Distributor Locations
Halloween is coming up faster than you know and with all the parties coming up, do you have a costume ready? I know I don’t! So, if you’re a beer or cider lover like us, why not let some of our amazing spooky-themed beers be your costume inspiration this year?
A perennial favorite for peanut butter fans everywhere. The iconic Absence of Light monster from the can will surely draw some attention. Throw on some short horns, put on a brown shirt and make sure you have plenty of peanut butter cups on hand to share.
As the antagonist of one of the greatest horror movies in recent years, this goat could be the GOAT for drink-inspired costumes. Made with real fruit, this blood orange and cranberry hard cider could easily fool some into thinking you’re drinking something much spookier. Find some goat horns and drape yourself in something black with vvhatever you can find!
Darkness is an apt name for a stout this massively opaque! Chocolatey and sweetened even more so with tart cherry and raisin, this beer is balanced by its piney resinous hop character. Every year the packaging is done by a different artist and this year’s eyeball-filled eldritch horror could be too much for some. Grab a pack of self-adhering googly eyes and embrace your inner goth for a quick and easy costume.
A lot of alliteration for Alien Avatar Amber Ale. This smooth and malty beer has a nice hop backbone that should please IPA drinkers. Go retro with an 8-bit themed saucer costume or make it your own by going full Roswell Grey. If you can find it, go with the classic Alien Abduction costume – it brings a smile to my face every year.
All Hallows Treat hopes to rekindle your favorite childhood Halloween memories with the aromas and flavors of dark chocolate, creamy peanut butter, and soft vanilla swirl. This rich and malty beer will have you entranced! The artwork from the can gives you two options – zombie searching for “graaaaaiiins” or the classic white sheet ghost!
A barrel-aged take on a classic German style – this lager is transformed into something out of this world with complex wood and whiskey notes over a soft roastiness. Go check your parent’s attic to see if they kept your costume from your solar system project. Or rush out and find a moon-texture printed tee shirt to pair with this lunar-themed doppelbock.
What is more quintessential to Halloween than a Jack-o-Lantern? Ill Repute is chock full of pumpkin pie aromas and flavors. Built upon complex layers of caramel and chocolate to create an imperial stout, this beer is an ideal pairing for all that Halloween candy! Pumpkin-head masks and costumes are sure to be around but if you’re in a real last minute pinch, a real pumpkin on your head will surely spark some interesting conversations.
Apples and oven roasted pumpkin – yum! This delicious and naturally gluten-free choice might just be what you’re looking for. If you have the face painting or make-up talent, this would be a great chance to break out those reds and oranges. Go half apple, half pumpkin face and watch the confused faces until you break out a pack of Apple Lantern!
Also called “The Patch” – this wild pumpkin ale from no other than Jolly Pumpkin finally broke the streak of no pumpkin beers from this brewery. Fortunately for us, they did make La Parcela and it was worth the wait! This ale is packed with real pumpkins, hints of spice, and a gentle kiss of cacao. I’m going to admit that I’m not familiar with this bat-winged cat but if you have a cat that will put up with it, get a few pictures of them doing their best La Parcela impression. You can always up your cat costume from the past with a pair of wings too.
Are you someone who goes against the trend? Don’t want all those porters and stouts coming out for the fall? Well Duvel 6,66 might be exactly what you want! An easy drinking Belgian blond Ale with 6 refined hop varieties. Keep your summer glow going a little longer and dress up not as a devil but a Duvel – yellow jumpsuit and some tiny yellow horns will have you feeling lively and zesty just like the beer itself!
The entire Beer Hug series from Goose Island has been flying off the shelves this year. From Hazy, Neon, and Tropical, these local Chicago IPAs are perfect for any Halloween party. Throw on those big shades or go all out with a bear costume and make sure to bring a pack of Beer Hugs.
I will admit we are quite spoiled when it comes to choices in what we want to drink. Our portfolio alone encompasses hundreds of different choices from over 170 breweries and supplier partners. We have gotten so used to getting things year-round that when things are only available for a limited time, it makes me stop and pay attention to it.
