better beer scene in chicago: bottle shops and growlers-to-go

Posted on 09/22/2011 by thebeerist

Yesterday, I posed the question: what is missing from the Chicago beer scene that could make it stronger, more convenient, more accessible and a bigger economic boon for the city? Here are my extended thoughts on the topic.

More/Better Bottle Shops: Chicago is rife with amazing beer bars, breweries, and restaurants. For all of this beer related activity, Brad Chmielewski (of the fantastic Hop Cast) articulated my thoughts exactly in the comments section of the post.

We could use more bottle shop / bars. Right now Binny’s and Whole Foods is really the largest and easiest place to get new beers. I think we could use a few more better smaller neighborhood shops.

Bottle shops that focus on beer would be one of the best things that could happen for beer in Chicago. With the explosion of craft beer, the sheer volume of styles, varieties, and brands can be completely overwhelming. At a bar or restaurant, consumers have the guiding hand of a server, bartender, or their beer loving friends.

Some wine shops have a nice, albeit limited selection of craft beer. As far as beer focused retail goes, other than say West Lakeview Liquors, Binny’s and Whole Foods have the widest selection and are the easiest places to find what you are looking for. However, these places are not the perfect places for some important aspects of shopping and learning about beer. They are large and impersonal. They are crowded, especially on the weekends. The staff is hit or miss and harder to track down and really get your questions answered.

After doing some research, I have found that a few other major cities have the beer-centric bottle shop concept in full force. Why doesn’t Chicago? Fear not, at least one craft beer bottle shop is opening soon. However, these other cities have some things that make a beer shop more profitable and therefore more likely to even exist.

Retail with Draft Beer in the Store and Growlers To-go: Beer is not a particularly profitable item for a retailer to sell. Retailers need to buy large quantities to get the best wholesale price and therefore have better retail prices and better profit margins. Now this doesn’t make it easy for a small bottle shop since they might not have the cash flow or storage room to make that happen. To find better profit margins, a few stores in other cities have added taps in the store to sell both draft beer for drinking in the store and growlers for fresh beer to-go. 

Kegged beer costs a lot less per ounce for the retailer and takes less storage room than the equivalent in bottles (however the draft system equipment cost and upkeep is the draw back). For two shops that use this retail/tap concept check out City Beer Store in the Bay Area and Good Beer in New York City.

From what I can tell, this concept would be a bit of a tough sell in Chicago due to the liquor license classes as well as the laws on growlers to-go (unless you are a brewery ala Piece or Revolution Brewery).

Hope for the future: Beer has traditionally been a past time rooted in our nations bars as opposed to wine which is rooted in restaurants and homes around the country. Good beer has already made its strides into better restaurants and it’s about time it makes the jump into fridges and cellars in homes. In Chicago, great bottle shops that are inviting, approachable, educational, and profitable can help this cause. 

It appears that our first shop of this type is on its way! The Beer Temple is a video blog and soon to be a retail shop on the border of Wicker Park on Bucktown. Check out the videos on their website. After watching you will know that Chris Quinn has a passion for beer and the immense knowledge to create an educational inviting place to learn, taste, and buy beer. This is right in my neighborhood as well, so needless to say, I am excited about its opening.

So it appears things are on the move to keep the beer flowing both in bars and restaurants and in homes around Chicago. Lets hope we can get the taps flowing in beer retail stores as well.

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craft beer in chicago: what is missing?

Posted on 09/13/2011 by thebeerist

Imbibe Magazine has a nice write-up of both the history and current craft beer scene in Chicago. The author gives a nice overview or the bars, restaurants, and breweries that are driving the explosion of craft beer in this city. Rightfully so, this is article is making the rounds among the Chicago beer crowd on Facebook and Twitter.

My questions is: What is missing?

What can make the beer scene stronger, more convenient, more accessible, and a bigger economic boon for the city?

I have my thoughts on this and will be posting about this at length tomorrow. So please, comment with your own answer to this question or respond to me on Twitter or Facebook.

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quick take: stone ipa vs. goose island ipa

Posted on 09/04/2011 by thebeerist

Just because two beers are the same type, does not mean they will similar in smell, taste, or color. Over the last few days since my first post, my work schedule (3pm – 11pm) has put a damper in any beer shopping and/or tasting. I was able to have two different beers that just happened to be left over in the fridge. They were left over from a “make-your-own” six pack. The two beers: Goose Island India Pale Ale and Stone IPA.

An IPA or India Pale Ale is known for its liberal use of hops in the brewing process to produce that “bitter” hop taste and aroma. However the differences in IPAs can be huge as profiled in this article from the Washington Post: A Bitter Divide.

So here is my quick take on two different IPAs from two different great American breweries, as well as a lesson in drinking this style.

Goose Island India Pale Ale: Being in Chicago, Goose Island is ubiquitous with beer in this city. That said, I have NEVER tasted their version of my favorite style of beer. Unfortunately my review in a word: disappointing. That comes with a caveat though.

