Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer

We attended this event last year and enjoyed it enough to buy tickets again for this year.  The afternoon tasting session is already sold out, but tickets for the 6-10p session are still available for sale at Brown Paper Tickets for $35 per person.  The event takes place this Saturday, November 7th at Chicago Journeyman Plumbers Auditorium (1340 W. Washington Blvd.)  This is one of the larger beer festivals in the city of Chicago each year and is not to be missed if you are a fan of beer!

The Illinois Craft Brewers Guild invites you to the Seventh Annual Festival of Wood and Barrel-aged Beer, spotlighting beer that has been aged in a wooden barrel or in contact with wood. Enjoy a sampling from our selection of beers, which may or may not be available commercially from breweries Coast-to-Coast. You will be treated to a vast array of exotic flavors from some of the rarest beers you will ever find!

Enjoy beers aged in new or used wine, whiskey or Bourbon barrels that take on many of the characteristics of that libation. Brewers of traditional or not-so-traditional Belgian-inspired beers often prefer used barrels so different resident microorganisms will impart a refreshing tart and acidic character. Fruit, spices, coffee and syrup may compliment the already complex character of wood-aged beers.

Long before the advent of stainless steel, the use of wooden barrels imparted many unique characteristics to beer. In many ways, the U. S. craft brewer has come full circle, returning to the roots of brewing while demonstrating a creativity unmatched anywhere in the world!