MISSION: IN SEARCH FOR THE BEST TAPPED BEER

THE BEER DRINKING SUDS OF FAME

Our Wild Shamrock drinking achievements

THE CHUCKS 12O

Conquered on 7-18-18

At Chucks Southern Comfort Cafe I got pounded with 120 different bottles of beer punched on their club card.

THE DIXIE HIGHWAY BREWERY TRAIL

CONQUERED ON 12-21-19

Completed the Dixie Highway brewery tour collecting a stamp from each of eight establishments. Last brewery on the list Blue Island.

THE DIXIE HIGHWAY BREWERY TRAIL (2ND TIME)

CONQUERED ON 8-16-20

The second time around the Dixie Highway Brewery, was way more difficult than the first. First obstacle was they replaced Vice Brewery with Thornton’s Distillery. Instead of easily hitting the same brewery twice close to the house to get the out of business Vice stamped, now you have to do another establishment. Then the shut down of all the Breweries during the pandemic left me only needing two stamps for the second completion of the Dixie Highway Brewery Trail. Nailed two on the same day this time, ending the trail at Rabid Brewing.

The Wild Shamrock All-Time Suds List

RANK	DATE HAD	BEER	STYLE	BREWED AT	TAPPED AT
1	4-17-21	Cherry Bomb Blonde	Fruit and Field Beer	Front Street Brewing	Front Street Brewing
2	6-9-18	Ghost River Golden Ale	Kolsch	Ghost River Brewing	Ghost River Brewing
3	4-7-18	Zombie Dust	American Pale Ale	Three Floyds	BJ McMahons
4	10-7-17	Space Station Middle Finger	American Pale Ale	Three Floyds	Deja Brew
5	8-15-17	Gum Ball Head	American Pale Wheat Ale	Three Floyds	Deja Brew
6	7-15-17	Oberon	Wheat	Bell’s	Brentwood Tavern
7	5-27-17	Star Chicken	American IPA	Greenbush	Greenbush
8	6-15-21	Highway Robbery	Blonde Ale	Hop Lot Brewing	Hop Lot Brewing
9	12-28-17	Casper	Gose	Jackalope	Jackalope
10	11-23-18	Kidnapped by Vikings	American Pale Ale	Solemn Oath Brewery	Crusade Burger Bar
11	8-7-21	Two Women	Lager Helles	New Glarus Brewing	Toffler’s Bar & Grill
12	9-21-19	Downtown Hottie	American Pale Wheat Ale	Evil Horse Brewing	Evil Horse Brewing
13	1-4-18	Hofbrau	Munich Helle Lager	Hofbrau Brewing	Hofbrau Brewing
14	5-10-19	Argus Lager	Red Lager	Argus Brewing	Argus Brewing
15	3-15-19	Argus Lager	Red Lager	Argus Brewing	Gilhooley’s
16	10-13-18	Pontius Pilate	American IPA	Beer Church Brewing	Beer Church Brewing
17	10-12-19	Traktor	Blonde Ale	Greenbush	Greenbush
18	2-16-19	Nuke the Whales	Farmhouse Pale Ale	Burn’Em Brewing	Burn ‘Em Brewing
19	5-18-24	Wolverine Premium Lager	American Lager	Wolverine State Brewing Company	Wolverine State Brewing Company
20	11-23-19	Freshly Squeezed	American IPA	Deschutes	The Stray Dog
21	12-12-20	Weed Wacker	Wheat Pale Ale	Arrowhead Brewing	Arrowhead Brewing
22	3-30-19	Daisy Cutter	West Coast Pale Ale	Half Acre Brewing	Public House
23	7-28-20	Solid Gold	Lager	Founders Brewery	The Mermaid Bar
24	11-15-19	Storm Cat	American Amber/Red Ale	One Trick Pony	One Trick Pony
25	10-16-19	Ghost Runner	West Coast Pale Ale	Soundgrowler Brewing	Soundgrowler Brewing
26	10-16-19	Grinder Punch	West Coast Pale Ale	Soundgrowler Brewing	Soundgrowler Brewing
27	6-27-20	Surf Garden West Coast IPA	West Coast IPA	Ghost Isle Brewing	Ghost Isle Brewing
28	6-6-21	Lug Wrench	American Pale Lager	Evil Horse Brewing	Evil Horse Brewing
29	2-10-24	Low Life	American Wheat Lager	Greenbush Brewing	Greenbush Brewing
30	5-18-24	3 On Three	Wheat IPA	Blue Tractor Brewing	Blue Tractor Brewing
31	2-3-24	Spruce Willis	Pale American Ale	Three Blondes Brewing	Three Blondes Brewing
32	1-20-24	Cold Shot	Lager	Horse Thief Hollow	Horse Thief Hollow
33	11-25-20	Rocket Surgery	New England IPA	Surly Brewing	Berger Station
34	11-23-18	The Old Firehouse Ale	American Cream Ale	Oswego Brewing Company	Oswego Brewing Company
35	8-6-21	Spotted Cow	Farmhouse Ale-Saison	New Glarus Brewing	Baumgartner’s
36	10-30-18	Speculator	Cream Ale	Open Outcry	Open Outcry
37	10-8-18	Hofbrau Oktoberfest	German Marzen/Oktoberfest	Hofbrau	The Stray Dog
38	4-13-24	Lite Thinking	American Pale Ale	Pollyanna Brewing	Pollyanna Social Club
39	6-12-18	Spacedust	American Double/Imperial IPA	Elysian Brewing	Chimes
40	11-28-20	Lexical Gap	American IPA	Pollyanna Brewing	Nick’s
41	2-4-18	Invasion	American Pale Ale	Cigar City Brewing	Wild Monk
42	6-26-20	Country Drag	Pale Ale	Greenbush	Greenbush
43	3-30-18	Lawn Mower Lager	American Pale Ale	Baderbrau	Baderbrau
44	12-29-17	Gerst Amber	Amber	Yazoo	55 South
45	5-6-17	Oberon	Wheat	Bell’s	Deja Brew
46	1-29-23	Light House Table Lager	Light Lager	Seedz Brewing	Seedz Brewing
47	5-14-22	Auto Blonde	Blonde Ale	93 Octane Brewing	Monk’s Pub
48	3-14-17	Zephyr Golden Lager	Lager	Flossmoor Station	Flossmoor Station
49	12-27-23	Mini Unicorn	American IPA	Pipe Works Brewing	Berger Stations
50	3-13-20	Light Hearted Ale	American IPA	Bell’s Brewing	Black Oak
51	11-27-19	Ridge Rider	American Pale Ale	Horse Thief Hollow	Horse Thief Hollow
52	12-10-21	Local’s Light	American Lager Light	Shorts Brewing	Villa Nova Pizzeria
53	9-16-23	Zombie Ice	Imperial IPA	3 Floyds	Thornton Distillery
54	12-3-22	Axeslinger	Amber Ale	Rabid Brewing	Rabid Brewing
55	6-12-18	Voodoo	American Pale Ale	Tin Roof Brewing	Manning’s
56	6-17-21	Toes in the Sand	American IPA	South Haven Brewing	South Haven Brewing
57	5-15-21	Hath No Fury	Helles Lager	Arrowhead Brewing	Arrowhead Brewing
58	11-9-19	Exit Strategy Pale Ale	American Pale Ale	Exit Strategy Brewing	Exit Strategy Brewing
59	11-21-19	Reverse Repo Rye	Rye Pale Ale	Open Outcry	Open Outcry
60	7-21-19	Yuengling	American Amber/Red Lager	Yuengling	The Tavern
61	5-19-18	Sun Crusher	American Pale Wheat Ale	Revolution	U.S. Cellular
62	7-15-17	Right Meow	American Pale Ale	Grand Rapids Brewing	Hopcat
63	12-28-17	Yazoo Pale Ale	American Pale Ale	Yazoo	Mellow Mushroom
64	7-30-17	Thunder Hop	IPA American	Church Brew Works	Church Brew Works
65	11-11-17	Chicago Pilsner	Czech Pilsner	Baderbrau	Baderbrau
66	5-13-17	Gandy Dancer Honey Ale	American Pale Ale	Flossmoor Station	Flossmoor Station
67	8-5-17	The Sharkman Cometh	American Pale Ale	Greenbush	Greenbush
68	7-29-17	Yuengling	American Amber/Red Lager	Yuengling	Pickleburgh Fest
69	4-29-17	Anti-Hero	American Pale Ale	Revolution	Jack Desmond’s
70	2-27-17	Pinball	American Pale Ale	Two Brothers	Deja Brew
71	12-9-17	Southside Pride	Munich Helles Lager	Baderbrau	Baderbrau
72	7-23-20	Round Barn Kolsch	Kolsch	Round Barn Brewing	Featherbone Tavern
73	10-8-17	Crooked Cross	Cream Ale	Beer Church Brewing Company	Beer Church Brewing Company
74	11-25-18	Vacation	American Pale Wheat Ale	Round Barn Brewing	Round Barn Brewing
75	7-14-18	Beer Church Lager	Lager	Beer Church Brewing Company	Beer Church Brewing Company
76	6-12-18	Bird Bath	American Pale Ale	Wayward Owl	Chimes
77	6-10-18	Swamp Thing	IPA	Bayou Teche	Dat Dog
78	4-28-19	End All	New England IPA	Solemn Oath	The Girl and the Goat
79	8-1-19	Spike Driver	IPA	Twisted Rail Brewing	Twisted Rail Brewing
80	8-7-19	Hamm’s	American Adjunct Lager	Hamm’s Brewing	BJ McMahons
81	12-29-23	Narragansett	American Lager	Providence Brewing Company	Zorn Brewing Company
82	6-23-24	Buzz Lite Beer	Honey Golden Ale	Imperial Oak Brewing	Imperial Oak Brewing
83	12-27-17	Neck Hole American Lager	American Pale Ale	Against the Grain	Against the Grain
84	11-28-20	Basement Party	American Lager	Temperance Beer Co.	Three Corners
85	6-17-21	Golden Spike	German Pilsner	The Filling Station	The Filling Station
86	5-9-20	Station Master Wheat Ale	American Pale Wheat	Flossmoor Station	Flossmoor Station
87	6-18-19	New Buffalo Pilsner	Pilsner	Ghost Isle	Ghost Isle
88	6-24-17	Full Lemonty	American Blonde Ale	Pollyanna	Pollyanna
89	4-27-17	Harp	Euro Pale Ale	Guinness	Clancy’s
90	3-5-17	Zyweic	Euro Pale Ale	Zyweic	Flo & Santo’s
91	8-2-17	Iron City	American Lager	Pittsburgh Brewing Company	PNC
92	4-12-23	Flight Path	Pale Lager	Short Fuse Brewing	Sebastian’s Ale & Whiskey House
93	4-8-23	Flipside Lager	Lager	Flipside Brewing	Flipside Brewing
94	3-17-17	Guinness	Irish Stout	Guinness	Deja Brew
95	1-20-23	Ideate	IPA	Open Outcry	Open Outcry
96	10-5-19	Wytch Racer	Pale Ale	Rabid Brewing	Rabid Brewing
97	6-18-19	Peach Bum Blonde	American Blonde Ale	Ghost Isle	Ghost Isle
98	12-11-19	Just a Crush	Pale Ale	Flossmoor Station	Flossmoor Station
99	4-27-19	Son of a Juice	American IPA	Maplewood	The Brass Tap
100	11-10-18	Flossmoor Station Oktoberfest	German Marzen	Flossmoor Station	Flossmoor Station
101	3-25-17	Kitchen Sink	Pale Ale	Horse Thief	Horse Thief
102	12-2-17	Alaskan IPA	IPA	Alaskan Brewing Co.	Black Oak
103	9-26-20	Galactic Wheat	American Pale Wheat	Brothership Brewing	Brothership Brewing
104	2-16-19	Golden Grain	Cream Ale	Zorn Brewing	Zorn Brewing
105	9-16-23	Busia Rose	Polish Pilsner	One Trick Pony	One Trick Pony
106	10-28-23	Miller High Life	American Lager	Miller Brewing Company	Dakota Inn
107	11-28-20	Carlsburg	Lager/European Pale	Carlsberg Brewing	Hughie McClafferty’s
108	6-27-20	Hop Field	Farmhouse IPA	Brewery Vivant	Bentwood Tavern
109	3-14-20	Wonderbrew Pre-Prohibition	American Lager	People’s Brewing	Wonderburger
110	10-7-18	Greenbush Oktoberfest	German Marzen	Greenbush	Greenbush
111	9-29-18	Das Boot Oktoberfest	German Marzen	Imperial Oak Brewing	Imperial Oak Brewing
112	10-28-18	Leinenkugel Oktoberfest	German Marzen	Leinenkugel	Firewater Saloon
113	5-15-23	Moon Man	American Pale Ale	New Glarus Brewing	Brix
114	6-12-18	Andy Gator	Maibock Helles	Abita	Abita
115	6-11-18	Ragin’ Cajun	Kolsch	Bayou Teche	Jimani
116	6-22-19	Lotus	American Wheat	Rabid Brewing	Rabid Brewing
117	12-29-18	Five Bridges	Kolsch	Blue Island Brewing	Blue Island Brewing
118	10-27-18	Goose Island Oktoberfest	German Marzen	Goose Island	Konow’s Corn Maze
119	9-23-18	Great Lakes Oktoberfest	German Marzen	Great Lakes Brewing	Three Corners
120	6-13-18	Red Stallion	Vienna Lager	Crescent City	Crescent City
121	6-12-18	The Big Easy	American IPA	Abita	Abita
122	6-12-18	Golden Export	Dortmunder/Export Lager	Gordon Biersch	Gordon Biersch
123	12-30-17	Action Comics Pale Ale	Pale Ale	New Albanian	New Albanian
124	11-25-17	Center Line	American Blonde Ale	Alter Brewing	Trio Restaurant
125	10-27-17	Old Style	American Lager	Pabst Blue Ribbon	BJ McMahons
126	6-16-21	LaBatt Blue	Lager	LaBatt Blue Brewing	Mulligans
127	8-1-17	Iron City Light	Light American Lager	Pittsburgh Brewing Company	Luke Wholey’s
128	10-11-18	Pipe Works Oktoberfest	German Marzen	Pipe Works	The Wild Monk
129	10-7-18	Samuel Adams Oktoberfest	German Marzen	Boston Beer Company	Skip’s New Buffalo
130	2-25-22	Disco Infiltrator	Hazy Pale Ale	Horse Thief Hollow	Horse Thief Hollow
131	2-15-22	Orange Haze	Hazy West Coast IPA	Soundgrowler	Soundgrowler
132	2-4-22	Foggy Orchard	Apple Wheat	Three Blondes Brewing	Three Blondes Brewing
133	11-25-18	Barley Fife	English Stout	Round Barn Brewing	Round Barn Brewing
134	3-25-17	Purple Cow	Stout	Horse Thief	Horse Thief
135	6-18-19	Swamp Dust	German Schwarzbier	Ghost Isle	Ghost Isle
136	10-7-23	Ichabod	Pumpkin Ale	New Holland Brewing	Union Pier Social
137	12-21-19	Once	American Pale Ale with Tamarind	Blue Island Brewery	Blue Island Brewery
138	2-5-22	Busch	Lager	Anheuser-Busch	Black River Tavern
139	6-11-18	Abita Amber	Vienna Lager	Abita Brewing	Steamboat Natchez
140	12-28-17	Saffron IPA	IPA	Mantra Artisan Ales	Mantra Artisan Ales
141	7-31-17	Straub	American Lager	Straub	Hotel Loyal
142	12-28-17	Hot Yoga	Witbier	Mantra Artisan Ales	Mantra Artisan Ales
143	12-30-17	Hacksaw Jim Dunkel	Bavarian Dunkel	New Albanian	New Albanian
144	6-13-18	Paradise Park	American Pale Lager	Urban South	Tujagues
145	12-28-17	Battleground	Saison/Farmhouse	Mantra Artisan Ales	Mantra Artisan Ales

THE 2024 BEER LIST

RANK	DATE HAD	BEER	STYLE	BREWED AT	TAPPED AT
1	5-18-24	Wolverine Premium Lager	American Lager	Wolverine State Brewing Company	Wolverine State Brewing Company
2	2-9-24	Low Life	American Wheat Lager	Greenbush Brewing	Greenbush Brewing
3	5-18-24	3 On Three	Wheat IPA	Blue Tractor Brewing	Blue Tractor Brewing
4	2-3-24	Spruce Willis	Pale Ale American	Three Blondes Brewing	Three Blondes Brewing
5	1-20-24	Cold Shot	Lager	Horse Thief Hollow	Horse Thief Hollow
6	4-13-24	Lite Thinking	American Lager	Pollyanna Brewing	Pollyanna Social Club
7	6-23-24	Buzz Lite Beer	Honey Golden Ale	Imperial Oak Brewing	Imperial Oak Brewing

THE 2023 BEER LIST

RANK	DATE HAD	BEER	STYLE	BREWED AT	TAPPED AT
1	12-29-23	Light House Table Lager	Light Lager	Seedz Brewing	Seedz Brewing
2	12-27-23	Mini Unicorn	American IPA	Pipe Works Brewing	Berger Station
3	9-16-23	Zombie Ice	Imperial IPA	3 Floyds	Thornton Distilling
4	12-29-23	Narragansett	American Lager	Providence Brewing Company	Zorn Brewing Company
5	4-12-23	Flight Path	Pale Lager	Short Fuse Brewing	Sebastian’s Ale & Whiskey House
6	4-8-23	Flipside Lager	Lager	Flipside Brewing	Flipside Brewing
7	1-20-23	Ideate	IPA	Open Outcry	Open Outcry
8	9-16-23	Busia Rose	Polish Pilsner	One Trick Pony	One Trick Pony
9	10-28-23	Miller High Life	American Lager	Miller Brewing Company	Dakota Inn
10	5-15-23	Moon Man	American Pale Ale	New Glarus Brewing	Brix
11	10-7-23	Ichabod	Pumpkin Ale	New Holland Brewing	Union Pier Social

Being from the Chicagoland area, we always want to get away from the big city life. Perhaps just the plain ole burbs. The go-to place is Harbor Country in the state of Michigan. In Union Pier, we discovered this little brewery tucked away off the Red Arrow Highway called Seedz. Right before the new year, we stopped in to indulge in few beers. It was not our first rodeo there, but a place I’ve been meaning to blog about for some time now. It was right after Christmas and the brewery had been well-decorated for the holidays.

The Seedz tap room had some improvements, as they used one wall with a projecter and had one of the College Football Bowl games on. The owner of this establishment has ties to the Chicagoland area as he was right in my back yard going to St. Xavier University, playing football there.

I’m sure Ryan Ziarko had plenty of Cougar burgers at the local watering hole, Gillhooley’s, right across the street from the University. Playing football was not what this brew master was destined to do. He found during his college days with studies and playing football, he also brewed beers in his cousin’s basement. Then after his college days, he worked at Burn ‘Em Brewing in Michigan City to learn more about the brewing process until he was ready to become the Jedi Master of the brewing world in Harbor Country. He purchased an old restaurant which supported a Tiki Bar. I’m sold right there. The pandemic delayed his opening to the public in 2020. Ryan just fine-tuned his beers and set up the brewery tap room in Union Pier, Michigan to his liking. Not very far from where he was raised in New Buffalo, Michigan as he returned home to do what he likes. He makes small batches of beer and obviously indulges in these amazing creations.

Seedz Brewing makes Belgian and German style beers. The brewery uses local farms for all the fresh ingredients. I like that they brew their beers and small batches. Each pour looks like a Lemon Meringue Pie with the frothy foam piled up high on the mug.

NAME: LIGHT HOUSE TABLE LAGER

ABV: 3.5%

STYLE: LIGHT LAGER

BREWED BY: SEEDZ

The light bright golden straw color has a mountain of frothy snow on top of the mug. The aroma has a fresh citrus scent to it. This light-drinking beverage, is not just watered beer, like Bud Light, Miller Lite, or Coors Light. This has that domestic lager taste like those beers your own daddy used to drink. Not the taste of can or corn. It has a sweeter taste to it and is very refreshing at the same time. Not too sweet. It has very low in octane, so this can be a game day beer you can guzzle all day long.

The place is dog friendly from the K-9s that were present. I love the picture of the dog drinking a mug of beer on the wall. Seedz does not serve food. When the weather warms up, they have a nice patio for enjoying the fresh country air while drinking a nice beverage outside. The service is always awesome & friendly as they will bring you the order and find you wherever you sit.

I love some of the names that Seedz has for some of their beers, like the Shark Pil’s and Smokey the Beer. I will make it a mission to blog more Seedz beers in 2024. I really loved the Light House Table Lager as I have that at number 1 for the 2023 calendar year. It cracks my top 40 on the Big Suds list coming in right at number 40.

It’s shark week when we blog the famous beer that was drunk in that thriller shark movie, Jaws, in 1975. I have drank Narragansett beer before, but I only found it in cans out of state. It was the beer the character Captain Quint, the shark hunter, crushed after he finished the American Lager. Narragansett is a beer that goes back to the 1890’s. It’s also a beer that has been purchased and in multiple hands, besides consumers. In 1965, Narragansett was purchased by another blast from the past, Falstaff Brewing. The beer originally was brewed in Rhode Island and a popular beer in the New England area. Falstaff was brewing Narragansett in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Now the great Narragansett is owned by a Providence Brewing but brewed by Genesee Brewing which is in Rochester, New York. It made its way back to the New England area for Boston fans to enjoy when they watch their Sox. I found the beer in the devil’s playground, one of the oldest breweries in the state of Indiana called Zorn Brewing. It was a guest tap of the multiple beers they make on the grounds of Michigan City, Indiana.

Zorn Brewing is a place I like to hit before or after going in and out of the state of Michigan. I have made about a dozen stops there over the years as we have one of their beers blogged. The cream Ale they make is number 95 coming into today’s action. They call it Golden Grain and is usually slotted as the number 1 selection on the brewery’s menu. I love many of their beers and I will get more of them blogged in the future. I saw Narragansett and I had to indulge because if you don’t live on the east coast, most likely you are not ever seeing this beer tapped. I have a soft spot for lager beers. They are the beers your daddy and my pops would drink after a hard day’s work. My dad, named Stan, liked no fruit in his beer. Not a craft beer guy. He would indulge in domestics. He would often buy beer on sale as well. I still scratch my head when I remember the past, seeing Colt 45 in the garage only once. Sale or someone gave that to him. Free beer!!! If we lived on the east coast, Narragansett would be his choice and maybe mine.

NAME: NARRAGANSETT

ABV: 5%

STYLE: AMERICAN LAGER

BREWED BY: PROVIDENCE BREWING COMPANY

The Narragansett pours a nice clear golden color with white fluffy cotton looking foam around the perimeter of the pint glass. The aroma is bready, with corn and just a hint of floral hops maybe. The first sip, I can taste the sweet malts, little bready, some grassy hints, a zest of lemon. It’s a light refreshing beer when it goes down the hatch. This is a very easy beer to drink. I love it out of tap being ice cold. This is a beer you drink outside. This is a good cooler beer grabbing it out of the ice. Obviously a good game beer. Only 5% means all day all night for you marathon runners.

Besides the beer at Zorn Brewing, the food is amazing. This mac and cheese is award winning which they make out of their Golden Grain beer. You can add some proteins inside this cheese extravaganza as I went with spicy links. They have pizza and dessert pizza which will put you in a food coma. The menu overall has a nice selection of sandwiches and much more to make anyone you bring a happy camper. This go around I did not sit at the bar. Those stools they have are clouds your sitting with great back support.

The place was nicely decorated for the Holidays. The brewery also has a huge beer garden. I call that part the Devils play ground because they have a huge altar style bar in back where you can have your celebrations and sacrifices if you need to. They have a beer called Red Devil as well. The beer garden is definitely on the list to spend some time there next summer to soak it in. The bands that do play there may be worth checking out. They have seating and bags outside known as corn hole to most people.

Narragansett I have coming in number three for 2023. Then on the Big Suds list, Narragansett proves it still has some teeth as I have it in my top 75 at 74. The old slogan at Narragansett is, “Hi neighbor have a Gansett.” Now that’s my kind of neighborhood watch program.

Officially it’s the last call at Berger Station, a little gourmet burger bar closing its doors after 5 years in business. It came out of nowhere as Berger Station’s owners decided not renew the lease and call it on the spur of the moment to end their run. The establishment in Chicago Ridge ,Illinois left it all on top of the bar with flaming drinks along with their award-winning tasting burgers.

Berger Station was featured locally on the superstation of WGN on a show called Chicago’s Best where they’d go all over the city and burbs finding the best food. We found out the bad news on Facebook, which did come in handy getting the news, so we have one more round and burger with them. The Berger Station is all about craft beer besides the craft burgers and other delights on the food menus. The Berger Station had over 20 beers, lots local, on tap. For those friends that like light water from Miller or Coors, they have bottles of domestics and other interesting choices. They obviously dabble in the cocktails. This was not our first rodeo at the Berger Station. We have blogged one beer previously there.

PREVIOUS BEER BLOGGED: #28 Rocket Surgery, Surly Brewing

NAME: MINI UNICORN

ABV: 5%

STYLE: AMERICAN IPA

BREWED BY PIPE WORKS BREWING

I went with a local beer called Mini Unicorn that is made right in Chicago at Pipe Works Brewing. Pipe Works Brewing known for all the cool labels on their cans and bottles. We have blogged one of their beers, the Pipe Works Oktoberfest, and that came into action 118th on the big beer suds list. Mini Unicorn was better. The Mini Unicorn pours a honey golden color with little soap suds around the dish of the perimeter of the pint glass. The aroma is floral hops and some grassy hints of mother nature. The taste is a combination of bready, floral, and grassy with fruit flavoring like lemon and overall some sweetness. Each sip was smooth and thirst quenching. The Mini Unicorn is light bodied with good carbonation which makes it an easy drinkable beer.

Many people, like myself, heard the place was closing so the Berger Station was crowded. The staff did well but seemed overwhelmed at the same time. You wonder why a place like this would close as the Flaming Moe style of drink should attract a crowd by itself. The kitchen made other great food beside the burger menu. The establishment used to be a rowdy style of bar with a bad element. The bar is huge. Lots of room for slots and many tables. Great place to watch the games. The bathrooms are clean. The service is good as you recognize people that have worked there coming in. I was not a regular which you think of some of these places and wonder why I’m not. Anyone can play Monday morning quarterback. It is tough to run any type of business nowadays for a variety of reasons. It’s hard work. It takes all your time. This stuff happens. Everyone has a list of their favorite watering holes that are now gone. Where were all these people for the last five years? I blame myself as well. Even though I was there a few times recently to end the year. We say, “Farewell,” to Berger station!! Hopefully something good takes over the space that does not bring the riffraff back to the neighborhood.

As for the Mini Unicorn from Pipe Works brewing, it’s definitely better than their Oktoberfest. I liked the fake mini horse flying in the number one spot late in the 2023 year. I have it in my top 50 beers as well coming in at number 42.

Have you ever watched the show on Food Network, Diners, Drive In’s and Dives? The further off the beaten path, the better food they have. In present times gasoline prices soaring. Your typical large pizza with one ingredient can burn a hole through your wallet. If you’re lucky if you can find a hole in the wall tavern with great food and cheap beer. A good time will not bleed your bank account. A typical dive bar is actually a great place to have a good time. I don’t get to this particular bar often enough, that is not very far away from the home but is two towns over. It’s the Dakota Inn located in Alsip, Illinois – a south suburb in Chicago home of the Big Clown burger.

One pound of meat on the clown burger for only 17 bucks. More on that purchase a little later. The Dakota Inn reminds of those dives out in the middle of nowhere. One of those many taverns in the state of Wisconsin. If this was a ski resort, the Dakota Inn would fit right in. It’s a bar that is small on the inside. The tables are right up on the slot machines, so you would know who’s raking in the dough. I compare this place to a mom and pop operation as it’s family owned and they make all the food fresh and from scratch. Inside it’s a time wrap of the past. The workers welcome everyone with open arms. If you’re new, you feel like you have found long distance relatives you are catching up with as you’re in town for the weekend or something to that effect. They have bottled beer. They have a few beers on tap as we will go there in a minute.

In the summer the Dakota Inn has a bigger beer garden than the inside. The bathroom is a one man canoe with just a toilet and sink. The wood throughout the establishment is probably mostly original, especially the L-shape bar. The draft beer, I found a cold lager on tap. All these dives have a beer that is domestic something that your daddy would have drank or still does. I went with the champagne of beers, the High Life from Miller.

We will change that line from the movie Kindergarten cop which will be rephrased to what your daddy drinks. Here’s a list of past lagers blogged and how they have done.

PREVIOUS DADDY BEERS: #52 Yuengling, #72. Hamm’s. #81. Iron City, #114. Old Style, #115. LaBatt Blue, #116. Iron City Light, #127. Busch…..

NAME: MILLER HIGH LIFE

ABV: 4.6%

STYLE: AMERICAN LAGER

BREWED BY: MILLER BREWING

Miller High Life pours a yellowish barn hay color with a nice thick head of foam. They call it the champagne of beer because you can see the carbonation bubbles inside the pint glass. The aroma of this daddy beer has a hint of grassy notes with sweet corn. The taste is like it smells of sweet corn and grassy hints with a little more sweetness than other lager beers. When the High Life is cold, this is a beer that can be drank all day all night during a marathon of games. I’ve always liked the High Life in a bottle over cans, especially from a cooler of ice. I have not seen Miller High Life at bars from the tap very often. It was cheap. It was cold and hit the spot on my excellent weekend adventure.

Was I living the dream in this Miller High Life commercial I was in?

Look at that home made chicken. Like your parents or aunt would make back in the day. The Mac bites were amazing. The beef tacos are my jam. The french fries were outstanding. This visit was on a Saturday so I took the Big Clown home in a to go order for the NFL games on Sunday. It took me three meals to finish that burger. For several hours of fun, the bill was like 60 bucks – that included three meals, an app, and multiple beers out of the tap for two people. That is the High Life. The place was well decorated for Halloween. The bar keep and the staff there were very nice. It was not very crowded as the locals are always friendly with some nice banter going back and forth. I have to get the Dakota Inn in my regular schedule.

I have the Miller High Life in my top 100 beers on tap. It comes in at 96 on the big beer suds list. This year I have it number six on the Richter scale.

It was a Saturday afternoon and we swung by the One Trick Pony Brewing for a beer and a dog.

One Trick Brewing, located in Lansing, Illinois, is no stranger to having their pets walk around the brewery as they still have two cats living there. That would be a dream come true for most beer drinkers. The Wiener dog was the bartender’s dog. Bring your dog to work day is better than bring your kids to a brewery day.

One Trick Pony is a small operation and it’s like visiting your friend’s man cave. When you walk in, you see the bar, some tables, and the nostalgic collectibles displayed. One Trick Pony has a horse in their logo and they have over 100 growlers displayed. I took a few pictures of the horse themed growlers and others throughout the tap room. Some of these growlers are from breweries that are long gone.

One Trick Pony has about twelve taps, so a pretty good selection for a small brewery. Each tap handle is a horse shoe. The bar has a few seats to belly up to. I really like the subway tiles in front of the bar. We came in as a group so we took a table.

NOT OUR FIRST RODEO

Not our first visit to the One Trick Brewing. We have blogged one of their beers which is still ranked in the top 25. STORM CAT #23. American Amber/Red Ale

On this trip, our entire crew went with a Polish Pilsner.

NAME: BUSIA ROSE

ABV:4.6

STYLE: POLISH PILSNER

BREWED BY: ONE TRICK PONY

This Polish Pilsner pours an amber rose color if that is an actual color in the crayon box these days.The pour leaves a mild white cloud of foam around the perimeter of the pint glass. The aroma is bread-based. The description of this Pils is dry, bready, & earthy, with lots of noble hops on the finish. The first sip was crisp, slight funky had some sweet breadiness to it that made this enjoyable beer. I would compare it to wheat beer, which I love. This is a type of beer you could drink all day as its ABV is in the 4’s. I had more than one as the One Trick Pony was just the pregame for this Saturday of fun times.

On this visit I completed the Dixie Highway tour for the third time. The goal of the Dixie Highway Tour is to get a stamp at the 8 breweries to complete the passport. Like a submarine sandwich punch card. You have to order at least one drink on each visit to get the stamp. I of course did extra credit and had more than one beverage at each stop.

One Trick Pony is a nice place to stop in to have a few pints. They also have an outside little patio where you can enjoy the weather outside while indulging on nice craft beer.

You’re not watching a game here. They do not have food except for some snacks. I love the patrons who are very nice people. I love the hospitality as the service makes you feel like you are at your friend’s house drinking and chilling. I love the animals who are very friendly. It’s like a small petting zoo while you drink. The Busia Rose I hope is a staple there as many of the One Trick Pony beers are mostly up there in ABV. This Polish Pils is manageable, which since we have a few other places we are going to, makes a difference. The Busia Rose did not do better than the first beer we blogged at One Trick Pony, the Storm Cat. I have it in my top 100 at number 95 on the Big Suds List. I also have it in the number 5 slot of the 2023 beer rankings.

When it comes to Fall-type beers, set me up with an October Fest style beer any day. Not that I’m anti pumpkin beers which are an acquired taste. Most pumpkin type of beers I’m certainly one and done. I was at one of my favorite watering holes in the state of Michigan, and I saw a familiar pumpkin beer on tap that I had in the past. Ichabod from New Holland Brewing which is a Michigan brewery in the town of course, of New Holland. I was not at the brewery so I could not get the pumpkin ale straight from the cow, but I got my taste from a few farms over in Union Pier. I will tell you many of the pumpkin beer labels are some of the coolest of all time.

In Michigan, I love bellying up to any little tavern, pub, or drinking establishment in one of those small towns along Lake Michigan. In a little town called Union Pier, their is a nice establishment called Union Pier Social. The Union Pier Social is newer as it opened up in the last few years but has been in the regular routine of places I have to visit when I go to my happy place in the state of Michigan.

The Union Pier Social has everything I like as the establishment in my mind dots its I’s and crosses its T’s. The place offers food, beverages, and live music. The atmosphere is laid back and has patrons that want to chill and enjoy life at the moment. The bar offers like ten choices of beers on tap. That makes me hot. The bartender could whip up some interesting cocktails as well great service provided. The food is amazing.

The Union Pier offers a variety of options on their food menu from burgers to sandwiches, dinner entrees, tasty appetizers, and they have pizza which I went with. I went spicy with one of their specialty pizzas called the Italian. It had Italian sausage, pepperoni, and jardiniere. A spicy combination as well as a tasty one.

NAME: ICHABOD

ABV: 4.5%

STYLE: PUMPKIN BEER

BREWED BY: NEW HOLLAND BREWING

The Ichabod pours an orangish amber color with a thick head of foam on top. The aroma is pumpkin with a hint of cinnamon. The first sip sends a shock wave to your system. The thinking is… ‘Why did I order this and am I going to able to finish it?’ This is definitely a one and done beer. The Ichabod grows on you with additional sips. It has a pumpkin flavor with spices, hints of clove and ginger. It’s hoppy. The aftertaste is bready with a lingering cinnamon taste along with spices. The Ichabod has that IPA feeling, but it’s not your best one. It’s not the worst pumpkin beer but not the best either. That evening it was one and done as I went with the other choices at the Union Pier Social.

The Union Pier Social is a place you can just drink at. Some of these drinking establishments with food can be more about turning over the table or bar stools for the next person. The bar area had some televisions as it was a Saturday fall late afternoon/early evening of college football on the boob tube. I did like the fact that the place is open later than most places in town and surrounding towns. It’s a nice choice if you get into town in the late afternoon or early evening.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS

The Ichabod pumpkin beer is seasonal. I may miss it a few years in a row as this beer is not a must drink every year. I have it coming in at number six on the 2023 beer list. I have it ranked at the bottom of the big suds list at number 124, as it did have the edge over some of the past tap beers that were just okay.

The town of Thornton, Illinois is a very unique town to have a beer in. The population is over 2,000 people so it is a small town in the south suburbs of Chicago, but is home to one of the largest rock quarries in the entire world. Thornton was founded in 1834 and has some interesting history. The Rock Quarry you might not even know exists unless you drove past above it on the highway. The town has a little downtown area with a barber shop, gas station, and one of the best hot dog places around called Bozo’s.

Bozo’s once upon a time ago were all over the map in the state of Illinois, but very few of them exist today. It’s actually called Boz not Bozo, as the smiley face little girl is not an O but part of their logo. The town has trucks filled with rocks or limestone coming in and out of it all day long. It’s a blue collar town with some rich history of gangsters probably during the Prohibition ERA with mob boss Al Capone who had places outside the city of Chicago in these Cook County ‘burbs.

These gangster photos were all over the walls like a museum at the town’s distillery which is called Thornton Distillery. This is the place where I had some great food at the bar and they have a nice sized tap beer menu they offer with all their award winning spirits that they make on the property. This is the place to get your drink on. This is the night life in Thornton, Illinois. Not a bad option as every town needs a cool place to relax and enjoy some time away from the job.

When it comes to the town of Thornton, you think the Quarry would have stories or mystery of somebody or the gangsters back in the day ditching bodies. They’ve probably been found after the years of digging and all the caves that have been mined. I instantly thought of a way to get rid of a hoard of zombies by pushing them all into the quarry with one of those big yellow Tonka machines, a dump truck bulldozer if you get my point. The series, The Walking Dead, would inspire an interesting conversation with a group of friends who would discuss… Where would you go during a zombie apocalypse? Maybe the Quarry in Thornton as I thought this drinking a new 3 Floyd’s beer I never had called Zombie Ice. I chose it as I did love Zombie Dust, also created by 3 Floyd’s in Munster, Indiana.

THREE FLOYD’S BEERS OF THE PAST

Three Floyd beers have done well in the past that I have blogged. All three that I did are in my top ten. I have Zombie Dust at #3., Space Station Middle Finger at #4. and Gum Ball head at #5.

NAME: ZOMBIE ICE

ABV: 8.5%

STYLE: IMPERIAL IPA

BREWED BY: 3 FLOYD’S BREWING

The Thornton’s distillery chooses a nice tulip style glass for the Zombie Ice which has that orange haziness of the sunset after a day of battles on the warfront. Like I would know that, it just has the feeling. The guy across my lovely tulip glass of beer with some high octane is the great Party Marty with his New Orleans Buffa’s shirt, a place he stalks online to re-soak-up the memories of his vacation in the big easy. The aroma test of this bad ass beer has notes of grapefruit along with a citrus smell of this Imperial IPA. The taste is like the nose: grapefruit, & citrus with some sweetness. It also has hints of breadiness from the toasted malts. It has modern carbonation, an easy beer to drink even though it has that booziness mixed in each mouthful and leaves a little tint of bitter aftertaste. These Zombie Ice don’t taste like Ice House or any of those crazy times during the 90’s where Ice style beers took control of the beer market.

Inside Thornton’s is a very log cabin style with all the wood and the animal head looking over all the patrons. When you go to the rest rooms, it’s like a museum with the history of the distillery about which they offer tours on site. They also sell their bottled spirits on site which are pricey, but I had to get two bottles of their best bourbon. We did not belly up to the bar as we had a booth right across from the bar which was made out of stone. They had another room that was being used on this night for one of their events as that room is spacious and has plenty of seating. Thornton’s Distillery will have lots of weekends with live music.

The Thornton’s food menu is not that deep. The items that they do have are magnificent. If you like tacos this is the place for you. I went with the big bowl of chili and it was not a disappointment. I enjoyed the atmosphere & it seemed like all the patrons in the bar area were enjoying themselves. I like it being a distillery that they had great beers tapped, not just spirits as I prefer the suds over the hard stuff. The bar has all kinds of their signature cocktails they offer of which some were served at the table I was sitting at. I have only been to Thornton’s Distillery a handful of times. It’s a nice change up, and if closer I would different swing by often.

Outside, I love the old truck on the grounds. It takes you back to the past of prohibition and the Tommy Gun. I would not like to be fired at by a gangster weapon or in a drive by by the modern wannabe gangsters these days. Outside, the building fits in perfectly with the town of Thornton which has the gaping hole in their grounds on the outskirts of town. For my zombie idea, we will have to store that away to be taken out if dark times come upon us. For the Zombie Ice, I have it as my best right now in 2023. Zombie Ice does crack the top 50 on my big suds list. It did not have enough to compete with the three 3 Floyd’s beers I have in the top ten. Don’t get me wrong, I would drink the Zombie Ice not regularly, but it would be one those beers to sip on after a long day at the Quarry. Zombie Ice drops dead right at the 45th slot of the big suds list.

Have you ever been to that town that is stuck in a time warp? It’s a town that seems to stay the same as if time has passed them by. The architecture of the town still the same as the day it was built. The music selection makes you feel like reestablishing your mullet hair style while you cruise town in your Iroc Camaro. This while wearing a tank top and aviator glasses & maybe smoking some cowboy killers. It’s still great music, but the songs you hear over and over were stuff you have not heard in a very long time. It reminds you of another time, like when the Boss created the song Glory Days. Maybe it makes you feel ten years younger. Maybe it does not. This town is located in the state of Wisconsin. Outside Green Bay in Packerland is a town called Manitowoc. If you can get by the Packers nonsense some of these bars and the people of Wisconsin are nice people with some great conversation they have to offer. One thing Wisconsin has and Illinois does not, is New Glarus beers. No other state has New Glarus beers except Wisconsin. It was a business trip and on my own time I was walking downtown Manitowoc and came across the court house.

What kind of crimes go down in this court house? Billy Bob’s third infraction for cow tipping? Let’s remember the world is a vampire and Jeffrey Dahmer hailed from Milwaukee. My thoughts were interrupted when I came across this modern looking establishment set in a Manitowoc original building.

It was lunch time and the guy at the run down motel which I was staying at made me feel like one of those people running away from the law. Along the escape route hiding out in a line of flea bags across the states. He told me Brix, spelled not like a brick, had very good burgers and tap beer. SOLD AMERICAN!! I opened up the door and bellied up to the bar as the place was dead with just a few patrons scattered throughout. It was in the middle of the week, but I felt like I landed on the moon in Manitoc, Wisconsin. I noticed they had Moon Man on tap as I felt at this time one gigantic step for my own self kind.

HERE’S THE STORY

Before Brix, the place used to be a Hardware store called Huchthauen Hardware store, and I’m guessing they sold nails and cheese. The building used to house Studio 8/ Rockin’ Blues House. What happened to the studios 1 through 7? The building went up for sale and resident Brandon Barton, who owns a construction company named Barton Builders, restored the old building to its original state with some modern touches. Not sure if Barton owns Brix or rents it out as the place opened right in the middle of the Covid Virus in 2020. Good business plan. However they executed it and are still around.

NEW GLARUS BEERS OF THE PAST

Coming in I have blogged about two previous New Glarus beers. I had Two Women. Not at the same time. I may have had more than two in one sitting. TWO WOMEN: ranked #11. on the big list of draft suds. Then Cow tipping, I have SPOTTED COW: ranked #30. Two of New Glarus’ beers in my top 30 so far.

NAME: MOON MAN NO COAST PALE ALE

ABV % 5

STYLE: AMERICAN PALE ALE

BREWED BY: NEW GLARUS BREWING COMPANY

Each pint glass at Brix had a message from a technical college. What does a technical college do in the state of Wisconsin? I’ll let you answer that your own way. The pour of the Moon Man is a nice darker gold color with two fingers length of head around the perimeter of the pint glass. You notice good carbonation behind the paragraph from the technical college. It’s a Pale Ale so the aroma I’m sensing is fruity. The taste has a mixed pallete in my mouth as it has sweetness, fruit and a bready taste as the carbonation makes this Pale Ale an easy drinking beer. It seems to finish more as a lager than a Pale Ale. Some people say the Moon Man is the best New Glarus beer in the refrigerator. I disagree.

I love the food in Wisconsin because they come up with some amazing stuff with their cheese. I feel like you gain a few pounds after a few days in the Dairyland. I went with the Brix and Mortar burger, and it was to die for. The meat was maybe a spotted cow from New Glarus and I had it cooked medium. The juicy patty had a bourbon cheese drizzled all over the sweaty meat. Then the mortar, I assume, is crispy hay stack onions. It came with fries & I licked the plate clean.

I always look inside the bar for what sports team they root for. Every bar in Wisconsin has the Packers stuff draped over the walls like wall paper. I liked the Milwaukee Bucks sign. The bar even has some stake in the local, I assume, Manitowoc High School. It looks like they won something in football as I’m thinking state. If I was a regular customer of the court house or even worked there, Brix would be my spot. It’s a spacious bar. Looked like a decent place to watch a game. Not sure what age group they get there on the weekends. It seems like a place not for the local riff raff.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS

I have the Moon Man walking at number 4 for the 2023 suds list. My previous two New Glarus beers easily in my opinion are better options then the space man. I had two Moon Man pints that day before changed it up & went with something else. It did not have that kind of feeling where I can drink this all day. I liked it, but a 12 pack would linger in the fridge for month before I finished it. Moon Man walks at number 100 on the big suds list in the land of sky blue waters.

When it comes to Sebastian’s Ale & Whiskey House in Brookfield, Illinois, the pig (meaning bacon) is the main item on the menu. Some Police officers can breathe a sigh of relief. Sebastian has created a food menu that means you can have bacon wrapped around everything.

The bacon wrapped cheese sticks were amazing as the part of the pig can just about go with anything. Every appetizer, Sebastian has bacon wrapped on it. The rest of the menu has options where you can wrap bacon around it or have it on the side. I picture Sebastian being the guy on the movie Planet Terror, owning a BBQ joint & perfecting his BBQ sauce.

We recall seeing Sebastian’s on a local Chicago show showing off his masterpieces of bacon. When we found ourselves in the downtown area of Brookfield, it was game on. We were in search for beers and bacon. Downtown Brookfield is a cool little downtown with lots of cool restaurants, shops, and bars.

While we harden our arteries with bacon and bacon, we had to have something to wash down the sweet and salty meats. Sebastian’s offers a nice selection of whiskeys and well drinks. I come for the beer and Sebastian has a very nice tap beer list from which I went with a local brewery in the area called Short Fuse Brewing who are located in Schiller Park. It’s not exactly a hop, skip, and jump but probably less than an hour away, depending on which route you take. I have dabbled in some Short Fuse Beers at their place and buying them in the liquor store. Have not gotten a chance to blog about one of their wonderful creations. That ends today as I went with a lager called Flight Path.

NAME: FLIGHT PATH

ABV% 4.1%

STYLE: PALE LAGER

BREWED BY: SHORT FUSE BREWING

The Flight Path pours a brightly amber golden color with a small amount of lacing of foam around the perimeter of the pint glass. The summary Sebastian had for the Flight Path was it’s a local light lager that does not sacrifice flavor. It also said it was a crisp, clean, and refreshing beer, which I agree with. The Flight Path does not have much of an aroma. You know it’s beer. The Flight Path is mixed with honey malt and German noble hops for a sliver of bitterness. Each sip tastes like a biscuit that has sweetness. You can’t really taste much bitterness and it’s refreshing after a nice gulp of the Flight Path. The aftertaste leaves some sweetness like a tang. The Flight Path would be a nice beach beer. Bring on summer with the Flight of the Path.

MA, The Meatloaf!!! I went with the meatloaf sandwich without the bacon. It came with a basket of delicious hot french fries as the food at Sebastian’s is excellent Lots of good choices meant I had like 6 ideas before I settled for the meat loaf. I liked the atmosphere as well and the service was excellent. All the patrons seem nice and like it’s a great place to watch a game. Great place to belly up to the bar as well.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Sebastian’s Ale & Whiskey house has to be in the regular rotation of restaurants and bars. Not in my back yard, but a place I think I can get to a dozen times a year. Places with big, huge barrels over the entrance mean business. I would like to bar-hop in the Brookfield downtown next time I come to town. As for the Flight Path, I have it at number one on the 2023 beer list, as it knocks the Flipside Lager down a peg to number two. I have the Flight Path landing at number 81 on the big beer suds list. I would drink the Flight Path again as it was solid choice & a beer you can drink all day with it.

FLIPSIDE BREWING

When you come across a new brewery in the neighborhood, it’s like getting a new tool to grunt about while doing your best Tim Allen imitation from his old show, Home Improvement. Once upon a time ago on 183^rd street sat a brewery called 350 brewing in Tinley Park, Illinois. They are gone and the new sheriff in town is called Flipside Brewing which is a new owner but an old brew master. The owner is on the Flipside of things having once made the beer working at 350 brewing & now running the show in his own brewery flipping the side he stands on. Flipside excited me instantly with a nice tap room with stainless silver vats of beer in the background. Great service! Mouthwatering food that flips your taste buds and most importantly great tasting beer.

Didn’t your mother tell you to always eat your veggies? Mom would be proud. Look at this veggie creation of deep-fried brussel sprouts. Tasty dipping sauces to go along with it. I eat my meat to gladly get pudding like I eat veggies to get my beer. We visited Flipside Brewing twice within a few weeks as the food was delicious.

They call this the Cowboy Smash Burger. Second time, I went to Tennessee with Flipside Brewing’s Nashville Chicken sandwich which was juicy with a nice spice to heat up the weekend on all these cold Spring days.

No rushing to the bathroom right after this meal.

This is a beer blog, so we need to get down to business.

NAME: FLIPSIDE LAGER

ABV% 4.2

BREWED BY: FLIPSIDE BREWING

Both times I went there I wanted something easy to drink and I tend to go with the lagers. Yes, lagers like your daddy’s beer. The Flipside lager pours a bright golden color which in the picture looks like it has streaks of sunlight with a nice head around the perimeter of the pint glass. The Flipside Lager was very refreshing – light and made out of corn and rice. What stood out with this lager was the hint of corn that made this lager have a sweetness. Corn is an ingredient in one of my daddy’s domestic beers from the land of Sky-blue waters.

The Rice balances off the flavor in this lager. Both the rice and corn make the Flipside a lighter bodied beer. Gives the color of the beer that brightly golden color. It was a very easy-drinking beer you could have all year around. Not just a lawn mowing beer after your chores are finished on a hot summer day. The Flipside Lager only being a 4.2% means this is a beer you can drink all day long.

The Flip Side brewery seems bigger than the old place with 350 brewing. I noticed plenty of seats alongside the wall coming in. The bar seats about ten to 12 people. The brewery also has more tables in the back. The service was excellent, and it was a chill crowd that even brought the Easter Bunny by for a few beers. The brewery had some televisions above the bar that had a game which was great. Some breweries don’t provide the sportings which go well with beer and burgers.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Flipside Lager is only the second beer blogged in 2023. I have the Flipside Lager in the driver seat as the number one beer of the year. I still like other lagers better, especially beers your daddy drank like Iron City and Hamm’s, just simple domestics. The Flipside brewery has shown me lots of upsides as I have been there twice already this year. More beers will come out of this joint. I think some better ones will come out of this joint as well. I have Flipside Lager coming in at number 81 on the big Suds list, so it still ranks in my top 100 beers.

OPEN OUTCRY BREWING

The first beer of the 2023 season comes from one of my local breweries in the neighborhood. Open Outcry Brewing located on the southside of Chicago. It’s located on the parade route for the city’s St. Patrick Day that turns into a Mardi Gras Southside parade. It’s a cold January day and what better way is there to get warm, then to have some beer on a Friday afternoon with some lunch. Open Outcry is a brewery that has a kitchen and a solid menu of delicious food. This is not first time I blogged a beer at Open Outcry.

BEERS OF THE PAST

We have two Open Outcry Brewery beers I have blogged in the past. Both of them are in my top 50 on the Big Suds list.

#31. Speculator (Cream ale) and #50. Reverse Repo Rye (Rye Pale Ale)

As you can see, we are part of the Brewery Mug Club & as members they set you up with hand crafted mugs as you get to pick what you want on the front. For a price. They also have their Open Outcry logo on the mug. You get discounted prices on their beverages and swag. My mug is the Venom supporting the Buffalo Bills. I’m hoping the Bills will play that angry during the post-season.

NAME: IDEATE

ABV: 6.8%

BREWED BY: OPEN OUTCRY

The beer is pronounced I-D-8. Sounds more like a droid than a beer name.

The R-5-D-4 is definitely the droid I would have, a clunker. At Open Outcry, the I-D-8 is the droid beer I have been looking for.

THE BREWERY DESCRIPTION: Cold-Fermented IPA brewed with Citra, Idaho, and Motueka hops. Dry-hopped in multiple stages to add the juicy character you’re looking for. Notes of Citrus, tropical fruit and some hop resin with pleasant hop bitterness.

In the Open Outcry description, it sounds like they took the phrase these are the droids you are looking for as they hint the juicy character. The beer pours a brightly golden color with a nice lacing of foam around the perimeter of the pint glass. Yes, then I pour the pint into the mug because I was not quite done drinking out of the mug. Double fisting indeed… its lunch so you’ve got to get your buzz on.

