Best of FoBAB 2025

At this point, the Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beers is such a well-oiled machine you’d think they’re lubing the gears with 16% stouts, but none of that happens by accident. Though this write-up will put the focus on the best beers we drank at the fest, all credit goes to the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild and their incredible team – plus the hundreds of volunteers and Pavilion staff and security that ensure barrel-aged beer lovers from all over get their full money’s worth. We are lucky to be able to attend as media members each year, and without hyperbole, it’s our favorite festival by a mile.

Below you’ll find our personal beer highlights and results of our somewhat infamous Fantasy FoBAB League, but you can also check out our highly organized FoBAB Medal History Sheet – and stay tuned for a FoBAB Winners podcast episode in the coming weeks.

Craig’s FoBAB Five

Strawberry Protoplanetary | English Barleywine aged in bourbon barrels w/ strawberry puree | Neuronova Brewing | Chicago, IL | 15.8% ABV

I’m shocked to learn that this is an English Barleywine! Upon sipping it, I had one immediate comparison – Haymarket’s Clare’s Thirsty Ale. While Clare’s was a BA stout with raspberries, Strawberry Protoplanetary brought some of those vibes. The strawberries added some tartness to the beer, while the English Barleywine added some roasty and chocolate character to the mix. (Again, I thought this was a stout upon drinking.) While it didn’t have the balance of Clare’s, it certainly did something unique that kept it in my head long after FoBAB was finished. I’d really like to try this off the FoBAB floor when I could actually taste any of the nuances it may have!

Birdcatcher Blended IPA | Blend of French oak-aged Belgian golden sour and hazy IPA dryhopped w/ Citra and Nectaron | Strangebird/Suncatcher Brewing | Rochester, NY/Chicago, IL | 7.2% ABV

After having Eric Salazar’s Prison City blended IPA collab at GABF 2024 I knew his collaboration with Suncatcher was going to be one to try. Looks like the judges agreed as it won a bronze! I managed to talk to Eric at FoBAB and got the specifics of this beer. Matt Gallagher (Suncatcher) brewed an IPA with Nectraron hops. Eric then took that beer and blended it with some barrel-aged Belgian golden ale; they then dry-hopped it with Citra. It had all the characteristics for an IPA – some bitterness, some fruits – but without any of the malt. That was replaced by the Belgian golden ale, adding a little bit of acidity to everything. The result was one of the most unique beers at the festival. Unfortunately this style requires time, space, and skill to pull off, so if you ever see a blended IPA by Strangebird, grab it immediately.

Serpent’s Stout Brandy Barrel | Imperial Stout aged in American Oak brandy barrels | The Lost Abbey | San Marcos, CA | 13% ABV

Everybody went for Duck Duck Gooze (it did win FoBAB gold and Best In Show) but I honestly thought this one had a better chance to win something (shows how much I know). Serpent’s Stout is totally a throwback BA stout, featuring a roasty and sometimes bitter finish and a big, prominent barrel presence. No adjuncts to speak of, so it’s all up to the barrel and beer to shine and both did. The integration between beer and barrel was top notch, seamlessly moving from one to the other and recalling a simpler time before everything tasted like a candy bar. Sometimes it’s nice (and delicious) to go back to simpler times.

BA Double Astral w/coconut | Stout aged in bourbon barrels w/ cocoa, toasted coconut, and vanilla | Third Eye Brewing Co. | Cincinnati, OH | 14% ABV

Whoa. This one blew me out of the water. I’ve had most of Third Eye’s barrel-aged things thanks to GABF (including BA Double Astral) but this one hit me like a ton of bricks. The closest comparison I could come up with was fresh Goose Island Proprietor’s 2013. Tons of chocolate and coconut hit hard and fast and did not stop. The barrel character was there to give some heft to the beer but this one is all about the chocolate and coconut. I was surprised when it didn’t win a medal in this category. This is one I will remember for a long time after FoBAB 2025.

