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Now Open: Motor Row Brewing

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Jan 17, 2015 7:00PM

The South Loop and Motor Row is becoming the new craft brewing haven in Chicago with new players such as Vice District open for business and both South Loop Brewing and Baderbräu building breweries in the neighborhood.

Joining them is Motor Row Brewing at 2337 S. Michigan Ave. If you never heard of Motor Row, that's because owner/brewmaster Frank Lassandrello originally planned to call the brewery Broad Shoulders. (We interviewed Lassandrello about his plans for the brewery in 2012.)

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Lakeshore Beverage's Reclamation lager. (Photo courtesy Lakeshore Beverage.)

Motor Row's lineup of beers includes:

- Reclamation, a Munich Helles lager brewed with American lager yeast for a nice twist on the style. At 4.5 percent, it's also sessionable.
- Out of the Loop, a 6 percent ABV hoppy Czech pilsner. This beer has between 45-50 International Bitterness Units (IBUs).
- Multigrain zwickle, an unfiltered beer brewed with a rotating lineup of non-barley grains including rye, oats and wheat.
- A blonde ale brewed with different honeys from Benton Harbor, Michigan. The initial release features blueberry blossom honey.

Lassandrello included a tap room in Motor Row's business plan and it's open today from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. Hie thee.