Wed, 8 August 2018
This one’s for all you Breeniacs out there. Listener Don Kasak hooked us up with a mixed bunch of St. Louis goodies, and ranking them does not prove to be easy. This show reinforces why St. Louis is one of the best beer cities in the nation once you look past the Budweiser building. There’s also a lengthy discussion of the trailer for the new film by provocative auteur and actual human Neil Breen (see it here) before we settle on some beers to pair with the movie. We also taste some hoppy beers that happily harken back to simpler times, and have some odd memories of the game Earthbound for the SNES. Welcome to the virtual metaverse. I’ll be right…..here. Beers Reviewed The Civil Life Brewing Co. - American Brown Ale Perennial Artisan Ales - Prism: Mosaic (dry-hopped saison) Shared - Oranges on Wheat (witbier) Modern Brewery - Citrapolis (IPA) Earthbound Brewing - Meteor IPA |
Wed, 1 August 2018
A little background noise for your next de-stemming party, this episode has us drinking American takes on the cherry-featuring “kriek” - with four of the five produced in the style of traditional lambic. There’s also a brief chat with Bill and Hagen from Dovetail about their recently-released (but long-planned) kriek beer and some very exciting news about future releases. Elsewhere on this Extra Luxury show, we share a little kriek history, try our hand at defining the style, marvel at the marvelous mouthfeels, and go full-on fanboy on one brewery in particular. Also, we try to solve a dwindling natural resource crisis, Ryan confesses to a 28 year-old crime, Craig wants a canned lambic, and we shame stupid Jeremy for his stupid SuperSoaker taking all the water from California. Damn it, Jeremy! Beers Reviewed Arclight Brewing Company - Soursmith Kriek New Belgium Brewing - Transatlantique Kriek pFriem Family Brewers - Oude Kriek Dovetail Brewery - Kriek Funk Factory/O’So Brewing - Door Kriek (2015) |
Wed, 25 July 2018
For the past three years, Bearded Iris has been bringing some exciting flavors to its home of Nashville, Tennessee, and thanks to listener Matt Milam, we get to indulge in some of their hazy and sweet offerings. We sample five beers on this show for our arbitrary review, and one beer is an “all-timer.” Also, Craig has some fresh ideas for the Fast & Furious franchise, Ryan waxes nostalgic about his Woodstock ‘94 necklace, and we hear from the Grumpy Gardener. And then Ryan explains Supreme to Craig, we dream of Teddy Grahams, and Craig relives some Krispy Kreme past. Guard your crepes. Beers Reviewed Homestyle (IPA) |
Wed, 18 July 2018
Like diamonds, we have many facets. And on this highly Instagrammable show, we explore rosé as a wine, as a cider, and as a beer. Will our complete inexperience in drinking rosé (or wine in general) skew the rankings towards our “home” style, beer? You will be surprised by the outcome on this one! We talk a lot about rosé - with only one angry rant - and whether or not we’re experiencing “pastry wine.” There’s also stuff about beer trends vs. wine trends, great bar TV, illegal Hi-C dipping, bad clowns with hard seltzer, and two wine-drunk hosts. Our words will evoke the great philosopher Sommelierates. Drinks Reviewed Union Wine Company - Underwood Rosé Wine Swish Beverages - Babe Rosé with Bubbles Virtue Cider - Rosé 2 Fools Cider - Rosé Anderson Valley Brewing - Framboise Rose Gose Forbidden Root - Sparkling Rosé Ale |
Wed, 11 July 2018
Well this episode isn’t THE PITS! Get it?!? We sample six pretty different beers that prominently feature peaches to pick our favorites. We talk about the secrets to finding the best peaches, how the lambic brewers of the world can come together, and what makes something a “festival sour.” We also explore some new breakdancing names, call for the Peach Police, smack down a ludicrous conspiracy theory, and get caught in a bit of a Looper situation. Beers Reviewed Revolution Brewing - Freedom of Speach (Session sour) |
Mon, 2 July 2018
We were shocked to learn that it’s been 8 months since our last hazy beer/New England-style IPA-focused show - can we learn to love them again? Well, the six beers on this show certainly make a strong case, as we drink newly canned hazy offerings from a variety of local brewers. We also add to our Wall of Fame with our latest celebrity run-in, Craig explains what the hell “throat hops” are, and Ryan predicts future IPA trends. Beers Reviewed Alarmist Brewing - Le Jus (New England-style IPA) Horse Thief Hollow Brewing - Spoonful (Hazy IPA) Saint Errant Brewing - Takers & Leavers (DDH IPA) Noon Whistle - Gummypocalypse (Northeast DIPA) Cruz Blanca Brewery - Freetown (DDH DIPA) |
Wed, 27 June 2018
Our love of saisons runs deep - far deeper than our technical knowledge of them - but nevertheless, we get excited when we see new saisons filling up our local beer stores. We taste five recently released saisons that are all pretty different takes on the style, while figuring out which ones we’ll add to our must-buy list. There are two pieces of important information about Christopher Cross, a story about a mysterious object on a fishing pole, the semantics of band-aid licking, some real flower eaters, and a proposal on napkin taxes. So, you know, the usual. (Also, we are putting it here in writing that we are trademarking the term Farmhouse IPA™ without doing any actual research if it already exists, but you know, just in case.) Beers Reviewed Perennial Artisan Ales - Saison de Lis (saison w/ chamomile flowers) |
Wed, 20 June 2018
Lagers still represent the most consumed style of beer in the U.S. and it’s not even close. But consumers demand more than the watered-down adjunct-laden fare peddled by the biggest brewers and have pushed slightly less-big brewers to make some tastier options. We blind taste eight lagers - four from “macro” brands, and four from “non-macro” brands* - and try to guess what we’re drinking while ranking our preferences. It’s another one filled with blind surprises and one very unhappy host, but we’ll also take you to Dark Walgreens, toss a few barbs at the band Korn, and introduce you to The Ham Gambler. You can hang your hat on that. Beers Tasted Blindly (in order of appearance on the show) Hamm’s Premium Lager *Founders is 30% owned by leading Spanish beer brand Mahou-San Miguel; Ballast Point is 100% owned by Fortune 500 company Constellation Brands; Firestone Walker is owned by the Duvel-Moortgat brewery; Spiteful is owned by some nice guys named Brad and Jason |
Wed, 13 June 2018
It’s like an hour-long cheat day, for on this episode, we indulge in everything sweet and sugary to enrobe ourselves in stouts just in time for the summer. We review five stouts that all feature a bevy of big flavors and adjuncts to create boozy, liquid desserts. There’s also talk about this year’s Riot Fest lineup, a game about candy bar ingredients that Craig is terrible at, and some timely Sega Genesis game reviews. Our diet starts tomorrow. Beers Reviewed Lil’ Beaver Brewery - Happy For Pecans (Milk Stout w/ pecans) Saint Errant Brewing - Cauallier (Imperial Stout w/ chocolate and roasted peanuts) Hubbard’s Cave - French Toast (Imperial Stout w/ cinnamon, maple syrup, vanilla, and lactose) Mikerphone Brewing - Smooth Whopperator (Double Milk Stout w/ chocolate malted milk) Hop Butcher for the World - The Dog House (Chocolate cake shake stout w/ vanilla and lactose) |
Wed, 6 June 2018
As an amalgamation of two styles seen as so disparate in their processes, it’s easy to call Sour IPAs a gimmick - a style that cannot nor should not exist - or simply, liquid clickbait. We put our own skepticism to the test with five of our favorite local breweries and their spin on the tart, juicy, and (supposedly) hoppy trend. We learn about the different methods brewers use to create these mashups, all while we’re desperately seeking the IPAness. Hear our Saisonathon night experiences, a fear of disembodied mouths, a call for Gravy IPAs, a plug for Ryan’s old websites, and the reason why we oh so desperately could use some more mugwumps right now. #liqbait Beers Reviewed Forbidden Root - Assembly Required V2 (Sour IPA w/ key lime and vanilla) Marz Community Brewing - tart’n’tangy (Wild NE IPA w/ lactose) Maplewood Brewing - Fizzle Drizzle (Sour IPA w/ raspberry) Illuminated Brew Works - Mugwump Brunch (Sour DIPA w/ orange juice) Corridor Brewery & Provisions/Forbidden Root - New Wave Dance Craze (Sour IPA w/ almond, cherry, cinnamon, and lactose) |
Wed, 30 May 2018
In the world of brewing, beer is brewed by two separate yet equally important groups: the independent brewers who make interesting beer, and the corporate brewers who imitate the former. On this show, we investigate six offerings, mostly brand new to the market, that big beer companies want to trick you into drinking. We try to be open-minded - empathetic, even - but some of these crimes can never be forgiven. Can we be accused of being elitist craft beer jerks for spending an hour dumping on big beer’s version of innovation, when so many of these are objectively bad? That’s where you get to be the judge. Hey - you do your job, I do my job, ok buddy? Also, we get nostalgic about murder, upset fans of punishment shots, read some ridiculous marketing copy, and set up an ill-advised beer bong challenge. We also share some of our highlights from this year’s Beer Under Glass, because the whole show can’t just be us throwing the book at bad beer. BeerCrimes Investigated and Prosecuted The Plank Road Brewery (MillerCoors) - Two Hats Pineapple Blue Moon Brewing - Mango Wheat Guinness - Blonde American Lager Old Style Brewing - Cooler By the Lake (Radler) Pabst Brewing - American Pale Ale Anheuser-Busch - Bud Light Orange |
Wed, 23 May 2018
It’ll be another six months before the next wave of Bourbon County hits the supermarkets, so we check in on the 2017 lineup to see how they’re tasting after half a year. We are joined by Josh Noel, author of the brand new book Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out: Goose Island, Anheuser-Busch and How Craft Beer Became Big Business, to review the beers and talk all about Goose Island and the story behind the book. Never has a craft beer drinker’s relationship with a brewer been more complicated, and we reminisce on the pre-sale days of innovation in styles and marketing. Then we talk plenty about what has changed since that fateful day in 2011 and all the people responsible for what we now know as Goose Island and how the craft beer world has been redefined with the acquisitions race of the last five years. But also, is this the least impressive lineup of Bourbon County to date? And how can Goose reinvigorate the legacy of their premier release? We try and figure it out before the ABV catches up to us. See what indie bookstores near you carry Josh’s book here: Indiebound Bourbon County 2017 Lineup: Bourbon County Brand Stout Bourbon County Brand Barleywine Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout Bourbon County Brand Northwinds Stout Proprietor’s Bourbon County Brand Stout Reserve Bourbon County Brand Stout
Direct download: ABV_Chicago_225_Halfway_to_Black_Friday.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:49am CDT |
Wed, 16 May 2018
Stealing furtive glances from across the liquor store, you let your gaze finally fix on what could be your new summer crush - a local canned beer under six percent alcohol. We flirt with some new releases from some favorite locals, and put them on our Crushometer©™ along with our usual rankings. You’ll also hear the rare double lead-up, Craig’s review of the Impossible slider, a super sneaky (and deadly) Mosh’, some old Playstation games, and the terrifying threat of improv poetry. Kick! Punch! It’s all in the mind. Beers Reviewed Blue Island Beer Co. - Limón Pepino (Witbier w/ cucumber and lime) Middle Brow Beer Co. - Little Crush (Session IPA) Maplewood Brewing - Zip Zap (Extra Pale Wheat) Forbidden Root - Hay Fever (Dry-hopped Farmhouse) Pipeworks Brewing - Blood Orange Guppy (Session IPA w/ blood orange and honey) Half Acre Beer Co. - Fader (German-style Pilsner) |
Wed, 9 May 2018
