Pay-to-play piece from Crain's

So yeah, interesting. You know that little "rant" I went on this summer? Well, looks like those of us at Metro weren't the only ones riled up by the whole situation at the Wit.

Crain's has spent the past few months working on an investigative piece about Chicago beer distributors and their penchant for giving shit away for free (in so many words). They talked to us (specifically Tracy at Metropolitan), Two Brothers, Stone, and more.

It's not about whining. It's not about the survival of Metro (we're doing fine thanks to the beer drinkers of Chicagoland). It's about consumer awareness. It's about ethics. And it's about an even playing field. Let the product speak for itself.

The story: Pay-to-play infects Chicago beer market (complete with video)

P.S. They even mention the blog post I wrote calling for a boycott. I think that's pretty rad.

Summertime drinkin'

OMG.
It's our first e-newsletter. Ever.
People have been signing up for this since at least Winter 2009.

I'm pretty proud of the design and I'm pretty proud of the content. Although two people marked it as "junk." I'm gonna assume they aren't true Metrovangelists. Poseurs.

Check it out for yourself: summertime drinkin'

Metropolitan Brewing presents "A Summer Soaked in Beer"

Okay, not really. But there sure are a gazillion Metropolitan Brewing events between now and September. A beer-soaked summer, indeed. Sounds good to me!

July

• Dry-hopped Flywheel! OMFG. I can't wait to try this. And then there's the classic Two Brothers' Hop Juice. The deliciousness-level of this cask-conditioned Flywheel is unknown. But Doug is pretty damn good at what he does so I'm not too worried. Plus isn't experimenting one of the great things about brewing beer!?
• Monday, July 5, 6pm. Fountainhead, 1970 W. Montrose Ave
• Pop Malt Brewing Explosion! Holy cow! Its an explosion in your mouth! I got a taste of this malt liquor (over 8% abv if I remember correctly?) and mmm, mmm, mmm. High five to head brewer Davin! We'll be on hand with some Dynamo. And all beer is paired with different popcorn. And there's a souvenir glass. Because its all about collecting tasting glasses right? (Not.)
• Saturday, July 10, 1-5pm. Rock Bottom - Warrenville, 28256 Diehl Rd. Buy tickets online.
• AlphaBeer III! I'll be out of town for this event put together by the Local Tourist but, boy oh boy, it sounds awesome. I missed the first two. Major bummer. But that doesn't mean you should miss all the fun. And the beer. Lots of beer. (Which letter will we be??)
• Saturday, July 10, 2:30-5:30. Four Points Sheraton, 630 N Rush. Tickets/info here.
• Andersonville Green Week: Local Beer & Spirits Tour! Getting a little tipsy seems like a glorious way to celebrate eco-consciousness, don't you think? But seriously, show your support for eco-Andersonville by buying your tickets online in advance.
• Saturday and Sunday, July 17 & 18, 3-5:30pm. Starting at the brewery, 5121 N Ravenswood.
• Beer cocktails with North Shore Distillery! The folks at In Fine Spirits asked us to join them in July as part of a monthly local cocktail co-op event. We couldn't fathom passing up this opportunity to mix beer cocktails with our fave local craft distillers at one of the greatest bars in the 'hood. 
• Monday, July 19, 7-9pm. In Fine Spirits, 5420 N. Clark.
• Beer flights in Wicker Park! Smoke Daddy will be pouring flights of Metropolitan. A great way to taste all three and decide which you prefer with that tasty barbeque! Doug and I will be there to hang out and drink with fellow meatlovers. (Did I mention the sidewalk cafe?)
• Tuesday, July 20, 7-9pm. The Smoke Daddy, 1804 West Division Street
• GDI's invade Wrigleyville! It's true! I'm not sure what they plan on doing with us. Perhaps a simple pint night? Stay tuned but also stop in and say hello!
• Wednesday, July 21, 9-11pm. Merkle's, 3516 N.Clark
• Brewery Tours. 'Nuff said. Great for a simple weekend diversion, for out of towners or those looking for beer geek cred. And don't forget all the tasty samples that await! Buy merch online in advance and you can pick it up during your visit. Reservations recommended, drop-ins welcome.
• Friday, July 23, 6pm; Saturday, July 24, 1 & 3pm. Our brewery, 5121 N Ravenswood.
• Pinkies up, Steins down! I can say that because I grew up and worked in the North Shore of Chicago, surrounded by lots of raised pinkies, okay? But I digress. We'll be pouring samples in the East Elm business district of Winnetka. And my old employer is right around the corner, too, Awww memories. And now beer. Let's make new beery memories!
• Wednesday, July 28, 5-7pm. Winnetka Wine Shop, 726 Elm Street
• Deutschland uber Ales und Lagers! Gazuntite! Celebration of German beer, food & history presented by the Chicago Beer Society! You can bet it'll be a party. My German descendants settled in Chicago generations ago (when there was farmland in Evanston) AND its my birthday weekend AND I love German-inspired lagers. Sounds like a win-win!
• Saturday, July 31, 1-5pm. Dank Haus German American Cultural Center, 4740 N Western Ave. Buy tickets online.

