🍹 Hyperboosted Hazies & Rare Bourbon: Happy Friday at Beer Bazaar Grayslake!
Happy Friday! Kristin is behind the bar tonight, and she’s brought some serious reinforcements for your weekend. From the “Hyperboosted” hop science of Hop Butcher to the rare return of Buffalo Trace, we’ve got something for every glass.
Stop by Beer Bazaar (107 Center Street, Grayslake, IL 60030) to secure these latest releases!
Blind Corner Brewery (Chicago, IL) | Visit Blind Corner
- Booter Hazy IPA (6% ABV): Featuring a “holy trinity” of Citra, Simcoe, and Mosaic hops. This IPA delivers a saturated fruit punch of fresh mango, orange, and grapefruit, layered with subtle hints of blueberry and resinous pine. It’s prized for its pillowy-soft mouthfeel and restrained bitterness.
- Exile At Home Hazy Pale Ale (5.2% ABV): A bright and crushable pale brewed with Lemondrop, Amarillo, and Cryo Citra. This beer “drifts between familiarity and distance,” offering aromatics of candied lemon peel, ripe tangerine, and soft mango flesh. It finishes with a slight dankness and a rindy, citrus-pit bitterness.
- Satirical Sincerity Hazy IPA (6.5% ABV): A tropical showcase of Galaxy, Cryo Citra, and Riwaka. Expect a “sly smirk” of a profile with notes of passionfruit pulp, lime zest, and late-season peach. The Riwaka adds a unique white wine grape snap that lingers with a crisp, vinous edge.
Brother Chimp Brewing (North Aurora, IL) | Visit Brother Chimp
- Bonobo Nut Brown (5.5% ABV): A classic English-style nut brown ale with a warm, malt-forward character. It offers deep notes of toasted brown bread, hazelnut, and biscuit, finishing with a lingering sweetness of milk-chocolate chips and toffee.
- Ludwig Vienna Lager (4.4% ABV): Dominated by a traditional Vienna malt presence, this lager provides a light toasty biscuit flavor. It is exceedingly smooth and clean, emphasizing malt depth over hop bitterness.
- Saorsa Wee Heavy (7.6% ABV): A sophisticated Scottish Strong Ale featuring a complex blend of crystal malts. Expect a big bouquet of grape, red berry, and cola, layered with burnt sugar and caramel. It bridges the gap between a Wee Heavy and an Imperial Red with a creamy, effervescent finish.
- Squatch of Galway Belgian Strong Ale (8.8% ABV): A powerful and refined collaboration with Wolfden Brewing. This deep mahogany ale is a masterclass in Belgian tradition, leading with a fragrant nose of caramelized brown sugar and dark stone fruits like fig and plum. Its complex yeast profile offers notes of peppery clove and warming spice. It is exceptionally smooth despite the high gravity, finishing with a rich, malty sweetness and a clean, effervescent snap.
Buffalo Trace Distillery (Frankfort, KY) | Visit Buffalo Trace
- Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon: (Restocked!) The legendary gold standard is back. This bourbon is celebrated for its complex aroma of vanilla, mint, and molasses. The palate is pleasantly sweet with notes of brown sugar and spice, giving way to a long finish of toasted oak and leather.
Hop Butcher for the World (Chicago, IL) | Visit Hop Butcher
- Euchre Music Extra Pale Ale (4.5% ABV): A sessionable masterpiece featuring Nelson Sauvin and Nectaron. It delivers a sophisticated profile of crushed white grape, gooseberry, and fuzzy peach with a clean, effervescent finish and low alcohol for all-day enjoyment.
- Finger Food American IPA (7% ABV): A cutting-edge brew utilizing Citra, Nelson Sauvin, Anchovy, and Citra Hyperboost hops. The “Hyperboost” provides an intense oil saturation, resulting in concentrated flavors of watermelon candy, ripe mango, and tangerine peel. It is exceptionally round and creamy with a dry, clean fade.
- Unwind Your Mind Hazy IPA (7.5% ABV): Hopped with Mosaic, Motueka, and El Dorado. This hazy sails through a “supple sea” of pineapple, orange blossom, and grapefruit. Mango nuances cradle a citrusy vessel, while dank whispers of pine and floral botanicals ground the dry finale.
Nik & Ivy Brewing (Lockport, IL) | Visit Nik & Ivy
- 1853 Vanilla Cream Ale (5.1% ABV): Named for the year Lockport was incorporated, this is a light and crisp connection to history. It offers a smooth vanilla aroma and taste, balanced by just enough hop bitterness to remind you it’s a craft beer.
- Fat Mike Chicago Lager (5% ABV): A collaboration with 12/52 Sports Entertainment, this is an American Lager designed for stadium crushing. It pours a light gold and offers a clean, easy, and crisp finish with a subtle cereal-malt sweetness.
- Rip & Spin American IPA (6.2% ABV): A collaboration with Black Dog Vinyl Cafe infused with Acapulco Gold terpenes. This throwback IPA is loaded with resiny pine and fresh-peeled citrus rind, with the dankness turned “up to 11” for an aromatic, herbal experience.
- Socks & Flip Flops Scottish Ale (7.4% ABV): A robust and malt-driven ale that leans into rich caramelized malts. Expect a profile defined by toffee and biscuit sweetness with a subtle, earthy peaty note that lingers on the finish.
Phase Three Brewing Company (Lake Zurich, IL) | Visit Phase Three
- Pixel Hazy IPA (6.5% ABV): A dedicated Citra showcase that pours a hazy, resinous yellow. It releases dramatic aromas of orange creamsicle, guava, and pineapple. The palate features moderately sweet mango and coconut flavors, carried by a medium-bodied, soft carbonation that makes it incredibly drinkable.
Revolution Brewing (Chicago, IL) | Visit Revolution
- Cold Time Lager (4.8% ABV): (Restocked!) Made with just four pure ingredients—Great Lakes water, Midwest barley, Mexican lager yeast, and German hops. Brewed “low and slow” for four weeks, it refreshes with a clean, crackery malt base and a never-pasteurized, brewery-fresh flavor.
Tighthead Brewing Company (Mundelein, IL) | Visit Tighthead
- Chilly Water Pale Ale (4.8% ABV): (Restocked!) A wheat-based pale ale that stands out with a softer mouthfeel. Generously hopped with Citra, Amarillo, and Zythos, it delivers vibrant mango and tangerine aromatics with a dry, lightly rindy bitterness.
- Comfortably Blonde (4.8% ABV): (Restocked!) An easy-drinking balance of light malty sweetness and subtle floral/citrus hop notes. It is the quintessential smooth-bodied blonde ale.
- Scarlet Fire Red Ale (5.6% ABV): (Restocked!) A GABF Gold Medal winner. This Irish-style red balances caramel malt sweetness with toasty roasted barley, finished with classic East Kent Golding hops.
