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Take the Driving Out of Your Drinking: Drink Local!by crandell | 07/25/2008 I've had somewhat of an obsession lately with the idea of drinking locally and have been scouring the internet in search of liquors and beers made in Chicago and neighboring states. Why? Just like the carfree movement, the locavore movement seeks to reduce our society's addiction to an over-engineered transportation system that requires everyone and everything to travel vast distances for even simple needs. All that shipping and trucking is an unnecessary waste of resources, and the fuel we burn to move our goods contributes to global warming. By living closer to our daily needs and consuming goods (in this case, liquors and beers) produced closer to where we live, we can cut the waste and reduce our dependence on oil, while becoming more self-reliant and strengthening our local economy. I also love how local food and drink celebrate our unique local culture. Carfree culture is also an important part of drinking. We're very lucky in Chicago to have transportation options that allow us to drink without driving. When we go out, most of us have the option of walking, taking transit or taking a cab to a bar. These transportation options reduce drunk driving deaths. It's no wonder there are more drunk driving deaths out in sprawlville. I honestly think there should be laws against providing liquor licenses for establishments that people have to drive to. Well enough of the ranting and on to the goods. Beer If you want good beer brewed in Chicago, there's Goose Island and newcomer Half Acre, both of which are distributed throughout the city to bars and liquor stores. And in the near future, you'll have two more choices! Metropolitan Brewing and Revolution Brewing are both in the works. There are also brewpubs Piece Brewery and Rock Bottom, which both make their own beer on-site, but only sell it on-site. And some of my favorites from neighboring states: Find links to other local breweries at the Chicago Beer Society. Liquor Liquor was a bit more difficult. I was hoping for a local bourbon, but didn't succeed with that. But I did decide to buy DiVine Vodka and North Shore Gin based on this Chicago Magazine article. Both can be found at Sam's Wine and Spirits near the North/Clybourn Red Line stop. These two articles also have great reviews of local liquors: If you have any other tips, please do post them in the comments! And remember, don't drink and drive. Or better yet, just don't drive. |
I was just hanging out with
I was just hanging out with several kingpins from the various Draught Beer Preservation Societies... but anyways, my new thing is nearly-zero-carbon beer: walk two blocks to Piece and refill a growler (one gallon = 4 pints), then carry on to whichever party I was headed to. 99% of the beer is Chicago water, piped from the lake, and since I control the post-brewery delivery, I can ensure that no trucks are involved. Their porter is quite tasty, too.
Draft beer is generally a better choice than bottles or cans, since much of the equipment (kegs, glasses) is reused. Brown glass bottles, in particular, are difficult to recycle profitably.
That glass-bottle thing makes wine a little difficult. The nearest serviceable wines I've had have been from western Wisconsin and western Michigan, but they're still not exactly world-class. The only Eastern viticultural region of note appears to be Niagara, which generally offers a pretty quirky selection. According to one study, the Great Divide of wine shipping is somewhere around Columbus: East Coasters should drink French wine (which comes across the pond on fuel-efficient boats) whereas those of us to the west should drink West Coast vintages (which probably comes to us on trucks). I wonder if it's worth it to stock up next time I'm in PDX and then ship the stuff overland via Amtrak's Empire Builder -- or via UPS Ground, which seems to do much of its transcontinental traffic via rail.
FWIW, Half Acre is contract-brewed in Wisconsin. Wisconsin is home to many more excellent brewers, of course; I'm partial to New Glarus and Berghoff (brewed by Huber). Revolution will be by far your best bet, though; it's coming to you from the same folks who brought you the Handlebar -- I trust there will be no valet parking.
You're not the only one who thinks liquor licenses should be free/cheap for bars without parking.
payton chung
You'll probably never
You'll probably never totally cutdown the use of gasoline, even if you're drinking Piece beer. -I'd imagine that a lot of the things used to make it are shipped via trucks. Still, it's nice that you're trying.
I guess you should avoid PBR, isn't it made in Texas now? Coors products, probably not good either, that includes Blue Moon.. Lucky for most people in Chicago Budweiser and Miller are both within 4 hours driving distance. As for wine, consider trying some from Southern Illinois, you might be pleasantly suprised!
And a lot of whiskey and bourbon can be found within 7 hours driving distance, not good but nowhere near as bad as eating a head of lettuce from California!
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