Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/532497
Beer Town, USA From a bumper crop of new microbreweries to major industry players and distributors, Chicago has cemented its status as one of the nation's premier destinations for the frothy stuff. By michael austin photography By neil Burger ChiCago has Beer on The Br ain. home to just a handful of brew- eries a decade ago, these days the windy Cit y has become beer "g round zero," with 60 breweries and counting in the city and a whopping 81 more in the suburbs and outlying areas. "it's all about americans' renewed interest in, and love of, gastronomy," explains ray Daniels, founder and director of the Chicago-based Cicerone Certification Program, whose mission is to educate and certify beer profession- als. More than ever, he says, "People are interested in f lavor and good beer." and they're finding it in Chicago, which has become one of the world's great beer cities. From barrel-aged beers made by several breweries and 5 rabbit Cer vecer ía's Lat in-t inged concoct ions to Met ropolit a n's lagers, Forbidden root's bot a nic brews, a nd t he t a ng y hop - cent r ic offer ings of Lagunitas Brewing Company, Chicago-made beers are varied and plentiful. Plus, the city has great beer bars, retail stores, and restaurants with expansive, serious beer lists offering craft brews from around the region, the country, and beyond, along with macrobrews from every corner of the earth. Jason Klein, cofounder of spiteful Brewing, which released its first beers in December 2012, echoes Daniels's belief that Chicagoans' interest in beer stems from our interest in all things culinary. "i think it's just that the city's palate is changing in general," he says. "we were such a macrobrewing town for the longest time. The farm-to-table movement happened, and beer goes hand in hand with that. People expect more, whether it's food or beverage, because the bar has been raised." Chicagoans' passion for beer dates back a century and a half. The city's The cavernous Lagunitas Brewing Company TapRoom offers rare beers and live music from some of Chicago's best roots and blues performers. opposite page: Beer kegs awaiting tapping at Lagunitas. michiganavemag.com 121