Festivals are happy places, and you don’t really want to enjoy them on your own.– Christine and the Queens Welcome back to Home Brew Rock Stars Episode 78. Festivals are back…oh yea! In this episode we bring back our longtime friend and cofounder of Rockford IL Screw City Beer Festival Aaron Sleeger to talk about the 2021 Screw City Beer Festival coming back after being shit canned due to the COVID mandates of 2020. Aaron is the ideal person to organize a craft beer festival. He is a graduate of Ray Daniels Cicerone Certification Program , resident beer guy at our sponsor Artale & Co and a genuinely great dude that has his finger on the pulse of the Chicago and Illinois area craft beer scene.  The guys and Aaron talk about the upcoming Screw City event (is this the 10th or 11th annual?), the cancelling of the 2020 event, temporary changes to this year’s festival, who’s the new breweries coming in and the old favorites that will be back and the anxiety of who was making the cut. We sampled some beers from breweries that will be at the festival this year. They are in no particular order…  2nd Shift Brewery's   Liquid Spiritual Delight  - This is a hearty 11.5% Imperial Stout with great flavor and enough body that I think you can chew it Pig Minds Brewing Cherried Enough – also an Imperial Stout (10% ABV) except this one has cherries in it. Plenty of chocolate and cherry to remind us of a chocolate covered cherry candy… Nummy! Spiteful Brewing Co  G.F.Y. Coffe Stout – Another dark one that has some great coffee flavor that is not overbearing and a respectable but sneaky 8% ABV. So grab a couple of beers, settle in and check out the show! And if you are one of the lucky ones that scored tickets to this year’s Screw City Festival stop by the Forest City Brewers  tent and say ‘High’. Sears will have a beer on tap there named Tangerine Dream.  If you have not figured it out WE LOVE BEER and if you have a homebrew that you would like us to try and review on the podcast contact us and we will make arrangements to get it into our thirsty hands. Big thanks to our program sponsors Pig Minds Brewing, Artale & Co, and 815 Gardens and Brewing for all their suds and support, we love you guys! Looking for a great craft beer and some of the best vegan food in the state line? Try Pig Minds Brewing. Seeking a hard to find commercial craft beer, wine or spirits to take home or as a gift? Stop in to Artale & Co, Anthony and Aaron have plenty of great suggestions. Looking to jump into indoor gardening? Stop in to 815 Gardens  Bob will be happy to help. Tell them that HomeBrew Rockstars sent ya. As always we appreciate if you make sure to Like us, Follow us and RATE US! Prost! #drinkitup

Home Brew Rock Stars Podcast

E78 Screwing Around with Aaron Sleger

“Put a lime in the coconut and drink 'em both together; Put the lime in the coconut, then you feel better; Put the lime in the coconut, drink 'em both down; Put the lime in the coconut, and call me in the morning” Put the Lime in the Coconut  This popular novelty song from the 1972 album Nilsson Schmilsson by Harry Nilsson finds a girl in tummy trouble after drinking a concoction of lime and coconut. She calls her exasperated doctor in the middle of the night, who suggests she take a little of the hair of the dog that bit her. Welcome back to Home Brew Rock Stars Episode 77 and although we are not putting limes in coconuts we are putting orange slices in Belgian White beer and THC & CBD’s in beer and that sounds like much more fun! In this episode we have the privilege and honor of having Dr. Keith Villa call in to our show. Keith has a Ph.D. in brewing science and fermentation biochemistry. If the name is not familiar to you it should as Keith was the brew master that brought Blue Moon beer to the masses. After 32 years as brewer at MillerCoors (now named Molson Coors) Keith retired in 2018. Not long after his retirement he and his wife Jodi co-founded CERIA Brewing Co. to fulfill their dream of creating THC/CBD infused beers. Keith is an interesting guy that loves to talk about beer. The Home Brew Rock Stars crew enjoyed visiting with Keith about his journey into brewing, his time at MillerCoors and his new venture with Ceria Brewing Co. CERIA’s claim to fame is infusing THC and CBD’s into great tasting no alcohol beer. No alcohol beer is absolutely necessary to infuse THC into it as federal law still recognizes cannabis as a schedule 1 drug, unlike the 18 states and the District of Columbia that have legalized recreational use. I know, I know, great tasting no alcohol beer? But yes Keith has a proprietary technique that removes all the alcohol but still has great taste. Come on man ya gotta trust the guy that brought us Blue Moon. He also tells us how to make any homebrew a great tasting low alcohol (0.5% ABV) beer. Check out Keith’s brand new book titled Brewing With Cannabis: Using THC and CBD in Beer, he shares great tips on brewing beer, low alcohol beer, growing cannabis and more.  If you have not figured it out WE LOVE BEER and if you have a homebrew that you would like us to try and review on the podcast contact us and we will make arrangements to get it into our thirsty hands. Big thanks to our program sponsors Pig Minds Brewing, Artale & Co, and 815 Gardens and Brewing for all their suds and support, we love you guys! Looking for a great craft beer and some of the best vegan food in the state line? Try Pig Minds Brewing. Seeking a hard to find commercial craft beer, wine or spirits to take home or as a gift? Stop in to Artale & Co, Anthony and Aaron have plenty of great suggestions. After you finish reading Dr. Villa’s book we’re sure you want to start your own cannabis garden and when you are ready stop in to 815 Gardens and Brewing, Bob will be happy to help. Tell them that HomeBrew Rockstars sent ya. As always we appreciate if you make sure to Like us, Follow us and RATE US! Prost! #drinkitup

