ABV Chicago’s Late Summer Beer Guide
We may be on the other half of it, but there’s still plenty of summer left – and you have a lot more beers to drink.
Summers don’t have to be all about mass-produced hard seltzers and macro lagers. If you’re willing to spend a little more and want to diversify the flavors coming out of your cooler, this list of Chicagoland summer beer highlights is for you. Our list emphasizes maximum hot-weather drinkability and regular shelf availability (with slight exceptions), so no barrel-aged rarities or one-off taproom variants here. In alphabetical order by brewery, here are our choices for 20 Chicagoland beers that’ll put a little sunshine in your glass.
Pantsless | American Pale Ale | Alarmist Brewing | 6% ABV
As far as core APAs made locally, the 2020 GABF Medal-Winner Pantsless is just as balanced as the others but really stands out in its aromatic bombast and slightly more malt-driven flavor. It has a bit more heft from the 6% ABV, but there’s no barrier for re-drinking your way through a whole 4-pack. The Mosaic hops give off vibrant aromas of orange marmalade, ripe berries, and a little bit of pine. The flavor carries some grapefruit citrus and tropical punch with an even-keel bitterness that melds perfectly with the light wheat bread crust of the malt. If you haven’t gone Pantsless in a while, give it another try.
Otto | Euro-Style Lager | Around the Bend Beer Company | 5% ABV
This omni-lager purports to combine elements of a Czech pilsner, German pilsner, Bavarian helles, and Dortmunder lager into one – and I’m not going to push back against that claim at all. It pours like an unfiltered German lager, and the aroma is grainy with wheat bread, honey malt, floral hops, and touch of grass. In the sip, it has a soft and full mouthfeel with spot-on carbonation that evolves from front to back. The flavor is bright and full of honey bread and sweet floral hops. The finish leaves just a touch of bitterness that triples its drinkability. This tastes like a recipe that’s been lovingly studied, tweaked, and refined to this perfect end. Cheers to Dan and Around the Bend – this is an exceptional lager.
Punting | English Summer Ale | Art History Brewing | 4.8% ABV
This may be the most cask-friendly beer on this list, and if you head out to Art History’s taproom, you might have a good chance to try it that way. This pours with a billowing fluffy head, clear, and brightly golden. The aroma is sweet orange and floral with notes of Earl Gray tea and biscuit dough. Leading the taste is orange citrus and bitter pine that rests on a light honey wheat cracker. It’s surprisingly full and soft and ends with an herbal bitterness that lingers. This is an ale as drinkable as any of their top notch lagers that pays tribute to classic English Best Bitters through the light Golden Promise malt sweetness and crisp herbal, citrusy Admiral hops. If not this beer, your summer will be much better with a can of Gravitace or Good Morning Munich.
Sunny Afternoon | American Pale Ale | Begyle Brewing | 4.9% ABV
As you’ll see from this list, there are a ridiculous number of great American Pale Ales made locally – so much so that it’s hard not to take more than a few for granted. This one from the steady hands at Begyle had slipped past me for too long, but it’s a really solid Citra-featuring pale that emphasizes those classic citrus and tropical notes while staying away from any overbearing sweetness or overly aggressive bitterness. It’s built for maximum outdoor drinkability.
Plasma Wave: Bomb Pop | Fruited sour ale w/ raspberry, cherry, and lime | Brothership Brewing | 6.5% ABV – listen
You can argue all day over what’s “beer” and what’s “not beer” but while you do that, I’ll be over here guzzling this smoothie-esque sour like a kid on free Slurpee day. Truthfully, there is some beer-like flavor beneath the fruit here – more in line with a tart, cereal-grainy kettle sour. But you’re here for the juice – and we like-a the juice. It’s pretty dang close to a melted bomb pop (trust me, I did a side-by-side), and maybe just one can is all you need, but I found the whole experience enjoyable like carefree summer nights letting the kids stay up way too late.
