You can easily visit Chicago brewpubs to find evidence that debunks the pan-style stereotype. Throughout the metro area, pizza and brewing artisans have come together to create pizzas with a wide variety of thin crust dough, sauces and ingredients — all paired with craft beer.

Piece Brewery and Pizzeria

The first place that probably comes to mind in Chicago when it comes to craft beer and pizza is Piece, whose pizza has become as legendary as its multi-GABF-winning beers. You won’t find deep dish at Piece. Heck, you won’t find any kind of stereotypical Chicago (or New York) pizza there.

Bill Jacobs, a native of New Haven, Connecticut, has always been adamant that neither Chicago nor New York can claim pizza superiority. Instead, he says it’s New Haven — and maybe he’s on to something. Piece enjoyed almost immediate success when it opened in the early 2000s. Then Pizza Today Magazine named Piece the top independent pizzeria of the year in 2011, besting roughly 35,000 nominees.

But, Piece isn’t only about pizza. Jonathan Cutler, brewmaster/owner of Piece Brewing in Chicago, has more than 15 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) medals to his name, and that’s only a fraction of the awards Piece has earned.

Open Outcry Brewing Company

John Brand, Open Outcry Brewing founder, was born and raised in Chicago. So he knows a thing or two about the city’s pizza scene.

“Pizza is more than an occasional meal; it’s part of the city’s cultural fabric.” He adds, “People argue over it. I’ve seen conversations escalate into real arguments.”

The man behind the pizza at Open Outcry Brewing Company is Chef Cesar Lopez, who met Brand while working at a different wood-fired pizza establishment. “His wood-fired pizza was absolutely divine. He hit all the marks: charred and crispy crust, yet chewy inside; sweet and savory balance in the sauce and fresh mozzarella.”

(Chart: Easy Tips for Beer and Pizza Style Pairings)

One of Brand’s favorite pairings involves margherita pizza with its best selling beer: Speculator Cream Ale. “Crisp, clear, clean, semi-sweet and moderately bittered with spicy, herbal noble hops. It’s higher carbonation level adds a pleasant carbonic bite that acts as the perfect palate cleanser when paired with a savory, salty wood-fired pizza crust and sauce.”

What could be better, right?

“Sometimes, the greatest pleasures in life are the simple ones,” says Brand. “Give me a pizza, a clean, crisp, cold Speculator, a Bulls game on the tube and I’m the go**amn king of Chicago for a few hours.”

Corridor Brewing & Provisions and Roebuck Pizza

Greg Shuff  owns and operates Corridor Brewery & Provisions and the new Roebuck Pizza in Chicago (located next to DryHop brewing, which he also owns). The GABF medal-winning Brant Dubovick serves as the franchise’s brewmaster.

Corridor has already grown into a well-known spot for great food, which includes artisanal pizza, served alongside its wide selection of acclaimed beer. But Shuff and Dubovick decided to go one step further with their love for pizza and open a brewpub fully focused with pizza. That’s how Roebuck opened in 2019 (located next door to DryHop Brewing).

In addition to the pizza, Roebuck lets lager beers shine.

“In my opinion, nothing pairs better with pizza than a well-executed lager. Roebuck afforded us an opportunity as brewers to show that we are really, really accomplished at crafting lagers,” Dubovick adds.

Ike & Oak Brewing Company

At Ike & Oak Brewing Company in Chicago’s western suburbs, you can enjoy pizza with crust made with ale yeast when you order a Neapolitan-style pizza. “It gives the crust a very unique flavor and crunch,” says the brewpub’s owner and operator Ed Ranquisk.

“Craft beer is all about taking chances with styles and ingredients. Daring to be different is what makes independent breweries successful. I wanted to carry that theme into our kitchen and onto our menu,” Ranquisk explains.

(Recipe: Beer Pizza Dough and Breakfast Pizza)

He modeled Ike & Oak on his passion for the great outdoors, so you’ll also find a whimsical campfire pizza on the brewpub’s menu. “We cook it in cast iron pans and add toppings to create a crispy cheese crust, reminiscent of cooking over a campfire. We have used wild boar, braised rabbit, chorizo sausage, spam, jambalaya mix, unique wild mushroom medley, and many other pizza toppings,” he says.

Half Acre Beer Company

Half Acre has evolved from a brewery without a home when it started production in 2006 to one of Chicago’s most recognizable breweries with two locations. Half Acre started serving food at its original Lincoln Square spot in 2016 and followed suit when it recently opened its second location, the Half Acre Balmoral Tap Room & Garden on the city’s north side. And of course, there’s pizza.

“Our guests are there to relax and have a good time. We take that same approach to our pizza,” says Tommy Sheean, executive chef at Half Acre Beer Co. taprooms.

“We try to come up with interesting, approachable and fun flavor combinations, using pizza as a vehicle to express them. A bowl of caramelized Brussels sprouts with pine nuts and parmesan is simple, elegant and delicious, so why not have it on a pizza with a good beer?” he says.

Half Acre possesses an expansive brewing portfolio that includes almost every beer style you can imagine. “While beers like Bodem IPA and Fader Lager will fit seamlessly into pizza eating, it can be refreshing to pair a potato and bacon pizza with [a] mixed culture saison, like Geraldine.”

Haymarket Pub & Brewery

Few breweries celebrate the essence of Chicago more than Haymarket Brewing: the brewery’s name pays homage to the infamous 1886 Haymarket Affair and its beer names are tied to various aspects of the city’s history and culture. So it is no surprise that Haymarket fully grasps the Windy City’s mutual love for pizza and beer.

(Related: Chicago Brewery’s Wild Trip Down a Hazy IPA Rabbit Hole to GABF Gold)

The handmade pizza at Haymarket begins with dough similar to West Coast sourdough. Haymarket’s chef Christopher McCoy says: “We already had a gas oven at our pub in Chicago, and we were installing the wood-fired ovens at our taproom in Bridgman [Michigan]. We had to come up with a dough or crust that would be attainable for both cooking techniques. We prep all of the dough in Chicago, so fermentation, ingredients and style were all considered.”

Middle Brow Beer Co.

Middle Brow is the quintessential community-minded brewery, and now it has a new home in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood called the Bungalow. They describe the new place as an “Appalachian-post-punk-queer-Scandi-Nadian-Belgo-French-countryside-city-farmer beer, bread and pizza den.” Got all that?

This Festival of Barrel Aged Beers medal-winning brewery surely loves its beer, but “pizza is one of those things. In fact, dare I say it, we might like pizza more than we like beer,” admits co-founder Pete Ternes.

“We had never been deep dish fans. We like it fine, but we rarely choose to eat it,” he says. When the founders started planning the brewpub five years ago, only a handful of excellent Neapolitan-style pizza places operated in Chicago, much to their chagrin: “The ratio should be, like, 100:1 or something,” he says.

The idea of opening a neighborhood joint where people bond over pizza and beer is only a tiny part of what makes Middle Brow such a community-minded brewery. Since 2012, Middlebrow has donated more than half its profits to local social-justice organizations. And now with the Bungalow space available, “We’ll be hosting free breakfast for Chicago Public School students on the weekends. We’ll also be instituting a work-training program in several months, which will provide employment and on-site social work to men and women from at-risk populations on the west side,” explains Ternes.

Flapjack Brewery

Located in Berwyn, a small suburb located a few miles west of Chicago proper, Flapjack will soon celebrate its third anniversary. Flapjack offers Neapolitan-style (with a few adjustments to suit their liking) along with some of the freshest ingredients you can imagine. The brewery imports D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes, basil and extra virgin olive oil from Italy. Co-owner James Macchione tells us Flapjack’s pizza dough “only contains “00” flour imported from Italy, filtered water, sea salt and fresh yeast.” In the end, the process results in a pizza that is “thin in the center with a nice cornicione that requires the triangle-cut slice to be folded or eaten with a knife and fork.”

“When we decided to add a kitchen to our taproom, we knew that it had to be pizza. There are so many excellent pizzerias in the Berwyn area offering thin crust and stuffed pizza, so we wanted to do something unique to the area,” Macchione says.

Fans can enjoy everything from Ndjua, Danger pizza to Truffle pizza, as well as traditional Neapolitan-style staples such as the margherita and marinara Pizzas. “Creating new pizzas is my favorite part of the job. I am always on the hunt for exciting new pizza ingredients and combinations,” says Macchione.

