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Happy Cinco everyone!
Cinco De Mayo celebrates Mexico’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. People celebrate with festivals, parties, dancing, and more! There’s a good chance you’re going to a Cinco De Mayo party this year with friends. What should you bring besides a good vibe? Well, these beverages below will guarantee to be a hit with the crowd, and make it your best Cinco De Mayo party yet.
In honor of Earth Month , we at Lakeshore Beverage want to celebrate the beverages that do more than just satiate our palates and do some good for the environment around us! One such beer helping out the cause all year long is a collaboration between Oregon based brewery Deschutes and Patagonia named Kernza Lager. What makes this super beer so special for the earth? Well, it’s due to its namesake grain, Kernza.
Kernza is a soil-saving, carbon-capturing, perennial grain. it helps prevent soil from being eroded and helps preserve biodiversity and waterways – making it a favorable grain to use when helping the environment.Kernza Lager also uses organic ingredients and uses innovative brewing technologies to create a one-of-a-kind beer that truly has the environment in mind.
Deschutes x Patagonia Kernza Lager comes in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties so you can enjoy this revolutionary beer any way you want at any time. Click below to find Kernza Lager in your area. And remember that beer isn’t just environmentally conscious, it is a great beer to celebrate and kick back with yourself or with friends, Celebrate Earth Month this year with a truly eco-conscious Kernza Lager.
Click here to read more on Deschutes’ Kernza. Happy Earth Month!
As we prepare to celebrate fathers everywhere this weekend, you have probably seen plenty of advertisements for things dads like. Even though every father is unique, it seems like marketers pretty much have dads zeroed in on what they want to be gifted or buy during this season. As a new father myself, I catch myself browsing these Father’s Day ads a lot longer than I had in the past. Checking the BTUs on that new grill, debating if I do need that extra cutting width while mowing, wondering if I can convince my wife that this swing trainer is what will finally fix my slice.
That got me thinking about all the dad stereotypes I swore I would never become and that’s when I realized the clown nose I was wearing. I can’t pinpoint when it happened but I think all fathers out there may have experienced something similar at some point after having children. Some traits seem universal for fathers – our sneezes get louder, we get a sixth sense for thermostat manipulation, and everyone seems to leave the lights on around you – but some dads specialize into very specific types of dads. So for the next few minutes, let’s delve into these specific types of dads, find out which of our products best encapsulate them, and maybe pick around the minds of some of our team members that are living examples of them.
Throwing a baseball around with your dad is as American and wholesome as having an apple pie during the Fourth of July. Sharing a love for America’s favorite pastime is a great way to form a bond with your children and even more so if your children want to play it. Youth athletics is a lot of work for parents – driving to practices and games, the cost of equipment, all the fees and dues – but all of it seems worth it when you can watch your child out there giving their best effort and developing their skills.
Baseball Dads are unique because after working all day, they are happy to haul their kids’ equipment, keep track of their stats, cheer them on, and sometimes even “advocate” for their kids due to visually impaired officials. These dads often pass on their competitive spirit and take great pride in their children. I am sure General Sales Manager Scott is amazingly proud of his son as he watched him go from little league to playing Division 1 baseball for Ball State University. Dads like Scott are a classic dad archetype that is as timeless and withstanding as the beer I think represents Baseball Dads – Budweiser. As the Official Beer of the Cubs as well, it’s a perfect beer to celebrate Baseball Dads.
Do you know a dad that can throw down when it comes to creating a feast? The house you want to go to for cookouts and dinners because you know that they’ll always have something new, exciting, trendy, or all of the above? If you don’t, you really should try to make friends with a Gourmand Dad. Brand Manager Tony loves to cook – especially with his daughters. Cooking together is a great way to learn about safety, tool use, and the importance of cleanliness. Breakfast pancakes and Belgian waffles are their speciality but they also enjoy making a nice Sunday pasta dinner with their homemade sauces. Tony and his daughters have also started creating their own spice blends.
