ABV Chicago’s Fantasy FoBAB League: 2022 Draft Results
If you want to run your own Fantasy FoBAB league, check last year’s post with simple instructions on how to set up your own – but you better act fast!
With the Festival of Wood and Barrel-aged Beers returning this weekend for the 20th time and the awards set for Saturday afternoon (which you can stream from the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild YouTube page at 2PM), we will be in attendance with our scoresheets in hand to see who will win the 4th Annual ABV Chicago Fantasy FoBAB League.
Scoring Reminder: The scoring works like this: a gold medal is worth 3 points, a silver is worth 2 points, and a bronze medal is worth 1 point. If the brewery wins Best of Show or Runner-Up, that will be an additional 3 points or 2 points respectively.
Multiple Location Breweries (MLBs): For simplicity’s sake, we combined breweries that were entering beer from multiple locations as one draftable entity, but each fantasy squad was only allowed to own one. Breweries are limited to entering two beers for competition, so these MLBs obviously have a slight advantage by doubling (or tripling) their chances. (All MLBs are marked with plus signs representing the number of locations in the draft results below.)
Brewery List Changes: There were a few small changes that we know of to the brewery list that were not known at the time of the draft. Breweries like Weldwerks and Seventh Son were not on the site prior to our first four or five rounds. There have also been unsubstantiated rumors of a few other breweries not listed on FoBAB’s site that may be late entries to the competition, but ultimately, we drafted our league based off of the list initially released by the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild.
The League: A few years back, we made a list of Chicago beer media members and personalities that we’d like to have in our league, and we were delighted when every single person we contacted was enthusiastically on board. When we reached out this year to re-invite last year’s managers, we were even more psyched that they all wanted back in. We admire the work of all the team managers and what they do for beer, and we suggest you give them all a follow.
Check out the squads from our talented team managers below, and let us know on social media who you think came out of the draft with the best lineup. (You can even see the draft spreadsheet we used with our Power Rankings for the year.) The teams are listed in the randomly generated draft order, and the numbers next to each brewery represent their overall pick number.
The 4th Annual ABV Chicago Fantasy FoBAB League: Draft Results
Team: Small Town Beer Writers Consortium
Team Manager: Joshua Riley
Twitter: @brewdudek3
Instagram: @brewdudek3
Former Craft Beer Columnist for the Daily Journal in Kankakee, freelance writer for Chicago Reader, and has been featured in Forbes, connoisseur of craft lagers, giant pretzels, classic literature, and old video games.
1. Revolution Brewing (Chicago, IL)
22. Noon Whistle Brewing (Lombard, IL & Naperville, IL)++
23. Bottle Logic Brewing (Anaheim, CA)
44. Short Fuse Brewing Company (Schiller Park, IL)
45. Blackbird Meadery (Vandalia, OH)
66. Breakside Brewery (Portland, OR)
Team: Sugar Water Syndicate
Team Manager: Craig G.
Twitter: @ABVChicago
Instagram: @abvchicago
Craig is the co-host of the ABV Chicago craft beer podcast. He lives in Chicago with his wife and dog and has cut back his drinking since he left CPS. He’s healthier now!
2. Pollyanna Brewing Company (Lemont, St. Charles, & Roselle, IL)+++
21. Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project (Loveland, CO)
24. Taxman Brewing Company (Bargersville, IN)
43. Metropolitan Brewing (Chicago, IL)
46. Angry Orchard (Walden, NY)
65. Weldwerks Brewing Co. (Greeley, CO)
Team: Fantasy FoBAB-er OF THE NORTH
Team Manager: Karl Klockars
Twitter: @karlklockars
Karl Klockars is a co-creator of GuysDrinkingBeer.com, author of Beer Lovers Chicago, a beer-focused writer for a whole bunch of places, a northern Michigan transplant and America’s Preeminent Hard Seltzer Smoothie Journalist.
3. Off Color Brewing – Mousetrap & Production (Chicago, IL)++
20. Resident Culture Brewing Company (Charlotte, NC)
25. Misbeehavin’ Meads (Valparaiso, IN)
42. Art History Brewing (Geneva, IL)
47. Hailstorm Brewing Co. (Tinley Park, IL)
64. Heist Brewery and Barrel Arts (Charlotte, NC)
Team: Fluffy & Fine Squad
Team Manager: Chalonda White
Twitter: @afrobeerchick
Instagram: @afro.beer.chick
Kick ass wife, mother, beer & bourbon drinker, who is living her life like it’s golden while rockin’ an amazing afro.
4. Whiskey Hill Brewing (Westmont, IL)
19. Goose Island Beer Co. (Chicago, IL)
26. Black Horizon Brewing Company (Willowbrook, IL)
41. Duneyrr Fermenta Brewery (Chicago, IL)
48. Rabid Brewing (Homewood, IL)
63. Will County Brewing Company (Shorewood, IL)
Team: Sextuple Barrel or Nothing
Team Manager: Mike Zoller
Twitter: @mikezoller
Instagram: @chicagobeer
Mike Zoller is the Midwest Editor for PorchDrinking.com and has been covering beer in Chicago for 10 years. He also runs the Instagram and TikTok accounts: @chicagobeer.
