Solstice Communications

Chicago Craft Beer Week is Thursday, May 16-Sunday, May 26!

Below are some amazing events hosted by Bar on Buena, Fountainhead & SmallBar Division–celebrate in style!

CHICAGO CRAFT BEER WEEK

AT BAR ON BUENA

Bar on Buena, a neighborhood bar with a great beer selection, fun food and an inviting atmosphere, is excited to celebrate CCBW with awesome beer events featuring some amazing breweries.

All of the following events take place at: Bar on Buena

910 W. Buena

Chicago, IL

Thursday, May 16^th

Hinterland Meet the Brewer/Firkin Tapping

Tied to the Hinterland Brewery of the month, Bar on Buena will be hosting a Hinterland Meet the Brewer/Firkin tapping. Brewer Mike Motousek will be there & tappings include Cheer Wheat, IPA and a special Firkin for the occasion. Tapping occurs at 7:00 p.m.

Friday, May 17^th

Founders Tapping

At 7:00 p.m., Bar on Buena will be cracking open a case of Founders Brewery Kentucky Breakfast Stout, some 2011 Breakfast Stout bottles and tapping a keg of Double Trouble.

Thursday, May 23rd

CCBW Medieval Night with Sixpoint Gruitbeer

BOB & Sixpoint Brewery are proud to be offering a special tapping of the Sixpoint Mad Scientist Series #13: Gruitbeer. This ancient, medieval-era ale has been resurrected and perfected by Sixpoint’s Mad Scientists in Brooklyn. In keeping with the Medieval theme of this lost style beer, there will be a screen of Monty Python & the Holy Grail for viewing pleasure. For eating pleasure, enjoy a huge smoked turkey leg prepared by Sir Johnny Van of Ye Olde Johnny Van Smokehouse. For more information, visit the Facebook page. Extra points if you dress up in armor. Or with a sword.

Friday, May 24^th

Allagasm with Allagash Brewing

Join Bar on Buena and Allagash Brewing Company as they honor Chicago Craft Beer Week with ALLAGASM. Extra special Allagash offerings will be on tap, including a few things never seen here before. The exact line-up is to be determined so check back on the Facebook page frequently for updates.

CHICAGO CRAFT BEER WEEK

AT FOUNTAINHEAD

Fountainhead, a well-known craft beer and whisk(e)y bar in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood, will be celebrating Chicago Craft Beer Week with delicious craft beer from local breweries, including a cask day, bar crawl & more!

All of the following events take place at:

Fountainhead

1970 W. Montrose Ave.
Chicago, IL
(773) 697-8204

Thursday, May 16^th

Beer Under Glass at Garfield Park Conservatory

Kick-off event for the week.  Chef Cleetus will be cooking at the event & representing Fountainhead.

Saturday, May 18^th

Local Cask Day!

This will be Fountainhead’s 4^th annual Local Cask Day with casks from favorite local breweries lined up across the bar. Guests order a beer & it is poured directly from the cask. This year, Fountainhead will be offering  a special VIP session for $20. VIP guests can attend starting at 11:00 a.m. and have their pick of the freshest, just tapped kegs in the city. VIP tickets include two free pours and are limited to the first 40 buyers. Featured breweries include Brickstone, Brewery Vivant, Greenbush, Half Acre, Metropolitan & more. Casks will be poured downstairs, but the rooftop will be open and guests are free to wander up & enjoy the drinks in the sunshine. Purchase VIP tickets here. At noon, the doors will open to the public—no tickets required.

Sunday, May 19^th

Chicago version of Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail

Fountainhead is taking part in the Chicago version of Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail. Participants will travel by trolly to five different bars (including Fountainhead) where each will be featuring at least one bourbon & a barrel aged beer.  Fountainhead will have 10 Bourbon Flights available including Buffalo Trace Single Oak Project and RARE Bourbons, Nips and Pints plus a special Bourbon Barrel Aged Beer Tapping. Purchase tickets here.

Tuesday, May 21^st

Old School Hip Hop Night with Victory Brewing

Featuring NATO IPA, Ranch Double IPA, Golden Monkey, Hip Czech Lager, Nitro Uncle Teddy’s Bitter & more.

Wednesday, May 22^nd

Beer Dinner with Begyle Brewery

Join Fountainhead & Begyle Brewing for the launch of a new collaboration beer with Chef Cleetus, as well as a delicious Chicago Craft Beer Week dinner. Chef Cleetus has created a fantastic 3+ course menu paired with amazing Begyle Beers, including the new Cleetus Collab, Crash Landed, Flannel Pajamas and Farmers Hand. Dinner starts at 7:00 p.m. & tickets are $54.26. Secure your seat here! For specific pairings and the menu, click here.