More Chicago Brewpubs for the Pizza Curious

Revolution Brewing Brewpub

Illinois’ largest independent brewery offers plenty of multi-award-winning beers at its brewpub location and several pizza choices. Included alongside the usual suspects are an arugula pizza and a white-sauced pizza with bacon and spinach.

(Seek the Seal: Independent Craft Brewer Seal)

Smylie Brothers

The GABF and FoBAB award-winning brewery offers a highly-regarded menu, including an array of wood-fired pizza. Selections include a 14-hour smoked brisket pizza, and a Cuban with ham and pulled pork on beer mustard cream sauce.

Ten Ninety Brewing Co.

The brewery known for its Belgian beers and tasty seasonals like Zen Ale with Green Tea and Lemongrass, also serves delicious artisan pizza with house-made dough from its 1916 Lager. A wide range of ingredients includes buffalo chicken, pork belly, drunken onions (soaked in Ten Ninety beer) and even a combination of pepperoni and fresh bananas.

The same dedication found by America’s craft brewers, who helped made the U.S. the most exciting beer culture in the world during the 20th century, can now be found in its brewpub pizza chefs. From New Haven and Neapolitan crusts to white sauce and brisket, Chicago’s brewpubs are demonstrating that Chicago’s famous deep dish isn’t the only pie in town. Lucky for us, pizza makers and brewers are finding that the best option of all is to serve them together.

Cheers and bon appetit!

The post Chicago Brewpubs Buck the Deep Dish Pizza Tradition appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

Brent and Melissa Schwoerer built the business with a foundation consisting of four principles: sustainability, sourcing local ingredients, doing things as mother nature intended and promoting a positive culture.

“I believe firmly that businesses can be more than about making money,” Brent says. “I believe in values and doing good. That’s why I started my business.”

Engrained Brewery Has Roots in Farming

That business model is a reflection of the values impressed upon Brent growing up in a family-farming community near Bloomington, Illinois. Each of the Schwoerer sons, as a wedding gift, received 5 acres of land so his grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, and cousins lived as neighbors.

“The philosophy is simple: Take care of the land, and the land takes care of you and your family. My family is still that way. If someone needs something, you just do it. You don’t think about what you get out of it, you just do it,” he says.

In fact, 100 percent of the eggs used by Engrained in its restaurant arrive from nearby Clover Hill Farms, which is owned and operated by Brent’s cousin-in-law.

Brent and his wife, Melissa, were just starting a family when the Engrained Brewery and Restaurant idea came to fruition, so a few sacrifices had to be made. Opening a brewery is not easy. Opening a restaurant is exceedingly difficult. Add the organic mindset to the mix, and it’s difficult to imagine one could succeed.

No Shortcuts, Just Passion and Drive

“It was certainly a challenge. But when you are doing something you love and are passionate about, it doesn’t feel as daunting of a task,’ Brent says. “I just made sure to focus my time and effort on the business and the family for a couple of years. No TV. No sports.”

It would have been hard to fault Brent or Melissa if they decided to take a few shortcuts, but that’s not their style.

Brent’s passion for working with local farmers is palpable. The passion is more evident when he describes a need to work with farmers who share his values about regenerative farming and maintaining healthy soil.

Regenerative Agriculture, Responsible Farming

Regenerative-style agriculture goes beyond an attempt to conserve or avoid damaging the soil; the intention is to improve the earth as its farmed, Brent explains. For instance, instead of applying chemicals that kill insects, farmers can grow flowers that draw helpful insects. Or, rotating livestock and crops in such a way that helps enhance the soil’s nutrients, leading to healthier crops and animals.

Regenerative farming ostensibly counters the trend of harvesting crops that increasingly contain fewer nutrients, usually because of soil exhaustion and the use of chemicals. The cause of this trend is simple. The ag-business, like in any industry, faces pressure to achieve the biggest profit possible, which can lead to practices that may not be in the best interest of the consumer. Although, often the consumer has no qualms with that practice.

Organic and regenerative farming offer beer drinkers an opportunity to taste brews comprised of nutritionally dense ingredients, and that means more flavor.

Boosting Local Products

Just as craft breweries have their big-beer challenges, local farmers who practice organic, regenerative farming must compete with mega-farms. Craft breweries such as Engrained offer those farmers a chance to sell their product, keeping dollars within the local economy. Indeed, Engrained Brewing obtains 80 percent of its hops (which will be near 100 percent soon) from an Illinois brewery. And the food at Engrained is so local you can, well, taste it.

But, that’s not all.

“We are looking at doing more vertical integration in the next five years or so. We just bought 22 acres outside of Springfield, [Illinois],” Brent says. “Our goal is to start production next year and also utilize our restaurant crew. Plant. Harvest. Whatever. Seasonal labor is a big issue for farmers, so we have a built-in labor force that not only helps them, but it teaches us how it works. Nothing too demanding, but maybe a half-day of work every six months or so.”

“Brewpubs are Conversion Grounds”

It is not Brent’s intention to completely supply all of the brewpub’s ingredients.

“We want to support local farms. We only want to grow what farmers can’t, either because of costs or other reasons,” Brent says.

He also hopes to grow some of his own barley. It wouldn’t be enough to support the whole brewery, but enough to serve a few micro-malted, locally hopped beers.

The more the staff knows about the ingredients and how they are grown, the more they can educate Engrained’s guests.

“I often say that brewpubs are conversion grounds. It opens people’s eyes to what beer you can try. So, why can’t we also do that with food? That’s our perspective,” Brent says.

For Brent and Engrained Brewery, something about craft beer creates a sense of community.

“It’s just a bunch of happy people,” he says. “Alcohol has traditionally been used for celebrating life. That culture is built into the craft community, and so we are just taking that a step further.”

The post Engrained Brewery Sows Organic Mindset and Reaps Rewards appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

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The story of Hailstorm Brewing begins generations ago and on another continent. Brandon Banbury, owner and head brewer, explains, “My grandfather was from Hungry, and he was a barrel cooper. When he moved over here, he brought some barrels with him, and he grew grapes in his backyard. He and my dad made wine together. My dad also homebrewed.”

Well, as they say, the hop doesn’t fall too far from the vine. Banbury took up homebrewing while also amassing eight years experience in food and beverage plant systems and civil engineering.

(TRAVEL: Craft Breweries Worth a Detour)

Hailstorm Brewing a Hobby Turned Profession

In 2014, Branbury and fellow homebrewer Chris Schiller decided to turn a brewing hobby into a profession by opening Hailstorm Brewing.

Not unlike severe thunderstorms that start as unimposing, fluffy white clouds, Hailstorm Brewing developed slowly.

“I was in here seven days a week,” Banbury says, “I didn’t brew every day, but I worked the taproom, I did deliveries, I did sales. I used to do everything.”

Now barely into its fifth year of operation, Hailstorm has grown into a household name in the Chicago area. It has expanded its operations, notably by grafting adjacent office spaces into its original office-park taproom space. The extra square footage will allow Hailstorm to soon add a kitchen, patio area and a beer hall that plays on the German Biergarten model.

The Hailstorm expansion does not entail mass-distribution models or opening new locations. Instead, it focuses on enhancing its taproom experience, including offering more beer.

(TRAVEL: 5 Epic Craft Beer Road Trips)

With viniculture, coopering and brewing in its DNA, it’s not surprising that Hailstorm’s production includes an array of barrel-aged brews. Visitors to the taproom will discover a floor-to-ceiling wall of barrels alongside its rows of towering shiny, silver brewing tanks.

In fact, Banbury ended his discussion of the expansion as only a brewer would discuss the matter. “I might put the sours in that space (pointing in one direction) and the barrels over there (pointing to another direction). I’ll have to think about it,” he says.

Beer Menu Growing

Barrels are not the only new items customers are discovering on the Hailstorm menu these days, either. The Hailstorm Brewing portfolio has grown substantially, including adding a trifecta of New England-style IPAs to the mix.

“It’s kinda funny,” Banbury says, “I was against it to start. When we first opened … I would be upset if somebody went in there and pumped a keg and it was cloudy. I never thought I’d be doing them.”

