Rides

The bi-weekly Brewpub Rides resume this Friday with a city ride down to The Beer Temple, a fine brewpub located at Belmont and Elston (3172 Elston, to be precise).  I intend to proceed at the lower half of moderate, although I have a reputation for acceleration as I near the destination (and beer).  Estimated distance for this ride will be 24 miles.  Our route is here:  2026 Brewpub Ride #1 - The Beer Temple

Dining Notes:  The Beer Temple has an agreement with Middle Brow ( our final destination on this year's tentative schedule ) to provide Detroit Style Pizza; the reputation of quality tied to these pizzas is considerable.  The menu is here:  https://craftbeertemple.com/bar-menu

Even better, during the preview ride, I stopped in and discovered that there is a lunch special, a single slice of pizza with a side salad, for a parsimonious $10!  This is not listed on the menu, but is available every day.  

Beer Notes:  The Beer Temple is renowned for having 20 active taps at all times; the beer drinker is offered a menu of virtually every major style in brewing, with local brands, national brands, and specialty imports all available.

Far more interesting for those with an enduring love of beer is that The Beer Temple appears to be the last brewpub in Chicago to actually cask condition a beer**.  Even better, there are two cask conditioned beers(!), one always available, brewed specially for The Beer Temple by Revolution, a classic English style blonde ale, and at the moment, an Extra Special Bitter from Art History Brewing in Geneva IL.

The rest of the current beer menu is also quite interesting, from the prosaic Sierra Nevada Pale Ale to the obscure spiced brown ale from Scratch Brewing in Ava IL.  The menu is available here: https://craftbeertemple.com/bar-menu

Coming attractions:  There will be nine more Friday rides; many of last year's destinations will be revisited, but I do intend to swap in a few more new locations.  In addition, as the summer proceeds, there may be a few Saturday rides announced for locations that do not open by noon on Fridays, including a visit to the "soon to be shuttered" Illuminated Brew Works.  Look for an announcement for that ride in the next several weeks.

I hope to see a few of you on Friday.

Ron