Beer Geek's Christmas List Part 2

The holiday season is upon us once again. We've been scouring the internet since last year in search of unique gift ideas for your beer loving companions... or your own wish list. After all a beer gift is the best gift of all.

NOT Your Average Crappy T-shirt

Craft Beer Typography T-shirt ($18)
Etsy store

Bike Hoppy ($24)
From Forked Apparel

Drink Local Chicago Beer T-shirt ($20)

Etsy store

Lagunitas Hand-Painted Little Sumpin' T-shirts ($24)
These designs are carved out of linoleum, painted and apply it to each garment by hand. Available in men's and women's sizes and colors. Available exclusively through the Lagunitas store.





The Gift of Local Craft Beer & Spirits

Atlas Brewing is offering a number of great gift packages to choose from, available at their brewpub. 2747 N. Lincoln Ave.

“Date Night” – Two tulip glasses, empty growler, $12 gift card ($20)

“Winter Warmer” – Hoodie, empty growler, $22 gift card ($45)

“Corner Store” – Empty growler, growler koozie, 5 x $12 gift cards ($65)

“Super Fan” – Work shirt, two logo pints, growler, growler koozie ($55)

“Holiday Party” – Six empty growlers, twelve pints, 4 x $12 gift cards, 2 x $22 gift cards ($150)

DryHop Brewers is offering a 64oz growler (empty and good for one fill), one t-shirt (men’s or women’s), two Belgian 13oz glasses, and a sticker for $43. You can also choose 64oz growler (empty and good for one fill) and two Belgian 13oz glasses for $26. Available at the brewpub. 3155 N Broadway St.


KOVAL Distillery 3-pack spirits gift set ($50)
It may not be beer, but Chicago is all about our craft beverages. This brilliant gift set contains 3 200mL bottles of their Rye, Four Grain and Bourbon Whiskeys. For ideas on how you can mix your own beer cocktails see my post here. Available at their store 5121 N. Ravenswood Ave, or at Bottles & Cans.

With a year under their belt, neighborhood bottle shop Bottles & Cans' build your own 6-pack (from anything in the store, mind you) is still top of our list. Stop by for one of their many tastings from local breweries and distilleries while you shop. 4109 N Lincoln Ave.


Especially for the Beer Lovin' Ladies

Beerings by Katie Rains Designs ($5)
Handmade earrings from upcycled beer caps by local artist Katie Rains. Want a pair made from your favorite brewery? Katie accepts custom orders via her Etsy store.

Handmade Insulated Growler Bags by Growler Girls ($28) 
Two girls, a sewing machine and a passion for making sure that good beer stays fashionably cold. Indianapolis based Growler Girls have a full shop of designs to choose from in their Etsy store.

For the Artsy Beer Lover

2014 Beer & Food Calendar ($24)
Each month you get an illustrated food & beer pairing, drawn by Minneapolis artist RedCruiser. Etsy store

Illustrated Prints from His & Hers Beer Notes ($7.50-$20)
One of my new favorite beer blogging couples Daniel & Darcey have a variety of handmade gifts from 6-pack notecards to 8.5x11 prints. He writes, she draws and together they bring their beer experiences together in such a unique and artistic way. Etsy shop

Anchor Brewing's Christmas Ale Poster ($6)
The 2013 poster features 39 years of Christmas Ale label art. Lithographed on heavyweight paper. Available through their online store.


The Experiential Enthusiast

Chicago Brew Bus Tours ($20 off of 4 tickets)
Take a guided tour of some of Chicago's best local breweries such as Atlas, Lake Effect, Haymarket, Revolution. DryHop. They also provided suburb brewery tours as well as the day trips to Michigan and Wisconsin starting in 2014. More info available on their website.

Tales, Taverns & Towns Tours (prices vary)
Chicago is rich with beer history and tavern historian Liz Garibay has developed just the experience to satisfy your curiosity. She plans unique walking and bus tours like the upcoming Laguinta's Hard Hat Beer & History Experience (1/10) and the Ferris Bueller's Tavern Tour and Movie Screening (1/25). More info available on the website.

