Many of you have heard me complain about not having a car and not being able to go to breweries that aren't right off the CTA....this time I'll be singing a different tune! John from Open Outcry is an absolute gem and came to pick me up so that I could check out his baby (Open Outcry, not his actual child.) Open Outcry is located on the south side of Chicago in the Beverly neighborhood. Before you start picturing the south side as all the news outlets love to describe it, let me open your mind to what the south side is actually like. Like most things, a blanket statement cannot cover the whole south side of Chicago. While there are some areas that are not super safe, there are plenty of areas that are! Beverly is one of these areas. The neighborhood is filled with beautiful, historic homes and a nice mix between city and tree lined streets. It served as a nice relief from the hustle and bustle of downtown life.
Open Outcry itself is an old Irish tavern turned brewery. Although you would have never known it was a tavern with the beautiful remodel that was done. Everyone that I met was incredibly friendly, not just the fake friendly that you can get anywhere but genuine friendliness. The bartender introduced himself and asked what my usual preferences were so that he could recommend a beer. My water was never empty and a new beer was on hand whenever I needed one. I was very very impressed with the service!
I'll get into the beer a bit more in the graphic below, but I wanted to highlight my absolute favorite beer there. The PB&J Big Board Nut Brown. It's a brown ale but by it's looks you wouldnt know it. It has a jammy color and is medium thickness. The first thing that hits you is the raspberry and strawberry jelly flavors, then you get the roasty peanut. Somehow they captured the full experience of biting into a PB&J sandwich! SO SO delicious!!
I absolutely fell in love with this brewery and the people that work there. It is evident that John loves what he does and really puts 1000% into Open Outcry. The love is all in the little touches, from the salvaged barn wood to the care he takes in training his staff. All of the staff are cicerone certified! John is also passionate about his community. He took the time to show me the neighborhood and prove again that blanket statements are usually not true.
Definitely check out Open Outcry and hey, swing by and pick me up on your way down! I'd love to go back soon!
