No Shining Party Tonight for NYE, but IBW LODGE #1 Is Still Open

After a lot of back and forth, we're going to temporarily pull the plug on our NYE @ The Overlook Hotel party tonight. We'll still be open & still have a countdown, but we're going to put the Shining party on ice until we have more staff and can do it right.

I don't know if you've heard or not, but this omicron thing is all over the place. We've lost staff due to this surge already and we've had to make scheduling changes to insure we limit the exposure of too many of our staff at the same time.

If you know anything about us then you probably know there's 9 of us on staff here on a rainy day. Now, I'm not sure if you believe in math and all of it's diabolical implications, but, with 9 people total staff, if 2 get sick, that is over 20% of our staff out. And, depending on who those 2 people are, that can quite literally bring us to a hault. Luckily, we're not at a hault right now, we're just doing our bloody best to avoid that hault from happening.

So... sorry, but we'll do the Shining party later in the year when we can do it and enjoy it properly.

We'll still be open from 4pm until 2am today, so we hope you still swing by and enjoy some beer, a countdown at midnight and, as always, our normal Friday Night Fight Club that we hold in the basement every week.The password this week is: Fidelio.

One thing that would really help us as we're certain to take a hit over the next few weeks is for you to buy some beer. So, even if you're not going out tonight, maybe you could swing by IBW Lodge #1 and grab a couple 4-packs for your at-home-game NYE event?

Here's our newest additions to your options:

RADIONIC AMPLIFIER - 8.5% Brut IPA with Citra, Mosaic & Huell Melon. Remember that one summer, long ago when everybody made a brut IPA? We barely do either, but ours was considered by some to be the best of the style in Chicago. Here it is back amongst us just in time for NYE. Imagine a beer, effervescent and dry but rich with hop character and you're almost to RADIONIC AMPLIFIER.

THE RETURN OF SLUSHY THING - For all of you vegan, lactose intolerant, dairy free people who hate beer... this is just the thing for you. Our 4th slushy offering, THE RETURN OF SLUSHY THING, is a 6% seltzer with blackberry, blueberry & mint. Almost 30% of this seltzer is fruit. So, if that is something you want out of a brewery... there you go.

PAZUZU'S PEDALS - Back by popular demand, our Porter is back to terrorize your liver while tantalizing your tongue.

All of these are available today at IBW LODGE #1 in 4-packs and everything is on draft right now, except for the slushy. As soon as CANDY CANE WAR ON XMAS pops, we'll put on Slushy Thing.

Oh! Have you JOINED OUR CULT yet? Most cults have a bad reputation of usurping your will or your bank account or your ties to family members or normal society. Well, our little cult promises ALL of that and SO MUCH MORE!! You will not find a more efficiently bad-intentioned cult anywhere this side of the Manson/Nixon line. And we'll get you hammered. Just hit this link and get yourself signed up...

Also, we're going to be closed January 1st. We will be open on Sunday, January 2nd though, so come on by, get away from the family and hang out with Brogan.


Any questions? Hit us up at info@ibw-chicago.com

IBW HOLIDAY BACCHANALIA is Tomorrow!!

Lots shaking in the IBW shorts these days. Let's get right down to it...

First off... tomorrow is the 1ST ANNUAL IBW LODGE #1 HOLIDAY BACCHANALIA, UGLY XMAS SWEATER FASHION SHOW & COMMUNITY FOOD DRIVE.

This whole onslaught begins at 3pm tomorrow with a photo-with-Santa session for kids until 5pm. We'll have an "adult" photo-with-Santa starting at 8pm. So, do the right thing, and get the kids in early and out before 8p. Nobody wants to ruin anything for anybody, especially Santa. Ok!

All day, for every canned good you bring for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, you will receive a raffle ticket. If you bring 30 canned goods, you get 30 tickets. If you bring 1, you get 1 ticket. You bring 10,000 canned goods... you just win.

We will pick winners at 5pm, 7pm and 9pm. Winners get some wrapped presents from IBW, Dog Walkers Pre-Roll Cannabis and Tone Deaf Records. All of the gift assemblies are full of fun, great stuff generously donated by these organizations, and they increase in value with each drawing. You must be present when your ticket is pulled to claim your gifts. You ain't there, you out of luck!


We've got a Candy Cane War on Xmas draft pouring all day. We've got a Solstice Sacrifice firkin with orange & lemon zest and ginger pouring while it lasts (probably all day). Of course we have all of our normal draft and can pours available as well as to-go beers.

At some point later in the evening we're going to do a WAR ON XMAS sing-a-long to the WAR ON XMAS theme song by John Barlowe and friends. If you aren't familiar with the song, we'll have a little lyric sheet. Or, you can be a good student and practice here.