The Motueka hops are rather new according to the Plant and Food Research Institute. They are unique hops that have aroma of fresh tropical lime. Sounds like a Margarita. The aroma was a fresh scent of citrus with fresh food. Ideate was a hoppy beer but went down smooth as you can taste sweetness along with a touch of bitterness. Definitely hints of fruit and the lime seems to stay on the tongue for a few seconds after each sip. In a good way. It was a good lunch beer because it was high in percentage so two of them would not doom the rest of your afternoon and the relaxed feeling gets the weekend off to a great start.

I went with the burger they call their Open Outcry signature burger. The burger has a juicy burger patty with white cheddar cheese, house mustard, and their onions are soaked in one of their beers. On pretzel bread with some fries. What caught my eye was their soup I had before the burger.

I never even heard of carrot Jalapeno soup, but I was cold and this sounded good as it had rice mixed in with it. This soup is not for everybody but it was right up my alley liking the spice. At most of these smaller breweries that make their own food, it’s usually great.

The atmosphere for lunch was relaxing as we had the place to ourselves. Not many people. It’s a laid-back style of atmosphere even if they have a crowd. The service is always pretty solid. You may even find some swingers to join you on their swing style seating.

Just don’t hand over your keys unless that is your thing. I do recommend the roof top when the weather gets warm at the Open Outcry. One of my favorite spots to drink outside.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It was my first tapped beer post of the season so Open Outcry’s droid beer is already number one for the 2023 list of suds. I have the Ideate, aka I-D-8, ranked number 82 overall on the Big Suds list. The Speculator is by far the best beer in my opinion at Open Outcry. I will try more as time goes on because it is a good place to have a few drinks get some food.

The 2022 Beer List

RANK	DATE HAD	BEER	STYLE	BREWED AT	TAPPED AT
1	5-14-22	Auto Blonde	Blonde Ale	93 Octane Brewing	Monk’s Pub
2	12-3-22	Axeslinger	Amber Ale	Rabid Brewing	Rabid Brewing
3	2-25-22	Disco Infiltrator	Hazy Pale Ale	Horse Thief Hollow	Horse Thief Hollow
4	2-15-22	Orange Haze	Hazy West Coast IPA	Soundgrowler	Soundgrowler
5	2-4-22	Foggy Orchard	Apple Wheat	Three Blondes Brewing	Three Blondes Brewing
6	2-5-22	Busch	Lager	Anheuser-Busch	Black River Tavern

The originally axe slinger was a guy who looked like Paul Bunyan wearing a flannel shirt with a pair of Dickie jeans taking it to a mammoth tree high in the sky. Now axe throwing is a game at the local bar scene. I wonder what kind of insurance is involved in that? This Saturday I was not swinging that kind of axe. Instead, my Axe-Slinger came in a pint size at Rabid Brewing in Homewood, Illinois.

Rabid Brewing feels like you are walking into a devil worshiping cult.

Even devil worshippers decorate for the Holidays. I bellied up to the bar thinking I’m in Tim Burton’s movie Nightmare Before Christmas with the mixing of X-mas decorations with Halloween.

The crypt keeper behind the bar I suspect is the owner. She’s a woman who fits in the goth-like environment. Rabid brewery has a selection of tall boy cans of their brews and only a few draft beers on tap. I’m handed the devil worshipping handbook that has all the beers inside.

The bar keep is very informative and you feel very welcome at the same time as perhaps numbers of enrollment is down. My beer choice is the Axe-Slinger. On the black board behind the bar, they have it spelled, Axeslinger.

NAME: AXESLINGER

ABV: 5.6%

STYLE: AMBER ALE

BREWED BY: RABID BREWING

Rabid brewing description: Raise your axes for the carving of the ideal American Amber, an autumnal work of art casting a smooth maltiness topped with a light dry-hopping with centennial hops to carry its unique spirit.

I thought I would be fighting some kind of Redwood tree monster choosing the Axeslinger. As you can see, it pours a reddish golden color with some fluffy foam that disappears quickly. The glass looks sharp with the Rabid Brewing logo displayed. The beer smells like autumn leaves. The Axeslinger goes down smooth with sweet malt flavor which is rather enjoyable. Which meant I stayed and had 4 of those Axe grinders. This was not the first time I had been soul searching at Rabid Brewing.

PAST BEERS AT RABID BREWING

We have done two beers at Rabid Brewing over the years. None of those come in the top 50 on the suds list. The Lotus comes in at 98 and is a beer Rabid Brewing probably will never make again. Then the very first beer I had there was called the Wytch Racer, a seasonal beer the bartender told me comes in around Halloween. I have the Wytch Racer at number 81 coming in. Rabid Brewing is also the place where I conquered my second Dixie Highway Trail passport at.

Since Rabid Brewing opened their doors, they show Sumo wrestling on their wall every Saturday night. You wonder if the brewery shows scary Christmas movies around the Holidays.

As scary as it sounds, Rabid Brewing provides a fun atmosphere. The music was not all death metal like some of these breweries intend to play all night long. The brewery has some pizza and finger foods to offer. I did not try their food this go around. The patrons coming in and out seem to like the beer, getting package goods to go after they drink a few pints there. I give a shout out to my man Terrance who took over as the Cryptkeeper and did a great job with awesome conversation. Rabid brewing is definitely a place to keep popping in when you’re in the area. Or a must-place to get some beers to stock up the fridge back home. As for the Axeslinger, it is the best beer I’ve had at Rabid Brewing. I have it ranked number two on the 2022 list of beers for right now. The Axeslinger cracks my top 50 as the new number 45.

Has pumping gasoline ever been fun? The prices of gasoline overall make you grind your teeth heading to your local station. Some can get by with a bad cup of coffee from the neighborhood gas station. Some need whatever delight the midnight shift put on the rollers under the glass to make their visit rewarding. During the 1950’s, maybe there were simpler times in the world where full services gas stations fulfilled all your needs. I found a pump that fulfilled my needs.

This was out of all the pumps the Wild Monk Pub had. A little joint on the corner of LaGrange Road in the town of LaGrange, Illinois. I found the highest octane. Not the percentage of alcohol by volume. The Auto Blonde from 93 Octane Brewing where they create their tasty gas and sip beverage.

I was at Wild Monks by choice. Great place to eat tasty bar food and have your pick of the litter with all the craft beers they have to offer.

PREVIOUSLY AT MONK’S BAR & GRILL

#35 Invasion (American Pale Ale) Brewed by Cigar City brewing

Blogged 2-4-18

NAME: AUTO BLONDE

ABV: 5.9%

STYLE: BLONDE ALE

BREWED BY: 93 OCTANE BREWING

I had never heard of 93 Octane Brewing which is local in St. Charles Illinois. The Auto Blonde makes me want to put 93 Octane on the to do bucket list of breweries that should be checked off. The Auto Blonde poured a nice golden blondish color. The sniff test resulted in hints of floral. The first sip was refreshing. Hints of bread and grain with floral hops bubbling down your gullet. It was well balanced taste-wise. Auto Blonde is a light and refreshing beer. I would drink Auto Blonde all year around. I was downing these babies on a colder Saturday as the octane in each pint is 5.9% of greatness. Love to have this beer outside on a Summer day.

Monks is a place I’d like to do more trips to each year. I make it there a few times a year. Great place to stuff your pie hole with food and drink and watch a game at the bar or one of the seats along the window view of a nice small town that is packed with lots of fun things to do.

The service was excellent. I’m blanking on the bar keep’s name, but he was like Flash with the orders keeping up and still could hold conversation behind his altar.

The Auto Blonde from 93 Octane Brewing I have as my new favorite beer of the year in 2022. I have Auto Blonde parking in the number 40 spot overall. Now Wild Monk has two craft beers from their establishment tapped in my top 50.

During the Vietnam War, the United States used a chemical called Agent Orange to dump all over the top of the trees and ground cover. Agent Orange was an herbicide chemical the United States enhanced with some powerful stuff using ingredients like 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T. The objective was to kill all the greenery to see the enemy in the jungles of Vietnam. The product worked, but the effect of this chemical lasted years later, perhaps even for decades after dropping gallons of that defoliant on the Vietnam countryside. In any war, long term effects inevitably happen. U.S troops felt the effect on their health after returning to the states. Then all the Vietnamese people. The innocent ones. Babies would be born with noticeable birth effects. The effects probably lasted for decades later after that Vietnam conflict. The chemical 2-4-D is used in many herbicides that are still used in your neighborhood surroundings. The ingredient 2-4-D kills the growth of weeds. Governments used the product around bridges, highways, or railroads to kill the overgrowth tangling in the tracks itself or alongside the train paths. Lawn companies could use these kinds of products right next door to you. Do you know what your Nazi Green lawn technician is doing right now?

Leave it to the local brewery to come up with a better way use the Orange stuff. In Orange Haze.

Soundgrowler Brewing in Tinley Park, Illinois is a place to listen to devil music while eating delicious tacos with some great tasting beers. At times the heavy metal music can be a tad loud, but to some it’s the way to get brain damage quicker.

It seems a good share of breweries have the beer, food, and louder music as a combination. This is especially at the lunch hour. Soundgrowler has had times where it is Classic Rock playing in the background as well. This was not the first time that I did a blog post on a Soundgrowler beer. Coming in, they had two beers on the Big Suds list in the top 25. Obviously I can get past the banging of the pots and pans in some of those songs with the disturbed voices echoing loud inbetween the noise.

PREVIOUS BEERS BLOGGED

#24. Ghost Runner (West Coast Pale Ale) & #25. Grinder Punch (West Coast Pale Ale)

Soundgrowler has very cool names for its beers. On this March day in the middle of the week, I went in for lunch being in the area. I tried Orange Haze as I already had a steady dose of that Orange Agent crap disguised as fertilizer all those years working at the Nazi Green. I would not recommend my worst enemy to that lawn dictatorship. Not a disgruntled worker, at least not anymore, I was drinking an Orange Haze in the afternoon eating delicious Chicken Tacos. Life is good as I saw some local fertilizing company truck head out which is a few doors down from the brewery.

I went with their hottest sauce for the chicken tacos. I prefer some kind of hot sauce on my tacos, but you can eat them without, and they are still top notch. These tacos have been raved about on a local WGN show, Chicago Best, where they find the best food in the city and burbs.

NAME: ORANGE HAZE

STYLE: HAZY WEST COAST IPA

BREWED BY: SOUNDGROWLER BREWING

Orange Haze poured looks like the sun was liquefied left with some clouds around the perimeter of the glass. The aroma is simply citrus all day long. Orange Haze is brewed with Citra hops. The taste is citrus, fruity, very hoppy, and it finishes with some bitterness. This brewery loves their West Coast IPA creations. Orange Haze gets better about halfway through the pint. It seems like all the flavoring comes together at that time. Even Smoking Token Jesus, who I was sharing the table with, seemed to be satisfied with the Orange Haze, which was not that blinding for him, like it could be for others.

Soundgrowler Brewing has never failed me. I have only ventured there for lunch or a late Saturday afternoon adventure. I loved the tacos. I love the service. Bartender was great. You always get a fair shake there. They will answer your questions. They don’t forget you are there.

Sometimes Hazy beers are my worst enemy. I like them but not for my first choice. I love cucumbers but at times you feel like they can burp back up on you and that’s the same at times with hoppy beers like the Orange Haze. I have liked the beers of the past at the ole Soundgrowler better than this time. I know they have other great beers that I have not indulged in yet. I’ll get there. Orange Haze, early still this year, I have coming in on the 2022 beer list at number two. Overall on the big suds list in the deluxe apartments in the sky, I have Orange hazing out at 112.

The back story of how a local Chicago brewery got its name dates back to the 1850’s. On the Southside of Chicago lies Horse Thief Hollow Brewing on Western Avenue in the Beverly neighborhood. The meaning is in the name “Horse Thief” which were bandits that stole horses from the state of Missouri. In the 1850’s on Western Avenue, the area had more trees than anything else in its surroundings. The bandits would hide the horses in the wooded areas to be sold later on. Longwood Drive, which is a few blocks east of Western Avenue, is a street with hills. Perfect spot for bandits to spot authorities. By the 1860’s, they were all rounded up by the proper authorities. Today the locals in Chicago or visitors get carjacked as history has a way of repeating itself. Horse Thief Hollow in 2013 became the name for owner Neil Byers’s business. who purchased the old carpet store and his everyday mission is hand crafted beer with awesome food with Southern flare like BBQ and some New Orleans dishes. Plus, some sandwiches that go well on a brewery menu.

Today my partner in crime in this adventure is Party “the Marty” Serbins. You can see him wearing his Keeneland Horseracing Track shirt as we hit the Friday early afternoon brunch with craft beers. TGIF at high noon seems like the place to be as we bellied up to the bar. Horse Thief hollow has the brunch with eggs and bacon. Marty would be adventurous and hit the Gumbo. For my beer of choice that afternoon, I went with Disco Stu.

Probably not named after the Simpsons character, but Horse Thief Hollow had a Hazy Pale Ale that sounded delightful.

NAME: DISCO INFILTRATOR

ABV: 5.9%

STYLE: HAZY PALE ALE

BREWED BY: HORSE THIEF HOLLOW

The Disco Infiltrator pours a bright color of the sun with some lacing of foam around the rim of the glass. The company line has Disco Infiltrator made from El-Dorado and Sabro hops.

Not the Sabo as in Chris Sabo, a free agent bust for the Chicago White Sox in 1995. The Disco Infiltrator has Mackinac Hops also from Land Locked Hops in Illinois. Local stuff is awesome. They have local beef they use on their burgers as well. The Disco Infiltrator aroma had the citrus fruity aroma. I feel quite good about that because I just trimmed the jungle inside my nose a few days back. It went down like a mimosa smooth with that kind of champagne orange taste. Finished with a hop punch. Perfect beer for a brunch.

PAST NOTABLE BEERS WE HAVE DONE AT THE HORSE THIEF HOLLOW

In our top 50: Ridge Rider #42

Others: Kitchen Sink #85, Purple Cow # 112

Love the inside of Horse Thief Hollow because it reminds me of a horse stable with the arch of the doors coming in and the rafters high up like a loft in a barn. You can see above the front door has a growler on a rope like a pulley system filled with beer. I imagine it as a weight to close the door at a slower pace. They always have the cool art on the walls which you can purchase from local artists.

I have the Disco Infiltrator dancing at number 111 on the big suds list of tapped beers.

PRAVADA BREWING LIGHTING UP THE RED ARMY

There are many reasons why a brewery can be a staple, or a pillar, of the neighborhood. The Russian invasion of the country of Ukraine is happening, but one brewery is not closing its door. Pravada Brewing in Lviv, Ukraine borders the Polish border & has decided to not run and hide. Instead they are getting involved in the war to help fight for their homes by making Molotov cocktails instead of brewing award winning beer like they are accustomed to. The President of Ukraine, Volodyymyr Zelensky, has called for help for his citizens to take up arms and fight the Red Army bastards invading their European Country. Some call these tactics Guerilla Warfare. I call it Red Dawn shit. A Molotov cocktail is a cloth stuffed deep in a bottle as a wick to light with a mixture of gasoline and oil. Some of the locals call them Petro Bombs.

The owner of Pravada Brewing, Yuriy Zastavny, got the idea from one of his employees. This employee was part of the 2014 Revolution & used them to help oust a Kremlin-backed regime about 8 years back. One employee was interviewed on television as he disclosed his Molotov cocktail recipe telling the folks to make sure the cloth is well soaked. The brewery has made many boxes of Molotov Cocktails for the troops, Police, and the resistance. When tanks roll into their town, I’m sure this rag tag bunch will be ready to use their own creation. The funniest thing, if you can laugh during these tragic times, is Pravada has a beer called Putin Khuylo which translates to Putin is a Dickhead and the labels poke fun at the evil Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin. Imagine a flaming Molotov cocktail appearing in front of your eyes if you’re a Russian soldier and seeing your ugly boss’ beady little eyes staring at you. Burn baby burn.

Pravada brewery is one of the top breweries in the country of Ukraine. They are known for their beers with a Political message. There labels are often a cartoon of stuff that has taken place since the revolution of 2014.

Pravada brewing makes a variety of different types of beers. They bring lots of creations around the world to the Ukraine. Pravada brewing has racked up several beer awards over the years. The brewery took the Bronze in the Word Beer Competition for Putin Huilo. Another beer called the Obama Hope won them the same Bronze award in 2017 in the World Beer Competition. Pravada won the Gold for a beer called Red Eyes in 2016 at the Brussels Beer Challenge. Pravada stands in an old relic of a building that has been around since World War II. It went from a Jewelry store to a trading house, then a department store & now it’s a brewery theater with an orchestra pit. Pravada Brewing offers a nice selection of food choices made by a master chef of top-of-the-line cuisine. I hope that Pravada Brewing survives this coward of a Russian leader’s invasion of their country. Workers staying at their place of employment and fighting an enemy that is just sadistic… their story needs to be told. These are heroes in my book as the Tom Petty song should play, “I Won’t back down at the gates of hell.” The gates of hell is the Red Army.

South Haven, Michigan is a beach town in the Summer months. Picturesque in the Winter months. South Haven had their annual Ice Breaker Festival which features free chili samples in a competition throughout the town. A Cardboard sledding competition. Throwing a frozen fish competition. Plenty of beer, hot ciders, and spirits to keep the body going place to place on a pub crawl with a choice of bus and trolley. Then the main event, the carving of the ice blocks works of arts with a chainsaw and a chisel. This is must-go-to festival.

Then on the outskirts of town. Right by the hotel, a building which looks more like a car dealership, appears in the horizon.

Blondes have the reputation for fun. Imagine what three blondes can do for you. Three Blondes Brewing served as a nighttime pit-stop to recharge the batteries after the long drive to get to South Haven. It made a nice night cap after a Saturday day-drinking at the Ice Breaker festivities. On Friday night, we ate and sat in a booth and drank. We were blown away by the food and the beer. Saturday night we sat at the bar. Had conversation with the bar keep and other staff while they painted the picture on some of the great beers we were trying and the food. Three Blondes is locally owned. Some of these beach towns at times could be completely over run by outsiders like in the Corona commercial. Finding your beach is what everyone wants, so you can’t blame them. Local people living there for generations is a good story. Three Blondes is about three sisters with blonde hair. It’s a family business with husbands and kids. Their goal was to find a place with easy parking as they checked that box right away. Seeing breweries pop up all over, they wanted to have the best food and beers in town. Hire a Master Brewer. Hire a top-of-the-line chef to create a menu with food that makes your mouth water before you even take one bite.

The sandwich I ordered, they call “Better the Next Day.”

If you like a meatloaf sandwich, hot or cold, Three Blondes has it covered. One of the best meatloaf sandwiches I’ve ever had. Had half of the sandwich hot and devoured the seasoned French fries like I came in stoned. Then took the other half to the hotel room and the next day I ate it cold. It’s a tie goes to the runner; whatever way you want to do it. The walking taco was had. Then before we indulge in the main course I can’t forget about the Blondie Bread. Puffy pillows of garlic dough and you dipped them in beer cheese. So good, but so bad for you at the same time.

NAME: FOGGY ORCHARD

5.8%

STYLE: APPLE WHEAT BEER

BREWED BY: THREE BLONDES BREWING

The Foggy Orchard is described as an Apple Wheat beer. This would be the first apple style beer I have indulged in. I have always liked wheat beers because they are easy drinking. The company line of the Foggy Orchard is it has caramel notes and malty character. Finished on green apples. As you can see, the Foggy Orchard pours a darker color with a small amount of lacey suds around the perimeter of the glass. You can say it’s a dark caramel color. The aroma has small hints of apples. The Foggy Orchard has an apple aftertaste as it’s not overwhelming hitting you with Granny Smith green apple flavoring. It’s not too sweet. It’s a darker beer, & I think more of a sipper style than thinking it was going to be an easy drinking beverage. It was a beer that took getting used to. It’s strong, but only at 5.8%. Fruity style beers are tricky at times. I would only end up doing one apple beer that night.

Friday the place was happening with a mix of all different aged patrons at the Brewery. Three Blondes has that Applebee’s/Bennigan’s layout. There’s the bar part and then the restaurant part. Sat at a booth the first night and then at the bar the second night, which was better. The atmosphere was calm and collective. Having a good time is the vibe I got. Place had a few televisions in strategic spots with the game on. The service was excellent. This is a place you go back to if you are in the area. Love getting taken care of. I’d love to try more beers and they had multiple choices of food I wanted to try. Can’t get everything in the first weekend. You must try again on another.

I have the Foggy Orchard coming in at number 112 on the Big Suds list ranking of my tap beers I tapped out.

I would like to revise the line that Arnold Schwarzenegger says in the movie Kindergarten Cop. Instead… “Who’s your Daddy and what kind of beer does he drink?” Before all these craft beers flooded the market, most Daddies drank a simple beer and perhaps still do till this day. My dad loved the taste of a simple lager beer. Over the years he would probably buy what was on sale for such beers like Old Style, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Old Milwaukee, and one of his all-time favorites… Busch.

For years Busch Light draft would appear in the garage by the case load. My pal, one of my best friends in the world & my dad, passed away not too long ago. In the end he was drinking Miller High Life more than any other choice. When I got away for the weekend and found a nice dingy tavern and saw they had Bush on tap, I had to get a pint. The only places you can find these old beers on tap that your Daddy drank, are hole in the walls: Taverns, Saloons or VFW halls. My first getaway weekend took us to South Haven, Michigan. The town was having their annual Ice Breaker Fest at which they carve up ice blocks and create ice sculptures of art.

Before we braved the cold, we needed some warmth in the belly. Beers and pub food are a perfect way to battle the cold conditions. Black River Tavern in downtown South Haven is a joint I’m very familiar with, and I’ve bellied up to the bar a few times on my weekend getaways.

At the Ice Breaker Fest in South Haven, as part of the festivities, some of the businesses were giving out free samples of chili. Then you vote for the best chili. We did dabble in some free chili, but long lines at some of these places prevented us from hitting multiple places like we did in year’s past. It was good that we got some seats around lunch time and ate some food. What does the Tavern have to offer from their food menu? Tavern Burgers right off the grill was my choice. Also fish tacos were had. The food was excellent.

With the burger, I had to indulge in a few beers and Busch was at the Black River Tavern’s top of the tap list. I felt I had to. Busch is not a very good beer out of all the beers that your Daddy used to drink. I always felt like these cheap beers were made from the leftover stuff they used on their top beers. I order and it came in a cool looking mug. We’ve seen these mugs used in Tennessee for their sweet tea or moonshine-flavored style of drinks.

NAME: BUSCH

ABV 4.3%

STYLE: LAGER

BREWED BY: ANHEUSER-BUSCH

Busch pours a golden yellow color. Looks like somebody pissed in the jar on an all-night stake out.

The pour had a foamy head on it. The beers smells like corn and barley. It has that taste of corn and barley, very watery and leaves that skunky aftertaste. Only 4.3%. If you can dull your taste buds enough, Busch can probably be somebody’s all day beer. Busch is probably best when it’s ice cold from the cooler on a hot day after yard work.

It was Saturday afternoon and Black River Tavern had a very nice lunch crowd with live music all-day and night for the festivities.

Some of the waitresses had Ice festival costumes on like perhaps Ice Princesses. Great idea to get into the spirit of things. Some of these Michigan places have allegiances to both Chicago and Detroit. Both NHL hockey jerseys were present in the rafters. The Red Wings on one side and the Blackhawks on the other. Black River Tavern would probably be the best spot in town to watch the game with many televisions from all views in sight. The band was awesome & played a lot of the Rock-n-Roll classics. It was a great way to start off the festival.

Busch is the first tapped beer blogged for the 2022 year. Today it will hold the number one slot. I suspect that will not last long. It was meant to be more of a “slainte” toast to dear Daddio.

We miss you!!! As for Busch, on the big suds list it comes in at number 115.

NOTABLE OTHER BEERS WHICH YOUR DADDY DRANK

#69.HAMMS, #78. IRON CITY, #106. OLD STYLE, #107 LA BATT BLUE, #108. IRON CITY LIGHT, #117. STRAUB

One of the great finds of 2021 was a place in Winslow, Illinois called Bobber’s Tap. In an old lumber yard, the owners bring you a unique outdoor beer garden which has the Pecatonica River alongside it. Bobber’s is an outdoor venue open seasonally from May until the middle of October. The lumber yard used to be called Spahn & Rose. It was abandoned for years until Bobber’s built a bar on the land and a spacious deck for the beer garden surrounded by trees with a view of the water. It looks like the lumber yard left everything, and someone just built a bar around the “junk,” as some people would call it. It’s a series of treasure troves for others.

Some would call it the second coming of the Sanford and Son salvage yard. From an old camping trailer to a broken down truck, tractors and motorcycles rusting away in a bone yard.

Old furniture with “For Sale” signs on them up in the buildings where plywood and 2×4 would be stacked.

They even have a sculpture made out of junk that is used as a water fountain.

The artist from Family Ties, Nick Moore, would have stuff he could use to build his eventual masterpiece.

Bobber’s is a place where boats go to die as well. Bobber’s uses an old pontoon boat for the band to play on.

They have wooden boats that are not complete; just a skeleton hanging up on the side of the wall. Right next to the pile of old wood perhaps originally from the lumber yard and now probably just a meal for termites. With all of this going on, they have a bar with all kinds of fishing lures displayed.

The bar is cash only and they serve multiple different canned beverages, including some seltzer products. Everything is in coolers of ice. Cold beer with some grills cooking sausage with a bag of chips make it feel like a backyard party.

If you’re not sitting by the bar, Bobber’s has plenty of tables and chairs on the decks in the back of the bar. You may see an old row boat just sitting on the deck not being used for anything. Works of art to some people. Maybe a gigantic ashtray for others.

Bobber’s is off the beaten path. It’s a popular destination for bikers going over the Wisconsin border or vice versa coming into Illinois. Can’t judge a book on that cover yet. These Bikers seem fun and out to have a good time. Music lovers come out due to the different bands that play on the weekends. Their clientele is lots of local yokels. Farmers and car lovers… people pull up in some nice rides on a hot Summer Sunday Funday. They welcome tourists like myself. I was excited to be drinking Old Milwaukee Light. Exactly what your father used to drink.

No tap beer here, but finding an old gem of OM light felt like I was stuck back in time. Much simpler times. Bobber’s for me dots all the I’s while crossing off all the T’s. Outside bellied up to a bar, with sausage from the fired up grills and drinking ice cold beer. Great people watching. I think people were actually fishing the waters. I saw some corn hole being played. Bean bags to some. The people running the joint were very nice. They welcome everyone with open arms. The Bartender gave me all the insight on how Bobber’s came to be. They even have a little history of photographs showing how Bobber’s became Bobber’s.

The bathrooms have pictures from the past of patrons having great times on the land. All the great fun drinking beer since 2012 from the past, present, and future. Pull up an old oil drum. Sit on an old tire. Just don’t wear white. Make sure you have your tetanus shot updated just in case. I felt like a savage eating meats with a sweat. Drinking beer out of a can like an old beer commercial. I may have farted like an animal, but who cares. Everyone has Bobber pop out of their cheeks from time to time.

The 2021 Beer List

RANK	DATE HAD	BEER	STYLE	BREWED AT	TAPPED AT
1	4-17-21	Cherry Bomb Blonde	Fruit and Field Beer	Front Street Brewery	Front Street Brewery
2	6-15-21	Highway Robbery	Blonde Ale	Hop Lot Brewing	Hop Lot Brewing
3	8-7-21	Two Women	Lager Helles	New Glarus Brewing	Toffler’s Pub & Grill
4	6-6-21	Lug Wrench	American Pale Lager	Evil Horse Brewing	Evil Horse Brewing
5	8-6-21	Spotted Cow	Farmhouse Ale-Saison	New Glarus Brewing	Baumgartner’s
6	12-10-21	Local’s Light	American Lager Light	Shorts Brewing	Villa Nova Pizzeria
7	6-17-21	Toes in the Sand	American IPA	South Haven Brewing	South Haven Brewing
8	5-15-21	Hath No Fury	Helles Lager	Arrowhead Brewing	Arrowhead Brewing
9	6-17-21	Golden Spike	German Pilsner	The Filling Station	The Filling Station
10	6-16-21	LaBatt Blue	Lager	LaBatt Blue Brewing	Mulligans

When Lovie Smith was the head coach of the Chicago Bears, I remember he used to say, “We get off the bus running.” What Smith meant by that was in the game of football, they were a run first kind of offense. When arriving to a destination on a road trip, I get out of the car running. Sure, the first thing is the bathroom. Have to feed the belly. Have to quench the thirst. Monroe, Wisconsin… I get off the bus, car, boat, or plane wanting only a Spotted Cow from New Glarus Brewing. Only made in Wisconsin. Found this place with plenty of tapped beers, sandwiches, & I would have never guessed… cheese. The establishment of Baumgartner’s is like a Mullet haircut. Business in the front of the joint. Party in the back. Baumgartner’s has a deli in front with meats and cheeses, so all business all the time.

In the back is where you go for all your pagan rituals. To eat like a king and drink like a fish. The two things on vacation I really like to do are eat/drink and talk to the locals. We bellied up to the long bar and saw rows of taps of great traditional craft beers. The lunch menu with lots of nice sandwiches to offer, with of course different cheeses. The Monroe area of Wisconsin historically were settled by the Swiss. On the walls of Baumgartner’s are plenty of great pictures of the Swiss traditions and the sate of Wisconsin. It was a hot day as they had some seating outside, but the bar had AC and plenty of space to fan out as it was the beginning of the lunch hour.

NAME: SPOTTED COW

4.8% ABV

STYLE: FARMHOUSE ALE-SAISON

BREWED BY: NEW GLARUS

Many have said the Spotted cow was a cream ale. I’m not a beer professor.

Spotted Cow is a Farmhouse Ale-Saison. I know Spotted Cow from my past encounters with this beer. Some Farmhouse Ale-Saisons can just be bad. Tastes funky. Spotted Cow from the company’s description is a blend of pilsner malt which features white, wheat, and caramel. With great beers, it’s all about the water they use. New Glarus uses water from their own well on the brewery property. None of that stinking tap water with lead in it.

Spotted Cow pours a bright golden color with an orangish glow. The top of glass has a thick heat that snap, crackle, and pops in a blink of an eye. The nose test data confirms the aroma is yeasty, citrus and has some spice. The taste blows me away on the Spotted Cow as it’s crisp, clean, & bright but creamy smooth like a cream ale. It tastes like a combination of wheat, with those hints of yeastiness and finishes with nice sweetness on a Summer day. This is a good beer. If Spotted Cow was sold outside the state of Wisconsin, I’m not sure I would crave it like I do. Don’t get me wrong. If it was available I would get it, but I don’t think I would have it on hand every day like some beers you just need in the fridge.

OTHER FARM HOUSE ALES BLOGGED

We have not blogged many Farmhouse style beers. The Farmhouse IPA’s have done better than the Farmhouse Saisons.

Farmhouse Pale Ale

Ranking #18. Nuke the Whales brewed by Burn-Em-brewing

Ranking #89. Hop Field Brewed by Vivant

Only Farmhouse Saison blogged coming in:

Ranking #120 (Dead last) Mantra Artisan Ales which is same name as brewer Mantra Artisan ales

Baumgartner’s was a great find for us on this weekend trip to Wisconsin. One-stop shopping with food, beer, and cheese to go. The lunch sandwiches were awesome. I did the salami and cheese. FANFUCKINGTASTIC!!! Pardon my Swiss.

Lots of great sandwich choices with different breads and different cheeses. To go, after trying their chili, I did get a jar of that to take home. I was pleased with the take home and the bowl I had at the bar. The service was also excellent. Bartender gave us the lay of the land. The locals seemed nice. It was only lunch so no conversations were had, but it felt like a family place was the vibe I got.

I came in wanting Spotted Cow. I have had Spotted cow in the past, so I knew this was going to be one of the first New Glarus beers I indulged in on this weekend getaway to the Dairy Land. Spotted Cow is at number five in the 2021 list of tapped beers. I have Spotted Cow coming in on the big suds list in the deluxe apartments in the sky at the number 30.

What is open on a crappy-weather Friday night in December in New Buffalo, Michigan? It’s either an Irish pub or pizza joint that comes through. On this Friday night we fought the bad weather and made it out for some beer & pizza at a local establishment called the Villa Nova Pizzeria. We were no strangers to this delightful treat as we had tried their pizza before. During the Fall on a warm night we sat outside in their beer garden and enjoyed a pizza pie with a nice list of craft beers from Michigan.

This go-around, Villa Nova had some of their beer garden enclosed for indoor seating during the winter months. We felt the winds that night off the makeshift wall of glass, with some heavy rain.

Christmas was around the corner and the Villa Nova had decorated the joint very festive. The television had a game. People were celebrating a birthday. The viewing of the essential beer list. Multiple tap beers from all around the Michigan area, which is like a kid in a candy store. Then we had to decide on pizza as well, so some tough, but very fun, decisions had to be made.

I went with a beer brewed at Shorts Brewery which is located in Bellaire, Michigan. Shorts Brewing, I have read brews their beer in the basement right above their tap room. Shorts Brewing I have only seen their selection of different beers in the state of Michigan. I have taken some packaged goods back home when I’m visiting. It’s a must. I have noticed Shorts Brewing has great tasting beers. I love the different labels on some of their beers. Great names & great labels.

NAME: LOCAL’S LIGHT

5.2% ABV

STYLE: AMERICAN LAGER LIGHT

BREWED BY: SHORTS BREWING

As you can see, the Local’s Lights pours a clear golden as you see through the pint glass like a window. Local’s Light has good carbonation & steady bubbles going on inside the glass. The top of the pint has a little lacing of foam that pops away quickly. This is a lager beer, so it has that grainy aroma. The taste has a good balance of grain and some bitter hops. The beer is refreshing. Local’s Light is very easy drinking as well. I feel like this would be a great outside beer. It’s a great beer for all year around when you need a straight up lager with nothing fancy, just beer. At 5.2% a pint, you can’t go wrong wearing out the waitress’ legs from bringing you non-stop pours. She’ll get her steps in most definitely.

Didn’t realize Villa Nova had locations in the Chicagoland area and one in the state of Indiana. I really like their pizza because it is a Chicago-style pizza. One of my scares is moving away from the capital of great pizza, living in the Chicagoland area. Our appetizer was a plate of cheese sticks that were massacred as soon as they set the plate down. All the food was tasty in this New Buffalo pizzeria. I loved the service. The bartender was part of a good conversation about the basketball game that was on the television. Both times going to the Villa Nova, the atmosphere has been electric. Great food and obviously the beer list is local and terrific. Everyone was nice, both the workers and the customers.

For Villa Nova Pizzeria, I will have to get to one of their locations in the Chicagoland area to get them written up in the pizza part of this blog. This is the first, of what will be many, of Shorts Brewing beer selections. Local’s Light, I have seen the light, at number 5 in 2021. On the big bad suds list overall, I have Local lighting coming into my top 50. I like it at my Jackie Robinson number 42 overall.

Many people will tell you sitting on a beach is what they did on their summer vacation. I will not argue with that statement. Something about a beach along the water during the summer spells out vacation. The sand between your toes. The waves crashing against the sand. Catching some rays of sunshine.

The Corona beer, not the virus, would say to find your beach. On this particular summer day, my beach was in Sutton’s Bay, Michigan. My beach, most of the time, is in a beer garden. In Sutton’s Bay we found the Mecca of all the beer gardens in the world at a brewery called the Hop Lot.

Hop Lot is a brewery making beer on their lot. A brewery making their own food on their lot. It’s a place with seating inside, but it’s really built for the outdoors. During a pandemic they did not have to use seats inside.

A beer garden surrounded by trees to give that mother nature camping atmosphere. Wooden picnic tables, mixed in with outside patio furniture, made up the outdoor seating. Plenty of sun for umbrellas as the trees lined the perimeter of the garden. The outdoor beer garden came equipped with smaller bars throughout the spacious garden, if needed. The garden adds activities such as corn hole games. Bags as many locals call it. It was a summer day, and the fire pit were being used to cook smores, not warmth like on a cold fall day. Hop Lot has some heated igloos going when the temperatures drop. During Covid, Hop Lot set up texting your order. Then a server would deliver your suds out from the inside of the establishment which had their bar, bathroom, and swag. It was a weekday, I was on vacation, and on this day I found my beach.

NAME: HIGH WAY ROBBERY

ABV 4.8%

STYLE: BLONDE ALE

BREWED BY: HOP LOT BREWING

This picture above says 1,000 words. Perfect golden color under the umbrella shade. Not much head on this pour called the Highway Robbery, which is something a parent would say back in the day. Maybe highway robbery is something out of the Road Warrior movie in Mad Max’s world.

All of the Hop Lot beers had some very cool names. I wanted something light and thin, and Highway Robbery was the perfect blonde available for lots of noon fun. It was a perfect outdoor beer. The aroma was bready-malty like. The taste was sweet, a tad of fruitiness with light-hearted bitterness. It’s lightly hopped made with sweet malts. Importantly it was clean, crisp, and went down smooth. It has a low ABV at 4.8% which makes a perfect outdoor drink because many can be had during one sitting.

I’m convinced that food made at breweries is better than most pub grub. I would say brewery food depends on what brewery can make their stuff better than most restaurants. Even some of those upscale ones. Hop Lot had a very nice menu. Some perfect outdoor choices with a variety of choices. We did a Sausage on hoagie roll and tacos, drinking a perfect beer with them made this place a must-do or must-return. Look at the pictures of that food above. It tasted how it looks & makes me want to go back right now.

The Hop Lot backstory is that two brothers dreamed of opening up a brewery. They built the ultimate brewery paradise with a state of the art beer garden. Many flavors of beers. Tap Room. Great food. I would like to go back to the place when Covid-19 is not lurking. With everything being outside I felt safe and it was summer so we were all spaced out. I think this would be a great place to go on the weekends with a band playing or whatever kind of fest they have scheduled on the docket. It’s a place with plenty of room and plenty of seating, even if they were crowded. After Covid, so I’m not involved in a super-spreader. The staff was very nice and did an excellent job of getting orders out in a timely fashion. I enjoyed them giving me the scoop of this ultimate beer garden that I visited.

Highway Robbery is ranked number two this year in my 2021 Suds Power Rankings. I have Highway Robbery cracking the top ten list on the big suds list. High Way Robbery will take over the number 8 slot.

I’ve always loved trains since I was kid. Having an electric train. Seeing the model train exhibit in the Museum of Science and Industry. Counting the cars at the railroad crossing when stuck in traffic. The train horn blaring. As I got older as for any adult, stuck by a train trying to get somewhere sucks. Listening to music in the car while watching all the interesting murals, painted on each car it seems. Some of it’s just graffiti amd some would say it’s been tagged. Some would go as far to say it’s art. When you’re an adult having some choo choo beers at these breweries themed by the great locomotive. What about riding the rail? Riding the rail at some of these dive bars drinking one of each beer the establishment offers and earning that free tee shirt. If you have a friend that plays the guitar, he can be Box Car Willie. I have blogged about two breweries, one local, that are train themed. The Flossmoor Station in the state of Illinois. The Twisted Rail in Upper New York State.

I have now found my third brewery that is all about the train. All about riding America going clickity clack. In Traverse City, Michigan I came across the Filling station. It’s a brewery that took over an old train depot built in 1927. The brewery is located next to a set of railroad tracks. Most likely the tracks are out of commission. At-least the ones right next to the platform. Beer is made on site as this depot has transformed from going to work now to being done with work going out for beer and flat bread pizza. That is what they do well on this track.

I liked the menu as all their beers were numbered by tracks as they kept the train theme going.

I went with track three.

NAME:GOLDEN SPIKE

4.7% ABV

STYLE: GERMAN PILSNER

BREWED BY:THE FILLING STATION

It was the noon hour so it had to be 5 o’clock somewhere. It was the perfect time for some beer and lunch. The Filling Station had seating outside as it was a nice Summer day. Inside you could use the bathrooms. No seating inside still due to affects of the lingering virus. I went with a light drinking beer with some taste as the lunch would be a flat bread pizza and healthy salad.

We went with the Wolverine flat bread pizza that featured pepperoni, pineapple, & jalepeno peppers with a fresh covering of mozzarella cheese. I had to ignore the fact it was called the Wolverine, probably after the University of Michigan. Especially since the Filling Station is located in Michigan. I thought about the cult classic, Red Dawn.

It was a delightful combination, most likely an acquired taste, especially having pineapple on the taste. It was nice, sweet, with a little heat.

The Golden Spike is German Pilsner. Miller Light is pilsner as well. The Golden Spike had more taste and less watered down. It pours a dark golden color over many other pilsners. It has some lacing of foam around the perimeter of the glass.The Filling Station description of the Golden Spike. German Pilsner and crystal malts. Hallertauce tradition malts. This golden ale(formally known as Bacharach golden) is a smooth, malty, easy drinking ale. I agree it was very easy drinking beer. It’s a great outside beer. Even a nice beer to quench the thirst after mowing the lawn on very hot day. Each sip has a slight hop a tad of bitterness. It finishes crisp smooth and slight metallic taste.

PAST PILSNER BEERS BLOGGED

The Golden Spike had a similar taste to a Czech Pilsner we did at Baderbrau in 2017. It’s ranked number 51 coming in. They called it the Chicago Pilsner. The Baderbrau Pilsner gets a slight edge over the Golden Spike because it was smoother. Remembering getting the Chicago Pilsner by the can and drinking them down at a rapid taste.

New Buffalo Pilsner brewed by Ghost Isle comes in at number 70 overall. The New Buffalo Pilsner had the better glass. It was more American pilsner than the German/Czech style.

STATS OF OTHER TRAIN BEERS BLOGGED IN THE PAST

FLOSSMOOR STATION

#38.Zephyr Golden lager

#52. Gandy Dancer Honey ale

#69. (DUDE) Station Master Wheat ale

#78. Just a Crush

#80. Flossmoor station October fest

TWISTED RAIL BREWING

#65. Spike Driver

I have the Golden Spike at number six for 2021.

I have the Golden Spike at new 69 overall on the big suds list.

Overall it was very cool experience at the Filling Station. The service was excellent. Friendly and efficient. They had it down to a science keeping everyone safe as well. I went on a weekday at high noon on a Summer day and they had a nice lunch crowd. The Filling Station would be a great weekend hang out. Getting off work on Friday for some flat bread pizza and some great tasting beers. I was on vacation so I did purchase a growler and filled it up with another beer they had on their menu.

Toffler’s Pub & Grill: A blight on New Glarus Since 2006

The Toffler’s cow on the roof of their establishment was like a beacon that we followed like zombies looking for human flesh. We are in the state of Wisconsin where a cow or wedge of cheddar are everyone’s calling card. Who says you can’t go home again?

New Glarus is home of Toffler’s pub and the brewery by the same name. New Glarus Brewing makes their beers available in Wisconsin, and Wisconsin only. With the brewery closed to the public these days due to the pandemic, where’s the second best place to get a New Glarus delight? A pub that looks and feels like a home welcoming you to drink cold beverages from the tap in downtown New Glarus, only a few blocks away from the brewery. I love small towns and New Glarus is like a town out of Switzerland. The Swiss probably run this unique town with lots of cool eateries, pubs, and mum and pop shops with a great vibe and beautiful landscape.

I only went to the dairy land for the weekend, and my goal was enjoy as many New Glarus beers I could. At Toffler’s Pub we were only there to drink, and my dates were Two Women.

NAME: TWO WOMEN

STYLE: LAGER HELLES

BREWED BY: NEW GLARUS BREWING

The story about these Two Women was it was a beer created by two brewing companies that were run by women. New Glarus brewing and Weyermann Malting created these two babes. The Two Women pours the deep dark golden color of the New Orleans Saints. The fluffy packing popcorn foam popping like tiny little bubbles. The nose senses breadiness with a hint of “honey, yes I can do,” and perhaps some grassy hip hops. The taste is a roller coaster of flavors in your mouth starting with toasted bread from the bakery. In the next phase, a honeysuckle develops finishing in a downward spiral of honey with a hint of sweetness. The finish is like having some fresh cereal grains in the morning with your coffee. This is a light tasting beer and super refreshing. This is a beer you can drink all day with. Which you know I did.

Our visit to Toffler’s was a on a late Saturday afternoon in Summer. The bartender was very nice. The entire town was full of great people who were happy to talk to you. Toffler’s had an outside beer garden. They also had seemingly a good food menu. I did like the vibe on Saturday afternoon of just people enjoying the weekend and watching a game on the television.

I loved sitting there so much that I even bought one of their shirts. Lucky me, it was the last XL they had available. My only complaint is the dreaded Green Bay Packer neon light.

OTHER HELLES BEERS BLOGGED

We have only done four Helles style beers before Two Women. Hath No Fury was by far the best in 2021, from Arrowhead brewing, which was done earlier this year. Overall, it’s ranked #42. The number one Helles beer overall is the Munich Helle lager Hoftbrau, which is outside the top ten at number 11. At number 56, is South Side Pride which was a Munich Helles lager. Southside Pride… we mourn the brewery of Baderbrau.

Then at number 90, we have Andy Gator which was a Maibock Helle from Abita. Two Women raise the most Helle out all the hell’s bells we rang. In 2021, I have Two Women at number two for the year. Overall, I have Two Women rocking their “Helles Bell” at number ten.

Ahhhh… beach town!!!! Having your own house actually on a beach and getting away from the rat race of life. The horn honking where I come from. Letting your serenity out as your toes hit the sand. Nothing like a few umbrella drinks in a beach town to get the day off to right start. Let’s face it. Any kind of drink in this type of atmosphere will work no matter what your poison is. Like finding an Irish pub in any new town you visit, it seems like nowadays, a brewery can be found in any town. I found a brewery in South Haven, Michigan and they had a beer you can put your toes in the sand with.

Sometimes people put more than just their toes in the sand. South Haven Brewing actually calls their creation, Toes in the Sand. If South Haven brewing gets a series of IPA’s named with body parts in the sand, I will update you on every one of them. South Haven Brewery was located right by the water and right across the street from the hotel.

We bellied up to the bar as the outdoor patio had fannies in every seat. The front of the building of the brew pub was like a garage door, so sitting inside at the bar felt like outside on a nice perfect day in this beach town. Our mission was just drinking as we had other ideas for dinner. South Haven Brewing does serve food and it sounded like a good menu. The food looked pretty good walking by as well. The bar keeps both had tattoos; I noticed many young ladies in Michigan have some kind of tattoo or sleeve of tattoos on their body for any one to see. Both bartenders were excellent. One looked like she could play in the WNBA, being very tall.

NAME:TOES IN THE SAND

STYLE: AMERICAN IPA

BREWED BY:SOUTH HAVEN BREWING

Toes in the Sand pours a sandy gold if that is such a color in the crayon box. Little lacing of foam at the perimeter of the pint glass. I compare Toes in the Sand with Zombie Dust in a few ways from the aroma to the high percentage of alcohol in each glass. Too many Toes in the Sand, & you could find yourself with face full of sand at the end of the night. Toes in the Sand does not smell of feet nor sand, which would be gross. The sniff test has the citrus tickling your nose hairs. Toes in the Sand is made with lemons & lime peels as South Haven Brewing is recycling everything. It has a blended citrus of hops. Toes in the sand does have some hop to it in each sip. They claim on the description of Toes in the Sand that South Haven Brewing uses a home grown coriander . I love when places like small businesses grow their own produce for their products. Toes in the Sand tastes like it smells and is a very smooth beer to drink. I can get behind this creation and watch the waves crash on the sand, while I’m soaking up some sun rays sipping on this beach delight.

South Haven Brewing is in a prime location by a restaurant/bar called The Idler. It uses a former out of commission boat for their seating.

Definitely a strip where you bar hop and eat some awesome food while the view is breathtaking. Before it was South Haven Brewing, the place was a bar called York’s Landing. Daniel Ballock, a former Kalamazoo fire fighter and paramedic, was working as a nurse about to go to medical school when he jumped on his dream when York’s went up for sale. Ballock wanted to serve up good food and drinks. He had a friend that brewed his own beer and formed a nice combo to found this brewery. Love when they brew the beer on the premises because it’s like pizza coming out of the oven.

I have Toes in the Sand coming in at number three on the 2021 list of beers. I have Toes in the Sand in my top 50 overall, at number 41. South Haven brewing is a place I know I can come back to and definitely try their food and other tasty beverages they had to offer. They did have some other choices as they had multiple taps on hand.

The loaded burgers brought us to Mulligans in Traverse City. Mulligans pub is the restaurant/bar at Crown golf club. When I think of golf, the movie Caddyshack comes to mind. How stupid of a question to the bar keep? Does the course have problems with dancing gophers? I did not say it, but you think it as we bellied up to the bar.

Mulligan, in golf terms, is a do over on a bad stroke that occurred. Like Bill Murray stroking the dynamite for his little furry friend looking for a Mulligan after he fails a few times, getting rid of the pest under the 16^th hole. Mulligans was like a log cabin inside with all the fancy varnished woods which included an oval shaped bar. We stopped in for lunch on a cool summer day as we watched people get their drinks for the course. Angie the bartender would gather cans of beer & put them in a bag of ice for all the people playing the 18 holes that afternoon. Some would take mixed drinks with vodka and lemonade. Some would do a quick shot before they went off to get the butterflies tamed, maybe from the last bad outing they may have experienced. While old and young, both female and male, venture off to their game, I’m watching the US open on the big television at the bar. It was either that, the soccer game, or the state of Michigan lotto numbers. I see a few passed winners I know scroll on the bottom of the screen; like legend Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino, who I’ve always loved.

I don’t play golf or watch golf, probably because the windmill ate my ball on the putt putt course many eons ago. I may play the game full time at some point as I watch all ages of people dressed in all colored polo shirts help themselves to a hot dog machine that looked like something from a movie theater. Never mind the protein bar you may have in other sports, just the John Daly diet of a vodka and lemonade and a dog will for sure get you through the game.

I came here for the loaded hamburgers and these pubs on golf courses usually do have some great food. The rumor was true and Mulligans did not disappoint as my loaded burger had bacon, cheese, & jalapenos inside the patty. With homemade style chips on the side.

Each bite was juicy and packed a flavorful heavenly taste as bacon goes with almost anything.

Let’s not forget the leadoff hitter in my lunch line up. For our starter, they have a list of these fancy rolls. They were like egg rolls, but with all sorts of delights mixed in. We had southwestern style which had chicken and corn served with side of ranch and raspberry jalapeno dipping sauces.

The menu was very impressive with plenty of burger choices and other great sounding meals along with homemade soup. This place’s menu sold me before I took a sip of my beer. This is a beer blog so I went with what my daddy would drink if he lived in Canada.

NAME: LABATT BLUE

STYLE: LAGER

BREWED BY: LABATT BLUE BREWING COMPANY

Labatt Blue is a beer I completely forgot about. Years ago, it seemed like Labatt Blue would make it in your cooler at parties all the time like beers like Fosters and another Canadian favorite of mine, the Moosehead.

These days there’s the invasion of all the craft beers. Some of the domestic beers have taken a backseat to them. These old favorites have not taken full shelves at the Supermarket or liquor store. They no longer have the big displays. I always liked Labatt Blue in my younger days, so what the hay! Let’s indulge with a few of them from the tap.

It pours a golden yellow with foam that will linger at the top of the pint glass. The smell taste is bready, floral and a hint of sweetness. Labatt Blue’s company description is the beer has a fruity character from special selected aromatic hops. The taste is your simple lager-tasting beverage – a bit grainy, malty, & cracker-like with the sweetness. Labbatt Blue goes down smooth and is easy drinking with good carbonation. Labatt Blue is a good style of working outside beer. Maybe a good choice on the golf course because it quenched my thirst. Each pint glass is only 5.5%, which makes this a good daytime drinking beer.

Outside the golf course looked green so I would say that would be very important swinging the clubs. Mulligans had a nice garden area set up for their patrons when they return from the hills in victory or in defeat.

Mulligan’s was a very nice find. Some would think places on the golf courses can be snooty, stuck up, and newcomers would be looked down at. Like the feeling “Why are you as we don’t want you?” I felt the opposite as the service was great including the barkeep, Angie. The waiter Gregory was loads of fun as we did this place for lunch and dinner and both times got all-star treatment. The food was out of this world good. They had some nice choices of tap beer. The beer was cold. Love the Ski lodge style of pubs with all the timbers of wood and cool beer signs on the walls. Like opening day in baseball, it just gives me goose bumps.

