OMG Beer!

Cask Night with Hop Cast and Beermapping!

2012-01-25T16:00:00.000-06:00

Smallbar Fullerton hosts the beercats of Hop Cast and Beermapping on Friday the 27th, starting at 6pm. Gravity pours from the following casks: Firestone Walker - Union Jack IPAGreenbush - Closure Pale AleHalf Acre - Daly Double IPADark Horse - Tres Blueberry Stout

Beer of the Week, No. 2 - Tie between Barbar Winter and Nogne-0 Winter

2012-01-25T12:16:00.001-06:00

Alright, I'm a bit behind on these already of course. Week two was a tie. I had a Barbar Winter @Hopleaf and a Nøgne-Ø Winter from my refrigerator. Both were superb. The Barbar Winter is sweet plums and some clove and other spices. Bit in your face, but delicious on a cold winter day. Nøgne-Ø's Winter Ale is an imperial porter. It's smooth, creamy, hints at dark dried fruits subtly, underneath

Two events tonight, Chicago!

2012-01-25T11:54:00.000-06:00

1. Robert Burns birthday celebration @Fountainhead, 6pm. Tapping Casks of: 3 Floyd’s Robert the Bruce & Harviestoun Schiehallion Lager Drafts:BrewDog 5 A.M. SaintHarviestoun Old Engine Oil Engineer's Reserve Belhaven Scottish Ale 2. Chicago release of Boogoop, a wheatwine from Three Floyds and Mikkeller. Make that a buckwheat wine even... @Hopleaf, 7pm (that means you can DO BOTH, if you

Special Casks of Metropolitan Dynamo Copper - Friday and Saturday

2012-01-11T18:00:00.000-06:00

Two firkins of Metropolitan Dynamo tapped this week! Copied right from the super secret, not so secret tumblr of the minion of Metropolitan, Jess Anhalt. Friday, January 13, 7pm eventThe Fountainhead, Montrose & DamenDiablo Dynamo - Dynamo with ancho chili peppersFB event page Saturday, January 14, tapping at 11amOwen & Engine, Schubert & WesternBlack Pepper Dynamo - exactly how it sounds:

Bell's Hopslam

2012-01-11T17:09:00.001-06:00

In case you didn't see the pics and such going around Facebook and Twitter this week, Bell's Hopslam is now out in the Chicagoland area. This is a glorious Imperial/Double IPA brewed with a touch of honey. The 10% ABV doesn't make itself known til you try to get up and walk to get a second pour. 6 hop varieties in the boil and massively dry-hopped with Simcoe. Can't wait to grab a bottle or a

Winterbrew Festival in Lincoln Square

2012-01-11T14:18:00.000-06:00

Beer gets a neighborhood spin at this festival. 5 breweries, two of which are based nearby, all three within 5 miles of the festival. Food from two of the areas best restaurants. What: Beer, dummy...and food. Who: Metropolitan, Half Acre, 5 Rabbit, Finch's, Revolution Brewing; food by Fountainhead and The Grafton When: January 28th, 7-11pm Where: DANKHAUS ALSO - HOMEBREW COMPETITION. Entries

Beer of the Week, no. 1 - Half Acre Big Hugs Imperial Stout

2012-01-11T12:55:00.003-06:00

A few days late but...I'm going to highlight 52 damn beers this year, the best of each week. The one that stands out. It might just be a review of a great beer, it might be a Beervana post, it might be "oh, I totally forgot I drank this on that bender...", OR, it might be the most emotional weighty beer, whatever. Beer: Big Hugs Imperial StoutStyle: American Imperial StoutBrewery: Half Acre

Winter Beervana #5 - Winterkoninkske

2012-01-04T16:30:00.000-06:00

Name: Winterkoninkske Brewery: Brouwerij Kerkom Style: Belgian Strong Dark Brewed In: Kerkom-Sint Truiden Origin: Belgium ABV: 8.3% Serving Glass: Goblet OMG Beer Rating: 7.8 Appearance: Pretty pretty beer! Dark body, cloudy, with a hovering, lingering tan head. Looks...rustic? Aroma: Plums, hint of a sweetness that reminds of brown sugar or caramel. Mineral notes. Not a lot of juniper but