Few styles are as satisfying as a perfectly executed saison. It’s no wonder that the devotees of this heterogeneous style are as passionate as they are, passing on the latest fad IPA to reach for some stubby green bottle with the hard-to-pronounce Belgian name. This show is dedicated to saisons of much variation, and we’re joined by saison lover and brewer Mike Thorpe of Afterthought Brewing in Lombard. Though Mike’s mixed culture and oak-aged saisons are being made in extremely limited volume, the beer is already approaching expert levels of refinement. For this show, we drink seven distinct saisons or farmhouse ales from all over to experience the variations in the style while Mike gets technical about the process. There’s a lot about Afterthought, but we also just luxuriate in the wonders of saison and what makes it different than just about any style. Also, there’s a huge development in the Craig Eating Celery Saga that you won’t want to miss. And if you truly love saisons, check out our Illinois Craft Beer Week event, Saisonathon, at Pub Royale on Monday, May 21st. More details here: bit.ly/Saisonathon2018 Beers Tasted Brasserie de la Senne - Taras Boulba Blackberry Farm Brewery - Classic Saison Jester King Brewery - Le Petit Prince Afterthought Brewing Company - Saison Meer: Lilac Brasserie Fantôme - Fantôme (Saison) Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales - L’épouvantail Noir Brouwerij De Ranke - XX-Bitter |
Mon, 7 May 2018
To commemorate everyone’s favorite early-May drinking holiday, we have six beers to celebrate Polish Constitution Day! (Thursday, May 3rd!) Though this show cost only $15 to fill, its true value lies in providing the literal worst singular beer experience either us have ever had. Seriously. But there are also some killer value finds, along with stories of dumb eye injuries, the return of Black Phillip, and a Craig celery update. Beers Reviewed Tyskie Browary Książęce - Tyskie Gronie (Pale Lager) Browar Amber - Koźlak (Bock) Browar Wąsosz - Miodowe (Honey Beer) Lulu Craft Beer - Peach Gose Grupa Żywiec - Żywiec Porter Browar Okocim - Okocim O.K. Beer (Pale Lager/Pilsner) |
Wed, 25 April 2018
It’s a HIGH concept week here at ABV Labs as we determine whether certain beloved beers should or should not be aged. We have six beers to drink: two vintages of three different beers, and we approach each set blind to see if we can tell the difference. We learn quite a bit about beers and aging, but most importantly, we learn a lot about life….and love. We pitch to get an actual-size Craig bobblehead built, Ryan gleeks with no regard, and we both assail your ears with a barrage of threadless pop culture references beyond our usual so-called restraint. And if love of High Life makes you uncomfortable - morally or physically - you may want to have that skip button ready for the last segment. Beer Vintages Tasted Blindly New Glarus Brewing - Belgian Red: 2013* vs. 2018 Founders Brewing Co. - KBS: 2015 vs. 2018 Off Color Brewing - Eeek!: 2016 vs. 2018 |
Wed, 18 April 2018
An episode we swore we would never do, it’s all smoked beers of different styles on this show as we attempt to shake our long-running distaste of drinking ashy campfire ales. Do we finally open our minds and palates to the wonders of smoked malts? Listen to find out if we safely cross the Rauch rope bridge to escape gaunt Vin Diesel and his villainous clan. (It’ll make sense later.) There’s also an unusual amount of movie references, a discussion of all the things you can smoke (in both ways), a spoogey ghost, the deep recesses of the weed internet, and Ryan’s attempt to make sense of children’s YouTube. Hold up. Heyyyy. Beers Reviewed Schlenkerla - Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen Freigeist Bierkultur - Abraxxxas (Lichtenhainer) Dovetail Brewery - X01 (Flanders Rauch aged in bourbon barrels) Alaskan Brewing - Smoked Porter Goose Island - Islay (Imperial stout aged in Ardbeg Scotch whisky barrels)
Direct download: ABV_Chicago_220_Smoked_Beers_Everyday.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:48pm CDT |
Wed, 11 April 2018
As another dogged Chicago winter comes to a close, we have some leftover beers that need to be emptied out into our swollen hibernation tummies. For this show, we drop the high concept act and drink six random beers for enjoyment and review, with the return of a game of Beer Carnac to boot. We learn about Craig’s wardrobe proclivities and his extreme views on iguana marriage. And both the looming threat of sediment and an esophageal acid bath are enough to send us into a gleeking frenzy in desperate need of a tarp. Thanks for listening to our beer show that doesn’t make any sense and is barely about beer! Beers Reviewed Untitled Art/The Brewing Projekt - NEAPA (New England-style American Pale Ale) Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers - Barrel-aged Saxonator (Dopplebock) Hop Butcher for the World - Mellotron (Double IPA) Good City Brewing - Reward (Double IPA) Suarez Family Brewery - 100 Ft. North (Country Beer/Saison) The Good Beer Company/Bottle Logic Brewing - Square Fruit (Barrel-aged sour w/ ten fruits) |
Wed, 4 April 2018
Slow growth is better than no growth - and it may be even better than rapid growth, as the crew at Hop Butcher for the World proves. After nearly two years of intermittent releases of their (mostly) hoppy offerings, the demand for Hop Butcher beers has surpassed all of their local peers - and few breweries deserve it more. But now that their operation has moved down to Miskatonic’s space in Darien, the canned releases are coming with more volume and frequency while not compromising their excellent quality. For this show, the guys at Hop Butcher sent us five of their more recent releases to sample and review, and we try to balance our high standards for their beers with our usual garbage arbitrary opinions. Also, Ryan feeds the 90’s vampire, Craig asserts his new stout authority, and we come up with our most excellent podcast idea to date. (To all those Herbs: please apply at abvchicago@gmail.com) Beers Review Blazed Orange (IPA) Ole Knotty (IPA w/ Hobson Oak and Vanilla) Collaboration with Solemn Oath and Miskatonic Galaxy Bowl (DIPA) The Beer That Should Not Be (DIPA) Collaboration with Miskatonic The World’s Colombian Coffee Exposition (Imperial Coffee Stout) |
Wed, 28 March 2018
In the grand order of the pastriarchy, the s’more stout reigns supreme again and again. But are they any good when you remove the hype? We blind taste five s’more-mimicking stouts in order to determine our arbitrary, ooey-gooey rankings. And no joke - the craziest thing happens at the end of this episode when the beers are revealed that completely left us stunned (and one of us very, very sad). The rest of the show is pretty pun-centric, with a lot of talk about different ways to consume or inhale chocolate, and then just an unexpected amount of time talking about Bam Margera. Also there’s some camping trivia that seems tipped in Craig’s favor, and we address the whale in the room. Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya…. Beers Tasted Blindly Short’s Brewing Co. - S’more Stout Pipeworks Brewing - S’more Money, S’more Problems More Brewing Co. - Henna (Batch 3: S’more) Off Color Brewing - Dino S’mores Mikerphone Brewing - S’more Cowbell |
Wed, 21 March 2018
The most beloved and influential American IPAs of the last decade are being churned out in record volume, yet the juicy beers are getting all the hype while diluting the meaning of the very style. We reignite our love for six of the country’s most-revered IPAs that are now all available in grocery stores all over Chicagoland - and we do it in the dark. This blind tasting will once-and-for-all determine our completely arbitrary opinions about the best IPA that even your weird coworkers have heard of - and we are totally surprised by the results. Because we’re Chicagoans, we also spend a lot of time playing, “Is this Anti-Hero??” and expose our general ineptitude at guessing beers. Craig makes a bad suggestion for March Madness, Ryan tries to break the Baba Yaga’s Craig curse, and we talk about our favorite Aerosmith-inspired shooting game. Oh and there’s misheard 311 lyrics, a simple request about a Frasier shirt, a fact check for the English majors, and our memories of sitting out in the Quad. And all this content is stuffed into the shortest episode we’ve released in over a year, so turn your playback speed back down to “1x” and enjoy! Beers Reviewed, Blindly (in order of appearance on the show) Surly Brewing Co. - Furious Bell’s Brewery - Two Hearted Ale Cigar City Brewing - Jai Alai Maine Beer Company - Lunch Ballast Point Brewing Company - Sculpin Revolution Brewing Company - Anti-Hero Thanks to Beer on the Wall for gathering up the freshest beers available to make this show possible! |
Wed, 14 March 2018
Our hearts are wide open and ready to embrace the funk, but will it embrace us back? Yazoo Brewing out of Nashville, Tennessee has been brewing since 2003, but their obsession with making complex sour works of art started in 2012. We have four beers from Yazoo’s funky side thanks to listener Matt Milam, and we can’t help but wonder why they haven’t taken over the world yet. We also are very confused about this year’s Pitchfork lineup and the sudden soaking swell of Wet Daves. Oh...hold on. BRB. Craig’s back from his Taco Bell run. Beers Reviewed Saison de Bois (Saison aged in 20 year old French Oak Bordeaux Red Wine Puncheon casks with mixed cultures of lactobacillus, pediococcus and brettanomyces) State of Funk 2017 Release 3: What’cha Want (A sour blonde ale aged 15 months in a Cabernet barrel with a Passion Fruit secondary fermentation and Pineapples and Cherries for a tertiary fermentation) State of Funk 2017 Release 4: No Fakin’ the Funk (15 month Chardonnay barrel aged mixed culture Saison brewed with Tennessee Oats, Tennessee Wheat and secondary fermentation with Pink Guava) State of Funk 2017 Release 5: Cuff And A Crease (13 month High West Bourbon barrel aged sour brown ale conditioned on Pluots) |
Wed, 7 March 2018
What would you do if you were a brewer at a one barrel brewery with a family and full time job with only a handful of brew days each month? Well if you’re Energy City Brewing, you’d probably open one Saturday a month and drop some exceptional beers on the unsuspecting public of greater Batavia. Thanks to our daddy Ross O’Neill, we have five offerings from homebrewer-turned-pro (and human sentence) David Files that are released in an extremely limited quality to an increasing fanbase. Hear us experience the wonderful and weird that this new-ish outfit has to offer before they scale up to reach a larger audience. We’re cool like that. But then we destroy that façade by talking about flagshops, chocolate IPAs, New England-style beer tiers/tears, and the angel love that is “Swella.” Seriously though, how do you talk to an angel? Beers Reviewed Hop Waka (New England-style IPA) Green to Brown (Imperial American Brown Ale) Hop Nawi (New England-style IPA) Hop Revenge - Anomaly (New England Wild Tropical Stout) Poputchik (Russian Imperial Stout) |
Wed, 28 February 2018
About two years after a buyout from a private equity firm that joined them with crafty canning giants Oskar Blues, Cigar City Brewing is poised to make 2018 a year of expansion. Now that their world-class beers are being faithfully reproduced on a larger scale, it’s due time they entered the crowded - yet thirsty - Chicagoland market. We try four of the canned beers they’re bringing to town and one bottle (that won’t see our shelves) just for the fun of it. You’ll hear about the best brown ale we’ve had in forever, the possible progenitor of pastry stouts, and why no one should consider Jai Alai as “just another IPA.” We also improve the CiceroneⓇ exam, have a break down over beer freshness, trash some bouncy houses, and get nostalgic for five years ago. Plus there’s a great “Florida man…” game that is fun for the whole family (over the age of 21). It’s straight CANarchy on this one. (*slide whistle*) Thanks to Beer on the Wall for providing the four canned beers and for their continued sponsorship! Check them out at wehavegreatbeer.com! Beers Reviewed Guayabera Citra Pale Ale Invasion Pale Ale Maduro Brown Ale Jai Alai IPA Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout (2017) |
Wed, 21 February 2018
Four years ago, no one wanted to hear us drink German styles coming out of Chicago. Now that more local breweries are paying homage to the biers from Deutschland, we reboot the concept with a grittier lineup and go for that hard PG-13 rating. We dive into these styles by reading from a few dusty tomes, and those that are excited by the word “decoction” should take notice. We also plan for our messy divorce, sing a bad song, author some bock beer puns, call for beer copulation, and feel unnatural things about bacon. (And thanks to our first-ever actual sponsor, Beer on the Wall, for providing the doppelbock.)