Chelada: Pineapple + Lime | Tropical Lager | Cruz Blanca Craft Cerveza | 5% ABV
This fruit-enhanced lager is upfront with its pineapple and lime in both flavor and aroma, but it has the drinkability of a lager with a slightly tart and dry finish. The sweetness of the fruit doesn’t extend too far through the flavor, and you can easily imagine how well it would pair with Cruz’s amazing food. I hope they sell a ton of this, because it’s a real crowd-pleaser made expertly.
Rascal King | English Pub Ale/ESB | Flipside Brewing | 4.8% ABV
The SouthSiders have a real gem on their hands in Flipside, another great brewery hiding in a suburban strip mall making phenomenal to-style beers – and some goddamn incredible garlic cheese curds. Owner/head brewer/everything man Erik Pizer also has a love of traditional English styles, and the few of his I’ve tried have been outstanding in both interpretation and execution. This ESB pours completely clear and like a late-Fall sunset. The aroma is dark-crusted honey wheat bread, toasted chestnuts, and a lightly sweet floral character. It’s amazing how quick a sip transforms to a guzzle because the body is just a little fuller upfront before a wave of soft carbonation leads you to the lightly bitter and dry finish. The flavors are nutty and bready, with little bits of earthy and floral noble hop peeking in. This is as good of an English-style beer I’ve ever had made locally. Cans of this beer don’t make it far beyond Tinley Park, so you’ll have to make the trip down to the brewpub for this one – but it’s completely worth it.
Hip Hops and R&Brew | American Pale Ale w/ orange zest | Funkytown Brewery | 5.5% ABV
This foundational beer from Funkytown proves why it’s still core to their lineup, as it’s a pale ale that’s both unique locally but reminiscent of classic pales like Sierra Nevada. It pours deeper golden, nearing amber, and completely clear with a finger of steady head. The juicy citrus orange smells like it’s coming off of a dry-hop addition more than the zest, and there’s some herbal notes alongside a touch of caramel malt. The flavor is bright and citrus forward, the orange zest adding a pithy character to the juicy citrus and tropical notes from Citra and Mosaic. It’s bitter from front to back but not in an overly aggressive way, and there’s a good amount of malt sweetness that balances out the flavors while providing a little chew to the body
Original Lager | Helles Lager | Goldfinger Brewing Company | 5.2% ABV
If there’s one beer on this list that I’m certain you could hand to 10 people and have all 10 of them thoroughly enjoy, the flagship Helles lager from Goldfinger is that beer. Goldfinger has found many ways to push lager beer to new places while basing everything on tradition with intentionality towards storytelling through carefully-honed technique and hand-selected ingredients. This beer pours with a tremendous amount of thick and creamy head, golden and completely clear. You have to break through the persistent head to get a clear sniff, but the tickling of the carbonation on the nostrils is part of the experience. Up front, it’s yeasty bread dough followed by sweet floral notes. Bright and sweet on the beginning, the carbonation makes each sip a dynamic experience as a rush of bubbles coat the tongue and lead to a slightly bitter, definitely crisp and dry finish. It’s a really exceptional lager that gives you just enough sweet malt anchored by a lightly floral and herbal noble hop presence. Goldfinger doesn’t miss, and it all starts with this foundational beer.
Daisy Cutter Select | Double IPA | Half Acre Beer Company & Sierra Nevada Brewing | 8% ABV – listen
Okay, this is cheating a bit, because this Double IPA isn’t really meant to be tossed back between rounds of beach volleyball or whatever generic summer sport you can imagine. Plus, it’s getting close to being past its peak of freshness and has become hard to find in most stores. But, it’s my easy early pick for my Beer of the Year, and if you have a chance to try it before it’s gone, you absolutely should. It’s a clear, malt-forward and bitterness-driven Double IPA, much like the West Coast ones that helped set off the craft beer IPA domination of the 2010s. The caramel sweet malt character gets as much focus as the dank pine and bright citrus-forward hops. The bitterness resides on your tongue long past the sip but doesn’t deaden your tastebuds as you inevitably reach for another sip. If hazy IPAs are your stylistic preference, this one might not work for you. But if you fell in love with strong hoppy beers 14 years ago much like I did, this will taste like drinking straight from the Fountain (or Tap Handle) of Youth. I would put this among the best Double IPAs I’ve ever had.
