ABV Chicago Monthly Sampler: February 2024
At the end of each month, we like to highlight twelve drinks we found personally interesting, delicious, or exciting from (mostly) local sources with the hopes of passing on our recommendations to those that are interested in reading arbitrary reviews. Some of these were reviewed on the podcast, some were for Patreon-only Low ABVs, and some are just things we bought because we love beer. Here are our highlights from the month of February 2024.
Craig’s Mixed Six
Tilberi | Milk Stout | Acopon Brewing | Dripping Springs, TX | 4.6% ABV
Unless I’m at Hogshead Brewing in Denver, I don’t think I’ve seen more than one cask hand pump active at any bar or brewery I’ve been to. (I’ve seen two, but one typically didn’t have anything on it.) While Acopon doesn’t have the 6 or so of Hogshead, they did have 4, which means I had to try all of them! Tilberi stood out from the rest, effectively pairing bitter chocolate notes, a slight coffee roast character, and a beyond smooth mouthfeel from the cask. Flavorful with a smooth mouthfeel makes it go down way too quick and easy so multiple pours had to happen – especially while staring into the void that is Chive TV. While this one burned itself into my brain, the rest of their taps were equally impressive, with a mild, Northern Brown and Special Bitter also on cask and flowing down the gullet. Thankful that both the highest ABV was 8.7% and that they closed, thus kicking us out. I might still be there today if not.
All Over The Map | Saison with cumin, orange peel, sage, and honey | Hold Out Brewing (collaboration with Keeping Together) | Austin, TX | 6.8% ABV
When visiting a new brewery to me – or an out-of-state one – I usually stay away from can pours. But All Over The Map has two key words that made it my first beer at Hold Out Brewing – Keeping Together. So yeah, I knew the beer would be good, but this one really knocked it out of the park. The orange peel drives the bus on All Over The Map. Somehow both the cumin and sage stay in check and lean more towards herbal and earthy in the beer rather than something spicy. The honey adds a fuller mouthfeel giving off the impression that it’s coating the tongue more so than it actually does but still retaining that soft, pillowy mouthfeel you’d expect. It was easy to drink and flavorful, standing out against all the other Hold Out beers I had as well as whatever I had drank throughout the day. Hold Out had some bangers on as well – including Liquid Television, their hazy IPA – but this one shined. Helped that visiting the taproom was a major high point on my Austin trip as well.
Symphonic Stout | American Stout | Mikerphone Brewing | Elk Grove Village, IL | 8% ABV – listen
All hail the complex grain bill! On the aroma, it first comes off as something closer to a pastry stout with peanut butter and chocolate dominating with a little coffee roast supporting. The flavor supports those nose findings, with a big chocolate character supported by some lovely roast bitterness. The mouthfeel is sufficiently big but not as big or as heavy as a Russian Imperial Stout. It basically feels like you’re drinking a bigger beer but then you realize you’re not and you’re enjoying it just the same. I wish more breweries would release beers like this as it doesn’t rely on sweetness, additions, or barrel to add things to the brew. That complex grain bill somehow also adds a bit of nuttiness to everything as well! I usually stay away from straight stouts when I see them on the tap list, but I might have to change my thinking after this one.
Ursa Major | Baltic Porter | Old Irving Brewing | Chicago, IL | 6.2% ABV – listen
I know what I’m looking for in a Baltic Porter: some chocolate, some roast, and a light finish. Basically an amped up Schwarzbier. Old Irving checked all of those boxes for me with Ursa Major. A bitter roast leads the charge while some nice milk chocolate notes provide the backbone for the sip. There’s a coating aspect to the beer across the tongue but then everything gets out of the way by the end. A little of that milk chocolate and roast remains which just gets you to take another sip. And you can go right ahead, as the 6.2% ABV allows for multiple can consumption if that’s your game. Flavorful and light – that’s what I want in a Baltic Porter and that’s what Old Irving made.
Straight Jacket | Barrel-aged barleywine | Revolution Brewing | Chicago, IL | 15% ABV – listen
Consistency. Typically only used in the macro realm of beer production, Straight Jacket is a model of it. Every year, Revolution releases it in quantity and every year in my rankings it’s typically the highest non-special/V.S.O. beer on the list. To say they’ve dialed it in is an understatement. Caramel, butterscotch, bourbon and some dark fruits come together with hints of chocolate, vanilla, and oak forming something familiar and comforting while drinking it. I absolutely know what I’m getting every year with Straight Jacket and that’s an amazing thing to say. The fact that Revolution goes out of its way to keep it at $25 a 4-pack locally just adds to its value. If you’re jonesing for a barrel-aged barleywine, Straight Jacket is there for you year-round.
