Booze Muse

Over a year ago, Booze Muse published an article about the uphill battle that cachaça was fighting with The United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau over the commercial name of their national spirit. The liquor was labeled “Brazilian Rum,” to the detriment and embarrassment  of fans, connoisseurs and producers, who argued that although cachaça bore some resemblance to the Caribbean favorite, the denomination was, as Leblon’s Steve Luttmann, stated then, misleading to say the least. “The issue is when consumers read ‘Brazilian rum’ on the label, they expect it to taste like rum,” he said. “Consumers taste it and find out that it really isn’t rum, and this creates a lot of consumer confusion.” Both liquors originate from sugar cane, but rum is distilled from molasses, whereas cachaça is distilled from fresh sugarcane.  Read the rest of this entry »

Fueled by the phenomenon of Groupon, deal-of-the-day marketing is changing the way people live. Every morning tens of thousands of Chicagoans wake up to an email offering an outrageous bargain for anything from a boot-camp exercise class to parachuting out of a plane. Even the lazy acrophobic is persuaded to purchase these deals because of the enormous price reductions. While the discounts are remarkable, those who prefer to maintain a steady lifestyle of drinking with friends are more interested in saving money on things they already do regularly. Poggled.com is a nightlife destination site that focuses on drink, food and event specials in Chicago bars and restaurants. Unlike web-based deal-of-the-day competitors, Poggled offers “real deals in real time” with its new iPhone application, explains the company’s co-founder Joe Matthews. Because “people don’t like to make decisions until they are walking out the door,” says Matthews, a deal can be discovered, purchased and instantly redeemed while already sitting comfortably in your local neighborhood tavern. For the more adventurous social drinker, registered users can search for deals by day of the week as well as GPS location using the Poggled iPhone app to scout out a new bar scene adding a splash of spontaneity and savings to their recreational routine. Read the rest of this entry »

Seventy-seven years ago this week, the United States repealed prohibition and Chicago’s brewmaster community wants to celebrate. That’s why Encore Liquid Lounge will be teaming up with Chicago’s Two Brothers and Metropolitan Brewing for a five-course “beer dinner” prix fixe, featuring locally brewed beers and German-style fare on December 6.

Encore, 171 West Randolph, may be uniquely suited to host the dinner: it’s located at the Hotel Allegro on Randolph between LaSalle and Wells which, when it was known as The Bismarck, served the first legal beer in Chicago post-prohibition. As part of the commemoration, they will be serving a beer called “The Bismarck,” a Munich Dunkel brewed by Doug Hurst of Metropolitan and Andy Pishko of Encore, brewed especially for that dinner.

“It will not be distributed anywhere else, and there are no plans to brew it again,” says Pishko. “I wanted this dinner to focus on some of the great beers being made in the Chicago area, and I think (we have) a good representation.”

In addition to “The Bismarck,” Encore will be featuring other beers brewed locally by Chicago brewers’ Metropolitan and Two Brothers, as part of this special German menu “specifically designed to be paired with the beers.” (Jonas Simon)

For reservations, contact Andy Pishko at andrew.pishko@allegrochicago.com or (312)325-7121.

Beer here! Not just any beer—no Budweiser, Sam Adams or PBR—but rare beer, brewed in tiny batches by meticulous brewers with fidelity to old wooden barrels. More than 100 breweries will participate in the Eighth Annual Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer on Saturday, November 6, hosted by the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild.

“It’s the only event of its kind,” says Pete Crowley, president of the ICBG (and head brewer at the new Haymarket Pub and Brewery in the West Loop, expected to open early this December). “Only 10 percent of beer in the United States is craft-brewed, and this event is an opportunity for the public to taste them all under one roof.”

What’s with the barrels? Craft brewers pride themselves in their attention to detail, to subtly mixing exotic flavors with topnotch hops, and most of all, preparing a limited amount to maintain the high quality of flavor and complexity.

“Some of these beers are so rare,” Crowley says, “there’s only so much of it. We can’t ask brewers for more than five gallons. Sometimes they only brew one barrel.” Read the rest of this entry »

The brew kettle at Lindemans

Not enough spontaneity in your beer life?  Typical brews can’t match wits with your wild side?  Well, the yeast will be wild and the fermentation spontaneous this Saturday with the Lambic Beer Festival at Delilah’s, 2771 North Lincoln. Lambic is a Belgian variety of beer specific to a region near Brussels made by a process of spontaneous fermentation where wild yeast within the brewing environment makes a beer a lambic.  “It’s one of the oldest types of beer in the world, and it’s fundamentally still brewed the same way it always has been,” says Mike Miller of Delilah’s. Lambic beer uses the wild yeast and bacteria of its native Belgium and is often aged for three years, mixed with other ingredients, and then aged another year in bottles. Miller says the festival is designed to please both seasoned beer intellectuals and inquisitive beer novices open to trying this complex tasting beer.  “There’s a high acidity in these beers,” Miller says. “Some are on the sweeter side, and some are bone dry… basically, this event is meant to be an educational beer study.” Read the rest of this entry »

