've tried that and it's like, maybe I already missed a special release or maybe it's coming up and it's not available at that time because I already sold out.
00:19:35
Speaker
um It's nice to have that opportunity to be right there and then to be like, oh shit, scan this and and grab it now. Yeah. And I just want it. It's not going to be everybody, right? yeah It's a small test run to see how it goes. It's like a so where's wallet situation. But thinking about Phobab, like what's the percentage of like Illinois breweries versus like
Diverse Offerings at Phobab
00:19:54
Speaker
You know, it's it's a pretty good mix this year. um You know, we unfortunately had more than a handful of breweries back out from the Asheville area because of the devastation from the floods. But, you know, we we have a pretty good mix of Illinois breweries and breweries from the rest of the country. I would i would probably say it's, you know, 60, 40, 70, 30, somewhere in there. yeah But, you know, the the great guys are still there, right? Firestone Walker is going to be there.
00:20:22
Speaker
I'm, uh, lost Abby that's going to be there. Like all these, all these great breweries. Those are two that I always seek out. i'm not yeah um I mean, I also have the local stuff too, but like, I mean, Firestone Walker, come on. How am I going to go and try some of this stuff? You know, uh, perennial artisan ales, um, always, always make great beer, like, you know, and so it's, it's a good selection of breweries from the Midwest, but you know, we have some really great California and really great, um you know, Ohio and really, really great Florida, really great Texas. And so um it's, it's, it really is a who's who of the barrel aging world. That's pretty exciting. and And the other thing about it is that like when people, and I'm sure we've talked about this before, whether it's been a FOBAB recap or having you on there that like the festival of barrel aged beers, I think,
00:21:12
Speaker
especially when I'm talking about barely aged beers with people who might not know about it. It's always stouts, but it's not all stouts, which is makes it even more exciting. Like one of the beers I remember trying was off colors, uh, beer for tacos, tequila, barely aged. And I think they ended up doing a Moscow one. I don't know if that was that boba, but, uh, Yeah, but like stuff like that. It's like it's not just stouts. so it's Well, yes, stouts and barley and wines are you know very comfortable to a barrel-aged. There's other types of of beers out there, like wild ales. Totally. well And I would say, you know um you know also, the cider category continues to grow every year. I picked up a Malort barrel-aged cider from Aeris today that I'm super, super excited for. I love Aeris. Send that back. Know that I'll try see that's where you and I love
00:22:08
Speaker
i love my lord I think people give me Malort and think it's going to be a problem. I'm like, whatever. i've got it I've gotten past it being a problem for me. It's not much worse than the Underbird sitting right there. Yeah, which, again, like when I try that, I'm always like, why do I? I think it's just Malort's a little more shocking. what How I learned to like Malort was there was another, I kind of can't think of the distillery that makes it, but it's very much like Malort, the type of liqueur it is that
00:22:39
Speaker
I had a bottle of it, I got it as a gift, and I started making cocktails with it where I would take lime juice, so I'd take a shot of this liquor that's much like milord, over ice with some lime juice, and then put lime carbonated water over it, and it was just like this nice citrus like drink with a little bit of pith in the back. I went through that bottle very fast. that drink I like, this is a delicious drink.
00:23:03
Speaker
Yeah, Melora Beryl has become kind of this unsung hero. And you know I was talking to Michelle, who is one of the owners at Eris. She's been on the show. show this she goes Awesome. awesome also She's a multi-hour alum. That's great. And so I was talking to her and you know she said that she she entered this beer into kind of cider competitions. and have won medals but like the feedback that she always gets is like it had a strange flavor that we couldn't quite put our finger on she's like oh that's the milord yeah welcome to chicago yeah but still won a medal yeah yeah exactly something was weird about it but we really like it it was great it was very very good yeah that's right like milord is just so translated this time because like
00:23:46
Speaker
It was made by a different company years ago and it kind of fell off. And then was it, uh, who picked it up? CH Distilling. Yeah. CH Distilling picked it up and they do them with the same name. So I think they must've bought the property rights or whatever, but like, yeah, like, I don't know. Look at me. It doesn't taste any different. I've yet, I've yet to try the Jepsen's bourbon.
00:24:10
Speaker
yeah don't and When I saw it, I was like, I don't know. This is my day of not liking the Lord. You can't be like... it kind tastes like That was my thought. i was like I didn't really care for my Lord, then why would I like their bourbon? I hear good things. sayga I know what to get you for Christmas. yeah yeah Let's just get it for each other.
00:24:32
Speaker
And you know, that's that's the one thing I'm excited about um with Phobab is that Bartstown is coming back again. oh nice right So they're doing pours and I think they're bringing three different variants that people can try. um it just It just makes it a little a little more fun right and a little more festive. and you know you people could really that What I love about it is that people could really taste kind of the barrel, right, and and what it is. and that And then once you get that taste of of that good aged whiskey, then you go back and you try it you know a barrel aged stout. Then you like, even even like a, you know, not a connoisseur won't be able to pick up those barrel characteristics. Some people are super tastier, some people are not. I tend to be more on the not side. Yeah, me too. um You know, until somebody tells me what I should be tasting and I'm like, oh, I can, I get that.
