2022 Chicago Area Black Wednesday and Black Friday Beer Events Guide

A multitude of bottle shops and breweries are celebrating the entire Thanksgiving weekend with beer releases, special cellar finds and offering a host of indulgences. While the bulk of the activities will occur on Black Wednesday and Black Friday, one can find good beer from Wednesday through Sunday. And, although dark beer (notably strong, barrel-aged) reigns supreme this weekend, there are a few alternative beer choices, too. If we missed an event, by all means let us know — the idea is to make sure everyone knows where to go this weekend to satisfy their beer cravings. Without further ado, here’s the comprehensive 2022 Chicago Area Black Wednesday and Black Friday beer events guide.

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The PorchDrinking Comprehensive 2021 Beer Release Calendar Roundup

For the past seven years, PorchDrinking.com has compiled a collection of breweries’ beer release calendars. The PorchDrinking Comprehensive 2021 Beer Release Calendar Roundup offers readers insight into what some of their favorite breweries have planned for the year and provides an early glimpse of this year’s brewing trends.

We will continually update this page as soon as we receive information (many breweries are still in the final stages of finalizing their calendars). So, be sure to bookmark this page and check back often. If your brewery isn’t listed and you’d like to share your release calendar, please reach out to us via [email protected], and we’d love to add you to the list!

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Beer Lines and What They Say About the Culture of Craft Beer

A few weeks ago as I walked into my office, I noticed a massive line stretching around the block. It was just after 7 a.m. in the middle of the week; clearly, these people had been waiting either overnight or since very early in the morning. It wasn’t freezing out, but it wasn’t warm. I later found out they were waiting for the BTS, the Korean music group, pop-up store to open up. I thought they were all crazy.

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The Comprehensive 2019 Beer Release Calendar Roundup

For the past five years, we have composed a national roundup of brand and beer release calendars from our nation’s breweries.  To gain a sense of the astounding diversity of beer produced by the more than 7,000 breweries operating today, and to help get you excited about what is to come in 2019, we present to you the 2019 Beer Release Calendar roundup.

We will continually update this page as soon as we receive information (many breweries are still in the final stages of finalizing their calendars). If your brewery isn’t listed and you’d like to share your release calendar, please reach out to us via [email protected] and we’d love to add you to the list!

Special thanks to our friends at OnTap Credit Union, who have been crafting banking solutions for breweries, brewery employees and beer lovers for the past 64 years in Golden and Arvada. Their support in underwriting PorchDrinking allows us to continue to research and present in-depth pieces like the the 2019 Beer Release Calendar Roundup.

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Black Friday Barrel-Aged (and Other) Beer Releases in Chicago

For beer fans, notably in the Chicago region, Black Friday means dark beer releases. The day, dominated by Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, offers numerous opportunities for beer fans to indulge in some of breweries’ finest creations. For those that love Bourbon County — big beer or not — it’s the day to stand in line or find a bar party, of which there are many. For those who have no interest, it’s a time to Uber-it-over to breweries and bars for an immense, diverse selection of barrel-aged, or sometimes big-hopped, beer. Forget shopping. It’s beer time! Happy Holidays!

Have an event we missed? Email us — we’ll update this through Thanksgiving. Check back for updates!

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Black Wednesday: Dark Beer, Releases & Parties in Chicago

A raging-river’s worth of barrel-aged beer flows through Chicago during November and December. Breweries often release special beers and throw plenty of parties on both Black Wednesday and, even more-so,  Black Friday. But, it all starts with the day before Thanksgiving, allowing beer drinkers an opportunity to party, as well as purchase some Turkey-Day goodies!

Events are listed as we received them
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Brewing News Roundup | Several New Beers Are On The Way

While we can’t pretend to list every new beer release, here are several tasty tidbits that have come across the PorchDrinking.com desk from around the nation. New beers, new packaging, new collaborations and so much more.

Jump to the beer release(s) from the following breweries:

Avery Brewing | Bear Republic | Bell’s Brewery | Brewery Ommegang | Firestone Walker | Forbidden Root | Fremont Brewing | Green Flash | Great Divide Brewing | Modern Times Beer | Moody Tongue | New Belgium Brewing | Reformation Brewery | Rogue Ales & Spirits | SweetWater Brewing | Terrapin Beer Co. | Hopstix

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Colorado Beer Release Radar | September 2016

Sharing is caring, and the beer radar is back for another month of sharing news of the best craft beer releases coming to the Denver market in September. Remember, we will update this list throughout the month as new releases are announced. Read More

Colorado Beer Release Radar | August 2016

Keeping up with the latest and greatest craft beers hitting the market can be a full time job. So to help you keep track of some of the best new releases on the market, we’ve started a monthly feature to help you track the best new beers that will be hitting the Colorado market or have recently been garnering local acclaim. Stay tuned as we’ll be updating this list throughout the month as new releases are announced. Read More