Foreign Exchange Brewing, Aurora

Welcome to stop #140 on the Brews and Choos project.

Distillery: Foreign Exchange Brewing, 110 Cross St, Aurora
Train line: BNSF, Aurora
Time from Chicago: 81 minutes
Distance from station: 1.6 km

Aurora sure is far, especially when the heat causes all the trains and El lines from my neighborhood into the Loop to seize up due to track expansion or other nonsense. Despite getting Cassie to day camp well in advance of the scheduled departure time for the Metra heading downtown, the UP-N line had a 30-minute delay, so my Brews Buddy and I took the El. Unfortunately, all inbound El lines stopped for 25 minutes at Belmont so crews could fix the overheating tracks. Our 35-minute connection to the BNSF line had become a 5-minute connection by the time we got downtown, so we decided to wait for the next train and get some sushi for lunch.

At least the milk run to Aurora arrived on time. Then we had a 20-minute walk in disgusting sticky hot weather (heat index 37.4°C/99°F). We decided not to sit outside when we got to the brewery.

We each got three 150 mL pours with one overlap. I started with The Usual lager (4%), a very light Pilsener with a sweet but otherwise clean finish. Next, the one both of us ordered, the Foreign Chemistry NEIPA (6.9%), billed as a juicy IPA, which I found a bit too malty but with a nice hop balance. The New American Clasic West Coast IPA (6.6%) was initially good, with an intersting coffee/mocha note. My buddy had the If You Like... "piña-colada inspired IPA" (6.5%) which "really does taste like a piña colada." I concurred, but unlike my buddy, I really didn't like. The Primo Pils (6.7%) is infused with fresh lime and "conditioned on habanero peppers," which was definitely not for me. It was too sweet, for starters, and I found the habanero kick at the end a lot less pleasant than she did. Her report: "It's great for the weather we're having."

We also had the food. It helps to know that the brewery was founded by a Mexican master brewer and an Indian restauranteur, so the food blended the two cultures. We had an order of beer-battered cheese curds with Peri Peri sauce and an order of chicken tikka tacos. I wasn't 100% sold on the Peri Peri sauce, but the tacos were really good. I'd go back for the food.

Aurora's downtown experienced horrible destruction in the car-centric "let's build parking lots everywhere" era, and the closure of the Burlington Northern railroad shops and other manufacturing in the 1980s. But with places like Foreign Exchange opening up and some new development around Stolp Island, the city is trying to come back.

Beer garden? Yes
Dogs OK? Outside only
Televisions? None
Serves food? Mexican-Indian fusion that's worth the visit
Would hang out with a book? Yes
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes