Anyone?

I work right down the street from this place so will certainly be checking it out soon

 

Might have a problem with that.....

We already have a beer market!

http://bier-markt.com/

 

Well, if anyone hits this today, please report back on the tap situation. It's hard to tell from the website which are bottles vs drafts. I couldn't find anywhere that even stated how many taps they would have (maybe I missed it somewhere?).

 

Anybody know about the taplist yet?

 

Stopped in at 11:55pm, five minutes before closing. I was on my way home from the FFF tap takeover at Beer Bistro and figured I'd see if Beer Market was still open. Oh, the lengths I go to for beer -- literally. I apologize in advance if I'm wrong on any of the details

They were eager to close for the day -- everyone was busy eating their celebratory first-day pizza and talking amongst themselves (definitely not holding that against anyone.) Talked to a bartender for a few minutes. They have a decent tap selection. I'd say about 30 taps. Among the beers I noticed: GI Matilda, DFH Aprihop, FW Union Jack IPA, Daisy Cutter, Abt 12 (which I shall be trying soon!), also Left Hand Sawtooth Nitro? (not Milk Stout) I didn't pay attention to prices, but written on a chalkboard, "beer of the month, Oberon $3.50." Seems like a good bottle selection. At least 4 tall refrigerators with beers divided into categories (Belgian, German, etc.) Several Sucaba boxes in one of the fridges, listed on the menu at $22.50. Not a whole lot of seating at the bar, maybe 15-20 chairs. Table seating for 100, I'd estimate. The bartender claims that you can bring your own food -- you're not limited to the menu they provide, so that's a relief! It appeared to me that there's a separate room for concerts -- it looked like stage lighting in a separate room behind the bar. Will need to verify that. Weekday hours are 3p-12a. Loyalty program is $10 to enroll (not $15 as listed on the web site). 1 point = 1 beer. If you have to buy 250 beers to get any real benefits -- well, let's just say I'll keep working on my GI MBA.

Overall, seems like they are taking their beer seriously. I'm looking forward to spending some quality time there.

 

Its a bit of a drive for me, and their website for beers is absolutely shitty. It should be a scrolling menu, not a list of 10 beers per page divided into a few hundred pages. That is a horrible layout if you are just wanting to scroll through their beer list. Unless it becomes easier to see what they have on tap and what bottles they carry on the site, I probably won't go out of my way to stop in. Already so many great tap lists in bars in the city already.

 

Hi all,

First off, I'm more of a lurker on the site but I figured I would chime in since I was at the Beer Market Wednesday night (opening day) First off, the atmosphere is nice, long tables where people can gather, individual tables, outside area, etc. There was a band playing on the second floor, which is kind of an odd setup but it worked alright. Only complaint was how loud they were, which our server also acknowledged. I love music, but at 7pm on a weekday you'd like to have a conversation but definitely could not with the volume level. Also, there were a lot of TV's which is fine, but again I'm a little confused as to what they're going for - craft beer, sports bar, music venue, etc? The rest of my party agreed that hopefully they will eventually carve out a niche as right now it seems like they're trying to do a little of everything. Now, onto the beer -

The taplist was large, as a previous poster mentioned, but not really anything exotic. Highlights for me would bee DFH Aprihop, Great Divide Espresso Yeti, Firestone Walker Double Jack, etc. The tap list in general was varied, but there were definitely a few selections that were kind of a "Huh, why would you have this on tap?". The bottle selection was also fairly extensive, but again, pretty standard in terms of everything being stuff that you could walk into any local Binnys and get that day. (nothing limited or especially unusual, compared to other local options like Firkin and Whirlyball that get a lot of cool stuff) I'll definitely cut them slack as it was the first day, but I hope that they expand the selection and take advantage of the 30 taps do some cooler stuff.

Now, for the concerns I had. First off, the tap list had a ton of misspellings and errors. For example, breweries listed with the wrong state (Flossmoor Station was listed as something other than Illinois, Great Divide was something other than Colorado, etc) Also, they listed tasting notes and glass size that the beer would come in (10oz, 16oz, etc) and clearly many of these were wrong, in addition to tasting notes that were clearly not matched up to the right beer. Again, first night, but this is stuff anyone would catch with a 2 minute glance at the list, and it makes you wonder who's proofreading and if they actually know anything about their product. Food was availible carryout and our server gave us a list of local establishments which was nice. I ordered some sushi and another group of friends got a pizza. Very nice. Other than ordering out though, they literally had nothing to snack on - no pretzels, chips, etc. I understand not having a kitchen, but just put out pretzels or something. Also, this may sound like nit-picking but lots of beers being served with oranges, lemons, etc as garnish. Yes, I know this is debatable, but once again, gives off the vibe that whoever is behind the scenes is "trying" to be knowledgeable about craft beer, but doesn't really understand the product.

