Revolution Brewing Company

Revolution Brewing Company opened up a few months back and has been packed ever since it opened shop a few months back, which I imagine has a lot to do with Revolution sharing an owner with the bike hipster hot spot Handlebar. You guys don't give a shit. On with the beer!


I went with the Cross of Gold golden ale to pair with my meal, and it was pretty damn good. Crisp, lightly hopped and extremely drinkable. Out of the four or five beers I 'sampled' at Revolution, this was definitely the most session oriented. Simple beer gets a simple description. Pictured to the left.


Eugene- Pretty watery porter, with some hints of chocolate and toffee. I can't say I enjoyed it much, but Andy thought it was pretty good. Andy probably didn't want to hurt the beers feelings, though.  
An extra dollar a pint, so I would recommend a pass.

Iron Fist IPA- 'Dry-hopped American ale featuring Centennial, Cascade, Chinook and Amarillo hop varieties' Definitely of the red rye variety of IPAs, and dryer than a martini. I enjoyed this beer as it was refreshing and pretty tasty, but I couldn't find much to differentiate it from its peers. Basically I plan on throwing one of these in between the half dozen Cross of Golds I will drink next time through. Pictured bottom left.


Bottom Up Wit- Friends and I agreed that this was the weakest showing from Revolution that we tasted. Soapy, marginal head. Not very flavorful, but sugary. 


All in all I think Revolution shows a lot of promise. Although the in house beers didn't blow my mind, they were definitely good enough to warrant a second or third visit. And who knows, with an expanding beer list that third time might be the day they unveil their masterpiece. Being right off the blue line can't hurt my chances of stumbling in there, either.

McCoys Public House

McCoy's is a quaint little pub in Kansas City, which my friend and fellow beer enthusiast Neal took me to during my trip to that fine city. McCoy's has a rotating selection of 10-12 beers that they make in house and a menu chock full of fatty pub food, so it was an easy sell to get me in there. Unfortunately they had some issues with their 'filtration system' the week before our arrival, so the beer menu had a lot of X'd out items. I ended up having a few IPA's and a Diesel. The pictures are dark and taken with an Iphone, which is going to be a theme from here on out.

Newcomb's IPA- 'Hops, hops, and more hops are what make an I.P.A. an I.P.A. Complex aroma balanced with smooth, rich malt. Winner of the Bronze Medal in English-style India Pale Ale Category at the 2002 and 2004 Great American Beer Festival. 6.9% ABV 70 IBU' -From the McCoys site.

Newcomb's has a nice clean bite to it, but I wouldn't say it screams 'hops hops and more hops'. The earthy finish (which reminded me of sunflower seeds somehow) is somewhat muted by what I felt was a slight excess of malts. Very clean beer that went well with my sissy black bean burger. definitely an IPA to be paired with food, and a good one at that. A steal at $4.

The Diesel- Half Root beer and Half Thompson's Dry Stout- 'Named after our brewmaster, this black ale has roasted flavor and smooth, rich texture; nitrogen-dispensed for frothy head. 3.8% ABV 45 IBU' -From the McCoys site.

This is something that Neal stated I 'had to try' so we ended up splitting one. This was interesting- very creamy with a warm, somewhat hoppy finish. I expected this to be a carbonated syrupy mess, but the the beer and soda actually blended together remarkably well. A step up in flavor from your standard 'stout float'. I could see myself indulging in or (or half of one again) every month or two.

Synopsis: I enjoyed the drinks and food at McCoys and will definitely hit them up when I am in KC again. I was a little disappointed that they had some technical difficulties that cut down on the selection, but what can you do?

Goose Island 10/12/08

Hey Guys, hows it going? I know I haven't been posting much, sorry about that. I have been 'busy' writing and playing Warhammer Online. Lame, I know. Last weekend myself, Kristina, Ben and Chad tried to go to Kuma's Corner to have some incredible burgers but they had a TWO HOUR wait. So we opted to go to Goose Island, a choice I was of course pleased with. Ben and I bought some pitchers and he took some photos with his I-Phone. This is going to be a bare bones post, but at least its something!


