E. Jason Wambsgans / baiduhaiDead Ringer is described as a "traditional marzen lager" on its label but that's a bit misleading; Dead Ringer is no traditional marzen. But it is a terrific beer and an ideal match for summer's segue into fall. Read more about Dead Ringer here.
Michael Tercha / baiduhaiA beer for summer sipping: Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales' Bam Biere Farmhouse Ale. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Michael Tercha/baiduhaiIn WarPigs Lazurite IPA, the requisite fruit flavors of the modern IPA are in abundance, offset by honey and faint grassy bitter pine. Read the story here.
Michael Tercha / baiduhaiShort's Brewing's Bellaire Brown has an alluring web of flavors: toffee, caramel, milk chocolate and even a wisp of coconut. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Michael Tercha / baiduhaiSierra Nevada's Hop Hunter IPA uses hop oil for a robust hop effect. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Michael Tercha / baiduhaiBoulder Beer goes all in on the chocolate with Shake Chocolate Porter, which features chocolate wheat malt and cacao nibs. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Abel Uribe/baiduhaiSpeakerswagon is one of Chicago's essential local(-ish) canned pilsners. For the story, go here.
Michael Tercha / baiduhaiLiliko'i Kepolo, a white ale by Avery Brewing Co., is lightly tart, which both refreshes and rejuvenates the palate, great for a hot day on the beach. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.More Top Picks Best Winter Boots For The Cold
E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhaiAmerican-style stout remains an outlier in American brewing, but Haymarket's The Defender provides a faultless example of the style. See the full story here.
Zbigniew Bzdak/baiduhaiSun King Brewery's Wee Mac Scottish-style Ale is dark brown, approachable and malt-forward, an easy-drinking beer that will go great with hearty food. See the story here.
E. Jason Wambsgans / baiduhaiPseudo Sue Pale Ale, from Toppling Goliath Brewing (Decorah, Iowa). If the T. rex on the can looks familiar, it should — that's Chicago's beloved Sue, who stands proudly at the Field Museum. For the full story, go here.
Bill Hogan / baiduhaiGoose Island has released The Illinois, a remarkably fresh limited-edition imperial India pale ale. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Bill Hogan / baiduhaiShady Character is the perfect spiced porter to usher in fall. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Bill Hogan, baiduhaiOude Geuze Boon Ale is a classic and fascinating Belgian geuze. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Abel Uribe / baiduhaiCashmere Hammer Nitro Stout by 3 Sheeps Brewing is a robust, yet easy-drinking stout carbonated with nitrogen, resulting in a smoother, silkier body with richer flavor. For the full story, go here.
Michael Tercha / baiduhaiBuckleDown Brewing's Clencher Double IPA explodes with notes of lush tropical fruit: mango, peach, pineapple and apricot, which meld into a big juicy bomb of a beer. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Michael Tercha / baiduhaiLike Minds Brewing Co.'s Archimedes 100 percent Brett fermented IPA boasts an array of citrus fruit and hay aromas that tingle the nose, followed by a bitter fruitiness on the palate. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
E. Jason Wambsgans / baiduhaiTry Grapefruit Sculpin IPA with a burger topped with tangy ingredients, like pickled peppers. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Bill Hogan / baiduhaiFlanders Red pops with lots of jamlike flavor and will appeal to red wine and savvy beer drinkers alike. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
E. Jason Wambsgans / baiduhaiLeft Hand Brewing released Hard Wired Nitro as the brewery's first seasonal offering on nitro. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Terrence Antonio James/baiduhaiDeep Space from Half Acre is a gloriously fruity-bitter-boozy hop bomb that's impossibly easy to drink. For the full story, go here.
Bill Hogan / baiduhaiApex Predator shines as a locally made farmhouse ale. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Michael Tercha / baiduhaiPouring a deep amber-brown, Grand Cru from AleSmith Brewing Company has a seductive earthy-sweet nose, mingling notes of plum, peach, berry, honey and burnt sugar with just a touch of yeasty funk. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Zbigniew Bzdak / baiduhaiMaduro Brown Ale is the first beer that Cigar City made when launching in 2007, and it remains a core piece of the brewery's identity. For the full story, go here.