E77 Why Dr. Villa Brews with Cannabis

“Summer breeze makes me feel fine. Blowin' through the jasmine in my mind. Summer breeze makes me feel fine. Blowin' through the jasmine in my mind. – Summer Breeze/Seals & Croft  What a great song! It’s one of those that take me back to my teen years, not a care in the world. Long hair, cruising around town, throwing the Frisbee, getting high and a kegger party every weekend. Just like the 1993 movie Dazed & Confused. Oh those days of misspent youth… I really dig the warm summer breeze on a summer evening. I spend most of the summer nights on my deck enjoying the weather usually listening to Pat Hughes calling the Cubs games; it’s my living room in the summer! Welcome back to Home Brew Rock Stars Episode 76 we are calling ‘Let’s Play Beer!’ The gang’s back to continue on our roundtable conversations, ball busting, and drinking beer. We are including a new format we will be using occasionally with Pete Domino and Jason Sears (to avoid confusion will refer to Mike as Sears the Elder and Jason as Sears the Sune) to sit in with us in round table fashion (actually it’s a pool table with maroon felt). We just discuss what’s on our minds based on summer and of course beer! Sears the Elder brought his Special Bitter a 4.5% ABV easy drinker brewed with marris otter, munich and crystal 60 grain and a combination of fuggle and cascade hops. Sears the Sune and Pete brought their Blood Orange Gueuze. A delicious kettle soured beer using hallertau mittelfruh hops and fermented with London Ale III 1318 yeast complimented by the blood orange, perfect summer sipper at 4.5% ABV. If you have not figured it out WE LOVE BEER and if you have a homebrew that you would like us to try and review on the podcast contact us and we will make arrangements to get it into our thirsty hands. Big thanks to our program sponsors Pig Minds Brewing, Artale & Co, and 815 Gardens and Brewing for all their suds and support, we love you guys! Looking for a great craft beer and some of the best vegan food in the state line? Try Pig Minds Brewing. Seeking a hard to find commercial craft beer, wine or spirits to take home or as a gift? Stop in to Artale & Co, Anthony and Aaron have plenty of great suggestions. When you are ready to start a new indoor gardening project stop in to 815 Gardens and Brewing, Bob will be happy to help. Tell them that HomeBrew Rockstars sent ya. As always we appreciate if you make sure to Like us, Follow us and RATE US! Prost! #drinkitup

E76 Let's Play Beer pt.2 Roundtable

“Summer nights and my radio. Well that's all we need, baby, don'tcha know? We celebrate when the gang's all here. Ah, hot summer nights, that's my time of the year.” Summer Nights/ Van Halen- 5150 I don’t know about you listeners but for me summer is the best season of the year! Cookouts, drinks with friends on warm summer nights under the stars, watching a thunderstorm light display on the canvas of a dark summer sky, listening to a ballgame, outdoor music events, and beer…oh my.   Welcome back to HomeBrew RockStars Episode 75 we are calling ‘Let’s Play Beer!’ And the gang’s all here. On this episode we are introducing a new format and invited Pete Domino and Jason Sears (to avoid confusion will refer to them as Sears the Elder and Sears the Sune) to sit in with us in round table fashion (actually it’s a pool table with maroon felt). We just discuss what’s on our minds based on summer and of course beer!   Sears the Sune and Pete brought their IPA featuring Zythos hops. This is a sneaky 7.5% ABV that gives no clue to its strength, we agreed the next one could use a bit more Zythos to give it a bit more hop punch but a fine beer as it is. Watch out drinking this one in the summer heat! Kent brought an IPA as well. This one features Sorachi Ace, Simcoe and Citra fermented with Omega’s West Coast yeast. This has a great hop aroma and flavor. Kent was not sure of the ABV, a well done IPA.  If you have not figured it out WE LOVE BEER and if you have a homebrew that you would like us to try and review on the podcast contact us and we will make arrangements to get it into our thirsty hands. There is a spirited discussion on the proper order to build a burger, MLB ballparks rated for their craft beer selection and a story about Colonial beer in 1776. We also talked about what music we’ve been listening to lately.  Big thanks to our program sponsors Pig Minds Brewing, Artale & Co, and 815 Gardens and Brewing for all their suds and support, we love you guys! Looking for a great craft beer and some of the best vegan food in the state line? Try Pig Minds Brewing. Seeking a hard to find commercial craft beer, wine or spirits to take home or as a gift? Stop in to Artale & Co, Anthony and Aaron have plenty of great suggestions. When you are ready to start a new indoor gardening project stop in to 815 Gardens and Brewing, Bob will be happy to help. Tell them that HomeBrew Rockstars sent ya. As always we appreciate if you make sure to Like us, Follow us and RATE US! Prost! #drinkitup    

