Welcome to stop #97 on the Brews and Choos project.
Brewery: Goose Island Beer Co., 1800 W Fulton St., Chicago
Train line: CTA Green and Pink lines, Ashland
Time from Chicago: 6 minutes
Distance from station: 600 m
Given Chicago's long association with Goose Island Beer, and my own review of their (now closed) flagship brewpub on Clybourn almost exactly a year ago, I haven't got much to add. Since InBev bought the brewery in 2016 and expanded to places like Seoul and Shanghai, it almost doesn't qualify as a local brewery anymore. And hey, I loved Goose Island 20 years ago. But selling to InBev really did make a difference.
But the Brews and Choos Project doesn't discriminate, so we went back to the Fulton Taproom and tried their newest beer, the No Plans Tasty Time pale ale. I wrote: "not too bad, not awesome."
And that's pretty much my review of their only remaining Chicago taproom. They plan to open a new flagship brewpub at the Salt Shed in the spring, and I'll review it in due course.
Bottom line, with a couple of truly wonderful taprooms nearby like Midwest Coast and On Tour, you can skip Goose Island and not miss anything special.
Beer garden? Patio
Dogs OK? Outside only
Televisions? Two, avoidable
Serves food? No; BYOF
Would hang out with a book? Maybe
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Maybe
Welcome to stop #96 on the Brews and Choos project.
Brewery: Great Central Brewing, 221 N. Wood St., Chicago
Train line: CTA Green and Pink lines, Ashland
Time from Chicago: 6 minutes
Distance from station: 500 m
Despite the cold yesterday, a friend and I set off to the West Fulton Corridor industrial area to visit a cluster of three breweries all within a few hundred meters of each other. First on the list: Great Central Brewing.
We liked the place, though it really leans into the "industrial" part of the corridor, with a cavernous interior and washrooms three flights up.
Still, we liked their beers. The dry-hopped Pilsner (5%) was nice: dry, not too malty, good finish. The West Coast IPA (6.5%) had a great hop mix and a long finish, with a hint of banana. We judged it "very good." And the Kick Push Hazy IPA (7.2%), a collaboration with Perch, was dryer than most hazies, with lots of banana, a bit of apple and apricot, and lingering bitterness.
We also liked that, by sharing three 150 mL pours, we barely dented our capacity for trying beers at our next two planned stops.
Beer garden? Rooftop planned, not yet open
Dogs OK? No
Televisions? One, avoidable
Serves food? No; BYOF
Would hang out with a book? Yes
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes
I grabbed a friend for a couple of Brews & Choos visits yesterday, and through judicious moderation (8-10 oz of beer per person at each stop), we managed to get the entire West Fulton Corridor cluster done in six hours. So in a few minutes I'll start writing four B&C reviews, which will come out over the next three days.
Before I start, though, I'm going to read all these stories that have piled up since Friday:
Finally, the Roscoe Rat (really a squirrel) Hole got its own NPR story this morning. And in my social media I saw a photo of someone proposing to her boyfriend at the rat hole. Color me bemused.
Welcome to an extra stop on the Brews and Choos project.
Brewery: Old Stove Brewing, 1901 Western Ave., Seattle
Train line: Sound Transit, University St
Time from Chicago: about 4 hours by air
Distance from station: 400 m
Except for picking the coldest weekend in years to visit Seattle, I enjoyed the Pike Place Market a lot. At its north end I found the Old Stone Brewing Co., with a view of the Puget Sound that would have knocked my socks off if doing so wouldn't immediately have led to frostbite. Even being inside a place with "Stove" in its name didn't help as Seattle buildings generally don't approach insulation the same way Chicago buildings do. Nice views, though.
Still, spending $18 and 90 minutes in the place kept me warm and got me an extra 75 pages through the excellent polemic I'm reading, Cory Doctorow's The Lost Cause. (I should finish it today on the plane.)
They have two brewer's-choice flight options plus a DIY option. I didn't feel like having 6 beers s I chose 5 from their long list and sipped. From left to right: the Old Stove Pilsner (4.2%, 35 IBU), the Streaker Citra pale (5.7%, 30 IBU), their flagship Two Pronged Crown IPA (6.66%, 53 IBU), the No One Knows hazy IPA (6.2%, 25 IBU), and the Dark Passage American stout (7%, 46 IBU). All tasted great, and I'd drink any of them if presented. I liked the No One Knows the best. The stout was less stout and more dry than anticipated, but still good enough to finish the 100 mL sample.
Next time I'm in Seattle, I'll choose a warm, dry day to sit outside this place with a full pint. Possibly my friend's dog, too.
Beer garden? Yes, looking over Puget Sound!
Dogs OK? Outside only
Televisions? Two, avoidable, but only showing 1950s through 1970s beer commercials
Serves food? Full pub menu
Would hang out with a book? Yes
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes
Welcome to stop #95 on the Brews and Choos project.
Brewery: Revolution Brewery & Taproom, 3340 N. Kezie Ave., Chicago
Train line: CTA Blue Line, Belmont
Time from Chicago: 18 minutes
Distance from station: 700 m
Revolution's main brewing facility and taproom is the granddaddy of independent Chicago breweries. I've already reviewed their brewpub (about 2½ km from the taproom), and longtime readers know I like their beer a lot. So this Brews & Choos stop was more about checking in at an old favorite than trying new beers.
I had a Hazy Hero IPA (7.3%), one of my favorites and one of their best-sellers, and I think the same one I had when I reviewed the brewpub. My friend, however, ordered the Ryeway to Heaven barrel-aged rye wine (15%) along with one of their less-deadly beers. Wow. I would love to try that again, but only in small doses. So much flavor!
I only have one complaint, that the area around Belmont and Kedzie isn't really fun to walk through. The taproom is only a ten-minute walk from the Belmont Blue Line stop, though, so unless you're buying cases of beer, you don't need to drive there.
Beer garden? No
Dogs OK? No
Televisions? None
Serves food? Snack menu
Would hang out with a book? Maybe
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes
Welcome to stop #94 on the Brews and Choos project.
Brewery: Hopewell Brewing, 2760 N Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
Train line: CTA Blue Line, Logan Square
Time from Chicago: 16 minutes
Distance from station: 400 m
The second stop on the "research expedition" my friend and I took on Saturday didn't excite us as much as BiXi or Revolution. My friend decided that Hopewell is what you get when you tell an AI to design a Logan Square taproom. She's not wrong.
We tried six beers—well, I tried five, because I really don't like göse—and compared notes:
- Lightbeam hazy IPA (6.3%): nice, light, fruity, good finish; my favorite
- As If West Coast DIPA (7.5%: Pow! Huge hops, big flavor, a little banana, clean finish
- Long Shadows winter IPA (7.5%): a little syrupy, a bit heavy, not our favorite
- Ride or Die pale (5.5%): good balance, nice acidity, very drinkable; my friend's favorite
- Going Places IPA (6.8%): Lager, malty, syrupy, apricot, very good
- Table Salt göse (4.5%): A hint of saltiness, and the cardamom gives it a unique flavor
So, it's not bad, but it's not someplace either of us particularly felt like seeing again. At one point I mused that it would be much more welcoming if they lined the ceiling with anechoic tiles, but loud is in vogue these days. On to the next stop.
Beer garden? No
Dogs OK? No
Televisions? None
Serves food? No, BYOF
Would hang out with a book? No
Would hang out with friends? Maybe
Would go back? Maybe
Welcome to stop #93 on the Brews and Choos project.
Brewery: BiXi 鼻息 Beer, 2515 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
Train line: CTA Blue Line, Logan Square
Time from Chicago: 16 minutes
Distance from station: 400 m
Yesterday I brought a friend along to visit three Logan Square breweries, starting with BiXi (pronounced "bee she") and ending with the granddaddy of the region, Revolution. We planned well, because BiXi has really great beer but also very tasty food. Plus, it's got a cozy vibe where I can imagine hanging out for a while.
Because we joined forces, we could try twice as many beers—plus some delicious Szechuan peanuts (very spicy!), pot stickers, and mushroom egg rolls.
From my notes and their menu:
- Nectar 7G Nectaron IPA (6.5%): "This collaboration with Pipeworks Brewing features a tropical juicy twist brewed with Nectaron Hops from New Zealand." Really good, excellent balance, clean finish, would take home.
- Unicorns in the Mirror hazy IPA (8%): "Packs 7 different types of hops including cryo citra, citra, mosaic, idaho 7, amarillo, simcoe, and columbus as well as tropical fruits, smooth sweetness, and low bitterness." Banana, apple, long finish, really good.
- BiXi Bitter Kölsch (4.5%): "A classic style extra lagered brew with a silky smooth brilliantly bitter bite." Light, crisp, malty, hoppier than a regular Kolsch.
My friend adds: "Jeju island Mandarin witbier (4.6%): the Mandarin gave it a punchier flavor than a typical witbier, but the banana aroma that typifies a wit still stood out the most. Well balanced, good representation of the style, wouldn't order it again because it's not my preferred style of beer."
Our favorite was the Unicorns in the Mirror. Since neither of us really likes amber ales, and since we had two other breweries to visit, we skipped the Broken Walk-In Amber Lager (5.3%).
I'm already making plans to go back with some other friends who live in Logan Square.