At 9pm we'll have an Ugly Xmas Sweater Fashion Show where you'll have an opportunity to hop on the runway and sell the atrocious beauty of your Ugly Xmas Sweater to the folks in the Lodge. There will be prizes for this as well.

We'll have vegan and murder-friendly food available for FREE for god's sake! And HYDROSONIC LIGHT SHOW will be melting your mind into lovely little snowflakes and having a snowball fight with what's left.

There's other stuff too, but I can't remember what they are right now. We really hope to see you all out there! If you need to look at the Facebook event page, you can do that here.

We dropped 2 beers this week: SOLSTICE SACRIFICE! & the return of ASTRONAUT EYE SCREAM! You can get these at your local bottle shop where you normally grab our stuff, or you can pick it up from IBW LODGE #1.

SOLSTICE SACRIFICE is a turn on our Halloween beer, SACRIFICE! SACRIFICE! SACRIFICE!... an 11% barley wine with cranberry and spruce tips. And ASTRONAUT EYE SCREAM is our 8% DDH DIPA w/ lactose and galaxy hops. It's been a couple years since we made Astro Eye Scream and this is the first time we've made it out of our new facility. It's tasting great. You should definitely pick up a 4-pack or get it on draft at IBW LODGE #1.

And, hey, while we're chatting here, let me put a bug in your ear about New Years Eve. We're going to do a costume, themed kind of thing for NYE... NEW YEARS EVE AT THE OVERLOOK HOTEL... that's all I'm going to say about that right now, but, if that means anything to you, you should be here. We're going to have some good, old-fashioned, time-traveling, time-bending, labyrinth of your own unraveling mind murderous mayhem fun for New Years this year. And a reason to dress in a tux or a tux t-shirt. More to come...

Oh! Have you JOINED OUR CULT yet? Most cults have a bad reputation of usurping your will or your bank account or your ties to family members or normal society. Well, our little cult promises ALL of that and SO MUCH MORE!! You will not find a more efficiently bad-intentioned cult anywhere this side of the Manson/Nixon line. And we'll get you hammered. Just hit this link and get yourself signed up...

Also, we're going to be closed December 24th, 25th & January 1st. We will be open on Sunday, December 26th though, so come on by, get away from the family and hang out with Brogan.

THE BLACKEST OF WEDNESDAYS @ IBW LODGE #1

G'day Nerds!

It's BLACK WEDNESDAY, everybody's favorite night of the year to get the hell out of the house and drink. And, here at IBW Lodge #1, we have the provisions to provide your best escape from a family OD before tomorrow's forward harch of indulgence even begins.

May we present to you...

THE BLACKEST OF WEDNESDAYS! That's right! The kind of black that swallows all light! The kind of black that fills your soul with the mystery beyond mysteries! So black, it's blacker than the sky on a moonless night even! So black, it makes your black heart envy both the pot & the kettle. Let's just say, it's gonna be prettay prettay prettay black.

To celebrate this bottomless hole of black black black we're doing a couple fun bits here at IBW Lodge #1 tonight:

  • FREE Dino's Pizza (while it lasts)

  • MILLENIAL MUNCHIES BEER FLOATS or, as Dave's dad calls them: SALTY DOGS (while they last)

  • $4 pints of Orange Sunshine (while you last)

Additionally, your fearless bar keep, Handsome Rob, will be playing several seasonally inappropriate horror movies (after 8pm... you've been warned). And, you know, Rob being Handsome Rob, acting in ways that Handsome Rob likes to act, he may even have a few other tricks up his sleeveless Skid Row vest. Maybe. All I'm saying is, if you're out drinking tonight and you're not at IBW Lodge #1, you're dead to me. Period. No excuses. Done. Done. Done. D-E-A-D.

Should be fun on a bun! So, come on down and get teed up in proper fashion for this fine, fine day of decadence and indulgence that is the high holy day of THANKSGIVING. In short, with a hangover.

We're going to have some package beer specials running all weekend starting tonight as well. If you're looking to stock up for turkey day or for the other 3 days of this magnanimous 4 day bender of food and drink, please consider the following:

  • $49 CASES OF ORANGE SUNSHINE & STUPID FOR JUPITER

  • $9 4-PACKS OF ORANGE SUNSHINE & STUPID FOR JUPITER

  • $12 WAR ON XMAS 4-PACKS

  • $70 CASES OF WAR ON XMAS

And, for those of you just itching to spend some of your not-very-hard-earned US dollars on friends, family and yourself, please be aware that we open at 9AM on BLACK FRIDAY and 10AM on SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY.