As part of the 2010 World Beer Cup, the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and & Towers will be hosting the Craft Brewers Conference & Brew Expo America from April 7-April 10. The conference, the largest of its kind in North America, will bring craft brewers from all over the world to Chicago. Unfortunately, unless you are a beer-industry professional, you will not be able to directly partake in the festivities. But even though many Chicago beer geeks will be shut out of the presentations on brewing craft beers and will miss keynote speaker Congressman Peter DeFazio of Oregon—yes, really—there are plenty of chances outside of the Sheraton to roll up your sleeves and get down to drinking some of the best beers in Chicago and the world. Numerous bars throughout the city and even Whole Foods Lincoln Park are holding craft-beer-inspired events and specials. Moonshine in Wicker Park, which brews six of its own craft beers, will be celebrating beer all week while Chicago is at the center of the serious beer universe. New executive chef Matt Wilde is trained in French cuisine but has embraced the challenge of experimenting with beer in his dishes. “Food and drinks follow trends, and beer in cooking is a big trend right now. People like the idea of having beer in their food,” says Wilde, who will be introducing six new dishes for the celebration that will each incorporate one of Moonshine’s original craft beers. For Wilde, a chef’s “vision with food always has to stay evolving.” (Andrew Rhoades)

Koval Distillery will hold its first mixology contest on Saturday, November 28. Taking place at 7pm at Binny’s Beverage Depot in the South Loop, contestants will go head to head and create an on-the-spot, original cocktail to be judged by a panel of four. “We’re looking to find some great upcoming mixologists that we can collaborate with in the future,” says co-owner Sonat Birnecker Hart. Koval Distillery is a family-owned business, boasting high-end, all-organic grain spirits and kosher products. “There aren’t that many small family-owned distilleries anymore; they were all wiped out during prohibition,” says Hart. “We make everything here from scratch, and it’s all organic and kosher. It’s important to build sustainable agriculture.”

Before Goose Island was even a brewery, Quenchers Saloon was doing the “beer thing,” offering Chicagoans an impressive variety of fermented refreshments. Started in 1979, the bar is now throwing a massive thirtieth-anniversary celebration, from August 16-23. The week-long event will provide attendees with a lot of beer, and a lot of music. “We have three events that we’re focusing on,” says Steve Segel, the bar’s manager. Besides a slew of giveaways and prizes, and a possible vertical beer-tasting to be announced, there’s a bluegrass jam session Saturday afternoon and a rock show on Saturday night. The rock show will include The Lovers, The Amino Acids, The Runnies and The Livers. “The Livers do a great audio video setup behind them,” says Segel. “I’ve seen a lot of shows but this really blew my mind.”

We know, we hadn’t heard of it either. But when we did, we thought, brilliant! Then we thought, vodka.

Thanks to the folks at Luxbar for bringing this to our attention. You’ll find us there come August 20. (But if others are doing similar promotions, let us know and we’ll add them to the list.)

LUXBAR CELEBRATES NATIONAL LEMONADE DAY: $5 Signature Lemonhead Martinis
In celebration of National Lemonade Day, Luxbar is going grown-up by offering their signature Lemonhead Martini for only $5 (normally $11.50).  The cocktail features Veev Açai Liqueur, Three Olives Vodka, Chambord, and of course, freshly squeezed Lemon Juice. Thursday, August 20

LUXBAR
18 E Bellevue Place, 312.642.3400
www.luxbar.com

CITIZEN BAR CELEBRATES LEMONADE DAY
Chicagoans can soak up the sun and take advantage of Citizen Bar’s huge outdoor patio while enjoying Citizen’s signature Blue Raspberry Lemonade in honor of National Lemonade Day on August 20th.  For the entire month Citizen will offer this special cocktail for $7 a glass or $22 for a pitcher.

Citizen Bar
364 W. Erie St.
(312)640-1156
www.citizenbar.com

The weather is finally starting to turn, and to celebrate the arrival of the spring season, TheChiGuide.com is hosting its first annual Spring Beer Olympics Tournament on April 23 at Joe’s Bar. The event will feature team beer-pong matches as well as team and individual flip-cup competitions. All participants will be vying for a purse of at least $1,300. And if all that weren’t enough, the night is being emceed and Todd Scholtz, stage manager for “The Jerry Springer Show.” “This is for the younger demographic in Chicago that has grown up with Jerry Springer. So we thought it would be great to incorporate the brand and the people behind the show into the event itself,” says Alexander Laurie, founder and CEO of TheChiGuide.com. According to Laurie, a Northwestern grad, the event is specifically designed to bring students together from all of the colleges and universities across Chicago, something that, in his opinion, doesn’t happen enough.