f96h2 CBS Events

13th Annual Chicagoland Brewpub & Microbrewery Shootout (Sold Out)

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 13th 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 the Erin Room 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, 2010) in early December. As of Saturday, December 18, 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 will be mailed in early January.

If you weren’t lucky enough to score a ticket, your best bet is to monitor our CBS-HB listserv, as occasionally tickets become available due to cancellations.

To our members who we could not accommodate, we are very sorry. We’re still exploring the possibility of expanding the event, but to do so will require a larger venue and the breweries must be amenable to serving a bigger crowd.

f96h2 General CBS News

34th Annual Fall Tasting Recap

Approximately 120 members and guests attended the 34th Annual Fall Tasting & Dinner at Reza’s Restaurant. A whopping selection of 18(!) craft beers were available for all to sample in our now-standard walk-around format. Then, after careful evaluation, attendees cast ballots  for the top beers  in both session beer and strong beer categories. After such exhausting work, Reza’s family-style dinner was a welcome respite!

The 2010 winners were:

Strong Beers
First place: Two Brothers Brewing Co. Cane & Ebel Rye IPA
Runner up:  Goose Island Beer Co. Dominique Belgian-Style Sour Oak-Aged Pale Ale

Session Beers
First place: Revolution Brewing Co. Iron Fist IPA
Runner up: Goose Island Brewpub Schwarzbier

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

CBS thanks all of the brewers, distributors, and taverns who made such a great selection possible; the board members and volunteers who solicited those donations and helped tap the beers; and especially event organizers Brad Reeg and Brian Turner for all of their work behind the scenes.

f96h2 General CBS News

Spooky Brew 2010 Homebrew Competition Results

Congratulations to the winners of the 2010 Chicago Beer Society Spooky Brew Review Homebrew Competition. After a record number of entries last year, we had a solid but much more reasonable 274 entries this year – still quite an impressive showing for the 19-year-old Little Homebrew Competition that Could.  We also had many new participants this year – brewers, judges, and stewards – and we really appreciated your support. Next year we plan to return to the city limits, to the new Haymarket Pub & Brewery.  It will be a blast!

RB LogoOf course, that doesn’t mean we didn’t have a great time in The Loft at Rock Bottom Warrenville this year. Banquet manager Kelly Montelo couldn’t have been more supportive, not only taking care of the room setup and beer/food logistics, but also tending bar during our stay and even helping judge our women-only Witches’ Brew category. Thanks a lot! We also had great support from brewer Davin Bartosch and his assistant brewer, Dave Fairbanks (who also entered an English IPA in our competition). RB Warrenville serves excellent beers and has a tasty menu, so make sure to visit them often.

But now let’s cut to the chase: the winners.

Daryl Hoedtke of Chicago and CBS captured Best-of-Show with his Orval clone (“Lavro”),  while Justin Klink of Bloomingdale capped an impressive sweep of the American Ale and India Pale Ale categories by also earning Runner-Up BOS with his IPA.

The Witches’ Brew attracted fewer entrants, but the highest quality, as Kate Jones from CBS and Eileen and Heather Uchima from UKG were the outstanding co-champs. On the Spooky side, multiple winner Calvin Rowland (UKG) showed a creative streak with his astounding Litter Box, while Crazy Ron Stazuk’s streak of incredibly foul Smashed Pumpkin victories was ended on a DQ (OK, we were sick of just the smell of his entries). Instead, the judges recovered from their apoplexy and awarded the traveling trophy (a 15-year old burst can of malt extract and a “Mr. Beer” kit) to Daniel Dugan’s “Scary Cherry Sludge.” The complete results are available here.

Thanks to all entrants, judges, and stewards, and special thanks to our crew – Chief Steward and Cellar B*tch Luann Fitpatrick; Art Director and master factotum Zemo Holat; Beer Registrants Joe Preiser, Jeff Sparrow, Matt Mayes, Meg Rutledge, and Mark Staelgraeve. Finally, a special nod to Lu, Joe, and Ed Bronson for their extraordinary beer disposal skills at the end of a very long day.

See you next Halloween!

Cheers,

Steve Hamburg and Keith Stocker, Organizers

f96h2 CBS Events

34th Annual Fall Tasting & Dinner at Reza’s

Join us at Reza’s Restaurant (432 W Ontario in River North, Chicago) on Saturday, November 20 for the 34th 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 13 and pre-payment is required. Everyone must be 21 or older to attend. NO REFUNDS.

Reza’s is renowned for their fine Persian, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean cuisine and they’ve prepared a great menu for us that includes:

  • Appetizers: Grilled Mushrooms, Baba Ghannouj, Herb Roasted Feta Cheese, Pita and Relishes.
  • Entrees: Filet Mignon Shish Kabob, Boneless Breast Chicken Kabob, Shrimp Kabob, Fessenjan (Cornish Hens Simmered in Pomegranate and Walnut Sauce), White Rice, Dill Rice and Grilled Vegetables
  • Dessert: Baklava and Bameh (Deep Fried Dough Covered with Honey)

Did you know that the Reza’s space was once Chicago’s first brewpub? Sieben’s River North Brewery opened in the same space in 1987 (a year before Goose Island opened on Clybourn) and closed a few years later.  The Berghoff restaurant took over the space and operated its own brewpub there, but it closed in 1993. Don’t get excited by the sight of the mash tun and brew kettle – they’ve long since been disconnected and are purely decorative now. Odd for a Middle Eastern restaurant, to be sure, but perfectly appropriate for the Chicago Beer Society!

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 20th!

The Chicago Beer Society emphasizes responsible consumption and recommends public transportation or the use of a designated driver for all our tasting events. Reza’s  is convenient to the CTA (about a 10 minute walk from the Chicago stop on the Brown Line) and Metra, and is also easily accessible by cab. For more details, visit the Reza’s website and hit Click for Directions to River North Location.

f96h2 CBS Events, Past CBS Homebrew Events

2010 Spooky Brew Review Homebrew Competition

After a record number of entries in 2009, our annual Spooky Brew Review homebrew competition tries its luck in Warrenville as we celebrate its 19th consecutive year!

Rock Bottom LogoOur host this year will Rock Bottom Warrenville at 28256 Diehl Road in Warrenville, IL, located minutes from the Winfield Road exit on I-88. As usual, SBR will feature judging in all categories of the BJCP Style Guidelines. But a highlight is always the judging of the special Spooky (scariest) and Smashed Pumpkin (Worst of Show) categories, which definitely should not be missed. And for the fourth year in a row, we’ll also include Witches’ Brew, an open category for beer, mead, and cider brewed only by women (and last year was judged by women, too!).

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, or stewarding Spooky Brew Review 2010. After almost 20 years it’s still here and we’re damn proud of it!

The competition package (including rules & regulations, entry forms, bottle labels, and a style chart) is now available for download here in PDF format. The entry fee is $7 per standard entry (2 bottles) and $2 for Witches’ Brew, Spooky Brew, and Smashed Pumpkin (1 bottle). Entries with fees can be dropped off from October 8-23 at Rock Bottom Warrenville, The Brewer’s Coop in Warrenville, and The Homebrew Shop in St. Charles, Brew & Grew Chicago (Kedzie north of Addison), or at the regular CBS First Thursday gathering on October 7 at Goose Island Clybourn.

Judges and Stewards – we need you! If you are interesting in serving as a judge or steward on October 30, please contact competition organizers Steve Hamburg (stevie @ chibeer.org, 312-401-0513) or Keith Stocker (keith @ chibeer.org, 312-523-7660). All general questions can also be directed to the organizers.