Rodney came out to talk a little and catch up. I have not seen Rod in the flesh for years, but we went to high school together. I knew he was out doing this fitness thing, Gifted Elite Academy, but what I did not know, was that Rodney has been working for his community and giving back for ever, and it is just in his blood. We got to talk about so m…

I knew when Phil came over we could cover some topics, but in no way did I expect to go so deep down into some of the Darkest parts of mental health. I love this man so very much, he was part of what raised me from age 11 to 18. I spent hours upon hours with this dude grinding hand rails, jumping off ramps, rippin heaters, and just skating and talk…

Amanda owns the best brewery in the Southwest Suburbs, she has 3 beautiful children, and sexy husband named Brando. But before all that, Amanda was a sick ass Photographer, kick ass around the Chicagoland area. We had a very awesome conversation about her journey through life that I think a lot of you will really love. Werk Force: https://www.werkf…

I was honored to collaborate with my homie @FirstTenFoz to talk about the sad state of Chicago sports as a whole in 2025. We had to break down the @ChicagoBears @cubs @whitesox @ChicagoBulls and the @blackhawks and discuss who has the brightest long term and immediate future in our city. And talk about the legacy we are leaving our young children i…

Eric and I worked at Phase Three Brewing together in the early days, but before that Eric worked for many years for Half Acre Beer Co. He is such a radical guy, and this conversation was much needed. I think you guys will love his approach and perspective on life and work as much as I do. Bro is a superstar. Yakima Chief Website: https://www.yakima…

This man has gone through so much recently. Like a whirlwind, from spending a sunday on the sideline for Bears vs Lions, to tragedy, to the @detroitlionsnfl flying him out for the Vikings Vs. Lions Season wrap up and now just back to everyday life. I love this man so much, he is a friend and a Craft Beer Legend. The best of the best, I hope you enj…

Meet Mike Pallen. Sure, he started a super successful brewery in Elk Grove Village 8 years ago or something like that, but he is also just a really cool person. He had a whole life before beer in the music industry locally and across the country. He loves cars, sneakers, awesome food, and he is also a damn fine family man. He also brought some craz…

My friend Jeff Beal is the absolute GOAT. Longtime railroad man turned Wine Expert, Craft Beer lover, and bourbon guy. Sure he may look like Coach Quenneville but the man can spin a yarn as good as anyone. I love talking to the guy with or without microphones running and I think you all are gonna enjoy Jeff as much as I do.…

My friend Edmer "Mer Abante is a bad Mother, for real. We met while I was in college and his musical performances blew me away along with hiw swag and general approach to life. 20+ years later the man has transformed himself into an even badder Motha, still killing the music world, raising 2 amazing kids with 2 different Moms and taking the tech wo…

Alex Hoffer kicks so much ass. He is a very talented old friend of mine. A gifted singer, a funny ass dude, cooking hobbyist, and entertaining YouTuber. I love all the places this conversation went. Take the ride with us. Check Alex out at @nowwerecooking and @OlderThanAverageGamer on Youtube. And check out his music page to see where you can catch…

My friend Bobby is the guy who has all the hobbies you wish you had, and some you didn't even know existed. He is a family man, a great friend, a "southside kid", a collector of things and a whole lot more. We dive into to High Tequila and Bourbon talk, Custom 1911 Handguns, Poker Chips, Cigars, Pipes, and a bunch more. This guy is awesome. Follow …

Darrin has built a massive following in the Chicagoland Burger scene with his "A Biker Dude" smashburgers. Using high quality meat, bun, and seasoning he makes himself, you really cant get a better Smashie than this one. He also has a large youtube following taking a deep dive into some iconic Chicago spots. But there is a lot more to the man behin…

My friend Katie Carrier is so badass. She is the Associate Director of the IL Craft Brewers Guild, and the Queen of the Festival of Barrel Aged Beers in Chicago. She is such a key player in Illinois craft beer, but also, a wife, a mom, and a real real good human. FOBAB tickets are still available for Nov 22nd and 23rd at the Credit1Union Arena. htt…

My friend Char Dawg sits down with me for a little chat about her journey and path through life and the Chicago Craft Beer scene in which she plays a massive role. Being a part of major Chicagoland Breweries like Mikerphone and Solemn Oath, and helping put on massive events in the community like Smells like a Beer Fest and FOBAB, the festival of Ba…

Yo, my friend Jim is wild. Owns and runs funeral home, Check. Almost dies every vacation he goes on, Check. Has a Fish Tank cleaning Business as a side hustle, Check. Owns a Maine Coon Cat, Check. DO yourself a favor and listen. And if you or a love one plans on dying soon, please give him a call. He can even get your cremated without fire. Farkas …

