DMCers and friends attended Beer Under Glass in Union Station’s Great Hall for a night of brilliant brews as our May Activity Fund event.
The event features tastings from over 120 local Illinois breweries, and the planning was months in the making. Planning began in March with a reminder from Keith Janson – who provided his expert opinions on each brewery in a document known as "Keith’s Haute Takes".
As the event organizer this year, Carolyn Corcoran, helped with the logistics of ordering and distributing nearly 60 tickets to DMCers and +1’s. – lots of people wanted to go.
“As soon as we entered union station, I had to ask my husband if the noise was people or trains. At barely 5:30, the space was packed with people! We were able to locate some DMC cohorts and slowly made our way around the space throughout the evening,” Carolyn said. “I only got to taste a small fraction of the beers available, but it was fun to compare notes with everyone and recommend our favorites!”
As a big fan of craft beer who even brews his own beer at home in his free, Aaron Shoemaker says he loved Beer Under Glass as it gave him “an opportunity to see what kind of flavors other people have put together.”
“The Great Hall in Union Station is beautiful, and loud. So many people showed up for the event and I ran into lots of coworkers and their +1s,” Aaron said. “For all the attendees there, the lines at each booth still moved pretty quickly and I got to try offerings from lots of different breweries.”
The attendees ranged from craft beer enthusiasts like Aaron to those who do not regularly drink beer and decided to attend at the last minute due to extra tickets: like Charlie Gordon. Although not a huge beer drinker, Charlie says he was convinced to go after DMCers who previously attended the event made it sound like a really fun time.
“I was surprised at how much fun I actually had, and, as someone who wasn’t originally going, I’m glad I made the decision at the last minute to switch and go,” Charlie said. “The aesthetic was really cool. Being in Union Station and having this old-time architecture, the huge glass ceiling, and all these little stands of breweries from all around the state was really cool to see. It was very interesting and a good vibe.”
Fascinated by beer festivals, Aziz Rmadi says events like these have a unique and charming way of bringing people from different cultures and backgrounds together.
“What's better than enjoying a beer fest with my awesome colleagues at DMC,” Aziz said. “The atmosphere was amazing! Union Station is a very charming location that gave 19th/20th century vibes with its beautiful ceilings and walls. All the Brewing companies that were at the event had very kind representatives who were super passionate about their products.”
The Most Memorable Sips
DMCers’ most memorable sips were ultimately the unexpected flavors and consistencies people do not think of when they think of beer.
“The most memorable beer I had was from Energy City brewing. I tried their Fruity Marshmallow beer, which tasted like a fruity pebble rice Krispie treat smoothie,” Carolyn said. “The number of choices everywhere was overwhelming, and I enjoyed just asking bartenders to give me their favorite or weirdest beer and see what they came up with.”
Other DMCers liked the brews not classified as beer.
“My family brews their own cider, and I really liked the Eris cider. I also liked the Meade from Mead Inc; it wasn’t a beer, but it was good,” T Pachin said. “The highlight though, and I know a lot of people liked it, was dill pickle sour because it was really interesting and tasted like a pickle, so it was definitely really weird. I wouldn’t drink it every day, but it was cool.”
For those who do not necessarily enjoy beer, our craft beer enthusiast Aaron stepped in to help.
“It was super fun. Aaron Shoemaker went around finding beers and other related drinks that Hannah and I would enjoy when not being huge beer drinkers,” Charlie said. “It was fun wandering around with them and trying all these non-traditional beers. We had Froot Loops and Banana Split beers. They’re creamy and more smoothie-like. I was definitely getting outside of my comfort zone in terms of what I usually drink and trying all those weird things. I would not have done without their help.”
On the contrary, Aaron says the beers didn’t compare to the company.
“For all the tasty beers I tried, I think my favorite part of the night was getting to reconnect with coworkers that I don't normally get to see,” Aaron said. “We even had friends fly in from the San Diego and Denver offices, just to come to Beer Under Glass! It's so fun seeing everyone in a relaxed setting outside of the office.”
Aaron and other DMCers are already counting down the days until the next Beer Under Glass.
“I am looking forward to renewing this experience next year,” Aziz said. “At the end of the day, this is the spirit of such events: gathering people around for drinks and making sure everyone is having a good time!”
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