ABV Chicago’s FoBAB Fantasy League 2020: Final Results
If there’s any positive to not having the best Chicago beer festival (and Illinois Brewers Guild fundraiser) this year, it was much easier to score the FoBAB Fantasy League, not having to juggle a tasting glass sloshing over with sticky brown liquid or a can of dented pilsner smuggled downstairs from the brewers’ lounge. And thanks to the (at times a bit…glitchy) FoBAB Livestream and the diligent work of Porch Drinking Chicago on Twitter, we were able to see the scores unfold in real time. (Here’s our scoresheet/scoreboard, if you want to see how we kept track.)
For a recap of the actual FoBAB winners for 2020, you can check FoBAB’s website, PorchDrinking, or our handy-dandy comprehensive list of FoBAB medal winners. Also, there’s some words on Guys Drinking Beer as well.
AND don’t overlook this fantastic (ok, we’re a bit biased) pre-awards piece from the Kankakee Daily Journal’s very own Brew Dude. (He looks familiar.)
The 2nd Annual ABV Chicago FoBAB Fantasy League: Results
Speaking of PorchDrinking, the winner of the ABV Chicago FoBAB Fantasy League 2020 is Mike Zoller! His tiebreaker of 17 IL medals bested Jack’s guess of 12 medals, putting him over the top for a win. Both Mike and Jack scored 9 points, with Josh and Ryan I. just missing the money with 8 points. See the full breakdown of teams and their scores below, with some overall reflections on this year’s FoBAB Fantasy results in the end.
The tiebreaker was set based on team managers’ individual submission of their guess for the number of Illinois brewery medals won in this year’s competition. According to PorchDrinking, this year Illinois snagged 20 medals – the highest number in years.
Here are how the teams fared, in draft order. Each number preceding the brewery represents their overall pick number. (And all multiple location breweries have been combined, as is explained in our fantasy league draft post.
- 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.
Team: Slow Pour Haze
Team Manager: Mike Zoller (@mikezoller)
Tiebreaker: 17
- 1. Revolution Brewing (Chicago, IL)*
- Gold – Fruit Beer: Ten Year Beer
- 20. Hopewell Brewing (Chicago, IL)
- 21. Crystal Lake Brewing (Crystal Lake, IL)
- 40. Wellspent Brewing (St. Louis, MO)
- Gold – Dark Strong Beer: Baq 2 Baq
- 41. 3 Floyds Brewing (Munster, IN)
- 60. Mikerphone Brewing (Elk Grove Village, IL)
- Gold – Strong Porter/Stout: Sir Blends-a-Lot
Total Points: 9
Team: Third and Lager
Team Manager: Stephanie Byce (@girlandherbeer)
Tiebreaker: 7
- 2. Bottle Logic Brewing (Anaheim, CA)
- 19. Cruz Blanca Brewery (Chicago, IL)
- 22. Hacienda Brewing Co. (Baileys Harbor, WI)
- 39. Whiner Beer (Chicago, IL)
- 42. Lake Effect Brewing (Chicago, IL)
- 59. Central Waters Brewing Company (Amherst, WI)
Total Points: 0
Team: PollyAlvaKROS BegyThreeCraft
Team Manager: Karl Klockars (@karlklockars)
Tiebreaker: 15
- 3. Pollyanna Brewing Co. (Lemont/Roselle, IL)*
- Bronze – Strong Pale Beer: Apple Brandy Barrel-aged Orenda Volume 03
- 18. Kros Strain Brewing (La Vista, NE)
- 23. Phase Three Brewing (Lake Zurich, IL)
- 38. Begyle Brewing (Chicago, IL)
- 43. Alvarado Street Brewery (Monterey, CA)
- 58. MobCraft Beer (Milwaukee, WI)
Total Points: 1
Team: Off Color Total Landscaping
Team Manager: Ryan I. (@ABVChicago)
Tiebreaker: 11
- 4. Off Color Brewing (Chicago, IL)*
- Gold – Specialty/Experimental: Rum BA The Sun Also Rises
- 17. Wolf’s Ridge Brewing (Columbus, OH)
- Silver – Wild Beer Brett (Non-Acidic): Terre du Sauvage Green
- 24. Cerebral Brewing (Denver, CO)
- 37. Spiteful Brewing (Chicago, IL)
- Bronze – Barleywine/Wheatwine: Belligerent Bob
- 44. Breakside Brewery (Portland, OR)
- 57. Church Street Brewing (Itasca, IL)
- Silver – Classic Beer Style: Holy Moly
Total Points: 8
Team: The Rural Beer Writer Coalition
Team Manager: Joshua Riley (@brewdude3k)
Tiebreaker: 8
- 5. The Lost Abbey (San Marcos, CA)
- Gold – Wild Beer Sours + Fruit (Acidic): Pale Horse
- 16. Listermann Brewing Company (Cincinnati, OH)
- 25. Allagash Brewing Company (Portland, ME)
- Silver – Strong Pale Beer: Allagash Curieux
- 36. Hailstorm Brewing (Tinley Park, IL)
