ML - Michigan Avenue

2015 - Issue 4 - Summer - Art of the City - Hebru Brantley

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!

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wrote more than a decade ago, according to communications director Kim Vavrick. "We've sold-t hrough, a nd t he dema nd is g row ing," says Vavrick. "We know how great our local beers are, and the rest of the world is discovering them, too." Chefs are also discovering Chicago beers. At craft brewery and restaurant DryHop Brewers (3155 N. Broadway, 773-857- 3155; dryhopchicago.com), the house beers both inspire and are used in the food menu (a second location, Corridor Brewery & Prov isions, is in t he works at 344 6 N. Sout hpor t Ave.). Connoisseurs now know that the same rules that apply to wine and food pairings apply to beer and food pairings. You have two options: to complement the f lavors of the food with beer or contrast them—choices that DryHop owner Greg Shuff calls "enhance or cut." "I think a lot of people chase that 'complement or enhance' concept," Shuff continues, "but the further you get into it, the more that cutting becomes a more enjoyable way to experience it. So, for instance, if the beer is really hoppy, you could cut it with either a cream sauce or sugar instead of enhanc- ing it with curry, which is the classic combination: IPA and curry." Known for its hoppy, aromatic West Coast IPAs, Lagunitas Brewing Company (2607 W. 17th St., 773-522- 2097; lagunitas.com) set up shop in Chicago in 2014 and instantly became the state's largest brewery, not to mention one of the country's largest craft brewers. Aurora native Mary Bauer, 32, tapped as head brewer for the Petaluma, California– based company's 300,000-square-foot Lawndale operation, discovered food science while a student at the University of Illinois, and she earned her brewing chops at Anheuser-Busch. Art vs. science: "It's 50-50. Tony Magee, our owner, is a musician, and he talks about how brewing beer is like writing a song: Everything has to work in harmony. You have to be t h e b r e w m a s t e r Mary Bauer creative and see what works best. On the other hand, when things go wrong, you have to know the science behind brewing, too." The best part of the day: "I really enjoy our roundtable because that's where we get to taste all of our beer. We do it every day." Her go-to: "I love IPAs. They're my favorite kinds of beer. I'm definitely working for the right company. I love to smell the different hop aromas and taste the bitterness." Making her mark: "It's a male-dominated industry, and there aren't a lot of girls, but I've had a lot of great mentors. And I work for a company that welcomed me with open arms. My crew treats me as one of their own, and that's all I can ask." A s Dr yHop ex per iences a n i nv igorat i ng expa nsion i n Chicago, Baderbräu Brewing Company prepares for a home- coming of sorts. An early Chicago-area craft beer producer, founded in Elmhurst in 1989, Baderbräu plans to have a new home on the South Loop (2515 S. Wabash Ave.; baderbrau.com) this summer. The facility, in an existing building, will include a brewery, a 4,000 -square-foot taproom, and a retail store. "In the craft-beer world, not having your own brewery makes you a second- cla ss cit izen, a nd it g ives you less cont rol," says Rob Sama, Baderbräu's president, who revived the brand in 2012. "We want our beer to be closer to the community. We want to have a place you can visit, where you can come and meet the people and get to know our products. We also want to make sure the product stays fresh for the local community." The local beer scene is so vibrant in Chicago now that brew- ers often have their own side breweries. Mikerphone Brewing is the side project of Mike Pallen, who released his first two beers on May 1—an IPA called Misty Mountain Hop and a Belgian IPA called One-Hit Wonderful—and will continue to make only two new beers per month. He has the capacity for eight barrels top: Mary Bauer, brewmaster at Lagunitas's 300,000-square-foot Lawndale operation. above: Lagunitas is known for its hoppy, aromatic West Coast IPAs. 124  michiganavemag.com

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