CU Beer Weekend; April 29

Seven Saints

Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous
Arrogant Bastard

Brewsday Tuesday: TBA
Whiskey Wednesday: Bourbon and Rye

Radio Maria

Rogue Mogul Madness
Stone IPA
Stone Pale
Stone Ruination
Lefthand 400# Monkey
Stone Smoked Porter
Stone Sublimely Self Righteous
Stone Cali-Belgique
New Holland Dragons Milk
Port Older Viscosity
Ommegang Abbey Double
Founders Double Trouble
Arcadia Cereal Killer Barleywine
Original Sin Cider
Blanche de Bruxelles
Wexford Irish Cream Ale
Moylans' Dragoons Dry Irish Stout
Liefmans Cuvee Brut
Flossmoor Station Pullman Brown
Wychwood Spring Ale
New Holland Imperial Hatter
Southern Tier Chokolat
North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsner
Dark Horse Too Cream Stout
La Trappe Dubbel
Ballast Point Tongue Buckler
PBR

Friday: Happy Hour with free appetizers 4:30 - 5:30,
Saturday: $6 John Daly's, Salsa Night at 10.
Sunday: $2 wells, $1.25 PBR; Bloody Mary Bar
Monday: 25% off bottles of wine; Random Beer Specials
Tuesday: 1/2 price wine by the glass
Wednesday: $1 off all beers on draft
Thursday: Chillax

Destihl

Champaign Blonde Ale
Bar Sinister Mild Ale
Belgian Pale Ale
Deadhead Double Red Ale
Black Angel Stout
Raspberry Wheat ale
Antiquity Rye Wine
Tripel
Quadrupel
Roadblock British Red ale
Baldock IPA
Frankengluten Belgian Sorghum Ale
Weissenheimer Hefeweizen

Crane Alley

Left Hand Sawtooth E.S.B. Nitro 5.3%
Jenlain St Druon de Seabourg 6.1%
Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA 7.1%
Luete Bokbier 7.5%
Victory Prima Pils 5.3%
Bells Batch 10,000 9.2%
Ballast Point Sculpin IPA 7.0%
Bell's Best Brown Ale 5.8%
Troubadour Magma 9.0%
Stone/Green Flash/Pizza Port Highway 78 Scotch Ale 8.8%
Stone Cali-Belgique IPA 6.9%
Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat 5.0%
Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale 6.2%
Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale 8.7%
Gulden Draak 10.5%
Weston's Stowfford Press Cider 6.0%
Mikkeller Big Worst Barleywine 18.5%
Ballast Point Bourbon Barrel Black Marlin Porter
PBR 4.2%


Blind Pig Brewery

Blind Pig Summer Ale
Blind Pig American Pale Ale
Blind Pig American Dark Ale
Blind Pig Apricot Wheat
Schlafly Pilsner; Maplewood, Missouri, Pilsener, 4.9% abv
Victory Golden Monkey; Downington, Pennsylvania, Abbey Tripel, 9.5% abv
Hofbrau Maibock; Munich, Germany, Heller Bock, 7.2% abv
Hofbrau Hefweizen; Munich, Germany, Germany Hefeweizen, 5.1% abv
Brasserie De La Senne Equinox; Belgium, Belgian Strong Ale, 8% abv
Petrus Old Bruin; Belgium, Sour Ale, 5.5% abv
Wychwood Wolf Rider; England, Bitter, 5.7%% abv
Tommyknocker Butt Head Bock; Idaho Springs, CO, Doppelbock, 8.2%
Stone IPA; Escondido, California, India Pale Ale, 7.9% abv
Guinness; Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.1% abv

