2024 Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer
Credit Union 1 Arena
525 S Racine Ave, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
Illinois
41.8748298
-87.6562537
Description
The Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer returns to Chicago November 22-23, 2024, convening the nation’s top barrel-aged brewing programsfor a showcase of brewing craftsmanship and innovation that only happens here.
The Tasting Sessions
Experience FoBAB at two tasting sessions (Friday Nov. 22 and Saturday Nov. 23) featuring 350+ expertly crafted beers, ciders, meads, and perries across 13 unique style categories—all of which are thoughtfully hand-crafted and aged in contact with wood or wood barrels, and many of which are brewed exclusively for the festival.
Explore two unique spaces offering bird’s-eye views of the festival floor and a reprieve from the traditional higher ABV samples poured at FoBAB. The second-floor Lager Lounge is packed with lagers from 20+ local breweries, while the Super-Zero Lounge will be stocked with Revolution Brewery’s hop-forward water for those seeking an NA option.
And, outdoors, our friends at Bardstown Bourbon Company will be spouring bourbon blends straight from their award-winning Kentucky distillery.
VIP Raffle Experience
New this year, attendees will have the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets to SKIP THE LINE and be named the ULTIMATE FOBAB VIP. FIVE winners each session (plus a friend) will get a special badge to skip the line for pours throughout the festival, including Goose Island, Lager Lounge, and Bardstown (just can’t hit the same line back-to-back). One grand prize winner each session will get the VIP treatment, including one-hour early entry to the festival, a skip-the-line badge, and access to our Brewers and Sponsors Lounges, which are stocked with beer and catered food!
Credit Union 1 Arena
525 S. Racine Ave. | Chicago, IL 60607
Session 1 | Friday, November 22
6:00 – 10:00 p.m. (ImBIBE entry at 5:00 p.m.)
Session 2 | Saturday November 23
1:00 – 5:00 p.m. (ImBIBE entry at 12:00 p.m.)
General admission tickets are $85 plus processing and go on sale Friday, September 13. Festival space is limited, so purchase tickets quickly to reserve your spot!
The Competition + Award Ceremony
Each year, barrel-aging brewing masters from coast to coast submit their original wood and barrel-aged beer, cider, mead and perry for judging. A panel of expert judges and industry stewards evaluate all FoBAB entries, awarding gold, silver, and bronze medals as well as ‘Best in Show’ honors across 13 unique style categories.
The award ceremony will be hosted during Session #2 and livestreamed on the FoBAB Facebook page and the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild’s YouTube channel. The results will be published on www.fobab.com.
1. Strong Porter & Stout
2. Specialty Strong Porter & Stout
3. Barleywine/Wheatwine
4. Other Pale Beer
5. Lagers
6. Other Dark Beer
7. Fruit Beer
8. Specialty & Experimental Beer
9. Wild Beer-Brett
10. Wild Beer-Mixed Culture/Acidic
11. Wild Beer-Mixed Culture/Acidic with Fruit
12. Cider/Perry Mead
13. Blended Beer
*Categories are subject to change
NEW Fan Favorite Award
This year, we’re putting YOU in the judging chair, asking FoBAB attendees to nominate their “Fan favorite” FoBAB pour. To nominate a beer for “Fan Favorite,”, share the name and photo of the beer on Instagram or X, tagging @FoBAB and including #FoBABFanFav. Nominations will be open through 2:00 p.m. during Session 2, and the Fan Favorite will be announced at the end of the FoBAB Award ceremony.
FoBAB Code of Conduct
Illinois Craft Brewers Guild (ICBG) is dedicated to providing a friendly, safe, supportive, and harassment-free event for all attendees and participants regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, sexual identity, gender expression, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion or group identity. The code of conduct outlines Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer expectations for all event attendees and participants, including all organizers, volunteers, brewers, sponsors, media representatives, and judges. Cooperation is expected from everyone, and organizers will actively enforce this code throughout this event. We will not tolerate harassment in any form. Anyone violating these rules may be asked to leave the event at the sole discretion of ICBG. Thank you for helping make this a welcoming event for all. If anyone makes you feel unsafe or unwelcome or if you observe someone else in a situation of discomfort, please report it to a volunteer or organizer on site.
Facebook | Festival of Wood & Barrel Aged Beers
Twitter | @FoBABOfficial
Instagram | @FoBAB
Hashtags | #FoBAB24 #BetterInBarrels
Times
Start:
2024-11-22T18:00:00-06:00
End:
2024-11-23T22:00:00-06:00
Category
Food & Drink
Tickets
Session 1 - Fri. Nov 22, 6:00pm entry
85.0
USD
2300
Session 2 - Sat. Nov 23, 1:00pm entry
85.0
USD
2300