March Madness - Bracket time again!

No, not basketball! Don't you know me?

Hoosier Beer Geek has a beer bracket!

Check it out and vote now.

Hoosier Beer Geek: Hoosier Beer Geek's Springtime Tournament of Beer Champions

Flossmoor Station Mug Club

Mmmm, Flossmoor Station IPA... (insert your image of Homer Simpson tipping his head back and drooling here)

Tony and I attended our second ever Mug Club event. This was the tapping of Hoppy, Hoppy, Joy, Joy - "8% American IPA with loads of pacific northwest hops."

I tried to describe it to our friend, Steve, but all I could come up with was that it might be the most perfect IPA I've ever had.

All I can say is that you should try it for yourself and be the judge.

We met wonderful people (as we always do at Flossmoor and brewpubs in general) and got to spend a little time with Bryan Shimkos the brewer. He was gracious enough to spend time talking shop with us about our venture into home brewing.

Road Trip! Hockey, Microbrews and Triple D

What a trip! Here is the run down:

12/25/09 - Drive to Nashville. The weather was pretty good once we got past Indianapolis. We snacked on the pretzels and Sun Chips Kirsten suggested we take (thanks, Kir!) and stopped to eat a tasty dinner at Arbys. (Honestly... the best Market Fresh Turkey I've tasted in a long time!) Arrive in Nashville and have a drink at the hotel bar where some NFL network guys were hanging out enjoying their 15 minutes of fame.


12/26/09 - Boscos Nashville and Hockey. We had a great lunch at Boscos. We tried four beer samples: (left to right) Boscos Bombay IPA, Ice Age Pale Ale, Festive Ale, and Oatmeal Stout. All were good but the IPA was our favorite.

We were pretty hungry so we decided to start with an appetizer of Smoked Duck Spring Rolls (Crisp Spring Rolls Filled with Smoked Duck, Grilled Scallions, Julienne Carrots, and Cabbage; Served with Spicy Szechwan
Chile Sauce). They were very good. I probably could have eaten about three more plates of them.

Tony ordered the Muffeletta (Genoa Salami, Pepperoni, Mortadella, Provolone, and Marinated Olive Salad) and I had the Calzone de Bosco but I converted it into a pizza (Pesto, Spinach, Artichokes, Tomatoes, and Kalamata Olives with Whole Milk Mozzarella; Topped
with Marinara and Parmesan)

We were both very happy with our selections. Maybe that is why I took so many pictures?!

After lunch we were off to the Blackhawks game. We had great seats near center ice. It was fantastic game (the Hawks won 5-4). We met quite a few other fans - some from NW Indiana and the Chicago area.

After the game we headed to the Broadway Brewhouse & Mojo for nachos and beers.


12/27/09 - Drive to Memphis. We arrived in Memphis in the late evening and found a hotel. We were pretty hungry and were going to try our first Diner, Drive-in and Dive restaurant. Unfortunately, I failed to notice that they were closed on Sundays. The guy at the front desk of the hotel suggested the Blues City Cafe.
In the spirit of Memphis, we both had ribs. They were pretty good. Although they were very tender and tasty, we agreed that we prefer the bbq sauce variety of ribs as opposed to these which were dry rubbed. I think this would be a better place to visit when it isn't cold outside. We sat near the door and windows so we ate with our coats on!

After dinner we walked a block or so to a beer bar called Flying Saucer. This was such a cool place but there was almost nobody there. I guess Sunday nights in Memphis when it is colder than usual are good nights to stay home, but we enjoyed a huge variety of beers on tap and in bottles. Somebody should open one in NW Indiana!


12/28/09 - Drive to Dallas. We arrived in Dallas, again, in the late evening. We had a little trouble with the GPS sending us to the wrong end of Stemmons Freeway but we eventually found our hotel. I don't usually gush about the accommodations. We try to stay in nice hotels when we travel but this place was especially cool. The Hilton Anatole was darn near palatial. The hotel grounds (yes, they have grounds) contained the meeting rooms, guest rooms, five restaurants, seven bars and lounges and a full service health club and spa. While we were there we stayed on the Tower side of the hotel. The Atrium side was home to the Cotton Bowl folks. If you're ever in Dallas, check it out. At the time we were there - it wasn't outrageously expensive.

