After our daughter finished up her interview process Friday afternoon we decided to go check out a couple breweries in the area. All things were looking good. We first headed to Lake Bluff Brewing Company in of course Lake Bluff, IL http://www.lbbrew.com/index.html which is way up on the north side of Chicagoland. Pulling up to the brewery we noticed the quaint downtown area that the brewery is in. Across the street from the brewery is a cool city park and the brewery is next to a noodle based restaurant.
As we walked to the brewery the first thing we noticed is the tables they have outside to sit at, as we came up they were mainly full. The inside of the brewery is nothing fancy, a cool bar and bar back, a row of table and chairs along each wall. This place is designed for socializing and enjoying good craft beer. They have a very small food menu maybe 10 items at the most, as well they offer around 6 wines. Otherwise it is about the beer and the beer does a good job of being the star.
My wife and I had a sampler of the six tap beers, while our daughter had a glass of wine, she does not care for beer. Oh well more for me! First beer up Americana 101 Wheat, it is what you would expect from an American wheat. Light straw in color, hazy with a white head, taste is of grainy wheat and the yeast profile you expect from an American wheat. We both agreed that we were not overly enthused about the beer.
The second beer was Bohemian Blonde on the other hand this was a really good beer. It was my favorite and my wife's second favorite. The beer was clear, straw in color with a white head. Some hints of sulfur leading me to believe there was some Pils malt involved in the brewing process. Also some light fruitiness in the taste as well, the finish was nicely crisp.
The third beer was Inspiration Pale Ale, kind of the average Am. Pale Ale. It was amber in color with a white head. Aroma is of piney hops. There is a malt backbone to carry the hops to the finish. The beer finishes dry and a bit harsh. As the beer warmed it mellowed and developed a bit of orange taste to it. So sit back and let this one warm and it will improve.
Next beer was Soft Tail IPA a good enjoyable IPA. It is medium gold in color, hazy with a white head. Aromas are piney, grassy and earthy hop notes. There is a good amount of malt to carry the hop load and smooth out the beer. A good balance between the hops and malt is achieved and makes this a very drinkable beer.
Hard Tail IIPA, Soft Tail's big brother was the next offering. This was my second favorite and surprisingly my wife enjoyed it as well. The beer is almost identical to Soft Tail in appearance perhaps just a slight shade darker gold in color. Hops rush into the nose but also a good amount malt to almost balance the hops. This is a smooth drinking beer that does indeed pack a hop punch, making this a really good IIPA. Watch out though this is a 8.8% ABV beer, that really does not seem to be that high in alcohol.
Lastly is Black Squirrel a bourbon infused stout at 8% ABV this beer does pack a punch. It is a dark brown with an off white head. Aroma is of dark roast, chocolate, with a bit of bourbon and vanilla. The taste mirrors the aroma and the bourbon becomes more pronounced as the beer warms. The only thing I can ding it on is I wish it was a fuller bodied beer.
If you are in the Northern suburbs of Chicagoland find this place and go enjoy some beer from a new brewpub; it has been open less than a year. If they continue to pump out good quality beers it will be around for a good amount of time.
We then drove over to Mickey Finn's in Libertyville, IL http://www.mickeyfinnsbrewery.com/ to try some more beer and to have dinner. Not surprisingly on a Friday night at around 7pm we had to wait a few minutes for a table, but not overly long. Once seated in the main dining area where we were greeted fairly quickly by our waitress. When the dining area is full like Friday night it is extremely loud and does detract from being able to carry on a good conversation. The food is good, both my wife and I had burgers and our daughter had steak tacos. One word of warning the fries are bad, they were limp, stale and soggy. My wife and I split a sampler of 6 beers.
The beer making up the sampler were Valkrie Pils, 847 Suburban Ale, Gudenteit Hefe, MF Amber, Paint It Black IPA and Oatmeal Stout.
The Valkrie Pils was a very good beer which would be a really good lawn mower beer. It was pale yellow with a white head. Taste was light, crisp, clean and a slight blueberry fruitiness. The beer was clear and had a moderate mouth feel.
847 Suburban Ale is an American wheat ale, not a favorite style of mine. Appearance is straw yellow, hazy and a white head. With a grainy wheat character in the the taste, also a slight butteriness is present as well. Not a winner for me.
Gudenteit Hefe is a German Hefeweizen and is true to the style. The beer is straw yellow, hazy with a white head. The aroma and flavor match what you would expect from a hefe, banana and cloves. This is a good summer drinker beer. If you are at Mickey Finn's this is worth a consideration.
MF Amber, Mickey Finn's Amber, is one of their most popular beers and they sell it in cans locally. It is amber in color with a white head. Aroma is of citrus hops and some sweet caramel. Taste is of citrus and caramel sweet malt. I agree this beer is really good and deserves to be distributed beyond the brewery.
Paint it Black IPA, as it states in the name this is a black IPA and not usually a favorite of mine. It is deep brown with an off white head. Aroma is of citrus hops, roasty and sweet malts. The taste is fairly evenly balanced between the malt and hops which makes it drinkable to me. For me this is a pretty good black IPA.
Oatmeal Stout was black and had a tan head. This beer is served on nitrogen. Aroma is roasty with a noticeable oatmeal graininess. The beer is smooth creamy and slightly sweet. There is a nice slickness from the oats as well. This is a very good beer and should be a consideration when you are at Mickey Finn's.
Mickey Finn's make some good beers and worth a stop if in the area. Also just up the street are a couple of good beer bars worth a stop. So check out The Firkin and The Tavern on the Town.
This week I will be heading to Nebraska and hope to hit a couple new spots, so look for those reviews upcoming this week.
QC Beerguy
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