We're also adding 2 very exciting products to our MERCH CHURCH @ IBW LODGE #1 and OUR SUPER CRUMMY WEB STORE... but those won't be announced until 6am on Black Friday. One will be a WEB STORE only deal and the other will be an IBW LODGE #1 only deal.

I'm not going to tell you what they are just yet, but, if you dig WAR ON XMAS and you're looking for some kind BOX SET deal, well, then you'll be stoked. So, stay tuned for that.

Also, remember, War on Xmas is the only beer with a theme song. Chicago's very own The Columbine's recorded a shimmering rendition of this soon-to-be holiday classic a few years ago. We recommend a 24/7 looping of this to help balance the LiteFM CIA mind-numbing program that started up again a few weeks ago.

As always, we've got FREE FOOD for every Bears game, so make IBW Lodge #1 the place where you scream at TVs.

IBW War on Xmas & Upcoming Events!

Greetings Larval Space Beings!

This November has been proving to be a mighty heady one, no? There's no shortage of tense situations and even tensor reactions to the ins, outs and whathaveyous of our modern world right now. And, on top of all that, we've got this ding dang lunar eclipse coming up for this week's full moon which should really give an edge to the edginess as if things haven't been gnarly enough yet. Big fun!

But, no matter what your position is on just about anything, its always wise to approach life with at least a little buzz. Amirightoramiright? And, to that end, your faithful beer wizards here at IBW are working around at least part of the clock to help.

Now, we're predominantly hippie, communist, pacifist, lefty geeks here at IBW, but there's one war we're always down for: the War on Xmas! Mostly because it doesn't exist and sounds silly to say, but also because -somehow!?!?! - one of our beers acquired that name over the many years we've been brewing it. We're not totally sure who names our beers, but some of these are really good and you know, this one really stuck.

War On Xmas is our 11% Egg Nog White Stout and has become, for many of our faithful cult members out there, a true holiday tradition much like dickies, bad sweaters and indigestion. One can of War on Xmas and most people report being able to make it through their entire family meal while maintaining an agreeable smile on their face no matter how strange things might get. Just apply War on Xmas generously to your face anytime some cousin or great aunt asks about your job, or your love life or, god forbid, if you've heard about the most recent Q drop concerning JFK, Jr. If the going gets weird, just hit your War on Xmas like a Pro.

War on Xmas is available now at IBW Lodge #1 as well as all fine beer establishments around Chicagoland. We've also got War on Xmas hitting Colorado, Utah, Michigan, Pennsylvania & Florida this week so, dear friends, we've got your back.

Also, remember, War on Xmas is the only beer with a theme song. Chicago's very own The Columbine's recorded a shimmering rendition of this soon-to-be holiday classic a few years ago. We recommend a 24/7 looping of this to help balance the LiteFM CIA program that started up again a few weeks ago.

Also, don't forget a fresh batch of Amber Tamblyn's Dad is running around out in the world these days. This is a downright delightful sour ale featuring a gang of passionfruit and about 6% ABV. If you like passionfruit, this beer should not be missed.

And, this Friday, we are packaging this year's Millenial Munchies, our 13% stout with cocoa, coconut & peanut butter flavor. Even the creeps on Untappd like this one, rating it 4.25, so you should feel socially obligated to like it as well! If that's your thing.

To help you out, we're doing a pre-release of 2-packs of Millenial Munchies THIS SATURDAY, November 20th at IBW Lodge #1. The Lodge opens at Noon on Saturday. Come by, get yourself a 2-pack and enjoy a glass of Millenial Munchies on tap while it lasts.

Speaking of events... TONIGHT IS TUESDAY TRIVIA NIGHT! Last week's Tuesday Trivia Night got pretty ugly with some intense competition so, when you put your pants on tonight to come to IBW Lodge #1, make sure you picked out your big boy (or girl) pants! Tuesday Trivia Night starts at 7:30pm sharp (every damn Tuesday) so make sure you and your team are here early enough to get situated. There's no cost to play and pints of Trust Lager are $4 all night. Come win prizes and prove, once and for all, that you are not as dumb as you look. Any questions? Hit us up at info@ibw-chicago.com

And, hey, if you're looking for a place to escape to on that Wednesday before Thanksgiving, come by IBW Lodge #1 for THE BLACKEST OF WEDNESDAYS. We'll buy the pizza and provide you with some prettay prettay decent beer to purchase. All you have to do is leave your attitude at home & come ready to hang out with 50 of your newest and bestest friends. Rob will be commandeering the Lodge that night and showing some seasonally inappropriate cinema!

As always, we've got FREE FOOD for every Bears game, so make IBW Lodge #1 the place where you scream at TVs.