LABATT BLUE VERSUS THE COMPETITION

I have the Big Labatt Blue at the end of the line at number 4 for this year. Like the other beers on this list much better. Overall, I have this lager coming in at number 101. I have Labatt Blue better than the Iron City Light lager beer. I like the American domestics better like Iron City, Hamm’s and Old Style. I know if all these beers were at the same bar, Labatt Blue would be the least picked. American domestic wins versus Oh’ Canada domestics Eh…

A Sunday drive brought us to Crete, Illinois. It’s a small town South of the big city. A quiet place off the grid of the violence and mayhem of the City of Chicago. A town where there is no horn blowing to express your angry thoughts. It’s where simple folks like to live life, not in the fast lane. Crete is home to the Evil Horse Brewery that is on the Dixie Highway trail of adventure with seven other intriguing establishments that make a Murderess’s row line-up. It is not our first rodeo at the Evil Horse and not the last, as this is a nice place to belly up to the bar.

Past beer blogged from the Evil Horse:

STAT: Evil Horse Downtown Hottie (Rank #10 on the Big beer list)

Dow town Hottie as best beer of the year in 2019

NAME: LUG WRENCH LAGER

4.2%

STYLE: AMERICAN PALE LAGER

BREWED BY: EVIL HORSE BREWING

This go around, I was turned on to an American Pale Lager called the Lug Wrench. The bar keep, that hails from Peotone, Illinois, gave us the scoop on this light & refreshing Summer beer which Evil Horse has created.

The Lug Wrench is very popular in Saloons in the area such as Top Fuel Saloon and the Stage Coach. Top Fuel orders multiple kegs of the Lug Wrench so the taproom at Evil Horse does not always have the Lug Wrench in circulation because the brewery has to keep up with demand from the local Saloon keepers.

In horse terms, the Lug Wrench pours a golden straw coloring. The many horse themed heads inside the taproom would appreciate a healthy bundle of straw.

The Lug Wrench is made from a 2 row pilsner malt with a premier select of corn. Hamm’s from the land of sky blue waters, has the corn in their wonderful delight.

It’s a little different than Hamm’s, aside from the corn aspect of things. Lug Wrench has hops mixed in from America and Germany that give it a nice balance. The Lug Wrench has a nice creamy head on this baby. The smells of vanilla and lemon with a zest of citrus give this beer a nice aroma. No bitterness. It tastes like it smells and is a crisp & easy-drinking Summer beer. It has that low percentage in each pint making it one of those beers you can drink all day outside while you set up your meats for the big cook off.

Usually we indulge in the menu from the upstairs restaurant called The Loft, which has great food. Our tummies were full from Breakfast so we settled for some nice salty snacks.

White Cheddar from the matchbox of these pretzels hit the spot indeed.

THE AMERICAN PALE LAGER

I have only blogged one other American Pale Lager. It was the Paradise Park in one of the oldest bars in New Orleans, called Tujagues.

Paradise Park was no paradise as it’s ranked number 112 and second from last on the big beer list. Evil Horse Brewing’s Lug Wrench is easily a better choice, when it comes to the American Pale Lager, than Paradise Park. I have Lug Wrench at number two on the 2021 beer list. I like the Lug Wrench coming in at number 25 overall on the big suds list above.

I was on the Highway from Hell, which is Lincoln Highway where the construction that is taking over looks like some road out of a Mad Max movie. The destination was Arrowhead Ales in New Lenox, Illinois.

Arrowhead Ales has a Helles Lager with the Mad Max type of name. It’s called Hath No Fury, perhaps the title of a sequel to Mad Max Fury Road. Lincoln Highway is definitely a Fury road. After all the wreckage of highway rubble, I went with the Helles lager on a rainy Saturday afternoon. I was hoping to get warmed up by a Hot Clucker because the Hot Nashville Chicken Sandwich is my jam there.

NAME: HATH NO FURY

4.9%

STYLE: HELLES GERMAN LAGER

BREWED BY: ARROWHEAD ALES

Arrowhead Ales Stats: 1 beer blogged

Weed Wacker is currently 18^th overall and was the number one beer in Steven King’s 2020 horror story.

HIGHWAY TO HELLES BEERS WE HAVE BLOGGED IN TIME

#11: Hofbrau Munich Helle Lager

#53: Southside Pride Munich Helles Lager

#87: Andy Gator Maibock Helles

LET’S DIVE IN

The color of the Hath No Fury is a golden yellow. The aroma of the Hath No Fury is maltiness. The taste has that maltiness with hints of sweetness, bitterness, and a tad of spice. It’s a clean crisp lager after the first sip and beyond. Hath does have some hop to it which gives you that bitter taste. This beer could be confused for a Pilsner. The Sweetness of the Hath reminds me of the Hofbrau Lager. Hofbrau gets the edge over this Mad Max apocalyptic beer. The Hath No Fury was very enjoyable and went well with the Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich. Which is out of this world. At 4.9%, more than one can be had at any given sitting.

A crispy Chicken that bathes in hot oil, throw some slaw, roasted garlic, and pickles on it with a potato style bun. It’s hot to trot. Arrowhead Ales is a place on the rotation because of the food and drink. The establishment just added some slots next to the silver vats of heaven.

Sitting at the bar there, the service has been excellent. Plus getting great insight on other Arrowhead Ales beverages. One women said, “Holy Shit” about them having her beverage in the to-go fridge for her to purchase. This scholar’s words got a few chuckles around the bar as she had her tongue wagging out of her mouth and was excited like a kid in a candy store. I went there for lunch to watch the horrible Tiger team beat up the Cubs. I guess this is funny and another plus to Arrowhead Ales’ report card.

FINAL GRADE

I have the Hath No Fury Helles Lager at number two in 2021. Overall, I have the Hath No Fury coming in at number 40 on the big beer list. Arrowhead Ales has two beers in two tries in the top 50.

People asked, “Why are you going to Iowa?” What is there to do in the state of Iowa? Many think corn. Many think University of Iowa football. Field of Dreams is what I think of first, when it comes to Iowa. The story of the 1919 Black Sox. Shoeless Joe Jackson. Field of Dreams is on my bucket list, but this trip was about the Quad Cities. One of their sports in the Quad Cities is Roller Derby.

Women’s roller derby. Women going the speed of light on wheels while beating the crap out of each other. Good stuff. Back on topic as I ventured off to Davenport, Iowa and found myself inside a brewery drinking something out of this world. A Cherry Bomb Blonde at Front Street Brewing.

Cherry bombs maybe make you think of fireworks when you were a kid. Remembering making loud noises lighting firecrackers. This blonde creation was a blonde beer with a cherry inside the pint glass.

The Miller Highlife guy would be appalled at fruit in the beer. However lime in the cervezas, we all like. Lime originally was put inside the glass or bottle of suds to keep the flies away. People like it and it went well together like peanut butter and jelly. Then the orange slices in a Blue Moon. A cherry at the bottom of a drink would make this guy try to land the cherry like the Amigo going after the worm at the bottom of the tequila bottle.

The cherry swimming at the bottom of the pint glass, made me think of Star Wars.

Luke Skywalker rehabbing in the tank of water like a fish in a bowl. Just hovering. This is a cherry, not some kind of Jedi in a diaper. Cherry bomb which puts the force into each beer glass, making this blonde a fun-tasting beer. Maybe perhaps a blonde girl with a redhead. Can you play nice with a combination like that at the same time? Get your mind out of the gutter. This is a beer of destiny, not some kind of three-way fantasy dancing around inside your head.

NAME: CHERRY BOMB BLONDE

5.4%

STYLE: FRUIT AND FIELD BEER

BREWED BY: FRONT STREET BREWING

The Cherry Bomb Blonde pours a dirty blonde color. This babe has a nice carbonation. The aroma is cherry. This beer is light bodied easy drinking. Its taste is a cherry balanced with wheat, some sweetness, a tad sour, and some hops to it.

FRONT STREET BREWERY DESCRIPTION: An American light hybrid beer with a mild moderately sweet malt flavor and subtle fruitiness courtesy of the cherry. The result is a refreshing light and aromatic brew an instant classic.

Fruity beers can be easily one and done. This beer had more. The Cherry Bomb Blonde gave me that feeling like when I first had a Lemon Shandy brewed by Leinenkugel. It was to die for and all I wanted during the Summer. The Shandy is a Summer beer. The Cherry Bomb Blonde is special because it’s around all seasons. Plus, this is a beer I can get behind because it is refreshing and the Cherry flavor is not overwhelming. Plus, only 5.4 % in each pint means this beer can be that day and night marathon beer as well.

THE ATMOSPHERE

Front Street Brewery was a very good time. The service was great. Nice friendly people. It felt like being in one of your favorite watering holes, swapping stories with your people, enjoying beer, and watching sports on television. Plus, they had an incredible food menu.

This brewery is a great place to watch sports, with many TV’s scattered on the walls. It’s also a great place to watch, “Gimme A Break,” as you can see in the pictures above.

I had the Cajun burger with a deep fried pretzel bun. The burger was juicy as my mouth devoured this creation. It had meat with pepper jack cheese, jalapenos, and candied bacon. I indeed made a pig out of myself. At the end, I conquered this spicy piece of meat on the deep fried pretzel bun. Front Street Brewing has a good-sized food menu they offer, with lots of interesting choices of stuff that is to die for. If you’re on a diet, you will cheat your way through that day.

PEOPLE-WATCHING

One of the pleasures of enjoying beers in breweries is watching other people enjoy their beers. We liked that in Iowa, everyone is free to be themselves.

Overall, Front Street Brewery must be on your bucket list. If you are close to Davenport, Iowa, this place needs cementing in the regular rotation. The Cherry Bomb Blonde reminded me of the song from that old band, Warrant. Cherry Pie!!!

Maybe the Cherry Pie song was in the head of the brewmaster, from Front Street Brewing, who put this mastermind creation together. I have the Cherry bomb Blonde taking over the number one position on the big beer list. It was as good as Ghost River Golden Ale, which has been holding on to the number one position like a pope, and will go to number two. Obviously, the Cherry Bomb Blonde is number 1 in the 2021 charts as well.

FINAL FAREWELL TO ARGUS BREWERY

Last year, about this time, in 2020 we found out about the closing of one of my favorite breweries on the South side of Chicago. Yes, Argus Brewery had one of the best tours. Better than almost all the other breweries I’ve been to. The invasion of Covid meant Argus could not keep their doors open. I remember going to Binny’s and buying all the remaining Argus beers off the shelves. Even a year old, those Argus beers did not lose their flavor as we had one final toast in the basement bar. This in honor of the quarantine of 2020. The last two were the Pilsner and the Lager. We brought out the Argus pint glasses like the parents brought out the good silverware on the Holidays. We had one final slainte with Argus before St. Patrick’s Day. We shared with each having a half of the lager and going halfsies on the pilsner.

Maybe someday these great Argus brews will resurface like all great beers come back from the dead. The Hipsters brought back PBR, which was on life support. Anything can happen.

2020 was a miserable year for many with the invasion of the Corona Virus. A virus named after a beer. It was a year like something out of a Stephen King novel. We mourn the people we have lost in our lives because of the pandemic. We mourn places we lost in 2020. The pandemic year rescheduled where we drank. Drinking beer still occurred in our quarantine at home or close by to people we spent time with, either friends, family, neighbors or foes. We blogged the lowest amount of tap beers ever. We still found some tap beer fresh off the keg in-between shut downs or re-openings. Plus, found those joints breaking the rules in their Covid speakeasies. We still have to pour out our beer awards for 2020, so pull up a stool and let’s reminisce about the good times of 2020.

First, we will have a moment of silence for the places we lost.

Argus Brewery was like finding a gem in the ruff. Best brewery tour ever. The Three Floyd’s brew pub, and getting a beer from their taps, is compared to getting a pizza right out of a brick oven.

Put on the gloves. Tighten your mask. Let’s pour a perfect pint and pour out all our 2020 beer awards.

BEST BEER OF THE YEAR: WEED WACKER (POURED BY ARROWHEAD ALES BREWING COMPANY)

BEST BAR OF THE YEAR: WONDER BURGER

Wonder Burger was the last place we experienced being a big crowd out at a bar before the shutdown. We knew the band. Wonder Burger had live music from that band, craft beer from the tap, food, and many of our friends and family. The atmosphere was rocking.

BEST BREWERY OF THE YEAR: GHOST ISLE BREWING

When the shutdown restrictions were lifted from the Covid, Ghost Isle Brewing came up huge. Drinking brewery beer outside in their garden. It had that feeling of normalcy again after months of being forced to quarantine.

BEST NEW BREWERY OF THE YEAR: BROTHERSHIP BREWING

Aliens bringing me beer is a nice combo!!! This is a very clever and cool brewery.

BEST NEW BAR/TAVERN/SALOON/PUB: NICKS TAVERN IN LEMONT

This is what I think of when someone says neighborhood tavern. All the local yokels drinking in A small town. Residents talking about their week, drinking beer, and eating a monster sized burger. The days when you did not need a cell phone because you knew everyone would just be up at the tavern to watch the game or shoot the shit. Nick’s: A must do in 2021. Nick’s was so well decorated around Christmas it reminded me of the bar in It’s A Wonderful Life.

THE 2020 BARS & BEERS WE TAPPED POWER RANKINGS

RANK AND BAR	BEER	FOOD	COMMENT
1. WONDER BURGER	WONDER BREW PRE-PROHIBITION	CHEESE BURGER	FOOD IS CHEAP AND GOOD
2.NICKS TAVERN	LEXICAL GAP	DRINKS ONLY	MUST TRY A BURGER. FREAKING HUGE GOING PAST
3.FEATHER BONE	ROUND BARN KOLSCH	DRINKS ONLY	I MISSED MEATLOAF NIGHT BY ONE NIGHT. I SHOULD KNOW THESE THINGS
4.BLACK OAK	LIGHT HEARTED ALE	CORNED BEEF RUEBEN	WATERING HOLE THEY MIGHT KNOW ME IN THERE
5.BERGER STATION	ROCKET SURGERY	MINI SLIDERS BURGERS	FOOD IS AMAZING. THE TAP BEER KEEPS GOING UP IN PERCENTAGE WISE ON THE MENU
6.BRENTWOOD TAVERN	HOP FIELD	TWO EGG BREAKFAST	THE VIEW OF THE BOATS IN THE WATER
7.THREE CORNERS	BASEMENT PARTY	CHICKEN TACOS	DAY TIME FOOTBALL GAMES ALL DAY LONG HERE
8.MERMAID BAR	SOLID GOLD	BURGER	SUMMER TIME EATING ALONG THE WATER PRICELESS.
9.HUGIE MCCLAFFERTY’S	CARLSBURG	TATER SKINS	IRISH PLACES I’M A SUCKER FOR

THE 2020 BREWERIES WE TAPPED POWER RANKINGS

RANK BREWERY	BEER	COMMENT
1.GHOST ISLE BREWING	SURF GARDEN WEST COAST	BEST BEER GARDEN OF THE YEAR
2.GREEN BUSH BREWING	COUNTRY DRAG	RUBBER CHICKENS IN THE WINDOW. FUTURE GREEN BUSH EXPANSION ACROSS THE STREET
3.BROTHER SHIP BREWING	GALACTIC WHEAT	GREAT PLACE TO DISCUSS SCI FI MOVIES
4.ARROWHEAD ALES BREWING	WEED WACKER	THE NASHVILLE CHICKEN SANDWICH
5.FLOSSMOOR STATION	STATION MASTER WHEAT	TO GO GROWLER WAS BLOGGED AT MY QUARANTINE

The 2020 Beer List

RANK	DATE HAD	BEER	STYLE	BREWED AT	TAPPED AT
1	12-12-20	Weed Wacker	Wheat Pale Ale	Arrowhead Brewing	Arrowhead Brewing
2	7-28-20	Solid Gold	Lager	Founders Brewing	The Mermaid Bar
3	6-27-20	Surf Garden West Coast IPA	West Coast IPA	Ghost Isle Brewing	Ghost Isle Brewing
4	11-28-20	Lexical Gap	American IPA	Pollyanna Brewing	Nick’s
5	6-26-20	Country Drag	Pale Ale	Greenbush	Greenbush
6	11-25-20	Rocket Surgery	New England IPA	Surly Brewing	Berger Station
7	3-12-20	Light Hearted Ale	American IPA	Bell’s Brewing	Black Oak
8	7-23-20	Round Barn Kolsch	Kolsch	Round Barn Brewing	Featherbone Tavern
9	11-28-20	Basement Party	American Lager	Temperance Beer Co.	Three Corners
10	5-9-20	Station Master Wheat Ale	American Pale Wheat	Flossmoor Station	Flossmoor Station
11	9-26-20	Galactic Wheat	American Pale Wheat	Brothership Brewing	Brothership Brewing
12	11-28-20	Carlsburg	Lager/European Pale	Carlsberg Brewing	Hughie McClafferty’s
13	6-27-20	Hop Field	Farmhouse IPA	Brewery Vivant	Bentwood Tavern
14	3-14-20	Wonderbrew Pre-Prohibition	American Lager	People’s Brewing	Wonderburger

An arrowhead is like a Red Ryder rifle around Christmas. “You will shoot your eye out.”

I remember in Walking Dead they infused the arrowhead in zombie DNA and shot them up in the air or right at the enemies. Hoping the head of the arrow would enter the person’s flesh. Well the bad guys have to be the enemy using germ warfare in the Apocalypse. If the arrowhead punctured a hole in your flesh, you are so fucked especially if it turns you into a zombie. One of the best arrowheads is if you make the enemy explode like John Rambo above. Arrowhead is also home of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Arrowhead is also a brewery in New Lenox, Illinois. The Arrowhead name came from the sub division where head brewer/owner Mike Bacon lived in his younger days. A guy with a dream. Right from the heartland. A guy that started brewing a few batches of beer just to drink with friends. A guy that started crafting his own brew with recipes he invented. Each batch he created, he continued to learn more about the art and science of crafting his own beer. Then in 2009, he established his own brewing company. Everyone loves a success story of anything that has the name Bacon in it.

I have been to Arrowhead Ales Brewing Company in New Lenox a few times. Do not find myself out in New Lenox that often. When I do, I try to head to Arrowhead for their beer and one freaking amazing Nashville Chicken Sandwich. If I’m not hungry at the time, the Nashville Chicken Sandwich is coming home with me to-go because it’s so good. Actually was able to get to Arrowhead twice in the month of December. They had people spaced out, but probably were not supposed to be open. It’s Christmas time, they have beer, and snitches are bitches who end up in ditches.

NAME: WEED WACKER

6.2%

STYLE: WHEAT PALE ALE

BREWED BY: ARROWHEAD ALES BREWING COMPANY

As you can see, the Weed Wacker pours an orange amber color. I love a good Pale Ale. Wheat Pale Ales I have found are very tasty, since I do like Goose Island 312 Wheat Beer and many others. Love the name Weed Wacker as I’ve been in the lawn game too long.

Everyone knows somebody like this at some point in his or her life. These are why companies have to have even the stupidest “stating the obvious” safety instructions.

A weed wacker, I guess, can be used on hair. The Weed Wacker has a few things going down with the sniff test. Luckily I have not lost my smell or taste from this pandemic. The aroma has hints of citrus and perhaps some grapefruit as well. Grassiness and breadiness hints. The taste is pretty damn sensational. It is hoppy. Arrowhead Ales board says it uses Citra and Amarillo hops. The citrus with fruitiness comes right at you and finishes with a sweet candy taste. A little malty after taste I did not mind. It was 6.2% and even from a good distance away, I could have a few but after that many the keg was tapped out. Just my luck and it meant no crowler to-go. No worries I did have a Nashville Chicken Sandwich to go, to finish off my taste buds for the night that were tingling from being weed wacked.

With the pandemic in the air, the service was impeccable. They had everyone well-spaced out. The service was down to a science, it was that good. Locals raved about the beer as a couple was heading to Florida for the Holidays. They found time for a bite to eat at Arrowhead Ales and take some much-needed crowlers to the beaches of Florida. Arrowhead Ales had everything well decorated for the Holidays. With the cold and the dim lighting, it had that Christmas spirit feeling tugging on the heartstrings.

I will be back to Arrowhead Ales in 2021 at some point. I indulged in a few other beers they had on the list so they will need to be talked about as well. I’m only blogging one of their beers today as the Weed Wacker is my top beer of 2020. A miserable year to tally up draft beers at places. As far as the ones I did, the Weed Wacker blows away the competition in the year 2020. I did blog some good ones. But, Weed Wacker is tops in my book. I have Weed Wacker spinning in my top 20 at number 17 overall on the big bad suds list.

“Remember the days of skipping school,

Racing cars and being cool.

With a six pack and a radio,

We didn’t need no place to go.”

Bon Jovi’s song Never Say Goodbye

During my high school days, weekends were for hanging out with friends. Watching great movies in the basement with friends was something that was very enjoyable.

Watching sports in the basement. Playing sports on the weekend, and then recovering in the basement. Something about doing all these things together with beer, bringing everyone together, and having a party in the basement was special. Underage, a basement for drinking beer beats drinking beer out in the cold while sitting on an old blue Volkswagen in an alley. Now as an adult, the basement is a place where I still enjoy having some beers. It was a great place to quarantine this year. The memories are endless. All the Superbowls!!!! All the bowl games in the basement, drinking a beer by the bar as the duct work vibrates air to the upper floors.

NAME: BASEMENT PARTY

4.9%

STYLE: AMERICAN LAGER

BREWED BY: TEMPERANCE BEER CO.

Three Corners, in Lemont, is the place at which I reminisced about basement parties as I discovered Temperance had a beer to start this conversation. Basement Party indeed brought back memories of old and new ones from the past weekend. Three Corners is a place I have been to about a dozen times. Three Corners is located on three corners in Lemont, outside of that lovely downtown area. Three Corners has three locations, the one in New Lenox is not located off three corners. The other location is in Downers Grove, which I have not been to yet. Three corners.

An impressive tap beer list.
Great food.
Great place to watch sports with locations of televisions in eye reach at all angles.

This is not the first time we blogged one of the many selections of craft beers they have.

Those rows of taps on the shiny polished bar that glistens from the dim lightning.

Basement Party fills up a hazy light hay from a barn color in the glass, with a slight lacing of foam which bubbles away. In case your basement takes on water, I know a guy.

Ask for the Sarge, he’ll solve any issue you have. Basement party is an American Lager with a grassy smell and slight fruity hint to the nostrils. The first sip of this beer is like, “Why did I think this was good?” Second sip, the Basement Party grows on you like fungus on a cat’s tail. It’s not your regular American Lager as it is watered down, but you can taste that grassiness with a hint of fruit taste. It’s a dry beer. It’s an easy drinking beer. Perfect Summer beer. Only 4.9% so you can have a whole bunch of them in one sitting.

Great food was had this go around at Three Corners. Corned Beef rolls was the starter for this deliciousness.

The main course starred Chicken tacos. A toasted turkey sandwich with brie and figs, surrounded by homemade chips, made the tummy dance to the music of goodness.

I have the Basement Party in my top ten for 2020, coming in at number 8. On the overall big suds list, I have the Basement Party coming in at number 62.

ANOTHER BREW PUB BITES THE ZOMBIE DUST

The pandemic yet again affects the beer world.

The mecca of all brewpubs is closing its door for good. Since 1996, Three Floyd’s brewery was pouring beer to its patrons in a little pub on their grounds. The brewery will stay open. If you feel like having pizza right out of the oven, you get the same feeling from beer right out of the sliver vat into the keg ice cold in the lines and into a pint glass. No more fresh Gum Ball head, Alpha King, and the best beer Three Floyds makes, Zombie dust.

Three Floyds brewpub In Muenster Indiana has closed its doors for good. No more sneaking out of work early on Friday to wait in line for some package goods. Then wait for a table in the little beer garden; having a starter drink while waiting for a table inside to open.

Then eat some delicious pub grub inside, starting the weekend off in style with your favorite Three Floyd’s beverage. No more listening to that loud death metal music that sounds like pots and pans banging on a horny cat. Or in the midst of some kind of out-of-body encounter.

Doing a flight watching some kind of Quentin Tarantino flick on the television.

The food was good but you still walked out in a nice buzz state of mind with a case of something in the car ready to be put on ice. The food was great. Portions may have been too small because it seemed to never smother out all that high alcohol percentage of a zombie dust or many of their beers that tasted so great and not strong. If you did not drive, you may have had to drive your buddy’s car back because he or she may have been overserved in a good way. The adventure could lead to a strip club. Getting a new tattoo. Covering up that tramp stamp with another tramp stamp. Or just dumping a beer on somebody you don’t know at a pizza parlor afterwards, for being too lippy. Everyone had a little Dark Lord inside him or her.

Three Floyds shut down originally from the pandemic when everything in the states shut down in the first few months when Steven King’s 2020 tale began. The Brewpub could only seat about 70 people and it probably would be hard to socially distance people. The owner is taking the high road that nobody should die drinking his beer. This within the State of Indiana, one of those states that opened back up early and stayed the wild wild west where anything goes.

Just when I figured out how to use the Uber for my friend and I to go across the border and back again, being safe.

Maybe down the line when everyone gets their shot. Not a shot of the Space Station Middle Finger but the other vaccine to get through this virus and the entire pandemic that has killed many. Maybe if there ever is a norm again, the brew pub will open their doors once again in Muenster Indiana.

The sign would be like the North Star the Shepherds used to guide them to baby Jesus and the manger. The water tower will work too. Right now, it is devastating to see places we love just close up. We will move on, but we can still hope some of the old places return since the brewery remains open and Binny’s still has package goods of Three Floyds neatly stacked on their shelves. I can do without toilet paper, but if you take my Gum Ball Head I will have nothing to chew.

What city, town or suburb do you live by, that you think had an alien invasion happen to the people that live there? Like the way they act and look. You could say that about more than one town and people throughout the world, especially in 2020. There may be alien life in the White House. That explains a lot. Sometimes Alien ships come out of the woodwork.

In the fall, we discovered the Brothership had landed in Mokena, Illinois, a South suburb of Chicago. That explains a lot about one of my managers at work who lives in Mokena. Now the home of Brother Ship Brewing.

Brothership brewing has not invaded that long ago, and it’s best to describe these out-of-towners as watching Sci-Fi channel drinking beer. The brewery is decorated with alien pictures, graphic art and their spacecrafts. Cool flying saucers hung from the ceiling. You could say the Big Bang Theory crew that likes sports, as football was being played. It was a brewery with no food, but do not alienate food trucks. The brewery has multiple beers on tap which have cool names from deep space nine. Favorites of mine include Sauced in Space.

Aliens versus Cowboys!

My favorite name was Area 5.1 because it’s simple and to the point!

I tried the Galactic Wheat.

NAME: GALACTIC WHEAT

5.5%

STYLE: AMERICAN PALE WHEAT

BREWED BY: BROTHERSHIP

The slogan Brothership has is, “Believe in beer.” I raise my beer to the heavens and say “I Believe” like some preacher trying to squander money from their congregation. The pint has a cool logo that is a flying saucer, the logo of the brewery. Galactic Wheat pours a hazy yellowish with some foaming bubbles on the top but not much. This wheat ale is made from dry hops. Sabro and Citra are the hops in the shiny silver vat of beer. It smells of zesty lemon, citrus and perhaps a hint of other fruit tones. This is nice, crisp, and easy like what most bank robbers think of heist before they actually go into the joint. First sip makes my toes do a waltz in their shoes. It’s hoppy. It’s tasty. It tastes the way it smells. The carbonation makes it easy to drink. I definitely detected a sweetness and a tad of bitterness mixed with citric lemon flavor. The after taste is kind of bready. Overall, I liked Galactic Wheat and would have it again. I had a few as the percentage was not high, and to me would be a good outside beer.

Another trip to the Brothership I will be on their manifest in 2021. I was impressed with a few of their beers I did sample. This go around I’m only blogging one of them so I will be back. Since it is new in town, I hope it survives through the pandemic. I enjoyed the atmosphere at Brothership. The people working there were awesome. You can get into a nice debate about the good, bad, and ugly Sci-Fi movies. It has that old time Alien feeling, but with beer. Galactic Wheat I have down at number 9 for the 2020 suds list. Overall, I have Galactic Wheat landing in space station 76 on the big suds list in the galaxy.

During our pub crawl weeks before Christmas, in downtown Lemont we came upon a little tavern called Nick’s. This was not the Nick’s tavern in Pottersville. It was more like the Martini’s in Bedford Falls, if we were in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. The streets of Lemont were decorated with bright lights. Christmas spirit was in the air during these days with the virus lurking. Nick’s Tavern, a little pub with big burgers, give Lemont that Martini’s feeling. The only thing missing was a white dusting of snow on this cold night.

We walked through the door of Nick’s and felt like we earned our wings.

Inside, Nick’s tavern was like a Christmas blast from the past. The inside was well decorated with bright lights, antique ornaments, and shiny garland. Along the perimeter of the walls was displayed an old relic Christmas village with tiny lights in the windows of each building. They brought the town of tiny people alive, which gleamed bright. It was quite an ambience as you felt like you needed your Christmas sweater and had just arrived home to family on Christmas Day. The place smelled like delicious food as the pints were pouring with golden suds. People were talking, excited about the Holidays, and feeling like they could be back to a normal life. The burgers were huge. As people came in and out wearing masks for pick up, we were reminded that we still were dealing with a pesky virus still invading our air space.

NAME:LEXICAL GAP

7.3&

STYLE:AMERICAN IPA

BREWED BY:POLLYANNA

Lemont is also home of Pollyanna Brewing, which brews their beer just minutes away. We glanced at the chalkboard of beers, and found the Pollyanna beer on the board that was on tap. Lexical Gap was the choice in this Christmas pub-crawl stop. We did blog a Pollyanna beer a few years back called Full Lemonty, which is #63 on the list of suds. Pollyanna loves adding the fruit smell and taste to many of their beers. This IPA packed a punch that hit you with pineapple and hints of pine. The beer pours an orange copper with frothy pillowing clouds around the perimeter of the glass. The taste is hints of pineapple with pine notes and other fruit tones. This combined with some bitter hops gives you that tongue sticking taste. It has a clean finish and it is very similar to a West Coast IPA. The Lexical Gap has some octane to it. Like a Zombie Dust, so good that you’re not thinking. Then wow… this baby is a 7.3% on the Richter scale.

Nicks Tavern is still going to stay on the bucket list because the menu food looked very impressive. The burger is on the mind still to this day, as I should have ordered something to go. It was a pub-crawl and a burger like that would have put me to sleep eating half a cow. Someone would need to roll me to the next place in a wagon or a wheelbarrow.

The Lexical Gap from Pollyanna I have coming in at number three on the 2020 beer list. I really like this beer, and also have it in the top 30 of the big suds list coming in at number 28 overall.

During the Prohibition ERA, many people in need of a pint had to find a speakeasy. A hidden underground establishment to serve you one of your vices was much needed to get through a work week. These days are similiar with the shut downs of establishments during the second wave of this Covid virus. During this second wave, you see many rule breakers staying open. Some would say Patriots. Some would call this….

Leave it to the Irish, like a Chinese restaurant, wherever you are at in any part of the world, like the arches around the corner, they are there. This takes us to an Irish Pub In Lemont, Illinois as we ran into this gem of a establishment. In beautiful downtown Lemont, while doing some Christmas shopping and a little pub crawl, we stopped off at Hughie McClafferty’s to lick a few pints clean and enjoy an appetizer.

NAME: CARLSBURG STYLE:LAGER/EUROPEAN PALE ABV 5% BREWED BY:CARLSBERG

The first time I ever had a Carlsburg was in the old country of Ireland. That was decades ago. Carlsberg is brewed in Denmark. Carlsberg has breweries in Swedan as well. I have had Carlsberg in the states which my brother-n-law will get and drink from time to time. When I was over in Ireland, Carlsberg was one of the popular beer choices besides Guinness and Harp. Before Miller Light and Bud light invaded Europe, Carlsberg is a lighter type of beer that many indulge in. Carlsberg is closer to a pilsner type of beer than a lager. It pours a pale goldenish color with a balding white guy’s head of foam. Bare spots popping up around the parameter of the glass. The aroma of the Carlsburg is earthy with smells of copper and bread. Carlsberg goes down smooth and is well balnced with a moderate carbonation, so no bubbles will stick in your throat. The taste is bready and more on the wheat side of things, with a sweet caramel flavor added to the mix. I would compare this beer to a Stella Artois another great import.

Inside Hughie McClaffertys it seems like business as usual. They had people spread out, but they had a good crowd inside as well which could be nerve wrenching during these times. It had to be a few beers, an appetizer, and hit the road in this Irish Excellent Adventure. Hughie’s has a full scale menu of lots of interesting sounding Irish delights. We did an order of tater skins which were stacked with all kinds of goodies and seasonings. Very delicious. The atmosphere was lively and I know this would be a great place to eat dinner. Probably a great place to hang out for an entire night. Inside, it is definitely that Irish pub feeling with a welcome to our home feeling. Lots of cool Irish heritage pictures on the walls that are worth a look.

Carlsberg was the first import beer we did in 2020. I have Carlsberg coming in at number 8 in this 2020 year. I have Carlsberg coming in at number 76 overall. Carlsberg is one of those beers to me that is a novelty type of beer. Once in a great while you see it and think, “Wow, I have not had a Carlsberg in ages.”

In a world gone mad. In most states, outdoor eating is the only option if you feel like escaping the quarantine as perhaps the walls are closing in at home. Outdoor seating in the winter is not practical. Drafts of cold air blowing through the gaps of the tent. Wind blowing the tent flaps, and making it seem that things might collapse at any time. Hot wings turn into cold wings. “Surly” you can’t be serious not being able to go inside. It is not rocket surgery wanting to find the speakeasy to indulge in a tasty hazy New England juicy beverage with perhaps some piping hot sliders off the grill indoors. A place that defies the governor who looks like Fred Flinstone in Illinois.

Don’t let the rail road tracks slow you down as Chicago Ridge has one of those defiers of the governor in Illinois, at the Berger Station.

NAME:ROCKET SURGERY STYLE: NEW ENGLAND IPA 5.5% BREWED BY: SURLY BREWING I have had a few beers from Surly brewing from finding them at Binny’s Beverage Depot over the years. As we made our way into the Berger station scoffing the scofflaws, I saw Rocket Surgery on the huge tapped beer list they have. I loved the name, saw Surly brewery was the creator, and order a pint up STAT.

As you can see it pours a golden hazy orange. Surly claims Rocket Surgery is brimming with citra and simcoe hops. The aroma has that greenhouse smell of floral and grassiness on Spring day. First sip seems like bits of mango, a tropical fruit with some floral herbal to the glass and it has some hop. It finishes with a mild bitterness. You could say it has a sweet caramel on the second sip. The Rocket Surgery is a very easy drinking beer. Overall it was very juicy and hoppy but not overwelming which made this beer good for more than just one. It’s a 5.5% so you are able to have more than one.

The food is incredible at the Berger Station. Obviously they have gourmet burgers with an enticing menu of multiple creations that will make your tongue salivate. Berger Station was on Chicago’s Best, a television show that shows the best foods in Chicago and the Chicagoland area. It’s an establishment that has not been around that long, but a menu that is growing with more deliciousness every time I enter. From appetizers that will knock your socks off, to specials that should be main staples all the time that go beyond their great burgers. I did have sliders and they were the bomb dot com. Rocket Surgery pops in at number 4 on the 2020 beer list. On the big suds list Rocket Surgery finds its way in my top 25 beers at number 23, a very great Chicago number.

GOING FOR THE GUSTO

I was across the street from a beer distributing warehouse when something caught my eye in the parking lot. It was like a rare gem and find as I did a double take just to make sure I was not seeing things. A Schlitz beer panel truck parked and glistening in the sun light. The beer your daddy drank, and mine. The beer they said made Milwaukee famous. On the truck advertising it said, “Go for the Gusto” like it was some kind of sign. Maybe it was telling me it is Saturday afternoon and asking me how come I do not have a beer in my hands. Why do you think Moses drinks Bush beer? Because he talked to a burning bush? Did not know Bush made an Amber style beer.

Can you imagine going to a place right off the water? A place with solid gold dancers wearing fishnet stockings on their long legs. Throw in a beautiful mermaid getting out of the water all wet. A soaking moist tail as she finds her way to the bar. You might just need to add some great dinner and pull up a seat. You might now know what heaven is all about. This heaven by the Kalamazoo River is a place called the Mermaid.

The Mermaid has the patio seating so you can enjoy a tasty beverage and a meal dockside. It is located in Saugatuck, Michigan which originally was a lumber town port. Now the beautiful tourist town of Michigan is known as an art colony where people enjoy multiple galleries of talented artists. Throw in the breathtaking scenery off the river and all the great eateries and bars. The small town of Saugatuck is one of the coolest small towns on the map in America.

Our Solid Gold dancer comes in a tall pint glass and is a beer from Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was tapped at the Mermaid.

NAME:SOLID GOLD STYLE: LAGER 4.4% BREWED BY :FOUNDERS BREWING Solid Gold is one of my regular beers I will have throughout the year. I find the cans at pretty much any liquor store in town. I had never had it straight out of the tap. As you can see above, it pours a deep gold color. The foam reminds me of root beer poured in an old soda fountain the in back of a drug store long ago. But this is a beer and not a stout, so it has white lacing around the perimeter of the pint glass. STATS: Solid Gold is the second lager of the year blogged (WONDER BURGER PRE-PROHIBITION LAST PLACE COMING IN 2020) Best lager coming in (Argus red lager ranked # 11) Solid Gold sniff test resulted in some corn along with some maltiness and a slight citrusy thing going on in a beer with good carbonation. Maybe some cracker.

Solid gold tastes like it smells. It has a sweet taste with splashes of corn, malts and some citrus that brings it all together into a smooth light drinking beer. It has a low ABV and this makes for a great beer to drink all day, and night too. I liked it outdoors as a thirst quencher on a sunny day.

Sat outside as they had indoor seating spaced out due to the virus. The dock was socially distancing as well. The Mermaid I think is more of a restaurant than a bar to watch the game. Inside, the bar has some character. Outside on the dock eating a great meal is priceless, except when they give you the check. The menu had a variety of seafood and steaks and other carnivore’s delights. The burger I had was delicious. Solid gold takes over the number one position for 2020. I also have Solid Gold ranked in my top 20 at #18 on the big list of suds.

The town of Three Oaks, Michigan is one of the coolest small towns in the good ole U.S.A. It’s where the Christmas movie Prancer was filmed back in 1989. The tall oak trees in town were the guide point for train engineers riding down the tracks, as the train whistle was heard through the town and on the farms along the outskirts. The Warren Featherbone factory was the money maker of the town once upon a time ago. The Featherbone bone factory stripped turkey feathers off those Thanksgiving feasts to use for women’s garments. The factory is still there as Jorneyman Distillery makes their home making unbelieveable cocktails.

The Featherbone bar is where the next draft beer comes into play.

NAME:ROUND BARN KOLSCH STYLE:KOLSCH 5.2% BREWED BY ROUND BARN

Round Bar Kolsch pours a nice Golden Retriever color. The aroma is a fresh bakery smell of bread right out of the oven. The taste of biscuit with a little sweetness of apple, perhaps a pear. Some grassiness. The Round Barn has a nice carbonation and is a lighter tasting style of beer. Easy to drink and very smooth. Round Barn brewing started off making wine on a farm and still does make the grape beverage. It is one of the first beers they did brew was the Kolcsh. It is by far Round Barn’s best beer out of the ones we have tried. ROUND BARN STATS VACATION #50 BARLEY FIFE #93 The Featherbone bar/restaurant is an establishment I would like to visit again. We were there only to drink, but the place had a very good sounding menu. Anybody that has a meatloaf, in my book, on the menu has to be given a try at dinner time. Featherbone features outdoor beer garden with lots of room.

The local yokel football teams with plenty of University of Michigan flavor on the walls.

It’s a Wolverine town. Maybe think of it as the Red Dawn school’s Wolverine team to get big blue out of your head.

I like the local history of the town on the walls. Old black and white photos gives you the Three Oaks history.

The Featherbone bar looks like an road house sytle of building which is very popular in these small towns throughout Michigan.

I have the Round Barn Kolsch coming in number 4 for this year. The Kolsch from Round barn is definitely in my top 50 at number 49. AMAZING BEER STORIES

My last trip to Michigan I went into a local market to get some food items that were needed for our next meal on vacation. The market had a section that sold liquor and package goods of local Michigan beer. In out-of-state liquor stores, I’m like a kid in a candy store finding something I have never drank, brewed by a local yokel. I gathered my food items and found some nice choices of local brew to bring it up to the register. I will tell you I hardly ever get carded buying beer these days. With the Covid going on and me wearing a mask, the cashier was not dropping the ball when I approached the counter. I was carded.

I was shocked, but I pulled out my ID as she glanced over it. I did not have to pull the mask off. Which brought up an old memory of Halloween for me. I dressed up as Darkman one year and went to a costume party.

After the Halloween party, we went to late night hole in wall bar called Brewbakers that was open until the rooster awakened at 5 am. The bouncers thought they were too cool for school and made me unwrap the bandages on my face just to get in. Even though I had many ID’S to prove who I was. I will say most of Brewbakers’ bouncers were all ice holes. Before I go, picture this… Sicily 1945 Sophia style from the Golden Girls. I will get back to the cashier from Michigan. She told me, “We have to check ID’S because of teens that dress up as the elderly during this pandemic to buy beer.” They were taking advantage of masks covering their young faces.

I remember reading about that story the cashier told me, about grandma teen needing her Natural light seltzer fix. Maybe boxed wine I would have bought it. I told that cashier about my way of buying beer under age without a fake ID back in my day. At the time I worked for a garage door company. We had uniform with green shirt green pants and it was a job where you got dirty. I used to rub some dirt on my face to cover any acne I had. I washed after the purchase was complete so the zits would not turn into gigantic pimples. On Fridays, I would drive to a liquor store in a low income neighborhood after work. I’d have my work clothes on and a dirty face like it was a long 8 hour day at the office. I walk in like Joe Cool and grab a case from the glass doors. Then go up to the counter, pay cash and pretend like this was not the first time I made it to the endzone. Paid the good man cash, he gave me change, and Friday nights always looked to be off to a great start. Was I ahead of my time? Probably not. These teens dressing up as the elderly is a pretty good idea. It makes the highschool drama department at any high school seem Fonzie cool these days. There are lots of disguises like a hired gun from Cobra in Zartan.

We did not see many zombies at the marina or invading Bentwood Tavern in New Buffalo. We left the herd in Crook County, Illinois to escape from those blood thirsty monsters trying to raise our taxes and turn our pockets inside out. During the Corona Virus we had to find our beach. Outdoor seating facing the water and…..

The love of the motorboating on some kind of boat, is a combo I can get down for. Bentwood Tavern’s outdoor seating faces the water and has all kind of boats docked. On a beautiful weekend in the late morning, having brunch with a tall legged craft beer is the beach of all beaches.

In 2017, we were at Bentwood Tavern. I did Bell’s Oberon there and it is still in the top ten. Bentwood tavern was the best bar of the year that go around. This time it was the usual suspects, but the beer and boats may have changed. The food, especially the breakfast, was out of this world delicious. The beer was pretty good and as Richie Cunningham would sing, “I found my thrill”.

I was ready to get my hands on a Hop Field.

NAME:HOP FIELD

STYLE:FARMHOUSE IPA

BREWED BY:BREWERY VIVANT

Brewery Vivant is from one of the craft beer capitals of the states, Grand Rapids, Michigan. One of the main reasons to go to Michigan is drinking all the delicious craft beer that has been made by multiple breweries statewide. The Hop Field pour is an amber orange sunset in a glass, containing farm \house yeast which allows the fruity hops to explode in the glass. Definitely has a fruity aroma from the standard nose test, after taking off my mask. The taste of Hop Field has a lot going on. The fruit notes could be pineapple and perhaps some orange. Some bitterness. It’s funky, not a skunky beer with definitely some hop to each gulp. It finishes grainy, but a tad of sweetness to it as well. It’s a 7 percenter, so one or two in sitting would work, but not sure I would want more if it had lower percent in each pint.

Bentwood tavern gives you that relaxation with the view that gives you an escape from the grind of the job. You forget about the crazy year of 2020 with the riots, protests, violence, and the virus still all around us. I was careful not to give Hop Field extra points just because it was served in yours and my get away beach. In 2020, I have Hop Field at number 5. On the big suds list I have the Hop Field coming in at 73.

Ghost Isle brewery sits above 156 acres of wetlands.

Ghost Island sits to the left and to the west of the brewery. It is rumored to have supernatural activity over the generations of kids playing on the island. Brings me to the old game I played as a kid, Ghost in the Graveyard.

Egon Spengler, himself, has found supernatural activity on the island of ghosts. A witch or ghost hunt can make anyone thirsty, so stopping in the local New Buffalo brewery to quench your thirst is a very good idea.

This is not our first time heading into Ghost Isle Brewery to drink, eat, and see the spirits. We have done three beers at Ghost Isle prior to this visit.

GHOST ISLAND STATS:

#58. PILSNER

#65 PEACH BUM BLONDE

#93 SWAMP DUST

It was a Sunday so we were heading back to Crook County, Illinois as we dashed out to Michigan for a one night adventure over the weekend in the midst of a pandemic. Ghost Isle makes great food, but we were there for the drink. We did take a to-go order of pork chops and a sloppy joe sandwich that was very worthy of raving about. On this Sunday, it was all about The Surf Nazis Must Die.

NAME:SURF GARDEN WEST COAST IPA

STYLE:WEST COAST IPA

BREWED BY GHOST ISLE

Surf Garden, by far, is the best beer from Ghost Isle I have ever had. This beer packs a wallop. You wouldn’t know it by the taste, as it goes down too easy and it’s an 8 percenter. I would compare it to Three Floyds’ Zombie Dust. A smooth drinking high percentage. Surf Garden pours a colorful golden pixie dust of a color. Yes, I’m making up new colors. It has a nice white cloud lacing around the perimeter of the pint glass. The aroma is fruity and pine-like. Surf Garden has some hop to it. The brew master says it’s a thro back style of beer from the West Coast, who started the hop craze years ago. The taste is well balanced with hops, citrus, fruit, and pine that puts goose bumps on your thirst buds. Like I said, it goes down very easy and you will be wanting more. Especially on a sunny day outside in their garden, which is amazing but time zooms by and you do not want to leave.

The Surf Garden West Coast IPA was way better than the movie Surf Nazis Must Die. But I agree we do not need another surf movie, and they need to die. I have Surf Garden West Coast IPA number one in 2020. I have Surf Garden overall at number 21 on the big suds list of draft delights.

In life, sometimes you fall into something that you love to do. It’s like how a priest gets the calling from the land of sky blue waters of heaven. Not saying the Hamm’s Beeer bear is our Jesus and savior. The brewery of Greenbush is in Sawyer, Michigan. Scott Sullivan, the man who found his true passion by accident, took his gift and made a permanent land mark in his hometown. Yes, the man who brought Greenbush to life was working in Chicago. He was injured on a job and it resulted in his being sidelined for his effort. During the time off, his brother gave him a beer kit to play with. Never making beer before, Scott Sullivan got better and better with each batch. Eventually dabbling in his own creation, he invented Distorter. It is one of Greenbush’s regulars. Then the reaction and how people loved Distorter, told him to sell it. Mr. Scott Sullivan went home to Sawyer. It’s a town so small that if you sneeze at the laundromat, they would “God Bless You” at the hardware store. Sullivan found an old tap room not far where he grew up. Then found a kettle from San Francisco, and just like that Greenbush was established. People loved his beer as they’d sell out immediately. Then close for a week just to keep up with the demand and make more. Throw in some food and Greenbush is the Walmart that you’d like to have as your main staple in town.

Greenbush was the first brewery that we went back inside to, after the restrictions were lifted from the Covid-19 pandemic. Social distancing and masks are now in play with some missing tables inside. Greenbush has made some renovations as well. With future plans of the land, they vacated across the street just for the time being. It’s the same zany brewery that will give you some chuckles.

It’s the same place that offer some awesome food choices.

Visiting Greenbush means I’m on vacation. So I will indulge in something that may not be good for the body, but tastes out of this world. Plus you need carbs to soak up some of the stronger beers Greenbush has on tap.

Found ourselves drinking in the Greenbush beer garden right by the tracks. Reminded me of the movie, Stand By Me.

Greenbush is like a mini vacation getaway for the weekend, in my world. Things being closed down for quite a long time made this visit more special than the norm. Coming in, we have tallied 4 Greenbush beers already over the years in this beer blog.

GREENBUSH STATS

#6.STAR CHICKEN, #14.TRAKTOR, #42.SHARKMAN COMETH, #72.GREENBUSH OKTOBERFEST.

Our 5th Greenbush beer to be blogged is Country Drag. Which is perfect for a city slicker like myself going out to the country to breathe in fresh air and hope to avoid the Covid-19. I will say Greenbush felt safe as they followed the rules in my book, to make drinking beer in public a norm.

NAME:COUNTRY DRAG

STYLE:PALE ALE

BREWED BY:GREENBUSH

As you can see it pours a sunny delight golden color as the Country Drag is that outdoors style of beer. Light foam on top. No worries because the taste sets this beer’s tone. Lip smacking is the phrase I would use to describe this masterpiece Greenbush created. I sound like a cereal commercial though.

Captain Crunch still has the edge on sugar cereals, but Sugar Smacks, I dig. The aroma of the Country Drag was citrus with some diesel from the passing freight train. The country Drag was perfect for the outdoor setting. A great summer brew. It was hoppy, but just the perfect amount. It had the fruity taste that is not overwhelming, but just right. Country Drag was overall an easy beer to drink and a brew you could easily waste the day, while drinking multiple pints.

Country Drag is no Star Chicken. However it has some cluck as it is, easily the best beer of the year in 2020. This is a year during which our craft beer numbers are quite down. It’s number 26th overall on the big suds list.

THE 100TH BEER BLOGGED

It seems like an eternity to be stuck on 99 beers on the wall of the draft list. To be locked down and home-bound without any draft beer due to the Corona Virus in the air. Beer was had. Only so much bottles and cans you can drink, while missing the suds straight from the tap. That golden pour that gives a grown man goose bumps, that you don’t want to admit to. Our mission was delayed in finding the best draft beer all around. Sometimes you have to think outside the box and order beer like it’s Chinese take out during these trying times. Our 100th beer comes from a familiar station. Yes, another Choo Choo beer at the Flossmoor Station. Since everything is curbside and carry out, we took some draft beer to go growler style and headed to my basement bar to indulge.

NAME:STATION MASTER WHEAT ALE

STYLE:AMERICAN PALE WHEAT

ABV:5.3%

BREWED BY:FLOSSMOOR STATION

The Station Master has a hazy golden copper color with some white bubbly froth on top of the rim of the glass. The nose test has a scent of wheat, fruit and some sweetness to let the brain know what’s in store. The taste is bread & wheat like. Some sweetness, and some citrus with bitterness at the end.

OTHER FLOSSMOOR STATION BEERS BLOGGED:

#29. Zephyr Golden Lager.

#41.Gandy Dancer Honey Ale.

#64.Just a Crush.

#66. Flossmoor Station Oktoberfest.

Flossmoor Station is by far the place we have blogged the most beers at. The Station Master Wheat Ale will be the fifth Choo Choo beer done. Where is the Station Master versus the rest of the train cars?

I have the Station Master wheat at number three out of the five Flossmoor Beers we have done. Zephyr is number 1, then Gandy Dancer ,then The Station Master and those are followed by the Just the Crush and finally, the Oktoberfest.

I do like to work the Station Master Wheat in the rotation when I partake in beers at the Station in Flossmoor. At least one every trip. It’s a beer I could drink multiples of in one sitting as the ABV is only 5.3%. Wheat beers, I generally like. Them and lagers are my day drinking, leading into night beers. Plus the Station Master is simple, light and most of all tasty. I have the Station Master at number 2 overall for the 2020 beer list. Not that many due to the Covid 19 but we’ll see how it does with the rest of the beers we blog the rest of the year. I have the Station Master in the middle of the train car list we call the beer list. It’s at number 56.

SID’S PLACE/THE BAR-RASE-MENT

The quarantine bar where we drank the Station Master, is in my basement. Originally, it was called Sid’s Place, based on a nickname of mine. The locals like to call the Bar-rasement. Latin meaning bar in the basement. It’s like White Sox park. Who calls it by the sponsor? My basement bar, besides being the quarantine hot spot for the pandemic, is usually the place I drink during the colder days. The big event, down under every year, is the Superbowl. With the 100th beer, I will share some Sid’s Place or Bar-rase-ment highlights over the year to celebrate this big milestone.