00:25:18
Speaker
right It's funny because I didn't really know much about Bardstown until last year when we went to Prop Day and they were there from Goose Island's Prop Day and we got to try some of the the whiskey's and then this year we got a sample we got the ah went to Goose Island Salt Shed to do the media tasting of Bourbon County this year and they did Bardstown cask finish which is really really good cherry wood and While we were having the, as they called it, I'm putting quotes in the air, heavy appetizers was basically a whole freaking meal. They did walk around with little bottles of bards down, and I'm like, man, I don't really like this. I think I need to get some of this. So that's exciting to know that they're there as well. Man, you guys have really come up with your with your media credentials. You know, man, we're just living the dream at this point when it comes to those ideas. This is great. I wish I figured out this hack years ago. I wouldn't i wouldn't have to have this silly job. But we have a... But we have guys like you to thank because now you know we have, and thank you again for you know inviting us to all the things that the Minecraft burial does. like it's It's awesome because we really do look forward to it. you know maybe in the I would say in the beginning when we first started this podcast, the whole idea was like, man, it'd be so good to have like all these beers sent to us. We can go to all these things.
00:26:32
Speaker
And now it's really become something where it's like, when we go to these festivals, it's not like, you know, approaching it like, oh, I'm here as an attendee. I'm going to try and drink all the beer I can in such a, you know, in in four hours and ran and I approach it now like, well, we're here to seek things out so we can talk about it and try some other things. So it really has become more of like, I want to say work because it's definitely like 98% pleasure, 2% work at this point. Maybe in the years coming up, it will probably go like 90.
00:27:02
Speaker
five to five. But it has been great. like it's It's been so much fun to be. I sound like we're signing off. It's been so much fun. It's been a great and great five, six years. It's been great. This is our last show. You guys have really kind of you know been welcomed into to the beer culture here in Chicagoland, right?
00:27:23
Speaker
and that's what and that's when you really see how things go, right? And that's when you learn a little bit like the tricks, right? yeah And then that's where you learn like, no, you don't have to stand in this line because you could just go talk to this person, right? Yeah. yeah like that's yeah because That's how the use of things. but I mean, I would say that one of the things that I've liked the most about doing this podcast are then Brandon and I hanging out and having beers together because some of those, a lot of those episodes were just me and him. Like it's a lot of fun because we can just sit here and be like, so
00:27:55
Speaker
Let's put them together and we're going to sit around and drink and and talk. yeah It's great. But we've made so many friends with doing the podcast. Even at the Grand American Beer Fest, we ran into some people that we've talked to over the years that aren't here from Chicago. So that was it was it was cool. And they remembered who we were. So it's like, oh, wow, we've made an impression at least. you know Thank you, Ryan, guys, for sending us beer.
00:28:21
Speaker
Well, with that being said, I think this is the perfect time to take a break. Dammit, I was just about to ask where we are at in time. Yeah, we're going to take a break and then we're going to come back and talk more about Phobad. Brandon wants wings.
00:28:50
Speaker
And we're back. Welcome back, everybody. This is the PhoBab 2024 episode. We're joined here with Ray Stout. Ray, thank you again for joining us. Holla. That was great. That's not what I was expecting. and That was fantastic. um We decided to eat some of these spicy Asian chicken wings that Brandon had purchased for us. Did you do the sis egg?
00:29:14
Speaker
Yeah, my that's why I said, like I switched up the, I wanted to have that one first and then it cooled down. I think I flipped it and had the, I was like, oh, this is good. And then as I was going through the second wing, I was like, I think he was wrong. And Ray's like, no, no, the darker one is the spicier one. I'm like, oh no, that's the second one. What would, no, what would, no. That was spicy. Amateur hour. I had to drink some water. My mouth is burning. But I didn't want to wreck my palate for these beers because before we get back into the phobab talk here, Brandon, what are we drinking?
00:29:44
Speaker
We are drinking a 2014 Firestone Walker anniversary ale. It is a special limited release. It's their 18th.
00:30:00
Speaker
18th is kind of like the running theme for their anniversary elves. This is for 2014, and I will quickly, as quickly as I can, a ten year old beer read the packaging on the box. And this beer, it's the first time it's been out of the box since it's been out of the brewery. Yes, by the way, I was wrong, Ray. This was the beer that I was going to open the Velvet Merkin from the night we did the bottle share. thank Since founding our brewery in 1996, we have specialized in
Tasting Firestone Walker Anniversary Ale
00:30:30
Speaker
the rare art of fermenting beer in oak barrels. In the fall of 2006, we released a limited-edition oak-aged strong ale called Tin to commemorate the 10th anniversary, thus beginning our annual Autumn Rite. This year, we present 18.
00:30:47
Speaker
our ninth release from our anniversary series. And how kinda math is this? 18th is crafted from separate lots produced over several months and months and years, carefully blended into the truly unique and complex brew.
00:31:04
Speaker
Clarence, I can go under my speaker for us. Each of the contributing lots was aged in oak barrels, some previously used by American spirits producers, others used in our Firestone Union. Each barrel lent its own bit of soul to the flavor profile, including nuances of tobacco, chocolate, and molasses. Loco peso, Paso Robles area wine makers are are And our brewers collaborated to taste each individual lot and lend their expertise to the final blend. The resulting limited production brew offers immense depth and complexity with long intense flavors that beg to be sipped and flavored. 18 is a one-of-a-kind beer to last and will reward careful aging for years to come. So 10 years.
