Recent Happenings

There has been a lot of great beer stuff happening around the city. Yesterday I was in Andersonville at an Irish restaurant/pub. The place itself was gorgeous: a library, lots of wood paneling, not too many televisions. It was mid afternoon, but the overall atmosphere was great. What I particularly enjoyed was the craft beer menu. I've noticed this more and more at places, especially around the north side of the city. There was an ample selection of craft beer, and I don't believe a macro brew was even served. It's hard to imagine that in a few short years such extensive beer lists would become common. I recently dined at Fork in Lincoln Square (which has a great burger and summer salad) and it was the same thing. An extensive beer list. Now, a lot of the beers won't be rare or hard to find, but they do fit the bill and offer more selection to pair with a mood, meal or atmosphere. It was a cool late summer day, and my wife and I sat outside. I ordered a Scottish ale, which paired nicely with the crisp weather.

Some other Andersonville news: the Hopleaf is having a dinner Tuesday with the Ancient Ales of Dogfish Head. There will be a variety of beers paired with food. The idea is simple: find old recipes for beers and give them a whirl. It's given Dogfish Head some remarkable beers. Tickets are $75.

Also, you might want to get in on this: Hopleaf is holding a raffle for a five-year vertical of Dark Lord. I haven't had this stuff in years, but it is great. I actually had the fortunate pleasure of being at the first-ever Dark Lord premiere. It was like melted ice cream and there were only about a dozen of us. It certainly has grown over the years. Anyway, you can go to Hopleaf and for $20 get in the raffle. It benefits Kegs for Kids.

Side note: City Provisions on Wilson is going start brewing special beers. You can read more about it at Chicagoist.

Be Your Own Brewmaster

I saw this place when I was at the Ribfest over the summer, and even though I don't have the space for my own home brewing setup, I was nonetheless completely stoked about the idea of buying a house and setting up my own brewing masterpiece. The Brew Camp store is sort of like a general store for home brewing. Not only do they have all your material goods (e.g., malts, etc.), but they also have knowledgeable people to get novices off the ground. If you're like me, you'll need the help. It's great to see the craft beer movement in Chicago moving from microbrews to people making their own beer. (See the Square Kegs post earlier.) You can read more about Brew Camp at the Center Square Journal.

Make Your Own Beer and Brats

Brewer & Winemaker Supply out of south Chicago is hosting a make your beer and brat even June 25 at noon at the Marriott downtown. It looks like it'll be a lunch and learn, which is an informal gathering to discuss the techniques of making your own beer and brats. Now, I'm sure that making your own beer at home is not too difficult, but making your own brats? Stuffed casings of meat? It'd be interesting enough just to see what they are talking about.

You can find the event at the Brewer & Winemaker Supply's website.

Beer and Cheese Pairing at the Grafton

The Grafton in Lincoln Square is pairing with Provenance to bring a beer and cheese tasting event on June 26. In addition to pulled pork and other culinary delights paired with spirits, there will be a tasting of Hook's Cheese from Wisconsin with Bridgeport Highland Ambush Scotch Ale. There will be live Irish music, too. The Grafton is one of Chicago's greatest little Irish bars that ignores the whole "Chi-rish" crap and focuses on food and drink. Provenance is also a great local store that carefully selects food and drink in a boutique setting. Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 the day of the event. You learn more at the Grafton's website.

Half Acre Hike

Now this is a way to get exercise and drink beer. A bevy of Northside bars are having a Half Acre hike. Half Acre, Acre Restaurant, Hop Leaf and Fountainhead will all have Meat Wave on tap. The "hike" will start at Half Acre, head up to Acre Restaurant, go to Hop Leaf and finish at Fountainhead. It starts at 4 p.m. If you don't have to work in the afternoon or late or maybe even get up early this might be just for you. In fact, just take the day and next day off. That's a lot of beer to be drinking and ending at Fountainhead is just begging for a late-night romp (maybe ending at Jerry's?). This is the way it's meant to be done: having a couple of pints, stretching the legs and enjoying a few more. There are a few spots left, so hurry up!

Missing Beer, More Beer

I have a confession: I haven't been drinking as much craft beer as I'd like. It's mostly been due to a lack of funds. Even though craft beer provides a much better experience and supports local business, sometimes the price makes a six pack of craft beer out of reach. This is the classic dilemma: is it possible to create a well crafted beer that is also affordable? Living in Chicago, beers are subjected to a bunch of taxes and an inflated cost. This usually leaves the major macros in a position to undercut craft brewers by offering discounts on volume or by using some other dubious ethical strategies. As much as I love craft beer for what it represents, there is something very bourgeoisie about it. Most craft beer enthusiasts are in the financial place to enjoy the beer, which strikes against the more egalitarian, democratic nature of the movement. There are obvious factors living in Chicago that will always keep prices high. Even if the taxes were lowered, the nature of living in the city will cause a price inflation. Them's the breaks. There's also the issue of quality ingredients, lower volume and attention to detail. Right now, it costs to enjoy craft beer.

So what to do? Implement balance. If you can't afford to be drinking craft beer all the time, it is at least nice to strike a balance between cocktails, wine and craft beer. Drink craft beer when you can. The best time is this coming week. Chicago Craft Beer week is promising to be amazing.

The event at the Garfield Park Conservatory on May 19 looks phenomenal. Alas, tickets are $50, but there are 25 breweries represented and the location is unbeatable. For someone who enjoys sitting in Millennium park during a concert looking at the skyline, the location can pair just as well with a craft beer as cheese and a burger.

May 21 is the Beerfly Alleyfight at Haymarket. I'm still kicking myself for not making it down to this place. I also like the brewery's commitment to literature. In a great literary city like Chicago, it is only natural to combine beer and writing. There will be 10 home brewers combined with artists. Maybe the double IPA John Coltrane Ode or the imperial stout Nelson Red Line. Who knows? 

I've written about this before, but the Chicago History Museum is putting on the Voyage of the IPA on May 22. Learn about the IPA in America while tasting various styles. I love that Chicago likes to combine learning and drinking. Perhaps it's the romanticism or the European influence of the city's history.

An understated beer style is the sour beer. Most people can't stand this. I don't see why! It is so good. Anyway, the Bristol is having a sour tasting night with Goose Island. I'm conflicted about adding Goose Island as it isn't a craft beer but part of a large mutlitnational corporation, so it goes against everything about this blog; however, some of the beers are good and the style is seriously overlooked.

On May 27, the Map Room, the venerable Chicago stalwart, is debuting new beers from 5 Rabbit Brewery, which says it is the first ever Latin microbrewery in the U.S. Honestly, I don't know what that means, but trying new beers debuting in Chicago is always an event.

Now This is Just Stupid

Now, I try to keep everything on a craft beer level, but sometimes stupidity just requires to be called out. I came across this press release by Coors that promises to achieve super coldness. Yes, not just cold, but super cold. In case your beer drinking was being negatively impacted by the simple coldness of your beer, Coors has decided to go a step further with a two-stage activation process to make its crappy beer Super Cold!!! Take that summer.

The extent of this is Coors' new incredibly stupid marketing campaign. The beer appears to be exactly the same, but now a new "strip" is added to the label to indicate when it is Super Cold. Coors tries to back this decision up by saying that 70 percent of drinkers put beer in a freezer to get it cold. Of course, it is to get the beer cold, but also in Coors case to get it cold enough to drink. A better strip would be something that said, "Hey this beer sucks warm. Make sure it is at least this cold before you drink otherwise you will hate yourself. Also, if you are not in college or at NASCAR, you should not be drinking this beer at all."

In another case of hell freezing over, Ice Cube (yeah from NWA) is going to be advertising the beer. Really Ice Cube? This might just trump Snoop Dogg shilling for AOL. This is the best Coors can do? Unfortunately, I'm sure there will be a lot of tailgaters all to willing to buy a case because they think a girl in a bikini will come out on some snow-encrusted train.

Good Find from Argentina

Even though I try to focus on Chicago-only beers, I also like to look at beers outside of Chicago that are sold within the city. There is of course many great beers made all over the place, and the great part of the city is that there are more options than the local supermarket or gas station (and believe me, I've lived in places where the local Meijer is the only place to get beer).

I've written about Gene's in Lincoln Square many times, and one of the best aspects of the place is its constantly rotating stock. Some places tend to keep the same types of beer with minimal diversification. It's the same selection every time. This might work when you want something specific, but a place really worth its salt will have typical standbys and different brews to check out. It keeps it fresh and interesting.