August

• Great Taste of the Midwest! Popping my Great Taste cherry this year. I know its going to hurt, but hurt in the good way. Plus its in Madison, home of the Dugg. 
• Saturday, August 14, 1-6pm. Olin-Turville Park, Madison, WI. Mailorder tickets are sold out.
• Oak Park Microbrew Review! Hang out in downtown Oak Park, enjoy live music and lots of tasty craft beer. The event strives to be zero-waste and focus on "local food components" (I'll turn a blind eye to the TGI Fridays/Chilis that was there in 2009). This was a great drunk fest last year, here's hoping for another one.
• Saturday, August 15, 3-7pm (VIP event 1:30-3pm). Marion Street btw North Blvd & Lake. Buy tickets online.

September

• AleFest is September 11.
• Great Lakes Brew Fest is September 18.
• 3rd Annual Brew Not Bombs is September 19.
• 4th Annual FestivAle, benefitting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, is September 24.

Wow that list is way longer than I expected and will probably only grow!

Spread the word. Bring your friends. Enjoy craft beer. Support Metropolitan Brewing!

Related: 

Metropolitan Brewing Events google Calendar

GDI: God Damn Independent.

Chicago Craft Beer Week with Metropolitan Brewing

Hello and welcome to the first annual Chicago Craft Beer Week! *cheers* You will find events all over the city (and suburbs) celebrating the finer things in life like delicious beer, food paired with delicious beer and other beery things that are beyond your wildest dreams (that last bit is open to interpretation).

Now many events eature beer that isn't even from the Midwest and I'm the type of douchebag who thinks we should support local independently-owned businesses. So I hope you hit the pavement and make an effort to go out and show some love to Flossmoor, Two Brothers, Half Acre, Revolution, Piece and the rest. There is so much fresh beer to be had it makes my head spin!

But being Craft Beer's Obsequious Minion #3, I'll be at all the Metropolitan events with Doug & Tracy (Minions #1 & #2, they can fight over who's #1). So come one, come all! Here's the lowdown on all our free events:

• Tonight: 
• Kick-off party at the Map Room with the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild (ICBG). Our Krankshaft is on tap, along with lots of other tasty beverages (which is to be expected). This is my local beer bar so I really have no excuse to not go (except for working at 5am tomorrow). 
• Other top picks: The party at Marion Street Cheese Market in Oak Park sounds exceptional if you're in that neck of the woods. Midwestern cheese & beer pairings! Or the Goose Island Brewmasters dinner at Longman & Eagle sounds mighty fine!
• Tuesday:  
• Long production day, we didn't schedule anything. My night "off" from CCBW will be spent in Logan Square for our weekly "Treme Tuesday." My friend Mo is experimenting with Cajun dishes and has yet to disappoint!
• Other top picks: Spring Beer-B-Que at Flossmoor sounds really good! As does the Symposium Ale Beer dinner at Marion Street Cheese Market. And it'd cool to check out the Rock Bottom open House and say hello to their new award-winning brewer Chris Rafferty, who was previously at RB in Arlington, VA.
• Wednesday:  
• Tapping an IPL at Fizz at 3220 N Lincoln, 8pm. The main event: uber-small batch using German Hallertau hops for all three hop additions. And Fizz is offering $4 Metro bottles so no excuse to drink piss water MillerBud products, okay?
• Other top picks: You can't go wrong with the Rare Chicago Beer Night at SmallBar Fullerton (presented by Beermapping.com and HopCast), I mean this is Chicago Craft Beer Week, is it not? 
• Thursday:
• Neighbor Night! Metropolitan & Half Acre Firkin Tapping at The Fountainhead (Montrose/Damen), 8pm. We'll be offering a ginger-infused alt. The really exciting part is that this could be absolutely delightful or it might be a giant fail. But that's what makes it fun! Half Acre's contribution is an Extra Dry Hopped Daisy Cutter Pale Ale. That's a mouthful. Anyways, I just hope the rooftop deck is open! Party time!
• Other top picks: I think our event is *the* top pick that night but being a lover of the liquor, I'd say the Goose island Cocktail Party offers a damn good bang for the buck ($25 ticket).
• Friday:
• An evening with Metropolitan at The Bavarian Lodge (1800 Ogden Ave, Lisle), 7pm. We're hitting the road to join our friends at the BL for a night of beer, German food & trivia (with prizes!). Tracy & Doug love this place and it will be my first trip so I'm super psyched. They will have all our beers on tap, including the last of the Generator Doppelbock (my favorite).
• Other top picks: I don't see anything on the CCBW website that tickles my fancy. Surprising.
• Saturday:
• Not our event but our good friends at the Drinking & Writing Brewery bring you the 4th Annual Beerfly Alleyfight at Rock Bottom (Grand/State), 12-4pm. Its the best of all worlds: homebrew paired with homemade food paired with performance art. You have to buy tickets for this one but $30 will get you drunk, stuffed and laughing your ass off.
• CCBW Closing Party at Half Acre should be loads of fun. This is a ticketed event and includes lots of Illinois Beer and food from Revolution. Nom nom nom!

