Good Find from Argentina

Even though I try to focus on Chicago-only beers, I also like to look at beers outside of Chicago that are sold within the city. There is of course many great beers made all over the place, and the great part of the city is that there are more options than the local supermarket or gas station (and believe me, I've lived in places where the local Meijer is the only place to get beer).

I've written about Gene's in Lincoln Square many times, and one of the best aspects of the place is its constantly rotating stock. Some places tend to keep the same types of beer with minimal diversification. It's the same selection every time. This might work when you want something specific, but a place really worth its salt will have typical standbys and different brews to check out. It keeps it fresh and interesting.

Today, I'm working on La Bella Figura's website (an amazing natural beauty line) and to fuel the senses, I stopped at Gene's for some lunch: basically a turkey sandwich (it is much more than that, trust me) and a beer. It's a rainy day, and I'm feeling a bit European, so I thought what the hell. What I picked up was Otro Mundo's Red Ale. It's from Argentina and has a dark roasted malt nose with bright fruit flavors. It's a great find and relatively inexpensive.

There are many great beers to try from all over the world, and one of the best aspects of trying craft beer is the opportunity to travel without leaving your home. Even though I've never been to Argentina, I'm able to have a beer from a part of the world I've never been. It briefly allows me to look into that culture. One of the greatest aspects of traveling isn't just the art or sites, but the food, people and culture. Beer makes up that culture just as much as a restaurant. Drinking this beer, for a moment, makes me feel more connected to the world at large, in a way that drinking Coors or something similar just doesn't.