July 09--Since Goose Island snatched the beer-pouring rights at the Pitchfork Music Festival from the boring, boring grip of Heineken in 2013, the beer has been one of the most interesting things about what is arguably Chicago's best music festival.
For the third year in a row, Goose will debut a beer at Pitchfork Fest (July 17-19) made in collaboration with one of the performing artists -- this time with Sunday's headliner, Chance the Rapper. The beer is a 5.3 percent Helles-style lager called No Collar.
Though Chance never visited the brewery to work on the beer, Goose said its brewmaster, Jared Jankowski, consulted with the Chicago-born rapper on the phone to discuss the approach. Chance's wish, the brewery said, was to create a beer "for the hardworking people of Chicago ... exactly what you want to drink after a long day of work."
Or, presumably, standing in Union Park on a warm summer day.
Goose will again bring a beer festival-style approach to Pitchfork Fest with on-the-hour tappings of the following beers ($8 each) in the following order on each of the festival's three days:
Blue Line (pilsner)
Sofie (farmhouse ale)
Matilda (Belgian pale ale)
Ogden (trippel)
St. Genevieve (witbier with fruit)
Fulton St. Blend (golden coffee ale)
The Muddy (imperial stout)
Those beers, along with No Collar, Honker's Ale, Green Line and 312 Radler (each costing $6) will be available only at the Goose Island bar. Goose's 312 Wheat and IPA will be available throughout the festival grounds, and also will cost $6.
If you're skipping the festival, but curious about No Collar, good news: It will continue to be available in Chicago on draft in bars around town after the festival.
And, oh, should you care about the music lineup, look here.
jbnoel@tribune.com
