What’s Kicked
In an interview here at Chitown On Tap, Greg Koch of Stone Brewing Co. opened up about the dirty underbelly of pay-to-play tactics in Chicago’s beer business and offered some pointed words about Goose Island. In the interview, Koch claimed that he pulled out of a reputable Chicago craft beer bar for a book-signing event after its people demanded discounts and freebies in exchange for hosting. Commenters have since alleged that the bar in question is Sheffield’s. The bar has not yet returned my request for comment.
Greg Hall, former Goose Island brewmaster, is increasingly candid about his cider venture, Virtue Cider. He gave TimeOut Chicago a sneak peak at his Roscoe Village headquarters and lab and talked openly about sourcing apples in southwest Michigan.
Scott Sullivan of Greenbush Brewery talked distribution, growth, restaurant collaborations, and brewing out of the box with beernews.org.
Good Beer Hunting introduced us to Empirical Brewing, a brewery startup that’s starting to hold small tasting panels. I’ll say this again: If you’re not following Good Beer Hunting, you’re missing out. The balance of intimate, attention-grabbing images and potent, direct language is a delight.
Guys Drinking Beer wrote up a recent five-year vertical tasting of Bourbon County Stout. Bravo, guys, sounds excellent. And thanks for the invite…dicks.
Binny’s recently made clear its plans for world-domination.
Jam Productions put on its second annual Beer Hoptacular at the Aragon Ballroom this past Saturday. Check out reviews from Chicago Beer Geeks, TimeOut, and Chicago Reader. It appears Jam oversold the event, making for a long wait to get in the building and long lines to get beer. They came through with some cool pieces that such a big space affords, like live music, an auction, food, and a homebrew competition. Overall, it’s just great to see 2,000 Chicagoans packing the house for a craft beer event.
While Hoptacular was happening, a group of homebrewing buddies aspiring to drop the “home” qualifier served up some of their beers at a charity event. Interested to see/taste where Lowdive is going.
Josh Noel at the Trib commands you to drink Hinterland Luna Coffee Stout and Rodenbach Grand Cru. Hinterland is a Green Bay brewery that just started coming our way.
What’s On Tap
Bell’s Tap Takeover at the Beer Bistro this Wednesday.
Dogfish Head Occupies Division Street at Jerry’s Sandwiches on Thursday. Great list of elusive titles: 120, Hellhound, Life and Limb 2, Bitch’s Brew, Olde School, etc.
Half Acre is releasing The Chairman, an Imperial Red Ale, this Friday at the brewery. That night, they’ll take over the taps at Maria’s Packaged Goods, where bottles will also be available.
The Neo-Futurists–the performance group that brings you Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind and that graduated the founders of Drinking and Writing Brewery–are fundraising with a craft beer event this Friday. Breweries include Three Floyds, Half Acre, Goose Island, Finch’s, 5 Rabbit, New Glarus, Metropolitan, Haymarket, and Stone.
Ghost Pepper Bourbon County Stout anyone? John Laffler introduced Goose Island’s entries to the Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beers, happening this Saturday. Sound like the great festival all year? It is. Want in? Too bad. Watch for tickets next September for FOWBAB 2012.
If you’re not headed to FOWBAB, here’s another sold-out event this Saturday to torture your out-of-the-loop, procastinating soul: Three Floyds XV Anniversary Party. Think Dark Lord on collaboration steroids.
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