Quenchers kicked off their Stout Fest 2012 on New Year's Day and the 24 beers they have featured over the month of January is a solid mix of everyday stouts and special selections. more ›

Monday night Rachelle Bowden, this site's first editor and forever "Chicagoist Prime," arranged a meetup of Chicagoist alumni that turned out to be well-attended by Chicagoistos and -as past. We were at Cole's and the weather was just a little bit chilly, which meant heartier brews were on the agenda. more ›

Belfast Bay Brewing Company in Belfast, ME, seems an unlikely place to find a good oatmeal stout. But that's just what we found with their McGovern's Aatmeal Stout. Drinks Over Dearborn had this and McGovern's Lobster (Red) Ale in stock while visiting a few weeks back. While the brightly hopped Lobster Ale would have been a better pick with the weather, the Oatmeal Stout has its merits for a long holiday weekend. more ›

Just in time for that drunk in your life who's picky about beer, Half Acre Beer Company is releasing a monster Imperial stout called Big Hugs. We'll let Half Acre's Gabriel Magliaro explain: more ›

Although we didn't recognize it at the time, our formative years learning about beer started in the southeast Asia nearly 20 years ago with brands like Tiger, Chang, Bintang, Anchor (not the San Francisco brewery), Kingfisher and Singha. We heard that Lion stout was making its way to Chicago and it brought back old memories. Getting our hands on the stout was like saying hello to an old friend. Say hello to Guinness? Screw that and marketing slogans. Say hello to Lion Stout! more ›

In a week that's been very focused on beer over here on the Food and Drink side of things, it seems fitting to end the week where it began: focusing on Half Acre. From the moment the first cases of Half Acre Lager popped up on retail shelves and in bars throughout the city, one question over all others stood out: Can they succeed? Can a beer company calling Chicago home, brewing its product on contract in Wisconsin, be able to tread water until it finds both the equipment and space to start brewing within the city limits? more ›

When tasting out heartier stouts and barrel aged beers, it's best to have them at a warmer temperature to really get a sense of the taste profile. One of the reasons we think people pound back Guinness, besides brand recognition and a perverse romanticizing of Irish culture, is that it's often served too cold to fully unleash the flavor of roasted barley malt that's the heart of its brewing. more ›

With the Chicago Beer Society's "Night of the Living Ales" event Saturday long sold the f**k out, the next big beer tasting guaranteed to sell out will be Goose Island Stout Fest. From 1-5 p.m. March 22, local craft brewers will be pouring over 20 different stouts, from Irish-dry to Imperial, oatmeal to rye, and all kinds of barrel-aged craziness. Held in Goose Island Clybourn's Siebel Hall, they'll also be pouring six-ounce tastings throughout the event. Cost is $30; call 312-915-0071 to RSVP. more ›

This week, we hopefully compare tasting notes. Two weeks back we wrote about a sampling of Moloko, a milk stout brewed by Three Floyds, that was happening at Smallbar in Wicker Park. Milk stouts are typically made with lactose sugar; the resultant brew is sticky sweet. more ›