Chicago's Cider Con Events

The 2014 Cider Conference is bringing some of the world's top cider makers to our own backyard during the first week of February. While the conference itself is industry only, there are a number of events throughout the city to meet the cider makers and taste some unique offerings, hitting Chicago for a limited time.

Feb 3rd, Anthem Cider at Luxbar 7pm: Kick off CiderCon week with Wandering Aengus Ciderworks/ANTHEM Cider owners James Kohn & Nick Gunn. They'll be tapping a special barrel of Blind Tiger Ransom, a bourbon barrel aged cider.

Feb 4th, Globe Pub Aspall Event 7pm: World premiere tapping of Aspall John Barrington Still cider. Meet Henry Chevallier Guild, 8th generation of the Chevallier cider making family. Taste a wide range of Aspall ciders from both draft and tap.

Feb 4th, Virtue Cider Tap Takeover at Jake Melnick's 8:30pm: As the kick-off event to Cider Con, Virtue will be featuring The Mitten, Cidre and Percheron, as well as the company of industry experts joining the party from around the world.

Feb 5th, Sonoma Cidermaster Dinner at Sun Wah BBQ 6pm: An evening featuring hard ciders hand-crafted by veteran Cidermaster, David Cordtz. Tickets available through Sun Wah.

Feb 5th, How Do You Like Them Apples? at Fountainhead 6pm: Join the cider makers for a tap takeover including E. Dupont, Tieton Cider Works, Vander Mill, Uncle John's, Original Sin, Ace, Farnum Hill and Wandering Aengus Ciderworks.

Feb 5th, Cider tasting dinner menu at tap take over at Longman & Eagle with Virtue Cider. Seatings between 3pm and 8pm.

Feb 5th, Cider Dinner at Publican 7pm: A special menu featuring pairings from Aspall, Farnum Hill and EZ orchards. Cider makers on hand to discuss. Rare draft ciders on draft and bottle.

The folks behind Farmhouse are set to open Nordcider, a nano-cidery and restaurant this fall. They are offering a preview of Nordcider in a series of pop-up dinners on February 6th-7th. Tickets available through City Eats.

Feb 6th, Meet Zeffer Cider Maker Josh Townsend at Binny's South Loop and taste their fine New Zealand offerings - Apple, Pear, Slack Ma Girdle. 6-8pm. No RSVP required.

Feb 6th, Vander Mill Cider Firkin Launch, Jake Melnicks 6pm: Join the Vander Mill Cider crew as they launch their firkin program with 3 offerings: Perry Chretien, Totally Roasted and Chapman's Blend. Puff the Magic Cyser and Ginger Peach will also be on tap.

Feb 6th, Revel Room Tap Takeover 7pm: Meet some of the top cider makers in the world. Aspall, Farnum Hill, EZ Orchards and Virtue Cider. Enjoy catering by Bangers & Lace, 4 rare and exclusive cider drafts including super rare Farnum Hill draft, a custom cider cocktail, and sample special bottles from each cider maker in an intimate environment.

Feb 6th, Cider Karaoke! at Emporium Arcade 9pm: featuring a tap take over of all cider makers that distribute in Chicago.

Feb 7th, Jake Melnicks Tap Takeover 7pm: Meet and greet with the cider makers of Aspall, Farnum Hill and EZ Orchards. Enjoy special draft ciders including the all new Aspall John Barrington Still Cider, a world premier tapping for Chicago Cider week! Special bottles from each cider maker will be available. A pair of tickets to Cider Summit will be raffled.

Feb 7th, Meet Virtue Cider Maker Ryan Burk for a mini tap take over at the Red Star Bar, Whole Foods Lincoln Park, 8pm.

Feb 7th, Cider Makers Meet & Greet at Sheffields 7pm: Join cider makers from Ace, Original Sin and Vander Mill while drinking the delicious offerings they have on tap.

Feb 8th, Cider Summit Chicago 11am and 4pm sessions in the Lakeview Terrance Room at Navy Pier: SBS Imports and Seattle Beer Collective return for a second year to produce Chicago's largest cider tasting event. Cider Summit will feature sampling of over 90 ciders from around the world, with cider makers on hand. Advanced TICKETS recommended. Chicago Brew Bus will provide shuttle service starting at 10:30am between the Blue Line Grand stop, Red Line Grand-State stop, and Navy Pier throughout the day. CTA buses also run directly to Navy Pier. Onsite parking is available in the Navy Pier garages.

River North Beer is giving away two pairs of tickets to Cider Summit. One winner will get two tickets to the first session, and one winner will get tickets to the second. To enter, follow @RiverNorthBeer on Twitter and fill out this form: http://bit.ly/1eNWcGf


Feb 9th, Farmhouse's Post Cider Con Brunch with Vander Mill Cider. No tickets required. Contact Farmhouse for more details.

