2016 – 40th Annual Fall Tasting

This Fall Tasting will be the 40th Fall Tasting and one of the oldest and longest continuously running beer event in the country! As such, we are pulling out all the stops to put on a very special tasting that you will not want to miss. The Fall Tasting allows the public to participate in a blind tasting of craft beers and then vote for their favorites. 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.

Location: Berghoff Cafe
Date: November 5th, 2016
Time: 6pm – 9pm

Winners

Champion Beer (1st): Pilsner Urquel Nefiltrovaný (Unfiltered, flown fresh from Czech Republic)
Most Favorite Beer (2nd): Goose Island Pub Big Lazy Joe
Favorite Beer (3rd): Off Color Apex Predator

All Beers

1 Pilsner Urquell Unfiltered Pils Urquell 4.4% Czech Pils – Winner of 1978 Fall Tasting (International)
2 Heineken Heineken 5.4% Euro Lager – Winner of 1977 Fall Tasting (International)
3  Not entered  -NA-  -NA-  -NA-
4 Flossmoor Oktobertrain 6% Marzen –
Flossmoor has won the following:
1999 – Tripel
2001 – Imperial Elipse Stout
2006 – Imperial Mocha Stout
5 Goose Island Pub Big Lazy Joe 11.5% Imperial Brown Ale  –
Goose Island has won the following:
1995 – Old Aberration Barleywine
1997 – Russian Imperial Stout
2002 – Autumn Bitter
2014 – Cran Bruin
2015 – Wheatwine on Wood
6 Evil Horse Charging Bull 7% Weizenbock
7 Bells Best Brown 5.8% American Brown Ale – (Winner of 1998 Fall Tasting w/Two Hearted)
8 Cruz Blanca Marigold 8.7% Belgian Strong Ale
9 Ploughshare Soddie Robust Rye Porter 6.6% Rye Porter
10 Off Color Apex Predator 6.5% Farmhouse Ale
11 Forbidden Root Fig Dubbel 7.1% Dubbel
12 5 Rabbit 5 Grass 6.4% Hoppy Ale with Juniper, Two Kinds of Sage, Rosemary, and Tasmanian Pepperberry
13 Lakefront Latif 10.4% Double Chocolate Stout
14 Berghoff Oktoberfest 5.5% Marzen
15 Church Street Shony Scottish Ale 5.1% Scottish Ale
16 Dovetail Grodziskie 6% Grodziskie

2016 Annual CBS Picnic (SOLD OUT)

SOLD OUT. Picnic is now at capacity

Scroll down for the full beer list!

Please note the Foster Ave bridge will be down between Pulaski and Cicero. This will affect all traffic including buses so please plan accordingly and allow yourself extra time.

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 2016 picnic will be September 10, 2016 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 July 30 with a unique code to obtain your tickets. Tickets will be available starting on Aug 1st at 12PM.

Competition Categories

  1. Ribs
  2. Other Meats
  3. Salsa
  4. Chili
  5. Veggie
  6. Dessert

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
Click Here to Open Beer List in Full Screen [Open in Google Sheets]

Results

Salsa
3 – #90 Adam Campos
2 – #87 Chris Cutlip
1 – #27 Sarah McKinney

Chili
3 – #42 Adam & Jen Murphy
2 – #40 Art Lopatka
1 – #22 Michael & Jessica Young

Ribs
3 – #3 Mark Korabik
2 – #14 Doug Ferguson
1 – #12 Jeff Filo

Other Meat
3 – #75 Brian Dombrowksi
2 – #85 Mark Naski
1 – #91 Randy Mosher / Jonathan Levin

Other Veg
3 – #1 Steve Mastny
2 – #70 Mike St. Denis
1 – #71 Julie Rice

Dessert
3 – #69 Mark Tunney
2 – #36 Debbie Ramsay
1 – #54 Livia Glatz

2016 Day of the Living Ales (Recap)

Congratulations to the winners of the 2016 Day of the Living Ales. Forty-six cask ales were sampled by attendees over 2 sessions. Attendees voted on their top three favorite beers. Once the votes were tallied, awards were announced for the top two beers over 6% ABV and the top two beers at or under 6% ABV. In addition, the beer that best exemplified a cask beer based on condition, clarity, and quality as determined by the cellar staff was awarded the Golden Tut.

