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 cracking open bottles of Metropolitan Dynamo as they chat about the string of interviews they have done on the podcast recently, including the latest one with Metropolitan. If you missed that episode or the one with Twisted Hippo, be sure to go back and check them out. As the guys work their way through this six pack, they talk about trips to Evil Horse and Marz Brewing. Now, it’s January and it’s cold out there so most folks are staying indoors drinking at home but one party to not miss this month is the Metropolitan 10 Year Anniversary party, be sure to get tickets! Brad and Nik can’t wait to see what happens with craft beer in Chicago this year and they will be delivering you a fresh episode every week! Thanks for listening. Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (36.5 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 kicking off the new year with another on-location interview. The guys sit down with Doug Hurst, Tracy Hurst, and the lost boys. 2019 is off to a big start with this roundtable of 6 guests. Metropolitan has been brewing beer in Chicago for 10 years and this month they’ll celebrate with a killer 10-year anniversary party. Get your tickets! On the episode, Brad and Nik learn about some of the struggles they have had and how they have stayed true to their lager core for so many years.  With the new space, you’re seeing more and more Metropolitan beer and some great coffee beers that you can find only at the taproom. Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (58.2 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 are kicking off the new year with another on-location interview. The guys sit down with Doug Hurst, Tracy Hurst, and the lost boys. 2019 is off to a big start with this roundtable of 6 guests. Metropolitan has been brewing beer in Chicago for 10 years and this month they’ll celebrate with a killer 10-year anniversary party. Get your tickets! On the episode, Brad and Nik learn about some of the struggles they have had and how they have stayed true to their lager core for so many years.  With the new space, you’re seeing more and more Metropolitan beer and some great coffee beers that you can find only at the taproom. Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (58.2 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 are joined by Mike Zoller of PorchDrinking to chat about the past year in Chicago beer. We didn’t see as many new breweries open this year but we did see a lot of them produce some amazing beers and we believe they released some of the best beer in the country. Mike who also goes by the name ChicagoBeer on Instagram is always trying to have something new and this city has plenty to offer. He was the perfect person to have on the podcast to recap all that has happened this year. The guys not only go over their favorite beers but they also discuss some of their favorite festivals and brewpubs too.  Grab a fresh can from your favorite brewery and dive in with this 2018 recap! Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (66.5 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 joined by Mike Zoller of PorchDrinking to chat about the past year in Chicago beer. We didn’t see as many new breweries open this year but we did see a lot of them produce some amazing beers and we believe they released some of the best beer in the country. Mike who also goes by the name ChicagoBeer on Instagram is always trying to have something new and this city has plenty to offer. He was the perfect person to have on the podcast to recap all that has happened this year. The guys not only go over their favorite beers but they also discuss some of their favorite festivals and brewpubs too.  Grab a fresh can from your favorite brewery and dive in with this 2018 recap! Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (66.5 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 getting a sneak peek of Twisted Hippo as they sit down with Marilee and Karl Rutherford. The new brewpub is set to open in January of 2019 and resides in the former home of Break Room and Finch. As they put the finishing touches on everything and get one last beer brewed, Brad and Nik were able to learn how their wild journey finally got them here. If you’re looking to get a preview of the space before the official launch, you can grab tickets to their New Years Eve Party! Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (38.3 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 are getting a sneak peek of Twisted Hippo as they sit down with Marilee and Karl Rutherford. The new brewpub is set to open in January of 2019 and resides in the former home of Break Room and Finch. As they put the finishing touches on everything and get one last beer brewed, Brad and Nik were able to learn how their wild journey finally got them here. If you’re looking to get a preview of the space before the official launch, you can grab tickets to their New Years Eve Party! Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (38.3 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 are getting in the holiday spirit as they crack open cans of Sketchbook Brewing’s Winter Warmer, Catch Me If You Can. With Christmas right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to get into these holiday beers and this gingerbread Brown Ale is a real treat. As the guys knock back these they chat about Brew Lights, Alarmist Brewing and Guinness.  With New Years just around the corner, you’re seeing all kinds of events pop up and tickets for sale. Keep a lookout on our Facebook, as we’ll try to share a lot of the links to events there. Plus with 167 breweries now in the Chicagoland area you can count on a can release almost every other day, so don’t miss out on some of these great beers getting produced in our city. Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (52.6 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 kick off the podcast by cracking open a bomber of Benthic from Half Acre. Benthic is one of those barrel aged stouts that should be on your top ten list and if you haven’t had a chance to taste it, keep an eye out because you do see it pop up at bars from time to time. As the guys sip on this big stout, Brad recaps his beer stops in Portland Oregon, and Nik gushes all about his love for Hubbard’s Cave.  The big event happening this week is Brewlights at the Lincoln Park Zoo. If you missed that  episode with Patrick O'Hara & Ken Schmalandt go back and give it a listen. There is some excellent information about how the event has evolved over the years and also some insight into what makes this year stand out. Brad and Nik will both be at the zoo, so you’ll be sure to get a recap on the next episode as well. With New Years just around the corner, you’re seeing all kinds of events pop up and tickets for sale. Keep a lookout on our Facebook, as we’ll try to share a lot of the links to events there. Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (53.8 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 coming at you with another episode to quench your Chicago beer thirst. That’s right, it’s a double dose of Chicago Beer Pass and to go along with this episode, they are drinking Fully Saturated Double Daisy Cutter from Half Acre Brewing. The guys are excited for BrewLights next week but after the episode with Patrick O'Hara & Ken Schmalandt, they realized there were just too many other good events coming up that need to be mentioned on an episode. This past week was full of bottle releases or rather can releases. If you thought you’d get a break from that, think again, this trend is ramping up. On this episode, the guys talk about releases from Goose Island, Half Acre, Off Color and Cruz Blanca. Although they were only drinking the Fully Saturated Double Daisy Cutter on this episode, you can count on some of these other beers making it onto an episode or at least a beer review on the YouTube channel. Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (59.5 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 joined by Patrick O'Hara & Ken Schmalandt to talk all about BrewLights at Lincoln Park Zoo. This is the fifth year of BrewLights and it continues to grow, this year should be even better with Lakeshore Beverage getting involved.  In this episode, the guys chat about how the event came to be, what makes the Lincoln Park Zoo so special and some of the beer you can expect to see this year. The four of them also chat about Goose Island Bourbon County, how the release went this past weekend and what variants you’ll see at BrewLights.  Tickets are still available, be sure to grab yours here! Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (59.5 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 continue their barrel aged adventures as they open a bottle of Barrel Aged Imperial Pajamas Stout from Begyle Brewing. If you’re going to talk about FOBAB, you need to have yourself a great barrel aged beer to pair with it. The bulk of this episode is Brad and Nik talking about their experience at the 16th annual Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer. Throughout the event there were some highlights and few misses but as always, this is one of the best beer festivals in Chicago.  Along with the FOBAB recap the guys also share some information about trips to Band of Bohemia and Temperance.  All that and more on this pre-Thanksgiving episode. Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (53.5MB) 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 joined by Jonathan Surratt as the guys count down the days till FoBAB. Jonathan or how he is better known on Twitter, beerinator has been in the beer scene for a long time and has his hands in a number of projects. The guys dive into those projects along with thoughts on what’s happening at Revolution with their big stout / can release, Wil Turner leaving and what that means for Revolution and Open Outcry. This all leads up to a discussion of the last 16 years of FoBAB. Jonathan has been to many more FoBABs than both Brad and Nik. He shares some of his insight and thoughts from all these years of attending what is seen as one of the best beer festivals in Chicago. Having issues listening to the audio? Try the MP3 (74.2MB) 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 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!