This part is going to be lamb sausage, this part is going to be lamb head ravioli….

(Chef Benjamin with a whole lamb ready to be made into delicious pub food.)

http://tinyurl.com/m25tp3

Chicago’s New Wave of Microbrews

IT’S just shy of 5 p.m. on a sunny spring Friday in Chicago, and the intimate front room of Michael & Louise’s Hopleaf Bar on the North Side is already packed, the decibel level growing. Creative types mix with professionals; young women in stylish jeans and sweaters rub elbows with older guys who look as if they’ve been hitting this bar as long as they’ve been hitting on the ladies.

This is a bar that starts rolling early and doesn’t stop until last call. And it’s all about beer.

The Hopleaf is known for its pages-long brew list, with an emphasis on hard-to-find Belgian imports and domestic craft selections. But a quick check of the couple of dozen taps lining the bar with their colorful and artistic handles shows something more: many of the beers being served are brewed right in Chicago. Just a few years ago, this would not have been the case.

As Chicago has morphed from a meat-and-potatoes town to one claiming some of the country’s best chefs, consumers have started demanding better beer. While the craft beer movement that exploded in cities like Portland, Ore., San Francisco and Philadelphia infiltrated Chicago within the last couple of decades, it’s only lately that the city has experienced a brewing renaissance of its own. Today, local beer is popping up all over town.

Since October, two new microbreweries have sprouted on the North Side. Half Acre Beer, which produces three niche beers at its street-facing brewery on Lincoln Avenue, will open a tasting room for the public later this year featuring six draft lines and small-batch guest spirits and beers, and local food like pretzels, mustard and chocolate.

Metropolitan Brewing, a couple of miles to the north along the tree-lined Ravenswood Industrial Corridor, opened in December; its two lagers, Flywheel Bright and Dynamo Copper, are sold in about 100 bars, restaurants and stores.

This fall, the Revolution Brewing Company will open a 20,000-square foot brew pub in the Logan Square neighborhood in a 100-year-old building that formerly housed a newspaper printer.

As bars cater to the craft-beer audience, they are finding plenty of response. On a Tuesday night in early June, you could barely buy your way into Piece Brewery and Pizzeria in Wicker Park. Eager drinkers packed the sprawling brew pub to get their hands — or rather their taste buds — on Baron Von Awesome, a summer release from Piece’s brewer, Jonathan Cutler. This American wheat beer appears every year, something a bit lighter to help cleanse the bitter memories of Chicago’s wintry chill.

Some in the crowd — a mix of hipsters, yuppies and frat boys looking for crisp New Haven-style pizza and tasty in-house brews — waited nearly an hour to grab a table. Others stood two deep at the bar for a taste of the Baron while listening to pumping classic rock.

About a mile away, on a sleepy residential stretch of Damen Avenue, Bar DeVille sits conspicuously among the old graystones and single-family homes of the Ukrainian Village neighborhood. Inside, glimmering candles on each antique-looking table light the dark setting. Velvet drapes, lace curtains and crystal-clear mirrors accent exposed brick walls. The no-charge red-felt pool table is beneath antlers mounted on the wall, and the back room resembles a French bordello or English country house with its inviting mismatched couches, herringbone wood floors and framed landscapes.

About a third of the beers are local, including Goose Island, Three Floyds, Half Acre, Metropolitan and Two Brothers. The rest are domestic crafts and, this being something of a hipster joint, the requisite Pabst Blue Ribbon draft.

“It’s the first bar in Chicago since I moved here from Philly two years ago where you can sit at the bar, talk to the bartenders and learn from them,” said Dan Snyder, a frequent DeVille patron.

In Bucktown, the Map Room offers a free buffet catered by local restaurants on Tuesdays, which is International Night. One week, the menu might be soul food; another, Middle Eastern. But even though the expansive beer list mirrors that global feeling, it is a locally crafted brand that usually ends up on the Beer of the Month board.

“The Map Room has an environment that makes it hard to not try new beers,” said Georgeanna Smith, who has lived in Bucktown since moving from Savannah, Ga., three years ago. Before becoming more adventurous, she said, “I didn’t know a beer could taste like grapefruit and hoppy sunshine.”