E75 Let's Play Beer - pt.1 On the Roundtable

“Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck” – George Carlin Hello everybody! Welcome to episode 74 this is part 2 of 2 ‘Beer questions and a hangover’. Things get a bit boozier in this episode as the guys seem to be having a very good time. Believe me they did! The discussion swerves all over the road talking about round numbers, late season winter weather, speed limits and bugs in your grain. See if you can follow along, we dare ya. It may help to be intoxicated too, ha ha! The guys pulled more questions from our ‘listeners’ and gave their responses. Some questions are funny others have philosophical roots but the answers were totally spontaneous. Let’s keep the pressure on those who are supposedly ‘in charge’ and ‘the experts’ to stop the madness and worshipping at the altar of the mask and open our cities, counties and states to freedom once more! In case you forgot America is a free country. The guys sampled Sears' Irish Red home brew; A smooth and malty beer with a 5% ABV. Kent brought an Amber Ale, a very good example of the style and very similar to a Fat Tire with an ABV of 5.6%, nice job gents! The crew sampled a very interesting beer from Cheese Head Brewing of Beloit WI. It is a 6.8 ABV mango habanero IPA conveniently named Pick-A-Pepper Mango Habanero IPA. The mango complimented the habanero flavor with a touch of heat and crisp fruity hop bitterness. Well done, can we have another? They also sampled a stout Brent brought in from O’Fallon Brewery located in Maryland Heights MO a suburb of St. Louis MO. This beer is named Dad’s Oatmeal Cookie Stout; this 5.9% ABV stout is reminiscent of an oatmeal cookie in a glass. Cheers. And by the way if you want to have the guys sample your beer on the show give us a shout either via e-mail, our web site or Facebook. We would love the opportunity and get ya to call in and share with us, we promise we will be nice. We would be remiss if we did not mention our sponsors. Looking for a great craft beer and some of the best vegan food in the state line? Try Pig Minds Brewing and check out the new addition that opened just recently, looks awesome guys! Brent’s band Mana Kintorso is booked to play at Pig Minds in early June. The band has been writing a lot of new material while they been off the live circuit. Grab your partner and friends and Go check em out!!    Seeking a hard-to-find commercial craft beer, wine or spirits to take home or as a gift? Stop in to Artale & Co, Anthony and Aaron have plenty of great ideas. When you are ready to start a new indoor gardening project stop in to 815 Gardens, Bob will be happy to help.Tell them that HomeBrew Rockstars sent ya. ;) As always, we appreciate if you please be sure to Like us, Follow us and RATE US, or hate us, but do something! Prost! #drinkitup

