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Goose Island Brewing Zero Percent Beer, Which Despite Its Name, Has Alcohol

By Paul Biasco | January 8, 2015 5:45am
 The staff of Goose Island Brewpub, including founder John Hall (in the sweater vest) on the first day of their partnership with Zero Percent in December.
The staff of Goose Island Brewpub, including founder John Hall (in the sweater vest) on the first day of their partnership with Zero Percent in December.
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LINCOLN PARK — Goose Island Brewpub is celebrating its partnership with food-saving startup Zero Percent with an extra special batch of beer.

The original Goose Island brewpub hopes to spark a conversation about food waste with the addition of its upcoming beer, Zero Percent.

The beer, an extra special bitter on nitro, will premiere Jan. 15 and remain on the brewpub's menu until the batch runs dry.

Paul Biasco says Zero Percent and Goose Island have partnered up:

Goose Island will also include a blurb about Zero Percent on its menu.

Zero Percent is a 1871-based startup that seeks to eliminate food waste in the United States by "rescuing" surplus food from Chicago grocery stores and restaurants and delivering that food directly to nonprofits the same day.

The efficiency of the service means the food is usually much healthier than nonperishable items and often includes fresh produce and meat.

Goose Island Brewpub, 1800 N. Clybourn Ave., started working with Zero Percent in December.

"The servers and bartenders will be able to have a conversation about the importance of reducing waste and what we can do to do our part," said Erica Hylton, assistant general manager at Goose Island.

Hylton said the brewpub chose an extra special bitter for the Zero Percent batch because it is a very popular beer for the pub, especially in the winter.

Although the beer will be called Zero Percent, don't be fooled — the alcohol content will not be affected.

Goose Island produces three to four tribute beers a year.

Hylton called the brewpub's partnership an "absolute success" so far.

The brewpub schedules one pickup of food a week with Zero Percent, but will likely increase their partnership in the warmer months as catering picks up.

"We do these huge events catering to Millennium Park downtown, so sometimes it rains and we have all this food left over," Hylton said. "Now, we can call them. The ability to do that is just super cool."

The beer premier is open to the public Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. Staff from Zero Percent will be at the event to discuss the company and partnership with Goose Island.

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