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I opened a bomber of Big Muddy Brewing's Kinkaid Wheat, brewed in Southern Illinois. I bought it because it was $2.99 and I see why it was on the bottom shelf, on sale. It is a very unremarkable wheat beer. Not much in the way of aroma, maybe a watery malt, and the taste is nothing to write home about. I can't really recommend it, but I will try a different style by the brewer and see if the watered down taste is a fluke with the wheat or what. At least it tastes better than Bud Light! I also have a couple bottles of Victory Headwater Pale Ale in the fridge, a few New Glarus Hop Hearty ale, a six pack of Moose Drool, a bomber of Coney Island Sword Swallower, and a bomber of Lakefront Brewery Bridge Burner. I have a fun weekend in store. Midorka posted:They were selling growlers in store? Sorry, I am wrong, the correct term is bomber after a quick Google search and re-reading the OP. My mistake. americanzero4128 fucked around with this message at 04:56 on May 5, 2012 |
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May 5, 2012 04:52
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Had a couple beers today. I started with a Coney Island Sword Swallower IPA; overall it was a pretty good IPA. The taste was malty up front and had a bitter, hoppy finish. Apparently this is brewed with lager yeast; I'm not sure what difference that is supposed to make (I'm a beer newbie compared to some of the people here) but I thought it was pretty good. I would pick up another bomber of this. I followed that up with a Moylan's Brewing Company Danny's Irish Style Red Ale. I enjoyed this more than the IPA, which I thought was odd because I prefer pale ales. This beer started with almost a coffee front that transitioned really well into a maple-y flavor, but not like a maple syrup. The finish was really smooth and I enjoyed this much more than the first beer. I'm definitely going to pick up another bomber of this, and I might pick up their IPA as well to give it a try. Also need to share this beer list for my wedding. All of these are on tap and included in the bar package: Bell's Seasonal White Ale Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale Guinness Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy New Belgium Fat Tire Amber New Belgium Ranger IPA Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale Brother Thelonious Anchor Porter Hop Sun Dark Horse Sapient Ale Really pumped for the wedding, going to have to sample all of those. I also had a Hoptimum last night, and I didn't care for it all that much. I didn't like the super bitter finish and the beer just didn't taste all that great to me, it had a really strong pine taste to me. I'm glad it only came in a 4 pack.
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Jun 16, 2012 23:34
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I got back from Florida from my honeymoon and had a couple interesting/good beers down there. Descriptions are short since I had all these with dinner. I had a Cigar City Jai Alai IPA which was a very solid, dryer IPA. I tried Yuengling for the first time and can't really describe it as anything more than average. I thought it tasted a lot like the Budweiser that's brewed in Europe, Czech Republic I think (definitely superior to the American Budweiser). Germany was awesome for beer btw. I had a blueberry beer which tasted like poo poo, and a summer ale brewed in Maine which tasted like a watered down Summer Shandy (sorry I don't remember exactly which two these were and I can't find my receipts to check). I think my favorite beer I sampled was a Kona Coco Brown Coconut Ale. I was initially hesitant to try it because it sounded pretty nasty, but they gave me a sample and it was drat good. Had a strong coconut smell but the coconut flavor wasn't overwhelming. Definitely a sweet beer, with some taste of brown sugar and molasses and a clean, creamy texture finish. I wish they distributed this stuff up in Chicago, unfortunately the closest I found after a bit of looking is Tennessee.
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Jul 18, 2012 18:31
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CalvinDooglas posted:I believe that's Geary's Summer Ale. That sounds about right, I also forgot to add that I had a Shipyard Brewery Summer Ale which was also about the same taste as Geary's, at least from what I could tell.
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Jul 18, 2012 19:51
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I tried a Sam Adams Cherry Wheat tonight. Never again. That is a foul foul beer. I'd rather drink the banana bread beer than that cherry wheat garbage. I can't believe someone actually tasted it and thought "Yeah, this is pretty good let's sell it." If someone really thought that, I hope they don't do anything with beer any more.