E74 Beer Questions and a Hangover - pt.2

“Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.” – Alan Dundes Hello everybody! Welcome to episode 73 (can’t believe we have not been ‘cancelled’ yet) this is part 1 of 2 we call ‘Beer questions and a hangover’. The guys pulled questions from our ‘listeners’ and gave their responses. Some questions are funny others have philosophical roots but the answers were totally spontaneous. By the way some of you have some interesting names, just listen you will get what we mean. How about a big shout to the states that are opening up or have never shut down. By “Opening up” is to those places that are letting their citizens decide how they want to live their day to day lives with no more restrictions. The guys sampled a home brew that Kent brought, it was a nice White IPA. As well as Kent can remember it has 50% wheat and was fermented with the Omega Chico yeast. We also tried an excellent beer from Rock County Brewing (big hello to our friend John Rocco) called Car Bomb Stout a 5.5% ABV flavor bomb. Great job! And by the way if you want to have the guys sample your beer on the show give us a shout either via e-mail, our web site or Facebook. We would love the opportunity and get ya to call in and share with us, we promise we will be nice. A big hello to our sponsors who we are glad to see are still hanging tough in these trying times of ever changing ‘rules’. Keep up the good work! If you are looking for a great craft beer and some of the best vegan food in the state line? Try Pig Minds Brewing and check out the new addition that opened just recently, looks awesome guys! Seeking a hard-to-find commercial craft beer, wine or spirits to take home or as a gift? Stop in to Artale & Co, Anthony and Aaron have plenty of great ideas. When you are ready to start a new indoor gardening project stop in to 815 Gardens, Bob will be happy to help.Tell them that HomeBrew Rockstars sent ya. As always, we appreciate if you make sure to Like us, Follow us and RATE US, or hate us, but do something! Prost! #drinkitup

E73 Beer Questions and a Hangover - pt.1

“Malt is the soul of a beer, hops are the personality and yeast is the heart” - Unknown Welcome! This is HomeBrew RockStars Episode 72 which is part 2 of our conversation with Omega Yeast. In this episode we continue with Lance Shaner of Omega Yeast and his path to opening Omega Yeast. Lance is the co-owner of Omega Yeast headquartered in Chicago, IL. Lance, as we found out throughout our interview is a funny guy and we enjoyed talking with him. We endorse and encourage you to try some of the great strains propagated by Omega Yeast. Before we get to Lance we would like to take a few minutes to remind everyone why we call our podcast ‘Home Brew Rockstars’. Home brewers are remarkably like young musicians aspiring to become rock stars, honing their craft in garages and basements until eventually some emerge as rock stars. It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock ‘n’ roll or brew. Prost to all of you and for those about to rock/brew WE SALUTE YOU!! The guys sampled some commercial beers that have been fermented with Omega Yeast. A big hello to our sponsors who we are glad to see are still hanging tough in these trying times. Keep up the good work! If you are looking for a great craft beer and some of the best vegan food in the state line? Try Pig Minds Brewing and check out the new addition that opened just recently, looks awesome guys! Seeking a hard to find commercial craft beer, wine or spirits to take home or as a gift? Stop in to Artale & Co, Anthony and Aaron have plenty of great ideas. When you are ready to brew up one of your favorite homebrew recipes or start a new indoor gardening project stop in to 815 Gardens, Bob will be happy to help. Tell them that HomeBrew Rockstars sent ya. Brent, Kent, Lance and Sears talk about what they have been listening to lately. As always, we appreciate if you make sure to Like us, Follow us and RATE US, or hate us, but do something! Prost! #drinkitup

E72 pt.2 Zymurgy with the Great O - Lance Shaner from Omega Yeast

“They say there is more to life than beer. Who is ‘they’ and why the hell would I trust them??” - Unknown “Welcome back, to that same old place that you laughed about” (remember the Wecome Back Kotter theme song?)This is HomeBrew RockStars Episode 71 which is part 1 of 2 with Omega Yeast. In this episode we visit with Lance Shaner of Omega Yeast about his roots as a homebrewer. Lance is the co-owner of Omega Yeast headquartered in Chicago, IL. Chicago is a fitting location for a yeast propagation company based on the explosion of craft breweries recently in the metropolitan Chicago area. Is Omega’s presence a contributing factor to this growth or a coincidence? We’ll let you decide. The guys sampled a home brew provided by one of the Forest City Brewers members, Cory Kuczynski which is coincidentally a sour fermented with the OLY-211 strain from Omega. We damn near spit out our beer in laughter listening to Cory tell this hilarious story of how this beer was forgotten, started, forgotten, then forgotten again! After all of that it turned out to be a damn fine beer, Prost Cory! And by the way if you want to have the guys sample your beer on the show like we did with Cory’s give us a shout either via e-mail, our web site or Facebook. We would love the opportunity and get ya to call in and share with us, we promise we will be nice. The guys also sampled some commercial beers that have been fermented with Omega Yeast! A big hello to our sponsors who we are glad to see are still hanging tough in these trying times of ever changing ‘rules’. Keep up the good work! If you are looking for a great craft beer and some of the best vegan food in the state line? Try Pig Minds Brewing and check out the new addition that opened just recently, looks awesome guys! Seeking a hard-to-find commercial craft beer, wine or spirits to take home or as a gift? Stop in to Artale & Co, Anthony and Aaron have plenty of great ideas. When you are ready to start a new indoor gardening project stop in to 815 Gardens, Bob will be happy to help.Tell them that HomeBrew Rockstars sent ya. As always, we appreciate if you make sure to Like us, Follow us and RATE US, or hate us, but do something! Prost! #drinkitup

