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Tour Stop 10 - Pollyanna Brewing - 1/13/2017
Pollyanna Brewing, 431 Talcott Avenue, Lemont, IL, 60439 phone: (630) 914-5834 website:
PollyannaBrewing.com
Experience before you go . . .
I know it's Friday the 13th, and I also know you're supposed take it easy! Psychologists call it paraskavedekatriaphobia, the fear of Friday the 13th!! Don't do anything harsh or dangerous because you know it's a very unlucky day. That's why Brad and I are cruising down 355 south at 67 mph.
We're in the 1991 sweet ride Cadillac that Brad just 30 minutes earlier had picked up from the repair shop. Sweet ride had some TLC done: new brake lines and a new master cylinder installed......brakes don't fail me now!! It's great getting the sweet ride back on the road. Brad thought he'd have to put her out to pasture after the dealer quoted $6,000 for a brake job....OMG!!! Neighbor mechanic two doors down to the rescue did the job for a lot less and Brad and I are on another brewery adventure.......yeah buddy!!!
We got a little later start because earlier in the afternoon Brad had his interview suit on and was walking the walk. Our first tour after hours on Friday the 13th, hope we don't run into a guy named Jason wearing a hockey mask!!
The place is busy. Only one empty bar stool available as Brad and I walked by looking like two kids who just walked by their Christmas tree and saw only one wrapped present with their name on it under the tree. We shuffle to the high tops and Brad takes a seat. Looks like date night at Pollyanna's!! I notice that the high top stools are the same as the bar stools.....lets get this party started! I head back to the bar and the guy next to the empty stool has all kinds of room on both sides....."Would you mind", "No I wouldn't", "You're a nice guy". Bing, bang, boom we move in a stool, we're at the bar and we're sitting next to Rudy!!
So we're settling in and I'm doing the old guy holding the beer menu at arms length, next time I need to remember my glasses!! A doctor friend of mine told me that usually at the age of 50, everyone's eye sight starts going to hell in a hand basket (luv that phase). I was like "no way", I've had 20/20 all my life and don't see that changing. Well I think I was reading, or should I say, trying to read my birthday cards on my 50th birthday and I couldn't believe it....I wasn't doing the full arms length but I was starting out slow at 2/3. Crazy stuff!!!
Lauren behind the bar comes over and asks what we're drinking. I introduce Brad and I as the "Brad & Clyde's Hoppin Brewery Tour" guys and for a second her eyes got big. It was kind of like she had heard of us! I think she was a just little surprised that a couple old guys were introducing themselves to her...not a normal thing in some of these taprooms. "Have you heard of us"? "No"! "Seriously, we're up to 36 followers"!!!!! High five from Lauren and inquisitive looks from our bar stool neighbors. Ain't life grand!!
Brad starts ordering a pint. Now this is our 10th tour and we're starting to figure out we can't be ordering pints! The brewery flight is a beautiful thing along with its (4-5) 4 oz variety pack of scrumptious brew'ahs!!! This is the key of fitting in two brewery stops in one outing over a 3-5 hour period. With age comes smarts!!
I told Lauren I'm an IPA guy and to please fix me up. My flight had a good mix starting out with one of their new releases, Behind Abbey Door with Raspberries - Belgium Brown Ale (6.4% 25 IBU) Belgium yeast with a touch of toast and slight bitterness, very nice. As I was getting to enjoy numero dos, Brad was empty handed and Lauren had moved on. Brad being a seasoned professional it didn't take long for him to flag down Lauren to get his flight started. My second brew was the Bourbon Barrel Aged Personal Chain Letter with Vanilla Bean - Russian Imperial Stout (10.1%, 70 IBU) I felt like I needed to put on one of those big furry, tall hats and I swore the next words out of my mouth we're going to be Russian.....as the write up says: this deep, mysterious, black as death beer will haunt you at night, leave you weeping in your sleep and remind you that manners mean nothing to a corpse.....hats off to Pollyanna Brewing!!
Now as always our finely tuned people radar skills were hard at work. Come to find out Rudy has lived in the area his whole life and he told us his occupation, but I really didn't hear him and it didn't register with me until after my third brew in the line up. Which was the Commentator - Doppelbock (8.0%, 22 IBU) this big ol' German Lager is plump and malty, brewed with 100% German malts, hops and yeast. Did Rudy say, " I work with the Sheriff's Department"? "That's what I thought he said"! Well Rudy transports the prisoners to and from and is very involved in the area's correctional facilities. Rudy's a good guy and has seen a lot when it come to prisoners and their behavior. "There's no respect for law enforcement anymore", Rudy said, "I could tell you some of the things I've seen but it would make you sick, right here! Some of the lifers have no respect for life and your survival depends on which gang you're in." Well we talked to Rudy for a while and I quickly realized that this straight and narrow, beautiful life I've been living for 59 years is going to stay on the straight and narrow!!
The couple to my left on date night finally pay their bill and the stools are quickly taken by a father and son team and you could tell, it wasn't their first rodeo. Lauren served up two brews and I didn't even hear them order. Fresh, hot egg rolls and a large cartoon of some Chinese family favorite waiting to be opened. Well, as you know, I introduced myself and they preceded to tell me they were drummers!! I told them about the website and if they were okay if I wrote about them. Dad said he'd prefer if I didn't and I'm not sure if he recognized Rudy sitting on the other side of Brad, but Dad said the hairs on the back of his neck stood up when he heard Sheriff's Department. Like I said we're on an adventure!!
But I got to tell ya, son and I connected and when he said he was 24.....all I could think about was when I was 24. I spent 3 1/2 months, on my own dime and by myself, backpacking and riding the u-rail pass through Europe. I had the big paperback titled "Europe on $10/day" and my favorite song that I had on my Sony Walkman was "Old Man" by Neil Young, even though when I was talking about the song I said James Taylor, my other favorite musician......senior moment!!! Favorite verse......"24 and there's so much more". My Europe trip was by far a dramatic, changing point in my life. So best of luck to you son.....carry on!!!
Brad's brew flight was mostly dark and included crowd favorites like the Eleanor - Porter (6.8% ABV, 35 IBU) a full bodied, robust porter with rich, dark chocolates, caramelized raisins, caramel and coffee. Included also was the Movembeer 2016 - Double Oatmeal Stout with Elderberries (9.3% ABV, 30 IBU) silky smooth and a collaboration with neighbor Imperial Oak Brewing.....one of our future tours.
Rudy, "Did you ever see that movie with Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry at the coffee shop when the waitress fills his cup of coffee with a 1/2 pound of sugar........"You don't think I'm going to just let you walk out of here, do you punk". Got to love Clint Eastwood!!!
Brad and I also enjoyed the Mazzie - American Pale Ale (5.4%, 45 IBU) and the Lexical Gap - IPA (7.3%, 85 IBU).
Well until next time, and remember.......
Go get'cha one!!
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