Overall, I like the idea of another craft beer bar, especially given the size of the place, but am a little confused as to what the place is trying to be. I can't help but think that the people behind the scenes are trying to cash in on the craft beer "fad" and really don't know a whole lot about beer themselves. I will definitely give them some time, but my first impression was very mixed.

 

I just wanted to take a minute to respond to this post because I've been in the chicago bar and distribution business for many years and there seems to be a lot of comments about a business that no one knows anything about. I've been to The Beer Market frequently since it's opening and it's a great place. I am familiar with the owners and management staff who have worked very hard to get things up and running. Yes, there were some mistakes on the menu but the errors were made in translation to the printing company and are in the process of being fixed. Until that happens, just ask one of the beertenders or servers as they attend an 2 week training on the history of beer and everything that goes with it.
Craft beer drinkers need to understand that Chicago Distributors have very tight rules when it comes to giving bars the chance to buy one-offs or super hard to get seasonal or even year round brews on draft. It's decided by how good a customer has been to not only the distributor but to the brewery as well.....it's a numbers game. It's nearly impossible for anyone new to get a Three Floyds tap, Firestone Walker or even Dogfish Head until the new place has paid it's dues. The Firkin and everyone else who carries craft beer went through this at some point or another. The Beer Market has a good solid selection for what they are able to get so don't write negative things about a draft list that you don't have the facts about. Also, there are beers out there that are supposed to be served with fruit.....obviously German Hefeweizens being one of them as well as certain white wheat's and the Sea Dog Blueberry Ale.
As far as the food goes, I spoke to ownership and management about the theory behind not having a kitchen or snacks and after listening to them, I appreciate more what they are doing. TBM places themselves in areas where their are several local food venues so they can help boost local restraunts business. There is no "kick back" given to them, they just prefer to stick to beer so staff can educate the customer on the different varities and bacngrounds. They don't want the over head for snack foods and since everyone likes something different, it's more realistic if customers bring in the snacks they want to eat.....probably cheaper for the customer too.
By the way, one of the partners in this bar owns 19 sports bars in Ohio, so I feel confident they know what they are doing and not "cashing in" on the craft beer industry.
I know everyone has an opinion on how to run a bar....trust me as I own 3 but I didn't realize how hard it is until I did it. Writing a negative revew without knowing the facts is irresponsible and why I hate social media and the easy access it caused to rip someone a part with out truely knowing the facts.
The lesson here is, this place is a good solid bar for people who like trying new beers. I highly recommed it and also remind all of you out there to ask questions to the management or ownership of a place before you judge

 

How many sports bars did you say you own in Ohio?

And how does that have ANYTHING to do with not "cashing in on the craft beer industry"? Maybe I will inquire about a franchise opportunity just to see how much I won't be cashing in.

The truth is, breweries can spot places like this a mile away and tend to stay that far away for a reason.

 

A few things:
--So the menu had errors caused by some miscommunications with the printers? Okay, that's a shame. The fact still remains that there were several glaring errors on the menu. No matter the reason, the place is still culpable.
--Comparisons with awesome places like The Firkin are gonna happen, especially considering how close The Firkin is (just down Milwaukee). Frankly, it doesn't seem to me like this place is necessarily even looking to be Firkin-like (read: having a bunch of cool, random, occasionally rare kegs), but rather a source for a large number of good beers. Think the Yard House, only with more of a focus on the beer itself (which is always a welcome thing). Thing is, the beer geeks in the area (yeah, I'm one of 'em, too) are gonna judge the place based on the amount of beers they can get at the Beer Market that they can't get elsewhere. Otherwise, why aren't they just going elsewhere?
--While obtaining certain handles can indeed be difficult due to the whole "numbers game", most aren't involved in said "game". New and small-traffic places can still get nice kegs (a nearby WhirlyBall location got some FW XV, despite the fact that they're not really considered a craft destination in the area (though, frankly, they should be, especially considering the other options in VH...): their business is overwhelmingly skewed toward BMC offerings). Again, though, that's not what this place seems to be going for. The comments made against them reflect the commentators' desires for interesting kegs rather than a large selection of relatively easy-to-obtain-nearby kegs.
--The lack of food, even with the owners' intentions, is still somewhat off-putting to many. Just gonna haveta deal with that one...
--I am unaware of any styles of beer that are *supposed* to be served with fruit. Sure, orange wedges are commonly found on the rims of weizen glasses, but many (myself included) would rather not have them included. (And something tells me there's more than enough fruit flavor in Sea Dog beers...no need to add any more...)
--I love the idea of the staff being educated on the history and craft of beer and brewing. Kudos to management for this program.
--And I agree with Junk above, that the fact that the owners also own several other bars has no bearing on whether or not they're "cashing in" on the craft craze. In fact, it almost seems to imply the opposite, if you ask me. I don't blame them for doing this, mind you, I'm just saying...

