Spiteful Brewing (Chicago, IL)

Got my first taste of Spiteful Brewing at The Bad Apple in Chicago. The socializing was in full swing by then, so I don't remember much about my draft of Biter Biker except that it was good enough to inspire buy a few more bottles from Binny's in Schaumburg.

Here's what I took home:

Ghost Bike Pale Ale: hazy amber, gold around the edge, with an off white head that dropped off quickly. Light hop nose with sweet caramel and malt overriding. Caramel and malty sweetness follows on the tongue with a apple cider and ripe fruit in the center before a solid bitterness lingers off the back.  Interesting beer that almost a throwback pale ale with more malt than hop, and more pleasant than the BeerAdvocate reviews. In honor of white bikes where bikers have been killed on Chicago streets.

God Damn Pigeon Porter: the slightly darker than tan head leaps up off the beer and fills the glass with a fairly easy pour over a pitch black ale with ruby highlights at the farthest edges.  Creamy head mingles with the burnt sweetness of the porter. Very good first impression but the thinness of the body lessens the impact but still a very good beer.

G.F.Y Stout: dark brown head flattens to a film quickly in spite of a hard pour over a jet black stout.  Dark malts, heavy roast, molasses, dark chocolate and a hint of spice in the nose that continues onto the tongue plus an alcoholic hotness.

Overall, all of the Spiteful brews were solid and interesting.  The stout was lacking a bit and the porter was my favorite of the bunch I took home. I remember thinking Biter Biker having a brash bitterness that reminded me of Bitter Brewer from Surly, which had some similarities with the Ghost Bike. From the website, the name of the nanobrewery comes from an childhood incident on a hockey pond that led to friendship. With their in-your-face attitude, indie vibe and passionate brewing, Spiteful I will try again at my next opportunity to see if they are going to be the next big thing in Chicago.

Chicago 2013 Day 3

La Trappe Bock at the Map Room

6/12/13

Chicago 2013 Day 1
Chicago 2013 Day 2

We took it slower today and started with the morning at the Art Institute of Chicago.  The, we did a late lunch at Piece Brewery & Pizzeria.  I seem to love this place, as I've been to it on several trips in a row now and just keep wanting more. I decided on this incarnation that it is the combo of New Haven style pizza and a better than average brewery that gets me.  Either alone wouldn't be enough, but together it's a fun combination for a new beer or two, generally one that I like well enough for a draft and that wonderfully hot, thin crust pizza.  Easy recom for any Chicago visit.

Al wanted to visit the Map Room, which is a fine local bar that does a great job of handling the beers that they have.  I took the opportunity to try for the first time a La Trappe Bock Bier. Beautifully served but I wasn't crazy about the beer. From my notes, I was in the Map Room ten years ago with my wife and the the place is very similar today.  I would be happy to live nearby but it's not the destination bar like Hopleaf.

The Map Room

Revolution Brewing was next on our stop for some hoppy brewing swagger, starting with Triple Fist and Double Fist, triple and double IPAs respectively.  The double was disappointing but the triple was significantly better.  Ended with a saison named Coup D'Etat that was my favorite Revolution brew. We intended to eat dinner at Haymarket, so we ordered just an appetizer of Smelt and Fried Lemons with Sriracha-Lemon aioli sauce. I took some ribbing for never having had smelt before—evidently, a deficiency of my Iowa upbringing—and thoroughly enjoyed them.

Last November, I had a great time at Haymarket with my wife, niece and nephew for our Thanksgiving dinner, one of the only places open. Looking forward to our return, we showed up just before the start of the first game of the Stanley Cup with Chicago and Boston facing off.

Revolution brew house

For dinner, I went light with a bowl of Vegan Chili and a side of Mac 'N Cheese.  Both were excellent. Haymarket tries to push the limit with beer, so decided to try the Girl & the Goatee, a Belgian ale with rhubarb.  Not every experiment goes well, and this one was a mediocre success. The white peach wit Mash Made in Heaven VI was far better. Our main issue for the night was the extremely loud television for the hockey game that made it uncomfortable to sit for the evening. We left as the Blackhawks started to come back for the eventual triple overtime win.