'Liquid Inspiration Stout 5.9% ABV
Trying to think of a name for the new brew on the eve of the beer premiere, our pub brewer opened a bottle of Goose Island Summertime for “liquid inspiration” and behold the name was born. An “American-style” Stout, with medium malt sweetness, a moderate hop bitterness but, with high hop flavor and aroma. Served in a Pint glass.'
-Goose Island.com

What is it about stouts that make them taste better in the fall and winter? Right now Chicago is enjoying the two week window we get in between Summer and Winter and this stout definitely did the trick. Liquid Inspiration might be a little thinner than most stouts but it is chock full of the nutty flavors you would expect. Not the most artistic stout on the market, or even on Goose Island's menu, but it is a great beer for the Fall transition. This pitcher went fast and was pretty cheap at $12 (I think, might have been $14).

'Harvest Ale 5.7% ABV
As summertime fades, the sun shines less bright, and evening comes a little sooner. Harvest time arrives – it’s a time to reap the benefits of a great summer. Fresh picked cascade hops from Washington and the richest Midwestern malts makes Goose Island Harvest Ale an extra special beer worthy of your devotion. Served in a Pint glass.'

I am not an 'ESB guy' but sometimes the mood strikes me for one. Actually, that has been happening a lot lately so maybe next year you will see me waving the ESB flag around like I did for IPAs earlier this year. Who knows what I will do next, I am an idiot.

This beer has some sticky, sticky hops to it that either make it or break it for you. I found it appealing but I know Ben didn't like how this beer basically sucked all of the moisture out of your mouth. I can tolerate that, but it kind of was hard to get through a pitcher of this stuff. I would follow this beer up with something lighter and more 'refreshing' if I was at home, but the two of us had drank a pitcher each on a Sunday afternoon so it was hard to fit more beer inside us. I find the Harvest Ale to have an earthy, herb(y?) taste to it that almost feels as if it should be healthy or something.

Oh yeah, those are shot glasses you see too. We got hammered! Actually, we did. I think we drank until two AM or so. If you own a white minivan on the south side and you woke up monday morning to find your back bumper with puke all over it, that was Ben. Sorry for that, I feel responsible.

Thirsty Bear Brew Pub

Thirsty Bear has one of the best logos, check that out! Luckily this establishment was right in between out hotel and the ballpark. Nothing like resting your legs at a brew pub now is there?

This brew pub has a Californian vibe, thats for sure. A completely organic establishment with Spanish cuisine and a lot of ales on the menu. A departure from the standard 'Burger and fries' brew pub menu was a welcome change of pace, even though the word 'organic' scares me. When in
Rome...








The beer list at Thirsty Bear was far more extensive than what they showcase on the website, or even the menu. I had to ask the waitress about the beers they had on these signs since they were not advertised anywhere else. Thirsty Bear seems to have around a dozen in house beers on tap at any given time. I would say eight or so seemed to be all year standards with three or four seasonal or special brews cycled in.

This is all information I gleaned off old flyers they had on the walls in the bathroom mind you, I am not too much of a detective.

Tuesday nights Thirsty Bear has a special- $3 draughts of their cask conditioned IPA! Not a bad deal so I once again order a cask conditioned beer to start off my night. You can't go wrong with that deal unless the beer is total shit. Luckily for me it was not!

This is the first IPA that I have had with even the smallest hint of vanilla in it. It was a bit bizarre at first but it actually went a long way to help mellow out this beer. This is not a hop head IPA by anyones standards. There are plenty of malts in this brew that hide most of the kick you would expect from the hops. Definitely a beer crafted for food pairing and not one of the extremely hoppy IPAs we all know and love.

I wasn't super impressed by this beer, but it was still pretty good and definitely worth the paltry sum I paid for it.


The Golden Hallucination was a definite fit for San Francisco- the poster I saw had a bear obviously on acid wearing some weird headband and drinking a beer. The beer itself had a lot of honey, wheat and bubbles in it and made for a pretty refreshing drink after a day full of touristing. A little bit of cane sugar made this sweet alongside the tartness of the hops. I expected this beer to taste extremely mild after the cask conditioned IPA, but it held its own pretty well against it.

This actually was a bit too sweet for me (surprise, surprise) but it turned out to be a pretty good beer. This brew fit pretty well with the breezy weather. I did not sadly hallucinate at all. It would have been nice to have a giant bear in a headband sitting next to me, as long as he didn't maul me or talk about his feelings.



