Chicago -Part One

At Three Floyds Brewpub, we sat under the watchful eye, of Apocalypse Cow.

Evidence, if you need it, of the organizational skills of my travelling companion, Mr. Van de hoef. You've got to have that to be a school teacher, and he had it all, programmed and formulated. This folder had print-outs of reviews of our potential destinations, as well as the proposed itinerary, which we loosely followed.

June 10-13. The Chicago trip with Cal. I owe a  lot to him for this one, coordinating it, timing it, getting the lodging, driving, planning. It was my first visit to the Windy City in over 20 years, long overdue. I'd been dying to do this for so many years, and Cal came to the rescue. Follow the pictures below for insight on our visits, but for Cal's look here.

At Three Floyds Brewpub. Any astute observer of this blog knows that I love taking photos of people taking photos. Also, I take photos of my beer, but not my food. Here, we see Cal and Heather both taking photos of their food, smoked octopus, which I wish that I had ordered. We can't all order octopus, can we? I normally don't pass it up, but they beat me to it, so I had a delicious hamburger. Wishing I'd had the octopus.

The bar at Headquarters Beercade. Pac-Man piggy banks were everywhere, as was the phrase "Don't grow up--it's a trap!". The TVs all played old videos/DVDs of Chicago Bulls basketball or pro-wrestling. 

Three Floyds Brewpub is one of the most colorfully decorated beer places I've ever encountered anywhere. Old bottles here, tap handles there, framed FFF themed art all over, Godzilla movie posters, kung fu movies showing non-stop, rugby scarves, action figures, gee-gaws, tchotckes, gimcracks, folderol, and ephemera, all over, with more of them dedicated to Star Wars and The Simpsons. At right, Cal is wondering what I'm staring at.

While at Three Floyds, I checked into Facebook and found that my old pal from Minneapolis, now a Chicago representative for Artisanal Imports, Adam Schulte, had made me aware of a Meantime promo he was doing at Headquarters Beercade, 950 W. Wolfham, a bar that was not on our radar, our itinerary, or anywhere in our minds. But, what the heck, let's go! It was the bar & video game side of a very large bar, whose other side, which reached to sold only cans and had pinball machines. I was fond of this side, especially because the video games, almost all of which I played in my teenage years (Asteroids, Defender, Dig Dug, Pac-Man), were free. And the beer was top-notch. I think Adam is holding a Two Brothers St. Feuillien Saison in his mitts, which we drank while we waited for the Meantime kegs to be tapped. 

Another view of Headquarters Beercade, showing the video games and the painting on the wall to the pinball bar, which had a Kirby-esque feel which I enjoyed. Also, the menus were stuffed inside old comic books. Clearly, this was an establishment that wanted to cater to the adult beverage consumer still yearning to hold on to the trappings of childhood. I could have stayed there all night playing Digging Dugs and chugging a-lug, but the group decided to depart. We took the advice of Bob, a Breckenridge rep, and stopped at Sheffields, mere blocks away. I took no pictures there, and here's where I urge you to visit Cal's blog for more recollections of our night. I was crashing. Operating on less than two hours of sleep was taking it's toll. I was nodding off on the L. 

This picture has been swiped from Heather Lyke's facebook page. Hey, if that works better than a chalkboard for them,  more power. The Meantime Scotch was scrumptious, but I was partial to the barley-wine.

From right to left: Scott, Cal, Heather, and Dominic, who hasn't been the same since they cancelled "The Jersey Shore." When we arrived at the bar, it was fairly empty, but by this time it was over-run with hipsters and guidos.

More proof that I was actually at Three Floyds.

This first stop of the day was one I'd dreaming of for so many years, the brewpub of Three Floyds  Brewing Company, in Munster, Indian, just a stone's throw from Chicago. I'd grown so frustrated with hearing tales of friends who'd visited, over and over, that it became a crucial visit. Seen here, a happy beer fan leaves with beer-to-go. I found plenty of great bottles to take home, some of which you've seen reviewed here, and some are yet to appear.