f96h2 CBS Events

Bus Trip to Great Taste of the Midwest (Sold Out)

The Great Taste of the Midwest at Olin-Turville Park in Madison, WI is always one of the country’s best beer festivals. It’s become so popular that the limited (now 6000) tickets sell out WAY in advance. This year is no exception – the event has already been declared a sellout!!  But – as has been the case for many years – CBS offers its members first dibs from our already-purchased block ‘o tickets. In fact, we’ll even bus you there and back, whether you live in Chicago or the suburbs.

CBS has booked two luxury coaches that will comfortably transport folks to and from Madison. The bus for City folk will depart from Goose Island Clybourn while the Country bus leaves from Rock Bottom Warrenville. Both buses will depart at 9:30 am and return around 9 pm the same evening.

Members were snail-mailed an official order form in May. As of June 5 our entire ticket block was completely sold out. Tickets were sold on a first-come, first-served basis based on postmark. The 88 ticket holders will receive their bus tickets in the mail soon. All unfulfilled orders will be returned. As always, we’re sorry we can’t provide tickets to everyone, but space is extremely limited.

For those lucky enough to score tickets, here’s some important information:

  • No smoking; no kegs or glass containers on the bus
  • You must be at least 21 years old to attend
  • Festival tickets will be distributed on the bus
f96h2 CBS Events, Past CBS Homebrew Events

Big Brew Day 2010

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 we rarely follow).

Brewers, if you’re planning on coming, let Randy Mosher know so he can save some room. We’re always a little tight for space, but we’ll make every effort to accommodate all those wishing to brew. Randy has grain mills for malt and unmalted cereals, carbon-filtered water, etc., and also has space on the stove in the brewery in case someone wants to brew a batch of extract beer.

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 totally a pitch-in. We usually have a ploughman’s lunch (cheese, cured meat, pickles, etc.) midday, then get the smoker fired up (usually by Joe  Preiser, Pitmaster) and eat a hot meaty dinner later. We’ll have two grills available as well as the smoker. Don’t show up empty handed. Beer, meat, sides, snacks, and desserts are all welcome. The club will supply plates, forks, glasses. etc.

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

Date & Time: May 1, 2009 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. Also easily accessible from the Metra UPN North line stop (Rogers Park), just a couple of blocks away.

f96h2 CBS Events

2010 Day & Night of the Living Ales! (sold out)

For the sixth consecutive year, CBS will be sponsoring the region’s largest celebration of cask-conditioned ales, with some 40 casks of real ale from Chicagoland breweries and some very special guests. As always, this promises to be a spirited event for Chicago real ale enthusiasts. Attendees will be able to sample the beers and then vote for the 2010 Champion Real Ale of Chicagoland. Last year, Surly Brewing from Minnesota earned the title for the second consecutive year with their Tea-bagged Furious IPA. Will a local brewer take back the honor in 2010? You decide! As usual, the casks will be coddled and cared by CBS’s own nationally-renowned cellarmen.

The first casks arrive at the Goose Island Wrigleyville Garage

Day & Night of the Living Ales will be held at Goose Island Wrigleyville, 3535 N Clark St, Chicago, over two sessions: 1-5 pm and 6-10 pm (9:45 last call). Only 250 tickets per session will be sold. The price is $35 for CBS members, $40 for nonmembers.  Join CBS at the same time you book your tickets and you can pay the member price.  Admission includes a tasting glass, beer samples and appetizers (artisanal meats and cheeses). All attendees must be at least 21 years old.

As of Wednesday, February 17, the entire event (yes, both sessions) is completely sold out. Ticket orders that could not be filled will be returned; Brown Paper Tickets will no longer process orders. If you were unable to get tickets, your best bet is to post your interest on our CBS-HB listserv. There are inevitably some last-minute cancellations, and these are often posted here. Thanks once again to all of you for your enthusiastic support of this cask ale event!

