As an experienced attendee, Craig was back in Madison yet again for the 2026 edition of the Great Taste of the Midwest and brought back interviews, festival-exclusive beers, and a full report (including where not to look for sandwiches). You'll hear about all the pre-fest events he attended; a combined interview with Justin from Hop Butcher and Kyle from Young Blood on beer collaborations; a brief chat with Jeff from Wisconsin's own Ooga Brewing about the beer name that caught Craig's eye; a booth theme report; and a full rundown of the best beers Craig sampled at the fest. Ryan's just along for the ride on this one as his massive FOMO solidifies with every sip.

Justin Miller (Hop Butcher for the World) and Kyle Gregorash (Young Blood Beer Co.) interview [00:32:30 - 00:42:58]

Jeff Scanlan (Ooga Brewing Co.) interview [01:28:13 - 01:30:55]

Beers Reviewed

Karben4 Brewing - Supply Drop (Fruited Sour w/ pineapple, mango, tangerine, and passionfruit)

Working Draft Beer Company & Lakefront Brewery - WorkFront (Czech Special Lager)

Hop Butcher for the World & Young Blood Beer Company - Canary Yellow '79 Seville (Fruited Sour w/ mango & pineapple)

Hop Butcher for the World & Young Blood Beer Company - That Tingle In Your Spine (Hazy Double IPA)

New Glarus Brewing Company - R&D Kriek 2026 (Wild ale aged in oak foeders w/ Balaton cherries)

Craig's summer travels brought him north of the border this year, which is why we're fortunate to drink five Toronto-based beers for this little taste of Canada - and we have nothing to complain about (outside of beer shipping limits and metric system conversions). Also, we get a recap of Craig's experience at many of these breweries during World Cup games and wildfires; we find a few surprising Goldfinger connections; Craig avoids going on a much-anticipated date with Drake; Ryan wants to know Canadian brewers' favorite Kid in the Hall; and we accidentally discover the drug of the future.

Beers Reviewed

Godspeed Brewery - Sklepník (Czech-style Pilsner)

True History Brewing - Mild Lockout (Helles Lager)

Blood Brothers Brewing - Blood Light (Hazy Pale Ale)

Great Lakes Brewery - Octopus Wants to Fight (American-style IPA)

Rorschach Brewing Co. - Malevolent Benevolence: Maple Syrup Apple Brandy Barrel-Aged 2021 (Barrel-aged imperial stout)

The U.S. Open Beer Championship, started in 2009, is the third-largest competition that recognizes and rewards beers from all over the world - and this year, Illinois brewers collected a considerable amount of hardware. We drink through five medal-winning beers while talking about the competition itself and looking back on some past years' winners as well. Also, Craig is thrust into an awkward "you-make-the-call" situation; Ryan recaps his U.S.O.B.C. mini-taproom tour, and we want to know exactly what makes a beer "extreme."

Beers Reviewed

Mikerphone Brewing - Misty Mountain Hop (Gold in American Pale Ale)

Forbidden Root Brewing Company/Ology Brewing Co. - Sprinkles Required (Gold in Collaboration Beer)

Flipside Brewing - Monochrome Dream (Bronze in New England/Juicy/Hazy IPA)

Brothership Brewing - Exoplanet (Silver in West Coast Style IPA)

Werk Force Brewing Co. - Humongous Chungus (Silver in Barrel-Aged Strong Stout/Porter Specialty)

Summer still has some heat to beat, so we're drinking wheat. We round up five interesting wheat beers from five different states to quench our thirst and remember why the style got so many people into craft beer in the first place (and how it can go terribly wrong at times, too). Also, we work on a concept for a Michelin-starred pizza restaurant; 9 year old Ryan will take another virgin mimosa, please; Craig is dancing in the fields of gold with Sting; the nation's dads are up all night watching Crime 101; and we're looking to get rocked at the Umbrella Cover Museum.

Beers Reviewed

Allagash Brewing Company - Slow Set (Light wheat beer w/ citrus peel)

Phase Three Brewing - P3 Wheat (American wheat beer)

Supermoon Beer Company - Garten (Wheat ale w/ spices)

Sea Dog Brewing Company - Blueberry Wheat Ale

Lost Coast Brewery - Tangerine Wheat

Who says you need a cocktail to drink tropical in the hot heat of summer? We found five different styles of beer that all fit nicely under a (miniature paper) tropical umbrella, and no one will have to call the TropCops on you for bringing them to the beach. Also, we meet Mr. America and his secret weapons; Craig has a baffling reaction to one of the beer names; Ryan is readying the CurdBurglars for some squeaky cheese discussion; and now we have to add Ube to the list of things that we need to taste more.