Beer garden? No
Dogs OK? No
Televisions? Two, avoidable
Serves food? Yes
Would hang out with a book? Maybe
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes
A small collection:
Finally, in her column on December 31st, Jennifer Rubin suggested people get some perspective on history to understand that the past was much worse than today.
Update: A friend sent this security-cam photo of the first Yellow Line pulling into the Dempster station after service resumed:
Welcome to stop #92 on the Brews and Choos project.
Distillery: Take Flight Spirits, 8038 Lincoln Ave., Skokie
Train line: CTA Yellow Line, Oakton-Skokie
Time from Chicago: 46 minutes
Distance from station: 700 m
This charming single-pot distillery in the only charming part of Skokie began distilling in March 2020 and opened its tasting room in the summer of 2022. A couple of friends and I were visiting a mutual friend a few blocks away, so we decided to traipse down the bike path that parallels the Yellow Line and visit Take Flight, passing Sketchbook along the way.
We all liked the vibe, and got to meet the distillers, Carrie and Andrew Cole, who gave us a little context. Most importantly, they don't distill grain-neutral spirits (AKA vodka), preferring to make their gin from their rum instead. They also have a really lovely barrel-aged rum, and they make a malt whiskey and a Bourbon. Right now they also have a gin distilled from a batch of Sketchbook Insufficient Clearance that went wrong. (I tasted that batch. It was horrible. The brewery recalled all of it, including the 4-pack I bought from them, and explained they messed up the hop load.)
I got a flight with their basic gin (hits a bit hard; cardamom, lavender, grapefruit, lots of juniper; the rum base gives it a nice depth), the aged rum (nice balance, not too sweet, long finish), and the bourbon (easy nose, almost a lighter taste than expected, very young, might make an OK old fashioned but IMO not ready yet). My friends let me try the malt whiskey (sweet nose, nice smoke, good finish) and their cocktails. The aged rum made a wonderful old fashioned. At $55 a bottle, though, I'd rather sip it than load it up with bitters and syrup.
I'm looking forward to going back, maybe to one of their evening events. As of this post, the Yellow Line still hasn't resumed service after their accident in November, adding maybe 10 minutes to the already-lengthy 46 minute ride from downtown Chicago. But I foresee a day in the spring where a few of us get together for a cocktail at Take Flight followed by a pint at Sketchbook.
Beer garden? No
Dogs OK? No
Televisions? None
Serves food? Snacks only; "BYOF" (bring your own food) policy
Would hang out with a book? Yes
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes
Welcome to stop #91 on the Brews and Choos project.
Brewery: Howard Street Brewing Co., 1617 W. Howard St., Chicago
Train line: CTA Red and Purple Lines, Howard
Time from Chicago: 25 minutes (Purple Line)/45 minutes (Red Line)
Distance from station: 100 m
Sadly, the brewery will close on Sunday. But I had the opportunity to visit last night, so the Daily Parker can preserve its memory.
I'm sorry I didn't go before. It's a cute place, and the beers I tried were quite good. I had a pint of the Better Late than Never Pilsner (5.4%), and tastes of the Dark Link Stout (6.5%) and the Sex Panther Kolsch (5.5%). All were quite serviceable and I would have them again.
So what happened? According to Block Club Chicago:
The tight space and business regulations made it hard for Howard Street Brewing to meet consumer demand while adapting to shifts in the craft beer industry, [Owner Chuck] Patella said.
Howard Street Brewing didn’t have space to produce nitro beers or hard seltzers, two popular products. There also wasn’t space for a kitchen, and its license prevents it from offering cocktails or wine, Patella said.
The closure is another loss for Howard Street, which has struggled to retain businesses and has seen violence in recent years.
Sol Cafe, which briefly expanded its hours to offer food service for the neighboring Howard Street Brewing, closed in July after 10 years. Its owner cited floods in the building and nearby shootings as reasons for the closure.
Howard Street Brewing is at least the fourth craft brewer to close in Chicago recently.
Metropolitan Brewery in Avondale will close Sunday after 15 years in business. Lo Rez Brewing closed in Pilsen this summer after seven years, and Rock Bottom Brewery left River North in January after more than 20 years in business. Empirical Brewery closed its Ravenswood facility late last year after being evicted over unpaid rent.
Yes, Howard east of the El has struggled with violence and poverty for, oh, 60 years or so. I admire Patella for trying to change that, but even I didn't visit for almost its entire 18-month run. The area around the Howard Street El just isn't great.
I'm still going to give it a "would go back" rating, but on the map it'll show as "closed." Patella said he's going to try opening in a different spot later on. I hope he does.
Beer garden? No
Dogs OK? No
Televisions? None
Serves food? No, BYOF
Would hang out with a book? Yes
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes