Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski and Nik White are ready for St. Patrick’s Day! Kicking things off, the guys open some cans of Lake Effect 5th Provence Irish Mild Red Ale. It’s been a while since the two of them opened up anything from Lake Effect Brewing Company so it’s really nice to see what they have been up to.
As winter disappears it’s always an interesting time for beer in the city. Festival season is starting to kick off and we’ll get the bikes out soon and hit up a few breweries.
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Chicago Beer Pass: Bone Bone Bone
Mar 08, 2024
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski and Nik White have themselves a hazy double IPA from the Sauganash brewery, Alarmist. Bone Bone Bone… is the first time in a while that the guys have reached for this style, and it didn’t disappoint. It was just a few episodes ago that the guys tried the Alarmist and Solemn Oath collaboration. Bone Bone Bone is another collaboration, this time with Hidden Hand. As Brad and Nik crush a few cans, they get excited for St. Patrick’s Day coming up, but they also dive into the trend of THC waters that seem to be hitting the market and who might be the audience for this beverage.
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Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski and Nik White have themselves a little IPA Snack to usher in what they hope is Spring and not Chicago’s “false Spring”. Brad picked up these cans of Raptor Snacks from District Brew Yards and felt like it was just what they needed: a classic IPA. This beer doesn’t disappoint and is a good reminder of the tasty beer coming out of District Brew Yards all the time. As the guys crush a few cans, Nik shares a little about his recent trip to Cider Summit.
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Chicago Beer Pass: Beer For A Penny
Feb 11, 2024
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski and Nik White crack open cans of Pennies from Prague, a Czech Dark Lager from the folks at BuckleDown Brewing. Brad made a quick little trip out that way and stopped at BuckleDown Brewing and Milk Money; both excellent spots. Nik also shares a bit about his trip out west where he got to enjoy some Russian River. Be sure to keep an eye out for the next episode where Nik lets everyone know about how he liked Cider Summit. With the weather changing and events picking up it feels like summer is coming fast!
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Chicago Beer Pass: Lots Of Peach
Feb 09, 2024
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski and Nik White are cracking open cans from Hidden Hands as well as a peach beer that Brad found in the back of his fridge. The winter blues are here and the guys haven’t been hitting up too many new places lately. A little IPA is sometimes all you need to get through these winter months.
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Chicago Beer Pass: Cold Time Chicago
Jan 26, 2024
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski and Nik White brave the cold, cold weather that has been hitting the city to bring everyone a new episode of the pod. To go with this cold weather the guys have the newest release from Revolution Brewing, their Cold Time Lager. Dropping a lager in the dead of winter might seem crazy but this beer hits everything you want, especially if the fate of Half Acre’s Fader is still uncertain.
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Chicago Beer Pass: Drop The Prices
Jan 15, 2024
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass,Brad Chmielewski and Nik White open a couple cans from Burning Bush. Although we are deep in the cold zone with this weather, a golden ale can really hit the spot. As the guys knock back these beers they talk about the price changes at Other Half, visits to Old Irving Brewing and a wrestling event happening at Revolution Brewing.
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Chicago Beer Pass: Punk Jus
Jan 10, 2024
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this final episode of 2023, Brad Chmielewski and Nik White kick off the new year with a collaboration between Alarmist Brewing & Solemn Oath Brewing called Snaggle Jus. This beer is everything you want from both breweries: a big, juicy hop punch in the face. If this is a sign of what we could see more of going into 2024, then the guys are all for it. Brad and Nik also talk about trips to Phase Three and the newest opening of Other Half Brewing in Bridgeport’s Renovated Ramova Theatre. As the new year kicks off, if you have any spots Brad or Nik should check out, please let them know, they can’t always talk about Revolution and Half Acre.
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Chicago Beer Pass: 2023 Ends
Dec 31, 2023
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this final episode of 2023, Brad Chmielewski and Nik White celebrate the end of the year with fresh cans of Fistmas from Revolution Brewing. Last year, the guys ended the year with Fistmas as well, and it’s only fitting because Revolution Brewing might be one of those breweries the guys drink and talk about the most. As they crush a few cans, they talk about a few favorite memories of the year and share their experience at the final days of Metropolitan Brewing. Thanks to everyone for listening & watching this year; Brad and Nik are looking forward to another fun year in Illinois craft beer.
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Chicago Beer Pass: Cosmic Winter
Dec 19, 2023
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski and Nik White crack open a couple cans of Cosmic Juice Box from Crushed By Giants… or maybe DyHop… Whoever is officially making this beer is making a great haze. As the guys knock back these cans they talk about a few things happening as the year ends and more breweries sadly shut their doors.
