I was impressed by the Chicago Cocktail Social. The range, creativity, and quality of the drinks…read morewas fantastic. The food was delicious. There were lines, but that was to be expected. The location was perfectly suited for the event.

A group of friends and I came here last night and had such a fun evening! We all opted for the VIP…read moretickets, and it was definitely a good decision. We skipped the line to get in and got an extra hour of beverages (relatively free of lines too). You had to have a ticket to get in, and they sold out a few days before the event. It seemed like they let in just the right amount of people too because although it was crowded, we never had to wait too long to get a drink. The Field Museum was the perfect venue for this event - beautiful and roomy, and we could look at the exhibits as part of the ticket price for the evening (in between drinks of course because they wouldn't allow beer into the special exhibits). They had such a great variety of beers, and most venders had a selection of 2-4 beers, including both dark and light options. Many of the breweries were local or from the Midwest, but some were from a little farther away (like Sweetwater from Georgia). I only saw a couple of venders run out of beer, but for the most part, it seemed like they were all well-stocked. They had a fantastic DJ. As part of the ticket, you got to keep your little sampling cup. The cafe was open and sold snacks too in case you got hungry throughout the night. We had a wonderful time and will definitely come back next year!

I had a blast at beer festival yesterday! Attended on a total whim, I'm not even really a beer…read moredrinker- but I was yesterday. Our train got into Union Station around 12:45 and aside from some poorly planned logistics (like making everyone leave Union station and enter from the outside), everything leading up to the event moved very smoothly. Inside, the event was just something so out of my normal comfort zone and so cool! I'm glad I attended. You paid $43 a ticket and right inside Union Station there were supposed to be something like, 50 vendors set up and you just went from booth to booth sampling their beers. Got to try a ton of beer, dance with friendly strangers, and make bathroom line friends. They had vendors from all over the country; possibly my favorite was crabbie's alcoholic ginger beer and then I had a yummy pumpkin beer, as well. While the beer was included in your ticket price, the food was not. It was a little pricey, but I'm sure it wasn't too bad in comparison to city food. I'm just used to wimpy suburb prices. I paid $4 for a bag of homemade potato chips while some of the people I went with paid $5 and got a burger. The 3 hour time frame is perfect- by the time 4 o'clock rolled around we were plenty buzzed and probably needed to be kicked out of there before the event came more frat party and less of a tasting event.

Attended the 2017 event yesterday and had a blast! I loved how this was just in downtown Oak Park…read moreso you got to walk around the downtown and also try great beers. I also loved the fact that even if you didn't have a ticket, you could walk around. One of my friends isn't a beer drinker, but she still got to hang out with us as we wandered. I also loved the variety of beers that were there. Obviously, tons of IPAs but there were also stouts, amber ales, double IPAs, sours, and more! Great variety. Also loved that a few ciders made an appearance. I love finding a good cider! The food options were intriguing and covered quite the range of drink cravings. Also loved the water coolers where I could fill up my water bottle. It's important to stay hydrated while day drinking! Was kind of confused about how the drinking wasn't supposed to start until 3? I arrived shortly after 2pm and was able to check in, get my glass, and start drinking. I'm not complaining because it meant I had more time to explore and pace myself, but it was kind of confusing. Overall this was a fun event! Easy to get to (right off the Harlem stop on the Green line)! And well run! Definitely hope I can make it next year!

Now in its 7th year, the Oak Park Micro Brew & Food Review was a pleasure to be involved in. I…read morevolunteered at the event, which benefits Seven Generations to promote healthy eating in schools, and sustainable communities. While I had a fun interactive volunteering job of pouring cider and beer to happy review-goers, others made sure this was as close to a Zero Waste festival as possible. 74 breweries were a part of the 2014 review, with some taking part in a Replicale challenge, which gave them very specific guidelines for a red or amber ale. The 4-hour festival allowed plenty of time to drink and get your money's worth, and it takes place on the streets of downtown Oak Park, so you can take the Green Line in and not drive! (If you don't already live in lovely Oak Park). I "Untappd" so many beers I lost track, especially since so many of the Replicales weren't even on the grid yet. My favorite Replicales were by Lake Effect and Dryhop Brewery. My favorite regular brews were by Lake Effect, the Blind Pig, and Virtue Ciders. The festival had plenty of bathrooms, water stations to fill up your water bottle or wash out your tasting glass, but as far as being a "food review", a little more could be done to provide more, and more affordable food options. (ie. the $7 "half bratwurst" was more like ballpark prices!) This is definitely a festival to consider if you love Craft Brews in the summertime!

