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Shana Solarte

@etralos

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🌱 words & vibes @haas_hops
🍺 Advanced Cicerone® & Certified BJCP
📝 ½ of @bieromakase

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For me, growing up in Chicagoland, the Chicago Reader was my teenage bible.

Just about every Thursday, I’d head to the Tower Records on Army Trail Rd (Glendale Hts–raised, baby!) and pick up a copy—back when it was a four-section broadsheet and weighed about five pounds. I’d spend the next few days poring over it section by section, dreaming about all the cool music clubs, art galleries, film houses, and restaurants I’d get to go to when I was older. If you’d told my teenage self that one day I’d be in the Reader for a fun thing I get to do with one of my best buddies, I never would’ve believed you.

Thank you to Mike and Kirk from the Chicago Reader for capturing an evening at a Bier Omakase—what a treat to cap off the first year of this project. Shana and I sat down a few days ago to riff on ideas for 2026, and we’re so excited to share what’s next very soon.

Head to the link in our bio to read the Reader piece by @mikesula and support independent journalism.

See you next year!

—
jp by @etralos

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10 months ago

See that cool dude in the middle of the group? That’s @rev_brewmaster, your favorite brewer’s favorite brewer, during a fun and snowy collab brew day. Jim has been in treatment for Multiple Myeloma and recently reached the incredible milestone of 100 days post-stem cell transplant!

To celebrate Jim’s ongoing recovery and support the future of MM research, I’m joining Team Cibak on 10/24 in the MMRF Walk to End Multiple Myeloma. Team Cibak just surpassed 10k in donations—can you help us make it to 15k??

Check out the link in my bio for donation options and walk with us on 10/24 🍻 by @etralos

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3 days ago

A quick weekend in Detroit.

My first visit, so we made some of the important stops—Ford Center, pizza, the Heidelberg Project, and of course, Comerica Park to get my 15th ballpark.

A true highlight, however, was getting to see our dear friend Annette and her husband Mike in their barely one-year-old Full Measure Brewing. The beer and food were impeccable (duh) but we were truly struck by how well they’ve settled into their space and made it feel so welcoming. It just makes sense there. I’m not at all surprised that they’ve been able to cultivate a communal feeling in such a short span of time because it was done intentionally. I’m thrilled for them and emphatically encourage anyone reading this to make a stop at Full Measure next time a Detroit visit is in order.

Oh, and also they seem to really like cars there. taken in Detroit, Michigan by @etralos

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3 months ago

Happy 10th birthday, @dovetailbrewery.

Ten years ago, I took a tour of a soon-to-open brewery across the train tracks from my office. The owners greeted us in a dusty woodshop that would soon become a taproom and treated us to one of the best pale lagers I’d ever had, served from a roto-faucet mounted to a 2x4.

A few weeks later I was preparing for a weekend trip with my mom when I got a call from @jennypf asking if I’d be available for the brewery’s opening day—they were short on hands and needed someone who had poured beer before. I had this odd feeling that I should accept and postpone the trip. Something I couldn’t quite describe was pulling me into this place’s orbit.

Now, ten years to the day the Dovetail taproom officially opened its doors, it’s clear that staying in town was the right choice. This place means so much to me. I met some of my closest friends behind that bar. We watched the Cubs win the World Series on a tv sitting atop the decorative lauter grant. I learned so much about brewing and beer history, and grew as an educator and public speaker as a result of my job.

I feel so lucky to have been a part of Dovetail’s story, and so grateful to what this place and the people here have given me in return. Hope you’ll join me tonight for a celebratory lagerbier at the corner of Belle Plaine and Ravenswood Aves. by @etralos

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4 months ago

We took Bier Omakase on the road to Evanston last night—an intentional setting, as the city was once a stronghold of the Temperance movement and a fitting backdrop for our menu exploring “loopholes”in the world of brewing and distilling. Thanks to everyone who came out and to Liminal for hosting. More to come on the Substack! by @etralos

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7 months ago

Out in the desert on an unseasonably hot, sunny day, Keeping Together officially opened the doors of its bright, airy repurposed greenhouse space.

I’m incredibly proud of Averie, whose beers remain exquisite (even the pilsner collab and “accidental” brown ale, in fact how dare you be so good at this) and whose determination I continue to admire. I’m stoked to see Pat hustling his ass off and managing to enjoy the moment through the exhaustion and sleep deprivation that come with opening a business. It was an honor to pour you a shifty.

Somehow the stars aligned and made it possible for Caroline and me to join up with Neil for KT’s grand opening, and there’s truly nowhere else I’d rather have been this past weekend. Congrats, team—I hope this monster you’ve created sees a long life of beauty. taken in Keeping Together by @etralos

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7 months ago

Happy Polish Luther Day to you and yours! Hard to believe it's been 12 years since @jennypf walked out of the office and came back with paczki and cheeseburgers.

Click the link in my bio to read about it and learn the history of the Polish Luther, and also get the recipes to make one from scratch. by @etralos

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8 months ago

Vieques vibes.

Happy new year 🎈 taken in Vieques, Puerto Rico by @etralos

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9 months ago

To wrap up year one of Bier Omakase, we pulled from the archive and retold some of our favorite stories of 2025.

Check out the full menu from our latest event on our Substack.

Photo by @mulvatronn taken in Hammy Wammy by @etralos

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10 months ago

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the final Bier Omakase of the year, and shared a frosty mug of Old Style (it’s a beautiful sight). See you next year! taken in Chicago, Illinois by @etralos

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10 months ago

Let’s wrap up the first year of Bier Omakase together where we started—with an Old Style. We’ll be knocking a couple, two, tree back after we wrap up our final Bier Omakase menu of 2025, and if you happen to find yourself in the neighborhood, we’d love to share one with you.

Bier Omakase: Year One After Party
Thursday, December 11, 8-10pm-ish
Max’s Place, 4621 N Clark Street

If you can’t join us this time, we’ll see you in 2026 with six more Bier Omakase events.

Happy holidays and all that,
JP & Shana

Photo from Bier Omakase: A-Ha Beers by Steph Byce (@mulvatronn) taken in Max's Place by @etralos

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10 months ago

Things have been a little quiet around here lately — JP’s been deep in Oktoberfest season, and Shana’s been out covering the hop harvest in the Pacific Northwest — but we woke up to some amazing news on Sunday: the North American Guild of Beer Writers named Bier Omakase its 2025 Emerging Voice of the Year!

Thank you to our peers who recognized Bier Omakase, and the journalists, writers, essayists who continue to tell the everlasting stories around beer.

We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with new stories, upcoming Bier Omakase dates, and more :)

Also pictured: The menu from our last omakase, GARAGE BEERS.

Thanks for following along this year,
JP & Shana by @etralos

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a year ago