Chicago Craft Beer Week Beer Under Glass And The New Brewer Showcase

• Julia Thiel
• The Forbidden Root booth at Beer Under Glass

Despite (or maybe because of) the dozens upon dozens of Chicago Craft Beer Week events happening this year, I haven’t been to many of them. But I’ve tried to make it count when I did. I made it to the official kick-off event, Beer Under Glass—which was held entirely on the grounds of the Garfield Park Conservatory this year rather than inside, leading some people to refer to it as “Beer Next to Glass.”

Bucket List Brewing, another brand-new endeavor, is currently contract brewing at Slapshot and isn’t really on the market yet. “This is our first hurrah,” one of the owners joked. Aquanaut Brewing, formerly known as Strange Pelican, is operating out of the Ravenswood space originally occupied by (now defunct) Four Paws Brewing; 350 Brewing Company in Tinley Park, run by two friends who’ve known each other since high school, has been two years in the making and will open in June or July. Below are some of the best things I tasted, both at Beer Under Glass and the New Brewer Showcase—some with notes, some without.

Bucket List: Hellfire Club brown ale

Dryhop Brewers: I’m Not a Raccoon saison (a collaboration with the Lincoln Park Zoo; funds from its sale benefit the Red Panda Wish List Fund)