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)

By the time you hit that third Zoom meeting of the day, you’re likely thinking about a beer to drink discretely that won’t get you in trouble. On this episode, we have five very different beers that all land under 6 percent, which should keep you out of trouble with HR. Craig seeks out some movie recommendations, Ryan wishes he had a Willi, and we discuss 3-time World Dabbing Champion Tom Emanski. We also discuss the merits of the margarita gose, get shocked to the core by a City Slickers revelation, try to fix Paw Patrol, and share the truth about horses. 

Beers Reviewed

Metropolitan Brewing - Jet Stream (Wheat beer)

Revolution Brewing Company - Rosa (Hibiscus ale)

Dovetail Brewery - Grodziskie 

Off Color Brewing - Beer for Tacos (Gose w/ lime juice, coriander, and pink Himalyan salt)

More Brewing Company - Lil’ Space Booties (DDH Session IPA)

Even though people are chasing pre-orders instead of trucks these days, Hop Butcher is still as hot as ever thanks to their consistent schedule of mostly hoppy - and mostly hazy - releases. The variation amongst these six beers is surprisingly significant, despite all being some sort of play on IPA. This episode is a tribute to what this brewery has become, and we’re satiating the Hop Butcher nerds with two trivia games and some additional information about all elements of their process - plus a tasty little nugget about a possible taproom. We’re also talking about placebo buttons, Cold IPAs, Mai Tais, bad comics about beer, autocorrect malaprops, and Craig’s Sabro insensitivity. We’re bringing phenomenal back. 

Beers Reviewed

Deep Rinse (Centennial, Simcoe, Amarillo & Zuper Saazer-hopped Cold India Pale Ale)

Dese, Dem & Dose (Simcoe, Motueka & Belma-hopped India Pale Ale)

Preserved In Three Dimensions (Sabro & Simcoe-hopped Double India Pale Ale)

Kielbasa King (Mosaic & Nelson Sauvin-hopped Double India Pale Ale)

Circumpolar Cherry Cyclone (Citra & Strata-hopped Milkshake Double India Pale Ale Brewed with Lactose, Vanilla and Cherry)

A Deeper Dish (Citra & Vic Secret-hopped Triple India Pale Ale)

Soothing that early summer heat with big ol’ glasses of lactose and hops, we’re sharing shakes from afar this week with the hopes of better understanding our complicated relationship with this popular style. We have five very different milkshake IPAs from some local favorites and - GASP - there may be a grifter in our midst! Other childish talking points include Green River floats, new Fun Dip slogans, the merits of Neapolitan ice cream, toilet ghoulies, shower sharks, and just who is at the top of the Milkshake Kombat Mountain. 

Beers Reviewed

Maplewood Brewing Company - Son of Shakey (Milkshake IPA w/ wheat, oats, lactose, and vanilla)

Riverlands Brewing - Strawberry Shaky Shaky (Milkshake IPA w/ strawberry, lactose, Mosaic hops, and vanilla)

Mikerphone Brewing - Crushcrushcrush (Milkshake IPA w/ Citra, vanilla, and orange peel)
Phase Three Brewing - DDH Mosaic Sabro Double Crème (DDH DIPA w/ Mosaic, Sabro, oats, and milk sugar)

Hop Butcher for the World - Ocean Key (Citra & Motueka-hopped milkshake DIPA w/ pineapple, key lime, and vanilla)

Since you won’t find either of us sitting on some coffeehouse patio anytime soon, we’re bringing the coffee home in the form of five stouts. While they all deliver the caffeine and the booze, each beer stands on its own unique merits - or is a victim of context. But we’re also here to get Craig prepped to audition for the new Supermarket Sweep, including how to navigate the new craft beer aisle. We also feel nostalgic for beer travels, stop at Ryan’s cooking corner, get VIP access to the fields of Charleston Chews, and observe a series of dissipating heads. 

Beers Reviewed

More Brewing - Hush of Night: Chocolate City (Milk stout blended w/ Dark Matter Chocolate City coffee)

Trillium Brewing - PM Dawn (Imperial stout w/ Barrington Coffee Roasters cold brewed coffee)

2nd Shift Brewing - Coffee Liquid Spiritual Delight (Imperial stout w/ coffee)

Maplewood Brewing - Cuppaccino (Imperial stout w/ Metric coffee, vanilla, and chocolate)

Noon Whistle Brewing - Dodging Traffic (Imperial stout w/ Tugboat coffee)

Here’s hoping that we can talk you out of attending that backyard barbecue by offering up this refreshing bowl of audio fruit salad to help your summer isolation feel a bit more festive. We have five different fruited beers that really span the range from “pleasant fruit accessory” to “chunky berry sludge” - and they honestly succeed in ways we didn’t expect. We plan some totally radical ways to break up illicit social gatherings, please the Tootsie Pop conspiracy theorists, mistake Craig for Instagram, get hostile at Jamba Juice, and eulogize a good blender. Good gorf. 

Beers Reviewed

Haymarket Beer Company - Blood Orange Blonde (Blonde ale w/ blood oranges)

Cruz Blanca Brewery - La Floridita (Sparkling rosé ale w/ hibiscus and passion fruit)

Third Space Brewing - FROG Weiss (Kettle sour w/ fig, raspberry, orange, and ginger)

Trillium Brewing Company - Daily Serving: Raspberry (Berliner weisse w/ raspberry)

More Brewing Company - Frooted 3riberry (“Smoothie ale” w/ blackberry, strawberry, and raspberry)

When you’ve been around as long as Stone, you’re bound to take some lumps. And lumps we have delivered in the past by subjecting Stone beers to undeserved spots on our Torture Test episodes. Thanks to Lizzie at Stone, we are finally able to give the brewery its first proper set of arbitrary reviews, and we only ignore one “enjoy by” date in this episode. The beers on the show are mostly pretty great, but all the talk of redemption arcs has us reflecting on past bad beers. We do a comprehensive reflection on six-and-a-half years of the (subjectively) worst beers we’ve ever had on the show, because, well, we’re quarantined and bored. Craig wants his MTV, Ryan just wants the commercials, and we’re both missing the in-person sexual tension. There’s also talk of slamming pogs, rough pours, ᴁon Flux nightmares, flavor descriptor shirts, and a long-held Eufórqestra grudge. 

Stone Beers Reviewed

Buenaveza (Salt & lime lager)

Notorious P.O.G. (Berliner weisse w/ passion fruit, orange, and guava)

Fear.Movie.Lions (Unfiltered double IPA)

Soaring Dragon (Imperial IPA w/ white tea)

Xocoveza (Imperial milk stout w/ cocoa, coffee, pasilla peppers, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg)

We were already becoming very good at staying home and drinking copious amounts of lager before this whole mess, so it’s only natural that we shelter-in-place with a rich lineup of bottom-fermenting beers.  Featuring six different lager styles from six Midwestern breweries, this episode highlights impressive flavor and mouthfeel variations so we actually, like, have stuff to talk about. Ryan takes unforeseen risks to increase contact with the outside world, Craig ponders, “What is cornbread?”, and we show love for the legend himself Willi Becher. Other topical quarantine talking points include sourdough starter dread, Elon Musk is a douche, 3-word beer reviews, and schwarzbier horniness. 

Beers Reviewed

Pollyanna Brewing Company - Lite Thinking (American Lager)

2nd Shift Brewing - Technical Ecstasy (Czech-style Pilsner)

Kinslahger Brewing Company - Prohibition Pilsner 

Third Space Brewing - La Cocina (Dark Mexican Lager)

Pipeworks Brewing Company - Select Schwarzbier

Maplewood Brewing Company - Gold Noise (Dortmunder-style Lager)

This week, we celebrate the resilience of local breweries and bottle shops that are still finding a way to keep getting hazy IPAs into the begloved fans of the juice. Though not necessarily the most hyped haze producers in the area, the five breweries on this show prove to be absolutely worth your contact-free dollar. We have a rare first-timer on the show, share our drunk online shopping stories, give out orange slices to the whole soccer team, argue best milkshake flavors, and admire Craig’s beach bod. Thicc pale daddies are welcome.

Beers Reviewed

Illuminated Brew Works - Junior Astronaut Juice (DDH IPA)

Foreign Exchange - Foreign Chemistry: Citra & Amarillo (DDH IIPA)

Around the Bend Beer Co. - Lost Words (Hazy IPA)

Marz Community Brewing Co. - Crazy Straws (NE-style IPA)

Riverlands Brewing Company - Gilded King (New England IPA)

Craig extends his curbside to wherever he may roam, and after a month of quarantine, he hit up Milwaukee, carbound and down to score some more Third Space. After our visit last July, we’ve been thirsting for more from this brewery that’s just a Christian Yelich homerun away from Brewers’ stadium. We have a nice variety of five beers, and we take inspiration from the brewery’s Seinfeld obsession to run a round of Stumptappd about nothing. We also share some of our new quarantine names, reimagine the movie theater experience, chase grandma with some fireworks, seek solace in the filthiest chips, and really botch a Zoom call-and-reponse. My wife!

Beers Reviewed

Summer Home (Hoppy Blonde Ale)

Unbridled Enthusiasm (Juicy Double IPA)

Haunted Barrel 2019 (Barrel-aged candy bar porter aged in bourbon and rum barrels w/ cacao and vanilla)

Happy Place (Midwest Pale Ale)

Mystic Knot (Barrel-aged Irish-style Coffee Stout)

As we continue our shelter-in-place recordings, this time we’ve got a somewhat random mix of dark beers to distract us from *gestures broadly* and get us nearly incoherent by rankings time. Whether teeming with adjuncts or not, these five Midwestern porters and stouts compete in the Pretty Head Competition while the show becomes robust with distraction. We imagine an augmented-reality taproom experience, conduct a lunchbox check, break down existentially over Christmas music, get mesmerized by blacklight posters, and let Malt-O-Meal be our quarantine saviors. Let it levitate on your palate. 

Beers Reviewed

Shared - Base Weight (Robust porter)

Pipeworks Brewing Company - Easy Keepers (Oatmeal stout)

Old Irving Brewing Co./Illuminated Brew Works - Ancient Magick (Imperial stout w/ cocoa nibs, vanilla, cinnamon, peanut butter and marshmallow)

Transient Artisan Ales/More Brewing Co. - Breakfast Sauce (Imperial oatmeal stout w/ coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, black tea, and chai spices)

Lift Bridge Brewing Co. - Barrel-aged Silhouette (Barrel-aged imperial stout)

We’re sheltered-in-place and slamming way more of some killer hoppy beers than normal, because we don’t actually have to share. In our first remotely-recorded episode, we overcome a brief technical glitch before returning to what feels very normal: Craig and Ryan fumbling through flavor descriptors while distracting each other with random stories from our past. Craig has invented the perfect game for these times, Ryan’s trying to make a deal with Greg Avola, and we catch up on each other’s new quarantine hobbies. Other talking points include mint creamsicles, Mario Kart coaching, Idahos 1 through 6, Mr. Met, the shirt technique, statued asses, bad Altoids stunts, and the secret of the green river dye. 

Recorded 4/7/20

Beers Reviewed

Hubbard’s Cave - Clean Pale (Midwest pale ale)

Half Acre Beer Company - Tome (Hazy pale ale)

Cruz Blanca Brewery/Hop Butcher for the World - Hard Right Angle (Hazy IPA)

Old Irving Brewing Co. - Beezer (Double dry-hopped IPA)

Hop Butcher for the World/Eagle Park Brewing Company - Swans of Lir (Milkshake DIPA w/ mint and vanilla)

In lieu of, you know, actual travelling, we’re taking our tastebuds down to Kentucky thanks to our good friend Sarah Rehmer. As our last in-person recording for a while, we couldn’t have expected that a show with five different Kentucky beers would have so many standouts - along with one just hateful beer. We’re building 90s quarantine playlist, claiming governance over each others’ bodies, planning our binge-watching material, breaking down the grain brackets, and squeezing into our husky Arizonas. Also, Ryan has a stupid soundboard and is going total jazz with it before packing it away for the foreseeable future. Thanks for listening - and keep coming back, as we’ll still have new episodes every week.

