Oktoberfest TODAY plus a triple-shot of Oktoberfest 8 with Brian Eichhorn, Chuck McCoun and Noel Wessely

Oktoberfest is here! Folks are busy getting the VFW ready (I myself will head down as soon as I post this) and in a few hours the taps will start pouring. Hope you already ordered your tickets because we've sold out YET AGAIN! Thanks to everybody for their support!

To get you in the Oktoberfest spirit, we've got three brewers to profile for our final edition of Die Oktoberfest 8(I meant to save one for today, but discovered two others in by inbox that I had previously missed). But enough excuses... let's see what Brian Eichhorn, Chuck McCoun and Noel Wessely have to say!

1. Where do you live and what do you do (when you're not brewing, of course)?

BE: I live at Irving Park Road and California (South of Devon though!) and work in Insurance in the real world.

CM: Canaryville, the ugly step-child of the 11th Ward. Master Carpenter/ Handyman, if I can't fix it, it's broke!

NW: I live at 36th & Halsted and I'm a metallurgist at a local forge.

2. How long have you been in HOPS!?

BE: I joined hops this past spring after meeting some of the members at Rock Bottom and judging a couple of comps with them.

CM: Almost 1 year.

NW: Joined HOPS in November 2009.

3. What got you into homebrewing?

BE: I started homebrewing as the next logical progression after exhausting myself and my wallet chasing down every craft beer I could get my hands on. Started all grain from the beginning and never looked back.

CM: My friend Nada got me into brewing back in 1990 in Oakland CA. Her future husband had all the equipment we needed to get started and was not using it, so we did.

NW: My brewing buddy, Patrick, asked me if I wanted to brew beer. Being unemployed at the time and having nothing else better to do, I figured why not?

4. What did you brew for Oktoberfest this year and why should people try it?

BE: I brewed a multi-grain saison & Biere de Garde for Oktoberfest and people should drink it because it will make you happy.

CM: I brewed 2 beers for Oktoberfest. Canaryville Creme Ale and Bronzville Black IPA.

The Creme Ale has been my go to party beer this summer because it's cheap and quick to produce, plus it taste awesome! The Black IPA or Cascadian Ale is a beer I brewed just for the Oktoberfest because I wanted to do something unique that people may not have tried before.

NW: Patrick and I brewed our latest American pale ale, which placed 3rd in its flight recently in Mundelein this past Independence Day weekend. We'll also have our spiced apple ale, a refreshing, yet warming, autumnal seasonal which will be perfect for this year's Oktoberfest, regardless of the weather. Everyone should try our beers out because we love brewing beer for others.

5. What's the weirdest ingredient you've ever used in a beer?

BE: Nothing really weird has been used in any of my beers aside from Piloncillo (raw Mexican Sugar) and orange peel.

CM: Last Fall my former brew partner, Bryan (R.I.P.) and I decided to use pumpkins as a mash tun (pumptunkin) and as fermenters (Fermunkins; see picture above--Bryan's on the left, Chuck's on the right). We used a Irish Red Ale recipe. As un-sanitary as this sounds the beer came out awesome!

NW: Nutmeg's probably been the weirdest thing I've used so far.

6. What do you like to listen to while you brew?

BE: I tend to listen to NPR when I brew. Usually, This American Life is on or Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me! If not, I tend to listen to whatever is on XRT.

CM: Black Metal or Hardcore Punk!

NW: Metal. But I also listen to that when I'm not brewing.

7. What's your favorite local beer?

BE: Asking what my favorite local beer is like asking which kid I like the best. Though my first love was Alpha King...

CM: Bells Two Hearted Ale.

NW: I'd say it's a tie between Three Floyd's Alpha King and Half Acre's Daisy Cutter.

8. If I put you on a charter plane that would take you anywhere in the world to drink for 24 hours, where would you go and why?