E71 pt.1 Zymurgy with the Great O - Lance Shaner from Omega Yeast

“Give a man a beer, waste an hour. Teach a man to brew and waste a lifetime!” – Bill Owen Welcome and glad to have you back! This is HomeBrew RockStars Episode 70 part 2 - “Bring it on home-brewer” (Cue up the Led Zeppelin). In this episode we continue our conversation with Jon Lambert. Jon is the head brewer at Hairy Cow located in the town in Byron IL overlooking the scenic Rock River in Ogle Co. Hairy Cow just celebrated their 2nd anniversary! We discuss Jon’s home brewing roots and his journey to going pro and how much he misses home brewing. The guys share what they have been listening to lately during brew sessions. The guys brought some of the home brews to sip on they talked about in Episode 69. Brent’s dark hoppy ale he calls “Phunky Cold Medusa” is a tasty IPA featuring Medusa hops and a bold 7.2% ABV (all-grain). Kent brought his IPA (brewed on his Brewzilla system) which features some tasty Mandarina Bavaria hops, this has a respectable 6.5% ABV. Mike weighs in with his Christmas ale based on the Boston Beer Co’s Old Fezziwig featuring ginger, sweet orange peel, cinnamon & honey with an ABV of 5.7% (Grainfather). Good beers gents! And by the way if you want to have the guys sample your beer on the show give us a shout either via e-mail, our web site or Facebook. We would love the opportunity and get ya to call in and share with us, we promise we will be nice. We would be remiss if we did not mention our sponsors who we are glad to see are still hanging tough in these trying times. Keep up the good work! If you are looking for a great craft beer and some of the best vegan food in the state line? Try Pig Minds Brewing and check out the new addition that opened just recently, looks awesome guys! Seeking a hard to find commercial craft beer, wine or spirits to take home or as a gift? Stop in to Artale & Co, Anthony and Aaron have plenty of great ideas. When you are ready to brew up one of your favorite homebrew recipes or start a new indoor gardening project stop in to 815 Gardens and Brewing, Bob will be happy to help. And don't forget to swing by Urban Forest for some of the most creative craft beers anywhere! Tell them that HomeBrew Rockstars sent ya. As always, we appreciate if you make sure to Like us, Follow us and RATE US, or hate us, but do something! Prost! #drinkitup

E70 Bring it on Home-Brewer pt.2 w/Jon Lambert of Hairy Cow

“You can't share your magic with everyone. Your job is to live within your magic. And if other magical people find you, then let’s go and make a brew”. - Brian Tyree Henry Happy New Year and Welcome back to HomeBrew RockStars Episode 69 part 1 - “Brewin till the cows come home”. It’s been a bit since our last show but we are all fired up for the 2021 year! The guys Brent, Kent & Mike discuss what they currently have on tap & on deck on the home front and in the Bat Cave, sounds like they have been busy! Sears also wonders if he has truly damaged his Hippocampus region… In this episode we chat with member on hiatus of the Forest City Brewers and now pro brewer Jon Lambert. Jon is the head brewer at Hairy Cow located in the town in Byron IL overlooking the scenic Rock River in Ogle Co. Hairy Cow just celebrated their 2nd anniversary! We discuss Jon and Hairy Cow’s journey through the hills and valleys of opening a brewpub/restaurant in a small community, their business plan adjustments along the way and Jon’s relationship with friend and business partners Todd McLester and Jim Orlando. Jon also touches on the local pro brewing community, local hops, Chicago area yeast producers Omega and distilleries that have their spirits proudly featured at the Hairy Cow full bar. The Hairy Cow is worth the drive down scenic route 2! Jon brought a couple of beers to enjoy during our visit. The first is Dos Dookies (fun name!) a milk stout with an ABV of 6.4% and IBU of 25. It is a rich and full-bodied beer with strong chocolate and hints of roast. A perfect beer for the cold mid-western nights, “Life is brewtiful”. The second beer we sampled is Hairy Cow’s anniversary beer aptly named Artdus II, a winter lager with an ABV of 7.2% and 30 IBU. A very drinkable spiced Christmas lager brewed with ginger, orange peel, cinnamon, and local Miz Bee Haven honey. This brew will guarantee to make the Christmas season last a bit longer! A big Happy New Year to our sponsors who we are glad to see are still hanging tough in these trying times. Keep up the good work gents! If you are looking for a great craft beer and some of the best vegan food in the state line? Try Pig Minds Brewing and check out the new addition that opened just recently, looks awesome guys! Seeking a hard to find commercial craft beer, wine or spirits to take home or as a gift? Stop in to Artale & Co, Anthony and Aaron have plenty of great ideas. When you are ready to brew up one of your favorite homebrew recipes or start a new indoor gardening project stop in to 815 Gardens and Brewing, Bob will be happy to help. And don't forget to swing by Urban Forest for some of the most creative craft beers anywhere! Tell them that HomeBrew Rockstars sent ya. As always, we appreciate if you make sure to Like us, Follow us and RATE US, or hate us, but do something! Prost! #drinkitup

