The Original Goose Island – Chicago, Illinois
You know, we just thought it wouldn’t be a trip if we didn’t go to the “Original” Goose Island Brewpub. Once again, this location is only a few minutes from downtown off of the Red Line. Everytime that we take these trips, we only walk about half a mile from the train, if that.However, the address that they have listed is a bit misleading, but it’s still there. Goose Island is right across the street from a Best Buy and a couple of strip malls. There is also a pizzeria that smelled delicious from the street.
Once we arrived, we found plenty of seating available. There is an upstairs, downstairs, additional room and a side room plus the bar. You know, I thought it was going to have the feel of a chain restaurant before I even got there, but what the hell do I know. It turned out better than I expected. It was kind of dark which helped the atmosphere. QW ended up talking to one of the customers and got some more information for other brewpubs. Now, we didn’t find anymore in the Chicago area, but there is a new Gastropub called Gage. It has a new beer that is being brewed in the city called “Daisy Cutter”. But, that’s another story!
Back to Goose Island: We were greeted right away and our waiter knew about every beer. That beer board is huge, so I would imagine that their training program is top notch. Also to note, the Seibel Institute, which trains future brewers, is located right by the front door. Another indication that the staff is or should be involved in a training program. Anyway, our waiter suggested some good stuff and we proceeded to imbibe.
I didn’t really find a “great” beer for my taste, but I did find some really good ones. With the huge selection, I didn’t have the opportunity to try them all, but the guy next to us was well on his way. He was drinking one of the strong stouts. I think the ABV was somewhere around 12%. I’m sure that made the conversation that much better!
I think the next time we go, it will be on a Thursday when they have weekly keg tappings. Nevertheless, it was a nice place and family friendly!