Today, I'm working on La Bella Figura's website (an amazing natural beauty line) and to fuel the senses, I stopped at Gene's for some lunch: basically a turkey sandwich (it is much more than that, trust me) and a beer. It's a rainy day, and I'm feeling a bit European, so I thought what the hell. What I picked up was Otro Mundo's Red Ale. It's from Argentina and has a dark roasted malt nose with bright fruit flavors. It's a great find and relatively inexpensive.

There are many great beers to try from all over the world, and one of the best aspects of trying craft beer is the opportunity to travel without leaving your home. Even though I've never been to Argentina, I'm able to have a beer from a part of the world I've never been. It briefly allows me to look into that culture. One of the greatest aspects of traveling isn't just the art or sites, but the food, people and culture. Beer makes up that culture just as much as a restaurant. Drinking this beer, for a moment, makes me feel more connected to the world at large, in a way that drinking Coors or something similar just doesn't.

Two Big Beers Coming Out of Chicago

It's spring in the city and summer is around the corner, but two breweries are about to offer two heavy beers to sip while you watching the buds grow. Haymarket Pub & Brewery has an imperial stout fermenting away and will be going to bourbon barrels later. Depending on how long they lay this beer down, it could come out in the fall, which is a much better time for imperial stouts. Well, actually any time is good for imperial stouts. This time of year though I'm starting to look for lighter beers, perhaps a saison. Even though these were meant to be drunk during late summer, I find having a saison on a nice spring day does the trick. For a lighter beer, Haymarket is offering its Bridgeport IPA. I was a former Bridgeport resident, so I might go check this out, for research. A nicer tribute would have been a pilsner to reflect the area's historical Lithuanian and European roots. Today I guess, with all the hipsters, you could just pour a PBR into a fancy bottle.

The next big beer is a barleywine coming from Half Acre. This will be available April 8 and should be a pretty big beer. I associate this more with winter, but what the hell. Half Acre will also be putting out a one-off Kolsch beer. It's one of my least favorite styles, but it's a nice spring/summer beer. Cheers!

Revolution to Start Bottling Beers; Learn History While Drunk

Even though Goose Island got into a pact with the devil, at least Revolution Brewing in Logan Square is helping to fill the void. The brewery/brewpub announced that it will start selling beers beers in bottles and cans. This is great news for Chicago beer lovers. Even though I am mixed on Revolution's beers, this is a step in the right direction for small local breweries. Once, Chicago had hundreds of breweries that usually served the immediate neighborhoods. Why people like Goose Island feel that having a multistate operation is the only way to go, amazes me. Perhaps it is about money. However, running a good brewery that employs people, stays local and stays creative should be the goal. I'm hoping that Revolution goes this route, instead of the Goose Island path, which Revolution's brewer already hinted at. Perhaps, one day we can see the value of just making a good product before a good profit.

Several years ago I went on a literary pub crawl in Dublin. It was a great way to drink beer and learn about Irish literature. It was also the time I was introduced to a Sussex girl from around London who couldn't believe that I hadn't heard about Sussex girls. Quite an interesting evening. Well, the Chicago Architecture Foundation is getting on the act by hosting an architectural pub crawl to honor its 40th anniversary. Seriously, being in one of the greatest architectural cities in the world, learn about architecture and drinking beer? That's one amazing night.

Rereading the Goose Island Sale

Much ink has been spilled over what it means that Goose Island has sold out to Bud. Is it good for the city of Chicago? Is it good for craft beer? Many liken this to the transformation of Marshall Fields to Macy's, and if that is any indication, what we can expect to see is a watered-down version of a once-loved Chicago icon.

In an article defending the actions of Goose Island, the owner of the Hop Leaf, Michael Roper, likens this to a win-win situation: Bud gets a craft beer and Goose Island gets money. For some reason, this means that craft beer drinkers have "won" because Bud acknowledges it can't brew a good beer and Goose Island wins because it gets money to get a new brewery. So, Bud wins and Goose Island wins. Does that mean the people of Chicago win? Hardly.

