Brewers preview FOBAB 2026, the Festival of Wood &Barrel-Aged Beer, with first-timer tips and gold-medal stories.

Reserve Artisan Ales Owner/Brewer and Illinois Craft BrewersGuild Vice President Blake Benedict and Bubblehouse Brewing Owner/Brewer and Guild Board Member Jon Miller preview FOBAB 2026. Jon, a two-time FOBAB gold medalist, explains his chardonnay-barrel Belgian Golden Strong, Blake reveals his Japanese-oak lager, and Jon shares a barleywine blended from bourbon and peach brandy barrels. Plus: how to pace yourself at the festival, what happens in the Brewers Lounge, why the Lager Lounge exists, and what the Guild does for Illinois craft beer.

0:00 Welcome to a Special FOBAB Preview

1:11 Meet Reserve Artisan Ales & Bubblehouse

2:53 What Is FOBAB? Dates, Venue & Tickets

3:58 What It's Like to Win Gold at FOBAB

5:42 How to Describe FOBAB to First-Timers

9:40 Does Every Brewery Need Barrel Aging?

13:57 Wood Spirals vs. Barrels: Aging Time

15:00 Chardonnay Barrels & a Belgian Golden Strong

16:56 Japanese Oak & Sourcing Barrels

19:18 Bourbon & Peach Brandy Barleywine Blend

21:25 How Brewers Pick Competition Categories

25:13 Which Beer Styles Don't Work on Wood?

34:02 FOBAB Tips: Pacing & Pouring Out Samples

38:38 Behind the Scenes in the Brewers Lounge

42:13 Why FOBAB Added the Lager Lounge

46:02 What the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild Does

51:02 Future of Barrel Aging & What's Next

About FOBAB 2026: The 24th annual Festival of Wood &Barrel-Aged Beer, North America's largest barrel-aged beer festival and competition, returns to Chicago's Credit Union 1 Arena (525 S. Racine Ave.) Fri., Nov. 13 (6-10 p.m.) and Sat., Nov. 14 (1-5 p.m.). Sample 250+ beers, ciders, meads, and perrys from 130+ breweries in 13 style categories, many madejust for the festival. General admission is $85 (plus fees) and includes the Lager Lounge; the new VIP Green Room Experience is $250 (limited) and adds a private Green Room, fire pit area, exclusive glass, bag, and koozie. Raffles offer Skip the Line badges ($5) and the Ultimate FoBAB Upgrade with early entry ($10); winners announced Nov. 5. Gold, silver, bronze, and Best in Show medals are awarded Saturday (livestreamed on Facebook and the ICBG YouTube channel), and attendees vote for Fan Favorite. Tickets: FoBAB.com. Proceeds support the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild.

More about Reserve Artisan Ales: Opened in January 2022 inGalesburg, IL, Reserve brews on a 5-barrel system and pours about 15 of its own beers, plus regional guest taps, mead, wine, and soda, in a pour-your-own taproom. It is also home to The Vault event venue and the Galesburg Beer Fest (April 10, 2027). https://www.reserveartisanales.com/home

More about Bubblehouse Brewing Company: Jon and April Miller left 18+ years in corporate America to open Bubblehouse in Lisle, IL, in 2021. Nearly 100 recipes and a handful of awards later, including FOBAB gold, they'restill going strong. https://www.bubblehousebrewing.com/

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Learn more about Crafty Brewers athttps://craftybrewerspod.com

Support Crafty Brewers on Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/c/craftybrewers

Crafty Brewers is a production of Quantum Podcasts, LLC.Grow your brand with podcasting at https://quantum-podcasts.com/

Our executive producer and editor is award-winning podcaster Cody Gough. He insists that we tell you that in this episode, you'll learn about: bourbon barrel-aged stout, wood-aged lager, mead and cider on wood, Miller High Life, craft beer festival tips, Chicago beer events, Illinois craft beer, brewery taproom events, homebrewing to pro brewing, and beer competition judging trends.

How did a brown ale score 97 out of 100 to become the best beer in the country? Plus: learn exactly what its brewer put into it.

Kishwaukee Brewing Co-Owner and Head Brewer Dan Payson and Co-Owner Cara Payson (marketing, customer service,and self-described “Jill of all trades”) share how a laid-off Seattle architect turned homebrewing into a pro career, thanks in part to a hockey challenge against legendary brewer Skip Madsen. Dan explains what separates a Kolsch from a Pilsner, why a hybrid yeast gives Kestrel Kolsch its citrus-rind finish, and what makes Bufflehead, an American-style brown ale, different from its English cousin. Plus: how Bufflehead went from a single pilot keg to World Beer Cupsilver and a 97-point rating as The Beer Connoisseur's 2025 Best Beer of the Year, why opening during the pandemic made Kishwaukee a bottles-only brewery, and Cara's case that “hazy is lazy.”

0:00 Inside Kishwaukee Brewing in Woodstock, Illinois

3:20 The Seattle Craft Beer Scene in the Early 2000s

5:48 Did Beer Bring Dan and Cara Together?

7:23 Why an Architect Started Homebrewing During the Recession

10:24 Learning Beer at Bottleworks and Fremont Brewing

12:08 Dan's First Homebrew: A West Coast IPA

13:43 Remember 22-Ounce Bomber Bottles?

14:39 Deciding to Go Pro (and a Hockey Story Tease)

17:29 Scoring on Skip Madsen: The Hockey Challenge That Built a Brewery

22:36 Brian Noonan vs. Brian Noonan: A Blackhawks Mix-Up

25:40 Beer break

25:47 Brewer's Choice: Kestrel Kolsch From a Mug Club Brew Day

27:47 Kolsch vs Pilsner: What's the Difference?

28:10 What Is a Kestrel? The Story Behind the Bird-Themed Beers

30:17 Why the "Original Six" Beers Don't Get Names

33:37 Why Kolsch Has a Citrus Finish (Hybrid Yeast Explained)

34:43 How a Pilot Beer Earns a Permanent Spot

35:54 How to Pick a Beer When You Want "Beer-Flavored Beer"

37:15 Sandhill Lager: A Dry-Hopped Lager

38:08 Traditional German Pilsner With Soft Bitterness

38:38 Bufflehead: The Beer Connoisseur's 2025 Beer of the Year

39:35 American Brown Ale vs English Brown Ale

41:20 Why the Hops Hit at the End

42:04 What "Fully Attenuated" Means and Why Brewers Are Yeast Herders

43:58 What Sets Bufflehead Apart?

44:54 From One Pilot Keg to World Beer Cup Silver

47:08 Rated 97: Learning Bufflehead Was the Best Beer of 2025

50:17 Why Kishwaukee Only Packages Beer in Bottles

51:04 Building and Opening a Brewery During the Pandemic

52:17 Bottling Line vs Canning Line: The Cost Decision

53:07 The Short Pour: Rapid-Fire Questions

54:54 The Biggest Mistake People Make When Judging Beer

55:30 A Hoppy Red Ale for People Who Don't Like Hoppy Beer

57:46 The Weirdest Ingredient Ever Added to a Tank

58:34 Are Pumpkin Beers Fading Out?

59:50 "Hazy Is Lazy": Why Kishwaukee Rarely Brews Hazy IPAs

1:05:39 The Final Toast

About Kishwaukee Brewing Co: Located in Woodstock, Illinois, Kishwaukee Brewing Co. brews award-winning takes on traditional German, English, and West Coast styles in a taproom built for meeting friends and making new ones, located in Woodstock, Illinois. Learn more on their website athttps://www.kishwaukeebrewing.com/

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Learn more about Crafty Brewers at https://craftybrewerspod.com

Support Crafty Brewers on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/c/craftybrewers

Crafty Brewers is a production of Quantum Podcasts, LLC, an enterprise podcast growth and attribution consultancy. Learn more at https://quantum-podcasts.com/

Our executive producer and editor is award-winning podcaster Cody Gough. He insists that we tell you that in this episode, you’ll learn about: Breakaway IPA, AmericanBrewing Company, Seattle Craft Beer Week, Elysian Brewing, Köln German beer styles, cold fermentation, Canadian two-row pale malt, Munich malt, caramel malt, Newcastle Brown Ale, kettle hop additions, yeast viability, India Pale Lager, Imperial Red Ale, pumpkin spice beer, green beer on St. Patrick’s Day, New England IPA, The Alchemist, Kishwaukee River Valley, and McHenry County craft beer.

Explore double-barrel bourbon-and-rye stouts and the science behind a perfectly balanced hazy IPA.

Brothership Brewing Co-Owner Tom Soltis and Head Brewer David Basile break down why their signature stouts go through two barrels instead of one, the vanillin compound that ties barrel-aged beer together, and what turbidity has to do with a well-balanced hazy IPA. Plus: New Zealand Peacherine hops, a hot take on THC seltzers, and a blueberry beer brew day gone hilariously wrong.

0:00 Intro

1:00 Meet Brothership Brewing's Tom Soltis and David Basile

1:46 Is the Taproom UFO Real?

2:53 Celebrating Six Years in Mokena

4:40 Why They Picked Mokena, Illinois

5:37 Is Chicago Water Really the Best for Brewing?

6:45 How Brothership Got Its Name

8:29 From Chicago Kitchens to Head Brewer: David's Origin Story

9:47 The First Beer David Ever Brewed

10:25 Cooking vs. Brewing: The Biggest Difference

12:56 Who's the Boss, You or the Yeast?

13:53 David's First Brewing Job at Mad Hatchet

14:42 The Sour Beer David Won't Recreate

15:46 From Werk Force Brewing to Head Brewer at Brothership

17:47 How Tom Decided to Hire David

20:10 Tasting the Experimental 008 Hazy IPA

20:32 What Happened to the Orbit 6 Anniversary Beer

21:16 Bright Lights, a 4.5% Light Lager

23:02 Why Lagers Are Harder to Brew Than Hazies

24:56 Brewer's Break

25:47 Brothership's Full Beer Lineup (Sours, Lagers, Oktoberfest)

26:48 Inside Brothership's Award Case

28:05 Tasting Anti-Matter Hazy IPA with Peacherine Hops

28:58 What Makes a Truly Balanced Beer

30:50 What Is Turbidity in a Hazy IPA?

31:56 Anti-Matter vs. Experimental 008: What's the Difference?

32:58 Wait, Is Alcohol Actually Sweet?

34:19 Introducing the Double Barrel Space Debris Stout Series

36:50 What Sets Brothership's Barrel Program Apart

38:02 Why These Stouts Take Nearly Three Years

39:44 David's Approach to Blending Barrels Like a Chef

41:47 How the Barrel “Speaks” to a Brewer

42:52 The Rum Barrel Secret: Pina Colada Seltzer

44:11 DBVR: A Stout Made With Vanilla From Three Countries

47:25 The Science Behind Vanilla in Barrel-Aged Beer

47:29 Why the Messier Series Is On Hold

50:58 A Shoutout to the Launch Sequence Anniversary Stout

51:12 Key Lime Pie Sneak Peek

53:03 Short Pour: Tom's Most Overrated Beer Trend

55:23 Short Pour: David's Craziest Brew Day Mishap

56:42 Outro and How to Support Crafty Brewers

58:28 Final Toast

About Brothership Brewing: Brothership Brewing is a craft brewery and taproom in Mokena, Illinois, brewing IPAs, DIPAs, sours, stouts, pilsners, and barrel-aged beers under the motto “Believe in Beer.” Learn more on their website at https://www.brothershipbrewing.com/

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Learn more about Crafty Brewers at https://craftybrewerspod.com

Support Crafty Brewers on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/c/craftybrewers

Crafty Brewers is a production of Quantum Podcasts, LLC, an enterprise podcast growth and attribution consultancy. If your brand would like to capture a loyal audience to drive business results with the power of podcasting, then visit https://quantum-podcasts.com/

Our executive producer and editor is award-winning podcaster Cody Gough. He insists that we tell you that in this episode, you'll learn about: New England IPA, hazy IPA brewing science, bourbon barrel aging, rye barrel aging, barrel-aged imperial stout, vanillin flavor compound, beer turbidity, American light lager brewing, Peacherine hops, New Zealand hops, homebrew to professional brewer, craft beer competition medals, Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer (FOBAB), Mexican lager craft beer, kettle sour beer, Chicago craft beer scene, Mokena Illinois brewery, coconut stout, craft beer yeast pitching, small-batch experimental beer series.