CHICAGO VICINITY, ILLINOIS

Across from Millrose Restaurant, South Barrington’s spacious red brick BRASS RESTAURANT seemed to attract upbeat yuppies with its detailed art deco, fine wines, coffee styles, and nice array of lighter-bodied brews served in candelabra sampler trays. Visited August ’06 (a year prior to closing), mahogany bar had widescreen TV’s and rear brew tanks while back patio and left side dining catered to families. Sticky dry-bodied wheat-maize-chaffed Dortmunder-styled Lunker Light, sharp yellow-fruited German Kolsch, lemon-limed coriander-tinged Belgian Wit, and soft orange-red-fruited nut-fig-soured alcohol-burnt astringency Anytime Amber Ale had easy appeal. Weissguy Hefeweiss possessed a smoky nuance pervading malleable lemony clove-banana-vanilla illusions. Best bet: red-fruited cereal-grained barley-roasted hop-spiced butterscotch-candied Anticipation Pale Ale.

CHICAGO VICINITY, ILLINOIS

Owned by meat packaging entrepreneur William Rose, South Barrington-based MILLROSE RESTAURANT (visited August ’06 and closed ’08) inhabited a stable-styled lodge with maroon-green exterior, large umbrella-festooned front deck, wood-stained bar, central stone fireplace, strewn antiques, and dining to all sides.

Upscale menu may’ve outclassed moderate brews such as lemony corn-dried wheat-chaffed bantanweight Prairie Pilsner, fruit-spiced hop-embittered Dark Star Lager, soft candi-sugared grapefruit-dabbed Country Inn Light Ale, grape-fig-soured Panther Amber, and white grape-soured nut-nipped American Brown.

 However, molasses-butterscotch Honey Wheat and tangy raspberry-centered cracked wheat-backed Raspberry Wheat overcame such uncertainty.

Brewery operations ceased, 2008.