CHAOS Brew Club (Trial 60 day membership $30)
Chicago Homebrew Alchemists of Sud, is a group dedicated to the education of all things craft beer: from brewing to appreciating. One of the unique benefits of their club is the community brew space for members at 2417 W Hubbard in Chicago. More information available on their website



For The Glassware Collector

Duvel Art Glass Designer Collection ($10 each)
The limited edition "Duvel Collection" of artist designed tulip glasses are available to purchase for your own collection through the Brewery Ommegang store.

Whether you're looking for a Snifter, Pilsner, Flute, Tulip or Stein you can choose individual or sets of glassware at Beerables. They have many rare and limited brands of glasses as well as clothing, iphone cases and any other kind of beer swag one could need!





The Beer Library

The Complete Beer Course ($15)
Journalist Joshua M. Bernstein comes to the rescue with The Complete Beer Course, demystifying brews and breaking down the elements that make beer's flavor spin into distinctively different and delicious directions. Structured around a series of easy-to-follow classes, his course hops from lagers and pilsners to hazy wheat beers, Belgian-style abbey and Trappist ales, aromatic pale ales and bitter IPAs, roasty stouts, barrel-aged brews, belly-warming barley wines, and mouth-puckering sour ales. Available on amazon.

Water: A Comprehensive Guide For Brewers ($14)
The 3rd in John Palmer's Brewers Publications’ Brewing Elements series, takes the mystery out of water’s role in the brewing process. The book leads brewers through the chemistry and treatment of brewing water, from an overview of water sources, to adjusting water for different beer styles, and different brewery processes, to wastewater treatment. Available on amazon.

Allagash: The Cookbook ($35)
This cookbook offers home chefs an opportunity to work with recipes designed for ten of Allagash’s most celebrated creations. With award-winning dishes created for these beers over the years, chef James Simpkins shows off the versatility and wide gastronomic range of each beer. Available through their online store.








So, You Want To Start A Brewery..? Lagunitas Story ($17.95)
Written by founder, Tony McGee, this is the story of the first 20 years of one brewery among hundreds that brought a flowering of uniquely American brewing styles that will still be brewed a generation from today. Available exclusively through their online store.

Highwood's 1st Annual Craft Beer Fest

This Saturday, August 17th the North Shore will put on their first local craft beer festival in Highwood’s Everts Park from noon-5:30pm.

The festival will feature beer from over 30 breweries, including many of our Midwest local favorites. Downtown Highwood is easily accessible from Chicago, just half a block from the Highwood Metra Station. 

Breweries to include: Ale Syndicate, Allagash, Argus, Bell’s Brewery, Berghoff Beer, Boulevard Brewing Co., Capital, Cider Boys, Dogfish Head, Finch Beer, Firestone, Goose Island, Great Lakes, Half Acre, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Lake Bluff, Lake Front, Magic Hat, Metropolitan, Mickey Finn’s Brewing, New Belgium Brewing, New Holland, Oskar Blues Brewing, Potosi, Pyramid, Revolution Brewery, Rogue, Stone, Tall Grass, Two Brothers, Wild Onion Brewing.

Live music Featuring:

12:00 – 2:30 Pat Smilie Duo – Rhythm & Blues
3:00 – 5:30 - Los Perros Cubanos

Tickets:
General Admission 1:00 - 4:30pm, $40 advanced sales ($50 at the gate)

Tickets Includes: Souvenir glass, wristband, a brewer’s list card & map of event, bag of pretzels & String. You must be 21 years of age or older with a valid ID to enter the festival.

