1800 W Fulton St. Chicago
“Some people visit Chicago and think all of our beers are made at the Clybourn pub. This is a great way to have a connection with our neighborhood.” – Brewmaster, Brett Porter.
Of course he’s referring to the original Goose Island Clybourn Pub that has been operating in Lincoln Park since 1988, the year GI was founded.
Goose Island’s Fulton Street production facility on Chicago’s Near West Side opened 20 years ago, but it’s never had a public taproom until now. For those keeping score at home, this is the brewery’s second tasting room to open in the last 6 months. Back in October they debuted a fantastic space on the 100 level at the United Center.
8 beers on draft
The decision was made to convert their lab library in to an 80-person tasting room serving choice selections from their portfolio. You can expect 8 beers on draft and patrons will have a chance to tour the brewery for 12$. The price includes a 45-minute guided tour and a souvenir pint glass. The new space will also include a 2 barrel system for experimental, one-off beers.
During our sneak peek of the space we sampled a cask of Honkers Ale that I really hope stays on the lineup there. The beer is the original 1988 recipe of GI’s flagship ale. Head of Education, Suzanne Wolcott was visiting Goose Island Clybourn to discuss a project between the 2 breweries. During a brainstorming session she noticed the OG recipe to Honkers in the office and the rest is history. The wort was produced at Clybourn then sent to Fulton pre-fermentation.
reclaimed wood theme similar to GI’s United Center pub.
The intersection of Fulton & Wood has long been where the magic happens. The block parties, the concerts, the barrel aging program, one-of-a-kind events like the week they turned their entire barrel warehouse into a mini-golf course. We filmed parts of documentary with BeerFX there, and of course it’s a flagship stop on the Chicago Brew Bus.
During the tour you ‘ll see their new bottling line that fills 200 bottles per minute, and the Sofie Barrel Room across the street. Production of Matilda is at an all-time high. Nowadays there’s a wild brettanomyces room dedicated rolling out the 2-time World Beer Cup winning Belgian Style Ale. There’s also a ‘Champagne Room’ where bottling takes place in the 765ml format.
The Matilda Room
Opening day for the space is still pending city permits. Expect it to be open in a month..maybe sooner.
–Nkosi
