Midwest
Ultimate 6er | Pour Lists from 6 New STL Brewers for Heritage Festival
May 31, 2017 | Jordan Palmer
Call it experience, call it trial by fire, but I have found that the best way to maximize your beer festival participation is to have a plan. After perusing the attending breweries, all of which I love, I found a thread for this years plan – The New Kids On The Block.
Goose Island Migration Week Returns to Lincoln Square
May 31, 2017 | Mike Zoller 1
Goose Island’s Migration Week, which serves as an opportunity to expose fans to Goose Island’s portfolio and collection of rarities through education and activation events has already spanned the globe. Now Migration Week returns to Chicago and the Lincoln Square neighborhood the week of June 12th.
Event Preview | St. Louis Brewers Guild’s Heritage Festival
May 30, 2017 | Jordan Palmer
Featured image courtesy of St. Louis Brewers Guild.
It was a big deal to move a festival as large as the St. Louis Brewers Guild’s Heritage Festival from Forest Park to the Arch grounds, but I think it is one both local brewers and beer lovers agree is worth it.
There is no other beer festival in the city that offers the rugged poetry of the Mississippi River and the majesty of the Gateway Arch as its landscape (which, I must say, takes on new meaning after a few beers and a clear starry sky). Read More
Event Recap | CCBW Putt-Putt at Revolution Brewing
May 22, 2017 | Taylor Laabs
Chicago Craft Beer Week means beer lovers can expect a bevy of fun and unique events from local craft brewers. One of those events, hosted by Revolution Brewing over the weekend, had both good beer and mini golf – which is something that no other brewery could offer.
Fast Facts on Ravenswood’s Newly Branded Malt Row District
May 22, 2017 | Taylor Laabs
*Feature image courtesy of Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce
Ravenswood is embracing the vibrant beer culture within its Northside neighborhood by re-branding a two-mile stretch of road into Malt Row, which will feature six local breweries along with one distillery. That two-mile stretch, mapped here, will expand from Balmoral Avenue to Irving Park Road.
Event Recap | Beer Under Glass (BUG) – Chicago Craft Beer Week
May 22, 2017 | Mike Zoller
* Featured photo taken by Eric Dirksen and was from the 2016 BUG event
For the second year in a row, Beer Under Glass — the official kickoff to Chicago’s Craft Beer Week — was the benefit of great weather on the evening of the event. Although the temperature dropped 30 degrees throughout the night, that pales in comparison to recent years plagued by rain and bitter cold, which turned the outdoor grounds of the Garfield Park Conservatory into a muddy disaster.
Warped Wing Brewing Co. | Trotwood Lager
May 22, 2017 | David Nilsen
Image courtesy of Full Frame Studios.
ABV: 4% | IBU: 20
When the temperatures begin creeping into the 70s here in Ohio each spring, we begin shedding our winter coats and making plans for summer. As we put our fuzzy mittens into storage, we start opting less often for stouts and other heavy beers and reaching instead for lighter, sunnier fare. For those of us in the Dayton area, that often means Warped Wing Trotwood Lager.
Event Recap | Craft and Cuisine at The Park at Wrigley
May 18, 2017 | Taylor Laabs
*Feature image courtesy of The Park at Wrigley
On a glorious Saturday evening, Chicago beer lovers got to experience the first ever non-baseball event at The Park at the Wrigley – and boy was it a good one. The inaugural Craft and Cuisine event had everything you’d want in a beer festival – great beer, access to brewers and unlimited pours. Read More
AleSmith and Around the Bend Collaboration, Chicago Craft Beer Week
May 18, 2017 | Mathew Powers
The annual Beer Under Glass (B.U.G.) at Garfield Park Conservatory serves as the formal opening to Chicago Craft Beer Week (#CCBW), and brewers are more than happy to provide special offerings for the unique event. One such brew exemplifies the true meaning of craft beer — industry first, beer first, a collaboration between two “competing” breweries, Alesmith Brewing Company and Chicago’s Around the Bend Beer Co. This special brew will enjoy its first pouring at B.U.G, and then during select events (and sold in stores) thereafter.
Event Recap | Chicago Beer Classic at Soldier Field
May 17, 2017 | Mathew Powers
Although the last vestiges of winter traversed Lake Michigan and infiltrated the Chicago Beer Classic on May 6, glorious blue skies and both golden sunshine and beer screamed, “spring.” Besides, a little cool breeze couldn’t ruin an experience provided by 100+ brewers pouring beer at a venue that provided plenty of proverbial “wow factor.” Produced by Red Frog Events, few venues exceed the uniqueness offered by a chance to sip a beer while standing on the Chicago Bears logo at the 50-yard line. Go Bears, or go beers — both applied. The additional component of the stadium’s role in paying homage to America’s soldiers only added to the fest’s positives.
Streetside Brewery | Suh, Brah? New England Style IPA
May 17, 2017 | Danele Bova
ABV: 6.7%
Are you on the haze train? If you enjoy a craft beer that looks more like a glass of juice than a glass of beer, Streetside Brewery’s Suh, Brah? is the hazy beer for you!
