Six Under the Radar Breweries Worth Trying at FoBAB

As we noted in our Tips to Have a Great Time at FoBAB article, The Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer (FoBAB) is a challenging festival to navigate. The sheer magnitude of breweries alone make it tough. And, the vast majority of beers served are either high-ABV or require one to consume some Tums. Do you want to be stumbling or rumbling? One might wonder why anyone would dare attend an event that challenges the liver, the gut, and the mind. Well, because it’s some of the best beer in the world. It’s where brewers meet distillers and where chemistry meets artistry. It’s good to try the beers you know, but it’s also good to try something new — but which ones?

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Event Recap | Stone DRK Beer Fest

The Stone DRK Beer Fest was set to kick off right at 6 p.m. The grounds of the Stone gardens is beautiful, tranquil and primal. Rocks and boulders are everywhere with the natural landscape coming through between the ponds and small brooks. On the site there are multiple tasting booths, some serving straight from bottles, other serving from keezers and kegerators, and of course one of the bars.

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Cruz Blanca Brewery Launches Sour Program in Chicago’s West Loop

Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood is home to some of the city’s most iconic restaurants. From Girl and the Goat to Au Cheval, followed by an endlessly growing list, it’s a Chicago hot spot for eating but also drinking. While there are a lot of places to get great cocktails in the West Loop, the craft beer scene is also becoming more prominent in the area and starting to make a name for itself. Read More

Chicago Quick Sips | A Roundup of Chicago Events & Beer News – August 20th

Quick Sips is our way of highlighting beer events, tap takeovers and other notable beer news around the city of Chicago. If you’d like to submit something to be included in the next Quick Sips, please email us at [email protected].

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Brewery Showcase | Scorched Earth Brewing

The wall of barrels, two-deep and floor-to-ceiling, that stretches along the length of the brewhouse captures the eyes of those walking through the Scorched Earth Brewing taproom doors. The tantalizing tower of aged beer induces salivation in a manner that would make Pavlov proud. Still, the diverse beer menu and exceptionally warm, inviting taproom environment amounts to a brewery that is attractive to just about every type of beer drinker.

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FoBAB Releases Brewery Lineup for First Time Ever

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beers (FoBAB), event organizers have released the complete list of breweries that will be pouring prior to the event for the first time ever. While the specific beers can’t be listed due to the competition and judging aspect tied to the festival, more hype has been added for the November event as festival-goers now have a preview of what’s to come.

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Embracing the Funk at Yazoo’s Funk Fest 2017

In the heart of Tennessee, you will find an awesome little sour beer festival being put on by Yazoo Brewing Company. Funk Fest, it’s called. In case you did not know, Yazoo started making sour and funky beers in 2012 as part of its Embrace the Funk series.

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Alvarado Street Brewery & Grill | Super Rad!

Downtown Monterey, not the famous Cannery Row with the tourist shops and refurbished sardine-packing factories, was in need of a revitalization.

Monterey, California is a beautiful town on the coast about 100 miles south of San Francisco. The most famous area of Monterey is Cannery Row, a refurbished factory district full of tourist gift shops, sea food restaurants and bars. However there has been a recent revitalization of the downtown district of Monterey, led by Alvarado Street Brewery and Grill. Alvarado Street Brewery and Grill, opened by J.C. Hill and his father John Hill, had a plan for downtown. The father and son duo, together with the Head Chef Jeremiah Tydeman, created a brew pub that brings phenomenal food and great beer together to give guests “the ultimate sensory experience.” ASBG should be on your list of breweries to follow, visit and enjoy. Their canned sours are extremely sought after, each release is a huge success. They typically sell out quickly so if you see them on the shelf at your local craft beer store, don’t hesitate. J.C. Hill, the head brewer, was kind enough to speak with me about their newest release called: Super Rad.
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The Rare Barrel | Forces Unseen

Sour beers have quickly become an obsession for beer drinkers around the world. This is nothing new. American breweries have taken to mimicking styles that range from old ales to long-practiced lambics and more. As of late, the US has been bestowed with many breweries whose sole purpose is to bring the world (or those who can access it) that puckering elixir known commonly as sour beer.

Enter, The Rare Barrel and their exclusively barrel-aged sour brewery. Other than having one of the best names in the industry (I mean, come on, “rare” is right in the title), The Rare Barrel also produces some top-quality sour beers. Ranging from barrel-aged Goses to Berliner Weisses, to everything in between, The Rare Barrel rolls the dice with each batch of this lively drink, especially one of their latest brews: Forces Unseen. Read More

Atlanta’s Orpheus Brewing | How a Fantasy Brewery Became a Reality

Success in life is a combination of timing, who you know and luck. Jason Pellett and Orpheus Brewing are living proof of how good things happen when all three of those come together.

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