Brian Noonan
Host of the Crafty Brewers podcast
CraftyBrewersPod.com

Favorite breweries: I’d love to skip this question because I can’t possibly list all the breweries I love without leaving someone out. However, since the gauntlet has been thrown, let’s go! (Disclaimer: If I don’t mention you, please know I still love you.)

I think like most folks, I tend to pick favorites that are close to home. I’m lucky to live near a lot of great breweries, but these two pull me in on a regular basis: Brothership and Black Horizon.

Brothership Brewing in Mokena is a small taproom with a great vibe. This brewery changed my mind about hazy IPAs and brews ones that I judge others against. They have a great barrel-aging program as well. The staff is always friendly. Nothing fancy except the spectacular beers.

Black Horizon Brewing Company in Willowbrook has become a favorite based on two things. First, Alex and his crew brew fantastic beer. They rotate and add new styles regularly with terrific results. I just finished my last can of Mango Inferno, their mango-habanero golden ale that they brewed (along with a few others) for their Inferno Fest. BHBC is another great example of a no-frills taproom with a great vibe and welcoming staff.

Black Horizon Brewing Company in Willowbrook rotates and add new styles regularly with terrific results. … BHBC is another great example of a no-frills taproom with a great vibe and welcoming staff.

Lest anyone think I only drink in Cook and Will Counties, another favorite of mine in Illinois is Big Muddy Brewing in Murphysboro. As a Southern Illinois University alum, I have a soft spot for that region. I’m a huge fan of their Saluki Dunkel Dog. They also brew a smoked beer exclusively for the award-winning 17^th Street BBQ. It’s a lightly smoked amber ale with a slight hint of apple. It’s phenomenal!

Drinking tendencies: I try to be open minded and experimental when it comes to beer — I recently tried a mushroom-infused beer at Brother Chimp Brewing, but just don’t come at me with sours. I will always gravitate towards ambers, dunkels, Mexican lagers and hazy IPAs. I’m also always on the lookout for a good stout. You could say I’ve never met a beer I didn’t bond with in some way… except a sour.

Recent beers that have caught your eye: Two recent beers jump to mind. A lot of breweries are creating low-ABV options for folks who want to have a session or crushable beer. Both beers fall into that category because they are delicious and have low ABV.

Black Horizon and the new Blume & Ferris Public House collaborated on Tourist Season, a summer blonde lager. I was at BHBC the day they tapped it, and it was perfect, despite some of the crew giving it the “once over”.

Keeping in the pub tradition, I recently had the pub ale at Pollyanna Brewing and can’t wait to get back there. It’s an English pub ale, and you couldn’t ask for a better accompaniment to a long night sitting on a barstool telling stories.

Imperial Oak’s Oak-toberfest in Willow Springs

What are you looking forward to enjoying on draft this fall?

The fall means one thing to me: Oktoberfest beer season! I really enjoy smashing some Marzens and Festbiers. I love the maltiness of them. I also like the differences between the styles, with Marzens having a slight edge in my opinion. These beers are always my first order if I see them on a tap list, and my only gripe is that they’re gone too soon. I truly enjoy them all. But I must give a special shout out to Imperial Oak Brewing. During their Oak-toberfest celebration at the original location in Willow Springs, they have a special tapping of Das Nuts, which is only available on site that weekend. They infuse their Das Boot Oktoberfest with toasted pecans, almonds, peanuts and macadamia nuts. If I could only drink one Oktoberfest beer, this would be it. Prost!

During their Oak-toberfest celebration, Imperial Oak has a special tapping of Das Nuts, where they infuse their Das Boot Oktoberfest with toasted pecans, almonds, peanuts and macadamia nuts. If I could only drink one Oktoberfest beer, this would be it.

Favorite beer bar: I do most of my beer drinking in breweries, either in the taproom or in a brewery’s restaurant. There is one bar, however, that I’ve been going to for decades that always has a great selection of craft beer on tap. Lassen’s Tap in Homewood is the real deal. It started as just a neighborhood tavern, then added a kitchen and became a staple for the area. They have 26 tap beers — with offerings from the likes of 3 Floyds, Goose Island, Pollyanna, Maine Beer Co. and more. This is the place where I developed a fixation with Vanilla Bitch Slap from Pig Minds Brewing out in Machesney Park. If you like red ales with a hint of vanilla, search it out.

Lassen’s Tap in Homewood

Best brewery you’ve hit on vacation: This is a very timely question. We just got back from our daughter’s wedding in Colorado. I did my best to visit breweries on both legs of the road trip. There were quite a few good ones, but my favorite was Syndicate Brewing in Silverthorne, Colorado.

Syndicate is a nano-brewery that focuses on true-to-style craft beer. The brewery sits at the foot of the Loveland Pass, which takes you to the Continental Divide. Syndicate is locally owned and veteran owned. They have a great story that I learned from Brad, the bartender/co-owner, who is originally from Schaumburg and has an Old Irving tin tacked up in the brewhouse.

As with most places in Colorado, dogs were welcome, and at Syndicate, they’re treated like royalty. We were traveling with our “granddog” Walter, who had the full run of the place.

The beer was delicious. I was surprised to find a rauchbier (called Smokey the Bier) on the tap list, and I really enjoyed it. The beechwood smoke didn’t overpower the malty, amber German lager. Their Al Capone’s 1924 Prohibition lager followed Al Capone’s original recipe that was brewed by the old Siebens Brewery in Chicago. I’m a big believer in vibes and feeling comfortable in a place. Syndicate made me feel comfortable from the moment I walked in, and I could picture myself spending a lot of time there if I was a local.

Secret beer spot: If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret, would it? Like Superman, my secret spot is my Fortress of Solitude… otherwise known as my deck. With our Crafty Brewers podcast, I’m fortunate to visit a lot of great breweries and do enjoy having beers in a social setting, but when it comes to a relaxing beer, I head out to the deck, look at the trees, listen to the birds and kick back. Occasionally I will allow someone to join me, but for the most part, a beer, some yacht rock, a cigar and the sounds of nature (or my neighbor’s lawnmower) are the perfect ingredients for an enjoyable afternoon.

Syndicate Brewing in Silverthorne, Colorado