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.

Dark Lord Day 2012

I'm sure by now anyone who knows even a little bit about the craft beer world has heard the most recent Dark Lord Day news. Tickets go on sale March 17. They're 15 bucks and the limit is two per person. The link is here. I know I'll be furiously re-clicking refresh that afternoon hoping and praying for tickets to an event I still haven't been lucky enough to attend.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Dark Lord Day, it is an event held once a year at the Three Floyds Brewery in Munster, Indiana. The event is held as a sort of release party for Three Floyd's Dark Lord Imperial Stout. I have yet to attend this event or try this beer, so I can't tell you a whole lot about it from a first hand perspective. All I can say is that the event is supposed to be a blast and the beer is supposed to be amazing (Google it). They also release some special versions like a barrel aged variety among others. I think it will be interesting to see what this year's even brings. Every year for the past 3 years I have tried and failed to either get tickets to the event or procure a bottle for tasting. This year I will prevail!

I wish everyone best of luck in getting tickets and their bottles of Dark Lord this year. This will definitely make or break my St. Patrick's day (at least until I drown myself in Michael Collins and Boulevard Irish Ale.) Cheers!

Flossmoor Station Brewery

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!