Abv Chicago Craft Beer Podcast

In the grand order of the pastriarchy, the s’more stout reigns supreme again and again. But are they any good when you remove the hype? We blind taste five s’more-mimicking stouts in order to determine our arbitrary, ooey-gooey rankings. And no joke - the craziest thing happens at the end of this episode when the beers are revealed that completely left us stunned (and one of us very, very sad). The rest of the show is pretty pun-centric, with a lot of talk about different ways to consume or inhale chocolate, and then just an unexpected amount of time talking about Bam Margera. Also there’s some camping trivia that seems tipped in Craig’s favor, and we address the whale in the room. Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya…. Beers Tasted Blindly Short’s Brewing Co. - S’more Stout Pipeworks Brewing - S’more Money, S’more Problems More Brewing Co. - Henna (Batch 3: S’more) Off Color Brewing - Dino S’mores Mikerphone Brewing - S’more Cowbell

The most beloved and influential American IPAs of the last decade are being churned out in record volume, yet the juicy beers are getting all the hype while diluting the meaning of the very style. We reignite our love for six of the country’s most-revered IPAs that are now all available in grocery stores all over Chicagoland - and we do it in the dark. This blind tasting will once-and-for-all determine our completely arbitrary opinions about the best IPA that even your weird coworkers have heard of - and we are totally surprised by the results. Because we’re Chicagoans, we also spend a lot of time playing, “Is this Anti-Hero??” and expose our general ineptitude at guessing beers. Craig makes a bad suggestion for March Madness, Ryan tries to break the Baba Yaga’s Craig curse, and we talk about our favorite Aerosmith-inspired shooting game. Oh and there’s misheard 311 lyrics, a simple request about a Frasier shirt, a fact check for the English majors, and our memories of sitting out in the Quad. And all this co

Our hearts are wide open and ready to embrace the funk, but will it embrace us back? Yazoo Brewing out of Nashville, Tennessee has been brewing since 2003, but their obsession with making complex sour works of art started in 2012. We have four beers from Yazoo’s funky side thanks to listener Matt Milam, and we can’t help but wonder why they haven’t taken over the world yet. We also are very confused about this year’s Pitchfork lineup and the sudden soaking swell of Wet Daves. Oh...hold on. BRB. Craig’s back from his Taco Bell run. Beers Reviewed  Saison de Bois (Saison aged in 20 year old French Oak Bordeaux Red Wine Puncheon casks with mixed cultures of lactobacillus, pediococcus and brettanomyces) State of Funk 2017 Release 3: What’cha Want (A sour blonde ale aged 15 months in a Cabernet barrel with a Passion Fruit secondary fermentation and Pineapples and Cherries for a tertiary fermentation) State of Funk 2017 Release 4: No Fakin’ the Funk (15 month Chardonnay barrel aged mixed culture Saison brewed with

What would you do if you were a brewer at a one barrel brewery with a family and full time job with only a handful of brew days each month? Well if you’re Energy City Brewing, you’d probably open one Saturday a month and drop some exceptional beers on the unsuspecting public of greater Batavia. Thanks to our daddy Ross O’Neill, we have five offerings from homebrewer-turned-pro (and human sentence) David Files that are released in an extremely limited quality to an increasing fanbase. Hear us experience the wonderful and weird that this new-ish outfit has to offer before they scale up to reach a larger audience. We’re cool like that. But then we destroy that façade by talking about flagshops, chocolate IPAs, New England-style beer tiers/tears, and the angel love that is “Swella.” Seriously though, how do you talk to an angel? Beers Reviewed Hop Waka (New England-style IPA) Green to Brown (Imperial American Brown Ale) Hop Nawi (New England-style IPA) Hop Revenge - Anomaly (New England Wild Tropical Stout) Poput

About two years after a buyout from a private equity firm that joined them with crafty canning giants Oskar Blues, Cigar City Brewing is poised to make 2018 a year of expansion. Now that their world-class beers are being faithfully reproduced on a larger scale, it’s due time they entered the crowded - yet thirsty - Chicagoland market. We try four of the canned beers they’re bringing to town and one bottle (that won’t see our shelves) just for the fun of it. You’ll hear about the best brown ale we’ve had in forever, the possible progenitor of pastry stouts, and why no one should consider Jai Alai as “just another IPA.” We also improve the CiceroneⓇ exam, have a break down over beer freshness, trash some bouncy houses, and get nostalgic for five years ago. Plus there’s a great “Florida man…” game that is fun for the whole family (over the age of 21). It’s straight CANarchy on this one. (*slide whistle*) Thanks to Beer on the Wall for providing the four canned beers and for their continued sponsorship! Check the

