Ah yes...The Weekend!

I don't really think that I can top the drunken, midnight blog post from before, but the weekend (well, Saturday) was entertaining.

As you can see, I went to Revolution Brewing. One of the folks that I am staying with found it in her heart to drive us out there rather than making me face the frightening world of bus travel through Chicago. Actually, I hear it isn't bad, but I greatly prefer rail travel to the bus. Anyway...we made it there a little bit before 7pm. One thing has become very apparent to me, the great people of Chicago love them some NIGHT LIFE! Revolution was a huge place with two floors and a huge bar on each level. We could barely squeeze through the hordes just to get inside. We were supposed to meet some of my classmates there; a grand task in that mass of humanity. I began my search by turning around and walking straight into one of them. Well...I guess it wasn't that hard afterall... We pulled a few tables together upstairs and sat down upstairs where the drinking-induced, music-free mosh pit was a bit more calm. The taplist was fairly diverse. They had about a dozen of their own beers on tap, about a half dozen guest taps, and a huge bottle selection.

Here's the rundown of what I had:

Iron Fist Pale Ale: I think this may be the best beer that I have had in Chicago thus far. It was truly a Pale Ale that even a Pacific Northwest brewery would be proud to serve. A very citrusy, hop-forward, but well balanced beer. I really had to applaud them on that one!

Weegene: This beer was actually the second runnings from Hugene, their high gravity Imperial Porter. (If you don't know what second runnings are, I think Siebel still has openings for brew school next year...get on it!) It was a good, roasty english-style sessionable porter with an ABV of only 4.7%.

Then I drank another Iron Fist...and another...What? It was good!

The other photo above (top one for those who are a little slow) is a picture of Revolution Brewing's...wait for it...Bacon Fat Popcorn. No, really. It's popcorn made with bacon fat instead of butter and topped with bacon and sage, I think. I didn't really make it passed where it said BACON FAT on the menu. It was exactly how you might expect, A-mazing!

Most everyone in Chicago (especially considering it is a very big city) are reasonably cordial if not friendly. I had my first experience of male douche-baggery that night however. When we were sitting at our cramped table I had to remove my jacket in an aisle. A knuckle dragging "person" decided that I was in his way and roughly pushed by without as much as an apology. My immediate response was to call him an 'Ass'. He walked on. His friends actually apologized for him though. That made me feel better. Maybe I expect too much. Who knows?

Anyway, enough about my space bubble sensitivity. Here is my write up on other beers:

Two Brothers Domain DuPage: A very interesting French-style farmhouse ale (I think). Those guys actually ferment in giant wooden vessels. Oddly, I didn't get any wood character, just a fairly light-bodied beer that reminded me of a Belgian Pale Ale.

Two Brother Golden Prairie: Hard to describe. It really wasn't like anything that I have ever had. I don't know if that's good or bad. I will have to try it again.

Bell's Oarsman: I had heard so many great things about Bell's, I have to try as many of their beers as I can while I am here. The Oarsman was made using a sour mash (again, enroll in school if that is a new term...or Google it, it's much cheaper). It gives it a very refreshing, Saison or Berlinerweiss type flavor. It would be fantastic to drink during a summer BBQ. Too bad it was 2 degrees with the windchill at that point. Good beer anyway!

Bell's Pale Ale: Meh...Not my style. Very spicy, earthy hop character. An English-style brew for sure. I couldn't find any faults in the beer, I am just not really into that style.

Bell's Brown: Good winter brown. Very malty, not a whole lot of hop character. I enjoyed it, but there was no way I could have more than one or two. It just finished too sweet.

1809 Berlinerweiss: Ok, I know this is not from Chicago. But, I love this style and it was brewed at Doemen's School in Germany where I will be studying in April. It was great. Good, clean sourness without the pucker factor. It was apparently made without any boiling. I really want to try to make this style when I get back.

What else? Oh yeah, I passed my test: 98% (I guess that is why I am here!)

Tomorrow I have to be at school at 6:45am. We are heading to the Breiss malting facility in Chilton, WI. The story is that since the drive is 4+ hours, we basically have an unlimited amount of free craft beer to drink on the way back into Chicago. You will hear all about it I am sure, should I live through the experience!

Until next time...Prost!

(By the way, make sure that you congratulate the folks from GoodLife on their second place finish at the Eugene Brewfest. The Descender IPA took second out of 100+ beers!)