Sip Smarter, Not Softer: The Afro.Beer.Chick Guide to Craft Beer 101

Let me tell you where this all started 🍺

My first real craft beer experience came courtesy of Nik White from Chicago Beer Geeks. Nik handed me a bottle of Goose Island’s Sofie, and that pour changed everything. Bright, citrusy, a little funky, and way too smooth. I didn’t even know beer could taste like that. Up until then, beer meant whatever was cheap and cold in a red cup at somebody’s barbecue. Sofie opened a door I didn’t even know existed 🔑

March 2010 first brewery visit during an epic birthday weekend romp.

Then Nik took me to my first brewpub, Goose Island on North Clybourn, on an unforgettable birthday romp 🎉 It was wild. My head was spinning from all the taps, the smells, the vibe, the energy. I was hooked. Nik turned me into a craft beer drinking machine. It got so bad I was showing up with beers for him to try.

When I first started drinking beer, I was stuck on Belgians and sweet stouts. I loved anything smooth, rich, and heavy on flavor. Over time, my taste grew up. I learned to love IPAs, and now I reach for less sweet stouts that still hit with depth but don’t taste like dessert. My palate matured, but my passion stayed the same 🔥

Of course, I fell into the trap 😅

Throwback to 2019, Nik and I are standing in Half Acre’s Benthic release line.

I was standing in line at sunrise for beer releases, paying stupid money for bottles that were more hype than flavor. There were weekends I dropped rent-sized cash chasing limited-edition brews just to say I had them. It was fun for a while, but let’s be honest, I’m too grown for that now 🙅🏾‍♀️

These days I drink smarter. No lines. No hype. No flexing. Just flavor, community, and good-ass beer 🍻

So if you’re new to craft beer, this is your Craft Beer Survival Kit, straight from someone who’s been through the hype and still loves this culture like day one 💯

👅 Start Where Your Taste Buds Are

Stop pretending you like bitter IPAs if you don’t. Nobody’s handing out medals for suffering through a pint that tastes like pine needles and bad decisions 😂

If you like sweet drinks, grab a wheat beer, fruited sour, or cream ale.
If you love coffee or chocolate, grab a porter or stout.
If you’re the shot-taking, tequila-loving type, slide into a Belgian tripel or a strong ale.

Your taste buds don’t need validation. Drink what makes sense to you 🍺

Or you could have a dope ass universal ABC glass.

📸 Glassware Ain’t Just for the Gram

Yeah, those fancy glasses look cute in photos, but they actually make a difference. The right glass brings out aroma, flavor, and the whole experience.

🍺 Pint glass: the classic. Reliable.
🍷 Tulip or snifter: for dark, bold beers that hit heavy.
🥂 Weizen glass: tall and curvy, built for wheat beers.

You don’t need a full bar setup, but at least have one decent glass. Don’t drink a good beer out of a plastic cup like it’s college again 😬

🧠 Learn to Taste, Not Just Drink

Beer isn’t a chug contest. Slow down and pay attention.

👃🏾 Smell it first. Half the flavor lives in the aroma.
👅 Let it roll across your tongue.
🧐 Notice what you taste. Citrus, caramel, coffee, sometimes straight-up grass. Brewers love to experiment, and that’s part of the fun.

Once you know what you like, you stop wasting money on beer that doesn’t fit you 💰

🙄 Ditch the Beer Bros

There’s always that one dude at the bar who thinks he’s the beer whisperer. Let him talk. You sip.

No one’s taste buds are superior. You can love a cheap can or a top-shelf bottle. You can drink lagers one day and smoothie sours the next.

Beer snob culture is dead 💀 Drink what makes you happy ✨

📱 Use Your Phone Like a Pro

Your phone is your beer sidekick. Use it to find local breweries and taprooms near you 📍 Most are chill, creative spaces where real people pour real beer. Follow them on social media to find food trucks, beer drops, and live events 🎶

And always take a pic of what you’re drinking. Your phone remembers what your buzzed brain won’t 🤳🏾

💵 Don’t Go Broke Chasing Craft

Beer FOMO is real. I’ve been there. I used to blow cash on bottles just because everyone else was. I’ve stood in line for hours for a beer that didn’t even slap.

Now I know better. You don’t need to chase hype to drink good beer. Try flights. Split bottles. Support your local spots instead of sweating over the next big release 🍻

Sip smarter, not harder 💡

🙋🏾‍♀️ Ask Questions

Nobody walks into craft beer knowing everything. Ask the bartender what’s good. Tell them what you like. Most of them actually want to help you find your vibe.