Four years ago, no one wanted to hear us drink German styles coming out of Chicago. Now that more local breweries are paying homage to the biers from Deutschland, we reboot the concept with a grittier lineup and go for that hard PG-13 rating. We dive into these styles by reading from a few dusty tomes, and those that are excited by the word “decoction” should take notice. We also plan for our messy divorce, sing a bad song, author some bock beer puns, call for beer copulation, and feel unnatural things about bacon. (And thanks to our first-ever actual sponsor, Beer on the Wall, for providing the doppelbock.)   Beers Reviewed Baderbräu - Five Star Lager (Helles Lager) Piece Brewery & Pizzeria - Dark-N-Curvy (Dunkelweizen) Great Central Brewing Company - Weizenbock Dovetail Brewery - Rauchbier Tighthead Brewing Company - Reformator (Doppelbock)

Although Arkansas is known for many important things, brewing beer isn’t exactly one of them, as it ranks near the bottom in the nation for breweries per capita. But of course a passionate few are looking to change that reputation as we sample beer from about 1/7th of the breweries in The Natural State. Thanks to listener Chris Butler, we check off our fifteenth state show, and somehow manage to avoid hazy IPAs, sours, or barrel-aged adjunct stouts - it’s an Ozark miracle! We also give you white-hot takes on the new Timberlake record, corny adjuncts, valuable printing errors, and night showering. There’s also two name games around John Grisham and the Duggar family, and we acknowledge the odd juxtaposition of significant Arkansas historical achievements. And we only make one attempt at a pirate joke, thank god.  Beers Reviewed Bike Rack Brewing - Urban Trail Golden Ale Bike Rack Brewing - Slaughter Pen IPA New Province Brewing - Fallen Queen Witbier Ozark Beer - Double IPA Lost Forty Brewing - Forest Queen Mi

Each week for the past two years, we’ve released special mini-episodes for our Patreon supporters that we call Low ABVs. It’s our small way of saying thanks to those who commit even a small amount of money to us each month. To say thank you to everyone else, we’ve compiled some of our favorites that feature both hoppy beers and our irreverent brand of games into a slightly massive release this week. Sure, there are beer reviews. But there’s also all of these tantalizing topics: Ryan’s new career in drums, the world’s most precious prank, playing games with pseudo-celebs, the problem with mass-produced NEIPAs, Craig’s prison future, traumatic childhood movies, a sudden spike in toilet talk, our two degrees of 311, Robitussin lambics, and the absolute best beer label. Thanks to everyone who has listened over these four years, and if you want to support us and gain access to over 26 hours of Low ABVs (with some full “lost” episodes never widely released to the public), go to www.patreon.com/abvchicago and become

This Seattle brewery’s been on our wishlist for quite some time, and listener Raj Shah sent us a heavenly array of Holy Mountain beers to review. Big hops, barrels, and Brett make for some pretty flavorful beer - and almost all of it is impressive and unique. We encounter the ugliest beer we’ve seen in a long time, try to rhyme things with yuzu, share the secret to erudite beer reviews, get mistaken for famous wizard Brian Potion, and express concern over our future beer-related ailments. Put away that copy of EsophaGigli, get the #craigarmy together, and let us be your sherpas on this ascension to Holy Mountain. Beers Reviewed Lesser Ritual (Hoppy Pilsner) Sunroom (Mixed culture saison brewed with Nelson Sauvin and fermented in oak barrels) Astral Projection (Double IPA) Wraith (American wild ale aged in oak with blackberries and raspberries) Midnight Still (2016) (Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels)

Unknown to most of us Midwesterners but regarded highly in their native Arkansas, Lost Forty Brewing is canning up some stellar takes on a wide variety of styles. We taste five beers from this Little Rock-based brewery thanks to listener Chris Butler. These extremely tasty beers quickly chuck us over the hill and into one of the most far-fetched game ideas Ryan has ever had, in addition to a real rogue’s gallery of diversions: the worst way to ruin your phone, the problem with Spencer’s Gifts, weird sleepovers, the California Raisins, a controversial statement on convertible pants, and a Brazilian butt mystery. #BossBabyisLife Beers Reviewed Logger Rita (Mexican-Style Vienna Lager) Trash Panda (New England Style IPA) Baltic Porter Snake Party (Double IPA) Nighty Night (Imperial Stout aged in cabernet, bourbon, and rye whiskey barrels)

