Hopleaf

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Bar & Restaurant serving Better Beers, Wines & Spirits since 1992. Belgian-inspired kitchen featurin
(4447)

10/30/2026

From Michael: I'd Love for You to Join Me in Europe
Hello Hopleaf Customers!

I wanted to reach out to you personally because you've been an important part of the Hopleaf community, and I wanted you to hear about this before to is pitched on other channels.
Over the past several months, I've been working with Jeremy Carlson at Navigator Luxury Travel and AMA Waterways on something I'm incredibly excited about. Together, we've created an opportunity for me to host a luxury river cruise through Holland and Belgium in March 2028.

If you know me, you know my passion has always been sharing great b**r, discovering the stories behind it, and bringing people together. This trip is an opportunity to do exactly that while exploring some of Europe's most iconic brewing regions aboard one of the finest river cruise lines in the world.
Before we officially introduce this trip to the rest of the Hop Leaf community, I wanted to offer a small group of friends, longtime supporters, and loyal customers the opportunity to hear about it first.

To do that, I'd like to invite you to a private online meet-and-greet with me and Jeremy. It won't be a sales presentation. It's simply an opportunity to share why I'm so excited about this adventure, explain what we've put together, answer your questions, and give you an early look at the experience before reservations open more broadly.
Should you decide this is something you'd like to be part of, you'll also have the first opportunity to reserve your preferred accommodations before we begin promoting the cruise publicly.

Private Online Meet & Greet
Date: Monday, November 2, 2026
Time: 7:00pm CST
Platform: Zoom
Reserve Your Spot:�
Email me at [email protected] and I will send you the link.

Thank you for being part of the Hopleaf family. Your support over the years has meant a great deal to me, and I truly hope you'll consider joining us as we experience Holland and Belgium together in 2028.

I look forward to seeing you online.

Cheers,
Michael Roper�Owner, Hopleaf

[email protected]

Hosted in partnership with Navigator Luxury Travel and AMA Waterways

10/28/2026

Join us on Friday for a causal Halloween Hommel Bier Happy Hour. Export manager Mike Wildemeersch will be here to chat all things Belgian hops and hommel bier.

10/24/2026

Anyone who has visited Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen will have seen the foeder with a carved portrait of Armand and his father, Gaston.

This foeder was commissioned back in 2019 as a gift for Armand’s 68th birthday, and it was filled with lambik (brewed with 100% Pajottenland barley and wheat...a project he started and was very proud of) on November 28, 2019.

Armand loved the gift and made a point to be there for the filling despite already being ill; sadly this was the very last time he was present in the brewery and barrel room.

That same lambik was finally kegged this summer, so after almost seven years.

On Monday we will be tapping this keg and toasting what would have been Armand’s 75th birthday. The b**r will be available at 5pm. We are honored to host this event as Michael knew Armand well.

10/16/2026

Thursday October 22 we will be pouring Deliria b**r for a cause. Hopleaf will donate $1 from every Deliria sold to the National Breast Cancer Fdn. and Delirium Brewery will match the donation!

We will have a dessert special, Coffee stewed pears with Delirium Red Cherry compote.

Huge pinky will be in the house! Come out and support some good and get a pic with pinky.

10/08/2026

It is the end of an era. We received news today that the glassware for the Kwak wooden stands is no longer being produced, and that the brewery is moving to the flat bottom Kwak glasses.

The wooden stands are so special to us at Hopleaf and we are heartbroken to see them go. Currently we have NO Kwak glasses in circulation, we are using our house branded Tekus to serve the b**r.

Over the years we delighted in serving first timers a Kwak in the wooden handle. Guests were so excited to drink out of this glass. It was also a right of passage for friends and family to bring newcomers to Hopleaf and order them a Kwak.

This is truly a sad day, for all of us, who over the years, raised a Kwak glass at Hopleaf.

The wooden stands will now become Hopleaf lore.

08/05/2026

Long before Hopleaf, the Map Room, Goose Island, The Great B**r Palace and the hundreds of tap rooms and craft b**r bars we know today, there was Quenchers. For 39 years prior to its closing in 2018, Quenchers featured the b**rs of the world. Quenchers was the brainchild of Earl Johnson, a true publican's publican. Earle worked hard to offer b**rs from faraway places that were not easily available in the Chicago marketplace. If you went on vacation to Argentina, Vietnam, New Zealand, Greece, Lebanon or Bulgaria and wanted another taste of a b**r you had there, chances are, Quencher's had it.

When he retired, he sold the building and the fixtures and it is now a medical clinic. That's just as well because there could never be a Quenchers without Earle. The place was not fancy, nor was it quite a "dive bar" either. I loved the ancient wooden with glass door coolers that may have predated Prohibition. It was one of, if not the first Chicago watering hole where the main conversations were about the b**r. Many of Chicago's brewing pioneers planned their futures over pints there.

Quenchers also had a side room where hundreds of aspiring bands, solo artists and comedians performed. Free popcorn and a few sandwiches and chili were the extent of the food offerings. There really isn't anyplace like Quencher's today.

After Earle's retirement he stopped by at Hopleaf occasionally. He did some traveling until recently when his health began to fail. Sadly shortly after coming home from his last hospital stay, Earle passed. He was 83.
RIP Earle Johnson. Chicago will not forget you.

Photo: Hopleaf 2023. Earle Johnson, Michael Roper and John Freyer

07/29/2026

Celebrate the return of Jester King in Chicago with Hopleaf and brewery co-founder Jeffrey Stuffings. Stop by, say hi and enjoy six Jester King drafts.
**r **r **r **r **rbar

07/13/2026

🇧🇪 Belgian National Day 🇧🇪

Join us ALL DAY July 21 to celebrate!

🍺 $4 OFF all Belgian drafts & bottles

Traditional lambic mussels with dijonnaise

Santé!

**r **r

06/26/2026

Celebrate Canada Day at Hopleaf! All day long Wednesday July 1. We will have two draft Canadian b**rs and one in the bottle. We will be serving our famous mussels from Prince Edward Island and our poutine! Music is an ode to Canadians love for hockey!

06/24/2026

It was so wonderful last weekend to have a reunion with our long ago, long time Hopleaf server, Regina Kidder who moved west after her tenure at Hopleaf with her partner Eric. After 34 years, we have employed hundreds of people, many who have gone on to very interesting things all over the world. Regina's post Hopleaf life includes Alpacas, nursing, pottery and other fabulous endeavors. We enjoyed showing her and Eric what we've done with the place since her departure. She approved.

Address

5148 N Clark Street
Chicago, IL
60640

Website

http://hopleaf.com/

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