Saturday visited Band of Bohemia and Half Acre's north side tap room.

Band of Bohemia is like 5 minute walk from the apartment but took me 4 months to finally go. Their food may be Michelin-starred but the beer was not good. Hard pass on going there again for beer(s).

Disappointed Sailor Kush is no longer on tap at Half Acre. That was a tasty beer. It was a nice change of pace to have "traditional" IPAs in Buried and Plane Wave. Navaja, DIPA, was probably my favorite beer I tried. A close second was Life on Land (a sour). That was the 2nd delicious sour I've had from Half Acre. I didn't realize they had such solid sour offerings.

Visited a few taprooms this weekend and experienced a glorious draft deal.

1. Maplewood Brewing - arrived Saturday 7:30ish. Small space that was was insanely packed. No seating. Music was too loud. Bartenders were sweating their ass off trying to keep up with drinks and be food runners. We left without ordering anything.

2. Off Color - double the size of Maplewood. Their space could handle the amount of customers. Never tried Dino S'mores before. Figured it would be a fun novelty beer but I didn't get any hint of marshmallow or graham cracker. "I'm Sorry" was a solid Belgian style ale. Nothing mind-blowing. Just a solid tasty beer. The best one of the night was "Wari". I'd classify it as a Berliner Weisse. The beer was brewed with purple corn and berries.

3. Mariano's Ravenswood - Popped in on a Saturday afternoon to grab a beer. Bartender informed us starting that day is $2 drafts all month long. Had a Cigar City Jai Alai and Maplewood Charlatan - $6 all-in with tip. What a glorious deal. The bartender said she feared the ensuing shit show once her regulars learn of the deal. Supposedly MANY issues of people getting too blitzed, cut off and kicked out. Last week she posted a sign stating there is a 6 drink maximum. Who knew Mariano's Ravenswood bar is always bumpin. I had no idea as I usually do my grocery shopping at 7am to beat the crowds.

Visited Tenuta's in Kenosha this weekend and they had someone inside from Third Space Brewing handing out samples. I had not heard
of these guys so I chatted with the guy for a while and took home a 4 pack of the Juicy Double IPA called Unbridled Enthusiasm. Good
stuff. Not sure if you would see their stuff in Illinois but if you get a chance give them a shot. I might visit the brewery up in Milwaukee
sometime.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Off Color hasn't made anything good except for the Miller high life 'clone' The rest of their stuff is just meh.

I really like the Cigar City Jai Alai...that was a vacation standard for me that I found in Florida a couple of years ago...happy to finally see it in Chicago

_________________

I read the Chicago Jai Alai is brewed in North Carolina. I've never had Jai Alai brewed in Tampa so I didn't have a frame of reference. I enjoyed it nonetheless

Toppling Goliath had MANY differences between their Florida-brewed PseudoSue and Iowa-brewed PseudoSue. So I'm uncertain how the NC Jai Alai we are getting compares to the original stuff.

When I have some time, I'll get some and compare...I brought some of the Tampa Jai Alai back from my vacation last week.

_________________

If it's anything like the TG stuff, it will be significantly fresher than the North Carolina stuff. The TG from Florida was typically a month old when it got here.

Had two tasty beers on Saturday:

1) Molly Mac - red irish ale from One Trick Pony out of Lansing, IL. I had never heard of the brewery or beer before. It was damn tasty. Not usually a fan of the style but gave it a try as a nod to the festivities. Very easy drinking.

2) Gummy Vortex - NEIPA from Noon Whistle in Lombard. A good NEIPA. The beer was a little thin and lacked a finish. But a very fruity flavor and disappeared quickly.

On Friday went back to Corridor hoping I could snatch another growler of SqueezeIt before it kicked. No luck. At least I grabbed one last weekend. Did have a few glasses of Bendy Straw. Similar to Bendy Meme, their collab with 18th Street, this was a NEIPA with lactose. I much preferred this one to Meme.

Noon Whistle has been doing MANY great things with their gummy series. I wasn't a fan of their brewery when they first opened up a few years back, but they have stepped up their game after a slow start. They're turning into one of the best breweries of the western suburbs now.

_________________

Have you had any from their Hop Prism series? Gold (Nelson) was fantastic. Reminded me of Alpine Nelson, before Green Flash butchered it.

_________________
-- source

Still a sore subject for me.

Me too. Used to be in my top 5. Had the pleasure of visiting Alpine back in 2013. And then GF happened.

_________________
-- source

Have not. Will have to keep an eye out.

Speaking of Alpine, they used be one of my favorite breweries. I remember devouring their stuff when I took a trip to SD 5-ish years ago. I forgot about them with Chicago's brewery scene really stepping up their game these past few years.

Brought home a sixer of Amarillo Hero by Revolution on Friday. Thought it was pretty good. I still have to try the Galaxy Hero yet.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Yesterday dropped by DryHop as they were having a "hazy" beer tap takeover. Ordered a flight of 7 and it was slightly overwhelming differentiating between 7 similar styles. None of the beers other than Hubbard's Cave distinctly stood out. But none of them weren't worth ordering a full glass either. I'd rank them as:

1. Hubbard's Cave: Fresh IIPA V8 - Double IPA
2. Corridor: Neon Party - DDH IPA
3. Hop Butcher for the World: Galaxy Bowl - Double IPA
4. Marz: Yuice #3 - DDH IPA
5. Hailstorm: Cumulus - DDH IPA
6. DryHop: Victorian Flavour - DDH Double IPA
7. Old Irving: Beezer - DDH IPA

The finish on Hubbard's Cave had a sweet honey flavor which was something I'd never had before. A 5 oz. pour was perfect as a whole glass may be too much sweetness. My guys at Corridor new beer isn't one of their best efforts. Neon Party was too thin and needed more carbonation. The juicyness was there but needs a little more adjusting.

If only I enjoyed the IPA craze.....

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

I have tried. I am just too busy or lazy to be a connoisseur. I try a lot here and there but anything that takes extraordinary effort is out.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

You and I had no problem finding shitty beers that we enjoyed outside PNC and at Arlington. Looking forward to your return to Chicago this summer. Any chance we set up an outing to a ball game?

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

At this point in the year anything is possible. My Sox come to PNC this year so I will be there.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

This has been my current go to of late. 4 pack of 16oz cans and an 8.7% ABV it hits right in the sweet spot.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Try Guinness Blonde American Lager. A little expensive, but worth it.

Picked up a 22oz 3 Floyds. Live A Rich Life. Looks phenomenal

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I’ve beeb pounding Toppling Goliath’s Pompeii on the reg lately. So glad they bailed on the Florida BrewHub crap.

_________________
-- source

Two Brothers 21st Anniversary IPA is FUCKING BORING. Bah, beginning to wonder what I ever liked about them.

_________________

Two Brothers isn't bad, but they are slowly going down the Goose Island path. Nothing they produce is stellar, and they only seem to care about getting bigger instead of making awesome beer.

_________________

I've never had a beer from them that made me go "Wow". Everything they make is solid but there are so many new breweries that have launched and are doing great work.

I live about 5 or 6 blocks from Two Brothers, and I would be fine with never stepping foot in their Tap Room again. Haven't gone in nearly 6 months. There's just so many better options in the area.

_________________

I never quite understood the attraction to Two Brothers...I always thought the beers were meh...first thing of theirs I had that I really liked was Pinball.

_________________