Tuesday 9 October 2018

Twisted Trunk Brewing - Juno Ridge, FL

Twisted Trunk are well-located right on PGA Boulevard, which is one of the main East-West cross streets in North Palm Beach, which (unsurprisingly) has multiple golf courses along its length. I can well imagine that this is the 19th-hole of choice for many a golf party!

There is indoor seating for around 50 and very pleasant shady outdoor seating for another 40 or so.

The taproom is very nicely presented in a large modern building, with the fermenting tanks attractively backlit as a decorative feature.

I would have very much liked to have spent the whole afternoon there, but as I was encumbered by my car, I was restricted to a single tasting flight from the excellent selection of 16 beers on offer.

There was a food menu available, but I forgot to look at it, for research purposes.

This is a very impressive business that is smartly located to catch plenty of passing trade. I am certain that it will continue to prosper.



Copperpoint Brewing - Boynton Beach, FL

The third of the close-neighbours in Boyton Beach is Copperpoint Brewing. Of the three taprooms,
this is the most bar-like, and had indoor seating for around 40, and outdoor shaded terrace for another 30 odd. The bar was already fully decorated for Halloween, three weeks ahead of time!

They don't serve food at Copperpoint, but there was the obligatory food truck parked right out the front, on this Saturday afternoon.

The bar was pleasantly busy, and I got stuck into a flight from the selection of 20 draft taps on offer.

This was a great conclusion to my walking tour of the Boyton Beach taprooms, and I would highly recommend it to anyone with a few hours to spare in the Palm Beach area!


Due South Brewing - Boynton Beach, FL

This was the second of three Taprooms located in close proximity on a industrial area south of Palm
Beach.

Whereas NOBO was a small cozy venue, Due South is on a major scale!

The Taproom itself is an enclosed air-conditioned bar area, with seating for around 60 people. There is also seating in the brewery barrel-store warehouse itself for another 50-odd, where there were a number of pub games in progress.

The Taproom serves a small selection of hot food, and there was also a food truck setup in the car park (this being Saturday afternoon).

There were 18 draft taps available, from which I chose a decent tasting flight.

Due South is an ambitious operation that has some serious money spent on it. I hope that is prospers!


NOBO Brewing - Boynton Beach, FL

NOBO are located at the end of sleepy industrial cul-de-sac, next to a pond that is well stocked with exotic wild tropical lizards!

A bit of Googling before my trip had highlighted that NOBO was one of three taprooms located in close proximity to one-another. (The other two being Due South and Copperpoint). This was shaping up to be a very agreeable Saturday afternoon!

NOBO is a small taproom, with seating for perhaps 25 people inside. There was a good crowd in when I arrived, but they made space for me at the bar, and I settled in to work on a tasting flight.

There was no food on offer, but ordering-in from local delivery services was enouraged.

They had 20 draft beers on offer, and the ones that I sampled were excellent.

 


Saltwater Brewing - Delray Beach, FL

Saltwater Brewing are located on a street of small industrial units close to the I95 freeway.

I got there at opening time on a Saturday, and there was a BBQ food truck already setup next to the entrance.

The Taproom has indoor seating for about 40 and outdoor seating for a further 20.

Saltwater do no offer tasting flights, so I sampled a couple of 10oz pours before moving on. It was notable that there wasn't a single Pale, IPA or Sour on the menu of 14 or so drafts.

Judged against the very high standards of US Taprooms, I was rather disappointed by both the ambiance and the beer selection at Saltwater Brewing.
 

Sunday 7 October 2018

Short Fuse Brewing - Schiller Park, IL

If you ever needed an excuse to leave for the airport a couple of hours earlier, then the Short Fuse Brewing Taproom could be the justification!

Located just off the intersection of the major highways that head to Chicago O'Hare, and being just a 10 minute Uber ride from the terminals in the suburb of Schiller Park, this Taproom is setup on an ambitious scale, but seems destined to be a huge success.

The Taproom has seating for at least 100 people, at a combination of hi-top and regular tables.

They offer a full-service menu of hot food, and I demolished the "Beerchos", (nachos with beer cheese) which were exquisite.

That is all very well, but a Taproom is really about the beer, and Short Fuse excel in this area in particular.

They have 14 regular draft beers, which are offered in two "fixed-list" 7-beer flights at a very reasonable $13 (quite honestly, the lack of free-choice is the only aspect of their operation that I can find fault with!) , as well as a further 8-beer list of special drafts, which are not available in flights.

As I had the whole afternoon to kill, I worked my way through both of the regular flights, and there were some exceptional beers among them. 

This was a great way to spend a Friday afternoon, I will undoubtedly be back on every future opportunity, when I am passing through O'Hare!






Noon Whistle Brewing - Lombard, IL

Located about 10 miles south of Chicago O'Hare Airport in the suburb of Lombard, Noon Whistle are
located in a single-story concrete building set back from the road.

The taproom shares the same space as the brewery itself, and indeed the bathrooms are located in the back of the brewery "follow the painted line, and don't touch the brewing equipment!"

The taproom has indoor seating for perhaps 30 people and outdoor seating for perhaps anouther 25. They do not serve food other than snacks.

They had 11 beers on draft, including a decent modern range of styles. I sampled a couple of four-beer flights, before the need for food dragged me away. 

This was a pleasant place to spend a couple of hours early on a Thursday afternoon, and they seem to enjoy plenty of passing local trade, dropping in for growler fills.