Ultimate 6er | Holiday Cheer-ity

The Craft Beer industry is emblematic of the Holiday Season maxim — community, caring and sharing. The examples of this community-focused philosophy that bind craft brewers together can be witness almost any day throughout the year. Here are six recent examples of craft breweries bringing good tidings of joy to thy neighbor by donating time, money, and resources during this Holiday Season.

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12 Beers of Christmas | Baderbräu Christmas Bliss Baltic Porter

French hens, ladies dancing, swans swimming and, of course, a porter in a beer tree. These are necessary components for a successful 12 days of Christmas. For this writer, the beer found under the tree is Baderbräu Christmas Bliss Baltic Porter with vanilla and orange peel. Because, in Chicago, Jack Frost does more than nip our noses, it darn near renders them red enough to qualify us to guide Santa’s sleigh. Hence, any porter good enough for those traversing the frigid waters of the Baltic Sea is good enough for us living on the ice-covered shores of Lake Michigan.

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Two Brothers Brewing | The Craftsman: Tavern, Cafe, Dining and More

Two Brothers Brewing champions family, community, and craft culture and The Craftsman location exemplifies that philosophy. Jason and Jim Ebel — the brothers behind the name — recently opened their new tri-level establishment in the Chicago suburb of Naperville. At every turn, one can find examples of artisanship and skill — two indispensable facets of craft culture. Two Brothers repurposed and transformed a historic building that now provides its multi-award winning beer along with its own brand of coffee, made-from-scratch pastries, bread, dinner and brunch, wine, mixology and crafted distilling.

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BrewLights 2016 | 12 Samples of Christmas Beer

What better way to get acquainted with Holiday beer than a December beer festival offering local, national and imported selections? For instance, BrewLights 2016 — a craft beer festival held amidst Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo’s animal family, adorned by a plethora of holiday lights and accompanied by plenty of holiday tunes. The scene at BrewLights made it tough not to get into the holiday spirit. Throw in a little nip in the air and the smell of Christmas beer, and it’s as if Santa himself has arranged the party. As you shop this year, it may be difficult to know what holiday-seasonal beers to purchase, so let’s go through the 12 beer samples of Christmas provided at BrewLights 2016.

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Moody Tongue Brewing Shaved Black Truffle Pilsner Returns December 2

Moody Tongue Brewing in Chicago, the brainchild of Jared Rouben, a graduate of both the Culinary Institute of America and Seibel, recently opened its new, cozy taproom on the city’s west side. With that opening, Moody can now provide its coveted Shaved Black Truffle Pilsner on draft – a sinful holiday beer treat for either the naughty or nice this year.
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Harlem Brewing Company | Renaissance Wit

ABV: 5.8% | IBU: 12

The mere utterance of Harlem likely evokes a myriad of imagery; it’s a section of New York City that’s oozing with history. The name and label artwork adorning a bottle of Harlem Brewing Company Renaissance Wit speaks to that wealth of history – beer history, music history, cultural history, and everything in between. But, when reviewing a beer, one must refrain from being swayed by the story attached to a beer or brewery. Instead, the beer must be judged on its own merits, and that is what this showcase aims to do. Nevertheless, there’s no reason history and culture can’t be included in the discussion. Craft has always been more than just about beer, and this wheat beer personifies that concept.

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Burnt City Brewing Introduces Freight Handler Milk Stout

Most of the leaves have vanished, the nights are getting longer, and Jack Frost has been seen wandering around North America. There’s no stopping it – winter’s coming. You know what that means, right? Cheers to stout season! It may be getting cold outside, but the appropriately named Burnt City Brewing in Chicago is one of many brewers ready to combat each cold front with robust beer — take that, Jack! If you are in Chicagoland or Alabama, get ready to enjoy some Freight Handler Milk Stout. And on New Year’s Eve – Burnt City and Arcade Brewery are ready to help Chicagoans ring in 2017.

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Avery Brewing Discontinues Dictator Series in 2017, Expands Barrel Program

From IPA to BBA, craft beer continues to evolve, and Colorado’s Avery Brewing is unafraid to ride that wave of transformation and help influence its direction. In 2017, Avery Brewing will offer fans far more fermented pleasures from its Botanicals & Barrels series, as well as a add to its year-round selections. While that is exciting news for many fans of Avery, it comes with a price — a few long time favorites will have to be retired.

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Revolution Brewing | Deep Wood Series: Ryeway to Heaven

ABV: 14.5% | IBU: 20

Revolution Brewing explains its Deep Wood Series Ryeway to Heaven as perhaps a “doorway to an existential awakening, or maybe it’s just a damned fine beer.” One could argue it’s a little bit of both. This rye ale aged in rye barrels serves as the quintessential example of how the art and science of barrel-aged brewing can result in elevated deliciousness – and it’s a perfect treat for Thanksgiving and holiday festivities.