In the heart of the Loop, the Wit, a modern, sleek hotel that opened in late May, houses Chicago’s hottest new rooftop bar, Roof, but it’s the street-level gastropub, State and Lake, that offers beer lovers salvation. This masculine space, reminiscent of an English pub, focuses on artisanal beer with Midwestern roots. When visitors want to dig in and really get a feel for what this area’s brewers have to offer, they can taste their way through 16 draft beers at its large, wraparound bar and get lost in the moment.

Back on the North Side at the Tiny Lounge in Lincoln Square, nearly half the drafts come from local brewers, and the chic vibe is comfortable and welcoming. Floor-to-ceiling windows open onto the street, and live music featuring local artists begins in July.

All this activity actually represents a second wave in Chicago’s modern beer movement. In 1988, a local businessman, John Hall, frustrated that he couldn’t find a local beer in Chicago, opened the Goose Island Brewpub on a then-desolate stretch of Clybourn Avenue in Lincoln Park.

Over 20 years, Goose Island became a powerhouse, and it distributes in 15 states, Great Britain and Sweden. Among its most familiar brews are Honkers Ale, Matilda and Bourbon County Stout.

The brewery has also helped anchor a neighborhood that now features big-box stores, boutiques, chain stores and restaurants.

Mr. Hall, with his brewmaster son, Greg, produces 50 beers a year, releasing a new product each Thursday at the pub. And Goose Island has been a training ground for a number of brewers who have opened or plan to open their own places, including Josh Deth and Jim Cibak of Revolution, Tommy Nicely at Half Acre and Mr. Cutler at Piece.

But there are few places more exciting from a beer lover’s perspective than Three Floyds, a quick drive south of Chicago in Munster, Ind. Favorites there include Alpha King, a pale ale; Gumballhead, a wheat beer; and especially the dark and brooding Russian imperial stout called Dark Lord. On the last Saturday in April, the Dark Lord Day festival draws thousands to taste that year’s batch.

One attendee was Koji Nomura, a beer aficionado and seller from Tokyo who has made Chicago a frequent stop on his “beer geek” itinerary. Dark Lord, he said, is “plain goodness.”

From the Indiana Post-Tribune

http://www.post-trib.com/lifestyles/1637616,taylor0626.article

June 26, 2009

By Mark Taylor, Post-Tribune correspondent

Three Floyds Brewery & Pub is oddly located in an industrial park in the southwest corner of Munster, perhaps appropriately situated for this eccentric little brewery serving a variety freshly made beers and respectable cuisine.

Most people come to Three Floyds for the beer. I’d suggest ordering something from the pub’s imaginative and diverse menu as well. I’d expected sandwiches, burgers and pizza, standard bar food.

Which is why my wife declined and my youngest brother accepted. He enjoys beer more than she does and doesn’t get out enough.

But Three Floyds offered much more than either of us expected.

It’s a dark, cool place to eat, drink and escape the summer heat in a comfortable, cave-like setting. That’s not a slight.

The walls are plastered with original art and posters of international beers. Several couches in the bar and lounge area lend an aura of coziness and overhead fans circulated the comfy air. Smoking is not allowed in the bar area nor permitted in the restaurant.

Overlooking the hand-crafted beers that Three Floyds produces would be as remiss as ignoring the food.

The brewery offers 11 home-brewed beers, from Weiss beers to Scottish ales and Indian pale ales from $4 to $7. While most come in pints, be sure to ask the size of the serving. Three Floyds also features more than 20 domestic and international beers on tap or by the bottle or can, with prices ranging from $2 for a Pabst Blue Ribbon to $15 for the Belgian Trappiste Ale Westmalle Tripel in a 750 ml bottle.

A classic pub treat

Three Floyds also offers advice on matching these premium beers with the food they prepare, which I found helpful.

For food we started with a sampling of appetizers, splitting a Scotch Egg, a Scottish version of an Egg McMuffin with a hard-boiled egg wrapped in breakfast sausage, lightly battered and deep-fried. It was served with a Sriracha hot sauce and garlic mayonnaise. Heart patients should probably skip this one, but at $3 it’s a classic pub treat.

We couldn’t agree on two other starters, so we ordered one of each. The modestly named Soft Pretzel and Sausage included a large soft pretzel from Chicago’s Hot Chocolate Chef Mindy Segal poached in Schlerkerla Marza, a fine Bavarian beer, served with marinated olives, smoked homemade sausage, marinated red onion and a spicy mustard, a fine combination of flavors and textures we both enjoyed.