For the final beer of the meal I decided on the Polar Bear Bohemian Pilsner primarily because polar bears are the most bad-ass of all bears. Sometimes I delegate my decisions to my inner twelve year old, deal with it!

This brew is bare bones but of definite quality. Quite a bit more bitter than I was expecting it and with no added flavors that I could discern. All in all this was my favorite beer of the three. After the slightly dissapointing cask conditioned IPA and fancy pants Golden Hallucination this no nonsense manly beer was exactly what I was looking for.

I actually thought this beer tasted a lot like a mild American pale ale instead of a pilsner but it could be that 'Bohemain Style' of it. I will have to do some more extensive 'research' on the subject!



This is what Kristina ordered. Pretty small (but very tasty) portions are the standard at Thirsty Bear. Actually small portions are a California thing, which was bizarre for this chubby Chicagoan. I am used to XL deep dish pizzas and hot dogs with 'everything' on them.

I did enjoy my experience at Thirsty Bear Brew Pub, but it wasn't the most memorable part of my vacation at all. Worth checking out if you are in the area but not a place I would go out of my way to go to. I did buy a shirt though, I am in love with that logo. Chug bear, chug!

Rogue Public House San Francisco

I was very excited to give the Rogue Public House the Beer Philistine treatment while on my vacation in San Francisco. I have a healthy amount of respect for Rogue- they are a very prolific brewery that has a strong lineup of brews (with a few duds of course).

I was expecting the Rogue Public House to look less traditional than it did, but I am fine with your standard 'pub' look with some plastic skeletons and what have you on the walls. The place feels like it has history before Rogue took it over, but they haven't added much.

Look at all of those glorious taps! As soon as I saw those I knew the decision would not be an easy one.

If I lived anywhere remotely close to this place I would definitely put an effort into giving those taps a workout. Rogue had around a dozen guest taps even, but I was not here to sample those. It is nice to have a selection to pick from though, that is for damn sure.




The 'Cask Conditioned Ale' is only served at this location so that was a no brainer as my first order of business.

I have noticed that most cask conditioned ales are a brewermaster's excuse to get creative with a style of beer. I am open to that creativity and prepare myself for odd beers with little balance to them when I order a cask conditioned ale. This particuar beer tastes like an experiment gone awry. Yeast and coffee beans are about the only flavors I could pick out in this beer.

One thing that surpised me was how thin and dark this beer is, two things I thought to be mutually exclusive. This is probably the wateriest dark beer I have ever had.

Not very good stuff, but I was not daunted in my quest to drink some more exclusive beers at this fine establishment. Still, you can't say this beer is not unique.

Triple Jump Pale Ale- Rogue City (not pictured).

So I deleted the picture by accident. That is the kind of thing that seperates the real journalists from the bullshit bloggers like myself. Enjoy the picture of my pudgy self.

The Triple Jump pale ale was defintely an upgrade from the cask conditioned ale. Right away I could taste some bitter apple in the body and some slighlty acidic citrus in the aftertaste. The hops are just right for this style of beer- noticeable right away but not overpowering in the least.

In fact I get the impression that Triple Jump was brewed with balance in mind. From the carbonation to the malts this is a very drinkable beer.

The 'I2PA' India Pale Ale is one of the big beers they had on tap at the pub. Maltier than I expected but it still has enough of a hop kick to put your taste buds into shock. One of those IPAs that double up on all the ingredients, not just the hops.

There was strange flavor on the aftertaste that I could not figure out for the life of me- I wrote down 'bitter mint' in my notes which sounds awful and does not do this brew justice. I liked this beer for what it is but could not see myself ordering it with any regularity.

I thought it was a bit over priced, especially since it came in a smaller glass, but after a few more days in San Francisco I realized that every damn thing in that city is overpriced.

Worth checking out. If you can pinpoint what that bizarre flavor is please post a comment, I was lost.



You can't have a brewpub without good comfort food, something this one definitely lacked. Everything on the menu sounded great, but there was something lost in the actual meal itself.

Pictured is Kristina's plain Kobe beef burger which was fairly bland even considering that it was ordered plain. I had a burger with all the fixings and was not very impressed with the ingredients, especially for a $12 burger.

We had a conversation that Kuma's Corner probably ruined all other burgers for us, but this still wasn't too impressive.

