Beer Trippin; Wrigleyville

After moving my brother up to Iron Mountain Michigan on Saturday and Sunday, went back to my sister's place in Lockport, as Kriddy and I were going to be going to a Cubs game on Monday.

The plan was to get to Wrigley area around noon, do some beer shopping, then some beer drinking, then go watch the game.

The beer shopping was done at West Lakeview Liquors. I had previously seen on their website that they had some of the BrewDog Paradox line in, so I really wanted to get up there before it was all sold out. Thankfully, they had the three I was looking for. Here's the rundown of what we got.

BrewDog Paradox Islay Batch 1 (Caol Ila)
BrewDog Paradox Speyside Batch 10
BrewDog Paradox Macallan Batch 11
Port/deProef Signature
Nils Oscar IPA
Nils Oscar Kalasol
de Dolle Bos Keun Paasbier
Nørrebro Bryghus Little Korkny (barleywine)
Nørrebro Bryghus Old Odense
Nørrebro Bryghus Skargaards Porter
Allagash Victor
Allagash Victoria
Allagash Fluxus
Southern Tier Tripel
Southern Tier Back Burner (barleywine)
Bear Republic XP extra pale
Nøgne Ø Bryggeri Ø #100 Barley Wine Style Ale
Wrasslers XXXX Stout
Mikkeller Black
Malheur 12
Fantome Brise BonBons!
Baladin Xyauyù

Additionally, J was helping Jim move, and he brought me some New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red; New Glarus Unplugged Smoke on the Porter; and Sudwerk Lager.

So that was my nice shopping trip.

After we finished there, we found a place to park and then walked up to Wrigley, went to the will call ticket window and got our tix. Then we walked down Clark (I think) to Goose Island Wrigleyville. This was our first trip to the Wrigleyville Goose Island; Kriddy wasn't even sure of where it was, and she's been to Wrigley a bagillion times. So we walked in (no cover) sat at the bar, and ordered beers. I started with a draft of Pere Jacques.

It was awesome. Kriddy went with the Honkers Ale. (Yes, I know the rundown is over to the left in the twitter, but it won't always be there) After I finished that, I had the Cubby BlueBerry Ale. This was a decent blueberry, not overpowering, but the blueberry definitely was there. They put a new beer on tap as we were sitting there, so I had to have it, BeerHunter Brown Porter. About this time, Kriddy ordered a Bourbon County Stout.

We (i) also ordered the pretzels, they were outstanding. they have 2 styles, Classic Bavarian or Cheddar Jalapeno. Both were great (Kriddy didn't like the cheddar jalapeno) I believe the cheddar Jalapeno is filled with cheese. They are served with a spicy mustard, a cheese spread, and (according to the web) marinara sauce (although I thought it to be salsa).

We then headed to the game. I had 2 Old Styles, and an Old Style light; a couple of hot dogs; and that was about it. Cubs lost. :( but we had a good time.

We then headed back down to Bloomington to get Kriddy's truck that I left in front of Jim's old place. And then back to Urbana (the champaign of cities). While at Jim's packing up, they had cases of Bud Clamato, and Bud Light Clamato. These were interesting. The cans were the size of the small V8 cans, so it would take a bunch of them to get you tipsy. Fortunately, I have 6 cases of the stuff, so ... well, I'm giving them to scott, because he seems to really like it.

That's pretty much it. Jim's new place is really cool, it's got the rustic wood beams that run through the living room/kitchen and dining room. It's very nice. Should the basement ever get finished, that place will be very very nice. It's got several apple trees outside... cider anyone?

Days of the Beer, August 12

The beer for today is Goose Island 312.

On August 12, 1833, at a portage between the Illinois River and Lake Michigan, Chicago was founded.

The name Chicago comes from the Miami-Illinois (Native American) word shikaakwa, meaning "wild leek" or "striped skunk"; leeks are a form of onion. The name was initially for the river, but later became the name of the city. The Town of Chicago was organized initially with a population of 350. In 7 years it had grown to over 4,000. It was incorporated on March 4, 1837.

Chicago began to grow when the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad opened in 1848, which was also the year the Illinois and Michigan Canal opened. By 1890, Chicago had a population of over 1 million.

In 1871, one third of the city was destroyed in a fire, including the central business district. As part of the reconstruction, the worlds first skyscraper was made in 1885.On December 2, 1942, Enrico Fermi conducted the world's first nuclear reaction at the University of Chicago. The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held with famous riots in the city.

Chicago is home to the Cubs (MLB); White Sox (MLB); Bears (NFL); Bulls (NBA); Blackhawks (NHL); and Fire (MLS), in addition to several minor league teams. Chicago is one of the cities bidding to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Chicago has been known as: The Windy City (for the cities politicians, not for wind gusts); Second City (for when Chicago was the second largest city in the U.S., since been taken by LA); Hog Butcher for the World (from a Carl Sandburg poem); and the City I Hate Because I Always Get Lost In It (by me).

Chicago has several area codes (phone) from 1947 until 1988, it was served by only one area code. That code... 312.

About the beer:

Like the digits suggest, it's a beer that's densely populated with flavor and loaded with character. We don't filter it, so none of its life and soul is stripped away.

The first thing you notice is the hazy, cloudy appearance. That's how you know it's unfiltered. What hits you next is the spicy aroma of Cascade hops, followed by the crispy, fruity ale flavor delivered in a smooth, creamy body, the result of blending barley malt with torrified wheat. It's not like any other Goose Island Beer, but no less than you'd expect.

Goose Island is a brewery in Chicago, opened in 1988. It is named after the only island on the Chicago River in Illinois. The island is about a mile and a half lone and a half mile wide (at it's widest point).

So for the second city go get the beer with it's area code, 312... it's for you.