ABV Chicago Craft Beer Podcast

It's about every seven years that the great pumpkin beer show rises again, and this one is just Ryan running wild with some mixed six pack racks until we have a whole mess of adjunct-forward pumpkin beers that (mostly) get us in a Fall mood. But it is a fun way to drink five beers from breweries we almost never have on the show! Listen as we try to keep an open mind while considering why someone m...

Back in the summer, we grabbed this mixed four-pack from San Diego's Alesmith because of some eye-catching collaborators and unusual style pairings with coffee. This small but mighty lineup is as delicious as it is…caffeinated. But also, we question whether or not certain multitasking is necessary; Craig cements himself as a real bean squeezer; and Ryan would now like to be known as The Man of La...

Join Ryan and Craig, your guides to the (sub)urban beer jungle, as they experience the eccentric, offbeat, and unexpected Wild beers of Chicagoland! They imbibe four different ales fermented with wild yeasts and bacteria while aged in oak and review them for your listening pleasure. They also look back on the heyday of local wilds and sours, make difficult sleeping arrangement decisions, pay respe...

The story of our ongoing Cellar West series goes back to a box sent to us by owner Zach Nichols in late 2020, and we've become quite literate in their mastery of many different styles in the years since. Originating from Lafayette, Colorado (just outside of Boulder) with a second location in Erie, Colorado, Cellar West has won their fair share of awards along the way - and this lineup could end up...

After being invited to taste through bourbon barrels by distillers for a few Mikerphone barrel picks, Mike Pallen said, "We should do that." And they have - now for the 36th time - invited industry friends, business owners, and even - yes - craft beer podcasters to sample through their barrel-aged beers with the goal of finding their own Pick of Destiny. We go through the whole blind tasting proce...

It's not so common anymore to see beers with just a single hop, but when we do, we embrace the opportunity to teach ourselves a little something. We have five beers, each made with a different single hop, and we dive into the background of each - and the surprisingly long hop development process. But also, we discuss if Citra is in fact the GHOAT; Craig shares a eulogy for the best way to get 12 C...

Perhaps the most prolific collaborators of any local brewery, Mikerphone has a rolodex the size of a mash tun and isn't hesitant to bring in friends of all kinds to brew up inspired beers. We drink through five Mikerphone collaboration beers and get some input from Mike Pallen himself throughout this episode as he shares some of the background, stories, and ingredient choices that make these beers...

As an experienced attendee, Craig was back in Madison yet again for the 2026 edition of the Great Taste of the Midwest and brought back interviews, festival-exclusive beers, and a full report (including where not to look for sandwiches). You'll hear about all the pre-fest events he attended; a combined interview with Justin from Hop Butcher and Kyle from Young Blood on beer collaborations; a brief...

Craig's summer travels brought him north of the border this year, which is why we're fortunate to drink five Toronto-based beers for this little taste of Canada - and we have nothing to complain about (outside of beer shipping limits and metric system conversions). Also, we get a recap of Craig's experience at many of these breweries during World Cup games and wildfires; we find a few surprising G...

The U.S. Open Beer Championship, started in 2009, is the third-largest competition that recognizes and rewards beers from all over the world - and this year, Illinois brewers collected a considerable amount of hardware. We drink through five medal-winning beers while talking about the competition itself and looking back on some past years' winners as well. Also, Craig is thrust into an awkward "yo...

Summer still has some heat to beat, so we're drinking wheat. We round up five interesting wheat beers from five different states to quench our thirst and remember why the style got so many people into craft beer in the first place (and how it can go terribly wrong at times, too). Also, we work on a concept for a Michelin-starred pizza restaurant; 9 year old Ryan will take another virgin mimosa, pl...

Who says you need a cocktail to drink tropical in the hot heat of summer? We found five different styles of beer that all fit nicely under a (miniature paper) tropical umbrella, and no one will have to call the TropCops on you for bringing them to the beach. Also, we meet Mr. America and his secret weapons; Craig has a baffling reaction to one of the beer names; Ryan is readying the CurdBurglars f...

These annual Revolution Deep Wood summer releases seemed to start off as fun little experimental takes on some of their core beers, but these days, they are truly bringing the heat with some of the best stuff they'll release all year. This lineup of four is just outstanding - with more than one that could be in our top ten Deep Wood beers of all time. On a similar note, we talk about unexpected br...