Anyway, I'm heading over to the Beer Market for the first time tomorrow with a group of fellow beer enthusiasts. I'll save any specific judgments about the place until then, and whatever review I write on the place will reflect my experiences there, be they positive or negative. If they wanna survive out here, they're gonna haveta get used to some criticism, especially if it's warranted.

 

Hopefully you don't work for a brewery... As much as you want to live in your fantasy world where small breweries refuse to sell out, if they willingly "stayed far away" from a company they knew was going to be successful, they wouldn't be in business for very long. That's not how capitalism works...

As for the whole fruit/no fruit debate, regardless of whether or not you prefer lemon/orange etc... with your beers, a number of people have come to expect it with certain styles, so there's really no winning from the bars point of view. If they don't add it, some people will be upset, and if they do, others (most BAs) will. Same goes for having pretzels or other snacks at the bar. Certain crowds are used to having them, while others see it as gimmicky and unprofessional.

Just my two cents.

 

Personally, I love a lime with a Corona, and prefer having orange when having a Blue Moon or 312. So I'm not judging a bar by its fruit.

 

Even if you are right about everything you just said, it doesn't matter. Perception is reality. Normal customers are not going to know the hardships of a bar owner. They are going to judge the place based on their experiences at other beer bars. They don't care that it is difficult for this bar to get limited release stuff, they still want to see it there. Not sure why you got defensive. He is probably not the only person thinking these things when they go there. Everything he said was constructive and the Beer Market would be wise to take into consideration.

There was not one time while I was in Germany that a Hefe was served with an orange. The orange thing came from Blue Moon which is not craft or an import for America. I doubt any real craft brewer would advise to put fruit in their beer. His point was obviously that they are pandering to the BMC crowd by adding fruit.

As for the printing errors, I highly doubt it was the printing companies fault. Either you send them the document and they print it as is, or they help created it for you and you proof it before they run the prints.

 

Interesting responses from everybody here, and I'd be curious to here others opinions as they check the place out. My original intention was to provide an honest, constructive review and hoped to highlight both positive and negative aspects that I thought fellow beer drinkers would find useful. In response to Sportsfan18, providing context such as the owner's history and complexity of the Illinois distribution system is fine, but it doesn't change how anyone should perceive the establishment. I also think that when you name yourself "The Beer Market" and put such a strong emphasis on beer (no hard liquor, no food, limited wine selection) you MUST consider your competition in the area - which is fairly strong for the suburbs. TMoney - your comparison to the Yard House is spot on to what I thought of the beer selection - huge, but nothing that will keep your seasoned beer enthusiast coming back on a regular basis. Finally, I hope that the owners are receptive to feedback from their customers - much of what they are doing (lack of any food on site, televisions w/ sports games, loud music, advertising celebrity status of soap opera investors) is going to be rather controversial with your hardcore beer crowd. If they want to attract those people, they'll have to find a way to get more uncommon stuff at some point. I think it honestly comes down to the target market - if you're going for the casual bar crowd that normally looks for an Bell's Oberon, Sam Adams, or Goose product at their current bar, this might work. If they want to attract the more serious craft beer enthusiast, the formula might need some adjustment.