In the beer world, there are very few moments that are as anticipated as Oktoberfest beers. Keeping a tradition like this going brings us closer together as we become a part of the history and connects us deeper with the past. When the season comes around, it makes us nostalgic for the celebrations we’ve had in the past and excited for what’s to come this time. It’s quite interesting to me that we could, hypothetically, brew these exact beers to drink any other time of the year but it wouldn’t be “Oktoberfest” because it’s more than just the liquid in our steins, it’s about the festivities, the ambiance, the weather, and most importantly, the people.
If you already know the history of Oktoberfest and want to skip to our offerings this year, feel free to skip ahead to the next header but if you’re interested in how all this started, grab your favorite Oktoberfest beer, pour it out into your favorite glass/stein/horn/Stanley tumbler and gather around as we talk about a royal wedding.
The year is 1810 and we are in Munich to celebrate the marriage of Prince Regent Ludwig of Bavaria (who would later go on to be King Ludwig I) and his bride Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. A Bavarian National Guard member by the name of Andreas Michael Dall’Armi suggests having a large horse race to celebrate this royal marriage and with King Max I Joseph of Bavaria’s backing, the horse race was held on October 17th that year.
The celebration was so amazing that the following year, they wanted to party again but with no royal wedding (and royal funding) available that year, the Landwirtschaftlicher Verein in Bayern (Bavarian agricultural society) was formed. This group used this occasion to showcase their wares and what better way to show off Bavarian agriculture than bier? This started a tradition of holding an annual celebration because it was such a crowd pleaser.
It took several decades for this celebration to transform from a horse race to what it is now. The demand and importance of beer and breweries grew with every year and soon, the breweries were creating huge tents to make sure they could fit and serve all the thirsty patrons.
The atmosphere of Oktoberfest is electric! I had so much fun during Oktoberfest in Munich learning about all the quirks and traditions. It almost feels like going back in time when you enter the fairgrounds and find a spot at the table. If you have a chance to go, you definitely should. Just make sure you know how to chug properly if you decide to stand on a table!
Without further ado, here are our Oktoberfest beers!
Alter Brewing Co.
“Festbier is THE drink of choice at Oktoberfest festivals around the world, and much like its European inspiration, we brewed this beer to be the life of your next fest. Say “Prost!” with our Festbier.
Buckledown Brewing
Beautifully amber and crushable. Delicious and malty. Made with four different malts and noble hopped for a subtle grassy aroma. 5.2% ABV so you can enjoy multiple steins!
Burnt City Brewing
Oktoberfest Märzen celebrates the wonderful German tradition as respectfully as possible. Fancy German malt and hops were used in this flavorful, quaffable amber lager. Malt notes are prominent, but the beer finishes dry. Hop character is subtle, adding a gentle floral aroma.
Goose Island Beer Co.
Goose Oktoberfest is brimming with notes of toasted malt and freshly baked rye bread. This light-bodied German lager is clean and crisp with a fine noble hop character and mild earthy bitterness that is the hallmark of Hallertau hops. Raise a few steins of Goose Oktoberfest this fall and celebrate this time-honored tradition. Prost!
Haymarket Brewery
Fest Bier. This clean and easy drinking German style lager has a deep copper color with mild hop flavor, a firm malt middle, notes of toasted malts, cherries and a spicy dry finish. Meant to be consumed with friends during celebrations of all sorts of occasions.
Hopewell Brewing Company
This Märzen-style Oktoberfest lager is built to help you usher in the fall season. Rich and malty at the get-go, kept in balance with a hint of noble hop spice and a clean, effortless finish.
Moody Tongue Brewing Company
In celebration of one of our favorite beer holidays, we are introducing the Moody Tongue Oktoberfest. Every year, the release of Oktoberfest beers inspires us to turn on our grills, watch the leaves change color and enjoy steins of a delicious German amber. The Moody Tongue Oktoberfest is our favorite German-style dark beer to pair with pork – whether roasted, grilled or fried – with a body able to stand up to the rich flavors of indulgent fall dishes while refreshing the palate between bites.
