Even More Holiday Hours

Bangers & Lace is doing business as usual for New Year’s Eve. This means we’re serving our regular awesome menu and regular stellar beer and spirits offerings, all during the regular hours of 2pm-2am. Call it low-key, call it last minute, just call us — wait, don’t call us, because that’s the point: you just show up and have a great time, just like any other night. No reservations, no tickets and no hassle.

We haven’t forgotten that Tuesday is, in fact, a holiday, so we’ll be doing a New Year’s Eve High Life (the Champagne of Beers, wise guys) toast at midnight. And the lucky sons of guns that pay their tabs get a special party favor: an official ticket (pictured above) for a free Bloody Mary at our New Year’s Day brunch service.

Which leads us to our next piece of exciting New Year’s News: We’re open for brunch on New Year’s Day! Meet us at 11am when our brunch and regular menus will be available to cure the first hangovers of 2014.

Holiday Hours

We’re in the business of making sure you get everything on your list, every time you visit us. And we don’t think that the holidays should be any different. We’re doing business as usual on December 24, and Eric — your own personal Santa — will open up shop just in time on December 25th.

Tuesday, December 24  2pm-2am (last minute gifts available at the bar)

Wednesday, December 25 7pm-2am

Give Beer, Spread Cheer

We’ve all been there: What do you get the beer lover in your life? We’ve put this question through focus groups, scientifically tested all possibilities (yes, it was a double blind), and came to this groundbreaking conclusion:  Get them some beer.

But, shipping booze can be tricky — like, it’s illegal. And it’s hard to buy in advance — what are you supposed to do, not drink it before gifting? And it’s difficult to anticipate what particular brew is catching their particular fancy at any given time.

What if this beer lover could choose their own beer from a carefully curated list that’s up to date with the most sought after beers available? That’s where the Bangers & Lace gift card comes into play. It’s available at the bar in any denomination. And it’s perfectly legit to send through the postal service.

But wait, there’s more!

Even beer lovers — especially beer lovers — need tshirts and bandanas, especially ones from one of Draft Magazine’s 100 Best Beer Bars. We’ve got those, too!

Last minute gift buying should never be done at CVS, so stop on by this week to check another couple names off your list.

Drink Up For Good

*Made possible by donations from: Breckenridge Brewery, Five Rabbit, Great Lakes, Lagunitas, Perennial Ales, Revolution, Solemn Oath, Stillwater, Virtue Cider, Glunz, River North, 12 Percent Imports, Vanberg & Dewulf, Windy City.

Someone's Having a Birthday...

Surprise! It's us! Bangers & Lace turns three years old and we're celebrating by throwing a joint birthday party with Old Forester’s Birthday Bourbon. This special bourbon, released annually since 2002 to celebrate the birthday of the distillery’s founder, arrived at Bangers & Lace via caseload — when most bars in Chicago only received one or two bottles. The 2013 edition of Old Forester’s Birthday Bourbon is receiving extremely positive reviews, so we expect it to move quickly. What we mean is, get in here and drink it up!

Complimentary passed appetizers, provided by yours truly, and bourbon-infused cookies are all we need to make this a real party!

It's A Sour Batch, Kids

We’re not normally into name dropping, but we’ve got some bold names coming by on Thursday night when we feature New Belgium’s exceptional Sours. New Belgium’s Lauren Salazar and Eric Salazar, two of the finest palates in the brewing world, stop by to sip by your side and answer your funkiest questions.

We’ll feature the sours we’re sweet on: La Folie, La Terroir, Tart Lychee, Eric’s Ale and NBB Loves Leopold. Not familiar? Here’s the rundown on two of our favorites:

Eric’s Ale: Named for longtime New Belgium brewer Eric Salazar — yes! that same Eric Salazar that will be at Bangers & Lace on Thursday, and points to you for close reading! — combines a dry, sour beer aged up to three years in oak foeders with a semi sweet, higher alcohol base beer. The resulting blend is re-fermented with peach juice, creating a smooth ale with subtle peach tones and a warm, spicy finish. The aroma has pleasant hints of vanilla and tropical fruit, the wood characteristics are present but nicely muted. A sour beer for those who don’t like sour beers. And a fruit beer for those who don’t like fruit beers.

NBB loves Leopold, aka, Oscar in Blackberry Whiskey Barrels: In the glass, this Oscar is molasses in color with a hint of haze in its dark depths. Like a vat used to crush berries, it smells like moist ripe oak and blackberry jam, while faint flaky crust aromas remind you of a berry pie. A whiff of chocolate and ginger add complexity. As expected, a brisk, puckering, enduring sourness is in the fore, offset somewhat by the slight berry sweetness in the background. The medium body finishes crisp, readying you for another sip of a complex sour berry journey.

Your Week, In Advance

Consider this your Save the Date for all the cool things we’ve got brewing at Bangers & Lace next week. You might as well just set up shop with us every school night, because we can’t think of one good reason to miss any of these events.

Tallgrass Beer Dinner

Tuesday, November 12

We're partnering up with Tallgrass Brewing next Tuesday to bring you five of their stellar beers paired with five amazing courses from Chef Adam Wendt. We'll be featuring Velvet Rooster + Zombie Monkie + 8-Bit Pale Ale w/ Cranberry + 100% Brett + Buffalo Sweat with Coconut & Mint from this Kansas brewing company.

Grab your tickets for this incredible event here! 

But wait, there's more! 

It’s a Sour Batch, Kids

Thursday, November 14

6pm-9pm

To (unofficially) kick off FOBAB (Festival of Barrel Aged Beers), Bangers & Lace will debut New Belgium's release of their upcoming sour line, with four unique barrels on draft! Lauren Salazar, “Sensory Specialist” for New Belgium, will be there to talk about their amazing sour line.