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Beer Tue May 05 2015
Rub Shoulders with Brewers at New "Beer Social"
If you're passionate about beer, you like to talk about it. But rarely does the opportunity arise to talk directly with the people who make that beer. A new event series at Hopleaf hopes to change that.
On Tuesay, May 12, bartender Mark Bullock premieres Beers and Big Shoulders, a monthly "beer social" that introduces beer lovers to local craft brewers in an intimate setting. The special guests will be Ed Marszewski, founder and owner of Marz Community Brewing, and his brewers, Eric Olson, Tim Lange, Eli Espinoza and Alex Robertson. Bullock will conduct a brief interview with the brewers about their beers, plans for the future and the local craft beer scene in general, then open it up for audience questions.
"It'll be a loose interview scenario with a Q&A session to follow -- and then you can hang out afterwards and talk to everybody and drink some more beer," Bullock said.
Four Marz beers will be on tap, and attendees will receive 6.5 ounce samples of each -- as well as any bottles the brewers happen to bring. Appetizers from the Hopleaf kitchen will be served. Full-sized beers and food will also be available for purchase.
"A lot of people don't know about all the breweries that have been popping up left, right and center in the city," said Bullock. "So I'm picking ones that I like, that I think are worth introducing to consumers to, and letting them interact with the brewers. Part of what makes craft beer so cool is that you can get get to know the people. It's like, with Anheuser-Busch -- you'll never meet the president and owner or the head brewer of Anheuser-Busch anywhere unless it's by weird chance. This is cool because you can actually interact with the brewers and hear stories about what inspired them to start their breweries, the cool ideas they have, and see how unique each of these breweries are."
On June 9, Pipeworks will be the guest, followed by Metropolitan and Off Color July 14, Spiteful Aug. 11 and Temperance Sept. 8.
"I wanted Marz and Pipeworks to be my two leaders, because I think those are the two most interesting breweries in the Chicago region right now," Bullock explained. "Pipeworks have been doing great stuff for a long time, but Marz is the one that really stands out to me in the last year, I'd say, and I like their ethos. The way they want to brew their beer and their idea of how they think Chicago's brewing should be I think is really good. They're really focused on the neighborhood, like every neighborhood should have its own little brewery -- I think that's a really cool idea."
Beers and Big Shoulders starts at 7:30pm in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf, 5148 N. Clark St., on the second Tuesday of every month. Tickets are $25, and the event is limited to 40 people. You must be 21 and over to attend.