Blind Pig

Rogue Juniper Pale Ale; Newport, Oregon, American Pale Ale, 5.2% abv
Left Hand Stranger Pale Ale; Longmont, Colorado, American Pale Ale, 5% abv
Avery White Rascal; Boulder, Colorado, Belgian White, 5.6% abv
Two Brothers’ Cane & Ebel; Warrenville, Illinois, American Strong Ale, 7% abv
Ommegang Hennepin; Cooperstown, New York, Saison, 7.7% abv
Flossmoor Station Black Magic; Flossmoor, Illinois, Black IPA, 7.5% abv
Founder’s Imperial Stout; Grand Rapids, Michigan, Imperial Stout, 10% abv
Left Hand Fade To Black; Longmont, Colorado, Smoked, 7.8%
Fuller’s London Pride; England, Premium Bitter, 4.7% abv
Delirium Tremens; Belgium, Belgian Strong Ale, 8.5% abv
Blue Moon; Golden, Colorado, Belgian White, 5.4% abv
Duchesse de Bourgogne; Belgium, Sour Ale, 6.2% abv
Stella Artois; Belgium, Pale Lager, 5.2% abv
Pabst Blue Ribbon; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pale Lager, 5% abv
Karmeliet Tripel; Belgium, Abbey Tripel, 8%
Celis Raspberry; Webberville, Michigan, Fruit Beer, 3.9% abv
Tucher Helles Hefe Weizen; Germany, German Hefeweizen, 5.3%
Lagunitas IPA; Petaluma, California, India Pale Ale, 5.7% abv
North Coast Scrimshaw; Fort Bragg, California, Pilsener, 4.4%
Rogue XS Imperial Red; Newport, Oregon, American Strong Ale, 9% abv
Stone 2007 Old Guardian; Escondido, California, Barleywine, 11.26% abv
Lindeman’s Framboise; Belgium, Lambic, 2.5% abv
Belhaven Scottish; Scotland, Bitter, 3.9%
Guinness; Dublin, Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.1% abv

Black Dog Smoke and Ale House

Left Hand Good Juju Pale-ish Ale-ish
Scotch de Silly Scotch Ale
Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree
Rogue Cask-Conditioned Chocolate Stout
Two Brothers Bare Tree Weiss Wine
Ommegang Rare Vos Amber Ale
New Holland Dragon's Milk
Left Hand Nitro Sawtooth Ale
Harviestour Bitter & Twisted

Opening Saturday...

Quality Beer

Anchor Liberty
Boulder Gazed and Infused
Lagunitas ipa
Stone ipa
Stone sublimely self-righteous
Two brothers cane and ebel
Two brothers domaine du page
Victory prima pils
Flossmoor station stationmaster wheat
Smuttynose old brown dog
Avery white rascal
Goose island pepe Nero
Pyramid apricot
Original sin
Founders dirty bastard
North coast old rasputin

Piccadilly

Weekend wine tasting: friday 4-7, Saturday 1-4 $3. 5 wines and 4 summer beers

CU Beer Club

Tuesday: May Happy Hour, Mike n' Molly's 6pm

Mark your calendar!

Chambana Craft Beer Pub Crawl , Sunday, May 22, starting at Crane Alley at 4, then heading around Urbana and Champaign until at least 9pm.

Alcohol in the news; Illini Inn changes hands

From the News Gazette

Illini Inn Changes Hands

The Illini Inn on campus has new owners.

John Rinkenberger Jr., who owns the Village Inn Pizza Parlor in west Champaign, purchased the tavern at 901 S. Fourth St., C, with friend Sean Ackerson. The two have owned the upstairs pizza joint, Stone Baked Pizza, for the last three years, and Rinkenberger said it made sense to buy the bar too.

"The main draw for us is, we like things with tradition and things that have had a good name in the past," said Rinkenberger, who grew up in Urbana and attended Illinois State University. "We're very excited to own it."

The Illini Inn, one of the older bars on campus, is known for its "Mug Club," in which members traditionally chug their first mug of beer while other patrons in the bar cheer them on.

Right now, no food is served at the bar. That will change.

"We are planning on putting a full-scale menu in the bar," he said. Items like pizza, calzones and sandwiches will be made available, probably when students return to campus in late August, he said.

The Illini Inn is a small bar; the capacity is 75. No major renovations are planned, however; in the future, the new owners plan to update the bathrooms.

"We're a place to hang out and talk. ... to talk to your buddy about what went on during the day," Rinkenberger said.

