Store Review: West Lakeview Liquors

West Lakeview Liquors located at 2156 W. Addison Street, Chicago, IL is a small, but impressive store.  This family run store, around since 1988, has beer, wine, spirits, and a small specialty grocery.  The grocery side has a number of cheeses, a few beer books and a small glassware selection.  The store really focuses on good beer, wine and spirits.  There is no parking lot, but street parking in the area is ample enough.
Update: I am told there is a small parking lot off the alley.  A sign would be helpful, and if there is one I apologize for being blind.

Awards:
Upfront I think it should be noted that West Lakeview Liquors has been consistently one of the highest rated beer stores.  It is the only Chicagoland area store on the 2011 Best Retailers list published by ratebeer.com.  I find it somewhat surprising no other Chicagoland store has achieved this status, but West Lakeview Liquors definitely earned the title.

Beer Selection:
While the entire store could fit into the corner of a grocery store the selection is well curated.  Beer is organized by county.  A huge number of single bottle options are available here.  There is a cooler with six packs and only a three foot section of the cooler is dedicated to mainstream beer.  I felt the selection at West Lakeview is import heavy, but the import selection included several beers from Mikkeller and Nøgne ø.  This is the largest selection of both brewers I come across in Chicago.  It had a decent selection of American craft beer, but not as large as some of the stores in Chicago.  I felt the pricing was appropriate.  Some of the beer may be a dollar cheaper at bigger discount stores, but once you factor in traveling to get the discount and West Lakeview's awesome selection, it is not worth going somewhere else.

Website:
The website was a bit clunky, but searchable.  It is nice to see if a beer is carried there and whether it is in stock.  Beer is sorted by region on the site much like it is in the store.  There is no way to easily browse the entire selection or see what is hot, but does have a new arrival selection.

Events:
According to their website, tastings from one brewery or another seem to take place every Friday.  The website seems to indicate spirit and wine tastings are possible, but all I saw was beer.  I went to a tasting by Lefthand, and samples seemed to be in the 2-3 ounce range which I find appropriate.  I wish the tasting would have included a seasonal or a limited edition brew, but that may of been Lefthand's choice not the owners option.

Service:
Overall the staff was very nice and helpful, and did seem somewhat knowledgeable.  I was looking for a particular beer that day.  I asked the staff about it and they were unfamiliar with what I was looking for.  They took my name and number and said it would go to a staff member on Tuesday who would call me regarding the beer.  Tuesday was two days ago so I will update you if they do happen to call, but they did give me their email information and encouraged me to contact them if I did not hear anything.  I would also say the same Tuesday a blizzard hit in the afternoon and Wednesday was a big 'ole snow day.  Being this was the third worst storm in Chicago history my request being lost in the shuffle or at least put on a back burner is reasonable.

Overall I was happy with my experience and need to make a trip there this week to pick something up for a dinner I am preparing.  I really need to stop finding places like this as my budget is taking a wallop.

Store Review: Andersonville Wine & Spirits

Andersonville Wine & Spirits is located at the intersection of Foster and Clark on Chicago's northside, and open late for those last second booze runs.  The store is small and the windows along Foster are plastered with posters for various craft and imported beers.  This is one of those stores with a little bit of everything.  Whether you need a bottle of wine for a dinner party, liquor or beer this place has options.  The beer is kept in two sections.  One wall of the place is nothing but cooler with cold bombers, single bottles and six packs.  If you go all the way to the back and down a short ramp you get to the full beer selection.

Andersonville Wine & Spirits normally carries a solid selection.  I can usually find local options like Metropolitan, Goose Island, Two Brothers and Three Floyds there.  However, I can often find Belgian imports, Dogfish Head,  and Great Lakes to name a few.  Their prices are a dollar or two higher than some other operations like Binny's, but your paying  the for convenience of a neighborhood store.  Furthermore, it is always good karma to support a neighborhood business.

The staff is friendly, but layout is not always conducive to finding things.  With there seemingly always three people on duty here they will quickly grab what you need.  Finally, if a guy follows you to the back of the store and seems to stare at you, don't worry they do that to everyone.

Hamburger Mary's- Chicago, IL

Hamburger Mary's located in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago is a combination of three spaces.  Mary's is comprised of Hamburger Mary's restaurant, Mary's Attic a performance space and nightclub, and Mary's Rec Room a sports bar.  The brewer, Brandon Wright, is a self taught home-brewer who brewed out of necessity while living in Saudi Arabia.  (Yes, drinking beer is a necessity)

In summary decent beer, great food and fun atmosphere, but read the details before going.

The Beer:
Overall, good $5 beer, but there is some room for improvement.

Mary's has all the macro drafts people like me hate.  At the same time Mary's usually has about four drafts of on premise brewed beer and four special reserve options in bottles.  Additionally, mead makes a regular appearance on the special reserve list.  Mary's really is a nano-brewery where beer produced is better measured in gallons than barrels.  The beer here is inventive and locally produced both of which are big hits in the Andersonville bar scene.

Unfortunately, the quality of the beer can be hit or miss.  While the brewer definitely pushes boundaries with beer like Sweet Potato Ale and Oatmeal Cookie Stout amongst others, he has quality control issues.  Problem number one is that batches of brew are not always consistent from one to another.  I have gone in and ordered a beer and ordered the same beer a few weeks later to only encounter a totally different flavor.

Additionally, sometimes a metallic off flavor occurs in the beer.  I know the brewer boils in the kitchen and uses pails to cart beer into the fermenters.  I theorize there is a huge opportunity to impart metal flavors into beer and possibly contamination.  Mary's needs to really dedicate space for a proper small scale brewhouse.

I would say beer more often than not is a hit instead of a miss.  I think with construction of a proper brewhouse and more formal training on the brewing process will greatly assist Mary's beer making adventures. Additionally, the staff is very uneducated about the beer selection with the one exception of Alexie.  Sorry, but that girl knows her stuff.

The Food:
Mary's has a great selection of $10 burgers and a few entrées.  Remaining conscious of the needs of others Mary's lets you transform almost any red meat selection into chicken or a vegetarian option.  There are also those naughty treats you want to try, but are a little scared of, like deep-fried Twinkies.

The Atmosphere:
The Attic and original restaurant areas are eclectic, flashy and flamboyant while the Rec Room is much more subdued and has several TVs.  Mary's is constantly having events from bingo night to trivia check out their calendar here for a chance to have a good time.