Beers Reviewed Baderbräu - Five Star Lager (Helles Lager) Piece Brewery & Pizzeria - Dark-N-Curvy (Dunkelweizen) Great Central Brewing Company - Weizenbock Dovetail Brewery - Rauchbier Tighthead Brewing Company - Reformator (Doppelbock) |
Wed, 14 February 2018
Although Arkansas is known for many important things, brewing beer isn’t exactly one of them, as it ranks near the bottom in the nation for breweries per capita. But of course a passionate few are looking to change that reputation as we sample beer from about 1/7th of the breweries in The Natural State. Thanks to listener Chris Butler, we check off our fifteenth state show, and somehow manage to avoid hazy IPAs, sours, or barrel-aged adjunct stouts - it’s an Ozark miracle! We also give you white-hot takes on the new Timberlake record, corny adjuncts, valuable printing errors, and night showering. There’s also two name games around John Grisham and the Duggar family, and we acknowledge the odd juxtaposition of significant Arkansas historical achievements. And we only make one attempt at a pirate joke, thank god. Beers Reviewed Bike Rack Brewing - Urban Trail Golden Ale Bike Rack Brewing - Slaughter Pen IPA New Province Brewing - Fallen Queen Witbier Ozark Beer - Double IPA Lost Forty Brewing - Forest Queen Milk Stout |
Wed, 7 February 2018
Each week for the past two years, we’ve released special mini-episodes for our Patreon supporters that we call Low ABVs. It’s our small way of saying thanks to those who commit even a small amount of money to us each month. To say thank you to everyone else, we’ve compiled some of our favorites that feature both hoppy beers and our irreverent brand of games into a slightly massive release this week. Sure, there are beer reviews. But there’s also all of these tantalizing topics: Ryan’s new career in drums, the world’s most precious prank, playing games with pseudo-celebs, the problem with mass-produced NEIPAs, Craig’s prison future, traumatic childhood movies, a sudden spike in toilet talk, our two degrees of 311, Robitussin lambics, and the absolute best beer label. Thanks to everyone who has listened over these four years, and if you want to support us and gain access to over 26 hours of Low ABVs (with some full “lost” episodes never widely released to the public), go to www.patreon.com/abvchicago and become a valued member of our….uh….Passionate Plenty aka The Cream Team. (The name’s still a work in progress.) Low ABV 78 - Revolution Heroes Issue 3 + Hops on Urban Dictionary Game (starts at 6:59) Low ABV 44 - Hoof Hearted ....Best Fwendz + Race Horse Name Game (starts at 32:26) Low ABV 61 - Narrow Gauge DDH OJ Run + 90’s Timeline Game (starts at 49:30) Low ABV 68 - Goose Island Juicy Double + “One Week” Lyrics Game (starts at 1:12:05) |
Tue, 30 January 2018
This Seattle brewery’s been on our wishlist for quite some time, and listener Raj Shah sent us a heavenly array of Holy Mountain beers to review. Big hops, barrels, and Brett make for some pretty flavorful beer - and almost all of it is impressive and unique. We encounter the ugliest beer we’ve seen in a long time, try to rhyme things with yuzu, share the secret to erudite beer reviews, get mistaken for famous wizard Brian Potion, and express concern over our future beer-related ailments. Put away that copy of EsophaGigli, get the #craigarmy together, and let us be your sherpas on this ascension to Holy Mountain. Beers Reviewed Lesser Ritual (Hoppy Pilsner) Sunroom (Mixed culture saison brewed with Nelson Sauvin and fermented in oak barrels) Astral Projection (Double IPA) Wraith (American wild ale aged in oak with blackberries and raspberries) Midnight Still (2016) (Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels) |
Wed, 24 January 2018
Unknown to most of us Midwesterners but regarded highly in their native Arkansas, Lost Forty Brewing is canning up some stellar takes on a wide variety of styles. We taste five beers from this Little Rock-based brewery thanks to listener Chris Butler. These extremely tasty beers quickly chuck us over the hill and into one of the most far-fetched game ideas Ryan has ever had, in addition to a real rogue’s gallery of diversions: the worst way to ruin your phone, the problem with Spencer’s Gifts, weird sleepovers, the California Raisins, a controversial statement on convertible pants, and a Brazilian butt mystery. #BossBabyisLife Beers Reviewed Logger Rita (Mexican-Style Vienna Lager) Trash Panda (New England Style IPA) Baltic Porter Snake Party (Double IPA) Nighty Night (Imperial Stout aged in cabernet, bourbon, and rye whiskey barrels) |
Wed, 17 January 2018
Our 14th state show is with beers from all over the Hawkeye state, thanks to listener TJ Osborn. We review five beers from five different Iowa breweries and run into our first-ever CrowlerFreak.Ⓡ Ryan gets to relive a little of his college days in Iowa City by drinking too much and wearing an adult-sized onesie; Craig just tries to figure out what the hell we’re drinking. There’s two games on this one that Ryan uses to torture Craig: Name that Slipknot Tune and Dan Gable: Fact or Fiction? And it won’t even cost you a single cheddar cube. Beers Reviewed Barn Town Brewing - Hop Skewer IPA (maybe….) SingleSpeed Brewing Co. - Cocoanut Oat Porter Franklin Street Brewing - Drugstore Cowboy (New England IPA) Lake Time Brewery - Peanut Butter Cup Porter Iowa Brewing Company - Moray (Barrel-aged Scotch Ale) |
Wed, 10 January 2018
In the last six months, four hotly anticipated taprooms threw open their doors for thirsty Chicagoans, and we took a day to visit them. We brought back beers from each spot to review while sharing our early impressions of the new establishments. There’s also some necessary Podcasting 101 (for Kidz), Craig’s melty-face fears, the search for Snackwell’s, and a toilet Ghoulie sighting. So pop open a growler, and have yourself a scoop of The Country’s Second Best Yogurt, in audio form. Beers Reviewed Half Acre Beer Co. Balmoral Tap Room (2050 W Balmoral Ave) - Wallonia (Saison) Spiteful Brewing Taproom (2024 W Balmoral Ave) - Spiteful IPA Off Color Brewing, The Mouse Trap (1460 N Kingsbury St) - Myshka (Russian Serf Stout) Maplewood Brewery & Distillery Lounge (2717 N Maplewood) - Fluffy Bottoms (Lactose Pale Ale) |
Wed, 3 January 2018
The pfabulous brewery with the pfunny name, pFriem Family Brewers out of Hood River, Oregon has been perfecting styles and racking up medals since 2012. We get to try a variety of styles here thanks to head brewer Gavin Lord who sent us a generous package for our reviewing pleasure. And it’s a pleasure, indeed. But we also talk a lot about what Ja Rule has been up to these days, explain both “dankness” and centrifuges with immaculate precision, get the dill out, and receive a terrible nickname from a toddler. Grab your own fish and sit down for a pristine evening with one of the best breweries in the world. Beers Reviewed Pilsner |
Wed, 27 December 2017
The perfect soundtrack to setting your 2017 calendars ablaze over your electric stove, this episode features five beers that are, like, sooooo 2017. We kiss off this s***ty year with a combination of hazy IPAs and sweet/pastry stouts before the World Premiere of our brand new parody song, “We Didn’t Start the Fire (2017 Beer Edition)”. Other topics include Trader Joe’s mysterious Island calligraphy, desecration of a sacred Ullgump, “Pimp My Vape Rig”, and how CBS is Independence Day. Van Damme Milkshake! Anchor Brewing/Trader Joe’s - Joe Joe’s Cookie Stout (Milk Stout) Trinity Brewing - Hype Forager (East Coast Super Juicy Turbid IPA) Sierra Nevada Brewing - Hazy Little Thing IPA Marz Community Brewing - Pastry Boy (Double Milk Stout w/ graham crackers, lactose, cinnamon, and vanilla) Founders Brewing - Canadian Breakfast Stout (2017) (Imperial coffee stout with chocolate aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels) |
Wed, 20 December 2017
A shining star led many wise men and women to our place of recording, with each bearing wondrous homages of beer as we give audio birth to this blessed baby podcast. Actually, it’s just our holiday party with a bunch of great guests and stellar beer. Between handfuls of snacks, we manage to record ourselves drinking five beers (with so, so many more off-mic) and persuade a few brewers and loyal listeners to join in the fun. It’s a grab bag of topics featuring waffles with Santana, international brewpubs, exquisite hop rubbings, the new Maplewood Lounge, Craig’s lubricant secret, dank Chicago food, Three Penis Wine, and the Rapsittie Street Kids. Happy holidays to everyone listening! Segment #1: Jon Naghski (Goose Island Brewhouse) and listener Ross O’Neill drink Goose Island Clybourn’s Night Fights, a “ghost whale” version of their barrel-aged Impervious Stout, with raspberries added. Segment #2: Jude La Rose (Hop Butcher for the World) and listener Neal taste two collaborations with Colorado’s WeldWerks Brewing: Mikerphone’s Juicy Hits, a double IPA with pink guava and blood orange, and Hop Butcher’s Render the Phat, a double IPA with passionfruit. Segment #3: Listeners Beck (@a.girl.rates.beer) and Josh try this year’s Coffee Abraxas from Perennial (courtesy of Don Kasak) and Saint Errant Brewing’s newest IPA, Chapter 1: Citra. |
Wed, 13 December 2017
Few things pair with falling temperatures, snow flurries, and holiday stress as well as big roasty and nutty stouts, so we get cracking on five beers that feature unique nut additions. We learn about the awfulness of black walnuts, give credit to the brewery that started pastry stouts, talk strategy for TMNT II: The Arcade Game, and discover some fascinating facts about nuts through the magic of listicles. There’s also a long bit at the beginning about miniature horses, and we end it with Craig trying to get Ryan to understand fecundity. Love this ugly baby.
Hop Butcher for the World/DryHop Brewers - Milkstachio (Milk Stout w/ cacao nibs and natural pistachio flavor) Pollyanna Brewing - Fun Size (Milk Stout w/ peanut, cacao nib, vanilla beans and sea salt) Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery - Oil of Aphrodite (Imperial Stout w/ black walnuts and dark Belgian candi sugar) Prairie Artisan Ales - Pe-Kan (Imperial Stout w/ vanilla and pecans) Odd Side Ales - Hazel’s Nuts (Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels w/ coffee and natural hazelnut flavor) |
Wed, 6 December 2017
Recorded after our return from this year’s GABF in October, we add to our State Show Series by sampling five beers from five Denver-area breweries, completely neglecting the rest of this beer-rich state. We recap our visits to four of the breweries and take our riffing to new above sea-level heights by talking about cask ales, dubstep pedicabs, a bathroom clown, terrible houseguests, Weird Sal, and your grandma’s unsettling Twitter handle. There’s also a little game of “Weed Strain or Colorado Beer Name?” for which Craig is woefully unprepared. (And don’t forget to look out for Schwimmer Vintage Ales in 2019!) Beers Reviewed Little Machine Beer - Razz Against the Machine (Tart Raspberry Beer) Hogshead Brewery - Lake Lightning (English Pale Ale) Amalgam Brewing - Ascension (Golden Sour Ale) 4 Noses Brewing - ‘Bout Damn Time (American IPA) Cerebral Brewing - Cheat Code (Double IPA) |
Wed, 29 November 2017
Did you strike out on BCBS this year? Is your Black Friday haul picture too pitiful to boastpost to that one Facebook group? Be not dismayed weary barrel-aged beer seekers - we have a whole show of beers that required waiting in no lines to obtain! We found five barrel-aged beers that were both more affordable and available than any Bourbon County variant - and guess what - some of them might be better than that beer that launched a thousand pitched tents. We start this one by reviewing the grisly details of this year’s Black Friday chaos while desperately searching for our roommate Derek. Last we saw him was by the port-o-potties with a paper Dixie cup full of some guy’s warm pour of Bramble, so if you’ve seen him please hit us up. He sometimes answers to DerBear. Beers Reviewed Oskar Blues Brewery - Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy Revolution Brewing - Deth by Cherries Nickel Brook Brewing - Cafe Del Bastardo Moody Tongue - Bourbon Barrel-Aged 12 Layer Cake Dogfish Head Brewery - Oak-aged Vanilla World Wide Stout |
Wed, 22 November 2017
To commemorate our big 200, we ditched all of our high concept ideas to bring it back to the podcast’s origins by having a bottle share of random beers that interested us. But we couldn’t stop there, as this star-studded episode also features a ridiculous number of brewers and industry folks as we shout trivia questions at them during FoBAB. Some of the beers we drink are stellar, one is downright terrible, and the episode-long 90’s trivia game of us versus the brewers is a belligerent cabaret of fun and follies. We also talk about our new podcast project, rolled ice cream, the bomber curse, a little show history, and getting extreme. Whether you’ve been there for 2 episodes or 200, we sincerely thank you for tuning in to our show and hope we can continue to delight your beer-loving ears. And thanks to all of the brewers and industry friends for embarrassing themselves for our twisted pleasure on this show. #CARSTAB Beers Reviewed August Schell Brewing - North Star Collection: Tidal Disruption (Berliner Weisse w/ blackberries) 90’s Trivia Game Subjects (in order of appearance) Jacob Sembrano (Cruz Blanca Brewery & Taqueria) |
Wed, 15 November 2017
As Metal Monkey Brewing in Romeoville gears up for the largest release in their almost two-year history, they decided that we should spread the word on the four barrel-aged versions of their huge Asmodeus stout. Was it a wise idea? For us, it certainly was as the beers are damn enjoyable and lead us to the worst game we’ve ever played on this show. There’s also a 15-minute chat with brewers Dan Camp and Jason Janes about the history of Metal Monkey and how the base stout for this beer was almost deemed completely cursed. Within the rest of this audio word cuvée, you’ll hear some talk of kids shows, Ray Romano, lip smacking, coffee roasting, IHOP, and the wall of Mexican chocolate. Also, screw Bon Jovi.
