To All of our Fruit Slaves...

Our newest Double Draft Double IPA "FRUIT SLAVE" gets released to most of our city accounts today in limited draft and 750ml formats.
Here's  a partial list, get at it fast, this beauty will not last long:

• Binny's Marcey, Grand, Lakeview, Logan Square & Jefferson
• Ezra's
• Go Tavern
• Liquor Park
• Marias Packaged Goods
• Puerto Rican Liquors
• Printers Row Wine Shop
• Beer Temple
• Beermiscous
• Bitter Pops
• Bottles & Cans
• Capones Liquors
• Grand & Western
• Jerry's Lincoln Square
• Noble Grape
• Vas Liquors
• Warehouse Liquors

To our lovely suburban accounts, we'll be delivering to you next Friday, thanks for being patient. And, as always, if you miss the beer or don't see it at your regular bottle shop, please badger them to buy some or buy more.
You'll also be able to get Fruit Slave at Great Taste of the Midwest tomorrow and Friday Night Flights tonight!
Lots of great stuff happening around the IBW compound, more news coming soon!

You want hazy...

For almost a year now folks have been bugging us for one of those big, hazy, juicy things that seems to have taken the world by storm.

At first, we completely ignored the request, because we are generally head strong, cantankerous bastards down in the shop. Eventually, we caved in a little bit and tried throwing a bone with Hasselhopf and Nabikhopf, our "hopped-up farmhouse" offerings.

Well, today, my juice-mad friends, we have fully rolled over and made a treat to both cloud your mind and make sweet, sweet love to your taste buds. We give you Bulgakhopf.

Bulgakhopf is an 8.5% DIPA made with 2-row and flaked barley. Onto that creamy base we added Equinox, Saphir & Amarillo hops and fermented with a blend of London Ale yeast and saccharomyces trois to give an added depth to the tropical fruit notes. What results is a hazy, juicy potion assembled with one modest goal in mind: your absolute delight. And it hits bottle shops today. It was bottled on Wednesday and is fresh as Hell. Come on and get it.

Fun fact: We named the beer for Mikhail Bulgakov, author of the great book, "The Master & Margarita". That's one of the stars of the novel on the bottle, the demonic cat Behemoth. Behemoth likes vodka, chess, syllogisms... and mayhem.This week we're also releasing "Watermelon Gun", a 6.5% farmhouse beer with 1.5 fresh watermelons in each one of the 10 barrels of beer we made. By our estimations - and those of a team of alcoholic scientists that we brought in for the study - this is the best beer to help crush the incoming summer heat and elevate your mind-trailer to a Mind-Castle.

Both of these beers are being delivered to the following bottle shops today:

• Beer Temple
• Binnys - River North, Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Jefferson, Lakeview, Lincolnwood, Marcey, Niles, River Grove, Skokie
• Bitter Pops
• Bottles & Cans
• Ezras Fresh Market Place
• Grand & Western Liquors
• Iron and Glass
• Liquor Park
• Madison Vine Wines
• Noble Grape
• River Valley Farmers Table
• Vas Foremost Liquors
• Warehouse Liquors

Thanks to everyone - the bars, restaurants, breweries, the guild and people - who helped us celebrate Craft Beer Week this year. It was a great week and we're looking forward to having the best summer ever in 2017. Stay tuned for event announcements, bottle releases and - most importantly - fire notifications so that you can enjoy this summer along with Illuminated Brew Works.

Godspeed!

IBW 2017 Craft Beer Week Schedule

Chicago Craft Beer Week is about to begin & our schedule is packed with fun stuff for you to do; everything from BUG to Twin Peaks and all things in between.
You can find info about all our CCBW2017 events on our website at http://www.ibw-chicago.com/the-events-2/ or, because we love you, we've made the full event list available right here in your in-box.
Read on below and we hope to see you at some of these in the coming weeks!

Thursday, May 18
Beer Under Glass 6:30pm-9:30pm (5:30pm admission for VIP ticket holders) Garfield Park Conservatory | 300 N. Central Park Ave., Chicago IL 60624
$60 for General Admission tickets; $80 for VIP tickets
Tickets on sale now | http://bit.ly/BUG2017
https://www.facebook.com/events/1287663861279407/

Friday, May 19
IBW & Corridor Provisions Double Collab Release 7:00pm - 11:00pm Corridor Provisions
We brewed 2 beers, one at each location and we're releasing them both tonight for Chicago Craft Beer Week 2017.
At the Illuminated bunker we brewed a fresh batch of our first collab together from 2014: 50% Chance of Death... an apple saison with cardamom and szechuan peppercorns.
At Corridor we brewed Laced with Passion... a passionfruit Gose.
Come to Corridor tonight to enjoy both beers, plus a couple more IBW releases as well.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1907930252775828/

