Chicago Craft Beer Week

One week until the coveted "Chicago Craft Beer Week" kicks off, showcasing local craft beer from all of your favorite and 'yet to be discovered' favorite breweries from the Midwest and beyond. This 11 day celebration is brought to you by the hard working folks of the Illinois Craft Brewer's Guild, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the development and expansion of the local craft beer industry.

This year's schedule is overwhelming to say the least, with over 250 locations involved. Each day offers dozen's of fantastic events, spanning not only the Chicago area neighborhoods, but expands into many of the surrounding suburbs. 

In addition this year the ICBG has published a free CCBW app, to help you organize your event schedule as well as check into events to earn points to win prizes, such as beer festival tickets, t-shirts and more. The app can be downloaded here.

Below are some highlighted favorites, with the best intentions to hit as many as possible. We of course have to spotlight our own event - Celebrating Real Women of Craft Beer on May 23rd at Riverview Tavern. The ladies behind your favorite local breweries will be in attendance to tap an exclusive all women brewed collaboration beer, "99 Problems" - a Saison brewed with Chamomile and Ginger. We'll be screening the documentary "The Love of Beer". 

Hope to see you there!

For the full list of events go to www.chibeerweek.com and follow @chibeerweek

Thursday, May 16th

Beer Under Glass

Some would say the most spectacular event to kick off Craft Beer Week featuring all of Chicago’s local breweries pouring beer at the beautiful Garfield Park Conservatory.

Garfield Park Conservatory, 6:30pm, tickets are SOLD OUT

http://chibeerweek.com/event/?eid=47

Friday, May 17th and May 24th
Half Acre Double Firkin Tapping
Taking their weekly Firkin Friday to the next level, Half Acre will feature two firkins - to be announced the day of
Half Acre Taproom, North Center
http://chibeerweek.com/event/?eid=259


Saturday, May 18th

Ipswich, MA-dness, featuring Boston area breweries Clown Shoes and Brash Brewing. The brewery guys will be in attendance and are ready to rock the Chicago scene.

Jerry’s Sandwiches, Andersonville, 6pm

http://chibeerweek.com/event/?eid=71

Saturday, May 18th

Atlas Brewing 80’s Beer Prom/Two Brothers Tap Takeover

A fabulous night of Two Brothers beers, 80's music, dancing, awkwardness, balloon arches, and polaroid photos!

Lincoln Park, 9pm

http://chibeerweek.com/event/?eid=110

Sunday, May 19th

Goose Island’s 25th Anniversary Party

Celebrating of 25 years of brewing in Chicago with a variety of beer including the Fulton & Wood and Bourbon County collections.

Goose Island Fulton Brewery, 12pm-3pm, $25 tix

http://chibeerweek.com/event/?eid=323

Monday, May 20th

Brown Line Brews, featuring local northside breweries Half Acre Beer Company, Begyle Brewing, Atlas Brewing Company, Metropolitan Brewing, DryHop Brewers

The Longroom, Ashland/Irving Park in North Center, 6pm

http://chibeerweek.com/event/?eid=162

Monday, May 20th

Viking’s Feast with Solemn Oath Brewing, featuring 8 taps and a firkin of Solemn Oath’s beer, paired with Viking films and Nordic Metal music.

Jerry’s Sandwiches, Andersonville, 7pm

http://chibeerweek.com/event/?eid=70

Wednesday, May 22nd

5 Rabbits Tap Takeover

The Beer Bistro North, Lincoln Park, 6pm

http://chibeerweek.com/event/?eid=34

Wednesday, May 22nd

New Wave Brewer Showcase, featuring Temperance, 4 Paws, Lake Effect, Spiteful, Flesk, Ale Syndicate, Begyle & DryHop

Hamburger Mary’s, Andersonville, 7pm

http://chibeerweek.com/event/?eid=200

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Thursday, May 23rd

Celebrating Women in Craft Beer, featuring the female brewers of the Midwest  from Goose Island, Two Brothers, Rock Bottom, Metropolitan, Greenbush, 4 Paws, Ale Syndicate, Flossmoor Station as well as Bottles & Cans beer store, with an exclusive all women brewed collaboration beer. 