The pizza business, located on the second floor, is known mostly for its pizza sold by the slice during the late hours.

Rinkenberger said he plans to continue operating Village Inn Pizza.

also in the same article

Now Open

Destihl Restaurant & Brew Works is now open in downtown Champaign.

The long-awaited restaurant on the south side of M2, at 301 N. Neil St., opened to the public Wednesday after a soft opening a few days earlier.

The 9,000-square-foot "gastrobrewery," as owner Matt Potts has called it, is the second location for Destihl, which started in Normal.

The menu features steaks, seafood, pizzas, sandwiches, salads and more. Beer is brewed on-site, and diners can view the operation from the dining area. The brewery is releasing 17 beers for the opening.

Construction began in the fall after several delays, including repair work needed on M2 following the fire that burned down the Metropolitan Building across the street.

The Champaign restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. Brunches are offered on the weekend. Destihl can be reached at 356-0301 or http://www.destihl.com.

Two other restaurants, an Irish pub and a Mongolian-style stir-fry, are planned for the north side of M2. Those building permits were issued last week by the city of Champaign.

CU Beer Weekend; April 22, Easter

Do you have reservations for your Easter Brunch yet? Brunches in town include Radio Maria, and Emerald City. Call them now if you don't have reservations yet.

Seven Saints

Arrogant Bastard
Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous

Brewsday Tuesday: Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard $3
Whiskey Wednesday: Irish

Radio Maria

Rogue Mogul Madness
Stone IPA
Stone Pale
Stone Ruination
Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial Ale
Stone Smoked Porter
Stone Sublimely Self Righteous
Stone Cali-Belgique
New Holland Dragons Milk
Port Older Viscosity
Ommegang Abbey Double
Ofallon Hemp Hop Rye
Arcadia Cereal Killer Barleywine
Original Sin Cider
Blanche de Bruxelles
Wexford Irish Cream Ale
Moylans' Dragoons Dry Irish Stout
Liefmans Cuvee Brut
Flossmoor Station Pullman Brown
Two Brothers Northwind Stout
New Holland Imperial Hatter
Southern Tier Chokolat
North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsner
(I'm not sure what I'm putting on here)
Flossmoor Station Station Master Wheat
Ballast Point Tongue Buckler
PBR

Friday: Happy Hour with free appetizers 4:30 - 5:30,
Saturday: $6 John Daly's, Salsa Night at 10.
Sunday: $2 wells, $1.25 PBR; Bloody Mary Bar
Monday: 25% off bottles of wine; Random Beer Specials
Tuesday: 1/2 price wine by the glass
Wednesday: $1 off all beers on draft
Thursday: Chillax

Destihl

Champaign Blonde Ale
Bar Sinister Mild Ale
Belgian Pale Ale
Deadhead Double Red Ale
Black Angel Stout
Raspberry Wheat ale
von Linne Apricot Wheat Ale
Antiquity Rye Wine
Tripel
Quadrupel
Roadblock British Red ale
Baldock IPA
Frankengluten Belgian Sorghum Ale
Jacob's Ladder American Brown Ale
All-the-Wiser Imperial Hefeweizen
Downstate Pale Ale

Blind Pig Brewery

Blind Pig American Pale Ale
Blinid Pig American Dark Ale
Blind Pig Hard cider
Blind Pig Apricot Wheat
Schlafly Pilsener
Avery IPA
Hofbrau Maibock
Hofbrau Hefeweizen
Brasserie De La Senne Equinox
Petrus Old Bruin
Wychwood Wolf Rider
Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Bier
Boulevard Tank 7
Guinness

Sunday: Trivia Night, 7pm
Tuesday/Wednesday: Mug Club $2 off craft with purchase of mug

