Matt Gallagher has been instrumental to Chicago’s craft beer scene for almost two decades as a co-founder of Half Acre, but it’s his new brewery Suncatcher that has had us hooked from the very first visit. Suncatcher Brewing is a relatively unique concept in this time, as they are essentially a bar that serves their own streamlined and immaculate classic craft styles right from the tank with absolutely no designs on packaging or distribution - you have to be there to experience it. We talk with Matt about how this project came to him in a dream before being forced into a years-long hibernation, long before their fall 2024 opening. We also talk about how he found the perfect space, who was instrumental in getting the brewery off the ground, and what influences his stunning recipes. In addition, there’s some loving on pale ale, jumping into hop piles, adjusting to collaborations, opening up to low-gravity wood-aging - and us learning Matt’s picks for his Chicagoland essential six pack.

In our ongoing series that seeks to find the best IPA we can get our hands on, we keep this one  a bit more regional with five long-beloved and well-decorated beers from Indiana and Ohio. We taste one Hoosier beer and four Buckeye brews blindly using our much more focused scoring method - and we may just have our very first perfect score on this episode. Also, Craig’s Ohio trip leads him to question weed deals; we add some new terms to our beer descriptor lexicon; and Ryan invents the million-dollar idea of a Walking Deep Dish Pizza.™* It’s getting pretty propulsive around here. 

Beers Reviewed Blindly

The Brew Kettle - White Rajah

Upland Brewing Company - Dragonfly IPA

Great Lakes Brewing Co. - Commodore Perry

Rhinegeist Brewery - Truth

Fat Head’s Brewery - Head Hunter

* = trademark pending

During a particularly sweltering summer, no beer style has come through in the clutch as much as the lime lager. The sheer number of available options is a testament to the ultimate refreshing combo - and with these, there’s no need to shove a questionably dirty lime wedge down your longneck. We have five mostly-local lagers of varying styles that all contain lime - and it’s not long before we’re dreaming of food pairings. Also, Ryan gets stuck in nightmarish balloon duty; Craig is still angry about being promised only a “hint” of lime in his tortilla chips; and we consider becoming the first sommeliers for microplastics.

Beers Reviewed

Pipeworks Brewing Company - Cold Crispy Lime (Rice lager w/ Key lime juice)

Werk Force Brewing - Lima (American lager w/ fresh lime juice)

Flipside Brewing w/ The Open Bottle - Frogger Lager (Helles lager w/ lime)

Cruz Blanca - Chelada: Lime + Sea Salt (Mexican lager w/ fresh lime juice and sea salt)

Old Nation Brewing Co. - Tranquilas (Mexican lager w/ lime)

It seems like it’s been far too long since we’ve extended a hearty “hello” to some new breweries in Chicagoland, so we’re psyched to gather five that have opened locations or started releasing beer into the world relatively recently. We learn about some new-to-us breweries and a few that have been long in the works here, and there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the future of beer locally. But also, Craig is training for the new Speed Showering event at the Olympics; Ryan is reliving his teenage years in Homewood; and we rely on some surprising sources for our background information.

Beers Reviewed

Brutalist Brewing Cooperative - Industry Plant (American Lager)

Somos Monos Cervecería - Chica Fresa (Strawberry Blonde Ale)

Homewood Brewing Company - H.B.C.: Head Beer In Charge (American Pale Ale)

Monochrome Brewing w/ More Brewing - South East Side (Hazy Double IPA)

Foreign Exchange - Between Two Parallels (Imperial Stout conditioned on Madagascar vanilla, Tahitian vanilla, and marshmallow)

Although he might use the term “silly little beers,” Mike Schallau’s is/was brewing is making some of the most thoughtful and impressive saisons anywhere in the country right here in Chicago. We travelled up to his Ravenswood brewery and taproom to talk about those beers and how he transitioned his nearly six year-old brewing project from using other people’s spaces to his own in the last year and how that’s allowed him to dive deeper into the wide range of interesting ingredients and experiments he’s become known for. We get into the idiosyncrasies of saison from the outside perception of the drinkers of the style, to changing people’s perceptions of Brettanomyces, why people are more important than the concept of “terroir,” and how he develops his impressive restaurant and brewery collaborations. But also, there’s some throwback talk to his Pipeworks days, a long tangent on Fantôme, a dive into the prison hooch subreddit, some risky urban foraging, and Mike’s picks for his essential Chicagoland 6-pack. 

