\n
FoBAB 2024 Reflections<\/h3>\n
November 30, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n
My headache has finally subsided.<\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7a6fe23a-19d2-4ed2-b59e-3f8b7adbe5f7_3610x1756.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nBefore we get to my FoBAB 2024 ruminations, many of you may know that I have been covering the Chicagoland beer scene since the late 2000s. Many of you also know (but for the benefit of those who don\u2019t) that in late 2020 when life and employment statuses changed for a lot of us, my wife and I moved away from Chicago after a pretty solid 16-year run. We now reside in northern Michigan where I\u2019ve been observing the Midwestern beer scene from a slightly more distant perch.<\/p>\n
Every year since we moved, FoBAB weekend is my opportunity to make a return trip to the city and dive in headfirst to all the great beer I don\u2019t have immmediate access to any more. And this year\u2019s might have been the best yet.<\/p>\n
For all of our FoBAB coverage through the years, click here.<\/a><\/em><\/h3>\nIn the 66 hours I was on the ground this year, outside of my time spent at FoBAB, I managed to squeeze in trips to is\/was, Monochrome Brewing, Other Half Ramova, Demo Brewing, Dovetail, Pilot Project, Demo Brewing, Electric Funeral, Hop Butcher, plus a couple of beers at Kasey\u2019s Tavern during the Bears game. Occasionally, I ate, and also slept.<\/p>\n
More on some of those at a later date. For now,\u00a0let\u2019s talk about barrel-aged beer:<\/strong><\/p>\nMain Reflections:<\/h2>\n
Starting at the finish, it was wonderful to see the\u00a0Half Acre<\/strong>\u00a0team walk away with Best in Show for their longtime barrel-aged offering Orin. By my math, it\u2019s the first dark beer to walk with that medal since 2019\u2019s win for\u00a0Bottle Logic\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0Arcane Rituals barleywine.<\/p>\nHaving one of the city\u2019s beer pioneers be recognized as the top pick just feels fundamentally satisfying to me, and it\u2019s something that arguably hasn\u2019t happened since Goose won in \u201812 for their Cherry BCBS. (Thank you to the\u00a0ABV Chicago<\/a>\u00a0team\u2019s medal recount Google doc for this info and perspective.)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc23f1ced-8f7f-44ae-85cb-1bb65e86d60d_3228x1753.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nAnd who doesn\u2019t love a festival with a little bit of mystery? After a quick scan of the brewery list, many of us were wondering, who the hell is\u00a0Neuronova Brewing<\/strong>? It says they\u2019re from Chicago, but I\u2019d never heard of them before, and I\u2019m the dork who tracks all of this stuff. And then when they won the very first Fan Favorite award, many of us were outright confused. (I even Tweeted\u00a0for the first time in almost half a year<\/a>, hoping to pop up on the video screen at the fest.)<\/p>\nTurns out it was a new side effort at least partially helmed by brewer Eric Flores of\u00a0Whiskey Hill<\/strong>\u00a0(he holds the business license, anyways). No doubt the beer was quite tasty, and honestly it was pretty clever to soft-launch a side label at FoBAB. It\u2019s a room full of pretty rabid beer lovers who are very familiar with the scene, so sneaking your barrel-aged beers in without any explanation and letting us try to figure things out gives them a memorable start.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa408a0de-4b57-4960-8afb-74fa08e7c1c0_2794x1264.jpeg\")
<\/a>They didn\u2019t even have a logo to submit!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nFinally, FoBAB is not just about great beers, but also the very public recognition of the best one \u2014 and seeing the owners of Lisle\u2019s\u00a0Bubblehouse Brewing<\/strong>\u00a0so visibly thrilled (and maybe a little shocked?) to take the stage and accept a Gold Medal for their \u201cThat Escalated Quickly\u201d in the Other Pale section was just a joy to see.<\/p>\nFavorite Tastes of the Day:<\/h2>\n
Cruz Blanca\u2019s La Lucora:<\/strong>\u00a0When I saw that this beer \u2013 a brambleberry ale \u2013 was aged in Angostura bitters barrels, I was intrigued. Would that application completely overwhelm a beer, like, say, aging in a Malort barrel? Happy to say that it did not \u2014 it complemented the dark fruit flavors deliciously. There was no doubt that the Ango was quite up front, but in much the same way it presents\u00a0in a Trinidad Sour<\/a>. Loved it. And with MolsonCoors\u00a0acquiring the Cruz Blanca brand<\/a>, I wouldn\u2019t hold my breath for anything else this exciting in future years. Grab it now if you see it.