Craft Beer Week: History Style

Chicago is celebrating Craft Beer week May 19 to May 27. Much like Record Store Day or some other type of week-long event, the craft beer week intends to heighten the visibility of craft beer around the country. In Chicago that means Half Acre, Finch, Revolution, Metropolitan and others (sadly no longer Goose Island as it is now owned by Bud/InBev). There will be ton of events, and you can check it out over at The Brew Bros.

To celebrate, the Chicago History Museum is holding an event to coincide with Craft Beer week. There will be pub crawls, including dive bars in the city and a theme centered around bootlegging (of course). There will also be a focus on German bars in Chicago and the history of IPA.

For such a relatively new city, Chicago has an interesting background, especially when it comes to beer. German immigrants were highly influential in bringing beer and its culture to Chicago. The labor movement had many of its roots in German activists, and the drinking of beer was essential to their culture. Even when Bathhouse and the Hink were running the vice ward, many temperance activists were trying to make Chicago dry. This was also a way to discriminate against the pro-labor heavy drinking German immigrants. Of course, the labor movement, temperance and the multiple cultures in Chicago helped to lead to one of the most infamous periods: Al Capone, Machine Gun Jack McGurn and the mobsters of the early 20th century.

See, beer doesn't have to be all about detecting fine notes of caramel or admiring the lacing on the side of the glass. It also doesn't have to be about getting wasted. Learning and liquor are synonymous. Check out the Chicago History Museum and Chicago Beer Week for more information.

Come back for more information about Craft Beer Week and what's happening at Finch brewery.