Bud buying Goose Island is not about craft beer victories or Bud hanging its head in defeat acknowledging that it can't brew beer. It's about money and market share. Like any good megacorporation that wants to cloak its true intentions, it hides behind a front that claims to be "local" or "organic." In the green movement, this is know as greenwashing. Cutesy Burt's Bees is owned by Clorox. Tom's of Maine sold out to Colgate, which tests on animals. People don't know that some of their favorite "ma and pa" brands are funneling money to huge corporations that care little about the environment or their communities.

To see a great example of this, we have to look no further than Bud. When InBev took over Bud (and it was allowed for pure profit), people in St. Louis started to look at more community-oriented beers. (You can read an article here.) The people in St. Louis know firsthand how Bud has turned its back on the community, which is even more impressive considering how depressed the economy St. Louis really is. So, while Bud gets to rake in the cash, the pride of St. Louis is gone. If Bud can do it to its own hometown, is there any indication it won't do it to Chicago?

Perhaps because he is a businessman, Roper looks at everything through the prism of capitalism. It seems that all business activity is good business activity, regardless of what it means to the people that those businesses serve. He seems to assert that if Macy's didn't take over Marshall Field's that it would still be a vacant building. Hardly. It's the same line we've been told by Walmart, Target and Bud: only large business corporations can salvage any part of any city. Without their help, everything will decay. This seems to negate the point of community-driven business, which is one of the appealing parts of craft beer.

Craft beer is a way for communities to support themselves and to take part in the creating of their own identity. As everything does become Walmarts and Targets and Bud, we take pride in those small differences that make us unique. Portland has its beers. So does San Diego. So does Chicago, but now one less. Will buying a brewery suddenly make Bud changes its ways? No. It is far too large and powerful to really care about what one small segment, even if it is growing, does. Profit does not lie in craft beer. My guess is that Bud will pump money into Goose Islands less exciting beers, especially 312, which shows up at every summer festival. They can reduce the cost and jack up the price. It will be slightly more costly than a Bud but double or triple the price because Bud thinks that by labeling something "craft" will put it at a premium. Roper is deluding himself if he thinks this is some altruistic part on Bud. Sure, they might let someone at Goose Island toy around, but if lines need to be cut, look for that first unprofitable area to go.

For a better idea of what $30+ million means to Bud: in 2010 Bud spent $1.2 billion to be the sponsor of the NFL. That's enough to buy around 30 Goose Islands, and that's just a marketing expense for Bud. This doesn't include individual team deals or the Super Bowl. The Goose Island acquisition is akin to Google or Microsoft buying a company, toying with it and then shutting it down.

Where does this leave Chicago? With one less craft brewer and a bit more of its identity gone. Perhaps this is part of being a global city: it's common in London and New York, but not so in Chicago, which has a history of independence. Lately, we've seen the Sears Tower change names, Marshall Fields disappear, Carsons on State turning into a Target and numerous small community stores turn into chains. More and more companies want to get into Chicago, and with that a bit of the identity of the city dies. Why would anyone even travel when all cities are beginning to look alike? Are we too far off from a Goose Island chain opening in Las Vegas or Orlando?

Only time will tell if Goose Island suffers or changes. Regardless of what Mr. Hall thinks he might have arranged, a corporation can and will change what it wants to. I work in a large Fortune 500 company that buys out smaller companies. It does change. The culture changes. The people change. The decisions move to corporate. It's how the business world works. At first, there is a lot of hand shaking and getting to know everybody and promises that things will stay the same. As people move in and out of positions, slowly the company comes into the fold, losing the identity that once made it valuable. It just becomes part of the company. Soon, Goose Island will just become part of Bud and it's ever-expanding empire of cheap beer and high margins.

Ancient Beers? Ancient Aliens?

Last Christmas, my family and friends got into a fight about ancient aliens. I'm not exactly sure what an ancient alien is, but I'm guessing it's old and foreign. Perhaps something to do with building the pyramids. Apparently, no human can stack rocks like that Ray.

If you believe in ancient aliens or not, we can all agree on tasting beer, and a new event coming to The Bluebird is angling to give us a taste of what ancient beers might have been like. According to Chicagoist, there will sour, smoked, blended and funky beers. It's light on the list and reservations are required, so if you can get in, do it.

