New Label Images

We got some requests to post the #666 label (ABV is actually 9.5%), so here it is along with the CE2010

In Search of: TRAIN THEMED NAMES

Our IPA needs a name! Inner Sanctum is a fine name, but all of our house beers have a train themed name. So all of you that have obscure train trivia and knowledge locked up and put away in the old noggin need to find the key. Be the one to gain a piece (albeit minuscule) of history here at Flossmoor. When submitting, please give us the meaning of the name if it is a train term that is unfamiliar to most. For example - Pinhead IPA, (a pinhead is a brakeman). The best name will be collected from the thousands we get :)

Departures: Great Taste of the Midwest 2010

Well, that certainly was a crazy time!

It's amazing how time flies when you are up in Madison, Wisconsin. The dust has settled, the kegs packed up and brought back to the brewey in one piece, and somehow.. all of us are accounted for.

Thanks to everyone that made it out to the Great Taste this last Saturday. We had a blast pouring for you, sampling our colleagues brews, and sweating constantly in the sweltering heat (Well, maybe not that last one).

We ended up pouring through A LOT of beer. Pretty much everything blew by the end of the day and our record of the day was 12 minutes set by our final keg of Rosie Pom American Sour Ale. The Sourheads made their presence felt.

Have no fear though, the early run of Collaborative Evil '10 was just the beginning of that beer. We'll have a proper tapping in two weeks and bottle release some time down the road! Barrel Aged The Turk Saison will see time on the taps and at more festivals in the future and Magnolia Star Malt Liquor is getting tapped proper in just one week! If all that is too long for you, we've got a new IPA tapping TODAY! Catch Inner Sanctum, our first IPA fermented in our brand new dedicated IPA tank in the brewery addition on tap today at 7 PM!

If you want to get in on the festival slate but missed out in Madison, check us out at The Oak Park Microbrew Review this Satuday. We'll be pouring and debuting our version of this year's ReplicAle project (2010 = American Pale Ale). There should be tons of beer, food and fun, and a whole mess of Illinois Craft Brewers Guild breweries to try.

Tickets can be purchased here

We'll have more updates soon and take a look at our Google Calendar when you get a chance. I'll be trying my best to keep it updated as we go forward so you don't miss a thing.

Cheers,

BloggerA

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It begins! Great Taste of the Midwest 2010.. with new and improved banner!

Representing the Illinois Central and Metra Electric

One of our dynamic husband/wife duos manning the taps

Hot weather, tons of beer, and a big crowd = trainwreck? Never.

Bryan and Arnie looking rather official

Like a beacon in the distance.. for those that know the Great Taste of the Midwest..

Upcoming tappings and bottle releases...

Folks, we are at a point where several of the specialty beers are going away and more need to be welcomed (with a party for each of them). I'm tearing up with excitement and anticipation. We are going to have a tapping each week for a month starting with the Good AdWeiss hefeweizen on the 10th.

Next tapping will be August 17th for "Inner Sanctum" IPA 7pm

Next, next tapping will be August 25th for "Magnolia Star Malt Liquor" at 7pm

Next, next, next tapping will be August 31 for "Collaborative Evil - 2010" at 7pm

We will also have a double bottle release of the Beelzebeer and Collaborative Evil at the same time in mid-September, date TBA right now.

Good AdWeiss - Hefeweizen Tapping Tonight

Please join us tonight at 8pm for our tapping of our GABF Pro-Am entry - Good AdWeiss. Homebrewers Zbig and Sylvia Banach have graciously agreed to replicate their award winning hefe here at Flossmoor for a shot at a national medal this September in Denver. Pronounced “Good Advice” since German W’s sound like V’s, this hefeweizen represents a classic ale style originating from southern Germany (Bavaria.) Hefeweizen literally means yeast (hefe) and wheat (weizen), and derives its predominant banana and clove flavors strictly from the yeast. Made with German pilsner and wheat malts and German hops for that “oh-so-authentic” taste. One drinker comments, “It’s like I was at a Munich beer garden right now!” A perfectly refreshing, summer ending German wheat beer.

Cheers!

Brewery Updates and New Beer Info

Just wanted to update everyone as to what is going on at the Station and what can be expected from the taps. We have just finished filling our new 30BBL fermenter with our Inner Sanctum IPA. This will be a new year round "house" beer that will be available. We are not completely eliminating the wax-topped, one off IPAs, as these will be coming out as four seasonal IPAs throughout the year.

We will be announcing a tapping date soon for the Good AdWeiss hefeweizen that our homebrew duo, Zbig and Sylvia Banach, have graciously helped brew as part of our Pro-Am beer. For those unfamiliar to the Pro-Am competition, it is a separate category of the Great American Beer Festival that pairs award winning homebrewers with a professional counterpart, who compete together against other "Pro-Am" teams. The recipe is one that the homebrewer must have won a best of category (at least) in an AHA sanctioned homebrew competition. Zbig and Sylvia won Best in Show for their Good AdWeiss and we were happy to brew it with them.