VIP 12:00 - 4:30pm, $55 advanced sales ($65 at the gate)
The VIP Experience Tickets guests will be allowed in one hour earlier than the general admission ticket holders. Take advantage of this great opportunity to taste reserve or signature beers from participating breweries and get a chance to meet the brewers & brewery representatives themselves! VIP Tickets Includes: Souvenir glass, wristband, a brewer’s list card & map of event, one bottle of water, bag of pretzels & String. You must be 21 years of age or older with a valid ID to enter the festival. Only a limited number of tickets will be sold.

TO BUY TICKETS CLICK HERE

About CraftBeerFests.com & Chicago Scene:
From Chicago's North Shore, Ted Widen launched Chicago-Scene.com in 1998 as one of the first social networking, events and entertainment sites in the country. Widen is known for his unparalleled event and production, producing such events as the Chicago Scene New Year’s Eve Party hosted at the Historic Drake Hotel. The event is attended by over 2,500 people annually since 2000. This success has sparked plans for 2013 to add The Chicago Hilton and Towers New Year’s Eve Party, with over 4,000 attendees to his portfolio. Accolades include: Chicago Scene Magazine Publication started in 2001; reaching Chicago's A-List young professional 21-39 year old market in the downtown area, The River North Craft Beer Pub Crawl this past May with 10 bars, 20 Craft Beers and over 2000 attendees, and this October he is producing the Windy City Craft Beer Festival at the Drake Hotel and many more Craft Beer events in the future.

Click for expanded map

Chicago Craft Beer Week Spotlight: Jerry's Sandwiches

With over 300 events happening during the 11 day span of Chicago Craft Beer Week, choosing a handful to attend can be a bit overwhelming. Upon scanning the schedule, one of the venues that stood out the most to me was a... sandwich shop? I had heard of Jerry’s Sandwiches, but not having spent much time in Wicker Park, never had the pleasure. I was excited to see that they had recently opened an Andersonville location AND eager to find out about all of the great craft beer events they had lined up.

I was able to share a pint with Bar Managers/Beer Buyers Nick Bondi (Andersonville) and Chris Coons (Wicker Park) at the new location on Clark St. Both fellow beer nerds and former Haymarket Brewpub employees, they have an undeniable passion for craft beer. Nick has been with Jerry’s for 6 years now, previously at the Wicker Park location until this past fall when the Andersonville construction got underway. They anticipate doubling in size within a few months when the beer garden opens, which Nick has played a part in designing and constructing. Nick brought in Chris at that time to manage the bar in Wicker Park.

Both were previously craft beer fans, but seeing how beer is brewed and the community operates made them want to pursue careers in the industry. All Jerry’s servers and bartenders are Cicerone Certified, with the idea that people who are curious about craft beer can come to Jerry’s and get an educated answer. “As more people get into craft beer, we feel it’s important to have staff that can walk them through that without feeling intimidated. We take that part of training seriously, building a knowledge base and promoting an image of approachability”, says Nick.

“It’s a fun time to have so many great breweries making great beer to choose from. It’s a really good problem to have - more great beers than tap handles available”, says Chris. Their focus is North American Craft Beer, anything with an American connection or influence. Of course there’s always personal preference and the public’s preference. With 50 taps in Andersonville and 20 taps in Wicker Park, the goal is to have a balanced representation of different styles.

“There are certain breweries that we know, no matter what they’re doing we want to be a part of", says Chris, “Balance is huge. If a brewery’s core, year round beer is consistently good and they offer some great, specialty stuff - as a beer drinker myself, that’s what makes a brewery interesting to me”. As people’s moods and tastes change, their goal is to have tap handles that reflect those needs.

Their favorite Craft Beer Week event planned is the Division St IPA Crawl on Wednesday, May 22nd, which is a collaborative event between 3 craft beer bars - Small Bar represents the West Coast, Jerry’s the Midwest and Bangers & Lace the East Coast. Chris is lining up 8-9 fantastic Midwest IPA taps for Jerry’s Wicker Park.

The Solemn Oath Brewery night (at both locations) on Monday, May 20th is also a really cool concept. The event, called “Viking’s Feast” pairs old Viking movies, Nordic metal music as the soundtrack and 8 taps and a firkin of Solemn Oath beer.