What I like the best about this is the idea of merging history with beer. I think some people think beer only came about in the 1950s with the bland macro swill we have on grocery store shelves, but in reality, beer has been brewed for thousands of years and has a long history. Often it is thought as the working class cousin to wine, but beer has its own rich history.

The event is March 29 and costs $30. You can read more about it at Chicagoist's website.

Trying Dominique

The other night I was at Bar Deville on Damen to celebrate a friend's birthday. I had a couple of the bar's signature cocktails, and it was nearing the end of the night, so I felt like trying a good beer. I looked up and down the tappers and saw a Goose Island I couldn't remember having. Now, I've had a lot of beers, and a lot of Goose Island, so there was a good chance that I could have had this beer at some point. Luckily for me, the beer was a mistake and a beautiful one at that.

The beer is called Dominique, and it came about because a batch of Matilda became infected. You can read more about what happened here, but basically the barrel-aged beer became infected with a yeast that left the beer more sour. Instead of dumping it, Goose Island decided to put out a sour beer and see the response. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.

For one, I love sour beers. Flemish sours are great. Understandably, not everyone might share the same enthusiasm for drinking sour beers. The idea that a beer should be clear, light and refreshing has left a perverted notion of what quality is to most beer drinkers. This beer by contrast tasted of alcohol, wood, burnt sugar, light hops, good yeast and sour through and through. Even some of my friends that don't particularly like beer, enjoyed it.

This is the height of experimentation for craft beer. I like that Goose Island saw an opportunity to bring something different to the market, and maybe through its brand recognition, get people to try something new.

 Here is a picture of Dominique Pichon because he's awesome.

Beer Will Cure Everything that Ails You

Drinking alcohol, including beer, in moderation will help improve heart health according to the American Dietetic Association. Beer is also known to lessen the risk of kidney stones in men in addition to it lowering bad cholesterol, raising good cholesterol and reduce the risk for blood clotting. Also, if my memory serves me correctly, it is also good for strength. Perhaps there was something to the Guiness posters touting the health benefits of its beer.

I don't know much about the benefits of beer, but I'll say that well crafted beers have more health benefits than corn adjunct microbrews. My evidence? None, but what the hell, I'll believe it anyway. However, there is evidence that beer has no fat, some protein and some fiber. So, maybe that rich stout or wheat is doing some good. Now we just need a way to get this written off as a health benefit at the insurance companies. Maybe I can wrangle up a Beer After Work Health Team at work.

Remember, drink a pint, for health!

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.

Two Sides of a Coin

I've never been to Portland. It seems nice. It's on my place of lists to go, but I've never been. I can't say how good the beer scene is or what any scene is like out there. Of course, I've had plenty of beers from Oregon and California, so that's nothing new. What I do know is that Portland has a lot of breweries. More than any other city in the world, so it claims. I'm not sure if having breweries within a defined boundary makes a place great, but it's a start.

What I do know is that I hate stereotypes. Just because Portland has a lot of breweries doesn't mean they all are excellent. After reading a smug article in Northwestern's student newspaper, I've come to the conclusion that Chicago's beer image suffers from years of stereotypes, misconceptions and a basic lack of historical understanding. Another article I read on the hideous Chicago Now/Redeye blog does nothing more than to reinforce these stereotypes by uniformed drinkers.

First, the Northwestern article. The article focuses on a home brewing class. It offers no depth or even broader context about the home brewing movement in the U.S., the Midwest or Chicago. What it does is offer up broad stereotypes about Chicago and Portland: basically Portland is a Mecca of craft beer while Chicagoans are backward hicks with no real understanding of taste. It's a slight dig that people of Portland love to get in whenever they can. I'm not sure if it is an inferiority complex or just plain smugness, but it is prevalent in nearly everyone I've met from Portland.

The basic idea is that the author is only offered Budweiser and Miller Lite by his friends. Considering this is a student newspaper, I'm guessing this has more to do with price than taste, but we'll leave that alone. The author fails to note the difficulty in distribution of craft beer in Chicago and the labyrinth laws needed to navigate the craft beer industry. Also, nobody in Chicago drinks Budweiser. Miller, yes. So, I'm sure these are stereotypes that the author is trying to push to show how much more enlightened he is than his Midwestern counterparts. Without context, he attempts to paint a city of nearly 3 million by his few friends.

