Things get a little salty as we open up nine different Goses, and good Gose do we overload this episode with crappy puns. But we also talk a little history, embrace Bahl Hornin' (whatever the hell that is), decant some peppers, and get surprisingly sauced on 4 percent alcohol beers. And Ryan wishes Craig was a taco. So it gose.

Craig

1. Ritterguts Gose

2. Freigeist Geisterzug Gose

3. Westbrook Gose

4. Westbrook Gozu

5. Leipziger Gose

6. DESTIHL Here Gose Nothing

7. Anderson Valley Blood Orange Gose

8. Against the Grain There Gose The Neighborhood

9. Marz Ruby’s Tears

Ryan

1. Ritterguts Gose

2. DESTIHL Here Gose Nothing

3. Westbrook Gose

4. Westbrook Gozu

5. Leipziger Gose

6. Anderson Valley Blood Orange Gose

7. Against the Grain There Gose The Neighborhood

8. Freigeist Geisterzug Gose

9. Marz Ruby’s Tears

We sure drink a lot of Chicago’s own Transient Artisan Ales, and now that some of his beers are being distributed for non-reserve society members, it’s a fine occasion to drink some more! We review five of Chris Betts’ beers of varying styles, and we don’t pull any punches. Well, we don’t have to. This beer is damn good. Expect talk of a new slogan, cherry soda, progressive tingles, and The Power of Almost. Our bindles are bulging full of fun!

Craig

1. Presque (Red Wine)

2. Pentameter

3. Henry

4. Presque (Apple Brandy)

5. Cuvier

Ryan

1. Presque (Red Wine)

2. Pentameter

3. Cuvier

4. Henry

5. Presque (Apple Brandy)

With an award nomination under our belts and a pocket full of new money, we skip the lines and haul in some barrel-aged Chicago-area brews. We review five beers and, occasionally, get distracted! Ryan checks out Exit Strategy in Forest Park, Craig struggles with wax, and Josh Deth does a...uh, nevermind. There’s Tinley Park stories, more FOBAB memories, yogurty cabs, street toughs, Waka Flocculation, and bad Untappd reviewer habits. The struggle is real!

Ryan

1. Temperance Beer Co. Manhattan Might Meets Right

2. Middle Brow Beer Co. Who’s That Girl?

3. Imperial Oak Brewing Barrel Aged I Must Break You\

4. Penrose Brewing Bourbon Barrel Aged Spectral

5. Hailstorm Brewing Vlad the Second

Craig

1. Temperance Beer Co. Manhattan Might Meets Right

2. Middle Brow Beer Co. Who’s That Girl?

3. Imperial Oak Brewing Barrel Aged I Must Break You\

4. Hailstorm Brewing Vlad the Second

5. Penrose Brewing Bourbon Barrel Aged Spectral

For too long we’ve neglected beers from the Eastern seaboard, so we’re dedicating this episode to The Bay State. We sample beers from three Massachusetts breweries, and everything is coming up great (like the mid-aughts Toronto music scene, according to Craig).

We pitch a few beer concepts and a show idea for the real “Uppers and Downers,” then Craig shares about how German bratwurst changed his life. Oh the burning!

Craig

1. Tree House Brewing Haze (DIPA)

2. Trillium Brewing Night and Day (Imperial Stout with cold brewed coffee)

3. Tree House Brewing Lights Out (APA)

4. Night Shift Brewing Cape Codder Weisse (Berliner Weisse with cranberries and orange zest)

5. Trillium Brewing Vicinity (DIPA)

6. Night Shift Brewing Mainer Weisse (Berliner Weisse with blueberries and cinnamon sticks)

Ryan

1. Tree House Brewing Haze (DIPA)

2. Trillium Brewing Night and Day (Imperial Stout with cold brewed coffee)

3. Tree House Brewing Lights Out (APA)

4. Trillium Brewing Vicinity (DIPA)

5. Night Shift Brewing Mainer Weisse (Berliner Weisse with blueberries and cinnamon sticks)

6. Night Shift Brewing Cape Codder Weisse (Berliner Weisse with cranberries and orange zest)

Chocolate is the subject of Middle Brow Beer Co.’s latest homebrew contest, and for some reason, they let us help pick a winner. We’re joined by Nick and Bryan from Middle Brow, and we taste and talk about five of the best beers out of the 23 submitted by local homebrewers. While deciding on which beer will be commercially brewed, we talk oak spirals, MTV, vanilla beans, Beechwood-aging, wax, post-contest success stories, and This Year’s Prop. Plus, the Middle Brow guys share some details on some upcoming releases with Dark Matter, Jimmy Whispers, and much more. Oh, and lots of nut jokes.

