Villa Park’s More made a big splash from the moment they opened their doors in 2017, due to their hiring of a rising star brewer and their embrace of big flavor beers. Much has changed in a few short years, with a different (yet equally talented) head brewer at the helm, a gigantic new facility opening in Huntley at the end of the month, and...those lagers. Thanks to Aaron Keefner, we were gifted an assortment of More beers, and we review five varied styles in our usual arbitrary way. Along with our realization that we’re becoming boring old boomers, listen for Ryan’s singing debut, Craig’s beer label nightmares, a crazy game of mocha, the upcoming sequel to Davidoff’s Cool Water, and a rogues gallery of lager characters. 

Beers Reviewed

More to Life (American Lager dry-hopped with Lemon Drop hops)

DDH Double Space Boots (DDH DIPA w/ Citra and Galaxy)

Peaches & Cream Marbles (Milkshake IPA w/ peaches, milk sugar, and vanilla)

Henna: Cherry Truffle (Imperial stout w/ sweet & tart cherry, cocoa nibs, and vanilla)

Dark Lager (yup)

After taking a month to recover from our Barrel-Aged December, we hop right back in the wood with five big beers from Illinois breweries. It leaves us feeling pretty spoiled to have so many great Winter barrel-aged options that don’t rhyme with Bevolution and Bruce Guyland. Craig starts things off a bit morbid, but we soon invent “smoot” and Staygurt for adults. This episode also contains notes of emotional wort, whipped leather, root beer, chocolate IPA, and Cadbury mini-eggs. 

Get yourself to Beermiscuous on Saturday, February 8th for our anniversary party.

Beers Reviewed

Sketchbook Brewing Co. - Barrel Aged Turbulence Vanilla Bean (Russian imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with vanilla beans)

Temperance Beer Company - 2019 Hot Cocoa Barrel-aged Might Meets Right (Imperial stout aged in Heaven Hill barrels w/ cacao and vanilla beans)

Half Acre Beer Company - Orin (Bourbon barrel-aged strong ale)

Brickstone Brewery - Dark Secret: Double Barrel 2019 (Imperial stout aged 10 mo. in Buffalo Trace barrels and 10 mo. in Four Roses barrels)

More Brewing Company - Barrel-aged Imperial Falling Colors: Karmic (Imperial porter aged in four bourbon barrels w/ cinnamon, cocoa nibs, and coconut)

The complex story of Goose Island extends far beyond their innovations and acquisition, because throughout their history, they’ve cultivated a truly impressive brewing team. This appropriately-numbered episode is a tribute to all the brewers who developed under Goose’s tutelage and moved on to start or brew at other impactful breweries. (Somebody should write a book about this stuff.) It’s a Goose Island show with no Goose Island beer! Craig tries to get a gritty reboot going that results in an ongoing discussion of grizzled actors, Ryan discovers the secret SRM scale, and we scream out the subtext.

Come to Beermiscuous on Saturday, February 8th because we told you to!

Beers Reviewed

Perennial Artisan Ales - Foeder Coupage Blend 1 (Foeder-aged saison and fresh blond ale blend)

Firestone Walker Brewing Company - Old Man Hattan (Barrel-aged blended strong ale)

Southern Tier Brewing Company - Nitro Hot Cocoa (Imperial milk stout)

Penrose Brewing Company - Spontaneous 2019: Strawberry (Blended spontaneous ale aged in oak w/ strawberries)

Fremont Brewing - B-Bomb 2019 (Barrel-aged winter ale)

The start of legalized marijuana in Illinois has been a real mixed bag with massive lines and product shortages dominating the headlines. So rather than feeling empty-handed, why not head to the beer aisle for a taste of the dank? We sample six IPAs that are united under the simple idea of “heh heh, weed” to see if we can get lifted in another totally legal way. And of course, we talk just a whole bunch about 311 through trivia, personal experiences, inspired lyric readings, and the most 90’s quote we could find. We also weigh in on some recently announced reboots, Ryan apologizes to a high school friend, and we make the lazy river even lazier. 

Don’t miss our 6th anniversary party at Beermiscuous on February 8th!

Beers Reviewed

Burnt City Brewing - Kveik Minded III: The Dankening (New England IPA)

SweetWater Brewing Co. - 420 Strain G13 IPA

Oskar Blues Brewery - Can-O-Bliss Citrus IPA

Lagunitas Brewing Co. - Hazy Memory (New England IPA)

Odd Side Ales - Dank Frank Juice (Double IPA)

Revolution Brewing Co. - Legal-Hero (Double New England IPA)

It’s flavorful yet restrained. It’s refreshing and sessionable. And it’s loosely bound by any real style designation. It’s the table beer! We explore five Chicago-area takes on this non-style that seems to borrow a little magic from Belgian farmhouses before going in a variety of flavorful directions, all while staying under 5% ABV. With this light-weight lineup, we do some heavy lifting by developing two new musical concepts; Ryan works on his verbal plating; Craig doesn’t want to tip the toilet sherpa; and we have our refreshnodes massaged. 

Remember to mark Saturday, February 8th in your calendar for our 6th Anniversary party at Beermiscuous!

Beers reviewed

Off Color Brewing - House Lion

Une Année Brewery - Table

Is/Was Brewing - Bourgeois Daydream

Casa Humilde - Mesita

Keeping Together - The Art of Holding Space

We’re quite transparent about two things on this podcast: we genuinely enjoy supporting our sole long-time sponsor, and we love getting free beer to review. So when Beer on the Wall had their 3rd Anniversary party featuring a wide array of interesting collaborations with great local breweries, they saved us five to review. We also wrap up the year in music with our top albums, open some new flavor doors, pitch some cookie hefeweizens and cake bocks, and further demonstrate why no one really wants us to collaborate on a beer. 