A great attribute of craft brewing involves the sharing of brewing ideas. Banbury’s visit to the 2016 Craft Beer Conference in Philadelphia is case in point. While there, he ventured over to Tired Hands Brewing to sample a collection of its hazy IPAs. Those beers inspired him to research the style. And Hailstorm Cirrus, Stratus and Nimbus NE IPAs were born.

(VISIT: Find a U.S. Brewery)

In addition to its cloud-named NE IPA series, Hailstorm collaborated with Michigan’s Transient Ales to create “Boat Socks” in spring 2018. The beer is a double-dry-hopped Northeast Double IPA (8.0% ABV). They describe as so good it will “knock your socks off.”

The New England or Northeast beer style is one of many Banbury never imagined brewing when Hailstorm Brewing opened.

“It has evolved. We brew so many different styles now. I never thought I’d be doing this many lagers,” he says.

One of those lagers, Hailstorm Brewing Rock Out with Maibock Out, twice won silver in the bock category at GABF, so he must be on to something.

“When we first started out … we thought we would mostly do off-the-wall stuff,” Banbury says.

Unique Collaborations with Breweries 

That mentality to brew unique beer is evident in its annual, popular collaboration with nearby 350 Brewing — also in Tinley Park — called, “Howdy Neighbor,” a strawberry-lemon Kolsch-Style ale. It was so popular, in fact, Banbury brewed 180 barrels of it in 2017, and the two breweries re-released it in April 2018.

The aforementioned collaborations are two of many for Hailstorm, which is fitting for a brewer who also serves on the board for the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild, and one whose No.1 desire is to operate as a great community brewery.

“I don’t need to be like … other big brewers,” Banbury says. “I like what we are doing here.”

Hailstorm continues to self-distribute and self-market. Banbury’s wife, Emily, can regularly be seen at events and the taproom. The two of them, and the hard-working staff, remain laid back, humble and personable.

All told, to walk into Hailstorm is to step into the essence of craft brewing, an industry focused on the idea of “drink local.”

The post Hailstorm Brewing: Inside a GABF IPA Gold Medal Winning Brewery appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

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(MORE: Glitter Beer Sparkles as Spring’s Craft Beer Trend)

As much as you think about the taste of beer in your glass, we bet you haven’t given a ton of thought to the world of beer keg management — and it’s a complicated one. Kegs are expensive equipment, especially for small and independent breweries who operate on lean budgets. But they’re also easily misplaced, lost, and sometimes even stolen. It’s a pesky, costly life for stray beer kegs.

Beer Kegs Get Lost Easily

First, consider that new kegs can cost upwards of $100. A pallet of 18 half-barrel commercial kegs can run a brewery at least $2,000, if not close to $3,000. The constant rotation of kegs from brewery to bar and back again means a brewery must possess enough kegs to satisfy the needs of its many customers. In short, keg purchases comprise a sizable portion of a brewery’s budget. That’s why breweries treat kegs almost as prized possessions.

“Keg loss is a big deal,” explains Dan Vorlage, vice president of marketing and business development at MicroStar Logistics. MicroStar is a Denver-based company that’s spent 20 years helping manage keg needs for breweries.

“With craft beer sales north of 24 million barrels, that’s an $11 million to $33 million hit each year,” Vorlage says.

Ryan Rafferty, distributor sales support manager at Denver’s Great Divide Brewing admits, “We have lost plenty of our own kegs over the years.”

It might be easy to blame the brewery’s infamous “Yeti,” but Great Divide is not alone. Charlotte Bodden, the taproom manager at Only Child Brewing in Gurnee, Illinois, takes every step possible to prevent losing a keg.

“We’ll rent kegs to individuals for parties, but we have them pay a substantial keg deposit,” she tells us. “I take as much info as possible and make it very clear that we will not tolerate kegs not being returned.”

Irresponsible renters is one thing, but how is it so easy for breweries and bars to misplace kegs? How can something get shipped from a brewery to a bar and never return?

“Kegs get lost any number of ways,” Vorlage explains. “While sometimes theft is involved (kegs get turned into home-brew kits, lawn ornaments, coffee tables, etc.), often times simple mistaken identity is the culprit. A distributor grabs the wrong empty keg by mistake, sends it to the wrong brewer.” Vorlage explained that by the time a brewery discovers it possesses a stray keg, it’s already paid the $30 deposit for the keg.

Returning Stray Kegs

Tracking and returning kegs to the rightful owner, as well as buying, transporting and maintaining one’s kegs, can prove costly for a brewery, which is where MicroStar intervenes.

“MicroStar works with the Brewers Association to find the biggest pools of these stray kegs … pays the deposits for these stray kegs, and coordinates their delivery to our facility in Green Bay. Once there, MicroStar does all the work to try to get the kegs back home,” Vorlage explains.

And unlike many breweries where space is at a premium, the expansive MicroStar warehouse spans 100,000 square feet and, Vorlage adds, “We typically have around 200,000 kegs in our warehouse in Green Bay. Pretty crazy.”

In 2015, the Brewers Association, the Beer Institute and MicroStar requested that eBay refuse to sell kegs without proof of sale. Unfortunately, at the time of writing this article, a quick check of Craigslist shows numerous kegs for sale, often with brewery names plainly visible on the photographs. (For that matter, there are entries that include MicroStar kegs for sale.)

Keg Management Strain on Small Brewers

Brewery growth and expansion leads to greater difficulty in managing and tracking its keg inventory.

“We had to decide: Do we want to manage chasing down kegs or do we want to make beer? So, we kept making beer and got [MicroStar] to chase down the kegs,” says Oskar Blues’ Jeremy Rudolf.

The next time you find yourself in a bar or brewery, look around at the kegs and you’ll likely find kegs labeled with blue M-Star logos － there are 3 million of them. Vorlage noted that roughly 500 breweries, including Stone, Dogfish Head, Left Hand and Dark Horse, rely on MicroStar to transport, maintain, repair and handle the kegs. It’s a workflow that many breweries don’t have the money, staff, and other resources to handle.

(MORE: Kegs: You’re Renting, Not Buying)

“For a business like Great Central [Chicago], which focuses on the production of craft beer for growing breweries as well as its own in-house brand of German-style beers, MicroStar offers some distinct benefits,” explains Great Central Brewing’s CEO and co-founder Dave Acram. “As a production facility we strive to achieve consistency, timeliness and efficiency in production and economics on behalf of our clients. Leasing kegs on a pay-per-fill basis allow breweries to invest in its people and operations rather than its cooperage. This means zero maintenance and replacement costs.”

Acram explains that taking keg management off the plate of a small brewery helps his business and ensures available inventory, which prevents production delays and leads to on-time delivery and fresh beer.

MicroStar’s Growth reflects Craft Beer Growth

“With the craft beer revolution going global, we’re now working with breweries to get their beer overseas more efficiently than ever before,” Vorlage says.

The influx of breweries and craft-friendly bars and restaurants leads to tremendous challenges for breweries regarding keg management. The genesis of MicroStar occurred at a time when the U.S. boasted of 1,500 breweries, a number that has ballooned to more than 6,000 in 2018. The company built its model on one question: “Could multiple breweries working together increase their efficiency and improve their sustainability?” Early returns point to a resounding “yes.”

“When a brewer is on their own, they constantly have too many or too few kegs. Because MicroStar has 3 million kegs, it’s easy for our customers to get the kegs they need, when they need them. We’ve also made major investments to assure supply including the acquisition of the largest Keg Quality center in North America,” Vorlage says.

(MORE: Craftwashing is Happening in American Beer)

Dogfish Head has used MicroStar’s services for nearly 20 years. Founder and CEO Sam Calagione notes in a December 2017 news release, “MicroStar has logistics superpowers. That’s why we view them like an extension of our operations and one of the reasons we’ve been able to focus on what we love and do best: brewing off-centered ales for off-centered people.”

While it may seem to make more sense for a brewery with a larger distribution footprint like Dogfish Head to rely on MicroStar, smaller breweries take advantage of its services, too.

“For smaller breweries who don’t need our logistics support – brewers who only serve their beer onsite or within a single city for example – we can sell or rent them kegs,” explains Vorlage. “When brewers use our kegs rather than owning their own, it reduces the distance empty kegs travel so it’s more efficient and environmentally friendly.”