Recorded 3/20/20

Beers Reviewed

Against the Grain Brewery (Louisville, KY) - A Beer (American Light Lager)

Mile Wide Beer Company (Louisville, KY) - Catalina Breeze (West Coast IPA)

Falls City Beer (Louisville, KY) - Slam Dunkel

Monnik Beer Co. (Louisville, KY) - Tropic of Capricorn (Double IPA)

Country Boy Brewing (Lexington, KY) - Nacho Bait (Habanero Blonde Ale)

We can all use a heaping helping of beer-based nostalgia right now, so we spend an hour drinking and talking about one of the most significant craft breweries Chicagoland has ever known: 3 Floyds. For the first time ever, we have five different beers from the Munster, Indiana-based brewery represented, including three that really get us story-telling. Though this was recorded at the early stages of quarantine, Ryan’s lead-up indicates that it’s already gotten to his head a bit. We also talk about wide mouthfeels, classic DIPAs, hop extract vs. other extracts, and the indefinite (and not totally unfortunate) end of line bottle shares. We’ve got that curbside weird you ordered all ready for you.

Recorded 3/18/20

Beers Reviewed

Region X (Dortmunder-style Lager)

Alpha King (Pale Ale)

Zombie Dust (Pale Ale)

Arctic Panzer Wolf (Double IPA)

Wigsplitter (Imperial Oatmeal Stout w/ Espresso)

Because, what else are we going to do? A while back, Ryan bought three French presses and was determined to make an absolute mess of some good beers for your entertainment. Craig picked out six beers from local breweries in a range of styles, and we drink and review those beers as normal before cramming a bunch of cookies into them and sampling the results. The flavor combinations are surprising and, in one case, life-affirming. Here’s some other quarantine talking points from this long player: mysterious yard food, the indomitable Alton Brand, Ewan Macgregor’s body painting, the problem with cookie trub, human-sized podcast bubbles, and the inevitable rise of Girl Scouts in the upcoming barter economy. Let us distract and disgust you. (Support your local bar, restaurant, and brewery!)

Beers reviewed + and the cookies we mash into them

Is/Was Brewing - Methode Dust (Citra-style ale) + Lemon-ups®

Church Street Brewing Company - Holy Cow (Milk stout) + S’mores®

Kinslahger Brewing Company - Dunkel (Dark lager) + Do-Si-Dos®

Half Acre Beer Company - Original Reaper (Stout) + Samoas®

Maplewood Brewing Company - Barley Butcher (English barleywine) + Toffee-tastic®

Alarmist Brewing - Juke Nukem (Double IPA) + Thin Mints®

It’s good to have friends back East, as listener Mike Bobal sent us a box of New Jersey delights to reacquaint us with beers of the Garden State. And yeah, we snuck a ringer on. But there are many great beers to celebrate on this show, as we ponder many important questions. What kind of uncle will Craig be? Is a notebook technically a tree? Why does Craig feel compelled to sing 90’s songs so much? Who doesn’t want our new beer cold roller invention? What’s in the New Jersey water? How did Ryan become the Paul Blart? Why is Craig’s Gambit cosplay the worst? 

Beers Reviewed

Carton Brewing Company - This Town (Helles Lager)

Czig Meister - Deep Sea Series: Oasis (New England IPA)

Jughandle Brewing Co. - Background Radiation (New England IPA)

Icarus Brewing - Rain Sleet or Snow (Imperial Oatmeal Stout)

The Referend Bier Blendery - Berliner Messe: Kyrie 2018.2 (100% spontaneous ale aged in oak, w/ cherries & raspberries)

Three great tastes that taste great together: peanut butter, chocolate, and stout combine in all six beers on this blind tasting - and a few prove that there is a wrong way to drink a Reese’s. Otherwise, we are lavishing in decadence throughout this show with six local-ish peanut butter cup stouts that help us regain our confidence in blind guesses. Ryan reports with the exclusive scoop on the 1st Annual Destination Toddler Rumble 2020 with interviews from a few participants, Craig has a photographic memory of forgotten video game characters, and we go hard for like 7 minutes on Supermarket Sweep. Just watch out for Cheese Jim. 

Beers Reviewed Blindly (in order of appearance):

Hop Butcher for the World - Fat Bear (Peanut butter imperial stout w/ chocolate)

Hubbard’s Cave - Peanut Butter Cup Imperial Stouts 2020-1

Energy City Brewing - Bâtisserie Peanut Butter Cup Stout

Transient Artisan Ales & The Open Bottle - Bowser & Koopa (Imperial stout with Violet Sky cocoa nibs and peanut butter)

4 Hands Brewing Co. - Absence of Light Peanut Butter Chocolate Milk Stout

Untitled Art/Hidden Springs Ale Works - Peanut Butter Cup Stout

With most blind shows, we aim to learn more about how our biases impact our perception of beer styles, and we are often surprised and enlightened by the results. But not this episode. Our attempts to try and determine hop varietals through a blind sampling of five single-hop beers ends disastrously, so listen and enjoy our slow descent into existential crisis. But the beers here are varied and delicious, making the pain go down a bit easier. We analyze Craig’s Van Halen dream, Ryan does well at Celebrity Alias Trivia, and we finally call out the guy who stole our email address. (And despite a few strong proclamations, we are not quitting the podcast.)

Beers Reviewed Blindly (in order of appearance)

Hubbard’s Cave - Fresh IIPA: One Hop Mosaic

Kane Brewing Company - Enigma (DIPA)

Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. - King Sue (Citra-hopped hazy DIPA)

Hop Butcher for the World - Funderbolt (Sabro-hopped hazy IPA)

Pipeworks Brewing Company - Place in Space (Ekuanot-hopped DIPA)

The second half of Revolution’s most recent Deep Wood series is all about the barrels, with beers featuring ambitious blends and extended aging to close out the brewery’s tenth year on a high note. We sample five beers from the city’s best barrel program, and we celebrate the man who makes it all possible: David Lee Roth. Well, okay, he doesn’t actually make any of these beers happen, but he certainly serves as an inspiration and a muse, especially for this episode. Also, Ryan passes on some bad Mario Kart etiquette, Craig loves his Luxardos, and we happen upon yet another fudgebooth. Bring back the Randall. 

Beers Reviewed

Ryeway to Heaven (Bourbon and rye barrel-aged ryewine)

V.S.O.D. (Imperial oatmeal stout aged 2 years in bourbon barrels)

Boss Jacket (English barleywine aged in WhistlePig The Boss Hog ex-Calvados Rye Whiskey barrels)

Cuvée De Grâce (Blend of oatmeal and rye stouts with barleywine and scotch ale, aged in seven different barrels)

Ten Year Beer (English barleywine aged in bourbon and rye barrels for 1 and 2 years blended with sweet and tart cherries)

Back in July, we were lucky enough to spend a little time with Kyle Vetter at his 1840 Brewing in Milwaukee (which you can hear on our Brew City episode), and since then we’ve been dreaming about getting five bottles to the bunker for review. Craig’s recent travels bring us a wide variety of styles from this two year-old brewery, and at least one of these beers will be written into the ABV Hall of Fame for eternity. The whole lineup offers an array of big flavors, and we are already planning our return to Milwaukee. Also, Craig ponders a sympathetic Godzilla, Ryan’s been working on some disturbing fanfiction, and we almost get the podcast taken away from us. Ponder your pastry.

Beers Reviewed

Kascade Kid (Unfiltered lager w/ Hull Melon hops)
Rouge (Spelt and wheat saison dry-hopped with Barbe Rouge)

Hype Moves (Sour vegan gluten-reduced milkshake IPA double dry-hopped w/ Sabro, super-fruited w/ mango & pineapple, and conditioned on vanilla beans and toasted coconut)

Sea Foam (Fruited sour w/ pineapple, passion fruit, blue spirulina, and lactose)

Bere Cioccolato (Imperial stout w/ cacao nibs, coffee, hazelnuts, and lactose aged in grape brandy and two-fill whiskey barrels)

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)

The best yearly barrel-aged release series has hit its halfway point, so we’re using that as an excuse to drink through the five newest releases in Revolution’s Deep Wood series. It takes some real nitpicking to find flaws in any of these beers, so we mostly just talk about why they are all awesome in their own way. Plus, Craig schemes to be the next Everyday Hero, Ryan reveals he’s a real PlumBum, and we order out for some CrunchWraps. We also plan out our social media wall-of-fame and wonder what it would take to convert Craig to drinking actual coffee. There’s plenty of room on our tongue futon.

Beers Reviewed

Deth’s Tar (Barrel-aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout)

Deth By Plums (Barrel-aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout w/ plums)

Café Deth (Barrel-aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout w/ coffee)

Straight Jacket (Barrel-aged Barleywine)

V.S.O.R. (Rye ale aged in Rye barrels)

Special thanks to Revolution Brewing for providing the beers for this show!

When a beer festival with national interest comes through Chicago, beer consumers are met with a whole new array of options at their favorite bottle shops, even if only for a short time. For this episode, we take advantage of some FoBAB-influenced “hot drops” of out-of-distribution breweries ending up on local beer store shelves. Is it better for the local beer drinker than it is worse for the local beer producer? The five beers on this show certainly make our response to that complicated. Also, Ryan tries to start the new hot coffee mug phrase, Craig just wants to listen to “Fields of Gold” by Sting, and we struggle through maybe the drunkest rankings ever.

Beers Reviewed

Pure Project Brewing - Fingers of Gold (Murky IPA)

Listermann Brewing Company - Barrel-Aged Chickow! (Hazelnut Double Brown Ale aged in Heaven Hill barrels)

Beachwood Blendery - Funk Yeah (Gueuze-inspired Sour Ale)

Other Half Brewing Co. - Triple Nelson Daydream (Imperial Oat Cream IPA)

Jackie O’s Brewery - Bourbon Barrel Oil Of Aphrodite (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout w/ Black Walnuts and Belgian Candi Syrup)

We took last week to recover from FoBAB, so this week we dip into our short-storage vault for this episode we recorded back in May with five listener-donated beers. This beer lineup features both minor misses and absolute hits, but we’re feeling genuinely warmed by the listener love. Impending summer makes us looser than ever as we cover the positives and negatives of non-craft beer bars; we imagine Playdoh-aged beers; Ryan draws the line at Baudoinia or Bust; and Craig breaks the podcast through one simple simile. Cream those beans!

Beers Reviewed

Southern Grist Brewing Company - Lemon Meringue Pie Gose (Provided by Matt Milam)

Ale Asylum - Bock’d & Loaded (Maibock aged in Tequila and Chardonnay barrels, provided by Gary Nidetz)

Lo Rez Brewing - Apricot Knockout (Farmhouse Ale w/ apricots, provided by Sarah Rehmer)

Perennial Artisan Ales - Sump Coffee Stout 2018 w/ Ethiopian Roba (Provided by Don Kasak)

Ozark Beer Company - BDCS (Imperial milk stout aged in bourbon barrels, provided by Chris Butler)

With winter approaching, one might feel it necessary to lament the passing of lager season. But dear listener, never fret! Brewers from all over the world have got your back! On this show, we salute our schwarz as we drink seven different dark lagers, with four coming from our own backyard of Chicago. We learn a bit about the schwarzbier by soaking up the words of the experts, and we’re pleasantly surprised to find variation all throughout this lineup. Also, Ryan’s age is showing, we mourn the brief life of windbreaker season, we try not to throw away any ghosts, and we take a hard stance on beer made with human ingredients. Touch of molasses!

Beers Reviewed 

Metropolitan Brewing - Magnetron (Schwarzbier)

Köstritzer Schwarzbierbrauerei - Köstritzer Schwarzbier

Argus Brewery - Cygnus X-1 (Dark lager)

Budějovický Budvar - Czechvar/Budweiser Budvar B:Dark (Euro dark lager)

Spiteful Brewing - Dark Lager

Krombacher Gruppe - Krombacher Dark (Schwarzbier)

Maplewood Brewing Company - The Shade (Schwarzbier)

We’re celebrating our big 300 by treating ourselves to the exquisite (and expensive) beers from one of Belgium’s longest-running gueuze producers, Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen. Despite the occasion, we just do it like we have for the last 300 by reviewing carefully crafted beers as sloppily as possible, only diverting to mini-tangents about Craig’s assassin dog, horse accoutrements, Goozzwords, vacation mouth, forced floors, nighttime TinglersⓇ, and Mosher’s leveled-up skill set. Thanks for listening at any point during our 300 episodes - we hope it’s been entertaining (and just a little informative). 

