ABV Chicago Craft Beer Podcast

In the 10 years since Maplewood started producing beers in Chicago, the brewery and distillery has become one of the most recognizable, available, and consistent craft brands in the city. We sit down with the crew of Roger Cuzelis, Adam Smith, and Adam Cieslak to talk about how the company has evolved over the last decade with their multiple medal-winning beers and spirits leading

CHICAGO (ABV) - With the 15th anniversary of the American Pale Ale that changed craft brewing in Chicago - Daisy Cutter - we file an urgent report on Half Acre beers recently released and break some news about the potential beer of the year (already). Expect to hear memories of early Daisy Cutter experiences, some slight pandering for a Firestone Walker Invitational ‘25 invite, a

After years of pushing boundaries with flavor, craft beer has come all the way back to banking on uncomplicated light lagers built for summer coolers. For this episode, we test out five local versions of lighter lagers in a blind tasting, finding ourselves surprised by the amount of variation contained within. Also, Craig is reaching unprecedented levels of comfort, Ryan’s confro

Our fourth installment of drinking more barrel-aged beers (MoBAB) at about the halfway point to FoBAB lifts off into orbit with four different styles aged in bourbon and whiskey barrels. Sipping these leads to talk about length of barrel stays, some cocktail inspirations, and the hopeful regular return of a once-mighty barrel program. Also, Ryan’s got an unexpected “kids in tap

Science beckons us to drink these side-by-side versions of similar IPA recipes: one hazy and one clear. We want to know how much difference the yeast makes in the flavor, whether bitterness levels will be noticeably changed, and how the mouthfeel transforms the experience. We also want to know why we got so drunk by the end of this one. Plus, Craig’s curious about condiment-based

Austin, Texas’ Live Oak Brewing has been making world-class lagers and traditional styles through step-mashing and decoction mashing going back to 1997, and their regionally-available beers have inspired brewers worldwide to embrace not taking any short cuts. Thanks to Craig’s Austin trip, we have five stellar beers here, a lineup bookended by their other speciality: smoke. Als

CHICAGO (ABV) - The folks at Hop Butcher have released some beers of note over the last few months, and we are on the scene (at home) to sample four of these newsworthy beers. A hazy IPA tribute to a beloved Chicago weatherman? That’s here. A collaboration with one of our favorite flavor masters working? You bet. A porter with a history lesson that also happens to be fantastic? Y

In somewhat sporadic drops over the last few months, Half Acre has released some highly-desired cans of barrel-aged beer that push the ABV further than ever before. We sample four of these special beers while turning half of this into a tribute to the writer of Half Acre’s Instagram beer release posts. It’s not often we have chowder of this sort, so we get a bit shaky aboard th

For over ten years we’ve wanted to do a full lineup of Jester King’s beers, and thanks to Craig’s recent Austin trip, we get to open five unique styles from the farm. We’re happy as a bunch of grazing goats (except for Gary) as we sample through this lineup and Craig revisits his experience visiting the brewery site. Also, Craig has brought Cronch to a whole new level, Ryan

As the third in our recent unplanned trilogy of Carolina shows, this one proves that sometimes the B-sides are better than the album. We have five beers from various Carolina locations, thanks to listeners Benji & Suzanne, and each drink finds a way to impress us in unexpected ways. What else could inspire talk of cask alerts, EKG love, Double Table Beers, and foam beards? Also, Ry