Episode 166 - New Chicago Brewery Tour

The show is on the road for this one as we dropped into four Chicago breweries that are all under a year old to chat with brewers and procure some beers to review. Our first stop is at Pilsen’s yet-to-open Lo Rez Brewing to talk with Dave and Kevin about how their tech background led them to opening a non-mainstream brewery focused on malt-forward and Belgian-style brews. Our second stop is at On Tour Brewing on the Near West side to take in their gorgeous taproom and chat with the two Marks about how they both found themselves back in their home state after years away. Our third visit is with our old friend Jacob Sembrano at Cruz Blanca Cervecería to sample styles ranging from culinary-inspired lagers to big imperial stouts and talk about his plans for bottling beers and their upcoming first anniversary. Our final stop is at the German-inspired Dovetail Brewing to talk with Hagen and Bill about how every step of their process pays homage to tradition but creates some of the most stunning clean beers in the city - at least until they unleash their Lambic-ish beers in the future. In addition to all that, we return to the bunker to review four growlers/crowlers and confront Craig’s Zelda obsession, among other things. A huge thank you goes out to everyone that helped make this show possible and spent time with us on a whirlwind day of drinking - Chicago’s beer scene has never been richer with great beer and generous people.

 

Tour Stops (Interview & Review Segments)

Lo Rez Brewing (00:04:50 - 00:27:34)

On Tour Brewing (00:27:35 - 00:49:00)

Cruz Blanca Cervecería (00:50:54 - (01:15:10)

Dovetail Brewing (01:15:11 - 01:41:16)

Beers Reviewed

Lo Rez Brewing - Dæmon (Belgian Golden Strong)

On Tour Brewing - Gin Barrel-Aged It Takes Two (IPA)

Cruz Blanca Cervecería - Larger Than Lager (Double Red Lager)

Dovetail Brewing - Hefeweizen