Beers Reviewed

Oude Geuze 

Oude Geuze Cuvée Armand & Gaston

Oude Kriek

Framboos (2014)

Hommage

The most terrible tradition returns with our third annual gauntlet of gore as we try and outdo each other with the absolute worst-tasting beers we can find. Throw in some Zombie Skittles, and you have a profane exhibition of freakishly-bad flavors. We also try to avoid adding ounces to our Cuveé of Doom by guessing details on our brutal blind pours. We share some Halloween party conversation starters, recreate the general mood of The Deer Hunter, dine at UmamiBloodMeat, and fight against our Pavlovian smelling instincts.

Malignant Beers Reacted To

Mikkeller - Spontanbeetroot (Lambic-style ale w/ beets)

3 Floyds Brewing - Barrel-aged Chevalier 2013 (Barrel-aged Biere de Garde w/ brett)

Stone Brewing - 17th Anniversary Götterdämmerung (Double IPA from 2013)

Rinkuškiai - Crazy Brewski (Imperial Pilsner)

Brewery Vivant - Tart Side of the Moon (Dark Farmhouse Ale)

Goose Island Clybourn - Silver Jubilee (Double Pale Ale from 2013)

In our yearly tribute to Chicago’s biggest and best beer fest, we continue our tradition of giving our recommendations for the Festival of Wood and Barrel-aged Beers while drinking from a distinguished lineup of attendees - but that’s not all. We introduce the FoBAB Fantasy Draft into the world, give you instructions on how to run your own league, and hold a mock draft between ourselves (before our real league draft). But we don’t forget to hurl some major superlatives at the barrel-aged beers on the show, and talk about sad dinosaur stories. (Keep your eyes peeled on our website for the next week to get more info on running your own FoBAB Fantasy Draft. And buy tickets to FoBAB, if you haven’t already.)

Beers Reviewed

Revolution Brewing - Strawberry Jacket (BA Barleywine w/ strawberries)

Revolution Brewing - Honey Jacket (BA Barleywine w/ honey)

Around the Bend Beer Co. - Proximal (BA Barleywine)

Begyle Brewing - Barrel Aged Imperial Pajamas (BA Imperial Oatmeal Stout)

WeldWerks Brewing Co. - Medianoche Premier Vol. 1 (BA Imperial Stout blend)

It’s a joyous time in the ABV bunker as we celebrate Craig’s engagement by letting him pick a lineup of seemingly incongruous beers that are as significant as they are interesting. With a mix of cellar dives and recent finds, Craig imbues this episode with a certain personal resonance while also napalming Ryan’s esophagus. Craig shares his creative and beer-related proposal story, but we also expound upon our fat voices, weird produce, Craigaoke, misheard Beyonce lyrics, Zach Afrin, and the worst beer collaboration ever imagined. Congratulations to Craig and Liz!

Beers Reviewed

Hill Farmstead Brewery - Civil Disobedience #6 (Blended wine barrel-aged saison)

de Garde Brewing - Imperial Apricot Bu (Berliner Weisse aged in oak w/ apricots)

Triptych Brewing - And I Think My Spaceship Knows Which Way To Go (Hazy Double IPA w/ Galaxy & Ella hops)

Funk Factory Geuzeria - Framquartet (Méthode Traditionnelle blend aged w/ red, purple, black, and golden raspberries)

The Bruery - Black Tuesday Reserve (Double barrel-aged imperial stout)

For three whole days, we are the masters of our domain - which is the expansive festival hall in Denver, Colorado for the Great American Beer Festival. We’re double dipping on this episode as we combine interviews from the festival floor with beer reviews and a weekend recap from the comforts of our hotel room. We stop short of two hours on this one, but it’s filled with takes on our favorite beers from the fest, a recap of Illinois medal winners, and highlights from drinking around Denver all weekend. Also, hear about a few surprise breweries coming to FoBAB, a beer that was literally aged on grunge, how the guy who wrote the book on IPAs feels about the haze craze, the actual best chili in Cincinnati, what it means to win it all at Hunaphu’s Day, and which brewery makes the most Seinfeld references. It’s gold, listener! Gold! Here’s to feeling good all the time.

Beers Reviewed

Bierstadt Lagerhaus - Slow Pour Pils

Baere Brewing Co./Mr. B’s Wine & Spirits - The Baeres And the B’s (Sour ale w/ Gewurztraminer grapes and Nelson Sauvin hops)

Great Divide Brewing Company - S’mores Yeti (Imperial Stout brewed with Chocolate, Marshmallow and Spices)

Interviews from GABF

Matt Johnson and Jason Green of IMBĪB Custom Brews (Reno, NV) - [00:14:26 - 00:18:26]

Nick Walker and Max Arndt of Ology Brewing Co. (Tallahassee, FL) - [00:21:23 - 00:25:04]

Kelly Montgomery and John McGarry of Brink Brewing Co. (Cincinnati, OH) - [00:30:34 - 00:35:43]

Mike Czech and Kurt of Pure Project Brewing (San Diego, CA) - [00:44:46 - 00:53:03]

Mitch Steele of New Realm Brewing Company (Atlanta, GA & VIrginia Beach, VA) - [01:00:47 - 01:11:00]

Andy Maben of New Sarum Brewing (Salisbury, NC) - [01:20:37 - 01:29:44]

Steve Pominski of Barrage Brewing Company (Farmingdale, NY) - [01:36:18 - 01:43:51]

Already an established force in IPAs, Revolution was curiously slow to embrace the hazier varieties. Not rushing in has afforded them the ability to learn from others and perfect their approach, starting over the last year through wildly popular test batches at the brewpub. But since this summer, Revolution has jumped in head first by releasing two murky Hero varieties and collaborating with a few of the hottest local haze producers. We sample five beers that represent this new side of Rev, hoping for a new hero to come along. We also recorded this after being at a beer fest all day, so you’ll get a few diversions on odd t-shirts, a pocket full of George, 311 inspiration in the produce aisle, a new solo podcast venture, and what it’ll take to unleash Milkshake Hero. Time for a game wavy.

Beers Reviewed

Northeast Hero (NE IPA)

Base (West Coast-style Pale Ale) - Collaboration with Hop Butcher for the World 

Superstructure (Imperial Hazy IPA)  - Collaboration with Hop Butcher for the World 

Reverrant (DDH NE IPA)  - Collaboration with Saint Errant Brewing

Hazy Hero (NE IPA)

In this long-awaited sequel, we are filling our meters with GABF excitement as we talk about the upcoming fest while drinking some local medal winners. We sample four Chicagoland beers that have previously earned medals - and deservedly so. There’s also a lot of tips for the Great American Beer Festival for 2019, including our Illinois brewery picks, which new-to-us breweries we’re most excited about, and all the other breweries that can’t be missed. Also, we develop an emergency plan in the case of a skitching, plead for more care in pug diets, resist feeling the Mitch Steele, and seek the weirdest weird beers. #rebootALF

Illinois Medal Winners Reviewed

Maplewood Brewing Co. - Fat Pug (Oatmeal Milk Stout) - 2017 Bronze in Oatmeal Stout

Smylie Brothers Brewing Co. - Purple Line (Wheat w/ hibiscus, blueberry, and blackberry) - 3-time medal winner 

Piece Brewery & Pizzeria - It’s Your Fault Alt (Altbier) - 2017 Silver in German-style Altbier

Eris Brewery and Cider House - Foiken Haze (New England-style IPA) - 2018 Bronze in Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale

The number of breweries in or around Chicago has surpassed 200 at this point, deflating the opinions of those that speculated about a major bubble bursting in the last few years. But that market density means that breweries must start strong to gain their footing with consumers. On this episode, we’re sampling five beers from five Chicagoland breweries that have opened or begun releasing beers in the last few months, and this show gives us a lot to be excited about. We also write a tubular eulogy for the 90s, anger a few breweries on the moon, beg for more cask beers, become proud brew daddies, and live out Summer Craig’s dying wish. This one’ll leave you feeling like a head human with the lungs. 

Beers Reviewed

Casa Humilde - Maizal (Mexican Lager)

Is/Was Brewing  - Will Be (Saison w/spelt and triticale)

Midwest Coast Brewing Co. - The Colonies (ESB)

Black Lung Brewing Company - Mr. Willy Sub For A Day (Maltshake Hazy Double IPA)

Riverlands Brewing Company - First Catch of the Day (Imperial Stout w/ coffee, maple, and vanilla)

Like hooded sweatshirts and nutmeg-dusted coffee drinks, Oktoberfests make the impending colder temperatures much more bearable. Is it beer’s most popular seasonal? Probably! We had no problem finding nine different Oktoberfest/Märzen beers, most of which were brewed right here in Chicagoland. So we put them into a big blind tasting to determine which malty lager rises to the top, and we are desperately seeking jumbo pretzels by the end. Craig has a chicken-wing experiment, Ryan is a BelVita Biscuit Boy, and we do a little urban foraging. If this episode is making you thirsty, you should check out Beer On The Wall’s TRUCKTOBERFEST on Saturday, September 14th! Tell them Craig and Ryan sent you to receive one (1) complimentary quizzical look!

Beers Reviewed Blindly (in order of appearance)

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (w/ Bitburger Braugruppe) - Oktoberfest

Half Acre Beer Co. - Lager Town

Miskatonic Brewing - Oktoberfest

Werk Force Brewing Co. - Werktoberfest

BuckleDown Brewing - Oktoberfest

Banging Gavel Brews - Civil Code

Goose Island Beer Co. - Oktoberfest

Pollyanna Brewing Co. - Fruhauf

Burnt City Brewing - Oktoberfest Lager

Our state show journey reaches New Hampshire, courtesy of listener and friend David Leshinski, who sent us a state sampler box with *record scratch* no hazy IPAs?!? We enjoy this welcome and scenic diversion from our usual (lactose) fare with five different beers from five different New Hampshire breweries, and we’re livin’ free. Also, Craig Pokémons his dog and relives his time at Riverdance U, Ryan has a parenting and superhero dilemma, and we aspire to live like famous treasure hunter Nicolas Cage. But back on the beer side, we get into the complicated story of Smuttynose, remember goses, yearn for more gruits, and get enthusiastic over another new sour program. And shield your Tekus, because Craig’s hitting the high notes.

Beers Reviewed

Schilling Beer Co. [Littleton, NH] - Hanse (Keller Pils)

Liars Bench Beer Co. [North Conway, NH] - Private I (India Pale Lager)

Moat Mountain Brewing Co. [North Conway, NH] - Bone Shaker Brown (English-style Brown Ale)

Earth Eagle Brewings [Portsmouth, NH] - Indian Summer (Gose w/ plum)

Smuttynose Brewing Co. [Hampton, NH] - Baltic Porter

The *ahem* hot new yeast on the scene for both homebrewers and professionals alike is actually an ancient and pastoral tradition, propagated by Norwegian farmers and evolved by necessity. Kveik yeast offers undeniable positives for brewers: it ferments fast and clean at unusually hot temperatures, often infusing the resulting beer with a welcome fruitiness that seems to match most styles. To learn more about Kveik, we drink five beers made with different strains of the Norwegeian yeast, and we talk with Ben and John Saller of Burnt City Brewing, hosts of Chicago’s first ever Kveik Fest. It’s refreshingly educational for our brand, as we lean on many different experts to learn about how Kveik differs from other well-known farmhouse yeasts, what brewers can do to prevent bastardizing ancient tradition, and why some Norwegians scream into their fermenters. Also, Craig shares some well-aged Great Taste of the Midwest highlights, we explore some strange fjords, and we consider the end of the Brut IPA. Check it out - we think you’ll kveik it. 

