As promised: deep dish and Goose Island #2

Our second day in Chicago found us meandering before the White Sox game. After taking in the Sears, the Bean, the lake, and the El, we decided 2 hours was plenty of time to backtrack to the Near North and hit up Goose Island's primary location. Though I dragged Leigh kicking and screaming, we did not regret our excursion. After hitting up a touristy deep dish restaurant downtown, we hopped on the El and in 20 minutes exited towards the shopping facility that apparently contained Goose Island's brewpub. The outside was not much for looks, but the inside was a surprising mix of old school brick and steel, and new school loft and modernism.

The beer: it was grand. More than grand: imperial. Not agreeing on our choices, we decided to each order our own sampler. We tried only the biggest and most exquisite of Goose Island's drafts: Imperial Coffee Stout, Night Stalker imperial stout, English Malt Porter, Black Saison, Pere Jacques, Fleur, La Deuxieme, and Bare Tree Weiss Wine - a guest beer from Two Brothers.

All were deliciuos, but two stood out.

The Black Saison's full bodied dark malt added a nice earthiness, which mellowed out the sweet candi sugar and the strong belgian yeast very nicely. This is a Saison which could be enjoyed just as well in the winter months.

I have had Weiss Wine before, but this was definitely the most well balanced: not too sweet, not to hoppy, not to floral or estery. It drinks almost like a session beer; at 11.5%, this beer was downright dangerous.

Remember the Wrigleyville White from the Cubs game? It is worth mentioning that the Uptown Goose Island location served a suspiciously similar-sounding beer with the exact same specs and description called Willow St. White.