Beers Reviewed
Barrel Aged Asmodeus (2017) Barrel Aged Asmodeus - Coffee Barrel Aged Asmodeus - Maple Barrel Aged Asmodeus - Mexican Chocolate |
Wed, 8 November 2017
Each fall, Chicago holds one of the best beer fests in the country, so don’t blame us for getting all giddy about it. We talk a lot about what we’re excited for at the 15th Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beers and review beers from some of the better breweries set to pour. Yes, a lot of the FoBAB talk has a bit of a relevancy expiration date, but there’s a lot more general beer and festival discussion as we sip five impressive barrel-aged beers. But also, we answer humanity’s best question, take sides on two late 90s teen movies, reveal Craig’s jelly aversion, and get ready for some hot Jeff-on-Jeff action. Beers Reviewed // FoBABlin’ Segments pFriem Family Brewers - Pruim (Lambic-inspired ale w/ plums aged in French Oak) // Festival Tips Atom Brewing Company - Raspberry Harvest (Oak barrel-aged raspberry ale) // Little known breweries to try Fremont Brewing - Bourbon Barrel Dark Star Coffee Edition (Imperial oatmeal stout) // Known breweries not to miss Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery - Wooden Hell 2017 (Bourbon barrel-aged barleywine) // Locals & potpourri Off Color Brewing - Papillon (Gin barrel-aged wild ale) // Festiquette |
Wed, 1 November 2017
Be cautious beer audio traveler, there’s a dense fog advisory covering this episode as we blindly taste through six New England-style hoppy beers. We pit murky IPAs and DIPAs from Illinois against the opaque juice bombs from other states in a blind faceoff-matchup-tasting thing, because we’ve run out of original ideas. Despite our presumptuous hazy expertise, we are still shocked by a few of the results. Beyond that, we talk about around-the-house jeans, beard tips, prospective beer names, Rummikub, and papayneapples. Now I just kind of want some Jamba Juice.
Beers Tasted Blindly (in order tasted)
|
Wed, 25 October 2017
In what will surely become a Hellish yearly tradition, we get gruesome on this show by trying to break each other by pouring the worst beers we could find. It’s a contest of depravity as we each selected three beers for the other to experience blind, and the results are horrifying. There’s a game aspect to the whole show, wherein punishment points are gathered for a final rankings drinking of The Punishment Cuvée™ (aka The Cuvée of Doom™). If you don’t like two guys being disgusted by a diverse range of terrible beers, then proceed with caution. But if you want to hear us suffer at each other’s hands (kinky!), this will be your favorite episode of this show. Either way, I’m pretty sure we have violated the Geneva Conventions and will be going to forever prison. The Tortuous Collection Craig’s Choices Half Acre Beer Co. - Beer Hates Astronauts (IPA - 2013) Pipeworks Brewing - A Couple Two Tree (Scotch Ale w/ spruce tips and oak spirals) Bell’s Brewery - Eccentric Ale (Herb/Spice Beer - 2011) Ryan’s Choices Founder Brewing Co. - Mango Magnifico (Fruit Beer - 2013) Camo Beer Co. - Camo Black Extra (Malt Liquor) Rinkuškiai - Hell on High (Quad Bock) |
Wed, 18 October 2017
For many years now, vanilla has been the adjunct that takes a beer’s status from gold to platinum, instantly raising its secondary value to ridiculous levels. Not wanting to waste a drop, we invited a bunch of our friends - who brought a whole lot more beer - to taste 15 (!!) vanilla adjunct beers that are mostly stouts. We are joined by MC Johnsen (Worth a Thousand Beers), Matt Johnsen (Horse Thief Hollow), Brent Banks (Saint Errant Brewing), and two loyal listeners and friends - Randy and Daniel. Although some of the beers aren’t solely enhanced by vanilla, we do learn from real brewers how to extract the best vanilla flavor in a brew. But in our long quest to find the best vanilla adjunct beer, we take some diversions to discuss micropancakeries, Craig stink, ice cream safe zones, Tootsie Roll songs, Wafflehouses, sad fruits, and whether or not Ryan should trade a “Prop” for a Nintendo 64 with Goldeneye. (He should.) #VSBS Beers Sampled Avery Brewing - Vanilla Bean Stout 4 Hands Brewing - Madagascar (2015) FiftyFifty Brewing - Eclipse - Vanilla (2016) Hill Farmstead Brewery - Twilight of the Idols (2015) Saint Errant Brewing - Tepoztecatl Transient Artisan Ales - Bark Lord (2017) Mikerphone Brewing - Imperial Smells Like Bean Spirit Vanilla Pipeworks Brewing - The Hyper Dog (Elijah Craig barrels) Transient Artisan Ales - Neckbeard Nectar (2016) Jackie O’s Pub and Brewery - Bourbon Barrel Vanilla and Coffee Bean Dark Apparition (2017) Pipeworks Brewing - The Jones Dog (Bourbon barrel aged) The Bruery - White Chocolate Cycle Brewing - Rare Dos Double Barrel (Vanilla) Goose Island Brewery - Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout (2010) Bottle Logic Brewing - Fundamental Observation (2017) |
Wed, 11 October 2017
Our Fourth Annual GABF Recap Spectacular is bursting with content, as we gathered more interviews and drank more beer than ever before! Recorded from our Denver hotel room, this show - featuring MC Johnsen - serves as our recap of the 36th Great American Beer Festival, as we share our overall highlights, favorite beers, and many interviews from the floor. We also drink two area beers - one from Cerebral and the other from Wiley Roots - to help us hold on to the glory days a little longer. We also recap a few of the related events, with focus on the weekend-long Melvin bacchanalia that penetrated the whole city. Also, hear about the Illinois medal winners while hearing from two of them, including Matt Johnsen, who stayed awake for part of this one. Relive the greatest weekend in beer and get mile high with us.
Beers Reviewed
Cerebral Brewing - DDH Rare Trait (New England IPA) Wiley Roots Brewing & Outer Range Brewing - Neature Walk (Double IPA)
Interviews
Great Notion Brewing (Portland, OR) - Paul Reiter & James Dugan (00:08:39 - 00:11:30) pFriem Family Brewers (Hood River, OR) - Gavin Lord (00:17:00 - 00:24:07) Hi-Wire Brewing (Asheville, NC) - Chris Frosaker (00:33:19 - 00:37:55) Green Cheek Beer Co. (Orange, CA) - Evan Price (00:43:08 - 00:52:41) Prison City Pub and Brewery (Auburn, NY) - Marc Schulz & Ben Maeso (00:57:57 - 01:03:53) Randy Mosher (01:10:43 - 01:22:46) Forager Brewery (Rochester, MN) - Zack Dunbar (01:27:36 - 01:33:20) On Tour Brewing (Chicago, IL) - Mark Legenza & Mark Poffenberger (01:39:14 - 0:1:41:32) Wolf’s Ridge Brewing (Columbus, OH) - Chris Davison (01:45:11 - 01:50:20) |
Wed, 4 October 2017
We broke our self-imposed hop hiatus in spectacular fashion, thanks to listener Mike Rousseau. Five super sexy hoppy cans from the Golden State don’t even stand a chance here, as no drop is left undrank. Thus begins a journey of pure inebriation, as we explore Craig’s doppelgangers, draw up some sick face tattoos, get largely aromatic, and perseverate on label fonts and kerning. There’s a game called “Rap Songs All White Guys Know the Lyrics To”, and we try to hold on to the memory of Pudgy Craig. Long live Pudgy Craig.
Beers Reviewed
Fieldwork Brewing - Sea Farmer (IPA with sea salt and grapefruit) Fieldwork Brewing - Pulp (IPA) Fieldwork Brewing - King Citra (Double IPA) Monkish Brewing/The Answer - Red Beans and Rice Didn’t Miss Her (Double IPA) Bottle Logic Brewing - START: Konami Code (Double IPA) |
Wed, 27 September 2017
There is a ridiculous amount of options for the Chicagoland beer buyer, but that won’t stop five more established breweries from carving out some shelf space! We try five beers from these new arrivals to try and determine how they will play to the Chicagoland consumer - and some are going to be hard to overlook. We also try to be a beaming light of beer positivity despite our cynical proclivities, talk at length about the proper definition of a New England IPA, discuss the power of the mixed six pack advantage, and play a game called Know Your SKUs! There’s some prognostication about Twenty Kuitteen (and Twenty Schwarty), Craig’s problem with yogurt, and Ryan’s joy-diverting beer-clickbait article rant. Grab a new beer, and let us eat that slime ham for you. Beers Reviewed Alaskan Brewing Amber Sun King Wee Mac Scottish Ale Trinity Brewing Seven Day Sour Epic Brewing Citralush New England Style IPA Perrin Brewing Unfinished Business (Barrel-Aged Japanese Emperor Stout) |
Wed, 20 September 2017
The third show in our own Jersey Trilogy (thanks to listener Mike Bobal), we finally get to try more from a brewery that’s blown us away at festivals in the past - Kane Brewing. We have three hoppy cans, two potent bottles, and two irreverent trivia games on this episode as we spiral towards a drunken blackout. Craig extols the majesty of bunting, Ryan works on his interview technique, and we both do a little ghost hop hunting. And don’t listen to this one alone in a room with your vacuum because it could be pretty awkward. Beers Reviewed Sneakbox (American Pale Ale) Head High (IPA) Overhead (Double IPA) Morning Bell (Imperial Coffee Porter) Vengeful Heart (American Barleywine) |
Wed, 13 September 2017
We’ve been smitten with The Mitten for as long as we’ve loved beer, because Michigan just might be the best beer state in the Midwest. We stick to the western coast of MI as Craig gathered four interviews and five beers for this 11th stop in our ongoing State Show series. You’ll hear from John Lustina from Beer Church about how sometimes a good concept needs to be rushed; David Coyle from Arclight on their hopes for Chicago distribution; David Cockell from Watermark on how his biochemistry degree helps him keep yeast happy; and Mitch Ermatinger from Speciation on deriving character from patience. We also do our best to review these beers before Ryan succumbs to death by heartburn and before the new Pudgy Craig gets audibly winded. There’s also talk of communion wafer smells, cheesecake love, and an update on Ryan’s brewery concept. If you seek a pleasant state show, listen about you. Beers Reviewed
Arclight Brewing - Soursmith Strawberry (Sour Ale aged w/ strawberries) Watermark Brewing - Wild Vibes (Sour Imperial Stout) Speciation Artisan Ales - Incipient (Tequila barrel-aged American Wild Ale w/ blood orange, guava, limes, and salt) Perrin Brewing - No Rules Vietnamese Porter (Imperial Porter aged in bourbon barrels w/ coconut and turbinado sugar) Interview Segments Beer Church’s John Lustina (00:09:08 - 00:23:37) Arclight’s David Coyle (00:30:46 - 00:38:00) Watermark’s David Cockell (00:47:16 - 00:57:00) Speciation’s Mitch Ermatinger (01:10:38 - 01:23:23) |
Wed, 6 September 2017
This episode will, once and for all, determine which state is the greatest on Earth: Wisconsin or Illinois? We find sort-of equivalent beers in pretty specific styles from each state to vie for our arbitrary love. This episode is soft dystopia for soft adults, with mentions of FroBAB, the ReinheitsgeBot, and drunken Cinnabon. One beer leaves us almost completely speechless, and another blurs style lines unlike any we’ve ever experienced. We also drop some advice on must-hit beer stops on a Chicago visit, and get confused over popular songs from like 4 years ago. It’s brats vs. Polish sausages; cheese curds vs. deep dish; cheese heads vs. ....Ditka mustaches? Whatever it is, it’ll be interesting. Beers Faced Buckledown Fritzicuffs vs. New Glarus Hometown Blonde Hubbard’s Cave El Zacatón vs. Untitled Art/3 Sons Oaxacan Stout Goose Island Brasserie Blanc vs. Funk Factory Cervino |
Wed, 30 August 2017
Taking a much-needed vacation from hops, we let our taste buds travel to five different continents to sample beers from around the world. In addition to an interview with Pete from Garage Project, this episode contains a valuable lesson about getting out of America every once in awhile. How long can we keep up a shaky plane metaphor? What do we have to say about esophageal displeasure, hotshipping with a volcano, and carbonated gravy? Well, grab your passport, hop on the Turbulence, and find out with us! Beers Reviewed Garage Project [New Zealand] - Bastard Rye (Imperial Rye Blond aged in bourbon barrels) Ölvisholt Brewery [Iceland] - Lava (Smoked Imperial Stout) Kiuchi Brewery [Japan] - Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale (Belgian Strong Pale Ale) Way Beer [Brazil] - Sour Me Not Caju (Sour Ale) Tusker [Africa] - Lager |
Wed, 23 August 2017
While many of their friends were starting breweries and gaining notoriety, Brent Banks and Ryan Jacobs were honing their craft as home brewers while juggling jobs in finance and the medical field. At the urging of their comrades, the pair finally decided to go pro and start Saint Errant Brewing. Currently, they contract brew out of the Mikerphone space in Elk Grove Village, and as of mid-August, they released their first (solo) offering, Strange Loops, in bottles and kegs. We sat down with Brent and Ryan to taste through several recent brews and test batches to discover that starting a brewery in 2017 isn’t so crazy when the beers taste this excellent. We cover a lot here including the difficulties of beer names, the significance of yeast variables, Chicago’s perplexing lack of love for sours, where to shop for the best peaches, and how those Vermont trips with Fitz helped them dial in their New England style IPA recipes. (Shout out to Julio Rosenstein!) Beers Sampled Get It Together (Double IPA with mangos/collaboration with Mikerphone) |
Wed, 16 August 2017
From the tip of New Jersey’s elbow, Carton Brewing makes beers sometimes born of unusual inspiration that combine culinary artistry with just the right amount of whimsy. Listener Mike Bobal sent us six Carton beers for this one, and the flavors are as big as the alcohol content. We talk about Carton’s namesake leader Augie and his prolific internet presence while tasting through beers that steeply rise in ABV pretty early in the show. Naturally, this leads to asides about drunken oaring, Chupa Chups, sex stuff with oranges, proper nachos, and Craig’s monogamous cereal life. We also hop on the CanniBus to Weed Church before everything goes all orange on us. Don’t put this one in a box! (Because that would be physically impossible as this is a digital medium.) Beers Reviewed Wit Whale (Hoppy Wit Beer) |
Wed, 9 August 2017
Ignoring the fact that there are plenty of beers out there that relegate hops to a simple supporting ingredient, we again indulge our insatiable appetites for chronic hop-led tonics by tasting out five super fresh local IPAs and DIPAs. Are we getting too old for this sh*t? Not likely! We do have a hell of a time trying to find critical points that separate these all-hazy all-juicy hop cocktails before they disappear from our glasses. And because our usually-rich lexicon of descriptors (ha!) is limited to a few keywords again and again, we bring back the fan-favorite episode-spanning game Beers Against Humanity to force us to shoehorn dirty and terrible phrases into our normally pristine and knowledgeable beer analysis (HA!) Give in to your temptations, and let the hops take over. (And tell ‘em Bruce Candles sent you.) Beers Reviewed Forbidden Root - Radio Swan (Rye IPA) |
Wed, 2 August 2017
We love hops - and more importantly, our listening audience loves hops too. So to keep pushing those download numbers higher, we take our palates to the limit with six random hoppy beers. We talk about the wacky world of beer pricing, the shelf life of hazy beers, and the best brewery that Chicagoans aren’t talking about. If those hot takes aren’t enough to get your download fingers twitching with anticipation, then we also tackle the important issues like which deli meat is the stickiest, and why Joey Pants is the best, and what are the most lethal Slip N’ Slides? Plus, Craig trademarks his beer gym idea, and we set straight something very important about Gushy. Thanks for the clicks! #hazybeer #hazyipa #KregTightjacket #LilTeashat #BobUecker Beers Reviewed Marz Community Brewing Co. - Jungle Boogie (pale wheat ale w/ rooibos tea) |
Wed, 26 July 2017
It’s been a year and some months since Chris Betts made Transient Artisan Ales not-so transient by opening up a brewery and taproom in Bridgman, Michigan. We take the short jaunt around the tip of Lake Michigan to catch up with Chris over some of his world-class beers and talk about some of the big things coming for the brewery. We learn about the brewery’s expansion plans, the truth about the shelf life of hazy IPAs, what he’s doing with a barleywine, why people criticising some of his prices are dead wrong, and how being surrounded by wineries has helped his transition into Michigan. There’s also talk of the future of contract brewing, the odd parameters people use to evaluate beer, the secret to conditioning hazy hoppy beers, the way he avoids lambic faux pas, the odd charm of the Norway beer scene, the influence of local flora on his Michigan Wild Ales, and the possibility of more Transient meads. And stay until the very end for some exciting news about the future of Transient in Chicago. Just don’t mind all the bungholes. Beers Sampled Czech Yourself (Czech-style Pilsner)
Direct download: ABV_Chicago_183_Transient_Artisan_Ales.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:06am CDT |
Wed, 19 July 2017
Two Illinois brewing traditionalists inspired us to dig deeper into lagers and hefeweizens, so we pitted a bunch against each other in a goofy Crossfire showdown. Riggs Beer Co. out of Urbana and Dovetail Brewery out of Chicago know the German way and have expertly paid homage to tradition at their year-old breweries. But that wasn’t enough as we brought in other examples of each style, either American or Bavarian. We get caught up in the crossfire as we also lagerjam our way into another potpourri of pop culture word association that you would expect from a typical episode of this show. Tradition, y’all.
Beer Combatants //
Lagergeddon:
Riggs Beer Co. - American Lager Surly Brewing Co. - #Merica! Dovetail Brewery - Lager Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan - Weihenstephaner Original
Hefeweight Championship/HefeRock:
Riggs Beer Co. - Hefeweizen New Glarus Brewing Co. - Bubbler Dovetail Brewery - Hefeweizen Ayinger Privatbrauerei - Ayinger Bräuweisse |
Wed, 12 July 2017
From the basement of an Italian restaurant just outside of St. Louis, Narrow Gauge has started to gain a name in the Midwest and beyond as purveyors of great hazy IPAs - and other outstanding beers, as we find on this episode. We review four crowlers of beer that Craig schlepped back from a recent trip to Missouri, and the mix of quantity and quality has us hurtling towards shambling inebriation. We try to find Narrow Gauge’s place in the current hazy beer wars, and wax philosophical about the Perception of Aqueosity and the Arbitrarity of Rankings. Ryan introduces two new segments, and Craig will just put anything in his mouth. Beers Reviewed FloMO Pils Fallen Flag IPA Cloud City IPA Old Town Porter |
Wed, 5 July 2017
Mike Pallen opened the doors on the tasting room for his new Elk Grove Village brewery back in March, and the rarest thing - besides some of his beers - is finding an open seat at the bar. We sat down with Mike at the new location to dive deep into what makes Mikerphone Brewing something like a phenomenon. And you’ll find out why opening a tasting room was the best thing Mikerphone has ever done. Over many bottles, we discuss the New England styles that have helped make a name for the brand, how he intends to try and fill the demand for Smells Like Bean Spirit (while creating more demand for some upcoming, crazy barrel-aged versions), the future of packaging for Mikerphone, how he uses Untappd for QC, his plans on establishing a flagship beer or two, what’s to come with distribution of his highly-coveted beers, and much more. At some point, we lose sight of the whole “interview” part of the show, and Mike just slides right into the 3rd host chair by joining us on diversions about New Glarus, Easter eggs on labels, music references, Skittles, and the local “gentleman’s club.” So, open up a few hazy ones because we hope you enjoy this longplayer even a fraction as much as we enjoyed recording it. Beers Featured Beautiful Oblivion (Imperial Stout w/ almonds, cocoa nibs, & vanilla) DDH IPA ABC BBD (Double Dry-Hopped IPA with Mosaic and Motueka Hops) Spacebar (Galaxy-Hopped DIPA) Educated Fool (Double Dry-Hopped Double IPA with Ekuanot Hops) Vinyl Frontier (Lactose Double IPA w/ El Dorado Hops Creamsicle IPA (collaboration with Untitled Art)
Direct download: ABV_Chicago_180_Mikerphone_Brewing_Live.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:22am CDT |
Wed, 28 June 2017
Whether it’s for a barbecue or a beach, choosing the right refreshing beer for your summer outing is more daunting than ever with so many choices. So, for your benefit, we drink eight Chicago-area beers that are built to pulled from ice and crushed. (For safety purposes, we must advise against you literally crushing beers, unless you own a CraigBot.) We also spend a lot of time with Summer Craig, get ball-punched by Peanut Tillman, conceptualize some mayo beers, bring down the PunGate, push for #NoMoLoMaNoMa, put out a can date mandate, talk about bad Untappd reviews, and slingshot some hams. So, it’s basically par for the course on an eight beer episode. Grab your longboard! Beers C-C-C-C-CRUSHED Middle Brow Beer Co. - Copacetic (cream ale with popcorn, lime, and peppers) Temperance Beer Co. - Greenwood Beach (blonde ale with pineapple) Pollyanna Brewing - Summerly (wheat ale with raspberries) 5 Rabbit Cervecería - Paletas Guava (wheat ale with guava and pink peppercorns and tarragon) Hop Butcher for the World - AleMerica the Beautiful (pale ale) Moody Tongue - Peeled Grapefruit Pilsner BuckleDown Brewing - Grapefruit Belt & Suspenders (IPA w/ grapefruit)
Direct download: ABV_Chicago_179_Chicago_Cooler_Beers.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:11am CDT |
Wed, 21 June 2017
Thanks to listener Mike Bobal, we are able to drop another pin in our map as we tackle the Garden State. We review five beers from five different New Jersey breweries while trying not to offend every single person in that state. Also on the agenda, we try to refresh our tired review language, experience extreme visibility, meet Professor Nosebody, and talk about cat food with cheese in it. There’s a trivia game comparing one of Jersey’s favorite sons to a lunatic cult leader, but we also talk a little Springsteen. And the beers are tasty enough to send this boat hurtling towards the Jersey Shore. Beers Reviewed Magnify Brewing - Low Visibility Pale Ale Jersey Girl Brewing - Rake Breaker IPA Carton Brewing - Shinshu (cream ale with miso) Double Nickel Brewing - Marbled Buffalo (bourbon barrel-aged rye beer) Kane Brewing - Christian Patrick (imperial stout) |
Wed, 14 June 2017
Starting back in 2005, Jackie O’s has grown from a brewpub to include a production brewery, bakeshop, and farm. Recently, Craig went down to Athens, Ohio and recorded about 20 minutes with the head brewer of the production brewery, Seth Morton, before bringing back a stash of beer for us to review. We try six of their excellent beers, three of which are barrel-aged, and we get completely SlamJammed. There’s also some kettle sour crankery, Dope Ass Doilies, piney beers, and a barleywine intervention. Come on and get SlamJammed.
Beers Reviewed
Berliner Weisse Oro Negro (imperial stout w/ cacao, habanero, oak, cinnamon, and vanilla) Bourbon Barrel Dark Apparition (Russian imperial stout) Pockets of Sunlight (mixed culture saison w/ honey, coriander, and lemon verbena) Bourbon Barrel Black Maple (imperial porter with maple syrup) Bourbon Barrel Brick Kiln Nuts! (English-style barleywine w/ six different nut varieties) |
Wed, 7 June 2017
Over the course of a decade, DESTIHL Brewery has been extending their reach from their home in Central Illinois to sending their cans and bottles to nineteen different states. On this show, we sample an array of what they do: common styles, canned sours, and award-winning stouts. Craig sets us on a path of maximum distraction from the start, but we still manage to spin out some beer reviews before getting just surprisingly snockered. There’s also talk of Summer Craig’s return, banana perfection, new Greek yogurt flavors, and naughty 90’s HBO memories. Spin spin spin spin spin spin.
