The Daily Egyptian

THE DAILY EGYPTIAN SERVING THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY SINCE 1916

WWW.DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM

VOL. 102, ISSUE 87

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2019

Friday

6-9PM

MAY 3 Buy your tickets today!

Carbondale Town Square Pavilion 120 N. Illinois Avenue carbondalebrewfest.com or call 618-529-8040

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Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Daily Egyptian file photo Kristi Thies, owner of Bottoms Up Bar & Grill, poses for a portrait with a basket of fried chicken Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, in Jacob. Kristi and her husband, Jason, have owned Bottoms Up since 2009. Located on Neunert Road in Jacob, the bar and grill serves half and whole fried chickens on Wednesday nights.

Bottoms Up: Students flock to Wednesday beer and chicken Mitch Brown | Daily Egyptian

Every Wednesday students come in droves to Bottoms Up. This bar might not sound familiar, because Bottoms Up is 30 minutes away down back roads in Jacob, Illinois.

Jacob, Illinois is an unincorporated community that runs along 3 miles of railroad track. The locale is the only nearby bar, the next closest bars are in Murphysboro.

Bottoms Up is unanimously known as "Beer and Chicken" by SIU students. Libby Dwyer, a senior studying recreation from Princeville, said she learned during the interview the establishment’s name is not in fact "Beer and Chicken."

The bar serves half a fried chicken for $3. Half a chicken is a leg, wing, thigh and breast. They have sides like mac ‘n cheese or coleslaw for $1. There are also beer specials, most notably $1 Natural Light cans.

Alex Wessel, a senior studying automotive technology from Waterloo, said the drive is well worth it, because of the atmosphere.

“Where else do you eat in a barn?” Wessel said.

The outside seating area, which is a barn, was packed with students. The barn has long rows of tables, bags boards and a jukebox.

Charlotte Metz, a senior studying agribusiness economics, said the chicken is great but it is not the reason why you go to Bottom's Up. “You come for the environment, the culture and the socialization,” Metz said.

Getting away from campus is nice, said Nick Osborn, a sophomore studying aviation.

On Wednesdays students play bags and groups pass footballs outside.

Out of the individuals interviewed, no one could

Daily Egyptian file photo Myles Kidd, a sophomore from Crystal Lake studying aviation flight, eats fried chicken at Bottoms Up Bar & Grill on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, in Jacob.

specify who convinced students from the university to venture so far from Carbondale.

“I heard about Beer and Chicken from older students,” Justin Michaels, a senior studying automotive technologies from Monee, said.

Kristi Thies, owner of Bottoms Up, said they don’t advertise to Carbondale but rely on word of mouth.

Thies said the Wednesday chicken special was already popular before she purchased Bottoms Up a decade ago. Students have brought their parents and some go there for their 21st birthdays, she said.

“I really like the students. Some of them have my cell number and want to get a beer when I’m in town,” Thies said.

Mallory Rutz, a senior studying radiological sciences, said she comes back to Bottoms Up because it reminds her of home. “I’ve been coming here since I was born,” Holeman said.

2019 CarbondALE Brew Fest set to return to Town Square Pavillion Elizabeth Biernacki | Daily Egyptian

SIU Fermentation Science and Carbondale Main Street are partnering to host the 2019 CarbondALE Brew Fest from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, May 3 at the Town Square Pavillion.

The festival is set to feature over 100 different beers from different breweries across the United States and Germany – including Illinois, Alaska, New York and Pennsylvania.

The university’s fermentation program will use funds raised to organize public seminars and workshops and Carbondale Main Street will be using funds to continue improvement and revitalization efforts in downtown Carbondale, according to event organizers.

Contestants will also participate in the 2nd annual Home Brewers Competition, sponsored by the Southern Illinois Brewers, with judging taking place at the Southern Illinois Fermentation Science

Institute and the winner announced at the festival.

Following the festival, Hangar 9 in Carbondale will be hosting a free party starting at 9 p.m.

General admission tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the gate.

Entrants will receive a souvenir tasting cup and drink tastings throughout the day.

VIP admission tickets are $45 in advance and $50 at the gate. Entrants will receive a premium tasting glass, early entrance and more.

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

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Opinion: The definitive ranking of cheap beer Reagan Gavin | @RGavin_DE

As a broke college student, most of my beer buying decisions are based on quantity over quality. Many of my college nights have been spent sipping Miller Lite convincing myself it is the epitome of a high-class beer and full of flavor.

