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 [...]
Tag Archives: Chicago
A Fresh Paradigm of Beer in Chicago: Dryhop’s Greg Shuff Interviewed
Posted in Beer, Event Also tagged Church Brew Works, Craft Beer Week, Dryhop Chicago, French Market Fare, Greg Shuff, Half Acre, Lakeview, Outsider's Almanac, Pipeworks Leave a comment
Powerlining
When I was a kid living in Southern Illinois, I had a line in the water if I could. Being young and boatless, shore fishing was our only option. Preparation then sitting and waiting was the game. It’s a tranquil business tight lining for catfish. Skip ahead many years and many miles, I found myself living in Chicago [...]
ROA in Chicago
A few months ago I posted a photo of some street art I came across over by the Fulton Market while on a run to get some propane for brewing. I was struck by the piece’s scale, but I was also taken aback by what seemed a kind of mocking, mischeivousness that animated the death [...]
Posted in Instructional, Places, Processes, Review Also tagged Belgium, Brussels, Ghent, Graffiti, ROA, Street Art Leave a comment
Poke, Musubi & the Committee for Safety
I just got back from a week in southern Kaua’i. Like all vacations, the time was too short, and now I want to move there. A week living amongst people who stab away their days in the slow, tropical pulse of the south pacific rim makes me wonder how and why I managed to find [...]
Posted in Fishing, Grilling, Health, Instructional, Recipes Also tagged Bruce Brown, Committee for Safety, Endless Summer, Hawaii, Kaua'i, Koloa Fish Market, Maki, Musubi, nori, Poke, Spam 1 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 [...]
Posted in Beer, Review Also tagged 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 [...]
Posted in Beer, Event, Review Also tagged Bottom Lounge, Brian Strumke, Damon Zex, Dany Prignon, Fantome, Holland Oats, Stillwater Artisanal Ales Leave a comment
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 [...]
Closed System Wort Chiller for the Homebrew
It’s getting cold here in Weedwolf’s Shitcago. In fact, today the lake front was shut down and manned by Escalades. I saw snow fall from the sky. I pulled the long underwear from my lingerie drawer. All this means that my previous method of cooling our wort with a displacement chiller spitting upwards of 75 [...]
Posted in Beer, Gear, Instructional Also tagged Blichmann Therminator, Displacement chiller, Weed Wold Leave a comment
Finch’s Giving Yeast to Homebrewers This Friday 10/14
Between 5p-7p this Friday, October 14th the nice folks at Finch’s Beer Company will be giving out their American Ale yeast that was used to make their Blonde Ale. Bring a sanitized container to carry your yeast in! View Larger Map