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35th Annual Fall Tasting at KLAS (sold out)

Join us at KLAS Restaurant (5734 W Cermak Rd, Cicero, IL) on Saturday, November 19 for the 35th 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 12 and pre-payment is required. Everyone must be 21 or older to attend. NO REFUNDS.

KLAS, established in 1922, is the oldest operating Czechoslovakian restaurant in the country. This famous Chicago landmark is renowned for its one-of-a-kind atmosphere and hearty, Old World cuisine. The Fall Tasting menu will include:

  • Goulash Soup, Tossed Salad
  • Roast Chicken, Roast Polish Sausage, Breaded Pork Tenderloin
  • Roasted Baby Red Potatoes with Rosemary, Green Bean Almondine, Sauerkraut, Bread Dumplings
  • Kolacky

Of course, you can count on over a dozen superb craft beers to sample before, during, and after your meal. As always, we aim to get a few choice surprises!

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 19th! Note that the event is sold out as of November 12. Thanks!

The Chicago Beer Society emphasizes responsible consumption and recommends public transportation or the use of a designated driver for all our tasting events. KLAS  is only a 10-11 minute walk from the CTA Pink Line station at 54th and Cermak; the CTA 21 Cermak bus also stops right outside the restaurant door.

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2011 Spooky Brew Review Homebrew Competition

The Chicago Beer Society Spooky Brew Review homebrew competition is now celebrating its 20th year!

Our host this year will be the Haymarket Pub & Brewery at 737 W Randolph Street (SE corner of Randolph and Halsted) in Chicago, conveniently located in the West Loop where all roads, trains, and buses converge.

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 fifth 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, or stewarding Spooky Brew Review 2011. After 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 10-21 at Haymarket, The Brewer’s Coop in Warrenville, Brew and Grow on Kedzie (Chicago), and The Homebrew Shop in St. Charles, the regular CBS First Thursday gathering on October 6 at Goose Island Clybourn, or the UKG Picnic on October 8.

Judges and Stewards – we need you! If you are interesting in serving as a judge or steward on October 29, please contact competition organizer Matt Mayes (matt @ chibeer.org). All general questions can also be directed to him or co-organizer Meghan Rutledge (meghan @ chibeer.org).

We look forward to seeing you at Haymarket on October 29.

The Spooky Brew Review winners list is now available here.

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Brewed in the U.S.A. at DANK Haus, Lincoln Square


Let’s be Frank(lin) – Ben probably never said “Beer is Proof that God Loves us and Wants Us to be Happy,” and Patrick Henry definitely didn’t say “Give me Liberty, or a Beer would be nice…” And while we’re still waiting for someone to brew a palatable version of George Washington’s small beer (hint: the recipe says hops to taste), thankfully a homebrewer revived Sam Adams’ recipe and one could argue, started a craft beer revolution.

So here we are 236 years later, with the craft beer revolution in full swing, enjoying the fruits of our brewers’ independence and imagination. Join us for Brewed in the U.S.A., featuring a wide selection of American-made craft brews that exemplify the independent spirit that makes our country, and our beer, the greatest!

The event will be held from 1-5 pm on Sunday, July 10 at DANK Haus, 4740 N Western Ave, Chicago. We encourage you to use public transportation to and from the event, and it couldn’t be easier! The venue is located just north (across the street) from the CTA Brown Line station at Western and is convenient to Metra (15 minute walk from UP-N Ravenswood Station). The CTA 49 Western and 81 Lawrence buses can also drop you almost literally at the front door.

Admission is $40 for CBS members, $50 for nonmembers, and includes a tasting glass, BBQ from Smokin’ Woody’s, and American cheeses. As always, anyone who joins CBS when ordering tickets can also pay the member price. Attendees must be 21 or older to attend. Please, no children. No refunds.

To purchase tickets, print out and mail in this form. You can also purchase tickets online (nonmember pricing only) at Brown Paper Tickets. Tickets will also be available at the door.

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Big Brew for National Homebrew Day

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 you are encouraged, but not required, to follow.

Brewers, if you’re planning on coming, contact Randy Mosher so he can save some room.

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 a pitch-in. We usually have a ploughman’s lunch midday, then get the smoker fired up (usually by Joe Preiser, Pitmaster) and eat a hot meat dinner later. We’ll have a grill available as well as the smoker. Don’t show up empty handed. Beer, meat, sides, snacks, and desserts are all welcome.

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

Date & Time: May 7, 2008 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.

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2011 Day of the Living Ales Recap

Day of the Living Ales, the region’s largest celebration of cask-conditioned beers, was held on March 5. Twenty-six breweries from Chicagoland and beyond provided 44 different beers, while 500 attendees sampled the beers over two sessions and cast ballots to decide the 2011 Champion Real Ale of Chicagoland.

The winners:

  1. Goose Island Beer Company Skully (saison aged in oak barrels with fresh strawberries, honey, and Champagne yeast)
  2. Goose Island Beer Company Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout
  3. Three Floyds Zombie Dust

In addition, the cellar staff awards an annual Golden Tut Award to the brewery/beer that best exemplifies the overall cask ale experience. The winner for 2011:  Firestone Walker Double Jack Double IPA.

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 sponsors, the Brewers Supply Group, Cicerone Certification Program, and Owen & Engine. Thanks also to Goose Island, Marion Street Cheese Market, the Cellars at Jasper Hill, and Gene’s Sausage Shop & Deli for the great selection of appetizers, meat & cheeses. 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 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!