A Chicago-based craft beer podcast with beer and events reviews. Visit our website at www.abvchicago.com!
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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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
