Hot Topics

Without much introduction, let me speak to some of the hot topics you’ll find on this blog:

“Beer Wars” Movie: 

The Beer Wars Movie drops on 440 theatres around the country on April 16th. It’s a documentary look into the craft beer business, and the effects of the larger breweries on the beer making industry. This has gotten press from Tampa Bay to Boston. Combined with a live panel discussion with Ben Stein after the film, the event hopes to get beer lovers and beer beginers talking about beer. Here’s a taste to get you started:

The Economics of Brewing: 

Despite the recession, craft beer is a growing industry. The Brewers Association reported that craft beer accounts for a larger market share of total beer consumption in the U.S., thanks to a recession pushing wine snobs to more affordable beer snobbery. However, when I spoke with Flossmoor Brewery in Flossmoor, IL, they indicated that this increase in sales is offset by an increase in cost of materials. I plan to continually look at the cost of brewing for brewpubs, microbreweries, and the little guy.

Beer and Food:

It seems too simple, but people who are into beers are also interested in the foods that go with them. The Beer School Bar hosts monthly beer and food pairings, for one local example of the trend, but others have offered advice on the subject as well. As part of reviews of local beers, I’ll be hunting for good pairings, coming up with combinations to enjoy while enjoying a brew.

Online Communities

Browsing a bit online,  I found several groups dedicated to homebrewing and celebrating good beer. 

If you’ve got questions about brewing only the internets could solve, try looking to Realbeer.com. This site contains lots of helpful people looking to ask and answer questions about the process. 

Google and Yahoo each have some brewing groups. These seem to serve the same function as the Realbeer.com group, but with the familiarity of Yahoo and Google to stand behind.  There’s a yahoo one for homebrewers, which claims to be the largest on the site, and one for people in need of brewing equipement only. The Google groups are each about home brewing.

And on the social network side of things, there’s is a Facebook group with over 2,000 members dedicated to brewing and drinking the good stuff.

It seems like the majority of the discussion is on technical issues and beer trends/flavors. The identity of a “Chicago” beer doesn’t seem to matter as much as a “quality” beer. The people know what they like, and drink it.

But Chicago does have a few smaller groups more interested in the local scene. ChicagoHash.com, for example, is a meeting of a group of “beer drinkers with a running problem.”

I’ll drink to that.

Related Links

There are lots of sites that cover craft beer and home brewing related topics.

Chicago Beer Society does a good job keeping up with Chicago beer events. The organization also hosts meetings with beer enthusiasts and brewers to talk shop over cold ones.

Beer Town, the Brewers Association site, is a resource for national news on craft brewing and also houses the American Homebrewers Association, which discusses issues and news relating to homebrewing. 

Beer Advocate, a magazine/Web site, also keeps up to date on what’s going on in the world of craft beer.

Modern Brewery Age is a trade magazine that seems to have stoped trading (though I can’t confirm this).  Meanwhile, Beer Business Daily is doing a solid job reporting the beer news and keeping a good trade community together. 

Of course, in consumer print, you’ve got Draft magazine, whose main newsstand competition seems to be Beer magazine. Think of them as dueling connoisseur’s aides, but more readable. 

In the Blagosphere, I think this guy is doing an alright job. For a more refined blogger, the Zythophile navigates the history of beer.  Confessions of a Beer Geek also is an eye catching blog for those interested in beer.

But for my money, I like a good, simple Beer Haiku. Thank you, Beer Haiku Daily.

Mission Statement 1.0

What is ChiTown Beer about?

ChiTown Beer is a resource for beer enthusiasts and home brewers in Chicago. We provide news and reviews of new beer releases from Chicago breweries and brew pubs and information to help you become a better brewer.