Beer Evangelists

I started to post this last night on the way back to the hotel, but we got caught in that crazy storm in Chicago. By the time we finally got back to the hotel, we were all ready to go to bed. So here is the review I started last night.

We just had a great dinner at Goose Island. They still have one of the best buffalo chicken sandwiches around. I tried both the Summer Bitter and the Ellie’s Celebration Red. The Summer Bitter had a great malty sweetness and was good. My favorite was the Ellie’s Red. It had a very similar malt characteristic to the bitter, but had a nice cascade hops nose and taste. It was excellent. The food was all good, as was the service. I’ll update this later with the address.

Edit: This review is of the 1800 North Clybourn, Chicago, IL Goose Island Brewpub.

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The thirsty bear is much more trendy than 21A. The staff is friendly and attentive. My first beer is the Howard Street IPA. It is dark amber with a creamy colored head. It is leaving a fair amount of lacing. This is a bitter beer, but not really citrusy. The malt is present at the finish. The beer has a great mouthfeel, lingering but pleasant. If time weren’t so short I would definitely have another.

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On the way back to San Jose from San Francisco, I decided to get off at the Sunnyvale CalTrain stop and look for Firehouse Brewery. I had seen it mentioned, I believe on beersbybart.com. It is extremely close to the Sunnyvale CalTrain station; across the street from the parking lot. I stopped in during happy hour. The place was busy but not packed. Several large screen televisions showing three different baseball games and a hockey game made it clear that Firehouse is also a sports bar.

The food was expensive for a pub. I had a cheeseburger and fries: $11. I wouldn’t have minded, but it wasn’t a terribly large or tasty cheeseburger; I’ve had much better for much less.

As far as the beer goes, I had the Firehouse Pale Ale. It had a distinct hop bitterness and was very drinkable. While not terribly memorable, it was a good standard pale ale that was better than anything I had at Tied House in downtown San Jose.

Overall, I’m glad I stopped, but I probably won’t go back unless I have a reason to be in Sunnyvale.

I went on the Anchor Brewery Tour this afternoon, and aside from a few interesting tidbits about Anchor, it was like any other brewery tour I’ve been on. At least it was until we hit the tap room. We sampled each of the 6 beers they are currently producing. Without going into more detail, I will just say it was well worth the trip.

An interesting side note to the tour: the Thirsty Bear staff went on the tour today as well. I am planning to get back to San Francisco later this week and will make a stop at the Thirsty Bear if I do.

The watermelon wheat looks like any unfiltered wheat beer: amber and cloudy. It has a white bubbly head that thins quickly. The nose is almost all wheat grain. It isn’t until the first drink that you get a hint of watermelon. It is subtle, but noticeable, and adds a bit of sweetness to the beer. The closest I can get to describing the flavor is watermelon Jolly Rancher, but it not nearly that sweet. More like someone near you is eating a watermelon Jolly Rancher and you occasionally get a whiff. I was surprised to find that the watermelon is a nice complement to the wheatiness. Not a beer I would drink every day, but very good; much better than I expected.

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Eating lunch at 21A in downtown San Francisco. Nice atmosphere and great food and beer. I’m having the Friday IPA first. It nice and hoppy. Golden in color with lacing all the way down the glass. Citrus nose, with a hint of malt on finish.

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We are on our way to the festival.

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In anticipation of my San Jose/San Francisco trip, I have setup moBlog on my Blackjack II. I plan to blog my beer experiences while on the trip.

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