All in all Rogue's Public House in San Francisco was decent, but not great. The beer selection was top notch but the food and decor (not to mention a bathroom that would be shamefully dirty for a bus station) just didn't do it for me. If I was coming buy just to take a crack at all the great beers they had on tap, I would be more than happy with the place. This pub has to do a lot of work on the periphials though if it wants to live up to the hype Rogue Ales has.

Two Brother's Brew Pub 07/11/08

It's Andy's Birthday! Well, it was at least and I was not going to argue with him when he offered to rent a car and drive to Warrenville to go to a brew pub! So we all hopped in the car and went on a suburban adventure, would you like to join us?

This is the main entrance to Two Brother's Brew Pub. Yeah I know it is connected to the brewery in an industrial park, we knew that going in, but you can't help but think to yourself 'that's it?'. Sadly the facade wasn't the only thing that felt half assed about this brew pub, but we will get to that later.

There is a nice viewing window where you can check out the goings on in the brewery itself. Too bad not much is stirring on a Friday night but I always like to have a nice view of a breweries operation. Its neat, if you will.

The rest of the interior felt slapped together though, which I didn't take pictures of. This isn't an architecture blog so lets move on to the beer!

You guys could give a shit about bare walls and exposed plumbing.


American Bitter Ale- This is only sold at the brew pub so I of course honed in on this brew as soon as the menu was in my hands. I am a total sucker for limited and brew pub only beers.

The naming of this beer is misleading as it really isn't very bitter by ale standards, at least my ale standards. Maybe my hop scared friends would enjoy this beer a bit more but I found it to be bland, watery and over carbonated. What little hoppiness there is to be found is in the finish instead of hitting you right away.

This beer didn't really have much of a chance as my expectations were high to begin with. When you have been planning to go to the Two Brothers brew pub for a good part of six months that is what happens I suppose. I would rate this beer as decent. The $4 price tag wasn't bad either.


Ebel's Weiss- Andy Recommended that I give this beer a whirl even though it isn't 'my style'. I am trying to train my taste buds to enjoy the entire spectrum of beer (except Lambic, which I will forever despise) so why the hell not?

If you order this you better appreciate vanilla and lemon in your ale not mention the pairing of the two. I found it to be overly sweet which made Ebel's Weiss a bit of a chore for me to drink. Something I will revisit once my palate gets used to the sugar assault that this style of brew unleashes upon you.

This is the part of the review where I talk about how this beer was obviously well crafted and uses tons of quality ingredients to get the job done. Definitely something I would recommend to a buddy with more of a sweet tooth than I. Maybe in a few months I will do a one off about this fella instead of this cop out of a review.


Cane and Ebel 'Live Beer'- An English style Cask Beer that definitely caught my eye as I have never had one before. Once again, sucker for limited beers.

Amy (Andy's lady friend) made a great remark about this beer when she said 'its like a beer milkshake'. The lack of carbonation definitely made this beer taste thicker and made it slower to pour. I felt as if the beer was full of minerals myself, which also conjured the thought of sediment in a slow flowing river.

If that makes this beer sound unappealing then I apologize. This was actually very good although it wasn't something I would order with any frequency as it was not a smooth drinker.

If anything made this trip worth it then it was the Cane and Ebel Live. Definitely check it out if you are in the neighborhood.

You probably have picked up an overall sense of disappointment from this blog post so far. The main reason for this is something I have yet to touch upon- the food. Two Brothers makes some great beer, there is no denying that, but a brew pub can't get away just serving quality beer if it has poor food. The menu at Two Bros looked appetizing enough but the end result was just plain bad.

Burgers that looked like charcoal they were so burnt, runny mac and cheese and floppy french fries made for four bummed out customers. Yes, the beer was excellent, but the in house options weren't enough to bring me out a second time.

Goose Island Brewpub 6/26/08

Oak Aged Saison- Another attempt at breaking into 'sweet beers' this summer that went pretty well. The oak aging goes a long way to add some bitterness to this beer that most saisons lack. I liked this beer quite a bit but after awhile the sweetness of it began to break through the wall of bitter and my interest waned. I can taste some citrus and some peach in this beer which I was okay with even though I normally cannot stand how peaches taste. I also really, really, really hate the texture of peaches but that has absolutely nothing to do with this beer.