5. Werk Force Brewing Co. (Plainfield, IL)
18. Sun King Brewery (Indianapolis, IN)++
27. Superstition Meadery (Prescott, AZ)
40. Temperance Beer Co.(Evanston, IL)
49. Barrel Culture Brewing and Blending (Durham, NC)
62. Seventh Son Brewing Co. (Columbus, OH)
Team: The Recovering Rep
Team Manager: Tom White
Tom White is a former beer sales rep and co-owner of Chicago beer journal, The Hop Review. He currently resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan where he works in a very non-beer centric industry while reminiscing of beer filled days long past.
6. Wolf’s Ridge Brewing (Columbus, OH)++
17. Phase Three Brewing (Lake Zurich, IL)
28. Spiteful Brewing (Chicago, IL)
39. Seedz Brewery (Union Pier, MI)
50. Unpossible Mead (Dwight, IL)
61. Hacienda Beer Co. (Baileys Harbor, WI)
Team: The BarleyWinners
Team Manager: Ryan I.
Twitter: @ABVChicago
Instagram: @abvchicago
Ryan has been the co-host, editor, and producer of the ABV Chicago craft beer podcast for nine years. He teaches middle school, lives in Forest Park with his wife and two kids, and sometimes comes up with silly high-concept beer games while washing the dishes.
7. The Lost Abbey (San Marcos, CA)
16. Cruz Blanca Brewery (Chicago, IL)
29. Mikerphone Brewing (Elk Grove Village, IL)
38. Church Street Brewing Company (Itasca, IL)
51. Cerebral Brewing (Denver & Aurora, CO)++
60. Jackie O’s Brewery (Athens, OH)
Team: Hotel Lobby Bottle Share
Team Manager: Nik White
Twitter: @nkosio
Nik is the co-founder of Chicago Beer Geeks and the co-host of the Chicago Beer Pass podcast. When not sipping Hypnotiq from a coffee mug or spending too much time deciphering the goddamn Julian Date Code on a Lagunitas 6pk at checkout, Nik loves spending time with his wife and their Golden Retriever, Raleigh.
8. The Hopewell Brewing Company (Chicago, IL)
15. Maplewood Brewery & Distillery (Chicago, IL)
30. Haymarket Brewery (Chicago, IL & Bridgman, MI)++
37. Begyle Brewing (Chicago, IL)
52. Roaring Table Brewing Co. (Lake Zurich, IL)
59. Waypost Brewing Co. (Fennville, MI)
Team: The Old Man Lagers
Team Manager: Ryan Tracy
Twitter: @wehavegreatbeer
Instagram: @wehavegreatbeerpr & @wehavegreatbeerah & @wehavegreatbeereh
Ryan is the owner and general manager of Beer on the Wall, a craft-beer focused liquor store and tap room located in Park Ridge, Arlington Heights, and (soon) Elmhurst. He resides in nearby Arlington Heights where he routinely drags his supportive wife, son, and daughter to breweries to play board games and brag about how much their cat loves him the most. He is also the 2019 Fantasy FOBAB Champion.
9. Half Acre Beer Co. (Chicago, IL)
14. Firestone Walker Brewing Company (Buellton & Paso Robles, CA)++
31. Perennial Artisan Ales (St. Louis, MO)
36. Second City Meadery (Chicago, IL)
53. The Bruery (Placentia, CA)
58. Corporate Ladder Brewing Company (Palmetto, FL)
Team: Malt Juice
Team Manager: Jack Muldowney
Twitter: @StudioMalt
Instagram: @jackmuldowney
Jack Muldowney runs a Chicago design studio called Malt, and once ran a beer magazine called The Hop Review. When not designing for beer-themed things, he can be spotted biking the city en route to one of Chicago’s famed parking lot Biergartens.
10. DESTIHL Brewery (Normal, IL)++
13. Blackberry Farm Brewery (Maryviille, TN)
32. Virtue Cider (Fennville, MI)
35. Penrose Brewing Co. (Geneva, IL)
54. is/was brewing (Chicago, IL)
57. Alter Brewing Company (Downers Grove, IL)
Team: Freshie Fridays
Team Manager: Christina Rose
Twitter: @christinarose33
Instagram: @lovechristinarose
Christina is a Chicago beer enthusiast, always on the lookout for the best locally-brewed beers in Chicagoland and wherever her travels take her. Her Instagram (@lovechristinarose) is full of beer content, including a #FreshieFriday beer reviews!
11. Dovetail Brewery (Chicago, IL)
12. More Brewing Company (Villa Park, IL & Huntley, IL)++
33. Old Irving Brewing Co. (Chicago, IL)
34. Solemn Oath Brewery (Naperville, IL)
55. 3 Floyds Brewing (Munster, IN)
56. middle brow beer co. (Chicago, IL)
