Welcome to stop #105 on the Brews and Choos project.
Brewery: Adams Street Brewery, 17 W. Adams St., Chicago
Train line: All of them
Time from Chicago: not applicable
Distance from station: 100 m from Adams/Wabash, 1.3 km from Ogilvie Transportation Center
The Adams Street Brewery traces its history back to 1887, and has existed in the same location in the Chicago Loop since 1898. It stopped brewing during Prohibition, but the Berghoff Restaurant above the brew works remained open throughout. I doubt much has changed in the past 126 years except the prices and the clever beer names.
I decided against having lunch there when I visited yesterday, only because I had plans to meet friends later in the evening and I didn't want to gorge on the authentic German food from the Berghoff. Who doesn't want a $26 Wiener Schnitzel on a hot July day?
Instead I tried two beers, and a sip of my Brews & Choos buddy's as well. The What-Duh Helles Lager (5.3%, 24 IBU) was a solid Helles, light, with banana notes, a long finish, and a malty but not too sweet body that would have gone great with the aforementioned Schnitzel. The Dat's Da Joose New England hazy (6.2%, 25 IBU) was...eh? Definitely juicy, not particularly hoppy, and not much of a finish. My friend ordered Da Drizzly dry-hopped sour (4.0%, 10 IBU), which surprised me, as I don't typically like sours. It was clean and refreshing, not too sweet or sour, which my friend declared "very exciting." I thought it was OK.
I didn't find any mention of flights on the menu until after I'd ordered, when the bartender mentioned it in passing. (It's actually one of the only breweries I've been to that offers beer by the liter.) I might have tried a couple of others had I known. But given the brewery's location, and how long it has been there, I think I can find a way back...say, in mid-September?
Beer garden? No
Dogs OK? No
Televisions? Yes, avoidable
Serves food? Yes, full German menu
Would hang out with a book? No
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes