a trip to Haymarket Brewery

I have been following the progress of Haymarket Brewery via the Hop-Cast interviews for a few months now and I couldn't wait to get downtown and check it out. 

left to right: Mathias Imperial IPA, Mother Jones Dubbel and Ombibulous Double IPA 

The beer selection at Haymarket is great, but the real reason to go is to enjoy their house brews.  During my visit I choose to basically create my own flight of brews by selecting the 4oz size. having the 4oz size available is great especially for when its your first visit to a brew pub and you dont want to commit to the full16oz or 20oz glass. TO keep my review short and sweet. I tried all of the house brews except for the Speakerswagon Pilsner. 2010/11 has been an IPA kind of year so I stuck with those style brews. My favorite was the Mother Jones Dubbel, it is a dark belgium ale,  really smooth and a sweet candy and berry like tate.  My least favorite was the Last Chance IPA, it was just a real strong hoppy IPA that i described as grass clippings. the verdict is still out on the others, they were all good unique flavored brews. 

left to right: Oscars Pardon Pale ale, First Chance IPA and Last Chance Belgium IPA

 What I love most about these new Brew pubs is their food. Haymarket does not disappoint at all. As a vegetarian I find it welcoming to see 3-4 Vegan/vegetarian dishes on the menu. I had the Vegan Spaghetti squash BBQ sandwich and it really good. I also tried some of the Fish and Chips from my wife's order and their battered fish was outstanding. I highly recommend Haymarket Brewery for Food and Brews if you find your self downtown near the west loop.

Vegan spaghetti squash BBQ sandwich w/ spicy coleslaw

 Check out more information about the brewery: Haymarket Brewrey

737 W. Randolph

(corner of Halsted & Randolph)

Chicago, IL 60661

Hours

Sun-Fri 11:00-2:00

Sat 11:00-3:00

Haymarket House Brew Details/price

New Belgium Frambozen and Victory Yakima Glory

New Belgium - Frambozen

I have only had two other Brown Ale's before trying Frambozen and it didn't help change my mind about the very stylized taste that Brown Ales offer. It had a good fruit raspberry aroma but I couldn't get over the initial Brown Ale vinegar  taste that it leaves after every sip. 

Victory Yakima Glory

The Victory Yakima Glory was a decent Darker Ale.  It was kinda of a good change to try this dark IPA style beer.  It has a dark amber color and pretty smooth. 

The Lucky Monk - Tritica

I was able to hit up the Lucky Monk today, I had a taster of the Solitude Oatmeal Stout but decided to go with my favorite...Tritica. Dont' worry Solitude, you'll get your chance one of these days.

Three Floyds - Pride and Joy Mild Ale

This could be my new favorite beer.  I have only been able to try a couple of Three Floyds brews over the past couple of years, nothing really stood out. Not a fan of Gumballhead (too light)  and I have yet to try Dark Lord.  Maybe a trip to the brewery this spring will change my perspective. 

Stone Brewing Co - Arrogant Bastard Ale

Picked up some Arrogant Bastard Ale at Armenatti's in Roselle. I choose to go with the 22oz bottle instead of the 6 pack.  A good dark gold ale, smooth taste, reminded me of a clean amber ale.  For some reason this took me a little longer then normal to finish a glass, I would rate the drinkability at a 7.

Emmett's Victory Pale Ale

I was happy to find this at my local Binny's. The Victory Pale ale has a rich golden color, citrus notes with a bite of hop. The aroma is a mild orange peel, nothing too strong or overbearing. 

Two Brothers Brewery

Over the Holidays my Father-in-law was able to find a great deal at CostCo, they had a 24pack for $24 of Two Brothers. the pack gave you 4-6 pack brews. It had Cane and Ebel, Domaine DuPage, The Bitter End and Northwind Stout (not pictured, enjoyed them way too fast)

Two Brothers Brewery