GABF 2024: Illinois Pour List Preview
The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is back again and with it the Illinois Pour List! Illinois will have 10 breweries pouring this year, including one that’s pouring there for the first time (Sketchbook). While the number of Illinois breweries might not be as many as previous years, the breweries that are pouring are bringing the heat.
For each brewery I will list what they’re pouring (according to GABF’s page) and what you should get if you only try one beer. For some breweries I’ll also list a “Treasure Trove” option because sometimes breweries bring things that aren’t listed. If they happen to be pouring that beer (or anything similar) that would also be something to get.
DESTIHL Brewery – Normal, IL
Deadhead IPA – West Coast IPA with Citra, Simcoe, and Chinook – 7% ABV
Dill Pickle Sour – Sour with Suckerpunch dill pickle juice – 5.2% ABV
Dosvidanya Barrel Aged Imperial Stout – 14.6% ABV
Dragonfruit Mango – Sour with dragonfruit and mango – 5.5% ABV
Oktoberfest – 5.8% ABV
Tourbus Hazy IPA – Hazy IPA with Citra and Mosaic – 7.4% ABV
ABV Recommends: If you’re feeling saucy and like pickles or pickle juice, then the Dill Pickle Sour will do the trick. For anyone else, it’s Dosvidanya all the way; GABF medal winner and multiple-FoBAB medal winner (including best in show).
Treasure Trove: DESTIHL does a slew of Dosvidanya variants, including a Mexican Chocolate one that won GABF silver in 2022. Be on the lookout for that or one of their St. Dekkera sours!
Excel Brewing Company – Breese, IL
Buzzberry Honey Raspberry Ale – American Pale Ale with honey and raspberry – 5% ABV
Black Breath – Imperial Stout aged in rum barrels – 12% ABV
Bruja – Imperial Pumpkin Ale aged in Añejo Tequila barrels – 12% ABV
Non-Alcohol Pouring Station
Lucky Club Cola – 0.0% ABV
ABV Recommends: Interesting options all around but I’m gonna opt for the Buzzberry Honey Raspberry Ale. I always enjoy raspberry ales and honey typically adds some sweetness and body to the beer and doesn’t detract from anything.
Hailstorm Brewing Company – Tinley Park, IL
Key Lime Forklift Training – pastry sour with key lime, graham crackers, vanilla and milk sugar – 8% ABV
Prairie Madness – American IPA with Centennial and Ahtanum – 7.0% ABV
Chile Cumulus – Hazy IPA with chile peppers – 6.3% ABV
Southside Irish Red – 5.4% ABV
ABV Recommends: Going to go with the safe choice (and GABF Gold medal winner) and opt for Prairie Madness. Classic American IPA with some pine notes that won’t steer you wrong.
Treasure Trove: One of their Vlad BA beers. I had their bramble version of it and it reminded me of BCBS Bramble (2012) and their other ones are just as good to look for.
Maplewood Brewing Company – Chicago, IL
Super Son of Juice Imperial IPA – New England-style Double IPA – 10.0% ABV
Fat Pug – Oatmeal Milk Stout – 5.9% ABV
Softcore Mutation: Tropical Foeder – American Oak Foeder Ale with mango, passionfruit, and pineapple – 5.5% ABV
Barrel Aged Cuppa – Imperial Stout – 13.0% ABV
ABV Recommends: A nice variety of beers, but the clear winner is the BA Cuppa, especially if it’s the double barrel-aged one they just released.
Treasure Trove: If they bring any of their lighter fare – like Pulaski Pils or their Lounge Lager – suck that up. Maplewood does an excellent job with their light beers.
More Brewing Company – Huntley, IL
Mango Double Marbles – Milkshake Double IPA with mango, vanilla, milk sugar and Mosaic – 8% ABV
Mehndi 2023 – Imperial Stout aged for 27 months in a blend of Old Rip Van Winkle, Weller, Elijah Craig, and WIllett Rye barrels – 15.6% ABV
Morever – Hazy IPA with Citra, Motueka, and Simcoe – 6.5% ABV
Oktoberfest – 5.5% ABV
ABV Recommends: Mehndi, full stop. An absolutely amazing barrel-aged stout that forces me to recommend it over something a solid hazy IPA like Morever.
Treasure Trove: Normally I’d recommend something barrel-aged here, but they’ve got it covered with Mehndi. So I’d look for one of their lighter beers, especially their new premium Indian lager Patel Premium.