Spiteful Brewing
Brewed in the classic Munich tradition with actual German ingredients, this Oktoberfest is made for drinkability. Pour into a stein or use the aluminum one it comes in.
Founders Brewing Co.
Blink and you’ll think you’re in Bavaria. We went all in on tradition with our Oktoberfest, using imported German malts and hops with a beautiful lager yeast for the finish. Pours a gorgeous copper hue with a rich, malty and slightly sweet backbone. Our version is akin to the beer poured in the early days of Oktoberfest and, yes, it adheres to the Reinheitsgebot. Prost!
Golden Road Brewing
A traditional German-style Oktoberfest Märzen (The Southern California Way) with a blend of Vienna and Munich malts as well as German hops. This amber bier has wonderful notes of caramel and a nice smooth, toasty finish.
Partake Brewing (Non-Alcoholic)
Oktoberfest is crafted with Munich and Vienna malts providing a semi-sweet, toasted malt flavor perfectly balanced by German hops. Smooth and easy drinking, it’s reminiscent of changing leaves and autumn crisp air.
Shiner Beer
Made with the highest quality malts, along with German-grown Hallertau Tradition and Hersbrucker hops.
Surly Brewing Co.
Oktoberfest lagers are the ultimate party beer. Up front, they’re rich, sweet, and malty, but they finish dry and clean with an ever-so-slight touch of hops. Prost!
Erdinger
Specialty for the festival season.
As hearty as a Bavarian beer festival: our ERDINGER Oktoberfest. This masterpiece of the brewer’s art is ideal for parties! ERDINGER Oktoberfest expertly combines smooth malt aromas with a pronounced hop bitterness. This well-balanced flavour is complemented by gently sparkling carbonic acid to give it the typical liveliness of a genuine wheat beer. Smooth, strong and irresistible – brewing tradition at its finest.
As a full-bodied specialty for the festival season, it whets the appetite for Bavaria’s famous drinking song “Prosit der Gemütlichkeit”.
“Bayerische Edelreifung” – for perfect enjoyment. Brewed according to the Bavarian Purity Law.
Brewed according to the Bavarian Purity Law.
Spaten
World’s First Oktoberfest Beer
The beer of Munich’s famous Oktoberfest: aromatic, savory, gold-colored.
Oktoberfest Ur Marzen. Its impeccable taste balances roasted malt flavor with the perfect amount of hops and an underlying sweetness, true to tradition.
Summer grilling is one of life’s greatest pleasures. It’s primal, a little dangerous, and it creates amazing foods. I like to think of myself as an above average cook but when it comes to grilling, it’s usually a steak, a burger, or some sausages. I haven’t dipped my toes into the world of smoking meats but I always wanted to. Luckily for us, we happen to have an expert at our office.
Rob Chambers, from our HR Department, just so happens to be a professional BBQ pitmaster and we were lucky enough to have him showcase his skills in person. Rob started off like a lot of us – someone who enjoyed BBQ and wanted to learn how to do it. He frequently smoked meat and BBQed.
One day, his friend Jon asked if he would be interested in competitive BBQ. Neither of them had competed before but they wanted to see what it was all about and entered a competition. It’s been about four years since they first competed and they continue to grow and place very highly in the competitions they enter.
I know I’m not the only one who has seen videos online of BBQed meats and wish they could take a bite right then and there. This was my first time being around a pitmaster cooking and he showed me a lot of tips and tricks to get the best end products.
Rob brought in a variety of meats to show what he can do with chicken, pork, and beef.
Chicken is ubiquitous and there are so many different ways to prepare it. When I BBQ though, I tend to stay away from it because more times than not, it turns out to be pretty dry and a little bland. When a BBQ pitmaster does chicken however, it is a flavorful and juicy bite every time. Unlike the one flip method that I’ve always been told was the correct way to grill, Rob lets the smoke do the job and makes sure the heat generated is consistent and at the specific temperature he wants.
