#chicago – PorchDrinking.com
Ultimate 6er | Pairing Six Revolution Beers with White Castle Menu Items
September 18, 2019 | Mike Zoller
I’ll never forget waiting in the drive-thru lane of a White Castle at 12:45 a.m. after immediately seeing Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle. It wasn’t my first time, but it was my most memorable time eating those delicious little sliders with onions that really do pop with flavor.
Recapping Burnt City Brewing’s Kveik Fest
September 10, 2019 | Mike Zoller
There are beer festivals centered around hazy beers, big stouts, sours and other styles, but rarely is there a festival around a strand of yeast. Burnt City Brewing teamed up with Omega Yeast Labs to showcase the Kveik strand of yeast and show just how versatile it is.
30 breweries were on hand at District Brew Yards, the home of Burnt City in Chicago, to pour more than 60 beers, a majority using the Kveik yeast. Everything from hazy IPAs to stouts to barleywines were on hand at the festival.
Mathew Powers and I were both there for PorchDrinking.com and we were also joined by Jack Muldowney from The Hop Review; we’d like to share some of our favorite beers from the afternoon.
Mikerphone Brewing | Ging and Juice
September 6, 2019 | Dave Drury
Over the past few years Mikerphone Brewing, out of Elk Grove Village, Illinois has become one of Chicagoland’s most popular and sought-after breweries. From their impressive list of hazy IPAs, to Stouts, to even beer slushies (yes, please!!), they have proven time and again that they can make any style.
Revolution Brewing Adds Hazy IPA to Year-Round Lineup
August 30, 2019 | Mike Zoller
One of Chicago’s most notable series of beers is getting a new year-round addition. Revolution Brewing’s Hero Series which features their iconic Anti-Hero is welcoming a hazy IPA, aptly named Hazy-Hero.
Chicago Quick Sips | Aug. 26 Chicago Beer News & Events
August 26, 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].
Marz Community Brewing Co. | Lonesome Rose
August 26, 2019 | Ana Plefka
Tacos and beer. The two go hand-in-hand, especially in the summertime when refreshing lagers and street food reigns. Bridgeport, Chicago’s Marz Community Brewing and Logan Square, Chicago’s trendy taco joint Lonesome Rose teamed up to make summer eating and drinking dreams come true with an Amber Lager collaboration.
A Beer with Top Chef Winner Joe Flamm
August 8, 2019 | Mike Zoller
No stranger to the Chicago culinary food scene, Spiaggia’s Executive Chef Joe Flamm, made a name for himself nationally after winning Top Chef in 2018.
Flamm was part of the original crew at Stephanie Izard’s Girl and the Goat in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood, he also worked with Bill Kim, known for his Asian-fusion restaurants in the city before landing at Tony Mantuano’s Spiaggia, a Michelin star restaurant.
Like many in the culinary industry, Flamm is a huge fan of Miller High Life. From his days as a line cook to now, it’s his beer of choice and has been apart of many of the biggest moments in his life.
Ultimate 6er | Chicago’s Best Pizza & Beer Pairings
August 7, 2019 | Paul Lewis
Pizza comes in many shapes, sizes, and forms, and all of it is generally good. Chicago is a city saturated in pizza joints, but pizza in the Windy City is the real deal. While many tourists visit Chicago for its deep-dish style pizza, most Chicago locals will tell you their preferred Chicago style pizza is “tavern-style.” What is tavern-style pizza? While there is no strict criteria, any proper Chicago establishment that claims they serve this type of pizza share a similar method. The crust is very thin, better known as “cracker crust.” The pizza is cut into squares, not slices. Pineapple is not a choice on the ingredients list. Using this as a canvas, there are many Chicago pizza joints outside of the tourist traps in the Loop that deliver solid pizza offerings that go great with a nice cold beer on a warm summer day, and here are my favorite Chicago pizza and beer pairings for you to try, whether you’re a tourist or a local.
Brewery First Look: Chicago’s Midwest Coast Brewing
August 5, 2019 | Taylor Laabs
The crowded Chicago brewery scene can soon add one more new operation to its list: Midwest Coast Brewing, located in West Town at 2137 W Walnut Street. Brewer and founder Cameron Compton is excited for all of the challenges and opportunities that opening a new brewery presents. Much like their name, which came after Compton decided to balance equal parts West and East Coast IPA styles when brewing their flagship CHI.P.A., Compton is looking to take a balanced, measured approach to growth once Midwest Coast hopefully opens to the public. PorchDrinking was lucky enough to get a preview of the space and the beer soon to be available at the newest West Town brewery.