Smaller Environmental Footprint

With more than 6,000 breweries operating in 2018, you can imagine how many cars and trucks are moving from breweries to bars and restaurants each day. When breweries are in charge of their kegs, breweries must make both trips, drop off and retrieval.

In contrast, with MicroStar, distribution trips are minimized. The company picks up the kegs, brings them to a bar, picks up some empties and brings them to the next brewery. And that is exceedingly efficient and environmentally friendly.

As Rob Todd, Allagash Brewing founder, explains, Allagash sells about 90 percent of our beer out-of-state. To haul kegs from its Maine location to places like Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles would require thousands upon thousands of miles of driving to deliver kegs, and then double that with a return trip. The logistics alone would prove to be a nightmare, but the environmental impact is one that goes against the ethos of of the craft beer industry.

(MORE: Craft Brewers Send a Message: Drink Beer Fresh)

MicroStar turned to PE International (now known as ThinkStep), an international group with Fortune 100 global customers to gage the efficiency for which it helped reduce greenhouse gases. The technical review, prepared by Christoph Koffler, PhD, offered MicroStar some favorable results.

“MicroStar’s customers reduce their freight-related greenhouse gas emissions by over 3 million kg of CO2 each year,” Vorlage says. “To put that in perspective, that’s the same amount of greenhouse gases emitted by burning nearly 3 million pounds of coal. Pretty incredible.”

Beer Keg Management Helps Brewers Focus

It is easy to take notice of trucks transporting beer or fixate on gorgeous tap handles, but without the keg, there’s nothing to pour. Whether beer fans realize it or not, breweries understand the significance of keg management. As breweries grow, the daunting task of keg logistics and preventing keg loss is almost too much to bear for a brewery. MicroStar steps in and handles that significant aspect of brewing business, which helps a brewery concentrate on beer and helps the Earth remain beautiful.

So, the next time you inquire to what beer is on tap, don’t take it for granted. The keg that held the beer is someone’s prized possession.

The post The Pesky, Costly Life of Stray Beer Kegs appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

“We are sitting on the world’s largest freshwater source [of surface water]. Truly water world. Love my glacial meltwater,” said Clint Bautz, owner of Chicago’s Lake Effect Brewing.

The remnants of an ice age that departed more than 10,000 years ago carved out an area bigger than the United Kingdom. The resultant water filled the valleys, creating the Great Lakes, which accounts for one-fifth of the world’s freshwater supply according to the EPA.

The breweries found within the Great Lakes region are intrinsically linked by the water they share, both in the production of beer and by serving a community that’s forever bound by the region’s history, culture and climate.

(VISIT: Find a U.S. Brewery)

Great Lakes Culture and History

Town names, museums, lake effect snow, summertime breezes and municipal water battles all serve to reinforce the cultural bond among those who reside in the Great Lakes region.

Few have integrated that broader cultural link better than Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC). For instance, its five-time GABF medal-winning porter, Edmund Fitzgerald, pays tribute to the wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank on Lake Superior during a fierce November storm in 1975. (Singer Gordon Lightfoot also released a hit song aptly titled, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”)

(READ: Inside Red Frog, the First Cruise Ship Brewery)

GLBC has its Commodore Perry® English-style IPA, named for Oliver Perry, the man who led the U.S. to victory over the British Royal Navy during the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie.

The War of 1812 also inspired New York’s Sackets Harbor Brewery, located on the Lake Ontario shoreline, to brew an 1812 Amber Ale and Erie Brewing Co.’s (Pennsylvania) Misery Bay IPA, which brings attention to Lake Erie’s Misery Bay and Graveyard Pond, where urban legends say many sailors perished during the war.

Of course, not all beers remark upon Great Lakes tragedies.

• Collision Bend Brewing (Cleveland, OH): Lake Erie Sunset Pale Wheat Ale
• Saugatuck Brewing (Saugatuck, MI) Oval Beach Blonde Ale
• US Beer Brewers (Oswego, NY) Lake Effect Winter Warmer
• Shoreline Brewery (Michigan City, IN) Singing Sands

The Great Lakes Role in Brewing History

In addition, the role the Great Lakes played in our continent’s history, pre-dating European arrival, the Great Lakes proved instrumental in developing American beer culture.

With every beer sipped at Big Ditch Brewing Co. in Buffalo, New York, one honors the souls of those who dug the Erie Canal during the 1820s. That canal connected New York to the Great Lakes. With that marine highway in place, incoming immigrants in places like Milwaukee could have hops shipped to them from the ports of Buffalo because, as noted by CraftBeer.com’s Joe Baur in “New York State: America’s Former Hop Capital.” Baur writes New York had “attained national leadership in hop production in 1849, and was selling over 3 million pounds annually by 1855.”

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Germans had found Milwaukee’s climate and proximity to the cool Lake Michigan waters suitable for brewing lagers, and its ability to be stored longer made them an economically viable product.

But it’s not just Milwaukee. Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC) Head Brewer Mark Hunger explains the significance of the Great Lakes and brewing history, including in Cleveland.

“There would not have been a lot of breweries a hundred years ago if we were not by the lake. The luxuries of modern day delivery systems do not necessarily make that a requirement anymore but it is always good to be a mile away from where your water is coming from,” he says.

(READ: 9 Craft Breweries Worth a Detour)

Chicago’s explosive growth in the late 19th century also bolstered that Great Lakes farm-to-brewery connection. According to the Chicago Department of Historic Preservation, by 1900, 64 Chicago breweries produced more than 100 million gallons of beer annually and beer advertisements dominated Chicago’s newspapers.

Nothing ties that together better than Bell’s Brewery’s video about its Lager of the Lakes. The video interweaves visuals of crashing waves and Lake Michigan beaches while explaining how the beer harkens back to a time when immigrants first brewed delicious lagers.

Water Makes a Difference in Your Beer

Given that 90 percent or more of beer is comprised of water, it makes sense that the Great Lakes must also benefit a beer’s taste. Otherwise, it would hardly be such a cherished resource.

“We say the ‘Great Lakes make great beer’ as the water source offers the purest most critical ingredient,” says Tapistry Brewing owner Joe Rudnick.

“Generally speaking, I don’t think the well water in the Midwest is all that great. There is a high sulfur content and so forth and it would need a lot of treatment. Rivers can have a lot of fluctuations in the chemistry based on the season, but the lake is great — a nice and stable water source,” says GLBC’s Hunger. “We have a nice stable water supply with a stable mineral content when it comes from the lake. We do some treatment of our brewing water with gypsum, but all in all, we do not adjust it very much.”

Hunger adds, “The consistency of our beers speaks to the consistency of our water supply. We have made brews from all over the spectrum from hoppy to malty and light to heavy with great success.”

(READ: How I’m Approaching Craft Beer in 2018)

Sustainability and the Fight to Keep the Lakes Clean

“I see this fresh water source as a national treasure, almost like it should be a national park — a living national park where human habitation and economic activities are harmonious with the natural environment. Top priority is [to] protect the water both quality and quantity. Other states would wage war to get the resource we have,” says Clint Bautz of Chicago’s Lake Effect Brewing.

Unfortunately, the urbanization and industrialization that dominated the 20th century led to a serious Great Lakes pollution problem that continues to require attention today, something to which small brewers are keenly aware.

It starts, first, with making sure the water is clean prior to getting used in the brewing process. “Bridgman has a quality water treatment plant at the water’s edge and we also filter at our brewery. I always have concerns with environmental issues that affect our Great Lakes, but currently, the processing of our water source offers a defense for most of these concerns based on severity,” explains Rudnick of Tapistry Brewing.

(READ: Science Behind the Beer Koozie)

A multitude of breweries now honor self-imposed water conservation standards, have attended the Great Lakes Water Conservation Conference and participated in the #SaveTheGreatLakes Campaign to help mitigate threats such as algae blooms, pollution, Asian Carp, and leaking oil from the six-decade-old Mackinac Oil Pipeline.

This past summer, the Illinois Brewers Guild actively sought to help the #SaveTheGreatLakesCampagin at its Welles Summer Fest by seeking signatures for a petition. Guild president, Danielle D’Alessandro explains, “Everyone should feel good about drinking local craft beer and signing a petition that says you support the Great Lakes!”

