So first off, the "other stuff" might be more interesting to you the reader as once we got to Flossmoor we went into beer talk with Russ from Chibebräu and his great family and ideas of taking pictures of the brewery quickly turned into "oh shit..I need to get my growler and 2 pint glasses before we miss the damn train!"...You're saying "whatever Brian..I like to read about beer..so that's why I'm here...jesus man..."
...well I would say "dear reader, while I share your love of the craft beer industry and the goodness of well done beer...what would you say if I could share with you one Mr. Woo Woo on the Red Line AND show you a picture that would shake you to your very foundation? A picture so revealing about one of Americas biggest hate groups that you'll NEED a beer after viewing?"
..I'm guessing you would say "well...you've got me...lets get this nonsense over so I can go back and finish my email and do something more noteworthy than having a fake conversation with you Brian..."
..I'd say "ok..but you are being kinda critical right? I mean I just want to write entertaining shit about homebrewing, craft beer, and beer culture".
..you would just look at me, and here we go!
So here we go - We've been wanting to visit the Flossmoor Brewery for some time time, actually over 3 years and after some discussing with fellow brewer Russ we decided to meet up down there on the 4th of July. After doing my CTA/Metra research the trip was pretty straight forward: a Brown line, to a red line, to a electric Metra line and we would be dumped out within 100 yards of Flossmoors front door. We were off!
I should have mentioned that we left around 1pm, right around the time the first wave of the Cubs post game traffic started hitting the El tracks, and because of that we ended up in the same train care as MR. Woo Woo himself, and he was truly firing up the cart..or more specifically REALLY getting a somewhat crazy looking dude that was 120% into Woo Woo and decided to not only join in on the "Cubs WOO, Win WOO, Cubs WOO, Something Something WOO" (for non Chicago readers you can learn about Ronny Woo Woo right here), but also to keep his legendary "Woo Woo'ing" alive after he left the red line for downtown Chicago..but actually opted to leave out the "Woo Woo" and replace it with a mish mash of Michael Jackson songs..I think I heard "Smooth Criminal" and "Beat it" lyrics in the same sentence..take that DJ Danger Mouse..the bar has been raised! Granted the picture off to the side here sucks..but I had limited time and frankly I had just accidentally tapped this lady off to my side in the back of the head with my backpack as I snagged my camera so I hopped for one shot..which I got..but it sucks..so yeah you get the idea.
Once we got off the Red line we needed to snag some cash and a cab (turns out yours truly doesn't know the Red Line as well as he thinks he does..we got off 3 stops early). Once doing that we quickly jumped into a cab and were on a ride to Millennium Station..where my wife pointed out one of the most amazing things I've EVER seen (this is the lead up to my "shake you to your very foundation" so start thinking anxious thoughts..I would hate to lose the moment here). Off to the side here you'll see what appears to be the KKK on a tourist bus moving through downtown Chicago...in broad daylight!!! Previously I had no idea that the KKK (I've typed that twice now...so I'm probably going to come up in some google search results for "KKK"..shit that was 3!!! Anyhow..I hope the FBI are beer fans, but I digress) were so brazen, and obviously architecture fans...perhaps they are here to see the future home of the 2016 Olympics?
..so yeah..that blows your mind right? Well it certainly blew mine...but on to the beer.
Once we hit Flossmoor I was pretty impressed with the town. It really reminded me of my hometown area of Coeur d'Alene, ID. After a 20 second walk we were inside Flossmoor Brewery. First off we really liked the atmosphere here. Lately Euni and I have been discussing what makes a great brewpub atmosphere, and we've both come to the conclusion that plenty of light and wood will do it..Flossmoor had both. After ordering an imperial Wit I moved onto the "Ryme & Reason IPA" and didn't look back until trying their Brown Ale on draft.
First off the Wit was a very good Wit, but with most "imperial" beers and myself I found it not as good as a simple well balanced wit could be..and I do believe that the same balance can be struck with any imperial version. The "Ryme & Reason IPA" however was very good. , I really seem to pick up on an oily spiciness that stays with me while drinking a beer with Rye in the grain bill, which is the main reason I've included it in so many of my Bitters as of late, and the same effect was found here with the IPA. After my first Ryme & Reason I moved onto the Pullman Brown ale, which I was pretty impressed with in the bottle (they distribute a few of their beers in 22oz bombers around Chicago, and this is one of them), but on draft, as is often the case, the beer was fantastic and a great compliment to the grilled pork chops I was enjoying at the time. This was my last beer at Flossmoor before realizing that I had around 5 minutes to close out with the restaurant and get my shiny new growler (filled with Ryme & Reason) and two pint glasses for an amazing low price..which we pulled off!
I would recommend Flossmoor anytime, and would certainly be there more frequently if it were closer to our home on the north side of Chicago (Flossmoor is around a 1:15 train ride south from downtown Chicago), and we had some great conversation coupled with some fantastic beers. Please visit this place if you come through Chicago..you'll be glad you did.
Cheers!
Oh and that picture above with the KKK (...shit...thats 4 now....look out google search results...) was actually of the pointy headed rain covers that are handed out on Chicago double decker tours..but I dare you to tell me that doesn't look like the KK..well you can finish the last K..I'm not willing to do federal time for dailyikura.com).
Brian
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