Save Craft Beer in Illinois

As I've noted before, Chicago is quickly becoming the place for craft beer not only in the Midwest but also throughout the U.S. New breweries are opening or planning to. More and more bars are catering to craft beer. It's a place where variety, taste and local pride are taking root. However, new legislation might make it more difficult for smaller local brewers to get their beers out there and might even destroy the economy of craft beer in Chicago.

It's actually based on a ruling brought to court by, of course, InBev. Basically, InBev doesn't want to use a distributor for its beers. That costs too much money. The three-tiered system (manufacturer, distributor and customer) came about after prohibition for checks and balances and what not. Well, this made distributors very wealthy (say the Wirtz family) and has been a thorn in the side of large-scale producers for years. InBev is trying to remove the middleman so they can sell directly to customers. They argue that craft brewers can do so in state, so InBev should be allowed to distribute its beers to customers without using a distributor. InBev sued to allow it to distribute directly to customers and the judge basically said that nobody can now distribute to customers. It upheld the three-tiered system while potentially giving a crushing blow to craft brewers.

This legislation is potentially crippling. Now small craft brewers, such as Half Acre or the soon-to-be-opened Finch Brewing, will have to pay a distributor to sell their beers. If you've been to Half Acre, you know this isn't an expansive operation with tons of margin to absorb the cost. They are doing well and expanding, but this move will either lower their margins making business more difficult or raise costs for the consumer, which makes products less attractive from a price perspective.

However, don't worry Windy City dwellers. There is hope! This is just a ruling by a judge. Legislation can be crafted to allow and exemption for craft brewers. This would allow smaller brewers to keep distributing themselves as well as allow Two Brothers to continue to operate Windy City Distribution that allows them to bring other craft beers to Chicago.

A group called Guys Drinking Beer is leading this fight. Of course, the smaller brewers don't have the money that the large distributors or InBev has. We know that money equals influence, but we also need to stand up and let ourselves be heard. The distributors will fight to keep the three-tiered system in place. InBev probably can win either way: remove the system and sell direct, or burden smaller brewers to lessen the competition. Either way, they can afford to send their lobbyists and lawyers to influence the decision.

What to do? First, call your representative and let him or her know your feelings. We need to ensure that we still have access to quality locally produced craft beer.

Half Acre owns property in my neighborhood, bringing jobs to the area as well as secondary economic activity. Pipeworks brewing is looking for space, which will bring revenue and jobs. Finch brewing is working on opening a space. Metropolitan is using a manufacturing space in the Ravenswood corridor. All of these operations bring in jobs, contribute to secondary economic activity and rely on other services such as printing and other manufacturing. Legislation that potentially curbs this burgeoning craft beer movement isn't just making things more profitable for InBev, but is taking jobs away from Chicago. Especially, local jobs that reflect the character of a city.

Here's the contact information on Guys Drinking Beer.

Here's some more information on Chicagoist. 

Half Acre Updates

It's been awhile since I've looked to see what's up at Half Acre. They've been quite active. There are several new beers and a Nintendo hookup.

There's a new beer called Ambrosia. It's a wheat beer brewed with Hibiscus flowers. It should be dropping soon.

There's also another new beer called Marty Stouffer's Wild America Barley Wine. This beer still has about a month to go, but it is a tribute to Marty Stouffer, who had a animal show.

Half Acre has also expanded its space and added a Nintendo system to its employee break room. It's a classic old system, and they are looking for some games (help them out if you can.

Square Kegs Club

Lincoln Square is upping the ante in the craft beer wars raging throughout Chicago. The Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce is hosting an inaugural craft beer event at the recently opened Red Lion Pub on Rockwell. At the event, the Square Kegs Club, Lincoln Square's home brewing club, will educate people about craft beer and how to make it at home. Even if you don't plan on making beer at home, this is a great opportunity to meet with other beer enthusiasts and learn about what you are actually drinking and how it is made.

My only foray into making more own beer at home happened about 12 years ago when I bought a make-it-at-home kit from Borders. I think it had some yeast or something that you had to put in a bottle of water and let it sit for a couple of weeks. I used some old Grolsch bottles. After letting it sit in the basement in the dark, I went to open the beer. Two of the bottles exploded. One of the bottles had some type of thick yeasty gloop. So, the moral of the story is go to the Square Kegs club at the Red Lion pub.

The event takes place Thursday, March 10, from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Donations are $10 before and $15 at the door.

Chicago's Number One

Yep, according to Esquire magazine, Chicago is the best beer city in America. It heavily cites Goose Island as a major factor and gives a nod to Piece and Metropolitan. It also mentions the Publican and Chicago's explosion of bars with high-quality beer lists (which I believe is a must of any near-respectable place opening in the city these days). Chicago doesn't have the most mature craft beer market or the most breweries, but it does have a lot of potential and it is growing extremely fast. Some might quibble with the idea of Chicago being number one, but it's the potential and enthusiasm of people in the city the gives it the number one spot.