Also in the tanks is our Collaborative Evil 2010. Todd Ashman constructed a nice release for the collaboration, http://beernews.org/2010/07/collaborative-evil-2010-revealed/ , and the beer should prove an interesting one for each brewery to add a unique spin. Our Collaborative Evil this year is a Smoked Imperial Porter. Our unique spin on the style was to add Breiss cherry wood smoked malt which imparts a noticeable smoke character and a very subtle cherry tart coming from the malt. A very mild smoke, we used a little over 5% smoke malt by weight. If the GABF is in your travel plans this year be sure to stop by the pavilion when all os the brewers will talk about their beer and pass out samples. Not going to Denver? Be sure to have the Evil on tap here and sold in bottles (dates yet to be determined.)

Not to be overshadowed by the tappings, releases, etc., our batch #666, Beelzebeer, is seething and fermenting away, ready for release in bottles sometime in early fall. A loosely defined, higher gravity, rich dark ale.

MAGNOLIA STAR, the newly named craft malt liquor, is lagering away and clearing as we speak. Look for it before the end of summer.

Whew! Is that it?? No! We can hardly wait to see everyone at The Great Taste of the Midwest which takes place August 14th is Madison, WI. Per usual, we will have a special tapping list which will include many of the beers which have not been tapped yet such as the Magnolia Star and the CE2010. Come out, support your local brewers, and even try a few you've never heard of for a magnificent craft brewing experience.

Thanks

Bryan

Weekend Service Update: July 9-11

The weekend is almost here!

Vishnu is manning the taps this weekend and bottles are out now (Darker Green Wax)! The tapping was a busy affair with lots of folks stopping by to experience the return of the hop karma at the brewpub and pick up some bottles for the road.

Sadly, we also have to let everyone know that the Rosie Pom, our Pomegranate American Sour Ale, is off the taps. We may have a small amount available in the not-so-distant future, but the remainder of this beer will likely be festival bound for you Sourheads out there.

If you've got a little time this afternoon, check out our friends at the HopCast's recent trip to the Beer Hoptacular at the Aragon. While they were there, Bryan got some face time in and talked about our more sessionable side here at the Station. Catch them all (Zephyr Golden Ale, Slumpbuster Dark Mild, Gandy Dancer Honey Rye Ale, and Rx Bohemian Unfiltered Pils) at the brewpub this weekend!

Hop Cast - Episode 103: Hoptacular from Hop Cast on Vimeo.

If you've got time to spare or nothing going on this weekend, Flossmoor will be out and about this weekend at two different events:

First, we'll be pouring some beer at the 7th Annual Barrington Brew Fest from 3 to 7 PM on Saturday the 10th. The fest is pretty easy to get to as it's right next to the Metra Station in Barrington. Stop on by and talk to/worship Bryan.

More details here

Also, we'll be pouring and pairing a keg of the new Vishnu's Vice at Rock Bottom: Warrenville's Pop Malt Brewing Explosion from 1 to 5 PM on Saturday. Come experience your old friend beer paired with gourmet popcorn! I'll be there for awhile, so don't be a stranger.

More details here

In the meantime, everyone have a great weekend and we'll have more info for you soon on some changes to the IPA releases, Batch 666, and our August Festival slate!

Cheers,

BloggerA

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names in the lead so far

Just a quick update... MoPac started strong, but Magnolia Star has surged ahead in the past day. Is this the name you want?? Maybe, maybe not. VOTE!!

Top 10 Malt Liquor Names

After reviewing all of the entries we received for the Malt Liquor Naming Contest (100+!), we have painstakingly trimmed the list to 10. If you see your name congratulations, if not, we probably laughed hysterically because it was so non-politically correct. All the submissions were definitely entertaining. The voting on this will be this week only! Please vote by responding to this post, either by giving the name or the number of your favorite.

Without further ado, here are the finalists in no particular order (with any explanation of name in parenthesis):

1. Sweet Sticky Thing (An Ohio Players Song reference)

2. 26th & Cali (Chicago's main jail)

3. Magnolia Star Malt Liquor (The coach service on the Illinois Central line as opposed to the Panama Limited premier service car)

4. Hobo Gravy

5. Curb Tripper

6. Drunchenschtooper

7. Locomaltive

8. MoPac (the moniker for the Missouri Pacific RR)

9. Bullschlitz

10.Old Flossmoor 800

Malt Liquor Naming Contest

We are going to stop accepting name suggestions for our malt liquor this Sunday at 11:59:59pm. We have been happily overwhelmed by the number of responses that we have received, and will par the list down to 10. Voting will take place from the beginning of next week (Monday, June 28th) and proceed for a week ending Sunday, July 4th at midnight. You are welcome to vote here at the Station, or on the blog. The winner (provided he/she is 21+) will receive a keggie (3.3 gallons) of the newly named beer on the night of the tapping, and if not already in the Mug Club, will be invited to that night's event also. I can honestly say that I am impressed by the thought and imagination that went into some of the name suggestions -- kudos!

New beer release Wednesday, July 7th

We are appropriately reincarnating a previous IPA here at the Station, Vishnu's Vice. This hugely hopped IPA just missed the most hops we've ever used by a few ounces! Grapefruit and citrus aromas and flavors explode from this 8% brew making this IPA one of a kind. So grab as many beers as you hands can grab and join us Wednesday evening at 8pm.

