ABV Chicago Craft Beer Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 253 - Beer Gifts Dec 05, 2018

Show notes

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)

Episode 252 - Deep Wood Deep Dive Nov 28, 2018

Show notes

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)

Episode 251 - BCBS 2018 with Mike Siegel Nov 20, 2018

Show notes

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

Episode 250 - Gueuz'n USA Nov 14, 2018

Show notes

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)

Episode 249 - FoBABlin’ 3: Season of the Barrel Nov 07, 2018

Show notes

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)

Episode 248 - The Torture Test II: Craig’s Revenge Oct 31, 2018

Show notes

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

Episode 247 - The IN Show Oct 24, 2018

Show notes

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)

Episode 246 - Pumpkin Chuckin’ Oct 17, 2018

Show notes

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

Episode 245 - WeldWerks Brewing Oct 10, 2018

Show notes

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)

Episode 244 - Hops! We Did It Again Oct 03, 2018

Show notes

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