ill will brewing (Review)

Ill Will Brewing in Columbiana, Ohio has been on my list of beer to review for quite a while but it is rather tricky to come across. I even tried to plan a trip from Florida to Ohio but with my 2-year-old that just wasn’t feasible at this time. Luckily I held out on looking for cans from ill will brewing because they announced they were doing a full Taylor Swift beer release for her birthday and the official end of The Eras Tour.

I will definitely still visit ill will brewing in person one day to give a full review of the taproom and overall atmosphere, which from pictures, looks bad ass, but for now let’s take a look at the cans of their beer I was able to get to review and try.

Ill Will Brewing Beer

Before we dive into these crazy beers, it’s worth noting that they are not going to be for everyone. Ill Will is crafting up some insane combinations in the form of smoothie-style sours and they do also release the occasional IPA. Luckily I got a hold of the Taylor Swift smoothie beers as well as one of their IPAs to try. Without further ado, let’s take a look at what the #1 ranked brewery in Ohio is cranking out:

The Infamous…Nectaron

• Type: Hazy IPA
• ABV: 8%

I saved this hazy for last and was relieved when I tried it because while the smoothie beers are crazy, I was hoping they were also able to brew up a delicious IPA and they delivered with this one, floaties and all. I will definitely be looking out for more of their IPAs in the future.

Illicit Affairs

• Type: Banana Bread Smoothie Sour with Bananas, Cheesecake, Cinnamon & Maple
• ABV: 5.5%

I had to squeeze this out of the can because it’s that thick – while I appreciate the spot on flavors and don’t get me wrong it is tasty, I just don’t know if I like drinking pudding out of a can.

Mean (Vega’s Version)

• Type: GF Smoothie Sour with Pineapple, Banana, Coconut & Habanero
• ABV: 5.5%

Put me on a tropical island with a cooler of these and I’d be happy. Heavy with the pineapple flavor with a nice kick of heat on the backend – this was probably my favorite out of the 5 smoothie sours I tried from Ill Will.

Treacherous

• Type: GF Smoothie Sour with Red Apple, Red Hots, Pear & Cranberry
• ABV: 5.5%

Smells just like the Red Hots candy but it actually tastes delicious. It’s not too sweet, not too spicy and I still can’t believe how all of these flavors work so well together. 

Picture to Burn

• Type: Smoothie Sour with Pistachio, Lemon & Ice Cream
• ABV: 5.5%

I love pistachio everything and while I did have to squeeze this out of the can I do appreciate the flavor. If you would’ve served this to me in a bowl with a spoon, as a dessert at some fancy restaurant, I would’ve been in heaven. Again, drinking it out of a can was just something my brain could not process and I honestly should’ve got a spoon so I could enjoy it more.

This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

• Type: Espresso Smoothie Sour with Chocolate, Caramel & Ice Cream
• ABV: 5.5%

I’ve come to the conclusion that as I get closer to 40 my desire to drink these smoothie dessert beers has slowly faded away. This thick smoothie beer tasted like boozy chocolate milk and my brain just didn’t know what to think.

I appreciate ill will brewing and the fact that some of their smoothie beers are absolute sorcery and just work even though they shouldn’t. That being said, are they worthy of being the #1 ranked brewery in Ohio and seventh highest rated brewery in the United States? That is completely up to your personal opinion because if you are a smoothie beer fanatic then they are crafting some of the best in the business. 

Their creativity with the releases, for example the Taylor Swift Eras Tour beer release and a Wu-Tang Clan themed release [I am still bummed I wasn’t able to get one of the shirts from this release] are all worthy of praise just for the creativity alone. Are they making IPAs that rival some of the industry leaders? The answer is YES and I wish they would churn out some more of those incredible hazies with the crazy smoothie beers they are making.

About ill will brewing

“/’il ‘wil/ n. 1. feelings of hostility, resentment, or bitterness, due to a real or fancied wrong. /broo ing/ v. 1. the activity of producing beer.  2. (of an unwelcome event) to be imminent.”

Website: ill will brewing

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ill will brewing on Instagram

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ill will brewing Logo

Mailing Address:

ill will brewing
45417 OH-14
Columbiana, OH 44408

Phone Number: (330) 831-2345

Email: [email protected]

All in all, I am happy that I was able to finally try ill will brewing and  some of the the Taylor Swift beers, being a Swiftie myself, and I am so glad that I had an IPA added to my haul because it was delicious. Have you been to ill will brewing? Comment below with your favorite beer from them!