Asking questions doesn’t make you a rookie. It makes you curious, and that’s how you learn 💬

✨ Final Sip

16 years later, back to the scene where it started, same brewery just a different location, Goose Island on Fulton.

My beer story started with one bottle of Sofie that opened my world. From that first sip at Goose Island on North Clybourn to all the breweries, bottles, and memories since, I’ve grown, learned, and found my own lane.

Now I drink what I like. I support the brewers who care about the culture. And I don’t stand in line for hype anymore because good beer will always find you when you know your flavor 🍺

You don’t have to know everything to belong here. Just show up, sip, and own your space 💫

National Black Brewers Day: Brewed While Black

Photo Credit: SFGate / Worth The Experience

Caption: When art meets activism: Black breweries paying homage to icons in every pour.

Hell yeah, let’s talk about National Black Brewers Day.

Because if we’re gonna celebrate beer in this country, we better celebrate the people who’ve been brewing brilliance while fighting like hell to be seen.

🍻 What It Really Means

Photo Credit: Arryved / Montclair Brewery

Caption: Queen of the craft. Denise Sawadogo blends African roots, Caribbean spice, and Jersey hustle into every pour.

National Black Brewers Day isn’t some watered-down marketing gimmick. It’s not a cute “beer holiday” made for hashtags. It’s a bold, necessary reminder that Black people didn’t just show up to the party. We built the damn brewery.

Our connection to beer runs all the way back to the motherland. Long before Europeans started claiming the craft, Africans were brewing with purpose, precision, and pride. Archaeologists have uncovered beer-making tools and pottery from ancient Egypt and Nubia dating back over 5,000 years. And let’s get one thing straight, the first brewers weren’t dudes in cargo shorts talking about IBUs. They were African women. Our ancestors. They fermented grains, millet, and sorghum into rich, nourishing brews that fueled communities, marked ceremonies, and honored the gods. Beer wasn’t just a drink. It was spiritual. It was social. It was survival.

When the transatlantic slave trade tore through history, so did the theft of knowledge and skill. Enslaved Africans brought their agricultural and brewing expertise to America, where they were forced to use their talents to profit others. Enter Patsy Young, one of the earliest recorded Black brewers in the 1700s. She brewed in Virginia, likely managing fermentation, ingredients, and distribution while living in bondage. Her name is one of the few that survived history, but make no mistake: there were hundreds, maybe thousands like her, whose work kept colonial taverns in business. The irony is that America’s beer industry was built on the labor of people who couldn’t even drink freely.

🍺 The First Black-Owned Brewery

Now let’s fast forward to the 20th century, where a man named Theodore Mack Sr. decided he wasn’t gonna wait for a seat at anyone else’s bar. In 1970, he made history by founding The Peoples Beer Company in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, officially becoming the first Black person to own a brewery in the United States.

Photo Credit: Madison365 / Peoples Brewing Company Archives

The man who poured history into a pint. Theodore “Ted” Mack Sr. wasn’t just brewing beer, he was brewing revolution. As the first Black brewery owner in America, he turned The Peoples Beer Company into a symbol of power, pride, and possibility. Every Black-owned brewery today is still sipping from his legacy.

Mack didn’t come from a long line of brewers. He came from Milwaukee, grinding his way up through the beer industry. He worked for Schlitz Brewing Company, one of the biggest producers in the country at the time, and quickly realized that the people doing the work didn’t look like the people cashing the checks. So he decided to change that.

When he bought out the failing Oshkosh Brewing Company, he renamed it The Peoples Beer Company because he believed beer should be for everyone, not just the good old boys who ran the game. His mission was revolutionary: beer by the people, for the people. Mack was years ahead of his time, championing racial equality, fair wages, and community inclusion long before “diversity” became a buzzword. He opened distribution lines to the African American community, creating access for people who’d been priced out or ignored by mainstream brands.

But of course, America didn’t make it easy. Distributors refused to carry his beer. Investors backed out. Competitors undercut his prices and blocked his supply chain. Still, Mack stood tall.

Theodore Mack Sr. didn’t wait for a seat at the table. He built his own and poured a beer while he did it. He didn’t ask for permission, and he sure didn’t wait for approval. He took a system that was designed to keep us out and cracked it wide open. What he built wasn’t just a brewery. It was a blueprint. He brewed belief, legacy, and defiance into every drop.

Mack faced every barrier you could imagine and still turned resistance into recipe. His vision became the yeast that made this whole movement rise. Every Black brewer standing tall today is proof that his fight mattered. He didn’t just make beer. He made history. And while the industry still hasn’t given him his flowers, every Black-owned brewery that pours today is his legacy in liquid form.

