f96h2 CBS Event Recaps

13th Annual Chicagoland Brewpub & Microbrewery Shootout Results

The usual sellout crowd of approximately 300 CBS members attended the latest, greatest, and luckiest (13!) edition of our annual Brewpub Shootout at the Irish American Heritage Center‘s Erin Room on January 22.

There were 14 participants, including our area’s newest brewpub,  Haymarket Pub & Brewery. 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.

Talk about making a statement: Haymarket wasted no time by earning an award in each of the three categories. Flossmoor Station and Gordon Biersch Bolingbrook were also very impressive, both grabbing two awards. The other two prizes were won by Revolution Brewing (1st place pairing) and the Rock Bottom North/South team (Lombard, Orland Park). Congratulations, all!

To see what you missed, check out the program (PDF) listing all of the featured beers and pairings.

13th Annual Chicagoland Brewpub Shootout Awards:

Beer
1. Haymarket Pub & Brewery
2. Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery
3. Rock Bottom North/South – Lombard & Orland Park

Food
1. Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery
2. Gordon Biersch, Bolingbrook
3. Haymarket Pub & Brewery

Pairing
1. Revolution Brewing Company
2. Haymarket Pub & Brewery
3. Gordon Biersch, Bolingbrook

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.

f96h2 CBS Events

2011 Day of the Living Ales! (sold out)

For the seventh consecutive year, CBS will be sponsoring Day of the Living Ales, a walk-around real ale tasting featuring the best cask conditioned ales from Chicagoland breweries and some very special guests. We’ll also be serving fine meats, cheeses, and other appetizers to help you consume responsibly.

As always, DotLA will feature the region’s largest selection of real ales (40+ casks), all of them coddled by our own staff of experienced cellarmen, trained in the UK to care for and serve real ale. Remember, a properly served real ale is neither cloudy, flat, nor warm; rather, it is bright, with a gentle carbonation and served at cellar temperature. Accept no substitute!

Attendees will be able to sample the beers and then vote for the 2011 Champion Real Ale of Chicagoland. Last year’s winners were:

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

Will a local brewer earn repeat honors in 2011? You decide!

Casks settling at 2010 DotLA

Day of the Living Ales will be held at Goose Island Wrigleyville, 3535 N Clark St, Chicago, over two sessions: 1-5 pm (4:45 last call) and 6-10 pm (9:45 last call). Only 250 tickets per session will be sold. Admission includes a tasting glass, beer samples and appetizers (artisanal meats and cheeses). All attendees must be at least 21 years old. Note: as of January 31, the event is sold out. Please do not call or email, or ask to change sessions, as there are no additional tickets available, and none will be available at the door.

Occasionally some tickets may be made available via our CBS-HB listserv. If you do not already subscribe, you are encouraged to do so.

Thanks once again for your incredible support of this event!

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