Our annual picnic is always one of our most anticipated events, and with good reason: Every year we supply an extraordinary beer selection backed up by a seemingly endless feast of ribs, chili, salsa, and desserts that are whipped up by our amazing members who compete for trophies in hotly contested competitions (view 2009 results).

Last year we bribed Tom Skilling and every other local meteorologist to predict bright sunshine and warm temperatures, and sure enough, we had perfect weather and a record crowd. Not only that, we had 15 superb craft beers and a cider, 8 rib entrants, 20 chilis, 24 salsas, countless desserts, and possibly our greatest picnic ever!

So, plan on bringing the family and your craft beer lovin’ friends – all are welcome and nobody ever goes home hungry or thirsty. The food is amazing – better than you’ll get in any restaurant. And the price? FREE to all CBS members and family who bring a food item to share, or $5 (fidollars) if you come empty handed. Nonmembers bringing foodstuffs pay $5; empty-handed nonmembers must pay $10, but what a deal!

Grab your folding chairs, horseshoes, lawn darts, croquet sets, wiffle balls and bats, etc. and enjoy a great afternoon of phenomenal food, beer, and fun. If you’re interested in participating in the rib competition, contact Randy Mosher. If you want to compete for the other meats (new for 2010 – see flyer below) chili, salsa, or dessert trophies, just bring along your entry and sign up on-site.

Location: LaBagh Woods, Grove 1 in the Cook County Forest Preserve just off the Edens Expressway on Chicago’s North Side (auto entrance on east side of Cicero Avenue, north of Foster). We’re about 1.5 miles from the Jefferson Park stop on the CTA Blue Line, where you can hop a 92 Foster Avenue bus. It’s also not far to the Forest Glen stop on the Metra Milwaukee District North line.

To view the official Picnic Flyer mailed to everybody on our mailing list, click here (PDF).

CBS is pleased to announce its latest Summer event, Deutschland uber Ales und Lagers: A Celebration of Germany.

Join us on Saturday, July 31, at the DANK-HAUS German American Cultural Center, for a great afternoon of German and German-style beers from Europe and the US, plus hearty German food from local merchants (including Laschet’s Inn). You’ll also be able to tour the Lost German Chicago exhibit, featuring art, artifacts, and memorabilia from Chicago’s German-American community.

The price is $35 for CBS members, $45 for nonmembers. As always, anyone who signs up for CBS membership while ordering tickets gets to pay the member price. Everyone on our mailing list will receive this order form soon. This will be the only way to order tickets for everyone eligible for the member discount. Nonmembers can purchase tickets online at Brown Paper Tickets. Admission includes a tasting glass, beer samples and food items. You must be 21 or older to attend. No refunds.

The event will run from 1-5 pm at DANK-HAUS, 4740 N Western Ave, Chicago. We look forward to seeing you there – Prost!

The Great Taste of the Midwest at Olin-Turville Park in Madison, WI is always one of the country’s best beer festivals. It’s become so popular that the limited (now 6000) tickets sell out WAY in advance. This year is no exception – the event has already been declared a sellout!!  But – as has been the case for many years – CBS offers its members first dibs from our already-purchased block ‘o tickets. In fact, we’ll even bus you there and back, whether you live in Chicago or the suburbs.

CBS has booked two luxury coaches that will comfortably transport folks to and from Madison. The bus for City folk will depart from Goose Island Clybourn while the Country bus leaves from Rock Bottom Warrenville. Both buses will depart at 9:30 am and return around 9 pm the same evening.

Members were snail-mailed an official order form in May. As of June 5 our entire ticket block was completely sold out. Tickets were sold on a first-come, first-served basis based on postmark. The 88 ticket holders will receive their bus tickets in the mail soon. All unfulfilled orders will be returned. As always, we’re sorry we can’t provide tickets to everyone, but space is extremely limited.

For those lucky enough to score tickets, here’s some important information:

• No smoking; no kegs or glass containers on the bus
• You must be at least 21 years old to attend
• Festival tickets will be distributed on the bus

You are cordially invited to the annual celebration of the American Homebrewers Association‘s Big Brew Day. Homebrewers all across the country will be brewing batches of beer at the same time, including some of us. There are even some standard recipes (which we rarely follow).

Brewers, if you’re planning on coming, let Randy Mosher know so he can save some room. We’re always a little tight for space, but we’ll make every effort to accommodate all those wishing to brew. Randy has grain mills for malt and unmalted cereals, carbon-filtered water, etc., and also has space on the stove in the brewery in case someone wants to brew a batch of extract beer.

