In the week that we’re heading out west for a certain fest, we gather up four barrel-aged beers from West Coast breweries that are pretty well-known for their wood-aged offerings. Expectations are flipped on their head and a ringer is challenged as we pop a few actual corks for this one. Also, Craig wants in on the limited-edition mattresses; we open our minds to the possibilities that breweries can grow over the course of nine years; and we share the tales of the juggling Belgian Gueuze Mimes. 

Beers Reviewed

Floodland Brewing - Calling Out to Psychic Death (Dry-hopped blend of barrel-aged saisons w/ honey)

deGarde Brewing - The Broken Truck (Wild ale aged in oak, blended from four years)

Russian River Brewing Company - Small Batch: Intinction (Sauvignon Blanc-aged wild pilsner w/ Sauvignon Blanc grape juice and dry-hopped with Nelson Sauvin)

Cellarmaker Brewing Company - Bourbon Blammo! (Blend of bourbon barrel-aged stouts and barleywine w/ toasted coconut)

The Great American Beer Festival is right around the corner, and since we’re attending again this year, we’re providing an audio guide to what to drink at the fest while also sipping on some previous medal winners. These aren’t just any Illinois medal winners; our four choices here are a good drive from Chicago while also representing more traditional styles. For the GABF preview, we cover what Illinois breweries are pouring, which “new-to-us” breweries have us the most excited; whose familiar faces we can’t wait to see; and which “steady hand” brewers can’t be missed. Also, Ryan’s sharing an irrational fear, we develop an open floor taproom concept to maximize turnover, and we both agree the judges are pretty good at what they do.

Beers Reviewed

Crystal Lake Brewing - Too Much Cologne (Kolsch)

Sew Hop’d Brewery - Alt 140 (Altbier)

Mickey Finn’s Brewery & Pub - Dark and Down (Dark rye lager)

Tighthead Brewing Company - Scarlet > Fire (Irish red ale)

For the second part of our big 500, we sit down with Revolution Brewing founder Josh Deth and talk about the last ten years of his brewery while sharing a rare beer from Craig’s cellar. It’s a fitting interview for this milestone, as no brewery has been featured on the podcast more - and it’s not even close. Also, we open another cellar gem while recording in the ABV West bunker for the first time since the pandemic; we discuss some of our greatest hits; we continue our wax hatred for the 10th year in a row; and Ryan struggles through another ABV By the Numbers game. Thanks for listening anytime, anywhere, everyone. 

Josh Deth interview (00:08:58 - 01:05:14)

Beers Opened

Side Project Brewing - Beer: Barrel: Time Rye 2023 (A blend of imperial stouts aged in rye barrels)

Phase Three Brewing - Eunoia Batch 1 (Barrel-aged imperial stout with peanut butter, chocolate & marshmallow)

500 episodes is a long time to do arbitrary beer reviews, so we reach out for some help in reviewing a few beers from Craig’s cellar. We chose brewers that have been around longer than the podcast to reflect on the last ten years in craft beer, and they chose a beer from our list. For this part one of two episodes, we sit down with Spiteful Brewing’s Jason Klein and Half Acre’s Gabriel Magliaro. We also sip through their cellar selections, and open up one more in the ABV West Bunker for a small but mighty lineup. Plus, Craig has discovered a potential Malort cure, and Ryan struggles through an ABV By The Numbers game. Stay tuned for Part Two.

Jason Klein Interview (00:09:16 - 00:53:26)

Gabriel Magliaro Interview (01:01:26 - 01:25:52)

Beers Reviewed

Hair of the Dog Brewing Company - Don 2023 (Double Barleywine aged over four years in rye, bourbon, port, calvados and maple barrels)

Sante Adairius Rustic Ales - West Ashley Cuvée (A blend of four consecutive years of West Ashley, aged in Pinot Noir oak barrels with apricots)

Hanabi Lager Company - Hanabi Lager White Apron (Pilsner)

Once every four years, we gather up nine Märzens or Festbiers for a blind review revue as a not-so-subtle excuse to drink what might be our favorite seasonal style. And again, we have eight local takes (and one collab from a legacy American brand) on the German-style lager to help us determine our arbitrary preferences. Surprises abound and misconceptions are challenged as this extremely drinkable nine-pack has us craving pretzels in no time. Also, Ryan has inadvertently created an eight year-old future Cicerone; Craig is once again calling for unnecessary adjuncts; and it’s ‘Oops! All Basslines!” for one beer. Light up your pretzel rod cigars and fill up your ceramic stein with Oktoberfest, and join us. 

