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Quinn says the store has been in the works for about a year and a half, and over the past few years he's been building up his credentials for the job: he's gone to the Siebel Institute and is now a certified cicerone and member of the beer panel at the Beverage Testing Institute. He's also been doing video podcasts since 2011 in which he tastes and talks about various beers. There are now more than 150; the latest, shot in the store just before it opened, focuses on the new-to-Chicago Deschutes brewery.
Margaret Quinn, who runs the store with her husband, says the opening process has been fairly smooth. "We really didn't run into any major roadblocks," she said. "The city has been great, the neighborhood has been really welcoming and friendly."
She says they carry beer from more than a dozen countries and predicts that their specialty will be sour beers, particularly Belgian sours—one of their favorite styles. They also have a good selection of local brews, and are hoping that with all its new breweries, Chicago will become the country's next big beer city.
The Beer Temple (3185 N. Elston, 773-754-0907) is open Monday-Saturday from 11 AM to 8 PM and Sunday from noon to 5 PM. More photos below.
Julia Thiel writes about booze every Wednesday.
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