ABV Chicago Craft Beer Podcast

Ed from Boston brought us beers from Night Shift Brewing’s 2014 Barrel Society, and we all review five of them with the “assistance” of Dennis. This solid lineup from the Massachusetts brewery includes many brettanomyces-enhanced sours and barrel-aged goodies. In addition, Dennis provides his expertise on dog food and how the food industry uses specific descriptors to trick you. We try and diagnose what’s wrong with Ryan. There’s a debate over forest floor or forest flora or forced floor. And Craig reads from the bottle and watches the Blackhawks. We somehow manage to talk beers amongst a mixed bag of distractions that also includes mousy taints, Garfield, “Hanging Yoga”, Cool Water by Davidoff, horses, and David Schwimmer.  Someone please hire Dennis.

 

Ed and Craig

 

1. Pluto (Sour ale aged with raspberries and brettanomyces)

2. Nebula (Berlinner Weisse aged with brettanomyces and prickly pears)

3. Quasar (Barrel-aged ale with brettanomyces and passion fruit)

4. Orion (Sour dark ale aged in oak barrels)

5. Big Dipper (Rye wine aged in Nicaraguan rum barrels)

 

Ryan and Dennis

 

1. Pluto (Sour ale aged with raspberries and brettanomyces)

2. Orion (Sour dark ale aged in oak barrels)

3. Nebula (Berlinner Weisse aged with brettanomyces and prickly pears)

4. Quasar (Barrel-aged ale with brettanomyces and passion fruit)

5. Big Dipper (Rye wine aged in Nicaraguan rum barrels)




Direct download: ABV_Chicago_70_Night_Shift.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:07pm CDT

 

Temperance Beer Company is churning out medal-winning beers from their Evanston brewery, and brewmaster Claudia Jendron invited us up to try most of their portfolio. Turns out that spending an afternoon drinking ten beers with Claudia makes for pretty great conversation. In addition to plenty of brewing notes, Claudia talks about the experience of winning a medal at GABF; her extreme commitment to quality control and customer service; and her preference for English ingredients to create a unique take on refreshing, approachable beers. She also talks about moving from receptionist to brewer at Goose Island and how the AB-InBev buyout impacted the brewery. We learn about the challenge of hop contracts, canning’s benefits over bottling, and the calculated risks in barrel-aging. This is a great listen, and by the end, you’ll want to start a hop farm.

 

 

Our Top Beers

 



 

Ryan

 

1. Grapefruit Escapist IPA

 

2. Restless Years Rye APA

 

3. Smittytown ESB

 



 

Craig

 

1. Smittytown Tart ESB

 

2. Restless Years Rye APA

 

3. Gatecrasher English IPA

 


 

Beers Sampled:

 

Gatecrasher English IPA

 

Restless Years APA

 

Escapist IPA

 

Smittytown ESB

 

Grapefruit Escapist IPA

 

Smittytown Tart ESB

 

Greenwood Beach Blonde

 

Quotidienne Dubbel

 

Root Down Porter

 

Manhattan Barrel-Aged Might Meets Right

 



 

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_69_Temperance.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:58am CDT

Imperial Oak Brewing is approaching their first anniversary, and we visit them at their Willow Springs brewpub to sample their beers and talk about their operation. Brewers and owners Grant Hamilton and Brett Semenske are getting the most out of their 7-barrel brewery through constant experimentation with post-fermentation additions and barrel treatments. Owner Chris DiBraccio talks about his decade-plus experience running Brixie’s Beer Bar in Brookfield and how it’s helped keep Imperial Oak flowing smoothly. We learn a bit about their unique artwork, the plethora of growler and merchandise selections they sell, and why the local bikers love them. Craig also geeks out a lot on Star Wars, and someone finally calls Ryan out on his shit. It’s a trap! (Please don’t sue us, George Lucas.)

 



 

Craig

 

1. Billy Dee’s Coconut Pecan Porter

 

2. Barrel-aged Admiral Ackbeer It’s a Barrel-aged Trap!ist Dubbel

 

3. Barrel-aged Odin’s Beard Imperial Red Ale

 

4. Brother’s Keeper Imperial Honey Saison   

 

5. Crank It Hop - Amarillo IPA

 

6. Admiral Ackbeer It’s a Trap!ist Dubbel

 



 

Ryan

 

1. Barrel-aged Odin’s Beard Imperial Red Ale

 

2. Crank It Hop - Amarillo IPA

 

3. Billy Dee’s Coconut Pecan Porter

 

4. Brother’s Keeper Imperial Honey Saison   

 

5. Admiral Ackbeer It’s a Trap!ist Dubbel

 

6. Barrel-aged Admiral Ackbeer It’s a Barrel-aged Trap!ist Dubbel

 

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_68_Imperial_Oak.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:45am CDT

It’s adjunct stout hour featuring chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, and peppers - all tasted and reviewed blind! We review and rank six “Mexican hot chocolate” style beers, and only you - the lisener - will know what we are drinking. Get ready for some Telenovela-sized plot twists in this one, as we ruin Craig’s favorite beer for him forever and an unexpected local brewery handily defeats all the others. Bring your mouth!

 

Ryan

1. Spiteful Malevolence: Chocolate Caliente

2. Perennial Abraxas

3. Cigar City Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout (2014)

4. Westbrook Mexican Cake (2013)

5. Hailstorm Vlad the Conquistador

6. 18th Street Bitches’ Bank

 

Craig

1. Spiteful Malevolence: Chocolate Caliente

2. Cigar City Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout (2014)

3. Perennial Abraxas

4. Westbrook Mexican Cake (2013)

5. Hailstorm Vlad the Conquistador

6. 18th Street Bitches’ Bank

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_67_MHCB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:20am CDT

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