The seafood snack, unappetizingly named Salt Cod, included sautéed sweet baby clams and a sautéed cod cake. The clams were poached in olive oil and herb butter and served with thin slices of prosciutto ham and pine nuts. This inspired concoction left us smacking our lips for more.

Try an exotic entree

The pizzas and sandwiches looked really tempting. The brick-oven pizza selections included Pepperoni Jalape�o, Margherita, Sausage Fennel and Anchovy from $14 to $17.50 and a build your own starting at $11. Cheeseburgers, pulled pork, reubens, grilled meatloaf and smoked ratatouille were among a nice selection of sandwiches averaging $8 to $9.

But we couldn’t resist the exotic entrees that included Duck Frites, Rabbit, BBQ Wild Boar Ribs and Whole-Roasted Wisconsin Lake Trout.

My brother went with the Wild Boar, a slab of smoked boar ribs that tasted similar to pork ribs. They were lightly charred and served with a jalapeno jelly, cole slaw and corn biscuit, as well as French fries. While the meat didn’t fall off the bone on command, it was intensely flavored and the spicy rub of ancho chile, cumin and garlic added immensely to the pleasurable experience.

Gold Coast surprise

Another item I haven’t found in two years of reviewing Northwest Indiana restaurants and another 50 years eating in them is one of my favorite meats, wabbit, I mean, rabbit. Three Floyds cooked it in a little duck fat with a healthy slice of rabbit sausage and bacon-braised lentils atop a bed of frisee lettuce. I would have expected a dish like this in a Chicago Gold Coast restaurant. Finding it at Three Floyds was serendipitous.

We shared a single dessert, the strawberry shortcake, homemade English-style shortcakes topped with strawberries and whipped cream.

It was a fine version of that summer staple, but Executive Chef Benjamin Caulfield said the dessert menu is always changing.

The night we visited the service was a little slow, but our server was friendly, helpful and apologetic.

Three Floyds seats about 40 in the dining room and around 50 in the bar area.

Prices seemed about right for an upscale brew pub. Pizzas cost from $14 to $17.50 and entrees, such as the fish ‘* chips ($12), lake trout ($14), my rabbit ($14) and the wild boar ($14), offered generous portions and unusual flavor combinations. The beers aren’t cheap, but they are bolder and more flavorful than most and handmade in smaller batches.

Hard-to-match quality

Three Floyds, which started brewing in Hammond in 1996, moved to Munster several years later and opened the brew pub in 2005, is among a handful of Northwest Indiana brew pubs.

It would be hard to match the quality of the Three Floyds’ beers and food. Michael Floyd is the founder with his two sons, brew master Nick Floyd and Simon Floyd, chef at Gamba’s in Merrillville. Chef Caulfield said menu items were designed to be consumed with beer.

“We try to make the best food to drink beer with,” said Caulfield, a former bistro owner in Portland, Ore. “Our beers are assertively flavored and we’re trying to make the most interesting and creative items, but also simple foods to eat with beer. We try to use as much local food as possible.”

Our Draught Beer

Alpha King Pale Ale
~ A bold yet balanced American pale ale with slight
caramel sweetness and aggressive citrus hoppiness
*Three Floyds Flagship beer
68 IBU 6%ABV $5 Imperial pint
Robert the Bruce
~ A full bodied Scottish-style ale with a well rounded
malty profile and roasted biscuit-like notes
24 IBU 6.5%ABV $5 Imperial pint
Pride and Joy
~ A smooth medium bodied session beer, with bright
citrus hop aroma and finish *Our invention of an
American mild 42 IBU 5%ABV $5 Imperial pint

