Beeriety Visits Chicago: Part 1
Posted on August 3rd, 2010
Recently some of Beeriety crew headed to lovely Chicago, IL to take in the sights, sounds and tastes of The Second City. While we were there, we got the chance to check out many of Chicago’s best beer bars and sample some of the tasty brews that we just can’t get in our home base of Boston. Here’s a quick run-down of where we went and what we drank.
Goose Island is the signature Chicago craft brewery, so it only seemed fitting to start our trip at their Wrigleyville brewpub – right in the shadow of Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs. We visited the one across the street from Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. It was a beautiful day, and the place was crowded with baseball fans preparing to head over for an afternoon Cubs-Phillies game. To get things started off I order a flight of beers: 312 Wheat, Honker’s Ale, Summertime Ale and India Pale Ale. After that I finished up with a Maltilda. Goose Island has recently expanded into Boston so I was somewhat familiar with some of their beers, but I was excited to try more. I can’t say any of them were amazing, but they were all solid, dependable beers. Much in the same way Sam Adams makes good, but not astounding brews, I’ve found Goose Island to be a reliable source of a decently tasty brew. Rating: 3 out of 5 – Worth a try.
This historic restaurant is where I got to try my first beer from Three Floyds Brewing out of Munster, IN. This a brewery I’ve heard about for many, many years as one of the best in the country, so I was pretty excited to give them a try. Thankfully their Alpha King, Pride & Joy and Gumball Head beers did not disappoint. They were each wonderful takes on the pale ale, ESB and wheat ale styles, respectively. There was a great deal of subtlety and finesse to these beers that reminded me a lot of the brews of Dogfish Head, another amazing brewery from an unlikely location (Delaware). Rating: 4 out of 5- Must Try
This little place was made famous in the early days Saturday Night Live with the “Cheeseburger! Cheeseburger!” sketch, and it’s not far from the truth. A menu with 3 items on it and a small bar make for an interesting experience. I happily enjoyed several of their house lagers, which which were watery, bland and gross, but perfectly suited to the rundown decor. Rating: 1 out of 5 -Steer Clear
Tune in later in the week when I’ll cover my visits more of Chicago best craft beer bars.