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Jul 22, 2012 05:26
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If I have unfiltered beer, is it better to store it standing up like regular other bottled beer or on its side? I've heard people say both. I had a six pack of Bells Oberon someone at work gave me for doing some extra stuff for them and I stored them standing up and all the sediment was at the bottom. For beer talk, my dad came to visit and gave me a 12 pack of.....Blue Moon. "I know you like that fancy beer and not Bud Light so I thought I'd get something you would enjoy!"  still was nice that he cared enough to pick something up for me.I'm going to visit the Two Brothers brewery in a few weekends, I'll be sure to take some pictures for you all. I'm also hoping to make it to Half Acre before the year is over.
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Aug 2, 2012 17:20
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I tried the Left Hand Smoke Jumper a few days ago and really did not like it at all. I hadn't tried any sort of smoked porter before, but this tasted like I was getting a big mouthful of ash and burnt fish. I don't really recommend this beer to anyone unless you're trying to remove the burnt hair taste of the Rogue Donut beer.
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Aug 15, 2012 16:16
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I just got back from the Two Brothers brewery outside of Chicago in Warrenville, IL. The food was delicious and the beer was even better. I tried seven of their beers. Their Outlaw IPA is their first can offering. I thought it was a very solid IPA offering. Hoppy, with a malt flavor and a clean finish. This was a very drinkable beer and one I'd pick up if I was going to be doing some outdoor activity and don't want to worry about breaking glass. I tried their Red Eye Coffee Porter and it was sweeter than I expected it to be (but my experience with coffee porters is limited. It had a sweet toffee flavor to it and to me, was more of a dessert beer than one I'd drink with a meal. Ebel's Weiss was my favorite beer they offered. It is a hefeweizen that is extremely smooth and drinkable. Just delicious. It wasn't overly spiced like some hefes are; it was a sweet beer (not as sweet as the Red Eye) and had a slight malty flavor, with flavors of vanilla, banana, and a bit of clove. This was delicious and I picked up a sixer to take home to enjoy. At this point I was starting to get buzzed and the tour started. The Atom Smasher with a dry hop pour through(?) - not sure if that's the correct terminology, but from the tap it went through a container of dry hops for a malty front and a hoppy finish. It reminded me of apple juice. It had a crisp clean finish and was balanced and drinkable. Malty but not overly hoppy. Their coconut ale was not good at all. It was overly sweet and tasted like coconut syrup. It reminded me of a coconut drink you would get at Starbucks. It was not nearly as tasty as the Kona Toasted Coconut Brown Ale I had when in Florida. I'd give this one a pass. Domain Dupage was a malty front and a slight hop finish. It was very drinkable and was not heavy or filling. It had a clean taste throughout and would make a good beer to enjoy with company or if I know I'm going to be drinking all day. I thought this was a lot better than the Atom Smasher and while I thought they were similar, I'd recommend this one over the Atom Smasher. Finally, I finished off with the Cain & Ebel. This was a red rye ale, it was malty and creamy but not overly bitter while drinking. However, the finish was bitter and hoppy. It was enjoyable but not something I could drink a lot of. I definitely recommend going here if you're in the area and looking to kill a Saturday afternoon. The food and beer are both delicious and very reasonably priced. You could walk out taking yourself and a date for under $50, including a tour of the brewery and 3 free samples per person. Next I'd like to visit Half Acre, but I don't live in Chicago (northwest suburbs  )so I'll have to plan this trip out more than a couple weeks in advance.
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Aug 18, 2012 23:43
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I picked up a bottle of Pumking and Port Brewery Midnight Expression yesterday; I'm pretty excited to try them this weekend. This is my first pumpkin beer and it seems to be one of the better ones to try. I'm trying to expand my beer horizons beyond pale ales. I am going to pick up a bottle of a sour of some type for my buddy's Oktoberfest party in a month to share with some people. Any goons have recommendations under $10 per bomber? I'm in the Chicago area.