<\/p>\nIdyll Forest \/ Pryes Brewing\u2019s 2024 Soiree<\/strong>: I don\u2019t make many return trips for beers at FoBAB \u2013 too many to try and too little capacity for all of them. When I sipped this one \u2014\u00a0a \u201cwine hybrid ale\u201d<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 I immediately button-hooked for a second pour. Every other wine-beer hybrid I\u2019ve ever had just presented as basically just wine with some grain body to it \u2026 this one sang out loud with bright, tight fruit flavors and deliciously tart acid that still fully felt like a beer through and through.<\/p>\nMilieu Fermentation\u2019s smol<\/strong>: Has a barrel-aged beer under 3% ever medaled at FoBAB, let alone awarded gold? It was shocking to see how much flavor Milieu was able to wring out of this 2.7% ABV mixed-culture table beer, and clearly the judges agreed, handing them top marks for Wild Beer Mixed Culture \u2013 Acidic.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7a6fe23a-19d2-4ed2-b59e-3f8b7adbe5f7_3610x1756.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nBefore we get to my FoBAB 2024 ruminations, many of you may know that I have been covering the Chicagoland beer scene since the late 2000s. Many of you also know (but for the benefit of those who don\u2019t) that in late 2020 when life and employment statuses changed for a lot of us, my wife and I moved away from Chicago after a pretty solid 16-year run. We now reside in northern Michigan where I\u2019ve been observing the Midwestern beer scene from a slightly more distant perch.<\/p>\n
Every year since we moved, FoBAB weekend is my opportunity to make a return trip to the city and dive in headfirst to all the great beer I don\u2019t have immmediate access to any more. And this year\u2019s might have been the best yet.<\/p>\n
For all of our FoBAB coverage through the years, click here.<\/a><\/em><\/h3>\nIn the 66 hours I was on the ground this year, outside of my time spent at FoBAB, I managed to squeeze in trips to is\/was, Monochrome Brewing, Other Half Ramova, Demo Brewing, Dovetail, Pilot Project, Demo Brewing, Electric Funeral, Hop Butcher, plus a couple of beers at Kasey\u2019s Tavern during the Bears game. Occasionally, I ate, and also slept.<\/p>\n
More on some of those at a later date. For now,\u00a0let\u2019s talk about barrel-aged beer:<\/strong><\/p>\nMain Reflections:<\/h2>\n
Starting at the finish, it was wonderful to see the\u00a0Half Acre<\/strong>\u00a0team walk away with Best in Show for their longtime barrel-aged offering Orin. By my math, it\u2019s the first dark beer to walk with that medal since 2019\u2019s win for\u00a0Bottle Logic\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0Arcane Rituals barleywine.<\/p>\nHaving one of the city\u2019s beer pioneers be recognized as the top pick just feels fundamentally satisfying to me, and it\u2019s something that arguably hasn\u2019t happened since Goose won in \u201812 for their Cherry BCBS. (Thank you to the\u00a0ABV Chicago<\/a>\u00a0team\u2019s medal recount Google doc for this info and perspective.)<\/p>\n<\/a><\/figure>\nAnd who doesn\u2019t love a festival with a little bit of mystery? After a quick scan of the brewery list, many of us were wondering, who the hell is\u00a0Neuronova Brewing<\/strong>? It says they\u2019re from Chicago, but I\u2019d never heard of them before, and I\u2019m the dork who tracks all of this stuff. And then when they won the very first Fan Favorite award, many of us were outright confused. (I even Tweeted\u00a0for the first time in almost half a year<\/a>, hoping to pop up on the video screen at the fest.)<\/p>\nTurns out it was a new side effort at least partially helmed by brewer Eric Flores of\u00a0Whiskey Hill<\/strong>\u00a0(he holds the business license, anyways). No doubt the beer was quite tasty, and honestly it was pretty clever to soft-launch a side label at FoBAB. It\u2019s a room full of pretty rabid beer lovers who are very familiar with the scene, so sneaking your barrel-aged beers in without any explanation and letting us try to figure things out gives them a memorable start.<\/p>\n<\/a>They didn\u2019t even have a logo to submit!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nFinally, FoBAB is not just about great beers, but also the very public recognition of the best one \u2014 and seeing the owners of Lisle\u2019s\u00a0Bubblehouse Brewing<\/strong>\u00a0so visibly thrilled (and maybe a little shocked?) to take the stage and accept a Gold Medal for their \u201cThat Escalated Quickly\u201d in the Other Pale section was just a joy to see.<\/p>\nFavorite Tastes of the Day:<\/h2>\n