Beers Reviewed

Burnt City Brewing - Li’l Sparky (Meyer Lemon Grisette)

Strange Days Brewing Co. - Two Fjords (Double IPA)

Working Draft Beer Co. w/ Third Space Brewing and Omega Yeast - SMÖRGÅSBORD VOSS (IPA)

Bold Dog Beer Co. - Covered In Fur (Peach and Kiwi Berliner Weisse)

Solemn Oath Brewery w/ Adler Planetarium, Binny’s, Omega Yeast, Et Al. - Project Apollo (IPA)

Though it’s been three years since their last feature on the podcast, Triptych has remained one of our favorite downstate breweries while continuing to grow into fine purveyors of all things hazy and beyond. For this one, we sample six different beers from the Savoy-based brewery (and “Memery”) to try and make an arbitrary case for which super flavorful beer is better than the others. It’s a tough job. Also, Craig attempts to fill in some gaps in his 80s movie watching quest; we marvel at the most words ever printed on the bottom of a can; Ryan gives a waffle pep talk; Craig makes a bonkers Taco Bell analogy; and we bring the noise, bring the skunk. The end of this one gets a little sloppy.

Beers Reviewed

Czech, Czech, & Czech (Czech pilsner)

Tarnt: Cherry Bomb (Kettle-soured ale w/ cherry juice and Saigon cinnamon)

The Way Is Shut (Triple Dry-Hopped Mosaic Double IPA)

A Wizard Is Never Late (Hazy DDH IPA)

Once, But Never Again (Blueberry ale w/ vanilla)

Imperial Hawaiian Shirt Day (Imperial IPA w/ mango and passionfruit)

In the three years since we last drank five Georgia beers on the show, there have been significant law changes allowing breweries to sell directly to consumers, resulting in another wave of craft beer growth in the Peach State. Listener Brandon Ramirez sent us a box of tasty treats for our review, and none are short on flavor. We also mark a historic event before it happens, fire up the Aquafier, gain some sympathy weight, and smell some warm hugs.

Beers Reviewed

Arches Brewing - Lloyd’s Light (American Light Lager)

Pontoon Brewing - The Most Humble Pie (Berliner-style w/ strawberries, raspberries, vanilla, and lactose)

Wild Leap Brewing/TrimTab Brewing - Coco Flamingo (Double IPA w/ tangerine, coconut, and lime)

New Realm Brewing Company - Transcendental IPA (Double IPA)

Monday Night Brewing - Sympathy Weight (Maple Bourbon Barrel Wee Heavy/Scotch Ale)

Milwaukee’s great reputation as the home of brewers (and The Brewers) was long built on cheap adjunct lagers. But in three years time, the Brew City has been reborn as a craft beer destination. Ryan and Craig had a torrid affair with Milwaukee’s beer scene in 24 hours, gathering beers and interviews along the way to provide a whole episode that is basically beer tourism propaganda. Listen as we welcome Andy from Third Space to hazetown, and he guides us through a speed-tasting while explaining how they sold their beer to Miller Park and won three GABF medals in two years. Kyle Vetter from 1840 shares a green beer with us while talking about his sometimes unconventional methods of achieving liquid perfection and where he sees the brewery growing in the near future. We also pop open four beers to review while reliving our experiences at Vennture, Good City, Hacienda, Lakefront, and the locally infamous Wolski’s. And you learn the totally relatable ways we manage to stay so fit, and admire Leather David. Remember - there’s more to life than lactose.

Interviews Featured

Andy Gehl of Third Space Brewing (00:08:58 - 00:30:03)

Kyle Vetter of 1840 Brewing Company (00:37:38 - 00:58:36)

Beers Reviewed

Third Space Brewing - Happy Place (Midwestern pale ale)

1840 Brewing Company - Rickety Elevator (Mixed culture saison)

Hacienda Beer Co. - Time Is An Illusion (New England DIPA)

Good City Brewing - Lord Lyon - Rye Barrel Aged (Scotch ale)

Even though they’re not even three years old, Eagle Park Brewing Company has already acquired its third location to brew their top-tier beers to serve the Milwaukee area. We chat with co-owners Max Borgardt and Jake Schinker about their explosive growth while sipping through a taproom lineup of flavorful show-stoppers. Everything about the business’ past, present, and future is explored, from how a band of brothers practicing in their parents’ basement and brewing in their garage led to lengthy lines at their Milwaukee taproom releases - and ultimately to their $3 million new facility in their hometown of Muskego. We discuss their first speakeasy taproom, how they are scrambling to meet demand, the rapid acceleration of the Milwaukee craft beer scene, and the dream collaborations that still leave them awestruck. There’s talk of driving albums, what beers not to drink on stage during a concert, the influence (and non-influence) of Untappd reviews, and how Martha Stewart inspired a milkshake IPA. 

Beers Sampled

DDH Goon Juice (Hazy IPA)

DDH Set List (IPA)

Feet Don’t Fail Me (Milkshake IPA w/ lactose sugar, aged on plums, pineapple, and vanilla)

Apricot Peach Sour (w/ apricot and peach)

Booze For Breakfast: French Toast  (Imperial breakfast stout with Vermont Maple Syrup, Cascara Cinnamon, and Madagascar Vanilla)

Bourbon Barrel-Aged Booze For Breakfast (Imperial breakfast stout with Vermont Maple Syrup, Bourbon Barrel Aged Coffee Beans)

The two great local conquests of the haze-chasers in Chicagoland for 2019, Phase Three and Hop Butcher have built a hype train of hops that has no signs of slowing down. So we do some blatant pandering to the beer geeks by having three double IPAs from each brewery in a blind tasting to finally determine...well, very little, actually. Taste is subjective, our opinions are arbitrary, and we have weird palates. It’s really just a fun experiment diving into these hazy monsters while doing just a sh*t job of guessing what they are, so enjoy the ride! Also, Craig went to an anime convention and has some predictably odd cosplay thoughts; Ryan confuses a beer with some late-night cinema; and we work out our cross-promotion with Trolls World Tour. There’s also font talk, gradient love, topical fruits, a terrible survival plan, and untrue life hacks for getting rid of Bud Light Orange. 

Beers Tasted Blindly (in order of appearance)

Hop Butcher for the World - Green Moss

Phase Three Brewing - Energetic Mind

Phase Three Brewing - Rule of Thirds

Phase Three Brewing - Discipline for Passion

Hop Butcher for the World - Normalize the Signal

Hop Butcher for the World - The Jewels

Founded in 2017 as the first brewery in Homewood, Rabid Brewing combines mythical lore with artistic passion to bring a diverse and delicious beer menu to their taproom. We sit down with co-owners and co-founders Raiye Rosado and Tobias Cichon, along with brewer Max Sterbenc, to taste through the whole taplist while talking about how Rabid came to be and where things are headed. In the process, we learn what Rabid does to provide a unique experience for their customers while embracing art and music to make an environment welcoming to everyone. But we also go on about goatskin chaps, hop acquisition, The Feast of the Goat Queen, bathroom chalk art, 3 Floyds inspirations, beer cocktails, the Omega Yeast difference, their milkshake IPA resistance, and a long-dead beer style that should probably stay dead. And Max’s dad Joe steps in to talk about how his 35 years of homebrewing inspired some of the recipes at Rabid, and why his head is plastered all over the taproom. 

Beers Sampled

Shadowstepper (Chocolate milk stout)

Dripping Teats (Lactose IPA)
Hexed (Blackberry apricot ale)

Singularity 007 (SMaSH IPA)

Lycan Pils (Dry-hopped American pilsner)

Battle Monk (Belgian Dubbel)

Zuul (DDH Juicy IPA)

Apollyon (DDH Juicy DIPA)

Dwarves of Doom (Chocolate coffee imperial stout)

Horus (Triple IPA)

We’re taking a liquid voyage to the great state of Tennessee for our 21st state show, thanks to listener Matt Milam. There are five beers from four breweries for us to sample, and at least one of us gets injured in the process. We learn a bit about these great breweries, even if one of us refuses to learn how to properly pronounce their names. Craig reports on his scooter experience, Ryan takes a big bite out of the BubbleTape, and we have a sour program. There’s also Corporal Nut, Steven Moist, the canning demon, Alcohol Rich, and Betty White’s eyes. Tennesseein’ is Tennebelievin’! 

Beers Reviewed

Alliance Brewing Company [Knoxville] - Cubano Coffee Brown (Brown ale w/ lactose, turbinado sugar, and cold brew coffee)

Tailgate Brewery [Nashville] - Southeast IPA

Smith & Lentz [Nashville] - German Pils

Yazoo Brewing Company [Nashville] - Funk Fest 2019 (Tripel w/ brett. aged in peach brandy and vanilla bean bourbon barrels)

Alliance Brewing Company - Imperial Centennial IPA

Born from a union of Funk Factory’s Levi Funk and Octopi Brewing’s Isaac Showaki, Untitled Art was launched in late 2016 to bring exciting new styles to Wisconsin before everyone was doing them. Now that everyone is doing them, how has Untitled Art grown to establish itself? Well, it certainly helps to have really cool friends. On this show, we gallery walk through five flavorful collaborations and discover we have yet another reason to drive to Wisconsin. Also, we train for our sick scooter tricks, suss out who smuggled the African hops, suffer Untappd-related brain damage, bravely draw the line at congealed beers, and birth Fardar into existence. 

Art Consumed

Pilsner w/ South African Hops (collaboration with TRVE Brewing Company)

Terpene IPA (collaboration with American Solera)

Spritzer Weisse (collaboration with J. Wakefield Brewing)

Hazy IIPA (Version 5) (collaboration with Narrow Gauge Brewing Company)

Espresso Marshmallow Stout (collaboration with Equilibrium Brewery)

Though we’d all like to pretend Hazy IPAs or pastry stouts represent the most significant trends in beer over the last decade or so, the real big money game-changer is the astronomical growth of Michelob Ultra. So how does craft (or “craft”) beer respond? We find out by drinking a lineup of low-calorie, low-carb beers that will help counter our lactose-enhanced waistlines. We pitch some fitness innovations for beer (and beyond), classify common dad problems as genres of music, master our asses, and put some pressure on our exotic fruit dealer. It’s an episode made for DOING!

Beers Reviewed

Anheuser-Busch - Michelob Ultra Pure Gold (American light lager)

Ballast Point Brewing - Lager (American light lager)

Lagunitas Brewing - DayTime IPA

Deschutes Brewery - Da Shootz! (Pilsner)

Boulevard Brewing - Easy Sport (Blonde ale w/ tangerine peel & sea salt)

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Slightly Mighty (Session IPA)

Marathon Brewing Company [Boston Beer Co.] - 26.2 Brew (Golden ale w/ sea salt & coriander)

For decades, brewers have been harvesting the funk from brettanomyces yeast strains for a variety of purposes. Whether it’s to add some phenolic funk to a sour beer or some fruity depth to an IPA, brett has become a household name in brewing. Chicago’s Lake Effect Brewing and Omega Yeast Labs collaborated on a mixed 4-pack, titled School of Brett, by dosing a wine barrel-aged base saison with three different strains of brettanomyces to help educate about the differences between the strains. For this episode, we have Lake Effect’s founder and owner Clint Bautz along with Omega’s co-founder and co-owner Lance Shaner to talk about the collaboration and what makes these brett strains unique. We also talk a lot about what’s new with both businesses, Craig mines for some yeast puns, Ryan just had to dig up that Brett Trois story again, and we literally bathe in tropical light. Join us and learn more about brett - it’s the yeast you can do.

Beers Tasted

Lake Effect Brewing/Omega Yeast Labs -  “School of Brett”

Base Saison

Claussenii

Bruxellensis

Lambicus

More sustainable and definitely more rustic than your city brewery, these five beer producers also operate in conjunction with a farm, using ingredients grown on their lands for a uniquely artisanal experience. We have a range of styles from Illinois, Tennessee, and Vermont that teach us a lot about ingredients and just basic vocabulary, to be honest. Ryan subjects Craig to a game of Two Truths and a Lie: Farm Animal Edition, Craig clears up confusion about his America’s Next Top Model history, and we get real psyched about gruits. It’s a premium farm to our mouths to your ears experience.

Beers Reviewed

Scratch Brewing Company (Ava, IL)  - Turmeric Tonic (Gruit-style ale with turmeric and nettle)

Big Thorn Farm & Brewery (Georgetown, IL) - Wood Thyme Tart (Kettle-soured gruit w/ farm-grown thyme and aged on charred hickory logs)

Hill Farmstead Brewery (Greensboro, VT) - E. (2014; Dry-hopped barrel-aged saison)

Rolling Meadows Brewery (Cantrall, IL) - Coffee Break (Brown ale w/ coffee)

Blackberry Farm Brewery (Maryville, TN) - Abbey Quad

For our 20th State Show, listener and friend Jim Plachy offered to round up five Oklahoma beers, and we said that’d be alright with us. And with a lineup this flavorful, we wish we would’ve done this state sooner. Fill your ears with some word jazz as we talk about movie tropes, melty faces, weird tongue stuff, Chris Elliott, and whipping jerseys at babies. Mmm, Zangy!

