
For more than 20 years, FoBAB has united the country’s premier barrel-aged brewing programs—showcasing brewers who expertly fuse art and science, wood and bourbon, timing and technique—in a singular celebration of craftsmanship and innovation. This year, over 170 breweries nationwide have submitted their rarest and most exclusive wood- and barrel-aged beers, ciders, meads, and perries for judging. Discover the full list of participating breweries below.
2024 FOBAB BEST IN SHOW
Hidden Hand Brewery – Oaked Val d’Or – Naperville, IL
2024 FOBAB BEST IN SHOWRUNNER UP
More Brewing Company Villa Park – Mehndi 2023 – Villa Park, IL
STRONG PORTER + STOUT
GOLD – Breakside Brewery & Taproom – Somebody New in the Old West – Milwaukie, OR
SILVER – White Oak Brewing – Into the Thick of It – Normal, IL
BRONZE – Firestone Walker – ParAmburana – Paso Robles, CA
STRONG PORTER + STOUT
GOLD – Cahaba Brewing Company – Romulus – Birmingham, AL
SILVER – Old Irving Brewing Company – Champurrado Krampus – Chicago, IL
BRONZE – Half Acre Beer Co. – Benthic 2 x 4 – Chicago, IL
BARLEYWINE/WHEATWINE
GOLD – Verboten Brewing – Double Oaked Cognac Grow Old With You – Loveland, CO
SILVER – Kros Strain Brewing – Barrelywine Vol.12 Single Barrel – LaVista, NE
BRONZE – Brothership Brewing – Noble Cask – Mokena, IL
BLENDED BEER
GOLD – The Lost Abbey – Serpent’s Kiss Imperial Stout for the Rare Beer Club 30th Anniversary – Vista, CA
SILVER – Third Eye Brewing – Barrel Aged Private Consciousness – Hamilton, OH
BRONZE – Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project – Grow In Darkness – Loveland, CO
OTHER PALE BEER
GOLD – Bubblehouse Brewing – That Escalated Swiftly – Lisle, IL
SILVER – Forbidden Root – Well Positioned – Oak Aged Saison – Chicago, IL
BRONZE – Sketchbook Brewing – Tripel G – Belgian Style Tripel – Skokie, IL
LAGERS
GOLD – Elmhurst Brewing – BA Elevator – Elmhurst, IL
SILVER – Kros Strain Brewing – Barrel-Aged Czech Dark Lager – LaVista, NE
BRONZE – Solemn Oath Brewery – Foederface – Naperville, IL
OTHER DARK BEER
GOLD – Half Acre Beer Co. – Orin – Chicago, IL
SILVER – Loose Ends Brewing – NPN – Applejack Brandy Barrel Aged – Centerville, OH
BRONZE – Sun King Brewery – Diddy Muckle – Fishers, IN
FRUIT BEER
GOLD – Revolution Brewing – Cherry V.S.O.J. – Chicago, IL
SILVER – Sun King Brewery – Soul Shakedown Party – Indianapolis, IN
BRONZE – Cruz Blanca Brewery – La Locura – Chicago, IL
SPECIALTY + EXPERIMENTAL
GOLD – Black Horizon Brewing – From Earth To You – Willowbrook, IL
SILVER – G5 Brewing Company – Eternal Burning – McFarland, WI
BRONZE – Cruz Blanca Brewery – Tepache Cowboy – Chicago, IL
WILD BEER BRETT
GOLD – Off Color Brewing – Funky Beer for Tacos – Chicago, IL
SILVER – Benchtop Brewing Company – Baby – Richmond, VA
BRONZE – Boulevard Brewing Company – Foeder 7 – Kansas City, MO
WILD BEER MIXED CULTURE (ACIDIC)
GOLD – Milieu Fermentation Company – SMOL – Aurora, CO
SILVER – Ike & Oak Brewing – Cutbow – Woodridge, IL
BRONZE – Imperial Oak Brewing-Brookfield Blanc Brookfield, IL
WILD BEER MIXED CULTURE (ACIDIC) W/ FRUIT
GOLD – Pryes Brewing – Idyll Forest: 2024 Soirée – Minneapolis, MN
SILVER – Firestone Walker Brewing – Primal Elements with Pink Guava and Pineapple – Buellton, CA
BRONZE – Lupulin Brewing Company – Star Damage – Calamansi & Sabro – Big Lake, MN
CIDER/PERRY/MEAD
GOLD – Misbeehavin’ Meads – Clint’s Apple Pie – Valparaiso, IN
SILVER – Misbeehavin’ Meads – Stake in the Tart – Valparaiso, IN
BRONZE – Right Bee Cider – Barrel-Aged Clementine – Chicago, IL
The Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer
The Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer (FoBAB), held annually in Chicago, stands as the nation’s premier competition and tasting event dedicated exclusively to barrel-aged beers, ciders, meads, and perries. Founded in 2002 by the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild, FoBAB attracts more than 170 breweries from coast to coast, each submitting their rarest, most meticulously crafted expressions—beers patiently matured in oak barrels once home to bourbon, rye, wine, or spirits, yielding layers of vanilla, caramel, smoke, and fruit that dance with the base brew’s character. Over a single weekend in November, hundreds of entries are blind-judged by BJCP-certified experts across dozens of style categories, crowning gold, silver, and bronze medals in a celebration of patience and precision. Attendees then flood the festival floor for a grand public tasting, sampling limited-release pours poured straight from the wood, an immersive showcase where innovation meets tradition in every glass.
