Hop Butcher, Blizzard of 67 is a beer to put u on your ass.

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Alter set to open a brewpub in St Charles this spring. It's directly across the river from the recently opened Pollyanna.

Batavia
Energy City

Geneva
Penrose
Stockholms - sucks
Art History - opening soon

St Charles
Riverlands
Pollyanna
D&G
93 Octane
Alter - opening soon

That will be nine (eight, if you don't count Stockholms and you shouldn't) breweries serving a population of just over 75,000 people. Feels like a bubble is about to burst.

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Stockholm's has been around for a while. It's more of a place to get a drink while waiting to eat at Bien Trucha than a real Brew Pub.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

I really can't figure out why Stockholm's even exists. The beer is trash and the food isn't anything great either. I think I ate the worst bratwurst I've ever consumed in my life there.

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The space itself is cool. That's the only thing I can think.

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Stumbled across a new Lagunitas product to me at Woodmans. Called “Lucky 13” and is a strong red ale. I’ve been looking for a good red for a while so excited to try it later when we go to hang with some friends. I enjoy a good red when it’s cold out. At 8.8 abv I’m looking forward to it and hope it tastes good.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Saisons, Farmhouse, Wild Ales, dunno if they fall under the rubric of reds, but I like em more than the IPA's these days. Jolly Pumpkin specializes Farmhouse and Wild Ales. New Belgium's Lips of Faith growler series has good sours.

The price creep on beer has finally got me. At this point I think buying a 13.99 four pack is a bargain.

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Stocked up on beer this morning for the next few weeks. Got some Milwaukee brewing company stuff which is my favorite. Last night I had a couple Sun Reaper NEIPA from Toppling Goliath and picked up a sizer of Hopslam.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

My buddy is now the Asst Brewmaster here; https://www.oneallegiance.com/
https://www.facebook.com/OneAllegiance/

Really cool space. Nice patio, fresh sod, and a good tap room. Can't wait until things are open and I can enjoy them. I have had a few offerings from them so far;

TROPIC BREEZE DDH AMERICAN IPA 6.8%
Luscious mango tropics and berry medley. Kettle and double dry hopped with Citra & Mosaic hops.

HARLEM AVE PALE ALE 5.4%
House pale - lush tropical fruits and citrus zest from Amarillo & Azacca hops.

SUN CITY TANGERINE GOLDEN ALE 5.3% (I could probably drink 20 of these on a nice summer day)
A refreshing, yellow golden ale with an airy mouthfeel which bursts into mouth watering tangerine flavors.

And yesterday I picked up a Growler full of this; GOLDEN TREASURE Belgian Strong Ale
A rich Belgian golden ale with expressive spice notes that build up to a dry, effervescent finish. Goes down smooth with an elevated ABV of 9.0%.
This was absolutely delicious. At 9%, I am sure to be pretty smashed later on

If you're in the area (102nd & Harlem. Across from the WalMart, east side of the street) swing by and get a growler or crowler.

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Frank, find out if they selling to restaurants, either through a distributor or self-distributing. I'll carry their product when things go back to normal.

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I don't remember half the time if I'm hiding or I'm lost

Belgian style beers are really good...and will sneak up on you

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My beginning into real beers were Belgians and yeah, most don’t taste like 8.5 abvs.

Now is the time to be drinking Pils, hence Krombacher Pils. Picked it up on sale for $11.99 for 12 at Family Foods in Warrenville.

Not bad for a German beer. Was bitter at first but when you get past that it has a robust flavor for a Pils. Very satisfying to drink in the sun.

Only Child Brewing in Gurnee.
I like their tap room. I like some of their beers, some I don't care for. One of my criticisms is that most of their beers seem to be 8% ABV and up....they also seem to be big on adding Lactose to everything. Their stuff is high quality, but it's like their trying to overcomlicate beer.

Well....they released a German Pilsner called "Rasenmaherbier" which translates to Lawn Mowing beer....the can is awesome. It's....ok. I did a Pepsi challenge against Original Hofbrau and it's nowhere near a good Pilsner.

A+ for Marketing, C- for Product Quality

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I used to be a huge fan. Their Together We'll Rule the Galaxy with Blood Orange is still great, when they brew it. But yeah, it almost seems like they tried to expand too much, and everything just falls flat for me. I haven't been to the tap room since New Year's Eve, maybe...and I'm honestly not missing it, which sucks because I live like 3 minutes away from it.

I've been hitting Tighthead a lot for curbside pickups. Their Longsnapper IPA that they did with Pat Mannelly is terrific. Comfortably Blonde is one of my favorites, too. Their IPA's are good. The NE IPA just got canned again. They make a delicious Porter, too.