BE: I'd go to Franconia in Northeast Bavaria. It is one of the last bastions of the rustic German beers, from Rauchbier to Landbier. Every town has a brewery and every brewery has a town.

CM: Munich's Oktoberfest! Why? Because it's Munich's Oktoberfest!

NW: California. I really like hops.

Thanks to Brian, Chuck and Noel for taking the time to answer our questions. And now, on to Oktoberfest!!!

Die Oktoberfest 8: Matt Mayes

A mere 48 hours from now we'll be cleaning up from the HOPS! Oktoberfest fundraiser (this Saturday, Sept. 25th--more info, including how to get tickets, here). But before that we'll have enjoyed well over fifty beers, including one from the subject of today's Oktoberfest 8, Matt Mayes. Here's what Matt had to say in response to our eight questions:

1. Where do you live and what do you do (when you're not brewing, of course)?

I live in Humboldt Park (er, "West Bucktown") in Chicago.

2. How long have you been in HOPS!?

This is my first year in HOPS!

3. What got you into homebrewing?

My wife Meg bought me a Coopers beer kit, and while the beer wasn't so great an obsession was growing.

4. What did you brew for Oktoberfest this year and why should people try it?

I plan on bringing a Schwarzbier, an IPA and maybe a Pale Ale too. You should try them because you'll need something tasty to wash down all the delicious food being served :)

5. What's the weirdest ingredient you've ever used in a beer?

Grains of Paradise - not too weird, they add a peppery/lavender-like flavor to the beer. They're from Africa, where people chew them because it makes them feel cooler in the hot weather.

6. What do you like to listen to while you brew?

I'll listen to anything from Jazz to Iron Maiden. One time I brewed a beer for a friend who played in a band, and I played his CD the entire time for inspiration. The beer became one of our house brews, but the band broke up - whatever that means. ;)

7. What's your favorite local beer?

That's a tough one. My favorite one-off has been Shewolf by Half Acre/Three Floyds - but my go-to beer tends to be GI's IPA (I have a hop-tooth).

8. If I put you on a charter plane that would take you anywhere in the world to drink for 24 hours, where would you go and why?

My gut reaction would be Portland, I was there once and loved it, and didn't get to try everything I wanted to. Incredible food as well. But I would also love to go to some off-the-beaten-path places in the Czech Republic, but a day wouldn't cover that. So I'd probably go back to San Diego and drink Pliny all day.

I'm going to go ahead and add that, in addition to being a great brewer, Matt is a great drummer... AND the only drummer I know who can play his brewing equipment. If you want to try any of Matt's beers, purchase your Oktoberfest tickets here. We had less than twenty tickets left as of 6am!

Die Oktoberfest 8: Klavs Dolmer

We're down to less than five days until this year's HOPS! Oktoberfest fundraiser (Saturday, Sept. 25th--more info, including how to get tickets, here) so I better get to our next installment of our pre-Oktoberfest feature, Die Oktoberfest 8. Today we talk with Klavs Dolmer. Here's how Klavs answered our eight questions:

1. Where do you live and what do you do (when you're not brewing, of course)?

I live in Wicker Park, Chicago, and I am a Research Assistant Professor in Biochemistry at UIC.

2. How long have you been in HOPS!?

I have been a HOPS! member for about 5 years, after a few years as a hang-around.

3. What got you into homebrewing?

I had been interested in beer (good beer) for some time, going to beer school at The Map Room and beer academy at Goose Island with my friend Gregg. In 2003, when Gregg's wife's colleague's husband, who was a HOPS! member, was showing Gregg how easy homebrewing was, I tagged along. I brewed my first batch, an American Pale Ale, two weeks later.

4. What did you brew for Oktoberfest this year and why should people try it?

This year, I brewed five beers. I was trying to show some of the differences ingredients make.
I brewed two saisons, using the same malts and yeast, but hopping one with traditional European hops and the other with fruity American hops. I brewed two American wheat ales, and fermented one with an American ale yeast, and the other with a French Saison yeast.
And I brewed an American Pale Ale, because I felt playing around with that recipe (I changed the mash schedule to get more fermentable sugars, and added less (and fewer), but darker caramel malts).