Beers Reviewed

Prairie Artisan Ales Brewpub (Tulsa) - Rockets and Dreams (Saison w/ chamomile and plums)

Stonecloud Brewing Company (Oklahoma City) - Chug Norris (Mosaic pale ale)

Heirloom Rustic Ales (Tulsa) - Chapel Visitor (Blended barrel-aged wild ale)

American Solera (Tulsa) - BK...OK (DIPA, collaboration with Other Half)

Cabin Boys Brewery (Tulsa) - The Bearded Theologian (Belgian Quad)

What’s better than hanging with your buds and sipping on some murky hop suds? We don’t know because everyone’s preferences are subjective! On this episode, we drink five hazy IPAs that happen to be collaborations between local breweries and their cool friends. We start this Sweeps Week out right with the three P’s; we try to make two half-Phase Threes into a whole; Ryan peels back the layers on the punion; Craig enters a meditative tasting state; and we fill everything up with a little zazz.

Beers Reviewed

Brickstone Brewery (w/ Phase Three Brewing) - Brick Phas’d (NEIPA w/ lactose)

Corridor Brewery & Provisions (w/ Phase Three Brewing) - Set Phazers to Stun! (NEIPA)

Pipeworks Brewing (w/ Hop Butcher for the World) - Seismic Positvity (Oat IPA)

Maplewood Brewing Company (w/ Saint Errant Brewing) - Steamless in Chicago (No-boil DDH DIPA)

WeldWerks Brewing (w/ Mikerphone Brewing) - Auto Tune (Hazy DIPA)

For the third straight year - and our first at Forbidden Root - we celebrated Illinois Craft Beer Week by bringing together some of the area’s best saisons and saison brewers. On this episode recorded (mostly) live at Forbidden Root, we sample a wide variety of the style with some of our best friends in beer. There’s a lot of great technical talk for saison nerds, but we also explore the Power of Oak, new shower curtain smells, an odd revelation about Minecraft, and ghost pigs. Also, Randy Mosher takes us to style school as he discusses the beauty of saison, finding synergy in unusual ingredients, and what the hell a kvass and a kuit beer are.

Segments

00:07:57-00:26:48 - Mike Thorpe (Afterthought Brewing) & Jacob Sembrano (Cruz Blanca Brewery) tasting Afterthought’s Batch 100 and Cruz Blanca’s Todo Uno

00:26:53-00:40:41 - Adam Cieslak and Adam Smith (Maplewood Brewing) tasting Maplewood’s Cool August Moon and Transient’s O’tay

00:40:50-00:59:03 - Randy Mosher (Forbidden Root) tasting Forbidden Root’s Urban Farmstead II and Middle Brow’s May 4th, 2019

00:59:08-01:11:52 - Kevin Lilly (Lo Rez Brewing) and Brian Taylor (Whiner Beer Co.) tasting Lo Rez’s Voxel and Whiner’s Bumbo

The folks from Angry Chair are not shy to admit that non-locals are likely most familiar with their heavily-hyped stouts. We try and do right by this Tampa brewery by sampling a few other styles from Craig’s recent visit - but of course we didn’t forget about the stouts. We propose a more weather-appropriate spinoff brewery, Craig recaps meeting a famous dog at the taproom, and we are a little awestruck by the oddity that is the dessert Florida Weisse. We also really cram in the verbal adjuncts through a shocking discovery about Tetris, the oddest 90s “it” couple, how to Lawnmower-Man yourself with a Game Shark and a Game Genie, and a whole trivia game about celebrities featured in old video games.

Beers Reviewed

Vodnik (Czech Pilsner)

Evan And Dolly (New England IPA)

On Second Thought [Omnipollo collaboration] (Berliner with pineapple, bananas, coconuts, & tahitian vanilla)

Fudge Bucket w/ Bolivian Cacao (Imperial sweet stout)

Popinski (Rye barrel-aged Russian imperial stout w/ vanilla)

When Craig vacations, we all win. This show is the result of Craig’s recent trip to Florida for a week of Harry Pottering and beer hopping on the Bay as we drink five different beers from five breweries local to the Tampa & St. Petersburg areas. There are many questions addressed on this show: Why do Floridians love such big, boozy beers? Can you use a coolship in Florida? Which taproom is a front for the Illuminati? Why is the grass so crunchy? Where’s my lactose? We also get another fantastic Dog Tale, feel like old narcs for not understanding CBD, hold a word measuring contest, and have high carb hopes.

Beers Reviewed

Green Bench Brewing - Sauvage Miel (Wild w/ orange blossom honey)

Hidden Springs Ale Works - Zero Fucks Given (Dry-hopped-only pale ale w/ Citra, Mosaic, and Motueka)

Late Start Brewing - Colorbars (Mint coffee chocolate imperial stout)

7venth Sun Brewery - Vultures From the Past (Whiskey barrel-aged barleywine)

Cycle Brewing Company - Roadtrip Series: Don’t Know What I’m Gonna Do (Barrel-aged stout w/ barrel-aged coffee, cocoa nibs, and cinnamon)

For more than three years, we’ve been releasing weekly one-shot episodes - Low ABVs - exclusively for our Patreon Patrons. In addition to interesting beers reviewed, these short shows are home to some of our goofiest asides, weirdest games, and hysterical disasters. This week we’ve compiled four of our very favorites from the last year with beers that span the country while representing the diverse range of styles from adjunct stout to hazy IPA to adjunct stout to hazy IPAs. They’re not all good. There’s also a very timely Game of Thrones-based trivia game, LARPing for Pizza, misquoted Eleanor Roosevelt, the answer to an important 311-based question, a little too much about Sonic the Hedgehog, our favorite goth sushi place, the unwanted return of the Bathroom Boys, and the most niche Calvin Peeing sticker ever made. And that’s just about half of it. For more content like this every single week, plus annual holiday gifts, bottle share invites, a special offer (as mentioned in the intro), and early access to each week’s episode - support what we do and sign up on our Patreon today!

Lows Compiled

Low ABV 142 - Dancing Gnome Dead Sleep (starts at 7:51)

Low ABV 130 - Abnormal Hazy Dreams (starts at 23:19)

Low ABV 135 - Dragon Banana (starts at 42:43)

Low ABV 122 - SciPAs (starts at 1:03:45)

Beers Reviewed

Dancing Gnome - Dead Sleep - Chocolate (stout w/ chocolate)

Abnormal Beer Co. - Hazy Dreams (IPA)
New Holland Brewing - Dragon’s Milk Reserve: Banana Coconut (BBA stout w/ real banana and natural flavors)

Pipeworks Brewing Company - Unicorn Vs. Science (NE IPA)

Hop Butcher For The World - Traveling Scientist (NE Pale Ale)

It’s that magical time of year again where the warm weather and budding flowers necessitate the enjoyment of saisons - and it’s also when we have our annual Saisonathon event during Illinois Craft Beer Week on Tuesday, May 14th at Forbidden Root! Outside of a few other shameless plugs for the event, this show is one we’ve always wanted to do. We take seven saisons, mostly representing more “classic” interpretations, and we review and rank them in a blind tasting. As usual with our blind shows, the results are a total surprise, and our guessing abilities are....limited. We also talk about Spring Break Craig’s wardrobe, Big League Chew, ultimate buffet pairings, That Beer Craig Had In Germany, and Saison Detectives. (Pssst….go to that thing we mentioned.)

Saison Reviewed Blindly (in order of appearance)

Brasserie Dupont - Saison Dupont

Brasserie St. Fuellien - Saison

Funkwerks - Saison

Off Color Brewing - Apex Predator

Allagash Brewing Company - Saison

Boulevard Brewing Co. - Tank 7

Forbidden Root - Saison

Mike Pallen and his crew at Mikerphone are some of the most prolific collaborators in the business, and each year they expand their Cool Beer Friends Club by throwing an invitational they call Smells Like A Beer Fest. So to ready ourselves for this year’s shindig on April 27th, we drink five collaboration beers between Mikerphone and five other excellent breweries. Craig also gives us his White Sox Beer Review for the year, Ryan serves up a game of “Did They Duet?,” and we fixate on one of the worst songs and videos of all time. There’s also a new Beer Crank Bucket (inspired by Twitter), a little beer negging, and some real irie vibes. Stumble down the palate with us.

Beers Reviewed

Windmill Brewing & Mikerphone - Feel Good Inc. (Milkshake-style IPA made with passion fruit, coconut, lactose, and vanilla)

Cerebral Brewing & Mikerphone - Just The Two Of Us (Blonde ale w/ marshmallow fluff, raspberry puree, cacao, and lactose)

Lil Beaver Brewery & Mikerphone - Cupcakes, Cookies, & Rainbows (Imperial stout with milk sugar, chocolate and vanilla)

The Bruery & Mikerphone - Icky Thump (Imperial stout w/ Tugboat coffee)

WeldWerks Brewing Co. & Mikerphone - Sweet Disposition (Imperial Stout brewed with maple syrup, Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans, and Papua New Guinea vanilla beans, aged in a mix of bourbon and rum barrels for 18 months)

It’s a high concept week in the bunker as we gamify our cellars by letting a roll of the dice determine the show’s lineup. Both Craig and Ryan dug deep into their closets to offer up a range of twelve interesting offerings that go from forgotten oddity to valuable rarity. Each host rolls a six-sided die three times to determine the six beers for the show, and the tension is more than could’ve ever been imagined. This was a crazy fun time to record, and we hope you enjoy the results - you’ll have to listen to find out the final lineup. There’s also some stuff about Doomsday Preppers, perpetually wet floors, Pappy Kong, and a cuvee of dolphins. (Also, mark your calendars for Tuesday, May 14th as we bring Saisonathon to Forbidden Root!)

Our Twelve Cellar Offerings, in order of dice value

Craig

1. Transient Artisan Ales - Sporadic #2 (Wine barrels)
2. Hoppin’ Frog Brewery - Barrel Aged B.O.R.I.S. Van Wink Oatmeal Imperial Stout
3. Evil Twin Brewing - Imperial Biscotti Break Bourbon Barrel-Aged
4. Hill Farmstead Brewery - E.
5. Cycle Brewing Company/Mikkeller - DOS Brunch
6. Cigar City Brewing - Double Barrel Hunahpu’s

Ryan

1. Avery Brewing Co. - Mephistopheles (2011)
2. Draai Laag Brewing Co. - R2 Koelschip
3. Paradox Beer Co. - End of the Beginning Vol. II
4. De Struise Brouwers - Cuvée Delphine (2013)
5. Firestone Walker Brewing Co. - Double DBA (2013)
6. Goose Island Beer Co. - Proprietor’s Bourbon County Stout (2013)

Though the name suggests a more rustic approach, Forager Brewery out of Rochester, Minnesota is finding an audience with their adjunct-laden stouts and mixed-culture sours. We get our hands on four dark beers and one barrel-aged sour to learn more about this brewery that wowed us at GABF in 2017. Succumbing to the fudge giggles, we also find ourselves considering cereal smells, questioning our broken palates, and getting stickier than ever before. (Also, we share the big news about Saisonathon 2019, so tune in to this one for some details - or keep an eye on our website for more!)

Beers Reviewed

Sherpa’s Survival Kit (Imperial stout)

Pudding Goggles (Imperial porter w/ coconut, cinnamon, vanilla beans, and cacao nibs)

Obscurely Referenced (Sour blonde ale aged in gin barrels - collaboration with Fair State Brewing)

Happiness Layer (Imperial milk stout w/ roasted pecans, toasted coconut, vanilla beans, and cacao nibs)

Mexican Mocha (Imperial stout w/ vanilla beans, cacao nibs, habanero, guajillo, ancho, and mulato peppers, ceylon cinnamon, and coffee)

A sequel almost five years in the making, this episode reunites us with the beers of Sante Adairius Rustic Ales thanks to listener Mike Rousseau. Recognized by RateBeer as the 10th best brewery in the world, SARA may have built its legacy on oak-aged saisons, but here we get to sample some of their recent forays into IPA. Craig seeks out some dog walking advice, Ryan shares the smartest snack, we practice a little tantric sipping, and we explore themes of the next films in the Expendables franchise. Decanting suggested!