00:31:52
Speaker
I will say this, you and I need to get into commercial voice acting. You and I both have fantastic commercial voices. That was a strong read. Yeah, that was a lot. I'm glad you did it because I don't have my glasses on. Mine's better when I don't drink. That's pretty good, man. Very few trip ups there, very few stumbles. A couple of two trees. That was good. I will say this right off the bat for 10 years and I know how well you you sell your beers and keep them nice and cool and you've moved from one place to another probably with this bottle. Yeah. Two places. You know, we've had some hits. We've had some misses for aged beers. I would say that while there is some slight oxidation, this is a very tasty 10 year old beer. Yeah, I would agree. I'm getting some of the subtle flavors that they talked about chocolate and
00:32:42
Speaker
I think I'm getting a little raisin. yeah Yeah, I was going to say that. It almost reminds me of, oh, shit. What's the brewery? I was thinking, oh, the brewery. So I forget which of their 12 days of Christmas that this kind of reminds me of. that that like it drinks It kind of like has a taste of a barley wine more than of a stout. Yeah, a little bit. That's what I thought it was that before I looked at the box. Yeah, it's it's nice. And I feel like maybe some of the accident like some oxygen probably lends itself to that. But it's not like a bad, like, off flavor. So on untapped, it's categorized as a strong ale. So that's why we all... Okay, so it's not a stout. So that's why... The barley one. We relate to the barley one. That makes more sense. Very good. What if they use special B? Good malt. It lends a raisiny flavor to bakers.
00:33:27
Speaker
I know, but there's a completely different description untapped. Oh really? Is it short? It's a Jordan Complex brew full of malt and barrel-derived flavors with parabola leading the brew into rich darkness. It's best poured carefully into a half-filled Brandy Snifter or wine glass.
00:33:46
Speaker
We'd allow it to warm to 55 degrees. We did that. Yeah, it should be. To fully enjoy the pleasant and complex aromas as the beer sits and breathes in the glass, rich dark chocolate, toasted oak, and dark fruit characteristics are revealed. I think we got all that. I'm not going to lie, I think we got all of that. Yeah. At least, Ray, how do you feel about this beer? You hit it out of the park.
00:34:10
Speaker
This always blows my mind with like old beers, but like, man, it's 10 years old and like, here we go. but It's funny because, you know, a lot of... I remember the founders used to say, and maybe they still do. I don't know. I don't really call the founders. They said, you don't need to age KBS because we've already aged it for you, which I understand. Yes. Drink it fresh. It's very good. Bare-aged beers are fantastic fresh. The aging has already happened. yeah However, certain beers, if you want to save one or two or, you know, whatever, it's, it's nice to see the changes. Some beers will change. I wouldn't say that heavily adjunct did, you know, ah
00:34:49
Speaker
barrel-aged beers will develop any further, but some of the straightforward barrel-aged beers will take on different characteristics and will change in the bottle. Agreed. And that's, you know, that's why we run this podcast, dude. That's why you hired me to do this podcast. So Ray, you've been around the beer game
Collaboration Beers and Goose Island's Influence
00:35:10
Speaker
long enough? We're just gonna look past how awesome I am? No.
00:35:14
Speaker
we know how was ma'am ah You've been around the beer game, well the Illinois beer game long enough. Has there been any like stellar beers, like and and I want to say age beers because you visit a lot of places so has there ever been like Aged beers that you've had that have kind of like blowing your mind, you know, I I tend to drink them real fresh Right and I you know every time I get my hands on something like you know, we had tonight I just like a kid in the candy store. Yeah, and I open it right away. And so Which is both a blessing and a curse. Yeah, and so I can go a few months. I've never let anything maybe let like a prop
00:35:58
Speaker
When a Goose Island's prop first came out, maybe I let one of those aged for a year. Yeah. But know ever since then, I've never really read it. Well, I guess my question was, like, have you gone to a place and they... Oh, gave them a barrel aged beer. Gave them something and they were like, hey, try this. And there has there been something that's been like... Oh, an actual barrel aged beer. Oh, man. All that's all the time.
00:36:17
Speaker
Yeah, all the time. I figured it would be like too many. to come Yeah, no, it's all the time. Was there one that maybe is not like your favorite, but one that kind of like stands out in your head at this moment? right You know, I would say two years ago, for Bug, Microphone and Goose Island did a collaboration. ah And that beer was phenomenal, right? It was just so good. and You know, I like that for a lot of reasons, but, you know, anytime two great bre programs come together to create something even better, like it just, it's it's a win. And so that for me was one of my favorite kind of barrel aging beer experiences. And like, not, not just because they did it for bug, just, you know, but, but they did, which was cool.
00:37:05
Speaker
um And so, you know, I love collab beers, where you're going to get to kind of different, you know, views on the barrel and the blending and, and you know, in the brewing process, because it just yields such awesome results. And, you know, at PhoBab this year, you know, I think there's at least you know 10 to 20 kind of collaboration beers that are going to be out there to try. Yeah so and that I don't know why that sparked this question in me but like how does how does the guild feel about you know well first like
00:37:40
Speaker
you know, Goose Island brewing in general. Like the the stuff that they do out of the tap room and whatever is like, there's a lot of homegrown stuff there. yeah But they're not a, you know, they're not a craft brewery. They're not an independent craft brewery, right? And so, um so I'll say a couple things about Goose Island is first, they are um instrumental to the evolution of Illinois craft beer, right? They are the godparent of many of these breweries that have opened since then, right? So some of our best known breweries and brewers in in the state of Illinois and brewery owners, you know, came through Goose Island, right? So level set with that. And so, you know, and I think
00:38:28
Speaker
You know people give flack for you know a brewery and I'm throwing out my air quotes now selling out. Right. Yeah. But you know and in terms of a business decision I think you know if you asked 20 brewers, if they would be willing to sell their brand, especially into the environment today, they would say, where's the check, right? And so, you know, but I think what Goose has been able to do, they are still a strong supporter of the guild and we really thank them for everything they do because we would not be here without them. So let's put that asterisk on everything. absolutely um But, you know, um they've been able to stay um craft adjacent.