All my beers brewed for this year's Oktoberfest are on the lighter side in color and alcohol, and at the same time fairly hoppy, refreshing and flavorful.

5. What's the weirdest ingredient you've ever used in a beer?

Raisins in a dark, Belgian inspired beer a few years ago. It ages well, but was more "interesting" than "good".

6. What do you like to listen to while you brew?

It changes, but Metallica, Motörhead, and Stevie Ray Vaughan has been on recently.

7. What's your favorite local beer?

That is a difficult question. When grilling, I like to have a bottle of Flywheel or Dynamo (from Metropolitan) in my hand. I like hops, and Half Acre's Daisycutter is a big hit at home, as is Goose Island's IPA. But if my house caught fire, and I could only save one case of beer, it would be some of the aged Goose Bourbon County (brand) Stout. That beer is amazing.

8. If I put you on a charter plane that would take you anywhere in the world to drink for 24 hours, where would you go and why?

To Belgium. Exactly where in Belgium, I don't know for sure, but Brussels would be part of the trip. I am fascinated by the myriad of different beers brewed in Belgium, so 24 hours would probably not be enough...

Thanks to Klavs for taking time to answer our questions. If you want to try any of Klavs's beers, purchase your Oktoberfest tickets here. Tickets are going fast!

Die Oktoberfest 8: Bob McHale

For the second installment of our pre-Oktoberfest feature, Die Oktoberfest 8, we're talking with Bob McHale. Bob's one of the newest members of HOPS!, and I believe he's the first member who actually owns a bar--the Skylark between Bridgeport and East Pilsen. As a reminder, this year's HOPS! Oktoberfest is Saturday, Sept. 25th (more info, including how to get tickets, here). Let's see how Bob handled our eight questions:

1. Where do you live and what do you do (when you're not brewing, of course)?

We live at 37th and Hoyne. I own and operate the Skylark (bar/restaurant) at Cermak and Halsted.

2. How long have you been in HOPS!?

I joined HOPS this past January.

3. What got you into homebrewing?

I started brewing about two years ago after shooting the breeze with the brewmaster-owner of a place called Back Road Brewery
in LaPorte, Indiana. Also, when I bought the building where the Skylark is, I inherited a few cornie kegs and a walk-in cooler.

4. What did you brew for Oktoberfest this year and why should people try it?

For Oktoberfest, I hope to have a keg of American IPA ready. Hope it's drinkable.

5. What's the weirdest ingredient you've ever used in a beer?

The weirdest ingredient I've ever used is orange peel. Not too weird.

6. What do you like to listen to while you brew?

The last time I brewed, I think I was listening to a Steve Dahl podcast.

7. What's your favorite local beer?

My favorite local beers, when you can get it, is Three Floyds Lord Admiral Nelson ESB.

8. If I put you on a charter plane that would take you anywhere in the world to drink for 24 hours, where would you go and why?

Portland, Oregon. Also known as Beervana.

Thanks for stepping away from the bar long enough to answer our questions, Bob! If you want to try Bob's beers, purchase your Oktoberfest tickets here.

Die Oktoberfest 8: Tom Saldana

Today we kick off our pre-Oktoberfest feature, Die Oktoberfest 8. Simply put, we posed eight questions to HOPS! brewers whose creations will be available for sampling at his year's HOPS! Oktoberfest on Saturday, Sept. 25th (more info, including how to get tickets, here). We're excited to start with former HOPS! president Tom Saldana:

1. Where do you live and what do you do (when you're not brewing, of course)?

Bridgeport (non-political side). I am employed by the City of Chicago (Living in Bridgeport and a City Worker??) as the Chief Microbiologist. I make sure that the drinking water is safe to drink.

