The OGs of Craft Beer | Oskar Blues – Dale’s Pale Ale

When you speak of OG beers, few stalwarts deserve the title more than Oskar Blues Brewery’s Dale’s Pale Ale. You can call many brewers innovative, but being able to say that you canned the first ever craft beer definitely gives you some added bragging rights. Dale’s Pale Ale’s adept combination of floral hops and malt overtones was first packed into aluminum back in 2002, in the early days of craft beer’s infancy, before beer was served in snifters and incessantly critiqued on social media. The iconic “strong pale ale” is still one of the most recognizable beers on the market even as the style of Pale Ale has evolved and the India Pale Ale entered its heyday. Here’s why it continues to capture the taste buds of drinkers across the country.

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National Brewers Take the Haze Craze to 12oz Cans

Chances are, your local brewery has experimented in the Hazy IPA trend. It would be silly not to given the incredible popularity of the newish beer style that has taken the nation – and even GABF – by storm thanks to its fruit-forward appeal and inherent drinkability. Hazy IPAs have expanded into many areas of the craft beer economy, but they’ve yet to really make an impact on the 12oz can segment. That is all changing thanks to the vision of three nationally-known breweries, 21st Amendment Brewery, Deschutes Brewery and Odell Brewing Co., making their hazy offerings readily available in the easily accessible aluminum format. We asked each brewery why they’ve decided to can their hazy creations.

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Paws & Pours | The Story of Empirical Brewery’s Feline Employees

Located in the heart of Ravenswood’s Malt Row, Empirical Brewery has drawn a significant following thanks its scientific approach to brewing and great sour beers. Oh, and the cats are a huge draw too. You won’t find them roaming around the taproom or on much of their branding, but there’s no doubt that their three Ghostbuster-themed cats, Venkman, Egon and Raymond have had a significant impact on the staff at Empirical and on their business as a whole. On a given Saturday brewery tour, it’s common for patrons to be more interested in finding the cats hidden amongst pallets or perched in their cat castle than getting a close look at Empirical impressive experimental brewing system. We asked Head Brewer and COO Jacob Huston about his feline employees and how they’ve become a vital part of the brewery’s family – and business. Read More

Half Acre’s The Big North Celebrates Duality of Mainstream Appeal & Creativity

This past Saturday, beer fans from across Chicago (and the larger U.S.) made the trek to Half Acre’s Balmoral home to partake in the burgeoning beer fest called The Big North. Half Acre has hosted this event for three years running now. Each year is bigger, each year is better, and each year, the beer list grows to eye-popping quantities. The third iteration of Half Acre’s beer celebration did not disappoint as hundreds of sudsed-up beer fans took in a picturesque summer evening across Half Acre’s ever-expanding campus. The event is special for many reasons, but it’s also an important milestone for Half Acre’s self-titled pursuit of “duality,” which means that they’re able to make enough mainstream brews to keep business moving, while also keeping their creative and experimental programs producing at a high clip. The result of Half Acre’s pursuit was witnessed on Saturday, and boy did it taste good.

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Fast Facts on Surly Brewing’s New Hop Pack

Oh, variety packs. What Hazy IPAs are to trending beer styles, the variety pack is to new packaging formats. And why not? You lower buyer’s remorse by offering more options and expose consumers to a wider array of your beer. Minnesota’s Surly Brewing has experimented with offering new beers available only in variety packs before (ala 60 Below Rye IPA), and its newest Hop Pack offering aims to build on this by offering two new beers in a hop-focused format.

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Lagunitas Partners with Short’s Brewing Co. on New Session Ale

Last July, Lagunitas purchased 20% of Michigan-based Short’s Brewing Co. When it was announced, Short’s spokeswoman Emily Sullivan noted that the agreement was strategic and helped them grow their business through easier access to materials and packaging that a brewing behemoth like Lagunitas can offer. Now, we’re seeing the first real activation of the partnership, as brewers from both operations joined together for a Midwest meets West Coast collaboration: Passion Grass Session Ale made with passion fruit and lemongrass. The new creation is the first consumer-facing example of their partnership and is sure to appeal to beer geeks nationwide. Here are the details.