Italian Ice | Citrus Lager w/ Meyer lemon | Hopewell Brewing Co. | 4.2% ABV – listen
Counterbalancing the Old Irving Miko’s Italian Ice (see below) that gives you the melted frozen treat nearly straight up, this is a lager that reminds you of Italian ice rather than attempting to straight-up mimic it. Beneath the refreshing zesty lemon character is a light bready malt sweetness and a touch of floral hops, like a Helles lager with a splash of fresh-squeezed lemonade. An always fun alternative for a light-drinking day would be squat cans of Lil’ Buddy or their unfiltered lager Tank Beer.
The Charlatan (Heritage Edition) | American Pale Ale | Maplewood Brewing Company | 6.1% ABV – listen
A lot of great local breweries (and podcasts, wink wink) celebrated 10 year anniversaries this year, but none have been as impactful as Maplewood, in my opinion. They produce a lot of beer across a wide variety of styles and have a medal-winning distillery to boot. Though this “Heritage” release of their core Charlatan Pale Ale might not be as readily available as it was in June, don’t miss picking it up if you come across it. The original recipe of this is a more even balance between the hops and the malt, keeping this about as even-keel on both elements as you can get. There’s a honey wheat bread chewy malt character followed by some classic citrus and pine from the hops. It might even make you feel a decade younger.
Pineapple Guppy | Pale Ale w/ pineapple | Pipeworks Brewing Company | 4.8% ABV – listen
Pipeworks was one of those breweries that helped make hoppy beers with fruit something worth chasing down almost a decade ago, so you can trust that they know what they’re doing with a beer like this. It pours golden yellow and crystal clear, with aromatics reminiscent of a fruit-forward strain of dank weed, equal parts sweet pineapple and herbaceous cannabis. In the taste, the sweet pineapple juice is balanced out by the moderate bitterness of the herbal, slightly spicy hop character. If pineapple isn’t your thing, you could always grab the reliable Lizard King pale ale, and if you find yourself lucky enough to dine at Andros Taverna you can try their restaurant-exclusive Kipos wit with lemon and thyme.
Strawberry Beer for Tacos | Gose w/ lime juice, strawberry juice, and salt | Off Color Brewing | 4.5% ABV
This space could be occupied by Beer for Hot Dogs – another excellent summer choice. But so far, this is the Off Color beer I’ve drank the most of this summer. It pours with a Rosé-like hue and a big soapy head. Aromatically, it has a sea breeze-like salinity with a still-obvious lime character upfront followed by sweet freeze-dried strawberries. The tart lime in the flavor is given a little sugar-sweet compliment from the strawberry, but the beer is still supremely dry in the end. The overall effect the strawberries have on the base gose is light but noticeable and makes for a fun variation, but this is also just a damn good excuse to remind you just how satisfying a cold can of Beer for Tacos can be, properly paired or not.
Miko’s Italian Ice | Fruited sour w/ Meyer lemon | Old Irving Brewing & Miko’s Italian Ice | 6% ABV – listen
Simply put, if you want a beer that smells and tastes exactly like an aggressively tart lemon Italian ice melted in your glass, this is it. There’s almost no perceptible alcohol. This is what kids who drank Mike’s Hard when they were able to sneak it away from an uncle’s cooler during the backyard family BBQ grow up to drink. Give this to anyone that loves lemon Italian ice and they will undoubtedly love this beer. It is legitimately one of those experiences that makes you wonder, “how the hell did they do that??” If lemon’s not your thing, check out their Cushy fruited sours. And if you want something else endlessly drinkable without the fruit, their Della Kolsch is about as good as it gets.