A WOMAN NOT TO TAKE HOME TO MEET MOM

It sickens me what comes out of the woodwork during trying times in humanity. In the series The Walking Dead, is about a zombie apocalypse, you see pure evil emerge out from people trying to survive. Like the Governor collecting heads and making them into his own personal aquarium, where he drinks a stiff drink and watches them like some fish in a salt water tank. In a zombie apocalypse, a band of survivors should come together and defeat the problem that is turning the dead into zombies. In real life, the Covid-19 virus is racking up the death toll throughout the world. Then like a time bomb going tick tick tick, something tragic occurs like the George Floyd situation in Minneapolis. This police brutality triggers a melting pot across the nation in protests. It also triggers mayhem. Looters and rioters who create their own havoc to turn these protests into something they should not be. Peaceful protests mean change. Rioting and looting causes negative change. It triggers uprising and brings out the people like the Governor from Walking Dead. Like in Grand Rapids, Michigan where a 22 year old female incited riots and looting. Alexandra Lyons, the girl who no one in their right mind would take home to meet mom.

Miss Lyons used facebook live to get her message across like Dr. Claw in the Inspector Gadget series, admiring his handy work. The first message was Miss Lyons’ handy work in the horrifying riot and looting in a town known for having the most craft beer brewries in the Midwest. Her actions included throwing bricks through windows of the downtown of Grand Rapids’ businesses, Her telling others to do the same as some other trash of her own kind filmed this. In the second video, Dr. Claw is reincarnated into white freaking trash, continuing her message. Alexandra Lyons speaks of drinking stolen beer. Should I say allegedly. Screw that!!! Miss Lyons bragged about the new-found clothes as well while sipping on some unique craft beer from a local pub, a small business trying to live the dream. Someone like Alexandra comes around, a young wasted human being, and stampedes all over the hard work you put in. Even the clothing store owners.

Alexandra Lyons is not the brightest bulb in the box, and many of these people who conflict pain on others are not. Since doing live streams on Facebook leaving a trail of bread crumbs, for the worst detective on the force to apprehend her trashy self. Plus all the eyewitnesses who will testify to her crimes against humanity. Inciting a riot and malicious destruction of property.

This is good for ten years upstate. When she gets out, straight to the trailer park for her. Where trailer park people get a bad name with her types, living among the rows and rows of beer cans. Hope the local bussinesses in Grand Rapids reopen and become stronger. Especially the bar where she took the beer from. Her drinking and the way she toasted, gives beer drinkers a bad name. My thoughts are I’m comforftable drinking beer with anybody from any sex, creed, or any racial back ground you can relate more. See where they come from by wearing their shoes as you get to know each other. Most people feel this theory of drinking beer and socailizing is a nice way to bond. The Governor was nobody before the Zombie apocalypse in The Walking Dead. Alexandra Lyons probably was a nobody before the riot. Miss Lyons had her 15 minutes of shame. I doubt anyone will pay the $40.000 bond to get her back on the streets any time soon. Years from now she will still be a nobody and the whole town of Grand Rapids will come together and CHEERS to that…

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO LOWENBRAU BEER ?

In the 1970’s, 80’s & 90’s, the lion head green bottle with foil around the neck was available in all liquor stores in the states.

Then like Chuck Cunningham, Richie Cunningham’s older brother in Happy Days, Lowenbrau vanished without a trace. Lowenbrau was born in 1383 and is a German brew. Opened its doors in Munich. It’s a German Helles beer and you can compare it to a lager style beer. It’s 5.2 % ABV and its an easy drinking beer. It’s a light body beer and pours a golden straw color. Has that sweet malty aroma with a bready taste. Sounds like a beer that could stick around and stay on the shelves in a liquor store. Lowenbrau is still being brewed today in Germany. In fact they still have one of the oldest beer gardens in Munich.

Lowenbrau, in 1863, was the largest Brewery in Munich supplying most of the thirsty patrons their tasty beverage. At the turn of the century, Lowenbrau was the largest brewery in Germany. Lots of exports. Lowenbrau then was coined a Jewish beer by the Nazi’s. In 1945, an Allied air raid bombarded the brewery. After the war, Lowenbrau recovered during the hard times. In 1967, Lowenbrau became popular across the pond in Montreal at the Expo. Then Lowenbrau played hot potato with every major beer brewery. In 1975, Miller brewing got their hands on the Lowenbrau recipe. Miller wanted to Americanize the beer to have it compete against Anheuser Bush’s Michelob. Two beers at one point that put on the foil before each game. Michelob versus Lowenbrau in the Thunderdome.

Miller used some artificial ingredients in the recipe for Lowenbrau that was called out by Anheuser Bush. Lowenbrau then was shuffled off to Canada as Labbat Brewing got their crack at it. When it comes to brewing export beers in a different country, it’s hard to get the water ph level to taste like the original. Labbat brewing brewed Lowenbrau with the original recipe from Germany. Had some success with sales both in the states and Canada. Lowenbrau then merged with Spaten Franziskaner Brau. Then another Canada brewery got their hands on the recipe as this hot tater continued to be passed around. At present times, Anheuser Bush has Lowenbrau, and they call themselves Anheuser Bush inBev. Lowenbrau still survives as it is served still at Oktoberfests in all those drinking halls across Germany.

Lowenbrau place in Munich is on my bucket list. Oktoberfest looks like fun had by all. Look at that fine looking German engineering. Plus beers and pretzels the size of your noggin. Maybe the Goldbergs will bring back Lowenbrau to the states. Like everything retro these days, maybe Lowenbrau makes a comeback in the states. Zima came back. Not sure that was a novel idea though. Perhaps Lowenbrau would do better. Hold the corn syrup if it does, please.

QUARANTINE BEER OF THE WEEK

I made another discovery at the liquor store as I found a beer I have not had in a very long time. As you can tell by the shirt, it is yes indeed Red Dog, brewed on Plank Road with the great Ice House and a part of the Miller Brewing company.

The Red Dog on the can looks like my brother’s bull dog, named Squishy. My brother and squishy have their own quarantine so he already has his Red Bull dog. I have a 30 pack of the squishies of Red Dogs in my fridge. Red Dog beer I figured was neutered a while ago and put down. I found the 30 pack at Binny’s with a car load of beer I got that day since the sky was falling, being home bound and the bars closing on those dark days of March. Maybe it was gold at the end of rainbow. Some will say it’s fool’s gold at the end of the rainbow as one Binny’s worker can say he finally sold the last of the 30 packs of that Red Dog that have been collecting dust and mold. That Binny’s worker will earn himself a trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana when everything reopens. Heard they have a great pickle tour in Fort Wayne Indiana.

NAME:RED DOG

STYLE:AMERICAN LAGER

BREWED BY:MILLER BREWING

ABV:5.0%

Red Dog pours a middle of the road gold color. In the picture, the foam has evaporated, but it came out very fluffy like a pile of snow on a person trapped in their home in Buffalo, New York from a blizzard. The aroma is corn and wet grain grassiness. Reminds me the smell the day after a good kegger. The first taste of that dog you get that straight earthiness with sweet aroma that creates a fruity champagne like taste on your taste buds. After taste is of white bread. Its a five percenter light tasting smooth beverage. It’s a beer I would get once in awhile. The availability is not always on hand. I think it’s in the middle of the road compared to basic American domestic lagers.

This beer you need good size cajones, because the next day, Red Dog likes to wake up early with some thunderous barking inside your skull. The generic Red Dog t-shirt I wore was from another time, like 20 years ago. I found it at a swap-a-rama flea market and thought it was gold.

The Coronavirus may have put a closed sign on the local watering holes, but it has not brought back prohibition. Since most of the world is still homebound, the liquor store has been my main bloodline of beers in my quarantine at home. I have waited outside a dozen times throughout the shutdown, outside Binnys which has turned into a Nazi camp. Waiting in line with others, social distancing and waiting for my turn to get my rations for the day. Maybe a cup of beer and a piece of soda bread. Not quite there yet. During these times I had to look elsewhere as well. Finding a gem of a liquor store that’s not too crowded. A place where you can kind of get a chance to look around and find something intriguing. I have found some intriguing beers, some of which I thought did not exist any more. One find was something green and shiny that caught my eye in the tall boy section of the cooler. The Fosters green oil can.

NAME: FOSTERS PREMIUM ALE

STYLE: ENGLISH EXTRA SPECIAL/STRONG BITTER (ESB)

BREWED BY:FOSTERS

ABV:5.5

As you can see, the Fosters green oil can pours a dark golden color with pillows of foam on top of the pint glass. The aroma is neutral. Some caramel undertones and bitterness. The first sip was like toasty bread at the those old Quiznos sub shops. It was bready with a malty aftertaste. It had hints of sweet caramel with a bitterness as well. A little acidic. It was a middle bodied style beer which was rather dry. It kind of grows on you after a few sips. It was a tall boy divided into a couple glasses. I was ready to move on to my next beverage. It was a novelty purchase because I have not seen Fosters on the shelf in a very long time. I think I would like their regular lager better than the green oil can.

I know that Fosters was not what the Aussies were drinking out in the outback or in between wrestling crocodiles. It was an American beer with the Aussie label on it. I loved the commercials. I loved the bride getting the groom a beer and going into the cooler of ice like playing that old Halloween game of dunking for apples.

THAT GAL IS A KEEPER

QUARANTINE MIRACLE

My favorite quarantine beer story since the world closed down Happy Hour, is the 93 year old women in need of more beer as she showed people her empty Coors light with a sign needing more beer.

People saw this sign as she was quickly stocked with her quarantine beverage of choice the silver bullet. A bullet for each chamber with all the cases stacked up.

ARGUS BREWING CLOSING ITS DOORS FOR GOOD

Argus brewery became a victim of the Coronavirus as the brewer will cease operations and close the doors for good. The Coronavirus, as we know, has made a dent in human civilization as it spreads across the world destroying mankind in the process. This virus has taken on an extra strength as it hurt many in other ways besides death. Their livelihood. Mom and pop operations across the states are trying to hold on for dear life, with their business dream they have poured blood and sweat into trying to make a profit. Trying to provide for their families. Argus brewing was a father and son dream that opened up in 2009. Bob and Patrick Jenson had a great run at it for ten years. With the stay at home orders due to the virus, the bars closing was the gut punch their establishment took and could not recover. Argus makes most of their money in keg sales to all the drinking establishments and your favorite watering holes throughout the Chicagoland area. With all these institutions shut down in a holding pattern, Argus could not survive.

Argus Brewery is located in the historical Pullman neighborhood on the South side of Chicago. The Pullman neighborhood, when Chicago was the brewery capital of the United States before the great fire, had Schlitz and other brewers making their sudsy creations. Bob Jenson dabbled in brewing beer at home and was the former President of the Hub group; he thought it would be a great idea to go in the brewing business. In 2009, Argus formed and they were brewing beer in one of Joseph E. Schlitz’s old horse stables in the Pullman neighborhood. In 2016, Argus took the Bronze medal at the World Beer Cup competition. Holsteiner Amber lager was their beer that won the award. In 2018, at the Great American Beer Festival, Argus Brewery took the gold for their Doppel ALT. Argus also had two beers in one of the upscale restaurants in the city. Alinea is the only Chicago restaurant with three Michelin stars. Argus had the Pegasus IPA and the Cygnus X-1 Schwarzbier tapped in the finest dining in the city.

Argus brewing obviously had a lot going for them as they had award winning beers. Beers being brewed in a historical building. Argus had 16 workers which went down to 11 with the Coronavirus making its presence known. According to Bob Jenson, they could never turn a profit. Maybe it was because of them not having a tap room in place for patrons to come regularly and slush down their awesome creations. Perhaps distributing their beer only in certain areas. Bottle orders poured in as soon the word got out the place was closing. Doing more bottle sales could have helped. Anybody can play Monday quarterback and say what went wrong, stating the obvious. The final straw that hurt the camel’s back was the virus sweeping in and closing the stable doors for good for all of the Argus products. Bob Jenson is 65 years old and probably did what he could to keep this dream alive. Sometimes you can not recover from things that are bigger than mankind.

I did go to Argus brewery for one of their tours which was well done. It was a lot of fun just partying with a group of strangers, making friends with them at the end. They have a bar inside with a pool table and it was like drinking beer in your favorite watering hole in the local tavern. Plus they gave some great insight about their brewing methods and the history of the Schlitz building. This beer blog had Argus down as the best brewery of 2019. The Argus lager I have written about twice, once at the brewery and once at one of the local bars. Both times are still ranked in the top 20 beers we had in draft. Plus Argus Lager still to this day is written about for having the best beer art on a bottle or a can in the beer art segment of this blog.

The Brewers Association predicts the Coronavirus could wipe out 60% of these small breweries throughout the region when this is all said and done. Bob Jenson and his son had a good run. Bob Jenson has houses in Florida and Colorado so he can walk off into the sunset. Hopefully all brewery workers can rebound and find work during these trying times. Argus brewery will be up for sale with all the equipment as an all in one package deal. Hopefully someone else can take Argus brewery’s place with some good beers of their own and make a nice run at it. It is sad places you love can’t find a way to keep their door open. We lost Baderbrau, which was in the the South Loop a few years back, which made awesome brews and infused beer into their great food they offered. Now we lose another special place dear to our hearts in Argus. It’s not fair. In the long run Mankind will prevail. Our beers will provide us courage to stay strong and better times will follow. CHEERS!!! To all our friends at Argus you will be missed. Well done on what you have created. The suds will also be missed.

Deep inside the Mt. Greenwood neighborhood in Chicago, on Kedzie Ave Wonderburger existed for decades. Delicious burgers right off the grill serving a neighborhood heavily populated by Firefighters and Police officers. It’s a southside neighborhood with family ties and hard working blue collar workers that make up the back bone of the community. I remember my dad, a sheet metal worker at the time a Joe six pack type bringing his lunch pail to work, and seeing the Wonderburger in the newspaper. It was written up how good their burgers were. My dad took my sister and I went and we were not disappointed. Then the sad day where Wonderburger closed up its shop for good, I remember getting one last burger there. It was a sad moment but it was a tasty good bye burger seeing this establishment walk off into the sunset. Another mom and pop operation bites the dust, making the golden arches clown one happy camper.

Not so fast clown. Michael Jordan once walked away and came back to play basketball for the Bulls.

Wonderburger has returned with their great burgers in a new location.

Quickly becoming a Mt. Greenwood staple once again, it is now on 111th street, a few blocks from their old location. The old location has been taken over by a local hunting club. Rumor has it they have a lion’s head on the wall as one of their multiple trophies heads throughout their club. Do you think Wonderburger should put the clown Ronald’s head on their wall? This is a family joint, so let’s not lose our heads over the situation. The new Wonderburger is still searching for their identity. Yes, they have their menu that has all those burgers and other sandwiches. They have plenty of side choices of fried up delights that we all crave. They have a nice bar inside with stools and two televisions above the bar. The first thing I notice is the row of taps. Tapped beer is my friend. They have tables, an upper level of seating, and even more tables adjacent in another room. Loved that they brought back some nice decor of the old joint on Kedzie as well.

Plus Wonderburger set up a stage for live music that brought us out to see the band. Radio Collective is a local band that we know and hang out with a few of the members of this group that sings Olde Time Rock’n Roll.

It was a Saturday night going out to eat award winning burgers, drinking draft beer and watching a band you see growing right in front of your eyes. Do you like bands like the Eagles or Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers? How about songs from Bob Seger and John Denver? They have a lead singer in Phil Zack that can do them all as he belts out tunes from the Cure and Simple Minds. Zack has a way where he can sound like all these singers when he sings. The Zartan of musicians’ voices. Years of seeing him do karoake at bars; the way he sang Me and Mrs. Jones he brought black women down to their knees loving him as they had a sudden infection of goose bumps. Phil Zack also brings his guitar playing skills to the table. All the practice he has put in over the years. These days the Zack Attack is playing at the highest level ever. The years of perfecting his craft you can tell.

Then the king pin of the band, Thomas Jarema, one of the main guitarists on stage for Radio Collective. Jarema plays the string instrument like a casinova hitting all the right spots to have her wanting more. The sounds of rock and roll when it was played the right way fill the inside of the burger joint. Jarema let’s his fingers lightly stroke the strings right on cue as if he was an original member of the band performing the song.

Then Robert Chinnici, aka Southside Bob, bangs on the drums all day and does not want to work. He gives each song Radio Collective performs the perfect beat. Southside Bob is the heart of the band pumping sounds to each song making the tempo go up and down, whatever the song needs at the time. The way he uses his drum sticks to whale on the drums or sometimes using them like a ninja using nun chucks in lower beats. Southside is above those drum players that sound like they just clank pots and pans together. The man puts his blood and soul into every beat of the drum.

The new guitarist, Larry, seems to be the missing piece of this jigsaw puzzle that is Radio Collective. Larry’s efforts have this band playing their best and rolling like a well-oiled machine. If you’re on the south side of Chicago and Radio Collective is playing, this is a must see band. Really entertaining as this year may be their big breakout year.

When the band plays, at times it brings people out of the woodwork. Mr. Z and I caught up instantly. This was as we watched his son bringing the crowd to its feet singing “Take it Easy” by the Eagles.

Besides the entertainment, we were there to eat and drink. We did not know this was the last group outting we would see in quite awhile with the cesspool of germs making its way into the city of Chicago. Coronavirus invaded, eventually sending everyone home after this weekend out as the bar would close up for awhile. Home would be a quarantine with hopes of a safe return to the stage, drinking beer and eating at all of my favorite watering holes. At Wonderburger I went with the wonder burger with cheese on it. The prices are very affordable at the Wonderburger. Again they are trying to find their identity as they have fast food prices on their stuff.

The golden arches would be quite jealous of anything Wonderburger serves in comparison. Even the King would have to leave the building in hopes the Whopper can at least beat the Big Mac because it’s no match for the Wonderburger.

NAME:WONDER BREW PRE-PROHIBITION AMERICAN LAGER

STYLE:AMERICAN LAGER

BREWED BY:PEOPLE’S BREWING COMPANY

Wonderburger has their own special beer on the menu that is named after the establishment called the Wonder Brew. It’s brewed by the People’s Brewing Company in Indiana. Their motto is beer for the people. As you can see, the beer pours a light golden color with a little lacing of foam that dissipates pretty quickly. It’s 4.5% in each pour. Wonderbrew is a light easy drinking beer which is mellow and smooth. Not bitterness but has some sweetness to it. The carbonation can make these beers go down quick as they are quite refreshing. A good chugging beer which you can drink multiples of in one night. I compare it to drinking one of your fathers domestic beers in pint glass not a can. Only difference the Wonderbrew sweeter malts they use.

The Wonderbrew Pre-prohibition I have at number two for the year. Overall on the big Suds list I have Wonder Brew soaring at the new number 70.

The suburb of Oak Lawn, Illinois has been around a long time. It originated in the 1800’s. It was the suburb that a deadly tornado ravaged in 1967. Michael Jackson the famous pop star could have gone to place they called Kiddie Land that ceased operations in the early 1970’s. It was known for their oak trees. In the early days before the name OakLawn originated. the locals called it Black Oaks. The name Black Oak resurfaced in the year 2016 in Oak lawn. A little watering hole right in my own backyard. A neighborhood pub with craft beers and a nice food menu. If you like gaming you can eat up hours playing slots as Oak Lawn is a little Vegas at times as slots grow like the farmer’s market produce in these parts.

With the Coronavirus shutting down the sporting landscape. With the fistacuffs over the toilet paperin the store, I found myself craving a nice craft beer and a corned beef sandwitch. In Chicago they have shut down the St. Patrick’s Day parades over the weekend. Hopefully it does notget to the point to shut down the local watering holes. It was lunch time so I bellied up to the bar with my winter fat and found a new craft beer on tap that I did not know about. Brewed by Bells which makes some great brews. Itis the lighter version of the Two Hearted ale, the light hearted ale.

The Black Oak has about 8-10 taps to choose from. We have blogged one beer prior to this trip at the Black Oak. The Alaskan IPA in 2017.

The bartender is named Sue, Suzy Q to some of the regulars sitting at the stainless steel bartop of the Black Oak. I was impressed with her bartending. Makes you feel like at home, one of the regulars. High energy and great conversation with all the patrons bellied up to the bar. NAME:LIGHT HEARTED ALE STYLE:AMERICAN IPA BREWED BY: BELLS BREWING

As you can see the Light Hearted ale pours an orange golden color. You can see the Blackhawks logo through the pint glass on the other side peeking in. The foam hangs buubling for a few minutes. The aroma of the beer is oranges.

The Two Hearted ale is a 7% compared to this Light Hearted ale which is a 3.7%. The Light Hearted has less sugar also with more bitterness than sweetness. Its a dry beer with a citris hop thing going on. The hops have a king hippo punch to it.

It’s an easy drinking beer. I would easily compared this puppy to a Mexican lager. I always loved Two Hearted Ale but too many of those will knock your ass out. I will say it’s not the diet coke compared to a regular coke. How they are not even close in taste. A few of these and I felt like I could handle being A-ok at the happy hour as well as later that afternoon since it was Friday. I soaked up the beers with a Black Oak delight, the Corned Beef Rueben with the pub’s homemade chips.

Looked at the meat piled up high with cheese and kraut with thousand Island dressing drizzled inbetween. MAKES MY MOUTH WATER!!!! Spending ten dollars I was awarded a nice South Side Irish Black Oak tee shirt for free.

The are open up for breakfast as well. The doors open up at 7 am most days. Great food in a laid back environment. If you get quarantined, this would not be a bad place to be held up to wait it out. Just in case… bring toilet paper.

Obviously the Light hearted ale is the first beer of 2020. It’s number one for the year. I have the Light Hearted Ale coming in at number 30 on the big beer list. THE 2019 BEER AWARDS

THE BEER OF THE YEAR 2019 (EVIL HORSE DOWN TOWN HOTTIE)

BEST BAR OF THE YEAR 2019 (THE TAVERN)

THE 2019 BARS WE TAPPED POWER RANKINGS

RANK	BAR	BEER HAD	FOOD	COMMENT
#1.	THE TAVERN	YUENGLING	BURGER/POPPERS	THE NAME OF THE PLACE SAYS IT ALL
#2.	BJ MCMAHONS	HAMMS	CHILI/BURGER/STEAK FRIES	HAMMS ON TAP. ONLY PLACE I’VE SEEN THAT AND INDULGED IN IT
#3.	STRAY DOG	DECHUTES	FRENCH DIP	MIKE VICK WOULD NOT LIKE THIS PLACE
#4.	THE BRASS TAP	SON OF A JUICE	PRETZEL TACO PIZZA	THIS PLACE WILL SUCK YOU IN SOMEHOW
#5.	GILHOOLEY’S	ARGUS	BURGER	TRIVIA NIGHT (IF YOU DID NOT KNOW ANSWER YOU HAD OPTION OF TOSSING 16“ SOFTBALL IN THE BUCKET. IT HAD TO GO IN FOR POINTS.)
#6.	PUBLIC HOUSE	DAISY CUTTER	GRILLED CHEESE/FRENCH FRIES	DOWN TOWN CHICAGO
#7.	THE GIRL &THE GOAT	END ALL	BREAD & WATER	SHARING LITTLE FOOD PLATES

BEST BREWERY OF THE YEAR 2019 (ARGUS)

THE 2019 BREWERIES WE TAPPED POWER RANKINGS

RANK	BREWERY	BEER	COMMENT
#1.	ARGUS	ARGUS	TOUR YOU ALWAYS HAVE A BEER IN YOUR HANDS. BILLIARDS IN THE TAP ROOM. IT’S LIKE A PARTY.
#2.	EVIL HORSE	DOWNTOWN HOTTIE	NEXT DOOR RESTAURANT HAS LARGE MENU THAT DELIVERS TO YOUR BAR STOOL. COOL LAYOUT. BARTENDERS ARE AWESOME
#3.	GREENBUSH	TRAKTOR	GRILLING MEATS OUTSIDE. BOCCEE BALL COURTS. INSIDE PUB FOOD. SAWYER, MICHIGAN GB OWNS THE TOWN.
#4.	GHOST ISLE	NEW BUFFALO PILSNER	INSIDE LIKE GERMAN BEER HALL. OUTSIDE GREAT BEER GARDEN WITH PRETTY VIEW OUT IN COUNTRY. LIVE MUSIC. PLENTY OF SEATS
#5.	TWISTED RAIL	SPIKE DRIVER	RIGHT BY THE WATER. THE TAP ROOM IS A HOUSE. OUTDOOR SEATING
#6	FLOSSMOOR STATION	JUST A CRUSH	EXCELLENT FOOD MENU. IF YOU LIKE TRAINS THIS IS YOUR SPOT. CABOOSE IN BEER GARDEN. TRAIN OVER THE BAR. PLUS YOU SEE TRAIN GO BY SITTING AT THE BAR
#7.	ONE TRICK PONY	STORM CAT	FRIENDLY CATS. GREAT BARTENDERS. OLD TREASURES ON DISPLAY THROUGHOUT. FEELS LIKE HOME.
#8.	ZORN BREWING	GOLDEN GRAIN	BREWERY IS ON A COBBLESTONE TYPE OF ROAD. THE BLACK LAB DOG YOU CAN RIDE SO BIG PLACE MASCOT. HISTORICAL PLACE.
#9.	SOUND GROWLER	GHOST RUNNER	CAN YOU SAY TACOS? TACOS, TACOS, AND TACOS.
#10.	OPEN OUT CRY	REVERSE REPO	ROOF TOP AND PIZZA. GREAT BARTENDERS.INTERESTING MUG CLUB CERAMIC MUGS
11.	RABID	WYTCH RIDER	THIS PLACE HAS SUMO WRESTLING ON THE WALL. A PLACE TO RELEASE YOUR PAGAN WAYS OF LIFE. ANY APOCALYPSE STARTS THESE ARE THE SURVIVORS.
12.	EXIT STRATEGY	EXIT STRATEGY	PLACE HAS A GREAT VIBE. GREAT SERVICE EVERY TIME. GREAT PORTIONS OF FOOD SO COME HUNGRY.DELICIOUS AS WELL
#13.	BLUE ISLAND	ONCE	HISTORICAL NEIGHBORHOOD. LIVE MUSIC. COOL ART ON THE WALLS.LAY OUT IS COOL.
#14.	HORSE THIEF HOLLOW	RIDGE RIDER	INTERESTING FOOD MENU.NOT JUST A PUB STYLE FOOD MENU. RIGHT ON SOUTHSIDE IRISH PARADE ROUTE
#15.	BURN EM	NUKE THE WHALES	IT’S GOING TO SOMEONES HOUSE. TAP ROOM SMALL ESPECIALLY DURING COLD WEATHER. WARM WEATHER PLACE. BEER IS VERY GOOD THOUGH. BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD KNOW THEIR SUDS.

2019 BEER LIST

RANK	DATE HAD	BEER	STYLE	BREWED AT	TAPPED AT
1	9-21-19	Downtown Hottie	American Pale Wheat Ale	Evil Horse Brewing	Evil Horse Brewing
2	5-10-19	Argus Lager	Red Lager	Argus Brewing	Argus Brewing
3	3-15-19	Argus Lager	Red Lager	Argus Brewing	Gilhooleys
4	10-12-19	Traktor	Blonde Ale	Greenbush	Greenbush
5	2-16-19	Nuke the Whales	Farmhouse Pale Ale	Burn ‘Em Brewing	Burn ‘Em Brewing
6	11-23-19	Freshly Squeezed	American IPA	Deschutes	The Stray Dog
7	3-30-19	Daisy Cutter	West Coast Pale Ale	Half Acre	Public House
8	11-15-19	Storm Cat	American Amber/Red Ale	One Trick Pony	One Trick Pony
9	10-16-19	Ghost Runner	West Coast Pale Ale	Soundgrowler Brewing	Soundgrowler Brewing
10	10-16-19	Grinder Punch	West Coast Pale Ale	Sound growler Brewing	Soundgrowler Brewing
11	11-27-19	Ridge Rider	American Pale Ale	Horse Thief Hollow	Horse Thief Hollow
12	11-9-19	Exit Strategy Pale Ale	American Pale Ale	Exit Strategy Brewing	Exit Strategy Brewing
13	11-21-19	Reverse Repo Rye	Rye Pale Ale	Open Outcry	Open Outcry
14	7-21-19	Yuengling	American Amber/Red Lager	Yuengling	The Tavern
15	4-28-19	End All	New England IPA	Solemn Oath	The Girl and the Goat
16	8-1-19	Spike Driver	IPA	Twisted Rail Brewing	Twisted Rail Brewing
17	6-18-19	New Buffalo Pilsner	Pilsner	Ghost Isle	Ghost Isle
18	8-7-19	Hamm’s	American Adjunct Lager	Hamm’s Brewing	BJ McMahon’s
19	10-5-19	Wytch Racer	Pale Ale	Rabid Brewing	Rabid Brewing
20	6-18-19	Peach Bum Blonde	American Blonde Ale	Ghost Isle	Ghost Isle
21	12-11-19	Just a Crush	Pale Ale	Flossmoor Station	Flossmoor Station
22	4-27-19	Son of a Juice	American IPA	Maplewood Brewing and Distillery	The Brass Tap
23	2-16-19	Golden Grain	Cream Ale	Zorn Brewing	Zorn Brewing
24	6-17-19	Lotus	American Wheat	Rabid Brewing	Rabid Brewing
25	6-18-19	Swamp Dust	German Schwarzbier	Ghost Isle	Ghost Isle
26	12-21-19	Once	American Pale Ale with Tamarind	Blue Island Brewery	Blue Island Brewery

Blue Island Brewery was the last stop on the Dixie Highway Brewery trail. It was the stamp I needed to complete my passport and collect the sacred prize. Which was a bar coaster. It was not your typical bar coaster made out of cardboard and put under any drink someone came up to the bar and ordered. It was a coaster made out of ceramic. It was a coaster that had the almighty Dixie Highway Brewery Trail logo on it that is not just given to anybody. It was not the leg lamp in Christmas story.

It was Christmas time at the time I completed this long tour of breweries up and down Dixie Highway.

They have different prizes you can win and it depends on what they have at the time. Originally I thought it would be a tin sign with the Dixie Highway Brewery Trail logo on it. On this day I would like to thank the academy for my coaster that symbolizes more than a drink at a brewery. It symbolizes stories of each establishment that lead down the road to get the coaster. I probably watched a Police Academy movie the night before for this inspiration to get a well awarded achievement like this as why I thanked the Academy.

NAME:ONCE STYLE:AMERICAN PALE ALE WITH TAMARIND BREWED BY:BLUE ISLAND BREWING & HELP BY ESTRELLA NEGRA RESTAURANT/LOUNGE The beer that got me the prize on Dixie was called Once. Pronnounced UNCE. It is Spanish for 11. This was a American Pale ale brewed for the 11th anniversary for the restaurant lounge in Wicker Park called Estrella Negra. It was a collaboration of the two establishments working side by side.

The aroma is strong with fruit notes, a little bit of everything. “Once” is made with tamarind fruit and piloncillo sugars. The description also says this beer has mango flavors and tropical fruit. It tastes like a hoppy Pale Ale with the sweetness and fruitiness, some tartness lingers on my tongue. It’s not very juicy. Very refreshing as it quenched my thirst. Goes down easy. It is 5.5% each pint. Once is not our first beer we have sampled at the Blue Island Brewery. In 2018 we did Five Bridges, one of the brewery’s famous beers they have on tap. Blue Island Brewery is located on Olde Western Avenue. It’s a little downtown area off the bridge. It’s a nice tap room they have and the beer is brewed on site. They have some snacks but food you need to bring in yourself or have it delivered. Some interesting choices surrounding the Brewery in the little downtown area. I always like the local artist paintings on the wall. They have multiple taps so it will keep me coming back to sample more of their beers. Plus just winning one Dixie Trail Brewery tour is not enough. We will be looking for the repeat.

I did have a few “Once’s”on that day where I won my award to soak this beer in my new coaster. I’m 1 and down on Once, it did not speak to me. It has the flavor, but it seems kind of flat at the same time. I have it at number 26 for the year. Overall this beer is in back of the line at number 90 on the big suds list.

You can never go wrong when one of your favorite places to go out of town, adds another brewery, saloon or restaurant. Especially if everything is delicious. Score!!! New Buffalo, Michigan adds another brewery to their mix which already includes the Beer Church. Plus all the other nice breweries in other towns.

Ghost Isle Brewing fits the landscape perfectly as it looks on to some very beautiful scenery. They say 156 acres of wetlands. The brewery, named for an island off-the-beaten path, has supernatural phenomenal brewing. Called Ghost Island. Generations of kids and teenagers are whipped up in a frenzy of haunted tales.

I was there to drink beer and let the professionals take care of ghosts and ghouls on the Island of Misfit Spirits.

Ghost Isle Brewing brews their beer on sight. They have multiple beers on tap. My guess is they have all the fresh ingredients for their beer and food, being off the grid in these beach towns. Clever names of their beers from the town’s history. They go with the German style of beer making without the Nazi influence. The food menu has more than Chef Boyardee back in the kitchen flipping burgers. Fresh fish on their menu. Plus your pub food which is extremely comfort. Then your chef’s masterpieces of chicken and pork dishes. Inside the tap room the bar is huge with lots of seating surrounding the bar on all sides. Plus televisions all over so you do not miss the games.

Outside you might have gone to heaven because of the view. The patio outside has plenty of seating to get your game on. They have tables under shelter where you face the open wetlands. Plus tables directly outside to get your vitamin D.

They have live entertainment. Picture on beautiful sunny day listening to nice band eating like a king and indulging in the greatest gift from the heavens beer. Those ghostly spirits were taking over the bodies of patrons and making them dance.

I was able to get to the Ghost Isle Brewing twice in the same year. I was able to try multiple beers. I have three beers to blog about. At times I get stuck on certain beers that are very good. Plus other beers at Ghost Isle I try were good, but I can’t give them a great review with so many other already cruising through my body. NAME:NEW BUFFALO PILSNER STYLE:PILSNER BREWED BY:GHOST ISLE

The New Buffalo Pilsner is a long legged blonde in a very tall glass. Looks like a champagne glass with tiny bubbly foam at the top. Miller Lite is a Pilsner. Picture this Pilsner not watered down like Miller Lite, but still goes down smooth. The aroma gives you an earthiness smell. The taste has a biscuit flavor but more like a cereal going down. It has a herbal bitterness to it as well. Ghost Isle uses the state of the art German Hops for this creation of refreshingness. It has a 4.7% perfect for a sunny day. Outdoor drinking beer as well. Day time drinking as well. The next two beers I caught in the same picture. I had a dark beer and found out what a Peach Bum’s like. Save those perverted thoughts until we are done here. NAME:SWAMP DUST STYLE:GERMAN SCHWARZBIER BREWED BY:GHOST ISLE

NAME:PEACH BUM BLONDE STYLE: AMERICAN BLONDE ALE BREWED BY:GHOST ISLE The Swamp Dust is in the smaller glass, the dark beer. Swamp Dust is a German Schwarzbier style of beer. Thought Schwarbier was a German tank of some kind.

The Swamp Dust is a cool name for this dark black pour. Being located right on the swampy wet lands makes sense to be called the Swamp Dust. I usually am one and done with dark beer. But once in a while I like to indulge in them. So I got a short stout, which is a German Schwarbier, not a stout.

The nose test shows the Swamp Dust has a roasty malty thing going on. I was impressed at how smooth it was with the first sip. It has the bittersweet thing going on with a dark chocolate flavor. The hoppiness of this beer lingers in the mouth in-between sips. Don’t get scared off it’s only 4.5% each pour. Darker beers tend to lean on the higher side. After my short pour of the Swamp Dust I washed my mouth out with an American Blonde beauty of an ale, a Peachy Bum. The Peach Bum pours a blonde but golden color. Some lacing around the perimeter of the pint glass. It smells sweet and breadiness perhaps another biscuit like smell on the lighter side. Don’t get scared off if you trend away from fruity beers. This American Blonde ale has a tint of the peach flavor and is not overwhelming like those Blueberry beers that each sip puts you closer to being a diabetic. This was a light bodied beer which went down smooth for obviously easy drinking. The malts and hops equaled each other out as the Peach Bum has some biscuit flavoring as well with spices and the peach mixed in. A nice outside beer on a sunny day, was the kind of feel I had with this one. The Peach Bum was a 4.7% on the richter scale. The Ghost Isle experience both times were quite good. The hamburger I had was delicious as it melted in your mouth. The service was excellent. They knew what they have and answered the questions without hesitation. The atmosphere was good times at Ridgemont High. This is a must go if you’re out and about and come across the town of New Buffalo. It’s a way better time than that crummy casino. The four winds of four Native Americans gassing into the winds. Swamp Dust I have ranked at 25 on the 2019 beer list. It comes in at number 89 on the big beer list. New Buffalo Pilsner was the best of the three beers I had at Ghost Isle. New Buffalo Pilsner comes in at number 17 for this year. Number 55 overall. The Peach Bum Blonde I have had better blondes. The Peachy bum was 19 overall this year. Number 61 on the big suds list up above.

Open Outcry is located where the famous beer crawl, once upon a time ago called the Western Death March, is held. Something of the past. Western Avenue is still home of the Southside St.Patricks day parade that many need a week to get over the taste of green beer in their pores after. Open Outcry brewing replaced one of those struggling dive bars on Western known as the Shamrock Express. Open Outcry has a unique mug club like shown above that features your personal ceramic mug which you can put anything on. We have been to this establishment multiple times. We have written about their pizza a few times on the pizza part of this blog. We have done one of their beers as well. Western Avenue leads into Dixie Highway and is a part of the Dixie Highway Trail Brewery Tour. Its a place that got me me my seventh stamp out eight stops on this mission. On this seventh stamp, I indulge in and repo one of their beers.

NAME:REVERSE REPO STYLE:PALE ALE RYE BREWED BY:OPEN OUT \CRY Maybe the owner was eating a corned beef sandwich the day he thought of this beer with rye. And a very clever name, the Reverse Repo. Drinking a beer on the grounds back in time where my car was repoed in that dark dingy hole in the wall bar called the Shamrock Express.

It was a night in my 20’s after a softball game and we were sponsored by the Shamrock Express. Stupid me parked in a spot where they would tow you. Signs in the dark alley were hard to see. I saw people park there a thousand times. Someone came in and told me I was being towed as I ran out to see my company truck being taken down the alley. The Repo picture of the guy in the mask above in my brain describes what these guys are all about. Sinister… The lucky part was I collected lots of dues that night from players on my team that owed money I fronted to get the team. The money I finally waited for would be all gone the next morning when I had to pick up the truck out of hock which they rob you blind. There was the unlucky part as my money vanished like the plane going into the Bermuda Triangle. I will reverse my repo story and indulge in a beer and slainte that old story and never bring it up again. I buried it with a few pints of the Reverse Repo Rye.

The Reverse Repo Rye pours an golden color with some light snow on top of the pint glass. The aroma for this beer is woodsy. Rye with mix of pine and other forest minerals. The taste of the first sip makes your brain go into deep freeze like eating ice cream too fast, but this sip is in a good way. It has that rye bread flavor. Mix in your typical citrus of being a Pale Ale. A sweet & bitter thing flows very nicely down the gullet. Let’s not forget the tint of pine or other woody undertones that last for a few seconds. It’s smooth creamy beer. It was a 6.3% so more than one can be had in one sitting. I was a big fan of this choice. Usually I go with the Speculator. This one will be had again. The Reverse Repo Rye Pale Ale I have sliding in number 13 for 2019. I have it in my top 50 on the big dog suds list. I put it at number 33 a good number . Larry Bird’s number. Who cares about Boston? Aaron Rowand’s old numberfor the White Sox.

Another horse themed brewery on the Dixie Highway Brewery tour. We have done the Evil Horse in Crete, Illinois. Has a beer called Mister Ed in their stables. Then the Horse Thief Hollow has the horse stable doors in their establishment. The next brewery brings us to Lansing, Illinois.

It’s the home of the One Trick Pony brewery. Let’s take a walk inside and see what they got brewing.

One Trick Pony probably has the smallest tap room out of all the breweries on this Dixie Highway brewery tour. It has that home feeling. Strong beers. Delicious beers. It’s like going over to someone’s house hanging out drinking in their man cave. They have friendly cats walking around which you can pet. They love attention. Plus you can keep the drinks flowing.

They may jump in your lap and never vacate their new much-loved spot. Like the black cat and my sidekick, Marty, on that late Friday afternoon. The black cat suckered me into his reindeer games as well.

I was able to hit One Trick Pony a few times this year. They have multiple beers on tap.

Some of their beers are named after the cats I believe. Maybe they just like cats and horses. If I was a stray cat and a brewery fed me some beer, I would stick around. Drink beer and slumber for 18 hours… sounds like that’s what I do now anyways. So what is the difference? The beer I will write about and indulge in was one of the cat beers. NAME:STORM CAT STYLE:AMERICAN AMBER/RED ALE BREWED BY:ONE TRICK PONY

Storm Cat pours a nice deep dark amber color with tan furry foam on the top. One Trick Pony uses mosaic hops in Storm Cat so it has this cat with some hippy hop in its step. The aroma is citrus. Some pine. Not those little pine trees you get at the car wash either. The first sip has some bitter, but sweetness as the hops are just along for the ride. The bloodline of the beer is the malty biscuit flavor you taste after. It has some juicy grapefruit flavors in this puppy cat, It is well-balanced and it is easy to drink. This is one of those beers that will sneak up behind you.

The Storm Cats are 6.7% and a few of these on an empty stomach the Sand man will knock you out. Eat before you come or right after because they do have great beers, but most are six percent and up the charts. The decor at One Trick Pony was incredible. All the nostalgic stuff they have throughout their establishment is like one of your friends’ man cave basement or garage. Old beer growlers from all over on display. Nice cool beer signs. Very old school beer signs. It’s like they say, “slow down and smell the roses.” This stuff is like sunset on a beach for me.

The service was excellent. Cheryl, one of the bar keeps, was awesome in our last voyage to One Trick Pony. All of them welcome you like a neighbor. They seem to like their job and act happy to be there. They all showed us a great time.

They even have an outdoor patio by the front door. When the warmer temperatures arrive, sitting outside on your neighbor’s lanai enjoying a cold one. A summer breeze will draw the cat’s interest. It will join you outside for a few strokes up their fur and a jolly ole time.

I have the Storm Cat, this red perfection, coming in at number 8 for the 2019 beer list. I have it meowing at number 18 on the big beer list. One Trick Pony will be a place in the regular rotation. Just have got to execute this place around food somehow. That way the Sandman does not put you down before dinner time. That’s a problem when you have more beers to drink afterwards on the weekend docket.

The Dixie Highway Brewery tour continues looking for the fifth stamp of 2019. This next stamp brings us back to Horse Thief Hollow Brewery. A place we did the first year we started doing this beer blog. We did two beers the first time go around. We did their Kitchen Sink Pale Ale which is still one of their staple beers. Then we did a stout called the Purple Cow which is one of their seasonal beers. This mission is to close out another spot on the Dixie Highway Holy Grail Trail passport.Plus dabble in another beer choice on their tap list. Do you think we will accomplish both tasks? Let’s walk through the doors and see what’s going on at Horse Thief Hollow.

Inside Horse Thief Hollow reminds you of a barn or stables where horses were housed. High ceilings high as a hay loft. The building is now a brewery. It’s never actually been a stable for horses. They have the lights that hang down from the ceilings that show off some local artists’ paintings on the wall which are for sale.

One section to the right when you walk in this brewery, is where they have the bar with pub tables and televisions. To the left is just tables scattered all over for dining and obviously drinking Horse Thief Hollow’s many homemade brews. On the back wall you can see the shiny vats they make their beer on the premises.

Then once you’re seated they have the wall of their beers they offer and will bring to your table. Plus they have a menu at the table just in case your vision is impaired coming in from another joint. They say people do the Western Avenue March of Bars, which originally was Dixie Highway. Just the street name has changed as the suspects are all the same.

I found an American Pale Ale on the board called the Ridge Rider. That would be the beer I ride into the night. NAME:RIDGE RIDER STYLE:AMERICAN PALE ALE BREWED BY:HORSE THIEF HOLLOW

As you can see the Ridge Rider pours a solid gold color. Has some white fluff on top of the oval glass they give you with the horseshoe logo on it. Horse Thief Hollow says the Ridge Rider is the new American Pale Ale so it’s the sheriff in town.

Not everyone loves the new sheriff but I was a fan. Horse Thief Hollow says the Ridge Rider has cita and mosaic hops that make up this creation. The aroma is a mix of lemon, grapefruit and earthy materials. Citris makes the nostril hair do a square dance. The taste is juicy with a slight bitterness to it. It’s a beer that will put a hop in your step. Very hoppy. Grapefruit taste stands out in a tropical burst of fruit and again slight bitterness to it. It’s a nice combo which makes this one a very refreshing beer. Horse Thief Hollow also has an interesting menu when it comes to food. Not just your regular burgers and sandwiches which it has. They have some upscale stuff to offer along with some BBQ. From frog legs to occtopus. I did not feel like eating Kermit the Frog so I had the hot link meal with assorted BBQ sauces they make from their beers.

The hot link meal was very spicy and very satisfying at the same time. The Ridge Rider made a nice fire extinguisher to coat the tongue of flames from the combo of the link and one of their sauces.

The southwest chicken eggrolls and bbq chicken were also fantastic. The macaroni and cheese was smoky and tangy at the same time.

It was a very satisfying outing to the Horse Thief Hollow on this adventure. It got another stamp on the papers which makes it the fifth out of eight of them so far. The Ridge Rider was only 5.8% so I really got to sit back and enjoy about three of these in their oval glasses. Ridge Rider makes my top ten in 2019 coming in at number 10. I liked it better than the Kitchen Sink and the Purple Cow which were the first beers we blogged from this brewery. Overall Ridge Rider gallops into my top 30 at number 29.

This next wacky adventure and mission to find the beer takes us to Finger Lakes in upper New York State. The Geneva convention where we lay down all our arms and drink beer. Not actually… the town of Geneva, New York where Twisted Rail Brewing is located.

Twisted Rail brewing has three locations in New York. The Geneva was more of brew pub than an actually brewery they make beer at. It looks like a little house off the lake.

On the deck of the house you can see the lake.They have a water way you can see standing on the deck that has seating and you drink your beer outside.

Twisted Rail brewing just looks like you are going to your friends or families house. I know a few places in the Chicagoland area like this. Houses that are turned into family owned pubs. Where you feel like you’re at home. The food is great and the people are friendly. Lets walk through the doors and see if my vibe is right.

Twisted Railroad is very heavy on the choo choos when it comes to the interior decorateing. Just like Flossmoor Staion Brewing with lots of awesome train stuff.

This is a place where you might be able to get some of the pickiest types of people to because of the cool train stuff.

We bellied up to the bar. The bartender welcomed us as we got that home feeling. She was that type that liked her job. Enjoyed talking to all the patrons. She answered questions. Gave a run down of the joint. Asked if we were hungry like if you just came from a long trip and just arrived. Before even sipping a beer you get that home feeling in an actually house. It has me loving this place.

Many of the beers were named after trains like at Flossmoor Station at home.

I went with the IPA Spike Driver

NAME: SPIKE DRIVER STYLE:IPA BREWED BY: TWISTED BREWING

Somehow I went with one of the big guns as my first beer of the day. A 7.3% is what the Spike Driver is all about to make me buzzed instantly. I’m up for the challenege and I have the eye of the tiger. It pours a hazy amberish color in the glass. Some slightly white foam dandruff around the perimeter of the pint. The nose test has a floral grain thing going. The taste imagine more of the same as the smell. Throw in caramel, orange citrus and some small bitterness going to it. All together a zesty fruit taste with some sweet backing to it. It does not taste like a strong beer. Those IPAs are like that they play mind tricks like that especially anywhere from six and up in percent wise. I did have more than one. On that day we did a boat tour in the middle of each round which is in walking distance so we came back. SOME OF THE PICTURES OF THE BEAUTIFUL FINGER LAKES

This adventure was on a weekday in the afternoon hours. It was 5o’clock somewhere. Twisted Railroad had a steady flow of customers. I would say by the vents the atmosphere becomes electric at night and on weekends like every hot spot.

I would definitely go back to the Twisted Brewery especially in that location by the water. The beer was delicious and they have some others I would love to try as well. I like the Spike Driver at number 13 for the 2019 beer list. I have it in my top 50 coming in at 49 on the big suds list.

The Dixie Highway Brewery Tour continued this time at one of my familiar haunts, Flossmoor Station. Flossmoor Station where I’m a Mug Club member. A place we have blogged three Choo Choo beers so far from the station. The 4th one coming up after these messages.

This stop at Flossmoor Station is another stamp on the Dixie Trail tour of breweries. So far we have knocked off Evil Horse, and Rabid Brewing from the Dixie mafia tour. This will be number three off the list. Actually number 4 because I did Evil Horse twice which replaces out of business Vice Brewing in Homewood Illinois.

NAME:JUST A CRUSH STYLE :PALE ALE BREWED BY:FLOSSMOOR STATION

Just a Crush is a seasonal beer brewed by Flossmoor Station. It pours a hazy yellowish golden retriever color. As you can see snow on the roof of the mug. The aromas is fruity with mostly lemon coming at you. First sip of this seasonal hazy pale ale makes you think of the movie Crush in the 1990s.

In the movie a young attractive girl wants an older man. This beer has that fork in the road. Do you go with younger with this fatal attraction? Beerwise this is a pretty girl beer, but it’s seasonal so you may not be committed to it. I drank the whole thing so I would not be stabbed in the neck by the bartender if this beer was no good. He might be heavily invested that the beer must be good and good for the customer. Just a Crush is brewed with ekuano hops which gives this beer that lemon and they lime aromas. This beer has some hop to it. It goes down smooth and easy drinking as it has a nice balance of juicy flavors as you can taste the lemony of the hops. It is only a 5.3% each pint. Since my mug at Flossmoor Station is 20 oz it throws off the math so might as well just order a number two with a nice lunch or dinner. Just don’t get eaten by the Burrito that ate Flossmoor.

Flossmoor station remains one of my favorite water hole breweries. It’s a place for all year around that has great beer and good food. The bar is a nice place to watch the game. Or watch the passenger train bring thirsty people home to their establishment from downtown.

They have a very cool beer garden outside with a caboose. On this day the weather was a tad chilly for good fun shenanigans outside.

Just a Crush on this day was very enjoyable. I do like some of their regular beers they have over Just a Crush. I would have Just A Crush when it does come out but it would not be my go-to beer along the train taps.

I compare Just a Crush to Son of a Juice from Maplewood Brewing. Thought Just a Crush was less sweet so I would put it ahead of that one at number 15 for the year of 2019. Just A Crush comes in at number 57 overall on the big suds list up in the sky of the blog world.

Former bowling alley & now a brewery in Crete, Illinois. An Evil Horse is brewing beer out south and he does not go by the name Mister Ed. That is however one of their brews, Mr.Ed is a brown ale. Evil Horse Brewing is smack dab right in the middle of Crete’s downtown. It has many brews they make named after horses. In 2019 I ventured here three times and made it my personal horse track. My Father-n-law has the horse track or the OTB he likes to go. No sweaty animals here. Just nice easy flowing beers named after the thoroughbreds on the track.

Lets take a walk inside and see what Evil Horse has in store for us.

Inside you are greeted with a smile from the Evil Horse staff. Catherine welcome us behind the bar with open arms.

Their silver vats of ecstasy are shown through a glass window. You might see my breath fogging up that window. They have a great sized establishment with a bar and plenty of seating. It has a gift shop next to a stone fireplace. They show some great history of the old bowling alley. As beer drinking continues, bowling will be remembered still on every beer hoisted in the air on a strike of golden suds.

The first time we came we were on a mission. We were doing the Dixie Highway beer tour.

It was Time Lee and I on another excellent adventure that by far would be better than Bill’s and Ted’s.

Memories would be had as we picked up a stamp. Since Vice Brewery in Homewood is on the Dixie Highway brewery tour and closed, I picked up two stamps here at the Evil Horse. Since I was there three times, it counted for two stamps. Since the closing of the establishment, to get your marker you would have to do one brewery twice to get the out of business Vice filled in. We bellied up behind the bar which is absolutely gorgeous.

Love the Evil Horse logo behind the bar. With the paintings of the knight blended in, the walls made this place feel medieval at times and present at the same time. I have tried a few different beers in my three visits to Evil Horse Brewing. One of them kept drawing me back for more and more each visit. I only have one beer to write about because it would not be fair to other choices that were great as well. I went with the most smoking hot one of them all, the Downtown Hottie. NAME:DOWNTOWN HOTTIE STYLE:AMERICAN PALE WHEAT ALE BREWED BY:EVIL HORSE

The American Pale Wheat Ale beers in my opinion have been some really great tasting beers I have blogged about. Gum Ball head from Three Floyds and Sun Crusher from Revolution ring a bell instantly in my head. As you can see it pours a clear golden color. A nice frothy white head on top. The spidey nose senses has a sweet bready thing tingling the nostrils. First mouthful has that silk slick wheat feel to it. Then the second sip you feel like everything is brought together with a mellow yellow fruity taste mixed in the wheat. This is a very easy beer to drink. It is very refreshing. Goes down too smooth and it’s easier than a slut at a whore house in Crete, if they have them there. At 5.7%, after a dozen they had to carry me out. The people upstairs are the ones that bring you food. Place a phone call at the bar and place an order, The restaurant called the Loft upstairs will bring you down some delicious food.

