Saturday, 8/27/16 - I flew up to Chicago's Midway Airport this weekend while Ashlee was on a girl's trip to play some tournament poker and check out a few breweries in the Northern Indiana region.
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| Indiana has become quite the craft beer state and I have several of these already marked off the list and will continue to check them off on this trip. |
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| I played in my first Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) tournament today at the Ameristar Casino in East Chicago, Indiana, and while I didn't make a deep run, I did enjoy myself and was impressed with the set-up and structure. I will definitely be trying my luck with the HPT again. I stayed at a nice Raddison in nearby Merrillville, Indiana, which had a decent Irish pub attached to it called T.J. Maloney's. With dinner there that evening I had a Bad Elmer's Porter from Upland Brewing from over in Blommington, Indiana, and then the Gumballhead pale wheat ale from the legendary 3 Floyd's Brewing over in Munster, Indiana (more on them later). |
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| After dinner, I drove just a couple miles from my hotel in Merrillville to The Devil's Trumpet Brewing Company. These guys have solid beer, but weren't the most friendly folks I have run into in the craft beer world. Plus the death metal they had playing in the background (ironically?) was kind of annoying. I had a few half-pints including the Juice Farm double IPA, the My Ghetto IPA and the Space Caravan IPA. |
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| Sunday, 8/28/16 - Since I was out of the projected two-day poker tournament, my day-two back up plan included some sight-seeing and some beer, of course. My first morning stop was in Michigan City out on the lake with a beautiful, fun walk out to their tiny harbor lighthouse. My reason for visiting Michigan City was two-fold since they also have a couple craft breweries I wanted to visit. My first stop was the tiny, but impressive, Burn Em Brewing (named after a take on one of the brewer's dad's first name who originally owned the building where their brewpub is now located). I had their Troll Serum English pale ale which was cask-conditioned and really good. I finished with the Cuke NUKEM IPA that is brewed with peeled cucumbers for a very unique (and refreshing) taste. This was probably my favorite beer of the trip. |
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| Also while in Michigan City, I stopped at the much-longer-established Shoreline Brewery for lunch and a couple more half-pints including the Shoddy Dock Session IPA and the Singing Sands oatmeal stout. |
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| I spent the rest of the afternoon burning off some calories climbing the sand and exploring the beautiful Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. |
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| On my way back to the hotel I stopped at the small 18th Street Brewery in Hammond, Indiana, where I tried the super-hoppy Sex and Candy IPA and the equally hoppy and delightful Jade pale ale. |
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| Monday, 8/29/19 - It was fly-home day for me, but I had a little time to kill before going to the airport, so I stopped by the legendary 3 Floyds Brewing in nearby Munster, Indiana, for lunch and a couple excellent pours. Ashlee and I stopped by here 5 years ago on a road trip to Chicago and these guys were locally-loved then and starting to get a broader appeal, but now they are the big-boys in the region and are considered one of the best microbreweries in the country. With my tasty lunch I had the War Mullet double IPA and the FloydDivision 3 IPA. Both were excellent! |
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| One last stop on the way to the airport was the Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, IL. This is the LARGEST arcade in the U.S. filled with classic video games and where a one-price fee lets you play all you want for as long as you want. Remember this one from way back? Yep, I still suck at it, but man is it fun to play! |
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| What a fun little trip, but sometimes you gotta just get back home because your cat needs you... |
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