Since opening its doors in spring 2015, Pub Royale has been known for offering an atypically large selection of sour beer, designed to accompany the spicy Anglo-Indian cuisine it serves.
As interest in plant-based diets grows, pub grub has begun to change with the times, meaning beer has a few new healthier, meat-free dining companions.
Trading sprawling fields for rooftop gardens, urban farm breweries from Los Angeles to Chicago and New York bring a new kind of authenticity to farmhouse-style beers.
What started with a taste of real ale on a 1987 trip to Europe drew Steve Hamburg back to the UK over 40 times, and led him to co-found Chicago’s Real Ale Festival in 1996.
Papazian Steps Down as Brewers Association President; Wolaver’s stops production; growler delivery service launches in San Francisco and Illinois nuns sue for right to brew.
In the past, including any alcohol options was enough to set a fast casual restaurant apart from competitors; now many chains are looking to customize their regional selections by offering local beers.
With the opening of Mantra Artisan Ales in Nashville later this year, Maneet Chauhan joins a growing number of well known chefs like Rick Bayless and John Howie who are turning their attention to the brew kettle.
Brothers Mike and Ed Marszewski founded Marz in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood with Ed’s brother-in-law in 2013. An intricate web of friends, designers, and brewers connects the rest of the Marz collective.
Black market sales, while rare, are problematic for a variety of reasons. Illegal sales disadvantage some businesses and could put consumers at risk in the case of a recall or other safety issue.
Despite the growth of craft brewing and an increasingly discerning audience of beer drinkers, well-developed beer programs at lauded fine dining restaurants remain somewhat rare.
Wood from an old barn, floor pieces from a local bowling alley, and refurbished fixtures from the original structure make up the restored hotel that houses St. Nicholas Brewing Company in Du Quoin, Ill.
A good brewery is aware of the atmosphere it’s creating. They don’t just want you to stop in and check it off your list; they want you to hang around, ask questions, bring friends. In essence, it’s all about community-building.
Chef Justin White and owner Phil McFarland of Small Bar in Chicago collaborated with Michigan’s Greenbush Brewing Co. on Mr. Hyde, a Cream Stout made with Sumatran coffee beans.
Brothers Jim and Jason Ebel opened Two Brothers Brewing in 1997 as a family affair. Jim set up a distribution company out of his Ford Bronco. And on weekends, family and friends would bottle, label and package the beers.
The craft beer scene in Chicago was a bit behind in 1992. But with a bar like Hopleaf and emerging craft brewers popping up, things began to turn around.
With dozens of breweries now producing more than 100,000 barrels per year and employing dozens if not hundreds of employees, we’re on the precipice of a new era of competitiveness.
When Doug Hurst and his wife, Tracy, founded the Metropolitan Brewing Company, they wanted to bring something different to Chicago. Metropolitan stands out in a crowded craft beer market because the brewery is married to its hometown’s brewing culture.
Anheuser-Busch: brewing your area code?; Sunoco testing growlers to-go in western NY; beloved friend of beer, Ray Deter, passes away; Senate Small Brewers’ Caucus formed; and change in Massachusetts law threatens dozens of small brewers.
Illinois breweries fighting to keep right to distribute; Goose Island acquired by A-B InBev; Surly campaigns to change law and build brewery/restaurant; Mexican brewery unveils world’s first beers for the LGBT community; and Indiana state laws may stifle breweries’ growth.
Philadelphia brewpubs raided by police; Moosehead, Boston Beer Company ink distribution deal; A-B InBev bid for distributor blocked by Illinois; and Iowa, Oklahoma become friendlier to craft brewing.
Chefs around the world are taking the concept of pairing the two a step further by treating beer as a core ingredient when cooking. The result is a growing culinary passion for cuisine that offers layers of depth that only beer can bring to the table.
The city’s brewing culture, long rooted in German lagers, has recently taken a turn towards assertive hops and Belgian yeast; that fact, and the tenacity of Chicago’s neighborhood pub culture, makes this a lively time to go drinking your way across the Second City.
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