Double Oaked Cognac Grow Old With You | English Barleywine aged in bourbon and cognac barrels | Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project | Loveland, CO | 14.2% ABV

Typically when a beer wins gold in its category it’s gone shortly after the awards are all given out. If it wins Best In Show or Runner Up, it’s usually gone instantly. Somehow, Double Oaked Cognac Grow Old With You lasted for a long while after it won Runner Up allowing me to to get multiple pours and really enjoy it. An English barleywine that features brown sugar, molasses, and dark fruits that meld well with the dryness, sweetness, and booziness of the cognac barrel to create a flavorful and enjoyable drink. Thankfully the base barleywine isn’t too sweet so it balances the cognac barrel perfectly. Verboten’s Grow Old With You series has won multiple FoBAB medals and it finally cracked through to a Runner Up Best In Show. Well deserved.

Ryan’s FoBAB Five

Flanders Red | Flanders Red | Cerveza 7 Vidas | Tacna, Peru | 5.7% ABV

We are curious to know if FoBAB has ever had international beers on the floor before, because we can’t recall seeing it in our dozen or so years of attending. This Flanders Red is exceptionally done, giving off big notes of tannic red wine, and richer dark fruits without an overly sour or metallic finish, like I often get from non-Belgian versions of the style. It turns out this beer won a gold medal at the World Beer Cup this year, and the perfect mix of complexity and drinkability that this delivers proves it to be absolutely deserving. Here’s to hoping we see more international beers at future FoBABs. 

Reflection (2025) | Blend of Imperial Stouts aged in bourbon barrels | Foreign Exchange Brewing Co. | Aurora, IL | 15% ABV 

This was one I knew I wanted to try beforehand, but in the dizzying array of ridiculous options, I had forgotten about it until we very briefly ran into Ricky Cervantes and asked him where it was pouring. I wish he’d been standing there to see my reaction, because this one hit right away with a crazy chocolate mousse character that had me double-check that this thing isn’t adjuncted. With a blend of Blanton’s, Russell’s Reserve, and Four Roses barrels in the mix with this stout, there is an undeniable character of charred wood and a kiss of the booze before it all smooths out to an aftertaste of triple chocolate brownie corners. 

BA Chipotle Lime Beer for Tacos | Wheat beer aged in lime gin barrels with dried chipotle peppers | Off Color Brewing | Chicago, IL | 5.8% ABV

Coming off of some bad spicy beer experiences over the last months (and years), this was the last Off Color beer I tried on the floor. The BA Beer for Dealing with Your Family and the Sunrise in Osaka were battling it out to make this list already, but then I gave in and tried this beer and was floored. I absolutely love a barrel-aged Beer for Tacos variant (and historically, FoBAB has as well), and this brought out all the lovely lime and salinity and tartness you’re used to. But then the sneaky smokiness of the chipotle magically appears in the back half of the sip, almost lingering at the lips before gently resting on the tongue. And the best part? It’s almost completely devoid of spice in any sort of lasting way. It uses all of the flavor of the chipotle peppers without much of the heat. I want to buy this and share it with friends – and I almost never say that about a pepper-driven beer. 

Barleywinery D.B.X.O.J. La Cerise | Barleywine aged in bourbon barrels and French Oak-augmented cherry liqueur barrels | Revolution Brewing | Chicago, IL | 16.5% ABV

We had at least one brewer tell us this was the best barleywine he’s ever had, so that’s a pretty ringing endorsement. On my first sip, I thought for sure this was a medal winner, even though another cherry-enhanced barleywine – their 15 Year Beer – got the gold for Rev. But unlike that beer, this one eschews any notion of subtlety to embrace an assault of oak and cherry flavor, made even more magic by how smooth all that intense flavor felt going down. This felt like something you might sip on after a sumptuous dinner when you don’t want to go gentle into that good night, just keep the flavor raging on.  

Double Barrel J.A.M. | Barleywine aged in a blend of bourbon barrels for 42 months | Riverlands Brewing | St. Charles, IL | 15% ABV

This is another “other” beer from a brewery that won a medal this year – and I definitely loved both of Riverlands’ offerings. But something about the rich caramel, toffee, tobacco, and oak swirling around in this full-bodied but smooth-finishing barleywine took hold of me. I followed this with a few other barleywines from renowned breweries pouring nearby, and none (except maybe Third Eye) came anywhere close to approaching the perfect level of medium sweetness and brawny oak of this one. 