Malt Liquor Naming Heating Up

The Malt liquor is being made as I type this, and the naming contest is heating up. So far we have 10 up for election which will happen a week before its release! Get the suggestions in and win some free beer!

No Name beer in need of help

We are looking for suggestions for the next specialty beer! We are making a malt liquor on Friday and think that this beer could inspire a load of great names. We have a few names in the running for top place but the more ideas we get the better the name will be. Winner gets a keggie(3.3gal) of the beer free! Good luck.

Get some Rosie Pom at the Station

We have just put on tap our latest sour to come straight from the barrel. Rosie Pom is a deep red American sour aged on pomegranates. Get a snifter today!

Departures: Chicago Craft Beer Week

And with that, the dust has settled and we have put a bow on the whirlwind that was the First Chicago Craft Beer Week!

If you joined us, you know what a wild and crazy ride it was. With Flossmoor participating in several events, a few new beer debuts, and plenty of fun it certainly was a great if not labor intensive week.

Whether you stopped out and tried the ".357" Imperial Pilsner at Beer Mapping and HopCast's Rare Beer Event, indulged in Chef Eduardo's culinary art at our Beer-B-Que Beer Dinner, enjoyed a great day out at the Illiana Mayfest in Crown Point (And man, what a great turnout for a first year festival), or even just stopped in at the brewpub to try the new Slump Buster Mild or the 1492 IPA, we're happy to have had you as our guest or out supporting Flossmoor.

But, we certainly aren't going to rest now. We just tapped the new Diesel Rellik IPA last week and we're already working on new beers on the horizon, some visits from some old friends on tap, and more events out and around town with the Chicago Beer Hoptacular this weekend at the Aragon Ballroom hosting some of our beers. Keep following the blog and twitter so you know what's getting tapped and what events and releases are going down.

Cheers,

BloggerA

Beer-B-Que Dinner Menu

First Course - Applewood Smoked Bacon Wrapped Fiery Shrimp on Asian Slaw

.357 Imperial Pils sees tap time at The Beer Mapping / HopCast Rare Beer Night at Smallbar Fullerton

Weapons of choice at the first Illiana MayFest in Crown Point, Indiana

More action with Bryan and Arnie manning the taps

Richard works his magic pouring some "Rosie Pom", the newest treat from the barrel room. Get one soon!

Beer rumors at the Station

There have been rumors (all true) that there is going to be a beer reincarnation. A beer named after a Hindu deity will be making an appearance here at the Station in a month or two.

Last of .357 going on tap this weekend

The very last 5 gal keg of .357 Magnum will be tapped this weekend. This is fair warning to all of you who have not had a chance to get in and try it. We do have some bottles left though. Cheers

IPA Bottles at Flossmoor and on shelves soon...

Our most recent IPA, Diesel Rellik, is now on shelves here at Flossmoor Station and will be at your favorite Flossmoor beer vendor soon. It will have a light gray wax color. Cheers!

New IPA Tapping Tuesday, May 25th

We will be tapping our Diesel Rellik on Tuesday, May 25th at 8pm (7pm for Mug Club). This beer is coming along nicely and will be dry hopped today with more than 20# of hops! Designed to be a piney, resinous, IPA with a decent malt backing. This IPA will probably be around 7.5% abv as it is still bubbling just a little today. Please join us for a pint!

Flossmoor's Newest Experiment

Recently we have played around with the idea of doing a 100% Brettanomyces fermented beer. This definitely is not the first time it has been done, but this one will be our first. Usually beer is fermented either with a lager or ale yeast. If any wild cultures are added (either wild yeast or lactic bacteria,) most brewers have been adding them as a secondary fermentation.

We have taken a new bourbon barrel, added a light, hoppy wort, added a pitchable quantity of Brettanomyces bruxellensis and let it go. This beer should hopefully be around 5-6%. It could be a train wreck, it could be great, or anywhere in between. I guess that is why they call it an experiment. Yea craft brewing!

Catch us and other Chicago area brewers on THE CHICAGO BREWHOUSE

MetroMix has recently started a blog dedicated to the voices of Chicago area brewers (all of you just shuddered knowing mostly profanity seems to be that voice!) Actually this site is still in its developmental stages, so it is a good time to get involved now. Mainly an outlet to get out ideas, information, and release info, this will give those interested a sneak peak at the musings of those like Jonathan Cutler of Piece, Jared Rouben of the Goose Island Brewpubs, and more. Check us out at http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chicago-brewhouse/

Rare Chicago Beer Night - Wednesday, May 19th

In honor of the first ever Chicago Craft Beer week, our friends at Beer Mapping (www.beermapping.com) and Hop Cast (www.hop-cast.com) have joined forces with Small Bar Fullerton, 1415 W Fullerton, to bring you a Rare Chicago Beer Night. The event features limited beers from over seven local Chicagoland craft breweries. This event is open to the public and will be pay per glass, so enjoy as many as you can before it’s gone. You’re not likely to see all of these beers on tap together anywhere else. So be sure to tell your friends and come join Beer Mapping and the Hop Cast at Small Bar Fullerton to celebrate all the great craft beer that Chicago has to offer. 6pm

AMERICAN CRAFT BEER WEEK

American Craft Beer Week is almost here. To celebrate we are having a week's worth of fun events starting with a tapping on Monday May 17th at 8pm (7pm for Mug Club) of our English dark mild ale, "Slump Buster." It is a 4.5% mild (yes milds are lower, but not here!) with enough complexity to warrant a few pints of this one, so drink up.