00:39:06
Speaker
more so than I think a lot of these other brands that got bought out by by bigger houses. um and so you know And their barrel aging you know program is is astoundingly amazing. right Consistently every year they're releasing some of the most sought after and best barrel aged viewers. And so we're lucky to have them because they're a great addition to our community. that that is Exactly. I think Brandon and I have, you know, I'm sure we've talked about this numerous times. We actually have talked about this numerous times. It's nice to hear another someone else like yourself agree with us because we've seen nothing but positives ah after the purchase from AB InBev. Like there's nothing about Goose Island that has changed other than
00:39:57
Speaker
I would say quantity, you know, I recently revisited 312. It's not how I remember, but also my palates changed. But I still like drinking 312. I'm very excited that Honkers is now available in 12 packs. And that's, you know, that was something that Brandon and I, when we went before the Clyburn taproom close,
00:40:17
Speaker
We were very excited to see it on each time that we had gone there for a fence or just to go and hang out and have a beer and it was great because I started my night there with the Honkers and it's great to have it back in the store is something I'm very excited about. Burma County obviously you know it's it's still it's still it's not and people will agree yeah that it's not the same as it used to be.
00:40:40
Speaker
Not in the sense of the beer, but it used to be you'd go to the Binney's across the street from Clybourne and that was it. yeah And now it's expanded. So I don't see a negative in me being able to go to Jewel either on Black Friday, that Saturday, that Sunday, variants tend to go. But when I see regular Bourbon County sitting on the shelf and slowly dwindling, I'm also a part of those people who are slowly buying a bottle at a time.
00:41:08
Speaker
And that's awesome. Cause it's solid beer. And that's, it's one of the, but if, if I'm introducing someone to barely aged beer, and this is, you know, not a knock on any of the other barely aged beers, I've, I've, I've tried with friends, everything. Bourbon County is probably the go-to that's like the, that's the base for me is like, here's Bourbon County for you. Yeah, exactly. Because of Brandon, and I, you know, that's how I got turned on to barely aged beers. He he convinced, uh, uh, Laura to get me a four pack one time when he was working at Fishman's.
00:41:38
Speaker
I tried to drink two 12-ounce bottles that night, not being accustomed to barely-aged beers, and I got through one, got half the other, and I couldn't finish it, and had to dump it and pass out. yeah i was um Come a long way. you know Last FOBAB, I was sitting in the yeah the the barrel warehouse where we do our event on Thursday night.
00:41:59
Speaker
And um you know Todd, who's the president of Goose Island, came up to me and said hello. He was very nice to us when we went to the Bourbon County tasting. Super great guy. Good guy. His head is definitely in the right place. And you know I asked him, so like what's what's been the biggest difference in you know where Goose was and where it is now? And he's like, I'll tell you what, right? He's like, now I have access to some of the best brewers in the world. Yeah. And and and like ah ingredients. And just like and then then even with prop, sorry, I didn't mean to show up, but I just made me think, like Prop is always done in house, which I think is great. I think it's a really good idea It's not just like oh, we've got some of these guys sitting around just gonna throw you know, it's they're still doing it where it's like We're gonna ask our employees to Come up with prop this year, you know, and in each year it's different and it's great and and it's fun so and they also have the resources to then get things like
00:42:50
Speaker
Is it rare this year that we were talking about that was ah aged in the, what is it called, old Kentucky or Kentucky grandpa, some shit like that? Apparently, it's a highly sought after whiskey where that people are paying $800 for like a bottle on the resale market, and they got access to those barrels.
00:43:08
Speaker
not everybody has that opportunity. And it's cool that, you know, while yes, like, oh, the big guys did it, but like, well, everybody else got their own things. Well, also small guys have their own access and they're making really great beers. Yeah. But that's the thing is like, like we're spoiled. The bottles are, the barrels are sought after. yeah Like if you can't afford it, like. Yeah. But it's not the breweries that are complaining about it. It's, it's, you know, the,
00:43:33
Speaker
But a segue to my my question is kind of along the same lines. like How does the guild feel about like somebody like Lagunitas who's pulled out this year? Yeah, so Lagunitas was also a member of ours and supporter. you know it's It's sad to see any brewery close, right? and so they were You know, for for a significant period of time, that tap room was like a real kind of gathering place for craft beer enthusiasts. The place was awesome. You know, they shut down for a long time during COVID and it didn't look like they were going to open and they decided to open it again. but
00:44:10
Speaker
you know they're They're supporters of of of the craft Craft Brewers Guild. and you know um you know just We are a community and it's a small community, whether it's you know breweries that are associated with large corporations or you know independent craft breweries.
00:44:26
Speaker
you know The guild offers a platform to kind of for everybody to kind of share ideas and share ingredients and get get you know help and questions. and so you know some ah Some of those folks at those bigger breweries have been really good assets. Even Guinness is a member of ours too, right? It's with their open gate. I saw them in there. yeah neith you should You should definitely go. They always come to all of our events. and you know um I've been trying to talk them into barrel aging some stout for next year. and I thought that would be pretty cool. They've done barrel aged beers. They should do it here. Yeah. um you know and so you know it is It is one big welcoming community. you know I think you know where where some of our um you know some of our ideals diverge is when it comes to through to distribution right and how. and But you know besides that,
00:45:11
Speaker
you know everybody's trying to make the best beer they can and we're super lucky that you know Illinois still has those breweries. I want to move on to one more thing but before we do that we were talking about like you know when when breweries closed and stuff and I don't think I think maybe we mentioned this last week but I don't think we did but losing temperance was a big deal especially for for me and me and Brandon you know I had a chance to do the 10-year anniversary episode with them last year and it was so much fun that was one of the most fun experiences and we got to do some Mike Meets Right episodes with them.
