Welcome to stop #70 on the Brews and Choos project.
Brewery: Afterthought Brewing, 218 E. St. Charles Road, Lombard
Train line: UP-W, Lombard
Time from Chicago: 46 minutes (Zone D)
Distance from station: 500 m
In my conversation with the staff at Afterthought Brewing, I mentioned that they are almost precisely the opposite of Goldfinger. Where Goldfinger precisely controls yeast strains, brewing times, temperatures, and their immaculate Euro-style taproom, Afterthought lets nature do her thing and decides what to do with the results afterward. The staff countered, no, we do the same thing: we make one style of beer really, really well.
Afterthought's style is saisons, by which they mean traditional farmhouse-style beers brewed in the ancient style: "While the specific flavors from different hop combinations will change from batch to batch, the resulting beer will always be lightly bitter, lightly tart, fruity, and low in alcohol." But wow is their palate tart. Manager Billy told me that most of their beers have a specific gravity between 1.0 and 1.01—meaning they have no sugar left after the microbes finish fermenting it.
I started with their first beer, Faible (4.2%), which they describe as a "hoppy saison." It reminded me of an Arnold Palmer but with beer substituting for the iced tea. Yes, it was light and fresh, but they aren't kidding about bacteria cultures, which made this the tartest beer I can ever remember trying.
At least until I tried their other beers. The Saison Meer (5%, 30 IBU) was even tarter, with a crisp finish and refreshing effervescence. The BSB (5.0%, 35 IBU), their take on an English bitter, had the most tenuous connection to an ESB of any beer to use the title. It was like they squeezed a lemon into an ESB, leaving no trace of malt. Finally, the Amer (5%, 50 IBU), with its New Zealand Riwaka hops, had noticeable bitterness, and an almost oaky nose.
I want to be clear: these are really well-made beers. They're just not to my palate. Still, I bought a bottle to give to a friend who loves Saisons with all his heart.
Beer garden? Seasonal
Dogs OK? Yes
Televisions? No
Serves food? Snacks (BYOF)
Would hang out with a book? Yes
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes