Distributor Locations
With Memorial Day approaching we’re sure you’re trying to fill up your beer fridge before the weekend. There’s no better way of doing than heading to our local breweries! Take a look below for updates from Alter, Burnt City, Goose Island and Moody Tongue!
Moody Tongue, opened in 2014 by Jared Rouben, has always had a culinary focus to their beer, but now they can finally bring the food to match! Moody Tongue has just opened their new brewery which is located in the South Loop. Boasting a dining room with a full 12 course tasting menu from Michelin star head chef Jared Wentworth, a separate area for the 26 tap bar and a-la-cart menu and a much expanded brewing space hosting over 300 different barrels for aging and much expanded brewing equipment from the previous location. When asked about when Rouben knew it was time to find a new location he said “We knew we were growing out of the old space when we hit capacity. It got to a point in our business where we ran out of space to put tanks and barrels and we wanted to make more beer and different styles of beer and so we needed a new home. We were fortunate to find a new home that allows us to put in a kitchen and to put chef Jared Wentworths’ skills to great work.”
Since its inception in 1983 as the Kalamazoo Brewing Company, a then home-brew supply store, Bell’s Brewery has become synonymous with American craft beer. They’ve set the bar for innovation by making beers like Oberon in 1992 and Two Hearted Ale in 1997. Today, Bell’s is the 7th largest craft brewer by the Brewer’s Association standards, producing over 400,000 barrels of beer in 2016.
And lucky for us Chicagoans, the brewery is only a two-and-a-half-hour drive (or train ride) from the Loop. We went up to Kalamazoo for the day and sat down with newly appointed Bell’s CEO, Laura Bell, to hear why she loves calling West Michigan home.
Over ten years ago, Upland Brewing Company made one of the best trades of their life: two cases of their beer for four oak wine barrels from nearby Oliver Winery. At the time they were curious about Lambic and old-world Belgian styles of beer; nothing like that was really being made in the United States back then. Little did they know they were embarking upon a completely new brand: Upland Sours. Read More
Most of us have likely been on a brewery tour at some point. They’re fun, give you a chance to learn something new, and oh yeah, there’s beer. Lots of beer. But, as much as it pains me to believe, beer isn’t for everyone. As such, cider continues to grow and carve out its place in the modern craft beverage scene, offering long time beer drinkers something different, and wine drinkers something they can easily relate to. One of the leaders in farmhouse cidermaking is Virtue Cider. Located a quick 2 1/2 hour drive from Chicago in Fennville, MI, Virtue Cider is a perfect trip for those looking to get out of the city for a day or weekend. We were recently able to spend a day up at the farm to get to know the faces behind the cider. Read More
If anything bad can be said about Chicagoans, it’s that we have a tendency to think of the city as the only worthwhile part of the Midwest. Beer Trips (Driveable Craft Beer Destinations) is a blog series about places that are just within our reach. These posts will put you in the passenger seat of Lakeshore Beverage’s blogger and beer traveler, Kevin Schmalandt, as he journeys to nearby craft beer destinations throughout the region.
In the next installment of the series, we take you on a trip to St. Louis, MO to visit Urban Chestnut Brewing Co.