Chicago Beer Gals: Beer & Beauty Night

Ladies - join us for an evening of craft beer & pampering at Noktivo Spa & Beauty Boutique, Chicago's ONLY non-toxic spa. They will be offering a choice of two services: mini manicure, mini pedicure, mini massage.

We will be joined by Patti Mandel from Goose Island Beer Company. She will be sharing two NEW beers from Goose Island - Endless IPA and The Illinois Imperial IPA. Both of these new beers have unique ingredient stories with a local twist.

Jenny Perillo, Owner of Noktivo Spa, will be talking about the skin benefits of beer and hop oils, which are also used in beauty care products.

Tickets include 2 mini spa services, samples of 2 new beers from Goose Island and light snacks.

You must be over 21 to attend. IDs will be checked at the door.

TICKETS -> HERE

Noktivo Non-Toxic Spa & Beauty Boutique is Chicago's premier chemical-free salon and spa for eco-conscious beauty enthusiasts and green glamour gals. Whether you're craving a little bit of pampering or need an environmentally-sound spa day, you'll leave Noktivo feeling healthy, luminous, and beautiful.
www.noktivo.com

Goose Island Beer Co. is an innovator and leader in the craft of brewing. Striving to create beers that define styles, win awards, and captivate the hearts, imaginations, and palates of beer drinkers.
www.gooseisland.com

The Chicago Beer Gals Collective is a series of educational craft beer events connecting enthusiasts with women in the industry. Events produced by www.hail2theale.com

Interested in being involved in future events as a speaker or collaborating brewery? Email us at chicagobeergals@gmail.com

Chicago Beer Gals: Beer & Chocolate Pairings

The Chicago Beer Gals Collective presents perhaps the most delicious monthly event yet on Monday, February 10th at the Brew Camp Classroom - 1826 W Wilson Ave.

We will be featuring 3 satiating treats from Katherine Anne Confections, each paired with a beer selection.

Katherine herself will be joining us to talk about the handmade confections and the growth of her Logan Square shop. http://www.katherine-anne.com/

Snacks & beer provided. This is a small, intimate space and advanced tickets are recommended. 

Tickets are available at: brewcamp.com

Event produced by Hail To The Ale.

All I Want For Xmas Is A Mixed 6 Pack

In an effort to find a distraction from the stress of holiday shopping, we popped into our neighborhood package store, Bottles & Cans to make a mixed 6 pack of this year's Christmas beers and get ourselves in the holiday spirit. Some of these we've had in past years and a few are new ones we were curious about. Below are 6 local(ish) seasonal beers and our opinions of what we drank. All are rated on a 5 tree rating system. Wishing you a happy, healthy, craft beer filled holiday season!

LAKEFRONT HOLIDAY SPICE LAGER

From: Milwaukee, WI
Style: Spiced Ale 
ABV: 9.4% 
Website: www.lakefrontbrewery.com

This dark amber colored ale had a nicely spiced nose, with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, fig, honey and a touch of orange zest. Toasted malt and honey dominate the flavor bringing a lot of sweetness, which is complimented by the spices that linger on the tongue. It finishes with slight warmth and was surprisingly smooth and balanced for a 9.4% beer. Seeing as their Pumpkin Lager was also very high on our list in October, I think it's fair to say that Lakefront is a dominating force in the spiced beer category.

REVOLUTION FISTMAS HOLIDAY ALE

From: Chicago, IL
Style: Spiced Ale
ABV: 6%
Website: www.revbrew.com

The warm copper colored ale with ruby hues had a woodsy, piney hop aroma that stays in the forefront from beginning to end. The flavor had an initial bready, malty sweetness that becomes dry and bitter very quickly, similar to a hoppy English Ale. The hop bitterness and ginger lingers on the tongue in a bit of a competition. We've loved this beer in years past, but felt it was lacking some balance this time around.