On Tuesday, we are holding a Chef and Brewer's dinner with a fantastic menu that I can hardly wait to try. See the previous post for menu details.

We will be featuring a special price on one beer each day from Monday, May 17th to Sunday, May 23rd also.

Finally on Saturday, May 22nd we will be headed out to Crown Point Indiana to participate in the Illiana Mayfest from 4-8pm (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=359838019115&index=1)

Cheers

Bryan

Chef and Brewer's Dinner at the Station

Tuesday, May 18th at 6pm will be our Chef and Brewer's Dinner to help celebrate American Craft Beer Week. It will be a four course dinner for $39. The theme for the dinner is perfect for the time of year as it is an upscale outdoor grilled menu. Chef Eduardo has outdone himself this time incorporating the beers into the recipes Before I butcher a perfectly great menu by not describing it well, let me just list it here:

Appetizer - Apple wood smoked bacon wrapped shrimp paired with the Panama Limited American Red ale.

Salad - Gandy Dancer vinaigrette atop a cilantro and black bean salad with mixed greens paired with Gandy Dancer Honey Rye ale.

Entree - Grilled Ahi tuna with a cocoa butter glaze paired with Tree Hugger Organic Cocoa brown ale / Beef tenderloin medallion with an imperial pilsner casino butter paired with .357 Imperial Pilsner

Dessert - Tamarind/IPA Sorbet paired with 1492 IPA

HopCast #91

For those of you with the "Friday Afternoon Blues", the guys at the HopCast came down to the station earlier in the month for a visit and an interview with Bryan. In it you'll hear some more details about Glunz, the nitty gritty on plans for the Craft Brewers Conference (come and gone), and more about the brewery's ongoing expansion.

Check it out:

Hop Cast - Episode 91 from Hop Cast on Vimeo.

Cheers,

BloggerA

New Local Service

It hasn't really come up much, but we are happy to say that Flossmoor has a new distributor!

Recently, Flossmoor was picked up by Louis Glunz Beer Inc. of the Chicagoland area. Founded in 1888, the company is one of the oldest distributors in the nation. Boasting an impressive portfolio that rivals any other, Flossmoor is happy to be represented by a company with experience distributing many upper echelon brewers including locals such as our good friends at Three Floyds.

Over the last month or so, more bottles have started making their way out and more stores will be getting stock. Be on the look out for our Stationmaster Wheat, Pullman Brown, and our very popular rotating wax dipped Brewer's Whim IPA line in stores in and around Chicagoland. The Glunz webpage is a wealth of information in regards to finding our beers. Their "Find It Near Me" feature on individual listings for beers allows you to simply type in a zipcode to find accounts they service where Flossmoor has been headed lately. Check it out!

We must give some warning though: With the transfer of stock from our old distributor, it appears as though old IPAs have been making it onto the shelves. If you happen to have bought an old IPA (In particular, we are referring to the White Wax bottles from April 2009!) dotting the shelves distributed by Glunz, we'd be happy to swap you out a newer one down at our brewpub.

Cheers,

BloggerA

WBC Pics!

Departures: Pre-Dark Lord Day

Well, it certainly was a big weekend in the beer world!

On April 23rd, Flossmoor Station threw it's annual Pre-Dark Lord Day celebration! With plans for a bottle release, several special drafts, live music, great food, and the opportunity for local and out of town beer enthusiasts alike to meet, trade, and relax, we hope we did not dissappoint.

The Nic Jones All-Stars rocked the house and some great beers were poured, some from the award winning barrel archives, including Killer Wood, Bourbon McElroy Stout, and Anno Unum (my personal favorite).

If you weren't able to make it out, the brewpub still has bottles of .357 Magnum Imperial Pilsner available for sale at $13 each. Hurry in though, as the .357 is a limited time offering. While you're out, be sure to try the new 1492 IPA while it's fresh and available.

More updates coming soon on Chicago's Craft Beer Week (May 17th - 23rd), new beers, and more events at Flossmoor.

Cheers,

BloggerA

Some pictures for those that could not make it down on Friday:

Outdoor Tapping Area

Bottle Sales Cave/Table

Nic Jones All-Stars Rocking Out

Trading / Sharing Area Early On

The Devil Loves Palm Sugar? Stay Tuned..

Bryan's Fancy Chalk Adverts

What a weekend...

Well, judging by the fact that I saw many of you on Friday AND Saturday, I can say that many people had a great beer weekend. Thanks to all of you who made it out to the "day before" celebration and our bottle release of the .357. We definitely consider it a success and will share notes to try and make it even better next year. If there are any suggestions that anyone might have to make the experience here more enjoyable, please let us know!!

We will be uploading what pictures made it out of the weekend (either through the censors or in one piece!) soon so check back to see some of the mayhem.

Cheers!