Crane Alley

Left Hand Sawtooth E.S.B. Nitro 5.3%
Jenlain St Druon de Seabourg 6.1%
Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA 7.1%
Luete Bokbier 7.5%
Victory Prima Pils 5.3%
Bells Batch 10,000 9.2%
Ballast Point Sculpin IPA 7.0%
Bell's Best Brown Ale 5.8%
Troubadour Magma 9.0%
Stone/Green Flash/Pizza Port Highway 78 Scotch Ale 8.8%
Stone Cali-Belgique IPA 6.9%
Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat 5.0%
Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale 6.2%
Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale 8.7%
Gulden Draak 10.5%
Weston's Stowfford Press Cider 6.0%
Mikkeller Big Worst Barleywine 18.5%
Ballast Point Bourbon Barrel Black Marlin Porter
PBR 4.2%

Specials for the weekend of April 22nd

Beef Ragout Nachos – Slow simmered ragout of hanger steak over tri-color tortilla chips with white cheddar béchamel and roasted jalapenos. $11.95

Salmon Cakes – Pan seared citrus-roasted salmon cakes over jasmine rice with mesculin mixed field greens, apple-horseradish coleslaw and roast jalapeno cream sauce. $13.95

Pork Gribiche – Grilled bone-in pork chop with gribiche over herb-roasted new potatoes. Served with capers, cornichons and mesculin mixed field greens. $18.95

Black Dog Smoke and Ale House

Left Hand Sawtooth Ale
Rare Vos Amber Ale
Two Brothers Monarch Wit
Schlafly Pilsner
Southern Tier Hop Sun
Avery Maharaja
Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted

Blind Pig

Rogue Juniper Pale Ale; Newport, Oregon, American Pale Ale, 5.2% abv
Left Hand Stranger Pale Ale; Longmont, Colorado, American Pale Ale, 5% abv
Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor; Mechelen, Belgium, Belgian Strong Ale, 8% abv
BluCreek Blueberry; Madison, Wisconsin, Fruit Beer, 4% abv
Ommegang Hennepin; Cooperstown, New York, Saison, 7.7% abv
Flossmoor Station Black Magic; Flossmoor, Illinois, Black IPA, 7.5% abv
Flying Dog Double Dog; Frederick, Maryland, American Pale Ale, 11.5% abv
Left Hand Good Juju Ginger; Longmont, Colorado, Spice Ale, 4%
Fuller’s London Pride; England, Premium Bitter, 4.7% abv
Delirium Tremens; Belgium, Belgian Strong Ale, 8.5% abv
Blue Moon; Golden, Colorado, Belgian White, 5.4% abv
Duchesse de Bourgogne; Belgium, Sour Ale, 6.2% abv
Stella Artois; Belgium, Pale Lager, 5.2% abv
Pabst Blue Ribbon; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pale Lager, 5% abv
Sierra Nevada Ovila Dubbel; Chico, California, Abbey Dubbel, 7.5%
Two Brothers’ Ebel’s Weiss; Warrenville, Illinois, German Hefeweizen, 4.9% abv
Tucher Helles Hefe Weizen; Germany, German Hefeweizen, 5.3%
Lagunitas IPA; Petaluma, California, India Pale Ale, 5.7% abv
Bitburger Premium Pils; Germany, Classic German Pilsener, 4.8%
Founder’s Centennial IPA; Grand Rapids, Michigan, India Pale Ale, 7.2% abv
Stone 2010 Old Guardian; Escondido, California, Barleywine, 11.26% abv
Lindeman’s Framboise; Belgium, Lambic, 2.5% abv
Belhaven Scottish; Scotland, Bitter, 3.9%
Guinness; Dublin, Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.1% abv


Next weekend is Dark Lord Day. Also the Peoria Jaycees International Beer Festival. There are some good offerings () but if you are going, you'll want to do the VIP package... sadly, sold out.

Destihl, the new brewery in town

Kridz, Matt, and I went to Destihl in Champaign last night.

First, lets clear up some rumors. I've heard several people claim they don't want to go there because it's a "chain". This is only the second restaurant/brewery opened by Destihl. If you are concerned that you are supporting a "chain" restaurant, then you should also boycott any Nieto bars (7 Saints, Guidos, Jupiters, Billy Barooz, Jupiters at the Crossing, Highdive, and Cowboy Monkey). If ownership of more than one bar makes it a chain, then you should also avoid going to the Blind Pig and the Blind Pig Brewery. Heck, you can also skip going to Esquire Lounge and Black Dog Smoke and Ale House.