Revolution Brewing main bar

Al had a friend who said he needed to hit Au Cheval.  We were a bit chagrined looking at our phones to realize that we had walked past it on the way to Haymarket; it was on the opposite corner from where we were sitting.  So, we stopped in for one.  I added a new brewery with a draft of Against the Grain's Tickle Me Ale-Mo, an excellent wild ale.  We shared the crisp fries with mirnay sauce, garlic aioli and fried farm egg on top. To my surprise, I like egg on my fries. Too dark to take a picture—or really see for that matter, Au Cheval is an upscale bistro that happens to have a pretty good draft list.  Stopping for one didn't really do this place justice, though I will probably pass on stopping for a full meal since the menu isn't very veggie friendly.

That's Chicago!  At least, our version of it.  A great time with friends and I feel like I have only scratched the surface of this quickly developing beer city.  

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

Piece Brewery & Pizzeria (Chicago, IL)

Nephew with newly arrived pizzas.  

11/23/12

This is our second, and much anticipated, visit to Piece Brewery and Pizzeria.  We stopped on a 2009 trip and loved it.  My favorite beer on that trip was the Moose Knuckle barleywine and G's was the Prodigal Porter.  I wouldn't have returned just for the better than average beer--the pizza rocks.  Beer and pizza together being a personal craving, the combo is hard to pass up.

According to the website, it's New Haven style thin crust pizza; I wouldn't know what that means except it is very reminiscent of Bru Rm @ Bar.  While the Bru Rm is actually in New Haven, Piece's version is far better.  Very thin and cooked at high heat, it comes out crispy with a few burnt spots.  However, since even a small is oversized, it's an acceptable loss in the pizza process.

We left the car downtown and exited the blue line very near the pub.  Just a block or so walk.  Our last visit was on New Year's Day and, somehow, much quieter than it was on Black Friday.  Music was too loud today and the patrons were struggling to talk over it and each other.  So popular a place, even at 2 pm on a Saturday afternoon, that the very close tables makes it impossible to not hear a neighbor's conversation.  With a little understanding, everyone still has a good time.

Started with The Weight, a pale ale, since there was a sign advertising its GABF silver medal.  Full bodied with a big grapefruit and biscuit nose that leads to a hefty bite.  Nice start.
Though the wait staff was working hard, it was a little tough to get a second beer because they were overwhelmed.  Next up was Swingin' Single, their spot-on interpretation of an abbey single.  Top beer of the day was the Top Heavy Hefeweizen that I shared with my wife to finish.  I very much liked the Top Heavy sample last time. However, the hefeweizen shines in its own glass--a must draft.

Great stop that I love for the double punch of good beer and great pizza.  The atmosphere lacked today, but still fun and I will definitely repeat at some point in the future.

Haymarket Pub & Brewery (Chicago, IL)

11/23/12

Happy Thanksgiving!  For our turkey day we're at Haymarket Pub & Brewery with a few other lost souls.  Thanks to The Beer Mapping Project, it was fairly easy to find an open pub so that the highlight meal of my Thanksgiving Day wasn't the fish sandwich meal deal at McDonald's en route to Chicago.  The manager Janna was especially helpful with an email to confirm veggie options on the reduced menu.

After an eerily quiet, few block walk from the L, we crossed the street into Haymarket with the bar up front and restaurant tables and booths in the next room.  We skipped the dimly light, long dark wood bar that had a smattering of happily celebrating folks for a large booth in the back.  The easily seen but not obtrusive big screen TVs with Dallas getting it's butt kicked was a nice addition.

Our very friendly and knowledgeable waiter gave honest recommendations and and his humor complimented our good cheer.  Our niece and nephew reported that the wings were mildly hot, flavorful and great.  We tried the sweet potato tots with ranch; good, but not sure if we'd get them again.  Oddly, too sweet.  The very thin crust veggie pizza was really excellent.  We topped off dinner with chocolate stout cake with peanut butter that wasn't the OMG we were hoping for from the description.  Blending with syncopated patron noise in the background was an eclectic music mix from alternative to folk that was a little loud but not enough to interfere with conversation.

Between Ben and I, we tried all of the Haymarket brews.  Lucy's Belgian Tripel was the low point that was still more than adequate with the remaining brews all highly rated by us; it came down to the Passion House Coffee Porter, Rubber Monkey Belgian Wheat IPA and the Effigy Black IPA for a draft: Effigy won but I would start with the Rubber Monkey next time.  From the guest tap, Gloria liked a quadrupel  from Uncommon Brewers called Sinister Twin and was happy with her choice for the night.  When I was undecided for my final draft, our waiter's frank evaluation of my choices got me to the Butterfly Flashmob, an excellent Belgian IPA from new local brewery, Solemn Oath, that was a perfect digestive while we chatted.

