Goose Island Migration Week Comes Home To Chicago

Chicago’s own Goose Island Brewing Co. is bringing Migration Week, a week-long celebration of beer, food and music, to Lincoln Park next week (June 20-24) to show some local neighborhood love. The week kicks-off with a return of the famous Brewers Workout —an exercise class designed around the day to day life of a brewer. More events are included below with descriptions and links for tickets.

Brewers Workout
Date: Monday, June 20
Time: 7-8:30 p.m.
Location: Webster Place Athletic Club, 1455 W. Webster Ave.
Event Description: Kick off your week with a Brewers workout brought to you by Goose Island! Ever wonder how brewers get those svelte figures? We are hosting an exercise class designed around the day to day life of a brewer. After the class we will celebrate with the end product that those brewers work so hard to make.
Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/brewers-workout-with-goose-island-webster-place-athletic-club-620-tickets-25905498042
After party: Distilled Chicago, 1480 W. Webster Ave.


Drink Tank
Date: Tuesday, June 21
Time: 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Location: Moosejaw Lincoln Park, 1901 N. Clybourn Ave.

Event Description: You bring your creativity and imagination, we’ll bring awesome people, and Goose Island will provide great beers to cheers with. Together we’ll build a new kind of map, one that’s community generated and tells the story of what the lake means to us, our neighborhoods and the city of Chicago. We’ll share these creative insights and artifacts with our friends from the Alliance for the Great Lakes, who will be joining us for this Party with a Purpose.
To purchase tickets: http://www.drinktankthat.com/lake-michigan#map-lake-michigan
After party: Derby Bar, 1224 W. Webster Ave.


Bee Squad Release
Date: Wednesday, June 22
Time: 5-8 p.m.
Location: The J Parker, 1816 N. Clark St.

Event Description: Bee Squad is a Biere de Miel traditionally brewed with honey. Bee Squad has a saison-like base, combined with honey and apricot essences. In the end, the beer is easy drinking and has a nice complexity for an 8% ABV beer. Please join the Bee Squad and the rest of Goose Island at The J Parker for a celebration of this limited release. All of the ticket sales will benefit The Chicago Honey Co-op Training Center.
To purchase tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/goose-island-release-event-bee-squad-a-biere-de-miel-tickets-25791256342
After party: Wells on Wells, 1617 N. Wells


Sofie “Brinner”
Date: Thursday, June 23
Time: 7-9 p.m.
Location: Summerhouse, 1954 N. Halsted St.

Event Description: Goose Island is putting a twist on the traditional beer dinner with a Sofie "Brinner" (breakfast for dinner). Join us at Summerhouse for a three-course brinner paired with Sofie, our Belgian farmhouse ale, as well as Sofie cocktails and Sofie Mimosas. All of the ticket sales will benefit The Chicago Honey Co-op Training Center.
To purchase tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sofie-breakfast-for-dinner-at-summerhouse-tickets-25796227210


The Empty Bottle Presents: Strand of Oaks
Date: Friday, June 24
Time: 9 p.m. doors open; 10 p.m. opener; 10:45 p.m. Strand of Oaks
Location: Goose Island Brewpub, 1800 N. Clybourn Ave.
To sign up: http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?eventId=6760415&dispatch=loadSelectionData

Brooklyn Brewery & New York Comic Con "Defender IPA" Launches Nationwide

For the fourth year, Brooklyn Brewery has teamed up with New York Comic Con and illustrator Khary Randolph to create the official beer of the convention. It's an explosive West Coast-style IPA with a reddish twist thanks to a dash of roasted malt. Bold, fruity hop bitterness and an intensely resinous nose smash into a sudden dry finish that will refresh and entice you.

Starting in 2016, the Defender will be available in bottles and draft across the United States, standing tall for all those who believe in excellent beer.

Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Brewery®

To celebrate it's launch in Chicago, Defender IPA is coming to Rotofugi on Friday, February 12 at 7:30 PM. It's going to be a welcoming party like none other, but a character like the Defender deserves the best.

Your $10 ticket grants you entry, three beer tickets, live comic book portraits from Chicago artist Kat Janda, and some sweet East Coast hip hop, funk and more from the Vinyl-Only DJ. You'll also be entered to win a Defender prize pack including a Brooklyn Brewery snapback, a set of Defender pint glasses, and limited edition artwork, all signed by this year's Defender artist, Khary Randolph. Even if you don't win, there will be plenty of Brooklyn swag to take home.