The hops were there but slightly understated. The first sip had almost a lager bite to it and the taste was slightly harsh. There was no smoothness or or even sweetness to speak of.

Now does this mean it is not a good beer? No. The caveat I was speaking of: The freshness of the beer. This beer was from June. A lesson in IPAs folks…drink ’em while they are fresh. Unlike some stouts, IPAs are not meant to be kept on the shelf to age. The hops lose their flavor and off flavors can creep into the beer.

I am fairly confident that the age of this beer really worked against it. I will try a fresh one soon and update my thoughts.

Stone IPA: It seems that Stone Brewing Co. can do no wrong these days. Straight from North County, Ca, this “West Coast” IPA (see the previous link to the Washington Post) is everything you want from this style of beer. Smooth yet hoppy, slightly cloudy (since it is not pasteurized or filtered), and rich in flavor and aroma.

Since coming to Chicago, Stone has become a brewery I trust. If you have your eye on one in your local shop, pick up any of their beers and you won’t be disappointed.

Is Stone the absolute best IPA you can get? No, but it is a darn good one that is worth every penny.

In short: Drink your IPA’s fresh and you can’t go wrong with Stone.

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beginnings in beer

Posted on 08/30/2011 by thebeerist

Photo used under Creative Commons from SteveR-

My long term memory is not very detailed. Memories consist of images, places, tastes, smells, but almost never contain all of these at once.

Since this blog is about beer and my new experiences with it, I have decided to go back to the beginning and start with my first beer memory.

No, not the memory of the first beer I ever tasted, the first time I got drunk, or the first time I went to a bar. In all honestly, my memory fails to retrieve these events. Whether this failure is due to the alcohol or due to the fact that these experiences didn’t stick out to me, I do not know. What I do remember is the first time I had a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Again, my memory is misfiring on the details of where, when, and who I was with or even how old I was, but my memory does indeed remember (and very vividly) the experience of the drink.

Up until this point, beer was sort of a social thing. I had acquired the taste for domestic lagers and drank them at parties or with friends. The enjoyment for me did not come from the taste so much as the social nature of the drink. My mind was associating beer with having fun, not with flavor or aroma. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale changed all that…in just twelve ounces.

I had heard of Sierra Nevada and seen its distinct green label. I associated it with hippies drinking it in the parking lots at Phish concerts (it is very possible this first taste was also in a Phish parking lot). The memory starts with the bottle in my hand. It was shorter and more squat than most beers I was used to to and felt nice and cool in my hand. That first sip, however, was like ice water being thrown in my face. It was not enjoyable in the least but there was also something exhilarating about it. The bitterness was so up front and unapologetic. My first thought was “Did they mean for it to taste this way?” Now, I was intrigued. I did not hate the taste but I definitely did not like it. So I went ahead and tried sip number two. The flavor was still completely jarring but was much easier to swallow and taste.

As I got further down the bottle I could sense this literally rewiring my taste buds. The bitterness was no longer abrasive but addictive and the sweetness was like no sugar I had ever tasted. I went from being skeptical but intrigued to salivating as the aroma hit would hit my nose. I finished the bottle. My instinct was to have another but I stopped myself. I let those first twelve ounces linger. Never again would I remain static in regards to food and drink. This beer didn’t just open my eyes to the wide world of beer, but it opened my eyes to a way of approaching flavor, senses, and even experiences. What is that approach? Challenge yourself.

Challenging myself is not something I am prone to. I like to keep things easy and comfortable. I can think of four distinct ways I have challenged myself over the years:

  1. Becoming a teacher (I failed this challenge and am no longer a teacher)
  2. Going to Spain (as someone who likes to be in my comfort zone, traveling outside the country was intimidating yet absolutely amazing)
  3. Getting married (I am challenging myself to put the needs of my wife and our family before my own. I am exceedingly happy to meet this challenge)
  4. Trying as many different foods and drinks and I can through eating and cooking (After the Sierra Nevada experience this has been more of a hunger than a challenge, though I am still intimidated by some foods ex. oysters, squid, and many seafoods)

So now I am challenging myself to follow my passion for beer that started with that Pale Ale. This blog will be a space for me to explore this passion and hopefully provide a unique perspective on one of the worlds oldest and most popular beverages. I will not have a set format or specific schedule to start out and the site will often focus on what is happening in the city of Chicago. There is such a rich beer culture that is exploding in this city, from new breweries opening, to beer dinners, to great beer bars. I hope to give my take on this beer boom in the Windy City.

I must say, I am no beer expert. It is my hope that as I explore the world of beer through this blog, I will learn a great deal. It is my belief though, that learning most often happens from other people. That is why I need your help. If you are reading, please participate, make suggestions, give me feedback and definitely teach me something new. You can use the comments, twitter (@ChiBeerist) , facebook or e-mail me directly at thebeerist (at) gmail (dot) com

Cheers.

P.S. Do yourself a favor. Go pick up a six pack of Sierra Nevada Pale…it’s a classic.

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