- Julia Thiel
- Welles Park Craft Beer Fest
When the weather is nice, an outdoor beer festival is a magical place to be. When a steady, cold drizzle falls continually—as it did at Beer Under Glass, the May 14 kick-off event for Chicago Craft Beer Week—it’s a little less appealing. Fortunately, some of the beer was actually being served under glass this year, so it was possible to take shelter in the Garfield Park Conservatory and continue drinking (unlike last year, when ongoing repairs to the conservatory meant many breweries had to set up on the waterlogged lawn, earning the event the nickname “Beer in the Mud”). And the rain did keep the lines down at the outdoor beer tents. It didn’t seem to dim anyone’s spirits much, at any rate.
- Julia Thiel
- Around the Bend, with a set-up that’s a serious step up from pouring out of a cooler
Another new brewery, Around the Bend, is planning to open on the south side, but in the meantime they’re leasing space at the Ale Syndicate brewery. They’d just gotten their license the day of BUG, which was only the second event where they’d poured their beers. I liked Ghost of ‘Lectricity, a light, crisp kolsch-style brew, but it was their pale ale, Silk Road, that stood out. Brewed with galangal—a rhizome that’s a little like ginger in flavor—it’s spicy, citrusy, and just a bit floral.
