Aug 2009 31

GTMW Part 2

Posted In Beer

So I left off at Hopcat and sloshed my way back to the hotel… I awoke feeling like I had been hit by a train while riding a tilt-a-whirl during a marching band’s practice.

img_0581img_0587After a cold shower and a bottle of ibuprofen, on the road again!  New Holland Brewing is in Holland, MI, a replica city of its European namesake complete with yearly tulip festival and working Dutch windmill!  The bar is designed with OCD-like organization, with mug club mason jars all assembled like a firing line and a sliding ladder to access the top shelves.  Still a little bleary eyed, I didn’t even notice the tap handles until I looked at the image in my camera.  The copper tanks and brewing equipment are displayed in the corner of the brewpub similar to a img_0582museum exhibit but much more interesting to look at.  If you’re familiar with Dr. Joel hawking New Holland liquid medicine around the East Coast, you can see why he’s happy to call this his stomping grounds… at least when he gets a chance to get out here.  It’s well designed with a a cool vibe, great menu, and you can’t go wrong with any of the beer choices.  Though most of them get out to PA, it was nice to try the Farmhouse Hatter and the Full Circle, an easy drinking beer that brought me back to feeling whole again.

 

img_0589img_0591Across state lines, the next stop was 3 Floyds, a psychedelic treat for your eyes.  It’s also an opportunity for tasting beers like Barrel Aged Moloko, a roasty milk stout aged in a bourbon barrel, that aren’t easy to obtain around PA.  Other beers on tap include my favorites of Dreadnaught IPA and Gumballhead as well as another hard to find staple, Robert the Bruce. 

 

 

Keeping on schedule and crossing yet another state line, the next stop was Flossmoor Station.  The best thing about this place is the location, smack dab on a train stop in a quaint Chicago suburb.  But wtf- where was the img_0592Flossmoor that received honor of Best Small Brewpub and Best Small Brewpub Brewer in America at the 2006 Great American Beer FestivalTM and has won gold, silver and bronze medals?  I couldn’t even stomach a single sample beer.  It was a collection of all sorts of different animal piss, or so I can assume as I’ve never had the opportunity to taste such an assortment…  The Zephyr was probably the most drinkable, a golden blonde ale that tastes more like a rice-brewed macro lager, but the fruit beers were gross- I’ve tasted better flavored massage oils.  I have a feeling Flossmoor hasn’t brewed a good beer in a few years, but I’ll save it from complete annihilation from my beer world until I taste the “Rye”m & Reason, a bottle purchased for another time.

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Maybe this guy is responsible for the traffic mess...

I’ll refrain from rehashing my rant about the “three hour tour” into Chicago at the beginning of rush hour, just after a White Sox game ended, during Lollapalooza.  After circling the block three times looking for parking alternatives soon turned into ridiculous flashbacks to National Lampoons European vacation- “Hey kids— we know Dad… Big Ben, Parliament”, I forked over $48 to valet park the car, hoping the valet didn’t have a taste for good beer as the trunk was so loaded with cases the rear tires were starting to tuck.  The Blue line drops you off about a block from Piece Pizzeria where even on a Thursday night, tables still required an hour wait.  Since none of the beer menus offered any insight into the type of beer they were, it became a guessing game of ordering the coolest sounding names like Camel Toe (Pale Ale) and Captain Kick Ass (IPA).  They also had on tap their 8th Anniversary, an ESB.  The pizza was surprisingly thin crust, which I always thought was a faux pas in the city known for deep dish crust, but very tasty.  There’s red, plain, or white with all sorts of toppings from meatballs to mashed potatoes and they also offer goat cheese or feta versions. This is definitely a place to visit, though probably better at some off time like 2pm on a Tuesday.  Thankfully, I got out of there before karaoke started at 10pm.  No amount of drinking can ever protect my ears from the whiny, dog-howling nails on a chalkboard sound of American Idol wannabes. 

Onto Maproom for a nightcap.  I visited here about three years ago and was enamored with this neighborhood bar, but two things have changed since my first visit.  They’re cash only now, which confused some “regulars” who weren’t aware of this new rule as the bartender directed them to an in-bar ATM.  And my beer familiarity is much greater now.  Though Maproom still has a long and impressive tap and bottle list, I couldn’t find a single beer I hadn’t tried before.  Maybe I should stop drinking until craft beer brewers can catch up!

I lunched at Goose Island (Clybourn Pub) Friday morning before heading up to Wisconsin.  First regret- I should have skipped Maproom altogether and spent the night at Goose Island, at least until they kicked img_0597me out and pointed me towards the Blue Line.  I have been to Goose Island twice before and am always impressed by their beers.  Besides the regular lineup of Honker’s Ale, 312, IPA, Matilda, Pere Jacques, and Bourbon County (13.5% and the clear winner of this year’s home stout tasting) etc. there was also Night Stalker Stout (11.5%), Replicale (4.2%), Liquid Inspiration Stout (6.8%), and Beer Hunter Brown Porter (5.4%).  Most of my tastes were limited to samples or I would have ended up spending the whole afternoon here, though the knowledgeable bartender kept encouraging me to try more and more varieties, including a few special blends of his own.  And for once, I was happy it was raining as I met the regional GI distributor (as well as other brands) after his golf game was cancelled and hopefully we’ll exchange a few beers soon so I can get my hands on Juliet.

It was bound to happen eventually…  A little too much time at Goose Island and crappy construction traffic and the schedule has been broken; the first place to be crossed off and not visited- Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee.  Oh well, another time.  img_0599Stopped at Three Cellars on the way to Madison and filled up yet another case or two of miscellaneous beers before getting to Tyranena, another fun place to drink.  If you’re not from around there, you may have never heard of it, but cheap pitchers of craft beer can probably convince you to seek it out.  You may also be a little familiar with their Brewers Gone Wild series, which feature delicious brews such as Who’s Your Daddy? Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Porter, Bitter Woman from Hell Extra India Pale Ale, HopWhore Imperial India Pale Ale, Spank Me Baby! Barley Wine-Style Ale, and Scurvy IPA brewed with Orange Peel.  You may also want to check out the clothing as nothing says Good Girl like a pair of “Tap This” boyshorts…

Finally, Madison Wisconsin.  There were a lot of special pre-GTMW events happening at several locations around the city.  I visited the Cantillon and Jolly Pumpkin event at The Malt House, a nice Belgian inspired beer bar, where I had New Glarus Belgian Red on tap for the first time (tastes just like the bottle), then attempted to go to Glass Nickel Pizza Co. for the Founders and Surly event, but it was overloaded with drunk people before they even began pouring, and finally ate dinner at Sardine, just missing the Goose Island beer and free food event, before settling in to rest up for the festival.