Prior to grilling, the chicken is cleaned and trimmed. Meaning, it is rinsed off with water to freshen the meat. Using a knife or scissors, the chicken is trimmed to remove any excess skin or bone. Next, a dry rub would be added to coat the entire piece of chicken to ensure even flavor distribution. It would be preferred to let the dry rub set into the chicken for at least 30 minutes prior to adding it on the grill. There is not much flipping with chicken, however rotation does help.
I have loved ribs since I was a young boy watching the Flintstones car tip over on TV. I will order ribs the majority of the time if they are available. I have had them in all different styles in my travels but there is something very special about BBQed ribs because many times, the sauce is usually the prevailing flavor. The way pitmasters like Rob make them however, has the meat as the prevailing flavor enhanced by the aromas of smoke.
Same process as chicken for clean and trim. However, most ribs have a thin layer of membrane that will need to be removed on the back end of the rib. This can be done by pulling it off with a spoon and paper towel. From there, dry rub would be added to both sides of the meat and smoked with hickory wood. A few flips would help with the ribs, however once they have a good color on them, they would be wrapped in aluminum foil with butter and honey until they are at the right internal temperature.
The skirt steak was chosen because it’s a thinner cut of beef that would cook faster for all the hungry people at our office but many of the principles here work for thicker cuts too. While the chicken and ribs rested, I was able to observe Rob cooking the steak and ask some of the questions that I had.
First, I noticed that he was only using charcoal; I asked why he didn’t use propane (and propane accessories). It’s the kind of grill I have in my backyard and they seemed to be the most popular. Rob really likes the flavors charcoal imparts and he says he can actually taste the gas when it’s cooked on a gas grill. Maybe it’s because I grew up eating stuff made off gas grills but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what gas flavor he was talking about. If you notice those flavors, this may be the method of grilling you’ve been looking for!
Rob also showed me how to cook with an indirect heat method. The meat was never directly above the coals and he tried to keep the lid on the grill closed as much as possible. This ensures a nice even cook through and avoids the dreaded grey layer on steaks. I always liked a nice sear and char on my steaks but Rob’s steaks came out looking very different than what I make at home. It had a very appetizing browning and in certain lights, had the brighter red tones you might see in jerky. This got me wondering, “what do judges at BBQ competitions actually looked for?” Rob explained to me that although taste is very important, they are scored on consistency in competition. They will grill multiple pieces of meat but they pick the best looking piece(s) and send it in for judging. It has to look great, taste great, and have the perfect “chew” on it.
[When it comes to the perfect chew] it would be preferred to have a perfect bite through. This means that once you bite into the meat, there is barely any pull and [for chicken] you are taking skin with you on the chew. Basically like biting into a piece of bread and seeing your teeth marks.
I learned a lot from Rob and after talking to and watching him grill, I am excited to try his methods at home this 4th of July. Although mastering grilling will be very difficult, talking to Rob showed me it wasn’t quite as intimidating to start. It might be a while before I am confident enough to try my hand at the more expensive cuts of meat but I am looking forward to the day when I can smoke me some beef ribs and channel my inner Fred Flintstone.
This Sunday is Mother’s Day – but you knew that already, right? That means flowers and cards and boxes of chocolate for most of you but there are those of us who have moms or partners that are most looking forward to that brunch! Even though Bloody Marys and mimosas are the conventional affair for the occasion, there are those who have different Mother’s Day drink preferences.
This year, I asked our staff about their mother’s favorite drinks and the responses I got were not what I expected at all. It just goes to show you how unique each mom or partner is and why they’re celebrated on this day.
Our sales team members are some of the funniest and wittiest people I’ve ever had the fortune to work with and based on the stories and drink choices of their moms, I think I’m seeing where they get it from.
Scott Z. is a man who loves the classics and is a very “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” kind of person. Loves his bourbon and loves a crisp and chilled Trumer Pils on 9 out of 10 nights. Seeing as his mother was a classic Gin Martini drinker, it sounds like their get-togethers might be more of a black tie affair than not. A Great House Gin Martini is the perfect drink to have with dinner this Mother’s Day.
