This beer was contributed to my by me dear ol' brother in Wisconsin, and brought to you by a crazy 24 hours in Chicago.
First off, my brother, Aaron, was browsing through the site with his neighbor and decided to send my way a little cash to get whatever I wanted. Not being one to turn down a donation to a charity case like myself, I graciously accepted. And the perfect time to collect said beer was the upcoming weekend.
Which brings up to the crazy 24 hours in Chicago. Seems as though the stars aligned and delayed christmas gifts were redeemed and weekend plans were free, so my better half and myself caught a flight to Chicago to visit my old (crazy) roommate 'Stephonics' and have an awesome dinner. My beer was actually drank the next morning, but I can't continue without saying that we had a rather interesting and fun time at dinner. Lots of saki and martinis were drank, and by the end of the evening, we had convinced our waitress that we were food writers from Minneapolis and were working on an article about their restaurant. Steph also included that the main course was so good it "Marvin Gayed in her Mouth". At one point we got the Chef to come out and introduce himself and take some photos for the 'magazine', and we were comped several of our dishes.
Anyway, when all was said and done, and after a quick trip to the VFW for a PBR nightcap, we made it back home and rested up for breakfast with the "Eating at a liquor store" club, which is where I finally had my delicious Imperial Stout.
After our long night of shenanigans, I was starving, and more than a little bit concerned the only thing on the menu was a couple sandwiches and lots of cheese plates. A couple thick dark beers later, and some of the most glorious cheese plates later though and I couldn't have been more satisfied. This place was fantastic!
And as for the beer, Holy crap this was good. Dark as oil, and chocolaty, but not overly sweet. Rich and pretty complex. This is the best beer I've had in quite a while.
After we got home. I had a little bit left over from Aaron's contribution, so I bought myself a bottle from one of our local breweries in St. Paul, Flat Earth Brewing Belgian style Pale Ale. Another fine beer, although it's hard to follow the stout in Chicago. I brought my beer with me to dinner party and enjoyed with lots of guacamole and burritos. (Mmmm)
Thanks for the beer Aaron. it was amazing! I'll make it down to Madison soon and pay it forward (or back in your direction, as the case may be)
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