Cheer Up Charlie | Milk Stout | Third Wheel Brewing | St. Peters, MO | 5.5% ABV – listen (Patreon Exclusive)
Sometimes the draft version of a beer tastes better than the canned/packaged version. This usually happens at a non-local brewery where I try it on tap, grab one for the show, and it just doesn’t have the wow factor it did on tap. Cheer Up Charlie matched my taproom experience. Taking a cue from my wife’s uncle who recommended it, I easily finished my pour and was eager to have another (but I went with something else). Charlie has enough chocolate to give off a chocolate milk vibe, but with a little bitter baker’s chocolate thrown in to mix things up. The lactose provides a coating mouthfeel to the beer that gives it some heft for its 5.5% ABV. It all goes down easy and enjoyable but with enough flavor to make you want to come back for more and finish the can. More milk stouts like this please!
Ryan’s Mixed Six
Bone Bone Bone Bone Bone Bone Bone Bone Bone | DDH Double IPA | Hidden Hand & Alarmist Brewing | Chicago, IL | 7.6% ABV
This beer doesn’t have to worry about what to do when judgment comes for it, because this beer is neither thuggish nor ruggish. (Or is it? I don’t know. I tried.) But the reality is that the name and collaboration partner caused me to order this when I was at Solemn Oath’s Still Life spot in Chicago, and it’s a delectable take on a hazy double IPA. The inclusion of Centennial and Simcoe hops give this some of that herbal earthiness that helps assuage the usual sweetness in this style, but there’s still a tide of juiciness that makes this an effortless drinker.
Trifaldi | Oatmeal Stout | Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores | Oxford, CT | 5.5% ABV
This may come off as a not-so-subtle advertisement for our only sponsors, Beer on the Wall, but the only reason I really went out of my way to try this beer was because the Elmhurst location had this beer on cask. The pull from Colin was immaculate, and watching the beer slowly settle over the course of the next two minutes is part of the experience. It’s like a mix of chocolate mousse and the foam on top of a latte but without any sweetness. It’s a gentle beer that actually drinks lighter than its 5.5%, but a kiss of roast bitterness on the end gives it a perfect contrasting sendoff. I’d certainly give this a try from the can, but if you have the chance to drink it on cask, make it a priority.
Crispy Beer for Pizza | Italian Pilsner | Off Color Brewing | Chicago, IL | 5% ABV
How do you follow a silky smooth cask stout on draft? This turned out to be an extremely tasty contrast – without going nuts on the ABV. It’s likely power of suggestion, but the crisp malt character crosses from standard pilsner malt to something reminiscent of sourdough pizza crust. The hops offer an herbal bite that invokes rosemary and onion, but it still has a light sweetness to fill out the mouthfeel. And yes, I also got this one at Beer on the Wall, our friends and sponsors.
P3 Baltic Porter | Baltic Porter | Phase Three Brewing | Lake Zurich, IL | 10.5% ABV – listen
My favorite Baltic Porter in the whole world is made less than a mile from my house. Kinslahger Brewing Company in Oak Park makes an absolutely transformative Baltic Porter that is almost aggressively full flavored, roasty, bitter, a bit boozy, and chewy. This Phase Three take on the Baltic Porter is the closest approximation for that beer as I wait for it to be released again. It’s creamy and full, with chocolate, coffee roast, and licorice in even amounts. The warming quality from its high ABV makes this a whole body experience, and the lingering bitter character from roast malt keeps you coming back for sip after sip.
V.S.O.R. Select | Ryewine aged in bourbon and rye barrels | Revolution Brewing | Chicago, IL | 15.7% ABV – listen
Three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and that Revolution beers aged for an extra long amount of time in special barrels are going to be fantastic. Aged in a combination of B*nny’s hand-selected bourbon and rye barrels, the Ryewine here takes on some more flavors akin to barrel-aged stouts, with a bit more Maillard, caramel, anise, and chocolate than the regular release. Add in some vanilla notes, the flavors all present clearly upfront before finishing remarkably smooth and warming in a gentle way.
Frankenstout WLP096 Frankenyeast Blend | American Stout | White Labs Brewing Co. | San Diego, CA | 8.5% ABV – listen
The website writeup of this beer says this is the product of “research with biotechnology companies Illumina and Synthetic Genomics to sequence and assemble the full genome of 96 White Labs [yeast] strains.” This beer defies expectations at every step. The color of the pour is more of a standard brown than the deep, dark brown you might expect for a stout, so you could assume it’ll be light in flavor. Then on the aroma, there are notes of coffee roast, chocolate, and black licorice, so now you could assume it’s going to taste like a standard American stout. Then it comes through with this mouthfeel and flavor that is so chewy and full that you could assume the reported ABV is lower than the actual. It’s a series of amazing tricks pulled off by the people behind a nearly 30-year old yeast lab, and it’s one of the most unique stouts I’ve experienced.
