It’s not just stouts, barleywines, and sours that should receive the benefits of wood-aging. For our final episode of Barrel-Aged December, we try five beers from breweries brave enough to take their drinkable cold-fermented beers and let them rest in different types of wood for any matter of time. The results are truly unique and enlightening as to how wood can transform a lager, and we bend our elbows with almost too much confidence for the night. Also, there’s motorized-cart mayhem in the grocery aisles, weather-based clothing gets a rebranding, and we play a soundbite-based game of Name That Wood. Happy New Year to all - and thanks for listening to us at any point in this past one. 

Beers Reviewed

Forbidden Root Brewing Company - Hoodie Weather (Oak-Aged Vienna Lager)

Werk Force Brewing Company - Rip Cut (Oat Lager aged in oak puncheons)

Solemn Oath Brewery - Foederface (Foeder-Aged Märzen)

Begyle Brewing - Foeder Doppelbock (Oak-Aged Dopplebock)

Waypost Brewing Co. - Keptwell (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Lager)

Focusing on drinkable lagers, pales, and IPAs has already carried Half Acre to legend-status locally, but their barrel program has developed into an undeniable force over the last few years - and we’re not even talking about Benthic for this one. We have five big barrel-aged beers from this year that are an impressive ode to one of Chicago’s best breweries. Also, Ryan has developed a whole new family of app-based apps that’ll revolutionize the dining industry. Plus, Craig dives deep into Half Acre’s cosmic gumbo writeups; we get our Glass Wavy on; and there’s a building nitro twist ending to this one. 

Beers Reviewed

Vim (Barrel-Aged Baltic Porter)

Orin (Blended Barrel-Aged Strong Ale)

Before Land Shook (Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels w/ marshmallow, vanilla, and sea salt)

Sickle Through Sable (Barrel-Aged stout w/ cocoa nibs)

World of Bog (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Barleywine)

Throughout this year we’ve been collecting barrel-aged stouts from different states without a real purpose for them: until now. From five states we have three straight barrel-aged stouts and two that are pastrified - and all are in the running for top spots in our rankings. Also, we engage with some AI-generated characters for their opinions about which states make the best barrel-aged beers; we push for more BA brown ales in 2024; and we make a few dirty boy snack confessions. Big thanks to Aaron Carlson for a few of the beers, and Dolphin Man for his valuable perspective. 

Beers Reviewed

Ethereal Brewing [Lexington, KY] - Baba Yaga (Russian Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels)

Warrior Brewing Company [Duluth, MN] - Barbarian (Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels)

Denton County Brewing Company [Denton, TX] - Night Witch (Bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout)

Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. [Decorah, IA] - Term Oil S’mores (Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with natural and artificial flavors)

WeldWerks Brewing Co. [Greeley, CO] - Starry Noche 2022 (Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels w/ coconut and hazelnut)

As winter barrel-aged beer releases expand into more adjunct variants and special barrels, you can’t overlook the base. For this show, we blind sample six barrel-aged local stouts that are part of a seasonal release lineup - but without any of the added gimmicks. We base our opinions only on the liquid in the glass, and we continue our rich tradition of being terrible at guessing the beers. There are more twists and turns than a high-occupancy vehicle-based action thriller, and we try not to be swept away by the relative viscosity. Hop on board.

2022 Beers Reviewed Blindly (in order of appearance)

Goose Island Beer Co. - Bourbon County Brand Stout

Revolution Brewing - Deth’s Tar

Old Irving Brewing - Krampus in the Buff 

Temperance Beer Co. - Might Meets Right 

Werk Force Brewing Co. - Sleepy Bear Single Barrel

Cruz Blanca Brewery - Rey Gordo

We kick off Barrel-Aged December a little early with a six pack of mostly locals who took home medals at this year’s Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beers. Unsurprisingly, this lineup is all killer with no filler, but there are a few style surprises from some familiar breweries that steal the show. We stumble into covering a whole category’s winners while running through an updated FoBAB “by the numbers.” Also, we consider how much wood a beer must touch to qualify for an entry; Craig is gonna get so yelled at during rankings; and we implore someone at ICBG to let Randy Mosher check his coat. 

Medal-Winning Beers Reviewed

Off Color Brewing - Tequila Barrel-Aged Beer for Tacos (Gose style beer aged in oak tequila barrels with lime juice and salt added) - Bronze in Other Pale Beer

Forbidden Root Brewery [Columbus ] & Derive Brewing Company - Well Positioned (Oak-fermented Saison) - Silver in Other Pale Beer

Ravinia Brewing Company - Spanish Cedar-Aged Steep Ravine (IPA aged w/ Spanish Cedar) - Gold in Other Pale Beer

Around the Bend Beer Co. - 1825 (Barrel-aged Raspberry Ale w/ Brett) - Silver in Wild Beer/Brett

More Brewing Company - Lucky Bamboo (Rum barrel-aged Tiki Sour w/ pineapple, passionfruit, lemon, lime, and bitters) - Silver in Fruit Beer

Mikerphone Brewing & Goose Island Beer Co. - Double LP: Side B (English Barleywine aged in bourbon barrels) - Gold in Barleywine/Wheatwine

In this return to one of our favorite Colorado brewery’s beers, we find some of the more offbeat and odd offerings from Weldwerks. Also, Craig catches up with co-founder and head brewer Neil Fisher to chat about how they’ve decided to grow within Greeley, why their concept of collaborations has evolved, and what makes a Medianoche so dang thick. These five flavorful beers bring out 15 barrels of bad impressions, the duality of man, and the possibility of Canned Cocktail January. Also, why is Ryan’s 6 year-old suddenly talking about Simon and Garfunkel? All that and more on this week’s…ABV CHICAGOOOOOO.