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Sep 7, 2012 02:30
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Found an article a friend posted on Facebook about 3 Floyds. Looks like the food is going to be getting better! http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=resources%2Flifestyle_community%2Ffood%2Frestaurants&id=8803296
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Sep 12, 2012 00:59
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Looked for some KBS tonight on my way home from work at Binny's and while they didn't have that, I did get a 4 pack of the Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 
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Sep 15, 2012 00:45
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crazyfish posted:It's absurd how much more of it they released this year. My local store had eight cases on the floor when I got my one allotted four pack, and I'm not sure how many cases they went through before I arrived. Then I drove to a different store and picked up one there as well. I had to ask a manager for it, they didn't have any on the floor. I am guessing they didn't have much left because I saw a few empty cases and that was it; no signs or anything. I did also sample some Oskar Blues at the Binny's I went to. Pretty solid beers, nothing earth shattering but pretty good. The G'Knight Imperial Red was my favorite out of them all. The Oskar Blues rep was cool as hell. Gave me a bunch of stickers and coasters.
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Sep 15, 2012 01:11
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Chicago goons, I'm moving from the northwest suburbs to Westmont and I'm trying to find a new bar with a good tap list. I did some looking and found a place called Tap House Grill that looks like it has a bad rear end tap list. Anyone been here before, or have other recommendations in the Naperville/Westmont area? It looks like most of the bars in Chicago are on the northwest side.
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Sep 27, 2012 15:39
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BoredByThis posted:Tap House Grill is one of the best places you'll find in that area. There's also the Bavarian Lodge that will be close and is one of the best beer destinations in the Midwest. BoredByThis posted:Tap House Grill is one of the best places you'll find in that area. There's also the Bavarian Lodge that will be close and is one of the best beer destinations in the Midwest. Thanks goons. Bavarian Lodge is a middle ground between some buddies of mine in Naperville and where I'm at. I think I'll be there pretty often. That is also a beastly taplist.
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Sep 27, 2012 16:21
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danbanana posted:The 2nd best cheap beer on the planet. I think Stroh's is legitimately great. Agreed, Schlitz is a pretty tasty beer when I've been outside working and don't want to worry about breaking a bottle or feel bad drinking a $12 six pack without being able to sit and enjoy it.
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Sep 27, 2012 17:33
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The Binny's by me must have just gotten a shipment of Founder's Breakfast Stout in. I stopped by after work and picked up a sixer of Summit Oktoberfest but I think I'm going to go back to get a four pack of the Breakfast Stout and a bomber of some sort of pumpkin beer. And my parents are coming to visit tomorrow and are bringing a sixer of Schlafly Pumpkin Ale for me. Awesome.
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Sep 28, 2012 23:31
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I'm enjoying a Summit Oktoberfest right now. I've only had the Leinenkugel and Sam Adams offerings of Oktoberfest otherwise, and the summit is my favorite out of those three. It has more of a malty finish and an almost sweet aftertaste. I thought the Leinenkugel Oktoberfest was also a decent offering, if a bit unremarkable. The Sam Adams was my least favorite - it tasted almost like it was watered down and not malty or hoppy. I never counted myself as an Oktoberfest fan, but I can attribute that to not finding one that worked for me. I've also been really enjoying the Schlafly Pumpkin Ale. Holy hell that is one drat good pumpkin beer. It tastes like pumpkin pie with cinnamon, nutmeg, maybe a hint of ginger. Blows Pumpking out of the water. I wish this was distributed up into Chicago, but I'm lucky that my parents live in Champaign and can get it there.
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Sep 30, 2012 23:06
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Jmcrofts posted:Anyone here tried Schlafly Pumpkin Ale? It seems to have a decent amount of hype, so I picked up a sixer. It's quite good! Tastes like a cinnamon pumpkin pie, crust and all. This beer is amazing. I had my parents bring me up a six pack last weekend (doesn't ship to Chicago, but my parents live in Champaign) and now my buddy is going to Bloomington this weekend and is bringing me back two more sixers. Really tasty beer. Wish it came to Chicago.
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Oct 5, 2012 21:00
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I went to a party last night and tried the FFF Dark Lord from this year. I hadn't tried any of them before from any year, so I had no idea what to expect. It was extremely sweet and had a strong cherry flavor. It was good, don't get me wrong, but I didn't think it lived up to the hype. My friend also had two bottles of a Dark Lord with vanilla bean but we didn't open that, but I think it would have been a little easier drinking. I traded a bottle of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout for a six pack of FFF Zombie Dust. Hadn't had Zombie Dust before but I can see why so many people go crazy for it. A really delicious IPA with a citrusy/floral finish, which I like more than a malty or hoppy finish.