Goose Island's Oak Aged Saison is about as fruity and sweet as I can take. I was ready to move on to something with more of a kick to it but I still went away feeling this was a victory in my quest to appreciate the Belgium style of beer.

I rolled a critical, if you will. $6 Draft 6.5% ABV.


Hopscotch Ale- My very helpfull waitress originally recommended the Rotweizen Red Wheat Beer but they ended up being out of it so I tried a few samples and settled on the Hopscotch Ale. Excuse the picture, it was dark as hell at our booth.

This brew is like an American Pale Ale with the hops turned down a notch. After the sickly sweet saison I had just had this beer might as well have been a hop bomp the first few sips but after I was halfway through with it I came to realize it is fairly mild.

This brew is standard but somehow dodges becoming mediocre because of that. I couldn't put my finger on why I was enjoying this beer as much as I was but I blame Goose Islands tinkering. I could see this becoming one of their (already crowded) mass produced beers as it is fairly simple but still damn good. $5 draft 5.0% ABV.

The countdown for the Clybourn location has begun. If you are in the Chicago area and you don't check this place out before it closes at the end of the year, you are doing yourself a disservice.

Goose Island Clybourn 6/20/2008

It was a nice breezy day when Kristina and I wandered into Goose Island after doing a little shopping (I bought a few videogames, like usual). A bit of a farewell visit actually, since this location is going to be closing shop in a few months and no new location has been announced.

Given the weather I decided on something light- the Midwest Wheat like a good pick. Chock full of citrus with what I imagined to be some sour apple in the aftertaste the Midwest Wheat certainly delivers the fruit. This beer was not nearly as hoppy as advertised but that didn't detract from the overall experience much. A standard wheat brew that met my expectations even if it was a bit too malty for my tastes. Definitely went well with the weather though, which is exactly what you want with this style of beer! 5.5% ABV on tap for $5 a pint.


Bourbon Barrel-Aged Aviator Dopplebock- this definitely intrigued me when I saw it on the menu. At $8 it could be a bit of a budget buster but it was definitely worth it in my opinion.

Up to this point in my sudsy adventures I have only had bourbon barrel stouts so a doppelbock seemed like a bizarre combination but one that could work. Luckily the Aviator is more to my liking than a traditional doppelbock which is much sweeter and with a good amount more yeast. I find that beers that date back to the dark ages definitely benefit from an update, this beer being no exception.

So how was it? Excellent by a mile. Creamy vanilla, sweet sticky bourbon and that 9% ABV had me rambling by the time the check came. My favorite thing about this beer is that the aging process subdued all the flavors I dislike about a d-bock. The yeast was nowhere to be found rather than at the forefront, milky aftertaste rather than a dry finish and I didn't feel like someone just dumped sugar packets in my beer. All in all I was once again wowed by one of Goose Islands more artistic brews. Feel free to start posting 'fanboy' in the comments.

Piece Brewpub Continued

I don't know how I slept on piece as long as I did. I blame the crowds. I am kicking myself for living so close to this brewpub for over a year and being scared away by the yuppies.

I decided to start the afternoon out with something light so I chose the wheat beer currently on tap- The Baron Von Awesome. I found it to be very standard except for how extremely carbonated it was. The citrus flavor combined with all the bubbles made me think of sparkling lemonade. Nice summer beer, went well with the pizza and all but still didn't have much going for it. A nice distraction, time for something more my speed.

Cue the Wingnut Double Ipa. I think Piece does an excellent job with their hoppier beers. If you read my last entry about them you might remember me raving about the You Will Fail Ale. Well, some of my friends took my advice to heart and I received the response 'its too hoppy for me' from each one. Sorry guys.

The Wingnut doesn't only double up on the hops though-there is plenty of malt added to round it out. This beer reminded me of a nice cider chock full of cinammon. More of a hoppy ale than an IPA in my book, but my friends might disagree. I was surprised to see this beer had 9% ABV to it, the alcohol is masked very well. I approve.

...And then there is the Flat Iron Stout. Guinness with a little more nuttiness and a lot more carbonation. There is the carbonation again! Chill out on the bubbles guys. I found this beer to be fairly forgettable. Not bad by any means, but nothing compared to a lot of the stouts I have had since I started this journal.