Beers Reviewed
Weissenheimer Hefeweizen Wild Sour Series: Blueberry Gose Wild Sour Series: Synchopathic (dry-hopped sour) Amra Mango IPA Dosvidanya (Bourbon barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout) Dosvidanya Rye Barrel (Rye whiskey barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout)
Thanks to DESTIHL for sending us the Amra, Weissenheimer, and Blueberry Gose! |
Wed, 31 May 2017
We add another pin on our map with a Pennsylvania show that rings our damn Liberty bells so hard that rankings have rarely been drunker. We have five beers to review from Craig’s travels, and a brief interview with East End Brewing’s Brendan Benson. The vibes are good, as we goof on podcast names, Nic Cage, and the Friends timeline. Also, Craig does poorly in two PA-centric trivia games, and Ryan reveals his greatest invention idea. (For the dedicated listeners, play a game of “find all the continuity errors” as we recorded this one back in mid-April, yet have referenced it in many already-released episodes!)
Beers Reviewed
Brew Gentlemen - General Braddock’s IPA Forest & Main Brewing - Solaire (Saison) Lavery Brewing - 1847 Rye Stout East End Brewing - Gratitude (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Barleywine) Bullfrog Brewery - Le Roar Grrrz Aardbei (Gueuze-style with strawberry) |
Wed, 24 May 2017
We’re not quite ready to let another Chicago Craft Beer Week go, so we grabbed five new-ish canned beers from Chicago breweries to review. This show also serves as our Beer Under Glass festival recap - at least, what we can remember about it. Five highly-drinkable beers and two slightly hungover hosts - what else can we say?
Beers Reviewed
Hopewell Brewing - First Lager Around the Bend Beer Co. - Vera (Pistachio cream ale) Hop Butcher for the World - Grid (APA) Finch Beer Co. - Plumage (IPA) Whiner Beer Co. - Miaou (Blended barrel-aged Belgian wheat) |
Wed, 17 May 2017
Bring your raincoat and galoshes as there’s bound to be some moisture as we sip six DrippyIPAs© on this episode. We’re simply sodden with delicious hoppy ales, but one beer is the biggest shocker we’ve had in a long time. We also revisit our odd time at the Chicago Beer Classic on Soldier Field, long for a visit to St. Louis, relive Craig’s car accident, pray to Pope Meltivus IV, get horses to talk, and discuss all the 90s commercials that matter. (Sorry to Matt Pinfield on this one.) Beers Reviewed Shared - J Dub Fan Club (dry-hopped pale ale w/ passion fruit) Perennial Artisan Ales - Cave Torch (dry-hopped IPA w/ oranges) Mikerphone Brewing - I Want My IPA Tired Hands Brewing - Drippy Church (oat IPA w/ orange) Bearded Iris Brewing - Double Scatterbrain (double IPA) Transient Artisan Ales - Honeystone (double IPA w/ honey) |
Wed, 10 May 2017
Sweet creamy delights fill our mouths on this engagement as we savor five adjunct-heavy milk stouts, and most are true to their intentions. It’s a roguish gallery of dessert flavors featuring coconut, chocolate, peanut butter, strawberry, cacao nibs, vanilla, cinnamon, peppers, and orange zest. We announce our big buyout, Craig’s bad creamer decision, proper jelly application, ice cream strategies, and a disturbingly erotic beer label. Bite the Bubble Tape. (BT2) Beers Consumed The Brew Kettle - Kitka (Chocolate Coconut Milk Stout) TailGate Beer - PB&J Milk Stout Saugatuck Brewing - Neapolitan Milk Stout 4 Hands Brewing - Horchata Chocolate Milk Stout Middle Brow Beer - The Milk-eyed Mender (imperial milk stout made with oranges, peppers, cacao nibs, cinnamon & vanilla) |
Wed, 3 May 2017
For many, wheat beers are summer. So we get tired of waiting for the weather to turn and initiate summer on this episode with five wheat beers from five Midwestern states. Which summer wheat should be on your grocery list? Hear our arbitrary opinions! We find renewed love with some of these wheats, and at least one surprising disappointment along the way. HAKAS! Beers Reviewed Bell’s Brewery - Oberon New Glarus Brewing - Dancing Man Wheat Boulevard Brewing - 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat 3 Floyds Brewing - Gumballhead Revolution Brewing - Sun Crusher |
Wed, 26 April 2017
Hot and ready at your ear doors, this episode is all about the Pizza Boy - Brewing, that is. Craig delivers another tasty lineup with five beers from his visit to this Enola, PA brewery. Of course this brewery awakens our appetites and we talk a bit about pizza and breakfast, with a serious diversion into ska. Also, find out Craig’s signature beer-transforming review trick before we get sneak-up drunk on this one. Put it on the pizza! Beer Slices Citra Pils Moonstomp (Berliner weisse) Sunny Side Up (Bourbon barrel aged stout w/ coffee) Arck Angel - Peaches (Double IPA w/ peaches) FLEMboyant (Flanders inspired wild ale aged in oak) |
Wed, 19 April 2017
Continuing our intermittent liquid tour of the nation, the Buckeye State is the focus of this one with five beers from five Ohio breweries. Craig regales us with tales of his recent travels through Ohio, and he nailed the lineup here with five damn tasty brews. We also share a chat Craig had with Black Cloister Brewing founder (and Lutheran pastor) Tom Schaeffer to learn more about the divine inspirations that led to the opening of his rising Toledo brewery. Also, there’s an odd dual game of trivia, a plea for malt in IPAs, Craig’s two tongues, and Ryan’s conflicted barleywine feelings. We’re monking our asses off over here! Beers Reviewed Yellow Springs Brewery - Captain Stardust (Saison) Hoof Hearted Brewing - Hot Probz (Double dry-hopped pale ale) Rhinegeist Brewery - Penguin (Blonde stout) The Brew Kettle - White Rajah (IPA) Black Cloister Brewing - Chained Dog (Belgian strong golden ale) (Black Cloister/Tom Schaeffer interview starts at 57:29)
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Wed, 12 April 2017
Hailing from Toronto, Canada, Left Field Brewery makes an array of beers you can suck down alongside nine innings of baseball. The beers lead off strong and hardly let up, as we’re all too happy to bat around some bad baseball metaphors as we sample. The talk is a bit White Sox-centric at times, with Craig’s review of the impressive new Craft Kave (ugh) at Guaranteed Rate Field (UGH). But there’s also talk of racist Spencer’s, Bud’s new ad slogan, Ryan’s glory days, and a shout out to the Diverticuguys. And don’t forget our Saisonathon at Pub Royale is coming up on Monday, May 22nd - it’s going to be a grand run slam! A real home dinger! Lineup Maris* Pale Ale Anniversary No. 4 Saison Prospect Single Hop IPA (Hallertau Blanc) Squeeze Play Sour Ale (w/ blood orange and cherries) Eephus Oatmeal Brown Ale
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Wed, 5 April 2017
Chicagoans have long been lucky jerks to be able to call Half Acre their own, and now with the mysterious new Heavy Gem project between Half Acre and Tired Hands, it just got even better. We sample some newer Half Acre offerings before trying to get to the bottom of the mystifying Heavy Gem and their obfuscating, trippy website. We also talk about the awfulness that is Hawk Harrelson, a literal Craig situation, and our upcoming Saisonathon event at Pub Royale on May 22nd. (Saisonathongs not included.)
Half Acre - Tuna (Extra Pale Ale) Half Acre - Double Daisy Cutter (Double Pale Ale) Half Acre - Big Hugs Salted Chocolate Espresso (Imperial Stout) Heavy Gem - Humanimal Stasis (Double IPA) Heavy Gem - Virga (Ale fermented in oak barrels) |
Fri, 31 March 2017
The show is on the road for this one as we dropped into four Chicago breweries that are all under a year old to chat with brewers and procure some beers to review. Our first stop is at Pilsen’s yet-to-open Lo Rez Brewing to talk with Dave and Kevin about how their tech background led them to opening a non-mainstream brewery focused on malt-forward and Belgian-style brews. Our second stop is at On Tour Brewing on the Near West side to take in their gorgeous taproom and chat with the two Marks about how they both found themselves back in their home state after years away. Our third visit is with our old friend Jacob Sembrano at Cruz Blanca Cervecería to sample styles ranging from culinary-inspired lagers to big imperial stouts and talk about his plans for bottling beers and their upcoming first anniversary. Our final stop is at the German-inspired Dovetail Brewing to talk with Hagen and Bill about how every step of their process pays homage to tradition but creates some of the most stunning clean beers in the city - at least until they unleash their Lambic-ish beers in the future. In addition to all that, we return to the bunker to review four growlers/crowlers and confront Craig’s Zelda obsession, among other things. A huge thank you goes out to everyone that helped make this show possible and spent time with us on a whirlwind day of drinking - Chicago’s beer scene has never been richer with great beer and generous people.
Tour Stops (Interview & Review Segments) Lo Rez Brewing (00:04:50 - 00:27:34) On Tour Brewing (00:27:35 - 00:49:00) Cruz Blanca Cervecería (00:50:54 - (01:15:10) Dovetail Brewing (01:15:11 - 01:41:16) Beers Reviewed Lo Rez Brewing - Dæmon (Belgian Golden Strong) On Tour Brewing - Gin Barrel-Aged It Takes Two (IPA) Cruz Blanca Cervecería - Larger Than Lager (Double Red Lager) Dovetail Brewing - Hefeweizen |
Wed, 29 March 2017
As a peace offering while we ready some hot new content for this week, here’s a compilation of our favorite Low ABV episodes that were previously only available to our Patreon Patrons. We review five beers in total over four segments, and only one is included because you like to hear us suffer. As is the case with all Low ABVs, we spend a significant time gleefully off topic whilst scrapping together passable beer reviews. Hear tales and tangents about my boy Peter Gabriel, Sunny D, bomber fatigue, awful Chicago nicknames, the letter X, and the only (most important) rule at Craig’s brothel. To get a whole lot more stuff like this (and more!), become a Patron by visiting patreon.com/abvchicago to help keep us listener supported! Thank you! Episodes Compiled: Low ABV 16 - Mikerphone The Get-Fresh Flow (Recorded 7/6/16) Low ABV 21 - Hop Butcher Paris on the Prairie (Recorded 9/16/16) Low ABV 24 - Heady Topper vs. 2x4 (Recorded 11/4/16) Low ABV 35 - Stone Chocolate Coffee Enjoy By 2.14.17 (Recorded 2/10/17) |
Wed, 22 March 2017
The general beer aging debate rages on, but barleywines have long been a staple for cellar keepers with the promise of better beer always further ahead. For this episode, we take on a murder of aged barleywines, chiefly American in style, often barrel-aged, and mostly just downright unpleasant. Perhaps we were influenced by our Bracket Fever, but this show brings a lot of lousy old hops and sickly sweet malts, one completely flat beer, and an overflowing Dumpy the Dump Bucket. We do sample some cheese pairings while also discussing Craig’s Shameful Bed Cheese Incident, faded cops, and what killed off the elders of craft beer. Science!
