Metropolitan Brewing Reviews

trapped	3.6 Metropolitan Arc Welder Dunkel Rye Draught @ Pleasant House Pub, Chicago (Nov 2023). Clear dark red-brown with a foamy beige head, caramel malt aroma, high carbonation, medium bitter caramel malt taste with rye flavor, thin body, long bitter finish. The rye has brought a slightly different flavor to the dunkelweizen. Thursday, March 28, 2024
ccex	3.5 Metropolitan Jet Stream 12 oz. can pours a mostly clear golden color with small white head. Aroma is fruity, but with wheat crackers, yeast, and light spices also apparent. Taste is on the sweet side. Body is light with average carbonation and a crisp mouthfeel. Delightfully drinkable and flavorful. This is another reason I will miss Metropolitan Sunday, February 25, 2024
trapped	3.4 Metropolitan Afterburner Can, from Trader Joe's, Chicago. Faintly cloudy dark amber-copper, very small frothy beige head, faint caramel malt aroma, high carbonation, mildly bitter caramel malt taste, thin smooth body, long finish. A nice marzen. Wednesday, December 13, 2023
tmoreau	4 Metropolitan Bourbon-Barrel Aged Generator Doppelbock (2023) On tap at the brewery bar, dispensed to a mug showing a dark brown hue with modest mahogany highlighting, a decent layer of tan froth, and wavy cling to the lacing. The nose was expressive malt, toast & light roast, some cocoa & coffee hints, barrel & bourbon, dark caramel sweetness, and dark dried fruit. Medium+ bodied, the taste was as the aroma notes, with well-integrated alcohol, moderate hop bitterness, and a clean lager presence. Flavorful offering to celebrate yet sadly reminisce. Tuesday, December 12, 2023
ClarkVV	3.5 Metropolitan Seipp's Extra Pale Pilsner Brewery draught, 12/2/23. Clear, bright brass-maize. Frothy, white head, good retention. Spicy, fresh, strong hopping with crusty bread and light honey-like maltiness behind it. Fresh and crisp, clean. Floral and herbal hops lead the way through a very light-bodied, crackery flavored malt with good attenuation. Wouldn't hate just a hint more maltiness, but it's clean, crisp and refreshing. Saturday, December 2, 2023
ClarkVV	4 Metropolitan Bourbon-Barrel Aged Generator Doppelbock (2023) Brewery draught, 12/2/23. Hint of haze. Muddy-auburn. Small, dark beige head is spotty. Fresh, bright, spicy bourbon is full of char and vanilla. Definitely some freshly emptied barrels. No booze. Chocolate, fig and caramel emanations from the malt. Bourbon-forward with plentiful spice, vanilla and gentle oak toast. Somehow there's zero sharpness/acid/alcohol. Soft, round caramel, date and fig. Medium-bodied, good attenuation. Definitely enough malt, but very bourbon-focused, which works because it's not hot. A fair bit of the lager character gets lost in translation but it's hard to care since the flavors are so well done. Saturday, December 2, 2023
ClarkVV	3.7 Metropolitan Heliostat Zwickel Lager Brewery draught, 12/2/23. Gently hazy, blonde-golden. Small, creamy, white head. Floral, soft, mellow. Fresh herbs and light honey-like maltiness. Clean and bright with spring water and hints of lemon. Interesting mix of sourdough and herbal-to-lemony hop notes with a soft, doughy malted body and reasonable maltiness. Pronounced bitterness on the finish balancing gently sweet honey and white bread malt character. Lingering fresh grass, herbs, lemon. Clean. A touch heavy on the hop acidity. Saturday, December 2, 2023
WingmanWillis	3.5 Metropolitan Magnetron Schwarzbier Wednesday, November 1, 2023
WingmanWillis	3.9 Metropolitan Javatron Wednesday, November 1, 2023
WingmanWillis	3.6 Metropolitan Zombiestat Wednesday, November 1, 2023
WingmanWillis	3.6 Metropolitan Heliostat Zwickel Lager Wednesday, November 1, 2023
deyholla	3.9 Metropolitan Dry Hopped Heliostat - Loral Sampled from the tap at GTMW 2023. Pours a near clear yellow gold with a white head that dissipates slowly to the edges and laces. Aroma has a good amount of grass with some hay and straw supporting. Flavor is grass forward with a nice hay and a bit of straw in the finish. Sunday, September 3, 2023
deyholla	3.5 Metropolitan Humbucker Dortmunder Lager Sampled from the tap at GTMW 2023. Pours a clear yellow gold with a white head that lasts throughout the beer and laces. Aroma has a light of bread with some hay and grass coming through. Flavor is bread and grass forward with a bit of grain in the finish. Sunday, September 3, 2023
