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.
We missed the Hoplinks last week and there’s a reason for that. We were busy attending what felt like most of the hundreds of CCBW events throughout the city and even hosting one of our own. Now that’s over and the city’s craft scene returns to relative normalcy, it’s time to catch up on what we missed in the last couple weeks.
In this edition of the Hoplinks, change is afoot, beer names get weirder, Obama likes beer too, someone makes a beer list, and Uranus is coming to town. Let us know what else we missed in the comments!
SPRINGFIELD, IL – Big changes for the Illinois craft industry are afoot at the state’s capital. As reported earlier this week, the proposed legislation would dramatically increase the max barrel output to be considered a craft brewer from 30,000 to 120,000, in addition to other major changes. Let’s hope this passes as soon as possible so Illinois can stay near the forefront of US craft expansion. [Guys Drinking Beer]
CHICAGO, IL – Pat Berger’s Kaiser Tiger blog is always a good read and his take on the industry running out of beer names is no exception. As we continue to see ever stranger names (ex. anything from Spiteful) adorning shelves at our local bottle shops, you have to admit he has a point. [Kaiser Tiger blog]
WASHINGTON D.C. – Need another sign that craft beer is booming? Even the White House is brewing beer! This interesting behind the scenes look at the process follows the President’s chefs as they homebrew a batch of their Honey Porter. [The White House YouTube]
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Founders put together
a great piece highlighting their “Brewed For Us” mantra. While this is, in the end, a promotional piece, the cinematography is excellent and you can really feel the passion they have for what they do, despite some tough times early in their history. [Founders Brewing YouTube]COMSTOCK, MI – Next week’s highly anticipated release of Uranus has brought out the juvenile comedian in the best of us. The next iteration in the Bell’s Planet Series of beers is a black Double IPA and, understandably, has garnered quite the list of amusing comments on the brewery’s social media. In this video, Bell’s employees read the “best” of the bunch. [Bell’s Brewery YouTube]
ILLINOIS – Another day, another list to argue about. This time, The Culture Trip highlights “The 10 Best Craft Breweries in Illinois.” Several of our favourites make the list along with a few we’re going to have to hit the highway for sometime soon. [The Culture Trip]
Photograph by Joe Madurski