Wednesday, March 29, 2023

527. Cruz Blanca Brewery (Chicago, IL) - Palm Shade

“Tropical fruit hop aroma of a modern IPA with deeply quenching drinkability of a pale ale. Subtle bitterness, vibrant notes of mandarin orange, mango, and pineapple.”

At first, I was going to argue with the phrase subtle bitterness,” because it just seems like a long way to say dry; but after a couple of sips, I’m coming around. Tried this the first time on tap at the brewery, and then knocked out a couple of cans in the hotel room. This is the first one I have had since we got home. It definitely has a lot of tropical fruit going on, as well as some orange and stone fruit; and all of that fruit masks whatever dryness or bitterness there might be in the finish. I located this place by accident while randomly searching for “breweries near me” while we were killing time on Monday before our 4:00 tickets to the Shedd Aquarium, and it was a little bit of a walk from our hotel downtown—but totally worth it. We each got a lamb cheeseburger taco, and they were very, very good. They actually tasted like lamb, which is too often not the case when you order lamb in Indianapolis. Amy was also quite taken with the guacamole. This beer was just okay, and so was the other one I tried at the brewery; but the third one, which I got in cans to take home, was a knockout. You shall hear.

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