The man behind the art in my podcast studio, John Horn joins me for a little conversation about caregiving for a friend, his journey to state championships, being recruited for college as an offensive lineman, and when his NFL dream came to an end. If you want him to paint you something, hit me up, and we will try to get him to do it.…

Meet my old friend Mike Fumagalli. Mike seems like an average suburban dude, but spend some time with us in our conversation, and you will quickly see this guy has had more curveballs thrown at him than the average Joe. Mike is a dose of inspiration, an amazing storyteller, and an insanely generous human. I encourage you to check out the Clear Ribb…

What a breath of fresh fall football air it was to talk to my old friend Mike Fosnaugh. He is the host of First and Ten with Foz, and Admin of the massive Facebook page Chicago Bears Fan 4 Ever. https://www.facebook.com/CBF4E He chased his dream to be a hobbyist and he is living that dream one Bear Down Sunday after another.…

Not too often you get to talk to someone who plays profession baseball. Meet Brett Johnson. I first came across Brett when he was helping coach during the offseason for Illinois Dynasty Travel Baseball. He helped as a hitting instructor for my sons 11U Baseball team. Very cool to hear the path that led him to baseball, and to get some inside storie…

I sat down with my friend Nate Kren who has seen a done a lot, and the dude tells a great story. He is fireman by trade, an ex College Baseball player, a father, a musician, an accountant, and all around DAWG.By Joe Bobbe

Sure, I explain all this verbally and make tons of excuses. But I have not put out a legit episode since March 2020, I had not recorded a legit episode since Feb 2021, and here I am now putting out an 8 month old episode I finally finished editing. Well, whatever, I love the guys at Brothership Brewing. We had a great conversation and we got to hea…

Leading up to Mikerphone's BBA Imperial Bean Spirit, Mike Pallen and I decided to do a little Sunday Morning chat while tasting some delicious new Barrel Aged Bean! We got a surprise visit from Co-Owner of Phase Three Brewing, Mr. Evan Morris. A good time was had by all. Mikerphone Online Store Mikerphone Facbook Mikerphone Instagram Phase Three On…

Lockdown sucks, but it sucks less with a little Zoom chat with Alex Lovinggood and Pete from Barn Town Brewing in Iowa. We recorded this before I went with the Pro License so it was recorded in 2 35+ minute chunks. We even got guest appearances from Brandon and Amanda Wright (Werk Force) and Steve Miller (Hailstorm). There were beers chugged and sh…

Despite my best efforts, I made the choice to move the podcast to a remote setting by hosting it on Zoom Meeting. Mike Pallen at Mikerphone is deeply entrenched in this New World of To Go/Carryout only due to Covid 19, so I wanted to gets some thoughts from him and give people something to do while we are all locked down and Quarantined. The crew w…

By Joseph Bobbe

The ladies of Mikerphone took over the brew house and let me hang out with them all day while they brewed a big ol Hazy DIPA Called, Dripping So Much Sauce. This Citra, El Dorado, and Sabro hop banger, lyrically inspired by Juicy from Lizzo, will come out at Mikerphone on Sunday March 8th to celebrate International Womens Day! These are some awesom…

Katy and Michelle rolled out the red carpet for me with a little tour, some coffee, a lot of conversation, and some food and science to cap it all off. These two have plenty of stories surrounding their beautiful space in Old Irving Park. The Place was just tremendous and so were the hosts. Get to know about this Brewery and Ciderhouse and get out …

By Joe Bobbe

By Joe Bobbe

By Joe Bobbe

From being drugged by your friends on Thanksgiving, to Turkey Day Turducken and living in the bush, Todd and Jake covered just about everything in the epic episode. And we talked a little about beer and shit too. These guys are two of the most engaging people I have had on, and the stories just keep coming. You can't not listen to this one. Cruz Bl…

Oz opened up his doors and his skills to make Crafted 1979 an Anniversary beer. So as our crew so often does, we descended upon his place on a Monday morning with beers to share, and shit to talk. It was an awesome day, hanging with good friends, talking beer and consuming it. We also got to hear from Matt Griseta, the executive chef over at Square…

Is/Was Brewing is small and it is new, and I suggest everyone put them on their radar now. What my guest, Mike Schallau, is doing is completely different than everything we are consuming in the current Chicago market. It is not a "never been done" scenario, but out side of Off Color, Afterthought, and a handful of others, no one is focusing on thes…

So one year after leaving my "regular" job to join the beer world, Crafted 1979 decided to surprise me by having my wife bring my podcast gear to the shop so that they could do a performance review podcast with customers and beer industry folks. They thought, I ask enough questions on this podcast, they wanted to have our customers and some beer in…

That Woodridge area is so hot right now. I love the design and layout of the place, and the beer was spraying to all fields. Nathan the brewmaster and owner Ed were a great pair to chat with about some beer, pizza, and Iktoberfest activities. Wish I had gotten out to this place sooner. It always fascinates me to hear about how a place goes from pla…

