Urban Knaves of Grain (UKG)

UKG Pub Crawl
2024-09-07 08:50 - 20:50 (America/Chicago) | IL
UKG bus pub crawl to Spike Brewing in Milwaukee, followed by 4 Milwaukee breweries: Lakefront Brewing, Mobcraft Beer, Indeed Brewing, and City Lights Brewing.
This event is sponsored by UKG, Club Wort, and other Chicago-area clubs. Transportation will be by motor coach, which has a bathroom and will allow drinking beer onboard. You may bring guests. To keep the price around $45, the participating clubs need to have around 45 people committed to the bus.
The bus will pick up passengers at 8:50am at Gator Chef Restaurant, 1808 Ogden Ave in Lisle, and at 9:30am at Durty Nellie’s, 180 N Smith St in Palatine. We’ll return to Durty Nellie’s at 8:15pm and to Gator Chef at 8:50pm.
We need advance reservations to make this happen. To sign up, add your name to this Google spreadsheet. The spreadsheet has the complete schedule also.

Monthly Club Meeting
2024-09-17 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-11-19 19:00 - 21:00 | Bubblehouse Brewing, 2121 Ogden Ave, Unit A, Lisle, IL, 60532, United States
Monthly meeting to announce the latest club news, competition wins, upcoming events and happenings.
It’s also an opportunity to share some of your brews with the rest of the club and get feedback as well as taste other club members’ brews.
We welcome all visitors interested in the club. Bring homebrew if you have it and want to share.
This month’s meeting will be at Bubblehouse Brewing in Lisle. Their taproom doesn’t serve food, but you may bring your own. Bubblehouse is normally closed on Tuesdays, and they’re opening exclusively for us, so please help us make sure it’s worth their while.

Brixtoberfest
2024-10-05 08:30 - 16:30 | Imperial Oak Willow Springs, 501 Willow Blvd, Willow Springs, IL, 60480, United States
Judging of the Brixtoberfest competition, sponsored by Brixie’s Brewers. Entries open July 15, max 240 paid entries. Judging will be at Imperial Oak Brewing, 501 Willow Blvd in Willow Springs. There will be additional judging sessions on Tuesday and Thursday.

Monthly Club Member
2024-10-15 19:00 - 21:00 | Bubblehouse Brewing, 2121 Ogden Ave, Unit A, Lisle, IL, 60532, United States

Learn How to Brew Day
2024-11-02 09:00 | Ray Nonnie’s, 817 Dugout Trail, Carol Stream, IL, 60188, United States
Ray Nonnie is hosting Learn How to Brew Day. Ray will be brewing an all-grain batch of his own using a stainless steel mash tun with a RIMS setup to control mash temperatures, for those interested in learning how to brew all-grain. Visitors are welcome to bring their own equipment and brew a beer, or just come and observe. Beginners are welcome! Bring snacks and homebrew, if you have some.

Fermentis yeast seminar
2024-11-13 19:00 - 21:00 | Skeleton Key Brewing, 8102 Lemont Rd #300, Woodridge, IL, 60517, United States
Hugo from yeast company Fermentis will tell us about German yeast strains. This event is free, but please add your name to the signup sheet on Slack so we’ll know how many people are coming.

UKG Social Afternoon
2024-12-08 14:00 - 17:00 | Phase Three Brewing Elmhurst Taproom, 494 S Spring Rd, Elmhurst, IL, 60126, United States
UKG Social Afternoon at Phase Three Brewing’s Elmhurst Taproom & Kitchen, 494 S Spring Rd in Elmhurst (not the Lake Zurich brewery). The Elmhurst location has about 26 beers on draft, plus a full food menu featuring burgers, sandwiches, salads, and large plates.

Webinar: The Homebrew Hangout: Fermentis Academy™ Uncovered - Unveiling the World of Yeast
2024-12-12 18:00 - 19:00 | IL
Registration Required!
Free Webinar – The Homebrew Hangout: Fermentis Academy™ Uncovered – Unveiling the World of Yeast
with Hugo Picard, Home Division Manager at Fermentis
Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4WJeEN2RTZS6GRbRumItiw#/registration
Register for the Fermentis monthly newsletter to learn about yeast and fermentation here:
https://ferment.is/HBcommunity

