Beer News for June 2012

Lagunitas has indeed reported, in many different locations around Chicago, hat they are indeed building a brewery here in Chicago, which is good for us for more than the simple reason than it will allow me to wrap its reviews onto this Midwest Beer Blog. It will make it even more widely available on tap here too, and maybe lower prices a bit. Recent tastings of 'Lil Sumpin' sumpin' (thanks Steve A) and an older one of Maximus can be reviewed here then. Details include using the huge steel mill I have seen along the tollway at 18th street. They plan to open the taproom by this November, and the brewery open in October 2013. It is planned to be a 250 barrel facility. More information when it is available.


There is some new beer out there, we have already tasted, called Chi-Town beer. The labels and case packages are nice and reflect the city, with such names as Pier Pale Ale, and Windy City Wheat . Chicago Beer Company is in downtown Chicago, adn will be increasing in size soon. I have tasted a couple but will be reviewing soon. Their flagship, Windy City Wheat, is a classic Belgian Style Wheat, which reflects the Windy City nickname. It is currently being brewed by contract brewer San Creek, in Black River Falls. They were the previous location of Chicago favorite, Half Acre, until they built their facitlity on the North Side of Chicago.


Jarrett Payton All American Wheat Ale is on the shelves. I haven't tasted it yet, but I like the wheat ales usually (see here). I hope Jarrett is interested in selling us some beer because it is good and not because he is the son of a Chicago icon. If it is the latter we might have to start drinking beer made by Bill Murray's kids or Jim Belushi! Yikes.
Here's an orginal thought. Why not call it Walter Payton #34 beer or something? Jarret Payton? Really?
Plus, I of yet havent been thrilled with Argus beers in the bottle, so I am not sure I will even try this one.
Just thought I would throw it out there. Anyone try it already and want to comment on it?

Craft Beer Monday Review: Emmet's Victory Pale Ale

Having been to Emmet's a long time ago and not ever since, I think it would have been best for me to go try a flight there instead, but I just had to settle for this one in the Signature Room at the Top of the Cock, when I went there last Monday. Took a little while to review it, obviously.

We attempted to go to Emmet's a few years back in West Dundee on the way back from picking apples and we ran into the annual Dundeefest (or whatever it is called) and we skipped it. I haven't attempted the Palatine one, since Steve-o has mentioned how great Durty Nellie's is, especially with their beer list, so even then we might not try it.

Oh well, after trying this Pale Ale, which really didn't thrill me too much, I am in no hurry, really. Maybe on tap or with some fresh stuff it might be a different story, but in the bottle, it could use a little work. What does that mean?

I guess I mean it wasn't because of the hops, even though they were a little weak, I guess. Really the problem with me is for a little funny flavor mixed in the beer, not like a sour taste but something even more different. I guess I really can't explain it exactly. Except it was kind of sharp and unusual, one that made the beer not so fun to drink as it should.

They describe it as:

Victory Pale Ale is all about the hops. It is full of big hop flavor, aroma and bitterness, which are all supported by substantial malt character. The Victory finishes with a fresh-picked hop character on the palate that will leave your mouth watering.


As far as something different to get at the Signature Room, they had a couple Goose Islands and amazingly, a Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, which itself is quite good, as far as porters are concerned, but, as you know, I am kind of off those beers for now.

CBC Rating: 3. Drank half in a regular old bar glass, the other half straight out of the bottle. Tried this previously at Steve-o's house in a tasting we had done among a few others that night.

ABV: 5.6%.

 

Craft Beer Monday Review: Glacial Trail

Drinking out of a plastic cup on Navy Pier yesterday I enjoyed this one, and it was a little challenging to choose, especially at Harry Caray's outdoor bar, where they aim to please with their options there. I will do a broader review of their offerings on the pier, but for now just doing this beer.

I was also attracted to it because of the strange looking goose tucked in among the Goose Island offerings. Alas, it wasn't a goose after all. I have tasted some of the others offered by CW, both in bottle, such as this one, and this one: Mud Puppy. Those were in the selection offered at Binny's, so the Glacial Trail IPA was the first one I have seen on tap.

