The Weekly Buzz | November 10 – 23

Welcome to this special double-edition of The Weekly Buzz. I had a work obligation that stopped me from posting last week, but fear not! I did manage to collect all the content, which is good because there was a LOT going on. Anyway… Here’s the best beer-related Twitter and Instagram content from the last two weeks. It’s time to start sipping on this special barrel-aged bottle of The Weekly Buzz!
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Five Observations from a FoBAB First-Timer

I’ve been to numerous beer festivals, including the massive production that is Sierra Nevada’s Beer Camp, but I’ve never been to a celebration like FoBAB, and now I think I know why. On a cold Saturday, I arrived to the UIC Forum to a line of at least 150 people, anxiously lined up for Saturday’s afternoon session, which didn’t start for another… two hours. Seeing this first-hand raised my eyebrows, but taking the first sip of barrel-aged beer a little past noon almost made my eyes water. This stuff was not for the faint of heart, and that high-octane appeal brought out only the most fanatical beer lovers to the 15^th annual Festival of Barrel-Aged Beers. After getting a good buzz from imbibing in a few more sub-5oz sips, I realized FoBAB was a different beer festival than anything I had experienced before.

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Festival of Barrel Aged Beer (#FoBAB) 2017 Awards

The world’s largest barrel-aged beer competition — The Illinois Craft Beer Guild‘s Festival of Barrel Aged Beer (#FoBAB) in Chicago — is currently satisfying hoards of beer lovers. For breweries, it’s also a chance to see if their beer stood-out among the sea of special beers. The awards have been announced and our Chicago/Midwest editor, Mike Zoller, relayed the information as it happened. Here are the results — Congrats not only to the winners, but also every brewery that took the time to offer their beer to a thirsty, enthusiastic beer crowd.

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FoBAB—A National Barrel-Aged Party

Barrel-aged beers are the dope suits of the brewing world—looking good and ready for a party. Across the nation, brewery’s special releases and anniversary parties frequently involve something from a barrel, and bottle share parties are routinely marked by ice-filled buckets of barrel-aged whales. The Festival of Barrel Aged Beer (FoBAB) involves a sea of brewing alchemy; it’s the A-list party of brews. One will find special beer after special beer produced by some of the nation’s best breweries and barreling programs.

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