Old Irving Brewing Co. – Chicago, IL
Beezer – Hazy IPA with Citra and Mosaic – 6.9% ABV
Della – Kölsch – 5.2% ABV
Doji – Pilsner dry-hopped with Citra and Amarillo – 5.9% ABV
Oktoberfest – 5.5% ABV
Sonne – Helles Lager with Hallertau Mittelfrüh and Tettnang – 5.3% ABV
ABV Recommends: First off, this is an excellent lineup that is only eclipsed by one Illinois brewery. That being said, you can’t go wrong with anything, but you’re getting the GABF Gold and World Beer Cup Gold hazy IPA Beezer. Della’s a GABF medal winner, and both Doji and Sonne scratch that light beer itch well.
Treasure Trove: Something barrel-aged from them like Krampus. Their BA program is one of the best in Chicago, so if they have cans of any BA beer, try it. You will not be disappointed.
Revolution Brewing – Chicago, IL
Cold Time – American Light Lager – 4.8% ABV
D.B.V.S.O.D. – Double Barrel aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout – 17.9% ABV
V.S.O.J. – Barrel-aged Barleywine – 15.0% ABV
West Coast-Hero – West Coast IPA with Simcoe, Centennial, Cascade, Amarillo, and Citra – 8.0% ABV
Super Zero – Hop Water – 0.0% ABV
ABV Recommends: I think Revolution tapped into my brain as to what to bring to GABF. A wide range of styles ending with two of the best barrel-aged beers at the festival. My vote would go for V.S.O.J. as it might be the best BA barleywine at the fest. Don’t like barleywines? DB V.S.O.D. scratches that BA stout itch very well. An amazing booth.
Treasure Trove: Man I really don’t know. Maybe another Deep Wood beer? They seriously brought everything that I’d tell you to get.
Sketchbook Brewing Co. – Evanston, IL
Catharina Sour – Sour with Kiwi and Strawberry – 5.8% ABV
Celestial Figgy Pudding BA Imperial Stout – with Black Mission Figs and Orange Zest – 13% ABV
Oktoberfest – 5.4% ABV
Orange Door – American IPA – 7.2% ABV
Heavy Medal Taproom
Grodziskie – 4.1% ABV
Beer for The Soul – Belgian Pale Ale – 5.5% ABV
ABV Recommends: Orange Door is their flagship IPA and rightfully so. Tons of grapefruit and orange with some nice pine bitterness. Get at it.
Treasure Trove: In the same line as the Celestial stout, Sketchbook did a barrel-aged Belgian tripel (Tripel G) that rocks. A FoBAB gold medal winner!
Tighthead Brewing Company – Mundelein, IL
Bear’s Choice IPA – American IPA with Mosaic – 6.5% ABV
Longsnapper IPA – West Coast IPA with Columbus, Cascade, and Centennial – 6% ABV
Oktoberfest – 5% ABV
Scarlet > Fire – Irish Red Ale – 5.6% ABV
ABV Recommends: Scarlet > Fire, their GABF winning Irish Red is the way to go, although the Longsnapper IPA looks like something West Coast IPA fans will drink up.
Une Annee/Hubbard’s Cave – Niles, IL
Barrel-aged Vanilla Stout – Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrel for 30 months with Tahitian, Tahiti and Papua New Guinea – 13.5% ABV
El Zacaton – Imperial Stout with almond flour, cacao nibs, cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans, ancho chiles, guajilo chiles, habanero chiles, and cherrywood – 12% ABV
Framboise – American Wild Ale with raspberries – 6.5% ABV
Hubbard’s Cave Fresh IPA – Hazy IPA – 7% ABV
Le Grand Monde 2024-2 – Wine barrel-aged sour with guava, mango, passionfruit, and pineapple – 7% ABV
Le Grand Monde 2024-4 – Barrel-aged sour with strawberry and rhubarb – 7% ABV
Milk of the Murder Hornet – Milkshake IPA – 7.5% ABV
Devil’s Reign – Belgian Imperial IPA with Citra and Simcoe – 9.2% ABV – Fright Themed Bar
ABV Recommends: If the Milk of the Murder Hornet is the strawberry version, that’s the choice. If it’s not, go with Le Grand Monde 2024-4, as Une Anne’s does excellent work with both sours and strawberries.
Treasure Trove: That strawberry Milk of the Murder Hornet. I recommend very few milkshake IPAs (like 2 or 3) and this is one of them.