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CINCINNATI, OH— Cincinnati’s Brink Brewing is raising a glass after Cincinnati’s Brink Brewing being named 2019 Very Small Brewing Company of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival® (GABF). The Brewers Association honored the brewery at the 33rd annual event, where Brink snagged gold medals for two standout beers, proving they’re a force in craft beer.
The 2019 Indiana Brewers’ Cup marked the 21st edition of the Hoosier State’s premier craft beer showdown, held in July at the Indiana State Fairgrounds’ Farmer’s Coliseum in Indianapolis and drawing a massive lineup of over 1,000 entries from pro and homebrewers across 33 categories like crisp Czech Pilsners, juicy American IPAs, roasty porters, and experimental sours—all blind-judged by BJCP pros for that unbiased hoppy justice. Standouts that year included Sun King Brewery’s Sunlight Cream Ale snagging Best of Show Gold in the Light Lager division, with Guggman Haus Brewing’s Winner’s Milk Jug Milk Stout taking top honors in the Stout category and Daredevil Brewing’s Beautiful Dreams claiming gold in English Brown Ale—medals that sent these Indiana gems flying off taps and into Untappd wishlists. It all wrapped with the electric Indiana Microbrewers Festival at Military Park, where unlimited pours from 100+ breweries, live tunes, and food trucks turned downtown Indy into a beer lover’s utopia for thousands of thirsty fans. If you’re plotting a Midwest beer road trip, dig into 2019’s winners for timeless Hoosier pours like those creamy stouts and balanced ales—cheers to a vintage year that proved Indiana brews punch way above their weight!
TORONTO, Ontario – The 2019 Canadian Brewing Awards, in its 17th year, was a nationwide toast to the country’s exploding craft beer scene, held in Toronto on May 4 with over 800 entries from breweries coast-to-coast judged blindly by BJCP-certified pros across 50 categories—from crisp European lagers and juicy IPAs to barrel-aged sours and experimental wilds. Ontario breweries dominated the medal count with 57 golds, silvers, and bronzes, but British Columbia stole the spotlight as a powerhouse, snagging 49 medals (nearly a third of the 164 total) and proving the West Coast’s hazy, hop-forward mastery. Clifford Brewing Company from Hamilton, Ontario, was crowned Brewery of the Year for its killer lineup, including the silver-winning East Hamilton Lager, while the ultimate prize—Beer of the Year—went to Central City Brewers + Distillers’ Red Racer After Hours Pale Ale (BC), a bold, experimental pale that doubled as gold in its category and had hopheads buzzing for months. Other BC standouts included Steel & Oak’s gold-medal Dark Lager (a malty European-style beauty), Fernie Brewing’s Campout West Coast Pale (gold for its piney, citrus punch), and Strange Fellows’ Mistral (gold in wood- and barrel-aged beers for its funky, oaky depth). Standout category winners like Stray Dog’s Jagged Little Pilsner (gold in European Pilsner, a snappy noble-hop gem) and Henderson’s Ides of February (gold Bock, rich and toasty) highlighted the diversity, from Manitoba’s Torque Witty Belgian to Alberta’s Hell’s Basement Elevator HBB. Amid the cheers, the gala also announced the launch of the Canadian Craft Brewers Association, uniting 700+ independents to champion small-batch innovation. If you’re plotting a cross-Canada beer crawl, hunt down these 2019 medalists—they’re timeless pours that capture the moment Canada’s craft scene went supernova. Prost to a golden year!


Third Eye Brewing and the U.S. Open Beer Championship partnered to set a world record for the largest beer float.