- 45. Midwest Coast Brewing Company (Chicago, IL)
- 56. Alesong Brewing (Eugene, OR)
- Gold – Wild Beer Brett (Non-Acidic): Touch of Brett
Total Points: 8
Team: Malt is the New Hops
Team Manager: Jack Muldowney (@StudioMalt)
Tiebreaker: 12
- 6. Half Acre Beer Co. (Chicago, IL)*
- Bronze – Wild Beer Sours (Acidic): Cliffs
- Silver – Dark Strong Beer: Orin
- 15. More Brewing Co. (Villa Park, IL)
- Silver – Strong Porter/Stout: BA Mehndi 2020
- 26. Superstition Meadery (Prescott, AZ)
- Silver – Cider/Perry/Mead: San Simon
- 35. Lakefront Brewery (Milwaukee, WI)
- 46. Upstream Brewing (Bedford Park, IL)
- 55. Penrose Brewing Co. (Geneva, IL)
- Silver – Wild Beer Sours + Fruit (Acidic): Wild 26
Total Points: 9
Team: Black Beer Queens Delegation
Team Manager: Chalonda White (@afrobeerchick)
Tiebreaker: 10
- 7. Forager Brewery (Rochester, MN)
- 14. Foreign Exchange Brewing Co. (Aurora, IL)
- 27. Maplewood Brewery & Distillery (Chicago, IL)
- Bronze – Specialty Strong Porter/Stout: Barrel-aged Cuppa: Coconut Peanut Butter
- 34. Pure Project (San Diego, CA)
- 47. Whiskey Hill Brewing Company (Westmont, IL)
- Gold – Specialty Strong Porter/Stout: Barrel-aged Seismic Overlay
- FoBAB Runner-up: Barrel-aged Seismic Overlay
- 54. Black Horizon Brewing Company (Willowbrook, IL)
Total Points: 5
Team: The Road Sodas
Team Manager: Nik White (@nkosio)
Tiebreaker: 16
- 8. Werk Force Brewing Co. (Plainfield, IL)
- 13. Haymarket Brewery (Chicago, IL/Bridgman, MI)*
- 28. Misbeehavin’ Meads. (Valparaiso, IN)
- 33. Open Outcry Brewing (Chicago, IL)
- 48. Rhinegeist Brewery (Cincinnati, OH)*
- 53. On Tour Brewing Co. (Chicago, IL)
Total Points: 0
Team: High Gravity Quarantine
Team Manager: Craig G. (@ABVChicago)
Tiebreaker: 15
- 9. Sun King Brewery (Indianapolis, IN)*
- 12. Firestone Walker Brewing Company (Paso Robles, CA)
- 29. Pipeworks Brewing (Chicago, IL)
- 32. DESTIHL Brewery (Normal, IL)
- Gold – Wild Beer Sours (Acidic): St. Dekkera Reserve Series Flanders Oud Bruin
- 49. Imperial Oak Brewing (Willow Springs, IL)
- Silver – Wild Beer Sours (Acidic): Savage Oak – Gold
- 52. Horus Aged Ales (Oceanside, CA)
Total Points: 5
Team: The Old Man Lagers
Team Manager: Ryan Tracy (@wehavegreatbeer)
Tiebreaker: 17
- 10. Afterthought Brewing Company (Lombard, IL)
- 11. Goose Island Beer Co. (Chicago, IL)
- 30. Beachwood Brewing/Blendery (Long Beach, CA)*
- 31. Hidden Springs Ale Works (Tampa, FL)
- 50. Transient Artisan Ales (Bridgman, MI)
- 51. Old Irving Brewing (Chicago, IL)
Total Points: 0
Other Notes:
- Though big medal points are always impressive, some credit has to be given to Jack and Ryan I. for having four of their six teams pull down medals – an impressive feat of drafting strong.
- The undrafted breweries that could’ve helped any team, and the points they scored in parenthesis: Tin City Cider (6), Nebraska (3), MadTree (3), Verboten (3), Horse Thief Hollow (3), Derive (2), Streetside (2), Reuben’s Brews (2), Tangled Roots (1), Soundgrowler (1), Urban Brew Labs (1), Two Brothers (1), Sierra Nevada (1), 10 Barrel (1), and Haymaker Meadery (1).
- Only seven breweries that medaled were unranked in our pre-draft Power Rankings: Tin City Cider, Streetside, Tangled Roots, Soundgrowler, Urban Brew Labs, Two Brothers, and Haymaker Meadery.
- Next year’s Power Rankings could see some upheaval, but Revolution, Off Color, and Pollyanna will likely still hold down top spots. Expect big rises from Half Acre, Church Street, More, MadTree, Mikerphone, and of course – Tin City and Whiskey Hill.
- For the prize pool this year, we wanted to make sure any money spent went to help out small businesses in need. We asked all participants to pay a Radiohead-like “any amount deemed fit” to our prize pool. Our top two teams – Mike and Jack – will have their choice of local small businesses, bottle shops, or breweries from which to receive gift cards.
Thanks to all of our fabulous managers, and congratulations to all the breweries that took home medals this year. If you want to see how last year’s league shook out, see this here post.
ABV Chicago’s FoBAB Fantasy Cellar of Champions
2020 – Slow Pour Haze (Mike Zoller)
2019 – The Old Man Lagers (Ryan Tracy)
