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)

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)

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)

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

Finally ready to recover from Barrel-Aged December™, we assembled a star-studded sequel to last year’s episode, bringing on five barrel-aged beers presented without additional adjuncts. The plethora of bourbon barrels and base beers make for some flavorful variations, and they leave us practically - and almost literally - floored. Also, we adjust to our new ISOs, discuss why Rev’s collaboration choice was genius, consider Half Acre’s barrel-aged beer plan, prepare for the inevitable stout slushie boom, and do a little fudge flirting. 

Beers Reviewed

Central Waters Brewing Company - XXIII (2-year Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout)

Private Press Brewing - Life Is Round (Blended Bourbon Barrel-Aged Barleywine)

Half Acre Beer Company - Obsidian Throne (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout)

Revolution Brewing Company/Half Acre Beer Company - On & On: Part 1 (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Rye Porter)

More Brewing Company - Mehndi Special Reserve 2021 (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout)

It’s always been exciting to drink Russian River - every bottle opened feels like an event, and it has felt that way for us for well over a decade. On this show we celebrate the brewery that changed the way we both drink beer. Though this episode seems to be about Pliny the Younger (and a lot of it is), the whole lineup is a marvelous progression. Also, we aim to bring back sticker books, open up the ABV Denver Fitness Club, get rolled for R.R., check the Midwestern forecast, and go on D.O.N.G. patrol. (Thanks to Mike R. for the assist!)

Beers Reviewed

STS Pils

Happy Hops IPA

Funky Foeder Cherry

Intinction

Pliny the Younger

Either through public demand or divine intervention, the Black IPA has made an unexpected comeback in 2021, and We. Are. Here. For. It. We snagged the first five Black IPAs we could to tap into the cultural zeitgeist, and Craig learns to stop worrying and love the style. We discuss why the style lost favor with the beer buying public, and speculate on where they may be going. Also, we consider which singers deserve their half birthdays recognized, nearly touch Dick Biondi with a roman candle, call breweries with our list of demands, seek the path to chocolate IPAs, and accidentally give someone the crinkle tingles. 

Beers Reviewed

Revolution Brewing - Jukebox Hero 

Stone Brewing - Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA

Bell’s Brewery - Black Hearted Ale

Phase Three Brewing - Mystic Infinity

Sew Hop’d Brewery - Blind Hem

Tonight, we have the story of five breweries local to Chicagoland who opened amidst a global crisis, and the five beers that lifted the spirits of two weary beer reviewers. It’s ABV Chicago with your Local News - new breweries and new beers with your old friends, Ryan and Craig. First, we open with a few surprising new buttons, then to one person’s battle cry for ska; and later, a lactose-free label? You won’t believe your ears. Then at 10, it’s the new series: Jaws of Justice. All that after your number one source for arbitrary beer reviews recorded remotely from Chicago. 

Beers Reviewed  

Art History Brewing - Gravitace (Czech-style Pale Lager)

Goldfinger Brewing Company - Vienna-Style Lager

Histrionic Brewlab - After (FX) (Pale Ale)

Brothership Brewing - DDH Earth Go Hard (New England-Style DIPA)

Azadi Brewing Company - Kadak (Mumbai Chai Cutting Stout)

The bitterly cold winter months call for rich and bready lagers, and the bock beer is ready to swaddle you in warming flavors. For this show, we try five very different bock beers that speak to the diversity of the style and contribute to the sudden inebriation of the hosts. We uncover the history of bocks while acknowledging the vast differences between substyles, but we can’t resist driving the bock pun thing into the ground. Listen for Craig’s surprising personality test, our two-decades late XXX movie review, the latest market advice on Beanie Babies, our VagueCast about The Crown, and the top three societal contributions of House of Pain. We also play a game of Stumptappd for bock beers. Whatever you do, please don’t look bock in anger. 

Beers Reviewed

Alarmist Brewing - Sebastian (Bock)

Great Central Brewing Company - Weizenbock

Forbidden Root Brewing Company - Beanie Weather (Bock beer w/ orange & spices)

Maplewood Brewing Company - Silver Morning (Doppelbock)

Pipeworks Brewing Company - Genuine Bock Beer

We’ve long sought out the strange and elusive beers of Connecticut’s Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores - or OEC Brewing, informally - so we have a ritualistic orientation with six beers from their little secret society. There’s a lot to love from this diverse lineup - not the least of which is that one of them comes in a freaking blue bottle. Also, we explore our legal options in a trademark dispute, let the funk do the talking, and play two games about stock symbols and airport codes. For Asgard!

Beers Reviewed

Rosé de Pétanque (Blended sour w/ coriander, orange peel, and blueberry juice)

Coolship Lager Black (Czech-style black lager)
Tempus (Blend of lagered and oak-aged young saison, 1 year-old lambic style ale, and 4 year-old saison aged in red & white wine barrels)

Aether (Dry-hopped sour ale)

BiFrost (Nordic-inspired Cryogenic Double Pale Ale)

Phantasma (Sour porter aged in cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and marsala barrels)