Blog.Beerbin.com

BAR REVIEW: Paramount Room in the River West area of Chicago, IL

The Grand Blue Line area in the River West neighborhood is becoming a hip destination when it comes to partaking in late night socializing. Iguana Cafe, The Funky Buddha Lounge, Butterfly Social Club, Emmit’s Irish Pub, Richards Bar and Redno Five are the established favorites. If you walk south 2 blocks on Milwaukee Avenue you’ll come across the newest addition to the River West drinking scene: Paramount Room.

Well, the location of the bar isn’t exactly new; the site of the Paramount Room was actually a speakeasy back in the prohibition days. Currently, it is a hip destination where you can enjoy some marvelous draft beer selections and partake in some fantastic meal offerings. The downstairs lounge area is a great late night destination on the weekends. The intimate setting and overall vibe make the underground lounge area a great place to strike up conversation or enjoy a popular sporting event.

Beer wise, the Paramount Room exceeded my expectations. They have a phenomenal selection of draft and bottle beers. My personal favorites were the Arcadia IPA and the Left Hand Milk Stout. Their assortment of beers is not as grand as the Beer Bistro or the Map Room (other great drinking establishments in Chicago), but the few beers they have will keep you well hydrated through out the evening. If you become like a deer in headlights with the sure to be unknown beers available, the friendly bartenders are more than happy to give you a helping suggestion. They also have Beer Flights in case you want to sample several of the beers.

Overall, the Paramount Room gets it right on various levels. They have a terrific food menu and a grand beer menu. Plus, the historic Chicago vibe is evident through out the pub. The people behind this great drinking and eating establishment, Dine & Drink, Inc., have produced a phenomenal drinking destination in the ever-expanding River West area.

Paramount Room is located at 415 North Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Phone: (312) 829-6300. Website: www.paramountroom.com

Rating: Raise your glass, Paramount Room gets 5 cheers!

BAR REVIEW: PROST! DEUTSCHLAND/CHICAGO in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, IL

The neighborhood of Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois, USA, has a bar for every occasion. If you want to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, you head out to one of the many Irish Bars. If you want to catch a major sporting event, you embark to one of the many Sports Bars. If you want to celebrate Cinco De Mayo, you’ll find many of the bars become “cantinas.” Up until now, if you wanted to celebrate Octoberfest, you had to venture out of Lincoln Park for a German themed bar. Well, that is until PROST! opened its doors. Prost! means Cheers! in German, and you’ll be doing plenty of cheering in this German drinking establishment.

Everything from the picnic benches, to the chandeliers, to the Boot mug, to the German Hefeweizen beers, screams Octoberfest. The fun drinking environment welcomes all who want to have the experience of being in a Munich-style beer hall without having to pay for the airfare. The food offered at Prost! are pure German dishes and go great with a stein of lager. Speaking of lagers, Prost! has a wonderful selection of German beers. My recommendation: Spaten Optimator. It’s a Doppelbock beer (a strong Bavarian specialty lager) and goes great with friends and good German food.

Check out Prost! now before the Octoberfest celebration begins, because I’m sure this bar will be a popular destination for all those wanting to celebrate the new season. Of course, you will want to visit Prost! during Octoberfest and any other weekend night!

Prost! Deutschland/Chicago is located at 2566 North Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, IL. Phone: (773) 880-9900.

Rating: Raise your glass, Prost! gets 4 cheers!

BAR REVIEW: The Local Option in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, IL

One of the great beer bars in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, IL is THE LOCAL OPTION. Ever since a new owner purchased it in October of 2006, the bar has gone through some changes. When you walk into the bar now you may notice how it no longer has that “dive bar smell” it once had. You will also notice how the bar is a little bit brighter, not just because of the new paint job, but because of the neighborhood bar aura it now emits. The Local Option has been a Lincoln Park staple since the late 1980’s, but for the most part it was a staple of the nightlife. With the new changes, the bar now feels like a local gathering place through out the day.

I’m almost forgetting to mention the biggest change of the bar: the impressive beer list. The Local Option went from having your typical light beers on taps to having an impressive import selection on tap. From the micro brews to the Belgium ales, The Local Option has become a haven for beer drinkers. They did manage to keep their delicious food menu, which was one of the reasons to visit the tavern. So not only do they have a fantastic beer menu, they have a delicious food menu, a powerful combination for any pub.

The Local Option is located at 1102 W Webster Avenue in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, IL. Their phone number is (773) 348-2008.

Review: Raise your glass, The Local Option gets 4 cheers!

I’ve heard the many arguments that when it comes to starting a business, it’s usually better to go at it alone. When you open a business by yourself, you are the sole person in charge. There is no need to discuss your strategy or to split up the profits. It’s all you. Of course there are some downsides to being a sole proprietor, you intake all the costs and work. Those downsides are the upsides of starting a business with partners. In the case of BeerBin.com LLC, the factors of splitting the work load and splitting the profits (and losses) became our main reasons to go into business together. I’ve stated before that each of us at BeerBin.com LLC bring a different perspective to the business. Additionally, we bring different talents that help form the core of our start up. By utilizing our individual strengths we become a powerful group of entrepreneurs with one goal: To become the “go to” website of beer drinkers across the world. Together we embark on this adventure and together we will succeed. Which is the most important reason, I think, why it’s better to start a business with partners: you’re all along for the ride. The journey is a lot better when you have friends to share your glories and your failures.

BEER REVIEW: FULLER’S ESB

Few beers can be known as the “measuring stick” of their respective beer style. Fuller’s ESB is the measuring stick of Bitter ales. ESB stands for Extra Special Bitter, and that is what Fuller’s ESB is: Extra Special. From when it was first brewed in 1971 until today, Fuller’s ESB is considered to be the best British beer and the original Bitter Ale. This special recognition comes thanks to the many awards the ESB has accumulated through out the years. I guess you can say that Fuller’s ESB is the New York Yankees of British Bitter Ales. The beer itself is quite pleasant to drink. One of the traits that set this ale apart from the others is the rich aroma that emits from your glass. Fuller’s ESB is an ale that carries a powerful aroma punch, one that you expect from an ale claiming to be the original and the best. The taste itself is a mixture of 4 different styles of hops along with pale and crystal malts. When you drink it, you will notice that it leaves a bitter taste (thus the name) in your mouth. Do not associate bitter with bad; this is a good type of bitter that leaves a delectable taste lingering in your mouth. Britain has many fine beers, but there is only one Fuller’s ESB. The quintessential British beer, Fuller’s ESB is best enjoyed at any social gathering.

Review: Raise your glass, Fuller’s ESB gets 4 cheers!

BEER REVIEW: KRONENBOURG 1664

1664 is one of the lagers I credit with helping me appreciate a well-made beer. I came across Kronenbourg 1664 during my adventure around Paris, France in the summer of 2004. It was on a sidewalk cafe near the Notre Dame Cathedral where I savored my first pint of this premium lager. Thank you very much to the waiter who recommended this premium beer to accompany my meal. Upon receiving my draught lager served in a Kronenbourg 1664 glass, I immediately noticed the unique “1664 Seal” on the glass. Once you see the 1664 Seal, your life will never be the same again. From that moment on, every time you walk into a bar your eyesight will subconsciously glance towards the beer tap selection to see if today is the lucky day the beer gods have bestowed Kronenbourg 1664 on tap. On top of having a unique recognizable seal, 1664 has a unique recognizable aroma. Kronenbourg 1664 has a unique recipe that employs the use of the aromatic Strisselspalt hop. This unique hop is known as the “caviar of hops” (according the Kronenbourg 1664 website). The aroma and taste found in 1664 stays with you forever. After my first taste of Kronenbourg 1664 I vowed to make sure that it would not be my last. For the remainder of my voyage around Europe I would always seek out bars that had 1664 and cherish another pint (or two, or three, or four). Of course, 1664 is not only available on draft, but in the unique green Eiffel bottle or the more common shape of a can. Yet, there is no substitute for a fresh draft pint of Kronenbourg 1664. Sadly 1664 is not as readily available around the United States. As of right now, I have only come across it in Chicago, IL and Orlando, FL. That is why whenever I travel to Europe, I make sure to get my fill of Kronenbourg 1664 until my next visit…it’s a good excuse to fly out to Europe.

Rating: Raise your glass, Kronenbourg 1664 gets 5 cheers!

Okay, so maybe that’s a bit of a ridiculous question, but with beers as good as the Japanese beer company Sapporo brews, it almost makes you wonder…

On Wednesday, February 14, 2007 (aka Valentines day) I had the pleasure of visiting the Sapporo beer museum. As time was limited, a lot of the other bulidings in the area got regrettably left behind until the next visit. However, the Sapporo Beer Museum did not fail to impress. What follows details both my experience at the museum and a lot of the information found in the pamphlet that accompanied me during my visit.