Grab your tickets right here, and get ready to #defendbeer!

Check out the Defender trailer for more on the collaboration:

Aboard the WI Beer and Cheese Cruise with BrewFest Partners

By guest contributor MC Johnsen

On Saturday, May 30 I attended BrewFest Partners Wisconsin Beer and Cheese cruise aboard Navy Pier’s Mystic Blue cruise boat. As this unique floating fest left from the pier’s end to sail up and down Lake Michigan for a couple of hours, fest-goers were treated to DJ-provided tunes and a view (albeit cloud-covered) of the Chicago skyline.

   

A handful of Wisconsin breweries, plus two cider-makers were on board pouring their best selections. Clocktower Creamery was also in from Madison, WI to provide three special cheese offerings: Chèvre, a semi-sweet soft and fluffy spreadable cheese, Quark, a salty and slightly sour cheese spread and Squeaks, a salty and delicious rubbery orange-yellow nugget that squeaked when you chewed it.

I’ve paired my top beverage choices from Saturday’s shindig with Clockshadow’s delicious cheeses, as follows:

Squeaks + Really Cool Waterslides American IPA by 3 Sheeps (6% ABV)

3 Sheeps’ flagship beer is a lightly bitter American IPA balanced with quenching floral and mango hop notes. This sweet-and-bitter beverage went perfectly with the chewy, salty curds and both made me thirst for more.

Chèvre + O-Gii Imperial Wit by MKE Brewing Company (9% ABV)

This imperial wit with green tea added had complex notes of coriander, citrus, and tea leaves, all balanced on a creamy backbone that masked the booziness of this beer. In combination with the slightly sweet, tangy and fluffy French-style goat cheese, O-Gii’s sweet citrus notes were made even more prominent and enjoyable. 

Quark + Kinglet Bitter English Cider by AeppelTreow Winery (6% ABV)

Made with bitter, heirloom English and French apples this funky and fruity cider was barely sweet up front and had a dry finish. The quark’s light and tangy, slightly sweet taste complimented the beverage perfectly–both were equally funky and earthy, tangy and sweet. 

Brewfest Partners’ next Chicago event will be the Chicago Small Craft Cruise, also aboard the Mystic Blue on Sunday, July 26th, showcasing 12 “of the most unique and crafty” small breweries of the craft beer scene in Chicago. Tickets ($49) are on sale now, right here. 

MC Johnsen is a professional graphic designer and illustrator based in Chicago, IL. She is also the artist and author behind beer blog Worth a Thousand Beers. In her spare time MC enjoys homebrewing, taking on DIY projects, CrossFit, and binge-watching TV shows on Netflix. Her favorite coffee beverage is an Americano, and she shares a home with her husband Matt and their dog Dallas in Lombard, IL. You can find her on Twitter @worth1000beers.

XOCO Bistro's Pop-Up Beer Dinner Series

This spring Rick Bayless' latest restaurant, Xoco Bistro, announces the “Yucatan Pop-Up Series” to some of Chicago's favorite breweries for a three-course dinner and beer pairing. 

The beer-themed dinners will take place at ​Half Acre Beer Company​, ​Temperance Beer Company​ and Revolution Brewing. The brewmasters will pair craft beers with Xoco Bistro’s spicy menu 

inspired by the Yucatan, where the flavors of achiote, citrus, smoke and habanero prevail.  

“All of the flavors in this dinner are really bold. They’re not delicate flavors,” said Maurizio Fiori 

of Half Acre Beer Co. “And in our beer, we get ingredients to shine in a bold way. We saw the 

same approach in the menu Xoco Bistro presented to us.” 

Xoco’s menu will be highlighted by Cochinita Pibil tacos, made with suckling pig slow-roasted 

in our wood-fired oven, and topped with black beans, pickled red onions and habanero salsa. 

Guests at these one-of-a-kind dinners will also sip on a special beer cocktail, nosh on Sikil 

Pak, a Mexican pumpkin seed dip, and dive into a ridiculously good coconut rice pudding 

dessert. Each brewery will feature a beer for each course. 

