We’re smack dab in the middle of Milwaukee Beer Week! Though every week is unofficially beer week in a place proudly dubbed “Brew City” by its populace, this particular eight-day run finds close to 100 local bars, restaurants, and other businesses (Discovery World?!) highlighting Milwaukee’s preferred beverage with tap takeovers, rare offerings, unique food pairings, and other exciting events. As Burnhearts prepared for Wednesday’s Central Waters Tap Spotlight, host Tyler Maas smuggled a sixer of Ale Asylum into the Bay View beer bastion to fuel a discussion of all things beer with Burnhearts and Goodkind owner William “BJ” Seidel. Joining in the barley banter was up-and-coming Milwaukee craft brewer Tommy Vandervort of Enlightened Brewing Company, who has quickly seen his excellent beer on the tap lines of some of Milwaukee’s most renowned beer bars (Burnhearts and Goodkind included).

The trio of hop-heads briefly touched on Milwaukee Beer Week before delving into the rapid growth and development of craft brewing, the increased saturation of the microbrew market, the unnecessarily widening gap between types of beer drinkers, and whether Milwaukee is still deserving of its “Brew City” moniker. As mentioned above, the beloved brewers at Ale Asylum provided some Big Slick and Bedlam! to be enjoyed on air. Music used in this episode comes from Seidel’s former band, Decibully (“Live By The Lake” and “Forever”). Download Decibully’s music (for free!) and follow Enlightened on Twitter to see where Milwaukee’s newest and smallest brewery’s beer can be enjoyed. Subscribe to On The Record via iTunes or Stitcher (also free!).