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.
Holidays, Craft Crawl, and a lot of interviews for the The Hop Review mean it’s been far too long since our last Hoplinks. Luckily, the last couple weeks have seen plenty of happenings in the world of beer to give us plenty to talk about. Sorting through the long list of craft-centric stories, we focus this week on Chicago news and one very impressive Scottish certification.
In this week’s Hoplinks, a brewery gets canned, a hairpiece says some stuff, Chicago gets sour, and a Master gets certified. These are just some of the recent stories that really stuck with us. Let us know what we missed in our Hoplinks absence in the comments. Happy weekend!
CHICAGO, IL – The long awaited canned beers from Pipeworks are finally hitting the shelves next week. The rapidly expanding brewery will can five year-round brews and host several release parties around the city.
CHICAGO, IL – Last week’s foot in mouth comments on Mexican immigrants from Donald Trump led to his brand being dropped by several companies, including Latino owned Chicago brewery 5 Rabbit Cerveceria. Following the unexpected availability of a whole lot of great beer, Gino’s East bought up the remaining kegs and is donating proceeds to the Chicago Latino Center.
CHICAGO, IL – Well respected San Francisco sour brewers Almanac Beer Co. will soon be available in the Windy City. Distributor Wirtz Beverage is going to great lengths to transport the beer, keeping it out of the warehouse and storing it at 38 degrees the entire way from the west coast to store shelves.
WICKER PARK, CHICAGO – Fox 32 News stops into Piece Brewery and Pizzeria to “brew” a beer with brewmaster Jonathan Cutler (check out our interview). In typical local news fashion, awkwardness ensues as the host attempts to lift grain bags and stir wort, all while wearing a suit with a background of country music.
ELLON, UNITED KINGDOM – Another crazy person has climbed the seemingly impossible Master Cicerone mountain. Rob MacKay became the tenth Master Cicerone in the world and, amazingly, the second one at Brewdog. Congrats… now time for us to study up for the Certified Cicerone exam.
Photo from the Pipeworks Brewing Company Facebook page