Still not too thrilled with the heron logo, although it did look ok on the tapper, for the most part. I can totally see why they would do it, being a Wisconsin beer and the plethora of herons on the lakes there, but it is kind of a spindly bird so I am surprised it has stuck.

Also, it was free thanks to the fact we were on group trip there and someone else was picking up the tab. They also picked it up on the other one I had a little later and I will review it too.

Since it was in a plastic cup and all I guess it wouldn't have pleased the purists but it was just hat I needed at the time, since it was a little warm and I had just walked a little. I was able to slowly sip and enjoy this, too.

The head was tannish and foamy, as I would expect, but settled quickly and left behind an orange/amber brew with a bold piney scent and a taste that was right on line with that. Definitely an IPA, with the right amount of bitterness to balance it out. I would put it a little higher than others I have tasted, and even a little higher than the one I tasted later that day too, which I will be reviewing next.

CBC Rating: 4.5 (this is new for me, since I really enjoyed it but I need to try it again, in a different setting).

ABV: 5.5%.

Craft Beer Monday Review: Oberon

I was looking through my files and I have seen that I have been tasting and enjoying the deliciousness of Bell's Oberon for years and have posted those tastings without an official review. Due to its expanded season I am not isolating it into a summer only seasonal. My first sampling this year was in March (see here).

First turned on to Oberon by Bingo, who frequently enjoys them while boating and other pursuits in the state of Pure Michigan, Oberon keeps coming back to us each year in its flavorful and smooth tasty way. The bottle art and caps are fun, too, although they might have taken it a bit too far when I saw their ballcaps recently: Is this Miami Dolphins or Marlins colors? Would I wear this a lot? Uh, no.

How to describe the flavors? Let's see: Its an American Wheat Ale, but with its added flavors and zestiness it really stands alone. It is fermented with Bell's signature house ale yeast, they say, and with a slight amount of fruitiness it really is a great combination that is memorable and worth waiting for each year. 

 Gotta give it a rating of 5. It is really worth it. 

ABV: 5.8%.

Craft Beer Monday Review: Schild Brau Amber

Having tasted this Iowa beer when was out in Iowa a few years ago, visiting, what else, Field of Dreams, I really enjoyed the Millstream products I was able to taste. I am not sure if there are others besides Millstream in Iowa. I was able to try a Missouri beer out there too but that is about it. 

But this one really grabbed my attention, since it recognized the German area it comes from. Maybe I am more of a traditionalist, because I am really happy to see when a product honors its local flavor or traditions. Maybe that is why I enjoy New Glarus. 

The Schild Brau is an amber ale with a German label and name and has a solid malty robust taste to it. It is really a good one. It is very smooth and balanced, and makes you think there is more there than the relatively low amount of alcohol. Not low for a Vienna, necessarily, but for one with this amount of taste.

Located in the Amana colonies, Millstream looks to brew with traditional ingredients and recipes. It is a Vienna style and has a nice mellowing flavor that is quite good, smooth, and balanced.

CBC Rating: 4. Delivered to me by Steve Howard when he visited-he brought me 2 six packs just to be sure. They are going  fast.

ABV: 4.9%.

Any thoughts about this? More of a traditionalist?

Some Growler Information from Great Crescent

 Growler 101:

             


It's no secret that we like growlers; it was one of our first packages. Growlers are fun and they make it easy to share beer with friends and family. Over the past few years we have had many questions about growlers, the most common one is "How long will the beer stay fresh?" Our answer - Months, until it gets opened.

Why does the beer packed at our brewery stay fresh so much longer than one poured at the brewpub? Because we use a bottling machine to pack each growler - the machine evacuates the air, purges the growler with C02 and then fills from the bottom up under counter-pressure. 

There isn't anything wrong with either method, it just depends on how soon you intend to drink the beer. Any growler you purchase from Great Crescent Brewery or one of the stores that we deliver fresh beer, will be packed in the bottling machine and is intended to stay fresh right up until the time it gets opened.
                                           

Six Pack of Cans Article

Nice little beer article on Chicago Beer in cans from Chicagoist. They sure sound good to me. The only one I haven't tried is the Wild Onion Summer Wit. The other W.O.s are good ones. See them here and here.