Of course, the party is mostly non-brewing participants, thank god, as we’d burn down the neighborhood otherwise. It functions as a warped open house event. Doors will be open from 8 am (brewers earlier by special arrangement). As far as food and drink, this is totally a pitch-in. We usually have a ploughman’s lunch (cheese, cured meat, pickles, etc.) midday, then get the smoker fired up (usually by Joe  Preiser, Pitmaster) and eat a hot meaty dinner later. We’ll have two grills available as well as the smoker. Don’t show up empty handed. Beer, meat, sides, snacks, and desserts are all welcome. The club will supply plates, forks, glasses. etc.

We have a big pile of firewood for the fire pit. You might bring a lawn chair with you if you care what you sit on.

Date & Time: May 1, 2009 8 am-until Roger leaves.

Location: Chez Mosher-Cline, at 1604 W. Lunt Ave, Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. Lunt is 7000 north; that’s 4 blocks from the lake, 2 blocks east of Clark, about a 5 minute walk from the Morse Ave Red Line CTA stop. 773-973-0240. Also easily accessible from the Metra UPN North line stop (Rogers Park), just a couple of blocks away.

For the sixth consecutive year, CBS will be sponsoring the region’s largest celebration of cask-conditioned ales, with some 40 casks of real ale from Chicagoland breweries and some very special guests. As always, this promises to be a spirited event for Chicago real ale enthusiasts. Attendees will be able to sample the beers and then vote for the 2010 Champion Real Ale of Chicagoland. Last year, Surly Brewing from Minnesota earned the title for the second consecutive year with their Tea-bagged Furious IPA. Will a local brewer take back the honor in 2010? You decide! As usual, the casks will be coddled and cared by CBS’s own nationally-renowned cellarmen.

The first casks arrive at the Goose Island Wrigleyville Garage

Day & Night of the Living Ales will be held at Goose Island Wrigleyville, 3535 N Clark St, Chicago, over two sessions: 1-5 pm and 6-10 pm (9:45 last call). Only 250 tickets per session will be sold. The price is $35 for CBS members, $40 for nonmembers.  Join CBS at the same time you book your tickets and you can pay the member price.  Admission includes a tasting glass, beer samples and appetizers (artisanal meats and cheeses). All attendees must be at least 21 years old.

As of Wednesday, February 17, the entire event (yes, both sessions) is completely sold out. Ticket orders that could not be filled will be returned; Brown Paper Tickets will no longer process orders. If you were unable to get tickets, your best bet is to post your interest on our CBS-HB listserv. There are inevitably some last-minute cancellations, and these are often posted here. Thanks once again to all of you for your enthusiastic support of this cask ale event!

As always, we recommend that you take public transportation or arrange for a designated driver (but because space is so limited, we cannot offer a discounted designated driver ticket). 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.

Here is our preliminary list of casks for 2010 DotLA/NotLA:

• Emmett’s Tavern & Brewing Co.: Victory Pale Ale
• Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery: Bourbon McElroy Imperial Stout, Thammy English IPA, Joppy Joppy Joy Joy Jalapeno IPA (pin)
• Goose Island Beer Co.: Catwoman’ Black IPA, Oaky Rose Flemish Brown, Snow Leopard Mild, SupercalifragilisticCITRAalidocious, Traditional Honker’s Ale
• Goose Island Clybourn Brewery: Belgian Blonde, PMD Mild
• Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant (Bolingbrook): Coffee-Infused Schwarzbier
• Half Acre Beer Co.: Ginger Twin India Red Ale, Over Ale American ESB
• Lucky Monk Pizza & Beer Co.: Grale Amber Ale, IPA
• Lunar Brewing Co.: Moondance IPA
• Metropolitan Brewing Co.: Keller Krankshaft Kolsch, Zwickel Dynamo Copper Lager
• Mickey Finn’s Brewery: Bighead APA. Legspinner Barleywine, R.K.’s IPA
• Moylan’s Brewery and Restaurant: Wet Hopsickle IPA
• New Belgium Brewing Co.: Ranger IPA
• Piece Brewery & Pizzeria: Dynfunctionale, Roland the Headless Assistant Brewer
• Revolution Brewing Co.: Willie Wee Heavy
• Rock Bottom Chicago: Coffee Oatmeal Stout, Wooly Bear IPA
• Rock Bottom Lombard: Argus’ India Brown Ale, iPale, Pritchard #4 American Stout
• Rock Bottom Orland Park: Imperial Stout, Two Bags of Crystal IPA
• Rock Bottom Warrenville: King of Hearts Imperial Red
• Surly Brewing Co.: Darkness, Mild, Oak Aged Dry Hopped CYnic, Tea-Bagged Furious
• Three Floyds Brewing Co.: Admiral Lord Nelson ESB, Blackheart English IPA
• Two Brothers Brewing Co.: Cane and Ebel, Resistance IPA