Bryan

RAIN or SHINE

It looks like rain might be a possibility for the Friday events happening here at the Station -- bring your ponchos and rubber boots! We are holding the festivities rain or shine (just under a few more tents for rain). We will selling the bottles of .357 from the basement steel rolling door south of the main entrance on sterling avenue. If there are enough people to form a line please do so towards Flossmoor road. We are still planning to have a fantastic time with this no matter what the weather.

NEXT IPA TAPPING

We will be tapping 1492 IPA on Monday, April 19th at 8pm. The generous usage of Columbus hops in this American IPA have inspired the naming of this one. Please join us for pint and fun!

PRE-Dark Lord Day April 23rd

There is only enough time to take a few relaxing breaths before the next big thing is here! We will be holding a party on Friday, April 23rd, NOON in celebration of our .357 Imperial Pilsner. The events will take place on the outside deck/patio near the caboose. We will begin bottle sales for this at NOON with a 6 bottle maximum. The price of the 22oz, wax topped, 12% goodness is $13 tax included. For this day only, special beers with special prices will be pouring from a draft box.

For all the out-of town guests who are (hopefully) bringing in coastal beers or other rare offerings for trade, we will be hosting a Trading Area immediately in the fenced in area around the caboose. Please be respectful of the unique opportunity and limit such trading activity to this area.

We also have the pleasure of hosting the Nic Jones All-Stars at 6pm for live music.

Can't wait to see all of you there!

Tapping Tomorrow

Please join Flossmoor Station for a tapping of our Tree Hugger, Organic Cocoa Brown, at 8pm. This beer is organic from the malt and hops, right down to the Madagascan Cocoa nibs. At 5.3% this lighter bodied brown has a pronounced dark chocolate aroma and flavor.

PULLMAN'S RESERVE - WORLD BEER CUP -- BRONZE

After weeks of hard work and preparation, we were not disappointed with the results of the World Beer Cup Saturday night. Pullman's Reserve was given the bronze nod in Catagory 16 - Wood and Barrel Aged Beers. A total of 34 entries made up the catagory from pales and ambers to dark beers. In total for 90 categories, 268 awards were given to delicious beers and thousands more fine beers did not. Thanks for everyone's support and patronage in this past year at Flossmoor (whew! it has already been a year!) I guess time really does fly when you are having fun.

Bryan Shimkos

New Happenings at the Station

Check this out!!

Craft Brewers Conference Tap List at Flossmoor

For the week of April 5th through April 10th, we will be featuring a select tap line dedicated to beers saved for just such an occasion. You absolutely can not miss some of these beers, as this will be the last time you will ever see them again! (ok a little dramatic, but you get the point) There will be only one style a day, with the exception of Saturday. Here are the beers:

MONDAY - The Turk (Belgian Saison)
TUESDAY - Barrel-aged 12 (Belgian Golden Strong, lightly soured)
WEDNESDAY - Darker Matter (Coffee Imperial Stout)
THURSDAY - Bourbon McElroy (Bourbon Imperial Stout)
FRIDAY - Pullman's Reserve (Bourbon barrel-aged Brown Porter)
SATURDAY - Killer Wood (Bourbon barrel-aged Baltic Porter)
Anno Unum (American Sour)

Flossmoor Brewers Past and Present at Map Room

Todd Ashman, Matt Van Wyk, and I will all be pouring a selection at the Map Room on Thursday, April 8, at 5:30pm. Todd will have his Totality Imperial Stout, Matt will have an Espresso Stout, and we will be pouring Hi-Fi Rye Wine. Each keg is only a 5 gallon keg so get there early! There will be also some cheese pairings and some small bites from the Map Room also.

Tapping Announcement

We will be tapping the Tree Hugger Organic Chocolate Brown on Tuesday, April 13th at 8pm. It is a beer brewed with all organic malt, organic Boadicea hops, and organic Madagascar Cocoa Nibs. 5.6% ABV

Day and Night of the Living Ales

Here are a few pics from this Saturday's early session at Goose:

New Stout ON

We have tapped a new stout that you may want to try....

Bourbon McElroy -- Bourbon Imperial Stout (10.5%)

Hi-Fi Rye Wine Bottle Release

We are releasing the bottles of our Hi-Fi Rye Wine on Saturday, March 20th at NOON. Hi-Fi is an 11% ABV beer similar to a barleywine, only most of this beer's grain bill was rye. 58% rye in fact. We added a very minute touch of caraway seed for a little more of the "rye bread" flavor. Hopped to balance the huge malt character with pacific northwest hops, this beer has been aging in stainless for the last three months to allow this beer to mellow and mature. This will be a limited release, so we will have a bottle limit set after the total number of cases are counted. First come, first serve.

Mick Jaggery English IPA Tapping

We will be tapping "Mich Jaggery" English IPA on WEDNESDAY, March 10th. This is an English Style IPA, which means the hop varieties used are not the citrus varieties grown in the US, but they yield floral, earthy, and flavors reminiscent of spices. The malt flavors have a more caramel-like and toasty presence than its American counterpart, to support the increased hop complexity. Since this style was invented to survive the journey from England to India, we have added Jaggery to the recipe. This is an Indian palm sugar which imparts a subtle complexity somewhat similar to light brown sugar. Clocking in at 7.5% with over 40#s of hops.

IMPORTANT DATES!!!

