Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink
  3. News

High on Hops: Chicago Beer Festival

Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History is an impressive venue to visit. The heavily columned exterior guards a wealth of the world’s scientific knowledge that stays with guests long after the daily tours have concluded.

Sue, the 42-foot long Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton in the Field Museum’s Main Hall, welcomes over two million visitors a year to view the interactive exhibits, research materials and immersive installations on topics ranging from meteorites to biodiversity and to the lives of indigenous peoples.

Recommended Videos

On March 26, 2016, Sue will also be presiding over the Chicago Beer Festival.

Related Post: The 4 Best Bars in Chicago That You Can’t Get Into

The development of alcoholic beverages, be it wine, beer, mead, or early in-between concoctions has long been heralded as a defining point in cultural and social evolution. Through that lens, the Field Museum of Natural History is the perfect venue for gathering of like-minded enthusiasts to sample beers from some of the world’s most eclectic and highly regarded breweries.

The festival’s museum takeover begins at 7:00 PM on March 26 and lasts until 11:00 PM. VIP ticket holders get the initial hour to themselves, with first pick of the more limited beers. Ales and lagers from at least seventy different breweries will be poured, including beloved Chicago-area brewers like Vice District Brewing Co, Moody Tongue Brewing Co and Half Acre Brewing Co. Spring seasonal releases promise to highlight the festival’s offerings. Attendees will receive 40 tasting vouchers, which should make for a very fine evening indeed.

The Chicago Beer Festival is an advance ticket only affair and entry cannot be purchased at the door. Buy your ticket online now at the Chicago Beer Festival website.


Photo by Connie Ma – Sue, the world’s largest and most complete dinosaur skeleton. CC BY-SA 2.0

Lee Heidel
Lee Heidel is the managing editor of Brew/Drink/Run, a website and podcast that promotes brewing your own beer, consuming the…
Ready-to-drink cocktails to bring the bar experience home
These ready-to-serve drinks will make you feel like you're at a bar instead of your home
Post Meridien

I love a good cocktail bar. The type of place with a mix of classic and contemporary drinks. The kind of establishment where the bartenders are allowed to let their creativity flow, adding different flavors to elevate well-known mixed drinks. But I’m pretty busy with everyday life and don’t always have time to spend an evening drinking contemporary takes on the Old Fashioned or Negroni at a cocktail bar. This is where ready-to-drink cocktails come in. And while there are many overly sugary, low-alcohol options available, some brands make RTDs that taste like my favorite drinks and have the same (or similar alcohol content).

I’ve spent years sampling ready-to-drink cocktails (especially as the category has expanded in recent years), and I’ve found quite a few that you can crack open, pour into a glass, and feel as close to your local cocktail bar as possible without actually leaving the friendly confines of your home.

Read more
This new coffee and hydration bundle gives back to Brazilian farmers
This $50 coffee & hydration bundle is your new summer essential
Equator Coffee

We're right in the heart of the summer -- and this fun seasonal collab from Equator Coffees makes the perfect pairing for those who love coffee (and hydration) as much as I do. The new Golden Hour x Buoy Hydration Bundle, (priced at $50), pairs Equator's Golden Hour blend (bright, fruity notes of orange creamsicle and Rainier cherry) with Buoy's unsweetened hydration drops and a 32oz water bottle featuring original artwork from local SF muralist Rymie. As you build a nice war-weather routine, this bundle helps emphasize the importance of staying hydrated (and caffeinated) all summer long. Even better, 5% of collection sales support youth agricultural education at the farm behind the blend in Brazil.

“Golden Hour is summer in a cup. It’s bright, vibrant, and the kind of coffee I reach for when the days get longer. Pairing it with Buoy hydration drops and a custom Nalgene just made sense to us—great coffee to start your day, hydration to keep you feeling your best, and a bottle you’ll actually want to bring everywhere this summer," says Helen Russell, Co-Founder and Executive Chair.

Read more
The best value single malt whisky from every region of Scotland
Take a tour of Scotland with these gateway whiskies
Aberlour

If you’re new to the world of Scotch whisky, you might just assume that it all tastes the same. Well, not only are there major differences in aroma and flavor between many well-known whiskies, but there are also five distinct regions, and each has its own unique flavor profile. Each region is also home to many value whiskies. Today, I’m going to highlight one from each. But before I get into that, I need to start at the beginning.

When I first started writing about alcohol, Scotch whisky seemed a little overwhelming to me. When I first tasted it, I thought they all tasted the same. That changed when I was given a dram of single malt whisky from The Macallan alongside a dram of single malt whisky from Laphroaig. Boy, was my mind blown.

Read more