Ryan’s Honorable Mentions

When I drafted up this list, I somehow came up with 20 possibilities – which is not surprising from a quality perspective, but it seems like every year I spend 90% of my time talking and miss out on a lot of beers I had targeted from the minute the beer list went live. But I must’ve found a better balance this year, and the beers below were all outstanding examples of why FoBAB is my favorite fest annually. 

For stouts, Masthead Brewing’s Controlled Chaos brought in a little Amburana cinnamon to a rich and chocolatey adjunct-free blend. Another Ohio brewery, Third Eye Brewing Company, has been firmly on our radar from many GABF experiences, and I could’ve gone with any beer they brought as a highlight. Their BA Double Astral with Coconut was a stunning example of adjuncts done right, tasting like a liquefied Girl Scouts Samoa cookie without any exhausting sweetness. And to confirm something we already knew from visiting their Denver taproom and having this beer on our FoBABblin’ podcast, BA Nightmare Fuel from River North Brewery was the roasted coffee jolt I needed to keep my barrel-aged stamina up for the remainder of the fest.

The blended beer category featured some of the more interesting options on the floor, and my absolute standout there was the Strangebird and Suncatcher collaboration, the Birdcatcher Blended IPA. Eric Salazar is doing incredible work out in New York with this invented style: it’s part sour IPA without much sour, fruited IPA without any added fruit, and just enough oak to add another layer of flavor. Old Irving’s Krampus Melange took the richness of the base stout and blended it with a Ryewine to highlight interesting barrels (including an orange wine rye whiskey barrel) to give deep notes of cocoa sweetness and bright oak. Balance of Opposites from Milieu Fermentation is a stout and barleywine blend that gave me caramel-filled Ghirardelli vibes without all that sugar or overwhelming thickness.

On the lighter side, Brothership Brewing’s silver medal-winner Vin Blanc du Ciel satisfied my barrel-aged saison craving exceedingly well, giving off some pear esters and sparkling wine-like oakiness. Noon Whistle’s silver winner Funderin was absolutely bursting with juicy tropical and citrus fruits layered atop the simplicity of a table beer. The absolute legends at pFriem Family Brewers didn’t bring Frambozen, but the Fruited Spontanee was light drinking carbonated raspberry puree but with a much drier finish than that sounds.

And perhaps I left it until last as to not give Craig a bigger head about his Fantasy FoBAB win, but seriously every single beer poured by Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project was outstanding: each one a masterclass in getting the most flavor out of barrels with enough booze force to keep you warmed without overwhelming the complex flavors of the beers. 

Fantasy FoBAB League 2025 Winners

If you don’t know what any of those above words mean, check out Fantasy FoBAB Draft Guide and our Fantasy FoBAB Draft Results posts.

2025 Runner-Up: Ryan Tracy with 9 points

Ryan Tracy was last year’s winner, and once again his pick of Misbeehavin’ Meads is what helped push him over into the top 2, as they took home a gold in their only category again. Add in a gold for Lupulin Brewing, a silver for pFriem Family Brewers, and a bronze for the always-medalin’ Sun King Brewery and Ryan could’ve run away with it again. But one does not expect to see historic greatness on display, even if it pains this writer to admit it…

2025 Champion: Craig with 17 points

Never in our history has a team scored this many points, nor has any team drafted both the Best of Show and Runner-Up winners, but Craig did that this year. Behind the 11 total points scored from having The Lost Abbey and Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project’s big wins, throw in an additional Gold and Silver for Verboten who literally won with 3 out of the 4 beers they brought (and were responsible for 10 total fantasy points by our scoring method). And just for the hell of it, why not have Goose Island Beer Co. win their first medal – a bronze – since 2018? Craig sure as hell gloated about it (and personally thanked the Verboten team), but I have to concede that he deserves it.

Thanks to all of our team managers again for making the awards ceremony feel like watching a sporting event. Y’all are the best.