Tony gets great satisfaction in watching his girls experience new flavors and foods and watching them turn simple ingredients into gourmet meals. That is why a great beer for food pairing represents Gourmand Dads, especially one that can be served in a fancy chalice or straight out of the bottle. After creating a delicious meal in a hot kitchen, an ice cold Stella Artois is the perfect beer to bring over to the dinner table.
Eating a great meal is amazing but as we dads get older, we also have to remember that our metabolism isn’t the same as it used to be. Many of us will settle into that classic dad-bod shape but there are some dads that make it a priority to keep fit. Brand Manager Eric is a great example of an active dad and he likes to impart the importance of physical fitness to his son by spending a lot of time outdoors with him. Sharing in the beauty of nature while keeping an active lifestyle is a great way to spend time with your kids and can set them up for a lifetime of good exercise habits and an appreciation for nature.
Eric enjoys biking with his son and camping whenever possible. Eric and his son have hiked all across the country in places like Red River Gorge, Tonto National Forest, and even at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I am sure they have many more trails to conquer together. When it comes to living an active lifestyle while enjoying a beer, Michelob Ultra is the obvious choice for the Outdoors Dad.
I spent most of my middle school years locked in my room trying to maximize my KPMs and ward off ling rushes with expert probe micro. If that means absolutely nothing to you, you may be my dad. My dad was definitely not a Gamer Dad but fortunately for kids growing up now, there are far more fathers who know their way around a controller. Gaming can be a great way to bond with kids, especially when you can share the games you grew up with with your children. Ray, with his impressive collection of retro video games and hardware, is well equipped to show his kids what it was like to game in virtually every decade.
From Pong to the latest gaming craze, sharing a part of your childhood while learning about what your kids are playing can bridge a gap through a mutual love of tech and games. Those late night gaming sessions can be quite exhausting though and that is why I think Ghost Energy is a great drink that captures the essence of what it’s like to be a Gamer Dad.
The ultimate dad sport – golf. It seems like most fathers get into golf at one point or another and its popularity doesn’t seem to be slowing down. It’s a great game to learn self discipline, consistency, and that things don’t always go according to your plans. Our President, Mike, has been golfing since he was 12 years old, working at a golf course, and playing for his high school team. He passed on the love of the game to his two daughters, Paige and Kelli and even brought in a son-in-law with a single digit handicap to the fold.
While many think it’s a way for dad’s to get away for a few hours, it has become more common to see fathers out on the course with young children enjoying the scenic views, learning their swings, and just bonding over a game impossible to master. I didn’t start golfing until much later but now it’s something my father and I enjoy doing together whenever possible. A cocktail synonymous with golf, the Transfusion from Cutwater, perfectly sums up a Golf Dad – always found on the course, a little sweet, and surprisingly strong.
New fathers happen every day and Lakeshore Beverage has our fair share. Even with lots of preparation, it certainly isn’t easy.
Some of Lakeshore’s Newest Fathers
So on a great day such as this, we here at Lakeshore Beverage would like to raise our Easy to Enjoy Bud Lights to fathers everywhere. Happy Father’s Day!
Memorial Day weekend is upon us and I think we’re all looking forward to that extended weekend to spend with friends and family. Memorial Day gatherings are one of the best days to light up our grills and satisfy that primal part of us that craves that char and sear. For many, it’s probably the first party or occasion to bring the grills back out and when you’re going to christen it for the first time this season, it should be something special, don’t you think? Don’t get me wrong, I love my hotdogs, burgers, and steaks as much as the next person but it’s Memorial Day! That is why, this year, I decided to step outside the box and ask our Lakeshore Beverage staff if they grill anything other than the typical grill faire – check out below to see what some of the delicious responses were!
