Suburban Chicago braced the polar vortex this past weekend for the first inaugural Naperville Winter Ale Fest. It didn't take long for fan-favorties to tap out, including the sour saison from upstart Transient Ales (above). The GBH Trophy Beer system worked its magic, highlighting some of the best of the fest, including:
Virtue Cider's Mitten — a barrel aged, naturally fermented cider from Michigan
Off Color Brewing's Troublesome — a tart wheat beer in the gose style
New Belgium x Cigar City's collaboration — a hopped up, marsh chile beer
Forbidden Root's namesake — a root beer inspired dark beer with tons of aromatics
Solemn Oath's Big Pern — a Woodford Reserve barrel aged brown ale
Transient's sour saison — light tart beer with some funk
Destihl's Counter Clock Weiss — a barrel-aged wild beer int eh Berlinerweiss style
Goose Island's Kisetsu — a sake and saison hybrid from the Fulton & Wood series
Firestone Walker's Wookey Jack — a citrusy black rye IPA, and a perennial favorite
Chicago's fertile crescent is alive and well.