Welcome to stop #123 on the Brews and Choos project.
Brewery: Duneyrr Fermenta, 2237 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
3 (of 5) stars
Train line: CTA Green Line, Cermak-McCormick Place
Time from Chicago: 10 minutes
Distance from station: 600 m
After five hours, four kilometers of walking, three pints of beer, two Lyfts, and an invitation to my Brews & Choos buddy's husband to meet us three blocks from his office, we made it to Duneyrr Fermenta in Chicago's historic Motor Row. If only we hadn't had a mound of cheese curds at Alulu, we might have enjoyed the BBQ pop-up. Instead, we each tried a small glass of beer (or wine, in one case), and decided to get dinner closer to home.
Duneyrr definitely has a point of view on fermenting. They seem only to use wild yeast in their beers and wines, which I appreciate but do not like. I tried a 150 mL sample of the Riwaka Raccoon New Zealand IPA (6.3%), which had a super-dank nose and even danker flavor, with massive fruit flavors from the Riwaka and Rakau hops that the wild yeast completely obliterated. My buddy tried the Wild Buri farmhouse ale (5%), which she liked enough, calling it "less like a farmhouse and more like a göze or a lambic. Quite sour." As one who appreciates but does not like any of those styles, I will accept what she said. Her husband had a glass of the Melodic Mosaic semi-sparkling red wine, and said "Actually, that's interesting. Maybe just don't think of it as a wine." I also found it...interesting.
The space is cool, though, and they do allow dogs. Their snacks looked pretty good too. So it's worth a second look, especially if I want to entertain friends who really dig wild yeast fermentation.
Beer garden? No
Dogs OK? Yes
Televisions? Avoidable
Serves food? Usually snacks, weekend pop-ups
Would hang out with a book? Maybe
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Maybe