Corridor Brewery & Provisions, 3446 N. Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60657 - phone: 773-270-4272   website: CorridorChicago.com
Hours: Monday-Tuesday: 11am-11pm | Wednesday-Friday: 11am-Midnight | Saturday: 10am-Midnight (Brunch 10am-2pm) | Sunday: 10am-11pm (Brunch 10am-2pm)

Experience before you go............

Twiddly D we're on number three!! Thanks to public transportation we're forging ahead into Hoppin' Brewery Tour unchartered waters. Could two baby boomers accompanied by a city tested millennial actually accomplish visiting three breweries in one night? Yes, I say to you, it can be done! Now, this is not our first rodeo and along with this baby boomer brewery tour stardom comes a sense of self control and moderation. This skill is accquired through many years of trial and error, it's time tested, it's tweaked and retweaked, it's put out there in front of a jury of peers, argued, reshaped and argued again. Three breweries doesn't mean 12 beers and then whistling Dixie and wind up singing the blues. Don't get me wrong, craft beer has a way of sneaking up on you but on this night, along with controlled consumption of brews along with food, the sneaking up was held to a bare minimum.

The minute we walked into the Corridor Brewery & Provisions, I liked the place. First of all it was packed, standing room only and not much of that. Between the yellow Schwinn bicycle built for two mounted on the wall to the exposed brick, the place had great feel to it, but best of all, they were spinning vinyl. You got it, they had stacks of albums and they were in the middle of the John Cougar Mellencamp Scarecrow album. Next came Elton John and Honky Chateau. They were playing the entire albums! Matt, Brad and myself settled into our little standing spot, we grabbed a menu and perused the beer lineup. I ordered the Van Hazen - Double Dry Hopped IPA (6.5%, 35 IBU) Motueka, Simcoe and Citra hops working their magic along with low bitterness and carbonation with a silky mouthfeel that makes this one a juicy bomb. Matt jumps on the Zombie Eater - Saison (5.7%, 30 IBU) gotta luv the bubblegum and pepper spice upfront and all the worlds mysteries are no longer a surprise with this brew in hand. Brad can't stay away from the Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful - Munich Dunkel (5.5%, 22 IBU) pumpernickel bread mixed with chocolate for a slight spicy finish, go out jumpin with your dumplin kind of brew. Enjoying our brews, people all around, jamming to 80's vinyl.......what more can a sane, relatively healthy baby boomer hope for?

Sitting at the bar right next to us and definitely in striking distance I start up the HoppinBreweryTour.com dialogue with a couple on date night. Now normally, conversation with date night is a dead end. But Cameron and Lilly are way cool and before you know it we're bouncing from topic to topic. Come to find out Cameron's a smart dude with a Ph.D., a well manicured beard and a medical equipment sales career going strong. Cameron tells us to check out DryHop Brewers on N. Broadway and Begyle Brewing Co. off of Cuylers Avenue.......future stops!!! Now Lilly, who's main job is to keep Cameron on the straight and narrow is really an interesting person in her own right. One item that stood out for me was that she's rolled and rubbed elbows with some of Chicago's best. Roller Derby, yes I said Roller Derby! Windy City Rollers and the Chicago Outfit are a couple women teams that have quite a following. After talking to Lilly for a little bit, I could see her out there body checking, whipping fellow teammates and talking smack. Great time getting to know you two......wish you both fun times and sunny skies ahead.

"Brad, what time is it?" "We got to go so we can catch 10:40". I immediately go into uber mode and boom....Connie driving her Chevy Cruze will be here in 3-4 minutes. We hop into the Cruze and 15 minutes and $5.25 plus a $10 tip (maybe I should start driving uber) and we're at Union Station running for the train.

Not sure where this brewery tour will take Brad and I but you know what they say, it's all about the journey not the destination!!

Until next time and remember.........

Go get'cha one!!