Chicagoland Lagers

in the early stages we kept running numbers, thinking off-premise wasn't going to be viable at all. we kept telling ourselves, "OK, to make this work, we need to get menu placements at a minimum of 20 bars in the city, otherwise sell-through will be too slow from a freshness perspective." we released the beer in mid-Jan and just brewed batch 5. we're surprised too!

 

I had a Lil Buddy last night (I showed the cans to my life while we were at Whole Foods and she made me buy a 4-pack since they were "the perfect size"), and I have to say, it's pretty solid. I like the price point, and I like that as others have said, 8 oz. is a good size for a quick refresh and/or palate cleanser. I'll definitely be stocking this over the summer.

 

the craft scene is completely inundated with mediocre products, and I would happily pay a slight upcharge to not have to finish a 12 oz can of ska, two brothers, or anderson valley because those are the only somewhat drinkable options on the menu.

for most bars, I say the 8 oz can revolution would be a welcome one!

 

Pollyanna needs to be considered for best lager program in the state.

Pollyanna Pils is stellar. Maibock, stellar. They have an almond Vienna. Lovely. Black lager with vanilla and cacao.

Their lager game is easily on the level of Half Acre, Hailstorm, Pipeworks, Hopewell, ect. . And this Pollyanna Pils might be a step above. In terms of hop driven aromatic hop bomb Pilsners, it’s the best I’ve had made in Illinois. It’s an impactful pils for sure.

We know Dovetail and Metro lead the way. But I love seeing the rest of Chicagoland starting to make really solid lagers.

 

Interesting, can't say I've had much of Pollyanna's stuff. I found their barrel program really underwhelming but I'll have to check out their lagers.

 

Highly recommend Hailstorm's Ceske Temny. It's a dark czech lager. Tribune wrote a piece on it a few weeks ago: https://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/ct-food-hailstorm-brewing-beer-of-month-0417-story.html

They also have Hotel Life (High Life clone), Primo (Mexican lager), Ceske Pilsner (Czech pils), and Rock Out With Maibock Out (GABF silver medal) comes out this week.

 

Yep, that is my favorite pilsner from Chicago as well. The imperial vienna lager on tap right now is unreal. I think I fell in love on Sunday. Pretty much everything they brew is darn near perfect for the style (and they do just about every style). Looking forward to their annual fest next month.

 

I did try Pollyanna Pils this past weekend at the suggestion of this thread and thought it was just alright, nothing special IMO.

I am also seriously sad that Dovetail does not have the Czech dark lager anymore, what a beer it is

 

Are growlers available at Metropolitan brewery? Would love to grab some heliostat to take away.

 

No, but they sell 6 pack bottles to go.

 

Do they not bottle that? Maybe not. For some reason I thought they did, but I’m probably wrong. For that matter, they may fill growlers for all I know, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it. So ignore my previous response.

 

They definitely should, in my opinion. Especially the nitro version!

 

Finally got to try the Dovetail Helles cans. Man, if I had a yard big enough to require a riding mower, this would be my summer lawn mower beer.

 

Hot take alert!

Metro Haus Helles > Dovetail Helles

 

I'll have to try those 8oz cans. Those look like the perfect size. By the time I'm in over 8ozs I remember how much I don't like lagers....