CCBW: Brew Steel

Our Brew Steel event tomorrow night is kind of like a Grand Finale to our Chicago Craft Beer Week programming. We’ve turned over 5 lines each to Solemn Oath, Penrose and Perennial ales. And the fireworks really happen when Chef Adam Wendt pairs one brew from each brewery with an awesome dish.

And our collaboration with Solemn Oath + Emporium, ‘Goth Syrup,’ is still our $4 CCBW pour. What we mean is, join us on Friday, May 23rd and cheers to a totally awesome 2014 edition of Craft Beer Week. Then join us next week, and the week after. Because it’s always Craft Beer Week at Bangers & Lace.

Friday, May 23rd

BREW STEEL

Penrose vs Solemn Oath vs Perennial

More than just being ridiculously really really goodlooking, these guys also make handsome beers.

and ... $4 Pour of Goth Syrup

A Solemn Oath + Bangers & Lace + Emporium collaboration

SOB’s ‘None More Black’ Black Farmhouse Ale with Intelligentsia Zirikana Rwanda Coffee!

Where Every Week Is Craft Beer Week

Here at Bangers & Lace, we live every week like it’s Craft Beer Week, which is why we host awesome events with all kinds of breweries and stock incredible and unique beers all the time. And then every year or so, it really is Chicago Craft Beer Week!

So here’s what we’ve got in store for you this time around — and we’re just going to get some our most exciting news out of the way, because it’s too hard to just sit still here till you read all the way to the end. Prepare to get stoked on this: Our collaborative effort with Solemn Oath + Emporium, Goth Syrup, makes its debut this week, and it’s a truly magnificent beast of a beer.

Sunday, May 18th

GOOSE ISLAND SWEET & SOUR

6-10pm

A Barrel-Aged Showdown

Bourbon Country Stouts & Funky Sours

with Brewmaster Brett Porter

Wednesday, May 21st

DIVISION STREET IPA CRAWL #3

6pm

We’ve got East Coast IPAs, so think Maine Beer Co, Victory, Smuttynose, Thornbridge and more! Please visit Small Bar Division for your West Coast IPAs needs, and catch up with a sandwich and a Midwest IPA at Jerry’s.

Friday, May 23rd

BREW STEEL

Penrose vs Solemn Oath vs Perennial

More than just being ridiculously really really goodlooking, these guys also make handsome beers.

and ... $4 Pour of Goth Syrup

A Solemn Oath + Bangers & Lace + Emporium collaboration

SOB’s ‘None More Black’ Black Farmhouse Ale with Intelligentsia Zirikana Rwanda Coffee!

Spring Patio Sippers

You may have taken advantage of the few nice days that Spring 2014 so graciously granted us and enjoyed the patio we — the eternal optimists — set up weeks ago. But maybe you’re waiting for the stars to align (a warm, sunny day with nothing on your agenda) before you take our outdoor seating for a spin.

We’ve seen a few 60+ degree days in the forecast, so we feel the timing is right to let you in on what we think is the perfect Spring patio pairing:

Our House Barrel of Old Forester is easily enjoyed as a shot or a neat pour, guaranteed to charm your palette and warm you up. In fact, it’s the perfect complement to our collaboration with Une Annee Brewery: Freres, an India Saison Ale. We brewed this first collaboration batch to be totally drinkable — it’s only 6.1% — and incredibly refreshing!

Put those two together and what have you got? A pairing both warm and refreshing, or, exactly what you need to bask in the chilly glow of Chicago’s Spring.

Chicago Speed Rack!

When we introduced you to Cristiana a few weeks back, we may have mentioned that she’s one of the top bartenders in the city. She’s also a veteran competitor in the now annual Speed Rack competition. Sure, she looks all sweet and welcoming, but she is a fierce competitor.

What’s Speed Rack, you ask? Well. It’s a national competition that places female bartenders on a platform to showcase just how badass they are while simultaneously raising money for breast cancer research. In a few short years, they’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for a worthy cause.

You can check out the history of the organization in this cool Village Voice feature.   

Last year, Cristiana made it to the Top 8 (the competitors go up against each other March Madness, bracket-style), only to get ousted by fellow Drawing Room bartender Liz Pearce. Not too shabby, considering that Liz went on to win the whole thing.

Cristiana is heading back into the ring this year — and we can’t wait for her to take home the big prize!  

It’s a seriously competitive, crazy, boisterous, fun event. And you’re invited!

Sunday, April 13th

3:00pm

Joe’s Bar

940 W. Weed Street

Bangers & Lace + Une Annee Collaborative Brew!

Earlier this month, we very subtly hinted at an upcoming collaboration between Bangers & Lace and Une Annee Brewery. And now, we think you’re ready for the big news!

We spent some time tasting through numerous styles of beer — hey it’s our job — before deciding on what was exactly right for us. Eric was on the committee, so you knew it was going learn towards an IPA. And Une Annee pays particular attention to Belgian styles, and that’s when the magic happened and the Bangers & Lace + Une Annee ISA was born.

Our ISA (India Saison Ale) is an IPA brewed with Saison yeast — so it’s totally drinkable in mass quantities — just in time for summer and Chicago’s beloved patio season.

Our collaborative brew will be regularly available at Bangers & Lace, but you can also find it in select retail spots — you know, just in case you can’t pry yourself away from your episodes.

And save the date for the Release Party on April 1st — no foolin’ — when Une Annee takes over our famous Chalkboard 6 Pack!

Special Guest: The Lagunitas Couch

We’re tapping a special delivery of Lagunitas’s Fusion Ale Thursday, March 20! It’s a Brownish Ale, made with music fest goin’ beer lovers in mind. And one of our own music fest goin’ beer lovers -- you remember Eric, right -- will be spinning Blues/Psych/Funk & Fusion tunes all night.

And the couch featured in that very cool video we posted up there? It’s become the unofficial mascot of the Lagunitas team, having traveled from California to DC to Nashville to Austin. The couch will be at Bangers & Lace tonight, too, along with some of the Lagunitas crew making their way back from SXSW.

Stop by, raise a glass, have a seat...you know the drill.

Chicago Reader's Spring Cocktail Challenge

Remember when Nick killed it in Chicago Reader’s biweekly cocktail challenge? Oh, sure you do, because he made you do what no one else has ever convinced you to do: consider mixing up a cocktail with Miracle Whip in it.

In the spirit of a little healthy competition, The Chicago Reader throws a cool bash that brings together the crème de la crème of Chicago mixology, this time letting them use non-gross ingredients, pitting their best cocktails against one another.

On Friday, March 21st, we’ll be rooting for our own Nick O! He, along with a bunch of cocktail-making peers, will be mixing up a fabulous Spring-inspired cocktail. So ditch those plans to chug green beer with the college students, because you could be enjoying an array of grown-up green cocktails instead (the theme is green and we’re betting more than a few bartenders will opt for matching that shade).

While you’re busy sampling the 20 mixologists' best springtime libations and deciding who pulled off the most impressive drink, you can also enjoy complimentary wine from City Winery, beer from Shiner, and bites from Chop Shop.

Grab your tickets here, so that you can join us in Nick’s cheering section. Not convinced? Check out the video from the Fall 2013 event to see how much fun we had at the last one!