Chicago Beer Society was founded in 1977 as a 100% volunteer-run nonprofit educational association dedicated to the appreciation of beer. We are one of the country’s oldest, largest, and most respected beer organizations. Our membership includes a diverse group of people united by a love for craft beer and the art of brewing.
CBS is member-supported and run exclusively by volunteers. There is no paid staff. If you would like to assist with any of our activities or even suggest a new one, we definitely want to hear from you!
The Society is governed by a non-elected Board of Directors. Members are chosen by existing Board members from the general membership based on regular and significant volunteer work for the organization. Every year in December the Board members elect a President to convene and preside over its meetings during the following year. He or she does not have executive power – each board member’s vote has equal weight. By tradition, the President is limited to a single term. Board members do not receive any exclusive benefits: all pay annual dues and the standard member price for each event.
How do you get named to the Board? Volunteer! Step forward to work on an event or in a support capacity, and do so with regularity. Your effort will definitely be noticed and a Board appointment may soon follow.
Chicago Beer Society Board of Directors
- President: Steve Junkins, steve@chibeer.org
- Vice President: Dave Phillips, dphillips@chibeer.org
- Secretary: Mark Linsner, mark@chibeer.org
- Treasurer: Tim Norris, tim@chibeer.org
- Roger Deschner, roger@chibeer.org
- Eric Duske, eric@chibeer.org
- Tom Gustafson, tom@chibeer.org
- Bob Lifka, bob@chibeer.org
- Joe Preiser, joe@chibeer.org
- Glenn Rice, glenn@chibeer.org
- Chris Schwigen, chris@chibeer.org
- Peter Sloan, peter@chibeer.org
EMERITUS MEMBERS
- Ray Daniels, ray@chibeer.org
- Steve Hamburg, stevie@chibeer.org
- Jonathan Levin, crazylev@chibeer.org
- Randy Mosher, randy@chibeer.org
- Brad Reeg, beej@chibeer.org
- Tony Babinec, tony@chibeer.org
- Luann Fitzpatrick
- Jeff Sparrow, jeff@chibeer.org
- Zemo Holat
How do I join CBS?
In order to keep membership costs low, we currently only support joining online via PayPal. Membership runs for 12 months from the month of your initial sign up and auto renews for as long as your credit card is valid. You can cancel at any time. The fee is $25 for individuals, $40 for couples. You must be of legal drinking age (21 or older) to join.
The fastest, easiest way to sign up is online by using our PayPal option. Simply click the button above and then the proper membership type from the dropdown list. You can use most major credit or debit cards and do not have to have a PayPal account, even though the transaction is processed through PayPal. Just make sure to select the credit or debit card link on the PayPal login page. Please make sure to include your name and full street address. Make sure to also email membership@chibeer.org both member names if you are signing up for a Couples membership.
Members receive discounted tickets to all paid events. More importantly, they also get exclusive access to our most-popular events (the Brewpub Shootout, Bus Trip to the Great Taste of the Midwest, and our annual picnic), where tickets are often all gobbled up by members. (Tickets to all events however are still limited so don’t hesitate to get tickets when the flyer is emailed.) Membership definitely has its privileges! You must be a member of record prior to tickets becoming available in order to be eligible for membership pricing tiers. Invites for member tickets to events are not sent out after the original email flyer has been sent. Many events do not have a public ticket option.
Other CBS Resources
The CBS-HB Internet Mailing List
A great way to keep up on all of the region’s beer and brewing events is to subscribe to CBS-HB, our very own e-mail list. Topics must have something to do with Chicago Beer Society and broader beer community events, homebrewing, or the beer world at large. Membership in the list is open to everyone, not just CBS members. Subscription is by application. Just e-mail to: listserv @ listserv.uic.edu and include the following one line as the body of your message:
SUBSCRIBE CBS-HB Your Name
The system will determine your address automatically from the “From:” line of your e-mail. For complete information on using CBS-HB, including how to post, change options, or unsubscribe, please check out the CBS-HB FAQ.