These mini tacos were delicious. The Restaurant is called the Loft.

A huge menu of appetizers, pizza, and out of this world sandwiches and pasta. The locals that go in there are very friendly. We had a conversation with a guy who was reading a book called the World’s Scariest Places.

Usually guys like this you intend to stay far away from. This guy was lots of fun and was from the area. A regular at the Evil Horse as we got the lay of the land.

As forthe Evil Horse, I will be back there in 2020 a few times is my prediction and give more of their other beers a taste. I have the Downtown hottie though as my new number one beer of 2019 so far. It cracks the top ten at number 9 overall on the big list of suds.

Sawyer, Michigan is the home of Greenbush brewery. I’m no stranger in this town and this brewery. It’s my out-of-town go-to brewery where I’m also a part of their mug club. We have blogged three beers already at Greenbush & on this day we chose the Blonde.

We did not see her above but we are doing a Blonde ale called Traktor.

Fire up your lawn mower. Put some ice in the cooler and let’s see how Traktor rides with the rest of the Greenbush beers and the others on our never ending delight of tapped beers. NAME: TRAKTOR STYLE: BLONDE ALE BREWED BY: GREENBUSH

We bellied up to the bar on this afternoon adventure. And we dived into one of Greenbush’s 6.1% delicacies.

As you can see, it pours into my mug club mug a hazy yellow. Mellow Yello style. It has a nice white cap around the perimeter of the mug. More people walking in as we are now ready to get our drink on.

The aroma is sending the nostril mixed signals. Nothing bad just fresh earthiness stuff. Want to say a banana and some cloves hinted in it. Definitely has the fruitieness aroma with some biscuit breadiness going down. You can taste the great stuff around the earth in the first sip. Definitely grassinesss and wheat with a little hippity hop going on. The next sip you taste the breadniess with “a triscuit, a basket, I have a biscuit” taste going on with some fruitiness. It’s light & very refreshing. Easy to drink.

Greenbush is a must visit. The beer list has all the flavors like the 33 flavors of an ice cream parlor. The food menu inside the bar area has lots of great sandwhiches and they are always adding some great things such as soups and stews and home cooking that sticks to your ribs. On the outisde across the street they always have something grilling along with something chilling with a nice beer garden/gift shop.

Traktor is not my favorite Greenbush beer, but it’s the second best flavor I got there. The Star Chicken is still the star of my taste buds in Sawyer. However the Traktor is riding high as it comes in at number three on the 2019 charts. It rockets all the way up to number 13 with its V-8 engine on the overall beer list.

Even some of the biggest plans in the world, on the biggest stages, need an exit strategy. Like Hans Gruber in the movie Die Hard. I think of the show Dexter, a serial killer who gets rid of bad people. He has his to-go bag hidden in the wall if the authorities find about him. CIA agents and spies like us need an exit strategy.

All underground criminal element have an exit strategy. It may involve a weapon, cash, some fake ID’s. Perhaps an Amazon gift card. I’m sure they will have shopping where they head off to in the wee hours of the night in a panic. Exit Strategies are used in business. What about an exit strategy used to get away from the job… the family… the wife. Yes, they call them bars. I found a place called Exit Strategy in Forest Park, Illinois and it’s a brewery. The place to get away and enjoy beer and good food, which they also do provide.

Exit Strategy is a fully functional brewery and kitchen. It’s a story about brewing beer for fun. Making something that everyone loves around you and quitting your day job with an Exit Strategy. Opening up a place to live out a dream, making great beers and bringing happiness to the patrons that come into your establishment. They have a nice set up with a nice bar and a great selection of tap beers they make.

The lights above the bar are old growlers from all sorts of breweries.They cut the bottom off installed those old vintage light bulbs to give the place that old rustic type of setting.

They have plenty of tables scattered around. Lots of room and seats for many people to eat and drink at. Some of the pub tables are made out of barrels.

NAME:EXIT STRATEGY AMERICAN PALE ALE STYLE:AMERICAN PALE ALE BREWED BY:EXIT STRATEGY BREWING

Lots of interesting choices of beers on tap at Exit Strategy. I went with the Pale ale named after the joint. Love their oval style of pint glass with their logo that is very sharp looking. As you can see the Pale ale is just an orange sunset color with some light snow around the perimeter of the glass. Exit Strategy according to the menu is brewed and dry hopped. Hops consist of amarillo and Antanum. It also has cascade, citra and simcoe. Lot of flavor going on in this Pale Ale. Like those old Prego Spaghetti sauce commercials where they say it’s in here. As with the sauces, all the herbs and spices make their sauce top notch. The smell test is citrusy like most of these pale ales. This beer goes down crsip and clean with some bitterness to the eqaution. Its light bodied. It’s hoppy. You can taste like a sweet sour orange flavoring going on with a little punch with bitterness and hops. Each pint is 5.5%. I enjoyed this beer so much that I took a to-go cup home the size of a growler. It however was not cut at the bottom to make barlights out of. The food choice I had was the poutine with buffalo chicken. It was so delicious that there was not even time to take a picture. Shredded chicken mixed in buffalo sauce by the mounds covering a plate of delicious french fries. Lots of great choices on their menu. Lots of comfort food choices like homemade Mac-n-Cheese. We also got to try their sof pretzel which was fantastic.

For the year I have Exit Strategy American Pale ale in my top ten at number 8. Overall I have in my top 30 at number 28.

Most people have their get out of town place. Such as a vacation home, cottage or cabin. Maybe it’s off a lake. It’s a place where you dock your boat. It’s a place in the country, a small town to get away from city life and city slickers. I have that town. The place where you get away from the job. In that town I’m like the slut-whore, Goldilocks, and stay in different beds throughout the town. However when I’m there, I have my own watering holes where I like to eat, drink, and be merry. Perhaps to look at all the local dogs assembled throughout the establishment. Not making fun of the clientele. They have dog pictures on the walls. Even in the bathroom at a place we call our first home in New Buffalo, the Stray Dog. If they serve a stray dog like myself, they might serve you as well. The Stray dog is located very close to the water with a beach in walking distance. If you sit at some of the spots at the bar or at the tables along the windows, you can see the water.

It’s a great place to feed the belly as they have a variety of sandwiches and pizza. They have salads and appetizers and some nice dishes to choose from in a big menu. It is also a great place for drinks. A wide selection of spirits and summer style drinks. They have a roof top so on nice night or during the day you enjoy being outside with something colorful and with an umbrella inside it.For me I love the many choices of beer on tap.They have a lot of Michigan beers since it is New Buffalo, Michigan.They also have many other great choices when it comes to craft beers. The Stray Dog has been written up before in this blog. We do go to places more than once and try different stuff. Sometimes we go with the same. On this fall night we went and bellied up to the bar. We had some drinks while we watched some college football late in the afternoon on a Saturday night. NAME:DESCHUTES FRESHLY SQUEEZED IPA STYLE:AMERICAN IPA BREWED BY:DESCHUTES BREWERY On this Saturday afternoon I went with an IPA from the beer capital of the World. The state of Oregon is home to Deschutes Brewery, maker of Freshly Squeezed IPA. The company notes says this beer has heavy dose of citra mosaic hops. Says no fruit was hurt in the process of making this delightful creation.

As you can see it pours a very nice amber color. It has a light lacing of foam around the perimeter of the pint glass. The nose test is a mixture of pine, heavy grapefruit, and floral. The taste is like a tropical burst of fruit as everything is well balanced and comes togther. It has a nice bready taste to it with a “sweeeet emoooootion” finish. Each pint is at 6.4% so you feel like you can handle a few of these babies. The atmosphere is always laid back as everyone is happy and by a beach in a small town. The staff is friendly. It’s a good place to watch the game as they give you options with televisions in places you can watch your favorite team in action. Don’t pee on the hyrant along the wall. Odell Beckham and dawgs like that all not welcome.

Not sure if they frown upon giving Moby Dick the Whale on the wall a sip of your drink.

If the whale starts singing, you’ve had far too much to drink. Order some of their great food and get back on a stool to order another pint. Don’t dog it. You’re on VACAY!!! The Dechutes Freshly Squeezed IPA for the year, I have slated in the number 4 slot edging out the Daisy Cutter. Overall it ranks in the top 15 at number 14.

Argus Brewery, according to the google maps, is one of the closest breweries to my house. Three breweies are neck and neck in distnace from my lair. Argus brewery is located in the Pullman neighborhood. One of the oldest neighborhoods in Chicago. It was neighborhood built in the 1880’s by George Pullman. He wanted housing for his employees around his factory, which made railroad cars. It was called the Pullman Palace car company. In the early days it was a neighborhood that flourished. Now most of the area can be kind of sketchy. Some of the area is still alive and doing business. That’s where Argus Brewery comes in as they have set up shop in the Pullman neighborhood. Coming in I knew they had some great beers on tap. Taking a trip over to Argus on a Saturday, you need a reservation which we had. It was well worth it as this is one of my favorite beer tours of all-time.

No Walmart greeter exists at Argus. Perhaps you might make a furry little friend along the way. When you arrive at the Argus brewery, this is not like a business where you just walk in. You ring the bell as they are expecting you.

Argus brewery welocme you with pictchers of beer. We arrived early so immediately we have cups in our hands.Beer was poured into these cups while we waited for the rest of our group to show up. While we waited the fury little greeter got to know you.

Usually on most brewery tours they give two drinks. Perhaps you have to wait until the very end in the tap room. Right from the start at Argus Brewing, drinks were flowing well. As the group finally came togther. When everyone had a drink in their hands we headed outside. It was a nice sunny day.

Outside we got the neighborhood history about the Pullman neighborhood. We got the history about Argus Brewery. Everyone waved to the passenger train going by as the engineer waved back with some other passengers. We were not out there too long, as they brought us all back inside. Now the party got started as we headed to the Argus tap room. Which had a nice bar, a pool table, and plenty of taps for all of their beers to come flowing out of right into your cup. No limit… you drank, you socialized, you went up for a refill. It was simple. It was like drinking in one of your favorite watering holes.

Liked all the cool bar decor they had in their tap room.The stainless glass window with the Argus logo. It was a diverse crowd we had gathered. Strangers meeting for the first time. As I always say, drinking beer brings people together. It could end wars, solve hunger and who knows what else this sudsy creation can conjure. The guys, the Argus brew masters, drank with us. They answered questions, gave us a few nuggets, it was fun and a learning experiecnce at the same time. NAME: ARGUS LAGER SYLE: RED LAGER BREWED BY:ARGUS BREWING

I tried many of what Argus was offering in their tap room. Did the Pegasus IPA. Tried the Bloodshot RedAle. Even took a cup of the Golden Prairie Ginger beer. The beer I still enjoyed the most was the Argus Red Lager as you see above. The beers were going down so smooth and fun was being had so I only got a picture of the Argus lager, which we did earlier in the year. However this time around it’s like having a pizza straight out of the oven and dining in. This time around, right from the keg, that was just freshly tappped from the brewery. Even with a plastic cup right from the brewery, it was delicious. I usually go with beers being better in a glass pint over a plastic cup. Especially at festivals. This was different animal. You could see from the Argus eye ball staring back at me on the cup, it pours a red amber alert. The smell of pistachios with caramel malts is what the sniff test discovers. Tastes sweet, pistachio with the caramel but some fruitiness mixed in. It’s well balanced. It goes down very easy with a nice aftertaste. It’s 5.5 % each pint. After the tap room you can bring your drinks out to the stainless steel vats of beer. Where everything is made. The brew masters tell you about their process for how they go about making their beer. Can you imagine being in a meeting of some kind at work with your buzz on? It makes the educational process much more fun. Not sure I learned anything, but it sounded like they knew what they were talking about. Then the tour ends unless you want buy package goods to go. Plus Argus swag if that is your fancy Nancy. I believe the truck was filled at the end of that Saturday afternoon. Argus brewery will go down as one of my favorite breweries Ive visited. Its a must go at least once a year or even more. Argus Lager part two jumps to number one overall in 2019 as it repeats itself, that was in the saloon Gilhooleys early in the year. Once again, Argus Lager comes in at number ten pushing the old Argus Lager to number 11 overall.

BEER,TACOS, DEVIL MUSIC AND SKULLS GIVING YOU THE EYEBALL. Some would say this is the place I’d bring some church going gal to on our first date. Soundgrowler of Tinley Park is your PAGAN temple west. Rabid breweing can be your Eastern shrine. Don’t let the music or skulls cloud your judgement because this place has beer. Good beer.

The music is up and down. Death metal at its best. Somebody banging on pots and pans singing about killing your family. Where is the love? The music blends in as conversation can still happen and they have a nice Sound Wave spinning the records.

First time I heard when someone said Soundgrowler Brewing I thought of Soundwave from the Transformers. So like the music or some machine with a blaster that will put a big hole in your chest, which is not good for beer drinking. Soundgrowler, like Rabid brewing, Three Floyds and the late Baderbrau, don’t play that boring elevator music.

Make sure you bring your card because they take no cash unless you’re just leaving a tip. The tacos are wonderful. Even Chicago’s Best has been by and you know Elliot loves his tacos.

They have steak, chicken, chorizo and veggies for those people. All on corn tortillas. Burritos and tortas as well, oh my. I went with a chicken burrito and the chorizo tacos. I was very happy with this mixed with their beer. which we should get to at some point.

Many cool beer names on the menu. I went with two swell sounding pale ales. Both west coast types. Golden Pale ales were very popular in the 1990s. Soundgrowler likes the California stuff as the Burrito was described as a style from out west. NAME: GRINDER PUNCH STYLE:WEST COAST PALE ALE BREWED BY:SOUNDGROWLER

A nice head of delicious foam around the perimeter of the glass. Grinder Punch has the light golden color like something out of a nice sunset. First sip and you can taste the world around you. What the hippies would walk on during their peace and love, leaving their feet out of the drink for sure. It had that earthy tase to it. You can say some pine in it as well. This punch though is not swill, as it grows on you quick like those leaches in the Stand By Me scene. Minus the disgusting part of course. Second sip turns into the citris tones with some dry hops and a very clean crisp finish. It’s only 5% and you get very addicted as I had my fair share in one sitting.

This is not a mirage in the dessert either as you can see Soundgrowler brewing on the spot, in the back. During bathroom breaks, you can wag your tongue as you look at breathtaking scerary in any brewery. NAME:GHOST RUNNER STYLE:WESTCOAST STYLE PALE ALE BREWED BY:SOUNDGROWLER

Not sure if the Ghost Runner was named after the PacMan ghosts.

The Ghost Runner was my favorite out of the two beers that I dabbled in at the Soundgrowler. Love the name. Was unsure about it at first as it has amarillo hops and some beers with those hops, to me are not that good. It also had cascade hops that blended the Ghost Runner into a very nice tasting beer. I’m just a sampler, not the almight brew master turning out beverages from heaven and beyond. As you can see this one is a darker golden color than the Grinder Punch. It also has a higher percentage in each pint at 5.7%. You can smell grapefruit and lemon with the nose test. Going down it tastes the way it smelled, perhaps a tad of pine stands out on the tongue as you swish it around in your mouth. It has your typical hops, but well balanced as this beer went down very smooth and had a remarkable taste with every sip. THE WALL DECOR HAS SOME COOL STUFF GOING ON BESIDES SKULLS.

ALL THESE THINGS MAKE UP A VERY COOLAND ONE MY FAVORITE BREWERIES OF THE YEAR

I have the two Soundgrowler beers doing very well. In 2019, I have Ghost Runner coming in at number 4 with Grinder Punch in the number 5 spot. Both of them are in my top 15. Ghost Runner at 14 and Grinder Punch shadows its co worker at 15.

When traveling on vacation, I always like to see what the town has to offer. Everyone is always a sucker for the tourist attractions the town has to offer. I’ve done it as you can put me on the list of seeing the attractions the town has. Obviously love beaches, breweries, and the sports venues. One thing I do look out for is where the locals go. Greasy spoons, diners and the sign above which was a beacon light to my brain, a tavern. Dive bars in the middle of towns are where to go.To find the locals and converse with them to get the lay of the land and find out what to see. Plus a good watering hole is obviously right up my alley. This tavern called, the Tavern, caught my eye a half block from the hotel in Penn Yan, New York. Once had a guy in the neighborhood when I was little who called his killer dog, DOG. Tavern says it all. Penn Yan is in upper New York state. Penn Yan stands for Pennsyvaina Yankee. If you think the name Penn Yan was a little Chinatown, you’d be wrong.

The Tavern reminded me of my favorite watering holes back at home. Pool table, bar surrounded by wooden walls like a ski lodge with dim lighting. Neon signs in the windows and great pub food.

It was perfect place to sit down and order some pub grub off their menu with many good options.

We found some great drinking options as they had quite a few draft beers. An appetizer caught our eyes as we went with the poppers that I do order quite a few times when I’m out and about. These poppers were different as they had bacon inside.

NAME:YUENGLING STYLE:AMERICAN AMBER/RED LAGER BREWED BY:YUENGLING BREWING The beer I chose I had to have and it went well with the poppers. It was a beer I had already done a review on back in 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsyvania. Where I live they do not have this beer. It’s the oldest brewery in the states, a beer so misprounounced called Yuengling. Or we liked to call it Ying ting. Or Ying tin. Sometimes on this beer blog we will come across the same beer but better at another place establishment fest etc etc. In the summer of 2017, we had Yuengling American Lager at a fest called the Picklesburgh fest. It was served in a plastic cup. Picklesburgh fest was on a bridge in downtown Pittsburgh. Even in a plastic cup Yuengling to this day is number 31. Not too bad a ranking out of 80 beers written up.

Now you can see the amber color of a Yuegling pour in a tall pint glass with some white foam around the perimeter of the glass. The smell is still earthy grains but caramel malts. You can taste the caramel and some sweetness with a tint of bitterness, but you can miss that. Well balanced beer. Goes down exceptionally smooth as every sip gets better. This is only a 4.5% beer so sky is the limit. Like the fest this beer is good for those long drinking days or nights. Great game day beer because you can bring it all day all night. The Tavern provided us a close drinking spot from the hotel walking distance. A few meals. It was a great place to take a load off and watch some games even though the hated Yankees were on some of the screens. The staff was great. Got some ideas of what to go see around Finger lakes in New York State. The atmosphere felt like you were at home, just a nice freindly small town in America. This go around of the Yuengling nectar lands in the top 25 at number 24 overall. I have it at number 4 for this year.

RABID BREWING PART TWO: THE SEQUEL Found our way back to the Pagan brewer, Rabid brewing in Homewood, Illinois. Our first trip to Rabid, we found some interesting people hanging out in a brewery on the outskirks of town with the woods behind the building. It’s a place that is very secluded in back of Home Depot. We tried a beer called Lotus last time as they name their beers after deep sea monsters or straight from hell after the red guy with the pointy tale and horns. Perhaps some names come deep down from the dungeons of society where dragons roam free. I’m sure we will find the creature from the black lagoon sitting on a bar stool right next to us. Anything can happen at Rabbid. We might even catch something when we walk through the doors with the element that frequents this joint. This trip is not just people watching and trying some tasty beers. It’s a mission.

We are on a mission to hit every brewery on the Dixie Highway Trail. As you can see Rabbid is the 4th stamp on this special mission.

It’s all about the tin plaque completing this thirsty hike down Dixie. We will act like brave warriors to complete this very exciting mission any way possible. It might not be pretty. If we only got paid to do this type of work. When we walked in I thought we were in that scene from Animal House. The music stops and everyone looks at us. The night club where Otis and Knights were playing music.

I thought we’d get someone asking us if they minded if they danced with our dates. This trip we did not bring the gals as we made are way to the bar.

It was birthday party and the family had an idea to come to the brewery and celebrate. The thing about beers is they bring peace to all people, no matter their race, creed or the color of their skin. We were able to get the stamp, not from a tramp, and drink another tasty beverage at Rabid Brewing. NAME:WYTCH RACER STYLE:PALE ALE BREWED BY:RABID BREWING WHAT IS A WYTCH RACER?

This is what we are thinking. However Rabid brewing describes their drink as a smooth high speed ride through the skies.

Now we are thinking this.

As you can see, it pours a hazy light golden color with a white cloud of foam around the perimeter. Bubbles of hops inside the pint glass, ready to pop on each sip. The Wytch Racer is a very hoppy beer. You can smell and taste the cirtrusy starburst candy explode in your mouth, and your nose hairs start kicking like an Irish dancer. It is very smooth tasting as it goes down very easy. Best decription to sum this beer up is it is a very citrusy pale ale. It’s only a 5.3 percenter so having more than one is in the cards for an evening with this type of gal.

The owner was out in Colorado with some of the brews Rabid makes, competing at one of the biggest beer festivals in the world. The bartender gave us some great info on the brewery. Like the artist who has painted the mural above the bar. It’s creative and something out of a graphic novel.

I zoomed in to see the Rabid logo in the painting which is pretty cool. For the first blog post we took many pictures, but missed the logo in the painting. Overall the Wytch Racer did better then the first beer I had at the time called the Lotus. So part two of the sequel was better from the point of tasting the beer they had to offer. I have the Wytch Racer at number six for the year at this point. On the big list I have this beer in the top 50. Coming in at number 48.

Gilhooley’s Grande Saloon in Chicago on the South Side is a place filled with memories from over the years. For decades it has been a nice watering hole for the locals. It’s right across from the University, St. Xavier, so you have some students and locals coming in to a place where everyone knew your name. A place that resembled the show Cheers as the inside is all about the fancy wood work. Beautiful stained glass windows inside that resembled some of the great old cathedrals, gave this place truly that old school feel. Had the nice fireplace burning a few logs. Like it was a place that had some historical ramifications that went down.

You think this establishment would flourish for many decades to come. In a prime location. Being around for years. Many memories from all around of the good times people had there. Gilhooleys reminds me of that great boxer, the older he got the more punches to the head he suffered. The owner donated the bar to St. Xavier. I’ts been through hell and back over the years. Even being closed down due to the rodent act that nobody wants to discuss. It seemed like the place could never make a good simple burger. The Cougar burger was nothing to get your whiskers in a frenzy about. For years the place went on the decline with bad food. Finally they got it right and put out a very good food menu. They improved their beer taplist. The had trivia night and they looked like they were making a comeback. Like old boxers, they go out in the last fight with a thud. Gilhooleys pulled the plug on being open to the public and now are just a place where you gather and host a family reunion. Or any other event you’d like to have. Before they closed down we had a chance to grab a tap beer and enjoy this place a few more times because it was forgotten in years past. NAME ARGUS LAGER STYLE:AMERICAN AMBER RED LAGER BREWED BY:ARGUS BREWING Anytime you go to Irish establishment you want to chase down a Redhead. Sure blondes most of the time are typically more fun. In Irish law, redheads are the law of the land.

Argus lager I discovered at Binnys in the local section. Its a beer brewed close to my house, in a historical neighborhood in Chicago called the Pullman district. It has one of the coolest labels.

We have this label written about in the beer art section of this blog. The Argus Lager, as you see above, pours a nice reddish amber color. The aroma is nuttiness. Pistachios to be exactly. Definitely has caramel in the whiff. The first sip you can taste the caramel malts with the hint of pistachio flavor. Fruitiness is mixed in it as well. It’s sweet but not to sweet as everything comes together and makes this beer very smooth with a very nice flavor. You can dabble in more than one with the alcohol percentage only at 5.5 %. It was a night where you didn’t know who would walk in.

It was a night where I built my own burger. I picked chipolte style mayo as one my toppings that made this meat just explode in my mouth and melt at the same time. We only took second at trivia, as the Argus lagers flowed off their taps very nicely. That night I figured we’d get another toss of the 16″ softball in the box on the next trivia night. For the free throw if we were stumped on a tough question. My greatest memory was always going up there in my early 20’s for dollar beer night. Knew the bartender. At the time it was crowded and smoking in the bar was allowed as clouds of smoke floated in the air. The bartender at the time was a friend of mine and still today is. He wanted to be a firemen at the time. He did make that happen as well. He did not smoke, but we asked, “Does the smoke affect you?” He said, “Well, it’s practice for my future job putting out fires.” Hewas in training while doing another job.

Giloohly’s has a nice patio outside as well. They have a pool table. They even already had a party room in place. The menu improved which took them too long. The tap beer list was not great for a long time either. They were behind in the craft beer ERA that took off and is a big key in bars today. Only thing was that watching a game there I did not like.The TVs were too small. The big ones were hidden above the bar and the only way to see them was if you were at the bar. You’d think a university would have the brain trust to keep this watering hole from failing. The world is a vampire when it comes to these special mom and pop places that are not chains we love. Gilhooleys was just madly behind the times. Not sure what direction they ever wanted to go.

The Whales have been officially nuked at the top of the leader board for this year. Argus Lager is the now the king of the mountain. Great game played on snow hill. Do kids even play that these days? Overall Argus pops in at number ten ousting Jesus Christ slayer Pontius Pilate to number 11.

This is big day for the beer blog. To find Hamm’s beer tapped at a bar, it’s like finding a diamond in the ruff. Like scoring that one classic relic at a garage sale. I felt like Christophor Columbus going out for spices, and then finding America. I ran into this beer at one of my favorite watering holes in OakLawn, Illinois, a place called BJ McMahons. BJ McMahons I have blogged about before as they offer about ten different tapped beers. It’s a local place with great pub grub and they will shock you with a Zombie Dust one day, or one of your favorite beers your dad drank the next day.

When I first saw the Hamm’s Bear tap lined up with all the other taps, I was like, “no way.” It took me to a flashback from the past where I asked about Hamms due to the establishment having a Hamm’s sign. Then it turns out they did not serve Hamm’s. I get it that the signs of Sky Blue waters and the cartoon bear are very cool. We have the cartoon Hamm’s Bear on our softball jerseys and the team does not drink Hamm’s after the game.

The barkeep told me that yes indeed they do have Hamm’s on tap. In that instant, it felt to me how the 3 Wise Men must have felt, following the star to Bethlehem to discover baby Jesus being born. It was Game On as the car passed and our baseball game was back in full swing this time, with a nice pint of Hamm’s. A pint of those Sky Blue waters about to enter my gullet. NAME:HAMM’S STYLE:AMERICAN ADJUNCT LAGER BREWED BY:HAMM’S BREWING(OWNED NOW BY MILLER/COORS) The barkeep told me BJ McMahons goes through a few kegs of Hamm’s each month. Obviously patrons love it so I feel confident it is there to stay for good. That makes me happy because you can get it at stores. Some bars might even offer a tall boy at their establishment. Howver it is very rare to see it tapped.

It pours a golden straw with a long lasting head. Hamm’s I will have to say is a great lawn mowing beer. An ice cold Hamm’s after yard work is thirst quenching instantly. The aroma from this pint is graininess which you have with your typical lager beers. This beer goes down smooth even though it could be thick on the old tongue. You can taste the corn which brings some sweetness to the table. Definitely the grainness, but bready little spice from the hops. Overall very refreshing especially with pub food like burgers and sausage and pizza. Great beer to have watching sports all day as it is only 4.6% each glass. BJ McMahons still remains one of my favorite watering holes. I know I have many, but everyone has more than one tee shirt to wear. This is a great pub for everything I like across the board, drinks, food, sports and atmosphere.

Out of “What your daddy used to drink beers,” I have done four of them. Iron City, Iron City Light and Chicago’s beer – Old Style. Love all these beers especially Iron City. I give Hamm’s the nod as the better choice out of these beers. I like the sweetness it brings to the table. It gives it that slight edge over the rest of them, which I like also. I rank Hamm’s number 40 on the big list as it makes a statement of beers that your daddy drank. In 2019, Hamms is in the top five at number 4 for right now.

The next adventure brought us to Homewood, Illinois. Brought us to the outskirts of town where we found Rabid brewing company which is building all by itself in back of Home Depot and a few other businesses. A place secluded by itself as in back of this building faces an open lot of trees and prairie land.

Rabid brewing has a small area for their own personal beer garden. A guy playing a guitar. A few chairs. A few bales of hay to kick your feet up. A tent to block the sun, perimetered by a white pipe fencing. The outside just reminds you of a group of survivors that survived a zombie apocalypse. You could picture zombies coming out of the tree line while these survivors still drink their beer, play their music, and do some grilling while they kill the dead for sport. Inside you feel like you walked into some kind of Pagan party from the movie Dragnet.

You just thought to yourself, will they be sacrificing some kind of virgin? Perhaps it was a Viking style type of bar, without the Capital One card. My mum would say we walked into some heavy devil worshipping as the music had your typical brewery style heavy metal. Perhaps punk. You could see they had a music stage with these pagan style masks.

We continued to the bar which was pretty cool. They had a chalk board with all these dragons on it with gothic names on them. The Nemogoblin and the Dwarfs of Doom. It was like in Ghostbusters. I felt like asking the bearded Viking behind the bar, are you the Gate Keeper or the Key Master?

I thought they would have a mascot like Zuul in the movie Ghost Busters.

Spot the dragon from the Munsters would be too wussy versus the kind of pets that would hang out drink beer in a Zombie Apocalypse listening to metal while having rituals of Pagan desires. Or slaughtering of the virgin or goat on Screamiung Viking Thursday. Pull up a bar stool and watch some SUMO wrestling that takes place on the wall right over the masks of the band that was not in session.

WELCOME TO RABID BREWING IF YOU CAN, DARE COME IN AND SURVIVE NAME:LOTUS STYLE:WHEAT BREWED BY: RABID BREWING The one thing about beer is it brings people together. Something the United Nations needs to do. No wars, just World leaders drinking craft beers and solving world issues without the tissues. The old motto is you can not judge a book by its cover. Now that I solved world peace and sat down with the Pagan Vikings, I ordered a beer from the big scary board. It was called the Lotus which is a wheat beer. Not some yoga position.

It pours a reddish golden amberish color. Nice lacing of suds on top of the Lotus. In Greek Mythology. Lotus is a plant in which the fruit induces a dreamy cloudy head. Which can be forgetfulness. Says you have a unwillingness to depart. This beer had the mild flowery malt flavors that are in most wheat tasting beers. The aroma was bready and you could taste it in sip number two. It was not bitter or tart as it went down refreshingly and very smoothly, I have to add. Did the Viking bastards lace this 5% pint of beer? I was feeling like I was getting chased by dragons after I left. Yes, that could be their fault. Could just be the Corn Chex I had that morning laced with Hamms beer. Overall, I liked the first one so I had another and another before I left this realm of underworld. After a beer, sitting at the bar talking to other patrons you get the welcome feeling at Rabid Brewing. Or their numbers are down from their chapter in enrollment and they need to get that quota. As I drank and looked at the establishment up close, I saw they had chalk boards on which you can write what you’re feeling or draw a picture of boobs. These chalk boards were in the bathrooms as well. The men’s room where all the dicks hang out also had a picture of the family jewels. Some nice poetry some would call graffiti, some would say great reading or the Pagan way of saying it’s one of their ways of expressing themselves.

Rabid brewing had all kinds of crazy paintings hung. You might need to be a serial killer to understand them. But they had neat colors of these creatures from the black lagoon.

I have the Lotus coming in at number 6 for the year, as in the devil numbers. It was a good wheat beer. I know the other wheat beers I had beats out this Pagan bloodski. On the big Beer list, I have the Lotus coming at number 56. I would have the Lotus again. Rabid brewing has a good vibe to this place that has not been open that long. I sampled a few other choices I know they would do well on this beer list and be better than the Lotus. At night they get crazy on the sumo wrestling. Curious about their food options as the bearded Viking bar keep looked like he had the toaster oven down to a science.

Instead of following the yellow brick road to our next brewery, we followed the cobblestone road. We were on our way to Michigan City, Indiana’s oldest brewery, Zorn Brewing. Zorn Brewing opened up in 1871.

It’s a brewery that reminded me of the Baderbrau brewing story in Chicago. A man with a dream brought the original recipes and resurrected some of the great beer back in the olden days. Zorn Brewing closed its doors for awhile. Then another person, with a dream and a dog, reopened the brewery. In the same old building, things are thriving and the brewery has many great beers to choose from.

This black lab is the mascot or you can say king of the castle. Marmuduke in size, he is the friendliest dog ever. He makes his way around the bar welcoming every patron drinking a Zorn beer and socializing, as the atmosphere in the place is very lively.

NAME:GOLDEN GRAIN SYLE:CREAM ALE BREWED BY:ZORN BREWING

The beer is like the color of the straw coming out of the scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz. If I only had a brain, I could just say a yellowish color or use some technicolor dreamcoat’s flamboyant color. However, we would all end up confused like Vinnie Barborino in Welcome Back, Kotter. Some of the cream ales I had in the past, I’m a big fan of. The Old Fire House from Oswego being the best one in my book. However the Speculator from Open Outcry is good stuff. Then you have to give an Amen to Beer Church for the making of their Crooked Cross. The Golden Grain was a very smooth beer, even in the solo cup they gave me. The cup was due to a busy day and the place was well crowded for a Saturday afternoon. Yes, the Golden Grain would be much better in the glass pint. It’s super light and has a low bitterness which are your typical traits of a cream ale. It is only a 5.8% so it’s out of the question to put a limit on how many you are going to indulge in. The company motto for the Golden Grain describes it as flaked corn pilsen and brewer malts are added to the munster mash, my words not theirs.

This is their mascot in the back room. You remember the old saying, “There’s more than corn in Indiana,” as they use it on all of their other fun in the state. They say this beer is styled after the American ale in the 1800’s. They use Galena hops and malts to give this beer its flavor. The aroma is fresh like living out in the country. Each sip has a nice bite to it. These babies go down smooth and it’s a very enjoyable brew. Inside this place brings you back in time. All the woodwork inside, especially the bar, reminds you of the cabin in the sitcom in the 1990’s called Coach. Then you have the brick walls that give you that Wrigley Field old ball park look. Shoot me, I said something nice about the Cubs’ beer garden park.

You have to love the old decor inside the tap room.The old Sanford and Son truck doors. Everywhere you look you find some unique item to bring you back to the times when life was easier.

Outside Zorn Brewing is like those old breweries of the past. Like Pabst Blue Ribbon as the block has multiple buildings built a long time ago. The street is cobblestone which gives you that feeling of the horses pulling the wagon of beer kegs to bring their beer all over the state. I notice the fire Department is right by the brewery, so had to take a great picture of one of their trucks.

This poor dog wanted to see his friend the black lab who invited the poor dog over that is locked in the truck. The owner enjoying Zorn Beer while his designated driver has to watch from the cheap seats.

Overall, I loved Zorn Brewing. They have multiple beers and cool art for each beer.

It will be worth coming back multiple times to try some of their other delights and it’s on the way to Michigan, which is my getaway for the weekends. Right now I have Golden Grain in the number five spot for the year. The other beers that we have done are just a tad better. I have it ranked number 50 overall on the big beer list. Not knocking this beer because I would drink it again. So many great beers on this list. I think Zorn will get some of their beers to the top of my list because of the choices. I dabbled in a sip of a few others that I’m stoked about indulging in, later this year. This was a fun brewery to go to. Definitely recomend going to see it as they have live music at times. They have an outdoor beer garden. They also have food.

This Brewery was found in a residential neighborhood in Michigan City, Indiana. Thank God for GPS or this adventure to Beavis and Butthead’s brewery would have been missed.

On the outside, the brewery looks like a house.You can see an ice machine in the driveway as you walk up. Then you see the sign and like seemingly most breweries, they love the skeletons. This one had all the cool art work like that as they had it plastered on the side of the garage.

Now I will get back to Beavis and Butthead as the people running the tap room reminded me of them. It was small and looked like the scene from Wayne World. Yes, picture two guys chuckling and making beer in their basement. You felt like the mother was going to yell down the stairs any minute to turn down the freaking music. Or maybe one of our hosts would yell up stairs to ask mom when the meat loaf was ready.

This was a cold February day when this adventure took place. According to the guys running Burn Em, they had an event taking place in the backyard. It was a little cold so we were just there and passing through to try some of their beers. Burn Em Brewing looked to have some nice events at their place all year round, so if the beer was good an adventure back here would be a definite. The tap room was very packed due to how small it was. It didn’t stop me from getting a beer called, Nuke the Whales. Love the name. I would not ever think about nuking the whales. But who ever had the idea for prohibition back in the Elliot Ness days, would surely be nuked.

According to the sign, Nuke the Whales was a farmhouse pale Ale. The last beer on the Beer List is a beer that is a farmhouse saison which was awful, made by Mantra brewing. Nuke the Whales was totally different and quite delicious in my book. According to the sign, this beer was very hoppy with dry hops. Mosaic hops to be exact. Mosaic hops bring out a fruity aroma. They are very juicy and bittering. Let’s dive in and see what Beavis and Butthead have created at Burn Em Brewing. NAME: NUKE THE WHALES STYLE:FARMHOUSE PALE ALE BREWED BY:BURN EM BREWING

You can see the orange glow in the glass. Like the color of a sunset. Some lacing of foam around the glass perimeter. You could smell a strong aroma and you can feel the presence of the hops on your nostrils. First sip is an explosion of juiciness. It’s very hoppy and has some bitterness. But it is sweet and it has a mix of flavors like a pack of starburst in a way. It’s a big bold experience if you like hoppy beers. It is 5.5 percent in each glass. Don’t be like some of the Burn Em clientele and drink too much in the Wayne’s World basement.

I have this beer on top of the so far very small amount of beers indulged in during 2019. On the big main beer list I have this beer as my new number 11. Found out Beavis and Butthead only make Nuke the Whales seasonally. For that, we should add them to the list to be Nuked.

This next beer I found tapped at a restaurant. The thing about beer is it’s everywhere and some times you run into a gem not expecting to. When I glanced at the menu and saw they had beer from Solemn Oath Brewery, I had to dial it up. The Naperville brewery has one of their beers in the top ten on the BEER LIST already. I went with another one they make called End All, which is a hazy IPA. NAME:END ALL STYLE:NEW ENGLAND IPA BREWED BY:SOLEMN OATH The Girl and the Goat was the restaurant where I indulged in End All. It’s a place north of downtown Chicago. It’s a place known for their tiny food. One of those places where you sample a thousand things and hope it fills you up. Would End All cure and kill my hunger pains? Perhaps a drive-thru on the way home might have to be the way to go. Girl and the Goat features a few dishes that have goat meat in them. Definitely Cub Fans have to own a joint like this. It’s located up North. We know Cub Fans do not like the goat that jinxed them decades ago from the Billy Goat tavern.

The same Billy Goat tavern home of the Cheese burger cheese burger from the Saturday night live skit.

The whole thing about the jinx with the Chicago Cubs was brought on by themselves. They’d never heard of dog day. They would not let the owner of the Billy Goat Tavern bring his goat inside the park. Banning the goat from the game brought on over 100 seasons of losing for the Cubs. Finally the Cubs beat this jinx in 2016. The Goat took an early vacation that year and left the Indians up 3 games to 1. Cubs came roaring back. The point I have to make is… some of these places up North like to grill the goat.

Not all the stuff the Girl and the Goat made was bad. They did have some great bread. I was living life better than your typical prisoner in the joint. Instead of bread and water, I was having beer and bread. They had some good sides as I did avoid the goat entrees. Solemn Oath Brewery is the MVP of this experience because the End All beer was a nice choice and got me through this adventure of the tiny smurf food. My Goldfish eats more in a day then some of these meals.

As you can see, End all pours a hazy yellow in the goat glass. The menu description paints this beer as a haze for days which loaded with juicy tropical fruit, was dead on. The smell is mixed with all sorts of fruit flavors like a package of starbust candy was all mixed in the tropical fruit hops, which this beer definitely has. The taste sends your brain into an overload explosion of some sort. You can say lemonade, grapefruit, papaya and candy flavors mixed in with hops and a biscuity malt. A little bitter which most peole might miss. Overall, an easy drinking beverage and a very good beverage that Solemn Oath has constructed. Only 6.0% in each pint. Be careful because you could easily drink quite a lot and not even notice, it goes down so easy. It could sneak up on you at the end when you’re leaving your bar stool. Which is perhaps where they came up with the name, End All. End All I have ranked in high the 30’s overall. I like this beer a lot. I only see me drinking this type of beer in the summertime though. So far I don’t have that many 2019 beers on thge list at this point which I promise I have more to come. Out of three submitted so far, I have it number two behind the Daisy Cutter and I have it in front of the Son of a Juice. I will have to watch out for out of control broncos cruising at high speeds chasing me down for my opinion on that. “YOU SON OF A JUICE”

Definitely not talking about old rotten squeezed juice with gloves that do not fit. The Son of a Juice we are talking about is a creation from Maplewood Brewery and Distillery. If you have a job that doesn’t mind you coming to work with your buzz on, Mom always said finish your juice before you go to school. The Son of a Juice is an American IPA with some starburst flavoring, making your taste buds burst in your mouth. We discovered this tasty beer in one of Orland Park’s watering holes called the Brass Tap.

It was a nice snowy spring day around the Chicagoland. We hit up a book signing of our main man, Don Parker. A long time friend and he published his first book.

We were thinking of some comfort food and a few delicious beverages to wash it down with. The Brass Tap in Orland Park cured our frostbite, quenched our thirst and at the same time put some food in our bellies. Immediately I was blown away with all the beers they had on tap.

Some very difficult choices as I perused their menu not once, but perhaps a few times. I selected Son of Juice by Maple Wood Brewing and Distillery, a place that is jack of all trades. NAME OF BEER: SON OF A JUICE STYLE: AMERICAN IPA BREWED BY:MAPLEWOOD BREWING & DISTILLERY Maplewood brewing describes Son of a Juice as a brew bursting with tropical fruit. Lots of mosaic, simcoe, and nugget hops. They claim their pilsner malt oats give this beer a soft body and touch of hazziness. Sounds like a juicy Lucy burger but in a glass.

You can see it pours a hazy orange. The aroma is like you’re in an orchard with plenty of fruit trees around you. You can name a fruit and it possibly could be mixed in this glass of nectar. Pineapple, Lemon, mango and tangerine jump out at me on the first sniff. The first sip, the fruit aroma now creates a tropical fruit explosion. You could taste tangerine, grapefruit, I would like to say papaya as well. Tints of grass and hay as it has smoothness but is grainy at the same time. They go down very fast and very smooth. The Son of a Juice has 6.3% in each glass so you have to watch out because before lunch arrives, you might already have some dead soldiers piling up.

The food was excellent. The definition of comfort food. Grilled cheese on a waffle with cheese oozing out of it.They also put bacon on it and everyone knows bacon goes with everything. On this cold and snowy spring day, sweet potato fries and tater tots instantly warm your body. The menu had a variety of nice choices to choose from.

The atmosphere inside was slow probably due to the crappy weather at the time and it was past lunch time. The staff was very nice. It’s a place that seems to have lots of fun things lined up throughout the year that could make it a jumping atmosphere. The craft beers from the taps. The bottle beer and food menus alone make this a place to throw into the regular rotation. The Son of a Juice, I rank it the new 44 on the main BEER LIST. Early on, it places at number two for the 2019 beer awards. I did like the Son of a Juice, but it’s a beer I don’t think I could drink on a regular basis. On a sunny day outside, this beer makes sense if in you’re in a relaxation type of mood out in the back yard. So far for the bar of the year, I give the Brass Tap the number one nod. Two great establishments so far. I feel the Public House, the other bar we have done in 2019, is more of a pit stop than for hanging out awhile. the Brass tap has that ‘come on in, pull up a bar stool, enjoy the game, what can I get you’ vibe.

LIVE FROM CHICAGO IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

Nothing like going to see the Saturday Night Live exhibit to work up a thirst. From hanging out in Wayne’s World’s basement to praying with the Church Lady. The Museum of Broadcast Communications did Saturday Night Live very well with lots of great history from many decades of laughter. As long as you did not do a Turd Furgeson or get eaten by the land shark and survived you were able to move across the street at the Public House for lunch and what we like to call a delight a nice draft beer.

On the way we learned the DA BEARS will be in the Superbowl next season. DA COACH Mike Ditka will score three touchdowns with a slaughtering of Tom Brady and the Patriots ending their tyranny for good. 73-10 final.

The Public house is right across the street from the Museum. It’s a watering hole that pours a fine draft beer. It’s a place with quite a selection of draft beer. The beer list extends to bottled beer and quite a selection of spirits. They are also known for their milk shake boozy drink. INSIDE LOOK INSIDE THE PUBLIC HOUSE

As you can see, there is fine industrial lightning throughout the bar. Love the metal bar top on the bar with the brick walls that gives this place that industrial cozy feeling at the same time. Great place for a game as they had TV’S all over with many options to watch a game. My beer of choice, I went with one of the home teams, the Daisy Cutter. I know what you’re thinking. Does that beer come with a pair of Daisy Dukes?

You actually get a beer and a long legged girl in short shorts to take home to mom. NAME OF BEER: DAISY CUTTER STYLE: AMERICAN PALE ALE BREWED BY: HALF ACRE BREWING

The Daisy Cutter has the colors of a sunset in each pour. Orange Amber colors with an inch of foam around the perimeter of the long legged glass of awesomeness. The nose test of this creation makes your mouth water immediately as things come at you. Strong citrus makes your nose hairs do the tangle. You could say hints of pineapple, pine, zesty orange and some earthiness. The first sip you can taste the blend of malts and dancing hops off your tongue. Pineapple and orange you can taste which is followed by grapefruit with a tad bitterness. It finishes crisp and my thoughts are it is a very easy beer to drink. It has 5.2% so you’re not living on the edge if you have more than one. I recommend having food at this fine watering hole. I loved the menu with lots of great choices. I went with the grilled cheese. As you can see, the cheese was just ooozing out of the sandwhich.

The side order of parmesion fries were to die for. These fries needed no ketchup just all the cheese and seasons sprinkled on top made each fry expendable leaving nothing on the plate. The whole meal disappeared without a trace. This is the first beer written for 2019 as we have many more to write and discuss about. It’s been a busy year so far thus we will have more to come, I imagine in bunches to catch up on. Lots of cool places early on in the year that excite us and will be tops on the Beer list. The Daisy Cutter right now is in the number one slot for the year. On the big beer list, it comes in at number 11. Right after Pontius Pilate from Beer Church Brewing. THE BEER AWARDS BEST BEER OF THE YEAR OF THE YEAR 2018 ( GHOST RIVER GOLDEN ALE)

BEST BAR OF THE YEAR OF 2018 ( CHIMES)

THE TOP TEN BAR POWER RANKINGS OF (2018)

RANKING	BAR	BEER HAD	FOOD	COMMNETS
#1	CHIMES	SPACE DUST	TREE LOG CHEESE STICKS	MY RETIRMENT HOME
#2.	CRUSADE BURGER BAR	KIDNAPPED BY VIKINGS	BURGER	BEST BURGER OF THE YEAR.
#3.	BJ MCMAHONS	ZOMBIE DUST	IRISH GARLIC SAUSAGE ST.PATTYS DAY	ONE OF MY FAVORITE WATERING HOLES/GREAT PLACE FOR THE GAMES BEER GARDEN
#4.	STRAY DOG	HOFTBRAU OKTOBERFEST	FRENCH DIP SANDWICH	ROOF TOP/ BIG CRAFT BEER LIST/AWESOME FOOD/
#5.	THREE CORNERS	GREAT LAKES OKTOBERFEST	POPPERS	NFL PACKAGE/LOTS OF CRAFT BEER
#6.	TUJARES	PARADISE PARK	NONE	HISTORY/PEOPLE WATCHING
#7.	JIMANI	RAGIN CAJUN	NONE	LOCALS/LOCALYOKELS/ATMOSPHERE
#8.	WILD MONK	PIPE WORKS OKTOBERFEST	BUFFALO CHICKEN FLAT BREAD PIZZA	FOOD/ROTATING TAPS/ATMOSPHERE GOOD PLACE TO WATCH A GAME
#9.	FIRE WATER SALOON	LEINENKUGEL OKTOBERFEST	EGGS AND BISCUITS	NASHVILLE TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD
#10.	MANNINGS	VOODOO	NONE	ARCHIE MANNING A NO-SHOW TYPICAL

BEST BREWERY OF THE YEAR 2018 (BADERBRAU)

THE TOP 14 BREWERIES POWER RANKINGS OF (2018)

RANKING	BREWERY	BEER HAD	FOOD	COMMENTS
#1.	BADERBRAU	LAWN MOWER LAGER	BEER INFUSED BRAT	THE VIEW OF CHICAGOSKYLINE/FOOD/ BEER/ FUN
#2.	GHOST RIVER	GHOST RIVER GOLDEN ALE	NONE	GREAT STAFF MAKES EVERY NIGHT FUN/LOCALS/ BOARD GAMES/GREAT BEER
#3.	GREEN BUSH	GREEN BUSH OKTOBERFEST	SAUSAGE OFF THE GRILL	GREAT BEER GARDEN/LIVE MUSIC/
#4.	FLOSSMOOR STATION	FLOSSMOOR STATION OKTOBERFEST	BURRITO THAT ATE FLOSSMOOR	CHOO CHOO ABOVE THE BAR/GREAT BEERS/ GREAT ATMOSPHERE
#5.	BEER CHURCH	PONTIUS PILATE	PIZZA COMING	GREAT NEW BEER GARDEN/ FIRE PLACE OUTSIDE/ GREAT PLACE TO CONFESS YOUR SINS AND GET NEW LOOK ON LIFE
#6.	HOFTBRAU	LAGER	BEER BRAT	ENORMOUS BEER/ FEELING OF OKTOBERFEST/ THEY DRESS THE PART THE SERVERS
#7.	ROUND BARN	VACATION	GOAT CHEESE PIZZA	GAMES/ GREAT FOOD MENU/ A BREWERY ON THE RISE
#8.	OPEN OUT CRY	SPECULATOR	PIZZA	FOOD TRUCK INSIDE/ROOF TOP COMING SOON
#9.	BLUE ISLAND	FIVE BRIDGES	NONE	ATMOSPHERE/GAMES/LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
#10.	OSWEGO BREWING	THE OLD FIRE HOUSE ALE	NONE	GREAT BEER/ LIVELY ATMOSHERE/
#11.	IMPERIAL OAK	DAS BOOT OKTOBERFEST	NONE	GREAT OKTOBERFEST/THEY GO ALL OUT ALLTHE BELLS AND WHISTLES
#12.	GORDON BIERSCH	GOLDEN EXPORT	NACHOS	BEER GARDEN/COMFORTABLE SEATING/ RESTAURANT FEELING IT HAS
#13.	CRESCENT CITY	RED STALLION	NONE	FANCY/LIVE MUSIC/
#14.	ABITA	THE BIG EASY	NONE	TOUR WAS A YAWN/ TAP ROOM IS VERY NICE

2018 BEER LIST

RANK	DATE HAD	BEER	STYLE	BREWED	TAPPED AT
1	6-97-18	Ghost River Golden Ale	Kolsch	Ghost River Brewing	Ghost River Brewing
2	4-7-18	Zombie Dust	American Pale Ale	Three Floyds	BJ McMahons
3	11-23-18	Kidnapped by Vikings	American Pale Ale	Solemn Oath Brewery	Crusade Burger Bar
4	1-4-18	Hofbrau	Munich Helle Lager	Hofbrau brewing	Hofbrau Brewing
5	10-13-18	Pontius Pilate	American IPA	Beer Church Brewing	Beer Church Brewing
6	11-23-18	The Old Firehouse Ale	American Cream Ale	Oswego Brewing Company	Oswego Brewing Company
7	10-30-18	Speculator	Cream Ale	Open Outcry	Open Outcry
8	10-8-18	Hofbrau Oktoberfest	German Marzen/Oktoberfest	Hofbrau	The Stray Dog
9	6-12-18	Space Dust	American double Imperial IPA	Elysian Brewing	Chimes
10	2-4-18	Invasion	American Pale Ale	Cigar City Brewing	Wild Monk
11	3-30-18	Lawn Mower Lager	American Pale Ale	Baderbrau	Baderbrau
12	6-12-18	Voodoo	American Pale Ale	Tin Roof Brewing	Manning’s
13	5-19-18	Sun Crusher	American Pale Wheat Ale	Revolution	U.S. Cellular
14	11-25-18	Vacation	American Pale Wheat Ale	Round Barn Brewing	Round Barn Brewing
15	7-14-18	Beer Church Lager	Lager	Beer Church Brewing Company	Beer Church Brewing Company
16	6-12-18	Bird Bath	American Pale Ale	Wayward Owl	Chimes
17	6-10-18	Swamp Thing	IPA	Bayou Teche	Dat Dog
18	11-10-18	Flossmoor Station Oktoberfest	German Marzen	Flossmoor Station	Flossmoor Station
19	10-7-18	Greenbush Oktoberfest	German Marzen	Greenbush	Greenbush
20	9-29-18	Das Boot Oktoberfest	German Marzen	Imperial Oak Brewing	Imperial Oak Brewing
21	10-28-18	Leinenkugel Oktoberfest	German Marzen	Leinenkugel	Firewater Saloon
22	6-12-18	Andy Gator	Maibock Helles	Abita	Abita
23	6-11-18	Ragin’ Cajun	Kolsch	Bayou Teche	Jimani
24	12-29-18	Five Bridges	Kolsch	Blue Island Brewing	Blue Island Brewery/td>
25	10-27-18	Goose Island Oktoberfest	German Marzen	Goose Island	Konow’s Corn Maze
26	9-23-18	Great Lakes Oktoberfest	German Marzen	Great Lakes Brewing	Three Corners
27	6-13-18	Red Stallion	Vienna Lager	Crescent City	Crescent City
28	10-7-18	Closure	American Pale Ale	Greenbush	Greenbush
29	6-12-18	The Big Easy	American IPA	Abita	Abita
30	6-12-18	Golden Export	Dortmund/export	Gordon Biersh	Gordon Biersh
31	10-11-18	Pipe Works Oktoberfest	German Marzen	Pipe Works	The Wild Monk
32	10-8-18	Sam Adams Oktoberfest	German Marzen	Boston Brewing Company	Skip’s New Buffalo
33	11-25-18	Barley Fife	English Stout	Round Barn Brewing	Round Barn Brewing
34	6-11-18	Abita Amber	Vienna lager	Abita Brewing	Steamboat Natchez
35	6-13-18	Paradise Park	American Pale Lager	Urban South	Tujagues

After Christmas, and after playing with all your toys. After drinking numerous Holiday drinks. It’s like after the Superbowl when the MVP goes to Disneyland. It’s time for me to get back on the horse as well and head out to a brewery I have not explored yet.