April 6​th​: Half Acre: 4257 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago 

April 27​th​: Temperance:  2000 Dempster St, Evanston 

May 7​th​: Revolution Brewery: 3340 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago 

  

Tickets for the first pop-up at Half Acre are on sale now:​ ​http://bpt.me/1381383​. $40 includes 

three-courses and four beers. Tune into Xoco Bistro’s Facebook​ ​page​ for announcements on 

future ticket sales. 

Jerry's 4th Annual Oak & Iron

The 4th Annual Oak & Iron IV: A Bounty of Barrel-Aged Beers is Thursday, Feb 12th at Jerry's in Wicker Park. Celebrate an eve of magic, myth, and epic heroism. And beer. Lots of barrel-aged beer. 

Oak & Iron begins at 6 pm with an array of fantasy-inspired prog and assorted metals, while regaling you with tales from forgotten sword-wielding cinema on our ten-foot screen.

Live set of crazy rock and destroy your roll from Rabble Rabble at 11pm!

This event has NO entry fee and is pay as you go. Many of these beers are very limited so it's first come, first served for all. Fantasy costumes are encouraged, not required.

Tap List (All beers tap at 6:00 pm.):
Port Brewing / The Lost abbey Angel's Share
Avery Brewing Company Samael
Left Hand Brewing Company Barrel-Aged Wake Up Dead
Solemn Oath Brewery Patron Saint of Quality Footwear
Revolution Brewing Gravedigger Billy
Great Divide Brewing Company Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti
Founders Brewing Co. Backwoods Bastard
Goose Island Beer Co. Bourbon County Barleywine
2013 Point Brewery Whole Hog Barrel-Aged Barleywine
Avery Brewing Company Tweak

A Barrel-Aged Beer-Filled Week In Chicago

This weekend marks the Annual Festival of Barrel Aged Beers (FoBAB), here in Chicago, drawing breweries from around the nation to our fine city with kegs of delicious, wood-aged beer. If you did not get tickets to the sold out fest, have no fear, as Chicago's craft beer bars are filled with opportunities to get your lips on some of these award-winning beers throughout the week, and meet the brewers behind them.

Upland Brewing Co., Tour de Sour - Five events held over four nights, each featuring super rare (and surprise) sour and barrel aged beer that rarely make it to Chicago.

Nov. 12th - Bangers & Lace (1670 W. DIVISION ST), 6PM
Nov. 13th - Logan Arcade (2532 W. FULLERTON AVE), 7PM
Nov. 14th - Old Town Social (455 W. NORTH AVE)
Nov. 15th - Maria's Packaged Goods & Community Bar (960 W. 31ST ST), 7PM
Nov. 15th - Moxee Kitchen & Madmouse Brewery (724 W. MAXWELL ST.)

Goose Island Clybourn Brewpub - 

Nov. 10-16th – "3rd Base," Oak Aged Belgian Triple, aged in oak barrels with Brettanomyces (11.2%)
Nov. 14th (Friday only) – 2013 Bourbon County Brand Stout on draft all day and bottles of 2013 BCBS Backyard Rye (dine-in only).   

Nov. 14-15th – "Cran-Bruin," Flemish Style Sour Brown Ale with Cranberries, aged in oak barrels with Lactobacillus and Brettanomyces (5.2 %).

Surly Beer Dinner and Tap Takeover - Surly's return to Chicago: 1 Year Anniversary Dinner featuring 5 courses and 9 Super rare beers, 20 seats only. Tickets. Nov. 12th, 6pm

Local Option, Jonny Coffman's Bottle Rockets' Autumn Bottle Share - Epic bottle share, keg of Metropolitan Brewing Magnetron, as well as an ever-impressive tap list of stouts and barrel-aged beers. Nov. 12th, 7:30pm

Thanksgiving Dinner with Stephanie Izard and Revolution Brewing - Chef Stephanie Izard will be preparing recipes featuring products from her line of sauces and spices. Each course will be thoughtfully paired with a beer from Revolution Brewing, including their barrel-aged Scotch ale, Gravedigger Billy. Tickets and more info here. Goddess & Grocer Bucktown location. 

