For the next stop on the brew tour we elected to try River North Brewery.
It's creatively located in the River North neighborhood, just down the street from Coors Field. This brewery specializes in Belgian ales, and American ales with a Belgian twist. So all things Belgian. My sister would be proud.
The tap room. Small but nice. It was relatively empty when we got there, but got packed soon after. Then it was empty by the time we left. Apparently we drink a lot more than most patrons.
Our first round. Mr. Shirey had the black IPA, and Mr. Howell had the saison. Both were great success! The saison wasn't the best saison we'd ever had, but still good.
Mr. Shirey enjoying the black IPA.
Mr. Shirey decided one pint was not nearly enough, so he went or the sampler. Actually, we shared the sampler. We're grown men dammit, we don't mind sharing glasses! Here's the basic breakdown:
River North White - This is a Wit beer, which to our limited beer knowledge should make it a light, crisp, easy-drinking beer with hints of spices and maybe some fruit. In reality this was a light, crisp beer with a funky after-taste that made Mr. Shirey angry. Mr. Shirey thought the aprés-funk was coriander, Mr. Howell thought it was shattered dreams.
Hello, Darkness - Black IPA. Good beer. Tasted good, but nothing too memorable. Or maybe we were too drunk to remember.
BPR - Belgian Style Red: Winner for best beer of the night. Smooth and flavorful with no funk. ++Would drink again.
J. Marie - Saison: Good saison, but again not the best we've ever had. Not as spicy and/or fruity as you would normally get with a saison.
Hoppenberg Uncertainty Principle - Belgian Double IPA: Mr. Howell tends to stay away from the mega hopped beers, but this one was pretty tasty. Probably tied for second best beer of the night.
Quandary - Quadrupel: Started out strong, but a little too sweetly-sour by the end of the glass. Kind of like drinking a glass of slightly tart syrup.
Unified Theory - Oaked Imperial Wit: More of the funk in this one. Not sure what's going on with their wit beers, but this one had a funky face-punch finish as well.
Avarice - Imperial Stout: Good! Stout! Dark! Mr. Shirey really enjoyed this one.
Shirey approved!
No comments:
Post a Comment