Curious of how any other brand could top my one true love, I set out to rank all of the popular domestic brands.

In the name of science, I enlisted the help of a fellow (cheap) beer enthusiast and took off to Pinch Penny Liquors to buy one tallboy of each beer available.

My co-taster, Nathan, and I are both partial to Miller Lite, so to remain unbiased we conducted a blind taste test ranking the flavor from 1-10. We then averaged out the scores between the two of us to come to a final score for each of the 12 beers sampled. Below is the ranking from best to worst. #1 Miller High Life: 8/10 7.25 cents per ounce Miller High Life coming in with the number one slot came as a surprise. Nathan and I refused to believe we both ranked Miller High Life as our top choice even before the score was averaged between us. At $1.74 for a 24-ounce tallboy, it falls in the middle of expense and number one on our list. #2 Coors Light: 7.25/10 7.66 cents per ounce An enjoyable yet often forgotten beer, Coors Light taking the number two slot is well deserved. However, $1.84 for a 24 ounce makes it one of the pricier beers. #3 Natural Light: 6.5/107.3 6 cents per ounce Natty Light, a solid number three on our definitive list. $1.84 for a tallboy was slightly surprising, however it came in a 25 ounce rather than 24-ounce can — giving you more drink for your drunk. This was also the one beer I guessed correctly when tasting, so I take small joy in knowing that I can name a cheap beer. #4 Busch: 6.25/10 7.8 cents per ounce Busch was another bonus ounce can for $1.95. Decent beer but my only disappointment is that there wasn’t a Busch Light option available to compare the two.

#5 Miller Lite: 5/10 7.66 cents per ounce A beer that Nathan and I thought we knew so well yet only gave a mediocre score of five. I put partial blame on the fact that we were eight beers deep at the time of tasting so our taste buds probably weren’t the most susceptive. At $1.84, Miller Lite may be a number five on our list but always a number one in my heart. I just may sometimes switch it up every once in a while for the “Champagne of Beer,” Miller High Life. #6 Budweiser: 5/10 8 cents per ounce At $1.93 for a tallboy Budweiser was one of the most expensive of the beers ranked. Personally, I am not a fan however Nathan knew Bud heavy by heart which helps to balance the ranking. With Miller Lite and Budweiser being tied at five, the price (and our bias towards Miller Lite) places Budweiser slightly lower. #7 Keystone Light: 4.25/10 6.62 cents per ounce Keystone Light was honestly a forgettable beer. $1.59 makes it one of the cheaper options but with a less than average score. #8 Milwaukee’s Best Light: 4.25/10 5.96 cents per ounce Same as Keystone Light, Milwaukee’s Best Light was indiscernible compared to the other options available. The only perk to Milwaukee’s Best Light is the fact that it too came in a 25-ounce can and was also the cheapest option at $1.49. #9 Bud Light: 3/10 8 cents per ounce Probably a huge surprise to some, Bud Light ranked as one of the worst on the list of beers. Being a watered down version of Bud heavy and one of the most expensive at $1.93 makes Bud Light come in at number nine. #10 Pabst Blue Ribbon: 1.75/10 6.62 cents per ounce There’s a reason bars have PBR on draft for so cheap and I highly recommend spending a couple extra cents for a better beer. For $1.59, I’ve had worse beers which are the next two on the list, but PBR is still only slightly tolerable.

#11 Keystone Ice: 1/10 6.62 cents per ounce The only saving grace for Keystone Ice was the fact that it was the second to last beer to be tasted so my taste buds were slightly dull to mask the disgusting flavor. Being the same price as the Keystone light, spend your $1.59 on the

better and slightly watered down version. #12 Icehouse Edge: 1/10 6.62 cents per ounce If I could do this whole test over again I would choose to never buy let alone taste Icehouse Edge again. At $1.59 a can it wasn’t even the cheapest beer option available and the

Reagan Gavin | @RGavin_DE

only reason it even got a score of one is that we had to for the sake of the ranking system.

Editors note: Do you agree with this list? Disagree? Send your top beer picks to editor@dailyegyptian. com for a chance to have your “hot take” featured on our website and social media.