Closure of Temperance Beer Co.
00:45:47
Speaker
And when they first were about to open and they were breaking ground, I worked at a warehouse that was basically just on the other side of the street. So I had got a chance to like tour it. So I got a chance to like see if there was a block party in that little area at one point where Temperance was very cool and they provided different beers for all the, it's all like, you know, small manufacturing warehouses and things like that.
00:46:10
Speaker
you know that's that's to me it's you know I don't want to see any brewery closed but Temperance was one that was was really sad to see that yeah no it's it's we're in a weird place for craft beer right now and it's and it's not unique to to Illinois right yeah um you know people are not there's we're no longer in a place where there's just craft beer drinkers, or just wine drinkers, or just are just you know hard liquor drinkers. People are drinking everything based on occasion, right? and you know i would discovered I discovered Happy Dad seltzers this weekend. I really liked them. They're very good. Just throwing that out there. And someone who has a craft beer podcast with his best friend, you know like we drink Coors Light and Happy Dads. And there's a place for everything, yeah right? and and you know And you mentioned it to bring it back to temperance that
00:47:00
Speaker
Gate Crasher, when I moved here six years ago, is one of the first Illinois craft from yours that I was like, this is good. That was Clark's first five-star rated beer on untapped, and he stands by that to this day. I was like, this is a good beer, and I bought Trader Joe's or something like that. I was like, this is a great beer.
00:47:16
Speaker
um you know and so yeah Josh, it's sad to see them go. They were at it for over 10 years. This is the 11th year. And it's weird, right? Because if you look at survival rates of small businesses, the average survival rate of small businesses is like two to three years. We're lucky that historically breweries have been like seven to nine. Yeah, that's great. And so breweries are sticking around for a longer period of time. But we're in a new environment. I'm not saying that.
00:47:46
Speaker
We're saturated at all in the state of Illinois. you know I think we're only ranked 13th or 14th in breweries per capita, individuals over the age of 21. So there's room to grow. But you know it's hard fought growth. And the model that's really working right now in the state of Illinois is is these kind of smaller local tap rooms. right Because there's only so much room on the shelves at grocery stores. right more room is shrinking every single day with the you know the growth of you know RTD's which are the spirit based cocktails and the gross of THC beverages and you know all these other things that are now playing in the kind of the traditional beer space and so you know we're seeing where stores used to have
00:48:31
Speaker
a full aisle of craft beer that's relegated to like a quarter of an aisle or a few shelves. Right. And so that recently just happened at a jewel not far from us where it used to be like, Oh, here's the whole section of craft beer. And then right at the end cap and in the cooler section was, you know, the big names and now it's shrunk down and seltzers are there and hard ciders are there. None alcohol beers. Yeah.
00:48:59
Speaker
absolutely Yeah, and and you know um let's like you know talk Illinois politics for five seconds, right? you know We have laws in the state where when a brewer signs a distribution agreement, whether that distributor is doing a good job selling their beer or not, they're stuck with them. There's no way to to to leave those agreements in any kind of way that's reasonable.
00:49:19
Speaker
um And so, you know, when you have a mid-sized craft brewer where then you become the third or fourth beer a salesperson is going to pitch, you know, there's not a lot of space for you out there. yeah And so it makes it even more important for these for these breweries to still maintain their own unique sales staff to go out and do that work. but So if you're talking about you know a 10-barrel brew house that the person is also the owner of the brewer and their chief bottle washer, like you know there's no time out there to do that. To Clint. To do that. Clint. Like Clint, yeah. He's a good example. Well, until that brings the question, like what about like?
00:49:58
Speaker
I know this came up, this was there during COVID where breweries could self distribute.
Complexities in Illinois Brewing Laws
00:50:04
Speaker
Yeah, we touched on that the last time you were on. Is there any play for that again? Yeah, we I mean, so during COVID, there were a lot of rules that were kind of lax.
00:50:14
Speaker
you know Specifically, the delivery of of beer is what I think you're talking about. Self-distribution. Brewers, there are exemptions for self-distribution for certain classifications of brewers. um you know those Those exemptions tend to be very small and tight when there are strings attached. right so so let's Let's nerd out a little bit. so There's basically three classifications of brewers. right There's a class one brewer in the state of Illinois.
00:50:39
Speaker
which could self-distribute up to 7,500 barrels of beer a year, um but they cannot sell wine and spirits in their tapper. There is a Class II brewer, which essentially is a brewer that your self-distribution rights are done by a distributor, and you can sell anything you want in your tapper, wine, spirits, anything like that. Then there's a Class III brewer, which is basically a brew pub model where you could sell wine and spirits, but you can only self-distribute up to 200 barrels of beer a year.
00:51:08
Speaker
which is not a lot of beer, right? No. And so that's the model that's working right now because brewers are quickly realizing people are no longer just beer drinkers and they want to come into a taproom and experience all sorts of things. They want to bring their friends that don't drink beer and their girlfriends and boyfriends that don't drink beer. A good example is Maple Woods now doing their cup of stuff that's about to come out and they also have a whiskey and eggnog. And the eggnog has been for many years and they've been distilling.