2. How long have you been in HOPS!?

I have been brewing for 17 years and have been a member of HOPS! for 14 years (1996).

3. What got you into homebrewing?

Old room mate bought me a basic homebrew kit and said we are going to brew. The first batch was an absolute disaster. That sparked my interest. I had to find out why it was a failure. The rest of my beers have been great. I brewed monster beers with big alcohols and hops galore. Currently, I have noticed that I have been becoming more stylistic (sticking to the Style Guidelines). On a side note: I am currently a BJCP Certified Beer Judge. I am a few judgings away from becoming a National Beer Judge.

4. What did you brew for Oktoberfest this year and why should people try it?

I brewed an English IPA and an English Extra Special Bitter (both with Thames Valley yeast). I also have an American Pale Ale ready to go. I brewed lighter style ales to hopefully attract the session beer drinkers. There will be a lot of beer to try at the Oktoberfest party. I want the people who really don't know the big beers to have a quaff-able beer that will not destroy their taste buds or get them inebriated too quickly.

5. What's the weirdest ingredient you've ever used in a beer?

The combination of cranberry and raspberry. The reason why it was weird is because it made my wheat beer taste just like Fruit Loop cereal.

6. What do you like to listen to while you brew?

Either WXRT or my I-pod. If there is a baseball game on, that's what over rules the music.

7. What's your favorite local beer?

Tough question! It is a harder question to answer than picking out your favorite finalist for a Miss Universe contest! I can say this though.... I have been blown away by some of the pump engine beers at the Rock Bottoms ( Downtown and Orland Park), Flossmoor Station and Goose Island! Metropolitan's I - Beam Alt was a favorite too! The Iron Fist Pale Ale at Revolution is mighty tasty!! Favorite local canned beer has to be Daisy Cutter from Half Acre. See what I mean? Too many great beers!

8. If I put you on a charter plane that would take you anywhere in the world to drink for 24 hours, where would you go and why?

That's easy! Vegas Baby! Vegas!! Las Vegas has a pretty good number of breweries : Big Dog's, Tenaya Creek , (the very shady) Ellis Island (behind Bally's), Triple 7's ( Main Street Station), Sin City Brewing, ect. All of them are pretty good. If I'm going to be up for 24 hours... there's no other place I'd like to be!

Sounds great, Tom... I'm getting thirsty already! If you want to try Tom's beers, purchase your Oktoberfest tickets here.

Oktoberfest is just over two weeks away!

Our annual HOPS! Oktoberfest party is just over two weeks away! If you've never been to one of our Oktoberfests, here's what you can expect:

1.) Well over FIFTY handcrafted beers from the award-winning brewers of HOPS!

2.) Additional award-winning beers from local breweries including Flossmoor Station, Goose Island, Gordon Biersch, Half Acre, Metropolitan and Rock Bottom!

3.) Food, food and more food! and...

4.) More Gemütlichkeit than you can shake an Alpenhorn at!

Here are the details... The event is from 2-7pm on Saturday, Sept. 25th at the Bridgeport VFW (conveniently located near the 8 Halsted bus and accessible via the Red and Orange lines). Tickets are $30 each (plus service charge; must be 21+ to enter) and available via Brown Paper Tickets. Keep up on the latest news via our Facebook page. And if you want to see what you missed last year, check out our recap.

To get everybody excited, we'll be doing brewer profiles between now and the event. But hurry up and get your tickets now. Last year's event sold out the day before so don't count on tickets being available at the door!

Beerfly Alleyfight is this Saturday!

What happens when you mix homebrew, food and art? BEERFLY ALLEYFIGHT!

This Saturday the Drinking & Writing Brewery will present its fourth annual Beerfly Alleyfight. In a nutshell, they get ten homebrewers and ask them to brew with some similar base ingredients. Then they're asked to prepare food to pair with the beer. They they're paired with an artist who interprets their pairing. Sound crazy? It is. Sound awesome? It is.

