Open bottle is is across from 350 brewing in Tinley Park along I 80 and Harlem.
http://theopenbottle.com/
http://theopenbottle.com/
Road trip - good breweries?
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Alright, so heres where I've been thus far:
After a six hour drive, we made it to Decorah, IA, and Toppling Goliath. I was stoked to get a beer and bite to eat, but upon entering, we realized food would need to be found elsewhere, so we left. After eating, we made it back in and got a flight with Psuedo Sue, Golden Nugget, Naughty 90 and Rover Truck. While they all were good, nothing was particularly spectacular. Sue is WAY overrated. I'm typically pretty harsh on my own brews, but my APA with all Citra is just as good if not better than Sue. Golden Nugget was my favorite of the bunch. Before leaving, I was able to get a taste of King Sue, which was much, much better. I just wished they sold it in bottles! I gotta say I was pretty turned off by the whole experience, as the general atmosphere of that place is kinda lousy, and the bartender was not at all friendly. At all.
After a bit more driving and a stop at the Mall of America (total waste of time), we made it to Surly - holy hell that place is impressive. I had a Furious and Todd the Axe Man, both of which were very, very good, and my wife had the Coffee Bender and Schadenfreude, which were also pretty impressive. Then there was the food. I had smoked brisket with roasted cauliflower and was completely floored - best brisket I've ever had. My wife had the Surly burger, and was also quite impressed with how good it was, for just being a burger. Overall, I can't say enough good about the place, their food and especially their beer. It's a must see/experience beer mecca.
First thing the next morning, we made it to the bottle shop in Hudson, WI, Casa Nova. I promptly spent $100 and barely escaped with the rest of my money - I could have gone broke in there for sure. 4 packs of Furious and Todd the Axe Man, a 4 pack of 90 Minute (never had it, not available in MO), and 3 - 4 packs of Dogfish Head Midas Touch, which is an all time fave of mine that I absolutely have to load up on when I have access.
An hour later, I dropped my wife off with her family in Durand, WI, and headed to Green Bay - total disappointment. I went to Titletown for some food and a beer, but I guess there was a wedding reception or something going on, as everyone there looked at me like I was dumb lol, so I left. Went across town to set eyes on Lambeau Field, and had to wonder: how does a town the size of Green Bay support a pro football team? Anyway, I tried locating a decent place for some food and a brew to no avail, so I hightailed it to Milwaukee and did that at Sprechers. They have a pretty tasty Oktoberfest. Traffic coming into Milwaukee from 50 miles out is horrific.
The next morning, I checked out the Northern Brewer retail shop where I picked up a copy of Michael Tonsmeire's American Sours. From there, I went back across town to Discount Liquor, as The Malt Shoppe was closed, unfortunately. I picked up a bottle of Alesmiths Speedway stout for a friend while I was there, but wasn't really moved to buy anything for myself. After that, I went to Lakefront Brewing, had a couple sausages and did the tour, which ended up being pretty entertaining. While there, I had small cups of Fixed Gear, Oktoberfest and 2 Riverwest Stein, all of which were pretty good, solid brews. I left with a t-shirt and glass, and a 12 pack sampler for a friend who just happened to be there a couple days before me and wanted more!
From there, I left for Chicagoland. When did they put in all those tolls?! I think before it was over, I must've paid 10 of them. My first stop was at the new Kuma's Corner location in Scaumburg. This was my third time eating at a Kumas' corner, and it's always awesome. If you're not familiar, they do gourmet burgers on pretzel buns all named after metal bands. The entire place is metal themed, and they focus on craft beer. My kinda place! I had the High On Fire, which was quite tasty and cleared my sinuses! For beer, I had a Scylla's Grasp, an APA from Urban Legend, and Ballast Point's session IPA, Evan Keel. Both were not bad.
After that, I was pressed for time, so I made my way to Joliet to catch a concert at The Tree (formerly Mojoes). Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum were there, both of which I've been wanting to catch live for ages now. The cool thing is I'll be seeing them again in a couple weeks in Kansas City! I had a Watermelon Wheat while I was there from Horny Goat brewing - it was atrocious.
The next day, I made it over to 3 Floyds. I had a pint of Zombie Dust, a half pint of Yum Yum, and a flight consisting of: Dreadnaught, Gumballhead, Robert the Bruce and Alpha King. Once again, I feel like Zombie Dust is overrated, but still quite good. I felt that Alpha King was far superior to Zombie Dust, as was Dreadnaught and Gumballhead. Robert the Bruce was also excellent. Every beer I had while there was fantastic. All the hype those guys get is well warranted. I also loved the atmosphere of it, with all beer and metal band stickers covering the glass beer cooler and what not. Then there was the shelf of vinyl and turntable, with the current record propped up for all to see - once again, my kind of place. I headed home after leaving here.
Now, you might be wondering why I left my wife behind lmao. Her sister is getting married and she wanted to spend extra time with her family - I couldn't get enough time off work to stay there the entire time, so I split my vacation up and decided to check some stuff out on my own, which was only slightly awkward from time to time lmao. I'm headed back up that way tomorrow for the wedding. Were supposed to visit a hops farm on Monday, and supposedly there are free hops! We will head back on Tuesday, with stops at New Glarus, Capital Brewing, and Edelweiss Creamery. I'll report back how that all went when I come back. Hope you enjoyed reading if you stuck around to the end.
