This week at LooseKeys, we celebrated Chicago Craft Beer Week and had a couple more beers than you typically see on our desk. With all the events every night, it meant that I needed to take some quick naps during those renders.
Congratulations Goose Island Beer Co. on 25 Years!
Directed By: Ken Hunnemeder
Edited By: Maeve Price
Motion Design: Brad Chmielewski
Congratulations On 25 Years!
Last night Goose Island celebrated 25 years with a great event at the Goose Island Clybourn Brewpub. The event featured over 60 beers that had been brewed on and off since 1988. The event cost $75 and gave you access to all those beers as well as some amazing food. You also had the chance to chat with people like John & Greg Hall if you wanted.
It’s hard to believe that Goose has been around for 25 years and it’s exciting to see everything they have done in really such a short time. Some of those have been more liked than others but still it’s amazing to think about the impact Goose Island had on the American craft beer scene.
In episode 205 of the Hop Cast Ken Hunnemeder and Brad Chmielewski are joined by Tom Korder of Penrose Brewing to chat about Belgian beers. Since Tom is a Belgian beer lover, Ken and Brad thought he’d be a perfect guest to have on the show and there is no better place in Chicago to talk Belgian beers then at the Hopleaf. Three people, three beers… hey, everyone needed their own. Ken, Brad and Tom talk about what makes Belgian beers so special, as well as the differences between Trappist and Abbey beers all while sipping on an Orval, a Duvel and that beer that comes in that crazy glass, Kwak.
Everyone has their favorite Belgian beer and these are a few of our favorites that should be pretty easy for you to find. Grab yourself a bottle, find that proper glassware and tune in.
Thanks for watching The Hop Cast!
Happy National Beer Day!
We can’t just focus on beers here in the United States, there are some great breweries across the world making some excellent brews. For episode 201, Ken Hunnemeder and Brad Chmielewski are opening a couple beers from Porterhouse Brewing Company in Ireland. The beers from Porterhouse Brewing Company have a really fun pull top, making opening a beer easier, allowing you to get to the beer that much faster. The first beer Ken and Brad open is the Wrasslers XXXX Stout a 5.00 % ABV Irish Dry Stout.
Next is the Oyster Stout which is a beer that Ken tried when he was in Ireland a few years ago. This 5.2 % ABV Stout has fresh oysters added during the brewing process. Being from the Midwest, the oyster stout isn’t a beer we see much of and is always interesting to try.
Do you have a beer from Ireland or even an Oyster Stout we should try? Let us know and thanks for watching the Hop Cast.
Alcohol & Creativity
I’m a strong proponent of consuming alcohol to fuel your creativity, especially if it’s craft beer. I’ve had some of my best ideas when I’m out having a beer with friends. I probably even came up with the idea for this blog post while drinking and of course, I’m having a beer while writing it. So excuse any typo’s… it’s the alcohol’s fault.
At LooseKeys we’ll occasionally work at a bar like The Map Room during the week and knock back a couple beers while working. This is especially useful when we’re brainstorming ideas for storyboards or coming up with new characters. The alcohol helps you be a little more free with your ideas and maybe think a little unconventionally.
I think this was one of the reasons we saw so many ad folks drink at work on Mad Men. I mean besides it being the 60s, I’m sure the alcohol helped with creativity in advertising.
Jennifer Wiley, Ph.D. says that when it comes to puzzles or “out of the box” tasks, relaxation and flexibility—what you’re feeling after a few drinks—can spark creativity.
When you get stuck creatively, think about grabbing a beer and sitting back, relaxing and just mulling over the problem. It can help your mind from working overtime, over-analyzing the problem.
The Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Science conducted a study. They explained that the alcohol helped study participants access remote ideas, ideas that developed through association not linear analysis. Linear reasoning can keep people focused on ideas they think are important but really aren’t.
We’ve seen alcohol fuel a number of great internet shows over the years like Gary Vanderchuck’s Wine Library TV, My Drunk Kitchen and even that killer craft beer podcast known internationally as the Hop Cast. The effects of alcohol on creativity has been explored numerous times by the folks at Drinking and Writing.
So grab a beer and see what you can come up with. There’s a fine line that you can cross from creative ideas to passed out drunk. But in the end all you can say is; Thank you, alcohol.
We’re doing a bit of celebrating in this episode, we’ve reached 200 episodes! Thank you all for watching each and every episode.
To celebrate Ken Hunnemeder and Brad Chmielewski are in the barrel warehouse at Goose Island sipping on a couple barrel aged beers. First up is the Firestone Walker Double DBA, this 12% ABV is an amazing example of how the barrel effects and changes a beer. If you love DBA as much as Ken does then Double DBA is going to be right up your alley. At 12 % ABV this beer is dangerous because all you want to do is knock back the entire bottle yourself. Next Ken and Brad crack open a bottle of the 2013 Driftwood Singularity. This beer was sent to us by a Hop Cast fan and it was a real treat to get to sample it. This 14% ABV Russian Imperial Stout spent 4 months in Kentucky bourbon barrels and those barrels really added some great flavors.