This year nearly half of the brewers are HOPS! members, so go check it out. It's from noon to 4pm on Saturday at the Rock Bottom on State and Grand just north of downtown Chicago. The price of admission includes samples of each pairing as well as performances from each artist. You can buy tickets and get more info here.

For a teaser, you can read about what my wife and I brewed over at my personal blog. If you're too lazy to click on that link, I'll offer you two words as a hint: Cocoa Puffs. You gotta be there!

May meeting May 18th (tomorrow)!

Sorry, I know we've been a little lax with the updates around here lately, but the good news is tomorrow (Tuesday) is our monthly meeting! It's at our usual haunt (the VFW Hall at 32nd and May in Bridgeport) but a new time (sort of)... If you want to sample some homebrew (or have yours sampled/critiqued) please arrive at 7:30 instead of 8pm.

At 8:00 we'll commence with our normal business and get to our monthly tasting. This month it's Doppelbocks and Eisbocks. I've got two traditional German Doppelbocks (Weihenstephaner Korbinian and Ayinger Celebrator), one American take on the Doppelbock (Bell's Consecrator) and two Eisbocks (Kulmbacher Reichelbräu Eisbock and Schneider Aventinus Eisbock--which is a top-fermented, iced Weizenbock and thus not technically an Eisbock according to the BJCP, but it's so good that I promise you won't mind). I've posted some tasting notes for the Celebrator on my personal blog here, and I hope to post tasting notes for the Bell's Consecrator tonight. Hope to see everybody tomorrow!

Meeting Time!

No posts for the March meeting, so let's get to April. This month we will be sampling American Wheat and Rye, BJCP category 6D. This style should have a noticeable wheat or rye aroma and flavor without the clove and banana of a German Hefe or Roggien. Hopping can be low to moderate. Bell's Oberon is a classic example of this style. Although the BJCP also lists Three Floyd's Gumballhead, it's aggressive hopping would most likely be dinged in a competition. But its still an awesome beer. Which examples will we try? Come to the meeting and find out.

Do you extract brew? Have any in a bottle? Bring some for the club only competition. The winning beer will be selected to represent HOPS in an upcoming BJCP contest. All entries will get completed score sheets with feedback from BJCP judges.

As always there will be plenty of homebrew! See you there.

February HOPS Meeting

The next HOPS meeting is Tuesday the 16th at the Bridgeport VFW hall on 32nd and May.

This month we will have the second club only competition of the year, so bring your American Ales. These include BJCP styles 10A American Pale Ale, 10B American Amber Ale and 10C American Brown Ale. These ales generally exhibit higher hopping rates and cleaner yeast character than their European counterparts. Don't fear the hops! This is a great opportunity to have your beer evaluated by certified BJCP judges without spending $7 to enter a competition. Judge volunteers are also welcome. The winning beer will represent HOPS in an upcoming AHA club only contest. Entry fee and shipping paid for by the club.

Style of the Month is Robust Porter. I'll try to get some great classic examples. Rich and roasty brew will be on hand for everyone to sample.

Last meeting was GREAT! Tom Saldana's Northern English Brown was picked as the club's best English Brown. Lots of Old Ale was sampled. Some better than others, depending on your horse blanket threshold. And the most exciting part was all of the homebrew. Some real standouts were brought by both veteran HOPS members and some new faces. We hope to see you there.

Where does Illinois rank in the craft beer world?

There are few things in the beer world that generate more controversy than RateBeer and BeerAdvocate. Some love 'em. Some hate 'em. Some (many?) love one and hate the other. Regardless of your personal feelings, there's no doubt that--much like Pitchfork does for music--these sites can really boost a beer or brewery with their ability to drum up hype.