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1 - Chick Fritz Distributing 2 - Brick River Cidery 3 - JT Walkers 4 - Bells 5 - Heavy Riff 6 - Effing Brew 7 - Founders

8 - Revolution 9 - Old Bakery 10 - New Hollard 11 - Ace 12 - Stone 13 - Left Hand 14 - Great Lakes

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15 - Two Brother 16 - Victory 17 - Surly 18 - Hopskeller 19 - Rolling Mea 20 - Venegoni D 21 - Missouri Brew

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Main Gate

N. Illinois Ave. 16

E. Jackson St.

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Merch 26

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adows Distributing wing Co.

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22 - Hailstorm 23 - Big Muddy 24 - Owl Creek 25 - Molly’s Pint 26 - Main Street Brewing 27 - St. Nicolas Brewing Co. 28 - The Hop Brewery

Porta Potties

29 - Dry Ground BreweryCo. 30 - O’Fallen Brewery 31 - Scratch 32 - Southern Illinois Brewers 33 - Excel Brewing 34 - Breakthru Distributing 35 - Dogfish Head 36&37 - Wolf

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Wednesday, May 1, 2019

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LA Times: The official domestic beer power rankings Lucas Kwan Peterson | LA Times

True story: The first time I got drunk, I was a freshman in college. While inebriated, I sent an email to the entire school that included, among other things, the lyrics to “The Super Bowl Shuffle” as well as a (false) claim that I’d defeated the computer Deep Blue in a chess game. The moral? Always drink responsibly.

And now, without further ado, I ado hereby present the unerring, unredacted and 100 percent correct L.A. Times Domestic Beer Power Rankings. For the purposes of these rankings, I have sampled and judged a large selection of popular domestic beers. And while I’m certainly not implying that any of the beers listed here are “watery” or “swill” or “bad” in any sense of the word, I’ll just say that the $22 Ironfire Outcast Dead Imperial Red Ale you like so much will not be found within this article.

I ranked the beers based on two qualities: 1) taste and 2) chuggability, a highly scientific metric I devised to measure how easily a given brew goes down the hatch, like a refreshing mountain stream tickling your esophagus.

MILLER HIGH LIFE: How are you going to argue against

the Champagne of Beers?

How could you not proclaim a beer with an elegantly sloped neck designed to resemble that of a champagne bottle, and occasionally bedecked with gold foil to reinforce the point, the finest American beer in all the land? This, beyond all, is the beer that says luxury, affluence and effervescence.

Miller High Life has a bouquet that tastes pleasingly of apple juice and Corn Nuts, light and sweet with just a hint of toffee. It’s highly drinkable and is remarkably skunk-free considering it comes in a clear glass bottle. The fact that it comes in squat little 7-ounce ponies for lightweights like me is all the better.

Chuggability ranking: 6 BUD LIGHT: Like Natalie Imbruglia and this ligament in my left ankle, I’m torn. This was a contender for No. 1, and it could have gone either way. Bud Light is clean, crisp and ideal for hot-weather consumption. It tastes like a slightly alcoholic cream soda. It also positively crushes, sales-wise, every other beer in America. By, like, a lot.

Bud Light shipped around 33 million barrels in 2017, double that of the second-most-popular beer, Coors Light.

And, yes, because I am a human being with a soul, I also enjoy

Spuds MacKenzie, the sunglasseswearing, skateboarding bull terrier from 1980s Bud Light commercials.

But it wasn’t quite enough to push this beer into first place.

Chuggability ranking: 7 ROLLING ROCK: There’s something very welcoming about the deep green glass of the Rolling Rock bottle: It says comfort, hominess, the forest, high school. This is a maltytasting beer with a clean and quite smooth finish, but the flavor that sings through (if there really is one) is one of a general toasted-ness. Make sure this is very cold when you drink it.

Chuggability ranking: 12 YUENGLING: Much like the Wagyu slider, the name of this beer makes you think it could be somewhat Asian; upon further inspection, you realize it isn’t at all. Established in 1829, Yuengling Brewery, which bills itself as the country’s oldest, got its start in Pottsville, Pa. The beer is very difficult to find on the West Coast and has a strong local feel to it, despite pumping out a couple million barrels a year.

The flavor is fairly stolid, much like the Midwestern temperament — a bit sweet with a slight lingering bitterness in the back of the throat.

