Join us as we raise this beer high to toast Abraham Lincoln, an honest leader who aimed to forge a nation of equals. History tells us that beer, like Lincoln, has its own distinct way of bringing us to the table. A union seemed only natural.

Cabin & Cottage is a Berliner-style Weiss beer and is a collaboration between the Chicago Brewseum, President Lincoln’s Cottage (DC), Powers Farm & Brewery (VA), and Rolling Meadows Farm Brewery in Springfield, IL.

The official DC beer launch happens at President Lincoln's Cottage with a special trivia night with Lincoln and beer history as the focus. Meet the brewers from Powers Farm & Brewery as well as colleagues from the Chicago Brewseum in between trivia rounds. We’ll discuss a bit about the beer, its connection to Abraham Lincoln, and share insight into the unique collaboration.

Trivia teams will be made up of 4-6 people, so bring your friends, or we’ll pair you up with smaller groups. Ticket includes a pint of Cabin & Cottage and additional pints may be purchased throughout the evening.

Cabin & Cottage is a national collaboration that celebrates Abraham Lincoln, a leader forged by the Civil War and untold national progress. The Illinois lawyer turned wartime presidnt shepherded the nation through its greatest challenge, helped end its most terrible sin, and led it down on a path toward national unity.

Changes in American beer mirrored the wider national evolution that President Lincoln helped inaugurate. Breweries industrialized during this period and tastes changed as Americans began drinking more and different kinds of beer. Thousands of soldiers tried their first German-style beer in Union Army camps and, before long, beer became the nation’s preferred alcoholic beverage. As we see it, a crisp German-style beer serves as an ideal toast to one of our greatest national leaders and one of our greatest national industries.

Cabin & Cottage is a beer that is made in the collaborative spirit that Abraham Lincoln cherished. Abraham Lincoln’s legacy was, in a sense, defined by his kindred homes in Illinois and Washington DC. The Chicago Brewseum and Rolling Meadows Farm Brewery in Illinois have come together with President Lincoln’s Cottage (DC) and Powers Farm & Brewery (VA) to bring you a beer that celebrates the distinct people and places that form this nation.

This collaboration further highlights the tireless effort by President Lincoln’s Cottage to reveal Lincoln’s true private and public life during the Civil War years, as well as the Chicago Brewseum’s conviction that beer’s cultural significance can invigorate societal conversations in a unique way.  And, in a fundamental but nevertheless poignant sense, this beer and this union symbolizes how Americans of separate regions can benefit from working together.

Cabin & Cottage is a Berliner-style Weiss beer made with American, German, and English malts. German hops, yeast, and an ancient strain of bacteria called Lactobacillus round out this historic beverage. It will be brewed at both Powers Farm & Brewery in Virginia and Rolling Meadows Farm Brewery in Illinois. This limited release beer will be available in Virginia, the DC area in mid April and in central Illinois and Chicago in mid July.  

Special thanks to Mike Stein of Lost Lagers for consulting on this project.

This event is part of the Beer History + Culture Project, a two-year national collaboration dedicated to highlighting, preserving, and celebrating beer history and culture and building national support for the Chicago Brewseum.