Thursday, May 23^rd

Beer Dinner with Solemn Oath Brewery

Join Fountainhead & Solemn Oath Brewery for a delicious Chicago Craft Beer Week dinner. Chef Cleetus has created an amazing five-course meal that have been carefully paired with special Solemn Oath beers. A brewer will also be on hand to discuss what makes their beers so unique. Dinner starts at 7:00 p.m. & tickets are $73.62. Secure your seat here. For a complete menu and pairings, click here.

CHICAGO CRAFT BEER WEEK:

SMALLBAR DIVISION STYLE

All week long, SmallBar Division will be hosting fun tap events with delicious craft beer from local breweries, as well as a new Beer Brunch with Half Acre! The details for the CCBW events are below.

All of the following events take place at:

SmallBar Division

2049 W. Division
773-772-2727

Thursday, May 16

Chicago Doet Belgie

Tapping at 6:00 p.m.

Kick off Chicago Craft Beer Week in style! Chicago’s best breweries take on classic Belgian styles, often adding their own twist. Enjoy some recent favorites along with Belgian food specials like steamed mussels, pomme frittes and more!

Featured brews include

Half Acre Bones & All

Solemn Oath Famine collab with Lost Abbey

Two Brothers 16th Anniversary

Goose Island Lake Effect

5 Rabbit Missionario

Revolution A Little Crazy

Tuesday, May 21

Cross the Lake Classic: Solemn Oath vs. Greenbush

SmallBar Division is dedicating 12 taps to a 6-shooter showdown with local favorites Solemn Oath representing the East side and Greenbush Brewing from the West side of the lake. Which side is the best? You decide!

Beers include Doom Slayer and Templeton Rye Barrel-aged Mr. Hyde from Greenbush & Famine collab with Lost Abbey, Ultrahighfrequency, Mr. Inappropriate, Snaggletooth Bandana and Heavy Metal Parking Lot from Solemn Oath.

Wednesday, May 22

Division Street I.P.A. Crawl
Starting at 6:00 p.m.

West Coast!

Featuring draft and cask I.P.A.’s from the west coast’s best breweries like Green Flash Black I.P.A., Lagunitas I.P.A., Ballast Point Sculpin and Sierra Nevada Blindfold Black I.P.A. & more!

Also, visit Jerry’s for Midwestern I.P.A.’s and Bangers and Lace for East Coast I.P.A.’s as part of the collaborative West Division Chicago Craft Beer Week I.P.A. Crawl!

$2 off with full tour of all three spots.
Sunday, May 26

Half Acre Beer Brunch
10:00 am.m-2:00 p.m.

Close out Chicago Craft Beer Week with SmallBar Division’s third annual Half Acre Beer Brunch. Enjoy a “food flight” of four Half Acre beers paired with four small plates for one low price of $30 ($7 flight, $23 food).

Beers include…

Half Acre Baume

Half Acre Galactic Double Daisy Cutter

Half Acre Iron Brass

…and more!

Reservations are encouraged via the website open table access, www.smallbardivision.com

Groups of five or more must call 773-772-2727 to reserve a table.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! Katherine Anne Confections, The Big O and Bread & Wine have some great gift ideas, events & date nights planned to make the holiday easy for you! These events (including the perfect way to give your Valentine The Big O!) are a sure way to have a fun-filled February!

February is definitely the month of love, so fall in love with everything from mouth-watering truffles to dynamic dishes for dinner at the tasty events listed below!

Give Your Valentine What They Really Want for Valentine’s Day:

The Big O…Truffle!

at Katherine Anne Confections

Katherine Anne Confections, a locally-focused chocolatier, has teamed up with The Big O, a hand-crafted ginger liqueur made in the Midwest, to create an amazing Valentine’s Day truffle, The Big O! These delightfully rich and complex truffles combine the complex flavors present in The Big O with honey, fresh ginger, Illinois Sparkling champagne and then bathing the ganache in bittersweet chocolate and capped with a miniature white chocolate heart. The Big O truffle has a tangy, toasty nuance that will be sure to give any Valentine the satisfaction of The Big O. Available starting today for $3 each.

Katherine Anne Confections

2745 W. Armitage

Chicago, IL 60647

A Week Of Love & Chocolate 

At Katherine Anne Confections

Katherine Anne Confections, a locally-focused chocolatier, is celebrating Valentine’s Day with several events starting on Saturday, February 9 through Thursday, February 14! Join Katherine Duncan, founder and confectionista, and other Chicago vendors for “A Week of Love and Chocolate” at the Katherine Anne Confections Confiserie. This is the perfect opportunity to support local artisans on this special holiday!                         

