Off Color Brewing

A bigger, bolder variant of our classic imperial stout, DinoS’mores returns. Like a perfectly toasted marshmallow, the flavor teeters between honey and roasted but avoids any burnt notes as bold sweet confectionery chocolate aromatics give way to a rich, creamy mouthfeel.

Some work days are more fun than others. Don’t mind us just tasting through some beer and dumpling pairings with Jesse from QXY as we plan an epic upcoming QXY x Off Color Brewing Beer Dinner at their new Wicker Park location 👀

Our collab Si Fang pairs perfectly with all of the dumplings from QXY, but we thought it would be fun to dive deeper and explore a wider range of their specific flavor combinations and our unique beer pairings (we know, it was a really tough job workshopping this one 😂).

Off Color Brewing .25l cat glass is back in stock! You all have been asking about this one a lot and, based on our behind the bar depletion, taking it when you found out it wasn’t for purchase. We get it. It wasn’t for sale and you wanted it. All is fair in love and glassware.

A huge thanks to everyone who came out and celebrated Offtoberfest with us yesterday!! There are no ceramic steins left, but we still have a limited number of the new glass steins as well as t-shirts and hats left. All are available online and at the taproom when it opens today.

Early arrivers to today’s Offtoberfest Keep the Stein celebration, get ready for donuts! We teamed up with Firecakes to make an Oktoberfest donut Bismarck donut filled with Bavarian cream, coated in a “Waddle” Oktoberfest infused icing & topped with brown butter pretzel brittle.

Steins come in many forms and for the first time ever, we’re offering our Offtoberfest steins in two different iterations. There will be a glass stein featuring new Cuckoo for Oktoberfest art as well our first ceramic steins adorned with an expanded Waddle party scene.

Want first crack at these new drinking vessels? Our annual Keep the Stein Offtoberfest celebration kicks off this Sunday September 27th at 11am and goes all day.

Really nice article from David Nilsen for Pellicle takes a look at the Mischief we’ve been making the last 13 years. www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/9/...

Really excited about the next book in the Off Color Book Club. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman is a post-apocalyptic dystopian novel that explores themes of identity, femininity, solitude, and community.

This month’s thematically appropriate pairing beer is Beer for Dealing with Relocation, a Belgian Wit which is also a nod to the author’s heritage. Haven’t been to one of our book club gatherings before? Just read the book and swing through at 7pm on Tuesday October 20th.

Really excited about the next book in the Off Color Book Club. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman is a post-apocalyptic dystopian novel that explores themes of identity, femininity, solitude, and community.

Phew!! The Cuckoo for Oktoberfest steins have arrived, so we’re a go for Offtoberfest 2026 this Sunday September 27th at Mousetrap. Event starts at 11am. Two brand new stein designs. New t-shirts. New hats. A new specialty Oktoberfest donut with Waddle from Firecakes.

NEW BEER FOR THE NITRO LINE: Beer for Tote Bags A few months ago, we brewed a really nice British Mild with our friends at @wbez.org People enjoyed it so much, we brought it back and this time it will be pouring on Mousetrap’s nitro line & served in 20oz imperial pints.

BOOK CLUB YEARLY SCHEDULE! It’s been over two years of monthly Tuesday meetings of the Off Color Book Club at Mousetrap and we can assure you we’ll be going for at least another year and that’s because the bookmarks with the schedule for the next 12 months have been printed.

The nice thing about having the entire schedule up front is that it allows you to pick and choose if you’re looking for a little more reading time than a month and it certainly helps with getting ahead on those Chicago Public Library holds :)

BEElieve it! We just got word that Ah-Choo!!, our spring saison with lemon blossom honey, bee pollen, and koji inoculated rice, not only won a gold medal in the Belgian-Style Ale Category but also took Best in Show at the 2026 Honey Beer Competition. #honeybeercompetition

Brewed with Lemon Blossom Honey, Koji inoculated rice from our sake program, and bee pollen, Ah-Choo!! is light in body while a carefully controlled fermentation retains the delicate aromatic of lemon blossoms.

BEElieve it! We just got word that Ah-Choo!!, our spring saison with lemon blossom honey, bee pollen, and koji inoculated rice, not only won a gold medal in the Belgian-Style Ale Category but also took Best in Show at the 2026 Honey Beer Competition. #honeybeercompetition

Nothing better than sitting outside and looking at the stars and drinking a fresh Space Tiger! Our galactic traveler has returned in 750ml bottles for the first time since 2020.

Packaged yesterday, 750 bottles and draft are fresh and very hop forward and we’d recommend drinking now to enjoy that hoppiness rather than cellaring (we also have vintage Space Tiger in 250ml bottles that very nicely show the effect of time on brett).

Nothing better than sitting outside and looking at the stars and drinking a fresh Space Tiger! Our galactic traveler has returned in 750ml bottles for the first time since 2020.