Blue Island Brewery has been in the on deck circle for a long while. Waiting to get up to the bar and order.

As you can see, there’s a nice bar in their tap room to belly up to. The place was well decorated for the Holidays. Lots of taps, or shall I say, lots of flavors to choose from. Like a kid in a candy store.

NAME OF BEER: FIVE BRIDGES STYLE: KOLSCH ALE BREWED BY: BLUE ISLAND BREWING

I went with the Kolsch ale they call 5 bridges. It’s our third Kolsch beer of the year that we dabbled in. The Ragin Cagun from Bayou Teche brewing stands in at number 18. However the Ghost River Golden ale stands at number one for the year. That’s from Ghost River brewing and it has stood on top of the 2018 charts since June. The Kolsch beers are easy drinking beers and scattered throughout the standings.

Five Bridges is a light bodied beer which has a crisp finish. It has good carbonation flowing through the draft that pours a hazy golden color. There’s a relatively small amount of foam that disappears quickly into the night. Reminds me of cereal as the smell is grainy and bready like. Perhaps raisin bran without the raisins. It is easy to drink the beer as it is light and a tad bitter with hints of citrus and carbonation. It can make this go down like a soda. It has that cereal taste too, which will linger for awhile. The beer is only 5.4% so I had time to really get to know the 5 bridges in both lanes of each bridge they had to offer. The atmosphere on this day had a few people at the bar. Great conversation with the patrons and the bar keep. A game up on the television. Some board games to play if you’re totally bored. Arcade games to play as well if you have Space Invaders in your eyes. No food that is offered with their yummy beers. However you can bring your own food. Looks to have a stage set up in the corner with live music acts, I’m sure on the weekends. Unless you want to hear a few knock knock jokes from me.

Five Bridges Kolsch comes in number three overall of the ones we have tried this year. I like the Five Bridges Kolsch better then about a dozen of the beers that we have dabbled in this year. I put it at number 19 right behind the Ragin Cajun kolsch. On the big beer list it comes in at number 46 which is better then about 20 other beers we have dabbled in.

Many moons ago, knights galloped on horses dressed in shiny armor. The women served the raunchy crowd turkey legs. They were called wenches in provocative outfits serving oversized drinks at the jousting finals. Vikings back then traveled on wooden dragon ships with beards down to their gut, ready to cut your head off. Times have changed as vikings have their own credit cards. Soldiers still wear body armor like a knight, but carry an automatic machine gun over a mace or sword. If I was going to get kidnapped by vikings, I would definitely be blood thirsty for MEAT like most of those bearded carnivores. I would need some kind of ale to heal the wounds of a game of crossbows and catapults. A game that would poke your eye out. Not like these sissy games of modern times. After a battle like this, you need a place to go after your crusade comes to end. After the battle of the day is won.

Yorkville, Illinois is the answer to where all the savages and pagans go to quench their thirst. To feast after a long day of spilling blood. To maul burgers and then lick your fingers afterwards to get every bit. Burgers with names like “Bite the Flesh.” One named after a deadly sewer-dwelling killing clown named Penny Wise. Phony tough crazy brave with MEAT and cheese that explodes your taste buds. Burgers called the Dirty probably named after the bitches they conquered back in the day when they were wenches.

This place reminds you of times when knights and viking ran through the cobblestone roads killing for the king. Ransacking anything in front of them. They needed a place to go. In modern times, they call it The Crusade Burger Bar that can also quench the biggest thirst with lots of choices of God’s nectar running through their taps. After the thirst is quenched and the belly has been fed to calm the inner beast ,it’s a DILLY DILLY of great time at the Crusade Burger Bar. Where any bearded man is a friend inside, but may stab you in the heart outside. ON THIS ADVENTURE I WAS KIDNAPPED BY VIKINGS NAME OF THE BEER: KIDNAPPED BY VIKINGS STYLE:AMERICAN PALE ALE BREWED BY:SOLEMN OATH BREWING

If the Crusade Burger bar brewed their own beer, I would expect something called Kidnapped by Vikings. They had a exciting selection of beers that fit their personality.

I have had beers by Solemn Oath brewery from Binnys. This was the first time I tried one from the tap. It pours a golden color. Yukon Cornelius would give up the silver for this color of gold. The aroma for a viking type of beer was not an aroma of sweaty animals. Or swampy ass smell that lingers in your nostrils, it seems forever. It had a tropical fruit palate of flavors going. Like those old Prego commercials. It’s in there, pointing to their sauce. The taste was an explosion of taste buds that made this a very nice beer to have. It has a mild hop to it. With sweet malts and a candy sweetness.They throw in a bit of spic,e as most American Pale Ales have the citrus taste in the blended fruit flavors. Like the old song , “a little bit of Rita here I am.” Then some lyrics like “a little bit of Pamela here I am.” This beer had all the gals you ever thought smelled good rolled up into one. The best way I can say it tasted. It’s easy drinking. You immediately crave more and more, hold the ‘tude as why so many of these great smelling gals are not hanging out no longer. Solemn Oath Brewery is in our on deck circle of brewery to hit some time in 2019, since it is not too far away from our watering holes. The Crusade Burger bar is far out there in a very small town. This is a must, take a trip out to eat and drink there. The food is to die for. I recommend before you devour your burger meat, have the fried pickles. It was a great starter.

Kidnapped Vikings is one of our favorite beers of the year. I rank it number three on the 2018 beer list. Overall for the Big Beer, it definitely is in the top ten coming in at number 8. IN THE BATHROOMS SOME PEANUTS FOR ALL THE DICK HEADS

After we had beers and burgers at the Crusade Burger Bar, are you shocked that the adventure continued? We drove through the country roads like we were going to a fire and driving a fire truck. Perhaps someone had to pee. Perhaps we had to park the ambulance outside the ole firehouse since you can not park inside anymore. It’s even better than a firehouse, it’s a brewery. Yes, if you can put a brewery inside a church, you sure can install one in an old firehouse. Oswego Brewing is now on tap in the on deck circle. As you walk into Oswego Brewing, you can see the windows that were once garage doors on the old firehouse building. Inside, the brewery was well decorated for the holidays and gives you that unfinished factory garage style of look.

Oswego brewery has their stainless steel beer kettles behind the big bar where you order from a very nice selection of their yummy beers. They have some of their beers named after the former tenants of the building which was the fire department. I went with the old Firehouse ale. You can sit at the bar or find a table they have scattered all over the old firehouse. We chose a table as we noticed like most tap rooms, they offer board games to indulge in just in case the conversation with the other person or people is not to your liking. We went with the conversation route while we sucked all the atmosphere in. The place did have nice lively atmosphere as it filled in after our first round. They do not offer food, but they do have visits from different food trucks that can fill your bellies to help you have more of their delicious beers. NAME OF BEER:THE OLD FIREHOUSE ALE STYLE: AMERICAN CREAM ALE BREWED BY: OSWEGO BREWING The Firehouse cream ale made me think of two things.I recalled the band Firehouse. Those great songs that stuck in your head a whole lifetime ago.

I remember having the cassette and the one song called Reach for the Sky. It was a band in the same boat as White Snake and Skid Row, but with way less hits. But it was still a blast from the past. The Firehouse Cream Ale pours a golden color which brings that Oswego logo to life on the glass.

It has some fluffy white lacing of foam around the glass that disperses quickly. From the air or perhaps slugging it down like some drunken sailor. The aroma had a tad of doughiness, I sensed. The start of something fresh in the bakery. Beside the band of Firehouse, you know the movie came up in conversation. This movie was one sided as it involved hot gals playing with hoses. Let’s not go that route… what you’re thinking. Female firefighters.

What can I say? I was young and this movie box talked to me. Plus most importantly, it had a love story to it. It was classic. Like a Humphrey Bogart film. Not buying what I’m trying to sell you? That could be true. I will say the Old Firehouse Ale was sexy. This was a light slender well tasting beer like the cover of the Firehouse movie. It was well balanced, neither hop or malt prevail in this beer. It has a good carbonation throughout the beer to make this beer go down crisp and easy. It’s a beer you can easily have more than one of. At only 6.3 %, the brain cells I had left wanted more. That’s why I got a growler of this to go. The Firehouse ale reminded me of the Spotted Cow from New Glarus which is one of my all-time favorite beers. I have the Firehouse Cream Ale coming in at number six for the 2018 beer list. It comes in number 11 on the BIG BEER LIST. Overall, Oswego Brewing is a place for whom I will have to explore more of their beers in 2019. They have a great list of beers to choose from. I will make it back there to sample a few more to see where their other suds line up. It’s a great brewery to get in to the regular rotation. ROUND BARN BREWING TWO BEERS NAME: BARLEY FIFE & VACATION Michigan used to be a lot more about the wineries, than the brew. I remember stopping by a winery called Round Barn years ago. They were on a farm as “Barn” is in the name. What I liked about this winery was they offered beer. Some wineries would outlaw what a typical Pagan would drink. They offer a kolsch beer that was pretty good. I even found this particular beer in other establishments. The Round Barn had it available in packaged goods. As time went on, perhaps more pagan beer lovers have spoken like the old Strohs slogan. Something extraordinary happened. Round Barn created more beers. They even created their own brewery. They kept the original round barn on the farm. They have silver kettles of Pagan Lust breweing as I write this. WELCOME TO BARODA MICHIGAN

I have visited this brewery more than once. Last year I was there and did not get a chance to write my memoirs of my experience. Then this year I have visited the Round Barn on two different occasions, got behind, and still wrote zilch on this place that houses some nice liquid suds. I tried many great pours from the Round Barn and even indulged in some awesome pub grub. I picked out two beers, one from each trip to write about. One a summer beer. One definitely a winter brew. I will dabble in on their eating delights. I also will promise to make my way back there in 2019 to showcase more of their beers and save the wine for… you know, those people.

NAME: VACATION STYLE: AMERICAN PALE WHEAT ALE BREWED BY: ROUND BARN

This beer reminds me of what Bell Brewing makes in the summer time called Oberon which is one of the tastiest beers to indulge in on a hot day. One of a few beers that I allow them to put a slice of fruit in the glass. This beer pours a hazy yellow with a circle of white foaminess. The aroma is pleasant, has a wheat presence with a sparkly note of lemons. I swore a hint of coriander. This is a smooth drinking beer, obviously a summer brew as most of them are. It starts off floral up front with the wheat coming in neck and neck. Then you can taste the sweetness that’s candy-like. Mixed with tropical fruit and citrus with a hint of spice. It’s a very light beer which I found very easy to drink. It has a 6.4 % which gives you the green light to let it rip with maybe some caution on the 7th or 8th of the day or night. NAME:BARLEY FIFE STYLE:ENGLISH STOUT BREWED BY:ROUND BARN BREWING

I had to try this beer. Anything named after or close to Barney Fife, is a beer I must try. The challenge is, it is a dark beer. In my book, dark beers are sippers. I can’t do more than one, or if it is really tasty, two in a sitting. Exception is Guinness. I can drink them like water, especially around St.Paddy’s Day. The Barley Fife in glass looks like the black hole into space, deep into the black abyss, whatever the hell I mean on that. It has a tad of brown foam around the perimeter. It awakens your nose and perhaps some of my brain, as it has that coffee smell. It has some earthly aroma mixed in. It has a strong presence of coffee, chocolate and vanilla in this mixed marriage. First, sip the roasted barley as it takes a nip at the tongue. I can see where Barley comes in on the name. After the barley, the dark chocolate mixed with coffee lingers. It has a bitter and a sweet to the flavor overall. More bitter than sweet. I like it and I did get a six pack of this beer to go. I also like the box and label. The food they have at the Round Barn is amazing .Lots of great choices. I loved the homemade potato chips and their special dip very tasty. Even indulge with a goat cheese pizza which was awesome and something I have never tried. It had Italian sausage and giardiniera to finish it off.

First round at the Round barn brewing is off to a great start. Vacation settles in my top 15 of 2018. Overall, it’s in my top 35 on the big beer list. Meanwhile the Barley Fife is better than a few beers of 2018. I do not have any dark beers on the list besides Barley Fife in 2018. Overall, Barley Fife beats many of the dark beers and others on the Big Beer list.

I try not to be a pagan like my mother calls me from time to time. I try to be the good Catholic that I am and try to make it to church as often as I can. Please do not hold that against me. That I’m a Catholic. She does not know that my church that I go to is just a few states away. As you read this, you know I very dedicated to the Beer Church brewery which is in a old church. Not sure if it is actually a old Catholic church or not. Things to find out. My confession of the day is that this beer I’m writing about is the third overall beer we have done so far at the Beer Church. We did the Crooked Cross and their lager. This outing I went with the Beer Church pagan beer, Pontius Pilate. Yes I know, ten Hail Marys, a few Our Fathers, and I owe a bucket of beers. We were very excited to get back to Beer Church brewing because they have added a beer garden to the mix. Outdoor bible study is going down and we picked a cold rainy day to sit down in their garden as we were happy to see other apostles join us. Plus they had umbrellas and some heat lamps so we were troopers, there is no crying at the church.

This brewery is like my son. Just watching it grow up, as you can see the bar outside. Game on in the window. Nice seating and the area is spacious. Bocce ball court. Rumors have it they are still expanding on the inside with another section of the church, with brick oven pizza and more seating. My Boy is a man. I love the new fireplace outside. It has some nice comfy chairs in front of wood crackling with an orange glow under the logs. Speaking of orange, my beer has a nice orange glow to it. Like the color of the sun. Or some would say the color of those toxic orange fish with three eyeballs on the Simpsons.

Out of the three beers I have tried at the Beer Church brewery this one is my favorite. NAME OF BEER: PONTIUS PILATE STYLE: AMERICAN IPA BREWED BY: BEER CHURCH BREWING The smell makes my whiskers do the hokey pokey as it has a fruit aroma going on, perhaps led by the mango. I would say grapefruit mixed with some caramel. You could even throw a dash of pine. I thought this beer went down very smooth even though it has a hop bite that suckles your lips. It’s like a mixed starburst candy exploding in your mouth like fireworks, taste-buds erupting. You can taste grapefruit, caramel and other floral goodies. It has 6.2 % in each glass and they go down like fruit punch as you crave another and another. The Pontius Pilate cracks the top five for 2018. At number 5. Overall on the Big BEER LIST it comes in at number ten. I have loved all the beers at Beer Church brewing and this one is definitely my favorite.

The Open Outcry brewery is relatively still new in the south side neighborhood of Chicago. Western avenue to be exact. Have been there a few times but have not gotten anything written up on the brewery as it got loss in the shuffle of things. I’m grateful finally to be getting to write about one of their beers as we already did a write up about their pizza. Open Outcry has some wonderful choices. They have many rotating beers that are seasonal. The beer that intrigues me the most is the long legged blonde they call the Speculator. It’s not a blonde ale, it’s actually a cream ale. It’s the glass they serve the Speculator in. Indeed they say blondes have the most fun and the Speculator is a fun beer, especially if you can indulge in more than one.

THE SPECULATOR STYLE: CREAM ALE BREWED BY: OPEN OUTCRY BREWING The Speculator is a tall delight. It is light easy drinking beer. It has a light lacing around the perimeter of the glass. Every cream ale beer that I have tried, I really have liked. The Speculator fits that profile. Nothing but freshness with aroma. The first sip is creamy with a nice bite to it. Then each additional gulp you feel that flavor burst inside your mouth. Definitely has some hints of fruitiness going on. It goes down smooth and is a very enjoyable beer all year around. I can see it being great outside on a hot summer day. It only has 4.2% in each glass so you can tell the bartender to keep the conga line going. Most small breweries do not serve food. Most have a food truck outside waiting on you. Go outside and wait in a line. Open Outcry has their food truck inside. You still might have to wait in line, but at least you’re inside.

The menu has listed all kinds of different pizzas. From a Macaroni and Cheese pizza to the Chi Town with Italian beef, which is served the Chicago way loaded with giardiniera and to top the pizza off with cheese and fries on the top of this masterpiece. They have burgers and other sandwiches, if that is your fancy. The atmosphere is electric. Always a great crowd, friendly service and quick with the beers. Plenty of seating. It has a few televisions for the important games while you drink and feed yourself. The bar faces vats of fresh beer like getting milk straight out of the cow. They are in the process of building a roof top addition to the brewery. Watching the Southside parade from that view will be the hottest seats on the route. Great for summer time drinking as well. Definitely will be back to explore more of their choices the brewery has to offer, while we sit outside, get some sun, and enjoy a cold one in 2019.

I have the Speculator rated high at number seven on the 2018 beer list. Overall I have it on the outside of the top ten looking in at number 12 on the BIG BEER LIST.

When it comes down to beer, we love to go around the world and sample some of the best nectar of the Gods from country to country. St.Patrick’s Day, the Wild Shamrock is always stoked about. Irish beers are magically delicious. Plus warmer weather is upon us. At this time of the year, most of us say good bye to warmer weather. However we try to drink outside as long as we can before we say good bye. This is when Oktoberfest beers come in to play. Fall Beers with ingredients to make the body a tad warmer. The more beers, the merrier you are to dance to German music. To enjoy all the Octoberfests you come across, I suggest an Octoberfest delight and that is Octoberfest beers.Can you refuse all those delightful sexy steins of beer? Can it be Oktoberfest 365 days out of the year? That’s a lot of Kraut to take in, but the pretzels will still make you thirsty. THE BEER LIST is dedicating this time of the year to finding the best tapped Oktoberfest beers around. Plus the juicy stories that come with the tapped sensation. At the end we will find the best Oktoberfest beer in our opinion. Plus all the great selections will be applied to the BIG BEER LIST connected to our mission to find the best beer on tap. Plus our selection will be updated in the 2018 list as well. Lets get our drink on. 9TH OKTOBERFEST BEER DAS BOOT OKTOBERFEST BIER STYLE:GERMAN MARZEN BREWED BY: IMPERIAL OAK When it comes to fall and drinking Octoberfest beers, I picture how I would love to actually one day go to Germany. To hit their Oktoberfest which is the mecca of the world when it comes to fests in the fall. Some day I plan to go as it is on my bucket list. If you can not travel out of town or out of state or even out of the country, sometimes you have to do a broader search to see what’s in your own area. This search we found Imperial Oak Brewing was having a Oktoberfest. They call it Imperial Oak-tober-fest and this place is not far. Willow Springs, Illinois on a Saturday afternoon traveling to the Brewery. It’s like following the yellow brick road and heading off to see the wizard. First thing that could go wrong on this adventure is I lost out on the Das boot. I never lost the Das boot. Never got one. When your mum or dad tells you the early bird catches the das boot ,that means if you’re late, no boot for you.

It was not a huge drinking boot like in the beer Olympics. But they offered das boots to fit one beer. Plus you can keep refilling it as you went on. No worries, the mission continued as we were still able to get beers, but in the deadly cold plastic cup on this cold Saturday. Imperial Oak-toberfest had the outside tented off with tables and live music.

A German band with the old school clothes on. Plus they had a guy in the band playing the accordion. Many people dancing to the older generation’s music.

Inside the brewery you could go to their bar. They had some tables inside. But the front of the building had doors and windows that raised up like garage doors. It was one huge party with the front of the brewery having an open look and outside with huge tent over the tables and band. They had food trucks on the outskirts of the festival. Huge soft pretzels soaked up the beer and were obviously delicious at the same time. The beer of choice on this whacky adventure was Das Boot Oktoberfest bier. We also dabbled in a pilsner called Czech Your Head. Both brewed by Imperial Oak. They had clever names for all of their beers. The beer was delicious and it will be a place to hit even when this Oktoberfest is not going on. The Das Boot Oktoberfest bier was the one I had the most of and I was pretty impressed by.

I would rather have drunk this beer in das boot glass, but it still was very tasty in the plastic cup. As you could see on this cloudy day, it has that amber color to it like most of these types of beers we had this fall. It has a small amount of white fluffy foam after the pour that disappears gradually. The aroma is your Grandma’s house if she had biscuits cooking in the oven. It also had hints of sweet malts according to my spidey beer senses. Everyone needs a super power. The taste is bready and leaves a malty aftertaste. It has a sweetness that I loved and had a clean finish. Each beverage was 5.9 so more than one was had since I kept the bus driving over 50 so the bomb would not explode. Definitely you could drink more than one. This was a very fun festival on a cold day. After a long while we vacated the outside picnic tables and headed over to the little English pub right next to the brewery. England and Germany getting along on the same block… times have changed. That’s all in the past. Thee Snooty Fox was the name of the little pub and they were a part of the fest. But they had some heat on inside their pub as we went in and bellied up at the bar. I was impressed with this bar as they had a nice tap selection. They had a good looking food menu as well. Mentally tucked that info in my brain for another day. Inside, the bar had a cool English theme going. The workers had their Oktoberfest outfits on.

Both of them pretty as all could be. They were very nice as I took a picture with one of them.

Thee Snooty Fox was like a bar like Cheers where everybody knew your name. Even if we were strangers, I felt like I had known them and been a regular at this place for a decade. Great conversation with the staff and the locals. They had some local tapped beers. It is a place I will have to get back to and try a menu of food options that smelled awesome there and sounded amazing.

8TH OKTOBERFEST BEER FLOSSMOOR STATION OKTOBERFEST STYLE: GERMAN OKTOBERFEST BREWED BY FLOSSMOOR STATION BREWING Another adventure to the Flossmoor station to indulge in some choo choo beers. The adventure did not start at the train station brewery. It was not Friday night lights, however it was high school playoff football. Under the Saturday daylight on a cold fall day, we needed the bum warmers sitting on the ice cold metal bleacher. Hot chocolate was had. My mind kept me going, thinking of the beer from the station not too far away. As if I could smell the beer a mile away. We were in the town of Flossmoor, and it was Marist High school invading Flossmoor to play Homewood Flossmoor, deep in the playoffs. Football on a Saturday with beers coming and soon it is like Christmas. I had no stake in this game. The guys I went with were former alum of Marist. We sat on the visitor’s side. However as a person with no stake in the game, it really felt like a home play game for Marist as they outnumbered the home team. This was a playoff game and it was not the first round. Homewood Flossmoor looked pathetic as their fans were pretty much a no show. I took a few photos, one with the band one without.

It was a close game after the first half. In the second half, Marist pretty much took over and controlled the game. Marist was pitching a 21 to 0 shut out. Homewood Flossmoor did end up scoring a touchdown late in this one. Last minute late in garbage time. They scored in the last minute. They fumbled trying to score and recovered the ball in the end zone to make this a 21-7 final. Marist prevailed in their home away from home, at Marist South stadium.

Saturday day no-lights was off to a great start. Great game as watching the guys you are with happy as campers, you kind of rooted for their school. To me it was my adopted school for the day. We finally got to the car to warm up as we were off to our second part of the adventure and that is to have some choo choo beers at the Flossmoor Station. Plus indulge in some great food to celebrate the playoff victory. We all bellied up at a table in the bar area as they had some college football games on the televisions. What’s better after a football game? More football! This time in warmth and with beers. We called ourselves the three amigos as we all picked the same poison. The Flossmoor Station Oktoberfest. If that did not warm us up, then they had many other choices to do the job.

This is one of my favorite breweries to go to. I’m part of their mug club as I get the special mug with every beer I order. This is the third beer from Flossmoor station that this blog has written about. The Zephyr and the Gandy Dancer Honey ale are to die for. We will get all of them and any new seasonal beers they make at some point. Let’s not rush perfection when it comes to drinking draft beer. As you can see, the Oktoberfest beer pours a dark amber with some golden foam. The nose test has a few different things going on. It has like a roasted or perhaps you could say toasted nuttiness. Malts definitely tickle my nose hairs with some caramel to make them dance the polka. It’s an Oktoberfest so it has a lot going on in the first sip.The first sip is the most important sip of the weekend. For me most of the time, the first sip will lead to many more beverages and I’m good with that. The first sip I can taste sweetness with a mix breadyness. It has a nuttiness taste in the mix with caramel and roasted flavors with some bitter that forms a explosion of delightfulness in the taste buds. It went down smooth and it was very easy to drink more than one. I chased it down with the Burrito that ate Flossmoor, they call their Mexican delight. We chowed down like kings and quenched our thirst with multiple Oktoberfests. As that was only the second part of the adventure. The three Amigos had more stops to make on the docket as the night was still young and we still needed to paint other towns red in the colors of Marist. They prevailed to the next round and one step closer to the state finals. As we prevailed to the next watering hole .

7TH OKTOBERFEST BEER GREENBUSH OKTOBERFEST STYLE: GERMAN MARZEN/OKTOBERFEST THE SECOND BEER CLOSURE STYLE: AMERICAN PALE ALE BOTH BEERS BREWED BY:GREENBUSH BREWING We heard Greenbush Brewery was having a rocking Oktoberfest party. So we invited ourselves to go there. Sawyer, Michigan is a small town and it should be called Greenbush because they own the town. The brewery is the main staple right in the thick of things. Greenbush brews their beer onsite. They have a restaurant next to another building they own for banquets. Then across the street the state of the art beer garden with bocce ball courts. Plus they got the grills fired up. Different sausages sizzling with smells to make your stomach rumble with your tongue hanging salivating for a sandwich. They have a building for package goods and Greenbush merchandise. Plus you can get your deli needs done as they cut up some meats while you wait and suck down a pint or two. We found some seats in the garden on a cool, but sunny day. They were serving their Oktoberfest in the beer garden so I was all aboard with that while listening to live music. In my book it was a Sunday Funday and I had no work on Monday, I was in heaven. Perhaps a TV with the football game on would have been nice. I’m like George Jefferson moving on up to those deluxe apartments in the sky, not the ones a floor below. Because I know beans do not burn on the grill.

This would be the 4th and 5th beers we have done at Greenbush. It’s one of my favorite breweries to go to. I try to get to Greenbush at least a few times a year. Love the Star Chicken which probably will still be my favorite beer after I continue to try more of them at their brewery. The first beer of the day was their Oktoberfest beer.

Looking at that pint looks like an artist that painted a masterpiece. It has the typical Oktoberfest colors going on. Copper amber with some foamy fluffy clouds around the perimeter of the pint glass. The smell test results in lots of things making my nose hair tingle. Tingle in a good way. Smells like a bakery with biscuits in the oven. You can smell the caramel with hints of apple. It has earthiness going on in between all of that. The first taste is a explosion of flavors in your mouth coming at you. It’s not sour. But the hops are earthly with some pop. It has hints of spice and tartness. It is well balanced with sweet tasting toffee malts. It has a slight metallic finish, but goes down very smooth. This Oktoberfest is lighter and goes down creamy. Many seem to go down heavy and make them sippers. This one you can have a few, sit back and jam with the tunes, and waste away an afternoon. Just how you are supposed to waste away a nice fall day. The second beer at Greenbush, we made our way inside for. Inside we get a table and eat something else and sample a few more beers. I always loved all the big beer mugs along all the walls of the bar and restaurant. Many of them are personal beer mugs if you join their clique. Their mug club.

I’ve been in Flossmoor Station’s mug club for a few years now. You get a bigger mug, bigger than a pint glass for the same price. You get lots of other perks as well. Then I signed up for another club along the way. Baderbrau in the south loop in Chicago . They took my money and ran for the hills. Got to use the discount once after I joined their group. They closed the doors for good and that investment I did not quite get my money’s worth. On this Sunday funday I’m not sure if it was the Oktoberfest saying I want in. Not sure I was in control of the operation as my wallet came out and suddenly people were ringing a bell and I was signed up and a member of the Greenbush family. I gave in and this made it a really exciting Sunday. They did not have their Oktoberfest on this side of the street. I was going to go with something different. I went with a beer I never had and it was called the Closure. Sounds like some lawyer show on ABC. The Closure is a American Pale Ale, which I love. Plus the thing about this beer is it has a different hop variety every time they brew a batch of it.

My first official beer in the big mug as a member of Greenbush mug club elite was Closure and this beer had a lot going on. It has the amber color with a heavy fluffy cloudy foam presence that is yellowish. The smell test confirms lots of different things. Sweetness, flowery, bready, grainy, pine and definitely fruity. The taste has lots going on as well. It has a good balance going on with the malts. Hops are grassy and floral as they dance with the other flavors. Grapefruit has to be the main fruit. It has a bitterness. It goes down creamy with a finish that stays with you. It has a pine taste that stick around. It has 5.8% but it feels like much more. Today it tasted how I describe it. Next time Closure can taste totally different which is kind of neat as they switch those hops around in each batch. The downfall is it could taste worse. But again it is Greenbush, most of their beers are out of this world.

This delicious pizza with giardiniera and sausage on it with a goat cheese, cleaned my palate in between sips of the Closure. Together it made a nice combo as I ordered another one as I was working on the pizza myself and those beers were ginormous. Both beers on this trip to Greenbush I preferred the Oktoberfest better than the American Pale ale called Closure. The Greenbush Oktoberfest falls right outside the top ten beers for 2018, at number 13. On the Big BEER LIST, it comes in at number 40. The Closure is at number 20, for this year. On the Big BEER LIST, it comes in at number 47. 6TH OKTOBERFEST BEER GOOSE ISLAND OKTOBERFEST BIER STYLE: GERMAN MARZEN BREWED BY: GOOSE ISLAND BREWING (Cough cough Bud) Always loved what Goose Island Brewing had to offer. My favorite always has been the 312. I always indulge in the variety of different flavors over the years. Plus it was a Chicago beer. You felt proud with a brewery like that in your backyard. Then they were brought out by, of course, Budweiser. It does not have the same type of feeling as it had a long time ago. It feels like the girl you thought was gorgeous the way she is. Then she goes and has a boob job or changes her hair. Does something and you see her again and it’s not how it was. Something about her keeps catching your eye in a negative way. I still indulge and talk to the goose. If other choices present themselves, I simply excuse myself from the room and pick another poison.

It was a colder fall day and we headed to the pumpkin patch. The Konow’s pumpkin patch to find a great pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Plus to walk around and have some hot cider to warm our bones. Perhaps a few beers to even out the heat of the cider. This pumpkin patch has a lot going on. You can feed the animals at the petting zoo. Met the goats. I gave them Wrigley Field’s address.

We did this pumpkin patch last year. We loved the barn that had a bar inside it. Plenty of outlets in this pumpkin patch to grab a cold one. The barn we sat and just soaked it all in as a cold one on a cold day felt good.

Connected to the barn was a tented area set up for a banquet later that night. However you can ride the mechanical bull as this place had lots of options for all kinds of fun.

They had some great choices of beer. Most of them were tall boys from some local brews in the area. Out of the draft beer they had to offer, most were your typical domestic beers. As soon as I said Goose Island Oktoberfest, we were hunting for the pumpkin and petting the goat as it is damn too cold to walk the old trampled down corn maze. What goes with all that is a tasty Oktoberfest of course. Right from the tap the way I like it. However it’s an outside fest type of thing so it was in a plastic cup instead of the way I like it in a glass pint. Probably to save the goats so they do not eat glass, because they love cheerios. This was a see through plastic cup so you could see the color and the pour.

It pours a reddish amber color with small amount of foam bubbling away at the top. The smell seems like another bakery. Mostly breads. Perhaps some honey grahams so definitely should make some s’mores. They do have an area with fire pits smoldering some heat. We were warriors so we went to the barn. This beer went down clean and crisp. It is a well balanced beer. This Oktoberfest is definitely more hoppy than most. The taste of the goose was bready as it has toasted malts. It has some bitterness, but you can taste caramel malts that linger in the mouth after each sip. It was only 5.7%. You could drink a few and still feel pretty good. Overall I was impressed with the Goose. I though it had some unique flavors different than a few of these Oktoberfest beers that were indulged in so far this year. I have the Goose Island Oktoberfest bier falling in at number 16 on the 2018 beer list. On the main BEER LIST, it places at number 43. More Geese to come at another date. 5TH OKTOBERFEST BEER LEINENKUGEL’S OKTOBERFEST STYLE:GERMAN MARZEN/OKTOBERFEST BREWED BY: JACOB LEINENKUGEL BREWING I’ve always enjoyed Leinenkugel’s beers. They have many assorted flavors and I have enjoyed many of them throughout the years. When I saw it tapped at this new joint in the neighborhood, I was all about ordering it as I’m on a sort Oktoberfest mission to find the best tapped fall delight. The new establishment is called the Firewater Saloon, bringing a taste of Nashville to the Southside of Chicago. The old establishment was called TR’S. If you walked in as a young whipper snapper just looking to have a beer when you turned 21, everything stopped when you opened the door. People looked at you wondering what the hell you were doing there. It was a neighborhood bar where they knew their patrons, and only they were welcomed. The experience reminded me of the movie Police Academy when they walk into the Blue Oyster bar and the music stops. Everyone freezes and looks at the door way.

The Fire Water saloon reminded me a place in Franklin, Tennessee with great food and awesome Nashville style drinks. It’s a place that has a few live Country music bands that come in every week to play. Inside the bar was remodeled. It feels and looks like something totally different than the usual Irish pubs in the neighborhood. It was late Saturday morning and breakfast was still an option. Biscuits and eggs were the choice of the day and it was a great choice as the tummies were whistling Dixie from the southern style delights.

They have a good size beer list. Mostly bottles. They do offer a few choices off the taps. My choice was the Leinenkugel’s Oktoberfest.

I had to get the cool dragon in the back ground when I snapped this picture of the beer. It has an amber copper color with a tad of lacing of foam. From my sniffer this beer definitely had a malt presence. Sweet malt smell. Tad of lemon. You could say a caramel perhaps toffee in the mix. The taste is well balanced. It has sweetness as well blended with hops that give off a tad of spice. It has a bakery fresh taste of pound cake. It’s very yeasty but this is a light drinking beer as it goes down smoothly. You can drink a few of these as it is only 5.1% each pint. Overall I like this Oktoberfest better then a few of the ones I have tried so far. I like how it goes down smooth. I like how it still has that Oktoberfest flavoring and it is not overwhelming with one or two ingredients as it has a good balance of everything. I placed this beer ahead of the Andy Gator as it takes over the lucky 13th spot on the 2018 beer list. On the main BEER LIST it comes in at number 40. FOURTH OKTOBERFEST BEER HOFBRAU OKTOBERFEST BIER STYLE: GERMAN MARZEN/OKTOBERFEST BREWED BY: HOFBRAU The fourth Oktoberfest brought us to a bar restaurant in New Buffalo, Michigan called The Stray Dog.

One of the places you must visit if you find yourself in New Buffalo. Seems like I’ve been there a million times. As you see above, I always have to purchase something with their logo on it. It’s a place with a great menu and the food they offer is very tasty from burgers to pizzas and much more. The thing I love about this place is the tap list of all the local beers and more. They change it up with a few rotating kegs as well. Those rotating kegs are where I found one of my favorite Oktoberfest beers, in Hofbrau. We did Hofbrau early in the year as it is number three ranked in the 2018 list. On the main BEER LIST it comes in at number 8. So you know I was very psyched to indulge in a few of their Oktoberfests.

The Hofbrau Oktoberfest is golden in color, and the first thing you notice as they serve one up as we belly up to the bar on this trip. It was a trip of beer business this time. Next time we come back, food will be talked about. The day features a pub brewery crawl and you just can’t eat at every single place throughout the day and night. So far the other Octoberfests have been an amber color, but this was golden straw color in the pint glass that seemed to shine at you as it twinkled under the dim lighting of the Stray Dog. It smells like a lager with some light bready scents. Perhaps a tint of floral. It is like a bakery as it has a bready taste. You could say it has a mix of breadiness from white or even the dough itself. It goes down like a nice clean lager. But then you can taste sweetness with some lemon and grassy flavors. You could say a tad of spice. Even throw caramel into the mix. These babies were only 6.3 % a pint so I really got to enjoy a few. New Buffalo is known as a Chicago getaway. The Stray Dog has their shirts and their logo in the Black Hawk colors which makes you feel like you’re at home. Great chances that you are going to run into Chicago people. That’s what happened on this trip to the Stray Dog. Had some rounds of beer and chatted about home and sports in Chicago. You know sports and beer is what this blog is all about. I liked this beer so much that weeks later I found it at Binny’s and purchased a small keg of it.

I rank the Hofbrau Oktoberfest number number four on the 2018 beer list ahead of Space Dust. On the main BEER list it cracks the top ten coming in at number 9. THIRD OKTOBERFEST BEER SAMUEL ADAMS OCTOBER FEST STYLE:GERMAN MARZEN BREWED BY:BOSTON BREWING COMPANY (SAMUEL ADAMS) Our third style of Oktoberfest beer takes us out of state to Michigan. Skip’s Restaurant in New Buffalo, to be exact. This is a must do every year, as Skip’s is the host to their annual chili cook off, outside in their farmers market.

Chili, combined with beer and football, is the perfect recipe for the fall season. Skip’s had ten to twelve people whipping up their delightful creations of meat and beans. Add live music and this is a perfect pregame in my world for the football games later that Sunday afternoon. For a measly entry fee, it’s all the chili you can eat. Some people I thought could have ate a huge metal pot just on their own. Then you vote on the best. To wash down the drink you have to purchase drink tickets and that’s where the beer comes into play. Our third Oktoberfest beer Samuel Adams. Their Octoberfest.

From the start I will point out the plastic cup the beer is in. I believe the pint glass or beer mug can give you the better tasting beer. However all these outdoor events have the plastic cup because the surroundings and the fun had can always bring the best out of beer as well. Mind tricks from the Jedi brewers, it has to be. Samuel Adams, from what I could tell, has a dark amber color, seen when tilting the beer cup. Had nice foaming clouds of foam on top. The aroma was roasted malts on an open fire. Samuel Adams describes their fall beer as having a blend of hearty malts. Very smooth caramel flavoring. It has roasted and sweet malts with some hop character. You can taste the sweet malts with the tint of roasted, blended in. Definitely some bitterness at the end of each sip. It seems to me this Oktoberfest is not as balanced and clean like the other Oktoberfest beers, so far. It did it’s job cleaning my palate to indulge in more chili on that day. The Samuel Adams October fest out of the three so far I have indulged in, it is the caboose of this fall beer train. I have it ranked number 19 on the 2018 beer list. On the big BEER list it comes in number 50. SECOND OKTOBERFEST BEER PIPE WORKS OKTOBERFEST STYLE:GERMAN MARZEN BREWED BY: PIPE WORKS BREWING Our second Oktoberfest brew takes us to a town called LaGrange, Illinois. The home of the Wild Monk which already has a beer in the top five from earlier in the year. Invasion from Cigar City brewing which went very well as it is number ten on the big BEER LIST as we speak. Wild Monk is a great place for food and beer and also watching the games. It was the Blackhawks opener on the road versus the Senators from Ottawa. It was a school night so we had a brief time to indulge in some delicious flat bread pizza. On Thursday nights, they sucker you in by making it half off.

I went with the Buffalo Chicken flatbread pizza which has a nice spicy Buffalo sauce. I needed an Oktoberfest beer to put out the nice fiery taste I had going down in my mouth. The Wild Monk is another place that has many craft beers on taps. Many rotating kegs so you can try all 33 flavors except that is ice cream and we are talking beer. My selection was a local brewery called Pipe Works which is located in Chicago. I’ve had Pipe Works in bottle form from the local Binny’s. This is the first craft beer from Pipe Works to make it to the sacred BEER LIST. I ordered the Oktoberfest and here is what I got.

It has the dark amber color going on in a bar that is dark with dim lighting. Monks like to pray as legend has it a Wild Monk escaped the herd and opened up this establishment. That might not be true since I’m loaded writing this review. It had a small lacing of foam around the perimeter that disappears quickly. It smells like something from the dark side and I’m not talking Darth Vader’s socks either. It tickles my nostrils in the second sniff in which fruitiness comes into play. It smells of bread like most of these beers do with some caramel added to the mix. It has a mix of flavors in that first sip.You can taste the breadiness like it has been toasted. It has sweet caramel flavors. It is dark and earthy with some bitterness. The fruit could be cherry as it’s a hint. It was only 5.3% but it felt like it was stronger than that. It took awhile, but after the first one is complete, the second one went down easier. It was a long day and night as Patrick Kane scored the game winner in OT. Pipe Works did make me fall asleep right when I got home. It was a pretty good slumber as well. I placed the Pipe Works Oktoberfest right after the Golden Export and right before the Amber Abita on the 2018 beer list. Overall on the main BEER LIST, it falls in right after Iron City Light and it’s still better than quite a few beers. FIRST OKTOBERFEST BEER GREAT LAKES OKTOBERFEST STYLE:GERMAN MARZEN BREWED BY: GREAT LAKES BREWING Our first Octoberfest beer we indulge in came from Lemont, Illinois. A place called Three Corners Grill and Tap. It’s a great place to watch football as they had every game on throughout the bar and restaurant. It is the place for great food and a beer tap list to get very excited about because it’s like a kid going to penny candy store with the eyes bulging and tongue hanging out. First beer on this special mission of October is from Great Lakes brewing in Cleveland. Three Corners had a nice keg of the Great Lakes Octoberfest and pints were only $4.50. Now that is great start to Sunday Funday. Football, beer, and food from the grill OH MY..

As you see it’s a fine red head. Even the real McCoy as it was red at the bottom of the pint like the top. It had a nice frothy lacing of foam around the perimeter. The smells coming out of the top of the pint were a mixture of breads from a bakery. Sweet breads with a mix of fruit sensations like apricot and peach. You could feel the yeast intoxicating your nostrils with some caramel. The first sip tasted like fall. It had a clean finish, but the tastes of sweet bread and caramel pop in your mouth. A small amount of spice tickled my tonsils. A slight tint of honey as well I believe stayed on the tip of my tongue. Octoberfest beers have some high alcohol content. This one 6.5%. Not a sipper beer or a chugging beer. Something in the middle as I was able to clean lick out three pints. Being Three Corners, each corner has to be covered by a beer. The football was very exciting that day. The first of the afternoon games had Buffalo steamrolling the Vikings.Then to watch at the bar a disgruntled Cheese Whiz fan getting mad as a hatter watching his Packers melt like nacho cheese from the power house of the Washington Redskins.

While this excitement was going down I gnawed on some red hot poppers. I also wolfed down a french dip sandwich that was out of this world.

I placed the Great Lakes October fest beer right after Ragin Cajun and right before the Red Stallion Vienna lager on the 2018 beer list. On the main BEER LIST I placed it in at the number 41 slot. Three Corners has been a place I landed a few times in my days. It is the very first beer we have done at Three Corners when it comes to the BEER LIST. It will not be the last. BEER CHURCH LAGER STYLE :LAGER BREWED BY:BEER CHURCH

Some would say after indulging in too many devil drinks and being a pagan over the weekend, it’s time to head to church. Time to confess your sins. In bright blue skies we seen the beacon guiding us to the beer church in New Buffalo, Michigan.

This is the second go around at the Beer Church as the last time I had one of their staple beers, a cream ale called the Crooked Cross. Last time we were upon the lord at the Beer Church, they only were using 25% of the church for seating. Everything was pretty much the same inside their tap room as when we visited before. Only difference is the construction on the outside was in full force. The Beer Church was in the middle of creating an outdoor temple that most folks would call the beer garden.

I’m very excited for the beer garden because it will be set up and fully functioning, the next time I get back in the area. This Fall I’ll head there to indulge in some outdoor churchy stuff in my good pair of slacks I have on me. I call them my Sunday clothes to pray for more beer please. The rumor in the pews is they will have fire oven pizzas.

You have to love the perks of the job at Church Brewery. Drinking on the job at brewery. Priceless!!! She could be testing the holy beer before communion. Now that’s a good employee. Making sure nobody gets a bad batch of swill at the mass. Beer church has many cool names for their beers. On this day I had the simple Lager. Not sure if they forgot to put the name in front of the type of beer that it is, but this is what I’ve got in this story at the Beer Church. I will be looking to try Pontius Pilate in the fall out in the beer garden. Its my beer there that is in the on deck circle.

The Beer Church Lager pours a light golden color with a small lacing of foam around the perimeter of the glass.

The Lager has the faint smell of fruit coming from the glass. Perhaps a tint of pine apple. It’s a light and refreshing type of beer. It has a bit of tang to it. Some sweetness as well. It goes down very smooth and it could be a nice beer to drink all day long. Plus a great beer for outside drinking, especially if Pontius Pilate is not up to my standards. If the Lager is in the mix this fall, I would go back to this quality beer. Inside they had a pretty steady crowd going in and out sampling beers.

I rank this beer the new number nine on this year’s beer list, right after the Sun Crusher. It was a tough choice between this and the Bird Bath, but I think the Lager just squeaked ahead by milliliters of a pint. Overall on the big beer list I rank this right after Crooked Cross, the other Beer Church beer we tried last year at number 28. HOFBRAU AKA HOFBRAUHAUS STYLE: MUNICH HELLE LAGER BREWED BY HOFBRAU BREWING IN ROSEMONT, ILLINOIS

If the Germans did bomb Pearl Harbor, they had to have been out of Hofbrau beer. Is that why they invaded all those countries in both World Wars, because they were out of the golden boys at the all the local beer halls?

Without Hofbrau, I take it people probably got cranky. A tad angry. Modern times maybe ISIS lacks a good brew these days. Modern times has all kinds of German beer in your reach minutes from you. Found a Hofbrau brew pub about 45 minutes away from the house in Rosemont, Illinois, home of the Chicago Wolves hockey. This was in the cold Chicago winter and I do get behind at times writing up all these beers. It’s better late than never. We needed some alcohol and some food to get the shiver out of the body. We found the Hofbrau across the street from the ice rink. Always wanted to go to Germany and visit Oktoberfest. To see women in the old German culture outfits with huge mugs and carrying beer. Steins would also do as German music plays all night and you sing while sloshing down another huge one waving it up and down grooving to the music.

I have indulged in Hofbrau before coming in for lunch at this brew pub. Never had it in a big mug like this.

The bigger the mug the better. Having just one means having two in one serving. The pour is golden with a slight lacing around the top of the huge mug. Its like finding pure gold during the gold rush west of the states back in simpler times. A pure brick of gold in each mug. No worries, bathrooms were located close. This mug would overfill my bladder and I hoped to not catch any red lights on the way home. You can smell the malts and a tad of lemon. It’s well carbonated going down with a extremely good balance between the hops and malts. You can taste both bitterness and sweetness. The after taste is nice. Notice some citrus after the first sip with a whole kettle of beer to go. It only has 5% each pint glass and this mug is probably two pint glasses in one sitting. Maybe more, who’s going to argue. It’s a very easy drinking beer and I tackled two of those babies for lunch. It was not a liquid lunch as I had to get the bratwurst. Sausage goes well with beer and I needed to soak some of it up, so maybe three of these would be in the forecast.

The lunch food was excellent. The picture tells you how good everything was. Since Rosemont is by a major airport, I’m guessing this place at night could be mostly out-of-towners. Just watch out for the people from Arizona, they have a glow to them.

In the day light it is very cool. At night I have it on the beer bucket list to get back there to try some other German beers they have on tap. Plus listen to some live music and hoist a few the German way in Chicago. Plus the menu for dinner had lots of nice choices, convincing me to get to this place a second time.

I rank this beer right behind the Zombie Dust at number three for the year it was that good. I will keep it in the top ten of beers as well as I put it at the new number eight on the big BEER LIST. GHOST RIVER BREWING NAME:GHOST RIVER GOLDEN ALE STYLE:KOLSCH BREWED BY:GHOST RIVER BREWING My summer vacation I was in New Orleans for almost a week. I tried many fine beers in the state of Louisiana and the Big Easy. However the best beer of the whole trip was from “Elvis Town” Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis was a stop for a bed and breakfast before going to New Orleans. This was my second visit to Memphis. I’ve already done all the Elvis stuff and I’m still all shook up. I’ve seen how they assassinated M.L.K. Went down to Beale street and listened to great music. With all of that my first time, I was impressed by Ghost River Golden Ale. This second go around, all I wanted was a few Ghost River Golden Ale right from the tapper as the other stuff to me was like been there, done that. I quickly discovered and sometimes you thank God for technology, that Ghost River opened up a brew pub and I was down with this. I was seeing something new in the town of Memphis.

The Ghost River brewery looked newly built, probably not very long in operation. The outside looked incredible for a place in a kind of factory area of town. They had a nice outdoor sitting area. It looked like the wood came from the lumber yard the day before. It was a sticky night and they had skeeters bigger than your head flying around nibbling your body parts in undesirable ways. Inside was all about drinking beer as the place did not serve any food. Most brew pubs are about the board games and many tables had something going down. We ended up playing a card game with some riveting questions from a couple we met. One of them was from the town of Memphis and I love drinking with the locals. You get the inside information on the town. As the game went on into the night, I dabbled in a flight tasting a few of the beers Ghost River had to offer. If I had more time than just a night, I would have got down to some intense tasting of the Ghost River products.

I was more interested in the beer I came all the way from Chicago to see, and that was the Golden Ale.

They say Ghost River Golden Ale is brewed with two row malted variety. Plus a few German hops as we know the Germans make some excellent brew. Ghost River identifies it’s Memphis soft water that gives their beer that refreshing character of deliciousness. It pours a golden color with a nice cover of foam on top of the glass. It smells like a sweet bread, maybe something from a bakery kind of smell. It is a kolsch beer and this baby goes down smooth and crisp with a dry finish. It’s a very easy drinking beer. You could compare this beer to some of the Oktoberfest brews. It has a sweet malty taste with a tiny spice and a tad of tartness. It’s the Munich and caramel hops give the beer the sweetness. It is a light beer and only has 4.0 percent in each pint so game on. The atmosphere at the Ghost River brew pub was lively. Reminded me of the Jackalope Brewery in 2017, in Nashville, Tennessee. Some great music played as the card game got very interesting and the beers were going down very smooth. The workers there would make their rounds and talk to people. Not sure if they were selling their beer yet at that location, but I managed to get a case of the Golden Ale to bring home. The manager told me to go to the loading dock off to the side and one of their guys had a nice box of Golden Ale to bring home.

Do the words it sounded like a good time at the time mean anything to you? I had to carry this case of beer through a busy lobby at the hotel as people gave me the eyeball. It arrived safely to my room as the Ghost of Elvis watched over my stash of Ghost River Golden Ale. This was the first stop of the week as then I had to haul this beer the rest of the trip. An already crowded trunk already got me some looks as I walked this case to the car. Some clever rearranging and the beer did make it back to Chicago. This was my favorite beer of the trip. I think this beer is a great outdoor summer beer. Also most important, it’s a beer you can drink all year around. Actually this now is the best beer of 2018 as it is number one on that list. The Three Floyds had three of their brews on top of the Beer List mountain because they are excellent beers. The new king of the mountain is not Elvis. Ghost River Golden Ale is now the beer to beat on top of the Beer List mountain. The only problem with this beer is it’s hard to get. You have to basically go to Memphis to get it. NEW ORLEANS BOAT TOUR NAME : ABITA AMBER STYLE:VIENNA LAGER BREWED BY: ABITA BREWING Early in my trip to New Orleans, I found myself on a very nice boat tour.