Beers Reviewed

Woven (Oak-aged blonde ale - collaboration with Half Acre)

Tomorrow, Today (IPA)

Then Again (Blend of 1-, 2-, and 3-year old barrel-aged saisons)

Of This World (Triple IPA)

Cask 200: Batch 2 (Solera-style saison)

An ancient prophecy foretold of a legacy brewery that would make a baffling number of IPAs to be available all at the same time, and that those IPAs would remind two lowly podcasters about why they fell in love with beer in the first place. Yeah, the Sierra Nevada love is strong on this one, especially from Ryan, whose CostCo shopping made this show possible. But we do find a lot of interesting variation in the seven IPAs in this lineup. Craig tries not to lean too hard into the “tastes like a beer” angle, we explore the next frontier in cooking shows, and there’s a bunch of bizarre stuff about dinosaurs. Dig those whiffs!

Sierra Nevada Beers Reviewed

Resilience IPA

Torpedo Extra IPA

Tropical Torpedo IPA

Brut IPA

Hop Solo IPA

Sidecar Orange IPA

Ruthless Rye IPA

To help push us through the last bits of this awful Chicago winter, we drink beers from paradise to tackle our 19th state show. This episode features five beers from five Hawaiian breweries, and they taste pretty great even without the tropical background. We also introduce our extremely on-brand Sweet 16 bracket challenge, give you Something Else to Complain About Ⓡ, and explain how Craig’s mom is awesome (and better than Ryan). You’d expect us to say “aloha” here, but we didn’t. Ha.

Beers Reviewed

Lanikai Brewing Company (Kailua) - Route 70 (Saison w/ hibiscus and honey)

Waikiki Brewing Company (Honolulu) - Hana Hou Hefe (Hefeweizen w/ strawberry puree and orange peel)

Big Island Brewhaus (Kamuela) - Overboard IPA

Mehana Brewing Company (Hilo) - Volcano Red Ale

Maui Brewing Company (Kihei) - Imperial Coconut Porter (w/ toasted coconut and cacao nibs)

Like a lucky slot machine pull, we have a winning lineup of cherries on this show as we try five different styles of beer from five breweries, all featuring cherry. We learn quite a bit about these versatile drupes while we rank this group that has a few transcendent flavor experiences. This one is also ripe with diversions that include Zen gardens, Dairy Queen flagships, screaming lemons, the worst Sunday alibi, Al Borland Cosplay, hateful Hobby Lobby aromas, Dan Cortese’s filmography, and a BuzzBall the size of a baby’s skull. It’s certainly not…..the pits.

Beers Reviewed

Casey Brewing & Blending - Casey Family Preserves: Golden Cherry (Oak-aged Saison)

Sketchbook Brewing Co. - Ripe Now Farmstand Porter w/ Cherries

Transient Artisan Ales - Cherry Anachronism (American Wild Ale)

Hop Butcher for the World - Circumpolar Cherry Cyclone (Milkshake Double IPA w/ lactose, vanilla, and cherry)

Pipeworks Brewing Co. - Barrel-aged Cherry Truffle Abduction (Imperial stout w/ cacao and cherry, aged in bourbon barrels)

With a secondary price tag higher than our mortgage payments, this show is an embarrassment of riches in flavor and in rarity. But will we be embarrassed by our blind rankings of eight barrel-aged vanilla stouts released in 2018? You bet your sweet tooth we will. We are joined by Ryan Tracy at his Park Ridge establishment, Beer on the Wall, as we fumble through our guesses and evaluate these high gravity beers based only on what’s in the glass. It’s a fun way to hear our beer careers come to an end. If that’s not enough, we talk about confusing road signs, classic Chi-Chi’s commercials, the best doorbells to lick, and waffles. And it’s totally not scripted, we swear.

Beers Tasted Blindly (in order of appearance)

1. Transient Artisan Ales - Gray Skies Barrel Aged Neckbeard Nectar
2. Bottle Logic Brewing - Fundamental Observation: Batch 4
3. Goose Island Beer Co. - Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout (2018)
4. Angry Chair Brewing - Barrel Aged Ultra Violence
5. Voodoo Brewing - Big Black Voodoo Daddy (Aged in Bourbon barrels w/ vanilla beans)
6. More Brewing - Barrel Aged Henna (Vanilla Caviar)
7. 3 Floyds Brewing Co. - Dark Lord: Marshmallow Handjee
8. Revolution Brewing - Vanilla Deth

Whether you see it as beer’s #version of Record Store Day or as a viral marketing ploy to drive sales for struggling brands, we here at ABV Chicago embrace these classics with open arms. And our arms are very open on this episode as we sample 12 of the most important beers in American craft beer, all of which either launched or propelled legacy brands. No one in the world really needs our take on these beers, but here you go! Before pronunciation becomes a problem, we share the plagiarised stories of these beers’ varied histories, Craig accidentally ends up in a porn, Ryan forgets about Fat Tire, and we workshop some stuff for Spontaneous September. We also try and sell Jim Koch our palates, Craig yearns for the Days of Malt, and Ryan reviews Baker’s Square from the 90s. Come for the classic beers; stay for the Moist Steven.

Flagships “Reviewed”

Anchor Brewing Company - Anchor Steam Beer

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. - Pale Ale

Boston Beer Company - Samuel Adams Boston Lager

Bell’s Brewery - Amber Ale

Great Lakes Brewing Company - Dortmunder Gold

Yuengling Brewery - Traditional Lager

Deschutes Brewery - Black Butte Porter

Lagunitas Brewing Company - IPA

Allagash Brewing Company - White

New Glarus Brewing Company - Spotted Cow

Oskar Blues Brewery - Dale’s Pale Ale

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - 60 Minute IPA

Deep in the heart of Wisconsin, there exists a not-so-secret society of like-minded artisans - specializing in beer, liquor, and wine - that have formed a collective to bring more tourists to the area. And for some reason, they thought that giving us a bunch of booze would be a good idea to promote their brand. Well luckily the liquids are all tasty-to-impressive, and we have a hell of a time lining them up on this show. In addition, Craig shares his week of Final Destination-style close calls, Ryan shares his notes on 20WineTeen so far, and then there’s stuff about robot cereal and socially-anxious vampires. We also play the very literal new hit game, Name Ten Badgers, and we try to stay on the good side of Seagram’s Jim. And hey, next time you’re up North, say hi to Gary Koziak for us.

Craft Liquids Reviewed

Sunset Point Winery [Stevens Point, WI] - Northern Lights Blackberry Midnight (Merlot infused with blackberries)

McZ’s Brew Pub [Rosholt, WI] - Campfire Rauchbier

O’so Brewing Company [Plover, WI] - Bruin in a Bramble (Black raspberry sour Oud Bruin)

Whole Hog/Stevens Point Brewery [Stevens Point, WI] - Casper (White stout)

Central Waters Brewing [Amherst, WI] - Black Gold 2018 (Barrel-aged imperial stout)

Great Northern Distilling [Plover, WI] - Herbalist Gin (used in a Ginger Smash cocktail)

Since our first encounter with James and Sarah Howat’s Black Project back at GABF in 2015, we’ve wanted to dedicate a show to their spontaneously-fermented wild ales. So we’re understandably jazzed about this whole deal, and the lineup of five beers on this show go beyond our expectations. In addition, Craig does the following things: quizzes Ryan on government conspiracies; solves the mysteries of The Shining; invents the worst Slip-n-Slide; and starts his Soundcloud rap career as Must Buoy. We also look into chipmunk storage, face tattoos, horny cats, Prilosec murders, dank basement cheese, and sopping wet corks. That’s what happens when the beer is this good.

Beers Reviewed

FOXBAT (Spontaneous ale w/ with peaches, rosemary, sage and sea salt)

TAGBOARD (Wet-hopped Méthode Traditionnelle ale)

CLOUDMASTER (Spontaneous sour wheat ale)

CYGNUS: Cherry [Blend A] (Méthode Traditionnelle ale w/ cherries)

ROSWELL: GRUDGE (Lambic-inspired ale w/ raspberries)

Now that bottles of Afterthought beers are starting to leave Lombard to reach more drinkers in the Chicagoland area, we celebrate by popping five elegant saisons from Mike Thorpe’s small-yet-acclaimed brewery. Using mostly Midwestern ingredients, Afterthought’s saisons are about as diverse as they come, while being mistakable for some of the bigger-name farmhouse-made beers from around the country or world. Amidst our appreciation of these top-tier beers, we somehow find time to debate about horse diapers, determine the right application for gummy worms in beer, take our parts in the Chili’s theme song, and - gulp - go into the Mosherverse. Zangy!

Beers Reviewed

Saison Illinois (Saison w/ all Illinois ingredients)

Raspberry (Ale refermented w/ raspberries)

Black Currant (Saison fermented in oak w/ black currants)

Saison Amer: Galaxy (Hoppy saison fermented in a Sauvignon Blanc barrel)

Bière De Pieces #7 (Blend of Saison Meer: Buckwheat, Faible: Passion Fruit, and barrel-aged Faible with paw paw)

After the first five Deep Wood releases, Revolution Brewing could’ve taken the rest of the season off and enjoyed a victory lap. Instead, they drop five more barrel-aged beers that might be collectively better than the first half. We taste through this colorful - and strong - array of styles with an early appearance from joyful inebriation. We work through the tingles by proving our age through technology, coming up with secret beer orders, weighing the seriousness of a high fudge tolerance against fudge fatigue, suggesting a legitimate new FoBAB category, and by sipping on that session bourbon. Should’ve asked for a Cherry Coke.

**Correction: The Beer on the Wall event we mentioned, the Deth’s Tar Crawl, has NOT yet happened, so you should go and do it on January 31st. Check the events page on their website for more info!**

Beers Reviewed

Gravedigger Billy (Bourbon barrel-aged Scotch ale)

Ryeway to Heaven (Ryewine aged in rye barrels)

Vanilla Deth (Imperial oatmeal stout aged in bourbon barrels w/ vanilla)

Straight Jacket (Bourbon barrel-aged barleywine)

Boss Ryeway (Ryewine aged in Armagnac barrels)

In almost three years, Cruz Blanca has quietly become one of the city’s best breweries, churning out everything from lagers that pair perfectly with a smokey tlayuda to wild ales that will captivate even the nerdiest bottle share. Now with 6-pack cans of three crowd-pleasing beers out in the market, Cruz is poised to build a bigger fanbase than ever. We sat down with brewers Jacob Sembrano and Todd White to sample a broad array of their beers while exploring why they’re ok with being the sleeping giant that they’ve become. The discussion ranges from brewing technique, craft maltsters, Brut IPAs, and barrel blends to the history of Mexican lager, the surprising origin of Cruz Blanca, and the inspiration behind their distinctive artwork. There’s also some truly unfortunate nicknames, freestyle Tetris, crunchy water, a little P.F. Chang’s inspiration, and just a little yelling about bière de gardes. Don’t tell your friends!

Beers Enjoyed

Corn Grisette (100% corn malt mixed culture grisette)

Blood of the Flamingo (Black raspberry Brett Berliner)

Amigovio (Oak-aged wild ale w/ peaches)

Crushada (Wine barrel-aged Flemish Red Ale)

Brut Suit Riot (Brut IPA)

Three Kings (Hazy DIPA w/ guava and tamarind)

Loco Dinero (Imperial coffee blonde ale w/ lactose, aged in rye whiskey and Barbados rum barrels)

Rey Gordo (Imperial stout aged in Barbados rum barrels)

Senor Incognito - (Imperial stout w/ toasted coconut, pecans and Mexican cinnamon, aged in rye whiskey barrels)

Opinion on Brut IPAs seems to be passionately divided between love and hate. But many brewers are banking on it gaining traction with the hopes that their version of this wildly inconsistent style will come to define the Brut as we know it. On this episode, we attempt to find out exactly what makes a Brut IPA and carve out our own subjective idea of what makes the good ones stand out. Through a blind tasting, we sample six Brut IPAs - three local, and three from afar - with the added challenge of guessing the lineup. We also plot out the next Neil Breen film, discover why tiny bubbles aren’t always good (and it’s not Don Ho’s fault), and indulge in some more bad puns. Hackback!