First timer at an ale fest, and it was a fun date night (even though my husband doesn't drink beer…read moreand ended up walking around with me and/or sitting by the band all night). The drink ticket price seems pretty reasonable, considering it gets you 20 samples. But the cost for a designated driver pass is a little steep in my opinion ($19). What is that $19 for exactly?? The band? Because it didn't include free soda. They did have free boxed water - but that was for everyone, which was nice. There were a few food vendors, which were just okay. It did the job. Our favorite was Nothing Bundt Cakes. For $20, you got 4 small cakes and a zippered cooler case. They give you a lanyard with a punchcard, and a 4 oz (or 3 oz??) sample glass to take home as a keepsake. You go to each tent, pick your beer, and they fill your glass. Most vendors will mark off one of the 20 spots on your card, to keep track, but a few vendors just gave samples to me without marking my card. They have chairs set up in front of the band, so you can relax in between samples. The country singer did a nice job - he had a few folks out there dancing along. There was a large wooden block "Jenga" game set up for people to play in between sampling. The lines to the port-o-pottys weren't bad. Usually just 1 or 2 people in front of you. Just don't forget to lock the door behind you! Too many people were forgetting and having the doors opened on them (myself included...). :-O There was a pretty large selection of local beers and a few classics (Sam Adams, Guinness, etc.). I tend to lean towards wheat ales, but I didn't find any of those. Unfortunately I don't like IPAs, but I'm starting to like stouts, so it was nice to try a few of those. I'm not sure we'll be back next year. It was just something to try out once. I recommend anyone who likes beer to check it out though!

All in all the Ale Feat was fantastic this year. This is our second year in a row and we are very…read morepleased with the expansion. I would like to see a few more food booths and a better way to display the art so it was more of an event I know they're working on it and they did a really good job transitioning from year to year. We will be back next year!

What a freakin blast!!!…read more Wine Riot was an amazing event! The location of Union Station was perfect. A great central location to accommodate the event. You know what that means - the typical annoyance of Downtown Chicago parking, but whatever, it's Chicago, get over it! The place was PACKED! There were so many booths to go and sample wines from, as each worker educated you on the brand that they were representing. Wines were from all over the world and varied between whites and darks, drys and sweets. Maps located by most stations gave a direct look at where the wine was from as well as other facts about the brand. Every representative I interacted with was very patient and cheerful. There was a Bubbly Bar that was strictly for champagnes, mini classes were taught on wine knowledge, temp tattoos were cool, and went well with your pic if you decided to jump in the picture line. The amount of people stumbling around due to being tipsy?! HUH-LARIOUS! One chic fell flat on her face and tried to blame it on the floor being slippery. Yeah. Okay. Then as she walked off, someone mentioned that she'd been there drinking since the event started..... almost 5 hours ago. Sheesh! This was totally worth the $55 I paid. Only thing is, I wish there were Port and Ice wines. That would've been awesome. Needless to say, I will be back when the event returns in October. #ChiTownFoodieChic #WHONEEDSLOVEWHENYOUHAVEBOOZE

Oh my goodness, this was SO MUCH FUN…read more How could you not have fun drinking various wines for four hours straight and hopping on the train afterwards so you don't have to worry about driving!? YES. This is my kind of thing. Wine Riot had a tattoo booth (I might have gone a little crazy there), a photo booth/Instagram station with fun quotes and props, a cool phone app to keep track of all the drinks you liked (and didn't like), and dozens of wine to sample. The cheese sample table was pretty sweet, too. Somewhere, a DJ was playing music, free bottled water was given away, and a food truck had food to purchase. All in the beautiful setting of Union Station. It was a great place for this event -- close to public transportation and not too crowded or chaotic. Some of the vendor spokespeople were very sweet, sharing information with us about the wine/company and pouring us generous samples. Others were standoff-ish, not saying anything and generally ignoring us. You can bet my friend and I returned to the tables with the nicer workers (and generally preferred those wines anyway). I thought that the four hours that Saturday afternoon would be more than enough time, but my friend and I ended up staying until closing (and could have stayed longer)! I left the event with a nice buzz and a list of new favorite wines. Thank you so much for the tickets, Candice/Yelp!! Much love! They were definitely put to good use. ;D

My 4th or 5th year volunteering here @ The WCWF. It is always such a pleasure and so much fun to be…read morehere every year. The Windy City Wine Festival is presented by U.S. Bank which gives people from all over the opportunity to sample over 300 wines. This is one of my favorite places to come out and volunteer. I get to meet and mingle with some amazing and down to earth people. There is not just only various of wine tasting booths but many other vendor booths,food, lots of giveaways and music. This festival is a great way to end off your summer fun. The vendors are not skimpy on the wine pouring.

