CHIRP Radio holds its monthly reading series tonight at the Beat Kitchen, and Ameena Matthews of The Interrupters appears on The Colbert Report. Plus, Goose Island's Stout Fest starts soon. more ›

The donation went to the Greater Chicago Food Depository. The Christmas Ale is long gone, but a new highly anticipated brew, their Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout, releases this week. more ›

We like to share the Chicago food love wherever we go. So wherever you may be traveling this holiday season, share all the good stuff made right here in the city. more ›

Seats are already going fast for the Goose Island Beer Pairing Dinner slated for 6:30 p.m. on Friday, December 16. more ›

Head to the fabulous (and covered!) rooftop space at 6 p.m. tonight for a great party. more ›

Learn about Virtue Cider while eating Nicole Pederson's awesome food. more ›

If you haven't bought tickets for the Slow Food Chicago Pig Roast on Sunday, September 11, what is wrong with you? If you love meat, beer, or meat with beer, this is the night for you. Chicago's best chefs are getting together at Goose Island Beer Company for a huge party, with food, drink, live music and dessert. You get a commemorative beer glass - and there's even a vegetarian option! What more could they offer? more ›

When I arrived at the Green City Market BBQ at 4:30 yesterday afternoon, the thermometer had already topped 100 degrees. My shirt soaked through in the first 10 minutes - and my plight was nothing compared to that of the chefs, standing over hot grills. But, that's not what guests to the BBQ will remember. They'll remember the entire Chicago food world, including every restaurant you've ever heard of, standing out there cooking and sweating together, to support an organization we all love. more ›

Is InBev/Anheuser-Busch looking to repeat the success of Goose Island's 312 Urban Wheat Ale by trademarking area codes? more ›

Yesterday, the American Home Brewers Association listed the 50 best beers in America. Everyone loves a list, so of course we started looking for our hometown favorites. This was not a list of only craft beers (according to the site, "The only rule is that the beer has to be commercially available somewhere in the United States") and the poll considered 1306 different brews. It's a reader-driven poll, so feel free to argue with it. more ›

This year, Chef Graham Elliot will be bringing even more great food to Lollapalooza, continuing last year's efforts to improve the offerings at the festival. Elliot's Lolla work was well-received last year and promises to get even better. Eater Chicago reports that new restaurant participants include Saigon Sisters, Sola, The Gage, Henri, Jam and Wao Bow. We're particularly excited about Henri, which will be serving up a "Henri banh mi" and pork rinds with vadouvan curry. more ›

Belgian Style Ale, based on a letter from brewmaster Brett Porter sent yesterday. Unlike most recalls, which are filled with fear, coverups and blame avoidance, this one is suprisingly honest - the batches being recalled simply fell "outside of our desired taste profile," according to Porter. The beer is completely safe to drink, but it's not quite what they want it to be. more ›

Last night's "Beer Under Glass" event kicked off Chicago Craft Beer Week, and rather than point out one lonely little beer today, we thought we'd highlight some of the brews we're most excited about stumbling into over the next few days. There's a lot of events, both official and unofficial, and plenty to keep track of, so here's a short list of some of the brews we want to get in us. more ›

Thrifters, DIY-ers and upcyclers rejoice: the Vintage Bazaar is setting up shop again, this time for a one-day stint in Pilsen. The pop-up flea market, curated and run by Chicago design mavens, Katherine Raz and Libby Alexander, is little more than a year old, but has grown quickly in popularity: last year's summer bazaar at the Congress Theater in Logan Square saw more than 8,000 shoppers browsing vintage furniture, clothing and pretty much any and all neat-looking odds and ends. more ›

We hear about a lot of "summit meetings" in the news - they usually involve world leaders, lots of bowing and attempts to avoid armageddon. Luckily, next week, Chicago will host a much more productive and entertaining summit - a Food Truck Summit. To celebrate her new book, "Food Trucks: Dispatches and Recipes from the Best Kitchens on Wheels," Heather Shouse (Senior Food and Drink Correspondant for Time Out Chicago) is hosting a meeting of the food trucks of Chicago. Do you live in a far-flung neighborhood? Or do you just find it exhausting to track food trucks on twitter? Now is your chance to try all of them in one place. more ›

Goose Island's purchase by inBev/Anheuser-Busch is still stirring some passionate debate. Indeed, it's made national news and, among craft brewers, it was a shot heard 'round the world. more ›

If a tree falls in the forest, did it make a sound? And if a news event doesn't have a fake Twitter account created for it, did it really happen? (Josh Simpson and Dan Sinker, what hath thou wrought?) more ›

Now that the snow drifts have all but melted from bike lanes and paths around the city, spring cycling in Chicago is only a few weeks away (fingers crossed), but you can pick up a new ride this weekend at the Active Transportaton Alliance's Chicago Cycle Swap. more ›

