The Daily Parker

Welcome to stop #15 on the Brews and Choos project.

Brewery: Begyle Brewing, 1801 W Cuyler Ave., Chicago
Train line: Union Pacific North, Ravenswood. (Also CTA Brown Line, Irving Park)
Time from Chicago: 16 minutes (Zone B)
Distance from station: 1.6 km (200 m from CTA)

Note: Begyle informed The Daily Parker in July 2021 that they ended their dog-friendly policy. (They still make great beer.)

But also note: As of August 2023, they've re-thought their dog policy. Dogs are once again allowed on the patio!

Begyle is one of my favorite taprooms in Chicago, and not just because it's (a) close and (b) dog-friendly. They also make really great beers.

For the Brews and Choos project, I dragged my bête noir all the way to the taproom and back, which, at his age, took quite a while. And then he was a bit overwhelmed, so didn't get any rest while there:

It was so busy they had a dog quota going (only 12 allowed at a time). Parker got the last spot available for a few minutes.

Because I know their beers pretty well, and because this was not the last stop for the day (though it was for Parker), I had three small tastes, including my favorite of their beers:

Megapixel is their latest IPA, crisp, light, and a bit maltier than you'd guess. Freebird, my favorite of their beers, is also an IPA with it's great balance, a hint of lemon and grapefruit from the citra hops, and its relatively low alcohol content (4.5%). Finally I tried Flannel Pajamas, an oatmeal stout with a great balance between hops and maltiness, though it does read slightly hoppier than most stouts.

Begyle's taproom is one of my favorite places to dog-watch and read. I heartily recommend it.

Beer garden? Sidewalk seating
Dogs OK? Outside only
Televisions? No
Serves food? No, but BYO is fine, and sometimes there's a food truck outside
Would hang out with a book? Yes
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes

A note on dogs. Begyle's Brett Knickerbocker reached out to The Daily Parker on 6 July 2021 with this sad news [which they updated in Summer 2023]:

Over the course of the pandemic we have lost our upstairs space, which was crucial for extended seating. We are faced with a much smaller footprint going forward and want to focus on saving space for humans wherever we can. We had days during The Before Times in which 50% of our taproom was occupied by dogs and it was simply overwhelming for our staff (and many of our guests). As much as we love our furry friends, we feel that being a dog-free zone is the right move for us.

Parker loved going to Begyle, and I'm sure Cassie would have does as well. But, hey, they have to make the right choices for their business.

Even when I work from home, I have a lot to do. At least I don't have a commute today, giving me extra time to catch up later:

• On March 8th, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy turns 42. Yes, 42.
• It won't surprise anyone to learn that Donald Trump sucks at business. He certainly sucks at medicine. And at nominating people properly.
• Farhad Manjoo wants to live in Elizabeth Warren's America, and so do I.
• Josh Marshall analyzes why Bernie Sanders hit a wall last night.
• Philip Bump explains what happens to delegates when a candidate drops out.
• February set another record for the Lake Michigan-Huron system's water levels, causing extensive damage to beaches.
• Winter 2019-20 ended Sunday. In Illinois, though February was pretty normal, the winter itself was not.
• Let's Encrypt needs to invalidate most of its certificates due to an error.

And now, back to work.

Welcome to stop #14 on the Brews and Choos project.

Brewery: Piece Brewery, 1927 W. North Ave., Chicago
Train lines: Union Pacific North and Northwest, Clybourn. (Also CTA Blue line, Damen)
Time from Chicago: 8 minutes (Zone A)
Distance from station: 1.3 km (400 m from CTA)

Pizza. Beer. What's a better combination? Piece Brewery in Wicker Park makes both pretty well.

Piece opened in July 2001, so I've had lots of their pizza and lots of their beer. When I visited for the Brews and Choos project, I just had a pint of their new Astronaut Haus English Pale Ale, a 5.5% hoppy decent malty ale. (Note to self: would drink again.)

For some reason, I also ate an entire pizza:

And hey, they deliver (just not all the way to my house).

Beer garden? No
Dogs OK? No
Televisions? Bar area only
Serves food? Pizza!
Would hang out with a book? Maybe
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes

For one thing, he'd make it interesting, as he says in an interview with the New York Times' David Marchese:

Given your inclination toward politics and idealism, is there a Democratic presidential candidate who’s connecting with you? No. It’s funny. I was emailing with a friend about this topic. There are grand gestures out there to be had, and no one is going for them. We’re drowning in timidity.

I’m sure you have thoughts about what those grand gestures could be. Mm-hmm. As long as we’re crystal clear that I understand the difference between the real world and “The West Wing”?

T.B.D., but go on. Fair enough, T.B.D. Here’s what would happen on “The West Wing.” Joe Biden would say: “You know what? If it’ll get John Bolton testifying to the Senate under oath, swear me in too. I’ll answer any questions you’ve got.” Suddenly all the attention would be on him. It’s a “Mr. Smith” moment. He gets to sit in front of hostile Republican senators and show us how well he can handle them. If he did it right, if he was performing a “West Wing” script where I got to decide what everybody else says too, it propels him right to winning.

Sorkin also answers questions about his anti-heroes, the conflict beteen Abbie Hoffman and Tom Hayden, and of course, writing.

Welcome to stop #13 on the Brews and Choos project.

Distillery: Rhine Hall Distillery, 2010 W. Fulton St., Chicago
Train lines: Milwaukee District North and West, Western Ave. (Also CTA Green line, Ashland)
Time from Chicago: 9 minutes (Zone A)
Distance from station: 1.3 km (1.1 km from CTA)

I found visiting Rhine Hall on a weeknight in February odd for two reasons. First, I didn't realize that they distill from fruit, rather than grain, so I didn't prepare myself for the flavors of their spirits well. Second, I used to work in the same building from 1995 to 1996, so walking around the place brought back a ton of 25-year-old memories.

Nothing like this existed in the building back then.

The owners, a husband and wife team, opened the distillery after returning from Germany, where he learned how to make eau de vie (fruit brandy). They have since branched out into a dozen varieties, including the ones I sampled:

From left to right, all 80-proof spirits: apple brandy, oak-aged apple brandy, cherry brandy, and Frenet Lola. The brandies had subtle characters reminiscent of their underlying fruit, and would make really interesting mixers for cocktails (which, incidentally, they serve at the distillery). The Frenet had strong licorice notes and, I imagine, tasted like a well-made Frenet. I have never had Frenet before so this was an experience.

This might be worth a second trip, to try their cocktails.

Beer garden? No
Dogs OK? Yes
Televisions? No
Serves food? No, but you can bring it in
Would hang out with a book? No
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes

Welcome to stop #12 on the Brews and Choos project.

Brewery: Midwest Coast Brewing, 2137 W. Walnut St., Chicago
Train lines: Milwaukee District North and West, Western Ave. (Also CTA Green and Pink lines, Ashland)
Time from Chicago: 9 minutes (Zone A)
Distance from station: 1.1 km (1.3 km from CTA)

Now, this is a brewery. Dog-friendly, great vibe, excellent beers, friendly staff and owners—what's not to love?

They brew everything on-premises, rotating beers as their tastes change. They just opened in September, so they haven't yet got an outdoor space. They're opening their rooftop "soon" and converting an unused parking lot south of the building into a beer garden "by 2021." (The alderman still needs to approve it.) Of course, it's only the first day of spring, so this wasn't a critical lapse when I visited.

They love dogs so much they serve flights in dog bowls:

I liked all 5. First, the Golden Bro APA (5.1%, 36 IBU): malty, tasty, not too hoppy, clear golden color. #2: The Colonies ESB/EPA (5.3%, 35 IBU): excellent, clear Extra Special Bitter style, a little hoppier than you'd get in the UK but nice and malty for the EPA it also claims to be. #3: Throne of Bones Stout (6.3%, 60 IBU): hoppier than expected but didn't taste like 60 IBUs; nice finish, nice chocolate notes. #4: Elevator to Nowhere New England IPA (6%, 30 IBU): really good, grapefruit notes from the citra hops, hazy but not too much. #5: The Old Course Scotch Wee Heavy (7.4%, 27 IBU): Crisp for a wee heavy, definitely malty, apricot notes, clean finish.

The owner also gave me a sip of Escalating Dares Imperial Stout (10.4%, 60 IBU). Wow. He said they "got lucky" putting this one together, but fortunately kept the recipe. They've got two barrels aging in the back that they might tap this summer... 

I will definitely spend a lazy summer afternoon there this year. Or even a lazy spring afternoon.

Beer garden? Coming soon
Dogs OK? Yes, encouraged
Televisions? One, avoidable
Serves food? No; they have an order-in kiosk and menus
Would hang out with a book? Yes
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes

Welcome to stop #11 on the Brews and Choos project.

Brewery: Haymarket Pub & Brewery, 737 W. Randolph St., Chicago
Train lines: All Ogilvie and Union Station lines. (Also CTA Green/Pink lines, Clinton)
Time from Chicago: 0 minutes (Zone A)
Distance from station: 800 m from Ogilvie or Union (600 m from CTA)

Haymarket has occupied their current plot in the West Loop for almost 10 years. They haven't changed a bit. I wish they had.

The pub has pub grub, televisions, noise, confusion, and bits of interesting historical paraphernalia scattered around. And they make beer.