Chicken Satay is an incredibly delicious and fun way to enjoy grilled chicken. This skewered chicken dish can be made in a variety of ways with different cuts and flavors but the way we made it this year is in a Thai style using a peanut sauce marinade. The skewers are not technically necessary since we’re cooking over a grate but the presentation and ease of eating make it worth the little extra effort – just watch out for that sharp end (from personal experience). The Southeast Asian flavors of this dish are wonderfully complimented by Kona Big Wave. The beer enhances the subtle sweetness of the marinade and balances the earthy peanut flavors. Since the pieces are smaller, they cook fairly quickly; making them a great appetizer course with that extra wow factor in the presentation. A couple of skewers served with rice, like pictured, is also a quick and easy meal to throw together if the skewers are ready to go in the fridge.
Pizza on the grill? There are a lot of strong opinions on pizzas across not just Chicago, but all around the world. So when you see that there are some people who like to grill their pizzas, it might raise some eyebrows. I was a skeptic at first but I have seen many restaurants serve grilled flatbreads that are almost like a pizza. It took a little trial and error but I think I was able to successfully make a pizza on the grill that I would honestly enjoy again. The slight smokiness the grill imparts into this pizza makes it feel like it was made in a blazing pizza oven but the char from the grill grates imparts a unique flavor. Using a low flame on one side while using the empty side to adjust the temperature, it made a pizza that got the dough nicely baked while keeping the toppings from scorching. I think this is a great way to cook a pizza if you’re looking to keep it bright and fresh with the toppings. This pizza was a more Scicillian-style dough with cremini mushrooms, green peppers, and artichoke hearts and I loved the way it turned out. The mushrooms were still plump and the artichoke didn’t char to ashes like when I use my pizza oven. The many different combinations you can make can appeal to all guests – especially for vegetarians or vegans who also want to enjoy the ambiance and festivities of a grill day. Since I kept the toppings light and healthier, I felt compelled to have a Michelob Ultra with it. Pizza and Michelob Ultra are a great combo and for a midday beer to start the party, Michelob Ultra is a great way to start Memorial Day.
For most, chicken or beef are the go-to proteins for grilling but in many parts of the world, goat and lamb are much more common. I really enjoy lamb but I seem to forget about it most of the year except during Easter. The only place I consistently see lamb and goat dishes are at Indo-Pak restaurants and I usually gravitate towards the tandoori section of the menu. Unfortunately, I don’t own a tandoor oven but it can be closely replicated using your grill. The most important aspect of making Tandoori Lamb Chops is the marinade. Using a tandoori marinade, I was able to grill up these amazing lamb chops that I could be fooled into thinking was from my favorite Indian restaurants. Served with some naan and a mint cilantro chutney, the flavors were out of this world. I usually enjoy my Indian food with mango lassis and I just happened to know that Cutwater makes an amazing mango margarita. In the hot sun while eating hot dishes, a cold Cutwater Mango Margarita was just a perfect splash of flavors.
This dish wasn’t from the questionnaire but something that I grew up with and wanted to share with you all – Marinated Kalbi. This cut of beef was incredibly rare to find in the past outside of Korean supermarkets because it was cut in a way most butcher’s wouldn’t cut beef short rib. This flanken cut or “LA-style” cut of beef lets the marinade penetrate in the entire piece of meat leaving you with an incredibly flavorful bite every time. Usually with three bones in each piece, they can be cut after cooking into single bone slabs of beef that is fun to eat directly with your hands. Each bone has a little bit of tougher meat attached directly to the bone that I used to hate as a child but now happens to be one of my favorite aspects of this dish. Marinated Kalbi is also great on the standard grill – I actually prefer it compared to using a smaller Korean-style burner. It can be quite labor intensive to prepare a lot of it so don’t feel like you’re not getting the full experience buying pre-marinaded kalbi at the store because either way, it’s going to taste delicious. You can eat just the beef by itself or you can have it with some rice and kimchi like I did here. The beef is so flavorful and complex that I usually don’t pair it with complex drinks. I prefer to go with something smooth, crisp, and easy drinking – all of which describes Bud Light to the letter.
Even before writing this, I knew exactly what grilled food I wanted to end this blog with. It is the old reliable bratwurst which might seem just as common as the steaks, hotdogs, and burgers I mentioned in the beginning but I beg to differ. It’s a unique German cuisine that has become wildly popular in the US, especially in the Midwest. For me, a brat is the thing you grill at the end of the day. When all the other guests have left and your closet friends and family are still hanging out. When the bonfire is on and you’re feeling just a little hungry but not for a full meal again. Sure, we could pull out the leftovers from earlier in the day but then you have to reheat it all and we’re probably running low on all the sides by now. But you can just fire up the grill one last time, throw a few brats on, pull out the buns and a little mustard, and crack open that Goose Island 312 with the friends you had your first 312 with. It’s the perfect way to end a great Memorial Day weekend.
It’s beginning to actually feel like winter in Chicagoland now and when the chilly temperatures arrive, that means it’s time to break out the winter warmers! Here are five beers from local breweries that I usually keep on hand to enjoy while getting the feeling back in my fingers after clearing snow.
Alter Brewing Company’s Swedda Wedda is not only fun to say – it’s really fun to drink too! Even at 6.0% ABV, you can usually start feeling the warmth pretty quickly. As an oatmeal stout, the layers of complexity really mask the higher ABV. With notes of chocolate, coffee, toffee, and vanilla, this smooth and creamy stout usually satisfies my craving for a hot chocolate.
Moody Tongue Winter Ale can only be found on draught but I think you’ll really enjoy it if you happen to be at a bar or restaurant that serves it. This 6.5% ABV Belgian-style dark ale has notes of toffee and candied orange peel along with cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger aromatics. As a Moody Tongue beer, it’s made to be paired with food. They suggest braised short rib, roast leg of lamb, a panettone, or date honey nut cake – anything rich and indulgent can work.
Spiteful Brewing’s Jingle Balls is a winter ale that comes in at 6.7% ABV and is perfect as an afternoon beer. Perfectly spiced with ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon, this winter ale starts off as an amber ale made with Maris Otter malt so you know it’ll have a nice subtle sweetness to it.
Hopewell Brewing Company’s Long Shadows was something I’ve been waiting to crack open for the first substantial snowfall but I couldn’t wait that long. This red-hued Winter IPA is piney and citrusy with a toasty malt backbone. At 7.5% ABV, this IPA is a great pairing for a holiday roast or a beer to end the evening with.
Of course we had to include Goose Island Bourbon County Stout if we’re talking about local winter warmers because every single BCS is a great winter warmer. As the originators of the barrel aging style, their newest 2023 lineup was packed with great collaboration like the Bourbon County Brand Eagle Rare 2-Year Reserve Stout and Angel’s Envy 2-Year Cask Finish Stout but the one I look forward to most every year is their Proprietor’s. It’s usually the most experimental and most out of the box and I really enjoyed this year’s. Unofficially, I’m calling it the BCS Rice Pudding and I think it’s a perfect treat for the holidays. The toasted rice, vanilla custard, dried fruit, and spice flavors make me feel like I’m in a Dickens novel. At 14.3% ABV, it’s going to be a winter heater for some but it’s perfectly toasty for me.
Here’s the warmth scale just because I liked the way it looked. Maybe I’ll make a Winter Warmer Flight out of it!
Chicago’s rich and diverse history has made it a major cultural melting pot for generations. From the earliest settlers to the newest generation, wintertime celebrations are a major part of many cultures. Some of you may not know how your neighbors, friends, or co-workers celebrate but if you are curious to know more, here’s a short list of some of the traditions we here at Lakeshore Beverage celebrate.
