Home brewing is easy, but it can seem intimidating at first. Checkout this great video from Brooklyn Brew Shop. While your there, you may as well go a head an order some brewing supplies from them.
Or, if your in Chicago like we are, check out our...
Wisconsin is a magical place, a land of cheese, beer, fish fry's and scandinavian women right here in the good ol' US of A. What better way to kick off summer on Memorial Day Weekend than spending it at the Kohler Festival of Beer. Cheese and choc...
BeerHopTacular kicks off it's first year with craft brew tastings, demonstrations from beer experts, local artisans and home brewers and much more.
Tickets are $45 and the event will include over 200 craft beers from around the US. http://www.beer...
Paddy Longs knows their pigs. The place is known for their beer and bacon tastings.
So that's why when I heard they where having a pig roast I knew I would find my way there.
Saturday April 24th and Sunday April 25th Paddy Longs will be roasting a...
Come and celebrate The Invasion Helles Bock at Small Bar Albany this Wednesday April 21st.
The wonderful folks from Three Floyds and Half Acre are throwing a party from 6pm on. This will be the one opportunity to drink the Three Floyds/H...
The makers market has Chicago based Windy City Glass for sale. Local artist Nick Paul recycles used silk screened bottles into one of a kind drinking glasses.
I have some beautiful Brugge Bottles I've saved so I can cut the tops off and make...
I am not going to beat around the bush here... I love soda. In my opinion there is a soda for every occasion. Don't get me wrong, I am a lover of beer, wine, spirits, iced tea, juice... you name it, but there are certain things, say pi...
Yep, that's right... it is DogFloydapalooza time again, and I guarantee this will be the best palooza you can possibly attend on a Tuesday in April.
For those of you who may be unfamiliar, DogFloydapalooza is the unofficial kickoff party for the
Fools seldom prosper my foot, Stone brewing will finally hit the Chicago market on April first with a week long celebration.
Stone beer week will take you on a tour of some of Chicago's finest beer bars.
Some of my favorite stops:
4/1 - Hopleaf 7p...
Thursday April 1st is a big day for Chicago. Not only will we be cautiously opening every can of peanut brittle, but we'll also be trying to take advantage of some of the new spring events.
Get your Dark Lord Day tickets at http://shop.3floyds.com
Yeah. That's why. It's not just laziness. My mom's in the hospital, so I've barely been on line, let alone blogging. She is currently on dialysis to try to clear an infection in her blood, and she has been on a respirator since last Thursday. It’s going to happen. The entire city of Chicago is going to claim it’s Irish roots (my mother’s grandfather’s grandmother immigrated from Galway, I swear!) by drinking terrible beer in inhuman quantities. I say why drink green...
33 Beers Beer journal is an awesome simplistic beer journal made by the good folks at BS Brewing.
The journal affords easy one handed note taking and features a unique and easy to use "flavor wheel", and makes reviewing a beer as simple as checkin...
Scientist have discovered adding oxygen bubbles to booze causes fewer and less intense hangovers. The Oxygen is added the same way you would add Carbon Dioxide to soda, via force oxygenation.
The study also found subjects who imbibed in these drin...
Sweet, looks like Half Acre will be ditching it's bottles for the more beer and environmentally friendly cans.
The brewery plans on switching to 16oz 4 packs of tallboys. I can't wait to get my hands on these. Camping just got even more enjoyable....
Yes, indeedy, it was quite a dinner. Last Wednesday, the 24th, we enjoyed a four-course dinner at Branch 27, courses lovingly prepared by Chef John Manion with Chimay beer pairings. We all know about Chimay, right? Chimay beers are brewed under t...
Just got word today of the new collaboration beer from two of my favorite local breweries, THREE FLOYDS and HALF ACRE. Looks like it will be called INVASION, looks like it's a Helles Bock. Mmmmmmmm. Helles Bock. Artwork looks amazing! We know noth...The The 827-foot long cruise ship AIDAblu has all the amenities. The largest SPA in a cruise ship, six restaurants, ten bars and the worlds first brewery on a cruise ship.
