Author Erik Davis in Rare Live Event @ IBW This Sunday!

Humanoids!

I'm beyond thrilled for the event we have this Sunday. Author Erik Davis (TechGnosis, High Weirdness, Visionary State, Burning Shore) will be doing a very rare midwestern appearance at the Lodge for a live reading and discussion about his new book BLOTTER: The Untold Story of an Acid Medium on Sunday April 28th at 4pm. 

Erik is a leading scholar of science fiction author Philip K. Dick (Total Recall, Minority Report, Blade Runner, VALIS) as well as the counter culture of the late 20th Century. He's one of those rare brains that can take any subject and fold it open into pleasures and complexities unseen by most. He's also - in our bent-backwards and turgid times - an unsuspecting voice of sanity and humor amongst the miasmas of slimelords and soul-derelicts who overpopulate our fair eras. He's a mensch!

We're going to have a ton of surprises for attendees to this very rare and special event not the least of which is first access to purchase our Willett barrel aged Barley Wine that we've made for the occasion. Each bottle is hand numbered and the label is printed on blotter paper (undipped, thank you!). I do believe this is an industry first for this hand-labeled pain-in-the-neck and the effect is quite nice!

Seats are extremely limited for this event and will sell out. I would secure your spot sooner rather than later. To register, go here. To make it as clear as possible: this is a private event so you need to have registered prior to showing up on Sunday. When you get your ticket there is also an option to pre-order Erik's book  BLOTTER: The Untold Story of an Acid Medium so you can have him sign it when he's here. It's very likely that Bucket O Blood will have no extra books on hand so, if you want one, make sure to pre-order.

We'll have Mimi's Kimbap k-rolls on hand for food, Hair & Make-Up will be laying down some psychedelic soundscapes and Aeriz will be on hand with promotional materials. 

Because the Lodge will be closed to the public from 4pm until about 7pm for the event, we are going to open at 11am on Sunday so you can get your day drinking done early.

It's going to be a wonderful afternoon shared amongst good people. This probably isn't for everybody, but, if you think it might be for you, I'd make sure not to miss it.

And, to get the engine pre-heated a bit, we've got YOU ENJOY MY BAND, a Phish tribute band, playing on Saturday starting around 10pm. These guys are great. I really don't have much love in my heart for Phish, but the last time these guys played, I was blown away. So, if you like Phish, you'll love these cats, but if you just like good driving rock jams, you'll probably dig them, too.

We've got a really special weekend set up for you good people, I hope you take advantage of it while it's here!

Godspeed!


Stay strong!
Never forget!
See you this weekend!

You can see all of our events on our event calendar athttps://www.ibw-chicago.com/events

You can see what's currently on tap at IBW LODGE #1 at https://www.ibw-chicago.com/whats-on-tap

Comedy, Music, Lobster Rolls & Tarot @ IBW Lodge #1!

Greetings, strange humans.

 Thanks to everyone who came out and rode the proverbial Lightning this past Sunday for St. Patrick's Day. If good old St. Pat really drove all the Pagans out of Ireland (pro-tip: He didn't) than they must have all come to Chicago. How else do you describe a seething mass of green-clad freaks drinking and singing karaoke and carrying on with Joy and fire in their hearts? The Green Man smiled an extra-wide and toothy grin on Sunday for sure. We can't wait to do it again next year.

 And speaking of big, toothy-grins, it would seem that Ministry's Al Jourgensen does not have one of those. But he does have something almost as good, an IBW winter beanie, which he was wearing a couple weeks ago while signing autographs at a VIP session after a show in Canada.
 

And, while I might prescribe a few different life-style choices than what old Wacky Al has engaged in over the years, his fashion sense has always been on point. Or, at least, it is in this photo. 

Why don't you follow Uncle Al's lead and get a fly little beanie of the IBW sort for yourself RIGHT NOW?

You can hop on over to our piece of human garbage website and buy one for yourself. 

This Saturday, the Happy Lobster Food Truck is back for its first visit of the 2024 calendar. Service starts at 5pm and they'll be around until about 8pm or whenever they sell out (they will sell out). Don't miss it. Grab yourself a hot n' buttered Lobster Roll and belly up to the bar in the Lodge. Turn off your mind, relax and float down a stream of butter and cholesterol for some tried and true amber waves of pleasure.

