Whiskey Hill Brewing, Westmont

Welcome to stop #141 on the Brews and Choos project.

Distillery: Whiskey Hill Brewing, 5 W Quincy St, Westmont
Train line: BNSF, Westmont
Time from Chicago: 45 minutes
Distance from station: 100 m

I mean, it's the western suburbs, right? Having a brewpub right next to the train station is about as good as it gets if you want to minimize driving. And Westmont has really freshened up its historic downtown in the past 20 years. I'll give Whiskey Hill Brewing some props for trying.

That said, there really wasn't a lot to distinguish the brewery from two dozen others in the area. They have pub food, they have some of their own beers, they have visiting beers, and they have so many TVs that you will not miss a second of whatever game you want to watch. Mercifully, when my Brews Buddy and I visited on Thursday, they had the sound off and were playing an eclectic mix from Pandora that didn't get in the way of our conversation.

Because of the heat, we shared a single flight of 150 mL pours. The Gotti Gold light lager (4.1%) was very light, very malty to the point of syrupy, and not to my palate or hers. She liked the Metzi Wheat Pale (5.8%) and the orange slice it came with. We agreed they were really going for a Blue Moon expy and largely succeeded. Both of us put the Costiera West Coast IPA (6.5%) at the top of the scorecard, and both of us agreed it was maltier than the usual WCIPA with a soft finish. The Hush $ Hazy IPA (6.2%) finished the flight. It wasn't actually that hazy, or that hoppy, making it clear that the master brewer has a sweeter palate than we do. (Also, the chalkboard listed the beer as "Costeria," which sounded to us like something urgently requiring penicillin.)

So, the place was meh. We didn't try the food, which might have made a difference as it looked pretty good at the next table. They have burnt ends on the menu. I would have ordered those except we were about to stop at Flapjack Brewery for dinner. That place was worth the visit.

Beer garden? Yes
Dogs OK? Outside only
Televisions? Everywhere and unavoidable
Serves food? Full pub menu
Would hang out with a book? No
Would hang out with friends? Maybe
Would go back? Maybe