Midwest
Maplewood Brewery & Distillery | Son of Juice
October 4, 2016 | Craig Gonciarczyk
Everyday, you wake up and, among other things, decide what to wear. A top, shoes, necklace, skirt, pants – whatever. Maplewood Brewery is trying to expedite this process by offering you the option to wear your Juice Pants out in the world.
Goose Island Beer Co. | Brewery Yard
October 3, 2016 | Mike Zoller
When drinking your favorite craft beer, how often do you think about the history behind it? To be honest there isn’t a lot of history behind most craft beer. In an industry that isn’t very old and more typically focuses on the new and exciting release, history often doesn’t make its way into craft beer. But Goose Island’s Brewery Yard is one beer that features a unique and interesting historical tale.
Event Recap | Goose Island Clybourn’s Belgian Fest
September 29, 2016 | Mike Zoller
Quality over quantity can be a beautiful thing for a beer festival. It seems that every festival nowadays boasts that they’ll the most breweries and the most beers. But at this past weekend’s Belgian Fest at Goose Island Clybourn, it wasn’t the number of breweries that people were talking about; it was the quality of the beer being poured.
Hop Butcher For The World | Your Wish Is Granted
September 28, 2016 | Craig Gonciarczyk
I recently went to a carnival. After surviving the Tilt-A-Whirl, ring toss, and the tamale boat, I needed something to wash it down. Unfortunately, the carnival was sponsored by AB-InBev, so all they had was Bud Light. I wandered around and found a fortune telling machine by the Port-o-Potties. Braving the stench, I put a dollar in quarters in and saw Zoltar’s face light up and move, asking me for my wish.
2016 GABF Pour List Preview
September 26, 2016 | Chris Day
With 775+ breweries in attendance and 3,500+ beers available for sampling, the dazzling array of choices at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival could overwhelm even the most seasoned beer enthusiasts. Are you looking for all the sours? IPAs? Barleywines? Look no more!
Continuing one of our favorite GABF traditions, we reached out to every brewery attending the festival this year to get a preview of what they will be pouring. We hope our exclusive pour list preview will give you a head start on planning the best route possible through the maze of GABF breweries in order to gain the best beer for your buck. Read More
Old Irving Brewing Co. Opens in Chicago
September 22, 2016 | Alex Chavez 1
The week has finally come for the much-anticipated opening of Old Irving Brewing Company. OIB is located in the sneakily densely populated Old Irving Park neighborhood of Chicago just off the Edens at 4419 W. Montrose. The brewery is also only a couple blocks from the Montrose Blue line stop, making it very commuter friendly. Right now only street parking is available, however, a parking lot is in negotiations. Read More
Craft Beer News | Rhinegeist Expands to Massachusetts
September 22, 2016 | Mathew Powers
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.
Event Preview | BrewDog’s Inaugural ‘Annual General Mayhem’
September 21, 2016 | Spencer Mapes
It has been long awaited, and the day is almost here when BrewDog Brewing out of the U.K. will open its doors in Columbus, Ohio. But first, BrewDog needs to take care of a little business. How does the most badass brewery out of the United Kingdom take care of business, you ask? By inviting 46,000 ‘Equity Punks’ to Columbus for the Inaugural ‘Annual General Mayhem’ event on Saturday, September, 24th.
Ultimate 6er | Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
September 21, 2016 | PorchDrinking.com Staff
Chicago is well known for many things. Second City, The Great Chicago Fire, Italian beef sandwiches…
But perhaps the most famous item to come out of Chicago is deep dish pizza. We came up with our Ultimate 6er of local Chicago beers that pair well with some of our favorite local Chicago pizza places.
Brewery Showcase | Transient Artisan Ales (Bridgman, MI)
September 20, 2016 | Chris Wallner
In order to standout as a brewery in the great state of Michigan, you’ve got to go above and beyond just brewing really solid beer. Since 2012 over 100 new craft breweries have opened in the fruitful state of Michigan alone. But Transient Artisan Ales, in the southwest corner in Bridgman, has begun found a way to gain not just local industry attention but national acclaim as well.
Urban Chestnut Zwickel Radlers to Debut at Oktoberfest
September 20, 2016 | Jordan Palmer
As the cooler temperatures of fall ascend on our city, it’s time to welcome back fall beers and of course fall beer festivals. That’s right it’s time to drop the C in October and replace it with the K, and welcome back all of area’s bests Oktoberfests.
Chicago’s Goose Island Migration Week Comes to Logan Square
September 19, 2016 | Mike Zoller
Chicago’s Goose Island Migration Week comes to Logan Square September 26th thru September 30th with a full week of craft beer inspired events at a variety of locations.
The brewery has been doing Migration Weeks throughout 2016 and have visited cities not only around the United States but all over the world. Goose Island Migration Weeks have been to the UK, China, South Korea and still have plans to go to Guadalajara later this year. Migration Week has been in Chicago once before, when in June the brewery was in Lincoln Park for a week.
Chicago’s Best Craft Beer Bars to Watch the Bears
September 19, 2016 | Mike Zoller
During this football season don’t be subjected to drinking subpar beer while watching the Chicago Bears. We have a continuously updated list of Chicago’s best craft beer bars to watch the Bears, which includes the surrounding suburbs. These game watch-spots serve top-notch craft offerings, while also turning up the audio during the games.
Want to add a brewery or craft beer bar to the list? Email us. We’ll update this list daily. Read More
Illinois Craft Brewers Guild Announces New Executive Director
September 17, 2016 | Mike Zoller
After a search that lasted most of the summer, the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild has announced they have hired Danielle D’Alessandro as their new executive director. D’Alessandro replaces Justin Maynard who left the guild back in June and is now working at Baderbräu in Chicago.
Chicago’s German-American Oktoberfest
September 16, 2016 | Mathew Powers
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.
Against the Grain Brewery | 35K
September 15, 2016 | Gregory Acero
ABV: 5.0% | IBU: 25.5
Another summer has come and gone. As we rapidly approach the fall season, you start to see pumpkin beers as the main focus within the craft beer industry. But for me, it’s all about the stout! I know that you can enjoy any beer during the year, no matter what season it is. However, when the weather gets cooler and the days get shorter, I personally just love drinking stout, such as Against the Grain 35K.
Ultimate 6er | Zinzinnati Oktoberfest
September 13, 2016 | Kristen Ballinger
With only a few days away from the largest Oktoberfest in the United States, it’s time to put on the drinking cap. Each year more than 500,000 people come to Cincinnati (aka Zinzinnati) to attend this rich German heritage event sampling German-style food, music and my favorite, beer. Read More
Chicago Prepares for 8th Annual Cooking Up a Cure Benefit
September 12, 2016 | Mike Zoller
Not too many events in Chicago can pair the city’s best chefs alongside a wide variety of local craft beer, spirits and wine. On Thursday, Sept. 15, the 8th annual Cooking Up a Cure will take place at Galleria Marchetti to raise money for the Greater Chicago chapter of the Scleroderma Foundation.
Beer Bar Showcase | HopCat Chicago
September 8, 2016 | Mathew Powers
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.
Event Preview | Lagunitas Beer Circus Chicago 2016
September 6, 2016 | Mike Wronski
For the third year running, Lagunitas’ Chicago brewery is hosting the indefinable Beer Circus this Saturday, September 10th. The event is the first stop of the traveling circus this year, with appearances added in Brooklyn, NY and Asuza, CA. with, of course, their annual main event at the original Petaluma location (win tickets to the Petaluma event here!). Read More
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