I stopped in for the sake of completeness, and even had one of their uninspiring IPAs (the Extra Pale). I've had a lot of their food and beer over the years because most people haven't discovered Ballast Point a few blocks away. And right now, the West Loop has miles of Dining Concepts and such making Haymarket the down-market-but-not-really option for people who want to meet up with friends at a place to which no one will really object. It's never anyone's first choice, but it'll usually be the third choice of everyone in the group, so that's where you'll wind up.

So, yeah, if you find yourself in the West Loop and you want local beer, and Ballast Point is closed, I guess you could go to Haymarket.

Beer garden? No
Dogs OK? No
Televisions? Ubiquitous, unavoidable
Serves food? Full menu, pub food
Would hang out with a book? No
Would hang out with friends? I suppose, if I have to
Would go back? Sure, if we can't agree on anywhere else

Welcome to stop #10 on the Brews and Choos project.

Note: Ballast Point's Chicago taproom closed permanently in March 2021.

Distillery: Ballast Point Brewing, 212 N. Green St., Chicago
Train lines: All Ogilvie and Union Station lines. (Also CTA Green/Pink lines, Morgan)
Time from Chicago: 0 minutes (Zone A)
Distance from station: 1.2 km from Ogilvie or Union (400 m from CTA)

After expanding a bit too quickly, Ballast Point found itself without enough cash and way too many beers to continue profitably. Highwood-based Kings & Convicts (stop #6 on Brews & Choos) bought it out and has just begun merging operations.

Ballast Point's Chicago taproom makes a couple of beers that you can only get on premises. All their other beers come from California. And wow, do they have a lot of beers. This set of taps covers about half of them:

I tried four, left to right described below:

Their Fathom IPA (6%) was a good, solid IPA, with a light flavor that I found malty for the style. The Sculpin IPA (7%) was more hop-forward with grapefruit notes and a good finish. The High Ryes porter (6.3%), a Chicago specialty you can only get in the taproom, had a chocolate and caramel nose, a smooth finish, and a delicious taste. Finally, the Sextant nitro Imperial stout (5%) had a subtle nose, and even more subtle flavor, that was a bit disappointing after the porter.

I'll go back because I know one of the bartenders. But I didn't really like the vibe at all. I lost count of the number of TVs and couldn't find a place in the entire large space where I could avoid them.

Beer garden? Yes (rooftop)
Dogs OK? No
Televisions? Ubiquitous, unavoidable
Serves food? Full menu, pub food
Would hang out with a book? No
Would hang out with friends? Maybe
Would go back? See above

A single 750 mL bottle of whisky sold at auction this week for £907,500, the highest price ever paid for a bottle:

A European buyer [won] the 1926 Macallan Valerio Adami 60 year old on February 17, 2020, setting a record for Scotland’s most expensive whisky ever auctioned.

It’s also the sixth standard-sized whisky bottle ever to achieve $1 million at auction, and the third-highest auction price ever achieved for a bottle of whisky. Even with the lower premiums charged by online whisky auction houses, this sale unambiguously surpassed the previous record for the Valerio Adami bottle, set in 2018.

That works out to £1,210 per millilitre, or £46,537 per ounce, slightly more than the highest-priced whisky at Duke of Perth (Macallan 25, $73 per ounce, $110 per pour).

Note that the whisky was already 60 years old when it went into the bottle in 1926, meaning Macallan distilled it about a year after the American Civil War ended.

I wonder what it tastes like? If I had a million dollars, I might find out.

Welcome to stop #9 on the Brews and Choos project.

Distillery: CH Distillery, 564 W. Randolph St., Chicago
Train lines: All Ogilvie and Union Station lines. (Also CTA Green/Pink lines, Clinton)
Time from Chicago: 0 minutes (Zone A)
Distance from station: 200 m (400 m from CTA)

CH Distillery (named after carbon and hydrogen, principal ingredients in alcohol) opened in 2013 with a mission to create "the only organic vodka made from Illinois grain and a variety of core and specialty spirits." They no longer distill much of their stuff at their downtown restaurant, having opened a much larger facility in Pilsen. But they still give tours on Randolph Street.

For $13, they will give you a flight of 4 spirits. I tried their vodka (smooth and sweet with a bit of harshness in the tail), key gin (made with lime and lavender, described as "like Hendrix" but not really), London dry gin (very dry and juniper forward, would go well with tonic), and their Bourbon (101 proof, 2 years old, MGP alcohol, not ready yet).

Because of its proximity to downtown and its upscale drinks and food, CH is a popular date spot. I quite like it every so often.

Beer garden? No
Dogs OK? No
Televisions? None
Serves food? Small plates, charcuterie
Would hang out with a book? Maybe
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes