EP-097 Josh Mowry + John Wyzkiewicz of Miskatonic Brewing

This week’s episode features one of Chicagoland’s newest production breweries called Miskatonic from Darien, Illinois. My first memory of these guys was sitting at Owen & Engine, an English-inspired bar in Western Avenue who routinely puts together a great list. Scanning down I noticed a name I’d didn’t recognize, and next to it, a simple style designator — “mild” Now, I fully admit that as someone who drinks for a living that I’m in a bit of a bubble at times — but I was thrilled to see that word. You may recall from waaaay back in episode 4 with Mark Spence, a home brewer, that we were openly complaining that there were no English Milds being made locally in Chicago. And making a beer like that close to home is critical — it’s not going to export across the Atlantic all that well. So yeah, when I saw a start-up in Chicago brewing a Mild out of the gate, I was all over it. And it was great. Delicate, slightly toasty, a tad bitter, balanced by a malt character that finished dry. It’s a perfect beer. A perfect style, really. But that Mild, as memorable as it was for me, was less about a style that Miskatonic was keen on — and more of an approach to every style they brew. Subtle, balance, delicacy. This is what I’ve come to know them as. And this past year, GBH was lucky enough to work with them as well, helping them get their story straight and their message ready for market as they entered with cans for the first time, and introduced themselves to thousands of new customers. So here we are, two months in to packaged product on the shelves, and it’s a perfect time to ask them how it’s going. And how they got here.