This place isn't a chain, there are things that are common at both restaurants, but it is far from a chain. There are several "chain" brewery restaurants out there: Rock Bottom, Ram, Gordon Biersch, Hops, Granite City... some are good, some aren't. Granite City is one of my least favorites, but even if one opened up in town, it would do well. Regardless of the chain status, each Rock Bottom brewery produces their own beer, and several of them win awards each year at the Great American Beer Fest, and at other places.

Again, Destihl isn't a chain.

Now, down to our experience.

When we arrived (without reservations, at about 6 pm) we were immediately able to find a place for the three of us to sit at the bar. As a tall table in the bar area became available, we moved to that. You can sit in either the very large dining area, or sit in the bar, I'm more of a sit in the bar kind of guy.

The dining area looks huge. It looks like it will have one of the largest seating areas in downtown. Only Jim Goulds might have a larger seating area, but I'm not sure. There is also a private room that can accomodate parties of up to about 16. They can probably accomodate larger parties in either the bar area, or in the dining area (I'd recommend calling for reservations).

The place seemed very clean. It was bright and inviting. The brewhouse itself was right near the front door, by the bar area, just reinforcing that they make their own beer.

When we sat at the bar, we each ordered three 4-oz sizes of beer, Matt got the Tripel, Quadrupel, and Deadhead Double Red Ale; Kridz got the Black Angel Stout, Roadblock British Red Ale, and the Von Linne Apricot Wheat Ale; I got the Antiquity Rye Wine, Jacob's Ladder American Brown Ale, and the All-the-Wiser Imperial Hefeweizen. All the beers in sample size range from $1.25 to $2, which isn't a horrible deal. They also have one ounce glasses and can give you a taste of each of the beers. Their menu currently lists 16 beers.

When we moved to the table, we ordered some appetizers. Everyone so far had raved to me about the beer battered bacon. So, I ordered that. Kridz got the deviled eggs, and Matt got the pretzels. The bacon was really good, it wasn't like sex in my mouth (like I figured it would be, but I probably had too high of expectations) but it was really good. The bacon was kind of peppery and felt a bit greasy, but I guess deep fried bacon will do that. The deviled eggs were outstanding, there was bacon in it, and that made it great. The pretzels are stadium style, and there are two of them; they came with a delicious mustard and a nacho sauce that tasted really good (I'm assuming it's not from a can). I saved the rest of the mustard, which was sweet and tangy, for my fries later. The pretzels came across, to me, as slightly doughy, but still good.

To eat, I got the Wagyu burger. It's a half pound, and it's only like $12 (or something close) that's a good value. I ordered it medium rare. I think it came with a form of bleu cheese on it. There was also tomato, lettuce and onion (I removed the tomato and lettuce), and a side of fries. It also came with barbecue sauce, if you want to "western" your burger. I used that sauce for my fries. There was a similar tangy note between the bbq and mustard. They were both good on the fries. I shared part of my burger with Kridz, Matt, and the Rick, and they all seemed to enjoy it. It was very good... but, the bun seemed a little dry to me. Also, one side of the burger appeared to be well done when I bit into it, and the other side seemed a little less than medium rare. It was good meat, as if I just squeezed the bun a bit, grease with some redness would come dripping out.

Matt got a chorizo and mushroom pizza. Wait, Matt DESTROYED a chorizo and mushroom pizza. The crust is very thin. You definitely aren't going to be filled up on crust. He was either hungry, or the thing was great. I'd guess a combination. I had a bit of the chorizo, which seemed to be like a spicy sloppy joe. The mushrooms were good too, although Kridz thought they looked burned.

Kridz got a cheese pizza. She had filled up on the appetizers, and was able to only eat a slice or two of the pizza. Again, very thin crust. She liked it, but was full from part of a pretzel, beer battered bacon, two deviled eggs, and about 12 ounces of beer (not counting the beer we had before at Radio Maria).

There are several televisions in the bar area, and the staff was very accomodating in finding the Bulls game for us.