Beers Tasted Blindly

Stillwater Artisanal - Extra Extra

New Belgium Brewing - Brut IPA

Stone Brewing - Enjoy By 01.01.19 Brüt IPA

Sketchbook Brewing/Illuminated Brew Works - Resistance W.I.T.C.H.

Middle Brow Beer Co. - Trademark Brut

Hopewell Brewing Co. - Clique

We’re truly in Beer Country now as our States Series takes us to the home of the most breweries in the nation: California! We have six beers on from six breweries, split evenly between the halves of the state, and we are shook by the unfaltering quality. Craig makes an impossible sacrifice for 2019, Ryan educates you on the brewing facts you won’t find in textbooks, and we both enter rankings less clear and less sober than we’ve been in a long time. Come to basketball land, you get dunked on.

Beers Reviewed

Fall River Brewing Company (Fall River Mills, CA) - Blood Knot IPA (NE-style IPA w/ blood orange)

Cellador Ales (North Hills, CA) - Berlinerish Blueberry (Barrel-fermented Brett Berliner w/ whole organic blueberries)

New Glory Craft Brewery (Sacramento, CA) - Wakey Wakey (Oatmeal Coffee Porter w/ vanilla beans)

Highland Park Brewery (Los Angeles, CA) - Twiced Pinot (Barrel-Aged Saison with Pinot Noir Pomace)

Moksa Brewing Co. (Rocklin, CA) - Cape of Good Hops (NE-style DIPA)

Bottle Logic Brewing (Anaheim, CA) - Fundamental Observation: Batch 4 (Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Vanilla Stout)

When you are gifted a mix of beers from Hill Farmstead and The Alchemist, you stop everything and drink them. Thanks to listener/Patreon supporter/forever friend Josh Sissman we have five canned beers from both nü-classic Vermont breweries, and we review them with a tactical precision unseen for nigh on 50 episodes. But we still find time to announce our most exciting brush with fame, the last place you want to find pine needles, our wildly different perception of the Mosaic hop, check the creamy chart, ask for a percent on every unit sold - in perpetuity, and fear the inevitable naked Craig torture.

Beers Reviewed

Hill Farmstead Brewery - Society & Solitude #5 (Imperial IPA)

Hill Farmstead Brewery - Society & Solitude #12 (Imperial IPA)

The Alchemist - Alena (American IPA)

The Alchemist - Beelzebub (American Imperial Stout)

The Alchemist - Luscious (British-Style Imperial Stout)

When Neil Fisher crushes your porch with a big box of WeldWerks beer for sampling, you don’t hesitate to revel in the flavorful delights contained within. Recorded in October, this 2nd edition (in ten episodes) of us marvelling at the expertly-crafted hype-machine beers from the Colorado brewery includes likely the best beer either of us have had all year. But there’s also some important contributions to the ABV Chicago canon, like “flerbals” and “flavor aliens,” so you can hear what that’s all about. And to really bring the magic to this sequel, there are two games: one about WeldWerks beers, and one with an unmentionable name about discontinued snack items. #keepinitflerbal

Beers Reviewed

Fake Item Box (New England-style Milkshake Session IPA w/ lactose and vanilla)

Blackberry Cobbler Berliner (Kettle sour w/ blackberry puree, vanilla, graham crackers, and lactose)

Piña Colada Milkshake (New England-style Milkshake Double IPA w/ toasted coconut, pineapple puree, and vanilla)

Cosmic Torero (New England-style Double IPA)

Mexican Medianoche (Imperial stout aged in Woodford Reserve barrels for 20 months, aged on vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, and cacao nibs)

Adults have proven time and again that all childhood nostalgia is better with booze, so beer advent calendars became a thing. Bitter Pops makes one of the best surprise 24-packs of beers, and they’ve outdone themselves this year. So we’re outdoing ourselves by reviewing and ranking the first 12 beers of the calendar. Yes, there is some light caroling (Craiging?) and some overall Xmas music appreciation chatter. But we also share a tasty holiday punch recipe, shamelessly mine for retweets from Xmas-adjacent celebrities, turn up our noses at Winter Craig, and assert that hot beer is the next big trend. #hotkvass

And a partridge in a pear tree.

Calendar Beers Reviewed

1. Sketchbook Brewing/Bitter Pops - Catch Me If You Can (Brown ale w/ orange zest, cinnamon, clove, ginger and nutmeg)
2. Alarmist Brewing - Dorado Fields (New England-style IPA)
3. Great Lakes Brewing Co. - Christmas Ale
4. Half Acre Beer Co. - Cape Dune (India Pale Lager)
5. Penrose Brewing Co. - Blackberry Lemon Rosé (Sour ale)
6. Stone Brewing - W00tstout 2018 (Partially barrel-aged stout with pecans)
7. Solemn Oath Brewery - Kidnapped by Vikings (American IPA)
8. Central Waters Brewing Co. - Cassian Sunset (Bourbon barrel-aged stout w/ coffee, cinnamon, and vanilla beans)
9. Off Color Brewing - Known Gnome (Porter)
10. Noon Whistle Brewing - Freshman @ Life (Kolsch)
11. BrewDog - Choco Libre Nitro (Mexican hot chocolate imperial stout)
12. Deschutes Brewery - Jubelale (Winter Ale)

Have a fellow beer lover in your life that you want to spoil during the holidays? Or are you heading to some ugly sweater, ornament-decorating, cookie-binging holiday party and need a beer to bring that’ll help you make it through? We enlist the help of Ryan Tracy from Beer on the Wall to suggest some beers that make good gifts for all different types of drinkers. In addition, because we’re on site, we talk about our sponsor Beer on the Wall from their start to their very exciting future, which includes expansion and a second location. And because Ryan is fully aware of our usual antics, we talk about beer pranks, whale lists, gnome sharing, jewel heists, forest nymphs, creepy doll basements, hot dog beers, wrestling-style intros, meads n’ improv, and a weird faith in Taco Bell. Come on out to Park Ridge - they’re rippin’ Undies out here.

Beers Reviewed

Hailstorm Brewing - Hotel Life (Lager)

Brickstone Brewery - APA (Galaxy And Huell Melon Dry-Hopped)

Lake Effect Brewing - Barrel-aged Super Shake (Chocolate malt-inspired Imperial Stout)

The Ale Apothecary - Ralph (Mixed-fermentation wild ale w/ white fir tips)

Superstition Meadery - BlackBerry Hex (Blackberry mead)
Schloss Eggenberg - Samichlaus Classic (Doppelbock)

Revolution has taken some serious steps towards becoming THE barrel-aged beer producer in the city of Chicago by churning out varied, high-quality product in an accessible format over a fairly casual release schedule. Simply put, they are killing it. So we couldn’t be more eager to line up the first five releases of 2018’s Deep Wood series to review and rank, giddy with knowing that there will still be five more to come. We also chip away at two different wood-based trivia games, dust off the Playstation and some bottles of schnapps, fear the #BiL backlash, and speculate on the upcoming sequel to beer: Beer 2. Kick! Punch! It’s all in the mind.

Beers Reviewed

Code Switch (Imperial Ale aged on blackberries in whiskey and bourbon barrels)

V.S.O.J. (Cuvée of two- and three-year aged bourbon barrel barleywines)

Deth’s Tar (Barrel-aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout)

Café Deth (Barrel-aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout w/ Dark Matter coffee)

Deth By Currants (Barrel-aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout w/ black currants)

Every Black Friday, Goose Island strives to deliver on a year-plus promise of bringing together consistent quality and technical innovation for a Bourbon County lineup that succeeds in besting the previous year’s. We sat down with Mike Siegel, head of Brewery Research & Development, to walk us through a tasting of some of this year’s offerings while highlighting the processes that brought these beers into existence. There’s also questions about the major changes instituted since the infection year; how specific ingredients are chosen and integrated to match a flavor concept; what quality concerns led to Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout getting passed over this year; how much AB-InBev’s influence plays a part in the yearly release; and how a new variant goes from a simple idea or blending experiment to a nationwide offering. There’s an absolute ton of other material here that would be best enjoyed while shivering in a pre-dawn line for Bourbon County, or while sitting and revelling in your spoils while sipping on a glass of barrel-aged stout. Dust off your Randall, because we’re infusing your brains with some tasty Bourbon County talk.

Beers Tasted

Bourbon County Brand Wheatwine

Reserve Bourbon County Brand Stout (aged in 12 year-old Elijah Craig Barrel Proof bourbon barrels)

Bourbon County Brand Midnight Orange Stout

Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout

For our big 250, we bring together a show that’s been over four years in the making about beers that take at least three years to produce. It’s all American-style gueuzes - er, Méthode Traditionnelle, in some cases - from six sour beer makers. We’re joined by Doug Veliky of Revolution Brewing, just because we wanted a friend to share these with. But Doug shares with us a bunch of Revolution updates, and spoils our dreams on why we’ll likely never see a canned Gueuze. If that weren’t enough, this show also features brief drop-in interviews from James Howat of Black Project (and one of three board members for Méthode Traditionnelle Society), Jason Pellett of Orpheus Brewing, and Tomme Arthur of The Lost Abbey. Thank you for your listenership at any point along the way of these 250 episodes, and thank you more sincerely for tolerating our terrible Gueuze puns.

Gueuzes Cruised

Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales - Oxcart: Blend A (2018)

New Glarus Brewing Company - R&D Vintage 2017

Orpheus Brewing - Everything Lasts Forever

Jester King Brewery - 2017 Spon 4

Bullfrog Brewery - Le Roar Grrz (2016)

The Lost Abbey - Duck Duck Gooze (2016)

The 16th annual Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beers is almost upon us, and we continue our yearly tradition of geeking out about our favorite Chicago festival. We have five beers from brewers who will be pouring at this year’s fest while we also share some festival tips and breweries to seek out. Ryan also has done his homework as he subjects Craig to a few rounds of FoBAB history trivia. But we also review the bathrooms at the Google HQ, recklessly redefine the word “subtle”, enter the Apriverse, discover a new fetish, and get a little oxidation in our eyes. It’s more fun than you can fit in a...uh...some kind of….uh...liquid-holding vessel?

Beers Reviewed

Cerebral Brewing - Deep Thought (Chardonnay barrel-aged saison)

Cruz Blanca Brewery - Paz Y Piña (Saison refermented on pineapples in Chardonnay barrels)

Cellador Ales - Seconds (Blended barrel-aged sour with apricots)

Indeed Brewing Company - Rum King 2015 (Rum barrel-aged imperial stout)

Revolution Brewing - V.S.O.J. (Blend of 2 and 3 year-aged bourbon barrel barleywines)

What horrors abound in this blind gross-out tasting challenge, wherein we try to inflict suffering on each other through liquid terrors? After the inaugural Beer Purge we did last year, Craig’s hungry for sweet and sickening revenge. We pour six of the worst beers we could find while challenging one another to guess what’s in the glass while trying to lessen the volume of our pours from the Cuveé of Doom finalé. Listen in as Craig cackles while committing an unspeakable evil, and Ryan warns that Stephen Malkmus could be coming for your identity and bank account.  Don’t listen to this one alone.

Beers Poured With Extreme Malice

Stone Brewing Co. - Smoked Porter w/ Chipotle Peppers (2011)

Stone Brewing Co. - Ruination DIPA 10th Anniversary (2012)

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Chateau Jiahu (2013)

Baltika Breweries - Baltika #9 Extra

The Steel Brewing Co. - Steel Reserve 211 Alloy Series Blue Razz

Country Boy Brewing - Nacho Bait Habanero Blonde Ale

Our 50 States Quest continues as we take on our fireworks-selling neighbors to the East: Indiana! Recorded over the summer after Craig returned from a jaunt around the Indianapolis area, this episode features five diverse Hoosier beers that show Indiana beer is much more than that one metal brewery on the border. And because this was recorded in August, we get Craig’s recap of the Wizard World Comic Con including the cultural penetration of Golden Girls, Funko Pop everything, and what surprising offerings they were pouring at the Goose Island station. But then we talk about terrible Bobby Knight, kicking some barrels, Dick Tracy villains, and Quad IPAs. Count us IN.