Passport to Cider: Artisanal Pomme Beverages From Around The World
Thursday, Jan 30th, 7pm at the Hopleaf Classroom, 5148 N. Clark St., Chicago 

With the 2014 Cider Conference and Cider Summit approaching, we are pleased to bring you an educational opportunity to learn more about the recent submergence of craft cider in the US market.

Cider expert Brian Rutzen will take you through the history and process of cider making as well as how European trends are influencing how cider is being made in the US today.

We will have folks from Shelton Brothers, Paramount Merchants, Louis Glunz, B. United and Artisanal Imports sampling and talking about cider.

Fountainhead Chef Cleetus Friedman will be stopping by to talk about their latest venture - Chicago's first cider bar, The Northman to open in 2014.

Light snacks will be provided.

This is a small, intimate venue and seats are limited. Advanced tickets recommended. ciderpassport.brownpapertickets.com

Facebook event

Chicago Beer Gals - December Event

Hey Ladies! Join us for an evening at the Brew Camp Classroom. This month we will be ringing in the holidays with a Beer Cocktail Party featuring custom made recipes by KOVAL and Bottles & Cans. We’ll be providing a special tasting of cocktails as well as snacks.

Special Guests:

Sonat Birnecker, KOVAL Distillery Owner

Carly Katz, Bottles & Cans Owner

Limited seats are available, advanced tickets recommended through Brew Camp HERE

Have questions about the event? Want to be a future guest speaker? Feel free to email me.

Brewing With Spices Event

Join us for an evening at the Savory Spice Shop in Lincoln Square. General Manager David Trout will lead us through a series of spice groups, allowing us to experience the aroma and flavor of each. 

Special guests Brewmaster Ben Saller of Atlas Brewing Company and homebrewer extraordinaire Christian Burdulis of Brew Camp will talk about how they incorporate the use of spices in recipe development from both the homebrewing and production brewing perspectives.

** Advanced Tickets are required as space is limited **

We will have spiced beers available to drink courtesy of Bottles and Cans, as well as snacks from Bee's Knees Food Co..

This is a homebrew friendly event. Feel free to BYOB.

Savory Spice Shop will offer a discount for all purchases the night of the event.

Chicago Beer Gals - November Event

Hey Ladies! Join us for an evening at the Brew Camp Classroom. This month will be focused on the beauty of lagers. We’ll be providing a special tasting of Metropolitan Brewing beer and vegan snacks.

Special Guests:

Tracy Hurst, Metropolitan Brewing

Alison Cuddy, WBEZ Public Radio Reporter and 

Co-host of the Strange Brews podcast

Limited seats are available, advanced tickets recommended through Brew Camp HERE

Have questions about the event? Want to be a future guest speaker? Feel free to email me.

Dryhop Brewers and Flossmoor Station Launch "Smoking Nanners"

Join Dryhop Brewers and Flossmoor Station Brewing tonight at Dryhop (3155 N. Broadway) for the release of their collaboration "Smoking Nanners". The 5.5% Smoked Hefeweizen, is a result of Flossmoor Head Brewer Bjorn Johnson and Dryhop Owner Greg Shuff’s time together in Munich for brew school.

Together, they traveled to different regions of Germany to learn about brewing techniques. A memorable stop was in Bamberg, where smoked beers are considered a specialty of the area. Smoking Nanners was brewed in tribute to Bjorn and Greg’s antics experienced there.

DryHop Chef Pete Repak and Flossmoor Chef Eduardo Camarena also collaborated on a dish for the evening – Smoked Guajillo Chile Glazed Texas Quail on Jicama-Tortilla Salad with Roasted Pineapple Relish and Pulped Avocado.

Tapping schedule is as follows:

• 6pm – Flossmoor’s Berliner Weisse, a low alcohol wheat beer, soured with lactobacillus and fermented with a Kölsch yeast strain. (3.0%)
• 7pm – Flossmoor’s Kölsch, a clean, crisp, session beer with a soft malt and hop character. (5.2%)
• 8pm – Flossmoor’s Roggenbier, a dunkleweizen made with rye instead of wheat. (5.6%)
• 9pm – The release of Smoking Nanners, a Smoked Hefeweizen. (5.5%)

Chicago Beer Gals - September Event

Ladies, please join us for an evening at the Brew Camp Classroom. This month we'll be focused 100% on Craft Cider!

We’ll be providing a tasting of Midwest made hard ciders as well as some fall snacks.
*This event will have Gluten-free options

Special guests:
Holly Christopher and Michelle Foik from Virtue Cider
Kate Bernot, Nightlife Reporter for Redeye Chicago

Limited seats are available, advanced tickets through Brew Camp -> HERE

Have questions about the event? Want to be a future guest speaker? Feel free to email me.

Chicago Beer Gals - July Event

Ladies, join us for evening of great beer and conversation at Brew Camp with special guests JP Pfäfflin (Cicerone Certification Program) and Sally Selwan (Louis Glunz Beer, Certified Cicerone). Tickets available here.

Have questions about the event? Want to be a future guest speaker? Feel free to email me.

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.