San Diego Beer Blog

The original plan was “A weekend in Chicago” but due to weather, Northwest Airline screw-ups and shoddy directions we were limited to an afternoon. C’est la vie. With our limited time frame we had to make the most of our afternoon in the windy city.

Chicago has a massive listing of beer establishments. With a little bit of pre-trip research, we had our selection narrowed down to The Map Room, Goose Island, Delilah’s, Green Mill, The Hop Leaf, Rock Bottom and Clark St. Alehouse.

Thanks to the L and Google Mobile Maps, we were able to get around the city without too much hassle. We purchased day passes for $5 which are good on trains and buses. After reviewing our location and some maps, we were off to our first stop.

Goose Island Clybourne Brewpub

Brewpub
gooseisland.com

Since our last real meal was over 26 hours ago (thanks to Cheez-Its for holding us over), we needed to go somewhere with a full menu and plenty of beer. Based upon recommendations we decided to head over to Goose Island since it was just a couple of miles from where we were staying.

…our Clybourn Brewery is the perfect spot to sample all our special beers. Since 1988, Goose Island has consistently brewed Chicago’s finest hand-crafted ales and lagers. Our brewers produce an unmatched variety of seasonal brews, with over 10 drafts to choose from every day…

They had 15 beers available, 14 on tap and 1 cask. On cask was their Summer Bitter (5%), it’s an interesting beer that I would order again. I didn’t take any notes on this beer other than it was enjoyable. Gretchen tried the Blueberry Ale, it was surprisingly good. Most “fruited” beers turn me off, they can’t seem to find a good balance of taste and aroma, Goose Island’s Blueberry Ale is the exception.

After our first pints, we wanted to try a whole slew of their beers but didn’t want to walk around Chicago like drunken tourists (that’s reserved when the sun goes down). Luckily they offer a choose your own sampler. We opted for the Nut Brown Ale, Old Clybourn Porter, Reserve Pere Jacques and India Pale Ale. My favorites were the Nut Brown and Pere Jacques.

Our food was also good

After exploring some of Chicago’s other fine locations for the afternoon, we met up with some friends in the evening for pizza and a couple more beers.

The Map Room

Beer Bar
maproom.com

Even closer to our lodging was The Map Room. This made an obvious choice to round out the evening because of its recommendations and location.

Entering the bar the first thing I notice is their beer list, strikingly similar in style to Hamilton’s, but with a definite midwest twist. Their menu is split into three sections; Imported Drafts, American Craft Brews and Belgium Drafts. 26 total draft selections, 1 cask beer and a whole bunch of bottles. I wasn’t able to locate their bottle list easily, bummer.

I was excited to try a couple of the Three Floyds beers they had. My first selection was Alpha King, an American Pale Ale. Big hops and very drinkable. Their cask selection was Three Floyds Pride & Joy, another fantastic beer.

For a Sunday night the place was very crowded, there were 2 open seats at the bar for the girls. The guys were all standing. I wonder how it gets in there on a Friday or Saturday? Yikes.

Overall

An afternoon in Chicago isn’t enough! I’m really looking forward to getting out there again for at least 3-4 days to take in more of the great city and beer.