Thursday, April 10, 2008

Craft Brew at ORD

I found a little gem in Chicago's O'Hare airport yesterday. I arrived at the airport at 4:30 in the morning and when walking from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 I noticed a closed Goose Island Brewing station in the Main Hall between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. I put the location in my memory bank.

The beer stand is located right next to a full-size replica of Edward O'Hare's F-4 Wildcat fighter plane. Craft beer and history - my favorites. I visited the stand later in the day before my return flight. Because the station, which also sells food, is between terminals it is not crowded, as compared to the food stands on the main concourses. It only had Goose Island's Honker Ale, but it was good, on draft and served in a big cup. (It had two unused taps so it may have more beers at other times.) This stand is worth a stop if you are flying United or American, or any other flight leaving from Terminal 1 or 2.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Carnevale Ale - BeerAdvocate Review

Here is my first review on BeerAdvocate:

Appearance: A cloudy, light orange with a small, white head that has excellent retention. Poured into chalice glass.

Smell: Fresh, spicy smell. Reminiscent of other Belgian ales, and to me indicative of the Belgian style.

Taste: Lighter than expected from its prominent smell. It has a slight bitterness that grows on the palate after swallowing. The spices are present throughout and add complexity.

Mouthful: It is light, but lingers on the palate and leaves a pleasant, aftertaste with a hint of bitterness. The carbonation is mild and adds to the beer.

Drinkability: This is a smooth beer with a moderate alcohol level. This makes it a pleasure to drink. Its smooth taste - light on the bitterness, balanced with spices - adds to its drinkability.

Carnevale Ale is a well-crafted, excellent beer. It is not my favorite offering from Lost Abbey, but well worth drinking.

Serving type: bottle

I chose Lost Abbey's Carnevale Ale for no particular reason and the format is BeerAdvocate's.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Beverages 4 Less

I found the High Tide Fresh Hop IPA at Beverages 4 Less in Santee. This liquor store is on Mission Gorge Road, just east of where the 125 dumps into Mission Gorge Road. Despite its appearance and location in a run-down strip mall, it had a great selection of craft beers. It had a solid selection of San Diego craft beers, including Pizza Port / Lost Abbey beers (even a few bottles of Gift of the Magi), Stone, Ballast Point, Alpine and Lightning. It had Allagash, Deschutes (including a not-for-sale bottle of The Abyss), and many other craft and Belgian beers.

I stumbled on this place when shopping in Santee. I needed to get a couple of beers for a friend and knew Alpine beers were sold at a store in Santee. I searched Alpine's website on my iPhone and saw that Beverages 4 Less was a quarter-mile from where I was shopping. A quick detour lead to a great beer store find. I am concerned about the freshness of some of Beverages 4 Less's beers, so buyer beware.