E69 Brewin' Til The Cows Come Home

“My playground is full of moonshine, mason jars, beer bottles, and bonfires”- Big Smo Welcome back to HomeBrew RockStars Episode 68 “Be Still- Shinin’& Brewin” So here we are STILL in the thick of a “pandemic” with more threats of lockdowns, masks and God knows what else; so to help us keep our sanity amongst this madness we are moving to some stronger drink, good ol’ moonshine. The song by George Thorogood titled ‘I drink alone’ is more true than ever these days, Ha Ha! In this episode we chat with our home brew club’s Forest City Brewers new President Ron ‘Legend’ Derry about the upcoming challenges for home brew clubs n 2021. We then head to the New England territory and chat with Jon Zajac from The Distillery Network and talk about the business of manufacturing stills and ‘Saving the planet 1 still at a time’. His father, Steven manufactures larger size stills, check them out at Stillz. Along with making liquor a still is able to produce potable (purified) water from undrinkable water sources, Alcohol based antiseptics such as hand sanitizers, herbal based medicinal compounds and oils (marijuana based too) and ethanol to power internal combustion motors. It’s a ‘preppers’ dream! Jon shares with us his moonshine recipe using beer. You can check out his videos on YouTube . We sampled Brent’s IPA, a tasty 6.2% brew using Sabro hops, very tasty! Sears shared his hard cider fermented from cider he purchased from Curran's orchard this is a 6% cider that was back sweetened with 100% frozen apple concentrate. He also brought some moonshine made in the back country of South Carolina. Not sure the proof but it was very tasty and smooth for ‘white lightning’. We are glad to see our sponsors are still hanging tough in these trying times, big shout out to them! Looking for a great craft beer and some of the best vegan food in the state line? Try Pig Minds Brewing and check out the new addition that opened just recently, looks awesome guys! Seeking a hard to find commercial craft beer, wine or spirits to take home or as a gift? Stop in to Artale & Co, Anthony and Aaron have plenty of great ideas. When you are ready to brew up one of your favorite homebrew recipes or start a new indoor gardening project stop in to 815 Gardens and Brewing, Bob will be happy to help. And don't forget to swing by Urban Forest for some of the most creative craft beers anywhere! Tell them that HomeBrew Rockstars sent ya. As always, we appreciate if you make sure to Like us, Follow us and RATE US, or hate us, but do something! Prost! #drinkitup  

E68 Be Still - Shinin' and Brewing

Q. How far can you walk into a forest?  A. Half way, then you start walking out. Welcome back to HomeBrew RockStars Episode 67 “Not outa the woods yet”. This is part two of a two part episode where we revisit (has been almost 2 years?!) with the creators of Urban Forest, in this episode we delve further into brewing during a pandemic, brewing with weird hops, mixing beers (a.k.a. blending) and beer cocktail’s (and why they are on the menu at Urban Forest Craft Brewing) Sears shared his popular home brewed Robust Porter. This was a practice run for this recipe on his Grainfather which turned out very well with chocolate and coffee notes, a creamy mouthfeel and a not bashful 7% ABV, opening the door for the almost famous bacon porter which has been served at past Screw City Beer Fests & Great Lakes Brew Fest at Home Brew Island.  Kent also served a tasting of his Belgian session (Brewed on the Brewzilla sustem), a lighter sipper keen for a hot summer day and some brats off the grill! If you have a homebrew that you would like us to try and review on the podcast contact us and we will make arrangements to get it into our thirsty hands. Alex and Heath brewers/owners of Urban Forest brought a crowler of their Time & Materials for us to sample. This is a delicious and low gluten Oatmeal Stout based on Heath’s winning home brew version; Silky smooth from the oats, with layers of roast and chocolate with a sneaky 6.7% ABV. A very drinkable and enjoyable beer, well done! Look soon for a rum barrel aged with vanilla version in the works. We also talked about what music we’ve been listening to lately featuring a plethora of artists from James Brown to Courtney Marie Andrews. Alex shared a fin story about recording on a song with Iggy Pop for the Freddy Got Fingered soundtrack! Looking for a great craft beer and some of the best vegan food in the state line? Try Pig Minds Brewing. Seeking a hard to find commercial craft beer, wine or spirits to take home or as a gift? Stop in to Artale & Co, Anthony and Aaron have plenty of great ideas. When you are ready to brew up one of your favorite homebrew recipes or start a new indoor gardening project stop in to 815 Gardens and Brewing, Bob will be happy to help. Tell them that HomeBrew Rockstars sent ya. In case you missed it… feedspot.com (updated on 8/21) has rated HomeBrew Rockstars podcasts as one of Top 10 Home Brewing Podcasts You Must Follow in 2020 We always knew this but hey it’s nice to get some confirmation. As always we appreciate if you make sure to Like us, Follow us and RATE US, or hate us, but do something already! Prost! #drinkitup   0000004E 0000004E 00006355 00006358 001A4997 001A4997 00007EC1 00007EE7 00121DF5 00121DF5