(Also, keep the night of Saturday, February 8th open to come celebrate our 6th Anniversary at Beermiscuous!)

Beers reviewed (all collaborations with Beer on the Wall)

Around the Bend Beer Company - Biscoff the Wall (Cream ale w/ cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice)

Pipeworks Brewing Company - TreESB (Red IPA dry-hopped w/ cedar chips)

Miskatonic Brewing Company - Second Breakfast (Coffee hazy IPA)

Illuminated Brew Works - The Ballad of the Peanut Butter Pony (Stout w/ peanut butter and cocoa)

Mikerphone Brewing - Eat to the Beat (Imperial blond stout w/ white chocolate, cocoa nibs, and vanilla)

Following the story of middle brow has been a privilege for us, as their generosity and selflessness has been pretty well-documented during years of limited production and no actual brewery to call home. But within the last year or so, middle brow has won a gold at FoBAB, bought a few foeders, and opened their cozy brewpub “bungalow,” which recently won the designation of best pizza in the city by Chicago Magazine. And their status as a brewer of elegant and inspired wild ales - like their signature bread - is on the rise. So handsome Pete from middle brow dropped us off a box of beer (and bread!) to catch up on what our old friends have been up to, and we are objectively impressed. Also, we talk about dumb Chicago food traditions, dream up a GueuZero, conduct a Challenge Butter Cultural Butter Challenge, plead for that Chocolate IPA, and envision vengeful beer ghosts. 

beers reviewed.

For You (Wild lager blend)

Bloom (Co-fermented wine beer hybrid brewed w/ 40% frontenac gris grape juice)

Solarium (Mixed-culture solera saison)

Other People (Co-fermented wine beer hybrid w/ negroamaro wine juice)

Neighborhood (Farmhouse w/ locally-captured yeast and Midwestern grains)

Wherein we consume over a gallon of Bourbon County, this episode attempts to balance detailed reviews with what is basically stunt drinking. We enlist the help of Beer on the Wall’s Ryan Tracy to try all eight variations under Goose Island’s 2019 Bourbon County brand. We spend a lot of time dissecting the annually most-argued-over beer release while also planning our 311 heist, uncovering box-related conspiracies, checking to see if our wort is fully worted, and tearing away our pleather pants. Absolute. Fudgebomb.

2019 Bourbon County Beers Reviewed

Bourbon County Brand Stout

Bourbon County Brand Wheatwine

Reserve Rye Bourbon County Brand Stout

2-Year Reserve Bourbon County Brand Stout

Bourbon County Brand Mon Chéri Stout (w/ cherries, oats, granola, and brown sugar)

Bourbon County Brand Café de Olla Stout (w/ Intelligentsia coffee, cassia bark, orange peel, and panela sugar)

Proprietor’s Bourbon County Brand Stout (w/ toasted pecans, coconut, cocoa, and vanilla)

Bourbon County Brand Double Barrel Stout

To continue Barrel-Aged December, we track down five beers that brought home medals from this year’s Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beers. (We swear this isn’t a month-old FoBAB recap show.) We put on our judges’ hats and try to find the secret to what makes a beer medal-worthy at Chicago’s premier beer competition. Craig lazily tries to shoehorn Baby Yoda into the show, Ryan just wants to be recognized for his cake, and we act like a couple of drinking cockswains. Pour it on your ham!

Beers Reviewed

Church Street Brewing Company - Holy Moly (Barrel-aged milk stout) - Bronze in Classic Styles

Hacienda Beer Co. - L’hiver (Foeder-aged Brett. saison w/ ginger, orange peel, and green cardamom) - Silver in Wild Beer/Brett

Crystal Lake Brewing - Boathouse Reserve Rye Whiskey Barrel Aged Imperial Stout - Silver in Strong Porter/Stout

Pollyanna Brewing Company - Orenda Volume 02 (Belgian-style quadrupel aged in grape brandy barrels) - Silver in Other Strong Beer

Cerebral Brewing - Vanilla Rye Here Be Monsters (Rye barrel-aged stout w/ vanilla beans) - Gold in Specialty Strong Porter/Stout

At some point, these guys can’t stay “underrated” or “under the radar” with the ridiculous blends and adjunct-enhanced beers from barrels they release every year. Cruz Blanca’s Luchador series may still be young in the Chicago specialty release annual tradition, but the resulting beers are outpacing their seasoned competitors in quality and accessibility. In what is likely an ill-advised move, we sit down and drink through all six of these high-ABV barrel-aged beers to review and rank them. The episode is also an extended tribute to Challenge Butter, Your Intimidating Kitchen FriendⓇ. We also get on about noseburns, flowereaters, The Simpsons arcade game strategy, and Bourbon County sharkjumping. Listen to us wrestle with sobriety!

Beers Reviewed

Rey Gordo (Imperial stout aged in Basil Hayden bourbon barrels)

Santa Cruz (Oatwine aged in rye whiskey & red wine barrels)

Tarzan Boy (Imperial stout aged in rum barrels with banana, coffee, & vanilla)

Señor Incognito (Imperial stout aged in rye whiskey barrels with toasted coconut, pecans, & cinnamon)

Loco Dinero (Imperial blonde ale aged in rum & rye whiskey barrels with Sparrow coffee)

Lady Luminada (Imperial blonde ale aged in rum & rye whiskey barrels with chocolate, strawberry, cherry, & blackberry)