The Schedule:

February 9^th from 12:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

Handmade cards from Fixin’ It Up Handmade Card Creations will available for purchase at the Confiserie plus a calligrapher will be on hand to write complimentary love notes for that special someone!

February 10^th from 12:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Illinois Sparkling, Co. will be pouring up complimentary bubbly samples. Stop in & sip on champagne while picking out the perfect truffles, caramels & marshmallows for your loved one!

February 13^th Valentine’s Day Truffle Making Party with Champagne from 6:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a bubbly truffle-making party! As part of the week of celebrations, Katherine Anne Confections’ Confiserie will be hosting an evening of chocolate—perfect timing for delicious, love-infused treats! Katherine opens her kitchen and recipe book to the public as she demystifies the art of making truffles. This is the perfect opportunity to create delicious treats to share with your significant other (or not!).

The party starts off with appetizers, champagne and socializing. Attendees sample the chocolates, discuss pairings and taste ingredients before moving on to designing flavors and creating ganache. Participants will create classic hand-rolled truffles with Katherine’s guidance—in addition, she will share tips and tricks for designing the perfect truffle. Those who attend will create, design, melt, chill, scoop and roll truffles to completion. Each participant will leave with a sampling of the truffles created that day.

Champagne and small bites will also be served. The cost is $60 per person & reservations are required. For tickets & more information, click here http://www.katherine-anne.com/parties.

February 14^th from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Free samples of champagne will be available all day for customers! Last-minute gift-buyers can peruse the delicious treats for the perfect gift while sipping on some complimentary bubbly. Your honey will forgive you if it takes a bit longer!

Katherine Anne Confections

2745 W. Armitage

Chicago, IL 60647

Valentine’s Day Made Easy

With Bread & Wine

Bread & Wine, the neighborhood American bistro, wine bar and market on Chicago’s

Northwest Side, is excited to celebrate Valentine’s Day! Chef Curtis will bring in a

whole lamb from Catalpa Grove Farm to create some amazing specials for this

Valentine’s Day celebration. Some of the Valentine’s Day specials include:

Lamb shoulder rillet, pickled turnip, yogurt. 14

Lamb loin wrapped in lamb belly, white bean puree, ash cracker, braised leeks, romesco. 25

Each couple will be able to choose from three specials (the third TBA) or order from the regular menu and receive a shared amuse bouche at the beginning of the meal. There is no cover charge for this evening and all regular menu items will be available. Reservations are recommended! 

Thursday, February 14 (kitchen will close at 9:30, the bar will stay open)

Bread & Wine

3732 W. Irving Park Rd

Chicago, IL

As you may know, Conan O’Brien is visiting Chicago this week! Last night, he got in touch with his Irish roots while visiting the Irish American Heritage Center and dancing with the Trinity Irish Dancers! If you missed it on TBS on Monday, watch it here: http://teamcoco.com/video/irish-american-remote. Tell us what you think!

Chicago Craft Beer Week is Thursday, May 17-Sunday, May 27 and all week long SmallBar Division will be hosting fun tap events with delicious craft beer from local breweries, as well as a new Beer Brunch with Half Acre! All the details for the CCBW events are below.

Also, enjoy $4 Gumballhead Pints all during CCBW!

All of the following events take place at:

SmallBar Division

2049 W. Division
773-772-2727

Friday, May 18

JOLLY PUMPKIN FEATURE
6:00 p.m. tapping

Enjoy a tapping of 3-5 great beers from Jolly Pumpkin.

Some of the beers include:

Jolly Pumpkin IO Red Saison

Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere

Jolly Pumpkin ES Bam

…more beers will be added.

Saturday, May 19

DAY DRINKIN’ WITH TWO BROTHERS

4:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.

It’s a PATIO PARTY! Celebrate the 15^th anniversary of Two Brother’s Brewing with some great beers!
Some of the beers include:

RedEye Coffee Porter

Bonfire Dunkelweiss

Pillar of Salt

Dog Days Dortmunder Lager

…more beers will be added.

Monday, May 21

GREENBUSH FEATURE
6 p.m. tapping

Join the fun as SmallBar taps some great beers from one of their favorite new breweries.

DRAFT LIST:
Debut of the Templeton Rye Barrel Aged Mr. Hyde!

Greenbush Doomslayer

Greenbush & SmallBar collab Mr. Hyde

Greenbush Isole

…more beers will be added.

Tuesday, May 22

CHICAGO DOET BELGIË

6:00 p.m. tapping

Chicago’s best brewers take on the classic Belgian styles, often adding their own twist. Enjoy some of our recent favorites along with classic Belgian specials like steamed mussels, pomme frites and more.

