UPDATED Event Preview | Chicago’s 6th Annual Beer Hoptacular

Chicago’s Beer Hoptacular enjoyed tremendous success and popularity its first five years..and then it vanished. Seemingly in its prime, it went away for a year. But, drawing on its inner Michael Jordan, HopTacular can announce to the world, “I’m back!”  

(Edit: Back, indeed! The Pour List is located at the bottom of this article. More than 150 beers from around the country.)

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2 Days, 2 Nights | South Bend Craft Beer Scene

Notre Dame isn’t the only source of gold in South Bend; there are plenty of pint glasses filled to the brim with golden lagers and ales, too. Not to mention, barrel-aged barleywines, stouts, and everything else one can imagine are all being served in Northern Indiana.

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Avery Brewing Company | Ale to the Chief

8.1% ABV | 19.1 degrees Plato (OG)

Avery Brewing Company Ale to the Chief is around for a third term. Don’t worry, there’s no dictatorship here — it’s all about democracy. In that spirit, this isn’t the first time we’ve written about Ale to the Chief. Four years ago, PorchDrinking’s own chief wrote a blurb about Avery’s Ale to the Chief, but there’s a new political and beer climate around, it’s time for a new voice. It’s time for my voice. It’s time for change!

[Balloon Drop]

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Craft Beer News | Rhinegeist Expands to Massachusetts

Cincinnati’s Rhinegeist is headed for Massachusetts.

The “Ghost of the Rhine” brewery that breathed life into the old Cincinnati brewing district resides in the old Moerlein bottling plant (1895) – a facility so large it hosts motorcycle shows, dances, concerts, and wiffle ball tournaments. But, even that expansive space wasn’t large enough to contain Rhinegeist. The brewery needed to expand, and Massachusetts is where it is landing.

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Chicago’s German-American Oktoberfest

Chicago’s German-American OktoberFest, held in the city’s Lincoln Square neighborhood, celebrates culture, history, and of course good old fashioned Deutschland fun. However, it also provides a glimpse into Chicago’s love affair with German-style bier, both traditional and modern craft.

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Beer Bar Showcase | HopCat Chicago

HopCat Craft Beer Bar in Chicago (2577 N. Clark St | Clark & Wrightwood) takes beer drinkers on a funky ride through time to the 1970s. Glowing orange lamps, geometric carpets, oil-paintings of rock legends and plenty of mahogany and red-leather meet beer drinkers the moment they enter the building.  Of course, the one glaring difference between a 1970s lounge and HopCat Chicago is clear — the immense presence of craft beer in the form of 130 taps and 200 bottle choices, nearly half of them born from Chicago-area fermentation tanks.

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Dogfish Head | SeaQuench Ale

ABV: 4.9 | IBU: 10

Dogfish Head has a knack for marking time — 60, 90 and 120-minute intervals. But, in the case of SeaQuench Ale, it’s not mere minutes that matter, it’s centuries. Five hundred years ago, the German brewing purity law, or Reinheitsgebot, gave birth to the prominence of the German lager we’ve all come to know and love. Sea Quench Ale honors that anniversary by simultaneously celebrating German brewing and ignoring that law.

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Goose Island’s BCBS 2016 Announcement Greatly Exaggerated

For many beer enthusiasts, the release of Goose Island’s Bourbon County Brand Stout (BCBS) is akin to Christmas morning. The 2016 variants are beginning to leak through several sources, but according to Megan Lagesse, Communications Director at The High End beer division of Anheuser Busch (and whose office is situated at Goose Island), rumors of the BCBS release — regarding the exact variants — are untrue. She explained, “We have to submit many labels to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) prior to releasing the beer. We have to do that well in advance, but that doesn’t mean those are the actual, final versions. So, about those rumors. They are just not true.” Read More

Brewery Showcase | Around the Bend Beer Company

Around the Bend Beer Company isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel; the two-year-old brewery is on a mission to make the wheel faster, slicker, and cooler. When brewing a Kolsch-style beer (Ghost of ‘Lectricity), a first-wort brewing process is applied to extract more hops flavor, yet also smooth out its edges. When Around the Bend brews an American Pale Ale (Silk Road), galangal is blended into the recipe. And who else make the connection between orange marmalade and a Double/Imperial IPA? You find it in Mr. Marmalade.

