Is/Was Brewing

Chicago, IL

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All beers · Is/Was Brewing

  • Is/Was Methode Dust

    Saison · 6.2% ABV

    Are you prepared for the Dust-Based Economy? When the apocalypse (zombie or otherwise) inevitably comes to bare and the international monetary system is reduced to rubble only one currency will hol...
  • Is/Was Bourgeois Daydream

    Saison · 3.2% ABV

    Bourgeois Daydream is a flower growing through cracks in the concrete. Beautiful and welcomed but unexpected in a world full of hard craggy edges...
  • Is/Was Bourgeois Daydream (With Brett)

    Saison · 3.2% ABV

    During bottling we split this bach and packaged about half with a blend of brettanomyces for an additional layer of complexity.
  • Is/Was The Finer Points of Bad Behavior: Volume I

    Saison · 6.1% ABV

    The first in a series of saisons that pair seasonal ingredients with specific strains of Brettanomyces, 'The Finer Points of Bad Behavior: Volume 1' pairs fresh peaches from Mick Klug Farms with a ...
  • Is/Was What Does Time Taste Like

    Biere de Garde · 4.7% ABV

    Same base malt as Hop Butcher's version, with different fermentation.
  • Goldfinger + Is/Was Rotbier

    Lager · 4.8% ABV

    Our Rotbier relies on a delicate balance between grain-forward characteristics and pleasant, malt-derived fruitiness...
  • Is/Was + Goldfinger Rot Rustical

    Saison · 6.5% ABV

    The resulting beer has unique notes of raisins, walnuts, freshly steeped black tea, dried cherries, toffee, gumballs, and dried elderflower.
  • Is/Was + Goldfinger Rot Rustical (With Brettanomyces)

    Saison · 6.5% ABV

    Rot Rustical is a true collaboration with our friends at Goldfinger. It was inspired by the fiery-red ‘Rotbier’ lagers of Bavaria...
  • Is/Was Perceived Distance

    Saison · 5.1% ABV

    Perceived Distance is a collaboration with friends from about as far away as they can live and hops from about as close as they can be grown...
  • Is/Was The Finer Points Of Bad Behavior: Volume 2

    Saison · 6.1% ABV

    This volume pairs melons with a strain of Brettanomyces that is know for its refined funkiness...
  • Afterthought + Is/Was This & That (Gin Barrel Aged)

    Farmhouse Ale · 5.2% ABV

    Collaboration with Is/Was Brewing. Saison brewed with triticale plus Callista and Grungeist hops. Fermented in a gin barrel with our mixed saison culture.
  • Funkytown + Is/Was Funkytown It

    Smoked Beer · 5.0% ABV

    This beer was crafted to be food-friendly, paired with cajun or savory food. With notes of fig, stonefruit, peach, peppercorn with a slight smoke finish to dry out the palate...
  • Hidden Hand + Is/Was Wilderness of Illusions

    Saison · 7.6% ABV

    A sublimey citrusy, dry peach saison with delicate notes of white peppercorn, bubble gum, and lemon peel. Brewed in collaboration with Chicago's Is/was Brewing.
  • Is/Was + Afterthought This & That (with Brettanomyces)

    Saison · 4.9% ABV

    This & That is a collaboration with our friends at Afterthought Brewing. It is built on a foundation of Sugar Creek Wind Malt and triticale...
  • Is/Was Bala

    Table Beer · 4.5% ABV

    Bala is a very limited and special beer...
  • Is/Was Bend Toward Daylight

    American Wild Ale · 3.5% ABV

    Notes of grapefruit, sandalwood, yellow Gatorade, cedar, and cucumber with a light, quenching acidity and a hint of woody tannin on the finish.
  • Is/Was Bourgeois Daydreams w/ Montmorency Cherries

    Table Beer · 3.2% ABV

    Bourgeois Daydream is a flower growing through cracks in the concrete. Beautiful and welcomed but unexpected in a world full of hard craggy edges...
  • Is/Was Finer Points Of Bad Behavior Volume XV

    Fruited Sour · 6.1% ABV

    Volume XV pairs Balaton Cherries from our friends at Mick Klug Farms and Brettanomyces Lambicus which is known for its cherry pie meets leather characteristics...
  • Is/Was + Funkytown It Is What It Was

    Saison · 5.1% ABV

    We got together with our friends at Funkytown Brewery and set out to make a perfect ‘food beer’, specifically one to pair with creole or cajun cuisine...
  • Is/Was + Heavy Duty Sepia

    Biere de Garde

    Sepia is an Amber Biere de Garde brewed with our friends at Heavy Duty in Copenhagen. It represents our mutual commitment to beer flavored beer and classic styles...
  • Is/Was + Hop Butcher for the World Welcome To Gardesville

    Biere de Garde · 6.5% ABV

    Welcome to Gardesville is a question we asked with our Friends at Hop Butcher For the World.
  • Is/Was + Hop Butcher for the World Welcome to Gardesville with Brettanomyces

    Biere de Garde · 6.5% ABV

    Welcome to Gardesville is a question we asked with our Friends at Hop Butcher For the World...
  • Is/Was If/When

    Saison · 5.7% ABV

    Collaboration with Hopewell Brewing. Saison with malted Carolina gold rice.
  • Is/Was Imaging The Future

    Saison · 5.8% ABV

    A beautiful balance of bright floral notes, strawberries, and rooibos tea with richer notes of toffee, caramel, all spice, cinnamon, burnt honey, and bananas foster.
  • Is/Was Joiners