Michael Tercha / baiduhaiFordidden Root's Money on My Rind Wheat Ale is a traditional wit recipe, but with two key tweaks: grapefruit peel (and grapefruit juice) replace orange peel, and juniper replaces coriander. The result is a pitch-perfect beer for hot summer days. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Bill Hogan / baiduhaiAllagash White is a wit beer for craft beer veterans and rookies alike. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
E. Jason Wambsgans / baiduhaiUinta Brewing's Dubhe, from Salt Lake City, Utah, is an imperial black IPA made with hemp seed. For the full story, go here.
Abel Uribe / baiduhaiTwo Brothers Domaine DuPage has been around so long that it's easy to forget, but it's worth remembering in the summer. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Bill Hogan / baiduhaiRevolution Brewing and Firestone Walker collaborated on Dos Osos, an excellent IPA. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhaiCeske Temny by Hailstorm Brewing in Tinley Park is meant to be a simple, old-school, easy-drinking beer all the way down to its name, which translates simply to "Czech dark." A beer with such little alcohol — less than a Budwesier! — has no business being this flavorful and satisfying. Hailstorm's entire lager line is impressive, but Ceske Temny is a standout. For more on the beer, see the full story here.
Michael Tercha / baiduhaiWith mango, tangerine and a spry grassy freshness, Surly Brewing Company's Xtra-Citra Pale Ale shows why fruity Citra hops have been all the rage for the last few years. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Abel Uribe / baiduhaiOrange Sunshine, the first canned beer from tiny Illuminated Brew Works on Chicago's Near West Side is dubbed a "citrus saison" by the brewery. Expect a well-hopped ale featuring orange and lemon zest and farmhouse yeast. For the full story, go here.
Josh Noel/baiduhaiJohn Laffler, co-founder and brewer at Chicago's Off Color Brewing, pours Scurry, a dark, German-style ale made with honey, oats and molasses, at Off Color's Lincoln Park brewery. "We love Scurry; it's one of the most popular beers for the people who work at the brewery. I don't drink at home, but I always bring Scurry home with me. It's a beer I can drink a half-liter of very, very happily." For the full story, go here.
Abel Uribe/baiduhai; Shannon Kinsella/food stylingSurly Brewing's Abrasive is a throwback double IPA, rife with fruitiness but balanced against marked bitterness. For the story, go here.
E. Jason Wambsgans / baiduhaiTable by Central State Brewingis a "rustic blonde ale," though in beer speak it is a "table beer" — a bright, earthy, low-alcohol ale popular in the Belgian and French traditions meant to appeal to a broad swath of drinkers and pair well with a meal. For the full story, go here.
E. Jason Wambsgans / baiduhaiTable Rustic Blonde Ale takes its name from "table beer," a bright, earthy, low-alcohol ale meant to appeal to a broad swath of drinkers and go with a meal. For the full story, go here.
Michael Tercha / baiduhaiFist City was supposed to be a one-time offering, but a fevered reaction led Revolution to continue making the beer. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Abel Uribe / baiduhaiMoody Tongue's Caramelized Chocolate Churro Baltic Porter makes a great companion for the foods of Thanksgiving. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Abel Uribe / baiduhaiHop Bullet Double IPA (Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.) was introduced in 2017 as a spring seasonal in bottles, but it sold so well — it was the brewery's fastest-selling spring or fall seasonal in five years — that the beer was shifted to full-time production in cans. Read more about the beer here.
Bill Hogan / baiduhaiLa Fin du Monde is a weighty, rewarding tripel. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
E. Jason Wambsgans / baiduhaiEmpirical's Gamma-Ray Ginger Wheat is a wheat beer with a punch of ginger, not a ginger beer. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
E. Jason Wambsgans / baiduhaiFun Size Milk Stout from Pollyanna Brewing is made with peanut, cacao nib, vanilla beans and sea salt that is meant to emulate a Snickers bar. Yes, really. It's good. We promise. For the full story, go here.
