It's Easy To Get Sidetracked In Chicago

I had originally planned to make this post about my trip up to Half Acre Brewing this past Saturday. It was a nice day so I figured I'd hop the Brown Line up to the Irving Park stop and take a stroll. I wanted to grab a bottle of Cypher, Half Acre's Belgian blond, and maybe some brewery swag. The trip to the brewery ended up being pretty good. I bought my Cypher and was also was able to taste a couple of beers. Saturdays and Sundays are the days to go because apparently that's when they have tastings available. I also learned that I am not destined to possess a good tulip because the one I bought from Half Acre, like every other tulip I have owned, shattered. Unfortunately I didn't even get to drink out of my Half Acre tulip. I hope to have a review of Cypher up either tomorrow or Friday. I'm trying this new thing where I don't drink unless I work out, so today didn't permit for a tasting. I am also kind of backlogged in my review materials, having taken a lot of notes on my phone during my hiatus, so I want to get those written soon as well.

But I digress...

My real reason for writing today stems from a spur of the moment side stop I made after leaving Half Acre. My friend and I had seen a place while walking to Half Acre that advertised a German beer hall with a taster special on German and Austrian beers. We decided we might stop by on our way back and kept walking. We decided to check the place out on our way back, and I have to say Glunz Bavarian Haus is probably one of the coolest places I have stumbled upon in a while. What attracted me to it immediately was the traditional German vibe of the building. It looked like a fun place to drink at the very least, so I figured why not stop in. We wandered in at around 1pm, so it was pretty dead. The Blackhawks game was on one TV and the Cubs were on another, so I was immediately drawn in for at least one beer.

Walking into Glunz Bavarian Haus, one is immediately met with a plethora of German and Austrian themed beer steins, beer posters, and every other type of beer memorabilia one can think of. There are also three Oktoberfest style benches at the front of the establishment that were pretty cool, so we grabbed a couple seats and got to looking at the beer menu.

I have to admit that when I first walked in, I was expecting the generic German beers that every place has on tap. Let me just say that the tap list here is nothing short of impressive. Be forewarned though, all the beers on tap are German and Austrian imports. Note: If that's an issue, you're crazy. I started safe and went with the Franziskaner Dunkel Weisse, a beer I have enjoyed on numerous occasions. All the beers here are served in their respective brewery's glassware which is a cool touch. The array of glassware behind the bar was awesome. I think one of the coolest aspects of beer is the glassware and this brew hall gives the drinker a wide array. (I refuse to refer to Glunz Bavarian Haus as a bar because I feel it sullies the atmosphere.)

After our first beer, we started talking to the man who was working the bar (we later found out he was the owner.) I think what really stuck with me about this place was the owner. Unfortunately, I didn't catch his name, but he proved to be as knowledgeable and passionate about beer as me and my friend were. We got to chatting about the various brewing traditions throughout Germany and Austria, and what made each style unique to its respective region...
Four beers later, and it was already 3:30pm!

Aside from the atmosphere and personable owner, what really stuck out to me was the freshness of the beer. The owner made it clear that his number one goal was to serve freshly imported German and Austrian beer to his patrons. And I must say he lives up to this goal 100%. I really found myself reveling in types of beer I hadn't sat down and appreciated in a long time. With all the great American craft beer that's out there, it's really easy to forget the classic styles perfected by the Germans. My first exposure to beer other than American light lager was on the first vacation I took to Germany when I was 16. The beer on that trip will stay with me for the rest of my life , and I really felt like I re-found a little part of that while drinking, chatting, and watching the Blackhawks win and the Cubs lose (shocking I know) at Glunz Bavarian Haus. I will definitely make it a point to trek up there whenever I'm in the city from now on, or at least whenever I head over to Half Acre for more of their delicious beer... but more on that another day.



For anyone who's curious, here's the address:
4128 N. Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL.

It's Been A Very Long 40 Days, But I'm Back Into The Swing of Things Now

LENT IS OVER! I have a lot to write about, so I don't really know where to begin. I'm going to save my post on my recent beer related adventure for tomorrow. Today I just wanted to hit on a few things that I'm excited about regarding beer.

First off on my list is last night's announcement VIA Twitter regarding Lagunitas' plans to open a brewery in Chicago. The formal article from the Chicago Tribune can be found here. I was very very excited last night when I read this, not only because I love Lagunitas beer, but because I think this will do big things for a city that already has a booming and thriving craft beer scene. Even though I'm new to the whole beer blogging thing, I've been enjoying craft beer for a long time and I think this will have nothing but a positive effect on the city as a whole. Chicago receives enough attention from the craft beer scene as is, but I think this will make our great city stick out even more. I can't wait to follow this story as it develops more throughout the next year and a half. I'm also very excited about the thought of insanely fresh Lagunitas beer just a stones throw away from my house. This can't happen fast enough in my eyes.


Anybody that follows my twitter probably already knows that I will be attending my first Dark Lord Day this year. I got the tickets in the mail today, and that got me even more excited for this event. I will obviously have a full post devoted to this epic event after April 28, but I figured it would be nice to share with anyone who didn't know that I got tickets and can't wait to go.


Last but not least, I did remain productive during my fast from beer. I took the money that I would've spent drinking and put it into upgrading my home brew system. I made a new all grain mash tun that I should be putting to use Saturday. I'm thinking of brewing a six gallon batch of brown ale. I also want to start experimenting with sour beers, so I hope to take a gallon of the brown ale and play around with that. I also would like to start doing more posts related to home brewing. I'm no expert by any means, but I think it would be fun to share some of my successes and failures and I experience them. I hope to have a very productive summer in regards to honing my brewing technique. I'm excited to say the least.

I know this was a pretty boring post, but I had a lot I wanted to hit on before I got back into the swing of things with beer reviews, brewery adventures, and home brewing mishaps. I look forward to keeping up with the blog from here on out and I hope my posts from here on out prove to be at the very least a little entertaining.