00:51:32
Speaker
But, there's now like, there's tickets on Anzer for like ah a whiskey tasting that they're doing as well. Yeah, and so there's more brewers than ever getting into the distilling space also. That's a whole kind of separate conversation. I'm just hoping people would distill you. Yes, yeah. um And is opening their kitchen back up and doing an awesome renovation. Fancy, fancy. That's awesome. But, you know, um and so so there there is a need to adjust these laws to allow these smaller brewers who are, you know,
00:51:56
Speaker
Substream 200 barrels to grow that pie yeah right and so that's the that's the piece that we're we're really kind of focused on right now because You know like I said before is what once you sign with the distributor for better or for worse you are at the will of the distributor right right and so for small businesses to hold their own kind of destiny and you know to get out there and hustle and sell and and make their make their living, um you know I think is what brought this industry to where it was and where it where it where it is. And so you know we and continue to kind of foster that environment.
00:52:28
Speaker
Cool. So segwaying, segwaying off of that. but What a weird cool to use there. It sounds like it. Cool. Cool. No, I'm just joking. I love it. I'm not editing that. No, dude, I i love.
00:52:42
Speaker
you know, having him on, like, because these are things that we, like, questions we have and, like, things we want to know, and, like, Ray's got the info. Yeah, no, it is, it is one of the reasons why we do, like, have you on, and we probably should have you on more than twice if you're not going to lie, because there's a lot of things that Brandon and I talk about and have questions about and have theories about, but it's also nice to, like, get an insider perspective, and and we we get, we can we get some of that from Matthew as well, yeah you know, so it's like, I mean,
00:53:10
Speaker
Matthew, call me up. You're good for some things. Yeah. my My question was like, uh, what are you excited about with Phobab this year?
Unique Aspects of Phobab 2024
00:53:18
Speaker
let's let's like Let's bring it back to Phobab. There's so much good stuff. Like just so you guys know while you're doing that, I've already finished Firestone. Sorry to interrupt. I'm about to open this.
00:53:28
Speaker
2024, Ben Thicke, turtle. Good luck. Thank you. you know um but While I was devouring way too many chicken wings that I won't disclose the number on, ah you know and tony all Tony and I were, no, it's my don't don't talk about my Lincoln Log fortress I have here. Tony and I were talking about like the logger lounge, right? And so I made the joke is that I see all these kind of like,
00:53:55
Speaker
smaller upstart beer festivals that are promoting themselves on social media like, hey, we have 20 breweries. This is great. Come spend $50 on our tickets. yeah you know We have 20 breweries in our Lager Lounge, right? And so that's what makes it like so cool. And we've talked about Lager Lounge before, and I will reiterate that if this is your first, second, 10th time going to Phobab,
00:54:22
Speaker
Give yourself, give your palate a little bit of a break. You want to have some beers, that's fine. Go up to the lager lounge, have a lager, chill for a little bit, relax, maybe grab some food at that point. That's the best way to do it. Brandon and I were lucky enough to learn that the first time the lager lounge was introduced because we went up there and all of a sudden we were like, I'm going to hang out here at the lager lounge. It was great. We talked to a lot of people and it was fun. And then we made our way back down and we were like, oh, like,
00:54:48
Speaker
I want to drink more barrel aged beers. It was a nice break for my palate instead of like, you know, knocking back a whole bunch of barrel aged beers in an hour and being like, well.
00:54:59
Speaker
I want to sit and wait for the award show. yeah It's such a cool thing because it is kind of like a cooperative approach to to the festival, right? Is that all these breweries kind of you know came together you know um and and and and decided that you know would be it would be awesome to have this kind of focal point, right? and you know Charlotte from Salamoth Brewing is kind of the brainchild behind the Lager Lounge, and she kicks butt in a variety of different ways. but um you know And so what's what's really funny is that like you know we were digging through through storage the other day, my associate director and I, and and you know looking for the faux wood paneling that we put up for the Lager Lounge. house This is a weird job. I have to dig through storage units. I've talked to legislators. Right. And so, you know, but, you know, besides PhoBab in general is being a very exciting because of all the amazing barrel aged beer that you're never going to try again and it's totally worth it. Like, you know, I think the Lager Lounge makes it so unique and cool because there's like a separate space within a beer festival that you really can get your money's worth if you just stayed there the whole time. Absolutely. And we, like you said, the first year we hung out there for a while and we were
00:56:11
Speaker
now granted we were giving out stickers and coasters for the podcast but we like just hung out and met a whole bunch of people there it was it was like hanging out at a bar because the spaces it's the straight line go through and there's those tables set up and you can like it's up in the I don't know directions. It's the upper right corner when you first walk in. If you look straight across. It might not be the same. I don't know. That's where I'm remembering it. It might be straight across and just look across. It's there. Just look up for the fucking logger line. Look up. There's a lot of lights. There's a lot of lights. You can't miss it. Can't miss it. Before we get back to that, I have a quick question.
00:56:44
Speaker
Is revolution going to be doing their hot water again? You know, they are. So yeah, so revolution is going to do the zero, the zero the hot the zero hero lounge. um And so that's going to be kind of hot water and it's going to be awesome. Cooler place to hang out like another. Nice. So it's another another reprieve. Right. I also hung out there for a second because I drank their hot water is fantastic. when I want to drink like two or three of those.