And of course I had to ask about their favorite sandwiches. Let’s not be so blindsided by the beer list that we forget Jerry’s offers over 120 different sandwiches. Nick’s favorite is the “Steak Sandwich” - grilled sirloin, fried portobello mushroom, swiss, aioli, horseradish dressing on an italian roll. Chris’ favorite is the “Luis M” - chicken salad, smoked sirloin, avocado, swiss and mango-chipotle chutney on a choice of bread. I took their advice and went for the Luis M, paired with the new Stone Dry Double Hopped Ruination, which did not disappoint.

For a full list of their Chicago Craft Beer Week events, visit www.jerryssandwiches.com

Keep an eye out for the Andersonville location Beer Garden announcement. It is definitely a summer “to-do” that you don’t want to miss!

They’ll also be doing a 6th Anniversary event at Wicker Park on July 12-13th with live music and a collaboration beer on tap, to be brewed at Haymarket. Follow them online for more details.

www.facebook.com/JerrysWickerPark

www.facebook.com/JerrysAndersonville

www.twitter.com/WithHotSauce

Alphabeer X: 26 Craft Beers of the Alphabet

Alphabeer is the only event that teaches craft beer lovers about 26 beers - one for every letter of the alphabet. It's a three-hour tour of hops and barley and lagers and ales, and everything is crafted by masters who are passionate about their beers. Breweries from the Great Lakes area, including Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana and of course, Chicagoland, are being highlighted.

Saturday, April 20th, 12pm - 3pm
John Barleycorn 149 W. Kinzie St. in River North

Special guests will be joining the event to talk about their beers, including representatives from 5 Rabbit, Brewery Vivant, Founders, Goose Island Brewing Company, and New Holland. Chef Cleetus Friedman of Fountainhead is also scheduled to talk about Loudmouth Soup, the beer he produced in collaboration with Greenbush. Other guests on the roster are Chicago Beer Geeks and the Chicago chapter of Barley's Angels, a beer club for women.

Attendees won't just be tasting the beers. Chef Jill Houk is returning as the emcee, or AlphaBeerMaster, for the fourth time. She'll educate guests on the ABV, the IBU and what to eat with each brew. Notes on each beer are broadcast on multiple screens so everyone can learn their A-BEER-C's.

• A - All Day IPA, Founders
• B - Breakfast Stout, Founders
• C - Curmudgeon, Founders
• D - Dynamo, Metropolitan
• E - Eugene Porter, Revolution
• F - Farm House Ale, Brewery Vivant
• G - Goose Island, Pepe Nero
• H - Huitzi, 5 Rabbit
• I - Iron Works Alt, Metropolitan
• J - Jinx Proof, Three Floyds
• K - Kalamazoo Stout, Bell's
• L - Loudmouth Soup, Greenbush & Cleetus Friedman
• M - Monkey King, New Holland
• N - New Grist, Lakefront
• O - Over Ale, Half Acre
• P - Paleooza, New Holland
• Q - Querkus Smoked Oaked Porter
• R - Revolution, A Little Crazy
• S - Sky High Rye, Arcadia
• T - Tiny Dancer, Goose Island
• U - Unfiltered Wheat Beer, Boulevard
• V - Hammer, Bullet, Vice; Half Acre
• W - White Chapel Wit, Haymarket
• X - "X" FIDY, Oskar Blues
• Y - GFY Stout, Spiteful Brewing
• Z - Zaison, Brewery Vivant

Tickets are $45 and can be purchased here
Buy your ticket in advance and save $5. Tickets are $50 at the door.

AlphaBeer is hosted by Theresa Carter, founder and publisher of The Local Tourist,
LLC. The first event was in 2009 and it was inspired Ms. Carter's mother, who each
week would drink a beer from a different letter of the alphabet with fellow commuters
on their Friday night train ride. Since then AlphaBeer has appeared at multiple venues
in Chicago and has featured over 200 different beers.