Thank goodness the hangover that exists between New Year's and March is OVER and the schedule is filling up. Here are some important dates to remember (some will be re-posted to emphasize the importantness of such important dates):

3/2 - Piece Barleywine Party 8pm (We will be featuring something pretty special)
3/6 - Day and Night of the Living Ales, Goose Island, 1-5pm and 5-10pm - 3 Flossmoor casks
3/10 - "Mick Jaggery" English IPA tapping 8pm
3/13 - Goose Island Stout Fest NOON - three Flossmoor brews
3/20 - Hi-Fi Rye Wine Bottle Release NOON
3/27 - B.O.S.S. Chicago Cup Homebrew Competition

New Beer Born

We are proud to announce a new specialty beer to be bottled and a release for Friday, April 23rd. ".357" Imperial Pilsner will be sold at our spring release party. It will be a 10-12%ABV strong golden lager, with European noble-style hops. We will be having live music, food, and guests from all over the country as they descend on Munster the next day for the D.L. release. Cheers!

New Beers Coming Soon

We will be tapping "The Curse", a traditional German bock beer, on February 23rd at 8pm. This is a medium to dark copper lager with caramel malt and nice lager yeast aromas. The flavor is predominately malt with a moderate hop presence in bitterness, flavor, and aroma. Bocks usually have a minimum 16P starting gravity, with The Curse weighing in at 16.4P, yielding a nice 6.3% ABV bock.

It is also our pleasure to announce that we are also tapping the "Imprompu Pale" the same evening. This is a 5.3%ABV American Pale Ale with hefty additions of Cascade hops. Medium to Medium-light body.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Beer

New Stout NOW POURING

"Up All Night" stout is now pouring at the station. This is a re-release of the Dark Matter Imperial Stout which has been aged on coffee beans for three months. Interestingly, the coffee aromas and flavors still let flavors of dark chocolate and roast malts come out. Give it a try in our goblet for a limited time!

NEW IPA ON SHELVES NOW!!!

Our newest (and now award winning) IPA, "Hoppy, Hoppy, Joy, Joy" is out on shelves today, even if it is our own shelves! It is a royal purple was and is not the same as the Celebration IPA with the same color released quite awhile ago. Currently we are going solo on this batch, but if we have to sell all of the cases bottled right here through our pub, than so be it.

That brings me to another point (rant).... DO NOT AGE IPAs!!! IPAs are meant to be drank fresh and consumed before the hop character has faded. Has anyone ever read the label on a Russian River IPA? They only state this 20 or more times. There is no benefit to aging IPAs. Your wait will be rewarded with muted hops and dashed hopes. Do not patronize locations where they have a wide assortment of our IPAs - that means two things...1) they must charge an arm and a leg for them otherwise they would move (I have heard reports of a $17 of 2008 IPA near Wrigleyville!!!) and 2) they are irresponsibly buying (or being irresponsibly sold) this style of beer. Each one is 1-2 months older than the last, do you really want an old IPA? Aged beers are good if they are the right style - IPA is not that style. So, in conclusion as I get off my soap box, DO NOT AGE YOUR IPAS!!!

2010 CBS Brewpub Shootout Showing

The 12th Annual Chicagoland Brewpub Shootout took place on Saturday the 23rd and from all expectations another success. When the results come out in full I can post them, but for my first time I was pleasantly surprised. A 2nd for Best Beer for "Hoppy, Hoppy, Joy, Joy, IPA" and 2nd in best beer/food pairing (which is why we were all there) for a "Apple-smoked Bacon-wrapped Firey Shrimp over Asian Slaw, with a Dry-hopped Panama Red Ale." Thanks to all of you who came out an voted. A definite "can't miss" event for all of those who have the opportunity.

Out with the old(er) and in with the New

The delicious Devout Stout Oatmeal Stout developed and brewed by Asst. Brewer Richard Grant is currently on is down to the last keg. If you are trying to get this before it is out now is the time. After this one has poured, there will be a Coffee Imperial Stout making its debut. We have a limited amount of this as this was a portion of the Dark Matter that was saved and aged on coffee beans.

HAPPY NEW BEER

Hope everyone had a great time ringing in the new year, I know I did. With the new year comes an announcement of another beer on tap. The bourbon barrel aged "12" is now on and pouring. It is a 16 month aged Belgian-style Golden Strong Ale. Look for it next time you're at the station!

12 Beers of Christmas to Begin Dec. 12th

On December 12th for 12 days straight, Flossmoor Station Brewery will release a one-of-a-kind, completely unique beer especially for that day. We will tap the beer when we open and when it is finished, we’ll have the next day to look forward to!

On the first day of Christmas my brewery gave to me…

Tappings!! (Finally)

The dates for the remaining two tappings for the year are set (finally!)