UKG Annual Holiday Party
2024-12-17 18:30 - 22:00 | Two Brothers Roundhouse, 205 N Broadway, Aurora, IL, 60505
UKG Special Holiday meeting, 6:30pm at Two Brothers Roundhouse. From the entrance, walk to the left all the way to the end, and take a left before the main banquet room and proceed upstairs. (An elevator is also available.)
A limited buffet will be provided. We need to provide a headcount for this by 12/11. +1s are welcome. Please RSVP here.
You can pay your membership dues for 2025 at this meeting, $20 cash or check payable to UKG. You can also pay online using this link.
If you’re participating in our Christmas Brew Roulette, bring a 6-pack of your beer, mead, or cider (all the same brew) to this meeting. The brews will be reshuffled and you will leave with a mixed 6-pack of other participants’ brews. It’s best to label your brews, but we’ll distribute a key to all the brews after the meeting. To help us reshuffle the brews quickly, please preregister them in this Google doc.
This event replaces both social night and the regular club meeting for this month.

DMC Entry Registration Begins
2025-01-10 09:00 | IL
Beginning of entry, judge, and steward registration for the Drunk Monk Challenge. There’s a 3-entry limit per person initially, but this will expand to 6 entries on 1/24 if our entry capacity hasn’t been reached yet.

UKG Brew-In!
2025-01-18 09:00 - 16:30 | Tim Devitt’s, 1675 Whispering Oaks Dr, West Chicago, IL, United States
UKG Brew-In at Tim Devitt’s house, 1675 Whispering Oaks Dr in West Chicago.
Visitors are welcome to bring their own equipment and brew a beer, or just come and observe. Bring your own food; there will be a grill available for everyone to use. We will start at 9:00am, and everyone must be finished by 4:30pm.
What to bring:
Burner, propane, pots, buckets, carboy, ingredients, hops, chair, etc.
Your own meat and fixings for the grill.
Homebrew, of course!
Provided:
Space to brew in garage.
Hose and water for chilling.
Grills.

Monthly Club Meeting
2025-01-21 18:30 - 21:00 | Bubblehouse Brewing, 2121 Ogden Ave, Unit A, Lisle, IL, 60532, United States
Monthly meeting to announce the latest club news, competition wins, upcoming events and happenings.
It’s also an opportunity to share some of your brews with the rest of the club and get feedback as well as taste other club members’ brews.
We welcome all visitors interested in the club. Bring homebrew if you have it and want to share.
This month’s meeting will be at Bubblehouse Brewing in Lisle. Their taproom doesn’t serve food, but you may bring your own. Bubblehouse is normally closed on Tuesdays, and they’re opening exclusively for us, so please help us make sure it’s worth their while.
We’ll start this meeting with a technical introduction to our latest Knighted Knave Cup challenge, Scottish Ales. Our judging of the KK Cup beers will be at the March meeting.

Midwinter Homebrew Competition
2025-01-31 - 2025-02-01 | IL
Midwinter Homebrew Competition, sponsored by the Beer Barons of Milwaukee homebrew club. Judging will be Jan 31 and 2 at Revere’s Wells St. Tavern in Delafield, WI, near Milwaukee, plus several other weekdays at nearby locations (BJCP judges only–no apprentice judges). Entries open 12/24/2024 and are capped at 500 entries. This will be the 15th and last Midwinter, and it’s expected to sell out quickly.

30th Annual Train Crawl 2025
2025-02-15 | IL
Please join us for the 30th UKG Train Crawl! This year’s crawl goes from Wrigleyville to Ravenswood in Chicago:

Start at the Metra BNSF (9:08am at Rt. 59, 9:13 at Naperville, etc., or later trains) to Union Station. Weekend parking is free. A Saturday-only pass is $7.
Walk south on Clinton St to the Clinton Blue Line CTA station.
Take the Blue Line toward O’Hare 2 stops to Jackson, then transfer to the Red Line toward Howard.
Take the Red Line 9 stops to Addison.
Walk west on Addison St to Clark St. Turn right and walk to the corner of Clark and Grace St, for Greenstar Brewery (about 1/2 mile total, 10 min).
Greenstar Brewery at Uncommon Ground, 3800 N Clark, a brewery taproom associated with a restaurant, 10+ taps. This is the lunch stop. Afterward, walk north on Clark to Irving Park Rd, turn left and walk to Ravenswood Ave. Begyle will be 1 block north (about 1 mile, 22 min).
Begyle Brewing, 1800 W Cuyler, a very popular brewery taproom with 16 taps. When you’re finished here, walk 1 block north on Ravenswood to Dovetail.
Dovetail Brewery, 1800 W Belle Plaine, a brewery taproom with 13 taps. They specialize in German lagers, but also in sour beers. Next, walk west on Belle Plaine to Lincoln Ave, turn right and walk 4 blocks to Hop Butcher (about 1/2 mile, 12 min).
Hop Butcher for the World, 4257 N Lincoln Ave, a brewery taproom. Mainly an IPA specialist, but they have a few other styles among their 20 taps. Afterward, walk right a short way then turn right on Cullom Ave, go 6 blocks and turn left on Wolcott Ave, then 3 blocks north to Wilson Ave. Turn right and O’Shaunessy’s is 2 blocks ahead, just beyond the railroad overpass.
O’Shaunessy’s Public House, 4557 N Ravenswood, has an Irish pub food menu and 28 taps. This is the dinner stop.
When you’re finished, walk 10 min south on Ravenswood and 1 block west to the Montrose Brown Line station, take the Brown Line south to Quincy, then walk west 3 blocks on Jackson St to Union Station, about 49 min total. BNSF trains depart at 5:33pm, 6:33pm, 7:33pm, 8:33pm, 9:33pm, 10:33pm, 11:33pm, and 12:33am.

Join up with the Crawl at any point, leave whenever you like, and pay as you go. No reservations necessary, just show up! Transportation cost: $7 for a Saturday-only Metra day pass and $2.25 for each CTA ride.
Download a copy of the map.

Monthly Club Meeting
2025-02-18 18:30 - 21:00 | Bubblehouse Brewing, 2121 Ogden Ave, Unit A, Lisle, IL, 60532, United States
Monthly meeting to announce the latest club news, competition wins, upcoming events and happenings.
It’s also an opportunity to share some of your brews with the rest of the club and get feedback as well as taste other club members’ brews.
We welcome all visitors interested in the club. Bring homebrew if you have it and want to share.
This month’s meeting will be at Bubblehouse Brewing in Lisle. Their taproom doesn’t serve food, but you may bring your own.
For the technical part of the meeting in the first half hour, Dan Acheson will talk about “Tips and tricks on how to finish beer: things I’ve learned to optimize your beer once it’s done fermenting”.

DMC Entry Deadline
2025-02-28 17:00 | IL
Deadline for arrival of shipped or dropped-off entries for the Drunk Monk Challenge. Entry registration will also end today if the entry cap has not been reached yet.

DMC Unpacking
2025-03-02 10:00 - 14:00 | Two Brothers Roundhouse, 205 N Broadway, Aurora, IL, 60505
Unpacking of entries for the Drunk Monk Challenge at Two Brothers Roundhouse.
Lots of volunteers needed! Bring 6-pack carriers if you have some. Homebrew welcome for sampling after we do our work.
At 205 N Broadway (Rt. 25) in Aurora, follow the signs.

DMC Judging
2025-03-04 18:00 - 21:00, 2025-03-06 18:00 - 21:00 | Church Street Brewing Company, 1480 Industrial Dr Unit C, Itasca, IL, 60143
Judging of a few tables for the Drunk Monk Challenge at Church Street Brewing. Schedule:
5:30pm: Organizers arrive.
6:00pm: Judges arrive. Dinner served.
6:30pm: Judging begins.
Please be on time! Everyone has to wait until the last judge arrives before we start.

DMC Judging
2025-03-05 18:00 - 21:00 | Two Brothers Roundhouse, 205 N Broadway, Aurora, IL, 60505
Judging of a few tables for the Drunk Monk Challenge at Two Brothers Roundhouse, in the Porter/Ale ballroom, clockwise all the way to the end from the main entrance. Schedule:
5:30pm: Organizers arrive.
6:00pm: Judges arrive. Dinner served.
6:30pm: Judging begins.
Please be on time! Everyone has to wait until the last judge arrives before we start.

DMC Judge/Steward Registration Ends
2025-03-07 12:00 | IL
Last day of online registration of judges and stewards for the Drunk Monk Challenge. But please don’t wait until the last minute.

DMC Judging
2025-03-07 13:00 - 21:00 | Two Brothers Roundhouse, 205 N Broadway, Aurora, IL, 60505
Three small sessions to judge a few tables for the Drunk Monk Challenge at Two Brothers Roundhouse, in the Porter/Ale ballroom, clockwise all the way to the end from the main entrance. Schedule:
1:00pm: Organizers arrive.
1:30pm: Judges for 1st session arrive.
2:00pm: 1st judging session begins.
3:30pm: Judges for 2nd session arrive.
4:00pm: 2nd judging session begins.
5:30pm – 6:00pm: Judges for 3rd session arrive. Pizza served.
6:30pm: 3rd judging session begins.
Please be on time! Everyone has to wait until the last judge arrives.