Gumballhead
~ An American wheat beer with a refreshing, crisp
citrus finish. This delicious seasonal is brewed with
boatloads of Amarillo hops
30 IBU 4.5%ABV $5 Imperial pint
Behemoth
~ Intense ale, brewed to wine strength. Floral and
citrus notes blend with robust maltiness producing a
Dreadnaught IPA complex & warming beer 80 IBU 10%ABV $7 Snifter
~ An Imperial India Pale Ale with an intense citrus
hop aroma, a huge malt body and a crisp finish
100 IBU 9.5% ABV $5 Half-pint
Blackheart
~ English style IPA, a throw back historical ale
brewed when English IPA’s were hopped up to last the
long voyage from England to Colonial troops in India,
using English malts, English hops, English Yeast and
aged slightly in toasted oak for a 19th Century taste
78 IBU 8.5% ABV $5 Half-pint
Calumet Queen
~ A light bodied, crisp, refreshing Kolsch-style beer,
golden color 20 IBU 5% ABV $5 Imperial pint
Apocalypse Cow
~ This complex double India pale ale has an intense
citrus and floral hop aroma balanced by a velvety malt
body which has been augmented with lactose milk sugar.
With this different take on an IPA we have brewed an
ale that is both pleasing to drink and, once again, “not
normal.” 100 IBU 9.5%ABV $5 Tulip
Sand Pebbles
~ A strong American Brown ale with an aggressive
hop presence. A manly beer named after the manly and
quintessential Steve McQueen film. “Not your father’s
brown ale” – A. Mason Brewer
53 IBU 7.7%ABV $4 Half-pint
Jinx Proof
~ This refreshing continental-style pils has a light
body combined with a pronounced noble hop aroma and
a crisp dry finish. This is the perfect beer for easy
flavorful drinking. Brewed in collaboration with our
friends at Jinx Proof tattoo in Washington D.C.
35 IBU 5.1%ABV $5 Imperial pint
Blunder Buss
~ A smoked helles bock with a smoky, spicy nose and
a crisp malt body 30 IBU 6.7%ABV $5 Imperial pint

Guest Draft Beer
Ommegang Rare Vos
~ Medium strength amber ale, beautiful
coppery-amber color, rich creamy head, aroma of spicy
orange blossoms, pleasant mellow flavor of caramel
malt, dry hoppy finish 6.5%ABV $5 Footed ale
Belhaven Scottish Stout
~ Strong stout with roasted chocolate flavor and
medium body 7%ABV $5 Imperial pint
Stone Levitation
~ Copper colored ale, big hoppy character, dry finish,
Founders Imperial Stout citrus overtones 4.4%ABV 45 IBU $5 Imperial pint
~ Robust Ale brewed with ten varieties of malted
barley, extremely smooth, complex with a rich body
25 IBU 10%ABV $5 half-pint
Bacchus
~ Flemish sour ale, amber-brown color, sweet and
fruity aroma of cherries and raspberries, sour finish
with notes of green apples aged oak flavor and aromas
4.5%ABV $7 Footed ale
Founders Cerise
~ A replacement for the Rubaeus, fresh Michigan
Cherries were added at 5 different stages of
fermentation 6.5% ABV $6 Footed ale

Klokke Roeland
~ Belgian strong dark amber ale from Brouwerij Van
Steenberge 11%ABV $5 Snifter

Trigger Hoppy
Belgian style IPA brewed by our friends at Pizza Port, Carlsbad 7.4%ABV $5 Tulip

Our old bottling line is now on its way to San Jose.  But packing up the old line wasn’t without incident.

The rinser and labeler were easy enough to pick up and move with our forklift.

But this beast had the back end of the forklift up in the air.

So Larry from M.R.L. our rigging company came to the rescue with his manly fork lift.

Success!

Now I just hope everything at Tide House shows up in one piece.  Good Luck boys.

Three Floyds Draught:

Alpha King Pale Ale- A bold yet balanced American pale ale with slight caramel sweetness and aggressive citrus hoppiness  *Our Flagship beer     68 IBU  6% a.b.v.  $5 Imperial Pint

Gumballhead – An American wheat beer with a refreshing and crisp citrus finish.  This delicious seasonal is brewed with boatloads of Amarillo hops.  30 IBU  4.5% a.b.v. $5 Imperial Pint

Robert the Bruce- A full bodied Scottish-style ale with a well rounded malty profile and roasted biscuit-like notes  24 IBU 6.5% a.b.v.  $5 Imperial Pint

Pride and Joy – A smooth medium bodied session beer with citrus hop aroma and finish.  *Our invention of an American Mild  42 IBU 5% a.b.v.  $5 Imperial Pint