It was not the best boat tour I have been on scenery wise. However you did get to see the City of New Orleans sky line. Some cool ships and river boats with the paddles. Loved the Domino Sugar factory. My character named Sugar goes to the boxer in the show called Banshee.

The boat had one stop and it took you to Chalmette Monument where a civil war battle brewed eons of years ago.

I know you wanted naked chicks dancing on the boat begging for beads. However this was a late morning family trip, so it was early to get my dance on. However it was not early for a craft beer off the tap. Choices they only had from the bar keep was some pirate dark beer or Abita Amber. I chose Abita Amber since Abita owns the town when it comes to beer.

Abita Amber is a vienna lager. Only 4.5 % each pint, but it seems stronger. It’s a Munich style beer. Brewed with Crystal Myth. Kidding it has crystal malts hold the meth and perle hops. It pours a hazy copper color. The boat only had plastic glasses so for sure this reddish amber beauty would of been better in see through glass. It had a small amount of bubbly lacing of foam. The smell was earthy. You’re thinking European gal. However it did have a sweet caramel smell going to it as well. Which now your mind is taking you straight into the gutter. Good for you. The taste is sweet, smooth, with a tint of bitter at the end. You can taste the caramel as well. Only thing in the middle, it had metallic taste that stayed with you for awhile. I did have two of these babies. One on the way to the battle field and one on the way back. Not sure if it was the plastic cup or the metallic taste in the Abita Amber. She was one of these look good on the outside, inside needed some work beers. Abita has many great beers. This one out of the three I had on the trip was the worst. Not saying I would say no to another Abita Amber. However I would not go looking for it. I rank this Abita number 14th overall on the 2018 list just ahead of Paradise park. The overall big list Abita Amber takes over the number 47th spot right after the Purple Cow. ABITA BREWING NAME: THE BIG EASY STYLE: AMERICAN IPA BREWED BY: ABITA BREWING NAME:ANDY ALLIGATOR STYLE: MAIBOCK HELLES BREWED BY: ABITA BREWING When you adventure down to the Big Easy, you have plenty of options for things to do. Watching Saints football to running with the gators in the swamp tours. Some will just do about anything for some beads. From the French quarter to Bourbon street scarfing down Southern favorites like Gumbo, Jumbalya and Red Rice and Beans. Plus getting your crawfish on. You always need something for the spice. A thirst quencher.

The locals and the majority of tourists, will tell you that you can not go to the Big Easy without getting something from Abita. The brewery right in New Orleans’ backyard has been quenching people’s thirst for decades. You work up a thirst showing the tourists your boobs while you stand high on some guy wearing a dress with broad shoulders. You need Purple Haze to stop the burning of the local voodoo hot sauce as your tongue smokes and you want to continue to rage on cajun. Abita brewing was at the top of the list and I was able to cross it off. Did the tour of the Brewery and dazzled in two beers out of the many choices they had on their list. Lets get started and tell you what I discovered. My first beer I selected a beer that sums up New Orleans: The Big Easy.

The Big Easy is a lighter style beer. It’s a great summer beer in my opinion as many of these would be missing in the cooler in the first hour of any outside summer gathering. It only has 4.5% and you know it will not sneak up on you. Any beer drinking professional could handle the Big Easy without working up a sweat besides the outdoor heat, cranked up early in the summer. The Big Easy has a light medium gold pour with some breaking clouds of foam on top of the glass. The nose test conducted was all about lemons and a few hops, perhaps a good amount of hops. It says it is brewed with lemon peels. Recycling in America is wonderful. It has some ingredients such amarillo, centennial and simcoe. It has some hop to it.

Barney Rubble’s pet Hoppy gives it two fists of fury of hoppiness. It goes down easy BUT IT HAS THE HOPS. Great carbonation on this light bodied beer. It has a lemon taste with a mild bitterness. However very refreshing. My second beer of choice at Abita Brewing was the great Andy Alligator. Andy I did see at his home a day before, as he was swimming laps excited about his recent surge in beer sales.

I had tried an Andy Alligator earlier in the trip from a bottle and I thought it was a pretty good tasting beer. Seeing how they made their beer at Abita up close, I decided to get it fresh out of the silver stainless vat and indulge in some gator. Andy Alligator is a Maibock helles style of a beer. On the beer list we have only done one type of Helles beer. No not the Helles Angels. Southside Pride from Baderbrau brewing which came in at number 24 overall. South Side Pride was very enjoyable. Andy Alligator did not disappoint.

The creature of the swamp pours a deep golden color. A light fluffy lacing around the perimeter of the glass. My spidey sense tingle on the smell test has a grassy apple thing going down. Like if Andy was hanging out kicking back at an orchard. Andy Alligator uses pale malts with a German lager yeast along with perle hops. The first sip gives your brain a mild bitterness and it comes away boozey strong. But when you settle down on next sip you can taste the sweetness. It’s a strong beer at 8.0% a pop. However this beer you know is strong, but you can drink a few of these in one sitting. They compare this beer to Helles Dopplebock. Those are in same boat… you don’t want to be drinking them all day. THE TOUR The tour was your typical brewery tour. They give you their insight and history of their beer. No drinking on this tour as you had to wait until the tap room before or after. They gave a few free drinking poker chips for answering the tour guides questions. The little kid on the tour answered most of the questions. I was able to beat him out on one question as I was not 4 sheets into the wind yet. I was impressed with the grounds and everything seem very new including the whole building. The tap room was huge.

Overall, the Abita beers will land right in the middle of the pecking order. The Big Easy comes in at the number 11th beer on the 2018 beer list. Overall on the Master list I would put it at number 37. Andy Alligator comes in higher. Andy cracks the top ten in 2018 in the number 9 overall. Overall Andy Alligator swims up creek to the number 28 position on the master list. CHIMES NAME: SPACE DUST STYLE:AMERICAN DOUBLE/IMPERIAL IPA BREWED BY: ELYSIAN BREWERS NAME:WAYWARD BIRD BATH STYLE:AMERICAN PALE ALE BREWED BY:WAYWARD OWL BREWING Outside the city of New Orleans, on our way to Abita brewery, I found the place of all places. Once working for the man is all over. Tell all upper management where they can stick it. Once you hang up the cleats. Get away from the rat race and you want to venture out to a quiet place. Buy some land in the country and build yourself a cabin. Not talking like a Unabomber shack. Something out of the show Coach perhaps. I want a big piece of property like my Uncle bought a farm. I want my cabin with a lot of character and trees. A man needs a bar inside this ultimate mecca of retirement nests. Throw in some animals running along outside. How about 60 different tapped beers? Sign me up on the dotted line as Ive come home to a place they call CHIMES.

The first beer I went with was Space Dust. This baby had 8.2 % in each pint.

I love Elysian brewers’ description of this space beer. “Space Dust is a totally Nebular IPA. Great Western two-row, combined with c-15 and Dextri-Pils, give this beer a bright and galactic Milky way hue. The hopping is pure starglow energy, with Chinook to bitter and late and dry additions of Citra and Amarillo. Space Dust is out of this world, with 62 ibu.” It pours an deep amber color with small doses of Space Dust foam bubbling into the galaxy. It smells like an assortment of fruit. You could say pineapple jumps out at you. The citrus gets your brain to freeze a moment as things are looking well as the feeling of deliciousness is about to go down. Please hold off the zombie apocalypse just for a few more minutes. It tastes like it smells. It has a nice hoppy start with a tad of bitter however it finishes sweet. This beer is well balanced with the right amount of hops and malts. It goes down too smooth which worries me because it was 8.2 on the richter scale. Overall I was happy with my first choice. I was one and done on that choice because it was a high alcohol percentage. Abita brewing was in my future according to the tarot card reading I had. My second choice I went on the lighter side. Space Dust, I will purchase if I see it at the local liquor store. In between, I had to get something to munch on. I ordered an appetizer thinking I would easily put it away. However they came back to the table with cheese sticks bigger than most people’s heads.

Everything is rolling along very nicely as the beer was incredible.The cheese sticks were a grand slam. We were sitting outside in their very comfortable beer garden where the atmosphere was lively. The scenery was breath taking. You could wander down the porch and walk to the lake. The craftsmanship on this porch/deck beer garden was just incredible. My thought process was ‘I want to move in. Just give me my tooth brush and a hay stack for a bed to cuddle up with.’

My second beer in which I had a few of these was called the Wayward bird bath. I loved the name as it is brewed by Wayward Owl brewing which is local from these parts.

The Bird bath pours a strawish color makes you think of a scare crow. Light lacing of foam around the perimeter of the glass. It smells citric and again, not meant on purpose, had the pineapple thing going on. It has some hop to it on the first sip. They say it’s a double dry hopped pale ale. It tastes like it smells as it was clean and really went down smooth. Great outdoor drinking beer on a hot day made it very refreshing. Plus you can have quite a few as they were only 4.8% instead of the 8.2% from the previous beer. This beer makes you want taste the other beers Wayward Owl brews. Next time through, I have to find their brewery or tap room. On the grounds of the CHIMES lots of animals are walking around. Saw little Jerry from Seinfeld.

After doing Seinfeld, Little Jerry was sent to the farm. No more cock fighting for the rooster that took the sport by storm. Now he has his own harem of hens he deals with as he has stayed retired.

Then I found the goat who did not fulfill his commitment in jinxing the Chicago Cubs. Left the scene early in 2016 when the Indians were up 3 games to one in the series. Bastard lay there with a guilty look on his face. He knew I knew what he did.

They even let you feed the goats crackers. I refused to feed them because they let the Cubs back, in that series in 2016. Many people are still feeling the pain inside them from their carelessness. Then they had some cool gators as any good drinking establishment should have in Louisiana.

Then the cat takes a breather after a saucer of tapped beer as he lays in the sun to catch a few z’s

Inside the place was gorgeous. The bar was spectacular. All the the wood all along the inside with the windows viewing the beer deck was amazing. The craftsmanship was top rated. Plus the taps of so many beers… I did not want to leave.

On the 2018 beer list, Space Dust takes off to number two on the chart. On the big board it makes it into top ten at number 7 slot. Meanwhile Wayward pines on the 2018 beer list comes in at number 7 for the year. On the big board it comes in number 34. NAME:GOLDEN EXPORT STYLE:DORTMUNDER/EXPORT LAGER BREWED BY:GORDON BIERSCH Found myself wandering the streets of New Orleans on a hot humid day. I had to cool off and I found myself in front of a brew pub called Gordon Biersch. Of course it had to be fate running into a place in walking distance from the hotel. Some would say by choice. Plus I heard they were serving all their craft beers for three dollars a pint on Tuesdays. So fate twisted my arm as I walked into the joint and sat down at the bar for a liquid lunch with some yummy nachos.

They had many options to choose from. However I wanted something on the light side. Try to avoid the dark side of the force so I don’t end up like him.

So I went with the Golden Export which is a dortmunder/export lager. It was only 5.0% and it was rebel approved. If it’s only 3 dollars a pint, I could switch to something else if I did not like it. However I did like it and stuck with it that afternoon for a few pints, catching up on some sports scores. er It’s golden in color as that could be the reason they named it Golden Export. It has a light lacing of foam around the perimeter of the glass. They give you the tall skyscraper glass as it had a nice carbonation inside it. It has malty grainy aroma. It starts off grainy the first sip, a tad bitter with a bite of hop at the end. After you compose yourself, the rest of the beer goes down clean and smooth. It is a light style of beer which gives you a nice clean finish. I did not try any of the others on their list as I was hook line and sinker-ed to the Export. Gordon Biersch has a few locations scattered across the states. They make the brew on sight as the kettles were in my sights the whole time.

Like a playboy centerfold in the beer world. Reminds me of the episode of Cheers when Norm gets a job at the local brewery.

Then he hugs the brew kettle expressing his love for the awesomeness inside. Gordon Biersch was a very nice establishment. Nice big bar with lots of seating. An outdoor area when the weather would be much cooler to enjoy outdoor beverages. The nachos were incredible. The food menu had lots of good options to indulge in as you created a hunger from your bar stool hoisting a few pints down the gullet.

I rank the Golden Export number 9 on the 2018 beer list. Overall on the big BEER LIST it comes in at number 36. NAME:PARADISE PARK STYLE:AMERICAN PALE LAGER BREWED BY:URBAN SOUTH BREWERY It felt like I took the old Delorean for spin Back to the Future.

The bar reminded me of the saloon in Back to the Future Three actually. Possibly some of the people in this bar reminded me of some characters from the cast of Back to the Future. I was told the oldest bar/restaurant in the French quarter is Tujague’s. Opened in 1856. I had to see this bar and it was a blast from the past.

The bar has no stools. it’s an old time stand up bar. The bartender looks like he is dressed old school as the staff likes to dress in tuxedo clothes like they did back when times were a little simpler. Times when the bar keep probably left you a bottle of booze with a glass. Times when he might actually listen to you while you unleash all your problems while he cleans some glassware.

As you can see they have some tables along one side of the bar. Then you had to stand if you’re at the bar. The Restaurant was behind the bar that had plenty of tables and chairs. Heard the food is remarkable however we were just passing through and only in for a drink. This is where I discovered Paradise Park. I never heard of Paradise Park, but the pink flamingo tapper was saying drink me. So I had to order one.

Paradise Flamingo pours a golden yellow like a color of golden retriever in a way. It has lovely white fluffy cloud foam around the perimeter of the glass. They say this beer is brewed with pilsner malt. It also has melon hops.

The smell came out lemon with a strong citrus feel to it. It tastse like lemon and has a grassy taste to go along with it. Definitely bitter and hoppy. It does have a citric finish to it. You can say it has some hints of herbal in it as well. Overall this beer takes a few sips to get used to what is going on. It has a unique type of flavor for a lager. It only has 4.5% so I guess Urban South calls that easy drinking. This bar definitely had history and has seen a lot over the years. We saw a tour group come in and sit down and have a round of drinks. In New Orleans they have all sorts of pub crawls with historical stuff attached to these watering holes. I love the windows above the door way.

This bar had an old dude with pink converse high top shoes on, standing at the end of the bar. Could of been the bartenders troubled brother. New Orleans is all about people watching. You don’t know what kind of nut you will see every door you open.

Outside the bar has the big sign high up in the air. The entrance with those big doors with the glass window frames is some old fashioned craftsmanship.

I like Pink Flamingos because I think of Miami Vice. In a way, they can be a logo for white trash. Because you always see those plastic flamingos in all the trailer parks, at least that is what I’ve heard. If I go to New Orleans again on a longer stretch when I have more time, I might try Paradise Park again. However this beer looks to be one and done just like inside Tujague’s. I rank it number 9 on the 2018 beer list. Overall the big picture of this beer is not as bright as the Pink flamingo. I put it 46 on the main beer list just ahead of Battle Ground from Mantra Artisan Ales. NAME: VOODOO STYLE: AMERICAN PALE ALE BREWED BY: TIN ROOF BREWING When I first got to New Orleans, at the very first bar, I asked if they had something with Voodoo in the name. The bartender turned me on to a beer actually called Voodoo by Tin Roof brewing which is an American pale ale. It is locally brewed in Baton Rouge Louisiana and it was in a can.

Obviously a canned beer does not qualify for the BEER LIST. As we made our way around the town we found it tapped at Manning’s bar and grill. Yes, the Mannings that play football. However they say it’s the Manning brother owns it. The one that did not make it into the NFL due to an injury. Archie Manning, the father, was the shit in New Orleans for years even though most of the years the team sucked when he was behind center. Archie is still a legend in the Big Easy. They did have some cool memorabilia on the walls and behind the bar. Many autographed footballs scattered throughout the bar.

We only had time for two beers or so at Mannings and we were only there to drink. I did notice they had some great looking food that was passing us by being delivered to people’s tables. This was a bar where you needed some more time to really drink and eat and watch a game as it was a sports type of bar.

As you can see it pours a golden yellow color with a nice foamy cap. The aroma is juicy and fresh. Definitely fruity and citrusy which makes you want to dive right in to this deliciousness. If you like a hoppy beer, this is the beer for you. This beer is well balanced and has lots of flavor. It taste like it smells. It has a nice crisp finish to it. Each pint is only 5% which means more than one is always good to go. I think the Voodoo is a great beer to enjoy in the summer. I would like it all year around actually . Voodoo, I rank number 4 on the 2018 list. In the big picture overall on the mighty highly sought out BEER LIST, I have placed it at number 12. This beer was definitely one of my favorite vacation beers I had in 2018. NAME: RAGIN’ CAJUN STYLE: KOLSCH BREWED BY: BAYOU TECHE BREWERY One thing I do love is a hole in the wall bar. I love them at home and especially when I’m on vacation. These are the places where you get the local’s perspective. A place that is not a tourist attraction. It the place that you get the real gist of the land. The people like Average Joe, Johnny Six Pack, and Manny “I bring my lunch pail to work.” The people that have lived in the town forever. Generations of their family that have poured sweat into making their town. These are the places I hear all the true stories while I enjoy a pint of suds and some local dishes done the right way. It was a wonderful afternoon in New Orleans. It was very humid and had to be 5 o’clock somewhere. I found a bar called Jimani, which locals call Jimangi. It’s home of the Mysterious Mixer whatever the hell that is. Maybe it is this guy I found on the wall.

This place had a great selection of tap beers along with cans and bottles. My pick of poison was another brew from Bayou Teche Brewing. This beer is called the Ragin’ Cajun and I loved the name. They have a college in New Orleans and their nickname is the Ragin’ Cajun. I liked the name right off the bat. Plus on the same New Orleans trip I had Swamp Thing which Bayou Teche Brewery makes so well.

The Ragin’ Cajun is a Kolsch style beer. It’s the first Kolsch of the 2018 campaign. It’s hard to believe it is the first Kolsch beer we have done. It pours a hazy straw color as you can see above. Small lacing of foam around the perimeter of the glass. The smell is sweet emotion like Aerosmith would sing. Tints of malted barley on the second or third whiff. The taste has a mixture of stuff going on to make your taste buds do the hokey pokey. It has a malty grassy along with a honey mix taste going down. You could say it tasted like a white wine rice ale as well. It’s a light beer and it went down very smooth. Only 4.8% in each pint so many of these great tasting beers could be drank in one sitting. Inside the bar the patrons were very talkative. The bartender and her one arm had some cool tattoos going on. She was very friendly and welcomed us like we were at home which made it hard to leave after a few rounds. They also had a neighborhood guy wearing purple ears. He might have had down syndrome or something of that nature. He would give people gifts as they walked through the door. He was awarded with a beer. Supposedly he has a few pubs in the area where he shows up and gives a person having a hard day, a smile.

As for the Ragin’ Cajun, our first kolsch beer, I give this beer two thumbs up, definitely worth a try. In 2018, I put it in the number six spot, ahead of the Red Stallion. Overall on the BEER LIST, I place this beer number 33. NAME: RED STALLION STYLE: VIENNA LAGER BREWED BY: CRESCENT BREWING Crescent Brewing was my list of places I must see down south in New Orleans. After you walk past all the beggars and con men, this place was turned into the holy grail. Before getting to the brewery, I did like one of the street performers.

He says nothing. He wears a mask like a superhero, maybe a villain perhaps. It is a hot humid day. He comes to life when you give him money as he moves like a miming robot warrior from the Bayou jazz country.

Finally we make it to Crescent City at which we found a table. The waitress decorated our lives with towering big wonderful beers. With the AC blowing cold air on our faces. Live Jazz musicians playing some sweet tunes, we were at home and ready for some Red Stallions.

Crescent City makes probably about ten beers. Always heard people rave about the Red Stallion which I did enjoy.

Crescent City was very fancy shamancy as the beer looks like a work of art in an antique place of business for the aristocrats. It looks red, almost mahogany reddish, in the skyscraper glass. The aroma had a hint of citrus. Most of the aroma to me was malty grains. It’s a rich flavored beer, but well balanced. There’s a malty after taste after the initial hoppy punch. We had some nice chicken wings with the Red Stallion that went well together. We rested and soothed our souls with jazz. I did like this beer. It would not be my first choice. It’s a kind of beer to bring in once in awhile to your daily beer schedule and have. In 2018 it falls in the number six slot. Overall on the big BEER LIST it falls to number 33. It’s not last in the standings, but not quite middle tier either. NAME:SWAMP THING STYLE: IPA BREWED BY:BAYOU TECHE BREWING This year’s vacation, I wandered south to the Big Easy. New Orleans, Louisiana where I believe I will find the mother load of intriguing beers. From gators dressed in drag to voodoo skulls collecting beads. In between all the seafood and Jambalaya smells in the humid air, just lassoing you in for a big plate of Southern cuisine. I had to take a step away and found this hot dog joint in the French Quarter. It was a dive called Dat Dog. Possibly they have not cleaned up after Hurricane Katrina.

Do not judge a book by it’s cover because the food was excellent. They had your basic Chicago style hot dogs. You know, for those people you have in your group that will not give Dat Dog’s adventurous dogs a try. From crawfish dogs to gator dogs, I had the Slovenian sausage with all the fixins. Plus, then shoveled seasoned french fries in my mouth like there was no tomorrow. As if Hurricane Katrina was behind my back asking me questions.

I needed something to wash all of this down and I chose the Swamp thing by Bayou Teche brewing. Love the name of the brewery. An old Nintendo game I used to play and loved was called Bayou Billy.

The Swamp thing is a golden bright color. With fluffy white clouds on top. The aroma is earthy and citric, it has a lot going on. With a robust hoppy aroma as well. It’s as if they drained a swamp in each glass. When you take your first gulp lots of things explode inside your taste buds. It has bitter flavors mixed with some spice. I would also add earth flavors to that description. It’s tangy and you can taste some tropical fruit in it. They say it’s made like a German pilsner. With blended hops including mosaic and citra. I did like the swamp thing, as it grows on you. I think it would be better in a glass pint over the Dat Dog plastic cup. I think after the first few sips everything blends nicely. It has a high 6.3% which does not bother me because it is so humid out it will sweat itself out. I think it is a perfect beer in the heat to have a few. Might be rough to drink the swill of the Swamp Thing all day long. I rank the Swamp thing number 5 for 2018. As it will probably be a beer in the middle of the pack. Overall on the ultimate BEER LIST, it is in the middle of the pack at number 24. NAME:SUN CRUSHER STYLE:AMERICAN PALE WHEAT ALE BREWED BY:REVOLUTION BREWING Found myself at a ball game over the weekend. I went to see how the rebuild was coming along on the South Side of Chicago. Ventured to Guaranteed Rate or U.S Comiskular or some like to call it Sox park. The product on the field is not that good. However the eats and treats are out of this world at this ball park. It started off not too bad of a day. Cooler weather at the halfway point, turned things a tad chilly. It was a cloudy day and it stayed like that into the evening hours so I needed some Sun and I found it. Revolution Brewing had invaded the Rate with a tap room. The beer I saw is one of their seasonal beers that comes out in spring. It is called the Sun Crusher. This is the second Revolution beer that this blog has done. First being last year’s Anti Hero at Jack Desmond’s in Chicago Ridge. The Sun Crusher, I have dabbled in a few cases last year in their can form. We all know Revolution Brewery beer straight out of the tap, is like swapping spit with a hot blonde in your parent’s car back in the day, with her own set of cans you can dabble around with. The taste brings you too that ecstasy stage when you have wobbley knees and you lose your balance, that good.

The pint looks like Mercury rising. This beer would probably even be way better in a glass pint instead of a plastic cup. It has a nice white cloud that sticks around for a few sips of this delight. The smell is fruity like the gum in her mouth, who you passionately kissed in your parents station wagon. As the windows completely get fogged up in the process. When you end up with the blonde’s gum in your mouth, after you made out with her for a long time as it you can still taste the delightfulness. Sun Crusher leaves a nice after taste as well. Then Jesus Jones plays “Right Here, Right Now” as the clock reads you’re grounded for not having the car back. Nowadays you can look at the clock and enjoy another Sun Crusher without even batting an eye. This beer goes down very smooth, in fact too smooth. It leaves you wanting more. Like that first girl you enjoyed in your parents car, you are wanting her even more. Maybe you have to wait a whole week during a school year which is way too long to wait, before your lips meet again. Sun Crusher would be like that when the keg goes dry. The Sun Crusher has those sweet malts with a mellow yellow kind of bitter. The taste is an explosion of all the sweetest fruits you like all at once that make this beer a very nice summer brew. It’s not overwhelming, and well balanced all across the board. It was Star wars night at the ole ball park. The Revolution tap room was filled with old friends.

In 2018 it seems like we have assembled a murders row of beers on the list. All of them have been spectacular. The Sun Crusher is going to lose points due to the plastic cup. In 2018, I rank it right now number four. On the main beer list I rank this beer number 12. Again if it was in a glass pint, this beer might be higher. One of these days, Revolution Brewery I will get to, which is on the huge bucket Santa Clause list of breweries to conquer. Sun Crusher will be tasted again to see if I’m off my rocker, or my hypothesis is totally correct. NAME: INVASION STYLE:AMERICAN PALE ALE BREWED BY CIGAR CITY BREWING It was a Sunday funday and of course what makes these days fun, is when beer is added to the mix. Beer can make any day funday. Even those ugly Mondays can be turned around with a beer. On this Sunday, my body was invaded by a unknown phenomena.

It was not an invasion by the body snatchers as this was a pleasant type of invasion, that gave me an out of my body experience. IT WAS THE FEELING WHEN YOU WAKE UP TO SEE BILL COSBY

HEY HEY HEY!!!!!

Maybe the feeling was waking up to Diana from the show V.

At least she’ll keep your house pest free. Perhaps a cheap date as well.

She’s not quite the morning person.

This invasion was none of the above. It was a mango tasting IPA from Cigar Brewing Company, called Invasion. To me right off the bat this beer should be in the summer shopping cart. Great outside drinking beer on a hot day. I found this beer tapped at the Wild Monk bar, in LaGrange, Illinois. It was a great tasting beer and it went down easy. Too easy.

It looks like a hazy sunset in a glass as this beer is from Florida which is all about the sun. It has a small amount of white clouds on the perimeter of the glass. The smell is tropical and citric but not overwhelming where it pushes your nostrils away. It’s hoppy. But all the flavors mix together gives you that tropical explosion…an out of your body experience as it invades your body. It has a bit of tart bite at the finish line, but it’s a good kind of tart. You can tell it has not just mango but other tasty fruits like orange and grapefruit. It is only 5% each pint so you can sit back on a weekend by the poolside and throw these back until the cows come home. I had tacos with this beer which was a great combination as well. Wild Monk has a great selection of tapped beers. Lots of rotating kegs with some great choices. I will be back to their establishment in the future to discuss their great food as well. The tacos are delightful and so was Invasion. Invasion sneaks into the number two slot for the 2018 beer list, just passing by Baderbrau’s Lawn Mower Lager. On the overall main BEER LIST, it comes in at number seven pushing the Lawn Mower Lager to number 8 on the list. I think the Casper at the Jackalope brewery at number six still holds the edge over Invasion, not by much though. NAME: ZOMBIE DUST STYLE: AMERICAN PALE ALE BREWED BY: 3 FLOYD’S One of many of my favorite watering holes sent out an invite to come by as they had a certain keg they just tapped. It invited White Sox fans to come to the bar, “we have something you might be intrigued by.” Something to take your mind off the bad baseball on the television. Something to wet your whistle and bring you that calm collected feeling when you’re watching your team give 5 runs in one inning followed by the next inning doing the same damn thing which would drive any fan to drink. But yes, B.J McMahon’s in Oak Lawn had the holy grail in suds… ZOMBIE DUST. You do not see Zombie Dust often in the Chicagoland area. When you do see it at a bar or even on shelves at a liquor store, you must pull up a bar stool or stock that shopping cart. It’s hard to get the Zombie Dust packaged goods at 3 Floyds brewery. As we know that will be where the best tasting Zombie Dust from the tap is. B.J McMahon’s’ keg was pretty good if I do say so myself. They do have a pretty good selection of beers on tap with lots of revolving kegs. I usually get Old Style there. It has to be the coldest Old Style in the neighborhood. It made the beer list at #31 as I type this blog post. However now B.J McMahon’s will have one of their keg beers on top of the charts on the BEER LIST. The only Zombie I want in a Zombie Apocalypse is Zombie dust.

Now remember always attack a zombie by going for the head shot.

As you can see I will have to get through a white cap of foam on top of this hazy orange sun in a glass. In which a smell of citrus rises from the glass. It clouds your brain like you have the krave. As you are in a trance-like state of mind, the first sip knocks your sox off. At least somebody knocking their sox off unlike the White Sox who are losing in front of you. No worries as the taste of the Zombie Dust sends your brain into a euphopric state of mind. It’s hoppy, lemony, citric rolled up into an assortment of pale malts to create a well balanced flavor so smooth so delicious your taste buds explode your tongue starts doing the locomotion. The final score that day was Zombie Dust three and the White Sox I believe were held scoreless in this late afternoon adventure.

Casey Kasem has the Zombie Dust up the charts and number one so far for 2018. Overall on the master list, Zombie Dust takes over the number one spot there as well. The changing of the 3 Floyd leaders as Space Station Middle Finger flips off the Zombie as it rides off in the number two slot for now. THE FIRST BEER SUBMITTED TO THE BEER LIST 2018 NAME: LAWN MOWER LAGER STYLE : AMERICAN PALE ALE BREWED BY: BADERBRAU I noticed the Baderbrau logo is very similar to the Kaos logo in Get Smart.

Baderbrau Kaos Maybe Siegfried from Kaos is the head brewer at Baderbrau. It is spring time. Which is always the first mowing of the year. The first cut is always special. The smell of grass clippings. The smell of the old smokey lawn mower that should have been mulch at a junkyard two decades previously. If you mow your own lawn, at one point in your life you had a glorious mower that was a hand me down from someone in your family or a friend. It had served them well as they get a brand new machine while their old junker is perfection in terms of what you needed it for. Now a days the old smokey sparks up with a new tank of gasoline, maybe a tad of oil in the blood line. It starts right up with one pull as smoke comes out of it like a power plant chimney. It’s that time of year to get the first cut complete. Also get that first fresh summer beer which can set the mood for the rest of the warm days coming up in outdoor drinking. With all those thoughts I found myself at Baderbrau consuming a Lawn Mower Lager. I have not mowed my first lawn since it has been Chilly Willy temps. I have to do my research and perhaps Baderbrau has a solution as one of many types of beer to have outdoors. Like the old saying, never bring a knife to a gun fight.

With Sean Connery saying, “Typical dago bringing a knife to a gun fight.” We might say, never put a light beer in my cooler. The Lawn Mower Lager

It pours yellow with a creamy head around the big beer mug they let their members drink from. Baderbrau finished fourth in my best breweries last year. I was able to sample two of their beers in 2017 as well. Both of them were in the top 20. The Chicago Pilsner number 12. The South Side Pride number 18. I thought those two were possibly the top beers at the South Loop brewery. The Lawn Mower lager was not a scary beer like Stephen King’s the Lawn Mower Man.

The smell was very like the first cut. Grassiness, malts and grains, mixed citrus smells. Maybe some pears, maybe some apples, but my long nose hair did the twist. It is a hoppy beer with not much bitterness, everything comes to life on the first pull of the string. Well, the first pour pulling down the lever of the tap. Each big huge beer mug was only 5.5 percent. Which is probably figured it out each 12 ounce can. I will not tell if you do not tell. This beer was delicious as it was very easy to drink. It does make a great summer beer. I put the Lawn Mower Lager above the two beers I had mentioned earlier from last year’s visits. The Lawn Mower lager will be in the top of the main list and I imagine will stay in the tops of the 2018 list.

2017 AWARDS THE BEER OF THE YEAR

Space Station Middle finger is my beer of the year in 2017. This beer was indulged in at DeJa Brew in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Space Station is brewed by Three Floyds. THE BAR OF THE YEAR

BRENTWOOD TAVERN In 2017 the bar of the year has to go to Brentwood tavern in New Buffalo Michigan. Number one reason: drinking beer outside facing water is living the high life. Great Atmosphere. Most important the beer list they offered. They had the Bell’s Oberon on tap which came in at number three for the year on the beer list. These are my power rankings for the rest of the bars that I had a tap beers from in 2017. I had to leave many bars off this list because I only had bottle beer at them. All these places had great food to offer and a great atmosphere. Other things I consider is how many craft beers they have to offer. Outdoor seating. Watching sports. The staff.

RANK	NAME	CITY/STATE	BEER HAD	FAVORITE FOOD
1	Brentwood Tavern	New Buffalo Michigan	Oberon	Breakfast Burrito
2	Deja Brew	Oak Lawn Illinois	Space Station Middle Finger	Buffalo Chicken Wrap
3	55 South	Franklin Tennessee	Gerst Amber	Jambalaya
4	BJ McMahons	Oak Lawn Illinois	Old Style	BLT
5	Black Oak	Oak Lawn Illinois	Alaskan IPA	California Ham & Turkey Wrap
6	Clancy’s	Oak Lawn Illinois	Harp	Pizza
7	Jack Desmond’s	Chicago Ridge Illinois	Anti-Hero	Burger
8	Hotel Loyal	Latrobe Pennsylvania	Straub	Pizza

BEST BREWERY OF THE YEAR

The 2017 brewery of the year is in Pittsburgh, The Church Brew Works. First you can not go against God’s place. The Brew kettles on the altar. All the beers they have that are made on God’s land. They have an outdoor seating area. Then food menu is Jesus approved. Plus the ten apostles give this place two thumbs up except for that Judas character. The atmosphere was exciting. These are my power rankings for the rest of the breweries we visited in 2017. I judge a brewery using the same rules as a bar. Plus, how the place looks. Are the beer kettles in vision? Does the staff explain their beer well and answer questions about the products they pour? Does the brewery have food? Many of these places do not have food served with their craft beers. Atmosphere is always huge. Plus, the most important part… how the beer tastes.

RANK	NAME	CITY/STATE	BEER HAD	FAVORITE FOOD
1	Church Brew Works	Pittsburgh Pennsylvania	Thunder Hop	Untraditional Pierogis
2	Greenbush	Sawyer Michigan	Star Chicken	Sausage Off the Grill
3	Flossmoor Station	Flossmoor Illinois	Zephyr Golden Lager	The Burrito that Ate Flossmoor
4	Baderbrau	Chicago Illinois	Chicago Pilsner	Beer Brat
5	Beer Church	New Buffalo Michigan	Crooked Cross	N/A
6	Against the Grain	Louisville Kentucky	Neck Hole	Hot Links
7	Hop Cat	Grand Rapids Michigan	Right Meow	Crack Fries
8	Pollyanna	Lemont Illinois	Full Lemonty	N/A
9	Horse Thief Hollow	Chicago Illinois	Kitchen Sink	Cuban Sandwich
10	Jackalope	Nashville Tennessee	Casper	N/A
11	New Albanian	New Albany Indiana	Action Comics	Pizza
12	Mantra Artisan Ales	Franklin Tennessee	Saffron	N/A

2017 BEER LIST

RANK	DATE HAD	BEER	STYLE	BREWED	TAPPED AT
1	10-7-17	Space Station Middle Finger	American Pale Ale	Three Floyds	Deja Brew
2	8-15-17	Gum Ball Head	American Pale Wheat Ale	Three Floyds	Deja Brew
3	7-15-17	Oberon	Wheat	Bell’s	Brentwood Tavern
4	5-27-17	Star Chicken	American IPA	Greenbush	Greenbush
5	12-28-17	Casper	Gose	Jackalope	Jackalope
6	12-29-17	Gerst Amber	Amber	Yazoo	55 South
7	5-6-17	Oberon	Wheat	Bell’s	Deja Brew
8	3-14-17	Zephyr Golden Lager	Lager	Flossmoor Station	Flossmoor Station
9	7-1517	Right Meow	American Pale Ale	Grand Rapids Brewing	Hopcat
10	12-28-17	Yazoo Pale Ale	American Pale Ale	Yazoo	Mellow Mushroom
11	7-30-17	Thunder Hop	IPA American	Church Brew Works	Church Brew Works
12	11-11-17	Chicago Pilsner	Czech Pilsner	Baderbrau	Baderbrau
13	5-13-17	Gandy Dancer Honey Ale	American Pale Ale	Flossmoor Station	Flossmoor Station
14	8-5-17	The Sharkman Cometh	American Pale Ale	Greenbush	Greenbush
15	7-29-17	Yuengling	American Amber/Red Lager	Yuengling	Pickleburgh Fest
16	4-29-17	Anti-Hero	American Pale Ale	Revolution	Jack Desmond’s
17	2-27-17	Pinball	American Pale Ale	Two Brothers	Deja Brew
18	12-9-17	Southside Pride	Munich Helles Lager	Baderbrau	Baderbrau
19	10-8-17	Crooked Cross	Cream Ale	Beer Church Brewing Company	Beer Church Brewing Company
20	12-27-17	Neck Hole American Lager	American Pale Ale	Against the Grain	Against the Grain
21	6-24-17	Full Lemonty	American Blonde Ale	Pollyanna	Pollyanna
22	4-27-17	Harp	Euro Pale Ale	Guinness	Clancy’s
23	3-5-17	Zyweic	Euro Pale Ale	Zyweic	Flo & Santo’s
24	8-2-17	Iron City	American Lager	Pittsburgh Brewing Company	PNC
25	3-17-17	Guinness	Irish Stout	Guinness	Deja Brew
26	3-25-17	Kitchen Sink	Pale Ale	Horse Thief	Horse Thief
27	12-2-17	Alaskan IPA	IPA	Alaskan Brewing Co.	Black Oak
28	12-30-17	Action Comics Pale Ale	Pale Ale	New Albanian	New Albanian
29	11-25-17	Center Line	American Blonde Ale	Alter Brewing Company	Trio Restaurant and Banquets
30	10-27-17	Old Style	American Lager	Pabst Blue Ribbon	BJ McMahons
31	8-1-17	Iron City Light	Light American Lager	Pittsburgh Brewing Company	Luke Wholey’s
32	5-27-17	Amarillo Armadillo	American Pale Wheat Ale	Greenbush	Greenbush
33	3-25-17	Purple Cow	Stout	Horse Thief	Horse Thief
34	12-28-17	Saffron IPA	IPA	Mantra Artisan Ales	Mantra Artisan Ales
35	7-31-17	Straub	American Lager	Straub	Hotel Loyal
36	12-28-17	Hot Yoga	Witbier	Mantra Artisan Ales	Mantra Artisan Ales
37	12-30-17	Hacksaw Jim Dunkel	Bavarian Dunkel	New Albanian	New Albanian
38	12-28-17	Battleground	Saison/Farmhouse	Mantra Artisan Ales	Mantra Artisan Ales

THE BEER LIST SAFFRON IPA STYLE: AMERICAN IPA BATTLE GROUND STYLE:SAISON/FARM HOUSE ALE HOT YOGA STYLE:WITBIER BREWED BY: MANTRA ARTISAN ALES Mantra Artisan Ales is in a town named Franklin. It’s a suburb outside Nashville, Tennessee. Mantra Artisan Ales is a place a young hipster would go drink in my opinion. If the Miller High life guy came and visited this place, he’d say “Fruit tasting beer? No way you’re living the high life.”

Inside the place was cool looking. Everything decorated nicely for Christmas. They even had a wooden table with the logo of their brewery. Reminded me of the table the Son’s of Anarchy sat down by and had their biker club meetings. The place was filled with mostly young people. The bartender was originally from Bloomington, Illinois. She had moved to Tennessee. She had her group of young lads at the bar hanging on every word. She knew the beers as she gave us some of her opinions about the variety of different beers they had. Many of the beers were mixed with flavors of fruit. Many bitter and hoppy with a little taste of this and that. This place reminded me of like where artists go or poets go to read and show their stuff. One of those thrifty joints for the arts in one of those places coffee seekers would hang out.

I tried three beers at this joint. The first one right off the bat did not go well. Battle Ground was the first beer on their huge menu of beers that they had listed. It’s a saison farm house ale. Which this is the first time we had one of these on the beer list. It pours almost a yellowish color. It smells like lemons with a tad of pepper blended in. It was tart with a tanginess. I thought it was very sour and too bitter for my tastes. Plus the taste lingers with you. The Battle Ground I was not a fan of.

Then I got wild and crazy with the Hot Yoga. This was a witbier style beer. Another style in which is the very first of it’s kind to make it’s way on the beer list. This beer was known to have a taste of cucumbers with a jalapeno spice to it. It was very heavy tasting of Cucumber in my theory. Maybe this beer would be good to drink after a workout. Cucumber water to heal the body. Actually this one was better than the Battle Ground. So now I feel like I’m working my way up the ladder.

The third beer was the best out of all three. They called this one a Saffron IPA. This was an American IPA so I was excited about this one. This one you can smell the citrusy hops as it made your nostrils get a heartbeat. This one poured an orange hazy color. The taste was citrusy. Lots of floral swishing around in your mouth. It had 6.2 percent in each glass, like most American IPA’s.

They had many more choices to choose from on their menu. I was not all that impressed with any of them. Maybe I missed one that was a pure delight. I don’t think I would go back unless I was kicking and screaming as they pulled me out of a trunk or something. THE BEER LIST ACTION COMICS IPA STYLE: AMERICAN PALE ALE HACKSAW JIM DUNKEL STYLE: BAVARIAN DUNKEL BREWED BY:ALBANIAN BREWERY

These next two beers brought us to the state of Indiana. To a town called New Albany, home of Albanian Brewery. Albanian brewery has two places in New Albany. One is a pizza place. One looks like it took over an auto repair shop. I did them both. It worked out very nicely because at the end of a long drive, a few beers and pizza are a good way to finish the voyage home. There are two things that stood out to me about Albanian brewery. The beers are dark. I guess I could use the saying once you go black you don’t come back. They had some dark brown beers as well. I guess I can say once you go brown you come around. The beer labels were all cool comics. One I tried is called action comics. In the beer art label in this blog, I have done a couple New Albanian labels because I was very impressed.

I have tried some New Albanian beers before as gifts. I had a beer called the Hoptimus which I did get some bottles to go of that beer which was a reason why I wanted to try more. We started at the pizza place. The first beer I Indulged in was Action Comics IPA.

This had a deep dark brown coloring with a very thin level of suds on top. It would be a cool bar top color. This beer had the bitter going on and at the same time very hoppy. It had a lot going on to get the taste buds popping like snap crackle and pop rice krispies. It had 6.2% in each pint. Lots of their beers I notice were very strong in percentage of alcohol. It did go very well with the pizza and bread sticks to soak it up.

For the pizza they offer a few ways you can get the crust. Being from Chicago I’m used to great pizza. Albanian Brewery did a very nice job on their pies. It was cold outside so we needed some heat and went Hawaiian style with bacon, ham and pineapple. Many would not like this combo, but I think when these ingredients are combined together there is an explosion of taste buds popping like the grand finale at a fireworks show. The pizza bread sticks with a beer cheese was also a home run. Like Roy Hobbs crushing the cover off the ball in the movie the Natural. One great thing about breweries is when they use their beer in the food they make. Incredible !!! The second beer I had was Hacksaw Jim Dunkel. Please don’t mistake the name for the pro wrestler. This beer actually has a story. Stories and beers. Some of these folk tales go way back. Some of these tales are tall, but very enjoyable. The legend has it Hacksaw Jim is the founder of the New Albany dynasty of rust repairers and mayoral fixes. Now this is the brewery description: Falling run flats district combines high tech with low comedy where rotary dial phones constantly interact with too many half pints of Kessler and the dead down right lively come election time. The town relied on Jim’s numerous descendants to apply maximum value to the most simple of tools the signature 2×4, can’t use it to jury-rig a sewer connection you can wield it to beat a dissident’s skull. He liked his beers dark so that’s what they made and named it Hacksaw Jim Dunkel.

Great story great name. Just remember not to confuse the Dunkel beer with the pro wrestler.The locals might not like you if these shenanigans take place on brewery grounds.

The Hacksaw Jim Dunkel looks like motor oil. Really did not see any foam. This is bavarian dunkel. They say it’s a chestnut brown. Looks to me on the darker side. They describe rich malty and like a German Lager. To me this beer is a sipper. It has a dark charcoal flavor to it. Like burnt. A very good beer to have on acold day. Maybe in front of the fireplace. I have not done a lot of darker beers. Most of them are hard to drink. This one had a nice taste to it. I’d rather put this beer in a Chili that it would give a nice enhancing taste to it. THE BEER LIST NECK HOLE AMERICAN LAGER STYLE:AMERICAN PALE ALE BREWED BY: AGAINST THE GRAIN

Against the Grain was just a pit stop for lunch. We were making our way down to Tennessee and I heard about this brewery as people raved about it. From Chicago to Tennessee, a long drive makes you hungry and thirsty. This place cured both needs as they were all about the beer. The food was excellent as well. Against the Grain is a place I did not want to leave. It was like being a kid in a candy store as they had a very nice beer menu. This trip I was only going to try one beer. However I knew I would be able to throw a couple down before we left to get to our main destination, Nashville. Against the Grain is a brewery carrying some steel balls. Just their beer descriptions and the art work they have hanging on the walls, they strut around like Negan and Lucille from Walking dead.

My beer of choice was the Neck Hole American Lager. They describe it. Then they say Don’t Over Think It. Just pour it down your neck hole. The first I notice about this place is the building is connected to the Louisville Bats baseball stadium. Then not too far is the bat factory where perhaps Lucille was born.

Did the bat factory centuries ago. It might have been even a galaxy far far away when I did the tour. On my to do list. Put it on my Bucket of beer list as well. Against the grain brewery. Do another bat tour. See how they put the barbed wire on Lucille. Then back to brewery. Then hit a baseball game and nightcap another beer at the brewery. Are we down with that upcoming adventure? I put that as a yes. This was after Christmas so no ball game today. However even on a cold day a beer goes very well with everything. It’s like wearing blue jeans. It goes with everything. The beer I selected was the Neck Hole.

This is another line that makes me believe Negan is writing the beer descriptions for Against the Grain. AGAINST THE GRAIN MOTTO WE REMEMBER THE GOOD OLE DAYS, WHEN BEERS WERE BEERS AND TITTIES WERE REAL YA KNOW? WITH THE GOOD TAN LINE ON EM? AND THIS BEER TAKES YA THERE. I love it. Lets see if the Neck hole takes me back in time. It pours very nicely. Very fluffy white cap. It has that golden hay color. Their beer description states they use two row American Pilsner malt with a hint of Munich malt to get the light bready body. Then they add citra to balance it with a hint of fruit. This beer is a kind of cyclops. It’s part lager part pale ale. Its a lighter type of beer as well.This beer it has that lager feel but it does have that pale taste at the end of each sip. It is a beer that goes down very easy. It has only 4.8% so it is a beer you enjoy for a period of time. Overall I did like this beer. It was a great beer to start of the trip when I knew that was going to have multiple opportunities of trying different beers. We stopped in for lunch as well as for their main staple beer as they are a brewery. The appetizer they brought out totally razzled me. Home made chips with beer cheese.

Then they dazzle me with a hot link sandwich that was on a pretzel roll which was incredible. It had pink onions on top with a fresh cut pickle. It also came with a fancy spicy mustard which put a little zing in this deliciousness.

Inside was well decorated for the Holidays.

Love all the cool art hanging on the walls.

They have their special day where they only tap so much of one of their beers called Bo & Luke that comes around in October. Like Three Floyds has Dark Lord day, Against the Grain does a very big day with their annual seasonal beer. I have to mark my calendar and put that on my beer bucket list of things I should experience. Should put that on any list I have in the house including going to the supermarket. I have many reasons to get back to Louisville and try more of their beers they have to offer in the future.

THE BEER LIST GERST AMBERSTYLE: AMBER

BREWED BY YAZOO BREWING

I found this beer in Franklin, Tennessee. It’s outside Nashville. I was at 55 South, a New Orleans style restaurant and bar. This is the second beer on this trip I will be writing about that is from Yazoo Brewing.

I love the history of the Gerst Amber. This beer once upon a time, a long long time ago, was brewed by Gerst Brewery which was originally a Nashville brewery. It was a brewery that never recovered after Prohibition. Oh, the dark times this country went through. Whoever came up with that idea was far far the dumbest person in American history. After all these years, now the beer is brewed by Yazoo Brewing who have a partnership with the Gerst family restaurant. Which is called the Gerst Haus restaurant. As you can tell by the name, this is German style beer with German malts. They even have a small amount of maize in this original family recipe.

55 South is a place I love. They serve the beer in a big mug. They speak to me. They speak to a beer drinker’s heart as that is the way a beer should look. The beer has an amber color with just a thin layer of foam on the top. You see a solid carbonation by looking at the bubbles inside the chalice beer mug. It has a malty aroma. This beer goes done wildly easy. It has a very nice balance to it. A small amount of bitterness you might not suspect. The flavors of toffee mixed with caramel makes a very nice flavor to it. I have not done too many amber style beers. The main one I did was the Yuengling. That one was in a plastic cup. I know Yuengling could be higher on the BEER LIST from a tap in a nice pint glass or glass beer mug. I will say the Gerst Amber is high on my list.

55 South also had beer mimosas. Orange juice and the Miller High life. This gal was sucking them down like a malt in a shake shop.

The bar part of 55 South has some cool stuff. The chandeliers with the beads hanging all over them. Of course the pictures of the animals hanging like trophies in some hunter’s cabin. However one has that cool hat I need to buy someone for a gift as I would not wear that one myself.

THE BEER LIST

CASPER

CASPER THE FRIENDLY GOSE

STYLE: GOSE

BREWED BY: JACKALOPE BREWING

I found myself on the industrial side of town in Nashville. No worries, I was thinking I’d stop in and hit a few breweries, bypassing the chemical plant and the cardboard factory. I first landed in Jackalope brewery about the middle of the afternoon. It had to be 5 o’clock somewhere because the place had a steady crowd of people with pints of beer in front of them trying to stay warm from the bitter cold outside. Inside the Jackalope brewery is very industrial-like. They had one large room of tables to sit at. They had a bar hidden around the corner with like a conference room connected to that. I’m not working at this time so I bellied up to the bar. They had all the beers listed up on a huge chalkboard. I noticed they had these industrial cages over those old vintage style light bulbs that make it look like a factory and really gives the place that industrial style look. I was sitting at the bar on a weird angle to really get to see the board, but I went with the first beer on their menu. Lots of times that is their most popular beer. This ordering approach has failed me time to time, but this time it got me the Casper.

I was thinking I ordered a ghost that is friendly as well. However the style of this beer is Gose. Jackalope does call it Casper the Friendly Gose. It’s a German style beer. I will give the Germans’ credit they do make some awesome beer. Casper is a mutt – half wheat half pilsner with a tad of lemons in it is my guess.

The body of this beer looks like a sun that is hazy. Not much foam as it dissolves in seconds. It only has 5.0 percent in each glass so you can suck these babies down. They go down very smooth, especially if you’re having a great conversation about sports. You can rack up the Caspers in one period of play. This beer will make your taste buds pop. It has a mixture of sour, salt, mix with some spice. Tiny bitterness. It also has a nice sweetness to balance everything out. This beer overall on my trip out of town after Christmas, was my favorite one I indulged in.

Since it is Music City, it has some guitars on the wall behind the bar which I thought were pretty cool looking. I loved the swag they had to offer. Got myself a tee shirt. You can see the pint glass in the Nashville skyline. Plus the horns on what the local yocals call the Batman building.

This Brewery is one of a few in walking distance. Yazoo is within a few blocks which I talked about before. It seems like many of the people inside the brewery were tourists. The atmosphere was very lively. Sat on the bar stool and talked sports for a good while with someone from Minnesota which was very interesting. Love hearing what brew they have in their town and of course when I’m on my bar stool, sports is my favorite topic. I will venture back to the Jackalope again when I’m down there. They had a good sized list of other beers besides the Casper, that I will try sometime down the bottling line.

THE BEER LIST YAZOO PALE ALE STYLE:AMERICAN PALE ALE BREWED BY: YAZOO BREWING COMPANY I came upon Yazoo Pale Ale last year on a trip to Nashville. We took in Yazoo Brewing Company and tasted their beer selection. The Yazoo Pale Ale was my favorite and I even took some home. That was before the blog. Before the famous BEER LIST. Right after Christmas this year we made our way back to Nashville. I found myself drinking a pint of Yazoo Pale Ale at a pizza joint called the Mellow Mushroom.

The Mellow Mushroom poured a nice pint of the Yazoo. It has a dark copper color to it with a nice white cap of foam. The aroma is strong as it makes your nostril hairs dance. It has a strong smell of hops, malts and citrus blended together. It goes down like it tastes malty hoppy and citrusy. This beer to bring it all together. Maybe even a bit of spice. No bitterness. It goes down smooth and it went well with pizza and the cheesy garlic bread..