I find that Piece's beers are geared for two types of people- beer geeks and the people who come to watch sports. This seems like its for the latter. I don't see myself picking up a growler of Flat Iron any time soon, but I might grab a pint of it here and there.

I haven't had many Rye Ales so I chose the Worryin' Ale. A little experimentation never hurt anyone, right? Well I learned that I am not a fan of rye ales, at least not yet. Worryin' Ale tastes like cold Earl Grey tea to my taste buds. Does that sound like something you would want to drink?

Still this beer has some nice qualities. It's a mild, breezy, smooth drinker that I think I could get used to given time. Maybe Rye Ales are my next project, just like IPA's were at one time. That worked out well.

Great selection. See why I love this place?

Piece Brewpub

The You Will Fail Ale was my first beer of the afternoon and it was excellent. There is plenty of hops, spices and citrus crammed into this beer. It is a little thicker than most ales, but not in a molasses way at all. I could have drank this beer all day long and in retrospect I wish I had ordered three of these puppies. Piece has a deal on Sundays that nets you a growler and a pizza for $25 pick up. This beer is definitely growler worthy and will make for quite a few good Sunday nights. If you go to Piece and don't at least try this beer, you are really missing out. It really is that good.

In fact it is so damn superb it made the other beers I had at Piece seem mediocre in comparison. Granted I stuck to the lighter varieties in this excursion, in the next few weeks I plan to chip away at the rest of the brews they have here.




The Golden Arm is Piece's Lager, which I opted to go with once the food had arrived. I prefer milder beers when I am eating. Mild is what I got, thats for damn sure. It was nice and refreshing and was a great palate reset but I was still somewhat disappointed by how plain Golden Arm was. I don't know what I was expecting from a lager, but the You Will Fail Ale certainly raised the bar too high for Golden Arm. I remember thinking to myself 'This is the beer they make for NCAA tourneys.' So yeah, its a bland lager. Go figure. I now would like to dub all lagers 'March Madness Beer'. I hope you like the new name!

The sausage and spinach 'White Pizza' we had was insanely good. You probably figured that out by the bearded guy in the background trying to fit the entire piece into his mouth. That is Andy, you might remember him from DarkLord Day and Stout Fest pictures. He is the yin to my yang.


Collars and Cuffs Blonde Ale seemed like a nice neutral way to end the afternoon, and it was. Another thick unfiltered ale that has flavors that make it quite 'delicate'. Whereas the You Will Fail was all hops and spice the Collars and Cuffs is fruity and creamy. The malts in this beer are nice and sweet. Still a fairly balanced beer and very drinkable. This was my second favorite beer of the day, but it is a distant second behind the magnificent You Will Fail.

A nice summer beer, but with the great selection of beer on tap at Piece I doubt I will be ordering this any time soon. It is wonderful that I can walk three blocks and get a selection of Three Floyds beer on tap as well.

After having a sip of the Black Mariah and Cameltoe that they have on tap I definitely will be checking out their darker beers next time around. Yes, we sip eachothers beers. No, thats not the same as kissing.

Dark Lord Day

We showed up too late to buy any bottles of the stuff, but still had a good time nonetheless. Hanging out with that many beer enthusiasts was a good time, people kept on giving us free beer! Gotta love that!

It was nice we were able to at least try the Dark Lord that they had on tap. It was really good, but not as good as the insane hype surrounding it, which I was expecting. Still a great beer that has a fun fest surrounding it. I wish i could have snagged a bottle so I could 'research' why there is such a craze around it. Oh well, always next year!


This is Andy, my partner in crime on this blog. This is right after eating a great barbecue sandwich and right before some guy walked up and handed us a bottle of Hopslam for no reason at all other than to be nice.

I am actually somewhat glad I missed out on the lines since a good half the people there had pretty intense sunburns. Long lines + sun + the most white people I have seen at one place= lots of red faces.

All in all Dark Lord Day is something I plan on attending annually. Plenty of beer, its closer to Chicago than you think and there is an Arby's and a White Castle on the way back to the interstate. What more could you ask for?

Well, maybe they could make a little more of it next year.

Flossmoor Station

I was extremely excited to finally check out the Flossmoor Station Brewery Pub since their beers at Stout Fest were pretty great. We opted to drive even though this place is almost connected to the Metra Station.