We found a cute steak house for dinner. The Hoffbrau was cute and very "Texas" looking. Dinner was very good.

12/29//09 - Our first Triple D. So, many of our readers know that Kir and I are huge fans of the Food Network. And, as things sometimes happen, Tony will often wander into the living room or kitchen when we have the Food Network on the TV. Diners, Drive-Ins' and Dives is a show about funky places off the beaten path. We've always wanted to try some and have just never gotten to the ones in the Chicago area. So, we found one in Dallas. Avila's Mexican Restaurant is a tiny little place that looks like little house with a purple door.

We had watched the video of the Triple D segment on Avila's website so we wanted to try some of the same foods ghat Guy Fieri ate. Now, I have to tell you... we arrived at Avila's at 2:30 p.m. for a late lunch. We did not know that the restaurant closes for a break in the afternoon. Unfortunately their hours are not listed on their website. So, the chefs were just walking out the door when we arrived. Our waitress was able to catch one gentleman (who's nickname is Tortuga) and he came back in to fix our food. We were very impressed with the customer service!!

So, we tried the pozole soup, the tamales and the brisket gorditas (which just happened to be on the lunch special menu!).



Everything we ate was delicious. The pozole was pretty spicy (especially for a lightweight like me) but was fantastic. I would eat it every day if we lived closer to Dallas. It came with a plate of red cabbage, radishes, purple onions, oregano, lime and what I thought was green pepper (which in fact were jalapenos - as Tony will confirm). All of the flavors mingled together to make a delicious meal. The tamales were as almost as good as El Taco Real (my all time favorite tamales) and the gorditas were very good as well.

After we came out of the mexican food comas we both enjoyed, we got ready for the Hawks game. Although we loved visiting the American Airlines Center and watching the Dallas Stars game, the did not enjoy the outcome of the game as the Hawks lost 4-5. However, we also had great seats and met some local teens who played hockey.

After the game we ate in the sports bar in the hotel called the Rathskeller. It was near closing time so the place was pretty quiet but the burgers were outstanding.

12/30/09 - After Tony checked out the Heath Club workout facilities at the Anatole... we hit the road for Oklahoma City. We checked out the Bricktown Brewery. We missed the IPA by one day so we tried the Copperhead, the Red Brick Ale and the Porter. All were good but the Porter was my favorite. We ate chili and salads. The salads were enormous, but very good. We even had a chance to chat for a little bit with the brewer.

Off to Tulsa where we were unable to find a microbrewery but there was another beer bar. Downtown looked closed and deserted but when we arrived at McNellie's we found that everyone was there!! The place was hopping. We later learned that it was $3 burger night, which attracts a crowd each week.

12/31/09 - Drive to St. Louis. As we left the hotel in Tulsa and watched as everyone arrived for check-in with coolers and margarita machines for long, loud nights of partying... we decided that perhaps we needed to stay on the outskirts of St. Louis so that we could get some sleep. We drove around and looked for some place to stay but didn't really have a lot of luck. We were tired, hungry and ready to relax and getting frustrated and feeling desperate. Tony decided to say a quick prayer and ask God to help guide us. (He is so smart! I was talking about Tony, but God is, too!) We hopped on 270 which looped around the city and landed in a great little suburb called Creve Coeur.

We found a Courtyard hotel with almost nobody there. They even had a sign a "no party" agreement... how cool is that?! The charming girl at the front desk provided us with a list of restaurants in the area. Right next door to the hotel was the Bristol Bar and Grille. The front desk gal even gave us a $10 off coupon for the place. Tony called because we figured being New Year's Eve and all we might not be able to just walk in off the street. We got reservations for a half hour later and were seated soon after we arrived. The food was outstanding! We ate like a king and queen and talked about our fabulous kids, brothers and sisters and our wonderful friends. It was a great night to remember all of the blessings we have received throughout the year.

Better Late Than Never - Our Trip to Wisconsin Dells in September

The Corner Pub? Does anything good really ever served at the Corner Pub? MGD, Bud, but wait! This Corner Pub brews their own beer and has a chef trained from the Culinary Institute of America. The Red was good and the Porter was pretty good. I tasted the smoked porter... interesting. A sip was probably enough but it was good.

We also visited The Grumpy Troll in Mount Horeb. We visited it twice. The first day we ate nachos and coupled them with the Vegetarian Black Bean Chili.
I tried Erik the Red and Tony had the Maggie IPA. We saw the Imperial Stouts being served around the bar and decided we should try one at the bar for dessert.




















While we sat at the bar sipping our Stout, we discussed some of the unique beers on their menu. They had a jalapeno flavored beer called Slow Eddie.

I am not much of a jalapeno lover but this was a tasty beer. On the way back to the hotel we both noticed a little delayed "heat" in our throats.

The Slow Eddie was so good we decided to come back the next day on our way home for another lunch and a growler to share with Rick and Steve (two of our best beer aficionado friends).

The Livery 4th Anniversary Festival

How do you celebrate your 4th anniversary in business? With 16 beers on tap and the Fabulous Thunderbirds in Concert!

It was an awesome night in Benton Harbor, MI on August 15th. Our ticket got us an all you can eat buffet of pulled pork, burgers and brats, corn on the cob, potato salad, watermelon and baked beans.

After we gorged ourselves on food and had a few beers (specifically the McGilligans IPA, the Herb Superb Black IPA, and the Double Paw IPA) we headed to the upstairs bar for the band.

I had no idea the T-Birds were that great of a band. I knew they had a couple of hits but they play can really play the blues.

There were only about 60 or so people in attendance so it was an intimate event. The band hung out after the show to sign autographs. I'd recommend checking them out if they are ever playing near you.

Vermont... who knew?

I went to Burlington, Vermont for a work thing and is our tradition, I checked beermapping.com to check out the microbrew situation.

Burlington itself had three microwbreweries so Tony had to fly out and join me for the tail end of the trip.

The Vermont Pub and Brewery was the first place I visited. I went the very first night in town and sampled their Bombay Grab IPA. Tony went one night while I was working and drank so much IPA, he finished the keg that night (whoo hoo!). He had wings and a burger and said the food was very good.

We returned later in the week and tried a few samples. We really love this picture since it shows off the great color differences. Left to right are Handsome Mick's Smoked Stout, Dogbite ESB, Forbidden Fruit (raspberry), Burley Irish Ale (Red) and Grand Slam Baseball Beer (summer blonde). Each beer was good but our favorite was the Burley Irish Ale (Red). It was delicious with a light roast flavor. Although the raspberry looks very pink, it was lightly flavored and not sweet. This was my first smoked beer and it was quite interesting. I could see drinking it while eating cheese or making it into a BBQ sauce.

South Burlington is home to Magic Hat Brewing Co. The tour was somewhat overrated but it lead to the free sample bar so it was worth it. The place is dark with quirky lights and signs but interesting. Did I mention they gave out free samples? We tried almost everything they had on tap that day including Single Chair Golden Ale, Lucky Kat IPA, The #9 Apricot Ale, Belgian Chocolate Stout, Wacko and one of the Odd Notions. I found a nice t-shirt with the logo in the gift shop and Tony got... wait for it... a magic hat.

On to The American Flatbread for dinner. The experience was all around fantastic. We each had an IPA to start. My TLA IPA was similar to the 3 Floyds Blackheart in my opinion (on the right). Tony had the 2G Double Dry Hopped TLA IPA cask conditioned.

I tried another Vermont local, Lawson's Finest Chinooker'd IPA. Tony had the Berkshire Lost Sailor IPA, also on cask conditioned. Both were very good.