Day of the Living Ales

This years winners:
Golden Tut: #11 Goose Island Brewpub – Curbside English Bitter

Low Gravity Winner: #29 Off Color – IKEA Beer
Low Gravity Runner-up: #30 Off Color – Wari: Chicha de Mole

High Gravity Winner: #17 Half Acre – Big Hugs
High Gravity Runner-up: #43 Temperance – Might Meets Right Russian Imperial Stout

More details about the event can be found here: http://chibeer.org/2016/02/11/2016-day-of-the-living-ales-2

Be sure to check out the pictures on Instagram (@ChicagoBeerSociety) and Facebook

2015 Fall Tasting Results (Recap)

On December 6th, 2015 we were hosted again at Kiser Tiger where approximately 75 people were presented with 14 wonderful and special beers.

These 14 beers were presented in a walk-around blind tasting where attendees were not aware of the brewery or name of the beer. Crib sheets with Style and ABV were made available upon request. All beers presented were truly great and many folks had to make some tough decisions. At 3PM ballots were collected and the below winners were announced.

  1. Goose Island Clybourn Brewery Wheatwine on Wood – Wheatwine aged for 10 months in Woodford Reserve Barrels. (11.5% ABV)
  2. Firestone Walker Brewing Company Union Jack – IPA double dry­ hopped with bold grapefruit, tangerine and citrus flavors. (7.5% ABV)
  3. Ploughshare Brewing Co Coal Train – Baltic Porter (lager) with aromas of chocolate, coffee, caramel, and plums. (8.8% ABV)

The following is the list of beers as presented. Thank you to all the brewers and breweries that presented their beer for this years tasting!

1 Revolution Brewing Fist City 5.50% American Pale Ale brewed with 2 row, red wheat and a little specialty malt.
2 3rd Ploughshare Brewing Co. Coal Train 8.80% Baltic Porter (lager) with aromas of chocolate, coffee, caramel, and plums.
3 Penrose Brewing Company Deminimus Festivál 4.30% Session Sour Brown Ale with sweet raisin and plum malt character balanced by subtly sharp cranberry, cinnamon and bright orange zest.
4 Aquanaut Brewing Company MoonRay 6.00% London Porter, smooth and creamy with a hint of roasted coffee.
5 2nd Firestone Walker Brewing Company Union Jack 7.50% IPA double dry­ hopped with bold grapefruit, tangerine and citrus flavors.
6 1st Goose Island Brewpub Wheatwine on Wood 11.50% Wheatwine aged for 10 months in Woodford Reserve Barrels.
7 Blue Island Beer Company Hard Luck IPA 6.30% American IPA with flavors and aromas of tropical fruits, citrus, and pine.
8 New Oberpfalz Brewing Russian Imperial Stout 9.20% Russian Imperial Stout with a deep malt body and a silky, smooth finish.
9 Off Color Brewing Le Woof 7.30% Bière de Garde, sweet but strong, brewed with Munich and Vienna malts.
10 Solemn Oath Brewery The Telegraph 9.50% Bourbon Barrel Aged Scotch Ale with chewy malt complexity of caramel, dried fruit and nuts.
11 Goose Island Fulton Real Nice Surprise 7.00% Porter laced with lactose and finished in whiskey, rum, and brandy barrels.
12 Half Acre Beer Company Goneaway IPA 7.00% IPA, shooting straight for a bitter edge before falling into a mellow haze.
13 Goose Island Fulton Fassinator 8.00% Blonde Doppelbock crafted by our own Brian Turner. Golden, crystal clear and malty with a slight bitterness in the finish.
14 Forbidden Root Bourbon Barrel Aged Heavy Petal 10% Bourbon Barrel aged 9 months, Imperial Stout with pecans, magnolia flowers and chocolate.