2 Days, 2 Nights | A Complete Guide to Chicago’s Craft Beer Scene

Chicago has always been a weekend destination as people look to explore the city’s rich history, culture and of course, have a slice of deep dish pizza. It’s also now a place where craft beer fans can indulge in the wide array of breweries that the city offers. If anything, it might be overwhelming when trying to think of how to tackle all the breweries within the city limits. Spoiler alert—it would be virtually impossible to visit every single brewery in a weekend.

So if you’re coming to Chicago for a weekend, here’s a guide on how to get the most out of the Chicago craft beer scene in a limited amount of time. Understand that like I said above, it would be virtually impossible to do every brewery, so I had to leave some out. It’s nothing personal and you can alter this itinerary however you like. You’ll also notice that there are no suburban breweries on this list. I’ll be doing another itinerary in a couple of weeks that will focus on just suburban breweries—don’t worry guys, I didn’t forget about you!

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Lil Beaver Steals the Show at Chicago’s Stout Fest

All the big names were at the Goose Island Brewpub for the return of Stout Fest. While well-known and established breweries like Half Acre, Pipeworks, Goose Island and Revolution were pouring some great stouts, it was a small brewery from Bloomington, Ill. that stole the show.

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Why I’m Done Cellaring Beer—An Update

About a year ago I wrote how in 2017 I was going to stop cellaring beers and enjoy them fresh. The article got way more exposure than I would have ever thought and it brought out some pretty strong emotions in people—both for and against cellaring.

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Our Favorite Chicago Beers From 2017

2017 will undoubtedly go down as the year of the tap room for Chicago craft beer. Big names that have become synonymous with beer in the city finally opened their doors to the public. Off Color Brewing, Metropolitan Brewing, Maplewood and Half Acre’s new production facility are just to name a handful of places you can now go drink where you couldn’t before. Read More

Event Recap | 2017 Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beers (FoBAB)

As you rub your eyes and nurse that pounding headache, it’s time to reflect on another year of FoBAB. The nation’s largest gathering of barrel-aged beers is always the marquee event to hit Chicago’s beer scene. Once again, FoBAB lived up to the hype by bringing together some of the country’s most sought after beers and putting them under one roof for thousands to enjoy.
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Event Preview | 2017 Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beers (FoBAB)

With the 15th annual Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beers (FoBAB) less than a week away, the weeks and months leading up to this year’s event have been different than in the past. With a price increase and the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild releasing the brewery lineup before the event for the first time ever, there seems to be more talk about FoBAB than in recent years.

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Ranking & Reviewing the 2017 Bourbon County Brand Stout Lineup

Surrounded by bottles of past years’ Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout and the Sisters in their Barrel Warehouse, about 30 people or so prepared to taste the entire lineup of 2017 BCBS. After a conservative release of just four variants in 2016, in front of us were six snifters of the black liquid that so many covet every Black Friday.

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Goose Island Brewhouse | Out With The Old, In With The New

The pillars are gone. John Hall is gone. The cozy, public house atmosphere is gone. But, the revamped Goose Island Brewhouse oozes elegance; it’s clean, modern and sophisticated. You won’t see any Anheuser Busch InBev (ABI) signs in the taproom, but evidence of the company’s influence is impossible to miss. It’s hard not to ooh and ahh at the grander things in life, like an expensive sports car or a large home — the new Goose Island Brewhouse exemplifies that concept.

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Chicago Quick Sips | September 11

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 … Read More

Chicago Quick Sips | September 5th

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].

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Goose Island Set to Release Four New Beers

On Monday July 3, Goose Island will have its largest release of the year. Alright, maybe there is a bigger release in November; but Goose will release four new beers into the market on Monday. 

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Goose Island Announces 2017 Bourbon County Stout Variants

In 2016 Goose Island’s Bourbon County Brand Stout release was subdued over the issues that plagued the 2015 release which saw four of the six variants have souring issues. With a smooth release last year, Goose has ramped up the BCBS release for 2017 and will introduce seven different versions of the beer.

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Goose Island Migration Week Returns to Lincoln Square

Goose Island’s Migration Week, which serves as an opportunity to expose fans to Goose Island’s portfolio and collection of rarities through education and activation events has already spanned the globe. Now Migration Week returns to Chicago and the Lincoln Square neighborhood the week of June 12th.

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Goose Island Set to Release a Variety of New Beers

Goose Island is getting ready to release a variety of new beers throughout the next quarter and into the rest of 2017. From a new Fulton & Wood Series beer to a lot more barrel aged beers, I went out to Goose Island to try the new releases and taste the results of their experimenting. Read More

Goose Island to Release a Collaboration Beer with Wrigley Field

When you’re home to the World Series champions, new opportunities get thrown your way. For Wrigley Field, one of those new opportunities is to work with Goose Island on an exclusive beer collaboration.

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Event Recap: 5th Annual Cider Summit Chicago

If there’s one thing to take away from the 5th annual Cider Summit held in Chicago this past Saturday it’s that the future of craft cider is very bright. While there is definitely a long way to go, the sold out event showcased cider as an emerging beverage in the industry.

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Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

Oskar Blues launches Pinner 16-packs, AB InBev opens Goose Island pubs in Europe and Almanac ends its canning program. You can’t be the smartest beer nerd at the bottle share if you don’t keep up with the craft beer news. Keep reading to catch the details of these stories and more in this edition of the Weekly Growler Fill.

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Released! 2016 Goose Island Bourbon County Stout Lineup

It’s finally here! With the Black Friday crowds still swarming retail stores post-holiday, head out for Goose Island‘s 2016 Bourbon County Brand Stout lineup, which is now available for purchase! (as limited release)
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Former Goose Island Brewmaster Behind Virtue Cider

Back in the 1990s Greg Hall was seen as a pioneer in craft beer. At a time when the industry was beginning to grow, Hall helped Goose Island become a national leader in craft beer. In 2011 Hall left the brewery to enter a space that was on the verge of experiencing large growth just like the craft beer industry years ago – cider.

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Where to Buy Bourbon County Stout in Colorado This Black Friday

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout will once again hit Colorado bars and liquor stores later this week during their yearly Black Friday release. While BCBS hunting on Black Friday has become a bit of a national tradition as of late, last year’s BCBS came under fire after a incidents of infection occurring amongst select batches of the beer. That said, our staff was treated to a sneak peek of this year’s lineup and all indications are that BCBS is back in a big way.

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