deyholla	3.6 Metropolitan Dry Hopped Stromhaus - Loral Sampled from the tap at GTMW 2023. Pours a clear gold with a white head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma is hay forward with grass, light earthy citrus and straw backing. Flavor has earthy grass, a decent amount of straw and a slight leaf note coming through. Sunday, September 3, 2023
GregMooreNH	3.8 Metropolitan Elektro Pours clear, light amber with a one finger, off white head. Aroma is honey, dried fruit, bread and light roast. Taste is rich honey and light plum, moving to bread and light roast. Finish mirrors the taste. Tuesday, August 29, 2023
GregMooreNH	3.9 Metropolitan Generator Doppelbock Pours clear mahogany with a one finger, light tan head. Aroma is caramel, dried fruit, bread, nuttiness and roast. Taste is caramel and raisin, moving to almond, bread and roast. Finish is sweet raisin. Roast and almond. Tuesday, August 29, 2023
nuplastikk	4.1 Metropolitan Afterburner 12oz can. Toasty rich malt tone. Perfect hop balance. A lot of depth but it all comes together perfectly. Excellent. Monday, August 7, 2023
nuplastikk	4 Metropolitan Blazed as Helles Tap at Metropolitan. Smooth, sweet, creamy. Mild but steady smoke. Clean, fresh. Right on. Tuesday, June 13, 2023
nuplastikk	3.3 Metropolitan / Seipp's Chicago's Very Own WGN 12oz can. Clean, transparent yellow-copper body. Thin, soapy head. Aroma is a little off, earthy, odd. Not thin, but very drinkable, classical. Pleasant malt depth. OK. Friday, June 9, 2023
BlackBeerPG	2.7 Metropolitan / Seipp's Chicago's Very Own WGN Taste: crystal malts, hint of hops, mellow malt finish. Mild malty nose. Golden amber hue, clear, with a white head and some lace. Light body. I suspect that the person who shared this beer had it aged too long. Thursday, June 1, 2023
ryecatcher	4 Metropolitan Elektro 12 oz can. I was seriously start when I heard metropolitan was finally doing one of my favorite German styles of beer. This one pours a pale gold color, frothy white head with decent retention. Grainy and malty, bit of sweeteness but not overly so, excellent balancing bitterness from the hops without In any way shape or form getting out in front of the grain bill. Overall exactly what I expect from Metropolitan: I touch the detail and excellent execution. Fitting brew for my 1700th rating 😎🍺Prost! Saturday, May 27, 2023
nuplastikk	4.2 Metropolitan Elektro 12oz can. Was hyped about this one for awhile and it didn't disappoint. Awesome malt depth, all comes together perfectly, doesn't seem heavy handed, just nailing it. Rich, bready, supreme body and balance. Excellent stuff! Friday, May 5, 2023
nuplastikk	4.3 Metropolitan Heliostat Zwickel Lager 12oz can. Golden tan body, steady white head. Dry noble hop bite. Pretty much the ultimate Zwickel. Perfect balance. Flowery, zesty hop balance, always right in line. Sublime, awesome beer. Saturday, February 25, 2023
nuplastikk	3.6 Metropolitan Micro-Volt 16oz can, day it was canned. Medium to light bodied. Has that nice zesty, robust hop backbone that Metropolitan excels at, but a little fainter here. Crackery malt tone, pleasant mellow sweetness. Good balance. Hyper drinkable. The kind of beer you want two pitchers of. Enjoyable. Wednesday, February 15, 2023
nuplastikk	3.8 Metropolitan Dynamo Copper Lager 12oz can. Filtered copper-orange body. Thin, off-white head. Easy going, rather perfect Vienna. Not too heavy with the malts, really has an exceptional balance. Simple but sublime. Friday, January 27, 2023
nuplastikk	3.9 Metropolitan Stromhaus 12oz can from the brewery. Filtered, clean golden malt tone. Medium bodied, very drinkable. Rather awesome, smooth, hyper sessionable beer. Great stuff. Monday, January 9, 2023
andyhwcinc	3.9 Metropolitan Javatron On tap (nitro pour) at Metropolitan Brewing in Chicago on a cold and rainy Jan night before a haircut. Very chocolatey, rich coffee notes, goes down smooth but not rich, dry in a good way. Good stuff that I would enjoy again. Wednesday, January 4, 2023
nuplastikk	3.9 Metropolitan Flywheel Pilsner (Bright Lager) 12oz can. I would imagine somewhere in the backlog as a bottle. Not really a classical Pils, but has a really impressive hop bite that I wish most Pils' would even get close to. Deep munich malt or something adding more depth. Perfect filtration, body, head. A lot of depth and class for the style. Teetering into IPL. Great beer. Saturday, December 31, 2022
