Kuhnhenn Winter Solstice 2012

I was there last year with two other people from Chicago - I don't remember anyone else coming up. We had a few bottles and a growler of Pizza Port Kaito (which I shared with Bret), but we also bought sampler trays of virtually everything on tap and probably spent over $1,000 on bottles and meads. When I visited in the summer the servers remembered me and even went so far as to fill me a growler of a 'no growlers' beer (Sour Wheat). While I certainly don't know every beer drinker in Chicago, I can confidently assert it wasn't anyone in my regular drinking sphere that caused this change in policy; I've been to Winter Solstice every year since 2008 and I didn't notice anything substantially different from my end.

To be honest, the only reason I bring bottles to share is because drinking high-ABV Kuhnhenn beers continuously throughout the day would result in me being passed out by dinnertime.

 

Well, that certainly wasn't us as we got there after people were already inside - I think my ticket was in the high 20s/low 30s. I skimmed through last year's Facebook event and BA Event and I don't even see any other Chicago BAs listed as attending; that being said, there are a ton of beer lovers in this city that I obviously haven't met. It's unfortunate that they're giving us a bad rep.

Compared to the Kuhnhenn stuff generally on-tap for Solstice, 7.7% is pretty low. Obviously there are exceptions, but the beers I'm pumped to drink at Solstice are things like BBBW, BA4D, Few Schillings, Cherry Olde Brune, and not 313 or Loco Yokel. That being said I did try everything I hadn't had before, and from my notes even the lowest ABV beers last year were in the 6.5% range (Double Nut Brown, Imperial Classic American, etc.). You're correct that you could pace yourself with Kuhnhenn's lower-ABV offerings, but that's sort of contrary to the fact that their 'special event' beers are high-ABV monsters; the only beer on this year's bottle list under 9% is Metry's Lager. Most people aren't going to bother with year-round offerings at an event like this (although that might change this year now that Fluffer is available).

But yeah - I looked back at our bottle share, and between our group of seven (2 locals, a semi-local, an Ohioan, and 3 from Chicago) we shared two Freetail sours, an Upland Sour Reserve, Schneider Tap X Nelson Sauvin, and the Kaito growler. I'm not particularly broken up about the cancellation of the bottle share because we easily could have drank those beers at home later, but I thought it was a nice way to share some obscure beers in styles that aren't typically in Kuhnhenn's wheelhouse and reset the palate a bit.

In any case, I can't make it this year, so you don't have to worry about being shanked in the parking lot over limited releases. I hope it's a blast and that a few of the beers are still available next time I make a monotonous trek from Chicago-Toronto.

 

Yeah - in-laws booked a family trip that gets back late on the 20th, then have a potential beer tasting that night in Chicago. Too difficult to turn around and travel to Warren early the next morning. Plus I got invited to a End of the World party on the 21st here that I'd really like to attend.

I've always dug Solstice for its low-stress vibe and general lack of douchebaggery. Unfortunately, it seems even Kuhnhenn isn't immune to the negative trends accompanying beer releases these days.