Hopleaf

After last Saturday's fantastically successful Canillon Zwanze Day event at Hopleaf, we donated all the ticket revenue to Care For Real, our community's food and clothing bank and support organization for over 50 years. I was happy to give them a check for $10,000. Turning a fun event intro one that does good is the best of all things. Thanks to all who came and thanks to Care for Real for all they do every day.

Hill Farmstead at Hopleaf on Friday May 8th. At 5pm we will be hosting a special tapping of over 20 Hill Farmstead drafts and vintage bottle pours. We can’t wait to host this special event and hope you will join us.

Before our patio becomes all lush and green there is the brief wonder of our blossoming fruit trees. Our two plum trees blossomed and dropped already but the cherry trees are in peak bloom right now. Weather permitting, come and have a beer under the blossoms while they are in bloom. The window of opportunity is brief. Come soon and see the beauty.

3 Fonteinen Earth Day event Wednesday April 22nd @5:30pm. We will be featuring some really special draft and bottle pours from this sustainable brewery. As well, Christian Gregory from 3 Fonteinen will be in the house to chat with folks.

Draft:
Beersel Lager
Beersel Blond
Druiven Sklvaner
Honinglambik
Rabarberlambik

Bottle Pours:
Pruim Belle de Louvain
Lilac Wine Mead
Akevitt Cask Finish
Cognac Cask Finish
Oude Lambik 2017

3 Fonteinen is dedicated to using locally sourced grains and fruits when available (they collaborate with the last Belgian peach farmer, Ludo Rosseels of Gelrode)

With their Cereal Collective they are aiming to restore the local bond between farmer and brewer.

This is why we chose to celebrate this brewery on Earth Day, when things may look bleak we want to highlight those doing their part for the Earth.

Event and ticket details below:

Hopleaf is honored to host the 2026 Cantillon Zwanze Day Celebration. It is Saturday, April 25th. This year it will be celebrated at 70 venues in 22 countries, with simultaneous tappings of the two special Zwanze Beers at 9 PM Brussels time, which is 2 PM here in Chicago.
This year is extra special because there are two Zwanze Day beers. The first beer is called Artemis la Blanche, a lambic blended with a dry white vermouth and the other is Artimus la Rouge that is blended with a sweet red vermouth.
Hopleaf is making this event a fundraiser for our neighborhood food pantry, Care for Real. Through locations in Edgewater and Rogers Park, CfR provides food, clothing, pet food, referral, and additional services with compassion to improve the health and well-being of low-income residents to foster a stronger, healthier, equitable, and more stable community. Care for Real is a local treasure of good. All proceeds from Zwanze Day ticket sales will go to Care For Real.

We want to offer a variety of ways for our customers to enjoy the Zwanze Day experience. Here is how our Zwanze Day will be organized:

Session 1: 12-3:30PM From 12 Noon until 2PM, 80 ticket holders will be able to enjoy 5 ounce pours of 6 Cantillon beers on tap. Additionally, servers will be opening large format bottles and offering tasting pours of special Belgian beers, including lambics from other producers. At 2PM, we will be tapping the two Zwanze beers and joining the global toast. Ticket holders will have tokens to trade for the pours. A Zwanze glass is included to take home. Zwanze Day T Shirts will be available to purchase with proceeds also going to Care For Real. We will clear the room between 3:30 and 4 PM for the second session. For those who want to stay, there will be seating reserved in the second floor bar and in both mezzanine areas. Seating may also be available in the north bar room or on the patio, weather and crowd permitting. Tickets are $120.

Session 2: Between 4M and 5PM 80 ticket holders will get tokens for both Zwanze beers and a glass. Other beers will be available for purchase. Tickets are $40

At 5:30 all seats and spaces are open to the public. There should be about 30-40 pours of both Zwanze beers remaining. They will be available to anyone as long as they last. No ticket is needed. Beers will be priced at normal Cantillon prices. Most likely, they will be gone by 6:30. There will be many Belgian beers, including lambics available on tap and in bottles available for purchase as well as some food menu specials. Hopleaf will be open until 12 Midnight.
We hope to raise over $10,000 for Care for Real and make Zwanze Day a vehicle for their good works.

First Session 12-3:30 $120

Second Session 4-5:30 $40

Tickets will be available on Tock at 12 Noon, Saturday, March 28th. To ensure that there are no resales of tickets, one ticket per customer. Your ticket must match with your ID. Tickets are non transferable.

This Thursday celebrate 30 years of Birrificio Italiano for Tipopils day! We will be pouring their Ritorno Al Futuro (Back to the Future) One of their original Tipopils recipes.

Saturday, March 21 is Orval Day. Our favorite beer holiday devoted to a Belgian Trappist beer.

A perfect day to drink Orval with friends. Also a good day to spend a little time considering why this particular beer continues to be a favorite choice for a desert island beer.

We’re also pleased to have Marty Tomszak, author of Time, Silence, and Yeast: A Song of Appreciation for Trappist Communities and Their Beer, stopping by Hopleaf. Marty will host a free Trappist beer chat in the upstairs bar at 3 PM on Saturday.

Book cover credit:

Friday's Firestone Walker 30th Anniversary tap takeover at Hopleaf was fun. Having brewer Matt Brynildson in then house made it extra special!