December 17th at 8pm we will be tapping "CHAOS!!!" A Belgian-style IPA

December 22nd at 8pm we will be tapping "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag" - Holiday Ale

CHAOS!!!
Belgian-style IPA - 7.1%

This is a diversion from the American IPAs we have been putting out there. Actually, the inspiration for this beer comes from a west coast brewery that put out this insanely bitter, not very (hop) aromatic, light colored Belgian-style beer. This one was to be done at the Station! What we get is a light colored "IPA" that has most of the hops added at the beginning of the boil giving an intense and lingering bitterness. The flavor and aroma additions were small and gave a slight balance to the first hop addition. We have let the yeast do a lot of the talking with the additional flavors of this beer. As the name implies, CHAOS!!! was born into chaos, and has lived its short life in it since. From failed coolant pumps and rousing yeast to stalled fermentation and a very stubborn yeast, this beer has been a volatile handful. Delicious with an attitude. Give this one two sips before passing judgment, it may spill itself on you out of spite.

Santa's Got a Brand New Bag
Belgian-style Holiday Ale ~8.0%

Santa's bag will have new goodies inside if he ever gets a taste of one of these! Not your typical holiday ale, we have left out the usual suspects (clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc...) in favor of some lighter spices which will allow the yeast flavors to come through more cleanly. To get a light citrus flavor to our beer, we have mashed with orange and lemon peel along with a subtle amount of coriander. During the boil we added fresh ginger to accentuate the spicy phenols produced by the yeast. A nice red hue, this one is sure to warm the belly.

Killer Wood is almost out!

The current offering in the Barrel-aged line-up, Killer Wood, is in its final days at the Station. This smooth, silky, bourbon blast was certainly a treat. I am sure that the next one will be even better received. Anno Unum, an unblended sour red ale, will be on tap to ease the KW absence. This is the same beer that has poured at the Great Taste of the Midwest and the 2009 FoBAB. Look for it in the coming week!

New Bourbon Aged Beer on Tap

Killer Kapowski aged 5 months in an oak bourbon barrel (9%) is now pouring under the name "Killer Wood". Delish.

New Stout Pouring Now

Devout Stout (Oatmeal Stout) has been tapped and is currently pouring. This opaque black stout has plenty of roasted malts to keep the chill away. Medium-bodied and moderately hopped, this beer has hints of coffee and earthy flavors. At 5.5%, there may just well be some devout followers of this one! A tip of the hat to Richard Grant, our Assistant Brewer for coming up with this tasty treat.

Black Magic Bottles Now Available

The bottles of Black Magic have rolled off the line and currently available at the brewery with black metallic wax. They should be available shortly at stores in the Chicagoland area soon.

Bottles, bottles, and more bottles....

Black Magic IPA will be in bottles starting Tuesday, November 10th. They will have a Black Metallic wax.

We have in our fermentation tanks a "bottle-only" release beer, and as the release suggests will not be sold on draft. It is called "Hi-Fi Rye". Hi-Fi is a Rye Wine or for those who are all technical and such, a barley wine-style ale made with more than 50% rye malt. Ours happens to be 58% rye and hopefully will finish around 11%. This beer will be aged in stainless and bottled in February for a release of 55 cases. We are splitting this batch with some going into barrels for another bottle release this time next year with a bourbon aged version of Hi-Fi (~75 cases). Can't wait to enjoy this one.

New Bourbon Beer at the Station

Well, it appears all of the Barrel Aged Big Black Pumpkin has been consumed. That is certainly bittersweet as it was a great barrel aged offering. HOWEVER, not to disappoint, we are currently offering the Pullman's Reserve on draft. We took a Pullman Brown ale and aged it in a Bourbon barrel for five months. What we get out is an extremely complex, dark, delicious brew. Flavors of oak, bourbon, and Pullman Brown are equally represented and warm the belly at around 8%ABV. Get your snifter today.

Please note change.......

The IPA tapping date of Nov. 10th has been changed. The new date is Nov. 3rd. Thanks!

Festival of Wood and Barrel-aged Beers Nov. 7th

If there are any Bourbon barrel-aged beer fans out there don't miss this fest. The event is November 7th and consists of two sessions. Info here http://www.illinoisbeer.com/ There will be beers from all over the country from the top breweries. Awards will be given at the evening session for the top honors. Flossmoor will feature 4 beers (all aged in bourbon barrels): Anno Unum Belgian-style Sour, Pullman's Reserve Brown Ale, Killer Kapowski Baltic Porter, and the Big Black Pumpkin. Proceeds from the event go to fund the Illinois Brewer's Guild so come out and support all of Illinois' breweries! See you there.

Beer: Breakfast Beverage???

We are going to be releasing out King Wheat Hefeweizen on Saturday, November 14th at 10:00 AM. This will be our second Hefeweizen Breakfast and we are pleased to be having it again. We will feature a menu with items suited for a German-style breakfast and for an American-style breakfast as well.

Mark the date and time as we will also be releasing the last 24 bottles of Ovation! There will be 24 bottles available at 10AM to the first persons to get them. I am crying a small tear that there is so little available!

Black Magic IPA Tapping!

The newest IPA is in the tanks and ready for dry-hopping. The date has been set for Tuesday, November 3rd at 8pm. This newest IPA is a twist on the style purely for the sake of being different. The Black Magic IPA, as the name implies, is going to have the look of a stout and the taste of a regular IPA. It will be dry-hopped with Chinook only yielding a piney, resinous, and lingering bitterness. We will update the post with the ABV when it is done fermenting. Check back to find out!

