ABV Chicago Craft Beer Podcast

More than just a mash paddle photoshoot for Instagram, these brewery collaborations focus on how their own pre-existing strong recipes can complement those of another. Enter the collab lab with us, as we taste through five inspired collaborations from local breweries, featuring a few medal winners to boot. Also, we pimp our windbreakers, break our lactose streak, imagine the limits of beer NFTs, and are just so done with this mask theatre. Set your windbreakers to yacht rock.

Beers Reviewed 

Alarmist Brewing/Old Irving Brewing - Le Beez (Hazy IPA)

Penrose Brewing Company/Noon Whistle Brewing - Gummy Boots (Hazy IPA)

Is/Was Brewing/Hopewell Brewing Co. - If/When (Bière de Coupage/Saison)

Phase Three Brewing/Goose Island Beer Co. - If You’re A Bird… (Imperial stout w/ panella, cocoa nibs, and coconut)

Goose Island Beer Co./Phase Three Brewing - ...I’m A Bird (Imperian stout w/ panella, cocoa nibs, and strawberry)

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_381_The_Collab_Lab.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30am CDT

Not to be confused with FoBAB (Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beers) or MOBAB (Missouri’s Board of Anime Bookstores), this episode simply promises more barrel-aged beers. Five dark beers with a few adjuncts and unique barrels thrown in, this lineup has more than one beer that’ll be on our best of the year list. Also, we discuss a Zubaz incident, summon a Pacino moment, get frustrated again by Kid Craig, and call for more jiggly stouts. We’re going to need moMoBAB. 

Beers Reviewed

Bent Paddle Brewing Co. - Double Shot Double Black (Imperial black ale w/ coffee and vanilla, aged in bourbon barrels)

Third Space Brewing - Mystic Berry (Barrel-aged coffee imperial stout w/ blackberry, blueberry, and vanilla bean)

Werk Force Brewing Company - Bourbon Barrel-Aged Mint Chocolate Chip Sleepy Bear (Bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout w/ cacao nibs, vanilla, and mint)
Half Acre Beer Co./The Veil Brewing Co. - Soak In Shadow (Imperial stout aged in apple brandy barrels w/ lactose)

Goose Island Beer Co. - Suffolk County Stout (Bourbon barrel-aged stout)

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_380_MoBAB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30am CDT

This show is a tribute to when the b-side is even better than the a-side, as we drink through five beers that for random reasons didn’t make the cut for recent episodes of the podcast. The styles and breweries are all over the place, which inspires us to dip into a slew of random topics like movies that should’ve been old SNES games, the best part of reading about the Columbian Exposition, and a whole game about b-side songs that upstage their a-sides. Grab your fancy hat and your absinthe dripper.

Beers Reviewed

The Conrad Seipp Brewing Co. - Columbia Bock

Histrionic Brewlab - Tolvanera (Hazy IPA)

Tox Brewing Co. - Lily of the Valley Raspricot (Fruited sour w/ raspberry, apricot, lactose, and vanilla)

Delta Beer Lab - PTR.02 (Coconut chai stout)

Young Blood Beer Company - I’m Extraordinarily Humble (Milk stout w/ cinnamon, maple, and vanilla)

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_379_B-Sides.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30am CDT

Ticking off another Midwestern hotspot for beers, we try out five different beers from Madison, Wisconsin breweries this week. We drink as a badger does and uncover the surprisingly long and decorated histories of a few of these breweries, while we have a diverse lineup of tasty beers. Also, we jump on the video game-to-live action movie express, re-enact The Fabulous Baker Boys, contrast our evolving personal style, and talk briefly about that time Elvis stopped a fight in Madison. We’re all losers in a pun war. #TeamCream #BockSquad

Beers Reviewed

Giant Jones Brewing Company/The Lone Girl Brewing Company - Bière de Garde Ambrée

Great Dane Pub & Brewing - John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt's Dunkel Doppel Hefeweizen Bock

Vintage Brewing Company - Bock’s O-Chocolates (Chocolate Doppelbock)

Next Door Brewing Company - Plumptuous (Scotch Ale)

Karben4 Brewing - Urge Tracker (Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Stout)

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_378_Madison_Beers.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30am CDT

In our minds, there’s hardly a better combination than drinking beer and appreciating baseball - a pastime as wholesome as apple pie milkshake IPAs. So we step into the box, looking to square up five tasty beers from Midwestern breweries that certainly want you to think about baseball. We cram this one with baseball miscellany: Chicago food-themed uniforms, baseball and beer math, Hot Dog Summer, and baseball Stumptappd. Mercy!

Beers Reviewed

Off Color Brewing - Beer for Ballgames (Cream ale)

Goose Island Beer Co. - White Sox Golden Ale

Spiteful Brewing - Bleacher Bum (Blonde ale w/ peaches)

Noon Whistle Brewing - Gummiskey (Northeast India Pale Ale)

Lion’s Tail Brewing/Young Blood Beer Co. - Uecker On the Radio (Hazy Double IPA)

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_377_Baseball_Beers.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30am CDT

Looking to provide an “oasis for life and leisure,” Madison, Wisconsin’s Young Blood Beer Company had to bring the oasis to the people in their first year of operation. For this episode, Craig talks with co-founder Tom Dufek about rewriting business plans, adding a twist to every beer, and cultivating those dank and drippy vibes. We also drink through five cans of their beer while trying (and failing) to outdo their beer names with MadLibs. Plus, there’s the threat of a lactose streak, a little W.C.W. love, and the mystery of the street burper.