Clipping In | Grapefruit Radler | Phase Three Brewing | 2.5% ABV
One might wonder why a brewery would come at the legendary Stiegl, but this Phrase Three take on a grapefruit radler brings a surprisingly fuller flavor for a 2.5% beer. The aroma is pillowy soft with a gentle squeeze of grapefruit. The flavor matches but adds sweetness like sprinkling granules of raw sugar on top of your fresh cut grapefruit for breakfast. The finish is lightly tart, but ultimately it’s decently dry on the end. This radler can stand up to a scorching hot day easily. If you’re looking for a bit more oomph (and haze), there are regularly released variations on their reliable Pixel Density IPA.
Cold Time | Premium lager | Revolution Brewing | 4.8% – listen
One of Revolution’s greatest strengths has been patience. They don’t jump into trends for the sake of “How do you do, fellow kids?” engagement. They bide their time until it makes market sense to roll out a new core brand. And despite their iconography, they’re very savvy business people who understand how to navigate partnerships and market their beer (see this year’s Pitchfork and Chicago Sky partnerships). Whether or not you think this belies their “down with the man” imagery over the years is up to you – they’re still incredibly involved in charitable work and honoring Chicago’s multicultural history in ways other brewers don’t. And almost none of this would matter if the beers weren’t so consistently good. In a blind-tasting, this lager proved itself to be the perfect balance of a crisp, effervescent back porch crusher alongside some flavor notes that carry it deeper than any of your average macro lagers. The way they employ hops gives this just enough light grass and citrus, but it never complicates the experience.
Strawberry Lemonade | Hard Seltzer w/ strawberry and lemon | Riverlands Brewing/Waves Seltzer | 5% ABV
I’ve had to conclude that I’m not a big seltzer fan – given the option, I’ll always go for beer. But when breweries I love start to dabble, I am still willing to give them a try. I’m not sure if this Riverlands side imprint is going to focus exclusively on the more smoothie-like seltzers, but I was surprised when this poured with a murky puree-like puce color. It’s pure lemonade on the aroma with a touch of strawberry as a highlight, concentrated sweet and sour lemons. The drink is full up front for a seltzer, sweet strawberries quickly followed by a lingering tartness of the lemon. The finish avoids that aspartame or medicinal character that I get off of most seltzers, so this gets a huge bump in my mind for the style. It’s really juicy in a cold glass of lemonade way, extremely satisfying and thirst quenching. Just remember to roll your can before you pour.
Stripmall Especial | Mexican-Style Lager | Roaring Table Brewing | 5.1% ABV
One of my more favorite beer names in quite some time, the Stripmall Especial also adds the deadpan bottom-of-can text “visit our taproom” to a great effect. There are some stellar strip mall breweries out there (Art History, Flipside, and Brother Chimp jump right to mind), so I love Roaring Table making a beer to honor their brethren who happen to share parking lots with nail salons or Chinese takeout places. This pours a perfect pale golden and clear with soapy and sticky head. It’s aromatically pretty simple with notes of sweet corn, a little honey bread, and a slight kiss of flowers. It hits that sweet note in the first two-thirds of the sip before drying up fairly crisp without relying on bitterness to anchor it. I can think of about 27 things that this would pair well with from their strip mall neighbors, Trader Joe’s.
Shandy Bobandy | Shandy w/ lemon and lime | Werk Force Brewing Company | 4.3% ABV
This shandy was recently recognized with a Bronze medal from the U.S. Open Beer Championship, and it’s an all-around superior craft option to that one shandy you’ve had from Chippewa Falls. It pours with a tall mountain of head on a darker golden, hazy beer. The aromas are lemon and lime upfront, more like a whiskey sour mix than 7-up. Notes of wheat cracker malt come out as well. In the sip, it’s dry and spritzy with a low amount of tartness from lemon and lime. It has a fuller body than most shandies, but it nails the same level of refreshment.
