24th Annual Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer

 The Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer returns to Chicago November 13-14, 2026, convening the nation’s top barrel-aged brewing programs for a showcase of brewing craftsmanship and innovation that only happens here.

Credit Union 1 Arena
525 S. Racine Ave. | Chicago, IL 60607
Session 1 | Friday, November 13
6:00 – 10:00 p.m. (ImBIBE entry at 5:00 p.m.)
Session 2 | Saturday, November 14
1:00 – 5:00 p.m. (ImBIBE entry at 12:00 p.m.)
General admission tickets are $85 plus processing and go on sale Thursday, September 17. Festival space is limited, so purchase tickets quickly to reserve your spot!

NEW THIS YEAR: FoBAB VIP GREEN ROOM EXPERIENCE:
A limited-availability ticket that includes private access to the Green Room, cans of crisp lager from the Lager Lounge, a private water station, a concession food stipend, an exclusive 2026 FoBAB Green Room glass, a FoBAB bag, and a FoBAB taster koozie, plus access to a private fire pit area outside. Ticket: $250 each, very limited quantities available.

RAFFLES

EARLY BIRD RAFFLE: Purchase your FoBAB ticket by Friday, September 18 at 11:59 p.m. to be entered to win a special FoBAB drawstring bag filled with items for FoBAB lovers, including glassware, t-shirts, and more. Five winners will be randomly selected and announced on stage during each session. FREE entry with early bird ticket purchase.
SKIP THE LINE: FIVE winners (plus a friend) each session will win a SKIP THE LINE badge good throughout the festival (just can’t hit the same line back-to-back). Winners will be announced on Thursday, November 5. $5 raffle ticket.
ULTIMATE FOBAB UPGRADE: THREE winners (plus a friend) each session will win the ULTIMATE FOBAB UPGRADE prize, complete with one-hour early entry to the festival, a skip-the-line badge, and access to our Brewers and Sponsors Lounge, which are stocked with beer and catered food! Winners will be announced on Thursday, November 5. $10 raffle ticket.

The Tasting Sessions
Experience FoBAB at two tasting sessions, each featuring over 250 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. Concession-style food will be available for purchase throughout the venue.

2026 FoBAB style categories include:

Strong Porter/Stout
Specialty Strong Porter/Stout (adjunct stouts)
Barleywine/Wheatwine/Ryewine
Blended Beer
Other Pale Beer (beers under 7.5%)
BA Lagers
Other Dark Beer
Fruit beer
Specialty & Experimental Beer
Wild Beer-Brett
Wild Beer Mixed Culture/Acidic
Wild Beer Mixed Culture/Acidic with Fruit
Cider/Perry/Mead

The Lager Lounge
Tickets include access to the second-floor Lager Lounge, which is stocked with lighter pours from dozens of local breweries. Sip on the latest pours and trending brews from across Illinois while enjoying a bird’s-eye view of the festival floor and a reprieve from the traditional higher ABV samples poured at FoBAB. 

The Competition
The FoBAB Awards recognize the innovators and risk-takers—brewers who push the boundaries of what’s possible to create some of the most complex, time-intensive, and meticulously crafted barrel-aged beer, cider, mead, and perry in the world.
A panel of expert judges and industry professionals evaluates every FoBAB entry, awarding gold, silver, and bronze medals, along with coveted ‘Best in Show’ honors across 13 unique style categories.
The excitement culminates during Session #2, when the FoBAB Awards ceremony takes place live at the festival and is livestreamed on the FoBAB Facebook page and the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild YouTube channel, giving beer lovers near and far a front-row seat to the celebration. The results will be published on www.fobab.com. 

FAN FAVORITE AWARD: For the second year, attendees are invited to step into the judging seat by voting for their favorite FoBAB entry. Ballot boxes will be positioned throughout the venue, so once you’ve identified your favorite pour, submit your written nomination to the ballot box. The ‘Fan Favorite’ award will be announced at each session. 

