All About Beer Demo Virtual test : Page 73
at Maggie’s [217 East Colorado].” But if you’re able to motor, she’ll direct you to the Blue Jay Café (22332 Highway 145, Placerville) a 20-minute drive down the valley. Since this is Colorado, the breakfast burrito comes with either a beefy red chili or a chickeny green chili, both legit. Before you leave town, make sure to pop into Th e Sweet Life (115 West Colorado), a burger joint and sweet shop where many locals have fl avors named after them, so be sure to order a scoop of “Lordog’s Candle Scramble,” no matter what’s in it. And since this is a beer trip, whether you’re driving home or simply returning to the airport, if you head north to or through Montrose, stop in at the tiny Colorado Boy Brewery (602 Clinton Street, Ridgeway) and/ or the even tinier Ourayle House down in Ouray (215 7th Avenue, Ouray). If head-ing south towardDurango, which itself is beercation-worthy, the towns of Dolores and Silverton have eponymous brewpubs. CHICAGO From its abundant parks to its 18-mile Lakefront Trail to Millennium Park with its eclectic concert programming at the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the Windy City is home to many great—and free—recreational activities. Even the Art Institute of Chicago (Thursday evenings only) and the Lincoln Park Zoo are free. It’s no wonder the Craft Brewers Conference was held in Chi-town this year. Beyond scarfi ng down Polishes and Chicago deep-dish pizza or pounding Old Style out of a paper cup atWrigley Field, Chicago is a haven for fans of quality tunes and craft brews. Chicago Blues was bornfrom musicians such asMuddy Waters and Buddy Guy build-ing on elements from the Mississippi Delta; Chicago brewers developedwood-agedbeer by looking south for bourbon barrels. The proximateBourbon Trail enabled GregHall atGoose Island to createBourbon County Stout, which you can try at both brewpub locations, Clybourn (1800 NorthClybourn) and Wrigleyville (3535 North Clark Street). Clybourn has 25 fl agship and experimental taps where you might just try a bourbon-aged Extra Naughty Gooseor Burton’sMaplewood FarmMaple Bacon Stout. Craft Beer Institute president, Cicerone Certifi cation Program director and Chicago resident Ray Daniels says, “Th e new chef is a Certifi ed Cicerone and the new brewer is very food-oriented [a Culinary Institute of America grad] so there are some very interesting things going on these days.” About 30 miles south in Chicagoland, Flossmoor Station Brewery (1035 Sterling Avenue, Flossmoor) was another pioneer among barrel-aging and, time and vehicle permitting, is sure to off er tasty treats. Speaking of tasty, forget pub grub, Chi-cago perhaps reigns as the gastropub capital of the U.S. Th e Publican and Hop Leaf lead by example. At the Publican (837 W. Fulton Market), Daniels says guests should expect to pay “top dollar, but they have a fantastic beer list and world-class food.” Sean Paxton, the HomebrewChef, recently returned raving about an “insane” meal there consisting of beef heart, veal sweetbreads, seafood and charcuterie. When he fi nally got tothe beers, his eyes glazed over like the house made nut caramel tart. Th e menu includes Cantillon Lou Pepe-Framboise ($5 for 750-ml) and nearby Th ree Floyds’ equally-hard-to-find Behemoth Barleywine ($35 per bomber). For those who still want solid beer and excellent food but ata better value, Daniels suggests checking out Hop Leaf (5148 N Clark Street). While Paxton raves about their charcuterie as well, don’t overlook creative sandwiches such as the Duck Reuben and the “CB&J”—house-made cashew butter with fi g jam and morbier cheese pan-fried on sourdough. When ordering beer from their taps or well-thought-out 16-page bottle list, don’t overlook the local Wild Blossom Meadery meads. As an aside, Daniels gives the thumbs up to the newest brewpub, Revolution (2323 N. Milwaukee Avenue), applauding its “innovative pub food, excel-lent beers and an extensive set of guest taps.” Other brewpubs include Moonshine (1824 W Division Street) and Piece Brewery and Pizzeria (1927 W. NorthAvenue). As for plain, straight-up watering holes, three spots are must-see/must-drink for lovers of the craft. Th e Map Room (1949 N.Hoyne) in Bucktown is the local pre-eminent beer bar, but Sheffield’s (3258 N. Sheffi eld) is a three-bars-in-one beer garden, and unlike the Map Room, has a food menu. And another hot beer garden is Th e Village Tap (2055 W. Roscoe Street). Not too many places off er craft beer by the pitcher like they do. VOL. 31, NO.4 SEPTEMBER 2010 ALL ABOUT BEER 73 PITCHFORK MUSIC FEST July 16-18 www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com Think Chicago and you think blues, jazz and Chess Records. Clubs like Buddy Guy’s Legends and B.L.U.E.S. are must-hears. And now housed in the former Chess offices, Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven is museum for music lovers. Dixon once said, “The blues are the roots. The rest are the fruits.” Among the fruits, Pitchfork is a three-day fest in Union Park cel-ebrating independent rock, folk and more, and this year’s lineup boasts Broken Social Scene, Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon and 20-year veterans of the indie scene—making it difficult to call them college rock—Pavement. Just note, the fest’s “premium beer” lineup consists of Heinie, Heinie Light and Amstel Light. LOLLAPALOOZA Aug 6-8 www.lollapalooza.com Lollapalooza takes place in Grant Park and headliners include Soundgarden, Green Day and Lady Gaga, with supporting acts across the aural spectrum from Devo to Erykah Badu to the gotta-see-’em-live Balkan Beat Box. Beers in the Lederhosen’s biergarten are all AB-InBev brands. PAWLONKA / SHUTTERSTOCK MUSICFORANTS.COM/ BLOG
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