So just what is this museum? Well, wonder no more:

“Welcome to the Sapporo Beer Museum. Sapporo Beer Museum, the only beer museum in Japan, was opened in July of 1987 to provide visitors with a varied knowledge of beer and brewing. Renovated in 2004, the exhibition allows guests to learn easily about the history of Sapporo Breweries Ltd. And the beer industry in Japan. The building which now houses Sapporo Beer Museum was constructed under the direction of foreign engineers in 1890 as the factory of the Sapporo Sugar Company. It is one of the precious cultural legacies of the Meiji Era, together with the old red brick Hokkaido Government Office. Sapporo Beer Museum has been selected to receive the official Hokkaido Heritage” designation.”

Being around 11:00am on a Wednesday, there were hardly any people present at the museum. I walk in and get greeted by two very cute Japanese receptionists fully decked out in appropriate uniforms. Being a week day, it’s incredibly easy to find an empty locker for my bags. I pick an English pamphlet from the multi-lingual selection and get on with my walkthrough. The museum is laid out in a very linear fashion. It starts off with one of those antique, cage-style elevators which takes you up to the third floor.

The third floor opens to a large room detailing the origins of Sapporo Beer. The atmosphere is very unique from the majority of Japanese interiors as it’s dimly lit and possesses a entirely wooden interior. Large models and posters are used to display what things looked like around the time Sapporo Beer first started being brewed. One wall was entirely dedicated to a photographic timeline depicting a complete history of Sapporo Beer. Also on site were incased original bottles from the late 1800’s displaying vintage Sapporo Beer labels.

Sapporo Beer originates from two people: Mr. Seibei Nakagawa and Mr. Hisanari Murahashi. From the pamphlet:

“Mr. Nakagawa, born in 1848 in Niigata Prefecture, was the first Japanese to learn brewing in Germany. After studying at Berliner Brauerai (the biggest brewery at that time) for more than 2 years, he oversaw the planning and construction of the brewery, the procurement of machinery, the selection of ingredients and packaging materials, and many other important tasks.”

“My Murahashi, born in the family of Shimazu, the governor of Satsuma Clan (now Kagoshima prefecture), was appointed to the Hokkaido Development Commission in 1871 and advanced in time to the position of Chief Project Manager for the construction of the brewery. He opposed construction of a brewery in Tokyo and insisted that the brewery be built instead in Hokkaido. Mr. Murahashi led the brewery construction project to success through his quick and decisive actions.”

The second floor presents the “richness and brightness that is beer”. This floor is all about the many ways in which Sapporo Beer was and is presented as a commercial beverage. From the wide variety of labels Sapporo Beer products have on them to the several posters and signs used to advertise the drinks, this floor has it all.

First up were the signboards that used to decorate the streets.

Following is an exhibit entitled “The memories of people and beer.” This area explains how there was a rapid increase in beer’s popularity after the second World War and the evolution of Sapporo Beer from that point on. Also on show are unique ideas that Sapporo used to increase the popularity of the beer such as portable beer coolers, bamboo and egg shaped beer cans…

Next is a huge wall decorated with the many classic Sapporo Beer poster ads. The most interesting thing about this is how the various ads illustrated the relationship between been and the historical periods in which the ads were created.

There are also several varieties of Sapporo products in between the exhibits on display on this floor.

The last exhibit on the second floor is the actual Wort Kettle that was once used at the original Sapporo Brewery. As described in the pamphlet, “As part of the brewing process, malt juice, or wort, is cooked in the wort kettle. By adding hops in the kettle, the desired bitterness and aroma are created.”

The second floor comes to an end at the Museum Bar, which had variations of Ebisu and Sapporo on draft.

The first floor is entirely reserved for the museum store and drink hall. The store had various Sapporo goods for sale. You can buy the obligatory beer glasses, mugs, t shirts and the like, but what impressed me most were some of the more rare looking items. Especially the huge ceramic beer mugs. These were so intricately detailed it was amazing. I believe the largest were selling for around $1000 USD.

The drinking hall isn’t much unlike the 2nd floor bar, though there is a larger seating area and the atmosphere was very reminiscent of a German beer garden. They were having a Valentines Day special with a couple of mixed beer cocktails (white crème flavored and chocolate) going for a dollar each. A nice touch is the gelati being sold next to the bar (even featuring flavors like ‘black beer’!). On tap was once again Ebisu, Sapporo Classic and Edelpils among a couple others. You can also buy canned versions of the Sapporo varieties at the drinking hall. As you can see from the pictures, the bar was appropriately themed for the day.

As I said, I wish I had more time to venture to all the surrounding buildings near the museum. While I was constantly told by others that if I could only visit one of the buildings, the museum is the way to go, I still felt like there was a lot left to explore. By all means, if you happen to be in the area, the Sapporo Beer Museum comes highly recommended. Providing some of the best beer in the country, the Sapporo Beer Museum is not to be missed.

One of the most challenging aspects of the research that I have come across is how to categorize the beers so that users can easily find their favorite beer. I can’t just categorize every beer under the term of “Beer,” but at the same time I don’t want to get as complicated as wine. Wine falls into many different categories: you can classify wine by color, grape, region, year and taste. Beer can be set up to be as complicated as wine in terms of classification, but would you really want to complicate beer? Chances are you have been drinking your favorite beer for quite some time never stopping to think what category it falls under. So for the sake of keeping things simple, there are two main categories of beer: Ales and Lagers. From those two categories of beer you get different styles. For example, the Pilsners fall under the Lagers and the Stouts fall under the Ales. But how would the average consumer know that a Stout is an Ale and that a Pilsner is a Lager? The answer is research.

Of course we don’t want to discourage users from finding their favorite beer across the world because they don’t know the category their brew falls under. So our biggest challenge at BeerBin.com is to find a balance between catering to the drinkers that know their beer and to the crowd that just likes to drink their beer. The way we structure the website will determine whether we are successful or not. BeerBin.com needs to be as easy as possible to navigate and as thorough as possible for those who want to find a specific style of beer, from a specific brewery in a specific country. It is a challenge that we are more than ready to tackle.

Building a business isn’t all fun and games. We all knew the fun that was to be at hand creating BeerBin.com, but I think it’s safe to say none of us could have foreseen the amount of work and research the topic of beer entails. Before BeerBin.com, I associated beers with drinking and socializing. After BeerBin.com, I associate over 2,000 beers (and counting) with drinking and socializing. I was not ready for the vast amount of beer brands available across the world…and some how we need to account for every beer out there because if a beer exists, it’s bound to be someone’s favorite.

Let’s not forget the amount of sports teams in existence (at least over 500).

Research, as I was going to find out, is a big part of BeerBin.com.

...bars are quite a bit different.

I’m speaking of Japan, of course. Hamamatsu, Shizuoka (where I am currently living) is no exception.

For starters, the atmosphere is much different. The first thing you’ll realize when you walk into a bar in Japan (or rather when the host / hostess sees you) are the loud shouts of “irrashimase!” or “irrashai!”. It means, for all intents and purposes, “welcome”. There’s an extremely unique one-way-conversation style present in Japan. It is used when you are on the receiving end of any type of service. The people from whom you are receiving service will ramble off all sorts of nice things to you (including announcing everything they are currenly doing), and all that is expected from you is just a simple ‘hai’ (to signify recognition) or even nothing at all. But I digress.

Last night, while having dinner at a fairly well known / popular bar here in Hamamatsu, was not unlike any other. We walk in, get the shouts from all of the host/servers / cooks (who can be seen at all times while you are sitting and eating), and proceed to be sat at the counter.

I suppose Japanese bars (or ‘izakayas’), in a general sense, are a bit more geared towards privacy. There are your traditional counters, but the first seats to go are the tables. These are usually either private booths, or private sunken areas where you sit on the floor with a table in the middle. What’s nice about the latter is that you are not confined to a ‘seat’ per se, as you can sprawl out on the floor in the surrounding area. For added comfort, if you are lucky, the sunken area where your legs go will sometimes even be heated in the winter.

What is also very different is that there are no tips here. As a result, your server will not continually check on you, refill your drink, or make small talk to you. However, at any time should you need a refill, all you need to do is either loudly shout “sumimasen” (excuse me) or push the button on your table which will make a loud door-bell like noise notifying a server to come to your table. Regardless of there being no tips, the service here is ace.

So we sit down and I get myself a beer (pronounced almost exactly the same in Japanese as it is in English as “be-ru”, with a long ‘be’ sound). All I have to say is what size I’d like (small, medium, or large) and the server will understand completely. Why? Well, almost always the izakaya will only offer one type of beer (at last night’s particular bar, it was Kirin Ichiban lager). It is always on draught, yes, but you rarely get a choice. While I am not sure exactly why limiting the choices would be beneficial, I do know that Japanese bars understandably pride themselves much more on having a wide variety of sake (nihon shu in Japanese) available. You will find places (generally in more night-clubbish places and beer gardens / breweries) that will offer a (large) selection of beers, though more often than not they will be bottled (save for the actual offerings at breweries). I have yet to have a place serve me a beer in a can.

The sizes offer you a nice choice. A small will be about as much as a can of beer, if not less. This will almost always come in a glass. A medium order will give you perhaps slightly less than a pint. Usually this will come served in a mug. A large will provide you with almost a miniature pitcher, filled to the brim with your tasty beer in a large mug.