Happy New Year, Now Drink Some Stout at Quenchers

2012-01-01T11:45:00.004-06:00

Long my favorite Quenchers-hosted festival, Stout Fest began this morning as the New Year itself started. From the mouth of Quenchers: For those of you that are unfamiliar,here's how STOUT FEST works:during the month of Jan.,we will be offering 24 delicious stouts on tap.We tap the first 12 stouts at Midnight on NYE.We plan to tap the next batch of 12on Sunday, January 15th. Here’s a list of

Chicagoland - Bell's Brewery Dinner at Branch 27

2011-12-23T19:21:00.001-06:00

Who: Bell's What: Beer paired with food by Branch 27 When: 1/25/2012, 7:30 PM Where: Branch 27 Why: Because it's a fucking good idea, trust me. The release of Hop Slam 12... How: $50, reservation required.

Winter Beervana, #4 - Two offerings from the UK

2011-12-22T13:18:00.002-06:00

Ola Dubh, Harviestoun Brewery, Old Ale, 8.0% - A world-class beer. Old Ale (think malty, dark fruit flavors, often some complex sweetness) aged in a Highland Park 12 scotch barrel. The hints of scotch mostly slide in at the end, with a finish that suggests scotch and oak. Perfect beer to sip after a big hearty meal, fireside. One of my favorites in this style. Traquiar House Ale, Traquiar House

Chicagoland - Beers for the Holidays

2011-12-21T13:00:00.000-06:00

Both Revolution and Half Acre have tapped new beers today for the winter holidays. Revolution: 2010 BA Baracus (barrel aged) - loved the non barrel version of this last year. The Bandit Smoked Stout Half Acre: Alpenglo - they've turned the winter booze bomb trend on its head. Made a beer that's 3.5% ABV. Fill a growler tonight and make a session out of this as the temperature plummets outside.

Winter Beervana #3, Stouts continued

2011-12-21T12:00:00.000-06:00

A true Beervana, I had both of these under duress. Just kidding, I just had them at parties and couldn't really explore them in any kind of depth. Nectar Ales (Firestone-Walker) Black Xantus Imperial Stout - 11% ABV, aged in bourbon barrels. Absolutely stunning. Kind of bomber you share with a few friends while wearing Xmas sweaters and Santa hats, rave about it for ten minutes until the entire

Winter Beervana, #2 Stouts continued. Barley Island Brass Knuckles Oatmeal Stout Cask Review

2011-12-21T10:49:00.000-06:00

Barley Island Brewing Company - Brass Knuckles Oatmeal Stout, Cask Offering OMG Beer! Rating: 7.7 I wonder how many brewers ponder over the chance to do a cask offering of their beer. Essentially, you're toning down the carbonation, but this sometimes result in a very different flavor profile. A dry-hopped cask beer, naturally carbonated and lightly so, can end up too sweet, too dry, too

Winter Beervana, #1

2011-12-20T22:48:00.001-06:00

My delving into winter beer for the year started with some non-seasonal choices. Four different stouts. Not exactly an intentional decision, but I definitely drifted towards these extremely dark and foreboding beers, as if I could hide from the impending cold inside their dark centers. Central Waters Brewing Company - Satin Soltice Imperial Stout Satin Solstice occupies the first opened beer

Holiday Season/Winter Beer

2011-12-19T10:46:00.002-06:00

The growing place of the seasonally appropriate beer might know no bounds. Every year, more seasonals arrive from more breweries. At times, I wonder if we'll run out of room for them? I mean, before you can even sample a few hop harvest/wet hop ales (September-ish), you're local beer shelves become inundated with pumpkin ales (October). Then, you barely get a grip on those and Winter Ales and

