Flossmoor Station Brewery
Once it was pointed out to me how easy it is to get to Flossmoor Station Brewing (thanks!), I didnt waste too much time. Id sampled their beers at several festivals and had been very impressed.
The building is the old railroad station, nicely remodeled. With lots of wood and brass, it comes a bit close to cookie cutter brewpub décor but I found it completely tolerable, probably in large part because the beer is so good. Theres a lot of railroad memorabilia and even a little train that silently circles the bar room up near the ceiling. Its not a huge place but they make the most of the space. Quite crowded on two different midweek evenings, most people seemed to be eating in the dining room but the bar was crowded too. The brewhouse itself is tiny but again they make the most of it.
Their beers are generally very robust and I found even some of their lighter brews to be very pleasant (not something Id usually say). Pullman Nut Brown Ale is one of their standbys and its very good, even though its not a style I generally favor. Its brewed with toasted oats and molasses and is very smooth with a touch of sweetness. Even if this doesnt sound appealing, Id suggest giving it a try. The real star was the IPA, a great beer. This is among my favorite styles and this was the best version Ive had in a long time, very fresh and hoppy.
I also appreciated their intense, fruity Belgian White, even though I was really not in the mood for it. Not a bad beer at all and fans of Hoegaarden etc should give it a try. Even their usual wheat ale, though very light, was very well made. I also enjoyed a taste of the spicy red.
Unfortunately they were out of stout on both my visits but this is scheduled to return soon (Iron Horse, not Eclipse). Also they should soon have their first Framboise ready, made with whole fruit. If I understood correctly, this is a 10% alcohol brew so it ought to be different than just about anything. I cant wait. When leaving by the side door I noticed an empty Jack Daniels barrel, so you can probably guess whats in store for later this year.
They do a big food business from what I could see. I had a burger that was nothing to write home about. Not terrible, but a couple dollars more in price and a couple notches less in quality than it should have been. Ditto for the reuben. There is a fairly extensive menu of pub food and some fancier stuff. Im sure Ill be back to try their new brews and will likely try some other food (any suggestions?).
Oh, one more thing. The same owners have opened an ice cream parlor next door in an old caboose (at least I think its new, or maybe it had just opened for the year). Didnt have a chance to try it yet.
Flossmoor Station
1035 Sterling Av (steps from the Flossmoor Metra stop)
Flossmoor IL
708-957-BREW
Mon-Thu 1130am-12am; Fri-Sat 1130am-2am; Sun noon-10pm
Kitchen closes earlier
Rene G
Jun 13, 2002 08:36PM
Thanks for the review. I keep meaning to take a train down there.
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Thanks Rene, for the review. I wish you'd reported mouthwatering carbonnade, steamed mussels, etc. I gotta get there some time when they have Belgian brews available (other than witbier). I believe they won awards for 1 or 2 Belgians. Also, it'd be nice if someone brewed a quality cask ale. I found Goose Island's to be lame and served up too warm with a soapy head and inappropriate grapefruity/citrus taste.
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The appropriateness of a grapefruit/citrus taste would depend on the style of beer. If it was an American ale, it would be highly appropriate.
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I'm with you on paper, Jim. But, go taste the beer. Its not a moderate to high-carbonation bottle beer, meant to be drank chilled, as, I would argue, are most American microbrew ales - even the better ones. It is served in the traditional English cask style, and is very low-carb - what some would call flat - and as I said, mine was too warm.
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For cask beers I've been very impressed with the
offerings of Mickey Finn's brew pub in Libertyville.
They usually have two beers on cask. Sometimes they'll
have one on that's just stunning.
412 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville, IL 847-362-6688
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Piece
Category: German-Style Kolsch/Koln-Sstyle Kolsch
Bronze: Golden Arm
Category: American-Style Rye Ale or Lager
Silver: Worryin Ale
Impressive for a brewpub not yet one year old. The two medal winners in the Kolsch division were from Cologne.
Category: Specialty Beer
Bronze: Pullman Brown Ale, Flossmoor Station
Category: European-Style Low-Alcohol
Gold: Bohemian Light, Americas Brewing Company, Aurora
Category: Scottish-Style Ale
Bronze: Mickey Finns Wee Heavy, Mickey Finn's Brewery, Libertyville
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Mickey Finn's used to receive lots of attention for its wheat beer back when Chris Swersey was brewing there.
Complete winners list at link below.
Link: http://www.beertown.org/WBC/2002/wbc0...
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I'm no beer geek. Moreso, chowhound has really taught me how much more there is to beer, so I say this as someone who really has no idea what he's talking about.
But...
I looked at the World Cup web site, and I am extremely skpeptical. For one thing, it seems to be industry-driven. I mean what the heck is The Association of Brewers? Then, there are like 76 catagories divided into every conceivable variation (given everyone a chance to be a medal winner?). Brown porter vs. robust porter, even room for an australiasian/tropical light. I accept that there are a great deal of variations in beer style, but is this slicing things a bit much.
And how much do you ask? Well, is it enough to know that Coors and Miller High Life are both Gold Medal beers. C'mon Olde English HG800 medaled.
Anyone else wondering?
VI
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What is significant, I think, are the number of entries in each category. Most of the categories are more or less legitimate, I think, but some are underrespresented and others are just plain bad...but I don't know that there is necessarily an industry bias. Miller Lite very well may have been the best example of the six American-Style Light Lagers tasted.
And I must say I'm fairly impressed that Coors Original and Miller High Life were recognized in their respective category. I've held for some time that those two brews were the best of their kind, regardless of what the particular merits of that kind might be.
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The light lager breakdowns might be a bit much, but brown and robust porters are distinct styles. I would also have to mention that it's really not right to judge beers without including the predominant style in the world, which is light lager.
The Assn of Brewers is an organization with memberships (in different divisions) predominantly consisting of homebrewers and professional brewers. Another division puts on the WBC and the Great American Beer Festival, with its own judging similar in style to the WBC. I know something about their judging methods, and I think they're as impartial as you're going to find. I also think the judges are well qualified.
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It would be enlightening, though not diplomatic, if all the entries for each category were listed. I would guess that many eminent brewers did not provide beers for consideration.
I agree that the categorization reflects far too great a splitting of hairs.
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I won't dispute the assertion about splitting hairs, but I do think the WBC is the best alternative at this time. It's still young, and I believe we'll continue to see more brewers enter.
On the flip side is the Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago, which loosely categorizes beers, then hedonically tests them. IOW, they decide what tastes best from the standpoint of pleasure to the drinker, rather than judging for adherence to stylistic criteria. And they award medals based on scores, which means many beers could win a gold medal, for example.
Of course, many medals is just what beer marketers want, since that's the reason they enter.
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Do not you think the better response would be for a Wine Spectator/Wine Advocate style of system to emerge for beer. These systems are meant to work across the full range of wines, measuring goodness not exactness (nor relationship between brewer and rater). I would have more respect when people cite these kind of numbers for beer, not industry-driven awards.
I am surely not defending the wine ratings per se. The linked article below takes some great shots against Robert Parker and his rating system. Still, I would rather get my beers tested by someone not so fully inter-twined with the brewers. Further, I would like an objective system, not a system where everyone becomes a winner.
Rob
Link: http://slate.msn.com/?id=2067055
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I'm not too familiar with wine ratings, although I do know there is a penchant for numerical scores.
I believe the World Beer Cup (and Great American Beer Festival) judging system evolved from that used for homebrewing, and as such it tends to pick out flaws against a perfect model instead of stressing positive attributes. I'm not a judge, so mine is not the last word, but that's my impression.
When I want to know if a beer might be a good one, I generally look at the opinions of acknowledged experts such as Michael Jackson, Tim Webb, Roger Protz, et al. It will also impress me if a beer has won at the Great American Beer Festival. I must say I haven't really paid a lot of attention to the World Beer Cup, but as I said before, I trust its awards. But as has been mentioned, perhaps there aren't as many entries as in the GABF.
I should note that while the Beverage Testing Institute might bestow multiple medals of a particular type in a given category, the GABF and WBC award at most one, and they don't always award gold, silver and bronze. Sometimes you see a category with no gold, say, but a silver is awarded.
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Todd Ashman is the brewer at Flossmoor, and he is absolutely top-notch. He has won a slew of medals in competition over the years, especially at events like the Real Ale fest and the Great American Beer Festival.
But, as I am a member of the Philadelphia area Chowhound board (home of the Dangerous Dining Club, among other activities), I am most excited that Ashman will be visiting Philly to do a Beer Dinner at MONK'S CAFE on September 10. www.monkscafe.com for more details, if they are even up on that website yet. It will be one of the biggest and best beer events of the year, I am certain.
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An old thread but I had been dying to get down to Flossmoor to try this place, my thoughts on the visit..:
My wife, baby, and myself went this past Saturday 1/6/2007. I enjoyed the visit, and will definately return since it is only about an hour drive each way from my home in the far Southwest Suburbs.
The beer I tried was excellent, I had 2 pints of the Gandy Dancer Honey Ale, and liked it so much I purchased a half gallon growler of it to take home. I finished that with some help before I went out to dinner later that night.....
The food was good for my taste, the Baked onion soup was one of the best I have had, a rich broth, and plenty of onions. My wife got a Grilled chicken breast sandwich wich was ok, and I got the Corned beef and swiss on marble Rye. The corned beef was lean,flaovorfull, and plentiful. Service was slow at first, but got better as the visit went on.
Overall a good place to get a few excellent beers, and enjoy some well above average pub food.
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