Beers Reviewed

Oaken Barrel Brewing - Razz-Wheat (Raspberry Wheat Beer)

Taxman Brewing Company - La Maison (Saison w/ clover honey)

Windmill Brewing - Memeosa (Milkshake IPA w/ lactose, vanilla beans, and orange juice)

Deviate Brewing - Continued Clarity (Imperial stout with vanilla, chocolate & hazelnut)

The Bier Brewery - Bourbon Barrel Sanitarium (Belgian Quad aged in bourbon barrels)

The proliferation of pumpkin-flavored everything has slowed significantly compared to five years ago, and that seems to be the case in beer as well. Even in a year’s time, pumpkin beer entries at GABF dropped from 66 in 2017 to 38 in 2018. Are pumpkin beers on their way to the porch to be picked apart by squirrels or obliterated by little rapscallion neighbors? Or is the trend deserving of a Great Pumpkin-like return? We try five unique pumpkin-featuring styles on this show (and one terrifying pre-made mixed cocktail) to determine if we should even care at all. We also learn more about Fall Craig, pick our ideal piano man at Mariano’s, explain why Bengston’s is terrible, and share some tasty, tasty rage. Good gourd, it’s an interesting journey.

Pumpkin Beverages Consumed

BuzzBallz - Pumpkin Pie Eater (Mixed vodka drink w/ “fresh dairy cream and natural flavors”)

Lakefront Brewery - Pumpkin Lager

Hoppin’ Frog Brewery - Frog’s Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale

Seattle Cider Company - Pumpkin Spice cider

Epic Brewing Co. - Barrel-Aged Imperial Pumpkin Porter

Saugatuck Brewing - Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Pumpkin Chai

When we first met Neil Fisher from WeldWerks back in 2016, we couldn’t help but root for him: an affable guy making outstanding beers that were poised to reach a larger audience. Fast forward to the present, and WeldWerks is making some of the most exciting beer in all of Colorado, and the growing demand for the beers reinforces it. For this show, we have five WeldWerks beers to review along with five segments of an interview we did with Neil this year on the GABF floor. You’ll learn about WeldWerks’ 100 Beers project, plans for increasing capacity, benefits of not having an annual specialty stout release, and the most difficult beer they’ve ever made. But then there’s some other stuff about Craig’s new fur baby, 10-inch nose aromas, next year’s new GABF styles, and some 90s grittiness. Woop woop!

Beers Reviewed

Keller Pils 2.0

Hefeweizen

Quadruple Dry-Hopped Juicy Bits

Double Peach Milkshake IPA

Medianoche (2018)

Taking three New England-made hoppy beers and pitting them against three Chicago ones in a blind taste test would seem like a novel idea, if we hadn’t already done it like 11 months ago. But here it’s a fresh crop of hops from some big names in IPA, and our blind assumptions prove to be challenging yet again. Ryan is trapped in meme purgatory, Craig unveils his worst version (down with Fall Craig!), we say Mosher’s name 3 times to see what happens, and the throat hops return. Come feel safe in the grip of haze, and we’ll be sure to pepper in the chucklef*cks. Alan!

Beers Reviewed Blindly (in order of appearance)

Hubbard’s Cave - Fresh IIPA: One Hop Simcoe

Trillium Brewing Company - Storrowed

Tree House Brewing Company - Haze

Pipeworks Brewing Company - Infinite Galaxy

Goodfire Brewing Co. - CMYK

Alarmist Brewing - Oatshaker

For our fifth straight year at the Great American Beer Festival, we drank all of the beers in Denver so you didn’t have to. This episode is our full recap of this year’s fest, including discussions on the medal winners, our favorite beers at the fest, the hazy IPA takeover, and our inability to navigate the new layout. We also have a bunch of interviews from the festival floor featuring brewers we admire and beer people we respect. And if that isn’t enough, we drink and review three Denver-area beers from our hotel room against the will of our exhausted bodies and brains. We share some good unsolicited advice we received, introduce Craig’s new workout buds, and get interrupted by the drunkest 22 year-old at the fest.

Beers Reviewed

Declaration Brewing - Hardtack Copper

Outer Range Brewing Co. - Trail No. 4 (Quandary Peak)

Ursula Brewery - Imperial Crustless

Interviews from GABF 2018

James and Melissa Priest of The Referend Bier Blendery (Pennington, NJ) –  00:12:18 - 00:20:51

Tony Corder and Drew DeWees of Columbus Brewing Co. (Columbus, OH) – 00:25:39 - 00:32:45

Mike Donovan of The Oozlefinch Craft Brewery (Fort Monroe, VA) – 00:43:04 - 00:51:13

Jason Pellett of Orpheus Brewing (Atlanta, GA) – 00:56:42 - 01:04:30

Marty Nachel (author and beer judge) – 01:13:35 - 01:18:19

Blake Arrowood of Arrowood Farms (Accord, NY) – 01:29:15 - 01:34:39

Tomme Arthur of The Lost Abbey/Port Brewing Co./The Hop Concept (San Marcos, CA) – 01:40:31 - 01:45:54

As IPA further becomes a parody of itself, we stare down the ultimate challenge to our perception of what hoppy beers could - or should - be. Milkshake IPAs are a newer variation on the fruit-forward and bitterness-free take on the IPA that features lactose and/or vanilla to raise sweetness while incorporating wheat or oats into the grist to increase its heft. Listen as these six beers slowly chip away at our reservations around this hot new trend, and we learn to love again. Sort of. Also, Ryan refuses to let Craig continue to forget Leg Day, we invent the Beach IPA, and we fall into another tangent trap about candy and Doritos. Put the pectin in it!

Beers Reviewed

Odell Brewing Co. - Cloud Catcher

Collective Arts Brewing - Liquid Art Fest (w/ passionfruit, mango, and vanilla)

Energy City Brewing - Milkshake Nawi Mango (w/ mango and vanilla beans)

Hop Butcher for the World - Blazed Orange Milkshake (w/ oranges and vanilla)

Hailstorm Brewing Co. - Boat Drinks (w/ orange & pineapple juice, and toasted coconut)

Marz Community Brewing - Cocktail Umbrellas (w/ pineapple)

We’re counting down the days to the 37th annual Great American Beer Festival, and going into our fifth year attending, we finally feel like we’re qualified to give advice for those attending, or provide escapism for those that would like to be. Also, we drink five beers from five Illinois breweries we’ve never had on the show - and who also happen to be pouring at this year’s GABF! In regards to the fest, we share general advice, Illinois brewery pour lists, our picks for must-try breweries, and a rundown of interesting Denver-area events during the week. Also, Ryan plays Six Degrees of LMFAO on the opening, Craig discovers that every beer is a WeldWerks collab, and we write font-based romantic fiction. Whether you’re going to GABF or not, you can’t deny that we say the names of a lot of beers in this episode. We are sincerely sorry for party rocking.

Beers Reviewed

Midnight Pig - Hook & Hatchet (Vienna Lager)

Tangled Roots Brewing Co. - Oktoberfest

Alter Brewing Co. - ALTERior Motive (IPA)

Band of Bohemia - Jasmine Rice (Lager)

Werk Force Brewing Co. - Sleepy Bear (German Chocolate Cake Russian Imperial Stout)

Check out the GABF 2018 Illinois Brewery Pour List here

Years ago, before every other American brewery had a koelschip or a “sour program,” the options to foster a love for sours was mostly limited to shelf-available Belgian beers. As Ryan’s long-gestating audio lovechild, this episode represents a time when exploration of sour styles meant green-bottled imports and hard-to-pronounce names. But our reverence for these classics is apparent as we try five different Belgian sour beers done in five different styles. We learn about the beers themselves including the odd stories about how some of them were willed into existence by non-Belgians. We talk about IRL Mario Kart, put our best foudre forward, sup the cup, and buttdial our Boon buddy. And as this is (sort of) our pledge drive episode, check out patreon.com/abvchicago to donate to the show and get a ton of extra content and gifts!

Beers Reviewed

Brouwerij De Brabandere - Petrus Aged Pale

Brouwerij Van Steenberge - Monk's Café Flemish Sour Ale

Brouwerij Verhaeghe - Duchesse de Bourgogne

Vanberg & DeWulf/Brouwerij De Troch - Lambickx

Brouwerij Boon - Oude Geuze Boon Black Label

From the Stüssy of craft beer podcasts, this episode focuses on five Wisconsin breweries that aren’t that one you were just thinking about. Along with four interviews Craig gathered at the Great Taste of the Midwest, this show features five stellar beers that reach across the Badger State. Craig recaps some of his experience from the Great Taste, Ryan tries out a new color identifying app, we deal with a potential toilet Ghoulie situation, and we imagine a reality with Grambo. Taste the Robot World! 

Beers Reviewed

Working Draft Beer Co. - Hindsight (German-style Pilsner)

Earth Rider Brewery - Superior (Pale Ale)

Badger State Brewing Co. - On Wisconsin! (Red Ale)

The Brewing Projekt - Dare Mighty Things (New England-style IPA)

Raised Grain Brewing Co. - Black Walnut Coffee Stout (Belgian Imperial Stout)

Interviews Included

Clint Lohman of Working Draft (0:07:33)

Allyson Rolph of Earth Rider (0:24:45)

Sam Yanda of Badger State (0:42:11)

Dr. Scott Kelley and Dr. Jimmy Gosset of Raised Grain (1:04:47)

Situated on a farm that also serves as a winery and restaurant, among other things, this unassuming Indiana brewery has made a name for itself through the perfect combination of eye-catching packaging and well-executed, in-demand beer styles. Craig visited the brewery and brought back a few interviews to help shed light on this growing operation while we drink through five different beer styles that range from “fresh take on a classic style” to “is this even a beer anymore?” There’s also a Fast and Furious proposal, some praise for an exceptional beer server, a potential can grenade, a 4-pack price game, and the HopHeads of the Corn. Extra thanks to McKinley and Brian from 450 North for the brief interviews!

Beers Reviewed

Pay Day (Hoppy Pilsner)

Bouncy Castle (Creamy oat IPA)

SLUSHY Fruit Cocktail (Berliner Weisse w/ peach, pineapple, mango and cherry)

Diamond Nuggets (Triple dry-hopped Triple IPA)

Piece of Cake - Black Forest (Pastry stout w/ chocolate, vanilla, and cherry)

We finally realize our champagne wishes and IPA dreams as we gather some of the first beers released locally under the new Brut IPA style. What makes this San Francisco-born variation on IPA so special, and do we even really understand what a Brut IPA is by the end of the show? Maybe! There’s some light research on the history and science behind the style before we both turn into bubbles. Also, there’s a lot of old Batman talk, Craig faces his embarrassing e-mail shame, Drunk Ryan emerges very early, we coin the “pFriem standard,” and we explore the beauty of nunchuk art. Now we toast!

Brut IPAs Reviewed

Mikerphone Brewing/FinBack Brewery - Brut-ee-licious (Dry-Hopped Brut IPA w/ Citra and Enigma Hops)
Hailstorm Brewing/Arrowhead Ales - Hopsecco (w/ sauvignon blanc juice)
Middle Brow Beer Co. - Art Brut
Miskatonic Brewing - The Cryomancer
Illuminated Brew Works - Radionic Amplifier

This one’s for all you Breeniacs out there. Listener Don Kasak hooked us up with a mixed bunch of St. Louis goodies, and ranking them does not prove to be easy. This show reinforces why St. Louis is one of the best beer cities in the nation once you look past the Budweiser building. There’s also a lengthy discussion of the trailer for the new film by provocative auteur and actual human Neil Breen (see it here) before we settle on some beers to pair with the movie. We also taste some hoppy beers that happily harken back to simpler times, and have some odd memories of the game Earthbound for the SNES. Welcome to the virtual metaverse. I’ll be right…..here.

Beers Reviewed

The Civil Life Brewing Co. - American Brown Ale

Perennial Artisan Ales - Prism: Mosaic (dry-hopped saison)

Shared - Oranges on Wheat (witbier)

Modern Brewery - Citrapolis (IPA)

Earthbound Brewing - Meteor IPA
Narrow Gauge Brewing - Meersalz - Apricot/Peach (gose)