Our 14th state show is with beers from all over the Hawkeye state, thanks to listener TJ Osborn. We review five beers from five different Iowa breweries and run into our first-ever CrowlerFreak.Ⓡ  Ryan gets to relive a little of his college days in Iowa City by drinking too much and wearing an adult-sized onesie; Craig just tries to figure out what the hell we’re drinking. There’s two games on this one that Ryan uses to torture Craig: Name that Slipknot Tune and Dan Gable: Fact or Fiction? And it won’t even cost you a single cheddar cube. Beers Reviewed Barn Town Brewing - Hop Skewer IPA (maybe….) SingleSpeed Brewing Co. - Cocoanut Oat Porter Franklin Street Brewing - Drugstore Cowboy (New England IPA) Lake Time Brewery - Peanut Butter Cup Porter Iowa Brewing Company - Moray (Barrel-aged Scotch Ale)

In the last six months, four hotly anticipated taprooms threw open their doors for thirsty Chicagoans, and we took a day to visit them. We brought back beers from each spot to review while sharing our early impressions of the new establishments. There’s also some necessary Podcasting 101 (for Kidz), Craig’s melty-face fears, the search for Snackwell’s, and a toilet Ghoulie sighting. So pop open a growler, and have yourself a scoop of The Country’s Second Best Yogurt, in audio form.   Beers Reviewed Half Acre Beer Co. Balmoral Tap Room (2050 W Balmoral Ave) - Wallonia (Saison) Spiteful Brewing Taproom (2024 W Balmoral Ave) - Spiteful IPA Off Color Brewing, The Mouse Trap (1460 N Kingsbury St) - Myshka (Russian Serf Stout) Maplewood Brewery & Distillery Lounge (2717 N Maplewood) - Fluffy Bottoms (Lactose Pale Ale)

The pfabulous brewery with the pfunny name, pFriem Family Brewers out of Hood River, Oregon has been perfecting styles and racking up medals since 2012. We get to try a variety of styles here thanks to head brewer Gavin Lord who sent us a generous package for our reviewing pleasure. And it’s a pleasure, indeed. But we also talk a lot about what Ja Rule has been up to these days, explain both “dankness” and centrifuges with immaculate precision, get the dill out, and receive a terrible nickname from a toddler. Grab your own fish and sit down for a pristine evening with one of the best breweries in the world. Beers Reviewed Pilsner Super Saison Dank IPA Frambozen Oud Bruin

The perfect soundtrack to setting your 2017 calendars ablaze over your electric stove, this episode features five beers that are, like, sooooo 2017. We kiss off this s***ty year with a combination of hazy IPAs and sweet/pastry stouts before the World Premiere of our brand new parody song, “We Didn’t Start the Fire (2017 Beer Edition)”. Other topics include Trader Joe’s mysterious Island calligraphy, desecration of a sacred Ullgump, “Pimp My Vape Rig”, and how CBS is Independence Day.  Van Damme Milkshake! Anchor Brewing/Trader Joe’s - Joe Joe’s Cookie Stout  (Milk Stout) Trinity Brewing - Hype Forager (East Coast Super Juicy Turbid IPA) Sierra Nevada Brewing - Hazy Little Thing IPA Marz Community Brewing - Pastry Boy (Double Milk Stout w/ graham crackers, lactose, cinnamon, and vanilla) Founders Brewing - Canadian Breakfast Stout (2017) (Imperial coffee stout with chocolate aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels)

A shining star led many wise men and women to our place of recording, with each bearing wondrous homages of beer as we give audio birth to this blessed baby podcast. Actually, it’s just our holiday party with a bunch of great guests and stellar beer. Between handfuls of snacks, we manage to record ourselves drinking five beers (with so, so many more off-mic) and persuade a few brewers and loyal listeners to join in the fun. It’s a grab bag of topics featuring waffles with Santana, international brewpubs, exquisite hop rubbings, the new Maplewood Lounge, Craig’s lubricant secret, dank Chicago food, Three Penis Wine, and the Rapsittie Street Kids. Happy holidays to everyone listening! Segment #1: Jon Naghski (Goose Island Brewhouse) and listener Ross O’Neill drink Goose Island Clybourn’s Night Fights, a “ghost whale” version of their barrel-aged Impervious Stout, with raspberries added. Segment #2: Jude La Rose (Hop Butcher for the World) and listener Neal taste two collaborations with Colorado’s WeldWerks Brew

Few things pair with falling temperatures, snow flurries, and holiday stress as well as big roasty and nutty stouts, so we get cracking on five beers that feature unique nut additions. We learn about the awfulness of black walnuts, give credit to the brewery that started pastry stouts, talk strategy for TMNT II: The Arcade Game, and discover some fascinating facts about nuts through the magic of listicles. There’s also a long bit at the beginning about miniature horses, and we end it with Craig trying to get Ryan to understand fecundity. Love this ugly baby.   Hop Butcher for the World/DryHop Brewers - Milkstachio (Milk Stout w/ cacao nibs and natural pistachio flavor) Pollyanna Brewing - Fun Size (Milk Stout w/ peanut, cacao nib, vanilla beans and sea salt) Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery - Oil of Aphrodite (Imperial Stout w/ black walnuts and dark Belgian candi sugar) Prairie Artisan Ales - Pe-Kan (Imperial Stout w/ vanilla and pecans) Odd Side Ales - Hazel’s Nuts (Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels w/ cof

Recorded after our return from this year’s GABF in October, we add to our State Show Series by sampling five beers from five Denver-area breweries, completely neglecting the rest of this beer-rich state. We recap our visits to four of the breweries and take our riffing to new above sea-level heights by talking about cask ales, dubstep pedicabs, a bathroom clown, terrible houseguests, Weird Sal, and your grandma’s unsettling Twitter handle. There’s also a little game of “Weed Strain or Colorado Beer Name?” for which Craig is woefully unprepared. (And don’t forget to look out for Schwimmer Vintage Ales in 2019!) Beers Reviewed Little Machine Beer - Razz Against the Machine (Tart Raspberry Beer) Hogshead Brewery - Lake Lightning (English Pale Ale) Amalgam Brewing - Ascension (Golden Sour Ale) 4 Noses Brewing - ‘Bout Damn Time (American IPA) Cerebral Brewing - Cheat Code (Double IPA)

Did you strike out on BCBS this year? Is your Black Friday haul picture too pitiful to boastpost to that one Facebook group? Be not dismayed weary barrel-aged beer seekers - we have a whole show of beers that required waiting in no lines to obtain! We found five barrel-aged beers that were both more affordable and available than any Bourbon County variant - and guess what - some of them might be better than that beer that launched a thousand pitched tents. We start this one by reviewing the grisly details of this year’s Black Friday chaos while desperately searching for our roommate Derek. Last we saw him was by the port-o-potties with a paper Dixie cup full of some guy’s warm pour of Bramble, so if you’ve seen him please hit us up. He sometimes answers to DerBear. Beers Reviewed  Oskar Blues Brewery - Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy Revolution Brewing - Deth by Cherries Nickel Brook Brewing - Cafe Del Bastardo Moody Tongue - Bourbon Barrel-Aged 12 Layer Cake Dogfish Head Brewery - Oak-aged Vanilla World Wide Stout

To commemorate our big 200, we ditched all of our high concept ideas to bring it back to the podcast’s origins by having a bottle share of random beers that interested us. But we couldn’t stop there, as this star-studded episode also features a ridiculous number of brewers and industry folks as we shout trivia questions at them during FoBAB. Some of the beers we drink are stellar, one is downright terrible, and the episode-long 90’s trivia game of us versus the brewers is a belligerent cabaret of fun and follies. We also talk about our new podcast project, rolled ice cream, the bomber curse, a little show history, and getting extreme. Whether you’ve been there for 2 episodes or 200, we sincerely thank you for tuning in to our show and hope we can continue to delight your beer-loving ears. And thanks to all of the brewers and industry friends for embarrassing themselves for our twisted pleasure on this show. #CARSTAB Beers Reviewed August Schell Brewing - North Star Collection: Tidal Disruption (Berliner Weiss

As Metal Monkey Brewing in Romeoville gears up for the largest release in their almost two-year history, they decided that we should spread the word on the four barrel-aged versions of their huge Asmodeus stout. Was it a wise idea? For us, it certainly was as the beers are damn enjoyable and lead us to the worst game we’ve ever played on this show. There’s also a 15-minute chat with brewers Dan Camp and Jason Janes about the history of Metal Monkey and how the base stout for this beer was almost deemed completely cursed. Within the rest of this audio word cuvée, you’ll hear some talk of kids shows, Ray Romano, lip smacking, coffee roasting, IHOP, and the wall of Mexican chocolate. Also, screw Bon Jovi.   Beers Reviewed   Barrel Aged Asmodeus (2017) Barrel Aged Asmodeus - Coffee Barrel Aged Asmodeus - Maple Barrel Aged Asmodeus - Mexican Chocolate