I’m pretty proud of our track record with brewer interviews here at OA. We interviewed Gabriel Magliaro just before Half Acre opened in 2009 and then did a great interview with the Pipeworks guys in 2010 when they started their kickstart campaign. Both of those companies have brought something truly unique and uplifting to Chicago’s [...]
Category Archives: Beer
A Fresh Paradigm of Beer in Chicago: Dryhop’s Greg Shuff Interviewed
Also posted in Event Tagged Chicago, Church Brew Works, Craft Beer Week, Dryhop Chicago, French Market Fare, Greg Shuff, Half Acre, Lakeview, Outsider's Almanac, Pipeworks Leave a comment
Chicago’s Pipeworks Brewing Company’s “End of Days” Is About Perfect
I had the chance to try Pipeworks second effort last night, the End of Days milk stout. Made with ancho chilies, cinnamon and cocoa nibbs, End of Days delivers a beer that doesn’t stumble over any one ingredient, but elevates into a synergistic whole greater than any of it’s parts. I couldn’t be happier to [...]
Also posted in Review Tagged Chicago, Milk Stout, Outsider's Almanac, Pipeworks Brewing Company Leave a comment
Stillwater Holland Oats Release @ Bottom Lounge Tomorrow
I know I admitted to my first full-fledged mancrush on Damon Zex a few weeks ago, but I may be developing another on Brian Strumke from Stillwater Artisanal Ales. I tried his Folklore on Friday for the first time and it immediately turned me into a quivering puddle of little girlness, pigtails and all. I’ve [...]
Also posted in Event, Review Tagged Bottom Lounge, Brian Strumke, Chicago, Damon Zex, Dany Prignon, Fantome, Holland Oats, Stillwater Artisanal Ales Leave a comment
West Lakeview Liquors Is Why I Love Chicago
This past Sunday West Lakeview Liquors hosted Jérôme Rebetez from BFM to tap and pour a wood cask of his 2010 Abbaye de St. bon Chien. As always WLV played the expert host, not only pouring the bon Chien, but also a Terrapin collaboration barley “ryne”, as well as BFMs entire bottle portfolio. There was [...]
Also posted in Event, Review Tagged Abbaye de St. bon Chien, BFM, Goose Island, Jerome Rebetez, Jolly Pumpkin, Kristina Bozic, Stillwater, West Lakeview Liquors Leave a comment
Controlling Temperature in Home Brew
Anybody can brew beer, but it can be like handling plutonium to create great beer that is repeatable. Your two greatest allies in that pursuit are time and temperature. Giving the beer the time it needs to fully bloom is essential, and something that took a lot – and I mean a lot – of [...]
Also posted in Instructional, Review Tagged Amazon, fermentation, FermWrap, homebrew, yeast Leave a comment
My Two Favorite Beer Books
I love making beer, truly I do. If ever there was a way – perhaps a reality-augmenting piece of stainless machinery – that would allow me to curl up close with my beer making and kind of snuzzle my junk up and down on it’s leg all the time, i would totally be in to [...]
Also posted in Review Tagged Brew Strong, Brewing Better Beer, Brewing Network, Can You Brew It, Don Cornelius, Gordon Strong, Radical Brewing, Randy Mosher, Ray Daniels Leave a comment
Merry Christmas, Fatsos.
Eliminate all human sorrows. Activate joy, stat.
New Chef at Chief O’Neill’s
A co-worker just hit me up with the news that Alan Lake is going to be the new chef at Chief O’Neil’s. About two days ago, Lake told me he took the full-time chef position at O’Neill’s. What cinched the deal for him, he said, was his experience at the famous Shelbourne in Ireland, where [...]