After a six hour drive, we made it to Decorah, IA, and Toppling Goliath. I was stoked to get a beer and bite to eat, but upon entering, we realized food would need to be found elsewhere, so we left. After eating, we made it back in and got a flight with Psuedo Sue, Golden Nugget, Naughty 90 and Rover Truck. While they all were good, nothing was particularly spectacular. Sue is WAY overrated. I'm typically pretty harsh on my own brews, but my APA with all Citra is just as good if not better than Sue. Golden Nugget was my favorite of the bunch. Before leaving, I was able to get a taste of King Sue, which was much, much better. I just wished they sold it in bottles! I gotta say I was pretty turned off by the whole experience, as the general atmosphere of that place is kinda lousy, and the bartender was not at all friendly. At all.
After a bit more driving and a stop at the Mall of America (total waste of time), we made it to Surly - holy hell that place is impressive. I had a Furious and Todd the Axe Man, both of which were very, very good, and my wife had the Coffee Bender and Schadenfreude, which were also pretty impressive. Then there was the food. I had smoked brisket with roasted cauliflower and was completely floored - best brisket I've ever had. My wife had the Surly burger, and was also quite impressed with how good it was, for just being a burger. Overall, I can't say enough good about the place, their food and especially their beer. It's a must see/experience beer mecca.
First thing the next morning, we made it to the bottle shop in Hudson, WI, Casa Nova. I promptly spent $100 and barely escaped with the rest of my money - I could have gone broke in there for sure. 4 packs of Furious and Todd the Axe Man, a 4 pack of 90 Minute (never had it, not available in MO), and 3 - 4 packs of Dogfish Head Midas Touch, which is an all time fave of mine that I absolutely have to load up on when I have access.
An hour later, I dropped my wife off with her family in Durand, WI, and headed to Green Bay - total disappointment. I went to Titletown for some food and a beer, but I guess there was a wedding reception or something going on, as everyone there looked at me like I was dumb lol, so I left. Went across town to set eyes on Lambeau Field, and had to wonder: how does a town the size of Green Bay support a pro football team? Anyway, I tried locating a decent place for some food and a brew to no avail, so I hightailed it to Milwaukee and did that at Sprechers. They have a pretty tasty Oktoberfest. Traffic coming into Milwaukee from 50 miles out is horrific.
The next morning, I checked out the Northern Brewer retail shop where I picked up a copy of Michael Tonsmeire's American Sours. From there, I went back across town to Discount Liquor, as The Malt Shoppe was closed, unfortunately. I picked up a bottle of Alesmiths Speedway stout for a friend while I was there, but wasn't really moved to buy anything for myself. After that, I went to Lakefront Brewing, had a couple sausages and did the tour, which ended up being pretty entertaining. While there, I had small cups of Fixed Gear, Oktoberfest and 2 Riverwest Stein, all of which were pretty good, solid brews. I left with a t-shirt and glass, and a 12 pack sampler for a friend who just happened to be there a couple days before me and wanted more!
From there, I left for Chicagoland. When did they put in all those tolls?! I think before it was over, I must've paid 10 of them. My first stop was at the new Kuma's Corner location in Scaumburg. This was my third time eating at a Kumas' corner, and it's always awesome. If you're not familiar, they do gourmet burgers on pretzel buns all named after metal bands. The entire place is metal themed, and they focus on craft beer. My kinda place! I had the High On Fire, which was quite tasty and cleared my sinuses! For beer, I had a Scylla's Grasp, an APA from Urban Legend, and Ballast Point's session IPA, Evan Keel. Both were not bad.
After that, I was pressed for time, so I made my way to Joliet to catch a concert at The Tree (formerly Mojoes). Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum were there, both of which I've been wanting to catch live for ages now. The cool thing is I'll be seeing them again in a couple weeks in Kansas City! I had a Watermelon Wheat while I was there from Horny Goat brewing - it was atrocious.
The next day, I made it over to 3 Floyds. I had a pint of Zombie Dust, a half pint of Yum Yum, and a flight consisting of: Dreadnaught, Gumballhead, Robert the Bruce and Alpha King. Once again, I feel like Zombie Dust is overrated, but still quite good. I felt that Alpha King was far superior to Zombie Dust, as was Dreadnaught and Gumballhead. Robert the Bruce was also excellent. Every beer I had while there was fantastic. All the hype those guys get is well warranted. I also loved the atmosphere of it, with all beer and metal band stickers covering the glass beer cooler and what not. Then there was the shelf of vinyl and turntable, with the current record propped up for all to see - once again, my kind of place. I headed home after leaving here.
Now, you might be wondering why I left my wife behind lmao. Her sister is getting married and she wanted to spend extra time with her family - I couldn't get enough time off work to stay there the entire time, so I split my vacation up and decided to check some stuff out on my own, which was only slightly awkward from time to time lmao. I'm headed back up that way tomorrow for the wedding. Were supposed to visit a hops farm on Monday, and supposedly there are free hops! We will head back on Tuesday, with stops at New Glarus, Capital Brewing, and Edelweiss Creamery. I'll report back how that all went when I come back. Hope you enjoyed reading if you stuck around to the end.
TwistedHops
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I'll recommend ale asylum over capital any day, especially since you're in the Madison area
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