United Nations of Beer

Beer on the Pier Chicago

by Matt Morgan
(Beer Delegate, IL, USA)

Beer on the Pier Chicago 2007
Chicago, IL, USA

Beer on the Pier Chicago Beer Fest 2007 hit Navy Pier on May 5th like a hurricane, albeit a mild one. The hulking conglomerate structure that is Navy Pier seemed to barely notice. It could have been that Cinco de Mayo festivities were abundant as well.

Beer on the Pier Chicago took place in festival hall A, on the East end of Navy Pier. My anticipation was stifled by the morphing architecture and cool sculptures that adorn the pier and its surrounding landscape. I've been to Navy Pier several times, but it's usually a few years in between and it always feels like the first time.

So we found festival hall A, got our VIP badges and wristbands and I suddenly felt taller; no, wait, that's just my high-horse. UNOB membership does have its privileges! If you bought tickets in advance, Beer on the Pier was $37.50: if you bought on the day it cost another sawbuck.

We chose to go to the earlier session which was 12-4pm; I believe you can visit both sessions if you don't get completely pissed. There are plenty of restaurants and activities on and around Navy Pier to justify a ten-hour play-date if you have that kind of energy. We thought the first session would be less crowded and I usually can't wait until 6pm for my first beer on a Saturday.

When we entered Beer on the Pier Chicago, I noticed how dark it was. My neon orange wrist-band began to glow and I wished I had worn my pumas with the fat green laces. My eyes must have adjusted to the lighting because it didn't bother me the rest of the afternoon.

More lighting would have helped to better navigate the massive hall without a map of brewer's tables. I didn't have the foresight to print one out from the Beer on the Pier Chicago website: I figured they would have them at the event, but I didn't see any.

Mood lighting aside, there was an amazing amount of elbow room. In fact Janelle asked me how many people I thought were there when we viewed the festival from the mezzanine level.

I said "I don't know, a thousand?" and she chuckled. It's a good thing I don't work for the census bureau. Maybe I was seeing double: there were probably around three or four hundred people at the first session of Beer on the Pier. I'm sure well over a thousand people attended both sessions combined.

What about the beer, you say? Well, there were 42 stations representing about 70 brewers at Beer on the Pier Chicago. I have to round the number of brewers, because distinguishing some beer brands and brewers gets pretty difficult.

Suffice it to say there were a staggering number of beers to try and the global representation was impressive. There were also lots of freebies, raffles and other giveaways, Time Out Chicago magazine and The Onion; America's finest news source, which is hilarious satire if you've never read it.

Click the links for my beer reviews.

We went in order of tables, skipping the more common offerings. First was Mendocino Brewing Company Summer Ale (click for review).

We popped over to the Sprecher Beer table at Beer on the Pier Chicago to see what was new. I tried the Sprecher Generation Porter.

We tried the Japanese beer, Sapporo and all I have to say about that beer is "Eh?". I've never had an Asian brew that swept me off my feet, literally or metaphorically. (Sake is a different story.) Kirin Ichiban beer is probably the most notable of the Japanese beers. Tsingtao is an okay Chinese beer, but


I spend enough money already in support of a burgeoning Chinese economy... thank you, Wal*Mart.

Among the European breweries represented at Beer on the Pier Chicago was Grieskirchner of Austria, with their Jörger Weisse.

Paulaner Hefeweizen is an outstanding example of German craft brewing. I love wheat beers for their many variations (and spellings) that fit under the same umbrella.

Smaltz Brewing Company was hangin' in the back with their He'Brew Chosen Beer varieties. We tried the He'Brew Origin, a pomegranate beer that tasted crisp and righteous. We also tried the Messiah Bold, which the rep called a porter but the website says is a Nut Brown ale; only total beer geeks will split hairs on this argument. I thought it was delicious. Salvation never tasted so good.

I got a chance to put to use some knowledge from a Belgian beer tasting class Janelle and I recently attended. I'll save the details of that for another time, but it was refreshing to see Ommegang Brewery there representing Belgian style ales.

In the past I've had nearly all of their beers; Hennepin, which is a traditional Belgian flavor with a pungent "farmhouse" yeast overtone. Ommegang Abbey Dubbel is darker and stronger trappist-style ale without the monk. Three Philosophers, with its delicious malt flavor, bitter-sweet chocolate undertones mixed with cherry lambic, will pretty much get you laid if you have any accompanying game at all.

Ommegang Witte is a superb specimen of a white beer. I tried the Ommegang Rare Vos Amber Ale, which is the only Ommegang Beer I had never tasted. I remember it was very complex in flavor, but I need to have it on its own in order to develop any kind of opinion about it.

Now stay with me, because this part gets convoluted. The Legendary Alehouse had the biggest line of the day, probably around 40 deep. It looks like a stagecoach converted into a mini-bar.

They represent Eurobrew Inc. importers, a company that carries specialty brands such as Hobgoblin, Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale and Blanche de Namur just to name a few.

But you have no idea what The Legendary Alehouse is until you approach the little window. Remember how I said distinguishing brands and brewers gets difficult? This is an example of one station representing at least five breweries with over 15 brands; "Pimpin' ain't easy." Eurobrew brought a bar to Beer on the Pier Chicago and then put another name on it, which doesn't seem right.

I saw The Legendary Alehouse at Alefest Chicago as well, but I didn't connect the dots. It attracts a lot of attention, but who's getting noticed more, the brewers or the Legendary Alehouse? The Legendary Alehouse is the rabbit-hole from Alice in Wonderland and each brand is a character inside. It's the clown car at the Beer on the Pier Chicago Circus. It's just very clever product alignment when all's said and done.

The story of the day at Beer on the Pier Chicago laid in wait until we approached a humble table with one and I mean only one brand, Sieben's Real Lager Beer.

There was no Light, Dark, Genuine Draft, Extra, Ultra, Rub'n Tug... er, uh, anyway, my point is Sieben's Real Lager Beer is a beer lover's beer. It?s a man's beer with a 5-O'-clock shadow, the sizzle when a steak hits the grill. Too good to summarize in this brief report: click here to read my full review and history.

Having been thoroughly entertained at Beer on the Pier Chicago and feeling considerably "better" than when we arrived we exited into the daylight. Like squinty-eyed moles we blindly staggered down the pier to Dick's Last Resort for a slushy drink, before hopping a cab back to Hyde Park.