Nov. 12th, 6:30pm 

Hopleaf, Tri-Coastal Beer Dinner - Join the chefs of Hopleaf in collaboration with The Bruery's Jonas Nemura, Allagash, and Penrose for a 6-course beer pairing dinner. Tickets and more info here. Nov. 12th, 7pm 

4 Hands FoBAB Pre-Party, Maria's Packaged Goods & Community Bar - 

Featuring barrel-aged drafts including Cuvee Diable and Late Harvest Saison plus Ca$h Mony, Passion Fruit Prussia and 2013 Bana Fide. Food by Won Kim – Gochujang chorizo chili, fingerling potatoes, beer cheese, leeks and sweet onions that pairs nicely with the featured beers. Nov. 12th, 7pm

SmallBar Division, THE WRAP PARTY - After 10 years, SmallBar Division is set to close after one last night of the very best beer. Brewers on hand with tappings from Allagash, Avery, Firestone Walker, Goose Island, Half Acre, New Belgium, Three Floyds, Perennial and more! Nov. 13th, noon - close

The Village Tap, Second Annual “Couldn’t get a Ticket to FOBAB Barrel Aged Beer Event” - featuring 20+ barrel-aged beers from breweries such as Allagash, Central Waters, Deschutes, Firestone Walker, Goose Island, Revolution, Surly and more!

Nov. 13th, 5pm through Nov. 16th (while supplies last) 

Against The Grain Brewery/Takeshi Brew/Marz collaboration release, Maria's Packaged Goods & Community Bar - Tapping of "Umami," Barrel-aged Imperial Stout with 80's Youtube Karaoke!

Nov. 13th, 8pm 

Northdown, Baller Barrel-Aged Beer Bash - Meet the brewers and enjoy draft rarities from: Jolly Pumpkin Brewery, Perennial Artisan Ales, Off Color Brewing, Side Project Brewing. Nov. 13th, 6pm

Whole Foods Kingsbury, Red Star Bar - Stone's Arrogant Birthday - Join Stone Brewing Company's Steve Gonzales for some barrel-aged beers and Q&A to celebrate Stone's Arrogant Birthday.

Nov. 13th, 5pm 
 
The Beer Temple, Abraxas Day - Perennial has chosen The Beer Temple for their annual Abraxas Day release. Abraxas, an Imperial Stout brewed with Ancho chili peppers, cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and cinnamon sticks, is one of America's most delicious stouts and a highlight of Perennial's many offerings. Nov. 14th, 2-5pm

• Bottle sales begin at 3:00PM
• First 100 people will get a chance to win other Perennial beers, store discounts, glassware, clothing and more!
• A small bottle share will take place the hour before from 2:00 - 3:00 at the back entrance of the shop.
• Small Bar Logan will be serving Abraxas 2013, Abraxas 2014 and Coffee Abraxas in coordination with our event.

Upland Brewing Presents a Winter Warmer, Maria's Packaged Goods & Community Bar - Featuring their Bourbon Barrel-Aged Warmer, Dragonfly IPA and Dantalion Wild Dark Ale. To compliment these specialty brews, Chef Won Kim will be cooking in our outdoor patio grill a complimentary menu consisting of platters of barbecue chicken, potato salad, grilled vegetables and hot links.

Nov. 15th, 7pm 

Other exceptional spots to keep an eye to the taplist this week:

Jerry's (Wicker Park and Andersonville), Fountainhead, The Map Room, Half Acre Taproom, Revolution Taproom, Binny's South Loop and Lincoln Park Tasting Rooms.

Looking for something different...

Kaiser Tiger's Lagerfest - Drink your way through lager history with their "Evolution of the Pilsner flight" featuring 8 lagers on tap including Pilsner Urquell and Weihenstephaner.

Nov. 14th, 7pm

Paddy Long's Barrel-Aged Malort and Cheap Beer Festival -  featuring 12 Cheap Beers from around the country $3 each, Regular and Barrel-Aged Malort shots.

Nov. 15th, 8pm

Don't forget about the upcoming #GooseIslandBlackFriday release of the 2014 Bourbon County Brand Stout variants. Events hit Chicago on Wednesday, Nov. 26th. For more information visit the event website.

Penguin Hops Release Party at Shedd Aquarium

By guest contributor MC Johnsen

On Thursday, October 30th, the Shedd Aquarium and Revolution Brewing hosted a release party at the aquarium for their annual collaboration beer, "Penguin Hops." For the last three years, the Shedd Aquarium has partnered with Revolution to brew this beer with the organically grown hops from the grounds of the aquarium itself. This beer is not to be missed because for each pint sold, $1 will be donated back to the aquarium to support their conservation efforts.