Our server said the bar fed them so well before the 5 pm opening that he was lethargic from the multiple types of turkey offered.  Got a great vibe from Haymarket: a well brewed and interesting beer list, a range of food for veggies and meat eaters, a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere, and a drinking & writing theater. For Christmas, a radio play styled production called "A Beer Carol" was playing Wednesday and Saturday nights on location.

A former student recently discussed with me her love of living in Chicago, pointing to the unique neighborhoods as one of the reasons.  Haymarket seems to be a strong part of the local neighborhood, forming an intelligent and bonded drinking community that I think I would enjoy.  My long held belief has been that Chicago is cold and blustery--the weather and the people.  However, Haymarket helped me see another side of the windy city, a side that I look forward to trying again in the future.

Amon Amarth-Ragnarok (Three Floyd's Brewing, Munster, IN)

Brought a bottle back from FFF in October, and finally got around to drinking it up.  Couldn't find a description online, but remember that it was a dedication to a local band. For a comparative beer point of view, check out Al's review at The Bitter Nib.  If interested in Amon-Amarth, here's their website

From the side of the bottle:
A beer for the end of ages brewed with our friends in the band Amon Amarth. This Aesir Porter is a robust and hearty beer brewed with local honey and a small portion of smoked malt. When Heimdall sounds the Giallar-horn this is the beer to be hoisted by the gods in anticipation of the coming battle.

A brief search says Aesir is the principal race of Norse gods, and I'll admit a lack of knowledge of Norse mythology and the band Amon Amarth, so didn't follow it much from there.

On to the beer:  Light brown head pours thin, tiny bubbled layer that falls with a nice lace.  Seemingly black opaque body, but a closer look makes it a dark chocolate brown.  Clear roast nose with light grassy and pine hop on top.  Intriguing nose that builds some anticipation for the taste, but the taste is similar but muddled.  Roast is a bit acrid in the mouth, and the hop bite is a standard FFF bite but doesn't blend well with the taste.  Irish stout finish.  Nice beer, but doesn't quite pull together one hundred percent.  Perfectly fine with the bottle, and might even try it on tap if it ever appeared again.  

Warmed up, the beer does a bit better.  Hop nose increases and subdues the roast in the nose.  Pine and an earthy note increase.  Balance improves measurably but still not complete.  A nitro push or just a tap taking the rough edges off would be interesting, but I didn't get that chance (and don't know if it was ever on tap).  Good beer that improves with a bit of time and conversation.

Artic Panzer Wolf (Three Floyd's Brewing, Munster, IN)

From the bottle

Straw gold ale that looks deceptively light in the glass with a fluffy pure white head.  Clearly the head is the snow covered Artic portion of the name of this Imperial IPA.  Two ways to go big with hops--extremely big on top of extremely big, and big on top of lighter; this beer is the latter.  Gives the beer a massive hop nose--bigger than most Imperial India Pale Ales.  Very clean and singular grapefruit in the nose with a subordinate malt base, a bit of pepper, pine and hotness from the 9% alcohol.  Soft bready malt on the tongue--and--there's the bite.  Feeds the hop beast extremely well.  Hops linger nicely and burns out the palate.  From the website, FFF says "Scorched earth is our brewery policy".  This beer proves it.

Brought this bottle back from the FFF brewpub in Munster on our now yearly trek to see our Boilermaker niece Amanda at Purdue.  Very glad to have Three Floyds en route to a regular destination.  Another bottle of APW made its way to my friend Al, so check out his review of the bottle as well.

Below is the review from the tap when we visited last October.  While still the beer I remember, the review below definitely points to a change in the bottle compared to the glass on tap.

From the tap
9% sunset gold DIPA with very little head or lace in the snifter. Not a big nose for all of the 100 IBU hype, but pleasant with a clean pine, orange, grapefruit, light pepper and malt. Resin and oily pine coat the tongue with a sharp, slightly fruity hop bite. Dry, grassy finish to let you know how many hops were sacrificed to the hop god for this one. Flavor warms nicely and the alcohol becomes much more apparent.