TheLocalTourist.com, or TLT as it's affectionately known, is Chicago’s one-stop-spot for
things to do, events, restaurants, nightlife, news, reviews, photos and more. It’s a business
directory, an events calendar, and a multi-contributor magazine filled with news from the
TLTeam of city experts. Its mission is to help locals experience the fascination of a tourist,
and tourists feel the comfort of the local.

Celebrating Chicago's Women of Craft Beer

Join us during Chicago Craft Beer Week for an evening celebrating Chicago's Women of Craft Beer at Riverview Tavern in Roscoe Village.

1958 W Roscoe St. Chicago, IL
www.riverviewtavern.com

The ladies behind some of your favorite breweries will be in attendance including Goose Island, Two Brothers, Rock Bottom, Lagunitas, Metropolitan, 4 Paws Brewery and more!

We will be screening the documentary "The Love of Beer", which focuses on the rise of women in the beer industry.
www.theloveofbeermovie.com

There will be special tapping throughout the night - more announcements to come!

In addition $1 per pint will be donated to the Chicago Chapter of "Dress For Success" a charity that promotes economic independence by providing professional clothing and resources to disadvantaged women. www.dressforsuccess.org

This is event is open to the public, no tickets required. Come out and support the Midwest's best!

RSVP on Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/events/468159669922343/

This event is brought to you by Hail To The Ale
@hail2theale
www.hail2theale.com

For further information or interviews please contact Kim Leshinski
kim.leshinski@gmail.com

April Craft Beer Events

Ommegang Game of Thrones Release Party - The Beer Bistro 1061 W. Madison, Chicago, Illinois
Join Ommegang to celebrate the release of Iron Throne Blonde Ale. They're also tapping Gnomegang (collaboration with Brewery A Chouffe) and Duvel Rustica (collaboration with Duvel).
Tuesday, April 2nd 5:00pm
www.thebeerbistro.com


Ommegang Game of Thrones Tapping - Fountainhead Chicago 1970 W Montrose Ave, Chicago, IL
Tapping limited released Ommegang Iron Throne, Art of Darkness and Gnomegang
Tuesday, April 2nd 6:00pm
www.fountainheadchicago.com

Local Beer Showcase - Atlas Brewing Company 2747 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL
Featuring the beers of Lake Effect, 18th Street, Spiteful, DryHop, Begyle, and Flesk Brewing. Sample fresh local beers and talk to the people who made them! Tickets
Thursday, April 4th 7:00pm
www.atlasbeer.com

"Visit Us at the Rabbit Hutch!" - 5 Rabbit Cerveca 6398 W 74th Street Bedford Park, IL
Join 5 Rabbit Brewery for a tour of their brand new brewery for tasting, snacking, music and mingling. They want your help to find the perfect cheese pairing for HUITZI, their Midwinter Ale, and have a go at some hands-on experiments to find the perfect combination of fruits and spices for the new summer series, PALETAS. They're also giving a sneak preview of their spring seasonal MISSIONARIO, a strong wheat beer brewed with Muscat grape juice and a hint of almonds.
Saturday, April 6th 2:00pm - 6:00pm
www.5rabbitbrewery.com

Beer Academy - Experimental Styles Goose Island Clybourn 1800 N Clybourn Chicago, IL
On the last Wednesday of each month Goose Island  offers a Beer Academy class to learn about a different beer theme. Enjoy a sample of different beers from various craft breweries. Tickets $20. To RSVP call (312) 915-0071
Wednesday, April 24th 6:30pm
www.gooseisland.com

Dark Lord Day - Three Floyds Brewpub 9750 Indiana Pkwy, Munster, IN
FFF infamous festival celebrating the one day release of Dark Lord Day Russian Imperial Stout is set for it's 9th year. This ticketed event is SOLD OUT - all of the "day of" details can be found at www.darklordday.com
Saturday, April 27th 10am