Earlier in November, the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild put on the 21st Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beers to recognize some of the breweries making the finest wood-aged beers around. We got our hands on five (out of the eleven) Illinois medal winners - and our first-ever Best of Show beer - to help us audition to become FoBAB judges some year. We share some FoBAB “by the numbers” and recap the awards with a slight angle towards our Fantasy FoBAB league interests. Also, Craig is opening up to the possibility of tinsel, Ryan is destroying himself for pleasure (as usual), and we point out which beer is the Warren Zevon of barrel-aged beers. 

Medal Winners Reviewed

Off Color Brewing - Mezcal Barrel-Aged Beer for Tacos (Gold in Specialty/Experimental)

Sketchbook Brewing Co. - Red Wine Barrel-Aged Tripel G (Gold in Other Pale Beer)

Half Acre Beer Company - Orin (Silver in Other Dark Beer)

Mikerphone Brewing - Slappa Da Base (Silver in Strong Porter/Stout)

Hidden Hand/Solemn Oath Brewery - Oaked Val D’or (Gold in Wild Beer/Brett & Best of Show)

Hop on the Brown Line straight to Browntown with us, as we discover a hopefully-growing local resurgence of the brown ale with five examples from Chicagoland breweries on this episode. Adjunct or not, these brown ales all have a unique angle on the style - and most would absolutely kill on cask. We also discuss the worst possible colors for mayonnaise, we consider the best brown for the Thanksgiving table, Ryan shares his true feelings about the apple orchard, and Craig am become Cronch, destroyer of dry ramen. 

Beers Reviewed

Spiteful Brewing - Bowmanville Brown

Phase Three Brewing - Midst

Maplewood Brewing Company - Brownie Points

Werk Force Brewing Company - Axis: As Bold As Beer

Around the Bend Beer Company - Puffing Billy

Carbonated water treated with hops is pretty simple in concept, but these five breweries prove that there’s a lot of variation and skill that goes into making these “zero/zero” drinks. And it shows that no matter how well non-alcoholic beers have progressed, some drinkers looking for a dry spell just can’t quit the hops - and now they don’t have to! We get extremely refreshed on this zero alcohol show while discussing many areas of potential for this rising trend. Also, Craig needs some real talk on a confusing bathroom arrangement, Ryan’s watching his calcium intake, and we want to know if kids should be drinking hop water before one of us looks like a bad parent.

Waters Reviewed

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company - Hop Splash

Third Space Brewing - Hop Water: Citra Lemon

Noon Whistle Brewing - Hop Water

Revolution Brewing - Super Zero

Marz Community Beverage Co. - Hop N’ Honey Water

Though it might be one of the smallest states, the brewing scene in Delaware is mighty, and we’re ushering in our 33rd State Show with a lineup of five flavorful beers from five different breweries. Thanks to Ryan Tracy (and family), we’re able to live vicariously through his travelogue while sipping these delectable beers, just missing out on the coastal views and massive plates of seafood. Also, Ryan flies too close to the sun with his back scratcher, Craig’s working on the leg rolls, and one podcast studio gets absolutely drenched in an exploding beer.

Beers Reviewed

Blue Earl Brewing Co. [Smyrna, D] - Oktoberfest (Märzen)

Mispillion River Brewing Company [Milford, DE] - Not Today Satan (American IPA)
Thompson Island Brewing Company [Rehoboth Beach, DE] - Never Been Wrong (Barrel-Aged Sour Belgian Blonde)

Big Oyster Brewery [Lewes, DE] -  Noir et Bleu (Belgian Tripel w/ blueberries and black tea)

Dewey Beer Company [Dewey Beach, DE] - Thrills: Strawberry, Watermelon, Lemonade (Fruited Sour)