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.

Pipeworks at City Provisions

On December 21, the fledgling Pipeworks brewery will be showcasing some of its beers at City Provisions deli on Wilson Avenue in Ravenswood/Lincoln Square. I've written about Pipeworks here before, and they are still looking for donations to their Kickstarter campaign to get their operation up and running. If you have the time, you can check out some of their beers to kick the tires in a sense.

Scheduled to appear at the event is a smoked porter, pastrami on rye (?), a Belgian wit and an imperial stout, which at 11 percent will keep you warm on the walk home. The event runs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Damen Brown line isn't too far away.

Pipeworks is trying to get its operation off the ground. With the soon-to-be opened Haymarket, Half Acre, Piece, Goose Island and others, this is another great addition to the city, and hopefully than can continue to keep putting Chicago on the map of great beer cities. Throw a couple of bucks their way on their Kickstarter page to help them along.

City Provisions is a great local business that supports local farms. There's beer and wine, butchered meat, sandwiches and coffee, in case you had too much good beer the night before. Come out to this event, and you'll be support two local businesses.