Cheers & thanks for watching the Hop Cast, we hope you’ve enjoyed all 200 episodes.
Tools Used For The Hop Cast
Awhile back I shared a video with some of the tools we use to shoot the Hop Cast. Since then a few things have changed and I wanted to give a update on the tools we’re using today to help us get two to three episodes out each month.
Currently we have a Canon T2i that we use most of the time; it’s our main camera and we usually like to have a second camera going as well for close ups and cut aways. We have a couple different options for our second camera. Sergio and Ken both have DSLRs that look better than the T2i; Sergio has a Canon 5D and if we can rope him in with the allure of free beer, he’ll sometimes let us use it and help us out. Ken has a Nikon and I’m not sure the model there. If we’re not using the 5D or Ken’s Nikon then we have a Canon HDV that we use for our second camera. The trouble with using an HDV is in getting the cameras to match since ones a DSLR and the other is an HDV camera that records to tape. Its not as easy to get the white balance to match correctly when using different format camera’s. For the audio, we use an iPhone with a Blue Mikey. Most of the time the audio sounds pretty good and we’re able to sync it up when we start editing. The main advantage to using the iphone as a mic is that it doesn’t take any set up. Since we’re often shooting at bars and events, its easy to shoot right there with just a DLSR camera and an iPhone mic. Sometimes we’ll also set up a couple lights, depending on how much time we have and where we’re at. We try to keep it small and light, which makes it easy to get an interview done at a brewery. Finally for editing, we’re still using Final Cut Pro 7 but we’ve been slowly making the transition over to Premiere. Which hopefully will make things go smoothly since all the graphics are done in After Effects and the footage won’t need to be converted from the DSLR cameras.
As you can see, doing a podcast or web series doesn’t have to be complicated and you don’t need a ton of fancy equipment to make something entertaining. We started out doing the Hop Cast with much less. As you grow and contuine doing episodes, you’ll add more gadgets to up the production value.
Furthermore Beer In Chicago
I’ve been a fan of Furthermore Beer since I first tasted the Oscura at the 2008 Great Lakes Brewfest in Racine.
For the last four years the only way I could get my hands on their beer was by jumping in the car and making a beer run to Wisconsin. Well those days are finally behind me. Starting this week, Furthermore Beer will be available in draft-only at around 25 bars here in Chicago. Joe Collins, Director of Sales at Furthermore Beer told me that Chicago had always been a market they wanted to expand into since the start of the brewery, but had reached a ceiling in production.
Chicago is a large market and we’ve seen breweries have trouble keeping up with the demand in the past so making sure that they’re able to keep up is an important step. Furthermore Beer now has a new contract partnership with Milwaukee Brewing Co. and right now only Fatty Boombalatty is produced there. So hopefully this increase in production will make sure we’ll all be able to have a pint of Fatty Boombalatty whenever we want.
[ Read More ]
Beerpiphany
I just started a new project called Beerpiphany. It’s just getting off the ground but I’m looking forward to talking to people and hearing each of their Beerpiphany’s. We’ve all had at least one beer that after our first sip changed what we imagined beer could be. I figured I’d get the ball rolling with the first Beerpiphany on the site. It’s the beer that sparked my interest or obsession with craft beer.
If you’re looking to share your Beerpiphany let me know, you can send me an email or hit me up on twitter.
Drunk Penguin
When it’s chilly outside all we really want is a tasty stout to warm us up. That’s exactly what’s happening here in episode 194 of the Hop CastBrad Chmielewski and Ken Hunnemeder are joined by Erik Jensen for a couple Midwest Milk Stouts. First up is the Revolution Brewing Company, Mad Cow Milk Stout. This 7.5 % ABV Milk Stout is a smooth and creamy Stout made with lactose. If you live in Chicago you might of been able to pick up a bottle of this and the Very Mad Cow which is the barrel aged version. If the regular version is this good, the barrel aged version must be simply fantastic. Next these three gentlemen move onto the Perennial Artisan Ales, Fantastic Voyage. This 8.8% ABV Milk Stout is brewed with coconut. This beer is well balanced with coconut, lactose and black malts.
There is something about a Milk Stout that just warms you up and brings a smile to your face. Cheers and thanks for watching the Hop Cast
Ken Hunnemeder and Brad Chmielewski are sticking pretty local with episode 186, cracking open a couple beers from our friends to the north at Milwaukee Brewing Company. The first beer they open is the Booyah, a 6 % ABV farmhouse. This might be a little different then some farmhouse ales you’ve had in the past but don’t let that turn you off. The Booyah is sweet and has a good amount of tropical fruits in the aroma and taste. Overall a clean and balanced beer. Next, Ken and Brad follow up the Booyah with Milwaukee Brewing’s Hop Happy IPA. This 7.50% ABV IPA is a very drinkable IPA, you should have no problem drinking this one all day. Both these beers are pretty tasty, everyday drinking sort of beers. They’re not panty droppers but they are solid, worth checking out. Cheers and thanks for watching the Hop Cast! [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/49653230[/vimeo] Having issues watching this video? Try the Quicktime (218 MB).