The second article reinforces stereotypes while trying to debunk them. It talks about the Wrigleyville neighborhood and how everyone there wants to drink PBR or Old Style. This has more to do about the historical associations of the Cubs, Harry Carry and that type of beer than any styles. I'd argue that most people flocking into that neighborhood are more of a parody of a Chicagoan than a true native: suburbanities, transplants, etc. That's fine by my book, but they indulge in these stereotypes. The author further extends these by quoting someone who says it is better to drink an Old Style on a hot day than a "heavy" microbrew. Of course, the author doesn't mention that it is the style not where the beer is made that produces that "quenching" trait that people desire: pilsners, IPAs, etc. The whole article is conflated with this idea of beer gardens, so the whole point is often missed.

What I hate most about these articles is the lack of depth or understanding about a subject such as craft beer in the city of Chicago. I'm not qualified to write about cars, boats, food or nearly anything, but if I do, I try to get a deeper understanding and broader context. These throw some typical stereotypes about the city without really providing context, either historical or contemporary. It's through articles such as these that people are not educated about beer, where it comes from, and what it can me and continue to hold on to either their ideas of superiority and smugness or passe city identity.

Not the Spam Effect

If you're like me, you had to downgrade some of your spending during the recession. Even though it hasn't been utter collapse, it still has required a bit of tightening the belt. Most economists have linked economically depressed times with a surge in low-end purchases such as Spam. The thinking is the poorer people are or feel the more they will downgrade from steak to Spam. I recently pored over some news items about beer sales in the U.S., and when it comes to craft beer, it is a much different story.

At the end of 2010, MillerCoors sales slipped, including Miller Lite. What's odd is that its super cheap beers such as High Life, Keystone and Milwaukee's Best also slipped. It would figure that the cheap beers would surge when people either had or felt they had less money. However, the company saws its "premium" beer Tenth and Blake surge by double digits.

Does this mean that people are switching from low-end beers to craft beers regardless of the recession? Perhaps. Perhaps we are already doing better economically and this is a leading indicator. Perhaps people are fed up with low-end tasteless beer and prefer to drink quality beer instead.

Personally, I have favored cutting back on buying beer and saving money for a real good purchase. Instead of a case of Miller, I'll save my money for a growler of Half Acre. I can't drink as much, but what I do drink is quality. I'd like to think that these numbers show that craft beer is sticking in America and that people are starting to choose quality over cost consistently.

However, it's important to keep in mind that MillerCoors still sells more beer in one quarter than Half Acre has ever sold. So, there's still work to be done.

Draw on Your Own Coasters

Well, today is the showdown between the Bears and Packers. Lots of people I'm sure are up and grilling sausages in the parking lots already, but most of us are making coffee waking up and getting ready to watch the game on the good ol' television. As exciting as it is, it is still a football game with breaks, long commercials and endless chattering. If you get fidgety or have guests that might not be all into the game but like arts and crafts and the such, Ready Made has a cool art project using beer coasters.

As you can read in this posting, Ready Made suggests getting some blank beer coasters and some pens and letting your guests draw their own beer coasters. It's a great little creative outlet during the game or for those that bore during football easily. It's also a great party tip: leave them around, people can draw on them, leave them, write messages, whatever. If it's a particularly epic party, it'll be a souvenir.

When I backpacked around Europe after college, I didn't have a lot of money. In fact, I almost had no money. I usually bought a loaf of bread for lunch, ate half of it, and then saved the other half for dinner. I remember waiting for the bus to take out of England and into France, sitting on the side of the Thames, eating a half loaf of bread in the ran. I didn't have any money to go to a restaurant and quite frankly, the bus station was creepy as hell. I used my few remaining pounds to go into a pub and nurse a beer to wait for the bus and to get out of the rain. I came quite adept at slowly drinking a pint to stretch out the time to stay in the pub.

Anyway, no money usually means no souvenirs. So, instead of buying souvenirs, I took coasters from all the different bars and pubs I went to throughout Europe. There's different languages and styles. I wish I knew more about beer then, but I still have the coasters as reminders of the trip.

So game plan: get craft beer, get blank coasters, draw, have fun and watch the Bears win.