Hanukkah is a Jewish festival filled with rich traditions and foods. I am lucky to have grown up in an area that allowed me to have many Jewish friends. I grew up going to Jewish delis and being part of many Jewish holidays and I can honestly say that it’s one of my favorite cuisines. There are many different dishes that come to mind for the holiday such as brisket, matzo ball soup, and gelt but one thing I always look forward to is dessert – especially sufganiyot.
I love baked goods and donuts but the sufganiyot my friend’s grandmother made were out of this world! There are many different fillings for these pastries but the ones I dream of eating are custard filled and fried in schmaltz. These are so decadent that you’d need something that can keep up with their richness. The Espresso Martini from Cutwater (to keep you awake after a huge meal) or a stout from Founders like their Breakfast Stout would be a great pairing for these.
For many, Christmas is something that they look forward to all year. A way for many Christians in the world to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, this holiday has spread all across the globe. The holiday may be called the same thing all around the world but each culture has made the holiday their own by incorporating their culture.
A Polish holiday isn’t a holiday without pierogies and even though they are eaten all year round, this dish is a staple of Christmas in Polish households. As one of the biggest Polish populations in the world, Chicago has some of the most authentic pierogies I’ve ever had in all my travels. Whatever they’re filled with, I make sure I have plenty of crispy onions and butter on top. It goes without saying that pierogies are best paired with Polish beer and one of the best is Okocim. Another combination which might sound strange to you, is pierogies with Guinness – especially if they’re filled with beef.
This musical tradition from Puerto Rico is a popular tradition during Christmas Time that is similar to caroling. The tradition of visiting family and friends to sing is often accompanied with food and drink such as pasteles and coquito. Pasteles are similar to tamales but this masa is made from cassava, yautia, and squash. There are a myriad of fillings in savory or sweet categories but whatever they are filled with, they are delicious! I can’t think of anything better to pair with pasteles and fuel the singing of Aguinaldo music than Medalla Light.
Kwanzaa is celebrated by Black communities over seven days following Christmas. The sixth night of Kwanzaa celebrates the principle of kuumba or creativity. It’s also the night of the Kwanzaa Karamu or feast. Families invite loved ones and friends into their homes to share a meal inspired by the foods of the African Diaspora such as salt fish, red beans, and pigeon peas. There are many different foods that can be incorporated into the meal but the main dish in many homes is a one-pot stew or soup like thieboudienne or a jambalaya. I haven’t had the chance to try thieboudienne, the national dish of Senegal, but I have had jambalaya and I’m sure many of you have too. This flavorful Cajun rice dish is often made with andouille sausage and seafood like mussels and shrimp. These bold flavors need an equally intense drink pairing like an Alaskan Amber Ale. Jambalaya also goes great with a white wine like our 90+ Cellar’s Sauvignon Blanc.
Although most of the world goes by the Gregorian calendar, another major calendar still in use today is the Chinese calendar – used by many Asian countries such as Korea, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam in conjunction with the Gregorian. If you ever wondered why Chinese New Year didn’t line up with January 1st, this is why. Regardless of what calendar you use however, it seems to be a universal human desire to have large celebrations during the winter.
As one of the biggest festivals of the year for those with Chinese ancestry, this celebration has made it all across the globe and is a major holiday in many countries. Even outside of China, the traditions and foods are largely the same. It is a celebration of the upcoming spring and is used as a reunion dinner for many families. The dinner can consist of many courses and different foods but one of the staples for this celebration are dumplings. Especially popular for those who live in or are descendants of the northern region of China, jiaozi (dumplings) symbolize wealth and good fortune because their shape is similar to sycee – a type of gold and silver ingot used as currency in imperial China. By serving them to guests, the host is wishing them prosperity in the upcoming year.
