Here Comes the Sun (Catcher): This Week's Beer Events & Socials
Powered by a proper fryup
Finally, some good news: Suncatcher Brewing is now open! They threw open their doors for the first time yesterday, and ABV Chicago was there to check it out if you want to get a look inside. Their opening lineup looks delicious.
Per this Block Club story published today, they’re serving straight from the tanks and are focused on low ABV beers made with Midwestern ingredients. Did I just discover my new favorite brewery?
Here’s something I rarely get to say these days: Suncatcher has been added to our Chicagoland Brewery Map! And so has Homewood Brewing Company, because I realized I hadn’t added it yet. (Bookmark that map page if you haven’t already.)
…and because the world both gives and takes away,
just posted that A-B announced today that they’re shutting down Elysian Brewing’s production facility and taproom. (I think that is our first Bluesky post in these emails.)1NewSchoolBeer also has a post on the Elysian Brewing situation, and both note the union connection: This closure comes “after a strike was authorized by Teamsters Union 117 in October.”
This BeerNet story also announces that Golden Road “will see a $1.6 million investment in its Anaheim Brewery & Pub.” More Mango Cart and less Space Dust doesn’t seem like a great tradeoff but I don’t have much say in how the world works these days.
Finally, I’m sure you’re seeing it all over your social feeds right now, but we’ll have info on the midwestern entries to the just-released Craft Beer & Brewing Best in Beer 2024 lists on Monday.
Whew. Busy day so far. But there’s more! Onto the upcoming…
This Weekend:
Plank Road Tap Room has gone full English Pub and will remain so through the end of the weekend. Go get yourself a fryup.
The Beer Temple’s Mega Lambic event returns on Saturday and they’re pouring some extremely rare barrels by the glass for the first time.
Phase Three’s Soaked in Oak event takes place on Saturday, and while some sessions are sold out you can probably still grab a couple tickets on Oznr. If you already have tickets, here’s how it’s gonna work.
Get your holiday shopping started right at Imperial Oak’s Kris Kringle Market in Brookfield on Saturday afternoon.
Goose Island’s Rare Day is on Saturday also, but it’s sold out and if you have tickets you probably already knew this was happening.
Later This Month (and Beyond):
Got plans on Monday? No? Now you do: Brooklyn Brewery’s Garret Oliver is hosting a beer dinner at Guinness Chicago to release their new collaborative Fonio Stout.
Skeleton Key’s final Outspoken event takes place Tuesday, Nov. 19th and is raising money “to help support LGBTQ+ youth locally.”
Mikerphone’s pre-FoBAB celebration, MIKERFOBAB, returns on Thursday night if you want to kick the weekend off early. There’s a judging aspect to this year’s gathering as well.
If you love birds, and know a lot about birds, and want to prove you know a lot about birds, Speciation Artisan Ales in Grand Rapids is hosting Bird Trivia on the 21st.
Up in Milwaukee, Dead Bird Brewing hosts an all-you-can-eat, all-vegan Friendsgiving feast on the 21st.
Black Friday at Binny’s appears to be a little different this year - they’re hosting a BCS tap takeover in Lincoln Park, and tickets are available here.
In spite of their bankruptcy procedings, Urban Chestnut is still hosting their Lager Fest conference on December 7.
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Applications for the 2025 Illinois Diversity in Brewing Scholarship are currently open, and if you want to know how previous scholarship recipients were affected, the Guild has some good stories here.
Premium Subscribers saw one beer aged in angostura barrels recently … now this Cruz Blanca Luchador beer also saw some time in an ango barrel? Trend alert. (Fireball barrels, on the other hand, I’m not too sure about.)
Joe Montana didn’t just hang out at Guinness Chicago last week for the Notre Dame game, he tapped a gravity keg and even served a few beers.
Half Acre is working on a brewhouse automation project in a few months, with staff currently in Germany checking on their equipment (and probably having some beer as well). Oh, and Chocolate Camaro is back.
MORE Brewing says their 2024 Mehndi blend is a “true masterpiece” but since Oznr winners were picked yesterday it might be too late to get your hands on any. (Say it with me: “I hope they bring some to FoBAB!”)
Buy a special glass and Lakefront will fill it with beer for $1 on Mondays. Surely there’s no way that could go wrong.
It’s egg nog season once again at Maplewood.
Ravinia Brewing teased some big news this week and you should sign up for their newsletter now if you want to learn more. (I just did!)
A barrel-aged fruitcake version of Beer For Dealing With Your Family? Sign me up, Off Color. Also, their Beer for Tacos is getting funky.
The Louis Glunz account posted about a light lager from the Phillipines that they’re distributing now (I assume) called San Mig Light. Just a random beer import FYI.
New Czech dark lager alert: Flipside’s got one on draft and in cans right now.
I knew 3 Sheeps was a pretty successful brewery, but I didn’t know (per this Facebook post) that they’re actually the 4th-largest craft brewery in Wisconsin.
Sports updates! District Brewyards Wheeling invites you to watch Sunday’s Bears/Packers game on their new 10-foot TV screen, On Tour is opening up early for the game as well, while Black & Gray Brewing is showing the Tyson/Paul fight on Saturday,
After a couple successful Dovetail events, Beermiscuous Highwood is hosting multiple nights of Japanese-style stand-up beer service this month.
Speaking of Dovetail, their Holiday Bock is back but I really love that lighting in the taproom.
If the igloos are returning to Hop Lot Brewing, you know winter weather is on its way.
Can’t keep Noon Whistle away from those insects! At least in their beer names, with this Ladybug Army hazy DIPA out now.
Not a 100% sure how a brand-new brewery can have a months-old barrel-aged beer already but Homewood Brewing will have one at FoBAB!
Blind Corner Brewing — the forthcoming brewery from the SOB/Hidden Hand team that took Best in Show at last year’s FoBAB — announced that they’d be getting started as an alt-prop at Go Brewing.
Thank you all for being here! Have a great weekend. Catch you on Monday.
~Karl, a Guy Drinking Beer