Come out and enjoy the best beers and best foods from Chicago area brewpubs and microbreweries as CBS presents the Chicagoland Brewpub & Microbrewery Shootout for the 12th consecutive year. 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 in newly-remodeled space at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N Knox Ave, Chicago. An event flyer and ticket order form was mailed to members (valid as of December 1, 2009) in early December. As of Sunday night, December 27, orders have been processed and the event is now officially sold out. There will be no ticket sales to nonmembers. If your order arrived after the sellout was reached, your check will be returned. Tickets were mailed in early January.

If you weren’t lucky enough to score a ticket, your best bet is to check our CBS-HB listserv, as occasionally there are a handful of last-minute cancellations.

To our members who we could not accommodate, we are very sorry. We have looked into expanding the event, but the participating brewpubs, breweries, and their staffs have said that expanding the attendance would be too difficult for them to handle logistically.

Join us at Mrs. Murphy and Sons Irish Bistro (3906 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago) on Saturday, November 14 for the 33rd edition of the country’s oldest tasting of commercial beers. This will be a blind tasting to allow you to judge the specially procured beers strictly on their own merit. When the formal tasting ends, all the beers will be available for your enjoyment. There are a limited amount of seats available. Reservations are due by November 7 and pre-payment is required. Everyone must be 21 or older to attend. NO REFUNDS.

Mrs. Murphy and Sons specialize in contemporary Irish cuisine and they’ve prepared a great menu for us that includes:

• Irish Cheese and Meat Platter
• Field Greens, Toasted Walnuts & Cashel Bleu Cheese with Cider Vinaigrette
• Cider Braised Pork Loin -and- Irish Stew
• Roasted Red Skin Potatoes -and- Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage
• Irish Brown Soda Bread and Butter
• Apple Crumble with Whiskey Whipped Cream

Tickets are $45 for CBS members, $55 for nonmembers. As always, nonmembers who sign up for CBS when making reservations get to pay the member rate. Check out the official event flyer for all the tasty details and use the attached form to reserve your tickets. We look forward to seeing you on the 14th!

The Chicago Beer Society emphasizes responsible consumption and recommends public transportation or the use of a designated driver for all our tasting events. Mrs. Murphy and Sons is located a short walk from  the CTA Brown Line stop at Irving Park and is convenient to multiple bus lines and easily accessible by cab.

Hard to believe, but our wacky annual Spooky Brew Review homebrew competition is celebrating its 18th consecutive year!

Our host this year will Emmett’s Ale House at 110 North Brockway Street in Palatine, IL (conveniently located virtually adjacent to Metra’s Union Pacific Northwest Line station). As usual, SBR will feature judging in all categories of the BJCP Style Guidelines. But the highlight is always the judging of the special Spooky (scariest) and Smashed Pumpkin (Worst of Show) categories, which definitely should not be missed. For the third year in a row, we’ll also include Witches’ Brew, an open category for beer, mead, and cider brewed only by women.

NOTE: All entries for the Spooky and Smashed Pumpkin categories must be drinkable. Anything deemed otherwise by the Competition Committee will be DISQUALIFIED, and that’s very hard to do.

So, please plan on entering, judging, stewarding, or just attending Spooky Brew Review 2009 — it definitely doesn’t get any crazier than this!

The competition package (including rules & regulations, entry forms, bottle labels, and a style chart) is now available for download here in PDF format.

Judges and Stewards – we need you! If you are interesting in serving as a judge or steward on October 31, please contact competition organizers Joe Preiser (joe @ chibeer.org, 630-759-4569) or Steve Hamburg (stevie @ chibeer.org, 773-878-0177). All general questions can also be directed to the organizers.

The Great Taste of the Midwest at Olin-Turville Park in Madison, WI is always one of the country’s best beer festivals. It’s become so popular that the limited (now 6000) tickets sell out WAY in advance. This year was no exception – the event was declared a sellout almost as soon as tickets went on sale. But, as has been the case for eons, CBS offers its members an exclusive festival package that includes a coveted ticket to the Taste and round-trip bus transportation from either Chicago or Warrenville. Tickets were sold via a members-only mailing and, not surprisingly, were completely sold out by June 1.