On other beer-related news, which I guess isn't really directed to Chicago but I'm sure I could find a way: Pete's Wicked Ale is being discontinued. This is one of the first beers that I had in college that wasn't a major brand. I haven't had it since and completely forgot about it, but I remember getting a Pete's and thinking I was on to something. Can't remember how it tasted, but probably not as good as I remember. Still, there will always be a soft spot for Pete's.

Stout Fest, Stout Brownies

Just saw on Pipeworks' Facebook post that it has a new Mexican chocolate stout debuting at Goose Island's Stout Fest next month. I'm all for chocolate stouts, especially Mexican chocolate. I grabbed a few bits of Mexican chocolate from Provenance in Lincoln Square, and it was so much better than the typical gas station chocolate bar. I've never been a huge chocolate fan (i.e., Hersey's), but once I started getting into more artisan chocolates (e.g., Voges), I've been a convert. I can only image what this is going to taste like. It'll include malts, hops, chocolate, whiskey or vodka, cinnamon, cayenne and other goodness.

This brings me to my other topic: stout brownies!

I love brownies. Especially brownies that are nice and soft and warm. Add stout, and then it's like a dream heaven of flubbing around on the couch stuffing myself and trying to keep the unused treadmill out of sight. A good friend pointed me in the direction of a fudge stout brownies recipe on craftbeer.com. This calls for a coffee stout, but something like Pipework's Mexican chocolate stout sounds even better. I mean, it's only 11 a.m. and I'm dying for this right now. It only calls for 1/3 cup, so there will be plenty left over. I'd suggest the Rouge chocolate stout, a Stone stout, or Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout.

This takes me to my last food related item: the Grafton is having a beer and truffle tasting night on March 3. A beer will be paired with a truffle and someone will be on hand to talk about the pairing. Here's a list of what will be available:

• Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Chocolate Truffles 
• Lagunitas Cap Stout with Espresso Bean Truffles 
• Tyranna Rocky's Revenge with Toasted Almond Truffles 
• Bourgogne Des Flanders with Dried Cherry Truffles 

Bourgogne des Flanders with dried cherry truffles? I just found my next meal plan for the rest of the month. I'm all for seeing more pairings like this. You can learn more at Grafton's website. Tickets are $15 before Feb. 26 and $25 after. The Grafton has also expanded its beer and whiskey list, so more reason to hang around afterward. So get going.

Surviving the Blizzard of 2011

It's still snowing in Chicago, and while it's a bit early for me to start hitting the beer, it's not too early to find out what is going on in the city. Here's a run down:

Half Acre is set to release a new beer called Callow Knife. They have postponed the release, and the weather I'm sure isn't helping. It's a pale ale. There isn't too much on the website, but it is a twin to Daisy Cutter. Even though the wintry weather outside makes me want to grab a stout or barley wine, spring and summer isn't that far away (really, please?) so a good pale ale will come in handy. It will draft only, but here's to success and keeping this one around. Got to love Half Acre and their constant innovation.

Goose Island. Stouts. Pipeworks Brewery. Yep, March 12 is Goose Island's Stout Fest. There will be Half Acre, Piece, Pipeworks, Rockbottom, and Lucky Monk. Tickets are $20 and there will only be 200 of them. Make sure you get your soon if you want to go. Check out Beer Advocate for more info.

Finch, which is pouring concrete for its brewery, has finalized design for its tappers. This is one of my favorite parts of craft beer for some reason. I like the artistry that can be found. It's great to see a line of interesting tappers at a bar. I feel like a kid in a candy store.

That's it for now. I'm going to wait until noon to crack open a beer. That is the gentleman's drinking hour.

The Snow is Blowing

Yep, it's like a blizzard outside in Chicago. Hopefully you've got some good beer in the fridge or your close-to-home bar is serving up some good selections.

Here's what I'd take in weather like this:
Barley wine -- lots of alcohol, thick, good for sitting by the fireplace
Stout -- dark, lots of rich textured malts
Scottish ale -- Something with a high ABV
Barrel aged beer -- Whiskey preferred

Basically, what I'd look for in this type of weather is a good, dark beer with a lot of alcohol to warm you up.

One of my favorites is the Sprecher Black Bavarian. This is currently on tap at Tiny Lounge in Lincoln Square (try the ahi tuna tacos). It's a dark schwarzbier with roasted malts and a nice texture. It's nice to see this around. I remember awhile back that this was more difficult to get. I'm glad to see it returning. Now only if more New Glarus beers would make their way down.

Here's to a cold night, good beer and staying warm. Slainte!