Amazing Democratization for Beer Lovers

As a follow up to my last post about BA events, I did attend the Second Chicagoland beer trading event last Thursday at Goose Island Clybourn. Starting around 6pm, with the introduction of two new beers from Goose, namely the new Juliet, and a Saison (to be sold in 650ml bombers soon), we then had some 50 - 60 attendees who each brought a beer or two to try. More amazingly, as the night went on the Chicago Beer Society (a homebrewer group, not sure if the name is right) folks came in with samples of their recent tries. Overall a great selection. No reviews here, but some highlights:

- Several home brewed Pilsners, each decidedly better than anything I've had in commercial beers.
- a 1994 vintage Cuvee Renee, the straight lambic from Lindeman's ( the guy said he bought it off the shelf last year!)
- Viking Hot Chocolate, a mellow chocolate beer that had a spicy kick
- 2003 Bare Trees, an aged wheatwine from Two Bros. (Warrenville)

Ignoring the highlights, if you had a discerning taste for certain styles (say Belgian blond ales), you could probably have had some 5-10 different beers. I had a few more. And some decent pizza was provided.

Point being, this is a savvy play by Greg Hall and Goose Island to continue to be the center of the Chicago Beer scene. As they move to update their menu and offerings, they want to connect with more influential customers - good thought!

The monthly beer school tastings are nice for the "amateurs", this one is for the "pros". With a combination of food, samplers from Goose, homebrews from the CBS folks (an a few BAers too), and not to mention FREE, it's a low cost way to keep "early adopters" interested in Goose's beers and operations. CBS is old school, BA's are new school, and together it's all good for the Goose, and the customers.

Beer Advocate is the networking place now

Beer Advocate has grown swiftly with the internet boom and the craft beer boom to become the most influential online location for US beer lovers. They also have a magazine, but that's just a way to make money. The real action is online, as they how have changed their homepage to highlight their beer forums.

Until recently the only regional focused forum for Chicagoans was US - Midwest. Recently I discovered a new group under Chicago. What a find! Lots of local information, on new beers coming into the market, events, and reviews.

The formation of this group made possible for one of the most exciting recent beer tasting events in Chicago, the BA Chicago Gathering/Beer Swap. Fully 62 folks signed up for this, and the reviews on the forum were great.

Beer Advocate, for a modest cost, is the place to keep up with if you seek info on beer coming out, venues, events, and anything else beer Chicago. I certainly will be watching it.

Chicagoland Beer Review

Here's a nice overview review of the Chicagoland beer scene by Ale Street News, not a deep read but rather comprehensive. Enjoy.