 Sunday, March 24th, Cherry & Jerry are back with another FREE LIVE show here at the Lodge. Playing ragtime, early blues and prohibition era tunes, this piano & percussion duo packed the house and slayed the day last year with their lively show and are threatening the same results for this time around.

And, if great music isn't enough for you, then how about some fresh and delicious Falafel & Hummus to help shovel it all down? 3D Falafel will be at the Lodge on Sunday from 4pm until they run out serving up their incredible Falafel.

This Monday we have a private event that you are invited to. We've teamed up with our friends at Aeriz again and this time to support the Design Museum of Chicago to bring you PATTERNS: A Comedy Showcase featuring Rebecca O'Neal, Ian Abramson and Gena Gephart. The Design Museum's mission statement, in part, reads: "Like art, science, and the humanities, design surrounds us. It impacts our worlds deeply, affecting everything from our quality of life to our interactions with our neighbors. Bringing design to a relatable, human level allows us all to better understand the power of design and to utilize that power to fundamentally improve the human condition." 

 So, come on out to IBW Lodge #1 to enjoy some of the top Alt comedians working in Chicago right now and support a great local organization. You can get your tickets here. I honestly don't know if they will be allowing ticket purchase at the door, so I would just grab your tix now to be safe.

This coming Wednesday, March 27th, is the final installment for this month's MURDER BINGO sponsored by the incredible Aeriz Cannabis. Not only will AERIZ folks be on site to help you celebrate and to announce the Grand Prize winner of a tote bag full of Aeriz goodies we know you'll love, but we've also got THE DEMON CLEANER back to do no reservation Tarot Readings prior to the show. Tarot readings will start at 6pm!

"Cabin in the Woods" is this final feature in case you can't read. A wonderful and weird way to end this fantastic month of March's Murder Bingo. And, for the curious and contagious, I'm very excited to announce that Chicago'sTerrorVision Records and Videosis our sponsor for the month of April. Expect a line up of movies from TerrorVision's portfolio and gifts and prizes from their incredible store.

Alright, that's all I've got. But, man, it's a lot, right?

St. Patrick's Day @ IBW Lodge #1!

Dia Duit, Hadit & Nuit!

I know it's almost St. Patrick's Day because the Clurichaun's here in our shop are getting ever so randy as of late.

A lot of people ask - even more than the amount who mispronounce it - what the "clurichaun" (KLUR-EH-CON) on our Clurichaun Trap Irish Stout is. Wikipedia currently defines a clurichaun as: "a mischievous fairy in Irish folklore known for his great love of drinking and a tendency to haunt breweries, pubs and wine cellars." They tend to make big messes, drink our beer and periodically play some rather cruel practical jokes on us. Our problem here isn't saying the name, or even spelling it,  it's an on-going struggle to decipher between our sizable clurichaun infestation and our employees. The rule of thumb I've been working with to date  is that our employees are usually the ones you find out back smoking.
 


R-D-R-R, Bart. 

 So, yeah, as if we don't have enough trouble on our hands, we've got the North Side St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday. And, because we're gluttons for punishment, we've programmed a heady little St. Patrick's Day celebration at our spot with food, beer, Robot Karaoke and, to cap off the whole day, one of our favorite clurichaun's favorite electro-pop duo, Bloodhype.

We hope you share some or all of your St. Patrick's Day ruining Monday with us here at IBW.

BUT WAIT! We've got even more nuttiness planned for the weekend. 

 Saturday night, March 16th at 9:30, we've got another great FREE and, yes, LIVE show here to help you cope with the feelings of loss experienced by that slow realization that the Chicago winter is over before it ever started.

 Chicago's GLIMMERWIRE is headlining and FAKE FAXES are opening up for them. Glimmerwire plays stripped-down rock n roll drawing on the approaches of Chuck Berry, Lou Reed, Willy DeVille and Roky Erickson, among others. We're super stoked to have another stupidly talented band rip their hearts out and feed them to you for fun.

And, please remember, all this month for MURDER BINGO Aeriz Cannabis is sponsoring the movies. So all kinds of free AERIZ swag for participants every week and, for the person who gets the most Bingo's in the whole month of March, we have a rrrrreeal nice Grand Prize that is full of goodies we know you'll love. So don't miss a single week of Murder Bingo!

