Way to (ab)normal: Normal, Illinois

One of the cool things about my job is the fact that I find myself in places that I probably would never, ever conceive of going. Not even on a bet.

Take Normal, Illinois.  Maybe it's the name... okay it's definitely the name, but I had an image in my mind of a city comprised of nothing but tract housing and corner markets run by guys named 'James'. (You can call him Jimmy)  A place where paperboys say 'gee-willickers' and all the housewives had been replaced with subservient robots.

I am proud to report that Normal is pretty much like any other city in this country.  People give each other the finger and hardly any of the women are animatronic puppets.

And there are microbrews.   Well, two of them which I feel is pretty good for a Midwest city of this size.  The one I went to was based on a recommendation by a friend, who makes this a stop whenever he is in the area.  This week, it's off to Destihl Brew Works.

The name is admittedly pretentious.  "We are so creative and indie that we need not conform to your pedestrian spelling of actual words that mean things."  It reeks of the hipster crowd would sit in the corner of this highly art-deco restaurant, wearing a trucker hat, a Rod Stewart T-shirt from the 1984 tour, drink Bud-light and let everyone bask in the glow of his irony.

All that being said, I am willing to forgive all of the above since, well the beer is fantastic, the food is good and, despite the appearance of the joint, relatively inexpensive.  Their brick oven pizzas all run under $10, they are fantastic and they easily serve as a full meal and a afternoon snack the next day.   The package is wonderful even if the wrapping makes you sigh and shake your head.
With the exception of a couple standards, the beer menu rotates so vigorously that the beers you had three months ago may be replaced by an entirely new selection today.  Good for maverick boozetrafarians like myself, but a bit annoying for people who prefer to stick to things they like.  That being said, I think anyone who likes craft beer would find something for them here:

Angel Stout: If you're a militant stout fan, a die-hard supporter of dark, malty beers you might wanna slowly back away from the bar for this one, you'll just upset yourself.  This beer breaks the cardinal rule for stouts, a rule that sends a sub-set of beer snobs running for their BJCP style guides.  This stout is hoppy.  Very hoppy.  It's floral, pine hops are in the aroma along with the roasted barley and they are definitely there in the flavor profile.  It finishes very dry, more like an IPA.

Bela Imperial Pils: Those that feel alienated by the hoppy stout may find what they are looking for in the Bela.  It is marketed as a 'intensely hopped beer' but outside a lemony aroma and flavor, it really doesn't stand out very much.  What does stand out is the large malt bill that adds a surprising amount of body and sweetness to this beer. 

Vertex IPA: A west coast IPA with citrus, floral hop aroma of Cascade hops.  It is well balanced and surprisingly drinkable as I sorta found out by accident.

It's like this:  Me and about four other people stopped by the brewery after work.  As soon as I set foot inside for a bit of malty R and R, my phone rang.  It was my boss.  Against all my better judgements (why do they include call ID on all cellphones if not to facilitate the screening of annoying calls?) I answered.  We had to go back to work, all of us.  There was a minor emergency that needed to be sorted out.  Now. 
I screamed, cried and swore up a storm and went inside the bar to deliver the news.  I managed to catch everyone before they ordered except one man who was holding a freshly poured IPA in his hand and a fearful look on his face.  We had a choice to make.
Which alcohol sin would weigh on our souls more?  Leaving a beer behind abandoned and unloved, or slamming an IPA like a lost frat boy at the Great American Beer Festival.  I opted for option B.

Okay maybe not the most glowing review of a beer ever, but it says something.  Those who like a balanced IPA will like the Vertex.  It combines bitter with drinkable very well.

Ordinary Rye Bitter: One of their lighter offerings, the rye bitter has a light, lemon and pepper combined with light malts.  Pretty good session beer with enough flavors to keep it interesting.

Dampfbier

Dampfbier:  Apparently a obscure all-barley style beer unearthed by this brewery.  I'm a little confused about the all-barley reference.  Seriously aren't most beers all barley?  Maybe it's me, but if anyone has a proper translation for this, hit me up.  Is there something I am missing, or is this just more pretension?
Anyway, it has a soft, semi-spicy aroma.  The flavor is filled with banana and spice with a smooth mouthfeel. 

Blonde: Another lighter beer.   The thing I am finding that I do love about this place is that their light beers are by no means watery.  Here, light means subtle flavor as opposed to no flavor what-so-ever.  This beer had notes of sweet orange on top of it's light malt flavors.

Weisenheimer Hefeweisen: This beer has a distinct floral aroma on top of caramel.  It holds true in the flavor profile as well with some clove and coriander spice notes as well.

Once again I find myself in Detroit next week.  Not sure what motor-city tales I'll be coming back with, but a visit to Michigan wine country might not be out of the question. 
Cheers!