{"id":22380,"date":"2017-12-18T09:42:18","date_gmt":"2017-12-18T15:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.guysdrinkingbeer.com\/?p=22380"},"modified":"2021-09-13T18:34:33","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T23:34:33","slug":"the-2017-chicagoland-craft-beer-almanac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.guysdrinkingbeer.com\/the-2017-chicagoland-craft-beer-almanac\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2017 Chicagoland Craft Beer Almanac"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n It was another busy year in the world of beer — not so much in openings and acquisitions (though those definitely happened) but moreso about a couple dividing lines being drawn. Lines between those who like hazy beers and who don’t, and those who are independent and not.<\/p>\n A major thread throughout 2017 was the ongoing battle between AB\/InBev’s High End division and the Brewers Association — throughout the year we saw the two camps go back and forth about “independent craft,” labels, logos, buyouts and transparency. The whole battle reached its peak midway through the year, starting with the purchase of Wicked Weed<\/a> on May 3 and bookended in late June with the release of a video<\/a> featuring A-B High End brewers pushing back against the waves of bad buyout press trying to redefine wine and spirits as a common enemy.<\/p>\n That is encapsulated perhaps nowhere better than the now-famous quote<\/a>\u00a0from Wicked Weed’s Walt Dickinson:<\/p>\n “Meanwhile this armada of boats is coming across the Atlantic to crush us and we are shooting each other with, you know, muskets and slingshots.”<\/em><\/p>\n Following that, the rest of 2017 saw breweries taking sides over the BA’s decision to create a logo<\/a> proclaiming who was “independent craft” and more importantly, who wasn’t.<\/p>\n The second major thing that happened throughout the year was watching the parade of all that sweet, sweet juicy dryhop haze as NEIPAs doubled down on their dominance, starting the year as more or less a large fad and ending the year as a fully established style of beer that had breweries like Sam Adams, Ballast Point and Sierra Nevada all announcing plans to roll out hazy brews for 2018.<\/p>\n As a style, it ain’t goin’ nowhere.<\/p>\n Beyond that on a more level, we saw a continuing parade of brewery openings, taproom expansions and the occasional closing to announce. It’s been another busy year — and it’s all recapped right here.<\/p>\n Before we dive in to 2017, why not relive past beer news with almanacs from previous years? We’ve been putting these together for five freaking years:<\/p>\n Here it comes: The 2017 Chicagoland Craft Beer Almanac.<\/p>\n January 3:<\/strong> BeerAdvocate announces their 38 best new breweries to open in 2016, which includes Dovetail <\/strong>and Cruz Blanca.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n January 7: On Tour Brewing<\/strong> opens, bringing the number of West Loop breweries within about 3 blocks of each other up to five.<\/p>\n January 8:<\/strong> The Goose Island<\/strong> Clybourn brewpub closes for five months of renovations<\/a> on this date.<\/p>\n January 11<\/strong>: Pipeworks<\/strong> canned their two-millionth can of beer<\/a> on this date.<\/p>\n January 12:<\/strong> The taproom at Haymarket<\/strong> Brewing’s<\/strong> Bridgman facility opens on this date.<\/a><\/p>\n January 13:<\/strong> News breaks that Finch Beer<\/strong> will be taking over<\/a> the Like Minds<\/strong> facility in the West Loop, and Like Minds will move north to focus on their smaller Milwaukee brewhouse and taproom.<\/p>\n January 18:<\/strong> The distilled products from Maplewood<\/strong> including their Maris Otter whiskey are served for the first time<\/a>\u00a0at an event at Fountainhead.<\/p>\n January 24:<\/strong> Chicago Magazine publishes their Best Bars issue, and Maria’s<\/strong> is named the best bar in the city<\/a>.<\/p>\n January 31:<\/strong> Beers from Half Acre<\/strong>\u00a0are released in Wisconsin<\/a> to store shelves and draft lines.<\/p>\n\n
\nJanuary<\/h3>\n