Enjoy A Showcase Of Homebrewers Turned Pro

By Melissa McEwen in Food on May 19, 2015 2:30PM

The exterior of Maria's. Photo by reallyboring.

Homebrewers turning into brewing pros is practically a Chicago tradition. It's boasted by our immensely strong communal homebrew culture, especially clubs that provide brew space for and mentor the next generation of home brewers turned pro like C.H.A.O.S Brew Club. They are taking over the taps at Maria's (960 W. 31st St.) this Thursday, May 21, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. to show the professional brews created by their former students at breweries like Vice District and BreakRoom Brewing.

What's on tap:

• Vice District Brewing: Habitual Dark Cascadian Ale - Roasted and black malts provides coffee and chocolate flavors that are accentuated by a variety of Pacific Northwest citrus hops including Citra, Amirillo and Cascade. The result is a very balanced IPA . 75% IBU's and 7% ABV.
• BreakRoom Brewing: Irvinium Imperial IPA - Brewed with Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand, this Imperial IPA has notes of white grape and tropical fruit. 80 IBU's and 8% ABV.
• Horse Thief Hollow: McCarthy - A red ale brewed with white peppercorns and blue agave. 28 IBU's and 5.5% ABV.
• ArcLight: A Belgium Vit with cherries. 4.8 ABV.
• Marz Brewing: The Duchess De Bridgeport Barrel Aged Version - A South Side Sour red ale brewed with proprietary souring bacteria, Duchess De Bridgeport is a take on a Flanders Red. Notes of strawberry, dried fruit and citric hops intermingle with a round lactic sourness. The Duchess is an homage to the brewer's mom, Maria Marszewski. 6.3% ABV. Check out our thoughts on the brew here.