As always, we recommend that you take public transportation or arrange for a designated driver (but because space is so limited, we cannot offer a discounted designated driver ticket). Goose Island Wrigleyville is located approximately 2 blocks west of the CTA Red Line Addison station (one-half block south of Wrigley Field). The CTA 22 Clark bus runs past the front door all night; taxis are also an easy option.

Here is our preliminary list of casks for 2010 DotLA/NotLA:

  • Emmett’s Tavern & Brewing Co.: Victory Pale Ale
  • Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery: Bourbon McElroy Imperial Stout, Thammy English IPA, Joppy Joppy Joy Joy Jalapeno IPA (pin)
  • Goose Island Beer Co.: Catwoman’ Black IPA, Oaky Rose Flemish Brown, Snow Leopard Mild, SupercalifragilisticCITRAalidocious, Traditional Honker’s Ale
  • Goose Island Clybourn Brewery: Belgian Blonde, PMD Mild
  • Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant (Bolingbrook): Coffee-Infused Schwarzbier
  • Half Acre Beer Co.: Ginger Twin India Red Ale, Over Ale American ESB
  • Lucky Monk Pizza & Beer Co.: Grale Amber Ale, IPA
  • Lunar Brewing Co.: Moondance IPA
  • Metropolitan Brewing Co.: Keller Krankshaft Kolsch, Zwickel Dynamo Copper Lager
  • Mickey Finn’s Brewery: Bighead APA. Legspinner Barleywine, R.K.’s IPA
  • Moylan’s Brewery and Restaurant: Wet Hopsickle IPA
  • New Belgium Brewing Co.: Ranger IPA
  • Piece Brewery & Pizzeria: Dynfunctionale, Roland the Headless Assistant Brewer
  • Revolution Brewing Co.: Willie Wee Heavy
  • Rock Bottom Chicago: Coffee Oatmeal Stout, Wooly Bear IPA
  • Rock Bottom Lombard: Argus’ India Brown Ale, iPale, Pritchard #4 American Stout
  • Rock Bottom Orland Park: Imperial Stout, Two Bags of Crystal IPA
  • Rock Bottom Warrenville: King of Hearts Imperial Red
  • Surly Brewing Co.: Darkness, Mild, Oak Aged Dry Hopped CYnic, Tea-Bagged Furious
  • Three Floyds Brewing Co.: Admiral Lord Nelson ESB, Blackheart English IPA
  • Two Brothers Brewing Co.: Cane and Ebel, Resistance IPA
f96h2 CBS Events

12th 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 12th 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 newly-remodeled space 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, 2009) in early December. As of Sunday night, December 27, 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 were mailed in early January.

If you weren’t lucky enough to score a ticket, your best bet is to check our CBS-HB listserv, as occasionally there are a handful of last-minute cancellations.

To our members who we could not accommodate, we are very sorry. We have looked into expanding the event, but the participating brewpubs, breweries, and their staffs have said that expanding the attendance would be too difficult for them to handle logistically.

f96h2 CBS Events, General CBS News

33rd Annual Fall Tasting and Dinner at Mrs. Murphy and Sons Irish Bistro

Join us at Mrs. Murphy and Sons Irish Bistro (3906 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago) on Saturday, November 14 for the 33rd 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 7 and pre-payment is required. Everyone must be 21 or older to attend. NO REFUNDS.

Mrs. Murphy and Sons specialize in contemporary Irish cuisine and they’ve prepared a great menu for us that includes:

  • Irish Cheese and Meat Platter
  • Field Greens, Toasted Walnuts & Cashel Bleu Cheese with Cider Vinaigrette
  • Cider Braised Pork Loin -and- Irish Stew
  • Roasted Red Skin Potatoes -and- Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage
  • Irish Brown Soda Bread and Butter
  • Apple Crumble with Whiskey Whipped Cream

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 14th!

The Chicago Beer Society emphasizes responsible consumption and recommends public transportation or the use of a designated driver for all our tasting events. Mrs. Murphy and Sons is located a short walk from  the CTA Brown Line stop at Irving Park and is convenient to multiple bus lines and easily accessible by cab.