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Event Recap | 2019 Beer Under Glass
May 14, 2019 | Mike Zoller
One of the most anticipated events on Chicago’s craft beer calendar is Beer Under Glass (BUG). Put on by the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild, the event kicks off Illinois Craft Beer Week each year and brings together breweries from all over Illinois.
Lo Rez Brewing | Apricot Knockout
May 14, 2019 | Ana Plefka
Lo Rez Brewing released Apricot Knockout in March, but the weather in Chicago is just warming up enough to dive into this farmhouse ale fermented with apricots. This beer rounds out Chicago’s Pilsen-based neighborhood brewery’s current four-pack offerings that put tartness in the forefront.
Revolution Brewing Finds Sustained Success, Growth in Their Hero IPA Series
April 30, 2019 | Taylor Laabs
Sometimes you take the best things in life for granted. Chicago’s craft beer foundation is built on excellent ales like Anti-Hero and Daisy Cutter, but they no longer generate the lines and Untappd check-ins of past years. It’s not their fault—Chicago drinkers have so many great craft beer options at their disposal that it often becomes overwhelming. So how do you consistently churn out excellent flagships while appealing to the “newness” decree of today’s craft beer drinker?
One valid option is Revolution Brewing’s Hero series. With taproom-only releases, unique 6-pack offerings and comic-inspired variety packs, the Hero line has helped the city’s largest independent brewer stand out from the fray and consistently provide something new to the masses. Each new offering allows Head Brewer Jim Cibak a chance to flex his brewing muscles in new and exciting ways. His latest notable creation is Cryo-Hero. I spoke to Jim and the Revolution team about the new Hero variant, the complexities of that brewing process and what other exciting beers they have planned for the coming months.
10th Annual Illinois Craft Beer Week Kicks Off
April 29, 2019 | Mike Zoller
In 2018 a lot of changes happened to Illinois’ celebration of craft beer. For the first time, Chicago Craft Beer Week was renamed to Illinois Craft Beer Week (ICBW), Beer Under Glass (BUG) moved to a Friday and the event lasted two weeks.
2019’s Illinois Craft Beer Week will follow suit to the 2018 event as BUG will continue to kick-off the festivities on Friday, May 10, at the Garfield Park Conservatory. However, ICBW will last just one week.
Funkwerks Talks the Opportunities and Strategy of Launching in a New Market
April 8, 2019 | Taylor Laabs
Colorado makes a lot of good beer; thankfully, many of the brewers that call the state home have made it a point to distribute their goods outside of their state lines. As margins continue to decrease and shelf space continues to dwindle, the mid-size breweries that distribute on a regional basis have shrunk as well. Throwing your beer into a new state is a harrowing business venture that requires a variety of planning and strategy to ensure that your beer competes well on-shelves and on draft with more local options. Fort Collins-based Funkwerks recently made such a move, announcing that four of their offerings are now available in Chicago, tallying their total distribution presence to 11 states.
Michigan’s Jolly Pumpkin Creates Neighborhood Feel in Chicago’s Hyde Park
April 2, 2019 | Mike Zoller
As more and more breweries pop up, the idea of the neighborhood brewery is becoming increasingly popular. To wit: Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales’ only location outside of Michigan, their Hyde Park location which opened in 2017, is quickly become a gathering space for the community.
Event Recap | Uppers and Downers 2019
April 2, 2019 | Mike Zoller
To call Uppers and Downers “just” a coffee beer fest would be a disservice to how the event highlights both the coffee and the beer industry.
Inside the Tank | Crystal Lake Brewing
March 25, 2019 | Mike Zoller
While there are a lot of big name breweries operating inside the city of limits of Chicago today, the surrounding suburbs are producing notable beers that often fly under the radar.
Since 2014, Crystal Lake Brewing has been producing beers that have become a mainstay for McHenry County. In that time, the brewery has begun to make more of a name for itself outside of Crystal Lake, IL.
Mikerphone Brewing Opens Addition, Preps for Smells Like a Beer Fest
March 25, 2019 | Mike Zoller
Two years to the day Mikerphone Brewing opened its taproom, the brewery officially opened its new addition, called the Mikerphone Blue Room. The expansion more than doubles the total square footage of the brewery, triples the seating capacity, and opens the door to a future that founder and owner Mike Pallen never could have imagined.