Beers Sampled

Will Be

Always Zag

Long Thai Double Rainbow (collaboration with Half Acre)

Newly adopted as its own category for this year’s GABF competition, the West Coast Pilsner has the hoppy influence of its namesake locale while also retaining much of what makes German Pilsners so repeatedly drinkable. We gather five locally-made examples from some of Illinois’ top names in hops, and they help us build a case for the style’s existence. Also, Craig has a new BFF through his new obsession; Ryan doesn’t want to let go of his beloved goo pillow; and we outline exactly when it’s okay to put cheese on a hot dog. 

Beers Reviewed

Hop Butcher for the World - Francheezie

Brothership Brewing - Retrograde

Maplewood Brewing - My Cousin Binny, Vol. 4

Phase Three Brewing - Geo

Old Irving Brewing - Doji

In just 5 years, Goldfinger Brewing Company has made Downers Grove, Illinois a true destination for lager-lovers and much of that is to the credit of founder, co-owner, and head brewer Tom Beckmann’s tireless quest to make the most interesting lagers you’ll ever drink. Tom sits with us for a while to sample through some new and upcoming beers while discussing why telling the stories of his lagers is a key part to reshaping the perception of the category. We also talk about his recent Polish medal for a Polish-style beer, how his first brewing jobs set him up to start his own business, what moves a brewery into the “CollabZone”, which brewers he admires the most, and what specialty serving events could be in Goldfinger’s future. Plus, get the exclusive on his first Citra and Mosaic beer, and marvel at the fact that I don’t think we ever said the word “decoction” once. (No lies told here.) Check out Goldfinger’s Fifth Lagerversary on July 18th, 19th, and 20th!

Beers Sampled

Grodziskie

Summer Beer

Sparkling Lager

In our second of our quarterly “random hoppy things” episodes wherein we gather notable hop-driven drinks from local breweries, we have a murderers’ row lineup to lead us into the warmer months - and we even include one non-beer. The high quality of the beverages leads to steadily sloppier discussions of Craig’s first Magic: The Gathering tournament, Ryan’s transition into erotic craft beer fiction novelist, our desire for unique taproom experiences, and the assembly of a Hop Conclave to give these experimental varieties an identity. It’s girthy - yet grippable, so grab an earful of this.  

Beers Reviewed

Hop Butcher for the World - Tropical Hop Water for the World (Sparkling Hop Water)

Werk Force Brewing - Formerly Light (Session IPA)

Suncatcher Brewing - MI Pale Ale (American Pale Ale)

Mikerphone Brewing & Saint Errant Brewing - Pale Pauper 2025 (American Pale Ale)

Half Acre Beer Company & Firestone Walker Brewing - Daisy Cutter Union (West Coast IPA)

In our continuing quest to find the best legacy IPA (that also happens to be widely available), we blindly taste and rate a set of five here that represent four from the West Coast and one extremely familiar local. Are we grading more harshly on this episode than last? And what blind surprise catches us the most off guard? All this will be answered, along with how we can more effectively lie about having seen movies, and why Craig’s Mosaic blindness is going to flip the whole episode on its head. 

Beers Reviewed Blindly

Sierra Nevada Brewing - Torpedo Extra IPA

Revolution Brewing - Anti-Hero IPA

Lagunitas Brewing - IPA

Deschutes Brewing - Fresh-Squeezed IPA

Firestone Walker Brewing - Union Jack IPA

It’s been over a month since we last drank barrel-aged beers, so to reward our tremendous restraint we’re throwing another MoBAB: a show that features more barrel-aged beers! In an unofficial “halfway to FoBAB” show, we sample four pretty distinctive styles and one collaboration pair built for blending. But also, we’re speculating about the injection boutique, translating for velociraptors, struggling to understand some fruits, and establishing an elite safe word. Come and experience The Joy of MoBAB.

Beers Reviewed

Off Color Brewing - Pomegranate Fox (Foedre-fermented wild ale double barrel aged in imperial stout barrels refermented w/ pomegranate)

Milieu Fermentation - Bruce (Double barrel-aged Scotch ale)

Goose Island Beer Co. - Cordial Rye (Rye stout aged in red wine barrels w/ cherries, boysenberries, cocoa nibs, and black currants)

Old Irving Brewing Co. - Cordial Rye (Willett Bourbon Barrel-Aged Rye Wine Ale with blackberries)