Now that we've gone for the easy, lazy hipster-hating joke in the header, let's dispense with the real news. Pitchfork announced on its venerable, taste-making site the dates for the 2011 version of annual music festival: July 15-17 at the usual bat station, Union Park. Tickets go on sale next Friday, March 4th, and they'll set you back $110 for three-day passes, and $45 for single day passes. more ›

Esquire magazine lists its seven best beer cities in America. Right at the top of the list — Chicago. more ›

If today's Chicagoist Gift Guide just doesn't do it for you, or if you don't see something for the beer geek in your life, consider the beer riches just released moments ago by LUSH Wine & Spirits. For $155, they have raided their cellar and put together a Vertical Tasting collection of Bourbon County Stout from Goose Island, as well as some special bottles as well. more ›

Not to worry, there are plenty of excellent, locally-available alternatives. Of the 10 or so beers we sampled at Lush, we highly recommend Trappist Achel Bruin 8, Picobrowerij Alvinne Melchior and Goose Island Fleur. Because, as we also learned, great Belgian beers don’t always come from Belgium. more ›

I helped brew the Beer of the Summer. If there were no Sai-Shan-Tea, this week's selection, a collaboration between Goose Island and Rick Bayless, would be a strong contender for the crown. more ›

In less than five hours those of you planning on attending the reader meetup this evening will finally be able to taste what I've been writing about for weeks. Yesterday I finally had an opportunity to sample the final, carbonated, dry-hopped Sai-Shan-Tea. To say that it's exceeded my expectations is an understatement. more ›

We hope you've cleared your calendar because tonight's our reader meetup to help Goose Island and Rare Tea Cellar introduce a new beer collaboration. The meetup will feature the premiere of "Sai-Shan-tea," the beer our own Chuck Sudo brewed with Goose Island Clybourn's Jared Rouben and Rodrick Markus of Rare Tea Cellar. We're going to host this meetup at the scene of this tasty, alcohol-fueled crime: Goose Island Clybourn. In addition to "Sai-Shan-Tea," the brewpub's extensive list of fine beers (try some Green Line!) will also be available so there'll be plenty to help keep you happy. And if Facebook invites are your thing, be sure to RSVP here. more ›

It's nice and hot outside so that means it's a good time sit in the air conditioning and enjoy a beer, glorious beer. And tomorrow night will be a great time as we hold our reader meetup and help Goose Island introduce a new beer. The meetup will feature the premiere of "Sai-Shan-tea," the beer our own Chuck Sudo brewed with Goose Island Clybourn's Jared Rouben and Rodrick Markus of Rare Tea Cellar. We're going to host this meetup at the scene of this tasty, alcohol-fueled crime: Goose Island Clybourn. In addition to "Sai-Shan-Tea," the brewpub's extensive list of fine beers will also be available so there'll be plenty to help keep you happy. And if Facebook invites are your thing, be sure to RSVP here. more ›

Before you head off to music fests and movies and wherever else the weekend might take you, be sure to mark your calendar for our reader meet-up next Thursday at Goose Island's Clybourn Pub. We're going to use this reader meetup to premiere "Sai-Shan-tea," the beer our own Chuck Sudo brewed with Goose Island Clybourn's Jared Rouben and Rodrick Markus of Rare Tea Cellar. We're going to host this meetup at the scene of this tasty, alcohol-fueled crime: Goose Island Clybourn. In addition to "Sai-Shan-Tea," the brewpub's extensive list of fine beers will also be available so there'll be plenty to help keep you happy. And if Facebook invites are your thing, be sure to RSVP here. more ›

We're fans of a good dinner paired with beer. Last year, we attended Carnivale's Slow Food and Goose Island Brewery Dinner. This year, we're nudging you to attend the C-House Saison Beer Dinner. The seasonal dinner will include a cocktail reception, three course meal, and variations on a limited-time Goose Island craft beer, C-House Saison, a collaboration between C-House's Nicole Pederson and Goose Island's Jared Rouben. more ›

• Rep. Mike Quigley got a Congressional resolution honoring the Blackhawks passed, though there were five 'no' votes.
• Interesting story from LAist in the wake of our post on the latest Critical Mass mess here: the L.A. Critical Mass group held a ride the LAPD and all went well.
• Mark Kirk, still apologizing.

Since we know that Chicagoans take their beer seriously and, well, why the hell not argue about it a little more, All About Beer has released an article about the 150 best places to drink a beer. A half-dozen or so Chicago joints show up on the rundown and since it sparked a bit of argument around the Chicagoist offices, we thought we'd open the floor to the Peanut Gallery and get your take as well. more ›