ABV Chicago Craft Beer Podcast

So, was anyone going to tell us that gose puns weren’t cool anymore? Well, at least the beers are better than they’ve ever been as we sample five enhanced goses from local breweries that only leave us feeling a little salty. Pineapples, coconuts, lavender, lactose - what won’t these crazy breweries put in a gose these days?!? Also, we address the hairless bear in the room, remember when we used to do research, kill some time with some salt talk, sell our urban foraging secrets, rename our erotic fiction protagonists, and sing a little Mellencamp. Then there’s a game about matching Muppets to types of beer drinkers, and we only manage to kill off one. So it goes.

Beers Reviewed

DESTIHL Brewery - Wild Sour Series: Piña Colada Gose

Dutchbag Brew Co. - Summer Kings (Gose w/ fresh strawberry juice, gray sea salt, coriander, and hibiscus)

Marz Community Brewing Co. - Lavender Lemon Gose (Gose w/ lavender, lemon, and butterfly pea flower)

Pipeworks Brewing Company - A Nice Slice (Gose w/ lactose, key lime juice, cinnamon, and vanilla)

Lake Effect Brewing - Gose Ale Aged in Port Barrels

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_338_So_It_Gose.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30am CDT

Once we accepted the cancellation of beer fests for the foreseeable future, we knew we had a hole to fill. A farmhouse hole. So, we do our best to recreate one of our favorite annual events - our annual Illinois Craft Beer Week event, Saisonathon - by drinking a wide array of saisons from the comfort of our own homes. There are eight wildly different saisons - six from local breweries - that require us to seek a little off-mic assist from our wives. But mainly, we sing our sweet praises of the style we adore so much, and one of us even takes a full-on saison shower. We also talk about the persistence of GIFs, implement the Malort color scale, wish for regrettable saison flavors, visit the coaster whisperer, and get started on that “life of a beer podcaster” screenplay. It’s Saisonathon 2020 - and you are invited. 

Beers Reviewed

Off Color Brewing - Marañón Predator (Saison with yeast isolated from a rare form of cacao)

Vennture Brew Co. - Vennture To the Farm (Brett saison w/ rye)

Keeping Together - Thoughts Without A Thinker (Mixed culture saison w/ Earl Grey tea, orange juice and zest, and saffron)

Is/Was Brewing - Maestro Marcelino (Saison w/ roasted agave)

Lo Rez Brewing - Bière De Miel (Saison w/ honey)

Cruz Blanca Brewery - Paloma (Grapefruit saison)

Allagash Brewing Company - Cascara Saison (Saison w/ cascara berries)

Afterthought Brewing Company - Saison Auran: Key Lime Gin Barrel-Aged (Saison aged in gin barrels w/orange juice and zest, rose hips, and key line juice)

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_337_Saisonathon_at_Home.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:42pm CDT

If it seems that the string of 90-degree days will never end, well have we got a beer style for you. Berliner weisses experienced a considerable rejuvenation in the last five years, but they’ve also recently become synonymous with overfruited slurry beers that buck any sense of tradition. On this show, we seek five local Berliners that add fruit while keeping an eye on the original style. The results are pleasurable for your ears. Additionally, we embrace our new favorite sport (it’s foot golf), confuse our THPs from our THCs and TVPs, track the nefarious Rawber Hortcu, create Beer for Hot Dogs, recommend our favorite Metamucil-sponsored manga, and experience illegal amounts of mayo. And hey, BuzzBalls - if you’re out there, please let us know that you’re okay. 

Beers reviewed

Noon Whistle Brewing - Fuzzy Smack (Berliner weisse w/ peach)

Lo Rez Brewing - Strawberry Shortcut (Strawberry Berliner weisse)

Dutchbag Brew Co. - Maybe the Flamingo Ate Your Baby (Berliner weisse w/ pomegranate & fresh ginger)

Off Color Brewing - Beer for Brunch (Berliner weisse-style w/ orange & chardonnay grape juice)

Mikerphone Brewing - Teleport Massive (Brambleberry Berliner weisse w/ raspberries & blackberries)

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_336_Fruited_Berliners.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30am CDT

If it’s been a while since you’ve last visited a craft bottle shop, you’ll likely encounter a whole new slew of labels from local breweries to explore. We pick up five beers from a few breweries we know and from a few we don’t to hopefully help you navigate those crowded shelves. Meanwhile, Ryan’s tenure as the mayor of Hazytown is short-lived; Craig is going to get cancelled by Carly Rae Jepsen fans; and we uncover the truth about all the fireworks. Plus, there’s beer-to-movie comparisons, doom yoga, mayo beers, mouth sweaters, and new growler innovations. 

Beers Reviewed

Soundgrowler Brewing Co. - Pan’s Bread (Bock-style Lager)

Roaring Table Brewing - Struts & Frets (Hazy IPA)

Rabid Brewing - Shadowstepper (Imperial milk stout w/ cacao nibs & lactose sugar)

Liquid Love Brewing - Round the Edges (DDH IPA)

Brewer’s Kitchen - Green Mountains Only (DDH DIPA)

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_335_New_Local_Cans.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30am CDT

After months of curbside-only beer shopping, craft bottle shops have opened their doors to customers looking to pluck some single cans off the shelves in hopes of discovering a few new favorites. We did just that at The Open Bottle in Tinley Park, finding five beers from out-of-state breweries to check out, leading us to one mystery after another. But in that exploration, we learn a lot about ourselves, including just how much older we are than Willy Wonka. (I know, right?!?) This bevvy of contract and altprop beers steers us to remember our lustful sambas, ruin Craig’s craft beer band name, and go on the most boring Mystery Date ever. (By the way, this show should’ve been called “80% Twelve Percent” but Craig wouldn’t let me.)

Beers Reviewed

Public Access Liquids - Constellate (Lager w/ yuzu)

Humble Forager Brewery - Elevated Perspective: Samba, Nelson Sauvin, Mosaic Cryo, & Strata (Imperial oat cream IPA)

______ Brewing - The One That Just Kicked (Double IPA)

Fat Orange Cat Brew Co. - Do the Escalator to the 13th Floor (Double IPA)

Short Throw Brewing Co. - Low Brow Nobility (Imperial stout w/ toasted coconut, coffee, cinnamon, and maple syrup)

Direct download: ABV_Chicago_334_5New2Us.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30am CDT

1