italianjohn	3.4 Metropolitan Kränkshaft Clear golden blonde pour with a thin white head and light lacing/small thin bands …. Aroma of wheat, grain, sweet malts, grass and floral hops …. Taste is of spicy floral hops, grassy, lemon, wheat, grain and sweet malts ….. simple and sessionable …. Finish has a nice spicy bitter hop bite, floral, light grass, sweet and grainy …. Quite a bit of a lingering finish Saturday, November 26, 2022
italianjohn	3.4 Metropolitan Afterburner Pale golden amber pour with a soapy white head and thin bands of lacing … aroma of bready malts, caramel, light fruits, toasted malts and biscuits …. Taste is of sweet malts, caramel, little fruity yeast, bready malts, toasted and biscuits ….. finish is of caramel malts, toasted malts and biscuits ….. sweet in the finish …. Not a bad marzen, not a great one Wednesday, November 23, 2022
djd07	3.5 Metropolitan Kränkshaft On tap at the brewery. Pours golden with small white head leaving spotty lacing. The aroma is grass and citrus. Light body, citrus, straw, light crisp finish, very good. Monday, October 24, 2022
djd07	4 Metropolitan Javatron On nitro at the brewery. Pours a dark brown with large creamy tan head that lasts. The aroma is cocoa, roast, raisin, licorice. Slick body, chocolate, roast, toast, nice sweetness, light dry finish, very nice. Monday, October 24, 2022
djd07	3.7 Metropolitan Woke as Helles On nitro at the brewery. Pours a cloudy orange with large creamy white that lasts. The aroma is strong cocoa and toasted malt. Slick body, cocoa, earth, velvety finish, very good. Monday, October 24, 2022
djd07	3.6 Metropolitan Humbucker Dortmunder Lager On tap at the brewery. Pours golden with medium white head leaving sticky lacing that lasts. The aroma is earth and grass. Slick body, grass, toasted malt, light finish, very good. Monday, October 24, 2022
djd07	3.1 Metropolitan Stromhaus On tap at the brewery. Pours a hazy yellow gold with small white head that lasts. The aroma is lemon zest and grain. Light body, lemon, dough, very light and plain for a helles. Monday, October 24, 2022
djd07	3.8 Metropolitan Magnetron Schwarzbier On tap at the brewery. Pours dark brown with small beige head leaving sticky lacing. The aroma is licorice and cocoa. Slick body, licorice, raisin, cocoa, light dry finish, very good. Monday, October 24, 2022
djd07	3.4 Metropolitan Flywheel Pilsner (Bright Lager) On tap at the brewery. Pours golden with small white head leaving spotty lacing. The aroma is grass and straw. Slick body, straw, hay, grass, light crisp finish, good. Monday, October 24, 2022
djd07	3.7 Metropolitan Heliostat Zwickel Lager On tap at the brewery. Pours a hazy yellow gold with medium white head that lasts. The aroma is grass and citrus. Slick body, grass, toasted grain, light crisp finish, very good. Monday, October 24, 2022
djd07	3.7 Metropolitan Micro-Volt On tap at the brewery. Pours a hazy yellow gold with small white head leaving spotty lacing. The aroma is toasted grain and floral. Slick body, citrus, grain, straw, light crisp finish, very good. Monday, October 24, 2022
Drake	3.1 Metropolitan Arc Welder Dunkel Rye 12 ounce can from Binny’s River Grove, 9/19/22. New brewery! Despite an attempt a dozen years ago at GTMW. Drunk me saw the taps unguarded and assumed it was pour your own and it didn’t occur to drunk me they were packing up and had removed the tables from their tent. A guy yelled at me which drunk me was pissed off by, but sober me knows the guy was right. Brewery #2099, USA #1702, Illinois #76. Clear dark red, very large tan head, good retention. It was almost a gusher and I can’t fit the 12 ounces into the 20 ounce pint glass. Aroma of rye, toast, stone fruit. Taste is caramel, rye, toast, stone fruit. High carb. Faint hints of plastic in both aroma and taste. Subtle hints of infection, but it’s a decent beer at this point. Tuesday, October 18, 2022
wlajwl	3.8 Metropolitan Humbucker Dortmunder Lager Aroma is grains/malts and spicy hops. The flavor is mild fruit, grains/bread and a spicy/dry hop finish. Sunday, September 18, 2022
crossovert	3.3 Metropolitan Micro-Volt 473ml can. Pale color, white head. Aroma is rindy citrus hops. Flavor is light chalky citrus hops, light bready malt, ultra dry. Would rather take a pilsner but its okay more of an ipl. Thursday, August 4, 2022
