ImBIBE Presale: 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:
Extremely limited availability. Includes private access to the Green Room, a spacious area to sit and enjoy! Includes: cans of crisp lager from the Lager Lounge, private water station, concession food stipend, 2026 FoBAB exclusive Green Room glass, FoBAB bag, FoBAB taster koozie. Access to a private fire pit area outside. Plus, meet past FoBAB medal winners. Ticket: $250, 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
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 Wednesday, November 5.
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 Wednesday, November 5.

The Tasting Sessions
Experience FoBAB at two tasting sessions, each featuring over 250 expertly crafted beers, ciders, meads, and perries across 14 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