Forbidden Root | Cherrytree Amaro Ale

ABV: 9.0%

Botanicals are seemingly having their place in the sun right now. Plants are more popular than ever in America, with people ordering kale in unlikely places, foraging for wild plants to eat, lining up to witness Corpse Flowers blooming country-wide and enjoying some previously illegal ones recreationally in four states. It was only a matter of time before they started showing up in our beer. Read More

Inside the Tank | Revolution Brewing Company

Walk into a bar in Chicago and you’re more than likely to see the colorful fist tap handles at the bar. Those fists let you know that Revolution Brewing is on tap and have become synonymous with Chicago craft beer.

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Ultimate 6er | 6 Beers You Have to Travel to St. Louis to Enjoy

Like nearly any major city in America, the local brewing scene in St. Louis continues to grow expontentially. But unlike other cities where the brewing is made up of many startup breweries creating a new scene, here it’s more like we’re reclaiming our heritage as the brewing capital. Read More

Event Recap | Tribes Fest IV

The fourth annual Tribes Alehouse & Beer Company Fest (Tribes Fest IV) was for beer aficionados, as demonstrated by the abundance of guests adorned in craft-brewing shwag and who routinely engaged in beer-centric conversations. Don’t think of Tribes Fest IV as pretentious or snobby — that’s not even close. Instead, imagine enthusiastic, passionate, and nerdy beer lovers enjoying their hobby in the same manner car lovers enjoy car shows and roller coaster enthusiasts enjoy amusement parks. Tribes Fest IV offered tremendous fun, but also a place to revel in superbly crafted beer.
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Rhinegeist Brewery | Trips American Wild Ale

ABV: 7.5% | IBU: 12

A few weekends ago, Rhinegeist Brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio had their anniversary party celebrating “Three Years of Thirst!” Located in the historical Over the Rhine Brewery … Read More

Fischman Liquors Set to Open at Six Corners in 2017

Just 24 hours before Fischman Liquors was set to close in their current location at 4780 N. Milwaukee Ave., husband and wife owners Gus and Shanna Karamaniolas announced they would be reopening in a new location sometime in 2017.

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Moody Tongue Tasting Room Taking Shape

After months of speculation, Moody Tongue Brewing Company has announced that their tasting room is getting ready to open its doors to the public. While no official date has been announced yet, the brewery issued a press release today with more details on the new space and what beer fans can expect.

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Brewery Showcase | Maplewood Brewery and Distillery

Maplewood Brewery and Distillery, as the name suggests, does more than deliver good beer to Chicagoans; they distill fantastic spirits, too. In fact, they are the only ones in Illinois … Read More

Event Recap | Square Roots Festival 2016

Chicago in the summer is well-renowned for its weekly street fests, so to survive and prosper, a festival has to provide a unique experience. After attending this year’s Square Roots Festival, on Sunday, July 10th, my girlfriend Yajaira and I understood just why this festival was worth its stature among the litany of successful events.

Located across the street from Welles Park, on Lincoln Ave between Montrose and Wilson, Square Roots Festival is an event hosted by the Old Town School of Music and the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce. Known for its array of music and craft beer this fest did not disappoint.

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The 9 Best Urban Chestnut Beers to Enjoy with Crawfish

When you’re from St. Louis and you fall in love with a New Orleans girl and her father tells you to “suck the head or starve,” it can be interpreted many, many ways.  Luckily for me I knew exactly what he meant, grabbed my plastic plate, filled it with a pound or more of steaming hot, red mudbugs and my life would never be the same. Read More

Brewery Showcase | Front Street Brewery

What does it mean to nurture an established craft beer brand into a new era? In such a rapidly expanding and evolving industry as American craft beer with 4,000 breweries … Read More

Revolution Brewing | Citra Hero

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. For a while Revolution Brewing’s Hero Series was only available in bombers or on draft. Luckily for craft beer lovers everywhere 2016 is the first time that the series has made its way into 12-ounce cans. For the summer there is no better beer to crush on a hot day than Citra Hero.

