So, er, What's the "official" beer of Chicago? (Des Plaines: area code, costs)

[Drover]

Originally Posted by PokerPlayer1

It's Old Style.

Using the MS Paint program on my computer, I've made a picture of what all Old Style Drinkers from Chicago look like.



His name is Bob and he works for the city.

First of all, you're an artistic visionary.

Second, did Avengerfire approve of you putting his portrait on here?

[Steve-o]

I drink lots of beers, but the two best Chicago area beer companies are Goose Island and Two Brothers. I swear by Goose Island's Honkers Ale (English-style bitter) and Two Brothers Domaine Dupage (French-style ale).

[paytonc]

Originally Posted by FleeTheRustBelt

It always seemed to me (when I last lived in the area five years ago) that Miller beers (MGD and Lite anyway) were more popular than Bud and Bud Light in Chicagoland.

You would be correct: Chicago's the only big city where Miller outsells Bud (per Crain's). Milwaukee is closer in distance and spirit than St. Louis, after all -- heck, at one point Chicago piped water down from Milwaukee (the Waukesha water sent to the 1893 World's Fair), so why not pipe the beer down, too?

That said, Old Style probably has the edge in terms of number of dive bar signs. On the microbrew front, it's been interesting to see how quickly Goose's 312 has displaced its sister Honker's Ale as the token "micro" on taps around town; I prefer Honker's, but I guess 312's lighter and more quaffable.

And yes, long-forgotten Milwaukee swill beers are cropping up in the darker corners of Humboldt Park and Pilsen hipster dives. Schlitz, Hamm's, maybe even Blatz and Heileman -- hard for me to remember, since it's stuff I'll only turn to at the end of a long night out.

[quigboto]

Goose Island Honkers Ale is my all time fave. Unless I'm at Piece, where I'll order the Worryin' Ale. When I'm feeling saucy, anything from Three Floyd's, Bells or Half-Acre is good.

[PokerPlayer1]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

The beer poured from a bottle into a small beer glass.

This is such an old-school Chicago thing...

It's one of those things that when you encounter it someplace other than Chicago- like, a guy ordering (Blue Collar Beer) at a bowling alley bar in Austin, Texas and insisting that he be provided with a glass for it while everyone around him drinks from a bottle or can- you can pretty much bet at even money that he's originally from here.

[Drover]

It's actually not so much a Chicago thing as maybe a northern Midwest thing. Walk into some yokel tavern in the middle of Bumblesnot Wisconsin and order a beer, and they're liable to give you one of the following glasses to pour it in, typically 8 or 10oz capacity:



And if you're really lucky, it'll have a Hamm's logo on it.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by andrew61

I know a number of Chicagoans who favor Ice House. I've only had it once, when I was visiting someone's apartment and they set one in front of me. For cheap swill beer, I thought it really wasn't all that bad.

They still make that? I don't think I've ever seen someone drinking an Icehouse unless they were homeless or 16 or, hilariously, both.

[whosez]

I think Old Style is the official beer of Chicago. Seems that alot of people drink Miller products. I drink either Corona or Stella Artois.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by quadrokeith

I think the majority of people I know default to Miller products (rather than Budweiser).

I've noticed this as well. I never see anyone drinking that nasty rice beer Budweiser.

[almost3am]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

They still make that? I don't think I've ever seen someone drinking an Icehouse unless they were homeless or 16 or, hilariously, both.

Icehouse is still really popular in the parts of the east coast, mainly southeast. It is priced the same as Lite or Bud out there, too, as it was here when it first came out.

Also, I am pretty sure Miller Lite is the #1 selling beer in Chicago.