Beer Dudes Phil Kuhl, left, and Brian Moreland
Who: Phil Kuhl, 30, and Brian Moreland, 28, the Beer Dudes
Neighborhoods: Kuhl lives in Albany Park; Moreland, in Wrigleyville
Status: Kuhl is “single as a dollar”; Moreland has a girlfriend
“I’m impressed when a bar has something I’ve never had before,” says Phil Kuhl, one half of the Beer Dudes—an entrepreneurial friendship founded on suds. Kuhl and the other Dude, Brian Moreland, met last April while bartending at Sheffield’s (Kuhl also tends bar at Goose Island in Wrigleyville). Since then, they’ve begun hosting beer tastings around town, including a weekly Monday night event at Rockit Bar and Grill called Taste It, in which the guys pair three beers from a particular state with a three-course meal. “We’re trying to ease people into appreciating beer,” Kuhl says. “Beer isn’t as intimidating as wine,” Moreland adds. I caught up with the guys this past Monday to chat about spreading the gospel of brew.
What’s your favorite beer?
Kuhl: Picking your favorite beer is like picking your favorite guitar player, [but] I like stouts.
Moreland: I don’t have a favorite. My favorite styles of beer are porters and wild ales.
What’s the most overrated beer?
Kuhl: New Belgium’s Fat Tire. It’s the one everyone knows, but it’s one of their weakest beers.
Moreland: Amstel Light. People drink it because it’s an import.
How many nights a week do you drink beer?
Kuhl: On average, five.
Moreland: Four or five.
Which bars have the best beer selections—other than the ones you work for?
Kuhl: The Long Room (1612 W. Irving Park Rd.). I’m jealous of their draft list.
Moreland: Hopleaf. Great beer menu, and they have a sign above the bar that reads something like, “No Bud Light, No Miller Light.”
With all this beer drinking, when’s your bedtime?
Kuhl: After midnight.
Moreland: Between 12:30 and 3:30 a.m.
Coming up this weekend: Sheffield’s hosts a six-course beer dinner Saturday the 19th at 7 p.m. Each course comes paired with a Unibroue beer (think strawberry compote–topped bread pudding matched with Unibroue’s warm, cherry-laced, 8-percent alcohol Quelque Chose). Cost is $50; reservations are recommended: 773-281-4989.
Photograph: Courtesy of Sarah Preston