Every year RateBeer comes out with their annual RateBeer Best list. The excellent site Michigan Beer Buzz recently profiled how Michigan breweries did in the Best competition, both with respect to top beers and top breweries. There's no doubt that Michigan has some awesome breweries, and the results bore that out. However, being the proud Chicagoan that I am, I figured I'd take a look at the results and see how the Land of Lincoln did.

And how did we do? Well... it could have been worse. We've certainly got bragging rights over North Dakota, but we've got a ways to go before we catch up to the likes of Michigan, California and Colorado. In the Best Breweries list, we only came away with three recipients: Goose Island (#26), Flossmoor Station (#75) and Piece Brewpub (#96). As for the Best Beers list, Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout came in at #11, and, well, that's it. The only other Illinois shout-out went to Chicago's own Half Acre, which took fourth-place honors in the American pale ale category of the Best Beers by Style list with its Daisy Cutter.

The good news is that the Chicago beer scene seems to be growing every day. Half Acre is turning out more seasonal/specialty releases. Metropolitan has started rolling out their seasonal offerings. Revolution Brewing just opened its doors (as picture to the right).

However, I think there's one interesting thing to note in reviewing RateBeer's lists. There are some clear style biases that may work against Chicago's beer scene. Seventeen of the twenty top beers in the world are imperial stouts. And while I'm too lazy to count all the rest, most of the top 100 that aren't imperial stouts are either hop bombs, sours, or other "extreme" beers.

Now, we certainly have some innovative brewing going on here in Chicago, but I also think that we have a Midwest vibe here (possibly tied to the German heritage of our old-school breweries?) that turns out incredible session beers. Goose Island's flagship Honker's Ale is incredibly drinkable, and their IPA--one of my favorites--is in the more modest English tradition. Half Acre's two main offerings are its Lager and the aforementioned pale ale. Metro is devoted to German-style lagers (and the occasional German-style ale). Revolution is starting out with its Workingman Mild at 3.5% ABV.

Now I wouldn't be surprised if the beer geek's pendulum of "in" beers swung back towards session beers in the next few years, but until then the Chicago area's breweries may continue to be overlooked. Fortunately, those of us who live here know what great beers we have at our disposal. And if you're looking for a little kick in the teeth, you can still grab a Half Acre Big Hugs or a Two Brothers Hop Juice. It's the best of all worlds here.

Monthly meeting tomorrow!

We'll have our monthly meeting at 8pm tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Bridgeport VFW (32nd and May). Bring yourself; bring a friend; bring a homebrew! The tasting will be Old Ales, so don't miss it. Oh, and if you're curious, the best Old Ale I ever had was a Bell's Third Coast Old Ale that had been cellared for two years. Incredible stuff!

A hot time in Andersonville this weekend!

We may be Homebrewer's Pride of the SOUTHside, but we're certainly willing to head up north when the right opportunity presents itself, and this Saturday is such an opportunity. For starters, at 4pm I highly recommend you head over to Hopleaf for the Drinking & Writing Brewery's "To Cure A Hangover." Those of you who saw "The 12 Steps of Christmas" back and December know how funny these guys are. And as an added bonus, it's at Chicago's Mecca of Belgian beer, Hopleaf. Tickets (available here) are a mere $15, and if you can't make it this Saturday it's just been extended two more Saturdays (January 23 and 30, to be specific).

Later on, Transistor will be hosting "Refrigerator Art," a fundraiser to help local artists Alaric Rocha and Ren Velarde produce "Winter in Louisiana," a film about a prisoner who escapes a Louisiana chain gang with the help of Santa Claus. (I know what you're thinking... hasn't that been done a million times? Yes, but this one has an M. Night Shyamalan twist at the end!) If you've attended either of the last two Beerfly Alleyfights, you should know Ren; he's won best artist two years running! Anyway, $20 gets you drinks from 8-11pm, as well as what promise to be some hilarious short films.

So there you go. If you find yourself sitting at home Saturday night watching reruns of Mama's Family, you've got nobody to blame but yourself.