Chicagoist at Great American Beer Fest: On the Blossoming of Community
By Chuck Sudo in Food on Sep 23, 2010 4:00PM
Rod Markus placed a healthy portion of chicken and waffles on his plate while I tore into a boudin blanc that was fluffy like a nimbus cloud and a homemade pickle spiced with hops. We were sitting outside having a late night dinner at Euclid Hall in Denver, a restaurant that would fit in well among some of Chicago's newer openings, tearing into a healthy portion of the menu and watching other attendees of the Great American Beer Festival stagger past us towards the frat bars on Market Street, in Denver's Lower Downtown ("LoDo") district. Seated one table to my left were a group of kids in no shape to be served any other alcohol; the Euclid Hall staff did an amazing job of packing their order to go, sending them on their way and cleaning up after the group.
Markus looked at me incredulously and said, "This (festival) is like nothing I've ever experienced before." I asked how so. "I'm used to working and traveling in a different circle, with chefs, servers and diners in a more formal setting. The energy that people here are giving off is absolute fun to be around.
"This whole trip that you, Jared (Rouben) and I have been on for months, brewing the beer and witnessing peoples' reactions to it? I wouldn't trade it for anything," he finished.
Another trend at GABF was a rise in the medals won by midwestern breweries. California and Colorado breweries still won the lion's share of medals, but the showing from America's heartland was a good indicator of the overall growth in craft beer promoted throughout the fest by the Brewers Association. Looking at Illinois, we can see that there are currently 46 craft breweries in the state.
Ten years ago, you could count Chicago's craft beer community with one hand and still have fingers left over. Hopleaf was still strictly a beer bar, 312 Urban Wheat Ale wasn't even a dream and Three Floyds made mouth-puckering hop bombs that screamed, "Drink if you can, survive if I let you."
Today Chicago's craft beer community is thriving, with room for growth. Half Acre's Gabriel Magliaro, who was contract brewing his company's offerings in 2006, now has one of the more popular breweries in town. Business is brisk in Half Acre's retail shop; Magliaro and head brewer Matt Gallagher are on a roll brewing collaborative ales and new beers; the addition of new fermentation vessels will allow them to keep up with demand and both Daisy Cutter Pale Ale (in my estimation the best beer brewed within the city limits) and Gossamer Golden Ale find new placements daily in local restaurants and bars.
Revolution Brewing has been an instant success, with lines out the door door and growler sales moving as fast as owner Josh Deth and brewer Jim Cibak can brew the beer. Pete Crowley's Haymarket Pub and Brewing is set to open soon across the street from one of the hottest restaurants in the country in Girl & the Goat. Two Brothers is seeing a steady growth in its business and ensures all their brewery employees become certified cicerones. Argus Brewery on the Southeast side is making a name for itself as a contract brewer, with some limited retail sales. Joining all them will be Finch's Beer Co., a planned 1,000 BBL operation that just named former Flossmoor Station brewer Richard Grant as its brewmaster.
Spurred by places such as Hopleaf, the Publican, the Bristol and Goose Island Clybourn, bars and restaurants are revamping their menus to better accommodate the flavors found in various beers, putting together menus with more ambition than nachos, hot wings and artichoke dip. Ray Daniels Cicerone certification program is giving servers and bar managers the necessary tools and knowledge to maintain a high level of service to go with the raised bar set by all this.
The most important aspect of this growing community is a better educated consumer. "The reason I settled in Chicago to become a brewer is the passion I felt from people about beer," Jared Rouben said. "That's not just from people in the industry, but homebrewers and the folks that visit the brewpub and other beer bars throughout town. Their knowledge about beer is sharp." Walking the convention floor while sampling Sai-Shan-Tea for the first time, Half Acre's Magliaro acknowledged the showing of the local breweries and the support of their customers. "If they didn't like what we were doing, we wouldn't be here today," he said.