Also, Light the Lamp in Grayslake. Great beers, and a decent variety every time I've been in there. I saw they're starting to can some beers soon, too.

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Agreed. I've been going to the Lamp since they opened. They understand that you have a base of regular beers and you get weird IN ADDITION to that. Their Miracle Ale and Red Line are awesome.

Tighthead is more comparable to Only Child in terms of their tap room. I need to try the Longsnapper...sounds great. I like Irie....I like Scarlet Fire. Their Pitcher of nectar was awesome, but it kicked my ass at Hoptoberfest

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I had a growler of Longsnapper last week. I usually like to go down and grab a growler of Blonde and a couple of 4 packs...I was there later on Friday and they were out of the Longsnapper and Pitcher of NECtar in cans and tapped out of the pitcher, too.

I went to LTL the first time for my 40th last year. They had this sour...squishee #3, I think...Raspberry and blackberry. Delicious, and I don't usually like sours. That's the one I heard they're canning soon. But yeah, they have a solid base...the Miracle Ale is my favorite, but I like The Bitter End...midwest IPA and the Lite It isn't bad for a lighter beer. I may swing by Saturday to grab a couple of growlers if I have time...we are having a friend up for his 50th, and he really liked the brewery when we were there the last time.

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This place has opened their beer gardens- dogs and kids allowed in the back until 8pm, they have music some nights, food trucks on weekends, and a few more killer NEIPA offerings.

We plan to go there and have a few drinks and chill for a bit on Father's Day weekend.

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Just tried some Wrench NE IPA by Industrial Arts Brewing in Upstate New York.

Great beer. Lots of tropical notes, soft mouth feel, slightly funky. Absolutely crushable at 7.1%. If this stuff makes its way to the Chicago area, jump all over it.

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Had a Rapture from the Alchemist tonight, TM. Decent. Give it a bronze behind Heady then Focal.

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-- source

There is some really unfunny comedy on Netflix about two brothers in constant competition starting a microbrewery. It had a funny moment. They had a promotion called "take a growler, leave a growler". A bum took their bottle and then innocently took a dump at their front door.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Offset DIPA by Austin Street Brewery in Portland, Maine.

Excellent rendition of the NE IPA style--hazy, juicy (mango, grapefruit, pineapple), somewhat creamy with a soft mouthfeel. A bit of Mosaic funk. Surprisingly crushable at 9.1%. Highly recommended.

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I was in Niagara Falls last week for a wedding and had a couple of things I can't get around here...Juice Bomb by Sloop Brewing was delicious, Tiny Juice Monsters by Resurgence was, too.

We also went to the New York Craft Beer Project for dinner one night. Had their Hawiian IPA that I wasn't a big fan of...too much pineapple,

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Juice Bomb is really good and Sloop in general is a fantastic brewery.

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Haven't had that one yet. Might head to Waterbury-Stowe in a couple of weeks. I like their stuff quite a bit, but I generally prefer Hill Farmstead, River Roost, and Foam.

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Art History Brewing kicks ass.

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I spent a good portion of my weekend drinking on the patio at Deep City, the restaurant for Foam Brewing in Burlington, VT.

Foam has really hid its stride in the past 18 months or so. They're not trying to make the same kind of multi-layered, subtle IPAs you might find at Hill Farmstead or Fox Farm, instead going for the in-your-face juice bombs with an accompanying ridiculously soft mouthfeel. Perhaps this makes them less sophisticated than the aforementioned breweries, but they have mastered this "middlebrow" brewing genre and are making some fantastic beers right now. Everything I had this weekend was fantastic:

Built to Spill
Hoops
The Fruit That Ate Itself
Essential Hits
Pop Crime

Amazing beer in a cool setting just off Lake Champlain. Outstanding poutine and good burgers, too.

As I've said before, I highly recommend the Stowe-Waterbury-Burlington area for an offbeat winter or summer getaway if you're into top-tier craft beer (Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, Burlington Beer Company, Green Empire, Foam, Lawson's, River Roost, and Frost are all outstanding) skiing, hiking, cliff jumping into pristine swimming holes/gorges, quarry diving, biking/mountain biking, etc. Portland, Maine, gets far more attention as a premier New England dining-and-drinking destination, and it is indeed a very cool small city. But there's something uniquely mesmerizing about the laid back, drunken vibe of Burlington--and its striking natural landscape--that makes it such an enticing place.

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How does Hop Butcher stack up against Foam?

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I’ve been to Foam and get a few shipments of their stuff annually. I give HB the nod.

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-- source