The flatbreads are worth mentioning as well. I built my own with garlic oil sauce, corn, black beans, caramelized onions and Vermont goat cheese. Tony had organic tomato sauce, nitrate free pepperoni and sausage, onion, green pepper and cheese. The flatbreads were out of this world.

The next day we hit the road and went to The Alchemist Pub and Brewery in Waterbury (home of Ben and Jerry's). The beer gods were smiling on us the day we visited The Alchemist because they had five IPA's on tap. Tony told his good friend Steve that he had "found his final resting place."

Left to right are: Donovan's Red, Holy Cow IPA, Pappy's Porter, Celia IPA (gluten free, hence the name), The Crusher Double IPA, Rapture Dark IPA and Rapture Dark cask conditioned. Simply because of the amount of IPA's, this was our favorite pub. The atmosphere, staff, beer and customers were all what you'd want from a great pub. The Holy Cow IPA was my favorite with the most citrus flavor and Tony really liked the Rapture. The Celia was okay but had a honey and clover flavor which didn't really taste great. The young lady next to us, though, loved it and was thrilled that the had a gluten-free beer since she is a celiac.

We heard that The Bobcat Cafe in Bristol had decent beer and fantastic food but we were not hungry enough to order any food. The beer selection on the day of our visit was not to our liking. The IPA and ESB were not in stock so the hoppiest thing they had on tap was the Pilsner at 3.85% ABV and a mere 39 IBUs. I tried the Baltic Porter which actually was delicious. It had that Russian Imperial Stout flavor going on. The sign was cute, though.

Last, but certainly not least, we headed to Three Needs back in Burlington. We had heard lots about it from everyone we asked. We heard that the beers were hit or miss but that the clientele and the atmosphere were worth checking out. I think we were there a little too early to get the full effect but it was interesting.

Our trip to Burlington was fantastic. The beer, food and sights were great. Lake Champlain is beautiful and the town really does a lot to take advantage of the lake shore. Downtown Burlington is worth a visit. The town is very dog-friendly with water stations on the street and many stores posting "dogs welcome" signs.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

There's more than cheese in Wisconsin. We visited four microbreweries on our 24 hour visit to Milwaukee. We walked over to the Water Street Brewery - just a few blocks from our hotel. A new twist on the much revered beer can collection, they had entire walls of beer cans. There were actually three panels just like this one. The beers weren't as impressive as the wall. I tried the Pale Ale and Tony tried the Maiback. I thought the Maibock was too sweet but Tony said it was just not as hoppy as advertised. The beers were all very similar in taste. The wings were good.


We headed to Lakefront Brewery. We knew it was just a brewery and not a pub but we read about the famous tours. The place was packed! The tours run every half hour and seem to always sell out. We got there just as the 6:30 tour was taking off but had to wait for the 7:00 tour. We met a great couple of kids who were going to school locally and let us sit at their table. We had a great time talking to them. Mark, our tour guide was a hoot. We got four tastes along the way and got the full tour. It is worth the stop.


We ended the evening at Stonefly Brewery. We ate dinner there and Tony tried a few of the beers. (I was done with beer for the evening). We decided to split appetizers, salad and dinner.

The most interesting appetizer was the deep fried bacon. It was served with a homemade stout mustard. We split the spinach salad with chick peas, goat cheese, black olives and tomatoes. It was delicious!

Apparently the thing to eat in Wisconsin on a Friday night is "the fish fry." Every place had "the fish fry" as the Friday night special. Well, we had it and it was incredible. The fish was so fresh tasting and lightly battered. It was served with hot apples and these unbelievable celery root mashed potatoes. It think this is my new favorite fried fish. If you go... ask for Becky. She was our waitress and was wonderful!

After a great night sleep and a workout (working off the deep fried bacon!) we went to the Milwaukee Ale House for lunch.

We tried the beer sampler and the chips and salsa.

