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That momentum continued to this year’s Hoptacular, held in the Lacuna Artist Loft Studios in Pilsen and, for the first time, featuring live entertainment (including live music and a “Beer Hop Derby”). Like last year, there were around 60 breweries, but more of them were local—a function, no doubt, of the fact that the number of breweries in Chicago has exploded in the past year or two. But while the event was well organized and not overly crowded, there was one change for the worse this year: the program listed the breweries that were there, but not the beers being poured. This made it hard to decide what booths to go to; as I’ve mentioned before, there’s no way to try all the beers at events like this. With luck I might make it to a quarter of the breweries before I run out of energy or time or both, so being able to prioritize is key.

I ended up aiming for new local breweries, since there were quite a few that I’d never tried before—though I also stopped by the tables of some old favorites, like Pipeworks, Half Acre, and Revolution. Below are some of my favorites from the evening.

Une Anee: Another newish Chicago brewery (located in West Town), Une Anee makes Belgian-inspired beers—and, judging by its Less Is More saison and Maya Belgian IPA—makes them well The saison is citrusy and surprisingly hoppy, with a finish almost more bitter than the IPA’s. That could be because the IPA has a pronounced sweetness, though.

  • Julia Thiel
  • The Pipeworks Beer Hop Derby car

Pipeworks: It’s hardly surprising that it would be Pipeworks that was pouring the first white stout I’ve ever seen—or heard of. Hey Careful Man, There’s a Beverage Here (yes, that’s its name) is brewed with cacao, coffee, and vanilla, and looks nothing like an imperial stout. It smells like coffee, but when you taste it the coffee slips into the background; I get sweet coconut and milk chocolate instead. It’s not as heavy as most stouts, which makes it dangerously easy to drink at 10.5 percent ABV. Pipeworks also had an imperial oatmeal stout called What Lurks in the Dark; it was good, too, well-rounded and slightly sweet, with notes of chocolate, vanilla, and bourbon.