Interesting brew pub, brewery or great beer pub
jimbrew
some very interesting responses to my query, so I've moved his comments
over. Strangely, of all the beers I've tried in my life, both AleX and
I have common ground with the Duchesse de Bourgogne as being one of the
most interesting.
> What is the most interesting brew pub, brewery or great beer pub you
> have ever visited?
Non-local answers: Dieu du ciel (Montreal, Qc), Magic Hat (Burlington,
VT), and Mr. Pickwick's (Stowe, VT).
Closer to local, in Chicago: The Piece, Goose Island, and the Maproom.
These places were all great and being so close to Chicago is certainly
an advantage.
I *want* a brewpub like The Piece. The place itself is fabulous. The
hefeweizen was one of the best I've had in my life. The food was quite
good.
Goose Island is closer to your typical brewing chain but the selection
is quite good and their beers are well-brewed.
I had one of the best beer sessions of my life at the Maproom. Amazing
selection, great place. Oh, it's not the largest selection ever. But
they had a lot of very good and interesting beers, including some that
are hard to find elsewhere. The Hopleaf was similar to that with a
Belgian specialization but I preferred the Maproom.
In Michiana, my favorite beer place has been Legends of Notre Dame,
especially from late August to October or so as they had a lot of
"Limited Availability" beers at a really good price. It's still the one
place in town where I could find the type of beer to suit my mood. And
I went often enough (eventually getting my pint glass for tasting all
of their beers) that for the first time in my life, I was a "regular"
somewhere. Some of the waiting staff would recognize me elsewhere!
Scary...
One of my favorite beers, available at Legends, is Duchesse de
Bourgogne, a Flemish Red Ale. Very wine-like, good balance of sourness
and sweetness.
One thing that was quite nice about living in Indiana (and my friends
in Montreal were quite jealous) was to have access to Three Floyds
beers. The hop aroma in Alpha King is so intense that I would spend
several minutes just sniffing the beer!
I haven't been but I keep hearing about Zeke's in Dowagiac, MI. Jim
knows. It's close enough and has a very large selection.
Jeffrey Sutter
>I've started a new thread with my previous response to Aleta. AleX has
>some very interesting responses to my query, so I've moved his comments
>over. Strangely, of all the beers I've tried in my life, both AleX and
>I have common ground with the Duchesse de Bourgogne as being one of the
>most interesting.
>
>
> > What is the most interesting brew pub, brewery or great beer pub you
> > have ever visited?
Bourgogne, ...).
I haven't visited many interesting pubs. We used to hang out at Blueberry
Hill in St. Louis http://www.blueberryhill.com/ In retrospect I regret
never visiting Anheuser-Busch (wasn't ever interested in their beers --
nor, yet, in brewing).
A visit to Blitz-Weinhard Brewing in Portland was memorable for the railcar
dropping barley into a chute in the street outside their building. I
grabbed a handful. The most interesting brewery visit I've ever made was to
the Anchor Brewery http://www.anchorbrewing.com/brewery/ (it's a pretty
interesting website). I lived a few blocks away on Potrero Hill for years
and went a couple of times. The last time I went almost 20 years ago, on a
trip back from St Louis, I discovered Old Foghorn and carried a case back
with me on the airplane. I'd buy it more often but for the price. My next
trip to S.F. will have to include reservations to visit again.
//jeff
riverside dr, south bend