I knew I’d have plenty to try in Chicago — there are a lot of breweries in the city, plus some distilleries. It was a matter of planning the excursions for drinks so it wouldn’t interfere with sightseeing and meeting friends. Fortunately, a lot of the breweries in the Windy City are in a semi-compact area, making it a little easier to visit more than a couple.
I had hoped for a decent bar near my hotel — I prefer to get a drink before the end of the night without worrying about getting back. That was lacking on this trip as the neighborhood was either high-end restaurants or nothing at all. This was not the neighborhood to stay for nightlife.
What the Hell Is Malört?
My first stop after a rather tiring day of walking around the Art Institute of Chicago, Millennium Park, and the riverfront, was CH Distillery. It wasn’t far from my hotel in the direction of restaurants and breweries, so I walked over.
The distillery looks cool — sleek and new with an interesting menu. It’s attached to a sushi restaurant. After talking with the bartender (of course my first bartender was from Brooklyn), I decided to get a flight of malört. Can’t get it anywhere else, so why not?
Jeppson’s Malört is a Chicago icon of sorts. It was first produced in the 1930s and doesn’t seem to make it to other states. It’s distilled with anise and wormwood. That’s about all anyone needs to know. The popular pairing is with a chaser of Old Style beer, called a Chicago handshake. If that’s their friendly introduction, I’d hate to see what they offer someone who pisses them off.
The best thing I can say about malört is that it’s not the worst thing I’ve drunk. It ranks up there though.
Jeppson’s Malört tastes like licking a dirt-covered tree. And I had four varieties to drink. They weren’t small glasses. The best of the four tasted like licking a slightly less dirt-covered tree.
Other customers came in to order food and cocktails. They asked what I had. When I answered, they were shocked that 1. a flight of malört existed and 2. anyone would be crazy enough to order it.
The Breweries of Chicago
After my malört experience, I headed out for a burger and beer at Au Cheval before venturing farther for breweries and bars. The burger at least settled the stomach and reset my tastebuds. I had a Le Tub saison from Whiner Beer. It wasn’t too strong and had a light feel, which was great with a burger. It also had a bit of a funky flavor that helped eliminate the remnants of malört from my tongue.
Walking a bit farther west brought me to Cruz Blanca, a Mexican restaurant and brewery. I wasn’t expecting much from the place, but it looked nice and the beer selection sounded good, so I took a seat at the bar, intending to only have one. I didn’t order the Barleybomba barleywine, but got a taste of the 11% behemoth — it was tempting with its sweetness, but I would’ve never made it back to the hotel after that. Instead, I got their Daytime Disco imperial IPA, which was a mistake. I thought it was a single and didn’t notice it was 9.3%. I sipped slowly.
Halfway through that first beer, my former coworker texted that he’d meet me at the Cruz Blanca, but it’d be at least a half-hour wait. We caught up and drank a couple more beers — the food was tempting if I had been hungry. I was surprised by the corn grisette, which tasted amazing but had an off-putting aroma. After that, I switched to a light Vienna lager, which I shouldn’t comment on because my tastebuds were done for the day. I had such a great time at Cruz Blanca that I only took one picture of the corn grisette beer (a regrettable offense for a travel writer).
The next day, I headed to a bigger brewery area around Ashland station to check out On Tour, Goose Island, and whatever else popped up on the walk. I visited On Tour because my credit card gave me extra miles for going — that’s really not the best reason to visit a brewery unless you know it’s going to be good.
I ordered a flight at On Tour. It was all ok. I didn’t think any of the beers were great or intriguing. It wasn’t bad either; just nothing I’d go out of my way for. That said, the staff was friendly and the space was comfortable, especially if you’re with friends. The California common and west coast IPA were the best I tasted. The saison was disappointing, but it’s a style I’ve found to be hit and miss.
My next stop was a familiar brewery with some specials. Goose Island had a surprise waiting for me (alright, not specifically for me). They had their own beer competition featuring older varieties of the Bourbon County Stouts. You got two tasters and voted for the favorite — then the next week they had a continuation of the bracket competition. I went for the 2018 vanilla stout and 2015 regal rye.
Both beers were fantastic — this was my first time trying a Bourbon County Stout. I recommend getting a bottle when they’re available. I thought the 2018 vanilla was a little too strong on the vanilla flavor for my liking. I preferred the 2015 regal rye as it wasn’t as sweet and had a great oaky whiskey flavor.
I desperately needed food after those high ABV beers at Goose Island, but the brewery didn’t have anything more than snacks. I headed out and found District Brew Yards, which was convenient and had some variety of food.
District Brew Yards is a sort of beer and food hall, but it’s self-serve. Upon entering, you exchange a credit card for a NFC card to use when paying for food and beer. There’s a kiosk to order food, so there’s no interaction with staff. For beer, there are a few breweries with taps along each wall of the hall. You swipe your card and begin pouring whatever beer you choose — you’re charged based on the amount you pour.
I didn’t have anything impressive at District Brew Yards because I didn’t know what to try. I also didn’t like that I was paying the same price to pour my own beer as I would if someone served me. The only advantage is that you could pour multiple glasses for just a taste. At least the food was good — the brisket fries were a lot bigger than I expected.
The following day, before heading for dinner and the Devils-Blackhawks hockey game with friends, I set out again in the same neighborhood, though I took things a little easier. The neighborhood is great for breweries and convenient for an afternoon before heading to the United Center.
I checked out Great Central Brewing, which was the one brewery that didn’t serve flights. They did, however, have half pints. It also served a fair share of beer from other local breweries (something that can’t be done at home in New Jersey).
I tried the bock, which was an alright beer. After the previous day, I wasn’t sure I wanted more, particularly as that beer was 7% (plus, I knew I’d have drinks at the hockey game). It seemed like a good space to hang out, but I wanted to see a little more of Chicago and the neighborhood.
I still had some time before meeting friends for dinner, and right by Ashland station was All Rise Brewing and the Cobra Lounge, so I stopped in. They had just opened when I arrived, but I was told that the kitchen was delayed, which was fine with me as I was saving my stomach for dinner.
This brewery was darker than average — it felt like a dive bar, which made it more fun. It was not the cookie-cutter design that so many breweries have.
I got a flight of Backlash Jack brown ale, Sell Out NEIPA, Three Orange Wit, and Reign in Blood sour. This was the best beer flight I ordered in Chicago. I was the only customer, so I had the chance to talk with the bartender and manager a bit. This is the type of bar that I would go back to if I lived in the area. It’s a convenient location, but the immediate neighborhood doesn’t look so welcoming — just goes to show that looks can be deceiving.
The brown ale was the best out of the flight. It was recommended by the staff and they were right. It had a great burnt roasted flavor and aroma — it was almost a porter and only 5.7%. The NEIPA had a strong hoppy flavor, which is what I like in an IPA. Not the best I’ve had, but definitely a good one. The witbier was a surprising beer — it had a pleasant citrusy flavor, but it was also 7%. The sour beer was not quite what I wanted, but it had a decent mix of tart and sweet berries — it’s more likely a beer you’d need to be in the mood for.
What Did I Miss?
There’s a lot to drink in Chicago. And it’s impossible to try that much in a long weekend (unless you have a couple extra livers and kidneys). There were also places I wanted to try that were a bit out of the way.
My former coworker mentioned that on the south side of Chicago is a Michelin-rated brewery with some interesting beers and food. I couldn’t find any verification of the Michelin rating, but the brewery looked great from pictures. I just couldn’t fit it into the trip.
One place that was on my list before the trip was Koval Distillery, but I didn’t make it.
There’s so much more to taste around Chicago with so many breweries and distilleries to choose from. I’ll have to make another trip to the Windy City to sightsee and enjoy a few more drinks.
