Aspen Tap House, Champaign IL

26 September 2024

I’m surprised there aren’t a ton of breweries in this university town, but I figured I’d give this place a try. It was nice inside; I didn’t get a photo of the main room but this is the Aspen-Ski-Resort-themed decor at the entrance (although I’m not sure how Cross-Country Skis and snowshoes fit in with the whole Aspen mountains thing):

They have a lengthy tap list but much of it is wasted on stuff like Coors Light and others of that ilk. Still, there were some interesting-looking regional offerings, so I gave three of those a try. The first is a 6% IPA from Tighthead Brewing in Mundelein IL called Longsnapper. It was OK but not award-winning.

For food, I went with the Reuben special; more on that in a bit. The second beer was a bit more satisfying, a 5.5% Pale Ale from Surly Brewing in Minneapolis called Mosh Pit Juicy (odd name, decent taste).

In my opinion, a good Reuben is one that you want more of as soon as you take the first bite. A great Reuben is one where you keep on wanting more right up until it’s all gone. This … was a good Reuben … but also very, very messy. Those waffle fries were definitely tasty, though!

Finally, I opted for a dessert and a 6 oz pour of a 5.9% Milk Stout from Maplewood Brewing in Chicago called Fat Pug.

If you’re thinking the dessert looks awfully big because of its proximity to the camera, well yes, that’s true, but it also looks big because it really IS big. It’s a Fried Cheesecake and I got it because I’ve never seen anything like this anywhere else. Truthfully, one of these is enough for one lifetime, I think — the cheesecake was passable but the breading/frying didn’t do it any favors, the caramel sauce flavor was totally overpowered, and the whipped cream melted quickly leaving just the cinnamon … but the vanilla ice cream was a perfect companion and almost saved the whole dessert. Almost. Fortunately, the milk stout was quite good and easily my favorite of the three beers I tried even though I’m not a huge fan of stouts in the summer.

I haven’t been to Champaign since the summer of 1979. I wouldn’t say I’ve missed much …