Saturday May 20
Ultra Fresh II 4:00 - 8:00pm Right Way Signs 2333 North Seeley Avenue Chicago, IL, 60647
Last Chicago Craft Beer Week, we brought together a slew of local breweries to showcase their freshest beer —kegged or canned within five days of the event. For CCBW 2017, we're taking it to the next level. On Saturday, May 20th, Ultra Fresh II will feature the best breweries Chicagoland has to offer, all pouring the freshest beer you'll ever get your hands on, at one of the city's most unique venues, Right Way Signs of Chicago. Tickets on sale now!
https://www.facebook.com/events/181312535717299/

Bavarian Lodge Tap Take Over 6:00pm - 10:00pm Bavarian Lodge 1800 Ogden Ave Lisle, Illinois 60532
Join Illuminated Brew Works as we tap SEVEN of our beers at our favorite restaurant west of Chicago, the inimitable Bavarian Lodge!
On tap will be:

• Watermelon Gun - 6.3% Farmhouse with Kaffir Lime leaves re-fermented on watermelon
• Augustus Glooped - 9% Salted Chocolate Stout
• Nabhikhopf - 7% Hopped Up Farmhouse with Amarillo
• Fnord - 7% Wit
• Acupulco Gold - 6% Dry Hopped Brett Wheat Ale
• Owsley Stanley - 6.5% Farmhouse barrel aged in a Templeton Rye barrel re-fermented on Oranges
• Sex Cult - 6.3% Tart Farmhouse

Come drink with us and enjoy fantastic German food from the wizard's at Bavarian Lodge. http://www.bavarian-lodge.com

Sunday, May 21
Twin Peaks Season 3 Premiere Party, 7:00pm - 11:00pm, The General 2528 N California, Chicago, IL 60647
Come celebrate the new season of Twin Peaks with IBW and the General. 
We'll have multiple IBW beers on tap, the General will be making special cocktails and we'll be pouring the one time only "Fish In The Percolator"... an IBW oyster gose poured through fresh Abacus Coffee beans. 
Come dressed as your favorite Twin Peaks character for a chance to win IBW shirts, posters, bottles of beer and more!
https://www.facebook.com/events/118596945370090/

Monday, May 22
Pub Royale Saisonathon, 7:00pm - 11:00pm, Pub Royale 2049 W Division St. Chicago, IL 60622
We’re gathering the best saisons from around Chicago and putting them on tap at Pub Royale on Monday, May 22 during Chicago Craft Beer Week.
Come on by, grab a few, try some of Pub Royale’s delicious British and Northern Indian-inspired dishes, and celebrate this style in style during CCBW!
https://www.facebook.com/events/365051737224751/

Tuesday, May 23
IBW CCBW Bon Fire, 7:30pm - 11:30pm, IBW 415 N Sangamon St, Chicago, IL 60647
Join Illuminated Brew Works along with Dry Hop Brewers, Around the Bend & Maplewood Brewery as we inaugurate the 2017 summer with the first fire of the year!
The Columbine's will be providing the music, Arman will be smoking some pork shoulder and beers will be on hand from all four breweries.
Like all of our fires, this event is 100% FREE, all you need to do is be one of the first 200 people to RSVP when the notice goes out from our email list on May 21st. RSVPs will go fast, so make sure you are ready.
Sign up for our email list at http://www.ibw-chicago.com to be notified.

Thursday, May 25
4th Annual NW Side Craft Beer Ride
It's the 4th Annual NW Side Craft Beer Ride! - a tour of NW Side bars, each one featuring a local craft brewery. There is a continuous bus route that runs in a loop from 6pm-12am with 3 buses. Simply show up at one of the 9 bars and a bus will come and take you around to all of the other locations. Get off where you want, have a beer and meet a brewer. Another bus will pick you up and take you on the loop. Sounds fun? Get on the bus!
Tickets (covers bus only-must be 21): http://www.lakeeffectbrewing.com/shop/guhloj2yu6wa3ugeekbasvsdnvci5c/…/guhloj2yu6wa3ugeekbasvsd…

New Era IPA Night @ Forbidden Root, 7:00pm - 11:00pm, Forbidden Root, 1746 W Chicago AveChicago, IL 60622
In celebration of Chicago Craft Beer Week and all things hazy, we dedicate our taps to a new era. We'll be featuring beers from:
Corridor Brewery & Provisions
Hailstorm Brewing Co.
Hubbard's Cave
Illuminated Brew Works
Lake Effect Brewing Company LLC
Marz Community Brewing
Mikerphone Brewing
Noon Whistle Brewing
Sketchbook Brewing Company
https://www.facebook.com/events/1907930252775828/

Alright, there you go. Stay tuned to our Facebook page or Twitter for any updates or changes to the schedule. 