That's right a brewery on a cruise ship. This one of a kind brew...
Here's a great rundown from hop press on cellaring beers. I've been working on a similar article for socialbite, but wanted to point you at this one in the meantime.
Also if you liked this be sure to check out our barrel aged beers post.
Aging wine in barrels is not a new thing. In fact I'd wager a a bet every wine drinker here has enjoyed a nice oaked Chardonay at one point or another.
Aging wine in Whiskey barrels though? Wow.
Of course I wouldn't be writing about it if it hadn'...
ooof. too full. Can't post now. I love Chef John Manion. We took some pictures of the Gnocchi and pork sausage and the chocolate tart with the chocolate bacon. I'll get it together for tomorrow.
But in the meantime,
That's right, Chicago Beerios!! Stone is coming!! We don't know with which distributor they'll be, but one way or another, STONE BREWING WILL AT LONG LAST BE IN CHICAGO!! Yeah, you can tell, I'm a little excited.
In the past, I've picked up bottl...
If you were a little slow on the uptake when it came to getting reservations for Chicago's restaurant week this year, fear not, you still have an opportunity to partake in some mouth-watering goodness on the cheap during Chicago Chef Week.
From Ma...
Canned beer gets a bad rap. Long gone are the days of aluminum or metallic flavor being imparted by low quality cans. In fact, your chances of a quality brew increase when drinking from a pop-top.
You see cans keep out things that beer doesn't lik...
I've always wanted to do a home brew barrel aged beer. Aged oak barrels can impart so many great characteristics like rich vanilla flavors and delightfully dry tannins - not to mention leaving behind the "spirits" of their former h...
I love my job. I share some of the best beers in the world with some of the best bars, restaurants, and yes, retail stores in the country. It is pretty cool. Every Monday and Thursday, I have the privilege of visiting The Publican and working with...
Who's excited about the Tim Burton ALICE IN WONDERLAND movie? I am!! It is my all-time favorite story, can't even tell you how many times I've read the original stories. And Tim Burton is one of my favorite directors. So tonight, I am enjoying a b...
New York upstart A.B Smeby Bittering Company has started a line of local, seasonal bitters in NY.
The line of bitters includes cranberry, vanilla, lemon and hibiscus among others. I'm really into this idea. I've wanted to start making my own bitte...
Half Acre's Ginger Twin red IPA will be officially available this Friday in growler form, bottles soon to follow.
The best part is all gingers will get a discount.
From the site:
*Anyone with God given red hair will be granted an 8% discount...
Hot on the heals of Schorschbrau's Schorschbock 40, Brewdog has reclaimed their world's strongest beer title (formerly held by tactical nuclear penguin) with their " Brewdog's argument that it's trying to...
There are few things that I enjoy more than having a great meal. I love to eat, I love to cook and I love to go out to dinner. Lucky me, one of my favorite markets in Chicago, August, located at 1500 W. Division, is a grocery store tha...
Moleskin has released a new collection of "Passions" journals with layouts optimised for recipes, wine notes, wellness, film, books and music.
I love moleskins and these new targeted layouts look like great gifts for the food/art lover in your lif...
I have a completely irrational love of vegetables. I will pick out the vegetables from any dish and eat them, leaving everything else on my plate. So, when I came across a tuna recipe listing two of my favorite vegetables right in the ti...
The NEW, TOP SECRET, MYSTERY beer from Founder's Brewing, out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is called NEMESIS. Why? Of what or who is it the nemesis? With what does this beer have an adversarial relationship? Boring, everyday beer? Maybe.
Nemesis is...
So... you waited until the last minute to make your Valentine’s Day reservations, didn’t you? You really want to impress your date AND you want something romantic, delicious, authentic and sourced from local farms? You’re k...