00:57:10
Speaker
It also just kept things going. Remember to hydrate when you go to Phobep. Without a doubt. We spent a lot of money on water. like use Use it, please. And so you know and that's the thing, right? Is that you know we drank a 15% beer, and then I don't know what the other one was. and you know They add up pretty quickly. So you want to make sure that you are pacing yourself. It is a marathon. It is not a sprint. And go over to the bread beers and have like a 5% or go to the lagers and have 6%. Like bounce around. Eat some food. When you rinse your glass, don't be afraid to rinse it and then drink that water. It's OK. You won't remember that anyway. And by and large, people are very responsible. Absolutely. That was the next point I was going to hit was that,
00:57:50
Speaker
the The handful of years that I've gone to PhoBab, it's not been a bad time. I've not seen people being... rude, disorderly, out of you know character. you know There might be one or two that maybe I don't hear about. Now, I'll say this. When I've left, I've seen some people blow chunks. And those are the people who should have drank water. like yeah You didn't pace yourself, my friend. No. Take it easy. you know These are barely aged beers. And it's it's meant to be enjoyed, and it's fun. and And I think that that speaks volumes to the people who come to these events.
00:58:22
Speaker
who are really there to, it's not like a regular beer fest. You know, you you can go to a beer fest and be like, I'm gonna go and try all these beers. I'm i'm just, I'm gonna, I spent 50 bucks. I'm getting shit faced. For Phobab, it's, it is, now I'm not saying new people shouldn't try this out, but it it is definitely a different experience and there's like a little bit more of a ah beer camaraderie yeah of like appreciating these beers. And yeah, you can,
00:58:49
Speaker
Hey, there's people out there who can do the marathon and go through it all and kudos to you. I'm not that person. I enjoy trying you know as many beers as my body can handle and then be like, yeah just take it easy, eat some food and chill. And I think you hit the nail on the head is that you know people there are generally there to have this experience and try these beers that you're never going to be able to try again, right? That barrel is never going to be the same. That aiding process is never going to be the same. That brew and that adjunct and that brewer is never going to be the same as as it was. and you know and and And this is like all these beers you're going to try are are a once in a lifetime experience. and yeah So you know um you know I think people go there with kind of that sense of reverence about it.
00:59:34
Speaker
Um, obviously also to have like a killer time. Yeah. Um, but you know, it is, it's it is, it is a killer time. And one of the things I've also noticed, we've been very, thank you very much. We've been very lucky to be able to go in an hour early so that we get a chance. So by the way, if you guys can get by VIP tickets, I will recommend you to get those because that extra hour it's getting not a marathon, but it's way easier to go in there and grab some of the beers that you want to try.
01:00:03
Speaker
But with that being said, I don't think I've waited for a beer longer than three to five minutes before the awards are announced. Yeah. That's important to know. After the awards are announced, that's when people are like, they long I need to try. i mean And that makes sense. But that's something to keep in mind that like when you go to this festival, you have a chance to go and try all these beers. And you're not going to wait in line for a long time.
New Phobab Raffle and Event Profits
01:00:28
Speaker
And when you go and you try it, maybe you waited for like three or four minutes, you could probably get back in that line and maybe wait like less, yeah less time to try it. Well, I'll tell you one of the things that we're excited about this year.
01:00:41
Speaker
Um, Brandon and I were talking about Six Flags before we started recording, right? Is the the VIP and skip the line raffle, right? And so, you know, what we what our associate director, Katie, who's so amazing. I love that you guys are always trying something new and and and really making it a different experience even for people who've been going for years. You want to make it fun, you know? And and I agree. like There are plenty of beer festivals where you wait in line for a long time. Phobab is not one of them, but there are times where you have to wait for three minutes, right right? And so we said to ourselves, like, why would anybody want to wait for three minutes? And so we're actually having a raffle this year and we're going to pull winners both for the first and second session on Friday and Saturday, where you could win an opportunity to skip every line you want.
01:01:30
Speaker
Right, so you get right to the front of the line. And also, you know, we're also raffling off, you talked about kind of your VIP experience, we're raffling off went VIP experiences, right? So where you get to go back to the Brewers lounge, eat the barbecue and have all the... See, I always kept that under wraps. Like we were surprised the first year we had access, we're like, this is a big deal. But it's also cool because we knew... a lot of people in there. That's that's really cool. how does So how does this raffle happen? Yeah. So when you go and buy your FOBAB ticket, there's an add-on. We're charging five bucks to enter the raffle. And you know i think one thing that I don't think we touched on that head is that this FOBAB, every dollar that we raise for FOBAB goes to our nonprofit. So the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild is a nonprofit organization.
01:02:12
Speaker
focus on education, advocacy, and promotion, you know, fighting for beer laws and making sure brewers have the best education possible and making sure, you know, we're doing everything we can can to so support and promote this this really kind of vibrant industry. Keeping everything...
