June Skinner Sawyers - Chicago Beer: A History of Brewing, Public Drinking and the Corner Bar

CHEERS

Chicago Beergot its start as a guide to craft breweries in Chicago for indie publishers Deirdre Greene and Nigel Quinney. It has since morphed into the current project. Either way, whether one says cheers, prost, slinte, na zdrowie, skol or salud, thanks are in order. With that in mind, I would like to offer my gratitude to the brewers, craft beer owners and other like-minded folk who took the time to answer my queries. They include the following: Jeff Marshall at Heartland Beer, Phil Williamson-Link at Pipeworks, Keith Peltz and Todd Rudolf at Two Brothers, J.P. Glunz, Adam Cieslak, Elonzo L. King III at Maplewood, Eric Hobbs at Solemn Oath, Jennifer Galdes at Grapevine PR, Zoe King at On Tour, Aila Myers and Brian Pawola at Pollyanna, Jay Cassel at Short Fuse, Brian Buckman at Illuminated Brew Works, Jason Vucic at Sidelot, Thomas Creech at Goose Island, Dan Schnarr at Lagunitas, Donn Bichsel Jr. and John Carruthers at Revolution, John Freyer at Argus, Matthew Modica at 5 Rabbit, James Owen at 3 Sheeps, Sean Mahoney at BuckleDown, Amy Jones at Burnt City, Hagen Dost at Dovetail, Katy Tilley and Matt Potts at Destihl, Kaitlyn at Begyle, Flavio Gentile and Mason Sane at Printers Row Wine Shop, Andrew Burns at Emmett Brewing, Neil Byers at Horse Thief, Pat Buckstaff at Lake Shore Beverage, Cesar Marron at Sketchbook, Wesley Phillips and Bob Iggins at Windy City Distributing, Bill Hurley at Empirical, Charlie and Katie Davis at Right Bee Cider, Tommy Vasilakis at Brickstone, Lisa Gregor at Church Street, Michael Carroll and Brian Schnell at Band of Bohemia, Josh Gilbert at Temperance, Gary Gulley at Alarmist, Brad Zeller at Aleman, Eileen Fitzgerald at Corridor, Sara Taylor and Meredith Anderson at Half Acre, Beau Forbes at Goose Island, Martin Coad and Michael Cameron at Greenstar/Uncommon Ground, Ben Ustick at Off Color, Trevor Rose-Hamblin at Old Irving Brewery, Jason Klein at Spiteful, Tom Piekarz and Ed Marszewski at Marz, Jared Rouben and Jeremy Cohn at Moody Tongue, Brian Taylor at Whiner, Catherine Price at Ravinia, Bruce Dir at Tighthead, Mike Condon at Noon Whistle, Tom Korder at Penrose, Amy Kamp at Evil Horse, Josh Mowry at Miskatonic, Jake Guidry at Hopewell, Karl Rutherford at Twisted Hippo and Jeremiah Zimmer at Hop Butcher for the World.

Sandy Vox, when she was the assistant sales manager for Total Alcohol Beverage at Jewel Osco, introduced me to many of the above-named brewers, and for that I am forever grateful. Theresa Nugent, Cheryl Sauter, Linda Odegard, Ann Dobbyn, Megan Emish and Tim Gunderson accompanied me on my research and made what was already fun even more enjoyable. During one busy Christmas season, I spent a pleasant afternoon talking to Katala, the bartender at the Field Museum Bistro, whose knowledge of the collection of Field beers was impressive, and several equally pleasant afternoons with Charles Troy in the northern suburbs.

I am indebted to the work of the many fine journalists and historians who have chronicled and continue to chronicle the history of beer and brewing in Chicago, especially Rich Lindberg, Dave Hoekstra (Daves blog is a marvel) and the king of Chicago saloon culture, Bill Savage. Thanks to Paul Durica for introducing me to the work of Kathleen Judge. (Thanks, Kathleen, for allowing me to use your wonderful Beer Lager Riot poster.) And thank you also to Warren Leming for sharing his knowledge about Nelson Algren and beer culture in general.

Josh Noels vast knowledge of beer, and the culture of beer, is impressive; its always a pleasure reading his work in the Chicago Tribune. Thanks to Liz Garibay for her efforts at the Brewmuseum, as well as the entertaining and informative beer seminar at the Newberry Library that I attended on a Saturday afternoon in July with co-presenter Brian Alberts.