 

I understand what people are saying here. IMHO -- and I don't claim to be an expert on the area akin to TMoney, et al -- it should be a welcome addition to the area. Is it up to the standards of places in the city? Of course not. I wouldn't expect a place firmly in the burbs to be Hopleaf (no TV's) or compete with bars that take beer so seriously that they would never, ever let a piece of fruit touch the rim of a glass (incidentally I find it ironic how some BA's are quick to defend brewers who might put artificial flavors in beer, when just as many would never ever consider letting a piece of fruit near their beer. But I digress.) The comparison to Yard House might be close, but YH seemed to be seriously lacking in the one-offs/seasonals when I was going there regularly. At least this place is getting some unique stuff. I don't know where else in the area you're going to find Aprihop. Maybe Whirlyball, but I don't think Firkin has it (not saying Aprihop is super-awesome, just saying it's a decent craft beer that you can't find everywhere.) And does YH even sell bottles? If they do, are you ever going to find a bottle of Sucaba there? I love the Firkin (had my first and only Surly Darkness there which set a new bar for me) however I find the food there to be generally overpriced and not very good. So I end up eating somewhere else, then going to firkin for beer because I won't spend $15 for a few spoonfuls of soup and a crappy sandwich. I welcome a place that lets me bring some decent food and buy some decent brews while watching the game. And if they make a few mistakes along the way, say they're showing a game I don't care to watch, or have a band I don't like, or over-advertise their D-list celebrity ownership, that doesn't mean I'm going to shit on them. As long as they have beer I like at a fair price, and as long as most of the time I can get a seat and feel comfortable, then it's good in my book. The jury's still out on that until I visit several times, but I'm not thinking bad about the place unless they truly do something to deserve it.

 

I've been to the one in Cleveland around Christmas and they had an awesome beer called "Festivus". Considering I love Seinfeld and beer it was a perfect fit. It had excellent fish tacos and other great beer drinking food. I love how they put it right across the street from Great Lakes Brewery, growing the Cleveland Brewery District. I deffinately recommend this place. It doesn't get as crowded as Great Lakes, but I would still get there early. They have a pretty good happy hour.

 

Different place, you went to http://bier-markt.com/, not http://the-beer-market.com/ the OP is talking about. The Cleveland location for the place discussed in this thread is listed as coming soon.

 

Alright, after finally visiting this place, I can say a few things: 1) The place is smaller than I imagined. Not really as much of a knock as it may have sounded, but something that caught my attention at the time. Still, it's comfortable, and we never felt crowded by any stretch. (2) The tap list was relatively long and had plenty of solid options, though nothing that got any of us all that excited (I think the Espresso Oak-Aged Yeti was probably the highlight). (3) No music, so I can't comment on the charge of it being too loud or whatever, but they did play the sound for the Hawks game (during which they also tuned every TV off of baseball, which kinda rubbed me the wrong way). Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching the game (until they lost...), but usually bars don't turn the sound on like that. Nothing close to a major detraction here, though, just sayin'... (4) The bottle list is extremely long, with a handful of prizes tossed in for good measure (Hoptimum and Sucaba, for instance), but mostly it resembled the shelf stock of nearby Binny's, DiCarlo's, and Mariano's locations. Again, this isn't really a knock, more of a statement that the rarer stuff isn't the focus (besides, it is rare for a bottle list to really impress that way anyway...normally, a list this long is more than good enough for me). I think I'd like to see some short descriptions in there a la the draft list, but that's a minor thing. (5) The whole fruit thing is more of a personal preference thing, but it's their choice of fruit that just kinda confused my group: One of us ordered a Tucher hefe, and it came with a slice of lemon. Honestly, I've only ever seen an orange in such situations, so it was a bit odd, but nothing remotely close to being worthy of complaint. (6) The staff seem generally knowledgeable, though not as deeply so as the whole "2 week Beer University" spiel would lead us to believe. We got a satisfactory amount of information, though, when we asked questions. (7) We were digging the whole BYOF thing, especially when that involved wings and sushi. I will say, though, the burger one of us got from next door did look and smell pretty good... (8) The atmosphere was generally laid-back, with more of a lounge feel than a beer bar feel, if that makes sense. There was a small contingent of bro-like folk, but no one was loud or obnoxious. Suffice it to say: this ain't a Map Room crowd, but it's also not a Cubby Bear crowd, either.

In summation, I'd give the place generally good marks, if not strong ones. It's not the best option out here, but it's one I wouldn't really ever mind going to by any stretch. It seems targeted toward the border crowd, the one that knows it wants better beer than BMC and wants to explore its options, but also doesn't wanna come off all snooty and whatnot when it comes to its beer (something like that). I'm sticking to my earlier comparison to the Yard House, though this place seems to place itself above them with stronger offerings. I look forward to seeing what rotates in on tap (which clearly means I'll be going back) and in bottles.