Then we have Zak B. – easy to pick out from the crowd just from hearing his Boston accent. He’s the life of the party, will make sure your cup is never empty, and will never let you leave early if he can help it. Not a surprise that his mom is a margarita gal. I’ve never met her but I bet I could also pick her out of a line up – no doubt. Next time she’s in town, I’ll make sure to get Zak a 4-pack of the Cutwater Lime Margaritas.
Jeb S. is one of our newer sales reps but he has been in the industry for a very long time. He’s a storyteller with some of the most Midwest intensity that I’ve ever met. He loves to say that since his mother never drank, he’s making up for her share and he sure can put them down. Fastest Beer Shotgun in the (Mid)West. His mother-in-law however loves a Michelob Ultra at the end of a long day and I can definitely relate.
Kyle T., or the mayor of Old Town, as we like to say has also been in the bar industry for years. I actually remember sitting at the bar he managed when I first started and was covering for someone on vacation. He set me up with an amazing Italian dinner (at lunch mind you) and kept the coffee coming as I tried my best to change his mind about one of his three taplines. He told me that his mother’s favorite drink is an Amaretto Stone Sour – very fitting for the place where he was working.
Last but not least – Cayla P. may be one of our newest sales reps in the city but she’s someone who feels like a friend you’ve had for years. When she shared with me that her mom’s favorite drink is a White Russian, my first thought was “that is definitely a choice”. I was very befuddled because I was under the impression that Cayla was from Florida (“milk was a bad choice” – Ron Burgundy). Turns out she’s from the Great White North, aka Canada, and it started to make a lot more sense. I think the next time her mom comes by, she should try one with Sneaky Fox Vodka or grab one ready to go from Cutwater.
I also had a chance to go around our office to ask some of our coworkers what their mother’s favorite drinks were too.
Paul M. is one of our newest managers at Lakeshore but he’s been working in distribution for many years. An avid hockey fan and coach, he manages many of our supplier partners like Spiteful Brewing. Paul told me that his mom’s favorite drink was a grasshopper while laughing. Not a drink I thought anyone would have picked as their favorite but suddenly I’m craving some Frangos…
Jake P. is also one of Brand Managers and manages some of our biggest brands like Goose Island and Stella Artois. His mother is a Bloody Mary drinker and that sounds like a perfect pairing for that Mother’s Day brunch. If they’re not going out though, a Cutwater Bloody Mary is my go to for the morning after. Pour it into a tall glass with some ice cubes and an olive – it’s a lifesaver!
When I first started with Lakeshore Beverage, Tony S. was someone I didn’t directly work with but always saw at every gathering. He manages brands like Guinness and Smirnoff. His mom is a Stella Artois drinker and I’m sure Tony has gotten her a few engraved chalices over the years. His wife, however, is a wine drinker that enjoys white wines like 101 North Chardonnay.
As you can see, we probably carry something that your mom will enjoy this Mother’s Day. If your mom doesn’t like flowers or chocolates, why not spend the day with her and go somewhere to grab her favorite drink instead? Or stay in and bring over a bottle or 6 pack; I’m sure she would love to share the special day with you.
Share with us what your mom’s favorite drink is. I’m very curious to see if there’s a clear winner because there doesn’t seem to be one at Lakeshore Beverage.
For Thanksgiving this year gatherings will be smaller, and celebrations may be more remote, but that doesn’t mean the food can’t be just as delicious! It is so important this year to focus on health and safety during the holiday season which is why we’ve compiled a list of a few restaurants in and around Chicago offering to-go options for Thanksgiving. Whether you need just the turkey, a few extra sides or the whole meal, these restaurants have you covered!
Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Warmer weather is here and summer is just around the corner which means it is time to fire up the grill. Going to the grocery stores these days can be a little stressful, so we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite restaurants around the city who are offering Grill-at-Home meal kits. Head to Drizly to order some of the beverages that we suggest pairing with the meals!