Chicago Stash of Craft Beers Available in Time for Housewares Show Dining Excursions

If you’re making your plans for your time in Chicago during the 2015 International Home + Housewares Show, you might be interested in a bit of news that came across our desk in another connection. SideDoor, an  American-style gastropub located in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, announces a “Secret Stash” of rare craft beers available to diners beginning Monday, March 2, introduced by Beverage Director Jeff Van Der Tuuk.

Only available upon guest request, this carefully curated collection of limited-time brews, packaged in large format bottles (22-ounce/750mL), is cellared in the basement of the McCormick Mansion for a minimum of six months. Van Der Tuuk sources selections rarely found throughout Chicago and the surrounding Midwest regions. Upon cellaring the collection, Van Der Tuuk releases certain brews for a limited time only at SideDoor when those selections become unavailable elsewhere.

“Offering our guests some of the most unique, rare aged beer on the market is a consistent goal we have at the restaurant,” Van Der Tuuk says. “Each large format brew is often very hard to come by, and we truly appreciate the opportunity to give our guests the ability to enjoy these highly allocated selections.”

The Secret Stash features flavor profiles ranging from lemon grass and sour cherry to toasted malt and cocoa nibs. Of the sixteen beers currently featured on the secret menu, a majority of the collection showcases the work of brewmasters located in the Midwest and beyond. Among the most sought-after bottles, diners can enjoy the following sample of beers:

Old Rasputin XVII Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
California, 22 ounces, 12.1 percent ABV barrel aged, caramel, charred oak

Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quadrupel
Missouri, 750 ml, 11.8 percent ABV barrel-aged, cherry, toffee

Rodenbach Caractere Rouge
Belgium, 750 ml, 7 percent ABV cranberry, raspberry, tart cherry, oak

Upland Datalion Dark Wild Ale
Indiana, 750 ml, 8.5 percent ABV dark fruit, oak, pepper, spice

Craft beers offered on the Secret Stash list are only available for a limited time. For more information regarding the large format beer program at SideDoor, visit www.sidedoorchicago.com or call 312.787.6768. To follow rare beer list updates, follow the hashtag #SideDoorSecretStash.