Let Your Hair Down with Lake County's Summer Libations
By: Jonathan Jones 07/10/2023
In the summertime where the Lake County weather's fine, you can experience myriad potions when browsing ninety-nine bottles of libations of the wall.
The Lake County Libation Trail options for our marquee season are sure to pique your interest. We make our own here in Lake County. So take your taste buds out for a treat as we recline, relax and loosen up with summer libations in Lake County.
Besides the trail's brick and mortars, you can also kick back with a cold one at the Beer Garden at Independence Grove Forest Preserve, as they feature over half each spot's libations.
Cheers Lake County. You've earned the time to let your hair down as you take back a few Lake County summer libations.
Maui the Trickster
"What can Zümbier say except, 'You're welcome. For the tides, the sun, the sky.'" This demi-god, trickster who has the heart of Te Fiti, is a rum barrel-aged chocolate coconut milk stout. Named after the Disney legend that hails from Tonga and/or Samoa, is a 6.1% Alchohol per volume (ABV) brew packed with cacao and loads of toasted coconut and aged in the rum barrel. The Waukegan brewhouse serves it in a 22-ounce bottle format or via tap.
Five Eyes Honey Ale
Did you know that bees have five eyes? Well, that is how this 6.5% ABV honey ale from Wright’s Brew and Bistro located inside Lincolnshire Marriott Resort got its name. This cream ale is brewed in collaboration with Tighthead Brewing Co. in Mundelein. The award-winning brew house utilizes the honey that is produced in the beehives on-site at the Lincolnshire resort. One sip and you will see what all the buzz is about.
Hefty Weiss
This homage to traditional Bavarian Hefeweiss uses Munich's centuries-old Weihenstephan yeast strain. The result is a wheat brew with banana and clove-like aromas with solid flavors. This 6.6% ABV ale is available at the Lake Barrington taproom, and purchase a growler to enjoy in the comforts of your home.
Summer Shanty
A smooth sweet white wine made from Sommerset table grape. Strawberry aroma and flavor are prevalent with a hint of grapefruit. The tasty tropical beverage and other vinos are 25% off when you buy four or more bottles.
Seyval Blanc 2020
The Seyval Blanc 2020 will satisfy that palette preference. Valentino Vineyards barrel-ages this 13.2% ABV white wine for one year to ensure a crisp flavor with a floral bouquet with hints of honey, oak and gentle touch of sweetness. This white wine is delectable with creamy dishes, and you can slowly sip on it when dining on shellfish, seafood, poultry and other light-colored proteins like tofu or pork. Valentino Vineyards produces its wines on its 20-acre estate in Long Grove with 20 different grapevines and ages in American and French barrels.
Elf Butterscotch Bourbon Whiskey
If you're searching for the perfect after-dinner or a nightcap, look no further than 28 Mile Distilling Company's Elf Butterscotch Bourbon Whiskey. The Highwood, award-winning libation blends butterscotch and whiskey exuding such a mythical and seductive quality that it feels like an actual elf is inside each bottle. The bourbon whiskey stands at a 33.3% ABV.
Go-Go Wit
A Belgian Witbier brewed with pilsner malt, oats, bitter and sweet orange peel, coriander and chamomile flowers. The Mundelein refreshing “white” beer starts out sweet and citrusy and finishes dry and crisp with a hint of tartness. This fastball of a pitch rates at 5% ABV
Beats Working
"Rubber ducky you're the one. You make bath time lots of fun." You may not opt to drinking in the tub, but summer is here and Roaring Table offers a few different options. The Beats Working Summer Wheat Ale provides this gem hopped with saaz, motueka, citra and cascade. Crack open one of these 5.8% ABV brews this summer at the Lake Zurich hub.
Diversey Station
The imagery captures an exceptional sketching of an old-timey scene in the Logan Square neighborhood in the Second City. However, the real story speaks on the Highland Park second location, born out of the original Maplewood Train Station, whic stands today as tribute. This cross between old and new is represented in their crushable, juicy session ale that combines the drinkability of traditional beers with the hop-forward flavors loved today. The brew attains notes of citrus, pineapple and grapefruit. The Ravinia Brewing Co. session ale won a bronze medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2022.
