After a whirlwind of a weekend in Chicago, I’ve finally made it home in one piece- let the recaps begin!
A late flight out on Sunday meant time for some extra Chicago fun. Theodora, Kate, and I hit the “L” and headed to Goose Island Brewery to take a tour and taste some of their freshly brewed beer.
I proceeded to skillfully navigate us to the wrong Goose Island location- oops. Unfortunately we were not interested in touring the receiving plant.
Lost face.
So sad. (They were polite enough not to strangle me- phew!)
Luckily the iPhone came to the rescue with a cab app that brought us Ali, and soon we made it to the right spot- just in time for a tour.
The Goose Island Brew-Pub:
(It’s a “brew pub” because they brew it and serve it- clever, eh?)
Brewer Miguel gave a quick talk about how beer is made, then led us to the fun part—> the tasting room, where we sampled six of the pub’s many selections.
Beer making talk.
Beer is made with four ingredients: water, hops, malt, and yeast. (Read more about the beer making process.)
A look at the brewing equipment:
Time for tasting!
But for real, tasting time:
From left to right: Sai-Shon Tea, Liquid Dark, IPA, Honkers, Nut Brown Ale, and Willow Street White.
Tasting beer is as an elaborate of a process as tasting wine.
I have to say I was quite impressed. I’ve never tasted beer that had so much flavor- each one was distinct from the one before it. The Saison, Honkers, and Willow Street White knocked my socks off.
Apparently I “taste” beer fast- hey, I told you it was good!
Lunch
After the tour it was well past time for lunch. Veggie burgers & fries to the rescue! Along with a 312 Urban Wheat beer on Kate’s recommendation. (Plus a sample of Matilda on the waitress’ recommendation- it was fantastic!)
A veggie burger with pepper jack cheese & chipotle aioli.
Don’t worry, the evil tomatoes were exiled seconds after this picture was taken.
Every good healthy living conference should end with fries. 🙂
And thus concluded my trip to Chicago. 🙁
The rest of the weekend is coming up!! 🙂 [Yes, I’m backwards. Last event first, I know, I know.]
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