#HBGWeek | Hoosier Beer Geek's Favorite Things at Shoefly Public House - Wednesday, July 16

In the run-up to the Indiana Microbrewers Festival, we're celebrating HBG's Hoosier Beer Week. And we now have more details about one of the events for #HBGWeek.

When: Wednesday, July 16, 6:30pm

Where: Shoefly Public House, 122 East 22nd Street, 317.283.5007

What: Hoosier Beer Geek's Favorite Things - Come enjoy our hand-picked lineup of beers that would make the Von Trapp family envious.


Featured Beers | $4 for 4 oz. and $6 for 8 oz.:

Brasserie Cantillon's Iris Lambic (5% ABV)

Iris is a completely original beer which, contrary to the brewery's other beers, is not brewed with 35% wheat. Iris, which is made only with malt of the pale ale type (giving a more amber colour to the beer), conserves the typical flavor of the spontaneous fermentation, the complex aromas, and the vinous taste.

The hopping is different too. Lambic is usually made with 100% dried hops. But for Iris we use 50% dried hops and 50% fresh hops. The latter cause a superb acidity, and the former, due to their tannins, conserve the beer while preserving all its qualities.

After two years in the barrel, Iris undergoes a second fresh hopping two weeks before bottling. A linen bag filled with hops is soaked in the beer for two weeks. This technique, called "cold hopping," gives the beer a more intense flavor and makes the smell and the taste more bitter.

Bell's Brewery's Black Note Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout (11.5% ABV)

One of the most sought-after stouts in Bell's history, Black Note Stout blends the complex aromatics of Expedition Stout with the velvety smooth texture of Double Cream Stout and ages the combination in freshly retired oak bourbon barrels for months. The resulting harmony of flavors captures the finest features of all three components: malty notes of dark chocolate, espresso and dried fruits, all buoyed by the warmth and fragrance of the bourbon barrel. Aimed squarely at stout and bourbon aficionados, Black Note makes a grand statement about the art of the dark.


Featured Beers | $2 for 4 oz. and $4 for 8 oz.:

Boulevard Brewing Company's Ginger-Lemon Radler (4.05% ABV)

A zesty, refreshing take on the classic "cyclist," sessionable and full of character.

Founders Brewing Company's Rübæus (5.7% ABV)

Not another boring summer wheat beer or lemonade shandy—Rübæus is Founders’ way to celebrate the season’s warmest months. Optimizing the flavor of fresh raspberries added at multiple stages during fermentation, this stunning berry red masterpiece is the perfect balance of sweet and tart. No question about it, with a hefty malt bill and 5.7% ABV, this beer is 100% Founders.

Local Option Bierwerker's Kentucky Common (6.5% ABV)

Kentucky Common is a modern interpretation of an ale style native to pre-prohibition Louisville. Historically the beer was dark in color, creamy, and tart as a result of the introduction of lactobacillus bacteria by sour mashing. Local Option Bierkwerker took up the task of brewing this once familiar style – electing to use specialty grains rather than a large percentage of corn – yielding an adventurous taste profile befitting both conventional and courageous palates.

Three Floyds Brewing Company's Dreadnaught IPA (9.5% ABV)

An Imperial India Pale Ale with an intense citrus hop aroma, a huge malt body and a crisp finish.






We hope you'll join us! In the meantime, spread the word, and use #HBGWeek on social media. An overview of the #HBGWeek calendar is here.

Chicago Beer Diary | Neighborhoods

A well-worn adage is that "Chicago is a city of neighborhoods." This certainly is true. Ask residents of the city where they're from and they'll probably give you the name of their neighborhood rather than a "side" (e.g. north side, south side) of the city. And in the current craft beer and brewery boom that Chicago is experiencing, chances are that the beer you drink might originate in your favored neighborhood. Do you live in Lakeview? You might gravitate toward brand new brewpub DryHop. Do you like to hang out in Logan Square? You'll probably be found at Revolution. Is Wicker Park or Bucktown your thing? You might be downing pints at Piece.

6.13.13 | The Neighborhoods: Lincoln Park & Andersonville

Near the DePaul campus in Lincoln Park is Local Option. Here you see the slogan, Scheiß Bier kann tödlich sein: Shitty beer can kill you. If ever wiser words were spoken...