Riverview Tavern, Roscoe Village, 6:30pm

http://chibeerweek.com/event/?eid=93

https://www.facebook.com/events/468159669922343/

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Friday, May 24th

Barrel-Aged Obfuscation Release (I’m proud to have helped brew this beer!!)

Atlas Brewing, Lincoln Park, 7pm

http://chibeerweek.com/event/?eid=112

Saturday, May 25th

West Loop Craft Beer Fest

IL Craft Brewer’s Guild & Chicago French Market bring you the city’s largest craft beer block party with over 25 breweries participating

French Market, West Loop, 12pm-5pm, $40 Gen Admission ($65 VIP hour)

http://chibeerweek.com/event/?eid=214

Saturday, May 25th

Beerfly Alleyfight - Watch 10 homebrewers compete with the same beer recipe paired with a food dish and a local artist performance. Sample food, beer & art!

Haymarket Pub, West Loop 12pm-5pm, $35 advanced tix

http://chibeerweek.com/event/?eid=142

Sunday, May 26th

3 Floyds & Off Color Brewing Tap Takeover

Northdown, Lincoln Park, 2pm

http://chibeerweek.com/event/?eid=223

Allagash Coolship: Resurgam Release

Written by Dave Leshinski

Portland, Maine’s Allagash Brewing has always had a soft spot for experimenting with Belgian brewing traditions. From barrel aging with fruit, to wild yeast strains, there isn’t much they haven’t done. 

In the fall of 1997, the brewery decided to take it a step further and bring back a very old and traditional process of cultivating wild yeast from their own back yard. They built a coolship, which is a large, shallow metal pan that quickly cools the freshly brewed wort over night, as well as letting the naturally occurring wild yeast in the air to inoculate their beer. The wort is then placed in wooden barrels to ferment for up to 3 years, or whenever the brewery deems it fit for consumption.

Their Coolship series is very limited due to the length of time it takes for the beer to mature. It is only sold from the brewery and is rarely publicized with hopes that each batch will be readily available to the beer enthusiasts that visit and tour the facility.

Allagash's Coolship. (Photo courtesy of Allagash Brewing Company)

Spontaneous yeast getting wild. (Photo courtesy of Allagash Brewing Company)

Luckily, being the beer stalker I am, I found out that they released Coolship Resurgam the beginning of January and still had plenty of bottles left. I immediately rushed to Portland and snagged 2 bottles.

Coolship Resurgam is a gueuze style beer, that is a blend of one, two, and three year old, un-fruited coolship. It pours a hazy, straw color with a sizable head. Aromas of freshly milled grain, citrus and yeast are present. Tart and lemony up front on the palate, there is a pleasant “funk” from the wild yeast, with a refreshing, peppery finish. It is definitely one of the most balanced and flavorful examples of gueuze I have tried yet. Let’s just say that the second bottle in my cellar will not be around very long.   

Chicago's 10th Annual Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer

The Illinois Craft Brewers Guild’s 10th Annual Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer (FoBAB) was one of the most impressive beer fests we've been to yet. The innovation and quality of the beer offered was undeniable. The sold out festival, which has grown exponentially each year had the largest attendance yet. Over 2,000 people arrived at the Bridgeport Art Center on Saturday to sample over 173 beers from 60 breweries. The layout was set up according to style rather than brewery, which was an exceptional way to taste your way through the ten categories.

