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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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.