The vibe is metal; think Sinking Ship if you're Naptowner. 31 taps of craft beers from across the country and abroad, along with countless bottles and stoic but efficient service...I would frequent this place if I lived in Lincoln Park or anywhere remotely close for that matter. I might not be metal enough to completely fit in at Local Option--the closest I come to being metal is liking Motörhead--but I would do my best.

Bierwerker, which is Local Option's brewing arm, brews at other breweries, but they don't like to be called gypsy brewers or even contract brewers. Whatever you want to call Bierwerker, they make a formidable beer in American Muscle DIPA, which they brewed at Louisville favorite Against The Grain. American Muscle is sweet, potent, citrusy, sneaky. A second snifter is tempting, but I have another place to visit for a drink.

Up the Red Line to the city's far north side and I disembark at the Berwyn station for a westward hike to my Andersonville destination, the Hopleaf. I've been to the Hopleaf many times over the last five years, but I cannot pass up the opportunity to visit again. This place is comfort incarnate, and in my experience, the tap and bottle list has no equal in the city (really, look at this menu). It's an ideal place for Indy folks who enjoy Brugge Brasserie because the focus is Belgian--Belgian food and as well as Belgian beers. It's also a good place to strike up a conversation with a stranger. No one drinking or dining here is pretentious. Making new friends is easy.

Rarely do I encounter a gueuze on tap, so St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition on the draft list grabs my attention. Exceptionally tart; pleasingly crisp; notes of apple, oak, and berry. Further delving into the tap list reveals Tart Hopfentea, a unique Berliner weisse brewed in collaboration with the Hopleaf by Perennial Artisan Ales. Lightly sour, herbal, spicy, notes of tropical fruit.

6.14.13 | The Neighborhoods: West Loop and Loop

Green Line from the Loop to the West Loop. West Randolph Street, to be precise. This area is teeming with bars and restaurants. Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard has two acclaimed restaurants here. And it's home to Haymarket Pub & Brewery. As far as brewpubs go, Haymarket is the pressed tin ceiling variety of brewpub. The food isn't exceptional but is still solid. A friendly and knowledgeable staff. A bartender named "Drogo," as in "Khal Drogo." I was tempted to instruct him to carefully disinfect any cuts lest Mirri Maz Duur needs to be called in and everything goes to hell. Next thing you know, Khaleesi is smothering him with a pillow.

At Haymarket, the beer is the real attraction. Loads of house beers and quality guest taps. The Mash Made in Heaven VI White Peach Wit is a memorable quaff. An unfiltered witbier brewed with coriander, sweet and bitter orange peel, and white peach juice. It's the peach juice that pushes this beer from the good to the exceptional category. There's also Girl & the Goatee IV, a Belgian pale ale which is a collab brew with Stephanie Izard that features rhubarb and blackberries. Dry, a bit tart, floral, spicy, delicious.

Wit in the middle; Girl & Goatee on the right.

Two other special beers in the Haymarket lineup are Defender American Stout and Ombibulous American IPA. Defender is heavily dry hopped with Pacific Northwest hops, resulting in a chocolaty and citrusy brew. Best characterized as a Tootsie Roll in a pint glass. And the Ombibulous could also be called "Hop Cornucopia"--Citra, Centennial, Cascade, Amarillo, and Crystal are all in there. Super citrus and pine abound. A hop-head's best friend.

Defender on the right; Ombibulous in the center.

A return to the Loop and to the Palmer House, which is my house for the evening. The blend of Baroque and Art Deco in the hotel lobby brings to mind the scene in The Untouchables where Eliot Ness confronts Al Capone on the grand staircase of the Lexington Hotel. I half expect the lobby bar to use Al Capone's shoe as a cocktail shaker. You know, the one that Geraldo Rivera found in Capone's vault back in the '80s.

Speaking of the lobby bar, it fortunately carries some craft, including Revolution Brewing Company's Rosa Hibiscus Ale in a can. A tart ale infused with hibiscus flowers and orange peel. In the words of a craft-beer-ignorant friend, "Sounds girly." But it's not girly. Rather, it's a fitting nightcap for an expedition through some of Chicago's neighborhoods. And I'll be back to explore more of them.