Bars are different here. However, with the limiting choices, it’s all the more reason to know which place offers what kind of beer, right? With this site, you will be able to do just that in due time.

If all goes as planned, I’ll be headed to a more classier, lounge-esque place tonight. It may not be beer that I will be drinking, but I will take note of what beer they have to offer.

BEER REVIEW: GOOSE ISLAND IPA

Goose Island IPA is what beer should taste like: full of flavor, alcohol and hops. If you are not familiar with India Pale Ale’s, the version made by Goose Island Brewery is a great place to start (just be careful, every future IPA will have a hard act to follow). The first thing you’ll notice about the Goose Island IPA is the aroma. The pleasant aroma places you out in a lush green field on a beautiful spring day. After your first taste, the hop will kick in. IPA’s are made with more hops because back in the sailing across the world days beer without hop wouldn’t last the long voyages at sea. And since sailors wanted beer on their voyages back and forth from India, India Pale Ale was born. After the aroma and hops, what you have is one the freshest tasting beers you will ever have. Goose Island IPA is what light colored beers should taste like.

Rating: Raise your glass, Goose Island IPA gets 5 cheers.

CAN OUR IDEA WORK?

Having an idea is the starting point. But not every idea makes it past the starting line. There are various tangibles you must consider when converting your idea into a reality:

1) Is there a need for the idea? (This is the most important, because if no one can make use of your idea, then it will not survive)

2) Do you have the resources necessary to grow your idea? (You can’t make a tree without seeds)

3) Are you committed to developing your idea until it succeeds or fails? (Win or Lose, you will not know what you’re made of until you play the game)

3) Are you committed to developing your idea until it succeeds or fails? (I ask this again because creating a business out of an idea is no easy task. You must be ready and willing to commit extra time and effort to developing every aspect of the idea to make it successful.)

So, can our idea of creating an on-line service that helps you track down your favorite beer no matter what part of the world you are in work? Short answer: “Yes”. Long answer: “Yes, but we’ll need Sam.”

At first, we were going to call our site(s): FindBeeronDraft.com and FindBeeronTap.com. In fact, we still have those domain names. Those names summed up what we wanted to help people do: finding beer on draft/tap. But the more we thought about it, those names seemed too long and limited us. Plus, I haven’t come across too many successful Internet businesses with a 4-syllable name. Google: 2 syllables. Yahoo: 2 syllables. Amazon: 3 syllables. YouTube: 2 syllables. BeerBin: 2 syllables.

We felt it was very important our Internet domain and business name be easy to remember and catchy. Because if people can’t remember our name or what we we’re doing, then our services will not catch on. After a couple weeks of going back and forth, we settled on the name. The name originally sprang from BeerBen…a play on Ben’s name. To which Ben replied: “Well, why not just make it BeerBin?” Eureka.

FindBeeronDraft.com and FindBeeronTap.com did get our message across, but BeerBin.com does a nice job of summing it up and not constricting us. We’re not just about finding beer on draft, we’re about finding beer and beer related services (such as finding a bar that roots for your favorite sports team and finding bars that have the best daily specials).

BeerBin.com: your beer, in here

The drink known as Beer entered my life later than I care to admit, I was familiar with the drink, but I was not very fond of it. That is until I had my first pint of Guinness in an Irish Pub in the Puerta del Sol district of Madrid, Spain. It was an awakening. Taste buds I didn’t know existed woke up and demanded more. Through my travels around Europe, my knowledge of beer grew. I have my favorites, but they owe Guinness their good fortune.

Fast forward to present time Chicago: Ben and I were about to realize we were drinking our answer. The question: “How can we explore different cultures and countries while getting paid?” During this dilema, we were drinking Yebisu Black Beer he brought back from Japan. Yebisu Black Beer is one of the reasons I keep going back to Japan. “Wouldn’t it be great,” I said, “if we can get Yebisu here in the USA?” Heck, maybe it is available and we just don’t know which bar has it. “Too bad,” we said, “there isn’t a service that allows you to find out if the beer you want is available near your location.”

Eureka! Our GREAT idea is born.

There are no good or bad ideas. Each idea in your head has the necessary nutrients to grow into your GREAT idea. The idea for BeerBin.com originated in the desire my College roommate, Ben, and I have to travel the world and explore as many cultures as possible. Every culture has its unique food, architecture, wonders, values and drinks (all of which we want to experience). As we talked about places we want to visit and memories we want to create, it dawned on us that there is not one job we can point to and say “That job will allow us to travel the globe and pay us to explore different cultures.” Well, I guess that only leaves us with one option: create “that job.” But how do we create that job? It turns out we were sitting on the answer…more accurately, we were drinking from it: Beer.