Chicagoist guest contributor Bridget Houlihan experienced the madness of Dark Lord Day and lived to tell about it. Saturday was Dark Lord Day - the beer lover’s Woodstock - when thousands from near and far descended upon Three Floyds brewery in Munster, Indiana to buy the limited supply of “Dark Lord,” a Russian Imperial Stout considered to be one of the best beers in the world. You can only buy Dark Lord one day a year, and you need a ticket to get your share - four bottles at $15 each. Even at that price, it’s quite a deal considering (as we predicted) bottles of 2011 Dark Lord are already for sale on e-bay for as much as $100 a pop! The frenzy begins more than a month before the big day, when online tickets become available and sell out in a matter of minutes. more ›

Think you have the stones to turn your favorite hobby into your livelihood? Two Lake Bluff men, Rodd Specketer and Dave Burns, decided to try - their own local microbrewery opens today. The Lake Bluff Brewing Company will open its doors at 5pm, and it's just a Metra ride away from the heart of downtown Chicago. Chicagoist popped in for a sneak peek last week as things were still coming together for the grand opening. more ›

The past year has been something of a nirvana for local craft beer fans, as their local options increase with the openings of Metropolitan Brewing, Half Acre Beer Company and Revolution Brewing. If all things go well, a fourth microbrewery/brewpub will be joining those ranks by late summer. more ›

There's something of a brewing renaissance happening within the city limits these days. Metropolitan is up and running. Half Acre is also brewing while still in construction mode. Revolution Brewing, owned by Handlebar owner Josh Deth, is set to join them this summer. Along with Goose Island, this marks the first time multiple breweries were operating within the city limits in at least a half-century. more ›

We paid a long-overdue visit to Half Acre Beer Company Saturday at owner Gabriel Magliaro's invitation to check on the progress of their brew house at 4257 N. Lincoln Ave., and to drink some beer, including their limited edition release Baume' rye stout and the amazing, soon-to-be-released Daisy Cutter Pale Ale. more ›

We headed down to Flossmoor Station Brewpub and Restaurant last Saturday for their "Killer Kapowski" launch party. It wasn't our first visit to the south suburban brewpub. In fact, it's the trip down to Flossmoor that's one of our favorite aspects about visiting. more ›