The event kicked off at 5pm with a keg-tapping of "Penguin Hops". The beer, an American Pale Ale, was remarkably clear with juicy grapefruit notes and a creamy, smooth finish. A sessionable beer, this nicely hoppy, but not-at-all-bitter, beverage clocked in at 5.5% ABV and 30 IBUs. Most notably though, it was a beautiful amber-orange color with reddish highlights – both delicious and pleasing to look at. 

Each year, the beer recipe has actually included a combination of the unknown variety of the whole hops gathered from the Shedd, some others harvested from Wil Turner’s home-grown hop garden (the vines of which are rumored to cover his entire house), and some commercially-produced hop pellets. Hops were added mainly for flavor and aroma, and the known varieties included Warrior, Crystal, and Centennial. This year, because of its past success, Revolution actually brewed a double batch (about 60 kegs) of Penguin Hops, which is great news for beer lovers and supporters of the Shedd Aquarium alike. 

After some mingling and tasting, the crowd filed into the aquarium’s 4D-Experience theater for a presentation dubbed “Science Pub.” Revolution Head Brewer, Wil Turner, gave a thorough description of how the brewing collaboration came to be. He recounted how the Shedd had been renovating a portion of their building and had decided that they needed to cover the unsightly construction with a fast-growing vine. Shedd Horticulturist, Christine Nye, choose to plant hops – known for their voracious ability to climb quickly. When the hop cones eventually matured and began sprouting a few years later, it became apparent that the they needed to be harvested. As the Shedd is always focused on sustainability, they looked for a local solution to this (what I would call convenient) problem and decided to reach out to Revolution. A partnership was immediately born, as was a delicious pale ale that highlighted the Shedd’s accidental crop.

Science Pub continued with a slideshow presentation by Lana Vanagasem, the Shedd’s resident penguin expert, highlighting her time spent at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB). Lana worked there with a team of other penguin specialists to rehabilitate injured birds and worked toward releasing them back into the wild. The star of the slideshow was the rockhopper penguin, the type of penguin after which Penguin Hops was named. Rockhopper penguins are diminutive in size only; they have a spiky mohawk of black and yellow feathers which matches their spunky attitudes. Their blood-red eyes and orange beak were a perfect compliment to the color of the beer we were all imbibing in honor of her species.

Photos of Christine Nye and the Rockhopper Penguin courtesy of The Shedd Aquarium.

Following Science Pub, the visitors returned to the Penguin Hops tap or dispersed to visit the other bars that were placed throughout the aquarium. Wil Turner had brought along a couple of small containers of some whole Centennial hop cones for show, giving visitors the opportunity to smell and touch actual hops. I asked Wil what his best guess was as to the kind of hops the Shedd had planted, and he told me that because of their aroma and resulting flavor profile he initially thought they were Centennial, however this year’s hop cones were so huge that he’s no longer sure what they really are.
 
The party came to a close with a spirited performance from American Idol winner Caleb Johnson, to whom attending Shedd members had been given the chance to say hello during a VIP meet-and-greet session earlier in the evening. 

All in all, the Penguin Hops Release Party was a lively, family-friendly celebration that I would happily attend again. It not only provided a unique opportunity to explore the aquarium after hours and to learn about their specific penguin-related conservation efforts, but also gave party-goers a chance to learn about brewing by talking to the actual brewer regarding the creation of a truly one-of-a-kind beer.

The Penguin Hops official tap list will be released sometime during this first week of November, so keep your eyes peeled for your chance to sip on a very drinkable, pleasantly hoppy beverage brewed in the name of sustainability. In the meantime, you can find the beer on tap at Revolution’s Logan Square brewpub (2323 N. Milwaukee Ave.), at their Avondale taproom (3340 N. Kedzie Ave.), or you can enjoy a taste of this beer this coming Wednesday, November 5th at Whole Foods Market Chicago in Lincoln Park (1550 N. Kingsbury St.) starting at 5:30pm. 


MC Johnsen is a professional graphic designer and illustrator based in Chicago, IL. She is also the artist and author behind beer blog Worth a Thousand Beers. In her spare time MC enjoys homebrewing, taking on DIY projects, CrossFit, and binge-watching TV shows on Netflix. Her favorite coffee beverage is an Americano, and she shares a home with her husband Matt and their dog Dallas in Lombard, IL. You can find her on Twitter @worth1000beers.