American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
“Our story begins with boatloads of optimism, is rooted in the naive, and full of piss & vinegar.”
Gabriel Magliaro brought Half Acre Beer Company to life in a spare Chicago bedroom in 2006. After originally utilizing a contract brewer in Wisconsin, he worked his way up to his own building, which houses their brewery in addition to a taproom where they “can host the people who want to hoist our beers.” Located in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood, they now count themselves as one of Chicago’s most popular breweries.
Gabriel kindly allowed me to interview him for AmericanCraftBeer.com. Naturally, I followed up with 5 Stupid Questions.
1) Imagine that you’re back in college, it’s a Saturday night and you’re hanging out with a dozen of your friends. The keg that you just picked up is full of which beer?
Fill that keg with any nameless, faceless, yellow drunk water you can find. Let’s not confuse the issue and overstate why twelve friends in college get together on a Saturday night.
2) Some say that your Daisy Cutter Pale Ale has a nose that is quite dank and reminiscent of the hop’s more potent — and in some places more popular — cousin. Your response?
If you’re referring to Cannabis, then I’d urge you and others to be mindful of substances that distort reality. Plant drugs can and will take you down.
3) If Half Acre Beer Company was an Animagus, what Animagus form would it have? Explain.
A miniature and ferocious bear. Fact: any animal is better when explored through its miniature version. Second fact: Bears are the most badass animal to walk on dirt.
4) Do you have to Google “what is an Animagus?” I’m a patient guy, I can wait.
Yup, I Googled it. Frankly, I’m both embarrassed and proud of that fact. I’m embarrassed because the animal world is a special interest of mine and the idea that someone could easily shift themselves into an animal of their choosing is pretty badass. I’m proud because the world of Harry Potter is one that I offer a very wide berth; there are a lot of crazies lurking in that scene.
5) You have a taproom in Chicago that serves your beers and that’s it, zip, nothing else. How many people come in with the idea of ordering food? Do they leave disappointed?
Some folks are a little confused that we don’t serve food. We are people who know how to make beer. Therefore, we feel we’re only qualified to offer beer to our guests. Assuming food is likely the result of Question #2.
