Visit to Half Acre Beer Company (Chicago, IL)

I'd heard about it for months, one of the highest rated pale ales in the nation according to beer advocate; Daisy Cutter. A friend was visiting Chicago, so of course I asked for him to mule some back, which he kindly obliged. Ever since pouring that hoppy, delicious brew out of its tall, silver can, I was hooked. Daisy Cutter, which is named for the bomb used in Vietnam to flatten everything it encountered, is not over the top in any way, on the lower side of the alcohol scale (5.2%, I believe), and so easy to drink. From then on, Half Acre Beer Company had captured my curiosity. 

You may have noticed through reading this, that when I have to go out of town for work, I typically leverage the time away to visit breweries and try new beers. One such occasion occurred just a couple of weeks ago when I visited Wisconsin for a few days. On top of hitting 3 Floyds on the way there (Dark Lord and BA Blacksun on tap... Mmmm), I decided to check out Half Acre on the way back home.

I hadn't heard of anyone visiting Half Acre, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. For some reason, I envisioned a tap room/bar similar in size to Greenbush/Four Horsemen/Bare Hands. Much to my surprise, this was not a place to come in and stay a while. Roughly 20' x 30' and no chairs, this tap room was designed for picking up beer to go and merch, then getting the hell out. For me, after days away from home, and on my last leg of a 9 hour drive, it was a relief to not be tempted to stay a while. After briefly looking over everything they had to offer, I picked up a bottle of "Ginger Twin," a very tasty Imperial Red, from the cooler, along with a growler of "Chocolate Camaro." Chocolate Camaro was also a new one for me, but after tasting a sample, I knew this was something I wanted to bring home. At only 5%, this milk stout packs a lot of chocolate and hop flavor into a relatively light brew.

I'll be in Chicago again soon, and cannot wait to see what they have to offer at that time. If you're ever on the North side when they are open, do yourself a favor and stop by. I've already contacted the fine folks at Half Acre, and they agreed to show me around the next time I'm in town. Stay tuned for many scenic photos of stainless fermentors, among other breathtaking brewing equipment.

Massive Labels Update

As is wont to happen, there was quite a dry spell for new, local, and interesting labels and then suddenly - BOOM! - there have been loads recently. Lots of stuff to look forward to. Sit tight for this massive update.

All labels are for 12oz bottles unless otherwise noted.

Founders Curmudgeon's Better Half - 11.9% Old Ale brewed with molasses and aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels. 750ml bottle. You may already know the deal with this one, but it's rumored to be what was previously known as "Kaiser Curmudgeon" and is likely the next release in the Backstage Series expected to arrive after the first of the year.

Half Acre Big Hugs - 9.5% Imperial Stout. 22oz bottle. A once a year limited release. May be a very small amount end up on Chicagoland shelves, but if you happen to live, or be in, Chicago on December 18th, you might want to stop by their brewery and snag some.

Founders All Day - 4.7% India Pale Ale. Keg collar. Mainly had to post this for Andy because of all the great things he's told me about it, specifically that it's a sessionable, incredibly flavorful IPA. Founders has said this might begin to be bottled sometime in 2012.

Sun King Wee Muckle - 9% Scotch Ale. 16oz can. Winning gold at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival in the Scotch Ale category, Sun King has decided to package this brew into their trademark tallboy cans.

Short's Pontius Road Pilsner - 4.7% Czech Pilsner. Previously only available at the Short's pub in Bellaire, MI, Pontius Road is now making its way to bottles.

Bell's Harvest Ale - 750ml bottle. Seems to be a fresh hop/wet hop/harvest style IPA of unknown ABV, at least to this blogger. Probably, and unfortunately, will be a Kalamazoo release only, but as you can tell from the previous sentence, I couldn't find much about it. Sure would like to get my hands on a bottle though.

Brewery Vivant Kludde - 9.5% Belgian Style Dark Ale. 16oz can. From the makers of what is likely America's first canned Belgian IPA, Triomphe, comes Kludde, a canned Belgian Style Dark Ale.

Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale - 4.4% Wheat. 12oz can. It's 312... IN A CAN! (You may now return to your regular hating of GI, AB/InBev, United, etc.)

New Albanian Bonfire of the Valkyries - 6% Smoked Black Lager. 22oz bottle. I'll confess to not knowing much about New Albanian or ever having any of their beers, but damn, they do have some really kick-ass labels. This is an update to an existing brand.

New Albanian Solidarity - 8.5% Baltic Porter. 22oz bottle. Again, update to an existing New Albanian brand.

Arcadia Ales Sky High Rye - 6% Rye Pale Ale. 12oz can. Sky High Rye is the second canned brew from the Battle Creek, MI brewery after Whitsun debuted earlier this year.

Three Floyds Live A Rich Life - 8.7% Belgian Style Double India Pale Ale. 22oz bottle. Similar to the Founders Curmudgeon's Better Half name change, it appears this is actually Shark Pants - which I might interject probably has the coolest label that I don't think actually appeared on a bottle - re-branded. The rumor mill was grinding out theories that FFF might have had to change the label due to issues with the original's artist.

Avery Trogdor the Burninator - 7.6% Smoked Doppelbock. Keg collar. Why would I put a simple keg collar from a brewery in Boulder, CO that we'll probably not see around these parts? First, Avery puts out some quality products and you can usually find some in Michigan. (They pulled out of Indiana earlier this year.) Second, because they named this beer after one of the Internet's earlier and greater cartoons/memes. Apparently they brewed this as a one-off in the past and are now bringing it back for a second round. Never heard of Trogdor? Do yourself a favor and waste the rest of your day watching Strong Bad.

Half Acre Expanding Brewery, Increasing Output

We give a lot of love to our Indiana and Michigan craft brethren, but I wanted to drop a note about a neighbor to the west - Chicago, IL based, and locally owned, Half Acre Beer Company.

Located at 4257 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago, this relatively small outfit is comparable to Indianapolis' Sun King Brewing when in its infancy, currently putting out around 7,500 barrels per year from their 10,000 square foot facility. Sun King made 5,200 barrels in their first full year of production from their similar sized 13,000 square foot facility. (They've since expanded into an additional 13,000 square feet.) Contrast Half Acre's footprint with, say, Bell's Brewery, at an estimated 75,000 square feet by the end of their expansion, and you've got an idea of what they're working with.

Founded in 2007, Half Acre's lineup includes many well received brews, such as year-rounders Daisy Cutter (5.2% pale ale), Over Ale (6% brown ale), and Gossamer (4.2% blonde ale), along with specialties and one-offs such as the recently frenzied over Galactic Double Daisy Cutter (8% double/imperial IPA). Their year round wares are sold in 16oz cans, with the specialties and one-offs in bottled packaging.

As reported in the Chicago Tribune, Half Acre is now expanding. Though they're only growing by 1,300 square feet, the additional space is expected to contribute to doubling production - Up to about 15,000 barrels per year. Through more efficient use of their space, co-owner Matt Gallagher says the result will be "less inventory outages and more specialty beers...by mid-2012." Great news!

Right?

Well, yes, fantastic news for Chicagoans. Unfortunately for Hoosiers, it doesn't appear Half Acre is going to increase distribution beyond Chicago for the foreseeable future. Us here in South Bend have the good fortune of being relatively close, but the majority of Indiana is likely missing out.

If you haven't picked up any Half Acre on trips to, or passing through, Chicago yet, I highly recommend you give them a shot. In turn, we might encourage their continued growth and one day see them enter the Indiana market. Hopefully soon, Half Acre will be what's "In Your Guts"!

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Semi-breaking news: As I was wrapping up this post and about to publish, I happened to receive word that the indispensable Binny's Beverage Depot - another place you should definitely visit in Chicago - is hosting a Half Acre Galactic Double Daisy Cutter tapping a week from today, 10/26, at the South Loop Binny's location from 6-8PM CST (reservations required). I've been told by reliable sources that GDDC is a sublime brew, so stop by if you live, or happen to be, in the area!