Where & What IBW Bottles to Buy Right Now

Play the IBW Home Game...

We've been hard at work here in our underground bunker pushing out new recipes for bottle release about every 2 weeks since the start of the year. Here's a quick primer on what's available in stores and where to find it:

Nabikhopf (7% Hoppped-up Farmhouse) - Not everything gets better with age. For instance, this juicy, farmhouse style ale made with almost 10 pounds of hops per barrel is best enjoyed while still in the plumb of it’s youth when it’s tropical fruit and citrus notes have been uncompromised by time. And, for a fruit so ripe and bright with flowers, it drinks with a  surprisingly sensual smoothness generally reserved for only the most delightful of sins.
You can find this at Bitter Pops (Chicago), Binny's Jefferson (Chicago), Go Tavern (Chicago), Madison Vine Wines (Chicago), Puerto Rico Food & Liquors (Chicago), Foremost Liquors (Oak Forest), Garden Gourmet (Chicago), Grape & Grain (Homewood), BJs Wine & Spirits (Oswego)

Jinx Remover (5.1% Brett Pale Ale) - This is our brewer Brian's favorite beer that we make. John Douglas, the beverage manager from the Paramount Room, asked us to create a beer that would pair with their special Wednesday night Wagyu beef burgers. We wanted to make something with a caramel heart and enough acidity to cut through the buttery fat of the burger. Using a tart finishing yeast and a pale ale grist we then blended the base beer with our 100% brett fermented Cult of Ed to help accentuate the floral notes of the dry hopped base.  The result is a highly sessionable beer with about four distinct points of flavor, perfect for enjoying with Paramount Room’s delicious burger or enjoying all on it’s own for hours at a time.
You can find this at Beer Temple (Chicago), Binny's Marcey (Chicago), Grand & Western (Chicago),  West Lakeview Liquors (Chicago), Iron & Glass (Romeoville), Art of Beer (Highwood)

Orange Sunshine - (4.8% Citrus Saison) We’ve combined our house yeast, orange and lemon zest and topped it all with experimental German hops.  The result is an insanely sessionable beer with the flavor and complexity of something twice it’s weight in booze.  The wine-dry, crisp body and delicate citrus notes insure you keep Orange Sunshine close during those long Summer days melting your face under the Chicago sun.
You can find this at Beer Temple (Chicago), Binny's Marcey (Chicago), Binny's Jefferson (Chicago), Binny's Lakeview (Chicago) ,Grand & Western (Chicago),  West Lakeview Liquors (Chicago), Bitter Pops (Chicago), Bottles & Cans (Chicago), Logan Liquors (Chicago), Maria's Packaged Goods (Chicago), Warehouse Liquors (Chicago), Madison Vine Wine (Chicago), Grape & Grain (Homewood), Iron & Glass (Romeoville), Foremost Liquors (Oak Forest), Prestige Liquors (Westmont), The Beer Cellar (Glen Ellyn), Binny's Naperville

Fnord - (7% Wit) FNORD harnesses malted wheat & pilsner combined with American and Noble hops to provide a playground for our yeast to enjoy.  The result is a crisp Wit full of complicated herbal, fruit and floral notes dressed in understated wisps of candy and citrus, each working together beneath a rocky, creamy head that helps the medicine go down.  If you don’t see the Fnords, they can’t eat you.
You can find this at Beer Temple (Chicago), Binny's Lakeview (Chicago), Binny's Marcey (Chicago), Warehouse Liquors (Chicago), Red & White (Chicago), Art of Beer (Highwood), Iron & Glass (Romeoville)

IBW-25 - (6.3% Fruited Farmhouse) Discover the miracles of modern chemistry with IBW’s homage to Sandoz Lab's greatest contribution to humankind, IBW-25. A pilsner & wheat grist is dried paper-thin laying the foundation for this crushable farmhouse acidified with tamarind & passion fruit. Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream.
You can find this at Beer Temple (Chicago), Grand & Western (Chicago), Beermiscuous (Chicago), Binny's Marcey (Chicago), Binny's Lakeview (Chicago)

