Sea Dog Blue Paw

I discovered Sea Dog Blue Paw, one of my absolute favorite summer beers, at one of my favorite bars in Chicago. Small Bar in Wicker Park is one of the best beer bars in the city; its selection of beers on tap, in bottles and cans, too, is seemingly endless. Currently, they have over 150 beers available at their Division location.

The bar is what it says: small. The tiny exterior is supplemented by a cute little outdoor patio, which provides some great people watching down the increasingly popular strip of bars and restaurants on Division. (InnJoy and The Fifty/50 are nearby neighbors that also have beer gardens and lots of fun people to watch.)

Jeff and I stumbled upon this little bar a couple of years ago when we were waiting for a table at what would become one of my favorite pizza places in the city, Crust, which is also Chicago's first all-organic restaurant. (Amazing. More on this in a later post.) When the people at Crust hand out the little blinky thing that tells you when your table is ready, they tell you that you can head to some of the bars around Crust for drinks while you wait. Small Bar looked cute, so we moseyed on in. Both of us were amazed at the beer selection and Jeff also loved that it's a huge FIFA soccer bar, which are few and far between in this city.

Now, I'm normally a dark beer girl, but I've been known to stray from my porters and stouts on hot summer nights. While looking over the extensive beer menu, I was intrigued by this Sea Dog Blue Paw wheat blueberry beer. I ordered a bottle and as soon as the bartender opened it, I was pleasantly overcome by what smelled like a batch of blueberry muffins fresh from the oven. Very cool.

I poured the beer into my glass and took a sip. I discovered a true wheat beer that somehow also comes across as being chock full of fresh Maine blueberries. It's not a cider, so it's not overly sweet. This is a real beer, but perfect for summer with the freshness of the blueberries, light carbonation and a crisp finish.

Last night, I was pleased to discover that they now carry it at my other favorite beer bar in the city, The Bad Apple in Lincoln Square. (More on that in a later post as well.)

In the meantime, be on the lookout for this standout at your favorite bars and restaurants and give it a try. Blueberry muffins and beer make a surprisingly great combination!

FYI: Small Bar has since opened up two additional locations -- one on Fullerton and one in Logan Square. To learn more, visit http://www.thesmallbar.com/