DDH Filterwave
We all know Michealangelo had a big brain, but you get a feel for it with Phase Three's impeccable can designs. DDH Filterwave is a new double dry-hopped hazy double IPA brewed with Mosaic and Falconer's Flight hops. This unique hop combination creates big, dank, floral aromas with notes of grapefruit, orange, and resinous pine. The beer is hazy and juicy, with a smooth, full-bodied mouthfeel. It finishes with a slightly bitter aftertaste.
8 a.m. Rosé
This wine drinker’s Rosé is crisp and slightly fruity. Fuller in body than one would expect from such a bright-looking wine, the Lake County Libation Trail’s vino partner has this drinkable is crushed, fermented and bottled right in the city of Highwood. This 13.1% ABV wine is made by lightly crushing (on the Friday Night of Pumpkinfest until 8 a.m. Saturday morning) whole berry Grenache grapes. This wine is outstanding when sipped cold. The seedlings used for this wine spend their childhood in Lodi, California, until they become adults and head to the southeast Lake County city.
Solera Aged Bourbon
This bourbon is a unique expression of the Waukegan distillery's philosophy of controlled experimentation. This bourbon is made from a 5-grain mashbill of corn, malted rye, chocolate malted rye, special B and two-row barley. The libation is then aged in an eclectic solera process, which means that it is aged in a series of barrels that are never fully emptied. This creates a continuous aging process of the 40% ABV adult beverage that results in a bourbon with great complexity.
Blueberry Smash
Innovation is what North Shore Distillery has a ton of experience in. The Green Oaks Distillery's Blueberry Smash, is created with fresh fruit, basically any spirit that the Lake County Libation Trail partner offers, fresh lemon and mint. The ABV varies pending on what spirit you utilize, but the recommendation is their American whiskey that's 86 proof and 43% ABV.
Take a Seat and Wheat
This unfiltered American wheat beer is a light and refreshing treat for summer. The bright citrus notes from the Cascade hops are balanced by the bready flavor of the wheat malt, creating a medium-bodied beer with a clean finish.
The Sound of Summer Running - beer series
The Ray Bradbury-themed brewery in Green Town offers up a wide variety of suds in its summer beer series. Each brew is pulled from the Greentown griot's works of course including: Huckleberry Lemonade (light lemon-y beer), Bana Peels and Picnic Papers (a banana strawberry hefeweizen), Eat Drink and Be Wary (a strawberry blonde, Build Your Wings (a blueberry wit with orange) and Picasso on the Beach (a coconut saison with lime).
Pineapple Express
The Pineapple Express is a West Coast-style double IPA brewed with Citra, Idaho 7 and Michigan-grown Chinook hops. These hops give the beer intense flavors and aromas of citrus, pineapple, and dank resin. Despite its higher ABV (8%), The Pineapple Express is still quaffable, making it a perfect beer to enjoy on a hot day. The beer's name is a reference to the 2008 stoner comedy film of the same name starring Seth Rogen. The film's title character, a strain of marijuana, is known for its potent effects, which are similar to the effects of The Pineapple Express beer.
Available at both locations, the Reserve Chardonnay is a rich and aromatic wine with hints of toasted almond, French vanilla and fruitiness. The wine was crafted in an aromatic and floral style, but was also barrel aged for a few months. The vitners of Lynfred periodically stirred the wine in the barrels, known as surlie, to enhance the color and elegance of the final blend. The blend is 85% Chardonnay from Kamiak Vineyards in Snake River, Washington and 15% Viognier from Ripon, California. The Kamiak Chardonnay brings notes of citrus, peach and white flowers, while the Viognier adds a touch of honeysuckle and spice.
Monarch Golden Lager
In the illustratrious words of Bart Simpson "No one ever suspects the butterfly." This crisp and clean 4.8% ABV golden lager made with 200 pounds of basmati rice, well balanced and full of aromatic flavors, making it the perfect beer to pair with Indian curries.