Maplewood Brewery | Charlatan Pale Ale
March 22, 2019 | Dave Drury
For my first piece for PorchDrinking, I decided to revisit a beer that kicked off my love of craft beers.
I still remember the first time I tried The Charlatan…back before it was canned. Before it received its new look. Hell, even before Maplewood came to be known as Maplewood.
What’s In Store for Pilot Project, Chicago’s First Brewing Incubator
March 15, 2019 | Ana Plefka
Recently dubbed the “beer capital of America,” Chicago will soon welcome an entirely new brewing concept to the city. Pilot Project Brewing will be Chicago’s first formal brewing incubator – a space for experimentation and collaboration.
Set to open by early summer at 2140 N. Milwaukee Ave., Pilot Project introduces the city to the incubation concept, adopted at brewing spaces across the country such as Rocky Mount Mills and Labrewatory. All who brew are welcome at Pilot Project, from amateur homebrewers looking to kickstart a professional career, to existing breweries in search of an outlet for experimenting with flavors, styles, and peers.
More Brewing’s Head Brewer & GM Leave to Form Phase Three Brewing
March 14, 2019 | Mike Zoller
Nine years ago when Shaun Berns, his wife Brittany and best friend Evan Morris were working at RAM Restaurant & Brewery, they had talked about one day opening their own brewery. The three made their way from RAM to More Brewing which opened in July of 2017. Less than two years later, the three are ready to open up their own brewery – Phase Three Brewing Company.
Event Preview | Uppers & Downers
March 5, 2019 | Mike Zoller
Solemn Oath Brewery represented Chicago at the very first Uppers and Downers in Pasadena, California in 2015. Since then, the festival has been held in Chicago and on March 30, the premier coffee beer festival put on by Good Beer Hunting returns to Thalia Hall.
Chicago Quick Sips | March 4 Chicago Beer News & Events
March 4, 2019 | Taylor Laabs
Quick Sips is our way of highlighting beer events, tap takeovers and other notable beer news around the city of Chicago. If you’d like to submit something to be included in the next Quick Sips, please email us at [email protected].
Chicago Quick Sips | Feb. 18 Chicago Beer News & Events
February 18, 2019 | Mike Zoller
Quick Sips is our way of highlighting beer events, tap takeovers and other notable beer news around the city of Chicago. If you’d like to submit something to be included in the next Quick Sips, please email us at [email protected].
Event Recap | 7th Annual Cider Summit
February 14, 2019 | Paul Lewis
This past weekend, Navy Pier’s Aon Grand Ballroom once again hosted the 7th Annual Cider Summit in Chicago, welcoming thousands of cider enthusiasts from around the Midwest as they enjoyed over 150 ciders from producers around the country and the world.
Event Recap | Chicago Ale Fest Winter Edition
February 7, 2019 | Paul Lewis
One of the things that can make a beer festival memorable (besides the beer) is the festival’s venue. Chicago Ale Fest changed things up this year to great success; they brought the festival to the Lacuna Artist Lofts in Chicago’s red hot Pilsen neighborhood.
Ex-Goose Island Brewmaster Jared Jankoski Talks Octopi Brewing Move
February 6, 2019 | Mike Zoller
With Jared Jankoski’s unexpected departure from Goose Island, the brewery is looking not only for a new brewmaster, but the individual who will be responsible for mentoring and developing the next batch of brewers at Fulton and Wood.
Chicago Quick Sips: Valentine’s Day Edition
February 4, 2019 | Mike Zoller
As Valentine’s Day approaches whether you have a special someone in your life or not, just know that Chicago’s breweries are there for you and that beer never judges.
We compiled a list of all kinds of events/promotions breweries around the Chicagoland area are doing for the week of Valentine’s Day.
Middle Brow Beer Co. Opens Its Taproom After Five Years of Waiting
January 31, 2019 | Mike Zoller
Motor Row. Ten 90. Lo Rez. Church Street Brewing. Great Central. Big Chicago. After contract brewing in six different locations and putting over 20,000 miles on their cars over the past five years, Middle Brow Beer Co. finally has a home of their own.
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