The beers here come in three sizes 12, 16 and 22 ounces. The 22 ounce beer is easily the most economical at a little over five dollars! I decided to go with some of their standard beers to get an idea of what they serve all year round.

'Our lightest beer, the Zephyr is a light and refreshing golden blonde ale in the style of premium american beer. Brewed with 3 varieties of hops and a touch of rice, this light golden ale provides a smooth introduction to the distinctive flavor of our premium quality handcrafted beers.'

The Zephyr is a pretty good beer to start your night off with. Its tart with a little bit of hops but it still is a smooth drinker. Refreshing stuff, nice palatte reset and it goes well with food which is great for a brew pub.

My only gripe with this beer is towards the end of the glass I was getting bored with how plain the Zephyr is. I was ready to move on to my next beer, maybe something a tiny bit more interesting.

'A golden, flavorful, and crisp light ale brewed with 33% wheat malt, our Station Master Wheat is distinguished by a hoppy yet smooth taste with a malty body and a subtly spicy aroma.'

All the hoppy wheat beers I have had recently makes the Station Master pretty tame in comparison. There is a good amount of orange zest in this beer that somehow doesnt add much of a kick.

This is your standard wheat beer, exactly what you would expect to the letter when you order a wheat beer. No chances taken here, which wasn't exactly what I was looking for after the Plain Jane Zephyr. I was very tempted to order the X-IPA after this but I wanted to stick with the standards. That and the X-IPA wasn't available in the giant economy glass!



'Our Panama Limited Red is a hoppy, robust yet smooth amber ale brewed with nine different malts and four types of hops. With its deep amber color and rich malty body, our Panama Limited Red will smoothly transport you into the wonderful world of complex and flavorful handcrafted beers.'

I am not a fan of red ales, but if they all tasted like this one I sure as hell would be. Very hoppy for a red ale and a lot less malty than I am used to. Panama Limited Red Ale is a very unique beer. A nice range of spices really make this an interesting drink.

This was my favorite beer of the night, which I have to admit was kind of a letdown. I was looking for a knockout beer and ended up with a lot of tame but drinkable brews. I hope I am not turning into a hop head! Please no!


The entire night was a let down to tell the truth. The food was mediocre and the choo choo noises were getting on my nerves after an hour or so. Flossmoor gave me the impression that they are making a bid to be the next brew pub chain. I can't put my finger on why, there was just something mediocre about every aspect of the place. My expectations were probably set too high. I will be giving this place another shot in the future and look forward to seeing their newly bottled beers in stores but I doubt I will be raving about Flossmoor the way many do. You seriously cannot go wrong with those prices though! I should have taken it a little easier with them because, shit, its $5 for the equivalent of two drinks!

Oh yeah- Thanks to Hollie and Kristina for buying me beers!

Rock Bottom Lombard

Even though Rock Bottom is a chain they are not all created equally. Some of their locations give off more of a 'sports bar' feel than others, which really isn't my scene. I am all up for checking out a brew pub though so when the Mrs. asked if I wanted to go to the Rock Bottom in Lombard I was all for it. This turned out to be one of the good Rock Bottoms! Happy day!



The first beer of the night was the Powerhouse Pale Ale. It was fairly mild for a Pale Ale, but I was expecting that from an APA in the first place so that was fine. It didn't overpower the asiago dip we had as an appetizer, which I am glad for since that dip kicked ass. Not my favorite of the beers I had on this trip but it was a decent, albeit rather pedestrian, American Pale Ale. I kind of wish I went with the Line Drive because it is baseball season but A) it is a light beer and B) buying things just because they have a baseball theme has burned me numerous times. Still, I was plenty happy with the Powerhouse.



Next up was the Pierrot, one of the specials going on right now (I believe at every location, but I may be wrong). Our waiter recommended it and I have little experience with French style beer so I decided to go for it. This is one nut-tastic malt filled beverage my friends. It was good, but very much not my style. Malted nuts in a glass with a high alchohol content that could get your head spinning. That really makes it sound much worse than it was, sorry Pierrot. The older I get the more I realize I just don't like or dislike things from France or in the French style. This is something worth trying as it is unique and not a red cent more expensive than their standards.