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Event Preview | Milwaukee Firkin Beer Fest

Held at the Cathedral Square Park the Milwaukee Firkin Beer Fest is an annual event hosted by East Town Association and BrewFest Partners over 150 beers, ciders and meads will be poured. Those in attendance will be able to vote for the winner of the Big Firkin award. Read More

Event Preview | 4th Annual Tribes Beer Fest

It’s no surprise that Tribes Alehouse and Beer Company was founded by a former chef – Niall Freyne. A good chef is a master visionary, able to transform individual ingredients into a well-composed dish. In that spirit, Niall is particular about every single beer served at Tribes – and there are tons of them. He said, “If I haven’t met with someone I won’t sell it. I want people to care about their client.” Each beer fits his vision for Tribes as a craft beer haven, and it’s a vision that has people coming back again, and again… and again. Read More

Goose Island Offers More Refunds for Off Flavors in BCBS & Prop

Off flavor issues that led Goose Island to offer refunds for Coffee and Barleywine Bourbon County Brand Stout have now now been discovered in 2015 Original BCBS and Proprietor’s as well.

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Gillian | Goose Island Beer Company

ABV 9.5 %

The sun shined brightly on a Sunday afternoon as my girlfriend and I cruised lazily the back streets of Chicago. Through some force of nature, we happened upon the Goose Island Fulton Taproom. Suddenly, those same forces guided us to a parking spot. As we opened the door, we were greeted by kind, soft and welcoming faces. Looking around inside, our DIY intuitions were stirred by the hand-made, Chicago-themed woodwork covering the walls. My eyes were drawn to a wooden barrel repurposed into a water dispenser. What a brilliant idea!

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Brewery Showcase | Great Central Brewing Company

Breweries have been accumulating in Chicago faster than snow during a vortex style blizzard. Many of those up and coming new breweries exist in buildings that offer limited potential for physical growth. But, brewing success leads to a greater demand, so what happens when the demand exceeds supply? Or, for brewers that haven’t yet found their own space, where can they brew? That’s where Great Central Brewing Company (GCBC) comes to the rescue (opening in fall, 2016).

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Taft’s Ale House | Culebra Cut Coconut Brown Ale

ABV: 6.1% | IBU: 12

Pair with: A Hawaiian shirt, shades, and a laid-back island attitude

Summer is in full effect in Cincinnati.  With the arrival of these hot summer months, Taft’s Ale House has graduated their Coconut Brown Ale, Culebra Cut, from a draft-only offering to easily-portable cans. Just the kind of six-pack I’ll be bringing poolside. Read More

Ultimate 6er | The 2016 Evolution Fighting Game Championship Series

The world of eSports is vast and glorious; on the brink of mainstream acceptance through the understanding and mutual respect put into the time and skill of learning video games. There are games with underground followings like Counter Strike: Global Offensive and genres such as MOBAs that have reached the zenith of national sport. But today’s Ultimate 6er is centered around a breed settled when the quarters were slammed on the arcade cabinet in the days of yore: Fighting Games.

The Fighting Game Community or “FGC” has had a vigorous history through years of rigorous reinvention and a fervent, dedicated fanbase of thrill-seeking gamers. Beyond the coordination and strategy of other gaming tournaments, Fighting Games have an unmistakably thematic flair. The ups-and-downs of comeback, the mind game of predicting your opponent and the study of position create a viewing experience unlike any other. It’s just two players, two controllers, two characters drowning out the thousands of passionate fans to play the best match possible. Read More

CCBW Barley’s Angels | The Women of Revolution Brewing

As I leapt over the river that had began to form on the sidewalk and street, trying to avoid becoming more drenched than I already was, I had finally arrived to the taproom and warehouse location of Revolution Brewing for the Barley’s Angels Women of Revolution event!

The last time I was at this location, it was for a friend’s wedding, and the atmosphere and energy of the space was completely different from the moment I crossed the threshold. When I walked through the doors and up the metal steps, my ears were greeted with jovial sounds of people talking, laughing and alternative music. There was a high lofted ceiling with exposed pipes and ventilation system, a dark wood bar lay directly in front of me which was the length of the room on the western wall. Floor to ceiling windows made up the north wall between the Taproom and Brewery, long community tables lined the open space, hundreds of barrels lined the east wall next to a gigantic American flag.
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