The Downtown Lites Honey Ale was better than I expected. The Solomon Juneau was "good, very clean" according to Tony. The Pull Chain Pale Ale was, "good, not outstanding" according to Tony. Louie's Demise Amber was good, too. "The malts and the hops are kinda going back and forth. You can taste it. Its good." Tony said. The Session Ale was the Louie's Demise in a Bourbon Barrel. It was very good. The bourbon was very understated but good. The Sheepshead Stout was good, too. It was much more rich than most stouts are.

On the way home we stopped at the famed beer bar, The Map Room. It was typical small bar sized, with tons of beers in bottles and about a dozen and a half on tap. Tony tried the Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA and I had the Kulmacher Monchshof Schwarzbier (Black Lager). Both were delicious.

We finished by splitting a bottle of the Harpoon Leviathon Imperial IPA. We started slow at the Water Street but finished strong.

The Livery

We've heard so much about it... it is so darn close... and we had a beautiful Saturday with nothing more important than spending some time with each other and visiting Benton Harbor, Michigan's The Livery. We happened to be there on an historic day when their new sign was being painted on the side of the building.

It wasn't too hard to figure out what to drink. We met some regulars at the bar who helped us navigate our way to the beers we would enjoy the most.

We each started with one of the IPAs. Tony had the 555 IPA and I tried the McGilligans. While they were both tasty, the McGilligans was the big winner. From listening to others coming in and ordering - it must be a Livery favorite. (Sorry - no pictures of the McGilligans... they disappeared too quickly!)

We sampled a few others including the Paris Roubaux, the Synapse E.S.B. and the Dixie O'Flynn Stout. All were good but none compared to the McGilligans. (For descriptions of their beers - click here)

Just about the time we decided to order a Pile-O-Nachos, they took the 555 off the menu and put up the Jak Imperial Pale Ale.

The Jak was also delicious. "Very smooth and drinkable while also being very hoppy." according to Tony.

We met lots of great folks including Doug from South Bend (in this picture he was having a very in-depth conversation with a couple of kids at The Livery with their parents.)

And we also met quite a few people with ties to Northwest Indiana. Tony met a fellow Andrean H.S. alum and in the group pictured below, Brady (pictured far right)is a Highland H.S. alum. His parents still live in our fine home town.

Although we didn't get everyone's name, Marie took our contact information and perhaps she can fill in the blanks on the names.

Between the fantastic beers, great conversation, and our first ever Yodeling Pickle sighting, the day was a huge success. We're planning to go back for the Anniversary Party in August. Everyone said it was a party not to be missed!

Celebrate

This week begins the annual celebration of American Craft Beer. To find a list of events commemorating ACBW in your location, visit www.americancraftbeerweek.org and click on Brewery Events.

Celebrate with your favorite microbrew pint!

1st Annual Indiana Microbrewers Winterfest

The gang packed up, piled in and headed south for a two-day excursion to Winterfest.

In order to help support microbreweries in Indiana, we selflessly gave up a weekend to taste as many new brews as we could in the three hours we visited the fest.

Although the festival was over crowded (expected 1000 and got 2700), many booths were out of beer before we could try them, and the layout of the giant room at the Fairgrounds was very poorly planned, the six of us did have a good time.

Having learned much from our previous fest visits, we stopped in Lafayette and had brunch on the way to Indy. After checking into our rooms at the fabulous Crowne Plaza downtown Indy (thanks for the rooms, Bull!) we set off to enjoy the fest.



Our usual style of sticking together as a group and sharing tastes in order to maximize our tokens didn't work this time. With the extra large crowd (numbers, not lbs.) and the unevenly disbursed beer tables, we had to break into pairs in order to make it through the sea of buzzed beer aficionados.

After the fest we enjoyed a great dinner that evening at Harry & Izzy's, a few blocks from the hotel.
Although the fest was slightly disappointing, we were still grateful to be there and to get away for a weekend with our friends.

Emmett's Tavern & Brewing Co.