The 'Seasonal Wheat' didn't get a good picture taken because I tore right into it. This was my favorite beer of the night by far, enough for me to grab one a growler of it (for nine dollars!). Our waiter explained to me this was a special batch with 'extra hops' and he meant it! This was easily the hoppiest wheat beer I have had by a wide margin. Great stuff, nice citrus and floral aftertaste right after an electric kick of hops. This slight deviation on a pretty standard recipe really made the night. This was an awesome beer.





Picture of a happy fat man. Compared to most Rock Bottoms the staff here was very helpfull and there were tons of old people. Old people are always a good sign of quality food and a relaxed vibe. They are also not in a fraternity.

Rock Bottom Lombard is not a place I would go to for a hell raising time, but it sure is a great idea for when you want to kick back and have a nice beer with some quality bar food. I am hoping the Pierrot doesn't last too long though- the French clown logo draped all over the place is a little unsettling. Yeesh.

Cheers!

Goose Island Stout Fest 2008

The fest was a really fun time, lots of nice people, great beer and the staff at Goose Island was very welcoming. We came in for brunch beforehand and basically were allowed to camp at the same table for 4+ hours, ordering some pretzels here and there.

It is VERY hard to taste little nuances after you have had a few stouts, so imagine how I felt sampling fifteen. At the end of the fest I was just drinking whatever and hanging out with my buddy Andy. I'll throw a few highlights out there for you guys who couldn't make it.

Flossmoor Station- The Milky Way stout was a nice change of pace after the five or so high ABV and very dry stouts I had tried at this point.As you would expect it was exceptionally creamy, I plan on grabbing a growler of it when I go to the station in mid April. The Iron Horse was a very good but average tasting brew that helped me kick off the day. It was pretty roasty with some chocolate in there. Good stuff. According to their blog they are starting to bottle some stuff, if this is the case I hope to see both of these beers on shelves soon!

Blue Cat brought their 'Anniversary Ale' which I kept going back to as a palate restart, but damn it was good stuff. I liked their Irish stout too, but at this point of the week I was sick of anything with the word 'Irish' in it.

America's- They had a killer Bourbon Barrel Imperial that had been 'taking up space' for 2 1/2 years. I am a real sucker for this style of beer, being a big fan of bourbon and stouts. Their Sweetness Stout tasted bland in comparison, but after a few buffer drinks I came back for another and it turned out to be great. At this point in the afternoon my mouth tasted like all sorts of nuts so sadly everything started to blend in. I would definitely purchase this beer to check it out and give it the proper review treatment.

I also had a few rounds of the Goose Island Bourbon County Grand Stout once I decided my memory was done. I love this stuff, have since I first tried it. It is not something I could drink every day but it goes a long way to warm the cold in your bones. I'm going to save a bottle or two for rainy days when I am ok with being knocked out by two beers. Strong stuff, tasty stuff.

Probably the highlight of the day was Harrison's Black Diamond Stout. It isn't flashy but it is a beer I could drink year round, with pleasure. This was a discovery that made my entrance fee worth every penny. Another place I am going to have to check out! my list is getting awful long.

I will definitely attend this event next year as it was a lot of fun. Stout Fest put an end to 'fake Irish beer week' because I sure as hell didn't even want to look at a beer for two days, let alone another stout. Poor planning on my part, but I doubt any of you will mind much.

PS. The drunk guy who clapped me on the back in order to say 'Fuck the Cubs' made my evening. Thanks dude.

Goose Island Brew Pub

I only recently started chipping away at the Goose Island beer list instead of periodically just drinking their standard beers. I have been quite impressed with what they have to offer in their seasonal and limited brews. Here you see me drinking one of their Oatmeal Stouts that I had previously reviewed in bottle form, needless to say it is even better on tap.

The burgers at Goose Island are pretty good too, especially with a nice hearty beer. I went across the street and picked up some Goose Island Bourbon County Grand Stout after dinner, mainly because it was $10 to get one at the bar! If you have never had their bourbon stout, it is incredible and you should pick it up when you see it since it can be scarce. At $20 a 4 pack though it is a steep price to pay, but it really is one of the better beers I have ever had. I will be writing something up for it tonight or tomorrow.

Back to the pub- It is a little yuppie, which cannot be helped because of the neighborhood it is in, but the service is excellent. Food and drink always arrive quickly and in good amounts which makes up for the slightly expensive prices you have to pay. Paying for a premium is fine though when what you receive back is good food, excellent service and a great beer list to take a stab at.