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 »

Before heading to Lincoln Avenue’s Delilah’s on this day, the grand decisions to make don’t entail attire—as they may on nights of metal, mod, punk or any other genre of rock the bar usually caters to—but rather in what beers from oversea you’ll be partaking in. For today, twenty dollars gains entry to the bar’s Vintage Strong Beer Fest 2007 and twenty tickets, each rewarding you with an ounce of well-built beer.

TVs beam English Premier League soccer matches, framed art leans crooked and loose from the walls of the bar and the seasoned hardwood floors support patrons of all ages, races and genders, each cradling their list of liquids including Belgian, Italian and English brews, amongst others.

“This is my fourth year in attendance,” says Matt Gumbaragis, an avid beer-fest attendee. “We’ve been to beer fests from Boston to Vegas… we try to make it to all the majors.” The “we” Gumbaragis refers to is his comrades, “The Horsemen,” of the “Horsemen Society,” a cigar club whose members appreciate fine cigars, good beer and, of course, great conversation.

So, what makes this fest particularly special for the Horsemen? “I just had a 10-year-old porter,” Eric “Rick” Ferguson says. Many beers found at the Vintage fest are “bottle conditioned,” which means filtering takes place inside the bottle, or filtered and then reseeded with yeast so further fermentation can take place.

“Other Chicago beer fests may have a few worldly beers, but nothing like this,” Gumbaragis adds.

The Horsemen also raise the fact that most beer fests across the country are in large halls, while here at Delilah’s, the setting is more personal and intimate.

“It’s gonna be shoulder to shoulder in here,” Ferguson promises.

And as packed as the quaint establishment becomes, the help doesn’t flinch a bit. “I like working here—everyone has a great time,” professes bartender Wes Nile. “This is the ninth year in a row we’ve had this fest, and my third working it. These people here, they’re absolute enthusiasts.”

But you don’t need to be an enthusiast to enjoy one of these unyielding broths, because no matter who or what you are, you’re going to leave with, well, a smile on your face. “With over a hundred beers to taste if you want, with each ranging eight-to-thirteen percent alcohol content,” Nile adds, “you’re gonna leave here feeling pretty good.” (Kevin Baum)

By Brad Knutson

Corner pubs and sports bars are a dime a dozen in Chicago. No matter where you travel in this town, you’re probably not more than a block away from a local watering hole serving up the usual array of light domestics and skunky imports. If you’re just out to get a quick beer buzz, these places can’t be beat. However, for those a bit more interested in the quality of each pint rather than the quantity poured, we also have our fair share of places to satisfy the appetites of the fiercest beer snobs. While Chicago may not be on quite the same level as microbrew-obsessed towns like Portland and Boulder, local establishments like Delilah’s, Sheffield’s and Quencher’s that boast a hundred to 200 varieties of beer each help alleviate the stereotype that we’re all a bunch of Old Style-chugging yokels.

Taking the appreciation of beer to an even further level in Chicago are The Map Room in Bucktown and The Hop Leaf in Andersonville. Both featuring copious amounts of hard-to-find imports and microbrews, these two bars are the end-all, be-all for the serious beer fan. Not only are you not able to find any light beer at these bars, you almost have to go out of your way to find a beer that doesn’t have an alcohol content of at least seven percent or higher.

Located at the corner of Armitage and Hoyne, The Map Room features a rotating stock of twenty-six beers on tap and a total of about 200 varieties of beer available. You can find just about any style of beer from around the world here, though there is a definite emphasis on Belgian ales and American craft brews. As in Belgium, every beer on tap is served in a style-specific glass that is best suited to bring out the optimum body, aroma and flavor for that beer. The selection changes rapidly and serious fans can even track the latest additions at the bar’s Web site, which is updated almost daily. The sheer number of choices can be almost overwhelming to the uninitiated, so you may want to pair up with an experienced friend who can steer you in the right direction. If you’re really serious about brushing up on your beer knowledge, The Map Room even offers monthly “beer school” sessions taught by local brewers.

Further up north on Clark near Foster is Chicago’s other must-visit destination for beer aficionados, The Hop Leaf. Also specializing in Belgian ales and domestic micros, The Hop Leaf shares the same beer-obsessed mantra as Map Room. In fact, The Hop Leaf may even slightly eclipse The Map Room in terms of overall variety. They have four more tap handles for a grand total of thirty beers on draft and also feature an easier-to-read menu (also updated online) that gives brief descriptions of every beer. As an added bonus, The Hop Leaf doubles as a full-service restaurant, with a food menu that has garnered as many rave reviews as its beer. After a full meal of steak and potato frites washed down with a couple of full-bodied Belgian ales, it’s hard not to walk out of this place without a big dumb grin on your face.

As anyone who’s ever enjoyed a freshly poured glass of Delirium Tremens can attest, enjoying a fine beer is a refined experience not unlike slowly sipping an expensive wine. Once you’ve experienced one of these bars, you won’t look at beer the same way again.