Homebrews sampled include:

Pecan Brown Ale with cocoa nibs

Chocolate Rye Saison

Chocolate Hazelnut Porter

Imperial Oatmeal Stout with coffee, hazelnuts, and vanilla bean

Imperial Oatmeal Stout with cinnamon, vanilla, and cacao nibs, aged on bourbon oak spirals

It’s Mardi Gras time, and we’re tasting a carnival of Voodoo Brewery beers. We review six (plus one) beers from the Meadville, Pennsylvania brewery, and we end up having one of our best drinking experiences ever recorded. In this episode, you’ll also hear about Craig’s trip to Voodoo, why Ryan might be leaving the podcast, and our virulent support of the Anti-Waxer movement. Plus, a trio of barrel-aged beers brings about some of the more memorable - and lascivious - reactions we’ve had in a while. For us, every day is Fat Tuesday!

Mutual Rankings!

1. Pappy Van Winkle Black Magick

2. Buffalo Trace Black Magick

3. Laird’s Apple Brandy Black Magick

4. Voodoo Love Child

5. Big Black Voodoo Daddy

6. Wynona’s Big Brown Ale

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To celebrate the birth of his daughter, Ryan got to assemble his show his way, and he did a hell of a job. Six local beers are reviewed, and all are pretty great. Both men drink for the first time in a while, so expect to hear the following: Ryan shares his love for Waka Flocka Flame’s cough drop commercials; Craig forgets about oatmeal and words in general; BCBS is Kanye, and we realize that we are jumping the shark. Also, Ryan learns how to curse again after a few weeks off, and Craig shares a story about how he was rejected by a rising star brewer. Sadly, no Derk Lerd.

Craig

1. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout (2009)

2. (tie) Pipeworks Crimson Snapper and Arcade Winter Slayer

4. Off Color Dino S’mores

5. Une Année/DryHop The Devil’s Reign

6. 18th Street Rise of the Phoenix

Ryan

1. Pipeworks Crimson Snapper

2. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout (2009)

3. 18th Street Rise of the Phoenix

4. Off Color Dino S’mores

5. Arcade Winter Slayer

6. Une Année/DryHop The Devil’s Reign

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We finally release this much-ballyhooed old episode, and it’s one for the books. Back in the Spring of 2014, we drank seven Dark Horse special release beers, and things did not go well. Sometimes the expectations we have for certain episodes do not match the outcome. And in this one, what starts as steadily-growing disappointment ends in a profane crescendo of anger-filled rankings. We do have a hell of a time along the way, and Ryan finally stumps Craig in a game: “Real Dark Horse Beer Name or Something I Just Made Up.” Bask in our suffering!

Craig

1. Bourbon Barrel Plead the 5th (2013)

2. Sarsparilla 666 Bourbon Barrel Root Beer Stout

3. Bourbon Barrel Plead the 5th (2012)

4. Brandy Barrel-Aged 4 Elf

5. Louie’s Long Polymer John Donut Ale

6. Beer is Dark XIII Anniversary Ale

7. Bourbon Barrel 3 Pairs of Legs

Ryan

1. Bourbon Barrel Plead the 5th (2013)

2. Louie’s Long Polymer John Donut Ale

3. Bourbon Barrel Plead the 5th (2012)

4. Sarsparilla 666 Bourbon Barrel Root Beer Stout

5. Brandy Barrel-Aged 4 Elf

7. (tie) Bourbon Barrel 3 Pairs of Legs/Beer is Dark XIII Anniversary Ale

It’s no secret that we love Missouri breweries, and we’re delighted to try four beers from 2nd Shift Brewing. In this short show we manage to cram in our usual beer reviews, a thorough discussion of yellow candy, a few songs from Craig, and a sneaking suspicion that we have been drugged. This one ends with a tingle!

Ryan

1. Liquid Spiritual Delight

2. Art of Neurosis

3. Albino Pygmy Puma

4. Mullineaux

Craig

1. Liquid Spiritual Delight

2. Art of Neurosis

3. Mullineaux

4. Albino Pygmy Puma

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We’re clearing out Craig’s cellar on this episode by drinking the first five beers Revolution Brewing released under their Deep Wood series. We learn valuable lessons about aging barrel-aged beers, distinguishing dark fruits, and drinking five high-ABV beers before attempting to make sense of rankings. Craig pulls back the curtain on some of our recording secrets, and Ryan does stuff with prunes. This episode is not for suckers, fools, or ho-hum emcees.

Ryan

1. Very Mad Cow (2012)

2. 3rd Year Beer

3. Straight Jacket (2012)

4. Bean Gene (2013)

5. Mean Gene (2013)

Craig

1. Very Mad Cow (2012)

2. Straight Jacket (2012)

3. Bean Gene (2013)

4. 3rd Year Beer

5. Mean Gene (2013)