Guinness @ Fado Irish Pub in Chicago

Stumbled upon this bar after leaving The Local. Its a chain Irish pub, but is very cozy and has a local Irish bar feel to it rather than a boring chain. Mickey, our bartender, poured a beautiful pint for me that had the perfect white head on it. Taste was very, very smooth and served at a nice cool temperature. It was not overly bitter and didn't seem too thin in the mouthful. Definitely a top 5 pint, but not quite on the level of the one I had at The Dublin House (Red Bank, NJ) due to it being a bit watery. Great Irish pub though and a delicious Guinness. Slainte!

Two Brother's North Wind Imperial Stout

A little back story. If you watch the show "Bar Rescue" on Spike, there was an episode about a bar in Chicago that was renovated called Blue Frog 22. They changed the name to The Local after the renovation and after watching it, we decided that when we were in Chicago we had to go. Walked in there today around 1:30 and couldn't of been more disappointed. Service was slow, place was kind of run down (not in a good, dive bar way) and there was loud rap music blasting for the short time we were there. Mimi should be ashamed!!

As for the beer, Two Brother's is a local brewery that had two beers on tap at The Local, an imperial stout and a belgian wheat I think. I opted for the stout of course. Poured into a snifter glass and had a little coffee aroma, but mostly hops and slight alcohol. Taste was malty with a little chocolate and coffee in the front, but finished very alcoholy. It is 8 percent abv, but they could have hid the alcohol a bit more. Was disappointed that it didn't have more coffee, chocolate or some other flavor, but it did pack some nice hops towards the middle. Overall, not a bad stout, but nothing to write home about (literally I'm in Chicago and there will be no letters sent about this one). Cheers!

Best Tap Handle Ever

Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale. Didn't try the beer, but the tap handle is literally a telephone.

Guinness @ Le Bar in the lobby of the Sofitel Hotel Chicago

Never been more surprised in my life. I ordered this Guinness as a night cap after a long night of drinking figuring it would be decent, but subpar and I was shocked! While it isn't a top tier pour, this Guinness was solidly smooth with no hiicups on the pour. Great job by the bartender taking the time to pour it, which resulted in a delightful pint. Was it perfect? Hell no! But it was definitely a top 10 Guinness from the windy city. Cheers!

Goose Island Beer Company

Stanley and I are very excited to announce that Born 2 Brew will be taking it's first road trip this weekend to Chicago. In addition to the beers that we will be trying all weekend, we have a reservation at 1:30pm (CST) on Sunday for a tour and tasting at Goose Island Beer Company located in the heart of Lincoln Park, Chicago. The only beer that I have had from Goose Island is their IPA which was absolutely delicious (and is actually served at Yankee Stadium). Stay tuned for pictures, reviews and possibly a video or two from the Windy City!

Goose Island Beer Company

Harpoon Grateful Harvest Cranberry Ale

Happy early Thanksgiving! In the spirit of the holiday, I'm reviewing one of the only Thanksgiving themed beers that I have seen. In fact, its the only one I've seen. Harpoon's Grateful Harvest is a Cranberry Ale that raises money for food banks by having $1 of every 6-pack sold go to local foodbanks. At $8.99 for a sixer at the Tribeca Whole Foods, it made the high price somewhat tolerable which was much more than the beer itself. I drank it straight out of the bottle on the train so I don't have much insight on the color, but from reading other reviews I know it pours a reddish brown with a slight head. The smell was very bland - malt, some hops and a slight scent of cranberry that could even be from my imagination. Not much going on. The taste really surprised me, it was very beery and not very cranberry-y. It was actually quite disappointing because of the lack of cranberry flavor and the overpowering metallic taste that it had. I felt like I was drinking a cheap beer out of a can, more than a craft brewed bottle. The aftertaste was slightly better with a tad of hops mixed with some tart from the cranberries. Overall, I was very let down by Harpoon which was shocking because normally they are on top of their game. If not for the strong finish and turkey pictured on the 6-pack box, I'd probably nominate it for worst beer of the year. Outside of the $1 donation to the foodbank per sixer, Grateful Harvest Cranberry Ale is not a beer to be thankful for at all.

Kane Brewing Company Drift Line - Oatmeal Brown Ale

After a two month hiatus from the blog, Kane Brewing Company is back!  Unfortunately I have still not made it to the brewery for one of their Saturday tastings/tours, but it is on my to-do list before 2011 comes to an end.  Stay tuned for a visit to Kane in mid-December if all goes well.  As for their newest beer which I had on tap at Stuff Yer Face in New Brunswick last night, Drift Line Oatmeal Brown Ale is an absolute gem.  While I usually go crazy over IPAs, Double IPAs and anything else that is overly hoppy, in recent weeks I have been moving my focus towards porters, stouts and brown ales and it has been a delightful change.  Kane’s Drift Line pours a very, very dark brown that basically looks black with a thumb-sized cream head on the top.  It has a delicious scent of chocolate and roasted malts that don’t overpower the nose, but give it a solid sweetness.  The taste is dark chocolate mixed with something else that I was having a tough time figuring out, might be hazelnut, but I’m not completely sure – regardless, it was delicious.  It finished with a bit of coffee/oatmeal flavor and some slight hops kicking in late to balance it out perfectly.  It had a medium body that wasn’t too heavy, but carried enough to make it a smooth beer perfect for the colder weather.  Overall, another great beer from Kane Brewery, who continues to impress me with everything they put out.  For anyone looking to try it, it’s on tap all over Shore/Central/North New Jersey and I have linked their website below for more updates.  Cheers!

 

http://www.kanebrewing.com/