Splash Fruit
Splash Fruit is a dry-hopped IPA brewed with Michigan Mackinac and X14 hops. The beer pours a hazy golden color with a moderate white head. The aroma is bursting with tropical fruit notes, including papaya, melon, and dark berries. The flavor is equally as impressive, with a juicy, fruity body that is balanced by a touch of bitterness and spice.
Spirit Walk
This 7.75% ABV double hazy IPA is packed with tropical fruit flavors! Citrus and stonefruit hop flavors meet with loads of mangoes to create a harmonious blend. Huge aromas from the triple dry hop and a full mouthfeel from oats give this ale the perfect balance of giant fruit and juicy hops.
Still Here
Still Here is an American-Belgo-style Golden Strong Ale brewed with Mosaic and Citra hops. The Grasylake brew has a golden color and a 7.5% ABV. The suds were brewed in collaboration with Beermiscuous for their nine year anniversary. The aroma is fruity and hoppy, with notes of citrus, grapefruit and peach. The flavor is full-bodied and smooth, with a slightly sweet finish. The beer is well-balanced and easy to drink.
de la Costa Sangria
Glunz Family Winery & Cellars produces a trio of seasonal Sangria flavors: red, white and rosé. The intense citrus, berry flavors complemented by a dash of sweetnes, makes for a refreshing treat during hot summer days. The Grayslake, 11% ABV vino can be enjoyed by the glass or by can!
Westwood Cocktail with Copper Fiddle Silver Rum
Copper Fiddle Distillery provides an array of spirits and cocktails to take neat or explore in a delicate cocktail made with fresh ingredients. New to their menu this year is the ‘Westwood’ specialty cocktail. This libation features a combination of Copper Fiddle’s silver rum, limoncello, orange liquor, citrus bitters, honey syrup and a subtle layer of the butterfly pea flower, it’s sure to be a refreshing summer favorite. The adult beverage attains a 40% ABV - 80 proof.
42K
Bruno Mars’s “24K Magic” can’t compare to the Long Grove brew home’s Belgian strong ale. The 42K is the water connection expenses Buffalo Creek Brewery had to pay for their facility expansion. Like the cost of the fee, the ABV stands at a high 10.5% and is rated 31 IBUs. You’ll never taste the precise version as the last because the two yeast strains integrated into the beverage change the malt's flavor.
Shankopotomus
When you hit the links this upcoming spring, you are sure to shank and/or slice simultaneously. That grimace will appear on your face. But all the more better to complement your broke golf game, the Shankopotumus beer from Broken Tee Brewing Co. in Highwood. The Lake County Libation Trail's newest partner provides this 5% ABV kettle sour that embodies a lovely lime flavor with "just a little tap" of ginger. Following your golf outing this month and your over-advertising of your driving power, pay a visit to Broken Tee.
Word to Weizenbock
This Bock Strength Dunkel Weizen is a dark wheat beer with a slightly sweet flavor from the wheat, a malty finish, and some spicy characteristics. It has a higher alcohol content than our other wheat beers, at 8.3% ABV, but it is still balanced by a moderate bitterness of 21 IBU. This beer is a great choice for fans of wheat beers who are looking for something with a bit more complexity.
Dave's Bottle Rocket Rampage
Munich and Vienna malts combine with a dry hop of Galaxy, El Dorado and Vic Secret to create a unique red ale. Dave's Bottle Rocket Rampage malt provides a rich, malty flavor, while the Vienna malt adds a touch of sweetness. The Galaxy, El Dorado and Vic Secret hops concoction adds a burst of tropical fruit flavors, such as mango, pineapple and passionfruit. The result is a beer that is both flavorful and refreshing. It has a deep red color and a smooth, full-bodied mouthfeel. The finish is slightly sweet and hoppy, with a lingering tropical fruit flavor.
For more ways to let your hair down with Lake County summer libations, continue here. If you're searching for more things to do this weekend, click here. Also, continue here, to see some of our Libations of the Month features.