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 | #FoBAB26 #BetterInBarrels 

2026 Participating Breweries
 
2Toms Brewing Company 
3 Floyds Brewing 
3 Sheeps Brewing 
Adams Street Brewery
Akronym Brewing
Barn Town Brewing 
BBGB Brewery 
Begyle Brewing 
Benchtop Brewing Company 
Big Grove Brewery 
Black Horizon Brewing 
Black Lung Brewing 
Boulevard Brewhouse One 
Boulevard Brewing Company 
Branch & Bone Artisan Ales 
Braxton Brewing Company 
Breakside Brewery 
Brewer’s Kitchen
Brother Chimp Brewing 
Brothership Brewing
Brutalist Brewing Cooperative 
Bubblehouse Brewing Company 
Cahaba Brewing Company 
Cerebral Brewing – Aurora Arts 
Cerebral Brewing – Congress Park 
Church Street 
Cruz Blanca Brewery 
Derive Brewing Company 
DESTIHL Brewery 
Dough Daddy Brewery 
Eighty-Three Brewery
Ever Grain Brewing
False Idol Brewing 
Final Gravity Brewing Company 
Finback Brewing
Firestone Walker Brewing Co. 
Firestone Walker Barrelworks 
Firestone Walker Propagator 
Flipside Brewing 
Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery 
Forbidden Root Chicago
Forbidden Root Columbus 
Forgotten Road Ales 
Full Mile Beer Co. & Kitchen 
G5 Brewing 
Go Brewing 
Good Times Brewery 
Goose Island Beer Co. 
Grimm Artisanal Ales 
Hailstorm Brewing
Hairless Hare Brewery 
Half Acre 
Haymarket Brewery and Taproom 
Haymarket Pub and Brewery 
Hidden Hand Brewing 
Homewood Brewing 
Horse Thief Hollow 
Humble Forager Brewery 
Idyll Forest Artisan Ales 
Imperial Oak Brewing – Brookfield 
Imperial Oak Brewing – Willow Springs 
Jackie O’s 
Jukes Ale Works
Keg Grove Brewing Company 
Kinslahger Brewing 
Kros Strain Brewing 
Lake Effect Brewing 
Lake Time Brewing and Spirits 
Lakefront Brewery 
Loose Ends Brewing 
Lunar Brewing Company 
Lupulin Brewing Company 
Mangata Beer Co. 
Maplewood Brewery & Distillery 
Masthead Brewing Company 
Middle Brow 
Midwest Coast Brewing 
Mikerphone Brewing 
Milieu Fermentation 
Millpond Brewing 
Monochrome Brewing 
Moody Tongue Brewery 
More Brewing Company- Bartlett  
More Brewing Company – Huntley
More Brewing Company – Villa Park
Movement Brewing Co. 
Neuronova Brewing 
New Groove Artisan Brewery 
New Holland Brewing 
Nightshade and Dark’s 
Nik and Ivy Brewing 
Niles Brewing Company 
Nine Giant Brewing 
Noon Whistle Brewing-Lombard
Noon Whistle Brewing-Naperville
Off Color Brewing – Mousetrap 
Off Color Brewing – Production 
Old Irving Brewing Co. 
Old Irving Brewing- Production
One Lake Brewing 
Open Outcry Brewing 
Other Half Brewing 
Penrose Brewing Company 
pFriem Family Brewers 
Phase Three Brewing- Chicago
Phase Three Brewing- Lake Zurich
Pipeworks Brewing Co 
Pollyanna Brewing & Distilling 
Printer’s Row Brewing 
Pryes Brewing Company 
Raised Grain Brewing Co. 
Reserve Artisan Ales 
Resident Culture Brewing 
Resident Culture Brewing – The Market at 7th Street 
Revolution Brewing 
River North Brewery 
River North Brewery- RiNO
Riverlands Brewing Company 
Roaring Table 
Scorched Earth Brewing 
Scribbled Lines Brewing Company 
Seedz Brewery 
Shoreline Brewery 
Sketchbook Brewing Co. – Evanston
Sketchbook Brewing Co. – Skokie
Solemn Oath Brewery 
Soundgrowler Brewing Co. 
Streetside Brewery 
Subculture Artisan Ales 
Sun King Brewery-Fishers
Sun King Brewery-Indianapolis
Sun King Brewery-Westfield
Tangled Roots Brewing 
The Brew Kettle 
The Dayton Beer Company 
The Lost Abbey 
The Tap Brewery 
The Veil Brewing Co. 
Third Eye Brewing Company-Hamilton 
Third Eye Brewing Company-Sharonville 
Tighthead Brewing Company
Transient Artisan Ales 
Treehive 
Trellis Brewing 
UPP Liquids
Urbanrest Brewing
Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project 
Verboten North Brew Pub 
Wandering Monsters 
Warped Wing Brewing Co. 
Water Street Brewery 
WeldWerks Brewing Co. 
Werk Force Brewing Co 
White Oak Brewing 
Wolfden Brewing Company 
Yazoo Brewing