The newest installment to our beer travels took us to Emmetts Tavern and Brewing Company in Downers Grove on August 30, 2008.

Now that Illinois is entirely non-smoking in bars and restaurants (whoo hoo!) we are able to sit in the bar and enjoy the entire bar atmosphere without developing emphysema. The big screen TV had the University of Illinois football game on and the crowd was really into it. That kind of energy always makes beer taste better.

However, the beer and the food at Emmett's were good and our server was great.

We started with a McCarthy Red Ale and a Victory Pale Ale (pictured left to right) and both were very good.

Appetizers included the Great Lakes Walleye Bites (which sounded disgusting to me but actually were better than some fish and chips I've had) for Tony and a 1/2 order of the salad wedge for me.

After the larger than usual appetizers we opted to split the Brew House Angus Burger.

For dessert, we split the Double Barrel Oatmeal Stout. This is probably one of the best, most complex oatmeal stouts I've had in a long time.

We agreed that Emmett's is worth the trip. We'll go back!

Crown Brewing

Mmmm, another delicious brewpub to add to the list. Crown Brewing is new - brand new (opened June 13, 2008). Jim Cibak, Brewmaster poured the Pale Ale for us last Monday and I fell in love with it. I've actually been craving it all week. I know it was going fast so he is probably already out.

This place is a keeper, though. Right now the beer selection is small but the beer is fresh, complex and (the two we tasted) have been worth coming back for.

Keep up the good work, Jim!

International Brewers Day - Who Knew?

As I do frequently (okay, daily!), I was checking my RSS feeds from the various blogs to which I subscribe. Our old friend Andy at Flossmoor Station was kind enough to point out that today is International Brewers Day. The website contains a plethora of information on the first observance of this obscure but no less important holiday. Thank you, Jay Brooks, for creating a holiday to thank the people who help us enjoy beer!

Tony and I extend a heart-felt "Thanks" to all of our brewer friends at our favorite brewpubs across the United States! God Bless!

Mini Celebration of Indiana Beer Week 2008

Although we are unable to participate in "formal" events this week, Tony and I were joined by our good friend Steve for a small microbrew tasting on our patio Monday, July 14th.


Several wonderful beers were sampled. The gentlemen started with a Flossmoor IPA but I began my tasting with a bottle of Mad River Steelhead Double IPA (which we all shared).

The beer was extremely tasty with a sweet aroma - which I likened to toasted marshmallows. It was very drinkable and would pair nicely with grilled food.
Captain Steve brought a bottle of Victory Brewing Company's HopDevil Ale.

According to their website, "Menacingly delicious, with the powerful, aromatic punch of whole flower American hops backed up by rich, German malts. HopDevil Ale offers a roller coaster ride of flavor, coasting to a smooth finish that satisfies fully."

We agree. This was a delicious, hoppy ale with great color and taste.

We finished our tasting with two bomber bottles from our good friends at Three Floyds. We drank a Fantabulous Resplendence as well as a Blackheart. Both beers have been on rotation once or twice at the pub and are hoppy and strong. Of course the bottles pale in comparison to the fresh brews enjoyed at the brewpub. Currently Triple F has the Fantabulous Resplendence on tap along with an AlphaNaught which has Tony's name written all over it!

Rock Bottom - Orland Park

Hmm, I guess we're officially beer snobs. We visited the Rock Bottom in Orland Park, IL. We'd heard this was a really good one. But I was disappointed. Yeah, the IPA was as light as a Lite. My Pale Ale was drinkable but not even good. Tony had two of the IPAs so it couldn't have been too bad. The restaurant itself was nice (new and clean).

The stop at Rock Bottom was dinner on our way to the former World Music Theater (and former Tweeter Center now known as First Midwest Amphitheater) to see Joe Cocker and Steve Miller. The show was awesome! But, they wanted $12 for either a Blue Moon or a Fat Tire. What are they thinking? So, we stopped at Flossmoor Station on our way home to cleanse our palates and drink some good beer.