Making A Beer Run 6K & Beer Fest

New Beer-Fueled Fun Run Along The Lakeshore To End In A Party

Chicago, IL – A new fun run with a beer-fueled twist is making its debut in Chicago on Saturday, October 15th 2016. Runners will make their way alongside Lake Michigan for a 6k course with spectacular views of Chicago’s skyline. At the finish line there will be a beer fest where runners and guests can enjoy samples from fifteen craft breweries with family and friends.

**Just Announced**

Toppling Goliath Brewing Company, considered by many to be among the best breweries in the country, will pop up in Chicago for the first time at the upcoming Making A Beer Run 6k Fun Run and Beer Fest. Among others, they'll be pouring their flagship beer PseudoSue (98 BeerAdvocate Score), their Double IPA King Sue (100 BeerAdvocate score), and a surprise mystery beer!

Other breweries featured will be 3 Sheeps, Bell's, Boulevard, Burnt City, Founders, Goose Island, Moody Tongue, Summit, Upland, Urban Chestnut and Virtue Cider.

What
In addition to the 6k and beer fest, there will be a variety of tasty foods as well as three enormous 9’x13’ elevated TV systems for guests to cheer on their favorite college football team. For $60, runners can partake in the 6k, snag a sporty fleece complete with the logo, a chill puck frozen coaster and relax at the three-hour beer fest. Friends, family and fellow beer-fans can skip the run and join the party with beer fest tickets at $25.

When
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Run: 12pm
Beer Fest: 12:00pm to 3:00pm

Where
The Northwest Terrace Of The Field Museum
1400 S Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605

Tickets & More Info

www.makingabeerrun.com

Bell's 30th Anniversary Funvitational

On September 12th, 2015, 4,000 craft beer fans took to Homer Stryker Field in Kalamazoo, to celebrate Bell's Brewery 30th Anniversary of brewing beer in Michigan. The "Funvitational" brought over 100 beers from all around the country, giving us the rare treat to try offerings not distributed in our area, such as Creature Comforts and Cigar City. Bell's re-brewed a number of out-of-production recipes, like Batch 1000 through 5,000 as well as limited releases like Double Two Hearted, Spruce Two Hearted, Larry's Stupid Quadrupid IPA, Coffee Mustache, Sherry Bull in a China Shop, to name a few. And of course – the 30th Anniversary Imperial Stout.

“We have been brewing in Kalamazoo for almost 30 years and we are extremely proud of where we got our start. This festival is a celebration of that heritage, our community and our fans.” - Bell's Vice President, Laura Bell

One of the highlights – an appearance by guerrilla brass band, The Detroit Party Marching Band.

As with any festival, you just can't taste them all, but here are our favorite stand outs:

• Double Two Hearted, Bell's Brewery - Double IPA, 11.5% ABV
• Batch 1500, Bell's Brewery  - American Barleywine recipe from 1994, rebrewed for the fest, 10% ABV
• Crazy Brewer Beer, Bell's Brewery - American Strong Ale brewed with cinnamon, ginger, salt, dark brown and turbinado sugar, 9.2% ABV
• Bourbon Barrel-Aged Expedition Stout, Bell's Brewery  - 
• Liquid Lunch, Terrapin Beer - Peanut Butter & Jelly Porter, 7.7% ABV
• Tropicália, Creature Comforts - India Pale Ale, 7% ABV
• Athena, Creature Comforts - Berliner Weiss, 4.5% ABV
• Imperial CoCoNut Porter, Maui Brewing - Porter, 10% ABV
• Brombeere, Odell Brewing - Blackberry Gose, 4.8% ABV
• Barrel-aged Neopolitan Stout, Saugatuck Brewing - Bourbon barrel-aged Milk Stout, 6.5% ABV
• Wine Barrel-aged Burn the Witch, Tapistry Brewing - Weizenbock aged in Chardonnay and Merlot barrels, 9% ABV
• Paris, Brewery Vivant - Sour ale aged in red wine barrels with Brett, 5.5%
• Autumn Maple, The Bruery - Dark Ale brewed with yams and spices, 10% ABV
• Zwickel, Urban Chestnut - German Lager, 5%
• Daymark, Rising Tide - Pale Ale, 5.5% ABV
• Abraxas, Perennial - Imperial Stout, 10% ABV
• Blå Spøgelse, Mikkeller/Three Floyds - Blueberry barrel-aged Lambic, 7.7% ABV
• Mélange Á Trois, Nebraska Brewing - (Reserve Series) Belgian blonde ale aged in French oak chardonnay barrels, 10% ABV

The food was just on a whole other level of satiation. The grill area featured a number of beer infused meats. We tried the Two Hearted Infused Hot Dog w/ Potato Salad and the infamous Bear Claw Burger (topped with mac & cheese, pulled pork and cole slaw in a Sweetwater donut bun). There was also a wood fired pizza oven serving 5 options, including a Porter Pork Belly Pizza and a Vegetarian Oberon Chili Pizza. There were a number of desserts, but we never made it that far.

ABOUT BELL’S BREWERY, INC.
Bell's Brewery, Inc. began in 1985 with a quest for better beer and a 15 gallon soup kettle. Since then, we've grown into a regional craft brewery that employs more than 333 people over a 20 state area, in addition to Puerto Rico and Washington DC. The dedication to brewing flavorful, unfiltered, quality craft beers that started in 1985 is still with us today. We currently brew over 20 beers for distribution as well as many other small batch beers that are served at our pub in Kalamazoo, the Eccentric Cafe. Our ongoing goal is to brew thoughtfully, creatively and artistically. We strive to bring an authentic and pleasant experience to all of our customers through our unique ales and beers. For more information, please visit bellsbeer.com.

Urban Chestnut Brewery Joins the Chicago Craft Beer Market

St. Louis based brewery Urban Chestnut recently announced plans to enter the Chicago market with their German-style portfolio via Lakeshore Beverage Distributors.

Urban Chestnut is committed to both its traditional German roots as well as to modern American craft beer, which is reflected by splitting their portfolio into two series: the Reverence Series – paying homage to classic European-style beers and the Renaissance Series – celebrating where American craft beer is headed.

We received samples of Zwickel Bavarian-style Lager and Fantasyland IPA and wanted to share our tasting notes.

Zwickel is part of the Reverence Series. It poured a golden color with a bright white head, tight tiny bubbles and beautiful lacing on the glass. We expected some haziness, but found the clarity to be quite clear. The aroma displayed Pilsner malt notes of toasted bread, floral and spicy Noble hops and some mild DMS sweetness. The mouthfeel was full-bodied, creamy and sweet up front with strong malt character and a crisp finish. Clocking in at 5.2% ABV and 20 IBUs, this is a smooth, easy drinking beer.

Fantasyland Midwest Coast IPA is part of the Revolution Series, Urban Chestnut's artistic take on an IPA with a Midwest twist. It poured hazy dark amber with a frothy off-white head, large bubbles and lacing. Citrus fruit and grassy hop aroma. Medium body with notes of citrus fruit, tropical fruit, pine and resin. There's a good deal of lingering malty sweetness, missing the dry, hop forward finish. At 6.5% and 60 IBUS, it's a drinkable beer with refreshing aroma, but not quite the balance one would expect from an IPA.

Zwickel, Fantasyland and Schnickelfritz (German Hefeweizen) are available on draft ($5-7 a pint) and in 4-pack bottles ($8.99-10.49) around the city.

For more information on their launch into the market, check out this article on Lakeshore Beverage's blog.