Zbigniew Bzdak/baiduhai; Shannon Kinsella/food stylingSamuel Smith Nut Brown Ale is brewed by Samuel Smith Old Brewery in Tadcaster, U.K., in existence since 1758. The brewery continues to cling to tradition: drawing water from its 261-year-old well, fermenting beer in open-top stone squares and relying on its proprietary ale yeast that dates to the early 1900s. The brewery also largely sticks to classic beer styles, including its Nut Brown Ale. Be sure not to drink it too cold — about 48 degrees is ideal — so that the malt-forward nuances emerge. Nut Brown is newly available in 440-milliliter (almost 15 ounces) cans that are sold only in the U.S. For more, see the full story here.
E. Jason Wambsgans / baiduhaiThough many juicelike IPAs veer toward too much sweetness, Tart n' Juicy, veers toward tartness (the best kind of grapefruit juice), bathed in floral softness. Read the story here.
E. Jason Wambsgans / baiduhaiOutside the brewpub, BrickStone APA had been available only occasionally on draft or in bottles. But now it's canned and has wider distribution. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Abel Uribe/baiduhaiMind Haze marks Firestone Walker Brewing's entry into the hazy IPA craze. Creating a hazy IPA with national reach was a lengthy process for Firestone Walker, but it's a quality beer with an interesting twist: The brewery calls Mind Haze an IPA, but only sort of considers it an IPA. In reality, it's a deft hybrid. For Firestone Walker brewmaster Matt Brynildson's explanation, go here.
Michael Zajakowski / baiduhaiPerfect for winter, Santa's Little Helper is an imperial stout with a big punch. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Bill Hogan / baiduhaiChocolate Milk Stout from 4 Hands Brewing bursts with chocolate-vanilla sweetness with hints of butterscotch and creme brulee. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Bill Hogan, baiduhaiPenrose Brewing Desirous is a locally made white India pale ale with beautiful balance. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Bill Hogan / baiduhaiBaba Black Lager is dark in color but light and refreshing on the palate. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Michael Tercha / baiduhaiAyinger Oktober Fest-Marzen features a pronounced sweetness of caramel and caramelized pumpkin on the palate. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.More Top Picks Best Infrared Patio Heaters
Michael Tercha, baiduhaiGreat Lakes Brewing's Oktoberfest is among the very best of the style. Everything about this lovely copper-amber ale shouts fall. RELATED: Read our full review of this beer.
Abel Uribe / baiduhaiCat Spit Stout, brewed by St. Louis's 2nd Shift Brewing, is a phenomenally smooth and silky oatmeal milk stout — pure splendor for the depth of winter. For the full story, go here.
E. Jason Wambsgans / baiduhai
1 of 53
Dead Ringer is described as a "traditional marzen lager" on its label but that's a bit misleading; Dead Ringer is no traditional marzen. But it is a terrific beer and an ideal match for summer's segue into fall.
<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/ct-food-beer-of-month-september-0912-story.html">Read more about Dead Ringer here</a>.
ExpandBy Josh Noel
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
I’m going to level with you.
I’ve been featuring a different beer every month in the pages of the baiduhai for nearly five years, and at least once a year, I wind up resorting to a backup plan: Some beer that’s perfectly good but wasn’t the intended beer of the month for whatever reason. (Usually that reason pertains to availability; the last thing I want to do is recommend a beer that readers won’t be able to find.)
But looking over my list of 2015 beers of the month, there isn’t a backup plan in the bunch — I proudly place my byline alongside all 12. These beers were picked based on the season (usually a touch heavier during the colder months), industry developments (March, April, May and October were all newly released) and sometimes just because (June was a classic deserving some praise).
So here’s the rundown of 2015 beers of the month, with links.
Happy drinking in 2016!
January Flanders Red (Destihl Brewing)
February Chocolate Milk Stout (4 Hands Brewing)
March Hop Hunter (Sierra Nevada Brewing)
April Grapefruit Sculpin (Ballast Point Brewing)
May Fist City (Revolution Brewing)
June Domaine DuPage (Two Brothers Brewing)
July Bam Biere (Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales)
August Gamma-Ray Ginger Wheat (Empirical Brewery)
September Oktoberfest (Great Lakes Brewing Co.)
October APA (Brickstone Brewery)
November Caramelized Chocolate Churro Baltic Porter (Moody Tongue Brewing)
December Shake Chocolate Porter (Boulder Beer Co.)
Click for roundups from 2014, 2013 and 2012.
[email protected]
Twitter @joshbnoel