Drinking Beer for Syria

Happy 2016 everybody!  We here at IBW labs hope you had a joy filled holiday season and that the damp hand of reality has not slapped back at you too hard yet.    

This Tuesday at Kaiser Tiger (1415 W. Randolph in the West Loop) we will be celebrating the release of a collaboration between IBW & Kaiser Tiger called "Palmyra".  Palmyra is a 4.5% table beer with hibiscus & anise delicately balanced against a pilsner base and our house yeast.  This is a really beautiful beer and everyone involved is quite proud of it.  The release party "Drinking Beer for Syria" starts at 7pm.  

In addition to Palmyra, Kaiser Tiger will be featuring a lamb belly sausage that we made with them. The sausage features a Syrian spice blend zaatar and pairs beautifully with Palmyra.  Kaiser Tiger and it's sister restaurant, Paddy Longs, will be donating $1 from every pint of Palmyra to Chicago's RefugeeOne until the beer is gone from this earth.

Doesn't every cell in your body want to see the above image on a can?? I know, I know.  That little chunk of genius was made by our in-house design wizard Mark Ludeman.  We will be selling a limited number of prints at the event on Tuesday, all proceeds will be going to RefugeeOne as well.

If you like what you've been reading so far, but maybe you're concerned that our opinion might be tainted by a heady mix of bias and narcism, then stop your worrying.  The Chicago Red Eye agreed with our excitement about Palmyra and named it the drink of the week last week.  Read the article here.  It's a great article, in there you can read about the origins of our collaboration, the reasons behind our efforts and where the name Palmyra comes from.  I'm not saying the article will change your life, but it's got as good a chance at that as any other article you might read today.  So give it a shot, eh?

We really hope to see you on Tuesday.  We'll be giving away glasses, stickers, shirts and dating advice.  But most importantly we'll be there, poised like winged jungle cats, ready to banish every last morsel of that post-holiday malaise with only the best tools at our disposal: Beer and Sausage.  

If you need more info, go to the facebook event page.

2016 is looking to be a great year for IBW and we can't wait to share the excitement with you.  We've got a lot more events coming in the next few months so stay tuned for more parties, more delicious collaborations and some really big news.

Let's do this thing.

40 Rounds & Kuma's Take Over

I've got some down time while I brew 40 Rounds this morning.  40 Rounds is the full-bodied black saison that we're brewing 40 Rounds with our friends at the General in Logan Square.  Expect darkness and smoke.  

If you haven't been to the General yet than you have no right to call yourself a Willie Nelson fan.  And you best call yourself a Willie Nelson fan.

We'll be releasing 40 Rounds in mid-October with a Maker's Mark barrel aged version coming later in the seasaon.  Tony, the kitchen wizard over there at the General, will be spinning up some cuisine de la biere with our lovely potion as well.  More on that soon.

But more pressing issues are at hand.

For you nice people in the suburbs we'll be doing a mini-tap take over at the king of all metal burger places, Kuma's in Schaumburg, next Friday, September 25th.  We'll have 4 taps pouring including Orange Sunshine (Citrus Saison), Fnord (Wit), 2 Headed Dog (ESB), and Kallisti (Golden).  Kuma's will be pouring the beer all day, but we'll be on hand to provide suggestions on bad decisions after 7pm.  

Hey!  We've got more shirts in at the web store.  We've also got tin signs for sale.  And, of course, you can always go to our website to find out everywhere you can get IBW beer.

IBW Now in 750ml Bottles!

At very long last, IBW has finally put our first official efforts into 750ml bottles.

Sure, you had the very small run Ed's Leg's that we made for the West Loop Craft Beer Festival.  And that was freaking tasty, yes.  But now we're getting serious.  And by serious we mean putting our beer into bottles so more people can have Interesting Times* more places & more often.  

*Please enjoy with people you trust.

Our first effort is Kallisti, a 7% Belgian Golden Ale.  Here's a little more about this beauty:

"Ancient Greeks told the story of Eris, the goddess off Chaos, leaving a golden apple at a party of the Gods.  On the apple was written Kallisti, “For the Most Beautiful”.  Gods, being as they are, all thought this treasure was meant for them and proceeded to fight over it, initiating the War of Troy.  IBW has built our own golden apple for Chicago.  We’ve taken a traditional golden grist and pushed Calypso hops all the way down through it.  What results is a firm balance of crunchy grain and fruit tartness - notes of pear, honey, apple and flower - and all of it punctuated with white pepper in a bone-dry finish."

Presently, you can get Kallisti at Standard Market in Westmont, Fountainhead Market on Montrose and Capone's Liquor on Elston.  We're adding more shops everyday, stay tuned to our Facebook page for updates on availability.  

And, if that isn't enough, Orange Sunshine should be in stores before the end of the month.

Now go on, get out there and fill up your face with our beer.

IBW "Twilight Zone" Pinball Tournament Sunday 7/12 @ Logan Arcade

This Sunday at 3PM IBW & the Logan Arcade are hosting the Twilight Zone Pinball Tournament!!

We'll be pouring Orange Sunshine (4.6% Citrus Saison), Emperor Norton (7% Witte), & the very rare Templeton Rye Barrel Aged Black Maw (8.5% Black Abbey Stout) at one of our favorite bars in the city, the Logan Arcade!!  

We'll be giving away some bottles of Ed's Legs as well as IBW t-shirts, stickers and even free wet kisses from our Business Maestro Matt Shirley.

The tournament will get started at 3pm sharp and will continue until only one wizard remains. High score for the day on Twilight Zone wins either a case of 750ml Illuminated Brew Works bottles or the chance to design and brew a beer with us!

There will also be old episodes of the Twilight Zone throughout the arcade during the tournament and other surprises.  Don't miss this!!!

If you need more information go to the Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/670128173117141/

See you there!!!

Ed's Legs Bottle Release @ Madison Vine & Kaiser Tiger Tomorrow

Tomorrow night we'll be celebrating our first bottle release!  

Ed's Legs is an American Saison made with flaked barley and American & Australian hops.  The result is an insanely drinkable beer with hints of pear and citrus.  

We're stoked about it and want you to be a part of the celebration.

To start the evening we'll be at Madison Vine Wines at Madison & Ada in the West Loop providing free samples of the beer from 6:30pm - 8:00pm.  There will be bottles available for sale there as well if you want to take some home with you.

At 8:00pm we'll make our way over to Kaiser Tiger where Ed's Legs will be on tap.  We'll have a bocce ball tournament and there will be popcorn avaialable made in the world's only fire breathing popcorn machine (I would guess, anyway).

And, in case you are curious, all of this is to help build excitement for this weekend's West Loop Craft Beer Festival.  40 breweries and West Loop food vendors all gathering outside to celebrate the best neighborhood in Chicago.  Get your tickets here!

We're looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow night!