    Saison · 5.2% ABV

    Welcome to Joiners, the Bière de Miel with Tim and Danny where we explore the world of hospitality by chatting with its most colorful characters...
  • Is/Was + Keeping Together The Beings For Whom Being Matters

    Saison · 4.9% ABV

    The Beings For Whom Being Matters is about examination, exploration, and depth...
  • Is/Was + Keeping Together The Beings For Whom Being Matters - Bottle Conditioned w/ Keeping Together's Mixed Culture

    Saison · 4.9% ABV

    The Beings For Whom Being Matters is about examination, exploration, and depth...
  • Is/Was Le Petit Epeaute W/ Brett

    Farmhouse Ale · 5.2% ABV

    Our collaboration with Sundial Brewing & Blending comes out of our mutual admiration for saisons that exist in two worlds at the same time - paying respect to the earthy, funky, artisanal roots of ...
  • Is/Was Levain

    Saison · 5.5% ABV

    Mashed with raw spelt from Janie’s Mill, hopped with aged whole cone hops then fermented and ripened in used oak wine barrels with a blend of our house saison yeast, our favorite strains of brettan...
  • Is/Was Levain Blend #2

    Saison · 5.5% ABV

    Fermented in oak barrels
  • Is/Was Levain Blend #3 (2023)

    Saison · 5.5% ABV

    Levain is a long time coming. The culmination of our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about the microorganisms that allow us to make beer...
  • Is/Was Levain Blend #3 Conditioned on Fresh Bergamot Juice and Zest (2023)

    Saison · 5.5% ABV

    Levain is a long time coming. The culmination of our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about the microorganisms that allow us to make beer...
  • Is/Was Levain Blend #3 Conditioned On Red Raspberries (2023)

    Saison · 5.5% ABV

    Levain is a long time coming. The culmination of our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about the microorganisms that allow us to make beer...
  • Is/Was Levain w/ Montmorency Cherries

    Saison · 5.5% ABV

    Mashed with raw spelt from Janie’s Mill, hopped with aged whole cone hops then fermented and ripened in used oak wine barrels with a blend of our house saison yeast, our favorite strains of brettan...
  • Is/Was Levain w/ Yuzu

    Saison · 5.5% ABV

    Mashed with raw spelt from Janie’s Mill, hopped with aged whole cone hops then fermented and ripened in used oak wine barrels with a blend of our house saison yeast, our favorite strains of brettan...
  • Is/Was Maestro

    Saison · 5.7% ABV

    Saison roasted on agave hearts.
  • Is/Was Maestro Marcelino

    Saison · 5.7% ABV

    We took a base saison that underwent hot fermentation with our house saison yeast then added roasted Espadin agave hearts that Alex from Banhez brought back from Oaxaca directly to the fermenting b...
  • Is/Was Maestro Marcelino (w/ Roasted Agave Hearts and Bottle Conditioned with Brettanomyces)

    Saison · 5.7% ABV

    Beautifully complex saison that features notes of grilled pineapple, golden raisin, dates, slightly overripe banana, honeysuckle, and wisps of smoke. These bottles then had brettanomyces added during bottling.
  • Is/Was Methode Dust (Bottle Conditioned With Brettanomyces)

    Saison · 6.2% ABV

    Are you prepared for the Dust-Based Economy? When the apocalypse (zombie or otherwise) inevitably comes to bare and the international monetary system is reduced to rubble only one currency will hol...
  • Is/Was + Middle Brow Stay Brettanomyces

    Saison · 5.4% ABV

    Stay is a little taste of the good life. We got together with our friends at Middle Brow to put out a double feature. Ours, Stay, brewed here. Theirs, (wasting time), got wild at Bungalow...
  • Is/Was Perceived Distance (Bottle Conditioned With Brettanomyces)

    Saison · 5.1% ABV

    Perceived Distance is a collaboration with friends from about as far away as they can live and hops from about as close as they can be grown...
  • Is/Was Pillow Jaw

    Saison · 5.7% ABV

    Pillow Jaw is like pink neon. Soft and warm while bright and vibrant. It focuses on the interplay of oats and local honey from our friends at The Hive Supply...
  • Is/Was Saison Dégel

    Saison · 5.3% ABV

    Constructed to drink the thaw that spring brings it is built on a light and springy base of Sugar Creek Pilsner and Flaked Triticale and lightly hopped with floral Saphir hops...
  • Is/Was Saison Deleg

    Saison · 5.7% ABV

    Spring Saison brewed with chamomile, lavender, and honey.
  • Is/Was Saison Effrayant

    Saison · 6.5% ABV

    Saison Effrayant is purposefully constructed for crisp autumn days...
  • Is/Was Saison Frileux

    Saison · 7.0% ABV

    Saison Frileux is a beer built for the colder days...
  • Is/Was + Seedz Faux Cow

    Farmhouse Ale · 5.2% ABV

    Faux Cow is a collaboration with our friends at Seedz Brewery. It's an homage to our mutual favorite cream ale 'Farmhouse Ale' that's only available in Wisconsin...
  • Is/Was Spandrel

    Saison · 4.9% ABV

    Saison Brewed with Aged Hops, Raw Spelt, and Brettanomyces. A spandrel is a byproduct of evolution. Something that quietly arises out of some other need but is warmly welcomed when noticed...
  • Is/Was + Sundial Le Petit Épeautre

    Saison · 5.2% ABV

    Saison brewed with einkorn.
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About the brewery

Simple complexities in liquid form. Chicago, IL

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