tmoreau	3.7 Metropolitan Micro-Volt On tap at The Beer Cellar-Glen Ellyn, IL. as a 9 oz. serving to a house snifter, showing a fairly clear, golden hue, with a decent layer of soft white froth, and spray-like cling to the lacing. The nose was soft Pils/light lager scent, a touch of corn, and just a hint of dried fruit. A little less than medium bodied, the taste was as the aroma notes, with lively carbonation, and light, grainy & earthy astringency. Refreshing and quite flavorful for the abv. Solid summer-> offering, Doug. Wednesday, July 13, 2022
ryecatcher	3.8 Metropolitan / Seipp's Chicago's Very Own WGN Can from a sixer procured at Evergreen Park Binny's. I read somewhere about Metropolitan taking on the task of resurrecting the historic Seipp's -- a Southside brewery of yesteryear -- and was pleasantly surprised to see this on the shelf today. Golden pour, frothy white head, lotta malt and some bread in the nose. Mouth is grain, crackers, white peaches. Super crushable and a cool tribute both to the icon that is WGN and the original Conrad Seipp's brewery. Sidenote: Metropolitan is my favorite Chicago brewery for a reason (even if I spend far more time at Open Outcry by my house... However, Metropolitan's tap room is approximately 130 blocks north of me and gas is at a record high...and meanwhile I can walk to 106th and Western... and stumble home without a DUI... and still buy my next sixer of Kränkshaft or Dynamo on 95th 😎🍺). Doug is the only brewer I can think of in the Chicago area (besides John Laffler) who isn't doing IPAs, gimmicky imperial stouts or fuckin shandy. It's all German-style lagers and the emphasis on the technical side of brewing. As a Homebrewer I absolutely respect that. And I can't wait to see what comes next. Thursday, June 16, 2022
tmoreau	3.7 Metropolitan / Seipp's Chicago's Very Own WGN On tap at The Beer Cellar-Glen Ellyn, IL. as a 9 oz. serving to a house snifter, showing a clear, orangey/gold color, with a fluffy layer of soft white froth, and wavy spray as lacing. The nose was light malt/grain, light citrus, and a touch of dried fruit. Medium bodied, the taste was as the aroma notes, with decent carbonation, complementary grainy & earthy bitterness, and slight dryness to the finish. Tasty & refreshing, but an ale for the occasion, Doug? Tuesday, May 31, 2022
tmoreau	3.6 Metropolitan Jet Stream On tap at the Metropolitan bar as a 1/2 liter serving to a logoed willibecher showing a hazed, orangey color, with a fluffy layer of soft white froth, and ribbons, spots, & spray as lacing. The nose was soft malt, slight yeast, a touch of spice, and a combination of pit fruit & lemon that seemed to come off more as citrusy orange. Medium bodied, the taste was similar notes, adding slight sweetness, with lively carbonation, and light fruit & grain astringency. Refreshing & easy drinking. Sunday, April 24, 2022
Finhead	3.6 Metropolitan Generator Doppelbock A clear, deep reddish-brown pour with a white head. The aroma has cracker and toffee. It has a medium body with average carbonation. The taste is sweet with a slightly sticky finish. Wednesday, February 23, 2022
tmoreau	4 Metropolitan Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stratotanker Baltic Porter On tap at The Beer Cellar-Glen Ellyn, IL. as a 9 oz. serving dispensed to a house snifter showing a black/brown, a presentable layer of off white froth that reduced to a persistent ring & film, with ribbons & spots of lacing. The nose was roasted, cocoa, caramel, sweetness, a touch of dark fruit as prune, and mild bourbon presence. Medium+ bodied, the taste was as the aroma notes, with decent carbonation, some noticeable vanilla, smooth bourbon that was not overly boozy, and modest, roasted bitterness. Maybe a little sweeter than most Baltics, but not a detracting factor in lieu of the expressive flavor profile. Tuesday, December 14, 2021
ccex	3.7 Metropolitan Arc Welder Dunkel Rye Pours a clear reddish brown with small off-white head. Aroma has rye bread, almonds, roasted malts and perhaps licorice. Taste is on the sweet side and much more flavorful than I expected. Body is medium with a creamy mouthfeel. Another unusual but solid lager from Metropolitan Tuesday, November 23, 2021
ccex	3.5 Metropolitan Afterburner 12 oz can pours an almost clear amber color with small off-white head that vanishes quickly. Aroma has caramel, nuts, dark fruit, and bread dough. Taste is initially very sweet but then the other flavors come out, leaving you with the impression of a Marzen. Body is medium with average carbonation. An interesting Marzen, just when I thought I had tried enough of them this year. Sunday, November 21, 2021