🖤 Why It Hits Different

National Black Brewers Day isn’t just about history. It’s about continuity. It’s about connecting ancient African fermentation to modern Black ownership. It’s about giving credit where it’s long overdue.

Photo Credit: Beer Today / Harlem Brewing / Beer & Cider News

She pours more than beer; Celeste Beatty crafts heritage, hustle, and Harlem pride in every can.

When I pour a pint on this day, I’m not just thinking about the beer. I’m thinking about the people. I think about the enslaved brewers whose hands shaped the recipes. I think about Theodore Mack Sr., who bet on himself when no one else would. I think about Celeste Beatty of Harlem Brewing Company, who became the first Black woman to own a craft brewery in the U.S. and did it with unapologetic Harlem pride. She turned her love for the culture into liquid storytelling.

I think about Leo and Denise Sawadogo at Montclair Brewery, blending African roots and Caribbean flavor into New Jersey beer culture. About Zackary, Gregory, and Richard from Funkytown Brewery, who are rewriting what craft beer looks like in Chicago. About Black Calder Brewing in Michigan, who are making beer that celebrates heritage as much as hops. And you can’t talk about the new wave without shouting out Moor’s Brewing Company, a Chicago powerhouse bringing luxury and Black excellence to the beer game. Founded by three Black men with a vision bigger than beer, Moor’s blends artistry, business, and unapologetic pride in every can. They didn’t just create a brand. They created a cultural statement that says Black beer is here, it’s refined, and it’s never going back to the margins.

These folks are continuing a legacy that began in Africa, survived slavery, pushed through segregation, and still thrives in a world that keeps trying to box us out.

And let’s be real, the fight isn’t over. Funding for Black brewers is still scarce. Shelf space is limited. Gatekeeping is alive and well. But we don’t quit. We innovate. We collaborate. We keep brewing. Because beer, for us, isn’t just a drink. It’s a declaration.

✊🏾 Cheers to the Culture

To the brewers turning grain into art.
To the homebrewers hustling in their garages.
To the festival founders building space for Black joy.
To the drinkers, writers, and beer nerds keeping the conversation alive.
Y’all are the pulse of this movement.

To the dreamers who haven’t brewed their first batch yet, keep pushing.
To the pioneers who made history, we salute you.
And to the ancestors who brewed while bound so we could brew while free, we honor you with every damn pour.

This is our day. Our craft. Our legacy. And we’re nowhere near done.

To see a full list of Black-owned breweries across the country, check out the National Black Brewers Association at www.nationalblackbrewersassociation.org, they’re keeping track of the culture, the craft, and the movement.

2022 Goose Island Bourbon County Stout Lineup

Picture it! It's a crisp fall evening in Chicago in 2022, and I was invited to my first in-person Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout lineup tasting at their barrel house. I attended it once before virtually in 2020, and the experience was pretty damn dope. Black Friday season is rapidly approaching, which means its time to start gearing up for this year’s offerings. Let's get right into it, shall we? As always, Goose Island's BCS lineup has seven offerings, and each variant offers something different in taste. Here is my breakdown of each beer, ranked from highest to lowest based on my preference.

Two-Year Barleywine Reserve: I am labeling this one as my personal favorite. You'll feel every bit of this barleywine because it's 17% ABV. Aged in 14-year, 16-year, and 17-year Old Fitzgerald barrels, you'll taste all of its characteristics. Cherry, vanilla, and toffee offer a smooth mouthfeel and a well-balanced taste. I appreciate the complexity and the fact it is not overwhelmingly sweet or boozy. It is an easy sipper that will hit you later. 

No doubt this will be a fan favorite

30th Anniversary Reserve Stout:  This beer is coming in 2nd place in my ranking. This beer is aged from a blend of 4 Jim Beam's barrels, including Knob Creek, Baker's, Booker's, and Basil Hayden. At 14.3% ABV, you will get the chocolate and vanilla notes because of the base; this one also has a hint of almond. 

30th Anniversary aged from a blend of 4 different barrels

Bourbon County Stout: The OG of this lineup, I found this one to be more enjoyable than the previous years because it was more roasty and not as sweet as its predecessors, with intense dark chocolate, dried fruit, and vanilla nuances. Aged in 4 barrels from Heaven Hill, Four Roses, Wild Turkey, and Buffalo Trace, it will hit you hard as it comes in 14.3% ABV.

