Chicago Beer Society

The Tenth Annual Brewpub Shootout is over!

There were 15 Chicago area Brewpubs invited and they served beer paired with a dish of food for more than three hundred CBS members. The awards for the CBS Brewpub Shootout are awarded based on popular vote from those members that attended the event. There are awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Favorite Beer, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Favorite Food Dish and 1st, 2nd and 3rd Favorite Overall Beer and Food Pairing.

The attendees vote and submit their ballots before the event is over and the votes are counted and awards are presented near the end of the event.

The Awards Follow:

Beer
1. Kind Ale IPA – Flossmoor Station Restaurant and Brewery
2. Hvedegoop Wheat Wine – Three Floyds Brewing Co.
3. American Barleywine – Rock Bottom Yorktown

Food
1. Emmett’s Tavern and Brewing Company – Grilled Duck Breast with a Blackcurrant Glaze, Jasmine Rice Cake and Braised Leeks.
2. Rock Bottom – Crispy Prosciutto wrapped Shrimp atop Barley Encrusted Beef Tenderloin with Blood Orange-infused Wort Glace.
3. Gordon Biersch – New Orleans Style Marzen Barbeque Shrimp on French Bread

Pairing
1. Rock Bottom – Crispy Prosciutto wrapped Shrimp atop Barley Encrusted Beef Tenderloin with Blood Orange-infused Wort Glace. Paired with American Barleywine (Yorktown).
2. Goose Island Brew Pub – Braised Beef Oxtail served on a Crustini with Bone Marrow Demi Glace. Paired with aged La Deuxieme Beligian Dubbel.
3. Emmett’s Tavern and Brewing Company- Grilled Duck Breast with a Blackcurrant Glaze, Jasmine Rice Cake and Braised Leeks. Paired with Destitute Dick’s Colonial Ale

As always, this was a superb event (and the tenth anniversary!). We wish to thank all of the Brewpubs, Brewers, Chefs and their Assistants for coming out to support this event. We also wish to thank our great members and we hope you had as much fun as we did!

For the fourth consecutive year, CBS will be sponsoring the region’s largest celebration of cask-conditioned ales, Night of the Living Ales. This event will feature around 40 casks of real ale from Chicagoland breweries and some very special guests. As always, this promises to be a big firkin deal for area real ale enthusiasts. Attendees will be able to sample the beers and then select the 2008 Champion Real Ale of Chicagoland. Past champions have been Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, Flossmoor Station X-IPA, and Three Floyds Admiral Lord Nelson. Who will win in 2008? It’s up to you!

NotLA IV will be held at Goose Island Wrigleyville, 3535 N Clark St, Chicago, from 6-10 pm (9:45 last call). Tickets are $35 for members, $40 nonmembers, purchased in advance. Admission includes a tasting glass, beer samples, and appetizers (artisanal meats and cheeses; Goose Island grub). You must be 21 or older to be admitted. As of February 17 we are now completely sold out. Thanks once again to all our members and guests for your continuing support of this event. Extra thanks to the Siebel Institute of Technology and World Brewing Academy and the Brewers Supply Group for their sponsorship this year.

As always, we recommend that you take public transportation or arrange for a designated driver. Goose Island Wrigleyville is located approximately 2 blocks west of the CTA Red Line Addison station (one-half block south of Wrigley Field). The CTA 22 Clark bus runs past the front door all night; taxis are also an easy option.

It was reported by Roger on the CBS-HB Mailing List and it was also reported and updated by Steve on the Shootout event information post, but just so it is very clear, I’m posting it here too.

The 2008 Brewpub Shootout is Sold Out.

Come out and enjoy the best beers and best foods from Chicago area brewpubs and microbreweries. Sample a bunch of beers and each brewery’s food item and then vote for your favorites (beer, food item, and beer-food combination). Winners will be announced at the end of the event. Support your favorite brewery or brewpub – or discover a new favorite. Either way, you get to taste the very best beer and food that Chicago has to offer.

The Shootout runs from 1-5 pm at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N Knox Ave, Chicago. Tickets are $40 for members, $50 for nonmembers (if any are available). You must be 21 or older to attend this non-smoking event. NOTE: due to the enormous demand for tickets, the following policy is in effect:

• Only current members as of December 1, 2007 can order tickets (1 ticket per single member; 2 tickets for couples) from December 12 through the end of the year. Requests for multiple tickets will not be honored.
• Orders will be filled based on postmark date. Once we reach capacity, all unfilled orders will be returned and a sellout will be posted here.
• If tickets are still available after this exclusive members-only offer, a PDF order form will be posted here on January 2, 2008. Again, nonmember or additional member orders will be processed based on postmark date. Nonmember orders sent prior to January 2 (assuming tickets are still available) will be returned.

We’re sorry that we have to enforce such strict guidelines, but space is extremely limited and the demand is extremely high. We cannot even guarantee tickets for all our members. Thanks for your unbelievable support for the Shootout. Best of luck with your ticket orders and hope to see you at the IAHC!

As of Monday, December 31, the Shootout is completely SOLD OUT. We were able to sell all available tickets via our exclusive offer to our members. To increase your chances of getting a ticket in the future, join CBS!

Occasionally a few tickets may be available as current ticket holders run into last-minute conflicts. Please monitor the CBS-HB listserv, as this is typically where people announce that they have some available.