Drunk Monk Challenge
2025-03-08 08:00 - 20:00 | Two Brothers Roundhouse, 205 N Broadway, Aurora, IL, 60505
27th annual Drunk Monk Challenge, the UKG’s own homebrew competition, and a leg of the Midwest Homebrewer of the Year and Circuit of America. Judging is at Two Brothers Roundhouse, in the Porter/Ale ballroom, clockwise all the way to the end from the main entrance
8:00am: Organizers and stewards arrive. Breakfast is served.
8:30am: Judges arrive. Please be on time!
9:30am: Morning judging session.
11:00am: Lunch is served.
12:00pm: 2nd judging session.
2:30pm: Best of Show and Menace of the Monastery judging.
3:00pm: Raffle.
5:00pm: Awards ceremony.
6:00pm: Cleanup (organizers and stewards).

Monthly Club Meeting
2025-03-18 18:30 - 21:00 | Bubblehouse Brewing, 2121 Ogden Ave, Unit A, Lisle, IL, 60532, United States
Monthly meeting to announce the latest club news, competition wins, upcoming events and happenings.
It’s also an opportunity to share some of your brews with the rest of the club and get feedback as well as taste other club members’ brews.
We welcome all visitors interested in the club. Bring homebrew if you have it and want to share.
This month’s meeting will be at Bubblehouse Brewing in Lisle. Their taproom doesn’t serve food, but you may bring your own.
We’ll start this meeting with a discussion led by Ray Nonnie on techniques for transferring beer. We’ll also hold an informal judging of our latest Knighted Knave Cup challenge, Scottish Ales.

UKG Social Afternoon
2025-03-22 14:00 - 17:00 | Energy City Brewing, 917 1st St, Batavia, IL, 60510, United States
UKG Social Afternoon at Energy City Brewing, 917 1st St in Batavia. Founded by UKG member David Files, Energy City makes specialty IPAs and stouts, and other unique beers. No food is served at the taproom, but you may bring your own.

UKG Social Afternoon
2025-04-06 14:00 - 17:00 | Nik & Ivy Brewing, 1026 S State St, Lockport, IL, 60441, United States
UKG Social Afternoon at Nik & Ivy Brewing. Nik & Ivy is a brewery taproom with 11 drafts. No food is served, but you can bring your own.
The Lock & Mule by Tangled Roots brewpub is across the street.

AHA National Homebrew Competition 1st Round
2025-04-08 18:30 - 21:30 | Skeleton Key Brewing, 8102 Lemont Rd #300, Woodridge, IL, 60517, United States
Regional judging of the 1st Round of the AHA’s National Homebrew Competition. The judging this year is organized by UKG, BOSS, Brixie’s Brewers, CHAOS, Square Kegs, and other Chicago-area clubs. Judging will be at Skeleton Key Brewery, 8102 Lemont Rd #300 in Woodridge. This competition is always short of volunteers, so please consider judging or stewarding if you can.

AHA National Homebrew Competition 1st Round
2025-04-11 13:00 - 22:00 | Dovetail Brewery, 1800 W Belle Plaine, Chicago, IL, 60613, United States
Regional judging of the 1st Round of the AHA’s National Homebrew Competition, 3 sessions at 1pm, 4pm, and 7pm. The judging this year is organized by UKG, BOSS, Brixie’s Brewers, CHAOS, Square Kegs, and other Chicago-area clubs. Judging will be at Dovetail Brewery, 1800 W Belle Plaine Ave in Chicago. This competition is always short of volunteers, so please consider judging or stewarding if you can.

AHA National Homebrew Competition 1st Round
2025-04-12 09:00 - 17:00 | Dovetail Brewery, 1800 W Belle Plaine, Chicago, IL, 60613, United States
Regional judging of the 1st Round of the AHA’s National Homebrew Competition, 3 sessions at 9am, 11am, and 2pm. The judging this year is organized by UKG, BOSS, Brixie’s Brewers, CHAOS, Square Kegs, and other Chicago-area clubs. Judging will be at Dovetail Brewery, 1800 W Belle Plaine Ave in Chicago. This competition is always short of volunteers, so please consider judging or stewarding if you can.