Due to the symbolic nature of certain foods in Chinese culture, jiaozi can fill multiple roles in the meal with what they’re filled with. They can be savory or sweet, but for me, my favorite is a steamed fish jiaozi. I find that most Asian dishes pair very well with lagers and pale ales. I would enjoy a couple helpings of fish jiaozi and a couple pints of Moody Tongue Toasted Rice Lager. Another great choice would be Spiteful’s Alley Time or Alter’s Hopular Kid if you still want a bit of hoppiness.
Many Korean holidays also follow a calendar derived from the Chinese calendar. Seollal is called that because it’s the day everyone in Korea becomes one year older. For those who are confused by that sentence, let me explain. In Korean culture, everyone becomes a year older on the same day regardless of what time of the year you are born. It’s a very quirky tradition that had me very confused growing up but that’s just how it is. Seollal is also a reunion celebration and focuses heavily on showing piety to their elders. It’s also a great day for many Korean children because they are usually gifted with a nice bit of money and many traditional Korean games. The main dish eaten on this day is called tteokguk or rice cake soup. Korean tteok (pronounced like duck), is not the crunchy dieter’s bane kind of rice cake – it is a soft and chewy rice cake more similar to mochi. The traditional way to make this soup is with a beef based broth filled with thinly sliced rice cake and beef slices. Similarly to Chinese jiaozi, the thinly sliced rice cake looks very much like a traditional Korean currency called yeopjeon and symbolize wealth in the upcoming year.
The broth is a rich and cloudy white that makes every spoonful a surprise when you bring it up to the surface – and just like the broth, a hazy IPA would be a great pairing for this dish. Goose Island’s Hazy Beer Hug or Hopewell’s Lightbeam are a great compliment to this rich beef soup. Stone’s Hazy IPA would also be a great choice.
I have been very fortunate to grow up in Chicagoland and the multitude of cultures living so closely together. Because my Korean celebrations didn’t line up with many of my friends growing up, I was always free to spend the holidays with them. One of my most vivid memories was getting invited to New Year’s with my friend Conrad because I had never eaten something like I was served before. Shuba or dressed herring is one of the most popular New Year’s dishes in Ukraine. If you haven’t had or seen this dish before, it is a sight to behold! It is a multilayered salad (salad as in egg or potato salad, not like a Caesar or niçoise) that symbolizes the winter coats many in Ukraine use.
I had never had herring before (it’s one of my favorite snacks now) and I couldn’t stop staring at how brightly purple it was from the beets. It’s a unique taste because of the combination of eggs, mayonnaise, herring, carrots, beets, and potatoes. It wasn’t long before I went in for seconds (and thirds). It’s a deliciously rich and salty dish that needs a beer that can compliment its strong flavors. An IPA would pair nicely with how strong the flavors are – some of my top choices for this would be a Fresh Squeezed from Deschutes or a Furious from Surly. Another way we can go with this would be for a nice mouthfeel and perceived sweetness from a hefeweizen like Buckledown’s Party Pillow.
I love eating tamales all throughout the year but it holds a lot of cultural significance for Mexicans and Mexican-Americans on New Year’s Day. It is said that the golden color of the corn masa symbolizes wealth and the laborious aspect of making tamales represents unity since it usually involves a lot of family members to make the large batches. I don’t want to brag but I am quite the tamalero (tamale-maker) after spending many long hours helping make them in the past. Fresh and homemade tamales are so different from the frozen ones I’ve had before I tried handmade ones. I always thought the fillings were the most important but it really is the masa that makes it. My favorite type of tamale is pork and I think it goes without saying that a Mexican lager is probably a perfect pairing for tamales. Estrella Jalisco is a perfect choice for this dish. If you want to spice it up even more, Estrella Micheladas like the Mango or Chamoy can really kick up the complexity. And if you are a fan of pairing with cocktails, a Paloma like Salucita is a bright and citrusy cocktail that will help cut through the richness of the tamale.
There are so many different cultures that have unique winter celebrations and the traditions listed above are just a small sample of what our great city celebrates. If you have a great food and drink combination that you believe must be shared, please feel free to share them so we can try!