Botanical Beer Series | Anvil & Forge Brewing Wolf’s Bane Grey Tart

It’s natural to seek silver linings in bad situations, but when storm clouds hung above our collective heads during the COVID19, crisis, Anvil & Forge Brewing and Distilling provided Illinois beer drinkers with some helpful grey — Earl Grey Tea, to me more specific. Earlier this year, Illinois Beer drinkers partook in a March Madness bracket-style beer event — #BEERacket — that, yet again, served as a virtual replacement for the in-person festivals we once took for granted. But, amid that reminder of the trouble caused by the evil microbe came a host of good beers, including Springfield Illinois’ Anvil & Forge Wolf Bane Grey Tart, a sour ale with with lemon peel, dried wild bergamot flower and Earl Grey Tea. An exemplary botanical beer, Wolf’s Bane reminds beer drinkers that there are still brewers willing to producing flavorful beers outside the realm of “trendy styles.”

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Scorched Earth Brewing Co. | Fierce Female IPA

We know them. We are them. Fierce Female by Scorched Earth is a West Coast Style IPA brewed to highlight the contributions of women within the industry and around the world. This year, Fierce Female was reimagined. This beer recognizes strong women past and present, while also empowering the next generation of fierce females.

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Maplewood Brewery & Distillery | Sidewalk Surfer Double IPA

Maplewood Brewery & Distillery has quickly become one of the best places in Chicago to find delicious beers and spirits. And they have continued to show that they can make any style of beer and make them really well.

One of their newest beers, Sidewalk Surfer, is no exception. This West Coast Double IPA takes it back to the days when IPAs weren’t all hazy and infiltrated with lactose and fruits. Read More

Illinois BEERacket Fundraiser Boxes Go On Sale Friday

With their regular roster of beer events canceled due to the pandemic, the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild has had to be creative to find other ways to generate revenue for the non-profit organization. One solution has been mixed variety beer boxes for the general public to purchase. They sold out of the “FoBAB at Home” boxes in November and are releasing a new box with a March Madness-like BEERacket theme.

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Boys Are From Märzen Podcast | Danielle D’Alessandro Illinois Craft Brewers Guild

In Episode 24 of the “Boys Are From Märzen” podcast, Kindsey Bernhard is joined by Danielle D’Alessandro, executive director of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild.

D’Alessandro was hired as the executive director of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild in September 2016, and currently has over 200 brewery members in the Guild.

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Noon Whistle Brewing | Papaya Gummy Vortex Northeast IPA

Noon Whistle Brewing Co. has become one of Chicagoland’s go-to breweries for IPAs, especially hazies. The brewery, located in suburban Lombard, Illinois, does IPAs so well that even Planters – a massive global brand – wanted to collaborate with them to create a peanut IPA. However, Noon Whistle is most known for its Gummy Series, a set of hazy, super juicy Northeast IPAs. Read More

Revolution Brewing Unveils City Series Branding to Celebrate Its Chicago Roots

The beauty of craft beer is in how intensely local it feels. Supporting your local brewery means supporting your city. While many breweries expand and grow in distribution, there’s something unique and familiar about drinking a beer that’s brewed close to you. With unique names and labels, breweries across the country lean into this understanding of what it means to be fiercely local. Illinois’ largest independently-owned brewery, Revolution Brewing, is interwoven into the tapestry of Chicago’s rich beer scene. Now, it’s going one step farther with the release of its City Series packaging refresh, which pairs iconic images of Chicago with some Revolution’s most popular session beers. 

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Lil Beaver Brewery | Citraic

Lil Beaver Brewery comes from Bloomington, Illinois—a town nearly smack dab in the middle of the state—and has been brewing up tasty treats since 2017.

They are fresh off their great performance at FoBAB, when we listed them as one of the best newcomers, and are finally starting to expand more and more throughout Illinois. The vast majority of their brews are Stouts but they have also made a name for themselves producing some tasty hazy Pale Ales and IPAs. Read More

Event Preview | Talking Metal Monkey Brewing Artisan Market with John Streetz

The second annual Metal Monkey Brewing Artisan Market hosted by Metal Monkey Brewing celebrates “craft” in its many forms. The event allows patrons to shop for unique gifts created by more than 30 local artists while sipping on craft beer, enjoying meals from local food trucks and listening to live, local music. Moreover, a percentage of all event proceeds will be donated to The St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

One artist, John E. Streetz, of Bead Streetz, is a well-known figure among Chicago’s brewing scene, both because of frequent visitations to Chicago-area breweries and because he regularly displays his artwork there. John is heavily involved in the Artisan Market event. He spoke with us about his work, the connection between artists and craft beer and the event at Metal Monkey.
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Triptych Brewing | Wake Up, Neo

Triptych Brewing started from a successful Kickstarter campaign back in 2012 but didn’t push out their first beers until February of 2013. Located in Savoy, IL (a small village just south of Champaign, in the middle of the state), the brewery has released more than 200 beers in the past six years and recently just expanded distribution so you can find them all across central and northern Illinois.