Brewers are not only concerned about making beer. GLBC Department of Sustainability Director Saul Kliroys explains:

“The primary issue is preserving our access to safe drinking water. The algae bloom issue is of some concern to us, because as the blooms increase in size and migrate from the western basin to the central basin, where we’re located, there is potential for [the] occurrence of toxic compounds (primarily microcystin) in our source water. The water treatment facility has [the] ability to remove microcystin, but in a perfect storm in which it was able to bypass the water treatment facility, we would have a contaminated drinking water supply,” Kilroys says.

“We also play an advocacy role to help Clevelanders understand what an amazing natural resource we have at our fingertips … While we’re by no means experts in the research, we help facilitate public education on these topics. At a very basic level, we foster the connection of Clevelanders to the lakefront via our annual Burning River Fest,” he says.

One Toledo, Ohio, brewery, Maumee Bay Brewing Co., went so far as to brew a batch of green-colored beer called AlGae Blooms to draw attention to the toxic algae that have been fouling Lake Erie.

You Need Good Water to Brew Good Beer

The need to preserve the quality of the water speak to its importance because the same thing that was true in 1855 is true today — you need good water to brew good beer.

It’s also true that the lakes continue to serve a dual purpose for breweries, both in production and as a marine highway. For instance, as noted by the Northwest Indiana Times in 2016, Lake Michigan’s Portage and Burns Harbor handled (in 2015) the second highest tonnage since 1994 (2.8 million tons of cargo), which included 36 beer fermentation tanks that often exceeded 20,000-gallon capacity.

GLBC’s Kilroys summed it up best: “Other breweries’ growth is at times constrained by access to fresh water. Our growth will not be constrained by availability of freshwater.”

And as long as brewers continue to rely on the massive supply of water, they are also able to bring attention to its value and influence on all aspects of life.

The post Great Beer, the Great Lakes and the Ties that Bind appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

In the smoke-beer genre, most point to the traditional Rauchbier style, which emerged in Bamberg, Germany, in the 1500s. In fact, “rauch” is the German word for “smoke.” By drying the malts over an open fire — typically beechwood — and incorporating them into the brewing process, it leaves a moderate level of smoky flavor and aroma that compliments the base beer, usually similar to a Bock or Märzen (or Oktoberfest).

However, today’s craft brewers experiment with different wood, malts, beer styles and levels of smokiness. The confluence of tradition and innovation has sparked a diverse collection of crafted smoke beers throughout the U.S.

(LEARN: CraftBeer.com Style Finder)

Nine Smoke Beers to Try

Smoked Porter | Alaskan Brewing | Juneau, AK

Relying on techniques derived from Alaskans who brewed more than a century ago, Alaskan Brewing uses direct heat from local alder wood to malt its barley (a process also recognizable to those who love smoked salmon). And the water for the beer comes from a nearby glacier. “When you brew in Juneau, it’s necessary for us to maximize our resources, which I think we do well,” said co-founder and brewmaster Geoff Larson. “But, it also allows us to use those resources to create unique beer, and that’s what it’s all about.”

So, when one drinks Smoked Porter, like all Alaskan Brewing beers, one truly drinks local … local to Alaska.

Manzanita Smoked Altbier with Charred Manzanita | Fort Point Beer Co. | San Francisco

In 2013, Fort Point and Sebastian Sauer, a renowned and accomplished German brewer, embarked on an experimental collaboration. The result was a new interpretation on the traditional Rauchbier that celebrates both Germany and California.

“Manzanita is our seasonal beer for fall,” said Fort Point Brewing’s Sarah Chorey. “Each of Fort Point’s cans are designed to tell a story utilizing angular illustrations. The latest can, Manzanita, is the story of a crisp, fall night, showcasing close-ups of manzanita leaves and camping tents along the Northern California coast where manzanita is a native plant,” she said.

The use of beechwood and charred manzanita branches provides this Rauchbier with its unique blend of German and California flavors. The light-bodied beer presents assertive, multi-layered smokiness. It also hits nutty and herbal notes and provides both a sweet and savory character.

(READ: Coolships in American Craft Brewing)

Fore Smoked Stout | Dark Horse Brewing Co. | Marshall, MI

Dark Horse chooses to use cherrywood instead of the traditional beechwood, and keeps the smoke levels at bay, which allows the stout to remain the star of the show. The light smokiness simply enhances the overall flavor, including its perceived flavors similar to roasted coffee and chocolate.

While robust and sophisticated, the flavors meld together in such a fashion that makes Fore Smoked exceptionally easy to drink.

Smoked Red Ale | West O Beer | Milford, IA

From hog roasts to breakfast bacon, Midwesterners have an affinity for smoked meat. So, it’s no surprise that West O Beer might offer its northwestern Iowa customers a bit of smoke in its beer.

“It’s still our best seller out in the market in northwest Iowa … We’re actually planning to release a few more different smoked beers over the next year or two,” said owner Matthew R. Matthiesen.

Barbecue aficionados understand that smoke is intended complement and enhance the main ingredient. “We add cherrywood smoked malt in the mash. It’s smoked prior to us adding it into the mash tun with different grains. The main reason our smoke flavor is subtle is we only use about 2 percent smoked malt per batch, versus 25 percent or 50 percent. It gives us subtle flavor but the beer remains balanced,” Matthiesen said.

Drinkers will enjoy the beer’s nutty flavors mixed with fruit emanating from the dark caramel malts and spice from the Perle hops.

Smoked Märzen | 49th State Brewing Co. | Anchorage & Denali, AK

Part of its Hibernation Series, the hickory aroma and flavor found in this 49th State Smoked Märzen transports the drinker to a campfire in the middle of the woods. For those who love an abundance of smoke flavor, this is the beer for you.

The sweet malt of the traditional German beer with notes of fruit compliment a brew that isn’t afraid to showcase smoke. This is not a one-note beer.

Smoke: Oak-Aged Smoked Baltic Porter | Surly Brewing | Minneapolis

Never afraid to do something bold, Surly not only went with a different type of lager (Baltic Porter), but also aged this beer.

Tiffany Jackson, Surly communications manager, explained the technique. “Smoke is aged in the fermenter for four-plus weeks with red oak honeycomb barrel alternative from Black Swan Cooperage in northern Minnesota. The red oak adds notes of light grass, baked bread and toasted marshmallow,” she said.

“The taste is sweet but balanced by the smoke notes and oak tannins,” she said. “These are a nod towards the natural smoky character of pre-industrial wood-kilned malts used in past eras. Compared to standard porters, Baltic Porters typically have higher ABVs, a neutral lager yeast character and rich, sweet malt notes.”

Though it’s not widely available, various rating sites show that people can get their hands on a few bottles. Most importantly, it demonstrates just how creative brewers can be when it comes to employing smoke.

Smoking Wood Rye Barrel Aged | The Bruery | Placentia, CA

The Bruery has released a bevy of “Smoking Wood” beers, aged in various types of whiskey barrels including rye. A good beer hunter and bottle trader could obtain the makings of a terrific vertical or wonderfully diverse smoke-beer collection.

The Rye Variant finds inspiration from all aspects of brewing history, from smoking to barrel-aging to malt experimentation. The rye adds spiciness to the smoke, while the presence of oak, caramel and vanilla, and a richness from the whiskey, provide a multi-dimensional taste.

(READ: What is the Independent Craft Brewer Seal)

Smoke From The Oak (Apple Brandy Barrel) 2017 | Captain Lawrence Brewing | Elmsford, NY

Captain Lawrence reminds us of tradition on its website: “Before the introduction of indirect-fired malt kilns, all beers had a smoky flavor.” So, it stands to reason that smoke and beer go hand-in-hand, and that’s probably why so many people enjoy the genre.

But, in true modern craft fashion, Captain Lawrence has taken it to a new level with its Smoke from the Oak Imperial Smoked Porter that is aged in apple brandy barrels for 10 months. Aroma and flavors remind one of brandy, oak, vanilla and a touch of honey. The bonus of a healthy dose of carbonation provides for a wonderful extra element.

Rauchbier & XO1 Oak-Aged Smoked Red Flanders | Dovetail Brewery | Chicago

When it comes to merging tradition with modern craft creativity, few do it better than Hagen Dost and Bill Wesselink at Dovetail Brewing in Chicago. They rely on the time-tested technique of coolship brewing to create classic European-style beers.

