A sequel to one of our favorite shows of 2021 might seem rushed, but Keeping Together’s time in Chicago is limited. For this one, we drink five more of Averie Swanson’s artful creations in an exercise that honestly feels shamelessly self-indulgent due to how good the beers are. Also, we speculate on a provolone problem, conjure up some Joey Pants, do a sitcom t-shirt reveal, and feel inspired to don windbreakers. Expect a very early contender for beer of the year that we never saw coming. Who says the sequel can’t be better than the original??

Beers Reviewed

Dreaming of a Common Language (Dry-hopped saison w/ Hallertau Tradition, Tettnanger, and Saaz hops)

Everything Glistened and Sparkled (Saison w/ roasted rhubarb, angelica root, and honey)

The Earth Is What We All Have In Common (Bière de Garde w/ roasted chestnuts, dried oranges, and rosemary)

Make Art Not Content (Saison w/ coffee, sage, peach leaves, and honey)

Undulant & Impermanent (Barrel-aged saison w/ maple-roasted carrots and spent Fernet botanicals)

Though our very existence denies it, we love the idea of Dry January - a time when people can re-evaluate their habits around beer and explore more sober and healthy options. But we never really intended on doing this show - not until Ryan got Covid. So to keep this weekly show going amidst that diagnosis, we explore how non-alcoholic beers have come to mimic craft styles much more than they did half a decade ago. Also, Craig needs help with a t-shirt resolution, Ryan’s just grateful he can still smell and taste things, and we find the perfect names for a few yet-to-be-founded NA breweries. Plus we still manage to talk about lactose a bunch.

Beers Reviewed

Big Drop Brewing Co. - Pine Trail Pale Ale

WellBeing Brewing - Hellraiser Dark Amber

Athletic Brewing Company - Free Wave Hazy IPA

Bravus Brewing Company - Oatmeal Dark

Untitled Art - S’mores Dark Brew

The Cold IPA itself is an oxymoron. So is it a hopped-up lager, or a lagered-down IPA? Or is it neither? We speak with Doug Veliky, CFO of Revolution Brewing and industry trend-spotter, about why the Cold IPA could be a legitimate trend, and what could keep it stuck in fermentation. Then we examine the style further by drinking through five local examples, hoping to create our own frame of reference. Additionally, Craig has a new workout plan for 2022, Ryan’s creating the Slow Pour Cold IPA at-home device, and we class it up by talking about all the best smells in craft beer. Let’s have a cold one together, shall we?

Doug Veliky interview (00:06:03 - 00:35:45)

Beers Reviewed

Revolution Brewing - Subz-Hero (Cold IPA)

Phase Three Brewing - Cold Pixel (IPL)

Riverlands Brewing Company - Cold Synergy (Cold IPA)

Maplewood Brewing Company - Cold Chisel (Cold IPA)

Alarmist Brewing - Woodland Chill (Cold IPA)

As if barrel-aging alone wasn’t enough, breweries these days are taking beers that have already experienced an extended oak rest and dumping them into another barrel to age even further. We sample five beers that result from this process (or something similar) to see if all that patience pays off in the end. This final installment of Barrel-Aged December features two legit top ten candidates for beers of the year, and we attempt to extend our merchandising output. And as if two barrels for every beer wasn’t enough, Ryan has brought the extra heat for this one: two Craigs. Get ready for the Craigboard. 

Beers Reviewed

Off Color Brewing/Metropolitan Brewing - Avec Le Guillotine (Blend of doppelbock, calvados foedre-aged Flemish-style with apples, and American Wild Ale aged in wine barrels with Cabernet Franc grape must; all refermented with cherries and aged in bourbon barrels and Pomegranate Fox Wild Ale barrels)

Church Street Brewing Company - Double Barrel Doppelbock (Doppelbock aged in bourbon and port barrels for 2 years)

Brink Brewing Co./Nine Giant Brewing - Double Bourbon Barrel-Aged Loose String (Barleywine aged in rye and bourbon barrels)

Private Press Brewing - Electric Roads (Double Barrel-Aged Barleywine)

Mikerphone Brewing - Double Barrel-Aged Super Imperial Smells Like Bean Spirit (Imperial Breakfast Stout w/ maple syrup and coffee, aged in Heaven Hill rye barrels and Smoke Wagon rye barrels)

This is Deep Wood Stout Edition 2021 for our fourth Barrel-Aged December episode, as we drink through the five Revolution stouts in their fall/winter specialty release series. Each year, this lineup finds a new way to step forward - and there’s one beer in particular here that surprisingly leaps to the top of our lists. Also, Ryan confronts Craig about the Hair Bag Incident, Craig keeps insisting on entering the chat, Ryan’s High Life vertical is f*cked, and we just sort of have a love fest about Revolution’s output in 2021. Stay tuned for the drunkest rankings of the year.

