Corridor Brewery & Provisions (2020)

I honestly think the lack of distro is a pain point, at least when it comes to this forum. There are so many good options sitting in local beer shops that it's hard (at least for people like me) to justify making a special trip to get a crowler of a comparable (especially since that's not my preferred form factor). The last stuff I had of Corridor's was excellent as usual, it's just hard for me to justify the trip over there versus just hanging out in my house with friends (which is usually when I'd go over).

(I know their model is not to distro, so I'm not trying to open an argument about it)

 

I used to go almost every weekend to get their latest DDH IPA. Quality really dipped off. At the same time, know the group is opening another brewery off Mag Mile so maybe priorities aren't there to really focus on quality and innovation at Corridor.

 

I was in a similar boat with @Bbear, I was going to Corridor weekly to try their new haze offering. Once their head brewer went to Maplewood, their beers really took a shit. Food menu is still solid even though it’s changed up and added some interesting options. For me, their owner has publicly expressed interest in quantity and not quality as he continues to open other locations under the same umbrella. I have found no shortage of excellent substitutes in this city. Corridor had some glory days but are completely irrelevant now.

 

Wow, I haven't had a Corridor beer in 1-2 years but have they really become that bad? I know they lost their head brewer to More Brewing, but did not expect a huge drop-off?

 

You guys are really making me curious to go back!

 

My opinion is Corridor’s dip in relevance is more so related to the haze craze fatigue rather than a big dip in quality. I personally can barely stomach a NE IPA anymore so I doubt I’m alone. I’ve found their old world styles, lagers, European styles, etc, ie, beer flavored beer, to be real high quality still. So that makes me think it’s more the haze fatigue than big quality dip. But what do I know.

 

I'd agree, but I haven't been to Corridor since the fall, and some people here seem to have some pretty strong opinions. With that said, I'm basically with you on moving back towards things like lagers; I really like NE IPAs, but I've definitely burned myself out on them for a while.

 

Likewise, Corridor was weekly growlers fill for me as their DDH were top notch. Crowlers were pricey too for 32 oz which is too much to open unless sharing. With HB available in 4 packs at a fraction of the cost at my nearby store it was an easy switch from Corridor to HB. No brainer, better format, beer, and price. Tried some Corridor recently while still good just not what it used to be. CJB was one of my favorite. Corridor will still be my Cubs pregame spot of preference.

 

I felt the exact opposite, and I thought their crowlers were some of the best priced I've seen for top-quality IPAs. I don't think I ever paid more than $13 for a crowler - that's pretty alright in my book.

 

Agree on crowler pricing. Know it's a totally different beer market, but was at a brewery in NOLA over the weekend. $26 crowler for their NE IPA offerings...

 

That's a great price for a crowler, but I think the point is that crowlers themselves have become irrelevant. When you can get a Hop Butcher 4-pack for close to the same price - maybe a few bucks more - that is twice the beer and able to be drank in 16 oz increments, it makes less sense to buy a $13 beer that actually needs to be drank faster than those cans.

 

I was actually just down there myself a few weeks ago. I must not have went to the same brewery as you, since I can't recall a crowler price like that. Although, I don't recall a good chunk of the 5 days we spent around the corner from Bourbon St...

 

Frenchman street is a must next time you're there. Great music!

Here's the brewery: https://www.mielbrewery.com/beers. I was wrong, $21 for a crowler of NE IPA.

 

I completely agree with you regarding the format, I was just arguing against that format at Corridor being "too pricey" is all.

Although to your point on Hop Butcher: in Corridor's heyday, I would gladly take 32oz of Squeezit, or Cosmic Juice Box for $13 over the overly-sweet sugar juice HB puts out. Just my palate's two cents.

 

Yeah, this is my whole problem, especially nowadays. When Corridor was (imo) dominating the NE game, I was cool grabbing crowlers despite vastly preferring 12-16 oz. options. Now that there is a lot of quality in stores, it's just not worth it. I've been about to grab crowlers multiple times where I balked at the last minute because I'm sick of the format.

My personal solution now is that I just skip both of 'em.

 

I'm right there with you! My fiancée and I still visit Corridor once or twice a month for dinner, but I couldn't tell you the last time I brought beer home from there. As for Hop Butcher, I've been over those insulin IPAs for quite a while.

Plus, living down the street from HA Balmoral feeds my IPA fix for sure

 

I just haven't been making it to that area of the city lately. I'll have to go make a visit to see if I notice a dip in quality. I'm still fully in the haze craze.

 

Ate there last month. Food and beer were both still incredibly on-point. Just wish they would figure out a way to can more than 100 4-packs and maybe do some distro.

I understand that is not going to happen anytime soon.