Why Guinness Chose Chicago: Brewing Beyond Stouts at the Open Gate Brewery (with Great Water!)

Learn about Guinness’ Chicago location, their beer styles—including Czech lagers and Kentucky Commons—and how Chicago’s water influences their brewing.

Guinness Open Gate Brewery (OGB) Chicago Senior Brewer Megan Schwarz and Guinness National Ambassador Ryan Wagner discuss Guinness’ expansion into Chicago, how Megan’s chemical engineering background led to brewing, and the challenges of changing people’s perception of Guinness. They dive into historical and unique beer styles like Kentucky Common, Czech lager, and Weizenbock. They also share insights on Chicago’s water chemistry for brewing, the differences between Export Stout and Foreign Extra Stout, and whether Guinness truly tastes better in Ireland. How Guinness’ Baltimore location compares to their Chicago location and what happened when Ryan and Megan were called impostors at the Great American Beer Festival.

About The Guinness Open Gate Brewery (or OGB for short): The Guinness Open Gate Brewery Chicago is the innovative and experimental arm of one of the world’s most beloved breweries, featuring a taproom, restaurant, and the first ever Guinness Bakery, all located right in the heart of Chicago's West Loop. Learn more on their website at https://www.guinnessbrewerychicago.com/ 

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You can learn more about Crafty Brewers and get in touch with us on our official website, https://craftybrewerspod.com 

Crafty Brewers is a production of Quantum Podcasts, LLC. Is your brewery or business looking to capture a loyal audience to drive business results with the power of podcasting? Then visit https://quantum-podcasts.com/ to learn more.

Our executive producer and editor is award-winning podcaster Cody Gough. He insists that we tell you that in this episode, you’ll learn about: Guinness Chicago, Guinness Open Gate Brewery, Guinness beer styles, Kentucky Common beer, Czech lager, Weizenbock, Export Stout, Foreign Extra Stout, Guinness Baltimore, Guinness brewing techniques, Chicago craft beer, Chicago beer scene, Chicago brewing water, craft beer history, Guinness in America, Guinness U.S. brewery, beer festival impostors, beer brewing chemistry, brewing water chemistry, historical beer styles, adjunct brewing, Guinness brewery expansion, Irish beer in Chicago, dark Czech lager, Tomave Pivo, Saaz hops, beer pairing with Guinness, best Chicago breweries, how Guinness is made, Guinness brewing process, brewing with ancient grains, Fonio stout, Irish heritage and Guinness, Guinness and Notre Dame, Guinness Chicago menu, best Guinness beers, and beer and water chemistry.