The Spooky Brew Review is one of the oldest homebrew competitions in the country.
Many details are still being worked out but it will be held October 28th, 2017 at the Rock Bottom Chicago location so fire up those kettles and get your award winning beers ready!
Note: The actual homebrew competition event is closed to judges and stewards only. Sign up for entries will typically be around the first of September.
Our “Umpteenth” 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 enter into hotly contested competitions.
The 2017 picnic will be September 9, 2017 in the same *old* place on the North side. TICKETS ARE FREE AND REQUIRED. Anyone without a ticket will be turned away.
A flyer will be emailed to members of record around the end of July with a unique code to obtain your tickets.
Competition Categories
If you plan to enter one or more categories, you will need to fill out the competition form. The link to this form can be found when you purchase your tickets.
Any questions, email picnic a/t. chibeer.org
Join CBS for our annual summer bus trip to breweries outside of the Chicagoland area. For 2017, we return to southern Michigan to visit some of the new breweries that have opened since our initial trip in 2013.
The first stop is Bridgeman, MI, where we will be greeted by long-time friend of CBS Pete Crowley at his new Haymarket production facility and tap room. Here, we’ll be given a behind-the-scenes tour and private tasting. Lunch and beer is included. We’ll hang in Bridgeman for a few hours, giving you the opportunity to also visit Transient and/or Tapestry – both within walking distance – if you choose. From here, we head north to Benton Harbor, to visit both Silver Harbor Brewing and North Pier Brewing. Turning back south, we’ll stop at Watermark Brewing, before heading home. A beer, each, is included at Silver Harbor, North Pier, and Watermark Brewing. Join us for summer in Michigan (where it could be snowing by the next week.)
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 likely to be no exception!! As it has been the case for many years, Chicago Beer Society 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 start boarding at 9:00 am and return around 9 pm the same evening. Doors shut and buses depart at 9:30 AM SHARP. The bus waits for no one!
Members will be emailed an official flyer mid July with your unique password in order to receive the membership price. Tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. A limited number of tickets *might* be available to non-members if our members don’t gobble them all up! Don’t risk being left out and join CBS today!
Final details are being worked out and information here is currently subject to change.
For those lucky enough to score tickets, here’s some important information:
We are happy to host the CBS National Homebrew Day Celebration at our house once again this year.
As every year, you’re welcome to brew outside in the driveway/back yard, although there is somewhat limited space for brewing set-ups, so please call or otherwise get in touch in advance to “reserve” a brewing space. C’mon and bring some equipment over and set up in our driveway!
IF YOU PLAN ON BREWING, YOU MUST CONTACT RANDY BELOW TO RESERVE A SPACE. Space is limited.
We expect, as in the past, that the party will be mostly non-brewing participants–thank gawd, as we’d burn down the neighborhood otherwise. Gates will be open starting at 8:30 AM (brewers can set up earlier by prior arrangement) and coffee and coffeecake will be available for early birds. C’mon and bring some equipment over and set up in our driveway!
Please note that THIS IS A 100% PITCH IN PARTY. We have a ploughman’s lunch (cheese, cured meat, pickles, bread, etc. again pitched in by YOU) midday-ish, then get the smoker fired up and eat a hot meaty dinner later (usually by Joe Preiser, Pitmaster). We’ll have a Big Green Egg available as well as the tin man smoker. Do NOT show up empty handed: beer, meat, cheeses, side dishes for dinner, snacks, and desserts, preferably homebrewed or homemade, are all welcome. Chicago Beer Society will supply plates, forks, cups, etc. As usual, we will be stopping at 5-ish for mint juleps with which to watch the Derby (mint and simple syrup provided by the Mosher-Clines, bourbon provided by ONE OF YOU).
This is an outdoor event and will be held RAIN OR SHINE. Regardless of the predicted temperature, it can be considerably cooler by the lake especially if the sun is not shining so dress accordingly. In case of rain, we’ll have EZ-ups and other shelters set up. We have limited seating, so portable/collapsible chairs are advisable if you want to be guaranteed a seat. We’ll fire up the fire pit after dinner, so we can Kumbaya around it at the end of the evening. Anyone who wants s’mores is welcome to bring fixin’s.
Date & Time: Saturday, May 6, 2017 from 8:30 AM until Nancy has had enough and makes any stragglers leave.
Location: 1604 W. Lunt Ave, in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. Lunt is 7000 north; we’re 4 blocks west of the lake, 2 blocks east of Clark, 1 block north of the Morse Red Line stop. Also easily accessible from the Metra UP North Line Rogers Park stop, which is just a block west of Clark on Lunt. Parking is on the street only, so good luck with that…
Contact: 773 973 0240 or randymosher@rcn.com if you plan to brew and need to reserve a space. Otherwise, feel free to come with beer, meat, cheese, or side dishes in hand.
You can find more info about AHA Big Brew Day at:
http://www.