Dreadnaught IPA – An Imperial India Pale Ale with an intense citrus hop aroma, a huge malt body, and a crisp finish   100 IBU 9.5% a.b.v. $5 half-pint

Behemoth- Intense ale, brewed to wine strength.  Floral and citrus notes blend with robust maltiness producing a complex and warming beer  80 IBU 10% a.b.v.   $7 snifter

Calumet Queen- A light bodied, crisp, refreshing Kolsch-style beer, golden color  20 IBU 5% a.b.v. $5 Imperial Pint

Blackheart – English style IPA, a throwback historical ale brewed when English IPA’s were hopped up to last the long voyage from England to Colonial troops in India, using English malts, English hops, English yeast and aged slightly in toasted oak for a 19th Century taste 78 IBU 8.5% ABV $5 half-pint

Apocalypse Cow – This complex double India Pale Ale has an intense citrus and floral hop aroma balanced by a velvety malt body which has been augmented with lactose milk sugar.  With this different take on an IPA we have brewed an ale that is both pleasing to drink and once again, “not normal.”  100 IBU 9.5% a.b.v.  $5 tulip

Sand Pebbles – A strong American Brown ale with an aggressive hop presence.  A manly beer named after the manly and quintessential Steve McQueen film.  “Not your father’s brown ale,” – A. Mason  Brewer  53IBU 7.7% a.b.v.  $4 half-pint

Guest Draught Beer:

Brugge Tripel de Ripple – highlighted by notes of vanilla and pear delivered from our strain of yeast, Quite approachable for a beer of such strength, Tripel de Ripple masks its alcohol beneath an impressive layer of complexity while maintaining its remarkable drinkability  9.85% a.b.v. $5 footed ale

Ommegang Rare Vos – Rare Vos is flemmish for “Sly Fox,” and the name of one of Brussels’ great cafes. It has a sweetly fruity malt character and yeasty spiciness.   6.5% a.b.v. $5 footed ale glass  (4/22/09)

Chouffe Houblon- Unique balance between intense IPA & Belgian triple, malty body, distinctive dryness, expressive fruitiness    9% a.b.v. 59 IBU $6 snifter

Bells Hopslam – A biting bitter, tongue bruiser of an ale  10% a.b.v. $5 half-pint

Bellhaven Scottish Stout – Strong stout with roasted chocolate flavor and medium body  7% a.b.v. $5 Imperial Pint

Stone Levitation – Copper colored ale, big hoppy character, dry finish, citrus overtones  4.4% a.b.v. 45 IBU $5 Imperial Pint

Founders Imperial Stout – Robust Ale brewed with ten varieties of malted barley, extremely smooth, complex with a rich body  25 IBU 10% a.b.v. $5 half-pint

Founders Cerise – A replacement for Rubaeus, fresh Michigan cherries were added at 5 different stages of fermentation.  6.5% a.b.v. $6 footed ale

Bacchus – Flemish sour ale, amber-brown color, sweet and fruity aroma of cherries and raspberries, sour finish with notes of green apples aged oak flavor and aromas.  4.5% a.b.v. $7 footed ale

Victory Prima Pils – Heaps of hops, full frothy head, elegany pilsner, made with all German malt, long dry finish.  5.3% a.b.v. $5 Imperial Pint

Next week we will be bottling two new seasonal 22oz offerings.

Apocalypse Cow- This complex double India pale ale has an intense citrus and floral hop aroma balanced by a velvety malt body which has been augmented with lactose milk sugar.  With this different take on an IPA we have brewed an ale that is both pleasing to drink and, once again, “not normal.”

The artwork for Apocalypse Cow was done by artist Dan Grzeca.  To see other pieces of his artwork, check out his blog at http://dangrzecaart.blogspot.com/

Jinx Proof- This refreshing continental-style pils has a light body combined with a pronounced noble hop aroma and a crisp dry finish. This is the perfect beer for easy flavorful drinking. Brewed in collaboration with our friends at Jinx Proof tattoo in Washington D.C. jinxprooftattoo.com

Look for them on tap here at the pub in a week or two and in liquor stores and shops shortly after.

