About- Mike Zoller
Mike Zoller
After trying to retire after a lucrative two-year career in sports journalism, Mike got back into sports but in the administration side. He currently works for the Northwestern University Athletic Department as an account executive working directly with football and men's basketball. At Miami University Mike was the sports editor for the The Miami Student and also did radio play-by-play for RedHawk ice hockey, football and baseball. Mike is still waiting to see Northwestern basketball play in the NCAA Tournament and the Cubs win the World Series.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.
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].
Goose Island Reveals 2019 Bourbon County Stout Lineup
August 14, 2019 | Mike Zoller 4
After weeks of speculation and multiple labels filed to the TTB that didn’t quite make the cut, Goose Island has announced its 2019 Bourbon County Stout lineup. Like last year, there will be the original Bourbon County with seven variants, eight beers in total.
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 | Beers for a Float Trip
July 31, 2019 | Mike Zoller
Every year my company does a big float trip about 90 minutes south of the city of Chicago. We hop into canoes and spend anywhere from three to four hours floating down a river. Of course, while you’re floating you need drinks, that’s pretty much half the fun otherwise, you’re just canoeing. So for this Ultimate 6er, I picked six beers great for an afternoon on the river.
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?
Revolution Brewing to Release Two Barleywines in July
July 8, 2019 | Mike Zoller
Big Stouts and Barleywines are typically released in the fall and winter. The cold and sometimes downright freezing temperatures create a perfect atmosphere to drink beers that are more than 12% ABV. So naturally, when Revolution Brewing announced that two big English Barleywines are getting released in mid-July, it turned heads.
Brewery Showcase | New Glarus Brewing
July 1, 2019 | Mike Zoller
“You’re going to Wisconsin? Can you pick me up some Spotted Cow?”
If you like beer and you live in the Chicagoland area when someone knows you’re going … 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.
New Holland Brewing | Triple Mash Dragon’s Milk
May 23, 2019 | Mike Zoller 1
New Holland Brewing’s Dragon’s Milk is an iconic stout in the craft beer industry. It’s the most widely produced barrel-aged stout in the country and is the featured beer in the Michigan brewery’s arsenal.
Beer Lines and What They Say About the Culture of Craft Beer
May 21, 2019 | Mike Zoller 1
A few weeks ago as I walked into my office, I noticed a massive line stretching around the block. It was just after 7 a.m. in the middle of the week; clearly, these people had been waiting either overnight or since very early in the morning. It wasn’t freezing out, but it wasn’t warm. I later found out they were waiting for the BTS, the Korean music group, pop-up store to open up. I thought they were all crazy.
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.
10th Annual Illinois Craft Beer Week Kicks Off
April 29, 2019 | Mike Zoller
In 2018 a lot of changes happened to Illinois’ celebration of craft beer. For the first time, Chicago Craft Beer Week was renamed to Illinois Craft Beer Week (ICBW), Beer Under Glass (BUG) moved to a Friday and the event lasted two weeks.
2019’s Illinois Craft Beer Week will follow suit to the 2018 event as BUG will continue to kick-off the festivities on Friday, May 10, at the Garfield Park Conservatory. However, ICBW will last just one week.
2 Days 2 Nights | Stevens Point, Wisconsin
April 22, 2019 | Mike Zoller
In just about any direction from Chicago, you can do a short drive and experience a fun, beer-filled weekend. About a 3.5-hour drive north of the city and you’ll hit Stevens Point, Wisconsin, home of the Central Wisconsin Craft Collective.
Michigan’s Jolly Pumpkin Creates Neighborhood Feel in Chicago’s Hyde Park
April 2, 2019 | Mike Zoller
As more and more breweries pop up, the idea of the neighborhood brewery is becoming increasingly popular. To wit: Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales’ only location outside of Michigan, their Hyde Park location which opened in 2017, is quickly become a gathering space for the community.
Event Recap | Uppers and Downers 2019
April 2, 2019 | Mike Zoller
To call Uppers and Downers “just” a coffee beer fest would be a disservice to how the event highlights both the coffee and the beer industry.
Inside the Tank | Crystal Lake Brewing
March 25, 2019 | Mike Zoller
While there are a lot of big name breweries operating inside the city of limits of Chicago today, the surrounding suburbs are producing notable beers that often fly under the radar.
Since 2014, Crystal Lake Brewing has been producing beers that have become a mainstay for McHenry County. In that time, the brewery has begun to make more of a name for itself outside of Crystal Lake, IL.
Mikerphone Brewing Opens Addition, Preps for Smells Like a Beer Fest
March 25, 2019 | Mike Zoller
Two years to the day Mikerphone Brewing opened its taproom, the brewery officially opened its new addition, called the Mikerphone Blue Room. The expansion more than doubles the total square footage of the brewery, triples the seating capacity, and opens the door to a future that founder and owner Mike Pallen never could have imagined.
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