Beers Reviewed Blindly

Maplewood Brewing Company - Festbier

Midwest Coast Brewing Co. - Oktoberfest

Sketchbook Brewing Co. - Oktoberfest

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co./Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei - Oktoberfest (2023)

Spiteful Brewing - Oktoberfest

Temperance Beer Co. - Oktoberfest

Off Color Brewing - Waddle

More Brewing Company - Oktoberfest

Mikerphone Brewing - Kick, Push, Prost

We’re bringing the dry heat with our 32nd State Show, drinking through five beers from five different Arizona breweries, courtesy of listener Ryan Lamb. There’s a lot to like from this set with some essential Arizona ingredients and a few beers with heavy medal pedigree. But also, Craig’s recent Disney trip has him looking at redoing some rides; Ryan reminds us that stouts are for closers; and we finally find out what love smells like. 

Beers Reviewed

Four Peaks Brewing Company [Tempe, AZ] - Kilt Lifter (Scottish-style ale)

Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. [Gilbert, AZ] - Cactus Juice (Prickly pear sour)

Wren House Brewing Company [Phoenix, AZ] - Spellbinder (Hazy IPA)

Mother Road Brewing Company [Flagstaff, AZ] - Tower Station (IPA)

Fate Brewing Company [Scottsdale, AZ] - Hatch Chile Gatos (Golden ale w/ hatch chiles)

Revolution is back at it this summer with a threesome of barrel-aged delights for an early kickoff to the Deep Wood series, and we take our time breaking down these complex blends to find our results to be pleasantly surprising. Also, Craig ruins going to the mall; Ryan’s having breakfast with Velveeta; and we let the barrels take it to the X-treme (and Ex-Treme). 

Beers Reviewed

Dread & Breakfast (Breakfast Blend Ale with coffee aged in bourbon barrels)

Cuvée De Grâce (Cuvée Ale aged in bourbon barrels)

Life Jacket (Barleywine Ale with mango, guava, passionfruit, and coconut aged in bourbon barrels)

We can give a lot of credit to Half Acre co-founder Gabriel Magliaro for helping awaken the craft beer scene in Chicago. And more than 16 years later, Half Acre is still a leader in craft in the city and all over the country, so we’re thrilled to sit down with Gabriel for a deep dive into the history of his legendary brewery. We talk about how he was strongly advised against putting beer in 16-ounce cans, how opening a retail shop exposed the brand to a new audience, the evolution of their barrel program to its esteemed current status, and why the Lincoln taproom sale was the best of all outcomes. Then, Craig and Ryan open four Half Acre beers across a variety of styles to review, and it’s kind of a cosmic gumbo. Also, we’re trying hard to make Slowdem a real thing.

Gabriel Magliaro Interview (00:07:29 - 01:09:02)

Beers Reviewed

Green Torch (Lime Lager)

Bodem (IPA)

Slow Wink (West Coast IPA)

Double Barrel Benthic 2022 (Double arrel-aged imperial stout with toasted coconut and cinnamon)

It’s another show about highly drinkable summer styles, and this minor trend of local breweries releasing hopped-up wheat beers caught our attention enough to put five beers in front of us for review. The styles differ despite their shared ingredient, and we’re as excited about the big hops as we are comforted by the soft wheat. Also, we blue-sky some product design for Impractical Packaging Brewing Co.; Craig might drizzle some honey on that dry ramen snack; and Ryan’s just looking for a little extra fiber.

Beers Reviewed

Riverlands Brewing Company - Lazy Fox (Hazy Pale Wheat Ale)

Brothership Brewing - Citra Crop Circles (Hoppy Wheat Ale)

Keg Grove Brewing Company - Vacation Haze (Hazy Wheat New England-Style IPA)

Miskatonic Brewing Company/Seldom Beer Co. - Silver Sun (Hoppy Wheat Lager)

DryHop Brewers - Shark Meets Hipster (Wheat IPA)

Brad Clark is the man behind the highly sought-after blended barrel-aged beers of Private Press, and Craig sat down with him over some decanted barleywine to talk about the history and future of his members-only brewery. Brad shares how his background at the renowned Jackie O’s in Ohio led to some of the more daring experiments at his current Santa Cruz brewery, and how peaceful running led to him inventing an entire style. Also, he shares details about his meticulous blending process, how his barrels travel treacherous terrain to reach their destination, where the inspiration for his labels and beer names originate from, and why he once had to set a barrel on fire in an attempt to save it. If that wasn’t enough, we also open four of his beers that are just about unmatched in quality, and Craig talks about an unexpected visitor while dining at The French Laundry.

Brad Clark Interview (00:10:02 - 00:55:28)

Beers Reviewed

Life is Round (Blend of barleywine ales aged in bourbon barrels)

A Silent Pursuit (Blend of barrel-aged Munichwine ales)

Double Barrel Almond Suite - collaboration with Side Project (Imperial stout brewed with almonds and lactose, aged in bourbon and Cognac barrels)

Third Press (Blend of stout and barleywine ale aged in oak barrels)