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Oct 7, 2012 18:43
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I had a Bell's Two Hearted for the first time this weekend. It did not disappoint and I'll have to pick up a six pack of this when I have room in the fridge. I also had a bomber of Port Brewing Midnight Expression Lager and while it was only $5, I don't think I'll be getting it again. It was a pretty unremarkable black lager. I got a lot of malt and coffee aroma from it, but when drinking it it just tasted like overly bitter coffee with not much malts. I didn't get any herbal flavors out of it. Read some reviews on BA and people there seem to like it, it just didn't do it for me.
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Oct 15, 2012 17:51
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The SARS Volta posted:Recommendations for go-to 3 Floyds beers, both from tap and/or bottled? I'm going to Chicago this weekend and realized I've never had anything they brew. I just had Zombie Dust but I really liked it other than that Robert the Bruce is good, my friend really loving loves Gumballhead but I would categorize it as "good but not great." Their Moloko Milk Stout is also supposed to be pretty tasty.Non Three Floyds, you should check out Two Brothers if they don't have it by you. Their Heavy Handed IPA is a pretty tasty seasonal. Their Ebel's Weiss wheat beer is really loving good, imo. They have a brewpub out in the western suburbs that I was at a month or two ago, and the food is very reasonably priced, as is the beer. Plus, the tour is free and they give you three free samplers just for going on the tour. I've never been to Half Acre, and have only had their Daisy Cutter from a can before, but it's really tasty, and again, if it's not distributed to where you're from, I would try it. I am sure that some other Chicagoons can give you some other recommendations.
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Oct 16, 2012 17:45
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Podima posted:If you're sitting on a bottle of Stone 16th Anniversary IPA, I'd recommend moving it into the 'age for kicks and see what happens' pile. I opened a bottle last night that had been in the fridge for a couple of weeks, and was really disappointed - the hops had fallen out of it, and the lemon was turning astringent. Not a pleasant experience, which is too bad since Stone 15th was still good even almost a year later when I had it. Damnit, I have been sitting on this for a while, maybe 6 weeks? and was going to share it with my beer loving uncle at Thanksgiving.
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Oct 17, 2012 03:08
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Has anyone in the Chicago area seen Stone Mint Chocolate Stout around here? I want to get a six pack or bomber to try but haven't seen it at the Binny's I go to, and they don't know if/when they'll get it in.
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Nov 9, 2012 18:36
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I had a very tasty Breckenridge Vanilla Porter yesterday. Had a pretty strong vanilla aroma and I got some roasted malt, coffee, and toffee flavors from it. Definitely more on the sweet side but I really liked it. I'll have to look for a six pack the next time I'm out.
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Nov 12, 2012 18:36
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Munkaboo posted:Ohh yeah poo poo, forgot about Hop in the Dark. That poo poo's great. Have you tried the New Glarus Road Slush? I had some last year and remember it being delicious. I hope to pick some up this year when it comes out.
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Nov 14, 2012 18:29
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I am enjoying a Victory Summer Love. Stopped by the bottle shop and there was one lone bottle sitting around in the make your own six pack area. Pretty delicious, even though the enjoy by is coming up in about two weeks.
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Nov 16, 2012 03:50
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I picked up a six pack of Brown Shugga and it was not what I was expecting. Another poster mentioned it, but I expected something a little sweeter and thicker. I got a hoppy taste up front, and the aftertaste was a mixture of sour and a hint of citrusy-ness. I've never had an American Barleywine before. Are they all similar to Brown Shugga? The person that mentioned the Leinenkugel Snowdrift Vanilla Porter earlier; I had one last weekend and I also thought it was pretty tasty. Not as much vanilla as the Breckenridge Vanilla Porter, more maltyness in the Leinie, but it was a pretty tasty beer. If you liked that one, I'd really recommend the Breckenridge variant. I'll pick up another six pack when I've gone through most of my beer. My mom had a case of Schlafly Pumpkin Ale sitting in the garage waiting for me to pick it up 
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Nov 24, 2012 18:06
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Beer goons, what are some tasty beers from the New England area that aren't distributed to Chicago? The only brewery I know of that is out east that doesn't come here is Cigar City. Every year my family does a gift exchange at Christmas, and my cousin who lives in Rhode Island has my name. I'm asking for some beer that I can't get here. Any recommendations besides Yuengling?