Hmmmm. A bit torn…read more On the one hand (holding a plastic sampler glass), there was lots of wine flowing from all angles, the night was absolute perfection, the skyline shining, the chill of early September apparent. On the other hand (on hip, a bit impatient), all of the lines were long, $30 got you a ticket to enjoy "tastes" of wine...NOT glasses of wine. I mean, really? 10 "tastes" for $30? I could just go drink several glasses of wine for that! Also, the selection was a bit lackluster. A lot of lower end stuff, that doesn't warrant that type of ticket price. Hello, for $30 I could go buy a case of Barefoot or Yellowtail and save myself the CTA trip downtown... However, it was well organized, the live music was a nice touch, and the vendors were displayed quite well. I just think it was a fairly high price for the quality of wines being offered. I do understand wanting to keep people "responsible" with the "tasting tickets," but truly...it wasn't much of a deal. Also, more food vendors doing "tastes" would've complemented quite well, as there were minimal food options. This would've helped with aforementioned "responsibility" factor quite a bit...for $30, a few appetizers should be available! Ok, maybe that's just me... I appreciate the accessibility of the wine, but the ticket price should reflect that. I'd say $15 max... But, the evening was so beautiful...mmm.

This was a fun experience! I love going to brewfests and this is the first one I've gone to in the…read moreburbs. The set up was in the stadium of the ballpark, not in the actual field but up where the concessions and bathrooms are. This wasn't a very crowded event and I think it might be because there isn't much advertisement about it. I only knew of this from a friend as well as an invite to Yelp elites - a giveaway which had ballpark brewfest tkts. Lots of local breweries and a few food options. This is a great place to start if you haven't been to a brewfest before and are interested in checking one out. Very chill and not as chaotic as most. My 2 'cons' are I wish they would have had the event in the field vs on the level of where the concession stands and bathrooms are. I think the vibe and the ambiance would be better on the field. I also didn't get a ballpark brewfest cup, I got a plastic clear cup which is fine. But again, vibe changes when it comes to little things like that. Overall this was a fun time! I recommend this to those who enjoy drinking beers, seltzers, etc in a chill and casual environment.

Had the opportunity to attend Brewfest this year. It was a fantastic experience, with many vendors…read moreand a variety of beers, and other drinks. There was a long line to get in, but it moved relatively fast. You received a 3 oz glass upon entering. The vendors were set up in the concourse. Lines were reasonable and moved very fast. The breweries were all local and each offered at least 2-3 options. You can actually sample as many beers as you like, there was not a tracking system. Concessions were open, and there were 2 food trucks , each were fantastic There was a band, but it was located in the back of the picnic area and you could only hear if you were in that area. Overall, a great way to try lots of different beers. There were also ciders, seltzers and cocktails!

Thankfully we have the foresight to get VIP tickets! There was some confusion about where we had to…read moreenter; and that probably wouldn't have been that big of a deal if it had not been raining. Because here was the issue with that - you got your wristband and glass and then had to go upstairs for coat check. So if you were holding an umbrella, coat, hat (all the things you need for winter in Chicago) it was just a lot to juggle. As always the Field puts on a great event. The breweries seemed to be spread out enough that you didn't feel like you were on top of people. High-octane brews were the theme of the evening, so in no time, there were sloppy glazed-eyes chubby gamers everywhere. What was unfortunate, some of the breweries didn't have their beer kegged - they were pouring tasters out of cans. This is fine, as we got there early, but I can't imagine what some of the wheat beers tasted like later in the evening after sitting in a can on a cart all night. Lots of flavorful stouts and porters and a metric fuck ton of IPA's. I get it, you guys, IPA's are easy to brew and are the "new thing". Searched high and low for an Amber as a pallet cleanser - not one to be found. Always fun to walk around the museum with no children and with a slight buzz. Shout out to the DJ! Acoustics arent fantastic in the great hall, but we appreciated your set that was full of 90's hits!

A group of friends and I came here last night and had such a fun evening! We all opted for the VIP…read moretickets, and it was definitely a good decision. We skipped the line to get in and got an extra hour of beverages (relatively free of lines too). You had to have a ticket to get in, and they sold out a few days before the event. It seemed like they let in just the right amount of people too because although it was crowded, we never had to wait too long to get a drink. The Field Museum was the perfect venue for this event - beautiful and roomy, and we could look at the exhibits as part of the ticket price for the evening (in between drinks of course because they wouldn't allow beer into the special exhibits). They had such a great variety of beers, and most venders had a selection of 2-4 beers, including both dark and light options. Many of the breweries were local or from the Midwest, but some were from a little farther away (like Sweetwater from Georgia). I only saw a couple of venders run out of beer, but for the most part, it seemed like they were all well-stocked. They had a fantastic DJ. As part of the ticket, you got to keep your little sampling cup. The cafe was open and sold snacks too in case you got hungry throughout the night. We had a wonderful time and will definitely come back next year!