Beer Under Glass 2026
Returning again to Millennium Park, Beer Under Glass landed on another perfect Spring-to-Summer transition weather day, with temperatures hovering around 60 under clear skies – with the help of some weather-ready tenting this year just in case. Outside of some construction-related extended routes to the bathrooms and a bit more cramping amongst brewer stations, it was a perfect night for celebrating Illinois beer thanks to the Guild. Here are our top beer picks from this year’s Beer Under Glass. (See a few more pictures and videos on our Instagram @abvchicago).
Ryan’s BUG Six Pack
Vander Bier | Dutch Pilsner | Blind Corner Brewery | Naperville, IL | 4.9% ABV
This one had been sold before as a German Pilsner, so I have no idea if any changes were made to make it more “Dutch” – it’s just what the sign said. Regardless, this opens up like a bouquet of grass and flowers aromatically, followed with a little orange zest biscuit on the flavor before ending perfectly snappy dry. This’ll be a regular revisit for the warmer months.
Nurenberger | Franconian Rotbier | Buffalo Creek Brewing | Long Grove, IL | 5.3% ABV
It warms my boring little heart to see a Rotbier because encountering seldom-brewed lager styles is where I get my beer excitement these days. This one is damn tasty with notes of honey bread crusts and some sort of low-sugar cobbler offering medium malt depth. The fullness up front transitions perfectly into an easy finish. Hey Buffalo Creek, ever made a Kuit beer?
Obliquary | Barleywine | Flipside Brewing Company | Tinley Park, IL | 10%
Yeah it’s getting a little ridiculous how much we recommend Flipside, but that probably won’t stop until Erik starts making bad beers. This straight barleywine leans a little on the American side without an aggressive hoppy character, but it definitely brings in some sweet orange marmalade with a little maillard twist, but the finish shows restraint as the deeper bread notes linger past any sugar. This one isn’t canned, and there’s not much of it, but I recommend keeping an eye out for tappings at the brewpub – with a strong possibility that it’ll hit the cask one day and emerge from barrels in some time.
Triple Grid (Hot Sauce & Tajin-rimmed Version) | Triple IPA | Hop Butcher for the World | Chicago, IL | 10.5%
Finally, I’ve found the thing that can get me to actually enjoy a Triple IPA – spicy salt and hot sauce! Borrowing an idea from Firestone Walker, Jeremiah was working the dual dipping stations for this festival special, and it’s just crazy enough to work. Triple Grid is undeniably sweet with a big boozy character on its own – but with the Tajin and hot sauce it comes off like an orange-mango-pepper margarita that you ordered on purpose. Hop Butcher gets what these festivals are about, and their corner spot was the standout of the whole thing.
Eyes of Felina | DDH West Coast IPA | Saint Errant Brewing | Evanston, IL | 6.7% ABV
I’m really liking the fact that we’re seeing so much Saint Errant getting around now that their Evanston spot is up and humming, and this is a prime example of how lucky we are to have it. Sure it’s a bit lighter on the malt sweetness (we’re sticklers), but that’s a very minor complaint when the hops hit as hard as these do with resinous piney dank and a blend of citrus and green grape. It’s got a carrying bitterness on the end that’s comfortingly earthy and dry but stops short of exhausting the palate.
The Algönquin Handshake | Malört Barrel Aged Cream Ale w/ grapefruit | Scorched Earth Brewing Co. | Algonquin, IL | 7.5% ABV
When we saw a bottle on the table in front of their can lineup, we both leaned in to read the label and snapped our heads back in disgust. But just like that lady from that meme, our disgusted reaction turned into an intrigued one, and the person pouring sold us on it. And damnit – this ridiculous thing works. The star is obviously the grapefruit, and I assume Scorched Earth used fresh and vibrant grapefruit juice or puree – because it nicely overtakes the rotten putrid grapefruit of Malört. With just a hint of that nightmare of botanicals and garbage water flashing across the tongue, it both delivers on the premise and makes a pretty damn drinkable beer – especially for those like me that prefer Malört shots to most other shots. (Which are still not better than my regular preference: no shots, because I’m in my mid-40s.)
Craig’s BUG Six Pack
South-Side Sama | Japanese Rice Lager | Adams Street Brewery | Chicago, IL | 5% ABV
Ryan and I pre-gamed Beer Under Glass at Adams Street and had some stunning beers (the Export Stout would be in the roundup if it was pouring at the fest, but it wasn’t). Given everything I’ve had from them already, I gave their take on a Japanese Rice Lager a go. It had a bit of a bigger mouthfeel due to the rice, but the Hallertau Blanc hops really shined on this one. Some floral notes came off it but the big star was the lemongrass note. I’ve been really impressed with everything Adams Street has done so far and hope their beer gets out of their notoriously-bad-to-find-parking Berghoff brewpub.
Coco Frio | Tropical Lager | Cruz Blanca Brewery | Chicago, IL | 5.5% ABV
I quickly had the entire lineup when I stopped by the Cruz Blanca booth and then had to get a re-pour of this Coco Frio, the standout of their booth. Light and refreshing, it hit with a festive amount of coconut and pineapple. The pineapple gave it some fruitiness and a little tartness while the coconut was added correctly and didn’t come off as suntan lotion or anything off-putting. An enjoyable, 5.5% ABV cocktail in a glass. Should be canned in the coming weeks!
Barrel 64 | Barrel-aged stout with coconut | Hop Butcher for the World | Chicago, IL | 13% ABV
We had Steel on our BA Coconutz show in 2024 and it came off as too sweet. This Four Roses single barrel version of it (I presume) pulled it off much better. Still an absurd amount of coconut but the sweetness was kept in check. The mouthfeel was suitably thick and the chocolate tastes just kept coming. Kind of reminded me of Proprietor’s 2013. Kind of.
Dunkes Bier | German Pilsner | Millpond Brewing | Millstadt, IL | 4.9% ABV
We’ve had Millpond on only once before – our St. Louis, Illinois episode – and their Lawrence German-style pilsner blew us away. Makes sense for this to do the same. Big grain notes followed by some slight floral and grass character made this one to find at the fest – if you could! (Millpond, unlike Baby, was put in a corner and had like a half table to pour from.) Another reason for me to visit if I’m ever down that way.
Sand in My Boots | Mexican Lager with salt and lime | Reserve Artisan Ales | Galesburg, IL | 5% ABV
Literally right next to Cruz Blanca was Reserve Artisan Ales. While they had some interesting offerings – including a raspberry cheesecake sour and a kiwi lime pale ale – this Mexican Lager with salt and lime stood out to me. The salt added a drier finish to an already crispy lager while the lime added some tart and refreshing qualities to the beer. Some light grain/corn notes were present as well, but the real star was the lime. It really made me come back for another pour.
Unexpected Journey Pt. 2 | Traditional mead with wildflower honey aged in an Amburana rye whiskey barrel | Treehive Meadery | Brocton, IL | 14% ABV
I really don’t go to Beer Under Glass expecting to drink mead, let alone love one. Unexpected Journey Pt. 2 wasn’t terribly sweet at all and featured a lovely spice and cinnamon kick courtesy of the rye Amburana barrels it was aged in. The honey just seemed to add a lovely mouthfeel to the mead as opposed to adding a ton of sweetness. So it basically came out tasting like spiced cinnamon bread – without the bread notes. I went back for multiple pours which is saying something at a beer fest. Possibly my beer – ahem, mead – of the fest.