Beers Reviewed

Shower Bier (Helles Lager)

She’s Fox Valley Rich (Buckwheat Saison w/ plum and cinnamon)

Boone’s Farm Related Scar (Cherry Limeade Sour w/ cherry, key lime, and vanilla)

Templeton Ferrari the Third (Hazy IPA)

Coffee Regular Silkshake (Cream Ale w/ coffee, milk sugar, and vanilla)

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_376_Young_Blood.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30am CDT

Head about 45 minutes west of Chicago, and you’ll find a cluster of fresh craft beer options that are certainly destination-worthy. Ryan took a weekend to check out breweries in St. Charles and Geneva, and he brought back five different beers that’ll have you planning a day trip. The background on these breweries is as fascinating as the beers are varied, and our rankings are about as different as they can be. Also, we talk for a while about chili dog-related issues, pull a Table the Label card, admire those beefy boys in Hobbs & Shaw, try to keep the over-fruited sour temps from dropping, and smash your label beers. (This episode is not paid for by the St. Charles and Geneva Tourism Bureau...but it’d be cool if it was.)

Beers Reviewed

93 Octane Brewery - Hugger Orange Whip (American Wheat Ale w/ orange, vanilla, lactose, and coriander)

Riverlands Brewing Company - Spring Rejuvenation (Maibock)

Penrose Brewing Company - Dryft (IPA)

Art History Brewing - Fastenbier (Lenten Dark Smoked Lager)

D and G Brewing Company/Obscurity Brewing and Craft Mead - The D.O.G. (Braggot Imperial Red Ale)

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_375_Fox_River_Five.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30am CDT

In our triumphant return to our state series, we venture into the beers from the great state of Connecticut for our 25th installment. And we do so in a big way - with six beers of (mostly) very different styles that span all corners of the state. Thanks to Spenser for the help with the show - and for the small wooden...opening. We also talk about 10,000 hours of altbiers, the new maltwave, more plans for Craig’s beer parody song career, skinfeel, ice cream challenges, and the Knight of the Mall. 

Beers Reviewed

Luppoleto [Windsor Locks] - Putting Down Roots (Altbier)

Counter Weight Brewing Co. [Hamden] - Headway IPA

Kent Falls Brewing Co. [Kent] - Ready to Drum (Barrel-aged saison w/ blueberries)

New Park Brewing [West Hartford] - Blender: Raspberry (Berliner weisse w/ raspberry)

Transcend Beer Crafters [Southington] - 7 Layers of Sin (Imperial milk stout w/ cocoa, graham crackers, roasted peanuts, coconut, marshmallow, vanilla, and butterscotch)

Fox Farm Brewery [Salem] - Avalonia: Blueberry (American wild ale w/ blueberry)

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_374_The_CT_Show.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30am CDT

From their first batch of beer released in 2015, Around the Bend has been committed to an unconventional take on traditional styles. The brewery’s trajectory has also been anything but conventional, and we have founder Dan Schedler on to talk about the brewery’s history and future. Dan also shares what led to his midlife career change, how they pivoted from a sudden facility closure, and why their ideas need to be reigned in from time-to-time. Additionally, we review five beers of divergent styles and have an odd night of aroma descriptors. Also, we assign an animal mascot to all the beer styles, listen to some Smooth Industrial music, tell tales of chicken butts, and pitch the tagline for our imagined Outdoor FoBAB. 

Beers Reviewed

Rewind (Hefeweissbier)

Villainous (IPA)

Control for Smilers (Hazy IPA)

Proximal 2020 (English-style barleywine aged in rye whiskey/red wine barrels)

Eleusis (Barrel-aged imperial stout w/ vanilla, chocolate, habanero, and cinnamon)

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_373_Around_the_Bend.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30am CDT

Despite the allure of warmer temperatures, we’re not quite ready to be done with stout season. So we grab the next-closest seasonally appropriate alternative: baltic porters! In our latest episode in our Prestige Styles Series, these five beers challenge what we know about both porters and lagers, but they are no challenge to drink. We share some fractured history about the style, try to determine the best month for Baltic Porterfest, and designate the perfect animal mascot. Also, we imagine ice cream bars that match classic novels, praise the new era of home delivered beer, and play our new favorite game - 1987’s Personal Preference. 

Beers Reviewed

Dovetail Brewery - Baltic-Style Porter

Empirical Brewery - Endothermic

Haymarket Brewery & Taproom - Baltic Porter

Third Space Brewing - Ice Bear

Church Street Brewing Company/Illuminated Brew Works - Barrel-aged EGLé

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_372_Baltic_Porters.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30am CDT