Keeping Together, the saison-focused project from Averie Swanson, has brought world-class mixed culture farmhouse-style beers to Chicago - if even for all too short of a time. We catch up with Averie about the future of Keeping Together as its time in Chicago comes to a close, but we also talk with the Master Cicerone and former co-owner/head brewer at Jester King about her evolution as a brewer and business owner - and it feels like she’s just getting started. Also, we extol the virtues of sais...
Jul 14, 2021•1 hr 55 min•Season 8Ep. 388
The good folks at Necromancer Brewing in Pittsburgh want to bring dead beer styles back to life, learning from the past while also using modern techniques and ingredients to reinvigorate these long-dormant styles for a new audience. On the first day that their taproom opened, Craig happened to be in town and was lucky to chat with head brewer Lauren Hughes before buying up almost every can they had to offer. Lauren shares the journey that led to Necromancer’s opening and the long-term vision of ...
Jul 07, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Season 8Ep. 387
In our 26th installment of our State Show Series, we get surprised with a box from listener Andrew F. and try to turn this admittedly New Orleans-heavy show into a loving exploration of Louisiana beer. Appropriately, the five beers are about as oddly different as they can be, and we have at least one thing we’ve never had in a beer before. Also, we revisit the events that must’ve led to Pitbull’s performance at the 2018 Naperville Ribfest, try to put the baseball in New Orleans, fret over drinki...
Jun 30, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Season 8Ep. 386
Though the only true kölsch can be found in Cologne, Germany, the broad appeal of the style is an obvious draw for brewers and drinkers alike. We find six local examples of kölsch-style beers and sample them in a blind tasting, while trying unsuccessfully not to embarrass ourselves. We also share strange yet optimistic signs in a return to “normalcy,” consider spicy cereals, discover raw bread, and create a bunch of new band names. Grab yourself six for the lazy river. Beers Sampled Blindly (in ...
Jun 23, 2021•58 min•Season 8Ep. 385
If only there was some relevant reason to do our first Hop Butcher show in a year...oh yeah! They released four single-hopped hazy beers! Well, there’s that and the whole “purchasing the Half Acre Lincoln taproom to convert into their own space later this year” thing. We talk with our friend Jeremiah Zimmer from Hop Butcher for the World for a good while about the surprising taproom purchase, from what greased the wheels on the deal to what kinds of plans they have with a tentative late-October ...
Jun 16, 2021•1 hr 47 min•Season 8Ep. 384
Mikerphone has become notorious for being willing to toss anything edible (and usually sweet) into a beer, but they’re not all style with no substance. For this episode, we tried to sample a more stripped-down version of Mikerphone, choosing five beers without much added (except for the occasional dry hop or barrel treatment). There are many delightful reminders that sometimes simple is better, but we also muck it up with a forced auction, the art of CD tracks, the seasons of Dexter*, a new futu...
Jun 09, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 8Ep. 383
Trends with IPAs come and go, but the West Coast-style IPA is foundational for what craft beer is today. So when a bunch of awesome local breweries set aside their hazy tendencies to deliver something more bitter and clear, we’re ecstatic to drink through five of them. Also, we mount up for Michael McDonald, admire some Choice Cones©, and welcome the new steel drum player for the Smashing Pumpkins. We also roll out another round of Personal Preference, which leads to talk of boozy mayonnaise and...
Jun 02, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Season 8Ep. 382
More than just a mash paddle photoshoot for Instagram, these brewery collaborations focus on how their own pre-existing strong recipes can complement those of another. Enter the collab lab with us, as we taste through five inspired collaborations from local breweries, featuring a few medal winners to boot. Also, we pimp our windbreakers, break our lactose streak, imagine the limits of beer NFTs, and are just so done with this m ask theatre. Set your windbreakers to yacht rock. Beers Reviewed Ala...
May 26, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Season 8Ep. 381
Not to be confused with FoBAB (Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beers) or MOBAB (Missouri’s Board of Anime Bookstores), this episode simply promises more barrel-aged beers. Five dark beers with a few adjuncts and unique barrels thrown in, this lineup has more than one beer that’ll be on our best of the year list. Also, we discuss a Zubaz incident, summon a Pacino moment, get frustrated again by Kid Craig, and call for more jiggly stouts. We’re going to need moMoBAB. Beers Reviewed Bent Paddle Br...
May 19, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Season 8Ep. 380
This show is a tribute to when the b-side is even better than the a-side, as we drink through five beers that for random reasons didn’t make the cut for recent episodes of the podcast. The styles and breweries are all over the place, which inspires us to dip into a slew of random topics like movies that should’ve been old SNES games, the best part of reading about the Columbian Exposition, and a whole game about b-side songs that upstage their a-sides. Grab your fancy hat and your absinthe dripp...
May 12, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Season 8Ep. 379
Ticking off another Midwestern hotspot for beers, we try out five different beers from Madison, Wisconsin breweries this week. We drink as a badger does and uncover the surprisingly long and decorated histories of a few of these breweries, while we have a diverse lineup of tasty beers. Also, we jump on the video game-to-live action movie express, re-enact The Fabulous Baker Boys , contrast our evolving personal style, and talk briefly about that time Elvis stopped a fight in Madison. We’re all l...
May 05, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Season 8Ep. 378
In our minds, there’s hardly a better combination than drinking beer and appreciating baseball - a pastime as wholesome as apple pie milkshake IPAs. So we step into the box, looking to square up five tasty beers from Midwestern breweries that certainly want you to think about baseball. We cram this one with baseball miscellany: Chicago food-themed uniforms, baseball and beer math, Hot Dog Summer, and baseball Stumptappd. Mercy! Beers Reviewed Off Color Brewing - Beer for Ballgames (Cream ale) Go...
Apr 28, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Season 8Ep. 377
Looking to provide an “oasis for life and leisure,” Madison, Wisconsin’s Young Blood Beer Company had to bring the oasis to the people in their first year of operation. For this episode, Craig talks with co-founder Tom Dufek about rewriting business plans, adding a twist to every beer, and cultivating those dank and drippy vibes. We also drink through five cans of their beer while trying (and failing) to outdo their beer names with MadLibs. Plus, there’s the threat of a lactose streak, a little ...
Apr 21, 2021•1 hr 42 min•Season 8Ep. 376
Head about 45 minutes west of Chicago, and you’ll find a cluster of fresh craft beer options that are certainly destination-worthy. Ryan took a weekend to check out breweries in St. Charles and Geneva, and he brought back five different beers that’ll have you planning a day trip. The background on these breweries is as fascinating as the beers are varied, and our rankings are about as different as they can be. Also, we talk for a while about chili dog-related issues, pull a Table the Label card,...
Apr 14, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Season 8Ep. 375
In our triumphant return to our state series, we venture into the beers from the great state of Connecticut for our 25th installment. And we do so in a big way - with six beers of (mostly) very different styles that span all corners of the state. Thanks to Spenser for the help with the show - and for the small wooden...opening. We also talk about 10,000 hours of altbiers, the new maltwave, more plans for Craig’s beer parody song career, skinfeel, ice cream challenges, and the Knight of the Mall....
Apr 07, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Season 8Ep. 374
From their first batch of beer released in 2015, Around the Bend has been committed to an unconventional take on traditional styles. The brewery’s trajectory has also been anything but conventional, and we have founder Dan Schedler on to talk about the brewery’s history and future. Dan also shares what led to his midlife career change, how they pivoted from a sudden facility closure, and why their ideas need to be reigned in from time-to-time. Additionally, we review five beers of divergent styl...
Mar 31, 2021•1 hr 51 min•Season 8Ep. 373
Despite the allure of warmer temperatures, we’re not quite ready to be done with stout season. So we grab the next-closest seasonally appropriate alternative: baltic porters! In our latest episode in our Prestige Styles Series, these five beers challenge what we know about both porters and lagers, but they are no challenge to drink. We share some fractured history about the style, try to determine the best month for Baltic Porterfest, and designate the perfect animal mascot. Also, we imagine ice...
Mar 24, 2021•1 hr 28 min•Season 8Ep. 372
Finally ready to recover from Barrel-Aged December™, we assembled a star-studded sequel to last year’s episode, bringing on five barrel-aged beers presented without additional adjuncts. The plethora of bourbon barrels and base beers make for some flavorful variations, and they leave us practically - and almost literally - floored. Also, we adjust to our new ISOs, discuss why Rev’s collaboration choice was genius, consider Half Acre’s barrel-aged beer plan, prepare for the inevitable stout slushi...
Mar 17, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Season 8Ep. 371
It’s always been exciting to drink Russian River - every bottle opened feels like an event, and it has felt that way for us for well over a decade. On this show we celebrate the brewery that changed the way we both drink beer. Though this episode seems to be about Pliny the Younger (and a lot of it is), the whole lineup is a marvelous progression. Also, we aim to bring back sticker books, open up the ABV Denver Fitness Club, get rolled for R.R., check the Midwestern forecast, and go on D.O.N.G. ...
Mar 10, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Season 8Ep. 370
Either through public demand or divine intervention, the Black IPA has made an unexpected comeback in 2021, and We. Are. Here. For. It. We snagged the first five Black IPAs we could to tap into the cultural zeitgeist, and Craig learns to stop worrying and love the style. We discuss why the style lost favor with the beer buying public, and speculate on where they may be going. Also, we consider which singers deserve their half birthdays recognized, nearly touch Dick Biondi with a roman candle, ca...