Article:

A Six-Pack Of Beer Cans To Bring To The Pool

On Sunday, our own Benjy Lipsman tweeted out a question that was especially timely with the warm weather:

Is there a definitive list of best canned beers (specifically, available in Chicago)? My pool doesn't allow glass.

This is a problem facing people who live in buildings with pools across the city. And with MillerCoors' effectively advocating shotgunning MIller Lite in their latest ad campaign we figured, "why not take that punch can approach to some good beer?" Or better yet, don't and spend your money on a better beer?

Few things scream summer in the city like the sight of a can of beer in a cozy, sweating in the sun, the smell of a chlorine-shocked pool in the air as you're occasionally splashed by that rare idiot performing a cannonball in the deep end. Moreover, beer in cans simply taste better. Unlike bottles, which sunlight can shine through and lead to skunky beer, cans are mini kegs which sunlight can't penetrate.

To do a definitive list, however, would take a lot of time. with Chicago's status as a beer town growing by the day, we thought it may be a better idea to focus on six local cans you can bring to your pool. There's something for everyone here.

- Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale: For better or worse, this is Goose Island's best-selling beer. It has a flavor that's easily accessible for the Bud/Miller/Coors drinkers and the name of the beer traffics in civic pride, even if it isn't brewed in Chicago anymore. But you won't think twice about having a sixer nearby in the middle of July and you're trying to cool off poolside.

- Half Acre Daisy Cutter Pale Ale: Even though beer geeks have gone zombie for Three Floyds' Zombie Dust in the past year, Daisy Cutter's consistency and flavor still make it the best beer available retail in the area. Pop open a can on the deck of a rooftop pool and your nose immediately fills with the smell of fresh cut lawn and wildflowers.

- Finch's Golden Wing Blonde Ale: The one beer on this list that closest approximates the flavor of 312, Finch's Golden Wing is our favorite selection from the Albany Park brewery and a preferred summer selection.

- Wild Onion Summer Wit: This very underrated brewpub in Lake Barrington has been canning their beers for a while. While our tastes would veer toward Wild Onion's Paddy Pale Ale, their summer witbier is another accessible and tasty pool beer.

- Two Brothers Outlaw India Pale Ale: The Warrenville brewery recently purchased a new canning line and this IPA is their first offering from that. The only other way you're going to get your hands on this beer is if you visit either Two Brothers brewpub in Warrenville or Aurora. And bringing a keg to the pool would seem so unseemly.

- Capital Island Wheat Ale: Notice a trend here? Wheat ales tend to be more accessible for fans of light beers and mass-produced lagers. Capital Brewery sources their wheat for this beer from Washington Island, Wisc. The climate and soil there combine to grow a subtle malt. It's still sweet, but not sugary like 312 can sometimes feel on the palate. The hopping on Island Wheat give a noticeable citrus flavor to the beer, with the bite and spice redolent of hops rounding out the beer on the finish.

By Chuck Sudo in Food on June 5, 2012 2:15 PM

Craft Beer Monday Review: Black Top

This was a mind blower, very interesting since I have had a black IPA (this one) before, and I am waiting to try some of the others that Wisconsin has to offer and which I will try next, after a beer run to Woodman's.

It had a lot of fun stuff: it was black, with a dark brown head, super strong aromas, and a strong malty flavor that had an IPA edge of bitterness. It was quite unique, and, which I think was really amazing, not 11% alcohol that you would usually have to have to get these flavors. Really exceptional in many different ways. 

It will definitely be one of those that I hand to someone who says they want something different. This will be good, since most of the time "different" means a cherise or some other fruit monster.  

At the very least, New Glarus has taken its time to put a fun description on its website. 

We invite you to discover this newest beer style, Black IPA.  Expect this beer to pour a hop forward jet black glass brimming with aromatic bitterness. Brewmaster Dan skillfully weaves molasses and chocolate malt undertones with a soaring rush of clean citrus and pine hop notes, to deliver a drinkable Black IPA. Savor Black Top, like Wisconsin’s miles of licorice ribbons of ink that meander through armies of corn and bovine mowed fields.

CBC Rating: 5. Poured into a shaker pint that member Steve-o served me after his beer run to Woodman's that day.

ABV: 6.9%.