On Tour Brewing

Address: 1725 W. Hubbard St. Chicago, IL 60622

And back to Chicago we go!!!

After hitting up the two big boys on the block (Goose & Lagunitas– click to see previous posts) Mari and I wanted to venture off and get to know some of the local breweries that a lot of tourists wouldn’t really know about and that’s how we found On Tour Brewing! While we were at Goose Island a couple hours prior, a local told us that On Tour was one of the breweries to hit up while we were in town; funny enough, he actually ended up being there while we were as well!

From Website: Mark (founder/owner) is convinced that the perfect pint is best paired with live music and a great friends. A third-generation Chicago native, Mark and his wife Amanda moved to Denver, Colorado in 2009 where he had a day job in operations management, perfecting the art of customer service and moonlighted as a homebrewer. He became obsessed with perfecting unique and delicious beer recipes in his nerdy, custom built mini-brewery.

During his eight years in Denver, Mark’s passion for home brewing grew and after advancing to the final rounds of the 2013 and 2015 National Homebrew Competition, Mark and Amanda agreed it was time to see the dream of On Tour Brewing become a reality. Together, they packed up their belongings and drove from Denver to Chicago to build his vision of a place where people can take a break and press pause over a cold, flavorful pint.

When Mark isn’t obsessing over every detail of developing the On Tour experience he loves to spend time with Amanda and their son Ryder, travel to new places, see live music, play golf and disc golf, ski, hike, camp. Naturally, he incorporates sampling new beers into every activity along the way.

Mark also says “We focus on our guest experience. Our goal is to create an environment where people can come in and relax and press pause on their busy day, In order to do that we have to have beer styles for every type of beer enthusiast. I am most proud of the diversity of our menu and the welcoming experience we provide to our guests.”

Here are the explanations from the brewery:

Lightning Will (5% ABV; 30 IBU): A classic German-style Pilsner brewed with 95% Pilsner Malt and a variety of German Hops. (pilsner- german)

Half Step (5.7% ABV; 45 IBU): American Pale Ale brewed with Simcoe hops to highlight characteristics of citrus and pine with a mild malt backbone. (Pale ale american)

Heads All Empty (7.0% ABV; 45 IBU): Classic IPA characteristics of floral, piney and citrus American hops with the slightest amount of crystal malts to back it up. (IPA american)

Ruthless Villain (6.6% ABV; 70 IBU): The spicy, peppery character from the rye malt combines beautifully with the big citrus and pine flavors from the hops to provide a beer with great depth. (IPA red)

Gates Of Hell (6.7% ABV; 65 IBU): Huge roasted malt base with an inexcusable amount of Pine and Citrus aroma and flavor. Call it a Hoppy Porter. Call it a Hoppy Stout. Call it what you want. We love this beer and we call it a Black IPA. (IPA- Black/ cascadian dark ale)

Gates Of Hell Nitro (6.7% ABV; 65 IBU): Huge roasted malt base with an inexcusable amount of Pine and Citrus aroma and flavor. Call it a Hoppy Porter. Call it a Hoppy Stout. Call it what you want. We love this beer and we call it a Black IPA. (IPA- Black/ cascadian dark ale/ nitro)

Hubbard Street (6.3% ABV/ 35 IBU): Our Northern English Brown ale has moderate malt sweetness with a light caramel character. We filled bourbon barrels with this brown ale and we hope to share the aged version with you at our anniversary party this January! (brown ale- english)

Winterland (6.8% ABV/ 35 IBU): Just in time to get everyone in the holiday spirit. This brown ale was brewed with cherries, cranberries, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg to invoke a memory of the season. (brown ale- other)

Silly Grin (5.1% ABV/ 15 IBU): Gin Botanicals were added to the kettle sour for more depth. Very refreshing and tart. (sour ale)

Dill Pickle Gose (3.6% ABV/ 10 IBU): Gose with cucumber, dill, coriander and salt. This tart and refreshing summer drink will help us forget about the cold and snow. (sour-gose)

Here’s what I thought:

Lightning Will: Exactly as it’s described. It is about a 2-6 on the SRM scale; nice light pilsner color, a light gold. scents of a pilsner and tastes just like as it’s described. Crisp and refreshing.

Half Step: Another of their beers that tastes exactly as it’s described. It ranged between a 6-14 on the SRM scale. It was a golden amber colour; scents were that of citrus & pine, the hops had a nice scent. And it tasted just of that as well. It was crisp and refreshing.

Heads All Empty: This was about the same on SRM scale, about 6-14. Also had a golden amber colour; scents were hoppy, but not overbearing. It was a nice crisp, refreshing light IPA.

Ruthless Villain: I loved this beer, It had so much going on; On the SRM scale it was about 14-20; It had a citrusy, piney, spiced pepper scent. It tasted just like that as well. You tasted the malts, the hops, which were beautifully balanced and gave you a crisp, peppery, citrus slight spiced taste on your palate. Amazing.

Gates Of Hell: Another great on their list of beers; This was a black IPA that was about 35-40 on the SRM scale. It had a hoppy scents, but something more as well. The tastes were crisp, hoppy and had a stout finish. Delicious.

Gates Of Hell Nitro: This beer was just about the same as the pour above, but nitro style! It was a lot smoother and creamier and rich. Really gave a nice finish.

Hubbard Street: a legit english bitter. Malty. Sweet. Delicious. Caramel finish. This was a great English brown. It was malty, sweet, delicious and had a caramel finish. You can taste the bourbon barrels that this was casked in. Ranged about 25-30 on the SRM scale.

Winterland: like christmas. Name says it all. This one tasted just like Christmas! The name really says it all. It ranged from a 25-30 on the SRM scale as well, but had the tastes of fresh baked ginerbread cookies. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cherries, you tasted it all.

Silly Grin: This had a straw color, it was about a 2-4 on the SRM scale. This was definitely a sour; it gave off scents as such and it tasted like a minty pickle juice. Makes you pucker your lips a bit from the sourness & tartness.

Dill Pickle Gose: This was about a 2-4 on the SRM scale as well. It smelled like the tangy pickle from Van Holtens that Mari and I get from Publix! Believe it or not would make a great beach beer. Taste like straight pickle juice, but it’s not at the same time; a bit sour and a bit tart. Definitely will enjoy, don’t let the name deter you.