Big John (Goose Island, Chicago, IL)

Dark tan head billows up nicely and lingers for a long time. Look almost luscious sitting on top of a jet black opaque beer. For all the dark malts in the beer (according to the website: chocolate, caramel, roasted barley, de-bittered black), there's not a coffee or an overly roasted smell in the nose. Just chocolate thanks to the cacao nibs. If you pause slightly, there's a light spice on the top from the hops (Columbus from website). Mouthfeel is luscious and creamy with slight hotness from the 11.5% ABV and a slick oiliness as well. The chocolate from the nibs give a clean, earthy chocolate taste that's different and nice compared to most chocolate stouts. Overall, a very well done big beer that's fun to drink. This bottle is only six months old, so drank it as a baby. Might have to get another bottle to aged it up to suggested five years on the label.

Domaine DuPage French Style Country Ale (Two Brothers Brewing, Warrenville, IL)

Struggled to put the light brown head on top and it disappeared almost before I stopped pouring it. Pleasant, lightly spiced nose that is somewhat promising—light peppery spice follows into the taste. A bit sweet and malty to support the spice. Good balance, but not spectacular. Warmed up fairly well, but didn't open up. Overall, not bad. I'd try on tap if I saw it, but probably not buy another bottle.

John S. Rhodell Brewery (Peoria, IL)

7/26/07

John S. Rhodell is a pub in a downtown, rejuvenated river front area next door to an Irish pub that seemed to be doing good business as well in the late afternoon. Rhodell is a clean, well kept bar that's full of locals. The clientele seemed a bit upscale for the honky tonk motiff —after work drinkers in ties mostly. Friendly; I got lots of enthusiastic advice as to what to order. It is also a brew on premises and the small kettles are in the back, and the brew club was later that night as several people were trucking in bottles. Didn't see a separate brewery for the stock, so not sure where the pub beer is brewed and didn't have time to ask.

As for the beer, it was a good stop and worth getting off the freeway a mile or so. Parking across the street from the bar and free. The Honey Pilsner was clean and bright with a pleasant after taste, and the Belgian Farmhouse was peppery, strong bodied and interesting. The Oatmeal Porter was solid, smooth, and medium bodied with a slight coffee taste. Only the Angry Angus didn't strike my fancy; it was too bit astringent and seemed off balance to me. My final beer was a draft of Summit Hop Head IPA, which lived up to its name. A clean pale ale with lots and lots of nose, a dry finish and a little grassy in the taste.

Overall, a strong brewery in Peoria and a place, if I needed to spend a night in Illinois for some reason, I might set up shop here to explore a few more of their brews or the bottles behind the bar. Compared to the Quad Cities earlier in the day and the beer in Bloomington/Normal that evening, this was a very good stop and easily the best of the day except for maybe Bent River.

Illinois Brewing Co (Bloomington, IL)

7/26/07

I had a hard time finding this pub. Center Street twists and turns in the downtown, but just look for the local civic center and walk across the street.

The bar itself is a random collection of cheap breweriana and bikini clad posters, wood floors and a wrap-around bar a mirrored far wall. Feels a bit like an overused college bar. Serviceable staff with a very nice and good looking waitress with a tatto covering much of her back, who was the highlight of the stop.

The beer was mediocre with the Big Beaver Brown Ale being the best, in my opinion, but still a bit thin for being a brown ale. The Killer Bee Cream Ale had a bitter, astringent taste that was off for the style. Overall, the set of beers is on the lighter end—the brown and an IPA the strongest of the beers. Also, the guest beer was PBR and the guy beside me was drinking Miller Lite from the bottle, so guessing the style selection serves the customer base.

Overall, an ok stop since I was there and wanting to find a brewpub. The pizza was fine, though a bit like Tostino's and the conversation was similar.  Place has a real hole in the wall feel, including a range of customers from middle-aged dead-end to borderline goth plus a few hipsters hitting a shots before going clubbing. I was there early, so maybe it changes later with music. The downtown area and Bloomington/Normal are on the edgy side of urban areas in spite of being near the university (and I lived in LA for six years).  Even my motel in Normal came equipped with it's on local police on bicycles. An interesting stop that I haven't quite figured out yet.  Please play it safe if you head down here later in the evening.

