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Oktoberfest!

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Join us to celebrate Oktoberfest at The Pub today from 4pm until we close at 1am. Why are we celebrating Oktoberfest? Let me count the ways!

First, it’s Oktoberfest.

Second, there are some amazing Oktoberfest beers. We have this, this, and this on tap right now.

Third, Oktoberfest is a celebration of fall and a chance to come together and socialize. (The first one was a wedding celebration!) Fall at the University of Chicago is an exciting time as new students arrive on campus, returning students return from summers of awesomeness, and an authentic spirit of newness permeates the air. So Oktoberfest is the perfect festival for back to school and giving upperclassmen, new graduate students, and returning graduate students the chance to mingle and meet each other.

Fourth, you may not know it, but the Morsbachs, the family that brought you the Medici on 57th and who has run The Pub for 30+ years is a Bavarian family who immigrated to Hyde Park. We take pride in being a small, family run business, and this is a way of inviting you to join a family celebration!

Fifth, it’s Oktoberfest.

So what can you expect at our Oktoberfest party?

A little of this:

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And this:IMG_0280

Some of this.

A lot of this. And this. And this. And this is how Mexicans do German beer. (Lots of Mexican beer is in a German style, in case you didn’t know!)

Oh, and we are giving away stuff all night long. Every hour, on the hour (or close enough for a bar without a working clock) We’ll start around 5:00 (and if a lot of people are here, we’ll do some giveaways before that!) or whenever else we feel like throwing some swag your way. Here’s some of the stuff we’ll be giving away:

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If you want to know more about the History of Oktoberfest, check this out.

What else is there to say? Oh yeah. Prost!

Solemn Oath: Punk Rock for Rich Kids

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Our Beer Passport doesn’t officially start until Wednesday September 30, but we’re open tonight, we have a really cool beer in the cooler, and we just can’t wait to start the year. So, tonight everyone can start their passport, knowing that they have an extra week to fill their passport. Yeah, we kind of rock. (By the way, we already have the shirts and pint glasses designed, and they’ll be headed to the printer soon. You won’t want to miss them.) Now on to tonight’s Beer Passport Selection: Solemn Oath’s Punk Rock for Rich Kids

One of the great things about craft beer (versus aged spirits like bourbon or even wine) is that brewers can play around and experiment and see (and taste!) the results of their creativity in a relatively short amount time. Creativity is at the heart of the modern craft beer scene, and no one knows this more than the guys at Solemn Oath.

These Naperville brewers love to try new things and they bring this love of the unknown into their brewing. The beer offerings are constantly changing. And, with beer names like Axe Scar Pig, Ravaged by Vikings, and Nonsequitur Metaphor, you can tell that these guys have a sense of humor. Punk Rock for Rich Kids might be one of the best beer names out there, and fortunately for us, it’s also an amazing beer.

Billed as a “Single Hop Belgo-American Pale Ale,” this beer is brewed with Belgian yeast strains, but in the style of an American Pale Ale. You’ll notice the Belgian yeast when the fruity notes hit your tongue. This beer is brewed quarterly with a different hops each quarter. This batch highlights Huell Melon hops. The hops is balanced by a light caramel sweetness. At 5.5% ABV and 47 IBU (international bitterness units), this beer is just right for kicking off a night at The Pub.

Disclaimer: If we run out, we’ll put something else awesome on, but don’t get mad at us! It’s not our fault if people love our beer. (Okay, maybe it is our fault.)

Let us know what you think in the comments, including tasting notes, did you like it, etc.

Starting things off

Blog

So we’ve been planning to have a blog here on The Pub’s home on the interweb for some time, but today is the magical day when we say, “It’s time to blog about something!” So for our very first blog entry, let’s explore what our grand plans are for this space.

The Pub has been part of the University of Chicago’s social scene for a long time. In the mid-1980s, the owner of another Hyde Park icon, The Medici, took over The Pub. (A full history of The Pub will have to wait for another entry.) Even before Goose Island opened up its brewpub, The Pub began introducing great beer to the UofC community. That’s kind of our thing. We like beer and want to share good beer with other people. We want to be that place where you learn that beer is not just something you chug to get drunk, but something to experience and savor. Along the way, we want to elevate your beer drinking experience, whether you just turned 21, or have been drinking beer for decades. We think knowing even a little bit about what you are drinking will make it more enjoyable. There is artistry in beer, and that artistry, in our opinion, is more accessible and approachable than the artistry of wine.

So in this blog, we will try to provide you with information about beers, about brewers, about anything we can think of that will make your beer drinking experience more knowledgeable and more fun. You can expect blog entries on:

  • Beer Appreciation – In these posts, we’ll talk about how to drink and appreciate beer, meaning we’ll explore different characteristics of beer and the tasting process so that you can understand what’s in your glass
  • Drink All the Beers – in these posts, we’ll look at specific beers and talk about them
  • Beer Passport – each Wednesday we tap a different beer. It might be new or interesting or hard to find. We’ll write about it here. You can drink it on Wednesday at The Pub. Drink 8 out of 10 during a quarter and you can also get a free Pub T-shirt. 10 out 10 and we’ll spot you some glassware.
  • Beer Styles – One of the easiest things to explore in beer is beer style. However, sometimes these are intimidating. We’ll break through the mysteries of styles in these posts. The biggest thing you’ll gain from this is knowing what you like and why you like it.
  • Brewery Series – Every quarter we bring brewers in to pour beer samples and give stuff away. For the blog, we want to explore the brewers that make the beer we drink. Hopefully you’ll learn something interesting.
  • Events and Surprises – We’ll always post information about upcoming events (you can also find information in our “Events” section on the website. We also have a few surprises planned for you.

So that’s where we are going with the blog. We hope you’ll keep coming back. If you have ideas about something you’d like to see, let us know!