This content was originally published by The Hop Review, a digital magazine that joined the Hop Culture family in March 2020.
This piece was written by Tom White.
In this week’s Hoplinks, Chicago is the craft capital, you have another shot at BCBS, we get ready for National Lager Day, and two more lists hit our inbox for us to discuss. Let us know what else we missed this week in the comments!
CHICAGO, IL – According to at least one measure, Chicago is now the craft brew capital of the U.S. While the actual winner of that award is certainly up for debate, there’s no doubting the incredible growth seen in the local market over the last few years. [Crain’s Chicago Business]
NORTHCENTER, CHICAGO – If you struck out getting your hands on bottles of this year’s Bourbon County on Black Friday, your best and last shot might be this weekend at Northcenter’s Bottles & Cans. As they’ve done for the last couple year’s, the store will hold a raffle at 11 AM this Sunday, meaning there’s no need to line up in the cold. Check out all the details on their Facebook page. [Bottles & Cans Facebook]
CHICAGO, IL – Looking for a new hangout this weekend? Check out Thrillist’s list of the best new bars in Chicago. We’ve can vouch for a couple of these but we’ll never turn down an opportunity to check out a new drinking hole in a new ‘hood. [Thrillist]
USA – We’re told National Lager Day is next week (December 10th) so Let’s Grab a Beer is looking to spread some knowledge with this lager infographic. So grab a celebratory lager this weekend and appreciate what it takes to brew the “world’s most versatile beer.” [@LetsGrabABeer]
USA – There’s nothing like a list to get people talking but the latest to come across our desk uses data to back it up rather than one person’s opinion. This list of the best ranked IPA in every state uses ratings from Untappd, BeerAdvocate, and RateBeer to make picks from the most popular beer style. There are still quite a few surprises but there’s no doubt some solid beers here. [SC Times]
Photograph from our interview with Bottles & Cans in 2013