Continuing the recap

So today I want to talk about some of the beers that I had while I was in Chicago. Each day I was there had a very different experiences with the brews.

When I first arrived, pretty much right away I headed to a German Brauhaus. This place was as authentic as they come. As it was so aptly put that day, "We got sour with some krauts." If this were a foodie blog I could tell you about the german potatoes, sauerkraut, knockwurst and brats that I had. But it's not. I'm more concerned with the other carbs I consumed that night.

Staying true to the locale, we started off with 1L sized mugs of German brew. The one I had was called 'BBK' by the server. I had no idea what that was.... so I ordered it. Turns out the official name is Binding Romer Pils. I think the best way to describe it is that of a typical German style pilsner. I really enjoyed it, but honestly don't remember too much detail of the way it tastes. Probably due to...

... the Das Boot that we ordered afterwards. I think that it was a Steigl, although it might have been a Spaten Oktoberfest. Either way, we downed that bad boy in no time because it was quite good. This place was serious with their Boots and took a credit card for deposit in case we broke it. [We didn't] I gotta say that was my first time drinking out of a boot that I ordered and it was quite a feat. I'll definitely have to do this again sometime. Especially if there is a yodeling competition going on at the same time.

The next day, being a Saturday, we had to find some place to watch college football. [Obviously] So after finding a place within walking distance of our hotel, we got right to it and ordered up some local brew. Goose Island is the Chicago based craft brewery that you can find every where. I was somewhat skeptical to dive into this brew because of their recent acquisition by A-B InBev. Essentially now they are just a brand owned by one of the Big 3. But alas, I wasn't gonna travel to a city and not try their hometown stuff.

I had two at this place, and wasn't overly impressed by them. First was the G.I. 312 Urban Wheat Ale. That's pronounced 'Three One Two' by the way. Don't make the mistake and call it 'three twelve'. There wasn't much in terms of flavor. Too watered down for my liking. Next was the Summertime seasonal brew. Again, very disappointed. I've been lucky enough to have a good number of summer seasonals that bring something refreshing to the table. This one did not.

Finally on Sunday, before the wedding, a group of us decided to head over to the Goose Island brewpub to see what else they have to dial up. We were short on time and decided to all get the Flights so we could sample 4 different brews. They had a wide assortment of styles, [that you can see here.] I took the descriptions of each that I had (except one that isn't listed) and copied them below. Overall I gotta say I was way more pleased with this selection, over the flagship brews they put out.

Uncle Dunkel - European Syle Dunkelbier - 4% abv
Rich mahogany color, biscuit aroma, milk chocolate flavor, light body

Daywalker IPA - India Pale Ale - 6.4% abv
Caramel color, mango aroma, Bulgarian pepper flavors, medium body
*Brewed with Bulgarian peppers from Leaning Shed Farms, Berrien Springs, IL

Peach Pundit - German Style Hefeweizen - 5.5% abv
Pale amber color, peach aroma, banana flavor, medium body

The last was called 'Weizenbock'. One of my favorites of the bunch, but I have no additional info on it.

Well that concludes the brews I had during my trip to Chicago. I'm gonna be heading back up in a couple weeks, so it's quite possible you'll see some other local brews here on CDR. Tomorrow I'll get caught up to speed on the beers I've had over the past 2-3 days. As always, stay tuned...