Mar 03, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Season 8Ep. 369
Tonight, we have the story of five breweries local to Chicagoland who opened amidst a global crisis, and the five beers that lifted the spirits of two weary beer reviewers. It’s ABV Chicago with your Local News - new breweries and new beers with your old friends, Ryan and Craig. First, we open with a few surprising new buttons, then to one person’s battle cry for ska; and later, a lactose-free label? You won’t believe your ears. Then at 10, it’s the new series: Jaws of Justice. All that after yo...
Feb 24, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Season 8Ep. 368
The bitterly cold winter months call for rich and bready lagers, and the bock beer is ready to swaddle you in warming flavors. For this show, we try five very different bock beers that speak to the diversity of the style and contribute to the sudden inebriation of the hosts. We uncover the history of bocks while acknowledging the vast differences between substyles, but we can’t resist driving the bock pun thing into the ground. Listen for Craig’s surprising personality test, our two-decades late...
Feb 17, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Season 8Ep. 367
We’ve long sought out the strange and elusive beers of Connecticut’s Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores - or OEC Brewing, informally - so we have a ritualistic orientation with six beers from their little secret society. There’s a lot to love from this diverse lineup - not the least of which is that one of them comes in a freaking blue bottle. Also, we explore our legal options in a trademark dispute, let the funk do the talking, and play two games about stock symbols and airport codes. For Asgard! Beer...
Feb 10, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Season 8Ep. 366
We send off this season’s Deep Wood series by opening up some of their finest ‘wines. Big on barrel variation, this lineup of barleywines and ryewines features a few of the best things Revolution has ever done with these styles - and our rankings diverge quite a bit. We speculate on the next Deep Wood lineup, fail at recreating Honey Nut Cheerios, zoom in on physical pictures, praise the “Rock N’ Roll Racing” soundtrack, and discuss fonts for a solid ten minutes. (This episode was maximized for ...
Feb 03, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Season 8Ep. 365
This year is our seventh as a podcast, and because we couldn’t throw a party like we usually do, we’re bringing the drunken fun inside your head holes. It’s certainly a nostalgia fest at times here as we relive our epic anniversary parties at Beermiscuous, but we made this one more interesting by dropping off some blind local beers to our remote recording spaces. We have six entries, with each host contributing three heavily wrapped beers, and we enjoy hearing each other squirm over style and br...
Jan 27, 2021•1 hr 53 min•Season 7Ep. 364
Though it may not be considered all that popular, the brown ale is resilient. Craft brewers have been making them for decades, and even now it’s more common to see a hyped-up brewery release a brown as a change-of-pace. To dig deeper into English and American Brown Ales, we drink a mix of five from near and far. Craig also turns this show into his own personal gameshow, putting Ryan to the test on five rounds of music trivia based on the history of the Billboard Hot 100. We discover that no one ...
Jan 20, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Season 7Ep. 363
Starting a sour-focused brewery comes with a unique set of challenges, especially when you enter the market in the midst of a pandemic. But Odious Cellars founder and head brewer Reeve Joseph forged ahead, lucking upon the facility at Pilot Project to help accelerate his beer-school dreams of producing exquisite sour and mixed culture beers. We talk with Reeve about his circuitous journey into making beer, why he intends to “keep it niche,” and how many of his beers are just fermented on GoGurt....
Jan 13, 2021•1 hr 43 min•Season 7Ep. 362
In a city called Lafayette, somewhat between Denver and Boulder, Zach Nichols runs his farmhouse-focused brewery, Cellar West Artisan Ales. In under five years, the brewery has won two GABF medals, moved to a new location, and expanded their operation, including a side-label focused on trendier styles. Zach was kind enough to send us five of his beers for review, and he joined us on the Zoom to tell the story of Cellar West. And believe us - we’re ready for more saisons in 2021. There’s also a n...
Jan 06, 2021•1 hr 43 min•Season 7Ep. 361
We might as well send off 2020 on an upbeat note and just get wild with the ingredients, so we let it all hang out on this mixed five pack of barrel-aged variant stouts from local breweries. Each of these releases represents a fun little twist on its barrel-aged base, and we’re going to need a new word for “adjunct.” In addition to our reviews, we attempt to tune the GAS scale, share the history of the base beers, dream up new brandy flavors, make some fresh savory pastries, and watch as the Ora...
Dec 30, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Season 7Ep. 360
The imperial oatmeal stout at the heart of it all, Deth’s Tar may have seemed like a fun little pun back when it first came out of barrels in the early part of the decade, but now it’s clearly the centerpiece of the best barrel-aged series in the city. We enlist the help of Revolution’s own barrel wizard Marty Scott to join us via Zoom to talk all about this year’s lineup of Deths, as well as a wide array of reasons why Revolution is working harder than anyone to release the best barrel-aged bee...
Dec 23, 2020•1 hr 54 min•Season 7Ep. 359