Sorry about the mis-communication. Apocalypse Cow is going out and is in fact out at your favorite beer retailers as I type this. Jinxproof is one of the smallest packaged batches that we have ever made and we decided to sell it just at the pub. We made it in commemoration for Jinxproof tattoo’s 13th anniversary and did send out a few kegs to different bars, but if you are looking for a bomber, you will have to come in Tuesday through Saturday and pick it up at the pub.

Three Floyds Draught:

Alpha King Pale Ale- A bold yet balanced American pale ale with slight caramel sweetness and aggressive citrus hoppiness  *Our Flagship beer     68 IBU  6% a.b.v.  $5 Imperial Pint

Gumballhead – An American wheat beer with a refreshing and crisp citrus finish.  This delicious seasonal is brewed with boatloads of Amarillo hops.  30 IBU  4.5% a.b.v. $5 Imperial Pint

Robert the Bruce- A full bodied Scottish-style ale with a well rounded malty profile and roasted biscuit-like notes  24 IBU 6.5% a.b.v.  $5 Imperial Pint

Pride and Joy – A smooth medium bodied session beer with citrus hop aroma and finish.  *Our invention of an American Mild  42 IBU 5% a.b.v.  $5 Imperial Pint

Dreadnaught IPA – An Imperial India Pale Ale with an intense citrus hop aroma, a huge malt body, and a crisp finish   100 IBU 9.5% a.b.v. $5 half-pint

Behemoth- Intense ale, brewed to wine strength.  Floral and citrus notes blend with robust maltiness producing a complex and warming beer  80 IBU 10% a.b.v.   $7 snifter

Rabbid Rabbit – This Franco-Belgian style farmhouse ale, with it’s effervescent malt body and light straw color, is augmented by spices creating a complex frothy beverage   20 IBU  8% a.b.v.  $5 Tulip

Calumet Queen- A light bodied, crisp, refreshing Kolsch-style beer, golden color  20 IBU 5% a.b.v. $5 Imperial Pint

Hyena!- A Belgian pale ale brewed with American hops and fermented with Chouffe yeast   35 IBU 6% a.b.v. $4 footed ale

Blackheart – English style IPA, a throwback historical ale brewed when English IPA’s were hopped up to last the long voyage from England to Colonial troops in India, using English malts, English hops, English yeast and aged slightly in toasted oak for a 19th Century taste 78 IBU 8.5% ABV $5 half-pint

Guest Draught Beer:

Brugge Tripel de Ripple – highlighted by notes of vanilla and pear delivered from our strain of yeast, Quite approachable for a beer of such strength, Tripel de Ripple masks its alcohol beneath an impressive layer of complexity while maintaining its remarkable drinkability  9.85% a.b.v. $5 footed ale

Ommegang Rare Vos – Rare Vos is flemmish for “Sly Fox,” and the name of one of Brussels’ great cafes. It has a sweetly fruity malt character and yeasty spiciness.   6.5% a.b.v. $5 footed ale glass  (4/22/09)

Chouffe Houblon- Unique balance between intense IPA & Belgian triple, malty body, distinctive dryness, expressive fruitiness    9% a.b.v. 59 IBU $6 snifter

Klokke Roeland- Belgian strong dark amber ale from Brouwerij Van Steenberge  11% a.b.v. $5 snifter

Bells Hopslam – A biting bitter, tongue bruiser of an ale  10% a.b.v. $5 half-pint

Bellhaven Scottish Stout – Strong stout with roasted chocolate flavor and medium body  7% a.b.v. $5 Imperial Pint

Stone Levitation – Copper colored ale, big hoppy character, dry finish, citrus overtones  4.4% a.b.v. 45 IBU $5 Imperial Pint

Founders Imperial Stout – Robust Ale brewed with ten varieties of malted barley, extremely smooth, complex with a rich body  25 IBU 10% a.b.v. $5 half-pint

Founders Cerise – A replacement for Rubaeus, fresh Michigan cherries were added at 5 different stages of fermentation.  6.5% a.b.v. $6 footed ale

Bacchus – Flemish sour ale, amber-brown color, sweet and fruity aroma of cherries and raspberries, sour finish with notes of green apples aged oak flavor and aromas.  4.5% a.b.v. $7 footed ale

Shut up about Barclay Perkins is a great blog that had loads of information about brewing traditions of days past.  This gem came up recently and I wanted to share it.

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2009/06/sawdust-beer.html