On coolship, Dost explained, “Not only does the beer cool down much faster, because of the large surface area, but I think the beer ends up being much more flavorful with this method, really clean and pure.”

That’s evident in the Rauchbier, which provides a pleasantly smoky aroma on the nose, but the taste is subtle. The smoke almost seems to kiss the palate with each sip but never once overpowering it.

That’s not all.

Dovetail took the Rauchbier, placed it in oak barrels and soured it. The result is an experimental Oak-Aged Smoked Red Flanders, called X01. It has all the charm of a Red Flanders with a pleasant addition of smoke and oak that results in a breathtaking beer.

(TRAVEL: Plan Your Next Beercation)

Where There’s Smoke

Smoke beers tend to be seasonal and special releases, but that also allows for enhanced creativity. Considering this list, the smoke beers emerging from the minds of brewers are increasingly diverse and experimental.

For instance, in the recent past, Smuttynose (Smuttlabs) has produced Smoked Cherry and Smoked Peach Berliner Weisse beers, while Stone Brewing has offered several Smoked Porter variants including vanilla bean, chipotle pepper and one with chocolate and orange peel. Many local breweries play with smoke, too.

From bacon to barbecue to beer, there’s a renewed love affair with incorporating smoke into our food and drinks. And craft-beer revolution has given brewers an opportunity to reprise traditional techniques and combine them with modern craft approaches.

The post Historical Style Catches Modern Fire: 9 Smoke Beers to Try appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

But Dean and Carolyn Armstrong, Flossmoor, Illinois, natives who invested in the crumbling station in 1996, thought otherwise.

(READ: 7 Offbeat Places to Drink Craft Beer)

Constructed by the Illinois Central Railroad in 1906, the Flossmoor Station was a stop for Chicago residents looking for a getaway from the bustle of urban life. There were exactly six homes in Flossmoor when the station was built, and the railroad bought 160 acres of land there with plans for a golf course for those city-weary travelers. A century later, golf courses and the railway remain, and Flossmoor is one in a vast network of Chicago suburbs. But the station is something else.

Transforming an Old Train Station into a Brewery

The Armstrongs bought the building and transformed it into the Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery. Beer names, dishes and the decor all remind visitors of the station’s storied past, but it is clear that the building has carved out a new route.

Today, the station’s history may bring a few people in the door, but it’s the beer — which has won nearly 80 brewing medals — and the highly regarded food that turned it into a modern-day success. And Ryan is hard at work keeping the track record.

(VISIT: Find a U.S. Brewery)

After homebrewing for some time, Ryan attended the famed Siebel Institute in Chicago and spent two years as an assistant brewer at Flossmoor Station. When the head brewer left in 2016, the Armstrongs offered Ryan the job.

He said no.

“I didn’t want it. I didn’t think I was nearly ready for that,” Ryan says.

But after several interviews with outsiders, and some prodding, the Armstrongs persuaded Ryan to take the job, which he started in April 2016. The brewery has remained on track, in fact, it’s full-steam ahead.

Brewing Beer in a Tight Space

Themed restaurants are not often known for serving quality dishes, and Flossmoor certainly doesn’t shy away from its train motif — the beers have names like Zephyr Golden Lager, Pullman Brown Ale and Rail Hopper IPA. Nevertheless, one only needs to order from its Carving Board Charcuterie & Cheese menu that includes such items as Barber Cheddar English Vintage, a firm textured cheese with fruit and nut undertones, to know it’s not just a gimmick. And the plaques and medals hanging throughout the bar area serve as proof of its brewing prowess.

For Ryan, it can be a challenge working in a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The station wasn’t exactly intended to house fermentors or store barrels.

“Yeah, it’s pretty tight in here … but I think most brewers would love more space. I can’t complain,” Ryan laughs.

(READ: Behind the Scenes of a Cruise Ship Craft Brewery)

Ryan’s Mantra: Never Settle

While Flossmoor Station originally catered to Chicago’s elite, as a brewery, it draws a more diverse crowd.

“We definitely have our beer geek crowd. Saturdays during the summer are big for that. And we have people that come in for the history, but we also have a lot of regulars. Or, some just come here for a meal,” Ryan says. “The big thing I do is brew things I like to drink, which is something I think any good brewer does, but I also listen to what people have to say. Sometimes I’ll sit at the bar, and I won’t say who I am so that I can hear people’s reactions. I think you have to know what people love and maybe what they don’t really like.”

An eclectic menu best defines the beer selection at Flossmoor. There’s the rainbow of drinks: brown, black, red, golden lagers and ales, barleywines and easy-drinking sippers. You name it, Flossmoor makes it. Like any brewer though, fidgeting with recipes and creating something new, like a seasonal or special release, gets Ryan’s engine running.

(READ: 9 Venues That Prove You Can’t Beat a Brewery Wedding)

“I would love to do more bottle releases,” he says. “I won’t do them unless I feel the beer is bottle-worthy. I have a version of an imperial stout I want to do and put in barrels. Maybe something like that.”

Bottle worthiness is no easy achievement at Flossmoor Station, and Ryan is his own worst critic. While a red ale elicited a smile and an “ahhh,” from this writer, Ryan says, “Eh, it could be better.”

He also told a story about a double IPA that customers loved. Ryan, though, says with a smile, “It wasn’t my favorite. I like it. It wasn’t my style, I guess. But, people did love it.”

Maybe he’s a perfectionist. Maybe he looks at the multitude of awards hanging on the walls and feels pressure. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t seem to phase Ryan. He just loves beer. It just so happens he wants to make great beer.

That dedication to making great beer and food has kept Flossmoor Station — and its history — chugging along. Whether it’s offering a weekend getaway or pouring award-winning beers, perhaps Flossmoor Station will keep serving the community for another century.

The post Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery: Chugging Along Inside a Historic Train Station appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

When breweries and cultural hubs collaborate, everyone wins, from the institutions to breweries to you. Here’s a look at how independent brewers are ushering in the Golden Age of brewery partnerships.

(READ: The Beer & Food Pairing that Wow Brewers)

Breweries and Museums

One wonders, how do brewers pair beer with an art exhibit?

“The general idea was to take an awesome art exhibition and make it more awesome with beer,” says Ben Saller, co-founder and brewer at Burnt City Brewing. Burnt City recently worked with the Art Institute of Chicago to pair beer with the works of artist Paul Gauguin.

“It was a lot of fun developing the concept for Artist as Alchemist Golden Session IPA,” he explains. “I wanted to brew something with flavors that matched the aesthetic of Gauguin’s works. The Art Institute’s exhibition features some of his Tahitian-themed paintings. I thought that using hops with tropical flavors and aromas would go along nicely with this.”

Right down the street from the Art Institute, the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History regularly organizes beer festivals and brewing collaborations. In 2017, Iowa brewery Toppling Goliath brewed Pseudo Sue, an American pale ale that paid homage to the museum’s most famous resident, Sue the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

(READ: Using Craft Beer as a Vehicle for Good)

Off Color Brewing followed with Qing Ming, a beer drawing inspiration from artifacts discovered during archaeological digs in Taixi and a Changzikou tomb dating from the Late Shang/Western Zhou Dynasties circa 1600-722 B.C.E. Excavated materials from those digs contained evidence of mold-based saccharification (the conversion of starch to sugar), demonstrating ancient China’s contribution to the production of alcoholic beverages.

“Partnering with breweries who are as interested in culture and science as the museum is offers the museum the chance to extend our reach to groups who might not think of ancient brewing techniques or cultures from thousands of years ago who enjoyed beer as much as we all do today,” explains Megan Williams, director of business enterprises at the Field Museum. “To drink a beer that has a story and history based on research or discoveries The Field Museum has made gives it meaning.”

Another brewer with a passion for science is former engineer and owner of Asheville’s Twin Leaf Brewery, Tim Weber. When given an opportunity help the Asheville Museum of Science (AMOS), Weber did so enthusiastically.

“I try to do as much charity work as I can for environmental conservation and childhood STEM education and the match between Twin Leaf and Asheville Museum of Science (AMOS) was just too good to be true,” explains Weber.

