Review: Guinness Open Gate Brewery Chicago pours brilliant beer made with corn, but needs time to settle

A pour of Guinness beer can have a ritual reminiscent of a tea ceremony. Practitioners move with precision. But perhaps more important are the moments of stillness and knowing when to wait.

The new Guinness Open Gate Brewery in the Fulton Market neighborhood of Chicago was supposed to open by St. Patrick’s Day. The opening was instead delayed, like so many things the past few pandemic years, until the end of September.

Was it worth it?

When you find the transformed train depot, dramatically cloaked in black, walk through the main doors and you’ll see the fermentation tanks behind glass. The shop and bakery will lead you to the taproom, with the abstract harp above the bar, and the barrel room beyond.

Sitting at the bar on a Sunday morning, under the soaring sculptural harp, surrounded by platters of classic brown bread and an Irish-inspired breakfast, the staff chatted with everyone in sight, a promising sign of pub culture.

But I also saw bartenders pull the iconic Guinness Draught stout, then immediately serve turbulent glasses.

Guinness in Chicago operates more as a restaurant than a brewery in this moment, with reservations highly recommended, and that’s not a bad thing, but like the beer, both need time to settle.

Part of the challenge seems to be a surprisingly fundamental question of identity.

“We exist to remind people that Guinness is a brewery, not just the single beer,” said Ryan Wagner, head of marketing at Open Gate Brewery.

That single beer is still not made in Chicago.

“Every ounce of Guinness Draught stout served in the United States comes from Dublin,” said Wagner. (You may know that “draught” is pronounced “draft.”)

But Guinness brewers Nate Morton and Megan Schwarz do indeed make other beers here, including two early fan favorites.

The Kinzie Street pale ale, named for their location, is a classic take on one of the foundational styles in American craft beer.

The brilliant Corn Maize cream ale uses all Illinois-grown corn from Iroquois County to make the historic style. I found it remarkably radiant and delicate, suspending a late summer harvest in a glass.

Beer cocktails by Wagner include the Season Premier, with the Corn Maize and a mixer by Pour Souls in Wicker Park called Season 4, infusing the flavors of pear, ginger and vanilla for a beautifully balanced drink that slips into fall.

Home Is Where the Hearth Is, made nonalcoholic at my request with Guinness 0, was simply stunning. I wanted to wear it, fragrant with cinnamon, orange and pomegranate from the Vacation Home mixer by Pour Souls. If only we could capture that aroma into a winter candle. (You can find candles in the shop.)

No matter the season, the original recipe Guinness beef stew will be served, whether it’s 9 or 90 degrees outside, Wagner said. It’s elemental, with tender chunks of Slagel Family Farm chuck steak, parsnips and carrots smothering a buttery bowl of mashed potatoes.

The mushroom pot pie, with fungi from Windy City Mushroom grown in the Ford City neighborhood simmered in beer, is topped and not encased with flaky puff pastry, but may surpass the stew with its enticing earthiness.

The oysters bear the distinction as the oldest known Guinness beer and food pairing.

It dates back to 1837, Wagner said. That’s when a young Benjamin Disraeli, who would later become prime minister twice under Queen Victoria, wrote that the greatest day of his life so far ended with a dinner of Guinness and oysters.

Currently, an order features six deep Duxbury oysters from Massachusetts with fried saltines and a mignonette made with pickled bacon. Pristine, and perfectly shucked, they’re a fun historic dish made modern.

The house-made giardiniera, previously called Chicago caviar for some forsaken reason, is offered as a dip of sorts for fantastic fresh-cut kettle-style potato chips.

I wondered about the development of that dish.

“We love the idea of how committed people are to giardiniera in the city of Chicago,” Wagner said. But they were also curious about presenting it in a different way and it’s something they’re still playing with. “Perhaps as a giardiniera, it is misrepresented.”

There is a wide wonderful world of giardiniera around Chicago, but this finely chopped pickled relish just lacked the substance to be a dip, much less carry the name of our beloved condiment.

At brunch, the shokupan French toast promised beer custard (beer custard!), but was sadly little more than soggy milk bread. That kind of preparation needs thicker slices and the faith it takes for a longer soak.

But chef de cuisine Taylor Bischof, previously chef and owner of Brekkie & Bake Shop at the closed Dr. Murphy’s Food Hall, makes an unexpected and exceptional corned beef Benedict. As your corned beef reporter for years, I’ve tasted countless sandwiches — this one is special. She pulls the meat into shreds, each bite then intertwined with braised cabbage, poached egg and impeccable hollandaise.

Bischof and her team also feature ambitious global items on the menu, including duck udon and lamb braised in Guinness’ Foreign Extra Stout, the bestselling Guinness beer everywhere else in the world. I’ll try those next time, if they’re still on the menu they’re adapting fast.

And they oversee the bakery, the first in Guinness history. Cookies, from chocolate chip to a seasonal apple oatmeal, are scratch made in house, but most items come from Aya Pastry, including house-baked croissants that you should skip here, because they’re individually bagged so no longer crisp.

Desserts are still to come. “We’ll be offering a seasonal crème brûlée, a chocolate stout cake and a chocolate cherry bread pudding using some of the leftover croissant dough,” Wagner said.

Also to come is takeout beer brewed on premises, sold by growlers and crowlers. There are no plans to bottle or can the beer made in Chicago for the foreseeable future.

Service seemed genuinely friendly, but overwhelmed and inexperienced at times during my two visits.

If you haven’t made reservations, you can order beer, but the line can get festival long. Sit inside by the bakery, stand in the back of the taproom or head outside.

(Editor’s note: Starting Nov. 29, Guinness Open Gate Brewery Chicago will no longer take reservations.)

“It’s unique in that we have the Kinzie Street Bridge right in front of us,” he said. “So it feels a bit more intimate. It feels a bit enclosed.” The year-round patio will have heaters eventually, he added.

It’s a reclaimed oasis with space for stillness and hopefully time to settle.

Guinness Open Gate Brewery Chicago

901 W. Kinzie St.

guinnessbrewerychicago.com

Open: Bakery, cafe and shop only open weekdays 8-11 a.m., weekends 9-11 a.m. Taproom, restaurant, bakery, cafe and shop open Wednesday and Thursday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. to midnight, Saturday 9 a.m. to midnight, Sunday 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. (Taproom and restaurant closed Monday and Tuesday.)

Prices: $8 (nonalcoholic Home Is Where the Hearth Is beer cocktail), $10 (Season Premier beer cocktail), $10 (giardiniera and chips), $22/market price (oysters), $24 (Guinness beef stew), $21 (corned beef Benedict), $25 (traditional Irish breakfast)

Noise: Conversation-friendly

Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible with entrance to right of main door and restrooms on single level

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Tribune rating: Good to very good, 1 ½ stars

Ratings key: Four stars, outstanding; three stars, excellent; two stars, very good; one star, good; no stars, unsatisfactory. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.

lchu@chicagotribune.com

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