The 13th edition of the Brewpub and Brewery Shootout was held Saturday, January 22, at Chicago's Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox Ave. The Chicago Beer Society hosted the event at which 300 members sampled beer and food from 14 area brewpubs. Attendees cast ballots for Best Beer, Best Food, and for Best Beer/Food pairing.
New brewer Haymarket Pub & Brewery made a big debut by placing in all three categories. Additionally, Flossmoor Station and Gordon Biersch of Bolingbrook placed twice each:
Best Beer:
- Haymarket Pub & Brewery, Chicago: Mathias Imperial IPA
- Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery, Flossmoor: Hi-Fi Rye Barleywine
- Rock Bottom North/South - Lombard & Orland Park: Demon Sweat Belgo-American Double Red Ale.
Best Food:
- Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery: Green peppercorn encrusted beef tenderloin on mashed sweet potatoes with Pasilla peppers and a Hi-Fi butter sauce.
- Gordon Biersch, Bolingbrook: White chocolate and sundered cherry bread pudding with a rum butter sauce.
- Haymarket Pub & Brewery: Riots-Homemade Italian sausage patty with mozzarella cheese and house smoked pulled port topped with giardiniera.
Best Food and Beer Pairing
- Revolution Brewing Company, Chicago: Triple Fist Ale paired with Triple Fist dessert.
- Haymarket Pub & Brewery: Mathias with Riots sausage patties.
- Gordon Biersch, Bolingbrook: Winterbock with bread pudding.
Other area brewers participating were America's Brewing of Aurora, Blue Cat Brew Pub of Rock Island, Goose Island Beer Co. of Chicago, Half Acre Beer Co. of Chicago, Lucky Monk of South Barrington, Lunar Brewing of Villa Park, Rock Bottom East & West (Chicago & Warrenville), Three Floyds Brewing of Munster, IN, and Two Brothers Brewing of Warrenville.
The next public event sponsored by CBS is the Night of the Living Ales, a celebration of cask and gravity-fed beers, to be held March 5 at Goose Island Wrigleyville. Tickets are already selling out fast, so visit chibeer.org for details.
Filed under: Beer Competition, Beer Pairing, Beer Tasting
Tags: Brewpub Shootout, Chicago Beer Society, Flossmoor Station, Haymarket Pub