Half Acre Cipher - 7.5% Belgian strong pale ale
FFF Stygian Darkness – 9% Belgian strong dark ale
Greenbush Isole – 9.7% Belgian dubbel
Dark Horse Sapient – 9.5% abbey tripel
Goose Island Scarlett – 7% strawberry saison
Haymarket Angry Birds – 7.5% Belgian rye IPA

…more beers will be added.

Thursday, May 24

WEST COAST NIGHT

6:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.

Stop in to SmallBar Division for some great beers from three California breweries that have earned a warm spot in all beer loving hearts here in Chicago. Also, stop by Bangers & Lace for an East Coast tap feature or Jerry’s Sandwiches for some Midwestern favorites!

Stone Ruination with Citra – cask

Stone Cali-Belgique IPA

Green Flash Imperial IPA

Stone Vanilla Porter

Green Flash Palate Wrecker

…more beers will be added.

Sunday, May 27

HALF ACRE BEER BRUNCH
10:00 am.m-2:00 p.m.

Cap off Chicago Craft Beer Week with a great beer brunch featuring specialty brews from local favorite Half Acre! Featured beers will be Chocolate Camaro, Baume Rye Stout, Ginger Twin and Meatwave.

The menu is coming soon!

Logan Square Kitchen is presenting a Valentine’s Day Pastry Market—a delicious one-day-only event (February 13th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) that will give Chicagoans a taste of the underground, small batch, sustainable pastry, cake, ice cream and handmade confections scene.

All the local food artisans showcased at this unique event are dedicated to delicious pastry and confection creations. Attendees can purchase treats to take home for their Valentines or simply devour these amazing sweet and savory creations on the spot!

WLS-TV’s Steve Dolinsky offered viewers a sneak peek of this delicious event and talked about it on his WBEZ/Vocalo blog

Janet Fuller at the Chicago Sun-Times also gave the Pastry Market a mention

Jacky Runice thought it was worth the trip for her suburban readers

Hope to see you there!

Allison Havens of the Greenheart Shop, Chicago’s only nonprofit eco friendly, fair trade store, along with Eleanor Reily of Eleanor Reily Handmade Soaps made an appearance on WGN-TV to discuss how household food items can be used to create an in-home Green Spa.

Greenheart Shop on WGN-TV

Chicago’s eco-focused monthly, “Mindful Metropolis” recently featured an article about Emanuel Kuntzelman, the founder and visiosnary behind the Center for Cultural Interchange and the Greenheart Shop. The article is written by Shannan Bunting.

“Shift Happens,” Mindful Metropolis

Cleetus Friedman, owner and chef of City Provisions, talks about the importance of local food and his participation in the March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction. Cleetus prepares Two Potato Latkes with Ginger Applesauce. Yum!

WGN-TV Segment

“The perfect storm…”

Those words can mean different things to different people. To our client, Cleetus Friedman, owner of City Provisions Catering & Events, it is a perfect storm of steady media mentions, articles and praise raining down on his business and the waves of new business that are following in its wake.

For Solstice Communications, it is the combination of a fantastic client with an amazing “product” and a media mentality that is tuned to our station. Buzz begets buzz…but it is the substance underneath it all that keeps the storm rolling.

Have a look at some of the highlights…

Mindful Metropolis

Chicago Tribune

Edible Chicago

Daily Candy

North Shore Magazine

Chicagoist

GapersBlock

Earth Day is a big holiday around our office. We approach it as sort of a New Year’s Day (minus the hangover). For us it is a time to resolve to do better; resolve to take an extra step or two if will help save a few precious resources. 

This year Earth Day also brings with it a cause for celebration: Our client, City Provisions, is a finalist in the Sustain Illinois competition in the Innovative Sustainable High Growth Product/Service Category. City Provisions will compete with five other fiinalists for a $10,000 cash prize to be used to further increase their sustainability and to reinforce their pledge to keep their footprint small. Good luck, City Provisions!

If you are looking for ways to mark this holiday in Chicago with your own celebration (and get to know some of our clients a little better…), City Provisions Earth Day Supper Club is tonight–featuring dishes inspired by music. This Saturday (April 25th) the Center for Cultural Interchange is looking for volunteers to help them “adopt” Ohio Street Beach for a Beach Clean-Up at 10 a.m., or if you would like to sample some organic beer, wine and chocolate while learning to be an eco-responsible urbanite, check out Greenheart’s all-day extravaganza: Living La Vida Verde.

Whatever you do to celebrate our favorite holiday, just rememeber small changes can really add up to much, much more!