Hi Chicago!
Welcome to the best club, beer book club! What is it and how does it work? It’s simple, on some sort of frequency, we gather to enjoy delicious beer, food, and company (no cannibalism allowed)! There’s themes to keep it interesting, and this first theme is pairing. So on to the logistics.
Where is it? Ethan’s apartment. Basically Damen and Division (Wicker Park).
RSVP and I’ll send you the address if you need it as well as a code to get you through the front door. There’s parking nearby, but given we’ll all be drinking, I recommend public transit, Uber, etc. If you have a DD and want parking instructions, I have a super helpful map type thing I can share
What to bring: please bring a sharable quantity of beer, paired with a sharable quantity of whichever snack, food, dessert, Michelin starred deconstructed play on Doritos, etc. Feel free to go as all-out or partially out as you wish. As for specific quantity of beer to bring, it often depends on what sort of beer it is. No need to bring 12 Bourbon County Stouts, 1 (or 2) is usually fine. Sharable quantity (and if it’s a 500ml or 750 bottle, we’ll just do small pours). What ever you bring will be fine, and if you’re in doubt, feel free to bring extra! 🍻
What to expect: It’s a beer tasting/enjoying time. You can taste as much or as little as you’d like, you can select a record (or bring one to spin)(I also have a CD player if your favorite tunes are on CD), and we might all even learn a thing or two!
Should I eat beforehand? Yeah, probably. I’ll provide snacks, and everyone should bring some pairings with their beer, but no one should drink on an empty stomach.
Do I have to read a book?!? (What if that’s difficult for me?): Nope! I have a tasting notebook, and you can bring yours if you’d like. But no book is required. If you are interested in reading a book, I recommend “The Expanse” series as well as the “Aubrey-Maturin” series. These almost certainly won’t come up during our evening*.
What if I don’t want to drink? That’s fine! There’s snacks and fun people! I’ll also be providing some non-alcoholic beverage options (generally a non-caffeinated iced tea, but let me know what you’d like and we’ll make it happen).
Can I bring my partner(s)? Sure! Just let me know they’re coming so I can have a head count (another plug to RSVP)
I don’t know what beer to pick or how to pair that with food ☹️: This is an easy one. Head to your local bottle shop and ask them! Tell them you’re going to a fun beer tasting party and have them do the work, you can pair a beer with another beer/creative option, you can ask me, or another fabulous option is to just bring a beer you like along with a snack you like and insist they’re the best weird pairing we’ve never thought of! You might even start a new trend!
Bottle shop recs:
Liquor Park
The Beer Temple
Your local brewery
Garfield’s/Binny’s (they usually have a ‘person good at beer’ on staff)
Can I bring a cider? ….Get out… 😜 But yeah, that’s totally fine, as is sake, mead, braggot, gruit, or anything else you think is worthy of sharing. I’d be impressed if you find any of those later ones! Please shy away from macro light lagers (i.e. Budweiser, Miller, Yuengling), seltzers, and canned cocktails. Same for malt liquor, though if you want to sit in a corner and drink Hurricane High Gravity, we can all make a fun game out of that and I can share lots of details of how it’s made.
I bake THE BEST sourdough (or make[fill in the blank]): Cool! Bring that!
I have an allergy or some other need: Let me know how I can help/accommodate. There’s lots of gluten free options if that’s something that’s important to you and I’m happy to advise.
I forgot what beer looks like: Don’t worry, there’s some examples below
*Unless you want to talk about The Expanse or the Aubrey-Maturin series…🚀⛵