Chicago Beer Hoptacular

On Saturday I went with a couple of friends to the Chicago Beer Hoptacular at the Aragon Ballroom.  Festivals are great and beer is fantastic, so adding them together could never go wrong.  I got there 15 minutes late to see a line stretching around the block and into the parking lot of a shopping center around the corner.  Luckily, this was not appreciated by the shopping center so someone from Aragon grabbed the end of the line and led us through an empty parking lot cutting off half the people in line.  This reaffirms my belief that my ability to show up late is a blessing.

Upon entering Aragon we were presented with our 2 oz. tasting glasses and let free to taste all the beers our heart desired.  The floor was absolutely packed with different brewery stands and people.  I think they may have been trying to push the limit with how many tickets they sold.

That being said, I was able to taste a good amount of local beers that I haven't had the chance to (I know I encourage drinking local, but making negative money doesn't give me that many chances to explore).  Piece and Wild Onion were both there along with Half Acre and I enjoyed all of them.  I apologize Piece, I have been saying I will go visit you for quite some time, but maybe my enjoyment of your beers will give me the extra push I need.  Maybe you should give me a free growler to seal the deal?  Yeah?  Wink wink, nudge nudge.  No?  Alright, I'll stop talking.

On the larger end, I was really glad to see New Belgium included two of their installments in the Lips of Faith Series instead of just Fat Tire while Goose Island included Matilda, Sofie, Lazarus, and Bourbon County.  I'm sure they had some others, but its safe to say were my eyes were fixed.

Besides the beer, a local coffee place called Dark Matter Coffee was there giving away free coffee.  Upon further investigation, the interwebs tells me it is from Starlounge Coffee Cafe.  They have a link for Dark Matter Coffee, but I'm not really seeing the connection...  Anyways, when I cam up they didn't have any coffee brewed so they offered me a shot of espresso instead.  Don't mind if I do!  It seems they are pretty dedicated to local preparation and such and maybe a future visit is in order?  I'll be sure to bring my computer and write the next Great American novel as I laugh at the uncultured people passing by.  Ha!  How sad are they?