I’ve been a fan of Metropolitan Brewing for almost five years. When I was first getting into craft beer (and still intimidated by the terra incognita of traditional German styles), “lager” to me meant the watery 30-pack swill I drank in grad school when I wanted to nerve myself up to light my arm on fire with grain alcohol for a laugh. Metropolitan, who make nothing but lagers, changed all that for me.
The brewery’s core lineup was established so early and has changed so little, though, that in the nine months I’ve been doing this column I haven’t been able to find a good opportunity to write about it. (“Check out this beer that’s been all over Chicago for four years!” is a tough sell.) I got my chance this weekend with the first full-scale release of the tap-only zwickelbier version of Metropolitan‘s Flywheel Bright Lager.