Binny's Blog

In 2017 Odd Side Ales took home Gold in the Specialty Ale category at GABF for their Sweet Potato Soufflé Rye Ale. In 2019 they did it again, this time for Rye Hipster Brunch Stout, a treasured release that took Silver in 2017.

To celebrate our 70th Anniversary, we headed to Firestone Walker’s Barrelworks facility, home to their award winning wild and sour ales. Our goal - to blend California terroir with a tropical treasure of the Midwest, the paw paw fruit.

If you’ve been to one of Ballast Point’s locations out in San Diego, you know they have always been big on R&D. After a recent visit to their Chicago location, we’re happy to report that research and development is alive and well at this captivating new space in Fulton Market.

Sauternes has the unfortunate distinction of being a wine everyone loves, but few people actually drink. It suffers from the perception that wine must be dry to be fine.

“Americans are allergic to bad vintages,” observed one person in Bordeaux during a recent trip. I couldn’t disagree. The view here is often absolute: a vintage is either good or bad. And people don’t want to drink “bad” vintages.

As we gear up to focus on Bordeaux for the month of September it seems fitting to recap the annual Binny's en premier trip.

In the world of craft beer, IPA is king. At last year’s Great American Beer Festival, the number of American-Style IPA submissions dwarfed all others at 408 entries!

We fell in love with Pollyanna Fun Size at first taste and its ramped up imperial cousin left us speechless. Eager for a glimpse at the magic behind this remarkable beer, we took a trip to Pollyanna to brew a batch.

The relentless wave of IPAs keeps rolling in. Session, Sour, Double, Hazy, New England, Milkshake… we make sense of all the haze and call out our favorites.

Noon Whistle is a remarkably open place. From propped doors and windows, to a wide-open brew house, a visit to their Lombard location is an unobscured look at the laborious world of brewing.