Polyanna Brewing, Roselle

Welcome to stop #136 on the Brews and Choos project.

Brewery: Polyanna Brewing, 245 E. Main St., Roselle
Train line: Milwaukee District West, Roselle (Zone 4)
Time from Chicago: 49 minutes
Distance from station: 800 m

She may not look like much, kid, but she's got it where it counts.

After 135 Brews & Choos stops in the Chicago area and another 13 in the rest of the world, I finally missed a train. The Milwaukee District West line runs hourly on weekdays. I planned to stay only half an hour at Polyanna and only an hour in Roselle. But the beers were so good and the enclosed semi-outdoor space so comfortable that I decided to take the next one—once I saw I only had 9 minutes to catch the first one.

Still feeling a bit, uh, stout from More Brewing half an hour earlier, I decided to take it easy and get just a couple of small pours. Left to right, we have the In the Cards Hazy American Pale (5.5%, 20 IBU), a delicious year-round pour with lots of banana and apricot notes; the Fireside Gap, a limited-edition beer with a serviceable, decent, OK flavor that didn't quite hit my palate; and the Eleanor Porter (6.8%, 35 IBU), which had (quoting from my notes), "chocolate, molasses, train horn ffs, not that creamy but with a bit of lactose." (The brewery is across the street from the Metra tracks, you see, and the train horn was the train I had planned to take back into the City.)

Stranded, as I was, in a cozy brewery with beers I hadn't tried yet and a note to myself to make sure the breweries are farther apart or fewer in number on my next trip, I got a 10 oz Sinister Soul Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout (13.5%, 40 IBU), which blew my mind with its baker's chocolate nose and brownie-like flavor that completely concealed the alcohol. The stuff has chocolate in it, in fact, as well as coffee. Beer like this is why breweries need to be near train stations.

I may not come back to the Roselle location soon because I still have to make it to Lamont, but I'm off next Friday as well, when the Heritage Corridor trains are running and I can stop off at Wild Blossom Meadery coming back on the Rock Island. But I would go back, which is the Brews & Choos Project's endorsement.

Beer garden? Yes
Dogs OK? Outside only
Televisions? Yes, avoidable
Serves food? BYOF
Would hang out with a book? Yes
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes

Your description of the Sinister Soul Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout reminded me of the magnificent Anubis Imperial Coffee Porter that was produced by Laughing Dog Brewing Company in Sandpoint, Idaho (my adopted home town). It was 8.1% ABV and made with cold-brew coffee. That was a great beer, rich and dark and full of flavour. One bottle was my limit, though. Alas, they don't make it any longer, and they have no plans to restart production. I told them to call me if they made a batch. Still waiting for that call ...