United Nations of Beer

Goose Island Brewpub

by Matt Morgan
(Beer Delegate, IL, USA)

Goose Island Brewpub
Chicago, IL, USA

Sweet City Woman by The Stampeders, Goose Island IPA, a pack of smokes and three sheets to the wind (not recommended).

If you’re gearing up from the rural routes that run through Illinois’ cornfields, bean fields, or whatever crop's turn it is, pack this combination in your ears, belly and vice monkey before you hit the road for the sweet skyline of Chicago.

Goose Island Brewpub is aptly named after the location of the brewery on Goose Island at the Chicago River, where it splits from its westward flow off of Lake Michigan to a north-south fork.

This gathering of all things delicious is sure to have your mouth watering and lips quivering before you can even look at the beer or food menu. Fish 'n' Chips, walleye fillets with the crispiest of French fries, are THE entrée to order which complements 90 per cent of their brews.

I think at the last count, Goose Island had around 50 beers, including many of their own special recipes. The bartenders are pretty knowledgeable about their brews and skilled in helping you to pick a taste you'll like.

After dinner, stick around and shoot some pool upstairs. Let your skill at billiards be your measure of intoxication (know when to say when): you’ll know when you are shooting at the cue ball in the middle. I merely say this to state that you’ll want to try just about every beer on the menu. You’ll probably get run off of the table well before then anyway.

Fortunately, the Chicago Transit Authority offers several options by which to avoid a DUI. Taxis are very easy to come by as well in this Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Two Goose Island Brewpub specials I choose to salute are Goose Island IPA and Goose Island Oatmeal Stout. Both have a bitter taste, although the Stout is much more so than the IPA.

The Oatmeal Stout also enhances any chili or stew recipes we love so much in the heart of Chicago winters.

These brews aren’t bad by any means, but if you are the casual marked-trail hiker, domestic doggy who wags its tail to clever corporate commercials, don’t venture off into the forest of complex flavors. In flavor terms, these dogs, or rather geese, will bite.

If you are from out of town and looking for some authentic Chi-city flavor, tempt your taste buds at Goose Island Brewpub.

It has a great menu and a very warm aesthetic going on, with brown tones to make you think you are in a vat of the tasty brew itself.