With the brewery’s recent expansion, I am finally able to enjoy its beers. Today, I found a four-pack of Triptych Brewing Wake Up, Neo: a Double IPA “brewed the hazy way.” This variation was brewed with Citra, Ekuanot and Mosaic hops and is sold in four-packs of 16-ounce cans that cost $17. The good news is each pint has a solid 8.4% ABV.

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Brickstone Brewery | Milkshake IPA

Located 60 miles south of Chicago, the quiet village of Bourbanais, Illinois, might be the last place you’d expect to find an award-winning brewery and brewpub. Brickstone Brewery is well-known nationally for its award-winning APA, and the brewery emerged well before Chicago became the brewery capital of the nation. Recently, Brickstone began experimenting with the new “trendier” styles of IPAs to great success. Brickstone’s Shak’d Up series of Milkshake IPAs gives the brewery a chance to have some fun and experiment with this new style.

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Lieferbräu Brewery is About Family, Small Town America & Great Beer

First, a piece of advice. Do not speed as you travel the picturesque country roads of southern Illinois. The first reason is, of course, the cops. The speed limits drop quickly from 55 to 35 as you near and enter the small farming towns along Highway 158. The second reason is the simple beauty of the drive. Country roads should be cherished and with the debut of Lieferbräu Brewery as a reward for heading in this direction, you’ll be driving with a smile the whole time.

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What We’re Drinking | April 20, 2018

Hope everyone is ready for some smoking good beers…get it?! Cause it’s 4/20? Yeah, I don’t care either. What I do care about is some of the tasty brews that are starting to peek out before spring weather greets us all – Saisons, IPA, and fruited beers! In case you aren’t in a place that is hitting 60+ degrees Fahrenheit, crack that heater, put on a pair of shorts, crack a cold one and see What We’re Drinking.

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Event Preview | Brewery Band Ballyhoo

Oh sure, you’ve let brewers please your palate and provide love to your liver, but have you ever let them entertain your ears? That’s what the Brewery Band Ballyhoo is all about. On February 2, for $10 (or $50 VIP), you can watch those brewers or brewing staff members get on stage and battle for the Ballyhoo Gold Record — your vote to determines the winner!

Although, in truth, the real winner is the Alliance for the Great Lakes. Proceeds will go the organization dedicated to keeping our Great Lakes pure. If you like beer, that should be important to you.

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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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4204 Main Street Debuts New Beer & New Place to Drink it

Featured image courtesy of 4204 Main Street Brewing’s Facebook page

Is 4204 Main Street Brewing Co. taking over the Illinois town it calls home?  Well, after visiting their brand spankin’ new tap room, then visiting their original location for dinner, and seeing the canning facility located next door—you have to wonder.

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Brewery Showcase | Recess Brewing

If there ever was a town that could be described as a picture postcard, it may be Edwardsville, Illinois. As you come off I-255 North, you’ll be led along New Poeg Road on your way to Main Street where this All-American small town is home to one of the fastest growing craft breweries in the area — Recess Brewing.

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Event Preview | Microbrew Mile Makes Quad Cities Thirsty

Take a look around the craft beer world today and you’ll find a pairing almost as common as a big IPA and juicy pub burger; beer and running. The connection seems incongruous given the usual clientele for craft beer–the “neckbearded,” the slightly paunchy, those predisposed to excess–but you can’t deny the sheer number of beer mile events and or beer-related distance running races that have begun to pop-up in cities across the country.

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Event Recap | Quad Cities Beer Fest Nails Local Charm

If there’s one problem with your average craft beer festival, it’s how the organizers shoot for the moon and often miss even the nearest star. The festival grounds are too expansive – too spread out or there are too many breweries in attendance. The lines are long, the music is too loud, there aren’t enough rinse stations – the list of gripes or miscues goes on.

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Chicago Gears Up For 7th Annual Craft Beer Week

For eleven glorious days, the city of Chicago is one giant playground for craft beer drinkers. The seventh annual Chicago Craft Beer Week takes place from May 19th-29th and will feature about 400 different events in 100 different venues.

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