So that's it. I realize I'm missing stuff from Revolution and Piece so forgive me but they didn't submit any of their events to the CCBW online calender. 'Tis a shame because I'm sure there's lots happening in those tasty brewpubs.

Time for me to sign off and go enjoy some Chicago beer! Probst!

Soundtrack for packaging day @ Metropolitan Brewing

I actually kept track of what I played today. Thought it would be a fun little series, tracking all the randomness, letting you see how outdated my collection is. It can be a tough job, considering the group has varying musical tastes. I pretty much know what Doug & Tracy like, but am still feeling out our volunteers Mark & Brandon.

TV on the Radio (set-up, start bottling)
Sixto (one of my favorite albums, good guitars, dark yet energetic)
Spoon (catchy, poppy, sing-a-long for me)
Rage Against the Machine (before/after/during lunch)
Bowie (post-lunch classicness)
Black Sabbath (early metal to keep us focused)
Q and Not U (switch back to old dancy indie pop)
LIARS (trying to keep energy up as we finish packaging the last of the beer!)
Explosions in the Sky (clean-up)

You can't throw a rock & not find Metro

It's been awhile since I've perused the customer information provided by our distributor (Windy City) and, golly, how awesome to see who has picked us up in the last month or two. The list is always growing and there are 100s of bars, restaurants and stores in the city and suburbs that support us. Here are a few newer places that piqued my interest:

• Nightwood: the much-talked about sibling to Logan Square's Lula Cafe
• Publican: Meat. And serious beer. And communal eating. And Paul Kahan.
• Scoozi: A tasty Italian Let Us Entertain You Restaurant. Nice to see.
• Streetside: where I go on Monday's for 25 cent wings!
• Rossi's: my favorite dive when I find myself in River North/downtown
• Half Acre, Goose Island (Clybourn) & Rock Bottom: our fellow crafts people have us on tap! Nice!
• Elysian Hotel: one of the newest, swankiest Gold Coast hotels!
• And the list goes on...

Plus we cannot forget the most excellent (and limited) Generator Doppelbock, available only on draft. Here's the latest:

The Bank Restaurant, 121 W Front St, Wheaton Black Rock Pub, 3614 N. Damen, Chicago Charlie's Ale House, 5308 N. Clark, Chicago Fitzgerald's, 6615 W. Roosevelt, Berwyn Hackney's, 733 S. Dearborn, Chicago Hopleaf, 5148 N. Clark, Chicago Jerry's Sandwiches, 1938 W. Division, Chicago Map Room 1949 N. Hoyne, Chicago Marion Street Cheese Market, 100 S. Marion Street, Oak Park Paddy Long's, 1028 W. Diversey, Chicago Poag Mahone's, 333 S Wells St, Chicago Small Bar, 2049 W. Division, Chicago Smoke Daddy, 1804 W. Division, Chicago Tavern, 519 N. Milwaukee Ave, Libertyville Uncommon Ground, 1401-1405 W. Devon, Chicago

Love how I can walk to Small Bar, Smoke Daddy, Jerry's or the Map Room for some of that delicious 8.2% doppelbock. Finally Metro is making its way south to my neck of the woods! But that doesn't change the fact that I live five miles from the brewery, my part-time home. Related links: Off-premise Google Map, On-premise Google Map, Metro's website