Beers Reviewed

Deth’s Tar (Barrel-Aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout)

Café Deth (Barrel-Aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout w/ coffee)

Deth by Raspberries (Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels w/ raspberries)

Vanilla Deth (Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels w/ vanilla)

Dark Mode (Imperial Milk Stout aged in bourbon barrels)

An oasis in a month of enormous beers, this episode resets our palates to ready us for the remainder of Barrel-Aged December. But that’s not to say that saisons don’t have quite a few tricks up their sleeves, like the five on this show certainly do. We also are introduced to Milwaukee’s Supermoon Beer Company, and Craig grabbed an interview with co-founder Rob Brennan. Additionally, we have surprising strolls through the mall, and Craig tells you where he’ll take his glitter. #DrinkSaisons

Beers Reviewed

Supermoon Beer Company - There Is A Plot (Gin Barrel Blended Saison)

Keeping Together - It Was Like A Holiday (Barrel-aged Saison w/ toasted coconut, lemon, orange, and honey)

Werk Force Brewing Company - Barrel-Aged Farmhouse Vultures (Saison w/ blackberries and raspberries aged Cabernet Sauvignon barrels)

Zero Gravity Craft Brewery - Après Vous (Gin Barrel-Aged Saison)

Lawson’s Finest Liquids - Saison Aged in Barr Hill Tom Cat Gin Barrels

No matter what your strategy is at the fest, it’s almost impossible to avoid FoBAB FOMO. We were lucky to attend the 19th edition of FoBAB, but we also felt like we missed out on trying some of the exciting medal winners - until now. For our second Barrel-Aged December show, there are five medal winners from 2021 across various styles on this episode that confirm, hey, yeah, maybe the judges know what they’re doing. We also brainstorm some local beer gift box ideas, find Craig roaming the island of misfit candy, and audition to #FineTuneFoBAB.

Beers Reviewed

The Hopewell Brewing Co. - Arrow of Time [Blend 002] (Oak-aged Wild Ale) - Silver in Wild Mixed Culture Beer (Acidic) Sours

Black Horizon Brewing Co. - Gin Barrel-Aged Stand and Deliver (Gin Barrel-Aged Golden Strong Ale) - Bronze in Other Pale Beer

Milwaukee Brewing Company - Barrel-Aged Barleywine - Bronze in Barleywine/Wheatwine

Short Fuse Brewing Company - Bourbon Barrel-Aged Precious Little Treats (Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels w/ vanilla beans) - Silver in Specialty Strong Porter/Stout

Werk Force Brewing Company - Double Barrel Sleepy Bear (Double Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout w/ milk sugar, cacao nibs, and vanilla)

Rising from the depths of an obsidian sea to bring about an experience both conceptual and elemental that bends past the traditional, or something: Benthic 2021. To kick off Barrel-Aged DecemberNFT we wade through the cosmic gumbo for this show on Half Acre’s big adjunct stout release for 2021. Five variants of the barrel-aged coconut stout are up for review and lead us to the 4PM Shedd Aquarium tour where things get a bit raunchy. Also, we talk about the podcast we would’ve started at age 15, a Craig soundboard for prank calls, and the symptoms of Fish Can Influence. Ready your decks and watch your hit points, folks.

Beers Reviewed

Benthic (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout w/ coconut and coffee)

XTRA DUBL Benthic (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout w/ 3x toasted coconut and 2x coffee)

Vanilla Benthic (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout w/ coconut and vanilla)

Rum Coconut Benthic (Rum and Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout w/ coconut)

Vampira Benthic (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout w/ coffee and coconut aged 10-22 months)

We take on five beers from the great city of Cincinnati for this episode, courtesy of listener Andrew who picked out an exceptionally fun variety of styles and odd ingredients. It’s not every week we get beers with juniper berries, paw paw, and tayberries. Also, we discuss a tweet about which famous old people could identify Mario; we talk about some of our favorite signature fonts; and we have the majesty of dolphins ruined for us forever. 

Beers Reviewed

Streetside Brewery - Return of the Mac (Coffee blond w/ caramel creme coffee and vanilla)

Rhinegeist Brewery - Infinite Dawn (Sour blonde ale aged in an oak foeder)

Rebel Mettle - Volume (Schwarzbier with juniper berries)

Urban Artifact - Dilophosaurus (Barrel-aged wild ale w/ paw paw)

Fibonacci Brewing Company - Ploidy (Imperial oatmeal stout w/ tayberries)

Add a 2021 FoBAB Gold Medal to the many reasons why Cruz Blanca’s seasonal barrel-aged beer release is not to be missed, but you hopefully already knew that anyways. For this one, we chat with head brewer Jacob Sembrano before opening up all eight of these grapplers in the Luchador series. Jacob talks with us about growing Cruz beyond just a brewpub, what makes something a “Cruz beer,” and some of the surprising flavor inspirations behind this year’s Luchadors. Then we drink ‘em all up, and it’s a wild ride, y’all. Also, Craig has a hard time enjoying the aquarium, and Ryan just wants to talk about candles. 

Beers Reviewed

Escorpión (Imperial prickly pear and dragon fruit ale aged in Cabernet red wine and Barbados rum barrels)

Barbarosa (Imperial black and red raspberry ale aged in Heaven Hill bourbon and Cabernet red wine barrels)

Maravilla (Imperial blonde ale aged in Barbados rum and Woody Creek rye whiskey barrels with Mexican vanilla)

Coco Fantasma (Imperial blonde ale aged in Barbados rum and Woody Creek rye whiskey barrels with chocolate, coconut, and almond)

Carmelita Suave (Imperial stout aged in Barbados rum barrels with Metric coffee and dulce de leche)

Señor Bandito (Imperial stout aged in Woody Creek rye whiskey barrels with black, Morello, and Luxardo cherries, Mexican cassia bark, and Ceylon cinnamon)

Rey Gordo (Imperial stout aged in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels)

Rey Cuvée (2018 + 2019 + 2020 Rey Gordo blended and double barrel-aged in Woodford Reserve barrels)