• Hopleaf Bar

    Promoting Better Beers, Wines & Spirits in Chicago since 1992.
    Belgian-inspired Kitchen featuring our famous Mussels & Frites.

    • Zwanze Day 2026!

    April 25, 2026

    Hopleaf is honored to host the 2026 Cantillon Zwanze Day Celebration on Saturday, April 25th. This year celebrated at 70 venues in 22 countries, with simultaneous tappings of the two special Zwanze Beers at 9 PM Brussels time, which is 2 PM here in Chicago.

    This year is extra special because there are two Zwanze Day beers. The first beer is called Artemis la Blanche, a lambic blended with a dry white vermouth and the other is Artimus la Rouge that is blended with a sweet red vermouth.
    Hopleaf is making this event a fundraiser for our neighborhood food pantry, Care for Real. Through locations in Edgewater and Rogers Park, CfR provides food, clothing, pet food, referral, and additional services with compassion to improve the health and well-being of low-income residents to foster a stronger, healthier, equitable, and more stable community. Care for Real is a local treasure of good. All proceeds from Zwanze Day ticket sales will go to Care For Real.

    We want to offer a variety of ways for our customers to enjoy the Zwanze Day experience. Here is how our Zwanze Day will be organized:

    Session 1: 12-3:30pm
    • From 12 Noon until 2pm, 80 ticket holders will be able to enjoy 5-oz. pours of 6 Cantillon beers on tap. Additionally, servers will be opening large format bottles and offering tasting pours of special Belgian beers, including lambics from other producers.
    • At 2pm we will be tapping the two Zwanze beers and joining the global toast. Ticket holders will have tokens to trade for the pours.
    • A Zwanze glass is included to take home. Zwanze Day T-shirts will be available to purchase with proceeds also going to Care For Real.
    • We will clear the room between 3:30 and 4 PM for the second session. For those who want to stay, there will be seating reserved in the second floor bar and in both mezzanine areas. Seating may also be available in the north bar room or on the patio, weather and crowd permitting.
    • Tickets are $120, on sale at noon on Saturday, March 28th, one to a customer. Watch this website and social media for details.
    Session 2: 4-5pm
    • Between 4  and 5pm,  80 ticket holders will get tokens for both Zwanze beers and a glass. Other beers will be available for purchase as pr the menus.
    • These tickets will be $40 and go on sale at noon on March 28th. Watch our website and social media for details.
    After 5:30pm
    At 5:30 all seats and spaces are open to the public. There should be about 30-40 pours of both Zwanze beers remaining. They will be available to anyone as long as they last. No ticket is needed. Beers will be priced at normal Cantillon prices. Most likely, they will be gone by 6:30. There will be many Belgian beers, including lambics, available on tap and in bottles available for purchase as well as some food menu specials. Hopleaf will be open until 12 Midnight.
    We hope to raise over $10,000 for Care for Real and make Zwanze Day a vehicle for their good works.
    First Session 12-3:30pm —$120  << sold out
    Second Session 4-5:30pm —$40
    https://www.exploretock.com/hopleaf/event/601944/zwanze-day-session-two
    • Tickets will be available on Tock at 12 Noon, Saturday, March 28th.
    https://www.exploretock.com/hopleaf/event/601944
    • To ensure that there are no resales of tickets, one ticket per customer.
    • Your ticket must match with your ID to attend. Tickets are non transferable.
    • Unfortunately prices do not include taxes and Tock fee. (We tried.)