Met up with DJ Loopdoggie, who agreed to take me on as his Padawan as I continue my club DJ climb. He’s from Coal City…so Lemont seemed like a good center point. And a brewery tasting room offered the ideal environment for a spinning lesson.

Lemont has got it going on. The downtown area by the tracks has a couple bars and restaurants that could make for a nice evening.

A bar and an Italian restaurant share a parking lot with Pollyanna’s tasting room. On weekend nights a few food trucks set up shop and the scene is lit.

I didn’t realize the historical significance of Lemont. Loopdoggie’s co-worker Greg filled me in – pointed out the brickwork that Chicago imported to build the Watertower – one of the only buildings that survived the Great Chicago Fire. Same bricks I stared at outside as I sampled flights of beer. They shipped ’em up the river to the city. That’s how long Lemont has been established – it’s an early Illinois community.

The varieties of beer were all worth a taste, from the Frahuaf Oktoberfest Lager (2nd from right) to the Fun Size milk stout (center) to the Controlled Reentry IPA (far left).

None appealed to me more than the Fifth Anniversary Lager(far right, above), however. I made that my repeat order for a couple of post-flight pints. One of the vats featured a familiar name:

I inquired about a Michael Jackson brew, but the brewmaster told me there wasn’t one. It’s just the name of the tank. And it’s not named after that Michael Jackson. Rather a famous brewer who shared the name. All the tanks are named after brewing legends.  I had spotted a Berry Superstitious (2nd from left in the flight, above) on the menu and figured they had some sort of Motown theme going, so learning the truth was disappointing. But i got over it quickly and found other beers with catchy names.

Saw they have a sausage making event this weekend if you’re not doing anything:

Worth a trip out to Pollyanna if you’re in that area. Or even if you’re not. Have a beer, have a flight of beer…don’t stop til you get enough.