"Evil Bong" is this coming Wednesday's feature in case you can't read.

Alright, that's all I've got. Back to making some more fresh Orange Sunshine!



Robot Karaoke TONIGHT, Girl Scout Pairings & Beer @ IBW Lodge #1!

Welcome to the heart of bovine intelligence and the intuition of maladies!

I have no idea what any of that means, but sometimes, when I'm stuck and can't figure out how to start one of these damn newsletters, I just let the brains barf a little bit and enjoy where the languaging goes. Some people call it "communicating with angels". Some call it flowing into the "stream of consciousness". I call it "being inordinately lazy for the insane amount of work I'm supposed to be getting done". They all work. There's many cut points to create a diamond as They say. And we know who "they" are... don't we?

Lots of beer out right now. And, it's all freaking good. Come on by the Lodge and pick some up. We almost literally having something for everybody. And, if we don't have something for you? I don't know? Lighten up? Change you tastes? Alter your habits? Get your mind right? Shall I continue?

That's just a tiny, post-coital shiver of what we have available in the fresh beer department right now. Our talented Sales Manger, Rick, put that image together. He wanted me to say something about "Hopping Into Spring". And, while I'm sure he's right that that would track with more people than, say, strings like "post-coital shiver", I just can't be who I'm not. You know? For good or for granted, I suppose.

TONIGHT! ROBOT KARAOKE is back! 


I was in a fairly confrontational and exhausted state when I made that Robot Karaoke image last time. I'm not sure it completely captures the spirit of drunkenly singing your favorite songs to a bar full of equally inebriated strangers, but I do feel like that lama shooting an orange laser beam from its eye does communicate something about this existence we've all found ourselves in. So I'm gonna keep it.

As you know, Robot Karaoke is always free. We'll get started around 8pm.


Tomorrow the Norwood Park Chamber of Commerce is hosting its annual Bourbon Trail. There's still time to sign up. Do that here: https://buy.stripe.com/bIY5lD2kjcC791uaEM

NEXT WEDNESDAY! March 6th, from 6-8pm, we're hosting our 2nd Annual Girl Scout Cookie Pairing and cookie sale. Come enjoy a pairing of 4 Girl Scout cookies with 4 of our IBW beers, personally -EXCRUTIATINGLY - engineered by our head brewer, Brian Buckman. For $20 you get 4 IBW beers paired with 4 Girl Scout cookies and a chaser of Trust to cleanse your pallet between bites. Support your local Girl Scouts, drink beer and eat cookies. This is precisely what Ghandi or Churchill or Paracelsus would have done.

We're packaging a new batch of Mr. Monk's Cream Ale and some more Orange Sunshine on Monday. But, have I showed you what we packaged this previous Monday, like 3 days ago?

PEACOCK ANGEL is our most recent Double Dry Hopped Double IPA. This one is smothered and covered with 66lbs of Mosaic, Waimea, Rakau & Vic's Secret hops. And it's good. So come on down to our fuzzy little freak of a tap room and get yourself some on draft or in 4-packs to go while they last.

If I haven't mentioned it yet, 2024 is going to be our best, most exciting year yet. And we know excitement around here. We're like the Maggie Thatcher of excitement. The Rube Goldberg of surprise. We're like the Meatloaf of anticipation.

For instance - put this on your calendars - on Sunday April 28th we've got author and all around mensch of a cascadingly smart gentleman Erik Davis coming to our little beer hovel to sign and read from his new book BLOTTER: THE UNTOLD STORY OF AN ACID MEDIUM. His book tells the wild story of the development and distribution of Acid Blotter Art from cheap and efficient drug medium to highly curious underground artifact with beautiful photographs from Mark McClouds "Museum of Illegal Images". I've been trying to convince Erik to come out here and do a beer with us since 2017 when he released his magnum opus "High Weirdness: Drugs, Esoterica and Visionary Experience in the 1970's" and I've finally tricked him into it. You're one shot at getting our collaboration beer is going to be on the day of the event. Stay tuned for more information on this.

We're teaming up with our friends at Bucket-O-Blood and Aeriz cannabis to bring you an event unlike any other. Don't miss this.

OK, that's all I've got. Back to work!