Chicago Beer Pass

Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago. This week on Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski & Nik White are finally back!! While Brad was off in Japan, Nik was busy traveling all over Chicagoland hitting up some breweries the guys haven’t been to before, or haven’t visited in a long time. While Nik recaps these adventures, Brad shares some of his craft beer stories from China and Japan. To pair these travel stories the guys are drinking cane from Triptych Brewing. These where two beers that Triptych brewed for the Japan House at the University of Illinois… talk about a perfect pairing to go with Brad’s Japan stories. Be sure to get your FoBAB tickets, the official day is coming up fast! a Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (64.8MB) or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!

Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago. This week on Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski & Nik White open cans of Funicula from Saint Errant Brewing. Funicula is a 7.9% ABV Passion Fruit milkshake IPA that might make you think of breakfast more than a beer. As the guys knock back a couple cans they gush over the recent Half Acre event called Far and Away. It has been a long time since Brad or Nik have been to a beer festival where 90% of the beers are from breweries they have never had the opportunity to try. Although the price was a little steep for some people, it was well worth it if you’re interested in seeing what else is happening around the United States. Hopefully, everything went smoothly and we see Half Acre bring this back next year, as it’s a great way to close out the Fest season. Following up Far and Away, Nik jumped on the train and headed north to a peek at Ravinia Brewing Company. Brad and Nik have been wondering what these guys have been up to for a while and it’s nice to finally see what’s happening. Unfortunately, this will be the last episode for October as Brad is traveling Far and Away. But be sure to get your FoBAB tickets and keep an eye on the YouTube channel for beer reviews. Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (48.2 MB) or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!

Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago. This week on Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski & Nik White open a bottle of Don’t Pick Up Hitchhikers from 350 Brewing. Brad picked up this autumn spiced barleywine while he was at their Punktoberfest event over the weekend. At 13% ABV, this baby packs a punch but the guys have no trouble taking down the bottle throughout this episode. As the guys sip on this they chat about Punktoberfest and Oktoberfestiversary at Dovetail Brewery / Begyle Brewing.  There isn’t much time left to be drinking outside as the weather is starting to get colder. But, the big event this weekend is Far & Away. Far & Away is a new event put on by the fine folks at Half Acre Brewing. Be sure to grab tickets for this and look for Brad and Nik at the first session. Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (48.2 MB) or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! Thanks for listening to Chicago Beer Pass!

Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago. This week on Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski & Nik White are giving you something a little different. The guys had the opportunity to taste this year’s Bourbon County lineup from Goose Island. There will be eight variants hitting the shelves this year and there is no doubt something for everyone this time around. Rather than just giving everyone a recap a few days later, the guys pulled out the microphone at Goose Island Clybourn and sat down with a few of the other Chicago beer folks to get first reactions. This segment is about thirty minutes and sits in the middle of this weeks episode. Grab yourself a beer because there is a lot to be said about the 2018 Bourbon County line up as well as a few other events and a bit of beer news in this episode. Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (75.0 MB) or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!

Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago. This week on Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski & Nik White made their way to Alarmist Brewing and it was a great episode if you haven’t given it a listen. The guys also made it to a handful of other events around the city last weekend like; Argtoberfest at Argus Brewery, Goose Island 312 Block Party, beerhoptacular, Old Irving Anniversary and more. As the guys recap these great events they sip on some fresh cans from Bold Dog Beer that were hand-delivered to the studio. It’s been a big couple weeks for Chicago Beer Pass and this past week also marked 5 years of producing this show. Thank you to everyone who has been listening and supporting over the years. Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (60.3 MB) or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!

Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago. This week on Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski & Nik White make their way to Alarmist Brewing to sit with Gary Gulley & Aaron Dahl to talk about the brewery and their recent gold medal win at GABF for Le Jus. This was the first time Hazy IPAs had their own category to be judged at GABF and to see Chicago take home gold warms our heart.  The journey for Alarmist Brewing has been pretty amazing to watch if you have been paying attention. Gary Gulley has shared many parts of the journey since the early days on the Alarmist Brewing Facebook page. Taking home this award not only makes all Chicago beer nerds feel proud but hopefully means everyone will be seeing more excellent beer from Alarmist Brewing.  Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (60.5 MB) or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!

Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago. This week on Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski & Nik White open a can of Picnic Island from Begyle Brewing. This Cream Ale from Begyle is some easy drinking and perfect for an afternoon chatting about beer. As the guys knock back a few cans they talk about trips to Half Acre, Corridor, DryHop Brewers and a few events that they sadly missed out on.  Coming up this weekend you have a lot going on! Outside of Chicago is the Great American Beer Festival which was moved to an early date this year. If you didn’t travel to this amazing beer festival you’re still in luck, you have your choice of the Goose Island 312 Block Party and BeerHoptacular. The 312 block party is happening Friday and Saturday but BeerHoptacular is just on Saturday, so do one each day and then make your way to Old Irving on Sunday as they celebrate their 2nd Annual HOPTOBERVERSARY all weekend long. Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (51.5 MB) or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!

Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago. This week on Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski & Nik White are opening cans of one of the latest can releases from Revolution Brewing; Freedom of Speach. Freedom of Speach is a 4.5% ABV beer that is naturally soured in the brew kettle and fermented out dry with a lower alcohol level. It’s an easy-drinking session sour that is balanced out by an assembly of ripe peach flavor. As the guys crush these cans they chat about trips to Vice District, Spiteful Brewing and Haymarket Brewing. Last weeks discussion on Haymarket Brewing sparked Brad’s interest and he decided to make his way down there for a Mathias and write up a post on Medium. This weekend the best thing you can do is get out of Chicago and make your way up North for the Great Lakes Brew Fest in Racine, Wisconsin. Brad and Nick have both been to this festival a number of times and it has always been a good time. Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (44.5 MB) or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!

Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago. This week on Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski & Nik White open up their first can from Church Street Brewing. Both of them had no idea they were canning their beers and it’s great to see. The guys open Head In The Clouds, a 5.4% Zwickelbier that is a perfect beer to cap off Labor Day. As they knock these cans back they chat about Labor Day drinking and trips out of Illinois as Brad ventured to Toppling Goliath, Barrel Theory, Bent Paddle, and more. Being Labor Day, the guys also chat about a tweet that popped up about the beer names from Haymarket Brewing. Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (47.1 MB) or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! Thanks for listening to Chicago Beer Pass!

Welcome to the Chicago Beer Pass: Your ticket to all the great beer events happening in and around Chicago. This week on Chicago Beer Pass, Brad Chmielewski & Nik White crack open cans from Sketchbook Brewing as they dive into their past week of beer adventures. The guys chat about Goose Island, Off Color, Lucky Monk and get excited for the Far & Away event that Half Acre is putting together.  This weekend if you’re not busy with Labor Day plans, be sure to make your way out to Homewood for the Vice District grand opening. From 4:00pm to 10:00 pm on August 31st get out to Homewood and celebrate the opening of their second location. Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (46.3 MB) or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!