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.

Finch Beer Looking for a Name

There's a new brewery coming to town, and it's looking for a name for its flagship beer. Located in Chicago's Mayfair community (think Montrose and Pulaski), Finch beer is going to be a new craft brewery located in Chicago. However, Finch is still looking for a name for its flagship blonde ale. If Finch picks your name, you get to win free beer for life. Sounds like a great deal. Here's the Facebook page for more details.

What I find particularly interesting about Finch beer is its location. On Elston off Montrose, it is away from traditional areas of craft beer. Just down from the location is a mosque. Further down Montrose is a Buddhist temple. The opposite way is a Eastern European nightclub. It wouldn't be an obvious place for a craft beer brewery. Even though it doesn't look like it might have a brewpub attached and will work through distribution, it might have a presence similar to Half Acre: a brewery with a small storefront that sometimes acts as a de facto meeting place for Half Acre lovers.

Not sure what this is, but apparently
Old Chicago had a rotor in it.

The symbolism is enormous. So far, craft beer is populated by fairly educated, middle class white people. This is a broad generalization, but going to a fest or scanning those that are working in small breweries tends to reinforce this idea. There might be a variety of factors here: the trend of craft beers costing more than mass produced products; perhaps a cultural heritage stretching back to Europe; a broader embracing of the local and slow food movements. Whatever, it might be, craft beer consumers and enthusiasts tend to be better educated, middle to upper class, and white.

Craft beer, for some, can be associated with elitism, urbanism or education. It can be perceived as not being "real" enough or "manly" enough. As I'm from originally the south suburbs, I witnessed this first hand growing up and today. A real beer is one that is served cold and has some professional sport association: Budweiser, Miller Lite, etc. The branding has associated these beers with the working man (across races) and marks it opposite of craft beers.

The beer barons of Chicago's early
days made lots of money. Here is one of the
houses built in Wicker Park.

Take the recent Miller High Life commercials: a working class truck driver takes back his macro-beer from wealthy white clients. The symbolism couldn't be more pronounced: High Life is not for wealthy people, but for working class people. It reinforces the idea that the working class only deserves macro swill and drinking anything else is akin to acting too elite, or even too white. This marketing ploy subconsciously plays on the stereotypes we have about race and class in America.

This brings me back to Finch brewing and its location. Instead of seeking out a place that can cater to its anticipated clientèle, it chose a place that is working class and diverse. This might have more to do with economics than any intentional ploy, but the impact might be as great.  Before prohibition and restrictive distribution laws, breweries used to operate in and serve their communities. Local beers reflected local cultures and tastes. Perhaps by having a brewery in the area, those who come from different cultures (and countries) can physically see locally brewed beer and realize that there are options beyond the standard macro-produced beer.

As craft beer starts to take a stronger hold in Chicago, perhaps we will see different communities starting their own breweries to reflect their cultural heritages. This will give people pride in their neighborhoods and a way to see that there is more out there than what is on the grocery store shelves.

You can visit Finch's website here.
You can also check out Finch's Twitter feed.
Check out Finch's Facebook page.