Beers Tasted (For Science)
New Glarus Barley Wine (2012) Central Waters Kosmyk Charlie’s Y2K Catastrophe Ale (2013) Founders Bolt Cutter (2012) Dark Horse Monster 29 (2012) 3 Floyds Barrel-Aged Behemoth (2013) Flossmoor Station Fireside Chat (2013) Stone Old Guardian (2010) Firestone Walker Sucaba (2014) |
Wed, 15 March 2017
Get ready to journey through time with a nearly 200 year-old Belgian brewery on an episode that took us two weeks to record! Rodenbach makes some of the best sour beer in the world that is often overlooked in favor of those U.S. acid bombs that garner high trade value. We try to figure out why the hell that is, to little avail. But we sample five absolutely perfect beers here, and they give us all the mouthfeels. We also talk about when it’s right to start macerating, breaking down beer borders, the J-man (and the K-man) and that Magic Eraser life. But seriously, THAT MOUTHFEEL. Beers Reviewed Rodenbach Original Rodenbach Grand Cru Rodenbach Vintage 2014 Rodenbach Caractère Rouge Rodenbach Alexander |
Wed, 8 March 2017
It’s all about those juicy hops on this episode, as we review five beers from larger breweries looking to capitalize on the current juice obsession in hoppy beers. It’s a perilous summit to the top, but we arbitrarily agree on which beer should be on your grocery list. We go over the many other large breweries making similar beers, talk a lot about mixed 12-packs and Costco, and show off our sick snowboard tricks. Also, Craig is a mothball-eating garbage boy who wants a musket. Just to summarize. BEERS MOUNTED Stone Ripper Pale Ale Samuel Adams Rebel Juiced IPA New Belgium Citradelic Odell Drumroll APA Two Brothers Pinball Pale Ale |
Wed, 1 March 2017
Revolution has done something downright heroic for hoppy beer fans by assembling a mixed 12-pack of their Hero beers that will see variations as a year-round release. We crack into a fantastic foursome along with one rogue Hero and rank them all. We speculate on some hero backstories, imagine the Mt. Rushmore of Chicago beer, and spin the bottle with Randy Mosher. There’s also Craig’s comic book game, nostalgia for Buy the Weigh, and a hot take on Batman Returns. My piney sense is tingling.
Heroes Reviewed
Anti-Hero Galaxy Hero Amarillo Hero Local Hero Mosaic Hero |
Wed, 22 February 2017
We pop five beers from New Hampshire’s Deciduous Brewing, and it gets a little Gushyⓒ. But the beers are impressive all around, and we finally learn what a “pLambic” is. The tangents are frequent and our talking points include wrestling and the SLAMbic, bizarre aroma descriptors, fruit soup, the Tannic Suggestion, a blood orange crime, Lap Gushy, and Craig’s take on the RenFair. Oh no, the growler boys are back in town. Thanks to David Leshinski for providing beers on this one! Beer Reviewed Auranja (pLambic with oranges) Auroral Batch 4 (Berliner weisse with blood orange and lychee) Nelson Sylph (Farmhouse ale) Renascence (Porter) Predestination (Blended sour aged in armagnac casks) |
Wed, 15 February 2017
Made to cellar and improve with age, this episode was recorded back in 2014, and we release it now to coincide with Odell’s entrance into the Chicago market. The younger version of us tastes through seven (!) different beers from the Fort Collins brewery, and we are pleasantly surprised throughout. There’s also some “interviews”, history on the brewery, very old sours, Craig sniffing plastic, Four Loko, and some good old boat eating. Honestly it just feels good to live back in 2014 again for just a little bit. Do we have to leave?\ Beers Reviewed Loose Leaf (Session Pale Ale) St. Lupulin (Extra Pale Ale) 90 Shilling (Scottish Ale) 5 Barrel (Pale Ale) New Belgium/Odell - Hop Kitchen #6: FOCOllaboration (Pale Ale) IPA Myrcenary (Double IPA) |
Wed, 8 February 2017
Eight years of Bourbon County tells an interesting story about Goose Island as a brewery, so we have the guy who is literally writing the book on it join us for a vertical tasting. Josh Noel from the Chicago Tribune helps us nitpick our way through eight years of BCBS. There’s Goose info galore including the backlash over Josh’s sleuthing on the beer’s true origins, and how the brewery went from nearly out of business to being the juggernaut it is. You’ll also hear about the debate over aging beers, Craig the vanilla locomotive, Loggins Run, and actual news about Josh’s book release date. Don’t live life two ounces at a time, man! Years of Bourbon County Brand Stout Tasted, Vertically 2009 (22 oz.) 2010 (12 oz.) 2011 (12 oz.) 2012 (12 oz.) 2013 (12 oz.) 2014 (12 oz.) 2015 (16.9 oz.) bottled 11/9/15 2016 (16.9 oz.) |
Wed, 1 February 2017
Summer Craig is back and ready to fire up the boat and mix up some cocktails! Actually, it’s Ryan’s stupid idea to put a bunch of fruit in these five suburban-brewed beers that were all very good before we screwed with them. We review and rank these diverse offerings, and we also get to know Afterthought Brewing well before they are an actual working brewery: brewer/owner Mike Thorpe endures a brief interview with Craig to tell us what we can expect out of Lombard from Afterthought in the (hopefully) near future. We also muddle it up with the worst Zelda joke, a shocking theory about blood oranges, and other whatnots. Summer Craig, I still believe in you! Beers Reviewed Hailstorm & Imperial Oak - LMFAgOse (gose w/ watermelon, blueberry, and salt) Afterthought Brewing - Saison with citrus zest (mixed culture saison aged in oak) Noon Whistle - Cozmo Orange (pale ale with oranges) Middle Brow Beer Co. - Show Me Love (blonde farmhouse aged in wine barrels w/ raspberries) Buckledown & Haymarket - BA Awkward Exchange (dark Belgian ale with blackberry juice aged in bourbon barrels)
Direct download: ABV_Chicago_158_Suburban_Fruit_Basket.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:41am CDT |
Wed, 25 January 2017
Over the last half-dozen years, Amherst, Wisconsin’s Central Waters Brewing have released a special barrel-aged imperial stout for their anniversary at their annual party. Craig is a loyal attendee, so we have a five-year vertical to tackle with the help of Tom, Jack, and Nick from The Hop Review. Along with trying to discern the differences in each vintage, we talk to the Hop Review guys about some of their favorite interviews and what they’re excited about in Chicago for 2017. We also address Craig’s Mosaic blindness, relive the worst Dark Lord Day experience ever, almost make contact with rock royalty, and finally figure out how to capture the elusive Mosh. Vintages Reviewed 1414 Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen
Direct download: ABV_Chicago_157_Central_Waters_Anniversary.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:20am CDT |
Wed, 18 January 2017
Good news to all our future expats, Toronto’s Bellwoods Brewery is making outstanding light hoppy beers that are bulging with deliciousness. Thanks to listener Christopher Nyren, we sample four fresh brews that cross-check us with flavor. Craig gives a brief overview of Canada’s confusing beer laws and liquor sales, then quizzes Ryan in a round of “Dead or Canadian?” There’s also a Ghostbusters lullaby, proper beer presentation, schnapps talk, Craig’s French mishaps, some mall walking, and the worst Afroman album ever. Beers Reviewed Stay Classy (Light Pale Ale) Wizard Wolf (Pale Ale) Jutsu (Pale Ale) Jelly King (Dry-Hopped Sour Ale)
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Wed, 11 January 2017
Bring your bendy straw, we’re dipping into some juicy, hazy New England-style IPAs made locally. Whether it’s an actual style or not, stores can hardly keep any brewery’s NEIPA in stock - so we evaluate seven of them in a blind tasting. We share everything we know about this trend, say “creamy” a few hundred times, and somewhat fail at recognizing Mosaic. There’s some shoe-eating, retired slogans, Sunny D, and our vow to become brother husbands. Disappear into a glass with us, and let your juice loose. I don’t know what the hell that means. Beers Tasted Blindly
#1 Transient Artisan Ales - The Juice is Loose DIPA #2 Maplewood Brewery - Son of Juice IPA #3 Forbidden Root - Snoochie Boochies DIPA #4 Hailstorm Brewing - Stratus DIPA #5 Marz Community Brewing - NE MDW Chi PA #6 Hop Butcher for the World - Reply Hazy, Try Again DIPA #7 The Ram Restaurant & Brewery (Schaumburg) - Morning Fog DIPA |
Wed, 4 January 2017
A Craig divided against itself cannot stand - especially if he’s drinking a bunch of high ABV coffee stouts. We challenge Craig’s hatred of coffee and love of stouts by opening four flavorful beers on this one. It’ll take a serious horse-breaking for Ryan to teach Craig anything about coffee, so instead we talk about cereal and double barrels and David Duchovny. But we also have a beer that so completely nails its intentions that it is nearly flawless - and another surprising beer brimming with luxurious coffee aroma but sorely lacking in the flavor department. Listen to find out which is which, and be careful with your cheeseballs! (Huge thanks to Eric Nakamoto for two of the beers on this one!) Beers Reviewed Short’s Brewing - Cup A Joe (Coffee Creme Stout) Weldwerks Brewing - Coffee Coconut Stout Epic Brewing - Big Bad Baptista (Whiskey barrel-aged stout with Mexican coffee, cacao nibs, vanilla & cinnamon) Revolution Brewing - Café Deth (Bourbon barrel-aged imperial oatmeal stout with coffee) |
Wed, 28 December 2016
Our new best friends at Cypress Grove make some of the finest goat’s milk cheeses in the country, and they sent us some to pair with local beers. Win your New Year’s party by learning from our pairing experiments, or find out which cheeses to make a staple of all your future bottle shares. We learn a bit about rennet, apply a few brewing ideas to cheesemaking, and once again fail to break the curse that eternally binds us together. Live deliciously! Beer and Cheese Pairings Two Brothers Twenty-Plus Pilsner and Purple Haze Suller’s Past Maiden Berliner Weisse and Humboldt Fog Off Color Sibling Rivalry Tripel and Truffle Tremor Hop Butcher Hoppy Days Are Here Again IPA and Bermuda Triangle Arcade Brewing Mega Milk II* and Midnight Moon *Note: This episode was recorded back in November before we - or anyone - could anticipate Arcade Brewery’s sudden and unfortunate closing. We had many of their beers on the show over the years, and we will miss their contributions to the ever-changing Chicago beer landscape. We sincerely wish Chris, Jay, and Lance the best in all of their future endeavors. Our new best friends at Cypress Grove make some of the finest goat’s milk cheeses in the country, and they sent us some to pair with local beers. Win your New Year’s party by learning from our pairing experiments, or find out which cheeses to make a staple of all your future bottle shares. We learn a bit about rennet, apply a few brewing ideas to cheesemaking, and once again fail to break the curse that eternally binds us together. Live deliciously! Beer and Cheese Pairings Two Brothers Twenty-Plus Pilsner and Purple Haze Suller’s Past Maiden Berliner Weisse and Humboldt Fog Off Color Sibling Rivalry Tripel and Truffle Tremor Hop Butcher Hoppy Days Are Here Again IPA and Bermuda Triangle Arcade Brewing Mega Milk II* and Midnight Moon *Note: This episode was recorded back in November before we - or anyone - could anticipate Arcade Brewery’s sudden and unfortunate closing. We had many of their beers on the show over the years, and we will miss their contributions to the ever-changing Chicago beer landscape. We sincerely wish Chris, Jay, and Lance the best in all of their future endeavors. |
Wed, 21 December 2016
We manage to throw a holiday party with no eggnog, ugly sweaters, or inappropriate mistletoe placement - just great friends and great beers. Actually, Craig does wear an insane gaudy suit, but it only enhances our talks with four guests over five beers. We are joined by our good friends MC Johnson (Worth 1000 Beers), Marie Cummins, Matt Johnsen (Horse Thief Hollow), and Doug Veliky (Revolution Brewing & @beeraficiando) to sample some tasty treats and review our favorite events and stories of 2016 - and what gets us excited for 2017. Then we talk about the year in beer trends, the excellence that is Dovetail Brewing, the Gary Busey woods, chipmunk tickling, winning big time beer medals, Schwimmer Vintage Ales, and how to become an Instagram star by taking pictures of beer. Listen, or I’m telling Santa. Beers Shared Une Année - Le Grand Monde I Dovetail Brewing - Holiday Bock Horse Thief Hollow - Bad Mama Jama (Imperial stout with chocolate aged in Buffalo Trace barrels) Horse Thief Hollow - Barrel-aged Cinnamon Girl (Bad Mama Jama with cinnamon and vanilla) The Lost Abbey - Veritas 017 (Oak-aged wild ale with blackberry)
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Wed, 14 December 2016