Cruz Blanca\u2019s La Lucora:<\/strong>\u00a0When I saw that this beer \u2013 a brambleberry ale \u2013 was aged in Angostura bitters barrels, I was intrigued. Would that application completely overwhelm a beer, like, say, aging in a Malort barrel? Happy to say that it did not \u2014 it complemented the dark fruit flavors deliciously. There was no doubt that the Ango was quite up front, but in much the same way it presents\u00a0in a Trinidad Sour<\/a>. Loved it. And with MolsonCoors\u00a0acquiring the Cruz Blanca brand<\/a>, I wouldn\u2019t hold my breath for anything else this exciting in future years. Grab it now if you see it.<\/p>\nIdyll Forest \/ Pryes Brewing\u2019s 2024 Soiree<\/strong>: I don\u2019t make many return trips for beers at FoBAB \u2013 too many to try and too little capacity for all of them. When I sipped this one \u2014\u00a0a \u201cwine hybrid ale\u201d<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 I immediately button-hooked for a second pour. Every other wine-beer hybrid I\u2019ve ever had just presented as basically just wine with some grain body to it \u2026 this one sang out loud with bright, tight fruit flavors and deliciously tart acid that still fully felt like a beer through and through.<\/p>\nMilieu Fermentation\u2019s smol<\/strong>: Has a barrel-aged beer under 3% ever medaled at FoBAB, let alone awarded gold? It was shocking to see how much flavor Milieu was able to wring out of this 2.7% ABV mixed-culture table beer, and clearly the judges agreed, handing them top marks for Wild Beer Mixed Culture \u2013 Acidic.<\/p>\n
Main Reflections:<\/h2>\n
Starting at the finish, it was wonderful to see the\u00a0Half Acre<\/strong>\u00a0team walk away with Best in Show for their longtime barrel-aged offering Orin. By my math, it\u2019s the first dark beer to walk with that medal since 2019\u2019s win for\u00a0Bottle Logic\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0Arcane Rituals barleywine.<\/p>\n Having one of the city\u2019s beer pioneers be recognized as the top pick just feels fundamentally satisfying to me, and it\u2019s something that arguably hasn\u2019t happened since Goose won in \u201812 for their Cherry BCBS. (Thank you to the\u00a0ABV Chicago<\/a>\u00a0team\u2019s medal recount Google doc for this info and perspective.)<\/p>\n And who doesn\u2019t love a festival with a little bit of mystery? After a quick scan of the brewery list, many of us were wondering, who the hell is\u00a0Neuronova Brewing<\/strong>? It says they\u2019re from Chicago, but I\u2019d never heard of them before, and I\u2019m the dork who tracks all of this stuff. And then when they won the very first Fan Favorite award, many of us were outright confused. (I even Tweeted\u00a0for the first time in almost half a year<\/a>, hoping to pop up on the video screen at the fest.)<\/p>\n Turns out it was a new side effort at least partially helmed by brewer Eric Flores of\u00a0Whiskey Hill<\/strong>\u00a0(he holds the business license, anyways). No doubt the beer was quite tasty, and honestly it was pretty clever to soft-launch a side label at FoBAB. It\u2019s a room full of pretty rabid beer lovers who are very familiar with the scene, so sneaking your barrel-aged beers in without any explanation and letting us try to figure things out gives them a memorable start.<\/p>\n Finally, FoBAB is not just about great beers, but also the very public recognition of the best one \u2014 and seeing the owners of Lisle\u2019s\u00a0Bubblehouse Brewing<\/strong>\u00a0so visibly thrilled (and maybe a little shocked?) to take the stage and accept a Gold Medal for their \u201cThat Escalated Quickly\u201d in the Other Pale section was just a joy to see.<\/p>\n Cruz Blanca\u2019s La Lucora:<\/strong>\u00a0When I saw that this beer \u2013 a brambleberry ale \u2013 was aged in Angostura bitters barrels, I was intrigued. Would that application completely overwhelm a beer, like, say, aging in a Malort barrel? Happy to say that it did not \u2014 it complemented the dark fruit flavors deliciously. There was no doubt that the Ango was quite up front, but in much the same way it presents\u00a0in a Trinidad Sour<\/a>. Loved it. And with MolsonCoors\u00a0acquiring the Cruz Blanca brand<\/a>, I wouldn\u2019t hold my breath for anything else this exciting in future years. Grab it now if you see it.<\/p>\n Idyll Forest \/ Pryes Brewing\u2019s 2024 Soiree<\/strong>: I don\u2019t make many return trips for beers at FoBAB \u2013 too many to try and too little capacity for all of them. When I sipped this one \u2014\u00a0a \u201cwine hybrid ale\u201d<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 I immediately button-hooked for a second pour. Every other wine-beer hybrid I\u2019ve ever had just presented as basically just wine with some grain body to it \u2026 this one sang out loud with bright, tight fruit flavors and deliciously tart acid that still fully felt like a beer through and through.<\/p>\n Milieu Fermentation\u2019s smol<\/strong>: Has a barrel-aged beer under 3% ever medaled at FoBAB, let alone awarded gold? It was shocking to see how much flavor Milieu was able to wring out of this 2.7% ABV mixed-culture table beer, and clearly the judges agreed, handing them top marks for Wild Beer Mixed Culture \u2013 Acidic.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/a>Favorite Tastes of the Day:<\/h2>\n