It was no surprise that Goose Island left a bold and sizable impression on festival goers showcasing a first taste of the Cherry Bourbon County Stout, which launches in stores on Black Friday. Also making an appearance was the rare and beloved 2011 King Henry Barley Wine. Another highlight from Goose Island was the “Blending Station” in which paddles holding four different barrel aged Bourbon County Stouts could be sampled - BCS aged in Koval, BCS aged in wine barrels, BCS aged in Buffalo Trace barrels and BCS aged in Low Storage barrels. Our favorite was the Koval barrels which added more toasted oak and fruit characteristics.

Bourbon County Stout "Blending Station"

Even without the breweries having assigned tables the brewers had a strong presence and were eager to talk and share a craft beer. We had the opportunity to meet some fantastic and talented folks from around the country.

Devon from The Lost Abbey and his 4 medals

Our new buddy Bryan from Great Divide Brewing. We love his tshirt!

Here are just a few of our favorites (it was VERY tough to narrow down!)

Kim’s FoBAB picks:

Barrel Aged Abraxas (Perennial Artisan Ales) - This Imperial Stout with flavors of chocolate, ancho chile, vanilla and cinnamon was high on my list for the day. Aged in Rittenhouse rye whiskey barrels, it embodied the perfect combination of sweet & heat with a smooth, full body finish.

Bourbon Barrel Holiday Spice Lager (Lakefront Brewery) - If Christmas Day was a flavor - this would be it. A perfectly balanced, moderately spiced Doppelbock with brightness of honey & orange peel, aged in bourbon barrels - it will be my holiday go-to beer of the season.

Track #11 (The Lost Abbey) - This Strong Ale had a beautiful pour with a slight orange hue. It had big fruit-forward peach and bourbon aroma as well as flavor, with hints of black tea that created a slightly bitter finish.

Mayan Gold (Goose Island Clybourn) Chocolate + Bourbon = a match made in heaven! Formerly known as XOCOLATL, this Mayan spiced Barley Wine was sweet, rich and flavorful with mild notes of cinnamon, toffee and toasted wood. YUM, yum, yum!!

Pappy Van Muckle (Sun King Brewing) - I have to admit I am a sucker for Scotch Ales and Sun King’s Wee Heavy aged in a Pappy Van Winkle barrels did not disappoint. It was smooth as can be and a solid, traditional execution which was a nice treat after all of the bells and whistles we encountered.


Dave’s FoBAB picks:

King Henry (Goose Island Beer Co.) Goose Island’s Barley Wine aged in Pappy Van Winkle barrels was astounding. Such a simple idea with incredibly complex flavor's, ending with a smooth finish. I felt honored to be able to taste greatness.

Humidor Peach IPA (Cigar City Brewing) - This IPA brewed with peaches and aged in cedar. The cedar left a dry, white pepper finish that was balanced by the slight sweetness of the peach's. This was the first cedar aged beer I've had and I'm looking forward to trying many more.

Sex Syrup (Rock Bottom Brewing Chicago) - Breakfast in a glass! Rock Bottom’s Imperial Oatmeal Stout brewed with bacon, maple syrup, coffee and then aged in bourbon barrels had to be one of the most intense beers at the fest. Despite the copious amounts of flavors waging an epic war in your mouth, everything settled into a harmonious balance on the finish. Needless to say I went back for seconds (...and thirds).

Rumpkin (Avery Brewing) - Avery's Imperial Pumpkin Ale aged in Gosling’s dark rum barrels was the one beer I was looking forward to trying the most. Despite the heat (17%), the pumpkin and spices married so well with the vanilla and brown sugar notes from the rum. One of the most ambitious and delicious pumpkin ales out there.

Smaug’s Breath (New Holland Brewing) - Dragon’s Milk Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels with chiles. In my opinion the best chile beer I've tasted. Silky, smooth mouthfeel that leads into smoky vanilla. You feel a subtle bite of heat and spice from the chiles, very balanced.

We hope you had a chance to try some of these as well - and if not, keep an eye on illinoisbeer.com for ticket announcements on all events. Those suckers sell FAST!

Results of the judged competition can be found at http://www.illinoisbeer.com/fobab-2012-winners/