Coffee Stout: GI decided to bring this one back for the first time since 2017 and partnered with Intelligentsia Coffee, using their Turihamwe from the Burundi region in Africa. It has rich dark chocolate, caramel, and a heavy roast flavor profile. Of the entire lineup, coffee stout has the lowest ABV at 13.2%. True coffee drinkers will enjoy the layer of flavor in this one.

Bourbon County Stout, the OG of barrel aged beers

Proprietor's Stout: Being a cocktail connoisseur myself, I am digging the vibe with this one. A cocktail-inspired stout is right up my alley. It was created by the duo that gave us the cola variant last year, brewers Paul Cade and Jason Krasowki. This one is their version of the Jungle Bird cocktail that fuses lime, pineapple, and coconut. There was a debate on if you tasted banana or the pineapple flavor on the first sip. The consensus was split; I voted for pineapple. I also did not get the lime, while others appeared to have picked it up. 13.4% ABV, this is an exciting variant; it's a fun beer.

Creators of this year’s prop Jason Krasowski and Paul Cade

Biscotti Stout: Created by the People Manager at GI, Jill Cerone, who wanted to reflect on her Italian roots and wanted us to experience a freshly baked biscotti dipped in chocolate. I admit I've never once tried biscotti, but now my interest has peaked. I enjoy the flavor profile because it has chocolate anise and roasted almonds nuances. 14.3% ABV, 7k lbs of almonds, 3100 lbs of cocoa nibs, and 450 lbs of Aniseed, this beer is bursting with flavor. The one downside for me is the sweetness. If the sweetness were dialed back, this would hit harder.

Sir Isaac's Stout: This variant is last on my list because it wasn't my jam. It has a heavy dried fruit and molasses profile. 10k lbs of fig went into this beer. Melissa Alleguez and Ryan Hubona of the GI E-commerce team crafted this recipe to give us a taste of what a fig cookie would taste like in a beer. I didn't get as many layers of flavor in this beer as I did with the others. 

As the night winded down, we enjoyed being in the presence of each other since the world went to hell in a handbasket two years ago. The nightcaps for the evening were cracking open the bottle of 14-year Old Fitzgerald and tasting the OG BCS from the barrel at one week, four-month, and eight months. Being able to taste it at various stages puts into perspective the old saying, “It gets better with age.” I’m pretty the hunt will be on, however, unlike previous years it looks as if many locations are opting to do pre-sales rather than having people stand in long lines for hours and run the risk of going home sad and broken because they missed out. I am all in for the pre-sales, screw those lines.

Cheers from the Goose Island team

Always fun linking up with the squad

Pictured left to right: Mike Zoller of Porch Drinking; Paul Cade, Goose Island; Matt Powers, Craftbeer.com; Nkosi White, Chicago Beer Pass & Chicago Beer Geeks; Jason Krasowski, Goose Island, Brad Chmielewski, Chicago Beer Pass

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 2020

Let’s get right to the beer, I’m excited that I was invited to Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout Media night. The full 7 bottle variants and taster glasses made for an epic night. This year’s line up was bolder and more aromatic and took a few of us in attendance by surprise.

An unexpected joy of the Bourbon County experience is following how these beers change over a three day period.

The seven beer lineup came equipped with a resealable top option. The result is that your favorites change over time. During the virtual preview tasting, Goose President Todd Ashmann talks about how they feel there’s a giant audience and a lot of runway to convert drinkers as palates are constantly changing.

I can relate as my palate has changed in the last 36 hours regarding these beers. Let’s talk about a few of my faves.

The Bourbon County Carmella Ale’s Wheatwine’s base is naturally a pretty fruity beer.  Brewers have been working on an apple variant of Bourbon County Stout for years now. They tried apple chips, apple juice, and purees. What they landed on was apple juice concentrate for the final product. Larceny Barrels from Heaven Hill are the vehicle to deliver these Fall vibrations. This smells just like an apple cinnamon liqueur. We never see these flavors as the focus of a BCS release and that’s part of the joy.

My all-time favorite Proprietor’s Blend was the 2017 (bananas foster). This Spumoni inspired version deserves a nod, it’s good. About 100 cans of candied cherries were added to the whirlpool along with pistachios and cocoa nibs. The Chicago only variant is from a brewer that submits annually but wasn’t chosen for a few years. The story goes that she was in a panic about what liter of beer to provide for competition this year. She had a dream that she was eating spumoni ice cream on Tapdeck (employee only bar overlooking the brewery), the epiphany led to her recalling the childhood treat for trials.