E67 Not Outa the Woods Yet pt.2 w/Urban Forest

“The forest is not a resource for us, it is life itself. It is the only place for us to live.” –Evaristo Nugkuag Ikanan Welcome back to HomeBrew RockStars Episode 66. Unlike our last episode (#65) where we recorded from Kent’s porch we are back in the Batcave… Home Sweet Home! This is part one of a two part episode where we revisit (has been almost 2 years?!) with the creators of Urban Forest Craft Brewing, but unlike last time, we’ll be discussing their long anticipated grand opening, AND...in thick of a pandemic. You just can’t make this stuff up. We sampled a VERY appropriate commercial beer from Ale Asylum of Madison WI called FVCK COVID 2.0. They get a wink of approval on this on as they incorporated the ‘V’ in COVID instead of a ‘U’ to get this through the federal label review process. A pleasant and sessionable (5% ABV) hazy IPA featuring Idaho 7, Ekuanot, and Trident hops. The brewery refers to it as a “Hazy American Pale Ale” and the flavor profile is described as being soft and bright. Brent shared with us his home brew Pale Ale creation featuring Amarillo hops as flavoring and aroma, a tasty treat as always. Alex and Heath brewers/owners of Urban Forest brought some crowlers of various beers for us to try, the first being a real nice pilsner named Glass Slipper at a very reasonable 4.8% ABV. This is a beer you can enjoy all afternoon or evening without getting blasted. We also played a game trying to guess which COVID beer names are ‘real’ or ‘fake’, as usual Sears did horrible (LOL!) Big thanks to our program sponsors Pig Minds Brewing, Artale & Co, and 815 Gardens and Brewing for all their suds and support, we love you guys! And… it looks like HomeBrew Rockstars has secured an additional sponsor; listen for the announcement in the near future! Looking for a great craft beer and some of the best vegan food in the state line? Try Pig Minds Brewing. Their outside seating in the beer garden is perfect for these late summer afternoons and evenings. Maybe you are seeking a hard to find commercial craft beer, wine or spirits to take home or as a gift? Stop in to Artale & Co, Anthony and Aaron have plenty of great ideas. When you are ready to brew up one of your favorite homebrew recipes or start a new indoor gardening project stop in to 815 Gardens and Brewing, Bob will be happy to help. Tell them that HomeBrew Rockstars sent ya. If you have a homebrew that you would like us to try and review on the podcast contact us and we will make arrangements to get it into our thirsty hands And as a reminder feedspot.com (updated on 8/21) has rated HomeBrew Rockstars podcasts as one of Top 10 Home Brewing Podcasts You Must Follow in 2020 We always knew this but hey it’s nice to get some confirmation. As always we appreciate if you make sure to Like us, Follow us and RATE US! Prost! #drinkitup