The Illinois Craft Brewers Guild website is full of all sorts of great information, not the least of which is their calendar of upcoming events. A couple great highlights are:
So I feel like I was just telling people about the recent coupling of Foursquare and Zagat, when low and behold, I stumbled onto to this little The Stew. It turns out that there are some Chicago specific Foursquare ba...
Zagat and Foursquare have teamed up. If you have a Foursquare account you can earn a foodie badge when you check into Zagat-rated restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco.
Just got this exclusive sneak peek at an upcoming 3 Floyds / Half Acre collaboration beer! Keep your eyes posted here for more exclusive info.
Can't wait to pour this one... Let us know what you think in the comments!
For safety reasons the British Design Council requested a redesign of the classic pint glass. The idea being to cut down on broken glasses and shards from them, Designbridge stepped up to the challenge.
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For those among us who are Ommegang fans listen up and listen well... there are two... not one, but TWO excellent Ommegang Brewmasters dinners to be had in Chicago this month:
I am so excited about REVOLUTION BREWING. I mean, who isn't, in the beer community here in Chicago? But in all the excitement, leave us not forget our old dear friend GOOSE ISLAND CLYBOURN. I stopped by there today in hopes of seeing some old frie...
What can I say about Revolution brewing? Well let's start with full disclosure, us here at SocialBite are close to many involved and have been looking forward to this for a long time.
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Yeah, I'm cool. Want to know how cool I am? I got invited to a pre-opening party for Revolution Brewing!! I know. Super cool.
Jim Cibak, the brewmaster, and I met several years ago at the Goose Island Beer Academy at the Clybourn pub. We bonded ov...
Hmmmm. Where's my photos? There.
Do you know what I love about my job? Well, plenty, but right now, I am thinking specifically of how much I am learning every day about tastes and smells. For example, the Coney Island line of lagers . . . Today, I was at Twisted Spoke, talking to...
Last night was the New Holland Brewer's Dinner at The Publican. I mean, really. Is it strange to be in love with a restaurant? I mean, of course my family and my beloved cats take precedence over my relatively new love affair, but if you have the...
I had New Glarus Spotted Cow on Sunday. Also Crack'd Wheat. Jealous?
That's right, I'm drinking a New Holland Golden Cap Saison.
Tonight, we went to Indiana for my stepdad Bill's retirement party. He is retiring from BP (formerly Amoco) oil refinery after 25-ish years of work. BP stands for British Petroleum, and coincidentally it also stands for my stepdad, whose name is B...
Tonight, many of my beer colleagues are on their way to the lovely burg of Madison, Wisconsin for the Great Taste of the Midwest. I wish I could be there, but 'twas not to be, not this year. While I am holding down the Chicago fort, I send much lo...
Tonight, we went to see Spring Awakenings, which is a Broadway musical here on tour. For those who have not heard of it, it won a Tony award, I forget which one. It is a play from the late 1800's which has been adapted and added songs by Duncan Sh...
It's a lazy Sunday. I am so excited to finally have had a lazy Sunday!! Seems like it's been weeks since we had a day with nothing we had to do. So, we had a little breakfast at SVEA -- I had a Swedish Tease, which is two eggs, bacon, and a Swedis...
I love, LOVE New Holland Dragon's Milk. Had a lovely evening with friends last night, played some board games and some Wii, watched Saturday Night Live, and drank a Dragon's Milk. It's the perfect beer for a relaxing winter night. It's dark, comp...
Does it mean I'm drunk when it takes me three tries to type "crappiest" in the title line? I went to IN FINE SPIRITS tonight. I love to go to HOPLEAF and IN FINE SPIRITS. Why? I can park my car and stagger home and have not a worry in the world. I...
I don't always wax poetic about a beer I don't sell, but I LOVE LOST ABBEY BEERS. Went to Hopleaf tonight, always a good idea, and discovered they have Lost Abbey Angel's Share on draft. Angel's Share is a strong ale aged in oak barrels which prev...
