So far I'm doing a terrible job of keeping up with this blog in the new year. I'm just finding myself so busy with work, home brewing, and all sorts of other things that I've been slacking with beer reviews. As promised, I'm trying to do more reviews of actual breweries and brew pubs, and not just beer. Today's post took me to the south suburbs of Chicago to Flossmoor Station Brewery. This brewery is unique in that its a part of a real train station. I'm not 100% sure which line runs to this station, but I believe its the electric line.
This is a brew pub that I've been to quite a few times. It's not really central to where I live but it's close enough that I can justify making it out there every now and then, especially since it usually involves trying some new beers. My first time here I ordered their taster flight and was able to figure out which of their brews really stood out to me. My personal favorite is the Pullman Brown Ale. I guess you could consider it a flagship beer as it's one of three beers (the other two being an IPA and golden ale) available in bombers at most liquor stores in the Chicagoland area. Pullman is a great full bodied brown ale. The caramel and chocolate malt really stand out in this beer, along with a little bit of oak. It's on the heavier side so a bomber will usually do you for an evening. It's a great beer for just sitting back and relaxing with.
The specific trip I'm going to be writing about was on January 19, 2012. I know its been a couple weeks but I've stepped up my beer geek game to the point where I've started taking tasting notes on my phone's notepad app. I think it'll make writing these blogs a lot easier and more thorough.
One reason I love Flossmoor Station is because of its classic feel. I like the fact that it's right off the train tracks and is an actual train station. Call me cheesy or old fashioned but I think that adds to the charm of the place. One thing I'll say off-the-bat is that you have to try the beer cheese soup. Flossmoor one of my favorite places to get this dish, and I don't think I'm being hyperbolic when I say its some of the best I've personally had. It's always a great way to start an evening at this spot. I was excited to learn that the special of the night was the Belgian Abbey Ale, which the waitress informed us was Flossmoor's take on a classic dubbel style. I was excited for this beer since I'm a big fan of dubbels, and at 3 bucks a pint there wasn't much more to do than order a round.
The Belgian Abbey Ale surprised me in a few ways. When the beers were brought to the table I was surprised because they weren't as dark as I'm used to with dubbels. This beer poured a warm auburn color with a thin white head that left a little lacing on the side of the glass. I got a mixture of fruitiness and malty sweetness in the bouquet, along with a hint of cinnamon. The first taste provided a lot of fruitiness and malty sweetness on the tip of my tongue which was quickly followed by a spicy bitterness which evened the beer out nicely. This brew finished with some cinnamon and orange peel in the aftertaste. All this was accompanied by a medium body with a good amount of carbonation present throughout the tasting. While I did enjoy this beer, it wasn't quite what I expected since it's plugged as a dubbel. It did compliment my meal very well though. I ordered the Brew Pub Club and it was fantastic. The ingredients were incredibly fresh. Simply writing about it makes me want to go back right now. The french fries here are especially good and I thought they really brought out the spiciness in the Belgian Abbey Ale. I don't know how the fries are made, but I would eat a fry and then take a sip of beer and I felt like the flavors were instantly magnified. I'm not a food connoisseur or a beer/food pairing pro, so for all I know pairing a dubbel with french fries may be incredibly faux pas but frankly I don't care. It tasted good and I guess that's what matters.
After two Belgian Abbey Ales, beer cheese soup, and a club sandwich with fries it's safe to say I was pretty full. I had to make room for two more things. One item was desert. I haven't had any pie from Flossmoor before, but I love key lime pie and they happened to have it on the menu while I was there so I ordered it and it was easily some of the best key lime pie I've ever had. Apparently the chef makes all the pies and let me just say the guy is doing something right. I couldn't get enough of it and wished I had eaten it a little slower once the piece was gone.
More importantly though, I decided to finish my night with one last beer, and I opted for the Bourbon Barrel Aged Pullman Brown Ale. I've been on a bourbon barrel aged beer bender (excuse the alliteration) these last few months so I figured why not extend my streak. Note: This beer won a gold medal at the Festival of Barrel Aged Beer in the Classic Porter/Stout category, so props to the guys in the brew house that make this magic happen. I had no idea about this until I did a little research online, but it's not surprising in the least bit.
The Bourbon Barrel Aged Pullman poured an opaque, dark brown color with a whispy off-white head and slight lacing. The bouquet was dominated by vanilla, oak, and chocolate malt. The bourbon characteristics were heavily present. The first sip of this beer was very sweet with the caramel and chocolate malt shining through. This was followed by a warm oak/vanilla bite in the middle of the sip which led into a finish of bourbon and vanilla with an aftertaste dominated by roast and bourbon. This beer really took on the characteristics of the bourbon barrels nicely. I also felt like the original Pullman Brown Ale was able to retain its own distinct characteristics on top of the kick provided by the bourbon barrels. The bourbon definitely dominated this beer, but I don't have any issue with that. I've mentioned my affinity for bourbon in past posts. This beer had a very heavy mouth feel with very little carbonation present. Overall I really enjoyed this offering from Flossmoor Station. I thought it was another fine example of bourbon barrel aged craft beer. I will definitely be fighting hard to get a ticket to the 2012 Festival of Barrel Aged Beer. I've been really impressed with variety of characteristics that this technique can lend to various beer styles.
I think by now it's easy to tell that I'm pretty partial to Flossmoor Station. I always have a great meal and several great beers each time I come here. This place is consistently putting out solid brews and I'm really excited for whatever it is that they've got in store for 2012. I hope to have many more posts about their beer over the next year.
Tomorrow, I'll be posting on my trip to Limstone Brewing Company so be looking for that sometime in the evening. Until then, Cheers!
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