Tickets will be arriving via snail mail very soon. If you didn’t make the cut, your checks will be returned.

Here’s the 411 for those who have scored tickets:

• City bus departs from Goose Island Clybourn (1800 N Clybourn) at 9:30 am, returns ~9 pm
• Suburban bus departs from Rock Bottom-Warrenville (Winfield Rd & I-88) at 9:30 am, returns ~9 pm
• No smoking or glass containers on the buses
• You must be at least 21 years old to attend
• Festival tickets will be distributed on the buses
• Don’t be late for the ride home – most hotel rooms in Madison are already booked!

The Chicago Beer Society and Murphy’s Bleachers present A Midsummer Day’s Ales, Saturday Aug. 1 at Murphy’s, directly across from the bleacher entrance to Wrigley Field. Weather permitting, Murphy’s will swing open its French doors and offer up the sidewalk café for another fantastic CBS event. Attendees will also be able to take a guided tour of the Murphy’s rooftop.

Summer is flying by, so don’t miss this opportunity to enjoy an outstanding selection of beer and some great al fresco dining. The beer theme for the event is session beers and summer seasonals, and the line up will include a 3.5% farmhouse table beer from the maker of Saison Dupont, two beers from Jolly Pumpkin Ales, and many more from our friends in the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild. We’ll have k ölsch-style beers from as far away as Cologne and as nearby as Bolingbrook and Fulton Street.

Are you partial to hops? We’ll have a couple of APAs, a hoppy lager from one of Chicago’s newest breweries, and a dry-hopped Pils from Rock Bottom Chicago. Looking for some malt and body, we’ll have a brown ale from Wil Turner of Goose Island, and the new Golden Cap Saison from New Holland Brewing Co.  We’ll also throw a Berliner Weisse into the mix. The current beer list includes:

• 1809 Berliner Weisse, Brauerei Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany
• Avril, Brasserie Dupont, Belgium
• Bam Bière and Weizen Bam Bière, Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Dexter, MI
• Gaffel Kölsch, Private Brewery Gaffel, Köln, Germany
• Amarillo APA, Brickstone Restaurant, Bourbonnais, IL
• Willow Street White Ale and Hex-A-Gone Brown, Goose Island Clybourn
• Goose Island Honkers Ale and Summertime, Goose Island Fulton Street
• Blueberry Wit, Lunar Brewing Co.
• Hugh Hefnerweizen and Dry-Hopped Czech Pils, Rock Bottom Chicago
• Flywheel Bright Lager, Metropolitan Brewing
• Helles, Rock Bottom Orland Park
• Summerbrau Kölsch, Gordon Biersch, Bolingbrook
• Dog Days Dortmunder-style Lager, Two Brothers Brewing
• Golden Cap Saison, New Holland Brewing, MI

Bring your appetite, and you won’t leave hungry. The ploughman’s lunch created by Murphy’s Bleachers chef Jeanne Carlson will be built around three great cheeses:

• A British classic from Neal’s Yard Dairy (probably Lincolnshire Poacher)
• Bermuda Triangle, an award-winning aged goat cheese from Cypress Grove Chevre, CA.
• Grand Cru, the flagship Gruyère from our award-winning friends at Roth Käse, Monroe, WI.

This ploughman’s lunch isn’t just cheese and baguette. Look for fresh tomato chutney, house-baked Irish soda bread, fresh fruit, thinly-sliced smoked duck breast and country-style pate. And then save room for a pig roast with sides, prepared by Murphy’s Bleachers proprietor James Murphy. Once summer is gone you’ll be crying in your beer that you missed this event!

Tickets are $35 for members, $40 for nonmembers. To reserve yours, just download and mail in the official ticket order form.  Nonmember tickets may also be ordered online via Brown Paper Tickets. A limited number of tickets will also be available at the door. Of course, you must be 21 or older to attend. Valid ID required.  All ticket sales are final.

As always, we recommend that you take public transportation or arrange for a designated driver.  Murphy’s Bleachers is located at the corner of Waveland and Sheffield, across the street from the bleacher entrance to Wrigley Field (approximately 1/2 block west and 1 block north of the CTA Red Line Addison station).  The CTA Clark, Addison, and Irving Park buses run late and are a short walk.  Taxis are also an easy option.

We look forward to seeing you at the Bleachers!