beer & chicago summer is where it's at

So we're finally squeaking some summer warmth out. Beirgardens and summer weisbier, I can't wait until full bloom. We live between two old neighborhoods, the German, Lincoln Square, and the Swedish-Andersonville. Both neighborhoods offer amazing opporunities to drink in the summer flavors. To reinforce our neighborhood love, two brand spankin' new breweries have opened in walking distance from us. Half Acre Beer Company, halfacrebeer.com and Metropolitan Brewing metrobrewing.com. I've had the opporunity to enjoy both but Im gonna have to sit down and figure out which to love more. So far I've been able to pick up some half-acre nearby, they have a really fun blog with a scavenger hunt where you can win beer prizes. They also organize neighborhood horseshoe tourny's and are a bit more visible than Metro. I had a tasty Metro at a nearby pub but haven't seen them around too much. You can be sure 'll be keeping my eyes open. Lot's of beer, music and fun coming our way this summer, stay tuned, I plan to be all over it.
Cheers! -TF

White Beer

Every once in awhile my wife amber's gonna get in on the action and give the better half's perspective. Hence the T&A that follows.

Brewery: Lakefront Brewery
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Style: Belgian White (Cloudy Golden Unfiltered Color)
Website: lakefrontbrewery.com
1st Taste T: mmm....wheaty, not much on the finish
1st Taste A: hops and apple notes maybe? smooth taste & sweet finish, (love the logo & label)
2nd Taste T: The hops are a delicious toasty and warm flavor.
2nd Taste A: diggin the fruity finish, heavier texture than normal
3rd Taste T: i just can't get past these delicious hops, such a nice flavor and the finish comes through on this taste - golden & delicious.
3rd Taste A: Not so sure if the sweet is apple on this taste but it's very nice sweetness.
Final T: Most Belgian style beers are a little filling for me but this one fits just right, flows nicely and the hops are amazing. Get your hands on this beer right away, it's brilliant!
Final A: I like it, "tooty fruity on rudy," it's a little party in my mouth.
I'm gonna dedicate this brew to my old friend daredevil because even blindly I bet I could describe this redish flavorful devil of a beer.

Red Brick Ale

Brewery: Atlanta Brewing Co.
Location: Atlanta, GA
Style: Brown Ale
Website: atlantabrewing.com
1st Taste: Chocolaty a nice bitter with a clean finish.
2nd Taste: earthy chocolaty mix, not too sweet. kinda semi-sweet which is the bitter-balance.
3rd Taste: I cold polish this off quick if I wasn't trying to savor the flavor so much, goes down easy.
Final: A great beer anytime but especially in the cooler months. Sit in front of a fire and watch the leaves fall while enjoying a nice Red Brick Ale.

Celis Grand Cru

Brewery: Michigan Brewing Company
Location: Webberville, MI
Style: Belgian Style Ale
Website: michiganbrewing.com/celis/celis1.htm
1st Taste: Surprising toasty with flavor that sticks. The bottle says "beer brewed with herbs and spices," but this is no KFC beer.
2nd taste: Very grainy flavor, nice with a full meal, some citrus noted.
3rd taste: No need to chug here, there's a lot of flavors going on and you really should slow down to appreciate.
Overall: A complex beer, something to enjoy and pace yourself...it has an 8% alcohol content so I'm feeling nice, warm & toasty.
Let's pair up this beauty with Greg Brown's dream cafe. Sit back relax and settle in, take your time and appreciate life for awhile. I'll call it a deep thinker.

Brooklyn Lager

Brewery: The Brooklyn Brewery
Location: Duh! (well...Utica actually)
Style: Pre-prohibition Style Lager
5.2% alc
Website: brooklynbrewery.com
1st Taste: Good n' Hoppy, substantial flavor, nice amber color.
2nd: Reminiscent of a Sam Adams which I'm a big fan of.
3rd: Real connoisseurs (which I'm not..really) would say "chewy."
Overall: Very good beer. Crisp, full of flavor. Kinda reminds me of crunchy leaves in the fall, I love it's richness. I could wolf down a sixer in no-time, while enjoying every drop.
Dedication: I promise I won't dedicate every brew to a hot comic babe....But.... I'm going with Phoenix on this one, sassy and fiery. A real Classic

My first notebook entry

Dear Marvel Hero's Diary,
This book is hereby dedicated to documenting the not-so-juvenile art of beer tasting and other ponderences (if that is indeed a word...it's not i know).
My first subject is as follows:

Brewery: Choc
Location: Krebs, OK
Style: Black Lager
Website: chocbeer.com

1st taste: unsweetened chocolate with caramel, maybe coffee - nice finish
2nd taste: mmmm...flavor filled with a good bitterness
3rd taste: kinda desert-ish with a nice finish
Overall: Quite a tasty treat. Good for fall or winter (cause you know I like a refresher when it gets warm).
Dedicated to: Of the marvel hero's that would appreciate this beer, I'm going with Storm; strong, black, sexy with a hint of sweetness. (that first beer always goes straight to "the Thing" so I hope all my reviews aren't dedicated to sexy female comic hero's...i guess we'll see)