text: Long before the arrival of Europeans, Native Americans were producing maple sugar to flavor their food and as a valuable item for trade. Colonists learned the technique from Native Americans and used maple sugar in place of cane sugar, which was then an expensive luxury. Nicknamed the sugarbush, the sugar maple yields sap that is boiled and concentrated into one of the best reasons to wake up any morning: an amber or golden maple syrup to douse pancakes and waffles — or add to craft beer. It’s healthful, too: high in manganese and zinc, maple syrup is touted to help strengthen the immune system. It has antioxidant compounds, and research continues to tie its beneficial effects to the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. Anyhoo, Peaks and Pints is a craft beer and cider bar, bottle shop and taproom, not a maple syrup store. Brewers do, however, add maple to their beers, which is right up our alley. Stop by Peaks & Pints today for a to-go flight of beer brewed with maple — a flight we call Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Maple Beer Flight.
  pFriem Maple Barrel Aged Smoked Porter
  9.1% ABV, 45 IBU
  pFriem Family Brewers’ Maple Barrel aged Smoke Porter is brewed with smoked malt brewed to high strength, then aged in barrels first used for bourbon, then maple syrup, and finally this Maple Syrup Barrel Aged Smoked Porter. It’s potent, smoky, and rich, with the aroma of syrup you’d drizzle on a stack of flapjacks, followed by notes of pecan pie baking in a wood-fired oven, rich toffee, and dark chocolate delight the palate before giving way to a decadent finish.
  At Epic Brewing, they call the fall of every year “Baptist Season” because they gear up for their annual release of Big Bad Baptist and its variants. During “Baptist Season” Epic focuses our resources to the final blending and packaging of our highly anticipated annual release of Big Bad Baptist and its specialty variants. Considering almost a dozen different variants, they finally settled on six variants for their bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout. This year, Epic released Big Bad Baptist Breakfast Baptist variant aged in whiskey barrels with Vermont maple syrup and finished with coffee, cacao, and salt.
  Ravenna Brewing’s first barleywine, To the Edge, is an exploration of decadent and complex malt and barrel character. This multi-year endeavor employed bourbon and maple syrup barrels, with stock aged for 12 and 18 months. The resulting blend boasts indulgent aromas and rich flavors of chocolate, dark fruit, toffee, and caramel. Warming bourbon and subtle maple sweep in, adding depth and nuance.
  Hubbard’s Cave Coffee & Cakes
  Born on the near west side of downtown Chicago in 2013, Une Année independent craft brewery was founded by Chicago native Jerry Nelson. Une Année — which means “One Year” in French — set out on a quest to make fine Belgian-inspired ales. Soon, with the help of Jerry’s brother David, they expanded to include sours and then, in 2015 with the launch of a sister brewery called Hubbard’s Cave, which pays homage to the traffic tunnel on I-90/94 where they first started making beer, American-style ales, imperial stouts and a host of IPAs followed. In 2020, they moved into their current location in Niles, Illinois. Their Coffee & Cakes imperial stout is brewed with SPUTNIK Coffee and maple syrup.