Beers Reviewed

Root Beer Float Stout (Milk stout w/ sarsaparilla, birch bark, milk sugar, vanilla, and natural flavors)

Smoke & Peaches (German-style smoked lager w/ smoked malt and smoked peaches)

Wild Mountain Mint Mojito (Imperial sour ale w/ mint, lime, Turbinado sugar, and natural flavors)

Trade Secrets (Double IPA) Collaboration with Cerebral Brewing

Midnight Magick 3: Last Barrel on the Left (Barrel aged imperial stout blended from 52-month bourbon barrel stout and 38-month aged bourbon barrel stout)

As we brace ourselves for an extended Barrel-Aged December, we dip back into the summer archives for this final Oregon-centric show from Craig’s trip to highlight these Pacific Northwest breweries that are around a year old. And if you think new Oregon breweries can’t live up to those legacy ones we all know, then you should give this one a listen. Also, we consider how breweries could ford their beers across bodies of water; we cast some liquid spells; and we share some beer drinking progression theory on a collegiate level. 

Beers Reviewed

Van Henion Brewing [Bend, OR] - Helles Lager

Fracture Brewing [Portland, OR] - Czech Dark Lager

Funky Fauna Artisan Ales [Sisters, OR] - Right to Bloom (Saison w/ Tangerine, Plum, Strawberry, Grapefruit, Guava, Hibiscus Flowers and Rose petals)

Brujos Brewing [Portland, OR] - Sitra Achra (Double Hazy IPA)

Nebuleus [Portland, OR] - exchanging glances (Wine barrel-aged blended saison)

We’re just going to come out and say it: this is the best lineup in the history of this series, and it might be the best complete lineup of barrel-aged beers to come out of Chicago this year. Cruz Blanca’s playfully-conceptualized yet artfully-crafted Luchador series goes in directions many barrel-aged brewers don’t - and all the big swings pay off. Nothing is lost with the switch to 12-ounce cans and only six offerings this year, especially when they all bang this hard. In addition to a possible “beer of the year” candidate for both of us, we’re trying to solve the Fedora Pool Mystery, dreaming up the perfect donut pairings, and getting ready for the pit. 

Beers Reviewed

La Tormenta (Imperial pineapple ale aged in Barbados rum barrels with canella and spices)

Barbarosa Con Café (Imperial black and red raspberry ale aged in red wine barrels w/ Metric coffee)

Señor Finito (Imperial stout aged in rye whiskey barrels w/ cocoa nibs, mesquite bean, and canella)

Tarzan Boy (Imperial stout aged in Barbados rum barrels w/ banana, Mexican vanilla, piloncillo, and Metric coffee)

Rey Gordo (Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels)

Rey Cuvée (2019, 2020, and 2021 Rey Gordo blended and rye barrel-aged w/ Mexican vanilla) 

With one summer and one fall release, Revolution has already put six cans of this year’s Deep Wood series out into the world, and we’re eager to have them all side-by-side. We sample five stouts and a black barleywine aged in a variety of barrels, and nothing here is threatening their title of best barrel-aged brewery in Chicago (in our opinion). Also, we brainstorm attractions that could be added to local taprooms; we trademark Tall and Dangerous grocery stores; Ryan’s bringing back his Year One self; and Craig explains the drawback of bringing Deep Wood beers to C2E2. 

Beers Reviewed (Deep Wood: 2022-2023)

Deth’s Tar (Imperial Oatmeal Stout aged in bourbon barrels)

Café Deth (Imperial Oatmeal Stout aged in bourbon barrels and steeped with fresh coffee beans)

Coconut Deth (Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels with coconut)

Deth by Currants (Imperial Oatmeal Stout with currants aged in bourbon barrels)

Thundertaker (Imperial Rye Stout aged in bourbon barrels)

Lumberstruck (Black Barleywine Ale aged in red wine barrels)

Unknowable horrors await us on our sixth annual Torture Test show, wherein we try to find weird, old, and terrible beers to blindly afflict one another, and this one’s crawling with impossible-to-guess styles and shapeshifting ABV. We try to avoid adding ounces to the simmering Cuvée of Doom by guessing whatever we can about these beers while (often) choking down what’s in the glass. Ryan pumps himself up with the Unsolved Mysteries theme song, Craig keeps feeling the effects of a flavor creeper, and we experience The Longest Finish. 

Beers Survived

Local Option Bierwerker - Dampf Loc c. 2015 (Dampfbier)

Rinkuškiai - Effin Awesome (Imperial Lager)

Grupo Modelo - Chelada Piña Picante (Pineapple and Pepper beer)

Athletic Brewing Company - Oktoberfest (Non-Alcoholic Beer)

Bell’s Brewery - Neptune: The Mystic (Imperial Stout w/ black pepper, hickory bark, dandelion root, spices, molasses, and maple syrup with cayenne peppers, star anise, raisins, and dates added)

Oliphant Brewing - Milkman Manbaby (Milky Weizen Dunkel Stout)