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, we add a new ‘burb brewery to our list, HopCat is coming to town, The Mothership touches down, we make plans to drink one highly sought after beer, and a big beer brand gets a big refresh. Let us know what you thought about all these stories in the comments below.
HOMEWOOD, IL — The south ‘burbs have yet another brewery incoming as Rabid Brewery in Homewood just received approval from the village. The owners plan to have a tasting room and even a unique “mug club,” complete with hollowed out horns for drinking. We can’t wait to see how that turns out. [Chicago Tribune]
LINCOLN PARK, CHICAGO — The rapid expansion of the Grand Rapids based HopCat restaurant brand continues, this time in Lincoln Park. The long vacant former Vapiano’s space on Clark and Wrightwood should soon be the newest home of the restaurant should they receive their zoning change from the city. This would be a great addition to a stretch of Clark with far too many vacant storefronts. [DNAinfo]
LAKEVIEW, CHICAGO — Jumping on the funky beer bandwagon, Corridor Brewery & Provisions on the Southport Corridor is launching their Brett beer program, called “The Mothership.” Tabbed as an “urban brewpub twist” on barrel aging, the brewers are inoculating oak spirals with their house Brett strain and adding them to the fermentor. The first brew from the new series is set to release on March 29th. [THR Wire]
NORTHCENTER, CHICAGO — Following Anthony Bourdain’s visit to Chicago for an as yet unaired episode of his CNN show Parts Unknown, Begyle will host a pre-airing watch party for the episode on April 27th. Tickets cost $50 and include a full food menu, beer and wine pairings, and an after party. [Chicagoist]
RIVER NORTH, CHICAGO — The barren craft beer desert of River North will soon have another option, with the craft focused bar Centennial planned to open this summer. The new bar will serve food but promises to have beer “front and center.” [Crain’s Chicago]
BUCKTOWN, CHICAGO — Looking to get your hands on the latest release of Founder’s Kentucky Breakfast Stout? WhirlyBall will be hosting a special release of this year’s KBS, along with vintage pours from 2014 and ’15. There’s no fee to attend the April 1st event and the they’ll also be free games of WhirlyBall. Sounds like a ball. [THR Wire]
CHICAGO — MillerCoors owned Blue Moon got a new look recently, aiming for a cleaner look that’s “more confident and playful.” The rebrand also includes new TV spots which you can expect to see frequently starting this week. MillerCoors is also making a big push for Leinenkugel, with a new ad quirky ad campaign. [Chicago Tribune]
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Photo by Jack Muldowney from our interview with Eileen Garrity at Corridor, prior to their opening in late 2015.