Twin Leaf created two versions of a beer named Mass Extinction. The first version enjoyed 20 months in a bourbon barrel while the other spent eight months in stainless steel.

“I was planning on making a bourbon barrel aged stout for some time, and the name and label just fit together to describe such a strong stout,” he says.

(LEARN: 75+ Popular Craft Beer Styles)

Beer at Symphonies and Theaters

Flavor and music converged in May 2016, when Michigan’s Brewery Vivant and the Grand Rapids Symphony collaborated. The Carmina Beerana SMaSH beer honored Carl Orff’s famous piece “Carmina Burana.” The beer was intended to resemble what monks of the 11th and 12th centuries might have enjoyed. While the main event took place at the DeVos Performance Hall, the symphony’s brass musicians and chorus first performed at Brewery Vivant (not exactly the type of beer environment one could have envisioned in the 1970s.)

Most community organizations dedicated to the arts rely heavily on private funding and support. So it’s no surprise that Spokane’s No-Li Brewhouse, a brewery that provided more than $25,000 in charitable donations in 2016, collaborated with the Spokane Symphony. The Beethoven Golden Ale was served at the 2016 Beethoven & Brews festival, which included performances from the local Blue Door Theater.

In Salem, Oregon, the craft-brewing mantra of “Drink Local” met “There’s no place like home” during a 2016 “Wizard of Oz” production: Gilgamesh Brewing created a beer – “Lions, Tigers, and PEARS … Oh My”—specifically for the production at Enlightened Theatrics.

If you’re a history buff, beer geek, or a fan of theater and music, one Rapid City, South Dakota, brewery has you covered. Firehouse Brewing goes beyond collaborating with a theater — it manages one on its third floor. Built in 1915, the building mostly served as the local firehouse. In 1991 the beer started flowing, and the theater followed.

(SEASONALS: Offbeat Pumpkin Beers for 2017)

Helping Marine Life

Even if a creature lacks the opposable thumbs necessary to hold a beer, craft breweries are happy to help. For example, in 2016, Dogfish Head released its Sea Quench Ale as part of a partnership with the National Aquarium.

“Dogfish Head is a committed philanthropic partner of the National Aquarium, supporting many of their critical conservation initiatives, including seafood sustainability, efforts to maintain a healthy Chesapeake Bay and research on Atlantic populations of vulnerable shark species,” says Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head founder and CEO.

The Maryland Zoo is home to North America’s largest African penguin colony and penguin exhibit, Penguin Coast. In 2016, The Brewer’s Art and The Maryland Zoo created Penguin Pils to commemorate the zoo’s 20th anniversary. They unveiled it at a Brew at Zoo event and raised $2,000.

Illinois’ largest independent brewery, Revolution Brewing, has not only brewed a beer for Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium and its collection of penguins, but Revolution also used hops grown in the Shedd’s 40,000 square-foot outdoor garden. One dollar from each sale of the aptly named Penguin Hops, a harvest pale ale, helps support the Shedd Aquarium.

Penguins may be cute, but who doesn’t love a huggable hippo? In 2017, Cincinnati’s Listermann Brewing and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden collaborated on a beer named Fiona the Hippo NEIPA. Fiona the Hippo came to the world prematurely, but the zoo has nursed her to health, slowly but surely.

Zoos and Sanctuaries

No one understands the importance of water more than a brewery, but there’s plenty of love for animals on land, too. In 2015 and 2016, Northdown Cafe and Taproom, Side Project Brewing, Perennial Artisan Ales and Off Color Brewing worked with the Minnesota Wild Cat Sanctuary. Together, they developed “ProCATStination,” which spent plenty of time aging.

Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago and DryHop Brewing annually connect on brewing collaborations that benefit a different animal each year. For instance, in 2016, Chimp off the Old Block Hazelnut and Fig Maibock drew inspiration from ingredients found in chimpanzee diets. The beers helped fund ape conservation efforts. In 2017, DryHop brewed Ursus Mapletimus, a smoked, maple white ale dedicated to the new Arctic Tundra exhibit and the zoo’s “honeymooning couple” of breeding polar bears, Kobe and Siku.

(LEARN: Beer 101 Online Course)

“Having DryHop commit funds and support to the animals both in our care and the wild is both encouraging and humbling and to be able to share that with the beer-lovers of Chicago is exceptional,” said Debra Rosenberg, director of corporate alliances at Lincoln Park Zoo.

The Golden Age of Brewery Partnerships

There’s no denying that beer still reigns supreme as an accompaniment to hot wings and fantasy football. However, in the last two years, beer has been enjoyed at the Mariner’s Museum in Virginia, the Mattatuck Art and Regional History Museum in Connecticut, and at the Brooklyn Brewing beer garden during the 7th Annual New York City Poetry Festival. Not to mention, multitudes of artists use beer cans and bottles as their canvases. These high-cultured collaborations are no longer an anomaly. Welcome to the Golden Age of brewery partnerships.

The post The Golden Age of Brewery Partnerships appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

German-style Schwarzbiers, dunkels, bocks, and American dark lagers might seem intimidating, but appearances can be deceiving. Dark lagers drink like their golden counterparts but enjoy exquisite depths of flavor that demonstrate a brewer’s skill and imagination. So, if you are trying to get a friend to see the light, have them try something dark. Here are some craft beers that’ll help them get started.

(MORE: 2017’s Great American Beer Bars)

Magnetron Black Lager | Metropolitan Brewing | Chicago

Tracy Hurst, Metropolitan Co-founder and President, explained, “Magnetron is a gateway beer in the best way; because it pleasantly surprises people. And being pleasantly surprised is a memorable experience. For some pretty good reasons, here in the States, we have the impression that the blacker a beer is, the heavier, boozier, viscous, etc. Of course, we couldn’t be more wrong.“

The 2016 World Cup Silver Medal winning German-style Schwarzbier is roasty and rich, almost dark chocolatey, but super clean and dry on the finish. Hurst added, “The Germans drink Schwarzbier by the liter. There’s no way this beer can be heavy on the palate or high in ABV.”

1554 Black Lager | New Belgium Brewing | Fort Collins, CO & Asheville, NC

New Belgium 1554 pours a gorgeous mahogany with malt accompanied by subtle notes of fruit, herb, spice, and coffee. Bryan Simpson, New Belgium PR director notes, “1554 has this romantic origin story wherein the original research materials were lost to a flood, our brew team traveled to Belgium to learn more from a crumbling text in an old village archive, and it was only our second beer to embrace a lager yeast. The beer itself has the roasty, malty and chocolatey notes of a porter or stout, but the lighter lager yeast gives it a very approachable and satisfying drinkability. Creating balanced beers that are complex, interesting and approachable is a great challenge for any brewer, and one we embrace wholeheartedly as part of the portfolio at New Belgium.”

Baba Black Lager | Uinta Brewing | Salt Lake City, UT

Baba, a five-time medal-winning and certified organic black lager, includes a few attributes common to smoked porters. A pleasant malt aroma graces the drinker’s nose before the beauty of the caramel malt flavor is enjoyed. Baba’s smokey surprise lingering in the background provides depth. The beer feels like a standard lager, but it will certainly wake up a craft newcomer’s palate from its slumber.

(MORE: 12 Breweries In Historic Buildings)

Smoke & Dagger Black Lager | Jack’s Abby | Framingham, MA

Arley Donovan, marketing coordinator for Jack’s Abby, described Smoke & Dagger as, “A black lager/smoked porter hybrid but the smokey campfire notes are not at all overpowering, and they really accompany the other flavors and aromas of chocolate and caramel. It has a great mouthfeel, not too heavy and not too light which makes it very drinkable and a good gateway to other beers of this variety.”  Of course, one need not be new to appreciate it. Indeed, Smoke & Dagger is a favorite of the brewery’s co-owner, Sam Hendler.

Shiner 97 Bohemian Black Lager | Spoetzl Brewery | Shiner, TX

Visually, Shiner 97 is a twin to stout beer with an opaque black color and tan head. However, the light-bodied dark lager can be consumed like cold water on a hot day.  The moderate carbonation also reminds one of a pilsner, albeit more subdued. Alongside the prevalent malt sweetness, flavors involve gentle toastiness up front, a hint of oat in the middle, and a slight hoppiness at the end.

