Bluechip Brewfest

As I mentioned in in my last post, thanks in part to my friend Toni over at Food. Just Sayin’,I was invited to cover the 3rd Annual Bluechip Brewfest here on MetaCookbook, and so that’s where I spent last Saturday. It means I got into everything for free, in exchange for wearing a big badge that said “media” and a promise to write it up here.

The Bluechip Brewfest set up is two VIP sessions and a general admission area with about 50 booths/breweries pouring, as well as a booth of fun sodas for designated drivers. General admission started at 1:00 pm and ran until 4:30 pm. The first VIP session was from noon until 1:00 pm, and was focused on food and beer pairings.… Continue reading →

Resolutions v 2.0

I had a chance, on Monday, to try the Goose Island Clybourn Resolutions Stout on cask. As the beer was the subject of my last post, I thought I’d share my impressions with you. We’ll talk about something other than beer in my next post. I promise.

First though, if you’re curious about what “cask” beer means, Wikipedia has a nice article on it. So does All About Beer magazine. Both indicate there’s a possibility that a place advertising “cask-conditioned” beer is misrepresenting themselves. I don’t have the expertise to know for sure by looking at a beer, but I have no reason to doubt GIC or the brewers there.

For this post the most relevant information about cask beers is the fact that cask-conditioned are served warmer than draft beers and with substantially less carbonation.… Continue reading →