Flossmoor Station's 12 Beers of Xmas

2011-12-16T12:22:00.001-06:00

This started on the 12th, but pours of some of the earlier beers might still be available. 1 Coffee Stout2 Spoonless Winter Warmer3 Belgian Abbey Ale4 Ginger Red Ale5 Wassail Wheat6 Spruce Red Ale7 Chocolate Vanilla Porter8 Blueberry Kellehers9 Cardamom Raspberry10 Anise Stout11 Juniper Pale Ale12 Apricot IPA A special 13th beer will be tapped on Boxing Day, the 26th, AND it's Barrel Aged

2011-12-15T15:00:00.000-06:00

Here's a link to Timeout's List of Chicago Xmas ales. A nice little assortment of brewery offerings for the season of giving (at those alcohol strengths, it's the season for giving hangovers apparently). Next up: the Flossmoor Station 12 days of Xmas list (a little late, my apologies).

Surly Darkness in Chicago, Update 1

2011-12-14T10:22:00.003-06:00

I missed a couple of the Surly Darkness offerings so far, but there's more to come across the city. First up, to celebrate the darkest day of the year, the Winter Solstice (Thursday, December 22)...Surly Darkness tapping at The Publican.Also coming up at the Publican, The Feast of the 7 Fishes:5 courses, 7 fishes, $55.Optional beer pairings.If I remember correctly, this is a tradition pretty

Duvel Art Glasses at Monk's Pub

2011-12-12T10:52:00.005-06:00

Head down/or across the loop to Monk's Pub tomorrow night (December 13th) at 5pm, drink two Duvels, and get a Duvel Art Glass.Check out this article on the Duvel Collection over at Mutineer magazine.

Half Acre Big Hugs Imperial Stout Release and Party

2011-12-11T12:39:00.003-06:00

Seems everyone releases a big Imperial Stout in the fall or winter and makes a nice show of it with a party. Half Acre likes parties, I've been to them. Here comes Big Hugs, their Imperial Stout, brewed with coffee from Dark Matter. First, there's a release party, at the Blind Robin on December 16th. On draft from 8pm to 2am. No tickets necessary. Just show up and enjoy Big Hugs on tap. Then,

Smuttynose Brewing Big Beer Series for 2012

2011-12-09T16:16:00.004-06:00

It's that time of year when beer release schedules get released.Here's Smuttynose Big Beer Series, which is more frequent in Chicago than it was when Smuttynose first appeared on OMG Beer!. Homunculus is a Belgian golden ale, Gravitation is a Quadrupel, and the rest are more apparent.January- Baltic PorterMarch- Really Old Brown DogMay- Wheat Wine AleJune/July- HomunculusSeptember- Scotch

Boulevard Update

2011-12-09T15:43:00.003-06:00

1 - Boulevard's just recently bottled their Chocolate Ale, and it will be back on the shelves in early 2012. Just in time to have some delicious chocolate beer in the middle of a blizzard. Here's an OMG beer! write up - Boulevard Chocolate Ale.2 - BBQ, their Bourbon Barrel Quad, should hit shelves in Chicagoland in the next couple of weeks. This beer receives rave reviews including "with every

Schneider & Sohn Beer Video for TAPX Mein Nelson Sauvin

2011-11-23T10:30:00.003-06:00

Nelson Sauvin is a pretty unique hop variety, often described as having white wine notes to its aroma and flavor, especially tropical fruits, rhubarb, grapefruit. The name itself suggests the grape variety it shares characteristics with, Sauvignon Blanc.The video below is a promotional item for the new beer from Schneider & Sohn (makers of the OMG Beer! favorite Schneider Aventinus). Also,

Finch's Beer - Threadless IPA Design Challenge

2011-11-21T12:45:00.000-06:00

Chicago's newest canned beer kings need your help (well, if you're at all artistically inclined). Design a label! Check out the details here. The design contest started last week but you've got plenty of time, it runs through December 2nd.Prizes include:$1000 cashFancy display case containing your Threadless IPA can for you to pass down to your grandchildren's childrenA buncha Finch's swag