About- Mike Zoller
Revolution Brewing Goes Berry Forward in Next Deep Wood Release
July 16, 2020 | Mike ZollerOver the past few years, Revolution Brewing’s Deep Wood series has included a fruited Deth’s Tar featuring cherries, currants, and then plums. The oatmeal stout with the addition of the fruit has been a big hit during each release, so the announcement of Mixed Berry Ryeway created a stir on social media.
Crushed By Giants Opens July 17
July 13, 2020 | Mike ZollerIn 2013 when Greg Shuff was getting ready to open DryHop Brewers, he had a vision to open up a series of brewpubs in different locations throughout Chicago. Over the past seven years, he’s opened up two more spots and is about to launch the fourth location, Crushed By Giants, on Friday, July 17.
Historic Seipp Brewing Returns to Chicago
June 22, 2020 | Mike ZollerChicago is full of history and craft beer. On July 2, the two will once again come together when a beer that hasn’t been made since 1933 will make its return to the Windy City.
Revolution Brewing | Supermassive Café Deth
June 19, 2020 | Mike ZollerThere are beers with coffee in them and then there’s Revolution Brewing Supermassive Café Deth. With nearly three times more coffee than the brewery’s popular Coffee Stout, Café Deth, Revolution goes big and nails the latest Deep Wood release with a perfectly balanced, yet strong barrel-aged beer.
Chicago Brewpubs Prepare to Reopen on Wednesday
June 1, 2020 | Mike ZollerWhile many Illinois breweries were able to reopen with outdoor seating on May 29, Chicago-based breweries have had to wait a bit longer. However, this Wednesday, the city’s beer scene will finally begin breathing new life as brewpubs have been granted permission to reopen June 3.
In the city, things will operate under different guidelines than the rest of the state. As of right now, if a brewery location doesn’t serve food, they will not be able to reopen, even with outdoor seating. That will drastically limit which breweries in the city can reopen starting Wednesday.
3 Floyds Brewpub to Remain Closed Indefinitely
May 21, 2020 | Mike ZollerZombie Dust, Gumball Head, Alpha King and the rest of the 3 Floyds lineup of beers will still be available to-go from the brewery in Munster, IN. But, the ability to sit down and have a drink or a bite to eat won’t be around for the foreseeable future; the 3 Floyds Brewpub is closed indefinitely.
Newbies & Freshies Adapts, Illinois Craft Beer Week Postponed
May 11, 2020 | Mike ZollerFor the past three years, PorchDrinking and Bitter Pops, a craft beer bar and bottle shop, have put on Newbies and Freshies during Illinois Craft Beer Week to highlight the freshest and newest breweries in Chicagoland.
This year, with all events postponed, Newbies and Freshies will change the format. Instead of people coming to Bitter Pops to experience new and fresh beers hitting Chicago over the past year, we’ve created a box that you can take home full of a dozen beers from a variety of breweries.
Casa Humilde Cerverceria | Campesino Saison
May 5, 2020 | Mike ZollerDo you remember the last beer you had at a bar or brewery? It’s one of those things that I don’t think I’ll ever forget as the “stay-at-home” order will be a defining moment for all of us.
Ultimate 6er | The Last Dance
April 30, 2020 | Mike ZollerGrowing up in the suburbs of Chicago in the 90s spoiled me as a basketball fan. When I was five years old, I remember my mom giving me a wooden spoon and pot to go out into our driveway to make noise right after the Chicago Bulls won the first NBA Championship in 1991. I probably didn’t quite understand what was going on.
Five Chicagoland Patios for Craft Beer We Can’t Wait to Visit Again
April 7, 2020 | Mike Zoller 1Chicagoans cherish their patios as much as their tavern-style pizza or beef sandwiches. While we’re all staying inside to help flatten the curve and get through this pandemic as safely as possible, I couldn’t help but make a list of the patios I want to visit as soon as it’s safe to do so.
4 Chicago Routes for Brewery Curbside Pick-Up
March 30, 2020 | Mike Zoller 2As we continue to adapt to the changes that are occurring seemingly everyday, curbside pick-up from your local brewery is the new normal.
Chicagoans are lucky to have so many local breweries to choose from but like the city itself, they’re spread out. So we created four routes to help you visit as many breweries as possible that’re doing curbside pick-up.
How Breweries, Beer Festivals, & the Craft Beer Community have Responded to COVID-19
March 13, 2020 | Mike ZollerAs businesses across the country are taking extra precautions because of the COVID-19 virus, breweries are putting in new procedures and canceling events altogether in order to keep the public safe and prevent unnecessary risks.
Event Recap | 2020 Uppers and Downers
February 26, 2020 | Mike ZollerProbably one of the smallest venues for a beer festival out there, the intimacy of Thalia Hall creates part of the charm of Uppers and Downers, one of the top festivals showcasing the versatility of coffee. Moving to a Sunday for the first time since the inaugural event, the day change didn’t impact the crowd size as once again beer and coffee lovers alike packed the Pilsen music venue for two sessions of coffee beers, cocktails, and more.
Event Preview | 2020 Uppers & Downers
February 6, 2020 | Mike ZollerWhat started out as a beer festival for coffee beers has evolved into a full-blown celebration of coffee and all the unique ways it can be used in a wide variety of liquids.
After yet another successful event last year, Good Beer Hunting’s Uppers and Downers returns to Thalia Hall on February 23 with two sessions bringing together some of the most iconic coffee roasters, breweries, and distilleries under one roof.
Inside Revolution Brewing’s Barrel Program Ahead of Cuvée De Grâce & Ten Year Beer
January 22, 2020 | Mike ZollerFrom late September through the end of February Revolution Brewing’s Marty Scott has one thing on his mind – barrel-aged beer. As the brewery’s Barrel Program Lead, he’s been … Read More
Revolution Celebrates Legalized Marijuana in Illinois with Legal Hero
January 7, 2020 | Mike ZollerRecreational marijuana became legal in Illinois on Jan. 1, 2020 and it was a big deal. People lined up early in the morning, waiting for hours in order to be one of the first to legally purchase weed in the state, not unlike a beer release. Several breweries were preparing to release a special beer to mark the landmark occasion; the first one released was Revolution’s Legal Hero.
A Year Without Hazy IPAs
December 30, 2019 | Mike ZollerAt the end of last year, I wrote a piece on how in 2019 I was going to stop drinking hazy IPAs. Many people didn’t read past the headline and assumed it was just a purely negative piece on hazy IPAs; however, that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Our Favorite Chicago and Midwestern Beers from 2019
December 20, 2019 | Mike ZollerAs another year comes to a close, we’d like to look back at the past 12 months on some of our favorite beers we had that came out of Midwest breweries.
With the number of breweries increasing, it becomes harder and harder to narrow down a list, but we have a handful of Midwest writers who contributed their favorite beers of 2019.
Inside Samuel Adams Utopias
December 18, 2019 | Mike ZollerEvery two years, Samuel Adams releases a beer, in an uniquely-shaped and expensive bottle, that tastes like nothing you’ve ever had before. Utopias has the highest naturally fermenting ABV at 28% and while it can best be described as a port or cognac, it is indeed a beer.
Revolution’s Boss Jacket Stars in the Third Deep Wood Release
December 10, 2019 | Mike ZollerWhile the barrel-aged releases are dying down as we get closer to the end of the year, Chicago’s Revolution Brewing still has two more for their Deep Wood series and the third release (of four) happens this Friday at the taproom on Kedzie.
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