2020 Bourbon County Stout lineup

You don’t just get to throw the Weller label on your beer. Sipping on Anniversary Bourbon County Stout. The fact that distilleries respect these expressions enough to partner with Chicago’s oldest brewery says a lot. One of the most rewarding experiences of this entire calendar year was sipping Weller 12 next Anniversary. It's honestly a bourbon that we didn’t fully appreciate until we had side by side with this beer. Maybe we were caught in the full life cycle of this beer and bourbon that we’ll never see again. Maybe it was a moment to reflect on how Goose Island has always been in our lives to provide classic moments. This doesn’t fit in the ‘BCS Rare’ category,  but the full power of their network is on full display with the 2020 offerings.

I'm guessing if the annual Whiskeyfest held in Chicago Master Distillers from Kentucky would arrive and enjoy all our city has to offer. During the visit, they would taste some of these beers and could probably pinpoint which barrels are theirs. It’s a testament to how Goose brewers are crafting the original recipe to highlight the connection between their classic stout and some of the world’s greatest bourbons.

All this talk makes you wonder if there has ever been an experiment with tequila or rum barrels for BCS. The fact is that proximity plays a role in how these beers make it to the public. Submitting beers that have curb appeal is just one part of the equation. Barrels from outside the US have challenges. 50% of those might be great or could be a disaster. Import barrels are often dry and don’t hold beer well.

 It was a privilege to party and learn so much with the Goose Island Beer Company and experience what felt like an early Christmas enjoying this preview of the 10th Anniversary of Black Friday.

Anniversary aged in Weller 12 Barrels & Birthday aged in Old Foresters Birthday Bourbon Barrel

Afro Beer Chick + The Handsome Bastard Join Forces at Electric Jungle

When you have a record shop (Electric Jungle) next door to a barbershop  (Handsome Bastard) apparently the thing you do is host a bottleshare /beard competition the day after FOBAB.  Strangely it’s the perfect antidote to end Chicago’s most revered festival week.  

Electric Jungle 1768 W. Greenleaf, Chicago, IL

Electric Jungle’s décor is true to its name, lush greenery over most corners of the main floor and a fuzzy stage complete with a vintage Palmetto Rockola 450  jukebox.  The vinyl collection is effortlessly displayed in a collection of repurposed rolling garment carts typically found at laundry mats.  It’s a brilliant move that makes inventory more accessible…and of course carts can shift to make space to host events like this one.

Moveable carts to move inventory around.

Illuminated Brew Works heard about the hang and sent a pair of mixed culture ales and more to share.  Pareidolia, was a buckwheat farmhouse aged on Asian pears with Amchur used to accentuate the fruit. It was aged for a year in third use Virtue Cider barrels that previously held whiskey. The Fulton Market brewers known for their notorious invite only bonfires mentioned they might be looking to move up to Norwood Park of the northwest side of the city. 

Illuminated Brew Works tasty donations to the party

A local comedian hosted handsome Bastard’s Beard Competition. All contestants received a balm and oil from their Whiskey & Wax grooming collection.

Whiskey and Wax can be be found at 1766 W. Greenleaf, Chicago, IL

Judges were granted permission to touch beards in most cases.  The local chapter of the Bearded Villains, Chalonda White (Afro Beer Chick)  and 49th Ward Aldermanic Candidate Maria Haddon.  Open since June, Electric Jungle is the newest concept from the crew that ran Logan Hardware Records.  Conveniently located across the street from Rogers Park Metra, the urban vinyl garden located on Greenleaf Avenue is the type of concept we wish we had come up with. A listening station sits in front of the wall with boxes full of Chicago House and Stax Records.

And the Beard Competition kicks off

Rogers Park, tucked away on the deep north side has a resident base made up of every walk of life. It’s one of those city neighborhoods that really feels like its own small town.  Most of us live a mile from the lake and enjoy connecting with people who cant wait to share where their favorite spaces are in this corner of the earth.  The bottle share yielded everything from coffee liqueur to treats from New Glarus.

Electric Jungle has such a dope space and it is very inviting.

Making My Rounds

It's been pretty slow in the beer events scene in Chicago since everyone is still in holiday recovery mode. For 2018 I have some new ideas to keep this site fresh, fun and full of information.  Until then, check me out on a couple of really cool podcasts. I ended 2017 on BeerDownload and kicked off 2018 on Chicago Beer Pass, It's pretty cool they let little ole me in on the fun to talk about BEER.  

Photos Courtesy of Beerdownload.com

BeerDownload - Episode 324 - A Pilsner and an APA

Photo courtesy of  Chicagobeerpass.com

Chicago Beer Pass - AfroBeerChick