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Chicago Beer Pass: A Deep Woods Winter
Dec 07, 2023
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski and Nik White crack open a couple cans from the recent Revolution’s Deep Wood series. It’s unfortunate that they haven’t kept up on these each month of the release because they are always fantastic. As the two of them sip on a few cans, they talk about the latest stouts that have been hitting the store shelves and they go into a few details about some other breweries that have announced they are closing.
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Chicago Beer Pass: Turkey Turkey
Nov 24, 2023
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski and Nik White are pretending that winter isn’t right around the corner by drinking Little Wings, a pilsner from Horse Thief Hollow. Horse Thief Hollow is always one of those breweries the guys try to make it out to, but time got away from them this year. But it’s great that you can pick it up in cans. As the guys knock back a couple of cans, Brad shares his recent adventures with his family in town, where he hit up Metropolitan, Burning Bush, Adam’s Street, Eris, and Off Color. Nik was able to hit up Half Acre for the latest Benthic release.
With Goose Island’s Black Friday this week, it really means stout season is here. If you don’t pick up any bottles, try to make it out to one of the brewpubs or bars to try some of these big stouts.
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Chicago Beer Pass: Super Massive Recap
Nov 13, 2023
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski is back from his German adventures and Nik has a lot to share about what Brad missed while he was busy knocking back liters. First up the guys talk about the latest barrel-aged release from Sketchbook Brewing, this was a preview event both Brad and Nik attended at the end of October. It’s great to see Sketchbook continuing to explore and try new things rather than getting stuck with the same releases. Then Nik shares about the two big events that Brad missed; Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout preview and FOBAB. This is now two years in a row Brad has missed FOBAB which is a bit of a bummer for him. FOBAB is one of the events you get to try a lot of beers that you can’t get your hands on or don’t want to drop $40 on to drink at home. With stout season in full swing, what releases are you most looking forward to trying?
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Chicago Beer Pass: Oktoberfest Throwdown
Oct 24, 2023
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass, the time has finally arrived for the Oktoberfest throwdown! Brad Chmielewski and Nik White are joined by their buddy Sergio Salgado to tackle this epic lineup of Oktoberfest beers. Luckily Sergio was able to join the guys because this was really too many beers for two people to tackle. With this years lineup being even bigger than last years, it seems like every brewery is now doing an Oktoberfest. You’ll have to watch or listen to the episode to see who was at the top and bottom but there were some big surprises this time around.
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Chicago Beer Pass: Battle Of Evanston
Oct 18, 2023
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski and Nik White take on two Evanston Oktoberfest beers head to head. As the guys come closer to their big Oktoberfest tasting for the year they decided to open two malty treats from Evanston; the Temperance Oktoberfest & the Sketchbook Brewing Oktoberfest. Although both these Oktoberfest beers are rather similar they each are slightly different. It’s fun to see everyones take on this classic style. As the guys throw back these cans, Nik shares a couple stops from the past week.
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Chicago Beer Pass: Double, Double Toil and Trouble
Oct 09, 2023
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski and Nik White have a double whammy coming from Double Clutch Brewing. The guys drink the Oktoberfest and the Oktober Festbier from Double Clutch. It’s perfect timing for them to dive into these since Double Clutch won an award at the Great American Beer Festival. As Brad and Nik crush these cans, they chat about Burning Bush, Spiteful, Double Clutch, and Phase Three.
The guys also discuss the latest news that Metropolitan Brewing filed for bankruptcy. At the time of the recording, both Brad and Nik knew little about what it might mean for this excellent lager brewery.
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Chicago Beer Pass: Surviving Oktoberfest
Oct 05, 2023
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski and Nik White have some classic cans of Oktoberfest from Metropolitan Brewing. As the guys knock back these cans they chat about a wild weekend they had with stops at Temperance, Alarmist Brewing, Goose Island’s 312 Block Party, Metropolitan, Ravinia brewing, and Maplewood. Plus the guys share a wild rumor that they heard about Goose Island.
As Oktoberfest season keeps going in Chicago, the guys find themselves with a lot of events still to attend in the next month.
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Chicago Beer Pass: Take Me To Lager Town
Oct 02, 2023
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski and Nik White are heading to Lager Town! Last year during their Oktoberfest run the guys somehow missed Half Acre’s Lager Town. Now, with some fresh eyes and a slew of Oktoberfests under their lederhosen they can really get a sense of what Half Acre is doing here. The guys also get ready for a big weekend with 312 Block Party and Metropolitan Brewing’s Oktoberfest event. Prost!
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Chicago Beer Pass: Oktoberfest Time Again
Sep 29, 2023
Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago.
On this episode of Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski and Nik White start their Oktoberfest off with a bang by having some cans from Spiteful Brewing. Brad picked these up on a recent stop where he got sucked into the Oktoberfest season with Half Acre’s Lager Town and Spiteful’s Oktoberfest. There are events for Oktoberfest happening for the next couple weekends, so grab your Lederhosen and meet up with Brad and Nik for a liter or two.
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