As we were watching the end of the game, the booth nearest us got what looked to be carrot cake. There were three guys at the booth, and this piece of cake was the biggest I've ever seen. Seriously, it was a huge friggin piece of cake. It was three layers, and it looked like each guy there could eat a layer, and not want any more than that.

After I finished my three beer samplers, I ordered the Bar Sinister Mild Ale. If you aren't a very well seasoned beer drinker, this will probably be the beer you'll want to drink. If you like Bass, or Newcastle, or just aren't that willing to expiriment, this will be a good one for you. If you are a light beer drinker, you'll probably want to drink the Champaign Blonde Ale. Matt later ordered the Frankengluten Belgian Sorghum Ale. (If you have celiac's this is the beer for you). We didn't really like this beer too much. It had a weird flavor to it, that reminded me of... lipstick.

The cost for me and Kridz, including 6 samples of beer, a pint of the Mild, two appetizers, a pizza, and a Wagyu burger was around $50. That's not horrible for what all we got. When we left, I was uncomfortably full. So that's a good sign.

Sadly, the bartenders need some training on what they are pouring, why they are pouring it that what, and how to pour. In each tap area, they have the really cool glass rinsing station. So each glass is presented after being freshly rinsed. I heard one of the bartenders tell a patron that it was done "to chill the glass". Not once did any of them mention that it was for helping head retention. I corrected our server and told him it was to fill any pits in the glass, which are areas that can trap air and cause the beer to excessively foam.

The next issue I had with the bartenders is that they continually stuck the nozzel of the tap into the beer as it was filling. Sure, the inside of the tap is where the beer flows through, but the outside is where dust, lint, dirt, and other crap goes after you get it wet and sticky.

I discussed with someone else, that it was odd that we didn't know any of the bartenders. Downtown Champaign has several bars, and most of the bartenders have worked at other bars before (or concurrently) and we didn't recognize any of them.

So, don't avoid Destihl because you think it might be a chain, it's not. The food is good, and plentiful. The beer is good. The staff needs a little more training. But it's a good place to go for around $50 for an evening.

Alcohol in the news; New Bill could help Microbreweries in illinois

From Wicd/fox

New Bill Could Help Microbreweries in Illinois

with... me

Doesnt' seem to be a transcript.

Alcohol in the news; Whet your whistle, 4.20

From WCIA 3, Illinoishomepage.net

Whet your whistle 4.20

Whet Your Whistle Wednesday welcomes Brian Bowman from Sunsinger Wine and Spirits.

The wines were from California and Crete. One was Alexakis Malvasia Aromatica, the other was (possibly) vangrieve de rose.

Sunsinger is closed on easter so if you want some wine from them for Sunday, you must go by Saturday

Alcohol in the news; Eagle Rare at Seven Saints

from the Buzz

Eagle Rare at Seven Saints

Seven Saints does whiskey so, so damn good. One of the things that makes them way up there for whiskey in CU is their reserve barrels. They had a hand-selected barrel of Buffalo Trace that then became their own Seven Saints reserve, and next on the list is Eagle Rare. So I could have a basis for comparison, I gave their regular 10 year a taste.

Eagle Rare is a bourbon owned by the Buffalo Trace Company, which also makes a whole slew of other whiskeys. It doesn't have a whole lot of rye in it, so it has a lot of sweetness and toasty, warm flavors instead of the spice and bite of high-rye bourbons.

The color in the glass is a warm, golden amber color. The nose has a toasted caramel scent with some burnt leafy, oak qualities and some citrus. The drink starts sweet and woody and kinda spikes into this grain and charcoal flavor that's done incredibly well. Then the drink blossoms into a sugary, vanilla sweetness that coats the whole mouth at the end of the drink. It develops lightly but lingers with a very sweet finish.

Overall, it was a little sugary sweet for me in the finish, but with a few drops of water, some of that was subdued, and it became a fantastic whiskey. It's very sippable and offers some great flavors.

Good review, and it's a good whiskey. Eagle Rare is one of my favorites, probably because of the sugary sweet finish.