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Dec 6, 2012 16:00
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Thanks guys. I knew that Cigar City went out east, I just wasn't sure how far north it was. I sent the list of beers over to her, thanks for the recommendations!
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Dec 6, 2012 17:15
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So, Hopslam. I haven't had it, but tomorrow will get to enjoy it on tap. For free. 
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Jan 31, 2013 23:56
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Just got done drinking Hopslam on tap....drat, this is loving good. I'm going to have to get a DD tomorrow so I can have more than 2.
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Feb 2, 2013 07:51
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Raveen posted:I'm going to be in Champaign / Urbana IL this weekend for a wedding and am hoping to pick up some of the many beers I can't get in South Dakota. Are there any local beers that I should look for other than 2 Brothers and 3 Floyds? A little late for the response, but Schlafly is a pretty decent brewery out of St. Louis that I can't get in Chicago but my parents can find in C-U, so you can look for their stuff as well. Friar Tucks is a little off of South Prospect and Binny's is right off of North Prospect, so depending on where you're at you can hit up one, then drive up or down Prospect to get to the other. If you're in the area and looking for something to do, check out The Blind Pig (http://blindpigco.com/). It's in the downtown Champaign area and when I'm visiting my parents, I try to hit up The Blind Pig.
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Feb 15, 2013 18:38
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Midorka posted:Random musings: This isn't year round, but when it's available I'm going to pick up a case. http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/index.cfm/beers/ourbeers/beer/dancing-man-wheat That is my favorite American made wheat beer. I visited Germany (mostly southern Germany/Bavaria area) a couple years back and really enjoyed the beer over there, and this is really close (at least to my palate) to the flavor of the German wheat beers brewed over there.
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Feb 20, 2013 19:40
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I poured myself a Lakefront Brewery Bridge Burner Special Reserve Ale, and it is drat good. Dry hops, malty flavor, pretty creamy mouthfeel, easy to drink but to me has a slight smell of black licorice. I think this would have been much better if I didn't sit on this in my fridge for at least four months. The bottle doesn't have a date on it when it was bottled.
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Mar 9, 2013 03:32
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I'm heading to the Goose Island on Clybourne brewery and restaurant. Any specific beer I should look for that isn't sold in the west suburbs, or can only be gotten at the brewery?
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Mar 9, 2013 21:13
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Goose Island on Clybourne....was awesome. So much good beer. I will have to go back when I am not out with a bachelor party and have some friends that drink good beer.
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Mar 10, 2013 01:43
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Chicagoons, anyone else see this? http://www.napervillealefest.com/ A co-worker sent this to me today. I'm planning on going, just thought I'd spread the news. I live about 20-30 minutes away so it works out well for me.
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Mar 21, 2013 01:22
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Midorka posted:Onto my next rave, New Glarus Back 40 Bock is the epitome of what I want to drink all Spring. I love having Troegenator but it's too malty and too much alcohol to drink all day. I love how fruity it is, yet balanced nicely by a firm sweet malt base. I love bocks though, they've become my favorite style. I must be weird but when I shared a bottle of Back 40, everyone thought it was overly malty and very bitter. Granted, it might have been the store I bought it from; they had a make your own six pack and there was one bottle of the Back 40 (on a higher shelf near the back) and I put it in there because I hadn't had it before. Guess I'll have to pick up another bottle and see if I just got an old one.
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Mar 22, 2013 15:38
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danbanana posted:Went to a Goose Island event in the Chicago suburbs. Just curious, what suburb was this in? I hate going downtown to do anything so I spend most of my time in the burbs. Although, I will be going downtown in a few weeks for my birthday and go to some breweries to drink beer; right now thinking probably Revolution and Half Acre.
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Mar 24, 2013 02:35
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danbanana posted:Bavarian Lodge in Lisle. A fantastic beer spot, great food, and awesome events that are always really overcrowded. What burb are you in? For now, Westmont...drat, right down the road. My wife and I always say we should go there to eat and never do. I guess I'll have to change that.
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Mar 24, 2013 04:48
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