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.

Sweet Potato Ale by Hamburger Mary's

Sweet Potato Ale from Hamburger Mary's is one of those fruit/ vegetable beers you do not expect to see when walking into a bar. Bro gave me the heads up on this one and she said I really needed to try it.  We headed over recently and ordered a couple bottles.  Bro really liked the beer, I did not.  Then again I think sweet potatoes are icky so it was a long shot.

Like all Mary's Special Reserves it was poured from a bottle resulting in a deep amber color as it filled a globe glass with a thick head.  The beer had a sweet aroma with cinnamon, nutmeg, and sweet potato.  The sweet potato carried through in the flavor with a bit of brown sugar and caramel.  A fizzy medium bodied beer is not one that could be drank all night,  but could easily be enjoyed by a person who likes sweet potatoes.

I tried to find out what type of base beer it was and the ingredients.  The server politely explained that since he was not the brewer he can not tell me anything about the beer.  I though this was a shame.  If the brewer took the time to write a short spiel on house beer and kept it at the serving station it would enhance the brand.  In reality I tip better when servers know their stuff.  Instead, the beer drinker leaves feeling a bit left short.

In conclusion, if you like sweet potato and you are in the neighborhood this is a beer worth sitting down to, and if your like me and you think it icky they have plenty of others to choose from.