Bent River Brewing Co (Moline, IL)

7/26/07

Feels like going home—northwest Iowa in farm country—small town bar except brew tanks and fermenters are crammed behind the bar. Coming in the back door, I walk right into the brewery. Overall feel of the place is a bit run down, or not completely refurbished from an older place—like I said, homey. Good lunch crowd, many seemed to know each other and all seemed very loyal to BR.  At Great Taste a week later, I saw a lot of BR t-shirts sported, so a good following.

Bartender was very friendly and helpful—offered to switch samples out for the four at a time I wanted.  Fourteen on tap with a full range of styles. Brewer Rick ended giving me several additional samples as well and doing a very good job of selling his product.

All of the beers were solid for the most part. I didn't like the Replica Ale, but that's not a regular brew but a part of the state organization group brew, so that doesn't matter much. The Pale Ale is regular and dry hopped version were both good, though I preferred the standards—cleaner and better balanced. The UnCommon Stout was voted best beer in the Quad Cities and the guy beside me was a very enthusiastic supporter of it and at least two other people came in and got growlers while I had lunch—though I wasn't crazy about it myself.  Adequate but not great.

Veggie burger was on the menu of general pub fare, but I wasn't  in the mood so got the cheese quesadilla—did the job but not mind blowing.

Overall a fine local and I'm curious what the evening atmosphere is like. Seems like Bent River is working hard to do a good job, and generally is; it's a brewpub with serious potential that will continue to improve because of their attitude.

Blue Cat Brew Pub (Rock Island, IL)

7/26/07

Blue Cat is in an older building down by the river and across the street from a riverboat casino. The place is refurbished to urban chic painted ceiling, exposed duct work, stone tile bar, etc. Nice atmosphere but a little sterile. Good crowd after lunch and the menu looked tantalizing with some veggie options and upscale pub fare.

The brewhouse is enclosed behind glass on the other side of the bar. A brewer named Bernard was working and gave me some background on their beers. Looks like they good with the standard five plus a seasonal which was a peat smoked scotch ale that is brewed and aged for the local highland games every year.

Overall the beers were a bit thin and not to my liking. The Coriander and Orange is obviously going for the spice of a wit but the mouthfeel was too light even for an American wheat beer. Others suffered similar problems. The Mississippi Mocha Stout was a passable coffee stout. The Scotch Terrier was good, but you really gotta love smoke and peat for this one—a bit much for me in spite of liking big flavor to compensate for my under-performing taste buds.

Blue Cat has some solid beers and a decent place to hang out. Not exceptional but a good local pub. My expectations were high from tasting at the Great Taste of the Midwest in Madison over the years.  But, like other breweries, the one-offs served at a festival don't always match up to the everyday taps.  If in town though, I wouldn't go out of my way; I might stop at Bent River, but probably not here. But, if there for other reasons, a perfectly ok place to drink.

Prairie Rock Brewery (Schaumberg, IL)

Closed. Last visit 11/11/05

On our yearly trip from the Twin Cities to Purdue for annual home football game, we usually stop in Schaumburg for the night and eat dinner at Prairie Rock. 


Generally, they have six or so beers on tap. The last couple of years they seem to have settled into the same beers with just one or two seasonals changing. My ratings for our first time in 2003 are all pretty high, but successive trips have gone down hill when I'm ordering drafts. Not bad, and as good as the RAM Restaurant & Brewery down the street.  We've always had good look finding fairly cheap hotels in Schaumberg when travelling to Chicago or Indiana, and RAM and Prairie Rock make easy beer stop.  Food is what attracts us mostly. We order the beer cheese soup and four cheese pizza, and both are excellent. Only thing we've had there. When we stop, it's for this. 

Overall, it is a beautiful pub in a old (or old looking) brick building with very high 2 or 3 story ceilings and large wooden cross beams. Restaurant lacks some ambiance but easy to talk and the service has always been good. Bar is small and smokey. On this recent trip, it was also a meat market--which might account for the beer change. When I was at the bar, only one other person was drinking beer and at least half of the drinks going out with Sex on the Beach, JaegerBombs and such. Young, dumb, and desparate for the most part. Left for the Ram just so I could stop listening to some schuck hitting on the obviously bored hot girl. And the smoke go to me, but I've become spoiled lately with smoke free bars. 


Good stop in you're in Schaumburg, especially if you keep your expectations in check and sit in the restaurant.