Event Preview | CCBW Putt Putt at Revolution Brewing
May 16, 2017 | Taylor Laabs
Feature image courtesy of Revolution Brewing
Beer and golf are a perfect combo. So, if you’re the masterminds at Revolution Brewing, combining the two for a 9-hole putt putt course at their brewery only makes sense—which is exactly what they’re doing May 19-21 for CCBW. Revolution Putt Putt will give beer patrons the opportunity to play nine beer-inspired holes throughout their Kedzie facility, all with a can of their new Sun Crusher wheat ale in hand.
Schlafly Debuts New Frugi-Four Sampler Pack
May 15, 2017 | Jordan Palmer
Fruit or fruity beers are not for everyone. But that could be said about sours or stouts, and I let them into my life, so why not fruit beers?
So how do these popular spring and summer brews fit into my life and how can you, too, welcome them into yours? This is the question I decided to tackle for no other reason than I love exposing myself to new beers or in this case, beers that have been around but I’ve simply avoided.
8th Annual Chicago Craft Beer Week Kicks Off Thursday
May 15, 2017 | Mike Zoller
Every year since 2010, Chicago Craft Beer Week has celebrated the city’s craft beer industry and all those that work so hard to produce so many great beers. On Thursday, the week-long celebration kicks off with Beer Under Glass (B.U.G) and then will be followed by hundreds of events over the next seven days.
Logboat Brewing Company | Snapper
May 15, 2017 | Jordan Palmer
I first discovered Logboat Brewing two years ago, about one year into their existence. If memory serves, it was the Centennial Beer Festival in St. Louis and I walked away after sampling Snapper thinking it was one of finest IPAs I’d had in long time. I made a mental note to remember that something very exciting was going on in Columbia, Missouri with this new brewery “LongBoat.”
Soon, I was bringing home Snapper as my go-to IPA as well as its American cousin Lookout. After a few closer looks at the cans, I finally realized they were not Longboat but Logboat and after a good chuckle at myself, I knew I had found something special.
Coming Soon: Greer Brewing | Gambling on Beer as a Career
May 12, 2017 | Jordan Palmer 1
Back in the late 1990s, my wife had a habit of signing up for every contest she ran across — and winning. One day, a home brewing kit showed up at our home. It went straight into the basement and remained there until it was tossed in the trash during a spring cleaning. What a mistake, because right about that time, I discovered craft beer and fell in love with the entrepreneurial spirit it represented. Given my young age, I could have walked away from my television career and went into brewing, but I didn’t. Now years later, I’ve converged my love of responsible drinking and my love for media into writing about beer. Nevertheless, that spirit of putting one’s faith in beer continues today, such as the story attached to Chris Greer and Greer Brewing.
How DryHop Brewers is Helping to Save the Polar Bears
May 11, 2017 | Taylor Laabs
Feature image courtesy of DryHop Brewers
DryHop Brewers is known for making great beer in the Lakeview community; they are also known for some pretty cool collaborations. One of those collaborations is the charitable partnership they have with the local Lincoln Park Zoo. Now in its fourth year, this creature-inspired collaboration is all about benefiting the animals – and brewing a special beer each year in their honor.
Black Lotus Brewing Co. | Ninja Pirate Barleywine
May 11, 2017 | Danny King
Like many a Pirate’s doomed lusts for treasure, I’ve frequently attempted (and failed) to get my hands on Black Lotus Brewing Ninja Pirate to review it for the PorchDrinking.com audience. Winning a gold medal for best strong ale at the World Beer Cup tends to bring some competition for the bottles.
My first attempt, a week and a half after its release, failed because the beer was sold out. In my second attempt to procure a bottle of Ninja Pirate, a mere two days after the beer release, I was at least laughed at by head brewer Nick Joseph. It took one more failure before I finally got my hands on a bottle and subsequently found time to share the pride of Clawson, MI with you all. Trust me; Ninja Pirate is worth the wait.
Event Preview | Craft and Cuisine at The Park at Wrigley
May 10, 2017 | Taylor Laabs
Feature image courtesy of The Park at Wrigley
Over 40 craft beers, 60° temps (fingers-crossed) and a one-of-a-kind setting is what you can expect at the first-ever Craft and Cuisine event this Saturday. Hosted at The Park at Wrigley, the Craft and Cuisine event will offer over 40 local pours along with delicious food from renowned local eateries like the Girl and the Goat – all under the gorgeous backdrop of Wrigley Field.
4204 Main Street Debuts New Beer & New Place to Drink it
May 9, 2017 | Jordan Palmer
Featured image courtesy of 4204 Main Street Brewing’s Facebook page
Is 4204 Main Street Brewing Co. taking over the Illinois town it calls home? Well, after visiting their brand spankin’ new tap room, then visiting their original location for dinner, and seeing the canning facility located next door—you have to wonder.
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