Off Color marks 13 years in Chicago

Chicago beer anniversaries are usually small on purpose. Not a giant festival. Not a rebrand. Just a taproom, a few special pours, and regulars showing up because the place made it another year. That’s basically what Off Color Brewing is doing this week as it marks 13 years in the city with a low-key anniversary night at Mousetrap on Thursday, May 14. ### What’s actually happening? Off Color’s event is a “Keep the Glass Night” at Mousetrap, the brewery’s taproom at 1460 N. Kingsbury. The plan is simple — buy a beer, get a new anniversary glass to take home while supplies last, with special anniversary taps pouring through the evening. The event listing pegs the start at 5 p.m., and Beeronaut’s Chicago Beer Week roundup describes it as a low-key 13th anniversary celebration. (beeronaut.com) ### Why does the glass matter? Because in brewery culture, the glass is half the souvenir and half the signal. Off Color’s new one is a 16-ounce design featuring Mischief the mouse, mashed up with artwork inspired by the brewery’s old bottle carriers. That tells you this is not just a random promo item — it’s anniversary merch aimed at people who already know the brand’s visual language and want a piece of it. (beeronaut.com) ### Why 13 years is a real milestone? Thirteen is not the big round-number anniversary breweries build huge campaigns around, but it means survival through a rough decade for craft beer. Off Color has been around long enough to become one of Chicago’s established names, and its current setup still centers on a taproom with 16 house drafts plus packaged beer and a full bar. In other words, this is not a nostalgia act. It’s a working neighborhood brewery still programming events and moving beer in its own room. (ma.to) ### Why do it during Chicago Beer Week? Because that’s when beer drinkers are already looking for reasons to go out. Beeronaut’s May 10 roundup places Off Color’s anniversary inside a dense run of Chicago Beer Week taproom events from May 11 to May 14. That matters because the modern version of beer week is less about one giant central festival and more about breweries giving people a reason to visit their own spaces — specialty pours, glass nights, collabs, and small celebrations like this one. (offcolorbrewing.com) ### So is this a big release night? Probably not in the whale-chasing sense. Nothing public points to a single massive bottle drop or one headline beer. The emphasis is on “special anniversary taps” and the keepsake glass, which makes this feel more like a taproom-first celebration than a line-around-the-block release. That fits Off Color’s style anyway — the brewery’s public-facing site leans hard into its current draft list, seasonal rotation, and in-person taproom experience. (beeronaut.com) ### Why does that matter for Chicago beer right now? Because it shows where a lot of craft beer energy has moved. The old center of gravity was distro bragging rights and huge release days. The newer center of gravity is the taproom — direct sales, house events, and giving locals a reason to come in on a weeknight. Off Color’s anniversary setup is a clean example of that shift. A glass, some special pours, a familiar room, and a date that folds neatly into Beer Week. (ma.to) ### What should someone expect if they go? Expect a regular-service night with extra texture, not a citywide blowout. Mousetrap keeps broad taproom hours, has indoor and outdoor seating, and runs as a first-come, first-served space. The anniversary wrinkle is the commemorative glass and whatever special beers show up on those taps. Get there earlier rather than later if the glass is the point — “while supplies last” is the whole catch. (beeronaut.com) ### Bottom line? Off Color turning 13 is small news in the best way. It’s a neighborhood brewery doing the thing that keeps neighborhood breweries alive — turning an anniversary into a reason to show up, have a beer, and leave with proof you were there. (beeronaut.com) (ma.to)