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Rhinegeist | Hugh Hefeweizen

Let’s talk about a beer that any bunny can appreciate — Hugh Hefeweizen, from Rhinegeist. Hugh likes the finer things in life: Silk lederhosen, pretty junge Fraus, and sitting by the pool in a palatial Bavarian castle — where else would you find a noble hop? One sip of Hugh Hefeweizen and beer drinkers will immediately realize what Hugh is all about — pleasure.
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Cidery Showcase | Right Bee Cider (Chicago)

Leave it to a Siebel Institute graduate to ferment a plan to impress a girl. Charlie Davis attempted to win Katie Morgan’s heart with hard cider. It worked. She not only fell in love with him, she married him. Katie also fell in love with the cider. In fact, the two of them thought so highly of that magical moment that they turned it into a business — Chicago’s first cidery. Today, you’ll find Charlie right-beside-her — Right Bee Cider, churning out well crafted cider to a growing fan base. He wooed her, and now they are wooing Chicago. You might say, it is cider at first site.

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The Festival of Barrel Aged Beers | FoBAB 2016 Awards

The world’s largest barrel-aged beer competition, held at the Festival of Barrel Aged Beer (FoBAB) in Chicago, is underway. However, the FoBAB 2016 awards are now official, and our Chicago/Midwest editor, Mike Zoeller was there. Here are the results — congrats to all the winners!
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Discussing Chicago’s Beer Culture & FoBAB with Werk Force Brewing

Chicago’s brewing culture is as diverse as its population, but one genre of brewing resonates strongly with Windy City beer enthusiasts — barrel-aged brewing. In 1993, Greg Hall at Goose Island experimented with beer in bourbon barrels and, as they say, the rest is history (see this movie about that story). The legacy of his idea manifests itself every November with Goose Island’s Black Friday Bourbon County release and numerous barrel-aged beer festivals, notably the Festival of Barrel Aged Brewing (FoBAB). Brandon Wright, of Chicago Brew Werks/Werk Force Brewing, shares his unique perspective on Chicago’s love of barrel-aged beer.

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Event Recap | Chicago’s 6th Annual Beer Hoptacular

In a setting normally reserved for bringing screenplays to life, the entertainment value of Chicago’s Beer Hoptacular at Cinespace Chicago was worthy of an Oscar. Within the expansive production studio, a sea of breweries lined both walls and were accompanied by music, food, an airbrush tattoo van, and even an insult booth. Of course, a beer fest is only as good as its beer, and with more than 150 craft beers on hand, the beer selection did not disappoint.

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Brewery Showcase | Imperial Oak Brewing

The enthusiasm for brewing small-batch beer at Imperial Oak Brewing is palpable. Brett Semenske, Grant Hamilton and Chris DiBraccio of Imperial Oak Brewing own a wealth of combined home brewing and bar industry experience which explains their recipe for success – brew a variety of great beer and make the brewpub experience priority number one.

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Ultimate 6er | Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos)

The Day of the Dead – or Día de los Muertos – involves a myriad of cultural traditions, largely comprised of the Roman Catholic All Saints Day celebration and ancient Native Mexican observances associated with those who’ve passed. But, like most things these days, the festivities have evolved in such a manner as to take a little bit of this, a little bit of that, which ultimately results in a large party! Throughout Mexico and the U.S., it’s a good excuse to have some fun. Let’s just make sure we do it with the right beer. 

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Chicago’s Moody Tongue Brewery Tasting Room Opens

Many in Chicago are familiar with Moody Tongue Brewery and its unique form of culinary brewing. Now, Chicagoans can taste brewmaster, and culinary-trained, Jared Rouben’s creations fresh from the tap. The Tasting Room (2136 S. Peoria St., Chicago) opened Friday, October 28 at 5:00 p.m.

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Product Showcase | Brewswap (Beer Trading App)

Do you like beer? Do you like beer you can’t have, but wish you could have it? Well, there’s an app for that – Brewswap. The app aims to connect beer-nerds from all over the country in the sport of social media beer trading. On a broader scale, a beer trading app such as this serves as yet another example of how “community” serves as the foundation of the craft-beer industry. 

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Avery Brewing | The Beast Oak Aged Grand Cru Ale

Vincent Price warned us all, but nothing can stop Avery Brewing from unleashing The Beast upon the beer-drinking world. It is big. It is bold. It is even a little frightening. It lurks in the depths of Avery’s brewhouse, ready to pounce on nearby taste buds. The Beast doesn’t just dominate the palate, it devours it… and you will love it.

Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y’all’s neighborhood

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2016 Goose Island Proprietor’s Day: 2016 BCBS Release

If it’s Black Friday, it’s time for Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout (BCBS). However, Chicagoans are allowed an opportunity to get their hands BCBS a tad bit earlier; Proprietor’s Day arrives Sunday, November 20 and is Goose Island’s way of saying “thank you” to their hometown fans. But, if you find yourself in Chicago, don’t just show up at Goose Island’s front door – read on.

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