01:02:27
Speaker
As awesome as it is and advancing it. Yeah, and making it awesomer, right? Yep. And so that's what that's what we do every every day. And so any dollar that you spend at Phobab kind of goes right back to that mission, you know? Fantastic. And like, you know, i think I think the big thing is over the summer we run that passport program. Yeah. You know, the first thing we hear is, there's not enough passports out there. Like, buy tickets to Phobab. We'll buy more passports, right? Like, that's the kind of stuff that it goes back to. We'll keep going. yeah We want you to do that. the royal we I'm not a part of this. Real quick, I do want to talk about the beer that I
Tasting Half Acre's Benthic Turtle
01:03:00
Speaker
cracked open. okay This is 2024. This is part of the benthic release, which is im pretty sure it's sold out. so maybe it is I don't know what Half Acres are bringing. I don't know what they have at their taproom. But I will say that everything that I've tried so far out of the six, well, the regular benthic and the five variants,
01:03:22
Speaker
I've been and blown away each time and this is no different. This is their turtle, Ben Thicke. I don't know if I've ever tasted a beer that has that, because a turtle has walnuts, am I correct? Yes. Am I wrong in saying that the aroma and the taste is walnut up first and then some caramel and chocolate? I'm with you. Yeah. Like it is quite possibly one of the most impressive and but what What's the word I'm looking for? Adjuncted stout that i've i've I've ever had. It's insane because I've had beers where they're like, there's almonds in it. I'm like, okay, I guess there might be. Almonds feel very subtle to me. it's There's walnut.
01:04:07
Speaker
in the smell and in the taste and it's fucking fantastic. This is really good. great This is fantastic. It tastes like the dessert. Yeah, that's really it tastes like that's exactly what it tastes like. I will say this. I'm very happy though that I'm splitting this 12 ounce can between the three of us.
01:04:24
Speaker
because I might get a little burnt out by it because it's so well done. oh yeah I don't want to eat 12 ounces of turtles. good I could, but this is this is this is fantastic. I mean, it really smells, I mean, there's the the bourbon and the barrel characters up there and there's some coffee in there.
01:04:42
Speaker
But holy cow. I mean, it, it tastes like a liquid turtle. it's It's phenomenal. So kudos to those guys. No, I've never had this one before. So I'm glad I brought this. I'm so glad you brought it too. I had the, viette like I said, I had the vanilla last night and spoiler alert, it's on my Maltese list and this is probably getting on my Maltese list as well, which I try to avoid a lot of barrel aged beers because I love barrel aged beers so much and on our our top beers of the year.
01:05:09
Speaker
I can go half acre and really ruin this list for me because it's going to fill up real fast. Yeah. No, we are we are you know right in Chicago. We are blessed to have two kind of midsize breweries that consistently knock it out of the park with with half
Chicago's Thriving Beer Scene
01:05:24
Speaker
acre and revolution. Absolutely. you know um you know The half acre being in that whole malt row area, there's you know When somebody asked me recently, you know, I'm coming to Chicago, where should I go? I was like, just go there. Yeah. and yeah Yeah. Go to all of those breweries and you will have a blast. Yeah. It's great. do You do that in one day yeah and then kind of go. Yeah. And then go to the beach after that. You can do whatever you want to do. Come back, go to rev, head out to Evanston, go to double clutch, you know, feel like that. It's great. Yeah. I, uh, I'm very excited. And again, very thankful that you, you, you've joined us again. We always look forward to having you on here and we will, uh,
01:06:02
Speaker
you know, we probably should have you on here more other than the fucking events that, you know, you guys are doing. Cause it's always fun to talk with you. It's always fun hanging out. And we always learn a little bit more when you're here. And I think the listeners do as well. And everybody, if you haven't been to phobab yet.
01:06:21
Speaker
Tickets, as of this recording, are available. yeah I don't know what it's going to be like when this episode is posted on Monday, but it's a great time. but Links are on our website. Yeah. In this episode, really, it's it's so much fun. It's such a good time. It's a really great way to sample different types of barrel aged beers to be with a lot of people who enjoy beer and barrel aged beer.
01:06:48
Speaker
And if you have a friend who who doesn't like barrel aged beers, you can be like, dude, there's the Lager Lounge. And then also, you know, try some of these beers. It's a fun time. It's really good. Easy to get to, Uber. The CTA is is not far from from there as well. Right, that's blue wine racing stuff. Yeah, it's it's it's super close and it's such a great time. And I'm really looking forward to this weekend coming up. so So stoked. Yeah, man. That's great. And I also love running into you at Riot Fest randomly. i'm not thrilling I know. I was looking for you this year. I did not see you. I didn't go this year. We took this year off. We took this year off. I got to go to Lollapalooza thanks to some of our partners. so nice And so after that, my wife and I were like, this this was a little too much. Lollapalooza's a whole other ball of ball. Absolutely. Which I never want to experience ever again.
01:07:33
Speaker
yeaht You did it. I worked there for a couple years. So yeah, I get it. I wanted to see the Deftones. That was it. yeah I wanted to see a Lollapalooza this year. But I miss you at Riot Fest, man. Hopefully next year. We'll see. I'll be there. Is there anything else you wanted to say before we we we depart and sign off? No. I mean, come to Phobab. It's going to be great. It supports a great mission. These breweries are bringing the best of their best. it's ah It's a festival by brewers for brewers. And you're not going to find anything quite like it anywhere else in the world.
01:08:03
Speaker
Brandon, anything else? No, just thanks everyone for listening and thanks everyone for putting up with Tony. What the hell is that? I mean, Brandon, I love you. I love you too, man. We'll see you right next week. Bye. See you in hell, Brandon.
01:08:19
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 the 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.
01:09:13
Speaker
said sweet. ah Thanks again man really nice guys. yeah It's always fun to have you on here. like You're a great guest because you have a lot of information and it's one of the things that we really like is having someone that a knows how to speak to people that they can't see.
01:09:32
Speaker
two, actually has information. And three is also just fun to fucking hang out with. And like, if we were just like, Hey, Ray, we're gonna drink like four different IPs. Just let me know. Just let me know. I'd come. I'd go. We'll