E66 Into the Forest We Go! - pt.1 w/Urban Forest

"You don’t need to be burned out to go on hiatus." This quote rings so true. Welcome back to HomeBrew Rockstars EPISODE – 65 were calling unGreatest Hiatus. This welcome back has a special meaning to us as we took almost 3 months off during the mandatory lockdown which we explain why in the podcast. We missed all of you! We hope you missed us! In this podcast (apologies for the skippy sound, it was windy!) we ease back into our podcast shenanigans and covering the world of homebrewing. Brent, Kent and Mike sip beers on Kent’s deck and talk about how we (and people we know) wrestled with the obstacles of COVID-19 rules and regulations and anything else that crosses our alcohol addled minds. Our sponsor Pig Minds Brewing, provided us with the always reliable and tasty Southy Bitch Slap; a 5.2% ABV American/Irish Red with caramel sweetness and a mild bitterness. A great summer eve sipper! Brent treated us to one of his homebrew creations he named Zappa Haze, an IPA using 6 row barley and the funky Zappa hops (just like their namesake). Very nice beer Brent. We tried an excellent beer from the newly opened Urban Forest named Got Rye. Officially named "Got Rye with a Little Help From Our Friends". This Red Ale/American Amber is a 5.4% ABV beer with crispy bitterness and a hint of citrus notes followed by a spicy dry finish from the rye. Another good beer from our friends Alex & Heath, Thanks guys! Sears brought his attempt at a Founders Brewing, Two Hearted clone. A pretty good rendition of this famous American IPA but needs a bit more hoppiness to be a bit closer to its commercial namesake, nevertheless a good beer featuring the popular and tasty Centennial hops. Kent offered up a beer one of his customers, David Westervelt, brewed along with a funny story about it. It is David’s first attempt at all-grain brewing and is a Cigar City Jai Alai clone. Jai Alai (pronounced HY – UH - LY) is an American  IPA from the Florida brewery that has quite the reputation and is a much sought after beer. Not bad for David’s first all-grain attempt. Looking forward to seeing some more beers from David, Nice job! Big thanks to our program sponsors Pig Minds Brewing, Artale & Co, and 815 Gardens and Brewing for all their suds and support, we love you guys and hope to see you soon and glad you survived the great American lock down. We actually have been able to see Bob as he has been at full business mode since the lock down. Looking for a great craft beer and some of the best vegan food in the state line? Try Pig Minds Brewing. Seeking a hard to find commercial craft beer, wine or spirits to take home or as a gift? Stop in to Artale & Co, Anthony and Aaron have plenty of great ideas. When you are ready to brew up one of your favorite homebrew recipes or start a new indoor gardening project stop in to 815 Gardens and Brewing, Bob will be happy to help. Tell them that HomeBrew Rockstars sent ya. As always we appreciate if you make sure to Like us, Follow us and RATE US! Prost! #drinkitup

E65 The unGreatest Hiatus ... Ever

Yo! So how’s everybody doing? COVID-19 continues to change our routines and lifestyles as we are now facing mandatory ‘shutter in place’ and closings. Hopefully everybody has plenty of home brew and brewing supplies to ease their minds.  If you’re like us, you’re most likely filled up on coronavirus news reports and getting all streamed out on television, so why not change it up; pour a home brew, settle in and listen to Home Brew Rock Stars as we try to get through. In Part 2 of “Jazzin’ Up with Mr. Beer” we continue with David Benson talking about home brewing, Mr. Beer & other non-traditional types of brewing and his Jazz music recordings. David, Brent, Kent and Mike taste and review a home-brewed Tank #7 (Boulevard Brewing) clone brewed by David. A 7.7% farmhouse ale brewed in David’s Pico brew system. We also sampled an Imperial Rye Cream ale David made weighing in at a hefty 9% ABV (it's bigly!) - great back story here! Our sponsor Pig Minds Brewing provided us with a peaty & smoky Wee Heavy they call Smokeness Monster. This 8.1% ABV beer was just what the doctor ordered. Warning...with these big beers we’re drinking the podcast gets a bit slurry, but don't worry, it's all about having fun! Big thanks to Bryan, Shane and Dustin at Pig Minds Brewing we are thinking of you during this trying time for the restaurant/bar business. Shout out to Anthony and Aaron at Artale & Co, for all their suds and support, we love you guys and keep the alcohol sales going to help us all get through! Now is a great time to start indoor gardening with the extra time, stop in and see Bob at 815 Gardens and Brewing for your supplies and brewing needs. Please think about these businesses first when you are looking for a great craft beer and some of the best vegan food in the state line; seeking a hard to find commercial craft beer  or wine and spirits to take home or as a gift. And when you are ready to brew up one of your favorite homebrew recipes or start a new indoor gardening project. Feedspot was recently nice enough to rank Home Brew Rock Stars as a Top 10 HomeBrewing Podcasts - kudos to them...they are some really smart people ;) And as always we appreciate if you make sure to Like us, Follow us and RATE US! Really... we do listen to you and WANT to hear from you. Prost! #drinkitup

E64 Jazzin’ Up with Mr. Beer - Part 2

Podcast about home brewing and the people that brew beer. This show features brewing industry news, tastings and interviews of novice and professional brewers.

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Home Brew Rock Stars Podcast

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