The IPA will NEVER DIE, and neither will this series of blind tasting podcasts if we can successfully find more beers that fit our criteria. Thankfully, listeners Benji & Suzanne went to California and brought back some all-West Coast, long-made IPAs to deepen our ongoing quest to find the country's best, and our scoresheets are showing high numbers on this one. We also discuss the deep thoughts o...

As a brewery whose name acknowledges their wandering ways, Saint Errant has finally laid some roots in a familiar spot in Evanston - and we are excited to sit down with our old friends (and co-owners) Brent Banks and Roger Cuzelis to talk about their new taproom and expanded production. We dip a little into some shared nostalgia - and their reintroduction of some Temperance beers into the market -...

With the impending 250th anniversary of this country of ours (AMERICA), we celebrate the only way we know how: by drinking three IPAs and three Belgian Trappist beers that are only united by three common colors. We sample the Reds, Whites, and Blues of Lombard, Illinois' Noon Whistle Brewing and Chimay, Belgium's Brasserie de Chimay in a side-by-side that frankly makes no other sense (and creates...

You can thank the lager renaissance for allowing this nerdy and delicious mixed 12-pack to exist, and Revolution absolutely knocks it out of the park with this one. Along with the four different lagers under the "Cold Time" brand, we add in a throwback Wit just for kicks - and we can anticipate many coolers full of Rev this summer. But also, we debrief on the first ever tornado delay on the podcas...

While more and more craft breweries streamline their releases to reflect what's popular and marketable, we're happy to see when others make weirdo quick sours that include unconventional ingredients - and we're here to celebrate four of those types of beers. For this one, we try to abandon our fears and embrace the tart while learning a bit about what we prefer off of these quickly-made abnormal s...

Bare knees and tight tees on patio dads call for some hopped-up brews to pair with that carefully-curated summer vibes playlist, and we're here sampling a half dozen interesting locals. We're also considering what makes warm weather food vs. cold weather food; we're having a hell of a time ranking our favorite hops; and we are admittedly a little biased against gazpacho. Four out of five dentists...

It takes a certain level of trust in a brewery to join a membership program - and we have full faith in everything Milwaukee's Supermoon does, so Craig's re-upping every year he can. We get to sample the four quarterly, limited releases for members of Supermoon's Cellar Society from last year, and it's downright spooky how good they all are. Also, Ryan just might have to fight a bird, Craig is unc...

While American craft breweries are cycling back to showing English appreciation, what's going on with craft beer from England? Thanks to friend & listener Ryan Lamb, we get to sample beers from five London breweries that prove that there's no loss of quality across the pond. We get the stories behind each of these producers while appreciating the subtle differences in their presentation that make...

It's been a long while since we've celebrated some of the great breweries of Tennessee, but thanks to Craig's Dollywood trip we have a lineup of solid and surprising options here from The Gulch and beyond. We study up on the breweries, which includes a "World's First…", and then we learn more about chestnuts than we expected. Also, we wonder if the music industry is de-valuing the album anniversar...

Some might say that using lactose is antithetical to good beer, but there's some distinct purpose in using milk sugar in certain beers despite it causing all us 40-and-ups some real tummy troubles. For this episode, we try four lactose-enhanced beers to see how it impacts mouthfeel and sweetness, and we are a little surprised by the all-bangers lineup that results. But also, Craig's got a new dog-...

Back from a brief IPA supply-based hiatus, we resume our quest to review and rank as many long-tenured and well-regarded flagship IPAs as possible - and this ragtag bunch is adding some unexpected twists to the results. Acquired while in Wisconsin, these five IPAs span the map and keep us guessing long past the end of the episode. Also, we continue our secondary purpose of being a CostCo podcast b...

After a few months of recovery from Barrel-Aged December, we're back in the wood groove with four big beers from a Mt. Rushmore of Chicago's best breweries. Two stouts and two barleywines make the lineup here, and we're going to get a little extra sticky for the end-of-show cuvée. Also, Craig is ready to help someone discover the wonders of magnets; Ryan is angling for a little promotion bonus fro...