Beers Reviewed

Pipeworks Brewing - Round of Tropical Margs Mango (Sour ale w/ mango, guava, peach, lime, and salt)

Third Space Brewing - You Be You (Tropical pale ale)

Cruz Blanca - Coco Frio (Lager w/ coconut and pineapple)

Lakefront Brewery - Tropical Rabbit (Tropical IPA)

Phase Three Brewing - Mana Wahine (Stout w/ coconut, coffee, and ube)

These annual Revolution Deep Wood summer releases seemed to start off as fun little experimental takes on some of their core beers, but these days, they are truly bringing the heat with some of the best stuff they'll release all year. This lineup of four is just outstanding - with more than one that could be in our top ten Deep Wood beers of all time. On a similar note, we talk about unexpected brands we're weirdly loyal to; we get lost in the liminal backrooms of the beer forums; Craig finally shares his matcha review; and our algorithms are going absolutely nuts right now. coffeeberrybeer.

Beers Reviewed

Supermassive Café Deth

Mixed Berry Supermassive Café Deth

Double Barrel Straight Jacket

Peach Apricot D.B.V.S.O.J.

The IPA will NEVER DIE, and neither will this series of blind tasting podcasts if we can successfully find more beers that fit our criteria. Thankfully, listeners Benji & Suzanne went to California and brought back some all-West Coast, long-made IPAs to deepen our ongoing quest to find the country's best, and our scoresheets are showing high numbers on this one. We also discuss the deep thoughts of great philosophers (like a toddler in a shopping cart); Craig might've had a Mosaic breakthrough; and we share our overall Top 35 lists of every IPA we've drank through this series - and boy do we feel silly about some of the names at the bottom.

IPAs Reviewed Blindly

North Park Brewery - Hop-Fu!

Societe Brewing Co. - The Pupil

Ballast Point Brewing - Sculpin

Elysian Brewing - Space Dust

Highland Park Brewery - Hello, LA

As a brewery whose name acknowledges their wandering ways, Saint Errant has finally laid some roots in a familiar spot in Evanston - and we are excited to sit down with our old friends (and co-owners) Brent Banks and Roger Cuzelis to talk about their new taproom and expanded production. We dip a little into some shared nostalgia - and their reintroduction of some Temperance beers into the market - but we're just happy to discuss all the growing pains and early opening successes that should have any Chicagoland beer drinker excited for what's to come. We also talk about pilot batches, niche brewery-world jobs in high demand, English beers, serving methods, meaningful collaborations, new hop products, the label artist/brewer relationship, and of course, barrel-aged beer in boxes.

With the impending 250th anniversary of this country of ours (AMERICA), we celebrate the only way we know how: by drinking three IPAs and three Belgian Trappist beers that are only united by three common colors. We sample the Reds, Whites, and Blues of Lombard, Illinois' Noon Whistle Brewing and Chimay, Belgium's Brasserie de Chimay in a side-by-side that frankly makes no other sense (and creates a real boondoggle in rankings.) We get a bit nostalgic in a different way as we feel some 2012 coming back to us; we get some real superstars for our own patriotic backyard wrestling celebration; we entirely ignore proper chalice use; and we're just looking for someone to validate our chocolate.

Beers Reviewed

Noon Whistle Brewing - Hop Prism Red (Red IPA)

Noon Whistle Brewing - Hop Prism White (White IPA)

Noon Whistle Brewing - Hop Prism Blue (American IPA)

Brasserie de Chimay - Chimay Première: Red (Belgian Dubbel)

Brasserie de Chimay - Chimay Cinq Cents: White (Belgian Tripel)

Brasserie de Chimay - Chimay Grande Réserve: Blue (Belgian Strong Dark Ale)

You can thank the lager renaissance for allowing this nerdy and delicious mixed 12-pack to exist, and Revolution absolutely knocks it out of the park with this one. Along with the four different lagers under the "Cold Time" brand, we add in a throwback Wit just for kicks - and we can anticipate many coolers full of Rev this summer. But also, we debrief on the first ever tornado delay on the podcast (and the legion of dads keeping an eye on it); we introduce Chunky Boy Lagers™ into the mix; and we create our ultimate dream mixed Revolution 12 pack.

Revolution Beers Reviewed

Cold Time (American Lager)

Cold Time Dry (Japanese Rice Lager)

Cold Time Amber (Amber Lager)

Cold Time Extra (Export Lager)

Bottom Up Wit