Chicago 2013 Day 1

Feloniousmonk and his FFF beer haul

6/10/13

Because Three Floyds is a short trek from Chicago in Munster, IN, Al and I picked up our friend Heather and headed to FFF first with the car before parking for the weekend.  Plus, it was Al's top choice on the weekend.

FFF is becoming a regular stop, so I will just add the highlights. I started with In the Name of Suffering, a black IPA, that was super smooth and hoppy.  Tiberian Inquisitor, a golden Belgian, and Toxic Revolution, a stout porter, were also positives of the stop.

Before each trip to FFF, I check the every changing menu online because it's not always very veggie friendly.  However, they took the bacon out of the White Cheddar Mac n Cheese for me and it was delicious.  Heather and I shared the smoked octopus (I'm pescetarian now) with "ramp pesto, cherry tomatoes, pickled ramps, arugula, mint and grilled bread." Quite amazingly good for eating tentacles.

FFF White Cheddar Mac n Cheese 

While en route to Chicago, Al received word via the social network that a former Minnesota beer friend Adam Schulte, who now works for Artisanal Imports in Chicago, said we should head to Headquarter's Beercade for a special Meantime tapping.

Walking in, the Beercade is eerily similar to Barcade in Brooklyn. The bartender quickly confirmed that Beercade was inspired by Barcade.  The two main differences is that Beercade is less sketchy of a place and neighborhood, and the games can be played for FREE!  While pumping a few quarters is no big deal, it was a lot of fun to just hit restart on Asteroids a few times because of my rusty play (200 points from making the top ten!). While the games aren't as classic as at Barcade, many are from the 80s plus newer ones from the 90s that I don't know how to play.




Nice mix of local and regional brews in the tap list.   I started with the Solemn Oath Mythological Wonder, which was ok. In researching to put it on the list, I saw that it was a collaboration with Sun King, not a favored brewery by me.  To be nostalgic, I ordered a can of Olympia. As a kid, my dad drank Olympia for years until he changed over to Miller Lite.  I see why he changed now.  The Meantime beers came on and I had samples of the barleywine and the scotch ale.  The scotch ale on draft was every bit the beer I had tried in bottles from the Rare Beer Club in 2007. Maybe the best scotch ale anywhere.  My draft of the barleywine fell victim to high expectations. Still a very good beer, but not what I hoped for.

Like Barcade, there's no food service at Beercade.  Our bartender kindly recommended his favorite pizza place and we ordered Giordano's for delivery.  I gave the doorman my name and he nicely watched for our pizza and directed it to us. Very excellent, full meal after the lighter fare I had at Three Floyds.

At Beercade, I was chatting with Chris, who was the owner of a local business called Bee's Knees, which makes bar snacks. Later in the weekend, we were able to find them at the Map Room, and can report that the Chipotle Lime were assertively hot and tasty.

Sheffield's 

Again, based on a recommendation from someone at the bar, we ended the night at Sheffield's, which was in walking distance down the street.  Natural cut fries with aioli sauce appeared at the table (not sure who ordered them)—very good.  I ended the night with a Green Flash Imperial Rye IPA and happy that Green Flash is almost always a good bet.  Al ordered a bottle of 2007 Bigfoot Barleywine, which was solid but past its prime with a bit too much oxidation. We sat in the small bar up front, but from walking around and the website, there's a lot more to Sheffield's than meets the eye.  The aged bottle list, a portion of which we saw in a cooler, was the main reason for the recom. While Beercade has cool beer and is full of hipsters, Sheffield's down the street has an older crowd and the bar seems to cater more to the beer geek. We clearly shortchanged Sheffield's as the last stop of the night, but can't drink every place first, especially when it was unplanned.

Great first day in Chicago.  In the future, I would like to go back for an extended time at Beercade for playing the games until I had my fill while sipping on local beers—slowly, so as not to interfere with the game play. This also should be done alone, to relieve any guilt or pressure to play less or draw focus from the transporting back in time. Or, possibly, the day could be done with a geek of similar passion or old arcade games and beer. When sated on nostalgia with my name in the top ten of a few games, I'd head to Sheffield's for a bottle of something special to end the night.

Chicago 2013 Day 2

Beer Authority (New York, NY)

Taking the A train from JFK to Manhattan for G's birthday weekend, we emerged from the Port Authority station directly across the street from Beer Authority.  After a long flight, it was a great way to start our weekend.

On a Thursday night, there was a DJ playing music a bit loud but we survived sitting around the edge.  Our waiter was friendly and efficient, bringing beer and the daily special in short order: a vegetarian shepherd's pie.  Dinner was great with a lentil based that tasted a lot like our favorite camping dish but with a thick, creamy head of mashed potatoes.  We just wonder why this sort of meal isn't readily available in Minnesota.

Believing in drinking local, I started by trying a couple of brews from Spider Bite. Eye Be Use, a Double IPA, was disappointingly unrefined but I still followed up with Boris the Spider, a Russian Imperial Stout.  Slightly better but the blunted hops couldn't come through the unbalance RIS.   Nice experiment but I'm not a fan.  I accidentally spilled the last of this beer on my blue jeans; generously, our server brought me a short pour to replace my clumsiness.

During research, I came across the new Bronx Brewery and happily got a chance to try their Black Pale Ale.  No Sublimely Self Righteous, but this American black ale has a solid malty base and a clean dark bite that makes is a good choice.  We ended with a draft of Dogfish Head Noble Rot, an earthy and interesting saison that we returned to on Sunday.

We tried to repeat our first stop on Saturday night after seeing Tom Hanks in Lucky Guy.  An extremely poignant play based on the life Mike McAlary, a 1980s tabloid columnist in New York. Not only did we intimately learn about a part of NYC history and culture, but the gritty, authentic underbelly of the newspaper business written by late Nora Ephron.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to discuss any of this at Beer Authority.  The band joked about playing too loud and continued to shake the rafters.  We put in ear plugs while I drank a beer and finally starting texting each other out of desperation, leaving disappointed and had to talk over the play while kicking our way through the late night crowds of Times Square.

On Sunday afternoon, we needed to head back to the hotel to pick up our bags after a visit to the 9/11 memorial.  I wanted to give Beer Authority a chance in the daylight and to give the mac & cheese a try.

Happily, this visit was pleasant.  I started with a Green Flash West Coast IPA, a favorite hoppy treat when I get the chance. By the time we ordered the mac & cheese, I was on to Ommegang Barrier Relief, a Belgian IPA that's a collaboration ale with Barrier Brewing to rebuild that Sandy ravaged brewery. A beautifully blended IPA with a Belgian funk was a solid choice for a last beer in NYC. The beer paired surprisingly well with the mushroom and garlic Mac & Cheese, unusual and intriguing, I would gladly order it as a meal again.

On the way out, we ran into an intrepid band of beer hunters, one also a blogger at Hoptical Allusions.  Need to leave for the train to fly home, we didn't have to time for more than a pic and a cheers on the way out.  Each had a tray of four tasters—sixteen on the table.  After two trying visits, a third with a chance encounter with fellow beer travelers bolstered my spirits and our experience.  With great beer that is well served, Beer Authority is the go-to place in the heart of Manhattan for craft beer.  However, in the future, I will make this our pre-show stop to relax and unwind before hitting Broadway, saving the post-show discussion for a much quieter place.