Craft Beer & Spirits Week

All week long, we've been giving you insight not only about that beautiful liquid in your glass, but also about just how that liquid got there. And what better way to know (and appreciate) the brewing or distillation process than to do it all yourself — right in the confines of your own kitchen. Here's our guide to eight must-have items for your home brewing and distilling plans.

They say music is the universal language. And to some end, beer is just as universal — after water and tea, it’s the most consumed beverage in the world. Both the language of music and the language of beer elicit visceral and social experiences, which is why you find so much passion in each scene — especially when that scene sets you in a David and Goliath situation.

I’m sitting in Carriage House, a fairly new Southern restaurant in Chicago’s Wicker Park, and sipping Virtue’s Lapinette cider. The man who makes this cider, Virtue founder Gregory Hall, is about to join me for dinner. But he’s late. No matter: his cider practically speaks for itself.