BELL'S CHRISTMAS ALE

From: Kalamazoo, MI
Style: Scottish Ale
ABV: 5.5%
Website: www.bellsbeer.com

Bell's winter scottish ale has no spices whatsoever for a holiday edition beer, but won us over with the complex malt aroma and mouthfeel. This beer has tons of layered toasty malt and kettle caramelization as well as a nice balance of hops. Less in the festive in nature, but so complex and drinkable in design. Definitely one of our favorites of the bunch.  

GREAT LAKES CHRISTMAS ALE

From: Cleveland, OH
Style: Spiced Ale
ABV: 7.5%
Website: www.greatlakesbrewing.com

Hands down, still the best of the holiday beer category. Copper in color, this winter warmer has detectable layers of brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger without being overpowering. This ale is beer meets gingerbread cookie in the the most balanced, desirable way. It has a sweet, spiced start with a dry, slightly hoppy finish. Without a doubt, exactly what we'd want a holiday spiced beer to be - start to finish. Cheers Great Lakes Brewing!

DARK HORSE 4 ELF

From: Marshall, MI
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 8.75%
Website: www.darkhorsebrewery.com

Cinnamon, nutmeg, molasses and dried fruit fill the nose. The super malty, almost bitter roast flavor with hints of coffee dries the palette, with a spice and licorice finish. This winter warmer is very complex in flavor with a bit of alcohol bite to it that is interesting in the least, but hard to consume in large quantities. Definitely one to share around a warm fire.

SOUTHERN TIER 2XMAS

From: Lakewood, NY
Style: Spiced Ale brewed with Glögg
ABV: 8%
Website: www.stbcbeer.com

After developing a new found love for glögg at a local Andersonville competition, we were very curious to try Southern Tier's ale brewed with figs, orange peel and spices, reminiscent of traditional glögg. It was mahogany in color with a prominent spice aroma. The flavor itself we found to be a bit muddled, a lot of spice and malt characteristics competing with each other, with a bitter finish from the orange peel that dried out the tongue. We applaud the concept, but it was not quite what we were hoping for.

The Winner of The Great Pumpkin Beer Challenge Is...

It's All Hallow's Eve and the time has come to unveil the winner of The Great Pumpkin Beer Challenge. We have tasted through 24 pumpkin beers over the last three weeks, tracked down and traded from across the country. It was an interesting challenge to say the least - exploring a category defined by ingredient versus style. We found many very well made pumpkin beers, our preferences came down to the most balanced, drinkable choice.

And the award goes to....

Saint Arnold Brewing Company Pumpkinator Imperial Stout

What we loved about this beer: In short, everything. It was by far the most delicious pumpkin beer to touch our lips. Notes of cinnamon, chocolate and roastiness were prominent in the aroma. The full bodied stout, when served at the right temperature was smooth, hiding the alcohol well. This beer finishes dry with just the right balance of spice on the end.

Our Tier 3 winner, Steven's Point Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale made it all the way to the finals rising above some steep competition. As far as ales go, this was our favorite, remaining the most balanced and enjoyable for the style. We highly recommend picking some up while it lasts at Bottles & Cans.

The Great Pumpkin Beer Challenge

As lovers of all things pumpkin, we've teamed up with CHAOS Brew Club's Ken Getty to put together a pumpkin beer tasting of epic proportions. We've compiled 24 beers and will be drinking through the good, the bad and the extra gourdy over the next 3 weeks to determine the ultimate Great Pumpkin Beer winner. 

We'll be posting the results of each tier over the next few Thursdays, with the final winner announced on Halloween Day.

The tiers are ranked as follows:
Tier 3 - New Jack O'Lantern City, Limited Distribution
Tier 2 - Patch Madness, Regional Breweries
Tier 1 - Pumpkin O.G.'s, the crew that's been doing pumpkin beers before Pumpkin Spice Latte had its own hashtag

Which are your favorites vying for the win? Any you'd add or remove? Let us know your thoughts and stay tuned for the results!