Distributor Locations
Walking down Lincoln Park’s Webster Avenue, it may take some by surprise that amidst the upscale shops and homes is a haven for both metal and beer lovers alike: Local Option Bierwerker. Alexi Front, who serves as Local Option’s communications director, brewer, bartender, and anything-else-that-needs-to-be-done guy, has been into metal music since he was a kid and is an integral part of Chicago’s scene. He’s also the force behind Chicago’s first Scorched Tundra Music Festival, a metal festival bringing in acts from around the world to play at The Empty Bottle this weekend.
We celebrate craft beer in Chicago every day but that doesn’t prevent us from getting excited when Chicago Craft Beer Week rolls around. This year we sent Matt Tanaka, our blogger and beer traveller out into the city to liveblog his way through all 11 days of #CCBW. He drank fantastic beer, ate tasty food and spent time with people from every corner of the Chicago craft beer scene — and brought his camera with him as he did so.
Check out this video we put together of some of the highlights and then see our favorite photos below.
Music: "Rob Myself" by Mooner
Every time I see Local Option Bierwerker’s Tony Russomanno he asks me one thing, “Tanaka! How’s your metal?”
Today is no exception.
I’m sitting across the bar from Tony and Local Option’s Brand Ambassador Alexi Front to taste their newest bottle release, Exorcist, and learn more about what might be the most metal brewery in America.