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Why the Craft Brewers of Green Bay are Some of the Packers’ Biggest Fans

Wisconsin is known for its cheese, beer and football. Green Bay, Wisconsin’s third biggest city, is simply known for the Packers. Dubbed Titletown USA, Green Bay has been home to the Packers for ages (the team will celebrate its centennial next year). The team is also a massive business boon for the city thanks to the tourism and additional business opportunities it brings to the small port city.

Packers football Sundays have also become big business for Green Bay’s small, but growing, craft beer scene. Two breweries, Badger State Brewing and Hinterland Brewery, are strategically positioned within a quick walk from the hallowed grounds of Lambeau Field. Stillmank Brewing Company is a bit farther away, but still sees a good deal of added foot traffic during any Packers’ home game weekend. We spoke to the owners of each brewery for an assessment on how the Packers have impacted their business.

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Chicago Quick Sips August 6 – 19

Quick Sips is our way of highlighting beer events, tap takeovers and other notable beer news around the city of Chicago, IL. 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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New Moves from Allagash & Surly Signal Rise of Wine-Inspired Lagers

Rosé (lager) all-day? For some beer-drinkers, this dream is quickly becoming a reality. To stand out in 2018, brewers are throwing anything and everything (fried chicken?) into their beer to win over the increasingly saturated taste buds of beer lovers. That said, some breweries are moving in a different direction.

Beloved Minnesota brewer Surly Brewing and national powerhouse Allagash Brewing have decided to target a new sub-section of drinkers: wine and spirit fanatics. It’s a large group that continues to eat up market share thanks to the popularity of beverages like spiked seltzers and Rosé drinks. Rosé in particular continues to increase its influence across the alcohol market, posting a 40% increase of sales in 2017.

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Creature Comforts Brewing Co. | Get Artistic Tart Wheat Beer

Creature Comforts Brewing Co. makes great beer; they also make great beer with a purpose. Their recent initiative, Get Artistic Tart Wheat beer, is a fitting testament to this two-pronged approach. Announced earlier this summer, the Get Artistic beer is part of a larger campaign aimed at finding  “creative ways to add value the local arts community” in Athens, Georgia. The kicker: 100% of the profits from the beer and its corresponding flashy merchandise will go towards funding the dreams, endeavors, and passions of local artists. Sounds like a win-win to me. Here’s my review.

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Niche or Necessity? Why 19.2 oz Cans Continue to Gain Momentum

Look in the hand of any avid craft beer fan and you’ll most likely find a can of glistening beer. Right now, the shift towards aluminum primarily revolves around the traditional 12oz and tallboy formats, but that trend is evolving as consumers continue to voice their beer opinions through their wallets. The next frontier for cans is one that has been on-shelves for some time. Unsurprisingly pioneered by Oskar Blues back in 2012, the 19.2oz can, often called a stovepipe, is a behemoth of beer, giving drinkers over 1.5 standard servings of beer. It’s not a format for everyday use, but several brewers across the nation are finding interesting niches for the big can format.

We asked them about the growing trend and if they think the can is here to stay.

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Fast Facts on Lagunitas’ New THC-Infused Sparkling Beverage, Hi-Fi Hops

It’s not any sort of industry secret that Lagunitas Brewing Co. has been known to have an affinity for dankness. The Petaluma, CA-based brewery has had a storied history combining hops and cannabis into beer, which makes their recent announcement that much more exciting. Lagunitas has decided to take their groovy talents to the booming sparkling water market, with the introduction of their Hi-Fi Hops sparkling beverage. The new carbonated water drink is IPA-inspired and blends together hops with both THC and CBD, two chemical compounds found in cannabis.

