Chicago Beer Society

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.

Day & Night of the Living Ales, the region’s largest celebration of cask-conditioned beers, was held on March 6. Twenty-one breweries from Chicagoland and beyond provided 43 different beers, while 500 attendees sampled the beers over two sessions and cast ballots to decide the 2010 Champion Real Ale of Chicagoland.

The winners:

1. Flossmoor Station Bourbon McElroy Imperial Stout
2. Goose Island Beer Company Oaky Rose Flemish Brown
3. Surly Brewing Darkness

In addition, the cellar staff (also consulting a list of nominees from the professional brewers session, held earlier) awards an annual Golden Tut Award to the brewery/beer that best exemplifies the overall cask ale experience. The winner for 2010:  Three Floyds Admiral Lord Nelson Strong Bitter.

Congratulations to the champions, and thanks to all the breweries and their brewers for supplying such an outstanding list of beers. Take a look at the event program to see what was featured.

DotLA/NotLA could not take place without our great volunteers, sponsors and supporters. Any beer event requires a lot of effort, but the logistics of a cask event are even more complex. And everyone who organized, set up/broke down, stillaged, spiled, tapped, served, sold, etc. was an unpaid volunteer. Many put in many hours and traveled great distances to help us – they all deserve your thanks.

We also owe a great debt to our sponsor, the Brewers Supply Group who also arranged the shipping of out-of-town casks. Thanks also to Goose Island, Marion Street Cheese Market, and Andy’s Deli for the great selection of appetizers, meat & cheeses.  Above all, we want to thank John Hall, Greg Hall and Goose Island Beer Company for their support of the Beer Society over the last 23 years. Goose Island Wrigleyville has been the gracious host of this event every year. Thanks to all GI-W staff for their assistance during the planning and functioning of this event, especially to manager Daria Olechowski.

Of course, events like this could not take place without the support of our members and guests who attend and make DotLA/NotLA so much fun. The two sessions sold out in record time and proved once again that the passion for real ales is growing every day.

Cheers!

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

The results of the 12th Annual Brewpub Shootout are in.

There were 14 participants this year, including the soon-to-open Revolution Brewing, recently-opened The Lucky Monk , and first-time participant, Half Acre. The area Rock Bottoms once again paired up into North/South and East/West teams, and the usual sellout of some three hundred CBS members gathered in the Irish-American Heritage Center‘s beautifully-remodeled Erin Room.

Awards were presented in three categories (Best Beer, Best Food, Best Beer/Food Pairing) , with the top three in each taking home an attractive trophy. The attendees cast their ballots and the awards were presented near the end of the event.

To see what you missed, check out the program (PDF) listing all of the featured beers and food items/pairings. Kudos to Three Floyds for providing a bonus beer & food pairing.

12th Annual Chicagoland Brewpub Shootout Awards:

Beer
1. America’s Brewing (Bourbon Fass Bavarian Gerste Wein)
2. Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery (Dry-hopped Panama Limited Red Ale)
3. Goose Island Clybourn (Frankenporter)

Food
1. Rock Bottom N/S (Lombard & Orland Park)
2. The Lucky Monk
3. Rock Bottom E/W (Chicago & Warrenville)

Pairing
1. Rock Bottom N/S (Lombard & Orland Park)
2. Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery
3. BrickStone Restaurant & Brewery

As always, this was an unbelievable event. Thanks to all of the Brewpubs, Brewers, Chefs and their Assistants for making this possible; to the staff at the IAHC for their assistance;  and, of course, thanks to our great members who continue to make the Shootout one of the best beer events in the world!

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.

Approximately 120 members and guests attended one of the most memorable Fall Tastings in recent memory. Mrs. Murphy and Sons Irish Bistro was our host for the evening, and wow – they were great. The room was beautiful, the staff couldn’t have been more helpful, and the food was both plentiful and delicious. And then there was the beer…

Thirteen outstanding beers were presented in a walk-around blind tasting, and after the ballots were cast, Older Viscosity, a wood aged Imperial stout from Port Brewing, San Marcos, CA was selected as champion beer. It narrowly edged out Claire’s Impure Thought, a Russian Imperial Chocolate Raspberry Stout from Rock Bottom Chicago. The voting was so tight there was a tie for third place between 1871, a pre-prohibition lager from Emmett’s Tavern & Brewing Company and Daisy Cutter Pale Ale from Half Acre Beer Company.

Filling out the rest of the impressive field (in presentation order):

• Capital Oktoberfest (thanks to Louis Glunz Beer, Inc.)
• Lakefront Local Archer (Harvest Ale)
• Flossmoor Station Black Magic Black IPA
• Shoreline Batch 200 Black IPA
• Goose Island Clybourn Black Cat Export Stout
• Mickey Finn’s Gudendark Dunkelweizen
• Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel (thanks to Map Room)
• New Belgium Tart Lychee Wild Ale
• Lunar Darkside Dubbel

CBS thanks all of the brewers, distributors, and bar-owning friends who made such an incredible selection possible. We also owe a great debt to the organizers and volunteers who made this event possible and who did their hardest work behind the scenes.

To our members and guests and attended, it was great having you! Hope to see you at our next event, the 12th Annual Chicagoland Brewpub & Microbrewery Shootout, coming up in the new year. Make sure your membership is current to assure your exclusive opportunity for tickets.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2009 Chicago Beer Society Spooky Brew Review Homebrew Competition. We had 304 entries this year, the most ever! Thanks to all the brewers who entered beers in this year’s competition.

When the dust settled and judging was compeleted, Calvin Rowland of Bolingbrook and the Urban Knaves of Grain won Best-of-Show with a superb Applewine (BJCP category 28C); CBS’s own Dave Phillips and his team (Kyle Swansen, Tony Kline) were runners-up with their Specialty beer (category 23), a hoppy Belgian Pale Ale with brettanomyces; Ron Stazuk kept his streak alive by capturing the Spooky and Smashed Pumpkin awards again. After a post-event review revealed a clerical problem with the Witches’ Brew scoring, co-winners were named:  Cindy Pillar and Katie Quiter with “Scary Spice,” who brewed a pumpkin ale with cinnamon and clove,  and Stephanette Smith with “Inky Pawprint,” a very fine dry stout. Also, special kudos to Michael Shannon of the Midnight Carboys for earning 1st place honors in 4 categories and 9 ribbons overall. Well done! The complete results are available here.

The organizers owe a great deal of gratitude to brewers Ryan Clooney and Rob Hunter and all of the staff at Emmett’s Tavern & Brewing Company in Palatine for their incredible hospitality in hosting the event. Everyone on site was unbelievably helpful and patient; the lunch and beers were outstanding. We encourage everyone in the region to visit Emmett’s – great businesses like these deserve our support!

But even more, we really have to thank all of the Chicago area judges and stewards who stepped forward and did such a great job getting through our record number of entries.

Cheers,

Joe Preiser and Steve Hamburg, Organizers