Special Thanks to John Beystehner from Brew & Grow
For coming in to First Thursday and teaching us about hop growing.
Go to your local Brew & Grow to get everything you need to start growing hops today!
HERE are the notes from John on hop growing.
The best hop varieties he currently has here in the Chicago area and suggest growing are:
Brewers Gold
Cascade
Centennial
Chinook
Columbus
Magnum
Nugget
Here are the winners from this years Day and Night of the Living Ales.
#20 Metropolitan Brewing Co. – Zwickel Flywheel
#13 Half Acre Beer Co. – Baume’ Chocolate Rye Stout conditioned with Rum-soaked Raisins
#9 Goose Island Beer Co. – Bourbon County Stout Rye with Coconut
#30 Revolution Brewing – Chile-Vanilli Eugene Porter with Guajillo Pepper and Vanilla Beans
How could the area’s greatest beer & food event get any better?
Well, for starters it could be in a larger venue so more people and breweries could attend; then the brewers and the chefs could top almost everything they’ve served for the last 13 years. Amazingly, for the 14th edition of the Chicagoland Brewpub & Microbrewery Shootout, that’s exactly what happened!
The Zhou B Art Center in Bridgeport provided much greater room for breweries and patrons alike. There was more seating and it was definitely a lot easier to move around. Attendance was at an all-time high, and there’s still room for more people next year.
There were 15 participants, including a few first-timers: Finch’s Beer Company/City Provisions, Limestone Brewing Company, and the Goose Island Fulton Brewery (paired up with Urban Belly). As always, 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 towards the end of the event.
Flossmoor Station, Revolution, and Three Floyds all garnered multiple awards this year, but clearly there were no losers – everything was outstanding, so congratulations, all!
To see what you missed, check out the program (PDF) listing all of the featured beers and pairings.
14th Annual Chicagoland Brewpub Shootout Awards:
Beer
1. Goose Island Beer Company (Fulton Street)
2. Revolution Brewing Company
3. Three Floyds Brewing CompanyFood
1. Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery
2. Three Floyds Brewing Company
3. The Lucky Monk Burger, Pizza, and Beer CompanyPairing
1. Revolution Brewing Company
2. Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery
3. Three Floyds Brewing Company
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 Zhou B for their assistance; to our sizable crew of volunteers who assisted with set-up and break-down; and, of course, to our great members who continue to make the Shootout one of the best beer events in the world.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2011 Chicago Beer Society Spooky Brew Review Homebrew Competition. Not only was this our 20th anniversary, but we also had 353 entries this year, the most ever! Thanks to all the brewers who entered beers in this year’s competition.
Congrats to BOS winner Ray Gonzalez, who grabbed the honors with an excellent Kölsch. Rodney Kibzey was BOS runner up with his now-famous Black IPA, Blackened Hops. First place in Samuel Adams Longshot, only Second Place at Spooky Brew 2011? What’s up with that?!
In our “special” categories, Alexis Jansky (Brixie’s Brewers) won the Witches’ Brew with a fine Berliner Weisse (also took 3rd place in Sour Ales with the same beer); Calvin and Tara Rowland (UKG) earned their second Spooky Brew ribbon in a row, following up their “delectable” Kitty Litter with a much-scarier Aunt Flo’s Ale; Robert Kay (UKG) grabbed the Smashed Pumpkin award with his repulsive Spider Spit Cider.
The complete competition results are available here.
Thanks to our great – and sizable – group of judges and stewards who plowed through our record number of entries so professionally and effciently. Special thanks to Pete Crowley and all the staff at Haymarket Pub & Brewery for their unbelievable hospitality. Pete’s beery expertise was displayed all day, and not just via the taps! Pete judged Belgian & French Ale, Belgian Strong Ale, and served on the Best-of-Show panel. Yay, Pete! Haymarket Manager (and Judge) Janna Mestan was particularly helpful, corralling all the drop-off entries and handling multifarious duties throughout the day of the competition. All right, Janna!
Looking forward to the next 20 years of the Spooky Brew Review,
Matt Mayes and Meghan Rutledge, Organizers