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Why Patio Season in the Midwest Means More

Oh, summer. As a native Minnesotan and current Chicagoan, I have a mixed relationship with the best season of the year. I’m used to rationalizing the cold, the rain, the snow, more cold…and even hail, endured during roughly nine months of the year, knowing that the sweet embrace of 70 degrees and sunny skies is right around the corner. Unfortunately, summer in the Midwest can be as fleeting as the last drip of Lager in your glass, which is why Midwesterners go so crazy for the nice days:  because there are so few of them. One of my favorite summer activities is patio drinking. It’s a staple pastime that tans the skin and bloats the belly as you sit outside sopping up suds and some much-needed Vitamin D. Much like its inhabitants, the breweries of the Midwest also rejoice when the first summer forecast comes into the picture. Patio season can even start before Memorial Day – I’ve seen Chicago breweries unveil their patio chairs on an unseasonably sunny day in March. And guess what? That patio was filled. We asked several Midwestern brewers why patio season is so special for their brewery and for their patrons.

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Fast Facts on Revolution Brewing’s First Ever Sour: Freedom of Speach

Chances are, the last Revolution Brewing beer you had was probably from their Hero IPA line – or even a Rosa or Pils knowing both are a staple of summer. That might not be the case for much longer. Revolution is diving head first into the sour beer trend with the release of their first-ever sour, Freedom of Speach. The session peach sour gets its tartness via kettle souring and comes in at a sessionable 4.5% ABV, meaning that it will add some variety to any cooler you’re packing this season.

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More than a Name | How Service Brewing Lives its Mission

The goal of any brewery should be to produce great beer and positively impact their community. Many breweries have this similar mission, but few are as mission-driven as Savannah-based Service Brewing Co. Read More

Michigan Beer Chronicles Part 3 | Touring the Caves of Founders Brewing

There’s few things darker than standing in a pitch black cave. The lack of light heightens your other senses immensely. As the lights went out in the famed Grand Rapids barrel storage cave of Founders Brewing Co., my nose lit up with the smell that any barrel-aged beer fan should be familiar with—bourbon. Founders’ head cellarman Jason Heystek is used to it by now, just like he’s used to scaling the rows of bourbon, tequila and wine barrels that line the former gypsum mine. Five minutes into our tour of the caves, Jason had already found a comfortable seat on-top of a KBS barrel. Much like the booze-soaked liquid that warms the body, Jason exudes a sense of comfort and enjoyment that reverberated throughout the group, making our tour almost 90 feet underneath Grand Rapids, a truly unforgettable experience.

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Michigan Beer Chronicles Part 2 | Traverse City

Thanks to the permeation of their ad campaign throughout Chicago, my initial impression of Traverse City was that there was going to a brewery every block. That turned out not to be true – and that’s probably a good thing. While a good deal of breweries can be reached via a leisurely stroll on Front St., a lot of the other worthwhile spots are a bit more spaced out, which forces you to explore the unique history and scenery that makes Traverse City one of the better tourist destinations in the Midwest. We got the chance to experience a good deal of what the city had to offer through a variety of brewery stops on Saturday and Sunday, along with a trip up the peninsula to visit the Old Mission Lighthouse and the scenic grounds of the Jolly Pumpkin brewpub. Here are my highlights. Read More

Michigan Beer Chronicles Part 1 | Grand Rapids (plus Bell’s & Dark Horse)

After a five-day excursion with my beer-loving parents through Western Michigan and Traverse City, I’ve come back enamored with many of the local brews… and about five pounds heavier. But it was all worth it: every single brew, cheese board, burger and beer flight. During the trip, we visited over 20 breweries throughout Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Marshall, Ludington and Traverse City. Some were massive, others were upstarts, but each left an impression. To make my recap as readable as possible, I’ve decided to divide my thoughts up into regions, starting with the focal point: Grand Rapids, and the additional visits we took to Bell’s, Dark Horse and Starving Artist located in Kalamazoo, Marshall and Ludington respectively. Here are my highlights.

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Assessing the Comic Book Success of Revolution Brewing’s League of Heroes Variety Pack

Revolution Brewing knows how to make damn good beer, and they know how to market it. With an overwhelming amount of quality craft options in the Chicago market, Revolution has been able to defend their sales turf by standing out through their unique marketing efforts – look no further than their League of Heroes variety pack.

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Lagunitas is Making Moves Both in Azusa and Abroad

In most areas of business, expansion is almost always a good thing. But that notion has not always been the case in the craft beer industry. Look no further than … Read More