Lefse & Lingonberries, Uffda! The “Most Minnesotan Beer” at the State Fair

If there’s one thing Minnesotans are proud of, it’s the Minnesota State Fair! Though if you’d said hot dish, ice hockey, Bob Dylan, Prince, the Mall … Read More

How Two Brothers Brewing Co. Succeeded Before the Craft Beer Hype

Back in 1996 when Two Brothers Brewing opened there were just a handful of breweries operating in the Chicagoland area and three closed within two months of Jason and Jim Ebel starting the brewery.

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4 Hands Brewing | City Museum Pilsner

The inspiration for craft beer can come from anywhere: famous historical figures, inside jokes between brewers and a host of other items, serve as inspiration and backstory for the craft beers we drink. One of the nice things about the hyper-local nature of the craft beer scene is its ability to provide insight into the local area — that was the case for me with 4 Hands Brewing’s City Museum Pilsner.
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Brewery Showcase | BuckleDown Brewing

Enter the BuckleDown Brewing taproom and you’ll find, among other elements, an arrangement of leather furniture around a table (barrel) that makes one feel as if they have been invited into the BuckleDown home. It’s a fitting setting for an inviting brewery where the people matter as much, if not more, than the beer served to them. Ironically, BuckleDown opened with a production mindset in place rather than a brewpub or any concept intended to draw people through the door. Nonetheless, people arrived and relationships were forged. Catering to people isn’t a business strategy at BuckleDown: it’s organic and genuine. Read More

The OGs of Craft Beer | 3 Floyds Zombie Dust

Long before people chased down the haziest IPAs that stay fresh for two weeks or the sweetest pastry stouts with ingredients that you’d never expect would make it into a beer, craft beer enthusiasts chased 3 Floyds Zombie Dust. 

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Lucky Dorr Celebrates One Year of Success in the Heart of Wrigleyville

Deep in the heart of Wrigleyville, nestled between the macro-beer strongholds of Sluggers and the Friendly Confines, is a small, 400 square-foot box of craft beer paradise. Started last July, Lucky Dorr is one of the recent upgrades to the sprawling Wrigley Field complex that aims to give baseball fans and regular neighborhood beer drinkers alike a truly unique craft beer experience. The young craft beer spot focuses on exclusive, ballpark-inspired collaboration beers with local breweries as a way to provide patrons with something different from the Bud and Goose Island-filled stadium cups they’re used to. It’s an ambitious venture, but it seems to be working. We spoke to bar manager and brewer Niilo Hayes about the success of the craft beer bar and what he has planned for the operation — and for Wrigleyville — in the years to come. Read More

Lou Dog Events Expanding the Reach of Craft Beer Festivals throughout Chicago

If you’ve been to a beer festival in Chicago in the past few years, odds are it was put on by Lou Dog Events. 

A craft beer lover himself, founder and president Josh Seago, along with his team, is producing 10 craft beer festivals this year throughout the city and the surrounding suburbs. From the Chicago Ale Fest to the popular suburban Naperville Ale Fests, there’s no shortage of opportunities to sample beer from a wide variety of breweries.

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Event Recap | Only Child Brewing 3rd Annual Barrel Birthday Bash

Only Child Brewing may not enjoy the street cred afforded to breweries located within the city limits of Chicago, but with its 3rd Annual Barrel Birthday Bash it’s abundantly clear that the skill needed to convert water into wine-barrel-aged beer (or any other BA beer) has nothing to do with a brewery’s geography. Indeed, the barrel aged beers proved to be spectacularly executed and artistically conceived. Throw in some terrific food, fun music, excellent weather, friendly staff and a lively crowd, and it’s easy to see why Only Child continues to grow more popular each year.

To describe each beer would be exhausting, but here are five beer experiences from the day (six beers total) that shed light on the Only Child bash.

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Chicago’s Off Color Brewing Brings 1000-Year-Old Beer Recipe to St. Louis

Maybe it’s me, but it feels like there is so much new beer coming into St. Louis that I’m not sure where to begin. Just last week, we got word from our friends at Craft Republic that Off Color Brewing, based in Chicago, would now be released in St. Louis.

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The OGs of Craft Beer | Bell’s Brewery Oberon Ale

Once upon a time, I was a young person who only drank Bud Light. You couldn’t get me in the same room with a craft beer. My (now) husband could not stand it, but he mostly just gave me a little hell while he drank his microbrews. However, his frustration got the better of him one day and he proclaimed, “That’s it! We need to find you something that isn’t Bud Light. Anything.”

I hesitantly agreed and he went to his fridge, coming back with a beer he had already picked specifically for me. I drank it. I didn’t just like it, I loved it. Little did I know that this beer would lead me to a career and to a passion that I would hold for the rest of my life. That beer was Oberon Ale from Bell’s Brewery.

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Wildfire Series | An Example of a Brewery with the Wind at its Back

Maybe you haven’t noticed, but Chicago’s Burnt City Brewing is making waves. The brewery already boasts of a chic brewpub and bowling alley on the always-hip Lincoln Avenue, a brewhouse located in the locally-famous, former Jay’s plant, eye-catching label artwork and a recent collaboration with Chicago’s illustrious Art Institute. But now it’s also churning out a diverse, impressive collection of beers including its Brett and Yeast friendly “Wildfire Series.”

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Surly Brewing Announces 2018 Darkness Variants & Revamped Darkness Day

Rewind the cold beer time machine just five years and you’ll discover only a handful of iconic beer events that have withstood the test of time. Even still, these OGs of craft beer events probably look a little different than they did back when they first started gaining popularity, because as tastes evolve, so do the greats.

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Urban Chestnut | O-Katz Oktoberfest Returns in 4 & 8 Packs

It’s August. Most of the country is still experiencing summertime heat. But, I’m writing tonight to talk about fall beer. Yep, fall beers. In this case, it’s Urban Chestnut‘s two-year-old Oktoberfest Lager with a funny name — Oachkatzlschwoaf.

This malty yet well-balanced Märzen may be tough to pronounce, but it’s easy to drink. Its full name is pronounced “oh-khut-zel-schvoaf,” which translates to “tail of a squirrel”… I hear it’s a just a little Bavarian humor. But, you can simply refer to it as “O-Katz,”

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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

Ultimate 6er | Charitable Michigan Breweries

No one can deny that the influx of local breweries throughout the United States has been a major boon for local economies. Breweries drive beer and food tourism, create jobs, and encourage new business opportunities. In fact, this is often a factor for brewers when choosing where to open their business — they want to make the community better. This is even more clear when breweries make philanthropy a priority, no matter how small. This week for the Ultimate 6er, we’ll be featuring six charitable Michigan breweries who are doing just that — improving their communities in multiple ways.
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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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Has Constellation Lost Their Minds? Church’s Beer to Benefit LGBTQ & More News

Often when we find an inordinate volume of random beer news happening all at once, we’ll try to round them up as quick hitters to make sure to keep everyone in the loop. So in today’s edition of the roundup, we’ll touch on some bizarre decisions by Goose Island and Constellation, some release info as well as a great story on inclusion from an unlikely source.

We’ll kick things off with four equally bizarre moves from Constellation Brands, the beer conglomerate that owns Corona, Modelo, Ballast Point Brewing, Funky Buddha Brewing and the recently acquired Four Corners Brewing.

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Schlafly Partnering With Award-Winning Wineries for Newest Release

If you have never had a sip of anything from Schlafly’s Ibex Series, I highly recommend you start. Schlafly Beer first introduced this series of premium beers in 2017. Since then, the series has provided new, handcrafted beers from what is known as the Ibex Cellar.

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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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