Yazoo uses an English yeast in this beer, along with Amarillo hops and toasty malts. Overall this is a great beer if you’re ever in Nashville. Not sure how far they have gotten their beer outside of Nashville or even outside the state of Tennessee. I found it’s tapped in most of the places in Nashville and all around the surrounding area. Love the name, YAZOO. Maybe it reminds you of Yahoo. In 2016, I did the tour of the brewery and it was incredible. You were able to drink while the tour was in progress. They had a nice tap room as well to sample as many beers as you wanted. The Mellow Mushroom is a great place to get a pizza. Inside it is a little psychedelic.

If you had some shrooms before you went in this pizza place, oh boy the colors of the neon signs and the mushroom people would come alive and be your friends. It would be some far out shit that would eventually send you to a couch trying to explain it all to a shrink after they locked you up. Even the whacked out dreams would feature mushrooms coming alive in a pizza place while you enjoy a Yazoo. Besides mellowing out on a high, the atmosphere was electric. If you don’t get caught up in the shroom conga line with the mushrooms dancing in your head, they have tvs on the wall. Most of them had the games on. They even have a bar with lots of different kinds of tap beer. They even have a beer card where you can join and drink all their tap beers. Maybe when you conclude your mission of drinking them all, you can shroom with the biggest baddest psychedelic shroom of all. THE BEER LIST SOUTH SIDE PRIDE STYLE:MUNICH HELLE’S LAGER BREWED BY: BADERBRAU Found myself back at one of my favorite breweries over Christmas. The song All I Want for Christmas is You, came into my head.

So now I’ve become a club member of Baderbrau. Some places you get a card, this brewery gives you a membership bracelet. On the show Brady Bunch, one of the gals got kissed by some celebrity. The Brady girl said “I’ll never wash my face again!” I however will take the bracelet off. In only my second outing to Baderbrau, I have sold my soul for beer. This outing we were only there for a few drinks and a quick appetizer as the night was young and the list of stuff needed to be done was endless. However this gave me a chance to try South Side Pride. The Brewery is on the south side of Chicago. My baseball team is on the south side of Chicago. I’m putting two and two together and showing my pride for the good guys on the south side. Let’s not get into that north side team.

South side is a lighter beer as it goes down nice and easy. It pours a yellow golden color with a nice foam setting on top. It smells like a bed of sweet flowers. Tastes like a sweet cereal mix. But not over sweet like Fruit loops or something similar to that kind of sweet cereal. It’s a beer you could drink multiples of in one sitting, since it’s only 4.8 for each pint or can. I still like the Chicago Pilsner that Baderbrau also makes, better than the Southside Pride. However now Baderbrau has two of their beers in the top 15 on the greatest list ever made… THE BEER LIST THE BEER LIST ALASKAN IPA STYLE:IPA BREWED BY ALASKAN BREWING COMPANY

I found the Alaskan IPA right in the neighborhood. It’s one of my favorite establishments and it’s in walking distance. The Black Oak has been around close to two years I would say. They have some regular tap beers but the rest of their tap beers are rotating kegs of multiple different beers. Lots of seasonal ones. This is the first beer from their taps that will appear on the blog’s Beer List. It’s a neighborhood joint that has great food as well. This trip I was there to watch the game and I did not eat anything there. I will have another beer there in the future while I indulge in a great meal. I do love their food, but today is all about the brew. This was the first time I have ever tried the Alaskan IPA. It pours a nice golden color with some soapy suds on top of the nice pint glass. It smells to me a mix of floral and fruity with citrus aromas entertaining my nostril hairs. The first sip is a tad bitter. But this beer goes down smooth and crisp. It seem like a lighter type of beer. It is 6.2% but it’s not heavy. Like some IPA beers you can taste the strong blend of malts and hops along with the fruitiness. This one you had a lighter taste of grapefruit in it. That seemed the strongest out of the blend of malts and hops and the other citrus fruit flavors it had. Overall I really enjoyed this beer from the tap.The game did not go that well. However I was able to quench my thirst. After a few, this beer sneaks up on you with the 6.2%. THE BEER LIST CROOKED CROSS STYLE:CREAM ALE BREWED BY:BEER CHURCH BREWING COMPANY

Do you remember when you were young and the parents forced you go to church. You were at the age like you did not feel like getting up super early to go with the parents to mass. Your thought process was like do I even have to go to church this weekend? Why do I have to go to church every weekend? All those religion classes. All the masses I served as an altar boy. All the masses I have already attended they say the same thing. God is everywhere. Why can’t I pray from home? But you still went. You get married in the Church. You wonder why they drank wine in church. You think what about beer from the holy grail. It’s like the person who had a dream and got sick of lugging the cooler up the hill. Instead of wondering what if you can put wheels on a cooler. That’s a genius. However someone rewrote the bible and added let there be beer in Church. Maybe these people have seen the light. Maybe they were on a mission from God.

God was telling these people all along you must open up a brewery in one of my houses. It’s a miracle in New Buffalo, Michigan a church of God has been turned into a brewery of God.

The Beer Church Brewing company have been brewing some great beers in New Buffalo for probably less than a year. The outside has pretty much stayed the same except for the brewery signs and the neon Open for Business sign as Beers are being served in back of the church. It’s not very big but plans are in the works to expand into the Church itself with an eating area. For now it’s like the stainless steel vats of beer are inside the confession booths and making sure all the sins have been forgiven. I guess the beer must get blessed before it makes it out of the Church into the back of the church to be indulged in by all the parishioners. Holy Moly they have a nice start with about six established beers to be offered. They have holy names for all of them. I went with the beer they called the Crooked Cross. The place seemed like it had a steady crowd going in out of church the whole day. By the time we sat down we had a table and took part in their cream ale. They don’t have a ton of room as the sitting area they have set up is relatively small. We started praying at the right time as we found a table with a college football going on above as we prayed to the gospel according to Luke that our team would prevail.

It has a darker golden amber color to it with a a nice white lace head on top. You can see the sparkling carbonation throughout the glass. It smells like it tastes as it has a hint of vanilla in it. If you were at a candle shop and they had the vanilla candle going. It was very refreshing and very smooth. It tastes like a beer and not a bowl of vanilla ice cream as it’s well balanced with malts and hops with some deliciousness flavoring. This is the first cream ale we have done for the beer list. I loved this beer and I took some to go.They do supply growlers. However they set me up with two big heavy duty cans of the Crooked Cross.

Definitely will go back there to catch a few more masses and try their other holy communion refreshments. I do like getting out to the town of New Buffalo a half dozen times a year so it will become a regular on the Beer list. Their first beer is in the middle of the pack on the BEER LIST. I think they will end up with some beers on the top of these charts in the near future. Once they get everything they want to do done. THE BEER LIST CHICAGO PILSNER STYLE: CZECH PILSNER BREWED BY: BADERBRAU This was my first time at Baderbrau brewery. The name reminds me of Darth Vader from Star Wars. When you walk through the doors you hear that death metal music. Then like some breweries you walk up stairs, through long hallways and you finally make it to the tap room. As I walked to the tap room, I thought I was heading to see Darth Vader as it seemed like his crib. As soon as the tap room appears, you smell the beer and the great food in the air. You see the beer can Christmas tree lit up on a table. The music has changed as well. Normal tunes. College football on the televisions and my tongue wagging like a thirsty sailor that just docked at Lake Michigan. We sat at the table with the beer can Christmas tree close to the bar which is fine with me. No skin off my breasts.

This brewery is in the loop. Love going to any kind of brewery in the city. Before the great fire, Chicago was one of the original brew towns. Then it went to Milwaukee when the city burned. But with some of the old warehouses and the way the city is laid out, some of these breweries and tap rooms remind you of the days of Al Capone. Baderbrau has some history as it revived one of Chicago’s original craft beers which was a Czech style Pilsner they call simply, Chicago Pilsner. It was a guy with a dream that took over Baderbrau after they were done in the 1990’s. The beer was being brewed by Goose Island still. But the guy with a dream, Rob Sama, made things happen. He was able to acquire the Baderbrau trademark in 2010. Then he was able to set up Baderbrau brewing in which he recreated the Czech Pilsner which he called the Chicago Pilsner which is the beer I drank on my visit.

It pours a deep golden color with bubbles flowing through the pint glass. It has a white cap head on top. The smell was bready. Which has to be the malts and hops. The taste was magnificent. I wanted to wet my whistle and this beer I was in love with immediately. It is well balanced with a malty bread with sweetness and some bitter, but it goes down smooth and very satisfying. It’s a very light bodied beer not too dry. Overall you are able to have a few, as it is only 4.8%. It’s a great beer to have as many as you want during a big game on the one of the TV screens that are available.

The food they had was also incredible. First we took a chance on the Mac and Cheese waffle pizza with bacon on it. Maybe I should of said Bacon first.

The Chicago Pilsner was not filling so you had plenty of room for food and a few pints and not be in a Thanksgiving Turkey coma. After the Mac and Cheese pizza waffle to get my heart racing, I had to clog some arteries with their Bader Brat. Holy cats someone check my pulse. Infused in beer I’m sold. Covered in Sauerkraut with a tangy red velvet mustard. One of the best brats I ever had. Baderbrau is one of my favorite breweries of the year. It was a great atmosphere to go along with the food and drink.

THE BEER LIST

What I love about doing the beer list, is beer opportunities are everywhere. Found myself at a family Christmas party last weekend at a restaurant and banquet hall. I was expecting bottled beer. Maybe they might have some domestic light beers on draft. They showed me they had some craft beers on tap. Like Kramer from Seinfeld would say, “Giddy Up.” Christmas was off to a great start because I found a beer I had never heard of. Plus it was brewed locally.

CENTER LINE

BREWED BY: ALTER BREWING COMPANY

STYLE: AMERICAN BLONDE ALE

I was at Trio Restaurant and Banquets in Downer’s Grove, Illinois. Alter brewing is actually located in Downers Grove. Next outing to Downers Grove, I will have to drop by the Brewing company and look around. Taste some samples. Talk to the locals. The usual festivities done at ye ole brewery. I imagine they have more than one beer, but I was digging the Center Line. It was easy to drink and went down crisp with some mild carbonation that made it refreshing. The first sip I was like, it’s OK. Then after a few more gulps this beer grows on you. You know how I like to have fun with the blondes as they are the life of the party. It’s an American Blonde ale which pours golden with a fluffy white hat. It smells of citrus, malts, and some floral. It tasted a little hoppy with a tad of bitterness, but like I said, after a few sips it comes together.

The Trio Restaurant had the regular banquet food. The Chicken Chowder soup stood out to me the most.

It was very tasty with pop corn on top. I never had it on my bucket list. But I added it on it and circled it as I might add some pop to my soup in the future with some fluffy kernel pop corn. The party was mobbed with family. The kids got to see Santa Clause. Football was talked about. Another good time as always in the book around the Holidays.

Look at these two adorable little ladies. Two of my nieces were having a grand ole time eating ice cream and seeing Santa.

THE BEER LIST

REACH FOR THE BEST

Once in awhile you need to take the Delorean Back to the future and drink one of those beers your old man drank.

Old Style

STYLE: American Lager

Brewed by: Heilmans

These days it is owned by Pabst Brewing company who hires Miller to brew it like all of their beers.

Present brewer: Pabst Blue Ribbon

Maybe that’s why I love craft beers over the regular beers that have been around since the dinosaurs. Back in the day all these beers were independently owned. Now all of them have been bought out or have merged to make huge beer monopolies. Old Style was made in Wisconsin with love and care under Heilman’s.

Those were the days when you’d drive by and see a huge six pack of Old Style silos in the sunset. I feel like these two hosers.

Old Style I remember seeing when I was a very little lad. My older sisters would have wild bashes when my parents were away on vacation. They used to build Old Style castles out of cans.They would hang the empties on the clothes line. Rows and rows of empty cans of Old style hanging out like clothes as more and more beers were consumed throughout the night. Then the loud mouth would yell, “Where do the kegs go?”

They’d roll down these silver kegs with no handles down to the basement sink. Threw ice in the tub and tapped it. I could say I had a cup of this cold delight when I was that young, however I admit nothing.

Old Style is great on a hot day out in the yard doing work. However when you go out for a pizza, burgers, or some good ole pub grub, Old Style goes well with the meal. When I do see it tapped I have to order a beer that brings back lots of memories. I found it at one of my favorite watering holes, B.J. McMahon’s

It pours golden with some soapy looking suds that make a nice white cap to the pint. It smells of grainy malts. It goes down smooth, clean and crisp. It tastes of malt and some hops with some floral in the mix. It has a tad of a bitter finish. It is fully carbonated which I think makes this an easy beer to drink. B.J. McMahons pours an ice cold pint of this which went well with the pub grub I was eating and enjoying watching some great games on the screens. I had a few of these because it is only 4.6% each glass. That goes well for a few of them in my book.

THE BEER LIST

This next beer I had done in June of this year. I have a list of beers I have tasted at some different places, but not yet written about. So we are going to back up the Mystery Van and go back to June where it was much warmer out in Lemont, Illinois, home of Pollyanna Brewing Company.

THE FULL LEMONTY

STYLE: AMERICAN BLONDE ALE

BREWED BY: POLLYANNA BREWING COMPANY

The Pollyanna brewery is a place I have been to three times. It’s a very nice place with a nice outside beer garden that goes along the sides of the building. Inside they have a small bar along with some tables as you can see stairs going down and silver, I mean shiny silver, vats of beers. It puts a tear in your eyes and a smile so big the Joker would be jealous. Pollyanna is a place that does not serve food. However you can bring your own in. Today’s mission was to have a few beers and then head to a place and get a dinner and some more pints of beer.

My choice on the menu of beers they make was the Full Lemonty. It was late afternoon and you have to indulge in an American Blonde to get the party started off in the right direction. They give you a choice of three different sizes you can drink from. I went with the biggest one, the bomber 20 ounces of afternoon pleasure. Make it 40 because I had two. She was crisp clean tasting and had a little bitter taste at the end but some sweetness that made this beer easy to drink. It’s only 5% so you could manage a few beers without worrying about calling the UBER.

The full Lemonty is named after the town of Lemont where the brewery is at. The Full Lemonty had a mix between Belgian malts, wheat and American hops. Overall, I did like this beer. On my beer list it will take the number 12 spot previous occupied by Harp which is a beer I drink regularly.

Pollyanna brewery has lots of fruit tasting beers which is good for the wife or if you have a mistress that is wishy washy over beer, they might like this brewery. I had Party Marty Serbins on this adventure who indulged in flight to get the lay of the land. The Bourbonator, another cat attending this summer adventure, indulged in her own flight as well.

The downtown area of Lemont, I thought was gorgeous. Lots of scenery with the river flowing through town. Plus lots of nice taverns and restaurants. We probably will gather up some more and venture back out to Lemont for another good time at Ridgemont High.

THE BEER LIST

SPACE STATION MIDDLE FINGER 10-17-17

STYLE:AMERICAN PALE ALE

BREWED BY: THREE FLOYDS

THE DESCRIPTION FROM THREE FLOYDS: From the dawn of time humans looked in the sky for answers. Space station middle finger replies to all it’s eternal orbit. Behold and enjoy Space Station Middle Finger, a bright golden American pale ale.

I found myself going out for a Taco Tuesday. I found myself local at one of my favorite watering holes Ive been to multiple times this year. This is the fifth beer from Deja Brew to make the beer list.

Deja Brew has the rotating kegs and they have a never ending list of craft beers to choose. This was the first time I have seen Space Station Middle Finger from the tap. I have enjoyed it many times in bottle form and when I saw it on the beer menu on Tuesday evening, it was a done deal. This beer rocked my world. It’s only 6% each pint so on a school night, I was thinking one extra one from the starting gate.

It has a creamy head as it pours amber in the glass. It smells of a blend of fruits and grains. To me, grapefruit and has a mix of other citric blends to make my nose hairs dance. It goes down the way it smells, well balanced of carbonation and not overly bitter. This beer reminds of the great Zombie dust that Three Floyds also makes. Obviously less alcohol in each pint. This one is now ranked number one on the list because it goes down so smooth which gave me the green light to have more than one of this great space nectar of the Gods.

EVEN THE GREAT SPACE COASTER IS ON BOARD !!!!

Plus I had the chicken tacos and I was amazed.

Taco Tuesday with chicken tacos

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THE SHARKMAN COMETH August 5,2017

STYLE:AMERICAN PALE ALE

BREWED BY:GREENBUSH

Nobody circles the wagons like myself as I found myself in Sawyer, Michigan on the tail end of my vacation. I found myself at Greenbush brewery trying another beer from one of my favorite breweries. The thing about breweries is they always have multiple options to try. I have already done Star Chicken which is still highly ranked in the beer list. I also have tried Amarillo Armadillo which is at the bottom of my beer list. Today is a American pale ale called the Sharkman Cometh.

The Sharkman Cometh is a great outdoor beer. It is a lighter beer and quite refreshing. I drank a few of them in Greenbush’s beer garden. I had a few on a chilly drizzly night waiting for a table to open up at the main brewery. Then went there the next day to have another one on a nice sunny day before I went back home to Chicago. Drinking outside on a sunny day is way better then drinking in the rain. But the Sharkman Cometh satisfied me in the weather changes. I love American Pale Ales. The first sip of the Sharkman is not overwelming with a lot of citrus and hoppyness like many American Pale Ales. It has mild hoppyness which is very pleasant. It goes down smooth and each sip or to me at times gulps leave a very satisfying taste in your mouth which leaves you wanting a few more pints. I liked this better than the Anti hero and the Pinball which to me are very excellent American Pale Ales. It is much easier to drink. I still think The Gandy Dancer Honey ale has the Sharkman by a step which is probably the honey that gives the dancer the edge.

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GUM BALL HEAD AUGUST 15,2017

STYLE:AMERICAN PALE WHEAT ALE

BREWED BY:THREE FLOYDS

The first American Pale wheat ale did not do so well on the beer list. Presently Amarillo Armadillo, made by Green Bush, is still in the back of the pack. Gum Ball head by Three Floyds brewing company puts the American Pale wheat ale on the map with one of the most incredible beers a man can taste. I was out after a long day at the gravel pit. One week night I went into the neighborhood to one of my favorite watering holes, Deja Brew. Deja Brew is a craft beer establishment as this is the fourth beer from their place that will appear on the beer list. They have revolving kegs so they always have something new or something old they used to have, as they bring it back. When I saw Gum Ball Head my eyes popped out of my sockets as I said to the waitress, “line them up.”

Gum Ball Head reminds me of Swisher Sweet cigars as both leave a nice candy flavor in your mouth after a sip or a puff. It does taste like a bubble gum or some say even a cotton candy. It pours in a dirty copper color. It started with a fluffy cloud of head but as you can see in the picture, it did disappear quickly. It smells very hoppy. They use Amarillo hops to get the sweet taste. It has light carbonation and has a crisp citrus finish to it. They go down smooth. This is beer that can get you after a long night of drinking Gum Ball Head. It’s not sky high in alcohol percentage at 5.6%. But the taste will fool you as they continue to disappear rapidly as they go down smooth, too smooth actually. Then you order another. Suddenly you get up and oh boy it got you. Then you look like the cat on the label.

BEFORE AFTER

Top Cat and the Three Floyds cat could be family. Gum Ball Head now is the Top Cat on the Beer list. I know I will get back to Three Floyds brewery at some point. I’ve been there before and the Gum Ball Head pours from God’s secret stash in heaven over there, it’s so delicious.

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THUNDER HOP

STYLE: IPA AMERICAN

BREWED BY: CHURCH BREW WORKS

Did you ever go to church and drink a bee?. My Irish mother would yell PAGAN!!!! Drinking beer in one of God’s houses. I let God or Jesus come over and drink at my bar at my house anytime he wants to. I had a beer called Thunder Hop in a Church that is a brewery. Do I hear an AMEN? Now Thunder Hop reminds me of the Mad Max movie beyond the Thunderdome. Those people fighting to drink at the holy grail and to indulge in a Thunder Hop in a victorious fight to the death. I can hear my mother yelling PAGAN once again.

Of course Church Works brewery is thinking of the god of thunder.

My mind is in the gutter as always. I’m thinking of Tina Turner’s outfit. Thinking of ugly midgets. Then thinking of the ultimate battle in the dome.

Let’s get back to Church. Everyone needs to go at least once a week. Church Brews Works is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. If I lived there I would have to stop by twice a week as this is the mecca of all breweries. If they asked you where do you want to go for your last brewery, this is the place. Plus you can pick up your last meal there as well because they have incredible food. Been here twice. First time they had pizzas. However the Devil caused a fire, so pizzas are not in the works at this Church until the Reverend Jim Ignatowski can work another miracle.

The first time I was there, I was all about the Pipe Organ pale ale. This beer only came in bottles the second time. I did get some to take home. However I do love a nice draft at breweries. It’s like going out for a pizza and getting it right out of the oven. Right out of the keg where they make the beer, in my book is the Holy Moly before communion.

The second go around, I went with Thunder Hop. I was pleased with my choice as the Thunder Hop did not disappoint. It did have a 6.5 percent in each pint. Hey that’s what uber is for. Plus I work for the equality of the Nazi party who drive me to drink and it is vacation so I have to get the ugliness of work out my head and enjoy.

The Thunder hop has a golden color with some haziness. The white lacing of foam on top forms a perfect circle. It smells like something tropical as this beer has a lot going on and will make your taste buds snap krackle and pop. The first sip or gulp is hoppy and some bitterness to it, but it finishes off very well. It seems like it has a hint of everything from grapefruit, to orange, pine, and you could say a berry taste as well. Some spice. Overall it is a very tasty and smooth going down beer.

The Church Brew Works uses the whole church. Up on the altar you can see the beer kettles. They have a huge bar along one side of the church.The rest is filled in with tables. They have some TVs to watch the local games. It’s a great atmosphere as you get the Church feeling from all the stained glass windows and all the old craftsmanship inside. At the same time you can eat drink and be merry hanging out with the Lord at one of his houses.

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YUENGLING JULY 29,2017

STYLE:AMERICAN AMBER/RED LAGER

BREWED BY: YUENGLING BREWING

The first time I ever had a Yuengling was when a friend came back into town with a case of cans. In Chicago they do not sell it, or anywhere in the state of Illinois. Yuengling is made in Pennsylvania. However they are getting closer as now we can go over the boarder to the Hoosier state and pick up a case with some fireworks and cheap hookers. Every time I travel somewhere and see Yuengling, I have to indulge in a few pints. Then I have to find the local store and buy a few cases to take back home. This summer I went to Pittsburgh. Besides Iron City you know it, I had Yuengling and it was remarkable.

It was the first night of vacation and Yuengling was the first beer I had. It was like Ricky Henderson leading off on my all star week of great brews. I went to a fest called Picklesburg fest, which was like a playoff game of drinking.

At Picklesburgh fest, all the food is enhanced with pickles or is made with pickles. This fest was on the Roberto Clemente bridge right by the ball park. Pittsburgh has many bridges but this one you walk on to get to PNC park where the Pirates play. The bridge was lined up with food booths. They also had booths where they were selling all sorts of items such as art and jewelry. They had live music at the end of the bridge and the band was very talented. They had two big beer booths which advertised, “Yuengling from the tap.” My mouth just salivated as I read. I felt like the hottest girl at the dance asked me to do the tube snake boogie with her. Sometimes at fests the beer does not taste as good as bars or breweries. It could be watered down or the plastic cups. Or the personnel should never be anywhere near the taps as they should keep their day jobs. However the Yuengling tasted fantastic even in a plastic cup.

It pours in amber color. Obviously in a green cup you can’t see the color. Yuengling, you can smell caramel malts and grains. It goes down very smooth as it has a sweet taste to it with a nice hippity hop balance throughout the whole process from start to finish. I think it is a great summer beer to drink outside at fest or at a ball game. The pickle on the stick with a cup of Yuengling was a nice appetizer. However the bacon soft shelled tacos with pickled onions was incredible. Yuengling is a lager and goes well with fest food or anything from the grill I would say.

They had a good crowd of people at this event. The beer lines were very quick as they had many workers pouring and distributing the beer to the thirsty people at this fest in a good rhythm. Maybe the Soup Nazi was running the show. No beer for you. Makes more beer for me.

I will probably find some future locations where the Yuengling will be better than it was at the fest. I predict it will move closer to the top of the beer list when I find that place. For right now this beer will take the number six spot on my beer list. It has passed most of the beers on my list. I recommend anytime you see Yuengling, fill your shopping cart with it. Either cans or bottle. If you see it at a bar order it. Like the 2 old whippersnapper guys from the Bartles and James commercial would say, “Thank you for your support.”

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IRON CITY AUGUST 2, 2017

STYLE: AMERICAN LAGER

BREWED BY:PITTSBURGH BREWING COMPANY

WELCOME TO STEEL TOWN !!!!

PICS OF STEEL MILL

When you go to Steel town you must see a Steel mill. You also must indulge in an Iron City beer. I had my fair share of Iron City beer in bottles at numerous locations throughout the Steel City. Found it on draft at the ball park and it was delightful.

Pirates game and an Iron City beer are like peanut butter and jelly.

What a beautiful sight. Iron City poured golden with a nice cap of foam at the bar in PNC park called the Skull bar.

I love craft beers. I love trying all sorts of beers. However a good lager at a ball park or your favorite hole in the wall pub is extremely tasty. Pub food and ball park food go well with a lager beer. Iron City reminds me of what my dad drinks. He has dabbled in Old Style and PBR and even had Schlitz. I love these beers because you can tailgate with them, drink multiples of them and they go down smooth and crisp like Iron City did for me in Pittsburgh. You can smell the corn and malts. It has some hops to it but is crisp and finishes off dry. I think Iron City and some of these other lagers if you find the right pub or brewery or ball park, they taste like heaven from the tap. Before I left town I did stock up on some Iron City to bring back home.

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IRON CITY LIGHT AUGUST 1,2017

STYLE:LIGHT LAGER

BREWED BY:PITTSBURGH BREWING COMPANY

I rarely drink a light beer. Most of them are just water to me. On a really hot day sometimes a light beer hits the spot. I found myself walking the streets of Pittsburgh on a hot humid day so we stopped at Luke Wholey’s Wild Alaskan Grille.

This is not the Iron City light.

Just did lunch at Pittsburgh’s famous sandwich place, the Primanti Brothers where their sandwiches will make your gut bust or you’ll pop a button on your pants. Another reason to have a light beer. Luke Wholey was mainly sea food but had a nice bar to sit back relax and cool off and that was what Iron City Light did for me.

Iron City Light I liked better than your main light beers in the regular circuit. Because it’s a lager I think it still has some taste of the regular lager Iron City. I find the regular main light beers tasting like water. I felt Iron City Light was very refreshing on this hot day and I had a few as I let my Primanti Brothers roast beef sandwich settle and cooled off watching some highlights on the television. It pours like a a golden hay or straw color with a small amount of foam. You can smell slight sweetened malt with a tad of yeast. It has a slight sweet taste with a mild carbonation to make it a smooth easy drinking beer. I would drink this beer again. I think it’s a nice beer to have outside after working or even at a tail gate party for a game. THE BEER LISTSTRAUB: JULY 31,2017STYLE: AMERICAN LAGERBREWED BY: STRAUB BREWINGI was on a mission to see what the Latrobe Brewing Company is brewing in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Latrobe was for the longest time brewing Rolling Rock. Rolling rock still claims it on their bottles even though they are owned by Bud. In Pittsburgh they tell me Latrobe is making Iron City beer. Iron City beer bottles say they are brewed in Pittsburgh. Both Rolling Rock and Iron City probably have addresses in their old cities where they were born and raised so they can make you believe that the stuff is being brewed in those town. It turns out Latrobe Brewing Company is not open to the public. They call themselves Latrobe City Brewing using a small sign in the very back of the building. One of their workers behind the counter said they no longer brew Rolling Rock. They brew a few different beers. One of which is Iron City and that we learned at the Hotel Loyal, which is not an actual hotel. My take on it is that Latrobe City Brewing is a hired contractor for multiple beer companies. They brew for companies who hire them so they can save money – not having to hire their own employees or pay for the expenses of their own building.That leaves us at the Hotel Loyal which is a pizza restaurant and bar. The barkeep gave me the 411 so I was able to piece together what was going on with the breweries myself. The Hotel Royal use to be a hotel long time ago. I did love their food as I demolished a meatball sub that was fantastic. I found myself drinking the beer of the past (Rolling Rock) and their present beer (Iron City.) Yes I actually drink Iron City. In the middle, I found a beer called Straub American lager on tap. Never heard of it. As a kid in a candy store surrounded by old retro Rolling Rock beer signs in this old bar that was very retro and cool looking, I had to try Straub. They also had Straub amber as well.

The American lager had the golden color to it with a white cap that slowly disappears. It had a smell of floral. It tasted bitter, not sweet. It’s flavor was a mixture of apple, corn and lightly toasted bread. It had a medium body and a small amount of carbonation. Overall I was not impressed even though I liked the name of it. I was one and done with Straub as I went back to Iron City.

Found these retro ads in the Men’s room.

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RIGHT MEOW JULY 15,2017

STYLE:AMERICAN PALE ALE

BREWED BY:HOP CAT

Hop Cat brew pub in Grand Rapids Michigan is a place you need to check out. Grand Rapids has an assortment of breweries in town but this one was very exciting and happening at the same time. I ate dinner before I bellied up to the bar but I wish I would of tried some of their grub. Home of the loaded crack fries that looked like a heart attack in the making so they must of been to die for. Hop Cat I found out have locations throughout the country including one in Chicago. Also found out Hop Cat is owned by Grand Rapids brewing company but they still had Hop Cat originals and many other beers to choose from.

I chose the Right Meow out of the three they had by Hop Cat.

The Right Meow is an American Pale ale that was quite good if I say so myself. It had 6.3% each pint which did not stop me from indulging in more than one. It has that golden dark orange color to it like the sun setting into the night. You can smell the mixture of different fruits and citrus flavors filling your nostril hairs as they got a light buzz. It went down smooth and had some bitterness but overall it tasted like the way it smelled. I could of tried more than one but I was hooked on the Right Meow and some great looking crack. Crack Fries.

The old tale is look at what the cat dragged in. While we sat at the bar a bachelorette party was bar hopping and they were standing behind us. The place was crowed and they had no tables. Of course we were involved with no escape with a round of shooters. Green shots they called a Dirty Girl Scout Cookie. We were involved in the toast as we raised our glasses and down the hatch to some girl we will never see again who is taking the plunge. Overall it was all quite fun at the Hop Cat brew pub. Bitches, beer and crack for all.

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OBERON JULY 15,2017

STYLE: WHEAT

BREWED BY: BELLS

I have already submitted Oberon by Bells back in May. I had it in Deja Brew in Oak Lawn, Illinois. However we are on the mission for the best tapped beer and I was in New Buffalo, Michigan where I found Oberon which is made in Michigan. It blew me away at the Brentwood tavern.

Sometimes a beer will taste better at a different location. The Brentwood tavern on this summer afternoon made this happen. First, being in the beer garden we were having a meal on a nice summer afternoon facing the water with lots of sail boats. Yes location location, and location sometimes will enhance that flavor of beer. This Oberon had the slice of orange like you get when you get a blue moon. This slice gave the beer some additional taste that made the beer much tastier. It still went down smoother. I could of probably spent the whole afternoon watching the boats on the water enjoying a glass of deliciousness which Oberon is. Still was Golden blonde colorwise. Still had the citrusy orange flavor but the slice gave it a little more punch. The nice fresh Michigan air from the water and the sweet aroma of the wheat and oranges made this vacation weekend off to a terrific start with a few glasses of heaven. Oberon number two now takes over the king of the mountain on the beer list with this loveliness glass of A1 satisfaction.

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On Memorial Day weekend I adventured off to the adventures of Tom Sawyer. Probably not named after him however I was in the town of Sawyer, home of Greenbush brewing in Michigan. Yes Michigan. I’m surprised the town is not called Greenbush because the brewery is the town. They have a brew pub. They have a beer garden across the street with bocce ball and bags. They got sausage and more sausage sizzling on the grill. If you want to get an early start to the day have some breakfast at the joint next door to the brewery. It’s all about the Greenbush. This brewery is one of my favorites and this was not my first rodeo at the Greenbush. I like venturing to Greenbush a few times a year. I was able to sample a few beers. I definitely have two beers for the Beer list – Star Chicken and Amarillo Armadillo. I will be covering these two as I had a few pints of them to get the 411 on them.

MAY 27, 2017 AMARILLO ARMADILLO

STYLE:AMERICAN PALE WHEAT BEER

BREWED:GREENBUSH

I love the names Greenbush has for their beers. The Amarillo Armadillo, see if you can say that ten times. This I thought was a summer type beer. Its a hoppy wheat beer. It’s light in everything it seems. Lightly in carbonation, body and you can taste a light citrus taste. It has a slight fruitiness and a slight bitterness in the taste. It goes down easy. However it has 6.1 percent in each pint. I liked it but with all the other choices they have to offer, I was not wowed by it. On a nice sizzling hot summer day after a hard day at the gravel pit, this might be a good choice to relax on the deck and quench your thirst.

LOVE THE OLD BEER TRAYS THEY HAVE ON THE WALL INSIDE.

I keep telling myself I need to sign up for their beer club so you drink out of your own personal mug.

As you can see the walls are lined with mugs all over the brewery. It’s on my bucket list as I will sign up next time I visit.

MAY 27,2017 STAR CHICKEN

STYLE:AMERICAN IPA

BREWED BY:GREEN BUSH

A star is born as the Star chicken was the bomb diggity diggity dog. I have had the Star Chicken before. It is a beer I look forward to drinking when I’m there. Right out of the tap is to die for. I even like Star Chicken when I see it at Binnys. Lots going on inside this pint of heaven. It smells of sweet nectar of the Gods. It has a sweet ripe fruit smell. It’s heavy on sweet malts. Because it has sweet citrus, there’s a taste like a hint of grapefruit. It has medium body with good carbonation that makes it go down very smooth. It has a hoppy bitterness that is very delightful. This beer moves to the very top of the beer list for now. I was very impressed with it as I finished each pint without leaving a drop in the glass that good.

I ate breakfast there as they have many great choices. I recommend their bacon… do I even have to tell you any more? Then I indulged on cheddar sausage in their beer garden for lunch. It was a gorgeous day out and it is a great place to do some daytime drinking. You could spend all day and almost all night in the awesome town of Sawyer, Michigan. Or should I say the town Greenbush built.

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MAY 13,2017 GANDY DANCER HONEY ALE

STYLE:AMERICAN PALE ALE

BREWED:FLOSSMOOR STATION

Sunday fun day had me at one of my favorite breweries, Flossmoor Station. They had a brunch going and I had the taste for some choo choo beers with my biscuits and gravy. It was a late start, but they were still serving from their brunch menu when the afternoon baseball game came on. This is the second beer that has made it on the beer list since the start of this very important list. As I’m on a mission from God.

First thing first, every Sunday fun day starts with a bloody Mary. Yes at a brewery they do make one sorry Mary hell of a bloody. This blog will have a section on bloodies coming soon. Trish the bartender made them awesome. We sat in the bar section and she took care of our table and she is remarkable.

She is the person to far right in this picture I was trying to get the menu behind the bar and got her and another patron. She’s my bartender of the Month of May. It’s not a prestigious award but you have to recognize excellence when you see it. She told us about the breweries half and half beer. We got to try some as well. Half Rail Hopper and half Panama Red which made a quite nice tasting brewski. She knows her stuff. However that Sunday I had a little hip hop planned with the Gandy Dancer Honey Ale.

Coming into today the other Flossmoor Station beer was holding down the number two spot. The Zephyr Golden Lager had the number one until Oberon took the king of the mountain only a week ago. The Gandy Dancer Honey Ale was very exciting. It has a dark amber color in my mug club member mug. It’s for the love of beer and they pour more beer in that big towering beer mug. It smells of honey with a fruity aroma. Probably use mild grains and honey malts. This beer is very dangerous because it goes down very smooth and it has 6.3 percent of alcohol. But it tastes so delicious as it has a honey sweetness taste with some carbonation but again it goes down very smooth and easy making you want to dance with Gandy more than once. I had two dances and devoured my biscuits and gravy as I concluded my Sunday Fun day afternoon. Gandy moved up my beer list all the way to the number three spot looking up at the Zephyr.

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MAY 6,2017 OBERON

STYLE: WHEAT

BREWED: BELLS

You know when you see Oberon it’s getting warmer outside. The sun is shining the temperatures are rising. The grills are being fired up. The crack from the baseball bat as the crowd roars. Decks are being power washed. The smell of grass being mowed. The sand from the beach in between your toes. The ground hog predicts how long winter is, while the Oberon wheat beer begins outdoor drinking for the year. We found ourselves at Deja Brew for The Kentucky Derby. They had a fresh keg of Oberon with my name written all over it. It was a little chilly to be outside but my first Oberon of the year led to my first Saturday of day drinking of the spring.

I was feeling optimistic with my horse picking. I was thinking everything was coming together as they served me up my first blonde of the day. The day was going my way when they served me another blonde after the first one. Oh I was feeling lucky and I was not in Kentucky. Oberon is a thing of beauty with the white cap on the Golden Blond body. The smell that gives a very sweet aroma of wheat and oranges maybe with a tint of apricot. The taste gave you an out of this world feeling. It goes down smooth and you can taste a citrusy orange wheat flavor.

We were at Deja Brew again as this now is the third beer I had entered from there to the beer list. They have a very nice craft beer list.They also have a list of beers coming soon. This will not be the last beer from Deja Brew we try. It had a good crowd gathered to watch the race. It was not jampacked where you are elbow to elbow with someone that forgot to put on the deodorant. We had great seats as we got there early. Some people had their hats on for the festivities.

Before the race we indulged in a hot brown sandwich. We had three people total so it was like the Blues brothers when John Candy is ordering the Oranges whips.

It was hot brown, hot brown, hot brown…3 hot browns. This sandwich was the special of the day just for the derby and holy cow it was amazing. You had to eat it with a knife and fork as they loaded you up.

A picture says a thousand words. A hot brown sandwich is turkey, bacon, and stewed tomatoes on toasted french bread. This is smothered in Parmesan cheese cream sauce. It came with Deja Brew’s signature hot chips.

All three of us did not do particularly very good with the results of the race. I did see my horse up there for a few seconds as he got his fame and went to the back of the pack. It was a pretty good race at first. Then the number five horse flipped on the nitrous switch and galloped to victory. I went with another Oberon while the rest of my table hightailed it to the slot machines as they still had an itch to scratch. The money kept ooozing out of their pockets. It was just me, another blonde and a hockey playoff game. PRICELESS!!!

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4-29-17 ANTI-HERO

STYLE:AMERICAN PALE ALE

BREWED BY:REVOLUTION BREWERY

“THE REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN! LIBERATED FOREVER! DOMESTICATED NEVER!

Line from the rabbit in The Secret Life of Pets, the movie.

After Clancy’s on Thursday the following Saturday we completed our Irish pub tour for the weekend. We hit Jack Desmond’s in Chicago Ridge which has a great selection of beers on tap and bottled beer. It also has a great food menu with lots of options. Saturday I had to work as it was a long week so I got home, changed, and headed out for some cold beers and some great pub grub. It is the busy time of the year at the Nazi camp so sometimes more than one bar outing in a week is necessary. My first few beers I needed something powerful. But I needed to revolt from the work week and start a Revolution. Down with work need more beer in life. I revolted with Anti- hero which was my hero to get things kick started for the weekend since it was a short weekend.

Look at the amber color with the snowy bubbling foam with the Indian head on the pint. Oh I miss the Black Hawks in the playoffs. Anti-Hero is 6.5 percent which goes down very smooth and you would not think it had that high of a percentage. It was very refreshing coming out of the taps over at Desmond’s. I can see this same beer being better at the Revolution brewery or their brew pub. I’m stating the obvious as a pizza is way better when it comes right out of the oven and to the table. Indeed this beer will probably be visited again and we will compare. The aroma of Anti- Hero is amazing with so much going on. Variety of hops which pine seems to be in the barrel. Some floral along with citrus that tickles my nose and sends messages to my brain. Start salivating or start guzzling. The first taste it is like a nectar from the brewery god’s as my taste buds explode. It has some caramel taste with a lighter sweetness with a moderate bitterness. But two of these bad boys got me on track for a nice weekend even though it was short.

I had a basket of poppers for my appetizer as they were hot right out of the deep fry basket as the beer worked well with the taste and cooling my mouth off. Jack Desmond’s is right by a butcher called Jack and Pats and they order a lot of meats from there. Everything seems to be fresh which is why I always love going there for St.Patrick’s day corn beef. I then had a Buffalo Chicken wrap on homemade tomato soft wrap which they make themselves as you have options as well. The wrap came with some great french fries of course they call them chips. But man they know what to do with a potato. The waitress had the Irish brogue which is always cool. Very nice people and great place to watch the game or unwind. They also have a nice little beer garden for sitting outside when it’s warm out. This will not be the last time we adventure to Jack Desmond’s as you have to keep that place in the regular rotation of watering holes which as you know I might have quite a few. If you like Irish breakfast they have it for any meal. I would stay away from the black and white pudding. But that subject is for another time to dwell on.

THE BEER LIST

4-27-17 HARP

STYLE: EURO PALE LAGER

BREWED BY: GUINNESS

Last Thursday I found myself in a little Irish pub by my house – Clancy’s pizza pub in Oak Lawn. Great food, great live Irish music, and obviously great drink selection. Yes the Irish make great pizza. Clancy’s will get another visit as I continue to look for the best pizza in Chicago. This particular night I went with some of their Irish food which I find delicious. It reminds me of the great food in the old country. It’s a great atmosphere as you feel like you’re in Ireland at an Irish pub. It was one of those days at the NAZI camp, the thing I do during the day for shits and giggles. Or should I say shite and giggles. Either way, I was done with my work day and I had to throw a few pints back to get myself cool, calm, and collected. I indulged in a few pints of Harp.

Harp is my favorite Irish beer of all. Just looking at that pint is what I call Sweet Emotion. My great friend and he’s actually a bartender does a great sweet emotion Aerosmith impression. His name is Zig and I imagine we’ll do something with him on the beer list. We’ll get his insight on great tapped beers from behind the bar. Harp has a medium body with a tad of carbonation. It’s very refreshing as it goes down easy. It has a blend of floral hops which gives you that sweet smell and taste. The color reminds me of barn yard hay. Harp is only 5.0 % which is stronger than Guinness but also easy to drink.

After the first Harp went down it melted away the Nazi General and all their unnecessary craziness they bring to the table every work day. We watched the Bulls lose to the Celtics which they did it to me again. The Bulls wheeled me in like some dumb bass and gutted me as they blew a two games to zero lead in the best out of seven. Chicago sports… another three more Harps please. But the live music played as the violin and flute were soothing the beast inside of me as I melted like butter. The appetizer of bangers and fries (they call chips) with brown gravy got the taste buds popping. Then the main dish, pot roast casserole with carrots bigger than your head as it was like driving a 65 mustang in heaven good. Then clenched it off with another tasty Harp and the rest of the night I was comfortably numb and just another brick in the wall. Harp moves up the ladder, passing four beers on the Beer list and taking the number three spot.

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March 25, 2017 KITCHEN SINK & THE PURPLE COW

STYLE Kitchen Sink (Pale Ale)

STYLE PURPLE COW (STOUT)

BOTH BREWED BY HORSE THIEF HOLLOW

Most of the times the breweries are going to have the best tapped beers. I went to the closest to my house and indulged in two different beers from the Horse Thief Hollow. It’s located on 109th and Western Ave on the South side of Chicago. It is located right in the middle of a strip of bars so it is a perfect place to pregame; have a few beers and some food before you do the death march on Western ave.

Ive been there before so I always have to order the Kitchen Sink which is my favorite beer so far they have.

It has the dark amber body. It’s a beer with a juicy burst of excitement as you take your first sip. It has a blend of fruity flavors. Various hops but well balanced sugar and malts. It goes down easy. It’s only 5.7 % so you can have a few which I did.

When I was there something else caught my eye that I had to try. They called it the Purple Cow. It’s a stout which I do not drink a lot of but the Purple Cow was a ice cream parlor on Western ave when I was younger. They made a stout beer dedicated to the purple cow which had the best floats in town at the time. My dad would always bring my sister and I there and now that it’s being brewed as a beer. I was going to take the walk down memory lane. I think I had a Birthday party at that joint so I was buzzed with excitement.

I was thinking about the big purple cow statue they had inside as I took my first sip, holy cannoli Batman that was a nice chocolate roasted coffee taste. It reminded me of morning drink with a kick. It had a mix of flavors like toffee and a charcoal burnt taste. The menu said it had some black currants. It’s definitely a dark beer. Even though it was only 5.2% I could only have one of these in one sitting. It would go nice wearing an Irish wool sweater and sitting in front of a fire kind of beer. Or like it was the only beer you were going to have while you read a good classic in your den like Treasure Island. The Purple cow is probably just a beer that will be there for a limited time.

If you go there the Kitchen Sink is a must. Just don’t ask for the Bathroom sink because you don’t know what you will get. The purple cow is worth a try just to go down memory lane for kicks. I had the Cuban sandwich with these beers while the person I was with was chewing on Kermit’s frog legs as they dangled out while in the process of the chewing. Overall it was well worth it. But it can get pricey if you stay there for a few games. I found that out at the end.

Looked at those stainless steal vats of beer. It was like a friend of mind when he was younger named Sully. He had a deck of playing cards and he put them in rows on the table until the deck was finished. The cards had naked women on them. He said “rows and rows of naked women” and it just reminds me of those brewery vats.

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March 15, 2017 / Leave a comment / Edit

3-14-17 ZEPHYR GOLDEN LAGER

STYLE (LAGER)

BREWED BY: FLOSSMOOR STATION

Last week I was in the mood for a few Choo Choo beers. I headed to the Flossmoor Station brewery, bar and restaurant to indulge. I have been there many times as the list of beers is a train’s length long. They brew the beer on site which wets my whistle every time I indulge in a few pints at the station which is actually right next to a train station. They even have a train above the bar that runs on tracks which is very cool. I have tried almost all of the beers on their list as they cleverly name most of the beers after trains.The beers from their taps is always fresh from the Brewery in the other room. The silver vats so shiny in the dim lighting as it sparkles like silver. Yukon Cornelius would start singing Silver and Gold if he saw the vats and Golden Beer I was drinking. I will definitely go there again and again and see what beers of theirs stand in my beer list of power rankings.

Last weekend I went with one of my favorites at the train yard, the Zephyr Golden Lager. This beer is made from German malts and hops along with German yeast. Germany knows how to make great beers. As you can see the color was golden like a beach at sunset. Smells sweet and a hint of fruitiness. The taste was refreshing and went down smooth as it reminds me of a blonde ale. You know the blondes like to have fun and this beer can keep things fun all night long. Not much of bitterness in this beer as well as it goes down so easy you can lose track of how many you had in one sitting.

The Flossmoor Station has awesome food as well. The menu has lots of variety. I went with the Burrito. They call this the Burrito that ate Flossmoor.They are very clever with the names at this place. You can choose what meat you want inside the burrito, I went with spicy beef. The Burrito is hard to pick up so you have to use the tools of the trade to eat it. The combo with the Mexican food and the Zephyr golden lager was perfection. Heavy food and a lighter beer seem to work.

I knew it was going to be very hard to knock out the Pin Ball from Two Brothers, which has been number one for three weeks. But the Zephyr Golden Lager now has the top spot on the BEER LIST.

The Beer List

IN SEARCH FOR THE BEST TAPPED BEER

(3-17-17) OH MY GOODNESS IT’S GUINNESS

ON ST.PATRICK’S DAY WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

STYLE: IRISH DRY STOUT

BREWED BY: GUINNESS

On St. Patrick’s Day I had to indulge and have a few pints of Guinness. My Uncle Foncy from Ireland would offer me a Guinness in the morning when I went to the old country. It was nine am… let me have some coffee and breakfast first. Even though the good people over in Ireland think Guinness could be a meal. I politely turned him down on the Guinness so then he offered me whiskey. I went with the first choice, Guinness. It always depends where you get the Guinness from. Some pubs give you a great pour. Some however give you bad pour and it makes you not want another one. In Ireland they would do a shamrock in the foam which was very cool. The mission last Friday was to find a place to sit and enjoy a pint of Guinness, which was very hard because lots of people were out and about doing the same thing.

Guinness is a dark stout beer.Lots of people think it has a high alcohol percentage like most stouts. It only has a 4.2% which is pretty low compared to other dark beers. Guinness is my favorite stout. However stouts are usually not my cup of tea. I love cooking with stouts, but I do not drink them often. Guinness is different. I will have a few pints here and there. Stouts I like one and done. Certain situations when I’m drinking by the fire in my sweater reading a novel, then I have my snifter of stout beer, sipping it on a snowy night.

Maybe the people in Ireland are right and Guinness could be a meal. People are always going nuts for espressos and cappuccinos in the morning. Guinness has that roasted coffee smell. I love the way it looks in the glass. It has the khaki colored foam on top of the black quart of oil. But it does not go down thick, as it’s creamy smooth like a morning fancy schmancy coffee drink from Starbucks. The flavors could go on forever. It has some bitterness with a mix of smoky charcoal chocolate with some hint of roasted coffee. You can say a bready taste as well.

I found a table at Deja Brew in Oak Lawn, Illinois on St.Patrick’s Day night.I did like the pour at Deja Brew for the Guinness. That was very important because I had more than one as always. I ordered the Irish boat of potato skins which went very well with the Guinness. These skins were made special for the St.Patrick’s Day as it had corn beef on the skins as well as lots of other good stuff. Who would of thought beer and spuds a great combo? The Irish are genius like that.

My favorite Irish beer is made by Guinness as well.I love a pint of Harp, that is one of my favorites. I will definitely get to the Guinness Blonde. Blondes are always fun to hang around with. Also I do like the Irish beer called Smithwick’s which is another dark beer . Guinness still has the edge over it. But we will see. I will take it beer by beer. I may have to go back and retry some of the beers.

THE BEER LIST

March 5, 2017 / Leave a comment / Edit

(3-5- 17) ZYWIEC

IMPORTED FROM POLAND

STYLE(EURO PALE ALE)

BREWED BY ZYWIEC BREWERIES (HEINEKEN)

This weekend I went to a Polish pizza place called Flo’s & Santo’s. I went with the Polish beer called Zywiec from the keg. I’m not the type of person to go oversees and go to a McDonald’s restaurant or order a Budweiser from the pubs. I like to get the local flavor. Even though the place is in the south loop of Chicago, they had the Polish menu.They had a large menu of beers to choose from as well, but this weekend I went with the lefty from the bull pen and called on Zywiec.

I had the choice of the pint size or for a dollar more, the monster size 22 oz. I went with the monster size as I worked up quite a thirst. I did like Zywiec, it went down very easy. I had to order a second one. The pour was fantastic as the golden color glistened from the dim lighting in the restaurant/bar. The smell was sweet like a fruity blend aroma. The taste had a lot going on. It had a sweet, fruity hoppy taste. It had some bitterness but not overwhelming. I would definitely order this beer again as it went down smooth.

When there, I had the flying pork wings in BBQ sauce that were very tasty. I then indulged in one of their specialty pizzas which I will have more on in the next pizza entry. Overall I was satisfied with a great drink and food combo.

THE BEER LIST

February 28, 2017 / Leave a comment / Edit

2/27/17 #1. PINBALL (TWO BROTHERS BREWING COMPANY)

Style (American Pale Ale)

First time I have had the Pinball, which is relatively still new. I had four pints over the weekend at one of my many watering holes I go to. The menu said the beer was just tapped. It was a great pour. I wish my phone had more charge at the time to take a picture. It was magical as it lit up my taste buds like the lights on a pinball machine. It was hoppy with sweet aromas. Small amount of bitterness. It had that tropical fruity taste that made my taste buds explode. I will have to stock up when I see it at stores.

I went to Deja Brew in Oak Lawn, Illinois. They have many craft beers on tap. They have great food as well. I had the Buffalo Chicken wrap with ranch dressing and a side of their hot chips which were all delightful.

MISSION: IN SEARCH FOR THE BEST TAPPED BEER

THE BEER DRINKING SUDS OF FAME

The Wild Shamrock All-Time Suds List

THE 2024 BEER LIST

THE 2023 BEER LIST

The 2022 Beer List

THE 2020 BARS & BEERS WE TAPPED POWER RANKINGS

THE 2020 BREWERIES WE TAPPED POWER RANKINGS

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO LOWENBRAU BEER ?

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The Beer List

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