Finally, I got to sit down with a Chicago original, Goose Island Beer co. Thanks to Renee for putting this together and getting me Keith Gabbett (Brewmaster), Mike Siegel (Research & Development), and Bjorn Johnson (Lead Brewer). We got to explore a little about what drove them all to beer and ultimately Goose Island. We talked about some new beers…

If you don't know, you soon will. Viking Artisan Ales is incredible. And I got a bonus with Aaron, the owner of Boneflower Craft Mead, who is making a massive name for themselves. We had a blast and drank some insanely good beer while we bullshitted for 2 and a half hours. Really impressed with both these dudes and the beverages they are creating. …

Cruising Down I57 with my beef jerky in hand I shot down to Savoy, IL to document a pretty awesome Collaboration brew day with Triptych Brewing and Windmill Brewing. I was joined by Anthony Benjamin, brewer and managing partner of Triptych Brewing, along with Mike G. and Justin V. from Windmill Brewing. They brewed up a Horchata style Milkshake IPA…

I may sound like a broken record, but another episode and another world class human to talk beer with. The one, the only Oswald White of The Sour Note Brewing. The self-proclaimed Southern Wild Boy. What a smart and insightful dude Oz is. Loved hearing about his path to brewing beer and the early days of his relationship with Drew Fox of 18th Stree…

Lane and Beth opened up their doors on a Monday morning for me, and then they served me one of the best over fruited sours I have had the pleasure of tasting. We had a great conversation about what led them to open up a cozy and elegant taproom in the middle of a crazy strip mall in Lake Zurich, IL. These guys are a must visit with killer NEIPA's, …

It is early in their life, but they have already cracked my top 5 breweries in the suburbs of Chicago. They are doing everything from the over fruited Sour to Pub ales, and they do not seem to be missing. They are only about 2 months into opening and already making some of the best Hazy IPAs in the game. Their Rye IPA Skeleton Revival was an absolu…

So the night before any respectable beer festival, the host throws a little party for the brewers and industry folks he/she has invited to their fest. Well Mike Pallen was kind enough to invite me and let me set up some "Mikerphones" for a little Smells like a Beer Fest Podcast takeover. When Mike Pallen keeps feeding you amazing guests from all ac…

We broke the record set by Hop Butcher for longest podcast during a 10 hour brew day. Sit back and relax and strap it in for a 4 hour and 10 minute marathon as Jake Edwards and I brew the podcasts first collaboration beer at Lake Zurich Brewing. A Triple Berry Milkshake that should be hitting bottle Shops and the LZB taproom in late April/Early May…

My first Mead episode. Clint welcomed me into his cozy spot in downtown Valpo, IN and schooled me on the mead game. I probably could have talked to him for 8 hours and barely scratched the surface of Mead brewing, but we were hungry and need some Ricochet Tacos! This was an amazing experience for me and Im all about the mead at this point. Social M…

It is coming on 04/20/19, Mad Hatchet Brewing will be opening its doors to the public! I got to sit down with my old friend Mike Fosnaugh better known as FOZ, who will be their head brewer, along with their Owner and Brewer Mike Stevenson and Assistant brewer Sean McTighe! We talked about what led them all on this path to opening a brewery and what…

I got to cruise up to Elk Grove Village to hang with the Mikerphone crew and check out the new Blue Room, the canning line, and preview this years Smells Like a Beer Fest! It is always a great spot to visit. The first 20 minutes we have the whole gang together, but then Mike Pallen has a fire to put out, so we recorded more of a one on one which is…

Kinds new and kinda old at the same time. A lot of people may remember the brewery as Myths and Legends or Urban Legends in Westmont. Well since 2018 it has been known as Whiskey Hill Brewing and they are kicking out some badass beers. They are doing great old world styles while bringing the creativity with big NEIPA, Pastry Stouts, and Fruited Mil…

Nice to have a class and intelligence on the show for once, but enough about Alex Lovinggood and his Pit Vipers. Danielle and Katie brought the knowledge on the podcast. I frequently found my eyes glazing over trying to keep up with Danielle's well thought out explanations to my moronic questions. This is an impressive group and they do so much for…

Feeling lucky to have Shaun Berns and Evan Morris share their huge news on my little podcast. They are finally stepping out on their own. They sent out some cryptic social media the day before recording and then share all the dirty little details with me! Days like this are why I started this podcast in the first place. Can not wait to watch them g…

Happy international Women's Day 2019! Emily Slayton, Owner and Brewer at Skeleton Key Brewery in Woodridge was kind enough to let me be a part of this awesome collaboration brew day extravaganza. They made a Lithuanian style IPA with a yeast strain brought to America by Omega Yeast Labs of Chicago. It was a great day that was enjoyed by all the par…