Chuggability ranking: 11

BUD LIGHT LIME: You know what? I’m just going to go ahead and admit that I like Bud Light Lime. I’m not sure there’s actually a more perfect beach beer — it’s just as good as a Corona or Pacifico. And when soaking up unhealthful UV rays, the lime flavor tastes remarkably not like a cleaning product.

Things change under the dark, sobering shadows of an actual bar, of course. Would you order Bud Light Lime in a bar? You certainly would not.

Chuggability ranking: 15 COORS BANQUET: Founded in 1873, Coors has fully embraced the Rocky Mountain aesthetic of rugged dudes doing rugged dude things: Hiking. Panning for gold.

Roping a steer. Or, if you’re a hot young “St. Elsewhere”-era Mark Harmon, putting on some waders and walking through a cold mountain stream.

The beer itself has a maltysweet flavor — the finish is a little more sour than I’d have imagined from the breath of the Rockies, but at least it doesn’t linger.

Chuggability ranking: 14 BUDWEISER: Clydesdales.

Beechwood-aging. The frogs that proved the world wrong and learned to say “Budweiser.”

If there’s another beverage that says “America” more vociferously than Budweiser,

the self-proclaimed “King of Beers,” I’ve yet to sample it.

Budweiser is a little malty, a little sweet and a bit heavier than you’d expect.

Chuggability ranking: 17 MICHELOB ULTRA: Cotton candy’s alcoholic liquid equivalent: Michelob Ultra.

This beer tastes like practically nothing, only vaguely sweet and goes down easier than Placido Domingo on a Sunday morning.

Chuggability ranking: 2 PABST BLUE RIBBON: I’m not exactly sure how Pabst Blue Ribbon got its reputation over the last decade or two of being something of a hipster beer (or what hipster even means, frankly). Because it’s cheap, I suppose? And has that state-fair, Americana look and feel to it? Whatever the reason, it’s probably not that the beer is super-delicious, because it’s not. But it’s perfectly fine. Flat, nutty and a little sour, PBR has a delayed bitterness that lasts at least as long as a Neutral Milk Hotel song.

The beer itself isn’t bad. It’s slightly malty, a little sweet and is fairly drinkable — the flavors and slightly bitter aftertaste linger after you’ve set it down.

Chuggability ranking: 10 To read more, please see www.dailyegyptian.com.

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Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Discover Local

Local, organic and fair trade • Where everyone can shop

HAPPY CINCO de MAYO! Live Mariachi Duo

3.99

3.99

5 oz

5 oz

Siete Grain Free Habanero Hot Sauce

Siete Grain Free Sea Salt Tortilla Chips

Sat, May 4 • 9am-11am

Join us for Owner Appreciation Weekend on May 4 & 5.

Owners receive 10% off their entire purchase.

Not an owner? Everyone is welcome.

Enjoy our events and learn what we are all about!

Plant & Ceramic Pot Sale SAT, MAY 4 • 11AM-2PM

Monies raised support the costs needed to give SIU Ceramics students creative opportunities for research. As a bonus, Flora Bay Farm will be selling certified naturally grown herbs, plants, flowers and vegetable starts.

4.99

Siete Dairy Free Cashew Queso

2 for $3

Hubert's Lemonade 16 oz

10.8 oz

CELEBRATE CARBONDALE'S ANNUAL

NATIONAL BIKE MONTH WITH THE CO-OP!

MAY 11 • Family Fun Ride (12pm-3pm)

Get your bike checked by Phoenix Cycles, decorate your bike, and ride with your family along the bike route around the Murdale area. Collect all the stamps along the route and get a free Bike Month t-shirt!

SAMPLIYN4G SAT. MA 12-2 PM

MAY 31 • Annual Bicycle Luncheon (12pm-1pm)

2.99

Modelo Beer 24 fl oz

Prices good through May 7, 2019. While supplies last.

2 for $5

Late July Snacks Organic Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips 11 oz

Neighborhood Co-op Grocery Murdale Shopping Center 1815 W. Main St. Carbondale IL (618) 529-3533

www.neighborhood.coop Phone: 618-529-3533

Join the City of Carbondale Friday, at Lenus Turley Park for our annual luncheon. Grab your friends, ride your bike and enjoy a free lunch from the Co-op! Plus, enter to win prizes and giveaways.

We accept cash, check, and...

& DEBT DAWG!

Open daily 7am - 10pm

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

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