Sex Cult - (6% Tart Farmhouse) Sex Cult is the perfect beverage to pour alongside the bath-salt fondue and catnip jello-molds at your next key party. This tart farmhouse is made with only water, hops, barley, yeast & time while achieving acidity comparable to the best bacteria-born beers. It pairs exceptionally with taboo.
You can find this at Beer Temple (Chicago), Binny''s Lakeview, Binny's Jefferson, Binny's Logan Square (Chicago), Bottles & Cans (Chicago), Fresh Market Place (Chicago), Go Tavern (Chicago), Grand & Western Liquors (Chicago), Madison Vine Wines (Chicago), Noble Grape (Chicago), Puerto Rico Food & Liquors (Chicago), Warehouse Liquors (Chicago), West Lakeview Liquors (Chicago), Garden Gourmet (Chicago), Logan Liquors (Chicago), BJs Wine & Spirits (Oswego), Binny's Glen Ellyn, Binny's Downers Grove, Binny's Naperville, Foremost Liquors (Oak Forest), Grape & Grain (Homewood), Iron & Glass (Romeoville), Prestige Liquors (Westmont), The Beer Cellar (Glen Ellyn)

Augstus Glooped - (9% Salted Chocolate Stout) We’ve combined rye, roast malts, cocoa nibs and alderwood smoked sea salt and boiled everything for 15 hours to create this rich, black beauty offering you the best dark fruits and deep, dark chocolate in a complex, adult stout that comes on like chocolate cake and leaves without linger.
You can find this at Beer Temple (Chicago), Binny''s Lakeview, Binny's Jefferson, Binny's Logan Square (Chicago), Bottles & Cans (Chicago), Fresh Market Place (Chicago), Go Tavern (Chicago), Grand & Western Liquors (Chicago), Madison Vine Wines (Chicago), Noble Grape (Chicago), Puerto Rico Food & Liquors (Chicago), Warehouse Liquors (Chicago), West Lakeview Liquors (Chicago), Garden Gourmet (Chicago), Logan Liquors (Chicago), BJs Wine & Spirits (Oswego), Binny's Glen Ellyn, Binny's Downers Grove, Binny's Naperville, Foremost Liquors (Oak Forest), Grape & Grain (Homewood), Iron & Glass (Romeoville), Prestige Liquors (Westmont), The Beer Cellar (Glen Ellyn)

Alright friends, that's it for now. Get your affairs in order, Craft Beer Week is just around the corner. Keep your eyes peeled for our schedule of CCBW 2017 events later this week.

2017 Orange Sunshine Release, New Blood & More!

There's a lot going on in IBW's underground bunker these days and we're excited to share almost all of it with you!

First and foremost, we are incredibly happy to welcome two new members to our little cult:

Jim Myers joins Wally as our second full-time sales representative. He brings with him years of experience of sales in the healthcare industry and is looking to make a shift to a life more satisfying slinging beers with our fine-feathered crew at IBW.

Mellow Lucas comes at us as a pony-tailed swiss army knife for IBW. Our accounts in the south and west suburbs will get to know Lucas quite well over the coming months as he is handling our suburban roll-out. Lucas will be managing suburban accounts and will also be in the field shaking babies and giving you fine people of suburban Chicago the first tastes of our healthy elixirs. In his spare time, Lucas is lending his brains and brawn to the brewery as our first for reals brewing assistant.

Please raise a glass and join us as we welcome these two fine gentleman!

We accept them! We accept them! One of us! Gooble! Gobble!

Next Tuesday, April 18th we're throwing our annual Orange Sunshine release party! Join us at the Paramount Room where we'll be pouring Orange Sunshine, a very rare keg of Acupulco Gold (100% brett fermented tropical beauty) and, of course, Paramount Room's house beer made by us, Jinx Remover, a brett pale ale.

Music will be provided by the lovely and talented The Columbines as well as a few other guests to be announced.

We'll be giving away shirts, stickers & buttons and making big plans for interplanetary mind streaking. For more information, hit up the Facebook event page. Don't miss this!!!

And for all of you lovely alcoholics that like to play the at-home version of the IBW game, we are releasing Sex Cult - a 6% tart farmhouse made with Huell Melon & Mandarina Bavarian hops - and Augustus Glooped - a thunderous 9% stout made with cocoa nibs and alderwood smoked sea salts - to stores this Friday. You can find them at all your usual spots, pretty much anywhere that sells good local beer (Beer Temple, Grand & Western, Binny's, Bottles & Cans, Bitter Pops, etc... you get the idea).

Alright friends, that's it for now. Get your affairs in order, Craft Beer Week is just around the corner.

See you on Tuesday!