Commentator Doppelbock | Pollyanna Brewing | Lemont, IL

Pollyanna Brewing has two brewers with resumes that include Doemens Academy in Munich; a Bock is in this brewery’s wheelhouse.  One of them, Brewer Chris Koentz, explained, “Commentator, our Doppelbock lager, is a big ole’ German lager that will invite the novice drinker as well as the seasoned beer geek.”  He added, “It’s slightly sweet, low in bitterness, and finishes with a pleasant, clean toasty caramel flavor that leaves you wanting more. Doppelbocks are not as roasty as an imperial stout, they don’t have as much bitterness as an American barleywine, but their rich malt character combined with the depth of flavor derived from Maillard reactions results in a complex, flavorful beer for those who delve beyond the easy drinking exterior.”

Munich Dunkel | Carver Brewing | Durango, CO

A German-style dunkel, sometimes referred to as a Munchner dunkel, offers beer fans a dark beer option that is known for a chocolate-like, roast malt, bread-like or biscuit-like aromas that come from the use of Munich dark malt. Despite the flavors, this beer does not offer an overly sweet impression, but rather a mild balance between malt sweetness and hop character. Expect roasty flavors up front, followed by a clean lager finish. So good, Carver Brewing‘s Dunkel won Gold at the 2013 GABF.  One of the beer’s most unique features is its exceptionally smooth texture — most enjoyable.

The post New to Craft Beer? These 7 Dark Lagers are Easy on the Palate appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

Jason Ebel sought to transform that dream into a reality by lugging the beer in his small car to a Chicago bar. The car’s trunk was too tiny to fit the beer, so he had to strap it into the seats, which forced his wife to sit in the back. But, the discomfort would all be worth it because once the bar operator drank Jason’s beer, he would buy it and the process of building a brewery would ensue — at least that was the hope.

The bar operator took one sip and promptly said, “Nope.”

“I always joke, if I weren’t so stubborn or stupid, I would have quit years ago. There were so many days I should have quit,” Jason explains. “But I just always wanted this to work, and I had such a passion … I couldn’t let it go. And now 20 years later, I am so glad that I was that stubborn.”

The stubbornness drove him back to the bar until he eventually won over the owner.

(MORE: Brewpubs and Breweries Making Great Beer and Pizza)

It’s Not About the Money at Two Brothers Brewing

The 20-year journey from brush-off to craft brewing stalwart has included multiple GABF medals and World Cup wins. The Two Brothers brand has also grown to include coffee, dining and spirits, but the beer remains front and center. They’ve opened three Chicago locations and another in Scottsdale, Arizona. Along the way, Two Brothers rejuvenated a historic railroad roundhouse (constructed in 1856) and repurposed a 1910 bakery into a beacon of craft culture that is aptly named “The Craftsman.”

Two Brothers remains family owned and staunchly independent. It persists in being faithful to the comradery craft beer is so well-known for.

“It’s always been a fraternal business … always willing to help each other,” Jason says. “We believe in that.”

“I don’t care about the extra dollars. I care about making great beer, and doing things the right way.” ~Jason Ebel

Dedicated to quality, community and sustainability, Jason says he refuses to skimp on resources for the sake of profit.

“Sustainability is not cheap,” he says. “We always try to do it the right way, we think, whether it’s spending five times more for something to be made in the U.S. or buying top-of-the-line ingredients. It gets tougher as the business grows, but we want to lead the business in the right direction. I don’t care about the extra dollars. I care about making great beer, and doing things the right way.”

Two Brothers Brewing strives to create the best product possible, rather than attempt to become the biggest-selling brewery.

“We have always had a slow, methodical growth pace on purpose. To me, it’s a very calculated…when wholesalers from new markets call, we often say, ‘not yet.’” In fact, Jason still writes every brewing recipe and actively participates in every level of quality control, just as he did 20 years ago.

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Always Pushing to Create Something New

Ebel says what he’s seen change in recent years are beer consumers. Millennials have always had craft beer available to them, and he says their perspective is different from those who remember the days before its emergence.

“The difference in young adults and those who have been around a while presents a brewing challenge, for sure. But we have always been about pushing the envelope and embracing innovation,” he explains. “For example, we produced our first sour 11 years ago. We have our special divisions program and they are always experimenting. It’s great.”

Even when it comes to craft staples, Two Brothers seeks to be innovative. Ebel says a great example is the brewery’s new Pinball Pale Ale, a beer he says “has more hops than anything we’ve ever made” – yet isn’t overly bitter.

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“This beer pushes the envelope in creativity. We don’t add any hops during boil, everything happens in the whirlpool, or later,” he says. “The aroma is absolutely incredible.”

Two Brothers will also introduce an IPA with a hop that’s just about to come into the market — the Denali hop — which Jason explains is “like pineapple meets pine and citrus. They are some of the coolest hops I’ve smelled in a while.”

Even after two decades of pushing that envelope, you can tell Ebel doesn’t plan to sit back and put the next 20 years on auto-pilot.

“I can’t help but think about all the cool stuff we can do in the next 10 years or beyond,” Ebel says. “Although, if my kids take over the business, they might be annoyed at all the dumb stuff dad did [laughter].”

I doubt that. It would appear that good beer, “crazy” dreams and a stubborn streak worked awfully well for the Ebels.

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Co-owned by Bob Lassandrello and his son Frank, Motor Row Brewing is located in the historic Motor Row District that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The name alludes to the 116 showrooms that once lined the city streets, but most of them vacated the area during the 1930s. Filling that void were people streaming northward from the American South as part of the Great Migration, which helped give birth to Chicago Blues and Chess Records where artists such as Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon and the Rolling Stones recorded music. Nearly two years ago, Motor Row Brewing’s emergence, along with nearby Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven foundation, helped breathe new life into that vibrant music culture. On most Thursdays, Chicagoans and visitors can soothe their souls at Motor Row when the two come together for Blues and Brews.

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Restoring a Piece of Chicago History

Bob, a former trader at Chicago’s Mercantile Exchange, fell in love with the Motor Row District in 2007 and purchased the building where the brewery now sits.

It wasn’t easy restoring a landmark building within a historic district. Each step of the renovation required approval and that meant Bob and the Motor Row team had to remain patient, but their patience was rewarded. In 2015 Motor Row won the Chicago Landmark Preservation Award and, in 2016, the U.S. Green Building Council declared Motor Row as Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) business. Bob says, “It was really a surprise, but we are so proud of that.”

The frequent blues performances hosted by Motor Row offer an opportunity for local artists and fans to enjoy an American musical craft that’s near and dear to the hearts of many Chicagoans. You can enjoy all that history and culture while sipping on European-style beer made popular in the city during its first beer boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel arrived for the brewery’s opening to celebrate the arrival of Motor Row and the district’s local alderman, Pat Dowell, is a frequent visitor and supporter.

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Infusing the Brewery with Experience

Music and history aside, a prerequisite for any brewery involves crafting flavorful beer. Bob’s son Frank is a Siebel Institute graduate with a long brewing resume that includes Vermont’s Otter Creek and Milwaukee’s Lakefront Brewery.

“When I brew, I like to stay in my sweet spot,” Frank explains. “I was trained on European styles; it’s what I know, and it’s what I love to brew. We [at Motor Row] like to do more sessionable beers … it’s nice to have more than one.”

Frank isn’t afraid to be innovative — another cornerstone of craft brewers. An example of his creations includes a black lager that’s single hopped with Celeia from Rojnik Farms in Slovenia.

“The Rojnik family — 75 years in hop farm business — visited here. They had the beers I used their hops in, and it was really cool.”

Beyond his strong background in brewing, production, quality control, and everything in between, Frank’s personality makes him a perfect fit for an up-and-coming brewery. You can find him doing anything to help: driving a forklift, working at events, involved with sales, and even unclogging the taproom’s ice machine if necessary — and he fully appreciates how the brewery has been part of the community’s revival.

“We are very proud to be associated with the neighborhood,” Frank says. “We take pride in our beer just as any large industry would. We like to focus that we only sell here. Our regulars and visitors can get a unique beer you can’t get anywhere else.”

In truth, that’s been the case in that neighborhood for more than a century. Motor Row is keeping that tradition of community alive, brick by brick, note by note, pint by pint.

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