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Chicago’s Urban Legend Brewing is Now Myths and Legends Brewing

Another Chicago brewery is changing its name, and this time it’s Urban Legend Brewing (Westmont, IL). And it’s coming with a week-long party! On Aug. 22, Urban Legend Brewing Company will officially become Myths and Legends Brewing Company. This name change arrives on the heels of several, recent Chicago brewery name changes such as Atlas Brewing becoming Burnt City, South Loop Brewing becoming Hop Butcher for the World, and a few years ago, Mercenary Brewing becoming Maplewood. Read More

2016 Summer Olympics | Beer from Around the World

It’s Summer Olympics time. Sure, a flight to Rio is expensive. So, stay home, turn on the T.V. and have a flight you can afford — an international beer flight. Anthony Norkus, who specializes in imported beer for the 127-year-old Chicago-based Louis Glunz Beer explained, “The international/import beer market is aggressively trying to stay relevant as much as the American craft breweries. Due to this we are seeing a lot of innovation coming out of breweries that are hundreds of years old.” Read More

Event Recap | Tribes Fest IV

The fourth annual Tribes Alehouse & Beer Company Fest (Tribes Fest IV) was for beer aficionados, as demonstrated by the abundance of guests adorned in craft-brewing shwag and who routinely engaged in beer-centric conversations. Don’t think of Tribes Fest IV as pretentious or snobby — that’s not even close. Instead, imagine enthusiastic, passionate, and nerdy beer lovers enjoying their hobby in the same manner car lovers enjoy car shows and roller coaster enthusiasts enjoy amusement parks. Tribes Fest IV offered tremendous fun, but also a place to revel in superbly crafted beer.
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Avery Brewing Co. | El Gose

ABV: 4.5%

Avery Brewing El Gose (Gose-Uh)

Is it Mexican? Is it German? Is it Coloradoan? Here’s what it is — It’s delicious. Read More

Breckenridge Brewery | Nitro Vanilla Porter and Mango Mosaic Pale Ale

Breckenridge Brewery is offering two unique ways to embrace summer with a refreshing brew.

For fans of the mosaic hops, the flavorful and aromatic hop developed roughly four years ago, … Read More

Brewery Showcase | Maplewood Brewery and Distillery

Maplewood Brewery and Distillery, as the name suggests, does more than deliver good beer to Chicagoans; they distill fantastic spirits, too. In fact, they are the only ones in Illinois … Read More

Event Preview | 4th Annual Tribes Beer Fest

It’s no surprise that Tribes Alehouse and Beer Company was founded by a former chef – Niall Freyne. A good chef is a master visionary, able to transform individual ingredients into a well-composed dish. In that spirit, Niall is particular about every single beer served at Tribes – and there are tons of them. He said, “If I haven’t met with someone I won’t sell it. I want people to care about their client.” Each beer fits his vision for Tribes as a craft beer haven, and it’s a vision that has people coming back again, and again… and again. Read More

Brewery Showcase | Great Central Brewing Company

Breweries have been accumulating in Chicago faster than snow during a vortex style blizzard. Many of those up and coming new breweries exist in buildings that offer limited potential for physical growth. But, brewing success leads to a greater demand, so what happens when the demand exceeds supply? Or, for brewers that haven’t yet found their own space, where can they brew? That’s where Great Central Brewing Company (GCBC) comes to the rescue (opening in fall, 2016).

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Yards Brewing Co. | Thomas Jefferson’s Tavern Ale

8% ABV | 28 IBU

July 4, 2016, marked the 190th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson’s death. In essence, he died on the very day he helped make significant as a result … Read More

Rhinegeist | Streaker Rye IPA

ABV: 6% | IBU: 60

Streaker Rye IPA from Cincinnati’s up-and-coming  Rhinegeist provides insight into why this Queen City brewery is enjoying such rapid success. Rhinegeist recently celebrated its third anniversary, only days after partying with friends from New Belgium Brewery to help kick off the release of the Fat Tire and Friends CollaBEERation 25th Anniversary project (as reported by PorchDrinking’s Jasmin Hudacsek). In a crowded world of craft brewing, Rhinegeist is making beer enthusiasts take notice. Read More

Event Recap | Chicago Ale Fest

Like a symphony orchestra that brilliantly melds the sounds of a drum, bassoon and violin together into one harmonious musical piece, the Chicago Ale Fest proved most enjoyable because from tent to tent; one could sample a black or red IPA, porter, an ale with green tea and lemongrass, fruit-forward beers, barrel-aged brews, helles, pils, maibocks, saisons, sours and gose…and a partridge in a pear tree, I think. Each beer was good on its own, but collectively it makes for one terrific beer experience. Read More