Can Out of State Breweries Succeed in Chicago?
July 29, 2019 | Mike Zoller
In June, I made the trip to New Glarus Brewing to visit the iconic Wisconsin-only brewery that’s coveted all over the midwest. While there, I overheard two guys talking about how they wish New Glarus distributed to Illinois and so they could buy it all the time. But would they?
Ravinia Brewing Company | Flight of the Rooster
July 23, 2019 | Rachel Morrison
Have you ever had a beer that changed your mind about that entire style of beer? I’ll admit, I’m a fan of a huge variety of beer styles and I’m usually try something new. That said, Saisons have never done it for me. I’d go as far as to say I despise them but that feels a tad dramatic.
This opinion quickly changed at the recent Square Roots Festival in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago. Like most summer street festivals, this one had no shortage of food and drink options. To really show off, Square Roots Festival had a “Brew Lounge” for attendees to try more “exotic” options, which happened to be mostly local to the Ravenswood neighborhood (how exotic). It was there that I tried Flight of the Rooster by Ravina Brewing Company.
Event Preview | Ultra Fresh IV Brings the New New Beers
June 28, 2019 | Abby Schmeling
This Saturday, June 29, marks the fourth annual Ultra Fresh Fest, brought to you by our friends at The Hop Review. This Chicago craft beer festival is truly unique, featuring pours from (mostly) local breweries that have been packaged within one week of the event. You know what that means? Some ultra fresh beer!
Lake Effect Brewing Company | School of Brett
June 26, 2019 | Eric Oliver
Down an alley, on the Northside of Chicago, school was in session as two neighbors invited their friend Brett over for a unique experiment.
Lake Effect Brewing Company founder, Clint Bautz, and Omega Yeast founder, Lance Shaner, became neighbors and … Read More
Event Recap | Chicago’s Craft Brews at the Zoo
June 25, 2019 | Paul Lewis
A Saturday filled with thunderstorms and unseasonably cold weather did not stop a large crowd of craft beer enthusiasts from descending upon Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo after hours to enjoy the annual Crafts Brews at the Zoo.
The event featured several local Chicagoland breweries including a select few from across the country and beyond. VIP ticket holders were welcomed with a half hour-early admission complete with access to a light appetizer bar and special tappings from Pollyanna Brewing (including a thick, delicious Malted Milk Ball Pastry Stout). As we’ve come to expect from a Lou Dog Events! festival, the event was very well organized with brewery pouring stations located throughout the park, embedded into many of the zoo’s animal exhibits. This allowed ample space to move around, see some animals and sample some great beer.
The weather kept a few of the animals indoors, but festival attendees had the opportunity to see an eastern black rhinoceros, Japanese Macaque and, of course… penguins! In addition to entertainment, we had some great beers being poured from breweries both local and beyond.
Ultimate 6er | Grand Slam Beers for Baseball Season
June 12, 2019 | Dave Drury 1
Baseball and beer are a match made in heaven. Sure, you can have one without the other but it’s a hell of a lot more fun when you combine the two.
With the boys of summer starting to get into the full swing and more and more craft breweries partnering up with MLB teams, we rounded up some of the best baseball-themed beers from across the country. Read More
Moody Tongue to Open New Restaurant & Bar in Baderbrau’s Old Space
June 4, 2019 | Mike Zoller 1
With his culinary background and his craft beer experience, it was only a matter of time before Moody Tongue’s Jared Rouben opened a full-service restaurant to bring together two of his passions.
Eff Chicago: A Minnesotan’s Impression of the First, Funkiest and Favorite Breweries
May 30, 2019 | Adam Rozanas
It’s been a few weeks now since we made a quick beercation to Chicago and Milwaukee. We thought about compiling all 17 breweries we visited into a single post but decided that wouldn’t be any fun for us to write or you to read. We considered highlighting our top five favorite breweries in each city but thought that would be too cliche.
Instead, in a moment of clever wit, we decided to feature three breweries in two posts each — the first brewery we visited, the funkiest brewery and our favorite brewery in each city. We hope you enjoy “Eff Chicago”!
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.
recent comments