Need a stocking stuffer or an effective mood-lifter for a family gathering? We try six different Christmas beers to help you better lubricate your holiday train. Our top beer is a huge surprise, but the whole lineup proves to be a Christmas miracle. And like two slightly tipsy yet overly productive elves, we play two games on this one, talk fruitcakes, explore the Hintonverse, make our ideal gingerbread man together, transcribe the Ying Yang Twins, share some Color Me Badd fan fiction, make a case for The Wallflowers, get banned from pillow fights, plan our pop-up shop, and implore you to stop doing that to our snowman. It’s our gift to you, listeners. Happy Holidays, everyone! Beers Unwrapped Revolution - Fistmas Ale Anchor - Christmas Ale 2016 Great Lakes - Christmas Ale Three Floyds - Alpha Klaus Porter Prairie Artisan Ales - Christmas Bomb Brouwerij Huyghe - Delirium Noël |
Wed, 7 December 2016
We celebrate the big one-five-oh with the most valuable lineup of beers we’ve ever put to our lips - and the bottles practically pop themselves in revelry. Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen made these four special gueuzes to save itself after a terrible mishap and released them in very limited quantities back in 2011, and we’re lucky to have them all here. We also commemorate the occasion by resurrecting everyone’s favorite beer podcast reviewing game: Beers Against Humanity. So while we try to wrap our brains around the deliciousness of these world-class beers, we talk about what Billy Corgan smells like and other matters of equal import. Craig introduces a successful new segment, and we duck for cover from flying corks. (It says corks, just to be clear.) Cheers to another 150! Beers Sipped Upon, Luxuriously Armand’4 Oude Geuze Herfst (Autumn) Armand’4 Oude Geuze Winter Armand’4 Oude Geuze Lente (Spring) Armand’4 Oude Geuze Zomer (Summer) |
Wed, 30 November 2016
In the wake of another Black Friday, we sample the four releases from Goose Island’s infamous Bourbon County line for 2016. So, was all the Friday madness worth it? That’s really subjective based on your personal experience, but we’ll do our best! At least we concur that it’s a huge step-up from 2015. Two beers exceed their previous years’ versions by a significant margin, and at least one beer needs some time to rest. There’s also Tales of Two Black Fridays, The Gouge Report, and an impassioned plea for real true garlic bread. Beers Reviewed Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout (2016) Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Barleywine (2016) Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout (2016) Goose Island Proprietor’s Bourbon County Brand Stout (2016) |
Wed, 23 November 2016
In our yearly moment of clearheadedness after the Festival of Barrel-Aged Beers, we take on four non-alcoholic beers for the sake of science. To take our minds off of these near beers, we go over all of our FoBAB beer highlights. But you’ll learn a lot about how non-alcoholic beer is made, why there are no NA-IPAs, and what might be the worst beer-like drink we’ve had on the show. We also find out what Craig is doing in a Petsmart (Petco?), what happens when Ryan pours his own beer, and how to elevate High Life beyond reproach. NA Beers: Buckler Non-Alcoholic Beer (Heineken) Krombacher Weizen Alkoholfrei Kaliber (Guiness) Clausthaler Dry-Hopped Ryan’s FoBAB Top 5 List: 5. Horse Thief Hollow - Margarita Gose (Gose w/ black limes, orange peel, and sea salt aged in tequilla barrels) 4. Mikerphone - Dynamite with a Laser Beam (Saison w/ blueberries, raspberries, and tart cherries aged in wine puncheons) 3. Weldwerks - Peach Climacteric (Sour blend w/ peaches aged in bourbon barrels) 2. Goose Island Clybourn - Big Lazy Joe (Imperial brown ale aged in bourbon barrels and blended with coffee) 1. Trinity - President’s Club (Sour pale ale w/ tangerine zest, coriander, peaches, and apricots aged on French oak) Craig’s FoBAB Top 5 List: 5. Off Color - Market Rate (Wild ale aged in red wine barrels with green strawberries) 4. Jester King - 2016 Spon 3 (or 4?) (Gueuze-style blended sour aged in wine puncheons) 3. Goose Island Clybourn - Impervious (Imperial stout aged in Woodford Reserve barrels) 2. Weldwerks - Peach Climacteric (Sour blend w/ peaches aged in bourbon barrels) 1. Wicked Weed - White Angel (Sour ale w/ Muscadine grapes aged in wine puncheons) |
Wed, 16 November 2016
Wisconsin’s O’so Brewing has dabbled in sour beers for a few years, and while the whole brewery grows rapidly, their “Extreme Beers” are finding a captive audience with sour beer lovers. We review five tasty barrel-aged sours and try not to turn this episode into a Tums commercial. We discover “TA” and struggle to make sense of it. Craig explains why SNL was better back in the 1930s. Ryan reveals the true source of his pain. And you’ll pretty much never think of The Giving Tree the same way again. And yes, Craig is totally DTC. Beers Reviewed Project Lo (Barrel-aged sour blonde) Blood of the Cherry (Barrel-aged sour blonde with cherries) Arbor Qui Donne (Barrel-aged sour blonde with peaches) Berry Gibb (Barrel-aged sour with blueberries and ginger) The Continental (Barrel-aged blended sour refermented on champagne currants) |
Wed, 9 November 2016
The Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beers (FoBAB) enters its 14th year as one of Chicago’s premier beer fests, and we are so pumped for it that we drink four beers that’ll be pouring over the weekend. Expect some festival advice, relive FoBAB days of yore, and hear about the beer Ryan named. There’s also talk of the 39th Annual Illinois Craft Beer Awards, Fartboy Slim, the Weekend at Bernie’s unrealized trilogy, and the most evil of bottle sealings. Craig also quizzes Ryan on the many states represented at FoBAB, and we even discuss proper fest attire. Roll damn tide. Beers (p)Reviewed Transient Artisan Ales - Double Barrel Obelus (Wine Barrel-Aged Saison) Goose Island Clybourn - Ground Control (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Old Ale) Noon Whistle - Imperial Bernie (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Milk Stout) Weldwerks Brewing Co. - Barrel-Aged Mexican Achromatic (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout with cacao nibs, vanilla, and cinnamon) |
Wed, 2 November 2016
Pure joy will emanate from your listening devices on this one as we taste some of the best hoppy beers on the planet. We can hardly contain our giddiness with a mixed six pack of beers from both Tree House Brewing of Massachusetts and The Alchemist from Vermont, courtesy of listener Josh Sissman. In between moments of bliss, we talk about Belgian warlocks, blacklight posters, inventive ways to steal beer, and Goldilocks and the Artisanal Porridge. Experience our most divergent and most meaningless rankings ever! Hear our smiles! Beers Enjoyed Tree House Brewing - Green (IPA) Tree House Brewing - Very Hazy (DIPA) Tree House Brewing - Bright (DIPA) Tree House Brewing - Bright w/ Nelson (DIPA) The Alchemist - Focal Banger (IPA) The Alchemist - Crusher (DIPA) |
Wed, 26 October 2016
We welcome Wiseacre to the Chicago market by sampling five of their beers and discovering that they will be a welcome addition even in this highly-competitive region. This show features three regular offerings, one seasonal release, one special release, and two slap-happy hosts. You’ll hear us threaten to Flowzie something, try to appeal to the youth, plea for some Sex Syrup, and kill off Jerry Lawler. Piledrive this episode into your eardrums!! Beers Reviewed Tiny Bomb (Pilsner) Oktoberfest: Gemütlichkeit Gotta Get Up To Get Down (Coffee Milk Stout) Ananda (IPA) Astronaut Status (Barrel-aged Imperial Stout) |
Wed, 19 October 2016
For our third annual pilgrimage to Denver, we again recorded mere hours after the closing of GABF from our hotel room to recap the fest, share some interviews, and drink even more beer. We review beers from Weldwerks, Odd13, and Copper Kettle with some help from MC Johnsen of Worth A Thousand Beers. There are also interviews with a bevy of brewers: Neil Fisher from Weldwerks Brewing, Ryan Fields from Beachwood Blendery, Eric Larken from Odd13 Brewing, Jonathan Wakefield from J. Wakefield Brewing, Jeff Stuffings from Jester King Brewery, Bob Kunz from Highland Park Brewery, James Howat from Black Project Spontaneous and Wild Ales, and Jeremy Tofte from Melvin Brewing. We discuss our personal festival highlights, Illinois medal winners, non-festival events, the Hanson brothers, Party Chapazian, Schwimmer Vintage Ales, the Tappening, and Little Lemmy & Friends. But the beer professionals we interview share knowledge on branding, coolships, mixed fermentation, the interplay of art and beer, green bottle experiments, a parking spot barrel house, fermenting with weeds, upscaling problems, and some “high” stakes brewer bets. (It’ll all make sense in the end.) Beers Reviewed Weldwerks Brewing - Fruity Bits IPA (Pina Colada Edition) Odd13 Brewing - Hawaiian Bartender (Mango & pineapple Brett sour) Copper Kettle Brewing - Mexican Chocolate Stout Featured Interviews Neil Fisher from Weldwerks Brewing (11:23 - 18:44) Ryan Fields from Beachwood Blendery (21:22 - 24:32) Eric Larken from Odd13 Brewing (31:46 - 36:43) Jonathan Wakefield from J. Wakefield Brewing (43:52 - 46:43) Jeff Stuffings from Jester King Brewery (49:56 - 55:05) Bob Kunz from Highland Park Brewery (1:09:15 - 1:12:38) James Howat from Black Project Spontaneous and Wild Ales (1:22:07 - 1:27:40) Jeremy Tofte from Melvin Brewing (1:31:34 - 1:35:39) |
Wed, 12 October 2016
Ah, you think Darkness is your ally? Well, it is! Anticipating this year’s big release day, we drink a vertical-plus of Surly’s special release Russian Imperial Stout, and we’re briefly joined by head brewer Ben Smith to talk about what makes Darkness what it is. MC Johnsen sits in with us to help us make sense of these delectable beers and keep us from going too far off the rails. She succeeds in one of those, as we share some Darkness Lore, invent(?) chocolate Coke, describe Craig’s wild gestures, and give tips on sneaking beer into the Olive Garden. (This episode is not sponsored by Crossfit, even though MC is.) Surly Darkness “Vertical” Darkness 2012 Darkness 2013 Darkness 2014 Darkness 2015 Barrel-Aged Darkness 2015 |
Wed, 5 October 2016
If you haven’t heard of Triptych yet, you’re not alone - at least for now. On the edge of the University of Illinois campus, this brewery is making a variety of stellar beers - and we’ve got five to taste for this episode plus an interview with founder/owner/brewer Anthony Benjamin. Learn why you should schedule your Savoy trip soon, how they got connected with the Pygmalion fest, and what Triptych does with their beers that a lot of larger breweries wish they could. Throw in a few drunk texts from Craig, another Ryan’s Produce Minute, and the lasting impact of Stefan Urquelle, and you’ve got yourself another ABV Chicago podcast. We hope you like it. Beers Reviewed Little Secret (Session IPA) These Aren’t the Blueberries You’re Looking For (Berliner weisse) Pygmalion Pilsner Because, Chocolate (Imperial Cocoa Stout) Here Be Dragons (Imperial IPA) |
Wed, 28 September 2016
It took a surprising amount of heavy lifting to bring together five Chicago porters, and *record scratch* none of them are actually porters! Sort of! This is a deep exploration of the porter style with our usual reviews, and the variance is wide. We draw from some of the great beer books to piece together a paraphrased history of the porter, and why what’s common today is so radically different than what it used to be. The asides are similarly rich and roasty, with loose ponies, Girl Scout cookies, breakaway glass failures, Craig’s Hunger Corner, prowlers, Sidney Poitier, and Taxidermied Churro. And Ryan does the worst thing he’s ever done on the show, ever. Revolution Brewing - Eugene Aquanaut Brewing - MoonRay Moody Tongue - Carmelized Chocolate Churro Baltic Porter Arcade Brewery - Rye Resolution Cruz Blanca Cerveceria - Winnow |
Wed, 21 September 2016
Levi Funk is taking the foundation laid by breweries like Russian River and Allagash and making American lambic-style beers to match the quality of Belgian masters. Or at least approach them. We have five sours from the Funk Factory Geuzeria, and we pimp that coolship. There’s a whole cast of new characters here: Gushy the Bunker Bucket, Jean Cheese, Curtis Mercer, and Dreggy Topoff. Beyond a lot of spontaneous fermentation and lambic talk, there’s also Kraig’s Kandy Korner, Ryan’s Produce Minute, and a graphic mustache experience. We ain’t funkin’ around.
Dweller on the Threshold (Blended American sour) Cassis (Blended lambic-style beer with Champagne currants) White Lodge Reserve (American Gueuze-style beer) Frampaars (Blended lambic-style beer with purple raspberries) Bosbes (Blended lambic-style beer with blueberries) |
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