Got a tasting going on tomorrow, Tuesday, October 20 at Green Grocer Chicago, 1402 West Grand Ave. at Noble. We're gonna taste out some New Holland brews. Have you been there? You should go. Tons of organic, local, sustainable food and plenty of e...
When you could come to BRASSERIE JO tomorrow night, Wednesday, October 14th. METROMIX is hosting a Beer Gala from 6 - 8 pm!! LOADS of great breweries are bringing some of their best brews! Come out to Brasserie Jo, come hear the music play. Life i...
Good things are happening in Chicago Beer Land!! Just set up the Chicago Beer Girl fan page on Facebook, and already have 38 "fans" (sure, it doesn't sound like much to you, but come on, in just eight hours???? Not bad!!). Also, went down the stre...
Okay, it's a little early, but can I please be excited about DARK LORD DAY??? I am, already. It's sad.
DARK LORD DAY IS APRIL 24th!! SATURDAY!! Clear your calendar, book your room at the local Marriott (there's one right there by the hospital), o...
I have already made my plans for Wednesday March 24th, and I encourage you to do the same... I will be attending the Three Floyd's beer dinner at The Wit Hotel's State and Lake Restaurant.
If you haven't visited State and Lake before, you ar...
Beer Advocate's Beer in review issue is out with some awesome news.
Looks like Indiana's 3floyds brewing (a friend of socialbites). Has placed quite handsomely with both their Dark Lord Imperial Stout and Dreadnaught IPA.
Couldn't find anything on...
Notcot pointed me at these awesome baggy wine coats and wine breathers by MENU.
The former is a stylish custom bag for carrying your boxed wine in. The bag resizes as you drink and fits multiple tap sizes, so any box of wine should work....
I have always wanted to attend the Kentucky Derby... you know, wear a fancy hat, get liquored up on Mint Juleps, and generally steep myself in the tradition, but this year I am very excited by my Chicago-based alternative.
Rumor has it...
3 Floyds Brewery took the number one spot in RateBeer's Best Brewers of 2010 list.
If you aren't familiar with 3 Floyds it's time you should be. With a wide gamut of bold and traditional styles, these beers are a foodie's dream.
Other n...
Red & White, the first Occasional Rarity release for 2010 will start hitting the shelves beginning February 1st. The beer began shipping to wholesalers this week.
Now I just have to wait a little bit longer for Aprihop!
One of my favorite parts of a Kim/Dan dinner party is the moment I hear “Go ahead and open up anything interesting from the rack.” With the exception of a few boundaries that have been hammered out over a history of pillaging their wine...
I play Capture the Flag almost every weekend in Humboldt Park. I am so dedicated that I capitalize the words Capture the Flag. If you are reading this you should play too.
In the interest of full disclosure I will admit that it can get...
It seems like I have been reading an awful lot about Longman & Eagle in Logan Square, so tonight I thought to myself 'What better night to go see what all the fuss is about?'.
What I have to report is that the fuss is well deserved. Afte...
You know the type. Fricking brilliant in every other way, but when it comes down to cooking or mixology they can't just seem to grasp the notion of a "jigger" vs a "part".
Well there's hope for all now that we have read more tags:
My Dearest,
Shall I ever be able to adequately articulate my passion for you? I must try lest my heart explode from holding it in. I will let Aeros guide my pen, Aphrodite move my words and myself, the mere mortal, feel the pain of a p...
In picking a name like "Boxing Lager" I'm sure the last thing Minhas Creek Brewing expected was controversy, But that's exactly what they got last December when the AGCO sent them a letter about their dastardly choice of nouns.
The compl...
Ommegang's new brewing strategy is going to see them introducing six new beers this year.
Styles include a Belgian-style pale ale, a trippel, a sour and a Scotch ale.
Also worth noting that they'll be aging many of their high gravity series in oak...
This re-usable sixpack holder looks like the perfect thing for bringing multiple beers to the next shin-dig.
I wonder how well it holds up with large format beers in it?