Bourbon Barrel Aged Big Black Pumpkin

It has finally come to the season that I love the most - Bourbon Beer season. The temps have just cooled enough that these monsters-in-a-snifter can be quaffed. We will be featuring bourbon aged beers throughout the fall, winter, and maybe spring (if they last.) Initially, we will be rolling out the beers that were in barrels when I arrived. I have a few of my own in the basement, but still a little young. When we keg up all the barrels we have to fill them up again so there is an abundant supply. Here are the stats on the first beer. Hope you enjoy.

Bourbon Barrel-aged Big Black Pumpkin (B4P)

ABV: ~9%

Style: Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter aged in Bourbon Barrels

Description: Pours inky black with brown foam. Aromas are complex with tart, cardamom spice, and bourbon most prevalent. Initial tartness in flavor yields to subtle chocolate and pumpkin spice finish. Slight alcohol warming after drinking.

Sizes Avail: - Snifter ONLY.

PS - LET THE BEER WARM SLIGHTLY BEFORE DRINKING. As the beer warms up, more of the base beer style comes through like the pumpkin and spices. Until then, the bourbon and oak flavors dominate. Remember also this is a bourbon barrel aged beer - flavors of the base beer fade over time, and new interesting ones emerge. Please don't be disappointed if there is just hints of what the beer was before it went into the barrel.

IPA in bottles and CE '09

Just a quick post to let everyone know that our IPA (Hop Huffer) is down to the last couple of cases and will soon be sold out. So get the bottles while you can! However, it will still be on tap in the pub for you to enjoy! Speaking of on tap, we are also down to our very last keg of Collaborative Evil '09 in the pub. Once that goes it will only be available in bottles.

Ruby Brown Munich Dunkel Tapping

The next tapping will take place October 20th, 8pm. We will be releasing our "Ruby Brown" Munich Dunkel (even though many of you have sampled Ms. Brown at previous Oktoberfest events across the city!) This deep copper/brown lager has aromas and flavors of chocolate, roast malts, and a classic lager finish. The body is medium to light and tips the abv scale at 6%. Can't wait to see you all again.

Bryan

ATTENTION!! ATTENTION!! ATTENTION!!

There WILL NOT be any of the Ovation bottles for sale preceding out Oktoberfest due to our labels not receiving approval in time. We will still be having this release pending the approval of the label, and I will announce it at the next tapping as well as on the blog. Please let us say we are truly sorry for this snafu.

There WILL BE plenty of Collaborative Evil '09 for sale beginning at 10am for Mug Club Members and at 11am for the general public. Can't wait to see everyone.

Upcoming Tapping

The next tapping will on Tuesday the 29th of Sept. We will be tapping the Hop Huffer IPA, a wet hop IPA (Chinook, Ahtanum) clocking in at around 8% abv. We look forward to seeing you there. Now, we are headed out to the GABF. Keep your fingers crossed that we win a medal!

Cystic Fibrosis event at the new HALF ACRE brewery

If anyone is looking for a good excuse to drink and support a good cause, check out the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the benefit happening at Half Acre Oct 2nd 7:30 -10:30 at 4257 N Lincoln Ave. We'll be there!

Dark Matter has arrived at the Station

There is nothing hypothetical about the Dark Matter that has ended up in the serving tank at Flossmoor. This 9.5% Russian Imperial Stout is rich and complex with coffee, dark chocolate, and slightly burnt tones. The hops are mostly for balance in this intense, big stout. medium to full-bodied with a gentle alcohol warming. Some of this stout will be kegged on coffee beans and re-released when the icicles are forming off our noses. Enjoy some now!

Wet Hops!

Brewed the wet hop IPA today. Fresh, delicious hops brought to us straight from the vine (Chinook hop variety). Smells great....

Up and coming Tapping!

The next tapping will be on Tuesday, September 15. We will be tapping the Collaborative Evil at 8pm. Due to it's potency (10.6% abv) it will be served in snifters. We look forward to seeing you there!

Dark Matter is Brewing

Brewed an Imperial Stout called "Dark Matter" today. It's very heavy...

Some More Great Taste Pics

But Wait There's More!

We are also tapping The Turk Belgian Saison on Aug. 20th. This saison has spicy notes due to the Saaz hops used in the boil and is rounded out with a nice Belgian yeast.

TAPPING! TAPPING! TAPPING!

It's that time again. Tapping Time!
Freshly Uberhopped (during our boil) is an Imperial IPA with 6 hop additions and 40 plus pounds of hops added. Do you like hops? Then you WILL like this! When and where you ask? 8pm at the Floss. Be there on Tues. Aug 18th or miss out on the bitterness...

GTOTMW 2009

Here's some pics from the Great Taste. Once again it was a beautiful day, albeit hot and humid, for the event. The rain clouds parted by the fest opening and the beer gods smiled upon us. Cheers to everyone who stopped by Flossmoor to sample our beer! More pics to come...

Great Taste!

Don't forget, the Great Taste of the Midwest is this weekend. We look forward to seeing all of you out there at our booth!

Farewell to the Intern

Some of you may have met Nick, our intern, during the last month. He has helped us out and had some hands-on training. Yesterday was his last day with us at Flossmoor as he goes on to intern somewhere else before he starts beer school in the fall. Good luck Nick with all of your brewing pursuits!