Reserve Tickets for Beer Hoptacular! at Aragon Ballroom on Saturday, November 5!

Dust Off Your Sampling Glass, We’re Back!

Mark your calendars. Beer Hoptacular! 2011 is confirmed for November 5 at Aragon Ballroom. After a huge first year, we will be back again for round 2. The buzz has generated and Chicago beer enthusiasts are thirsty for more. The now annual event was an enormous success in 2010. This year we will be holding 2 sessions, both on Saturday, November 5, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening.

With close to 4000 beer lovers over three sessions, last year's Beer Hoptacular! proved to be what the Chicago beer community was craving. In its first annual year, patrons had the opportunity to get acquainted with over 100 different craft and specialty beer varieties supplied by 35 breweries from the Midwest and across the country. Check out the video recap for 2010's sessions below:

How Beer Hoptacular works

For one flat fee you receive your own souvenir sampling glass that is yours to keep. During the session use your glass to try whatever beers you want from the 100+ fantastic beers available. Really like one kind? Feel free to refill! Want to try as wide a variety as possible? Help yourself.

If you have a favorite cast your vote for it to be Beer Hoptacular of the Year! Compare beer notes with others, talk beer with friends, hear some music and eat great food too.

It's easy.

Beer of the Year - 2010 Winners

First Place

Dirty Summer Blonde Chocolate Beer

» America’s Brewing Company at America’s Historic Roundhouse – Aurora, IL

Chocolate and beer DO go together! This excites 3 of your senses: visual, smell and taste. A taste is worth a thousand words!

Second Place

Dragon's Milk

» New Holland Brewing Co. - Holland, MI

A barrel-aged stout with roasty malt character intermingled with deep vanilla tones, all dancing in an oak bath. Pairings : Red meat, smoked foods, balsamic, rich cheese & dark chocolate.

Third Place

Bourbon County Stout

» Goose Island Beer Co. – Chicago, IL

13% ABV – Brewed in honor of the 1000th batch at our original Clybourn brewpub. A liquid as dark and dense as a black hole with thick foam the color of a bourbon barrel. The nose is an intense mix of charred oak, chocolate, vanilla, caramel and smoke. One sip has more flavor than your average case of beer. A great cigar beer.

For All True Beer Enthusiasts

Beer Hoptacular! returns for its second year with beer samplings, demonstrations and fun from craft brewers, beer experts, home brewers, and local artisans. Attendees will enjoy a select variety of more than two hundred small-batch beers, the best of the best from across the Midwest, other regions in the U.S. and abroad. Those in attendance can interact with the brewers themselves and cast their vote to select the “Beer Hoptacular Beer of the Year.”